Description

However, the main problem for a blogger, even under a repressive regime, isn’t security.
It’s about getting the blog known, finding an audience. A blog without any readers won’t
worry the powers-that-be, but what’s the point of it? This handbook makes technical
suggestions to make sure a blog gets picked up by the major search-engines (the article by
Olivier Andrieu), and gives some more “journalistic” tips about this (“What really makes a
blog shine,” by Mark Glaser).
Some bloggers face the problem of filtering. Most authoritarian regimes now have the
technical means to censor the Internet. In Cuba or Vietnam, you won’t be able to access
websites that criticise the government or expose corruption or talk about human rights
abuses. So-called “illegal” and “subversive” content is automatically blocked by filters. But
all bloggers need free access to all sites and to the blogosphere or the content of their blogs
will become irrelevant.
The second part of the handbook is about ways to get round filtering (“Choosing
circumvention,” by Nart Villeneuve). With a bit of common-sense, perseverance and
especially by picking the right tools, any blogger should be able to overcome censorship.
The handbook has technical advice and tips about how to set up a good blog. But a
successful one is harder to ensure. To stand out in the crowd, you must be original and post
news or opinions neglected by the mainstream media. In some countries, bloggers are
mainly worried about staying out of jail. In others, they try to establish their credibility as a
source of reliable information. Not all bloggers have the same problems, but all of them, in
their different ways, are on the frontline in the fight for freedom of expression.