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12/21/2006
ARMENIAN BLOGS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY: IS ANYONE LISTENING?
In the Public View
by Hrag Vartanian
Email

Since their creation in 1995, weblogs—commonly called blogs—have revolutionized the Internet and how information circulates online. A website that acts more like a journal, blogs have changed the way news, politics and information are shared. In the last year a crop of Armenian blogs is emerging to suggest that the blogosphere (as the blog world is called) promises to make a growing impact in the future. From politics to personal stories, blogs are as varied as their authors. While some strive for professionalism and others flounder in navel-gazing, the energy derived from their diversity is what makes blogs some of the best sources of up-to-date information today.

FORGING THE WAY

In 2001, the popular Armenian site Cilicia.com (www.cilicia.com/armo_life-intro.html) spawned a blogging section that features uncensored glimpses of life in Armenia and the Diaspora.

“Back in 2001, the small number of ‘Repatriates’ in Yerevan was growing, but there were still understandably a lot of misconceptions in the Diaspora about what it would be like to move to Armenia. I tried to get a group of repatriates from different countries, ages, interests, etc to join the blog and contribute their stories, insights and experiences,” Cilicia.com founder Raffi Kojian explains. Later the blog expanded to include a diasporan log and then one for natives of Armenia. Today, Cilicia.com’s blogs receive a couple of thousand hits a day.

“The original point of the ‘Life in Armenia’ blog was to give people a realistic picture of what life might be like if they moved to Armenia. I wanted to encourage people to entertain the thought of moving to Armenia, but only with a realistic idea of what to expect, because it is not for everyone…for some, certainly, moving to Armenia not only can work, but it can also make their lives much richer,” he said.

Kojian’s pioneering site was the only game in town for years until slowly blogging gained in popularity. By 2005, the Armenian blogosphere became more dynamic than ever and dozens of blogs sprang up, offering endless streams of opinion, news and commentary.

SOME OF THE BEST

Unlike traditional Armenian information sources, like newspapers or television, blogs often emerge in remote locations where their authors thirst for contact with Armenians elsewhere. Artyom Tonoyan lives in Waco, Texas, and is completing his doctorate at Bayard University. His well-respected blog, IArarat (www.iararat.com), has a growing readership. When Artyom began in 2005, his desire to blog sprang from his frustration with the lack of recognition of the Armenian Genocide during the 90th Anniversary.

“After I began, I remember checking the traffic every day seeing that only one or two people visited,” he says. But the resilient blogger tried not to let the low web traffic statistics phase him and he stuck with it. In February of this year, he accomplished a first for the Armenian blogosphere.

I’m a researcher about history and religion in Turkey and I came across this weird site with an obscure story about a family of Kurds that walked on all fours,” he recounts. He posted the news item, along with a video clip on his site and, within 20 minutes, blog-supersite BoingBoing (www.boingboing.net) picked up the item on its front page. The once unknown item snagged IArarat 40,000 visitors immediately and the traffic spike crashed his server. Offline, Tonoyan clamored to find a solution that would accommodate the unexpected popularity.

The news item surfaced in the mainstream media two weeks later and everyone from National Geographic to the Times of London picked up the story of the evolutionary freaks. “If only a quarter of those 40,000 people looked at something else on my site, then I was able to educate them about something Armenian,” Artyom says about his little news coup.

Another blog has also been making its own waves by staying on top of the latest in current news and information, the aptly named Blogian. Colorado-based blogger and human dynamo, Simon Maghakyan, is the author behind “Blogian: Once Upon a Time in Hayastan” (www.blogian.hayastan.com); the site digests what the rest of us don’t have the time and patience to peruse. It debunked the rumor that a group of “Hayastan.com hackers” vandalized an Azeri opposition party website and it regularly passes along snapshots that include everything from new construction projects in Yerevan to diasporan events.

Parked on the Russian site, Hayastan.com, Blogian is also no stranger to news coups. Last year Azeri authorities were caught on video desecrating the medieval Armenian cemetery of Old Julfa, in Nakhijevan, Azerbaijan. “I had directly received the file via e-mail from a friend at the Armenian Prelacy of Teheran,” Simon says, pointing out how small the world has become.

