Blogging on the rise in Egypt despite security risks, threats, says report

Byآ Meghan Michael First Published:آ Julyآ 31,آ 2008 CAIRO: A few years ago, the word blog would have mostly likely been met with blank stares or looks of confusion. In 2004, Egypt had only 40 registered blogs, and the idea of posting thoughts on personal web pages for the public to read was virtually unheard of at the time. Today, however, the number of Egyptians who are venturing into cyberspace and blogging totals an estimated 160,000, according to a recent report. Titled “Egyptian Blogs: New Social Space,â€‌ the report was released by the Egyptian Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). It details the usage and content of Egyptian and Arab blogs. The report found that the phenomenon of blogging is gaining ground in Egypt. According to statistics by the International Telecommunication Union, roughly... [read full story]