Blogging has changed my life
Posted on April 16, 2010 by Budi Putra in Personal
“What does blogging mean for you?” That’s one of questions many people (even journalists) frequently asked me. For me, blogging means a lot. I will tell you why.
I left Tempo Daily on March 1, 2007, and started to be a full-time blogger: write tech posts for some established sites and blogs like CNET, SlashPhone and PhoneMag; and then run a Jakarta-based Asia Blogging Network. Two years and half later, I joined an Internet giant company, Yahoo!. As Country Editor for Yahoo! Indonesia, one of my tasks is working with bloggers and online communities.
Talking about the professional blogging’s opportunity, there are two models that you can choose if you really wanted to pick blogging as your main job: As a (1) publisher; or (2) freelancer. The first one requires knowledge and skills to monetize your blogs — you should be an expert on online advertising, referral programs, SEO and so on. Another one just need your skill as a writer– just write for some sites or blogs and you’ll get paid.
I preferred the second one –since writing is nothing new for me. But I need to know the nature of blogging’s tools and communities. That’s why I should start blogging. It’s a new world and we can’t understand it just by relying on our common-sense. I believe that blogging is a kind of “science” –that’s why we need to learn its methodology, theory, medium, community and so on.
I just started to blog [seriously] since the beginning of 2006 when I started to write for my own gadget site called 3GWeek. Written in English, the blog mostly discusses about telecommunications and mobile technology.
Why did I choose technology as a major topic for my blogging? It’s simple. I love everything about technology. I was also conducting a small research and noticed that even the big tech blogs were still fighting to seek good writers and bloggers for their publications. That’s a big opportunity, right? I became more convinced that my preferred topic (technology) and medium (blogs) is a good decision…
And blogging is not only about content, but also about community. I found that writing for blogs is a bit different than writing for printing media –in term of interacting with readers. I already wrote a bunch of newspaper’s articles for years but I don’t know whether the readers like it or not. On the other hand, with blogging, I could get readers’ response quickly. That’s amazing. I learned a lot from them. I try to talk with them, instead of to teach them.
Just about a few months after I started blogging, CNET, the world’s leading tech news portal, invited me to blog for them about Indonesia’s technology scenes. Then a U.S. based online publications also offered me to write for SlashPhone, PhoneMag and iPhoneBuzz.
As a blogger, I was invited to some tech events and conferences in Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Stuttgart, Barcelona and Amsterdam. I was also invited to be a jury member for the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards in Berlin (November 2008) and April 2010 (yes, I am now here in Germany to attend the meeting).
So, if you again ask me, what does blogging mean for me? “It means a lot. Blogging has changed my life!”
Telkomsel iPhone 3GS gets a release date?
Posted on January 4, 2010 by Budi Putra in Tech
My friend Aulia over at Gajeto broke a news about the most-possible release date for iPhone 3GS in Indonesia: January 20, 2010. Actually, it’s the Apple’s second attempts to conquer Indonesian market. Could Telkomsel, local operator for iPhone, deal with the market that’s already occupied with the hype of BlackBerry devices?
Late last month we saw OKEshop outlets sporting actual iPhone 3GS banners at their shops and just today, we received word from id-mac mailing list that a customer service officer at Grapari in Bandung claims that Telkomsel will finally release iPhone 3GS on January 20, 2010. Grapari is of course Telkomsel’s official retail and customer service outlet…
Hopefully with an additional two month lead time compared to their previous effort, along with nine months of experience, Telkomsel has figured out a way to avoid the disastrous 2009 campaign and start marketing iPhone 3GS properly.
Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid dies
Posted on December 30, 2009 by Budi Putra in People
Indonesia’s former president Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, died in Jakarta’s Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital on Wednesday. He was 69 years old.
Hospital director Doctor Akmal Taher said Gus Dur died from complications of kidney and heart problems. The former president had been undergoing regular dialysis for some
time. He was hospitalized last week after traveling in East Java.
