Sensationalist images on blogs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Good Naija Girl

I grew up accustomed to censorship in the media, where polite reminders would be given when the evening news decided to show (rare) images of dead people on tv. As a result, any time I come across a grotesque picture on a blog by accident (I greatly appreciate bloggers who provide warnings of what is to come so I can leave beforehand), I feel physically sick. I’m referring to pictures of people who were killed and tossed into mass graves, people who were recently found suffocated, the woman in Lagos who was killed by her husband, and most recently the guy who committed suicide, pictures that have circulated this year, which thankfully I have avoided seeing for the most part.

I understand that a picture is worth a thousand words and I know for some there’s a fascination or curiosity about seeing the aftermath of a tragedy but sometimes I question the value of a sensationalist picture over the words, especially on some blogs. If you’re a news blog, you may have a more legitimate claim to sharing such graphic images (please include a disclaimer though!), but a personal blog or other type of blogs passing on such images? I don’t know. If the message one is trying to convey is We need to stop spousal abuse, I’m not sure that seeing a dead victim would stop someone bent on harming his or her partner from doing it. Instead I’d rather read about the options available to a couple going through a rough time. I regularly question the point of splashing a horrific picture on a blog along with “what a shame” comments.

I don’t know much about censorship in Nigerian media, but I remember my trip to Nigeria in 1994 when a man who I believe had been found guilty of stealing was paraded through the streets completely naked, with people following behind him, and possibly flogging him. You’d have to look very hard to see that here.

But maybe I’m just a sensitive baby (I do get impacted easily by things like death): I’ll just look into setting a PG-13 filter on my computer so that graphic images are automatically blocked and replaced by pictures of cute babies.

Mostly about the NBAs

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Good Naija Girl

So the Nigerian Blog Awards began on May 30 as planned and I disappeared from this blog. It’s definitely not a coincidence. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to do (more than you can imagine; I’m not just saying that!). For most of last week I felt overwhelmed by it all but thanks to God I managed to get things more or less sorted out in time to go on my annual weekend camping trip.

I’m not the best at group work and depending on others because I like to set a standard and then do whatever is necessary to meet or surpass it, even if it means staying up all night to tweak the most minute details, even if it means coming to work late (after telling my employer I’ll be late of course, and arranging to make up the time). My family and friends tell me that when it comes to things like this I’m too picky and detail-oriented, so because of that I don’t bother trying to recruit helpers because I just don’t think anyone would be as into this as I am, and be willing to give up sleep for this. (The only exception is that I will cry out to BBB every now and then because she proved last year that she’s very good at getting things done!).

Perfection is impossible, and the glitches we’ve had so far (like the “little” matter of some people not receiving confirmation codes) has been extremely frustrating. Thankfully it seems to be behind us for the most part (at least until I check the email account for the blog awards again!). I’ll have to look into ways in which I can better utilize the resources out there to make things easier so that I’m not missing work or losing sleep over the awards. It’s only the second year that the awards have been under my coordination and I expect it will take a few more years until things are well organized and the awards practically run itself (a girl can dream!).

So please, if you have visited the site and you have constructive criticism to share about the process, feel free to share it here or you can wait until we ask for it on the awards site (which I usually do after the awards are over). Suggestions are carefully considered for incorporation into the next year’s awards process.

But enough about the awards: How are you doing?

What I’m looking forward to in 2011

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Good Naija Girl

Every time I come to this blog, I take a look at the front page and I’m irritated by it. This blog is in dire need of a fresh design and the stubborn part of me wants to do it all by myself, even though I don’t have web design skills. My future husband must be a web developer/designer or it’s no deal (if you want to read about the men who are kind of in my life, it’s on the single ladies blog).

How is 2011 treating you so far? We’re only 9 days into the year and I’m already feeling like the year is getting away from me! Well, no more! Like Miss LNQ just told me on twitter, I’ve got to organize and prioritize or the year will be gone before I know it (well, she didn’t say the last part).

So all of a sudden, Oprah’s launching of OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) has me excited, even though Canada won’t have full access to it until March 1 (I hope we won’t have to pay extra for it!). They are doing sneak-peeks of a couple of the shows so I was able to catch two of them and I don’t know, I got excited about Oprah again. I remember about 15 years ago, I would come home from school and watch her show; now I can count how many shows I’ve watched in the past 5 years on two hands.

My excitement led to me signing up on her website and I now want to be in her audience before she ends her final season of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Before you say it’s impossible, it works on a lottery system so there is a chance that I might be chosen. I also went looking for her interview with Barbara Walters (on youtube starting here) because a colleague had enjoyed it and my mom and I watched it together. That just got me even more inspired. She didn’t exactly have a charmed childhood but from a young age she believed she was destined for greatness. Look how far that belief has gotten her! Whether you like her or can’t stand her, the positive impact she’s had on so many lives cannot be denied. You’ve heard of the Oprah Effect, right?

I enjoyed the last part of the interview, where she says she tells the Lord all the time to just keep on using her until he uses her up, and she says there’s lots more to be done! I bet some people in her position would be tempted to rest on their laurels, assured of the difference they’ve made to the world and the lives of others but she wants to change more people, millions, and I am incredibly inspired by that vision. Some of the people whose lives she’s changed (Dr. Phil, Nate Berkus, Dr. Oz) all mentioned Oprah telling them that in order for them to be successful they have to be their authentic self and constantly ask themselves if what they are doing is true to who they are. Maybe it’s an intuitive lesson but in this world it can be tempted to go with the flow and not be yourself, so I appreciated the reminder to always be real because that’s what the world needs, not a cookie cutter of someone else.

I liked this quote of hers from the interview. Imagine if everyone set this goal for themselves: “I am seeking the fullest expression of myself as a human being, on earth.” (With God’s help of course!)

So in addition to being in the Oprah show audience, I’m looking forward to the following in 2011:

A visit from my grandma and a friend in Nigeria (these aren’t planned per se but I’m hopeful!)
Weight loss due to a lifestyle change that sticks
Learning to crochet (Omosi has been inspiring me)
The launch of an online business (inspired by Ankara and Lace, Inkspot Workshop and so many others)
Being able to cook at least three Nigerian dishes I’ve never made before
Visiting New York City (this is a big wish!)
Buying a car

By the end of the year I plan to come back with most if not all of these things ticked off…I can’t wait to see what this year holds.

What are you looking forward to this year?