Quiz #2: Online Participatory Journalism in Kazakhstan

http://www.kazakh.ru/ – International Kazakh Server

The server kazakh.ru is created in December, 2002 as a place of dialogue and share of information about Kazakhstan and its citizens, who live out of its borders. Visitors of a site and inspirers of the project are all who is interested in Kazakhstan, Kazakhs, their culture, history and the present time. In section “About Kazakhs” you can receive the information on national features, stories and culture of Kazakhs. In section “About Kazakhstan” the general and detailed information on Republic of Kazakhstan. The section “Dialogue” (forum) allows to communicate on themes, which are interesting for you in Russian, Kazakh and English languages. “Club Kazakh.ru” is virtual society of the adherents, who participate in the project. “Photo gallery” – the catalogue of photos of KZ. In section of “Reference” you will find a selection of references to profile resources in the Internet, and also the pages of separate projects placed on a server. “Voting” – weekly interrogations of visitors on lots of different themes. The project is open, all remarks and offers are welcome. For convenience of communication special sections – “Cooperation” and “Feedback” are created. Site Mediators will be glad to co-operate and receive remarks and offers on server work from participants.

“Participatory journalism: The act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information” (We Media Report). Kazakh. ru – is the exact example of on-line participatory journalism, all the information there is given by usual citizens of KZ in order to share it with their comrades all over the world? Here you can find any info starting from the weather and finishing with where to buy shoe-laces, discuss any Kazakh issues, find job, find interesting people and even friends.

Rules of participation. “Club Kazakh.ru” – section devoted specially for those who want to take part in the project. In order to get inside the community you must registrar yourself and then fill in the application form. Your application will be considered and in the case of success you will be admitted. Participants of club can receive e-Mail address (name@kazakh.ru), opportunity to publish/ not to publish, edit the personal page, receive news of club on E-Mail and SMS.

Rules of participation in Forum: All forums are moderated; administration is not responsible for messages of participants because they tell their own opinion. Uncensored and humiliating words, messages which can develop religion/national conflicts, messages about politics, advertising are strictly prohibited. Messages should be written in that language which is required in the heading of forum.

In my point of view, this site is best suitable to call On-line Participatory Journalism. First of all, it is newsworthy, and information worthy. Moreover, the main purpose of participatory journalism – nonprofessionals to provide news and opinion – is supported completely. Besides strict administration do not admit any non-objectivities, bias, or concrete insult, just fair critics.
It is very useful journalistic resource – very complete and full of necessary info. What about weaknesses, I believe, that sometimes rules of participation too strict, for example those about language.

Communities and needs

Everybody writes that people need to join some communities in order to share common interests, ideologies, protect each other’s rights and follow some rules…i’d say that i agree with this, but do not support communities as idea itself, though i guess it is unavoidable. In my opinion, community serves not only for people’s need not to be lonely, but sometimes communities make people to lose their personality and own point of view, mostly due to the rules and laws. Actually, i believe the less communities you are in the better it is to feel self-confident and be more responsible.

Despite the fact that i don’t love to be in some groups, i do so, i have to do so….Oh! God! I have no choice! (that’s just a joke) so, let’s start from very famous and omnipresent vkontakte.ru. guess what? THERE IS NO ME!!!! ok. now seriously, communities i’m in are the group of YOGA training and the group “1C” on the courses of studying japanese language in Kazakhstan – Japanese Center. In order to get membership in Yoga-group i have to pay, and then attend lessons 3 times a week. I must do all the exercises during the lesson. Benefit which i receive is the health, and weaknesses are that i have to wake up in 6 in the morning in order to be on the class at 7!

Membership in japanese group i got by passing a special exam on knowing japanese alphabet -hiragana – and by paying special price. Rules: i must attend every class,do not be late, do not use mobile phone during the class. Benefit – knowledge. Weakness – it is too far from my house.

However, the biggest benefit i get from this groups is that i can do my bussiness without gettin too deep in group’s interest, because i hate to be in groups that firstly put the common interest rather than personal.

