Collated

The polls are closed and the votes are in. No, I am not talking about Super Tuesday. I am talking about a poll on the future of The Kampalan, a fledgling Ugandan blog written by a group of contributors. The voting has been going on for about a month following a brief debate about the future of this blog.

The nominations are in for Uganda's Best of Blogs Awards 2008 and Citizen Uganda is in the running for Best Design award this year. (Much thanks to whoever nominated CU). It was a great bit of news to finish off a week that brought record traffic after a glowing review on Global Voices.

I wrote about Ugandan Insomniac a while back and noted that it was a lot of fun to read, but with this new look, it is now much easier to read too. Lots of whitespace. Loving it.

Afrigadget is sporting a fresh look and a new online store. The blog's editors are looking contributors from all over Africa. Their plan is set them up with a mobile phone with which to take pictures and do interviews. So, if you have always wanted to be a tech journalist in your spare time, now might be your chance.

If you have never been to Kampala let me spare you the suspense; it is a poorly planned city and there is little to see in the way of architecture. The good news though is that there is a blogger who is trying to do something about this.

A group of Kenyan bloggers has put together a Google Maps mash-up called Ushahidi, which means witness in Swahili. Anyone can report the incident that he or she have seen, and it will appear on a Google map for others to see. Those reports are then relayed to local Kenyan NGO’s to get more information and to verify each incident.

However you may feel about NGOs and foreigners filming the plight of locals, you have to hand it to these guys.

Many blogs go through growing pains. Take The Kampalan for instance. The concept behind this blog is very appealing: "Everything you need to know to have fun in Kampala, put together by people who know how to have fun." Sadly though, the blog has not had much to offer in some time. Now there is a poll on whether the blog should be kept as it, overhauled, or shut down. Here's to the hope that it stay around and evolve into something the city can be really proud of.

On the subject of homosexuality in Uganda, opinions abound. Back in 1999, President Museveni made his position clear by asking the police to arrest gays. His authority notwithstanding, the Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda held a press conference in August to demand for their rights.