Facebook - Uganda Style - #1

Whatever your opinion of Facebook, it is a key commercial marketplace in Kampala. Well, as long as you can afford to use a paid VPN to access it because, even though the Ugandan presidential election was nearly a year ago, general access to Facebook is still blocked by the Uganda Communications Commission to preserve community safety and respect for the government. To my American brethren concerned about censorship and the relationship between power, technology and access to information, I invite you to cast your eyes 9,000 miles to the east.

But enough about that.

As soon as we knew we were moving to Kampala, we joined several Facebook groups presumably dedicated to linking buyers and sellers of various goods and services in the Pearl of Africa. Kampala Expats (1.0 through 5.0), Dondolo Market, Kampala Housing, Kampala “Buy and Sell,” are all places where you can find great restaurant and housing recommendations, connect with folks coming into or leaving the country and get the “skinny” on life in Kampala.

Well, until the group gets overrun and taken over by merchants plying their goods and services who flood the page with solicitations and advertisements. Every Ugandan knows that expats are (i) generally naïve, (ii) often good-hearted and poor negotiators, and (iii) often have UN/embassy/NGO money to burn. Those who would part the fools from their money find fools wherever they may be.

Then spam causes folks to complain and those complaints are met with strident accusations of racism/colonialism/exclusivity/income inequality/privilege/technological terrorism followed by “nobody remembers what this page was supposed to be about, I’m leaving.” Then someone adds a decimal point (i.e. Kampala Expats 4.5) and start the whole circus all over again.

But enough about that.

At the moment “Kampala Expats 3.0” is a fairly robust page. There is not too much spam and a tolerable amount of self-righteousness. There are presently 14,400 members. We find enough on this page to keep us generally informed and always amused.

We know we aren't in the U.S. anymore.