In the contrast to real communities nets are better because there you’re not under the pressure of group’s opinion, you can create another name and be whoever you want, it is safe! Considering, net – communities, i’m member of acmilanfan.ru. In order to get there you have to register on the site. Rules – not to use bad words. Benefits – can get any info you need, and share your opinion with others. Weakness – your eyeside is worsen while you’re sitting in front of the computer.

What is Journalism

Journalism -is the absolutely unexplainable ability to be in the right place in the right time!Journalist -is the ONE talentad, brave, smart and crasy enough to be in the right place in the right time! and everybode knows thet in the right place i the rigt time means being in the centre and kulmination of tsunami, fire, explosion, war, battle, elections, sports, earthquake, celebrities, revolutions and everyhthing extraordinary!

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera – is the great example of a professional journalism. As we studied on introductrion to journlism, first obligation of journalist is TRUTH.and the second is to provide citizens with information they need to be free and self-governing, i.e. democratized. Al Jazeera showed the other side of Iraqi War, bias, discrimination, cruelty. injustice, sorrow, tears, shock, tragedy…No matter what do other Media say, either American or Iraqui or Kazakhstani. there is no justification to this WAR!!! and no excuse…I wish more Media to show us what Al Jazeera shows, to understand that killing children, bombing innocent people, make women cry and live in the fear is TOO HIGH PRICE for someone’s ambitions, money, oil, i.e. – THE WAR. Here is the song of Outlandish group – Look into my eyes…it is the song about Israel -Palestinian conflict…though I think this can be applied to people from Iraq…this is a song about war that nobody needs and nobody knows about, i’d say cares…this song makes me cry…I post it with comments, that i found in the internet, just to see how people feel. I think Al Jazeera wanted to say the same
 
Look into my eyes
Tell me what you see
You don’t see a damn thing
’cause you can’t relate to me
You’re blinded by our differences
My life makes no sense to you
I’m the persecuted one
You’re the red, white and blue

Each day you wake in tranquility
No fears to cross your eyes
Each day I wake in gratitude
Thanking God He let me rise
You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I’ll survive another day
Your biggest fear is getting a ticket
As you cruise your Cadillac
My fear is that the tank that has just left
Will turn around and come back

Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Has our world gone all blind?

Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me …

Ooohh, let’s not cry tonight
I promise you one day it’s through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters

See I’ve known terror for quite some time
57 years so cruel
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It’s the checkpoint on my way to school
Terror is the robbery of my land
And the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father
The bullet in my baby brother
The bulldozers and the tanks
The gases and the guns
The bombs that fall outside my door
All due to your funds
You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of my enemies
I’m terrorized in my own land (what)
And I’m the terrorist?

Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Has our world gone all blind?

Yet, do you know the truth of where your money goes?
Do you let the media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth nobody, nobody, nobody knows?
Someone tell me …

Ooohh, let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day it’s through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,

American , do you realize that the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize my every living day
So if I won’t be here tomorrow
It’s written in my fate
May the future bring a brighter day
The end of our wait

(pause)

Ooohh, let’s not cry tonight, I promise you one day it’s through
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,
Ooohh, shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more
Ohh my brothers, Ohh my sisters,

[with kids]
Ohh let’s not cry tonight I promise you one day is through
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
Ooh shine a light for every soul that ain’t with us no more
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
 
Review about Look Into My Eyes

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peace | Reviewer: M. Dinis | 7/4/2008

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seeing some of the comments u have publishd here i couldn’t “drive by” without sharing my thoughts with u…i live in portugal and i don’t believe in any god but i undrstand and respect others believes….and when i see the harm that humans can do to each others i can’t help to get angry and sad…i know that some of the things i said can sound a litle “cliché” but is wht i feel…i became more interested/concerned with this palestine/israel conflit when i was reading an article in the national geographic magazine where was written that somewhere in palestine the children when travelling to school in the bus, they keptd their legs up ( wht i mean is that they don’t sit normaly with their legs touching the floor of the bus, sorry if i don’t express myself correctly )…all this due to the fear of the bus get bombd and they lose theirs legs…..this is a reality i dont know how to imagine…
Finaly what i want to say is that this song hit some fragile wounds or how is said in my country “toca nas feridas”, meaning that it hits fulcral problems…most of the times when i hear the news of some bombarding taking place there it is most of the times in retaliation of some other attack…why dont one of the parts simply just STOP, and reach the other with a true desire of peace…

