Life and Death of a Blogger

Actually, I was not going to blog today but when I finally got to take a look at the news today, this headline struck me: "Libyan Rebel Blogger Killed by Snyper." Mohamed Nabous got killed by Gaddafi's forces because he was a REBEL and a BLOGGER. Now, to me, there is not really a difference between a rebel and a blogger because sharing one's honest thoughts about politics/life in public does attract all sorts of enemies. However, the term rebel in the current context of the "Middle Eastern Revolution" of course has a more serious connotation.

Even though, this is not the first time that a blogger literally gets "silenced" by the subjects of his blogging (just look at Cuba, if you want to learn more about blogging in a dictatorship: Generation Y), this tragic incident especially touches me because I have been reading so much about new media communication, political activism, online communities etc. these days. Blogging in the virtual world of bits and bytes of course has REAL-LIFE consequences. The brains behind the machines are still HUMAN; meaning - they can die - or get KILLED. Unfortunately, the more the public (i.e. "the media" putting new media blogging on the old media agenda) acknowledges the impact of blogging on politics and real-life activism, the more dangerous the situation will become for the bloggers.

This thought is not new either - the more effective... the more dangerous... The problem is that blogging and other social media have been granted enormous attention in the course of the events in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere. Bloggers and "normal" citizens get to report from places where journalistic reporters have been banned. As we can see now, the privilege turns into a massive danger. No wonder, people like Salam Pax and Riverbend (to name only a few) were very careful in maintaining their anonymity. We can only hope that today's REBELS are careful enough to follow this model without, however, giving up their REBEL voice.

I am closing this post with bitter thoughts: for people like me, blogging is an experiment - at times political, at times personal. For other bloggers around the world - blogging is a matter of life and death. If the democratic function of blogging prevails - then life will triumph in the end.