Thank you, Gus Dur, for teaching us a unique democracy. An Indonesian way.
BREAKING: Prita Mulyasari cleared of all charges
Posted on December 29, 2009 by Budi Putra in Law
Prita Mulyasari has been cleared of criminal defamation charges by Tangerang District Court on Tuesday in the case brought against her by doctors from Omni Hospital.
The judge, Arthur Harnewa, delivered the verdict and said that Prita’s good name would now be restored. All charges against her have now been dropped.
Currently pregnant with her third child, Prita was accused of defaming the upscale hospital in Tangerang through an e-mail she sent to 20 of her friends.
The criminal case was brought against her by two doctors working at Omni, while the hospital sued her in a separate civil case.
Her case sparked public outrage after she was detained for three weeks ahead of her criminal trial and the court fined her Rp 312 million ($33,000) in the civil case.
All charges against Prita Mulyasari, a mother of two, finally has been cleared by Tangerang District Court this morning. Finally the justice won, thanks God.
Rain Asia Tour 2009 concert in Jakarta
Posted on November 25, 2009 by Budi Putra in Entertainment
IN THIS RAINY SEASON, Korean heartthrob and pop-star Rain will be coming and holding a concert in Jakatra. The Asia Tour “Legend of Rainism” concert will be held in JITEC Mangga Dua on December 3, 8pm onwards.
According to Sean Sudwikatmono, Managing Director of W Production, the local promotor, Rain’s management decision to hold a concert in Indonesia shows their trust in Indonesia’s stability and security. “Especially since there are a lot of Koreans who live in Jakarta, about 27 thousands.”
Wikipedia writes:
Rain has released six albums (5 Korean, 1 Japanese) and 19 singles. He won the KBS Best New Actor award for his premiering role in the drama Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School. In 2004, Rain won the KBS Excellence in Acting award for his role in the drama Full House. After starring in A Love To Kill, he acted in his first Korean film, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006), which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at Berlin International Film Festival. Rain has acted in the American films, Speed Racer (2008) and starred in Ninja Assassin (2009).
Ticket price with 4 class categories are as follow :
Festival : IDR 750.000
Gold : IDR 1.500.000
Platinum : IDR 2.000.000
VIP : IDR 3.000.000W Productions
Gd. Mangga 2 Square,Lt.2 – Blok A No.45
Jln.Gunung Sahari Raya No.1
Jakarta-Utara
14420
Indonesia
Ph : (6221) 6231-1377
Fax : (621) 6231-1287
Prior his Jakarta concert, Rain (Jeong Ji Hoon) will shake the AsiaWorld-Arena, Hong Kong on November 28-29, 2009.
So I’m joining Yahoo! now
Posted on September 24, 2009 by Budi Putra in Tech
After more than 2.5 years working as a full-time blogger and running a Jakarta-based blogging company called Asia Blogging Network, now I’m joining Yahoo! I was recently appointed as Country Editor for Yahoo! Indonesia, and will be based in Singapore for 6-12 months while setting-up Indonesia’s office.
Why did I accept this offer? Of course, it’s so challenging. This role is also still in-line with my passion: engaging with online content and community. My responsibilities including to engage and work with local content partners as well as writers and bloggers. It means that I will keep engaging and meeting with all of you, my fellow bloggers and readers :-) As the role’s name suggests — the Country Editor — I will be much more working on news, columns, blogs etc for Yahoo! Indonesia site.
After left Tempo –Indonesia’s most respected news organization– more than two years ago, it’s nice that finally I will return back to the newsroom. This time Yahoo!’s newsroom. Despite I can’t blog for CNET Asia and SlashPhone (including PhoneMag and iPhoneBuzz) or contributing tech articles for The Jakarta Post anymore, but I will keep blogging for my personal blogs as well as greeting and seeing you through Twitter, Facebook or some other social media accounts. I will be starting my Yahoo tenure next week. Wish me luck with this new venture.
