Kuwait's Bloggers!

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT SOME CUPCAKE SELLERS WON'T LIKE!

Restaurant reviews, fashion, cupcakes, 'me-too' businesses, promotional offers, pictures of pets, home-made food & drinks, personal rants, that basically sums up most of the blogs about Kuwait these days!

Pardon me if i seem harsh, but the truth of the matter is, most of Kuwait's blogging community contribute their talents towards nothing more than consumable products and services, and very little towards critical thinking and current events, and I don't mean Lady Gaga's latest brain-fart of an album!

Don't misunderstand, it's OK for some people. Most people prefer salon-parlor type of light reading, it's only when this begins to take the shape of a trend that everyone's involved in do I get turned off about blogging completely!

I used to follow some blogs almost religiously when I first started out, trying to identify what it is that makes people come back again and again, thinking it was the essence of thought, or the style of writing, or even the manner of thought, sort of like some of the writers in Kuwait's newspapers. But when sponsorships began to take shape and more and more people started writing about how wonderful a product is, or how cost-effective a mobile phone package can be (when it's really ripping you off of your disposable income!) things turned from 'fairly readable' to 'commercially owned'!

On the one hand, you have these 'cupcake pioneers' who are senselessly obsessed with 'Red Velvet' and tons of sugar-filled toppings that would make one's teeth rot and fall out simply from looking at their pictures. Then you have these 'clowns' who will bake the best cake in town after reading about it from a cook book bought from Amazon.com, and then causing you to believe that it's actually their very own concoction. Then you have these 'how popular am I' extroverts who will go to extreme ends just to show off their social lifestyle and body building abilities, and fill up their blog pages with banner ads from the local businesses. 

Don't believe me? Just ask yourself how many home-based businesses started up by selling Cupcakes and Hamburgers....

It's fine to post your interests and hobbies to a worldwide audience, in fact, I;'m all for that. It's only when others try to imitate instead of innovate do I tend to become irritated, especially so when the imitators call upon their friends to promote their imitations, shamelessly promoting copycats and cheaters on Social Networking sites, trying to drive up traffic.

I'm not impressed...

I am, however, deeply concerned with how these 'bloggers' partake in such superficial subjects within their blogs for a year, maybe two, and then flip over to Facebook, and follow everybody in the country, diminishing their role as bloggers down to nothing more than someone who plays Farmville and posts 'Likes' to pictures and YouTube clips! Oh, and they get offended when someone 'de-Friends' them, even if they don't know that person in real life!

There was a time, not too long ago, when current events would cause bloggers to frantically rush to publish their own take on them, or post recent pictures of their developments.The Elections, the demonstrations, the opening of a Mall or a new Department store, etc...they would find themselves on the pages of blogs within minutes of their happening. And within minutes of that happening, people would contribute their opinions and speculations, and discussion threads seem to come alive with debates, discussions, and commentary on the subject.

I remember when notable political activists and public figures would have their pictures and comments splattered all over the blogosphere, with bloggers combing their associates hoping to find someone who would help them reach these notable people for an interview and a comment on their blog. 

I also remember when an opinion was more important that a paid advertisement, and when a point of criticism was discussed and critiqued. People would write about their own opinion on something or someone, and others would comment on their opinions and offer up counter-opinions of their own. The entire list of blogs on Safat was rich in critical thinking, logical discussions and opinions ranging from the weather to von Clausewitz, from food to fiscal policy, and everything in between. 

I was impressed....

These days, however, it's more fashionable to write about one's latest trip to Kubbar, or one's latest mimic of some funky new cupcake with dates or something! And when one blogger is shown to have received the blessing of the almighty Sponsor with the one-liner mission statement, everyone gets aboard hoping to strike a deal with the competitor. Soon enough, more people will get bored of this recurring mediocrity, it's about time some bloggers re-kindle their intellectual muscles and think about what's important, as opposed to what's a fad.

By the way, what's fueling this post isn't jealousy or an inability to whip up some ready-mix batter & shove it into a pre-heated oven & then ask the maid to keep an eye on it. Its something more cerebral, it's called 'Constructive Criticism'.

Are you impressed?