Tuesday, October 21, 2008

My Happy Place

Way down there on the right hand side of my blog is a badge that says Afrigator. This social media aggregator was built for “African digital citizens who publish and consume content on the web.” What does that mean? Well, basically, that Afrigator sends traffic (readers) my way, and in return, I use it to find other African-based bloggers who write about topics that interest me.

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the good folks over at Afrigator telling me the most astounding news: I am one of the Top 45 Female African Bloggers. More specifically, and I don’t think they’d mind if I editorialize here, I am (just barely) one of the top 45 female bloggers in Africa who has registered with them.

The list of incredibly talented and gifted women naturally brings up several questions. How many women bloggers are there in Africa? How many of them are registered with Afrigator? What are the rankings by country? The latter comes up since most of the “winners” are from South Africa and the only other African countries to have made the list are Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Now that the list is out there, people have already started to dispute the rankings. Some people think that only blogs that discuss African issues (i.e. not “life” blogs like this one) belong the list. Other people have started listing blogs that are “way better” than the ones on the inaugural list. As the folks at Afrigator themselves pointed out, the list is subject to change based on who is registered with them and statistical data like page views, links, and unique visitors.

Regardless of how this list was compiled or how long I’ll manage to stay on it, to say that I was chuffed after reading this news would not do justice to the huge, goofy grin of pride I wore all day yesterday. I know that I’m not actually one of the best bloggers on the continent, or even one of the most popular, but having a complete stranger tell me that I’m not a complete loser is validating in an incredibly lame and to pathetic way.

Thanks for making my week, Afrigator!! *blush*

7 comments:

Lynda said...

Of course you should be on the list - and no, you are not a loser!

Interesting point - is Egypt in Africa or Middle East??????

If you go through the lists, you will find it tends to bounce back and forth...

Anonymous said...

Very pleased to see our list gave you some joy. Yes it wasn't meant to be authoritative but it really was a great exercise to see who are the female bloggers out there.

Lynda, Eqypt is most definitely in Africa.

Anonymous said...

Well done!
Perhaps you can now restart the travelblogs?
Just kidding--I think.
merthyrmum

~Trish~ said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog today :) Can't wait to check yours out more!

Unknown said...

I for one do not think you are a loser...LOL Congrats from Norway

Gutsy Living said...

First I love the name, Afrigator. makes it sound like if you no longer blog as often, you'll be eaten up by the alligator. So keep up the excellent work. Is there an Amerigator?

Connie said...

Life blogs are important! Hello? Life? In all it's wonderful glory? What we do and experience day-to-day is greatly influenced by where we live. I do not focus all of my blog on Cairo, or even on what I learn from my kids (my blog description/foundation) - but whatever I write about, it is all connected.

CONGRATS :-) !!!