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Look into their eyes. | Reviewer: MOHAMED | 6/21/2008

This song is fall of emotions & it says dat all the arabic leaders could’nt say. Wake up ARABICS, & look around u to see wht is hapening in PALASTINE. Wake up JEWISH people & see wht is d people u voted to represent nd guide u are doing. we totally do not hate JEWISH or their religion but we completly hate wht r people who rename demselves as JEWISH doing. Is dat wht ur religion says, killin innocent kids, women, men. u wanted to share nd they acceptd, u wanted the war nd they refused. u want to kill them go ahead nd keep wht ur doing cuz soonly they’ll reach ALJANA ncha ALLAH but don’t ever forget dat only wht they do is defending themselves against ur TERORISTIQUE ways to remove from thier own homeland.
PLZ answer me, is dat wht SAYEDNA IBRAHIM told u as u believe (WAR), totally no cuz he made THE MOSQUE wich is in PALASTINE & u as his nation trying to broke it down, is dis d way how u follow his word & is dis d way how u worship YAHWEH/ELOHI. All wht we want see as humans is d peace’s bird flying in warlands. our hearts bit fast when we see our brothers & sisters dying for bullshit reasons, political things is the only reasons. we don’t know dat much bout politic but only wht we want is peace in d whole world.
1 day the sun of the brighter day will reash the sky ncha allah .

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An American View | Reviewer: Travis Petta | 3/15/2008

My name is Travis Petta, I support Palestine is every sort of way. I hate how things are going in Palestine with the breaking of UN Resolutions, International Laws, and Laws Against Humanity. With the Apartheid Wall. I totally regret what we have done in the US for many years now. I am 19 years old and have known since I was about 11 or 12 years old of this hatred. God/Yahweh/Allah bless everyone in Palestine.

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Beautiful song beyond its words | Reviewer: Yoya | 2/2/2008

This band is great in all senses!
I’m a mexican girl and as many people from the “west side of the world” I had the wrong idea of Islam and all that it involves.
I’m catholic and I’m engaged with a wonderful man and he’s muslim.
I’m lucky for living in a place where I’m not in danger but how many kids in Palestina and other countries aren’t? Why can’t we get along?
It won’t be easy (who said that the things that really worth were easy?) but IT IS NOT IMPOSIBLE, when we catholic, muslim, jewish, it doesn’t matter which religion we have, when we finally understand that at the end all of us we want the same PEACE, RESPECT and LOVE, our world will be better, and I believe that, through these kind of songs, many people around the world can speak when in other ways they couldn’t.
Keep spreading this kind of music, make the young ones get interested in their neighbor, make them to open their eyes, make them to analyze what they see or listen.
As Gandhi said “If you want to change the world, change yourself”
Ila lika, Hasta pronto, See you!

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look into my eyes | Reviewer: Anonymous | 1/19/2008

salaam to all.. im a muslim girl from south africa.I love this song and no amount of words could explain to how i feel towards it.i hope inshallah that one day all this war and hatred would end.. to all my fighting brothers and sisters out there i love you and you are in my duaa’s…

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look into ma eyes | Reviewer: Nadine | 1/18/2008

