WELCOME 2008!

Have a wonderful and prosperous year ahead Nomads!

Ciid Wanaagsan Dhamaantiin

Hello Bloggers!

A belated and heartfelt Eid greetings to all of you. I send our apologies on behalf of the SB contributors for being so tardy with updates. Life has been keeping us on our toes. We didnt even have the time to wish you all a very happy Eid on time. I hope you’ve all had a fantastic time. Did you guys do anything exciting? Why haven’t we seen pictures of happy faces on the blogs? Get to posting and sharing the eventful moments of your day(s)!

On another note, we have been making decisions regarding the new website content and layout and we are really happy to be on our way to making SB bigger and better. I hope the new platform will give all of us more inspiration and all you guys a more participatory role in the day-2-day working of our virtual place.. seeing as we could use more hands on keyboards to keep this place going.

Till next time, be safe!

Ramadhan Kareem

Hiya folks, I can't believe its that time of year again. Its a time to replenish the spirit and awaken the soul. It is during this week amidst the fasting and preparations that we as Muslims should be listing our resolutions for the year and then during Ramadhan we implement the resolutions: such as listening to less music, reading more Quran, visiting the sickly, old ...........you get my point. I would love to request something from our bloggers during this month and that is to try and incorporate some Islamic teachings in their blogs. All of us have learnt something to do with Islam along the way and even if you don't know much about a topic, a personal account would even be more personable. I can understand that not everyone is going to partake in this and for those who are straddling the fence, think of it as an opportunity to better ourselves and learn from each other. Anyway, here is to wishing everyone a wonderful Ramadhan.

As a side note somaliblogs will be moving to a new home soon and will be getting a face lift (Inshallah). All our talk was not for naught. We appreciate all the input and help from folks out there and we are all excited to see our final work come to fruition. With the new set up we are probably going to need beta testers, so if you wish to come aboard drop us a line. Be good y'all.

Hello Bloggers

Though it may seem that this place has been wilfully neglected by its authors as it stands derelict and without as much as a post or a comment in sight for months on end, a whole range of discussions have been taking place behind the screens. We have been discussing ways to improve this site and what topics you would like to be covered and discussed. But no matter how much we wrung our brains to obtain something useful, our efforts have been rather fruitless. And this is where you come in.

We thought of continuing with highlighting the blogs listed here and exploring one blog at a time and share it with everyone but that is not much of an undertaking. Only a handful of bloggers, who stand as solitary soldiers amidst an ambush, have taken the task to update their blogs regularly, while their comrades have already disposed of their weapons as work and life has become hefty on them. The once warm and cosy place now stands desolate and uninviting with a list of bloggers stranded on the far side, majority of whom the monotony of pinging themselves has gotten the better of that they have abandoned the task altogether. (Please remember to Ping yourselves guys, poor Firefly is exhausted doing it everyday!)

So here we are now, dear friends, inviting you into the discussion so that we can figure out a way to move on from here with the blog… Any suggestions are welcome!

Are thou a Thinker or a Dreamer?

Did I give you a clue as to whom my spotlight is on? The picture the right speaks volumes of what reaction Lone Dreamer elicits from me. On her blog you will find a range of subjects from her cute little everyday mishaps, the most memorable being her slaying of the Somali language to touching moments, like memories of her father. She is a profound writer. One who is able to give you a glimpse at the tumultuous waters that are raging within before shutting the shutters on you. Lone Dreamer couples breadth with quality, making for an interesting and stimulating read,with an end result of HMMM.... Kudos to her, because I do believe she is one of our most up to date blogs not to mention greatest supporter of SomaliBlogs. Lone Dreamer seems to never run out of things to say (write) nor do we ever want her to. Keep on musing!

Back from the dead

I figured I owed some of the folks an explaination for the hiatus I took. I was gone for a while to go visit my great grandma in Kenya and I made a few detours on my way there. Here is the deal, I went with my laptop with every intention of reading blogs and writing out my reviews for them. In the midst of the family gatherings and the late nights catching up I did get some reading done but I was unable to get proper internet connection, not to mention I was too impatient to wait for stuff to load on my page whilst using the poor excuse for internet in Africa. So I wrote it and saved it but the sad news is two days prior to my departure I had to make a one day visit and I didn't particularly feel like lugging my laptop with. I left it with someone and when I came back my laptop was not working. I figured they dropped it but they didn't own up. Back in the states the diagnosis was my harddrive was F**ked and I had to kiss all my files goodbye. I became a techkie not to mention all my friends tried to help me out but it was no use. I replaced the old one and got a new one, but I can't seem to be able to get my old files back unless I pay over 3K. So I apologize to all the people that I did reviews on and I will hopefully get my brain working again and recall what nice and not so nice things I said about you. Till then bear with me and join me as I mourn the loss of all my precious files.

Bloggers Fear Somali Insurgency

As the conflict in Somalia intensifies and the situation worsens, the world media promptly seeks out for the uncensored reactions of the people of The Horn in the Diaspora. And in today’s world what better way to do this than in the blogging world. Just like in Baghdad, the media has now turned its face to the bloggers to assess the emotional impact the war in their native country has on them.

This latest article below comes from the BBC.

"Members of the international blogging community have given their reaction to the role of Ethiopian troops in Somalia where Islamic militias have been defeated.

"'The air raids have begun, the air raids have begun. Ethiopia has entered Somalia.' My mother kept repeating the words hardly able to believe it herself... Words I never thought I'd hear. Words that made my heart race and my blood boil. I cannot think straight."

That was the scene in the Canadian-Somali household of blogger Muslimah as Ethiopian and Somali government troops launched a devastating assault on Islamist forces in Somalia, pushing them out of stronghold after stronghold by sheer force of arms...

…Read more here

I urge you, my fellow bloggers, to update you blogs regularly. Having a blog is easy but maintaining it requires some commitment – and that is what we need from you, that little extra commitment. With regards to matters concerning Somalis, the first place people will look at is the Internet and in particular the Blogosphere. Citizen journalism has taken off a long time ago, do your part!

Happy New Year!

For better or worse, 2006 has gone forever. May this year be a long prosperous year for you and your family. May the fresh 365 days to come inspire you to do something fresh and amazing.


HAPPY NEW YEAR BLOGGERS AND A BELATED EID MUBARAK!