The following is an email interview with Alvaro Berroteran, who started the blog Nicaragua Y Su Blog [es], which has been promoting new and existing blogs in the Nicaraguan blogsophere. Berroteran lives in the city of Granada and currently works in web design, but is a painter by trade. Recently, through other web 2.0 tools, such as Twitter, Berroteran has connected with others in the Nicaraguan blogosphere to help launch a new project called Blogs Nicaragua [es].

Global Voices: When did Nicaragua Y Su Blog begin?

Alvaro Berroteran: It was about a year ago, when I started Nicaragua Y Su Blog with the intention of promoting Nicaraguan blogs. I searched and found that there was not a Nicaraguan blog directory, even though our neighboring countries had their own. I felt a little isolated, alone, and didn't know much about the blogosphere. I remember the saying, “Pedestrian, there is no road, one makes a road by walking, ” and Nicaragua Y Su Blog was born.

GV: What were some of the early blogs that you remember reading?

AB: I started with 5 blogs, including one of the more successful ones by Sergio Simpson. Under the category of Nicaraguan blogs, I started to add all the blogs that were related to Nicaragua. My attempts to create or start a Nicaraguan blog community was well received by well-known bloggers. Thanks to Byron Corrales, one can link to this blog and be a part of this community, so that we know that new bloggers exist and that they feel that they are not alone.

GV: How has the relationship been with the Nicaraguan blog community?

AB: A few months ago, I reactivated my Twitter account and little did I know that this would mean that Nicaraguan blogs would grow stronger. There I found people like Rodrigo Peñalba, Juan Ortega, Adolfo Fitoria, Elie Herrera, Igor, and others who were interested in contributing towards making my dream a reality, which is to promote and organize the Nicaraguan Blog Community.

In a year and a half, my blog has passed through some ups and downs, but also through some moments of grand satisfaction. One of these lost battles was the attempt to offer Nicaraguans a free site for blog hosting. One of these examples was blognica.com. I hope to be able to try again one day. Another of these satisfactions was the collaboration that I have received with some of the Nicaraguan bloggers, who talk about their experiences on their blog. The support for the initiative is shown by linking to one another in a blogring.

GV: What are the future plans for the Nicaraguan blogosphere?

AB: Now we are more united than ever. We created a Facebook group for the Nicaraguan blog community and we are also present on Twitter thanks to the work of Juan Ortega. However, there is still a lot to be done, and thanks to Igor, all of the Nicaraguans and the rest of the world can find out what is happening in the Nicaraguan blogosphere by visiting Blogs Nicaragua.