am a gurl who acctually lives in palestine , in the city of Hebron . and am so grateful that there’s such a powerful voice to view our point of view , which is outlandish . coz we try , but we never get heard becoz the world media ( which is controlled by america and israel ) is against us in all ways .. even islamic and arabic 1s .. plus , the projects we make to change the way the wrold sees us , or acctually to let the world see wut the situation really is always fail . eg there’s this project called ” schools across borders ” which lets us work wid students in other countries who have the same struggle and issue such as the ” british control over the irish lands ” .. we acctually get to go to ireland and explian our situation .. checkpoints , watchintowers , barriers , discrimination wall , control over the old part of the city that contains the holy ibrahimi mosque .. which many mascures have occured at in large numbers ,and prayers were killed during praying … i mean 4 god’s sakes , wut religion maked that ok ..
the proplem is wid these projects is that they dun get viewed on national tv .. they dun get to be heard , i mean am a palestinian and i didn’t know about these projects until quiet recently , even though i’ve been livin here 4 17 years and these projects have been bein organised 4 7 years ..
i dun know wut to say .. bottom of line ” WE’RE NOT TERRORISTS , WE’RE NOT RESTRICTED , WE LAUGH WE HAVE FUN WE ENJOY LIFE , WE WANNA ENJOY LIFE , WE DUN WANNA REPEAT HISTORY AND LEAVE OUR LANDS AGAIN , WE DUN WANNA DIE , WE DUN WANT OUR LAND TO BE TAKEN FROM US , THIS’S OUT LAND , WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE ON OUR LAND AND TO SAY THIS’S OUR LAND WITHOUT HAVIN ANYBODY SAYIN IT’S NOT ( WITHOUT A PROOF ) AND HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD KNOCKIN HIS HEAD FOR EM “
the international court of justice’s statements r all against israel .. but obody does nothing to nobody .. and it’s out fault …
WE JUST WANT PEACE ON OUR LAND AND THAT INCLUDES LIVING ON IT WITH NO OTHER TERRORISTS …

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This makes me cry | Reviewer: Fahd Murtaza | 1/6/2008

I love the Outlandish band. This song makes me cry with some overwhelming feelings. The tableau on this song performed by kids is really good !

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plo isreal no pls palestine yes | Reviewer: ayah | 1/5/2008

i love this song for to resons it rocks and i speaks oput to all palestians and shows that we still have a lot of hope and we dont only speak with force we speek with songs and with our hearts every day i tell my father watch wen i in the last year of junior high things are ganna change in palestine i swear and he tell me i beleve you and always remember allah is always on your side and that always gives me hope and i am extremly sad for the kids in palestine and what they are going thru no one deserves this pain

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U rock my SOX | Reviewer: salam | 12/5/2007

HEy, i’m a Palestinian girl and even though i dont live their i still care for my brothers and sisters out their that r dying for no reason… insh’allah one day the war will end and the Palestinians will win…
This song RoX my SoX- always salam

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big greeting til outlandish | Reviewer: shafaa | 11/28/2007

no words can ever express my feelings toward this song or toward the outlandish but the only thing I can say please continue in this way and God bless you isam and your friends and let the whole world listen that we can even fight with our songs and our voice will reach our enemies every where, please next song will be on what happened in Iraq.

Anime

Anime

Anime – stupid Japanese cartoons with very beautiful personages with very big eyes – this is the way simply people think, but not those who are anime addicted. Anime is the religion and the drug, it makes people to acquire in it with all their mind, soul and body and Media is the way this religion spreads around the world, and particularly in Russia and post-soviet countries.

Anime and Internet – if fill “Anime” in Google search, there will be 219 thousands links in Russian and 305 mln links in English; 20 million videos in youtube.com and 14261 videos in rutube.ru. Vkontakte.ru – Russian analog of face book – has officially registered 652 groups with interest of Anime – with 56929 participants in most popular and 469 topics of discussion, such as: “which personage of which Anime you like and what don’t like, whose suit you like most , and whose laugh is most cute, whom do you want to be in Anime word” and other “blablabla” . Obviously Internet is the biggest source for Anime and for anime fans to find video and to communicate to each other. Because to find anime in reality very hard. For example, Kazakhstani biggest music/video/books/technology (mp3 players, laptops, flash drives) set of stores “Meloman” – has in its assortment very few anime-serials or films, and moreover it is very expensive. One CD is about 2000 tenge, which is approximately $16, while in internet you can easily find this movie for free and in different variations, i.e. with sound-doubling and with subtitles in Russian, English or whatever. By the way, real Anime fans, or “Otaku” – as they call each other – prefer to watch anime in Japanese and with subtitles. And the experienced ones even manage to learn Japanese language by this films (but your experience for this should be very big – 6-10 years of infinite Anime watching)

Anime and TV – TV is the place of life of anime in Japan. Because, firstly, anime appears in TV and only then goes to internet. Considering our territory Anime on our (former soviet union) tv-channels comes out comparably rare to Japan. Still it is. According to statistics, 127 anime movies and serials were shown on Russian TV from 1998 to 2008, mostly translated on MTV, 2*2 and Ren –TV.