On December 16, 2005, Simon posted a story the Russian Regnum News Agency generated on the crime and then, three days later, he uploaded the video file to a site he created, www.azerivandalism.cjb.net. In a few weeks, the video was downloaded hundreds of times.

Word of the crime against global heritage spread quickly and soon reached the halls of the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament. The Europeans adopted a resolution on February 16, condemning the act of vandalism. A European contingent even requested to visit the site but was denied access.

As two of the best examples online, IArarat and Blogian prove that the potential for quality blogging has an audience.

BRANCHING OUT?

Cilicia.com’s Kojian has seen the blogging landscape evolve over the years since his early foray into the blogosphere. “It has changed a great deal, and grown a lot, primarily among Armenians in or from the West. For locals in Armenia, blogging is a very new phenomenon, mostly by the very young. Armenians in the Middle East have also been very slow to join the blogging world,” he explains.

But while the West still dominates the world of Armenian blogs, Armenian bloggers are popping up in some unusual places, including Karabakh, Aleppo, Sydney and even Baghdad. The prevalence of Armenian blogs suggests that a growing generation of Armenians is interested in Armenian issues and ideas but choose to bypass the conventional media (newspapers, television, radio) in favor of a more accessible medium that encourages commentary and dialogue. With no shortage of opinions in the Armenian community, blogging seems a natural fit.

ARMENIAN BLOGS 101

From hard news to gossip, and cultural to sexual politics, there is a blog for every taste. The following is a selection of sites that give you a healthy slice of the booming Armenian blogosphere.

NEWS & COMMENTARY

Martuni or Bust!!!
(aramanoogian.blogspot.com/)

While some postings can be shrill, there is some high-quality material on this site including a link to the infamous documentary that investigated the trafficking of Armenian women to the UAE.

The Basturma Chronicles
(armenianaffairs.blogsome.com)

A bilingual Armenian-English site from Lebanon that comments on politics and community affairs.

Blogian
(www.blogian.hayastan.com)

A no-nonsense source of information, Blogian has scored some coups this past year that make it one of the best Armenian blogs out there.

Blogrel
(www.blogrel.com)

This blog’s tag line says it all, “A Blog About Armenia: Business, Politics, The Future and Good Lavash.” Started by British Armenophile Matt Malcomson in 2004, this well-designed site has had numerous authors over the years.

IArarat
(www.iararat.com)

A professional site with a sleek design and easy-to-read entries. A must-read among Armenian sites that are worth their download.

Oneworld Multimedia Blog
(oneworld.blogsome.com)

Armenia-based British journalist and photographer Onnik Krikorian’s blog, the site has links to other news, information and blogs and occasionally allots space to young bloggers in Armenia.

ARMENIAN LIVES

Cilicia.com
(www.cilicia.com/armo_life-intro.html)

A whole gamut of blogs by diasporan Armenians around the world, diasporans in Armenia, non-Armenian expats in Armenia, and by natives of Armenia—something for everyone and all in English.

East Meets West: Two Sides of the Armenian Diaspora
(eastwestarmos.blogspot.com/)

Various topics of interest discussed from the point of view of Western Armenians and Eastern Armenians.

Notes from Hairenik: A Journal of One Man’s Observances and Experiences in Armenia
(noteshairenik.blogspot.com)

A 34-year-old Boston native, Christian Garbis’ blog began in November 2004 and includes attractive images along with random impressions from Armenia.

Hakob Gevorgian: Blog, Gallery and More
(www.gevorgian.com/hakob/)

One of the rare bilingual Armenian-English blogs, it touches on a wide spectrum of issues.

JUST FOR FUN

Inch es asum?!...Daily Life in the Glendale-Armo World...
(glendalechick.blogspot.com)

Flippant and chatty, the site gives a young Armenian perspective about Glendale life and covers everything from dating to Zankou Chicken.

Syria Looks
(syrialooks.blogspot.com/)

A photolog by an Armenian in Syria documenting its diverse people, places and things. The author is identified as Aleppian and offers some beautiful images of life in Syria, particularly of its ancient Armenian community.






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