Toot toot
It's taken three years of shameless begging, but I've finally done it.
Toot is a handpicked selection of the best writing in the Arab World (I'm delighted to be pulling that standard down!). It's not an aggregator - and it certainly doesn't include all blogs. So it's well worth a read.
It's not easy to get on to toot. First, they hardly ever add new blogs. And second, their demands are really tough. They only want blogs which are frequently updated, and high quality.
Another new addition to toot - the Arab Observer - says it well. He took two years to get on toot. And he even stopped visiting their site when they didn't add him. It was like they didn't approve of his blog.
I felt the same - like mine wasn't up to their standards. And yes, seeing the curly wurly Amman fruits at itoot.net did bring me down, because I wasn't allowed to join their club.
Not that there's anything wrong with aggregators. I am proud to be part of Syria Planet, which aims to repost all Syrian blogs.
In a fortnight this blog will be three years old. And today is one of my happiest blogging days. Until now, the highlight was one month after I started, when Ayman linked to me.
Congratulations! It is cool to be on Toot, isnt it? :)
Posted by
The Observer |
8:43 am
First of all, Congrats on your blog’s third birthday.
But there is something I’ve always wanted to say.
Your blog is your place, you don’t have to make others like it
Your blog is your corner, your own world
I write what I feel, if it was silly, nonsense, ideas no one agree with… whatever.
I see many bloggers - not speaking about you cause yours in well known – trying sooo hard to make others like their blog, and I believe that they will get less benefit from the whole blogging experience by this.
Posted by
Dania |
9:03 am
Sasa,
Congrats, although, I'm really surprised that it took them that long. Your blog has been here longer than any other blog I know of [that is still running].
And, yes I remember when Ayman posted my blog too, with his "New Syrian Blogs" message on that Yahoo group. The good ol' times ;)
Posted by
Yazan |
11:52 am
Thanks Observer, congratulations to you too! I don't know what's better - the initial excitement of being on toot, or finding all these blogs (like yours) which I haven't read before. I've got a whole lot more to read now :)
Dania, thank you so much for the kind words. I agree, your blog shouldn't be influenced by what others think. I have never changed what I've written on here, even when I get hostile comments. But it's difficult not to want to be loved. So when you get that appreciation it's nice. But you are so right - if you forget that you should only be writing what means something to you, then there's not much point in blogging.
Yazan, thank you! That's very kind of you. Yes, the good old days, when there were just a handful of us. But do you get the feeling there are fewer new Syrian blogs (from inside or outside Syria) starting up these days? How is Japan?
Posted by
sasa |
12:03 pm
Hi Sasa,
Congratulations and thanks for bringing them up. I'd never heard of them but I'm sure that if it helps get your message out to a wider audience, then it can't be bad.
Posted by
Maysaloon |
12:17 pm