Anime and Radio- it seems unbelievable, but Anime even has its own radio, precisely radios – several radio waves, which can be downloaded in Internet, for example, http://shinobi.ru/2008/02/16/anime_radio_.html – Anime Radio,

http://radio.animezis.com.ua/index.php?buster=1218796594 –Animezis Radio.

Anime Radio translates popular music from Anime – films, soundtracks and themes.

Anime Magazines – there are lots of them in Japan. Except of Anime –cartoons, there is another genre of it –Manga –which is equivalent to comics made in white and black colors. In Japan there are 24 biggest journals which publicize Manga –they are called jumps, among them are Shonen Jump, Young Jump, Ultra Jump, Business Jump. It is very fat journal, alike telephone book in US, which appears every weak or month and include lots of different mangas inside. What about other countries? There are few such, though now Anime becomes very popular – and there is a magazine Animegid in Russia, which contains anime-serials and movies reviews, some mangas, news and everything connected to it. Other Russian publishers of Anime: MC Entertainment; Reanimedia; XL Media;mega-Anime. Yet, it is not as real jump. However all these mangas can be found in the same internet. New chapters appear every week. Manga is often first source of ideas to create anime serial, on her basis serials are produced.

 Anime Newspapers – sometimes there are some publications in newspapers , but very rarely, most of them are just introductive to what is anime. But sometimes there are some very aggressive ones. like in Newspaper of “Vechernii Saratov”, where journalist Mironova tells about anime’s bad influence on teenagers and youngsters and calls them sexually –abnormal, because they love to make orgies with other anime fans. Anime fans when reading such articles laugh and say that she is crazy. In Harkov special anime newspaper called “SegodNYA” (http://anime.kh.ua/node/4 )is produced. Here is a game of words: NYA – in Japanese as our Russian MYAU – and all anime fans know and use this word when want to say that something is very cute. SegodNYA specifies on issues interesting for anime fans. Moreover such newspaper based on naked enthusiasm! Predtechi –is another Russian newspaper, but here in Kazakhstan there is no.

Anime Film – is the strongest source of anime propaganda! Because Anime-film is a product that then is transmitted through TV, internet, and other media. Anime film is unique genre of films ever. They refer to spreading of Japanese culture and view of life. Every day Anime becomes more popular. The film “Sen” of most famous director Hayao Miyadzaki gains the Oscar for the best animated film and the Golden Gloobus .There are more than 20 studios that produce anime-films and serials for TV. Most famous and top is Ghibli –which is the studio of Miyadzaki.

Anime and Rumors – there are overflow of rumors considering Anime, mostly created by the fans or Otaku themselves in the same internet.

Anime Festivals – Anime fans love to gather and create special festivals, which is other kind of Media that covers the issue of Anime. Hera are examples of such events: Moscow:Anima3x http://www.animatrixcon.ru/, AniStage http://www.anistage.ru/, Moscow Anime Festival http://anime.coolconnections.ru/. Saint-Petersburg:M.Ani.Fest- http://manifest-spb.ru/, Animatsurihttp://www.animatsuri.org/. Voronezh - Voronezh Anime Festival – http://otaku.ru/. Samara – Watanagashi http://www.watanagashi.ru/. Almaty – there is no official festival, but I as being otaku myself know that anime fans gather on the Atakent to enjoy their own mini-festival.

Conclusion: Anime – is a culture that is growing up each day, and Media and first of all Internet is the way Anime is transmitted all over the world. Anime is a phenomenon, which makes people to love it. I’d even say that Anime is new ideology. It creates new culture, it is new movement. Anime as any other ideology has its supporters and enemies, for example VCPA – Vserosiiskii Centr Protivodeistviya Anime ( Russian Center of Protecting from Anime)- http://vcpa.ru/static/FAQ.html. But no matter of it, Anime – is a stream that becomes stronger and stronger each day and finds more and more supporters and fans. I can not say exactly, but I suspect that someday this ideology will conquer whole world.

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