Tempo Interactive on Blog (Sep 2006)

Top Indonesian Blogs Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006 Interlude Top ...

2006-09-25T06:37:50.072Z

Top Indonesian Blogs

Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006

Interlude

Top Indonesian Blogs

From the wilds of the blogosphere, Tempo has chosen 10 blogs worthy of
surfing along to.

IT is no easy task to choose the best blogs. The most important thing
is to set some criteria, which is exactly what the Tempo team had to
do when selecting "The Top Ten Indonesian Blogs."

There were at least three difficulties when setting the criteria.
First, as an entity, the blog is only about 10 years old. So, from the
aspects of format and style, they still take many forms. Second, blogs
generally cover a large number of topics and interests. These include:
diaries, poetry, photos, and more serious postings. Third, there are
millions of blogs in the blogosphere. According to Technorati, a blog
search engine, there are 49.5 million blogs, and bloggers make at
least 1.2 million postings every day.

According to Technorati founder Dave Sifry, the blogosphere doubles
every six months. "At least 75,000 new blogs appear every day," he
said. Imagine trying to choose just 10 of them in this digital wilderness.

In any case, criteria were still required. So, a number of standards
were established, consisting of general, technical, and content criteria.

The general criteria was that the blogger should be Indonesian—whether
they used Indonesian or English. They also must have at least six
months of blogging experience.

The technical criteria had more to do with the web, namely they must
use blog software. In this way, regular websites are not taken into
consideration. Blog aggregator sites (websites which contain a
collection of the latest postings from a number of blogs) were also
not considered, as the main focus was on individual blogs.

In order to make the selection easier, the ranking systems at
Technorati (number of links from a number of blogs) and Google
PageRank (maximum rank of 10) were taken into consideration.

The content criteria played the largest role. This could be seen from
the usefulness of the blog. Offering specific topics was a major
determiner as to whether or not a blog was considered useful. In other
words, blogs which were only online diaries were dropped from the list.

The quality of the postings was the next criteria. In general,
interesting postings dealt with current events. Postings were popular
whenever they demonstrated a different take on the mainstream opinion.

The technique of including linked references in postings was also
taken into consideration. This is because well-placed links accessible
from key words or phrases have become etiquette in the blog world.

Arranging postings into logical categories is clearly very useful for
visitors. A plus point was given for blogs which had well-organized
archives. Lest we forget, user-friendly menus and layout improve
enjoyment of the blog.

Finally, it must be noted that the blogs selected are not necessarily
the best blog in their respective fields. However, based on the above
criteria, the selected blogs are those which are worthy of attention
for those out there exploring the blogosphere. Here are the selected
Indonesian blogs, in no particular order:

Budi Putra

01. The Ambassador of Indonesian Bloggers:
Indonesian Blogger A. Fatih Syuhud
AFSYUHUD.BLOGSPOT.COM
T: 14,240 (656 links from 162 blogs)
G: 5
The main concept of this blog is how the rest of the world can better
understand Indonesia through Indonesian blogs. For this reason, A.
Fatih Syuhud encourages Indonesian bloggers to write more of their
blog pages in English. Written in English, most of his postings are
about important events in Indonesia. One of his well-known blogger
features is the "Indonesian Blogger of the Week."

02. Smile!
bloGombal | lighthearted musings
GOMBAL.BLOGDRIVE.COM
T: 14,077 (485 links from 163 blogs)
G: 5
This blog teaches one thing: if we are observant and sensitive, we can
discover many funny and unexpected things every day. Maybe they appear
on a garbage collector's cart, in a classified ad, or on the side of a
truck. In addition to photos, the postings of this anonymous blogger
are concise and interesting.

03. "News Agency" Blogger:
Enda Nasution's Weblog
ENDA.GOBLOGMEDIA.COM
T: 5,482 (889 links from 360 blogs)
G: 6
Known as the "Father of Indonesian Bloggers," Enda Nasution began
writing his blog in 2001. In addition to his latest postings, his blog
also features a quick-link menu containing a list of the latest blogs
and websites. Many novice bloggers send information via email to Enda
so that it can be added to his quick-links. Enda is also known as a
"News Agency" blogger.

04. Underground Blogger:
Underground Movement - Mr. GBT by Budi Rahardjo
GBT.BLOGSPOT.COM
T: 25,360 (207 links from 100 blogs)
G: 6
Don't assume that this blog is full of incitement to commit civil
disobedience. Budi Rahardjo, the blogger, is a famous Internet expert
in Indonesia. This blog pioneer has written many books on information
technology and is also a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of
Technology. His lecture material often appears on his blog. Perhaps
Budi hopes that his blog's unusual name will encourage his students to
visit and join in the discussions.

05. Political Journal:
Indonesia Matters
INDONESIAMATTERS.COM
T: 52,495 (114 links from 55 blogs)
G: 5
This journal is well-managed and well-arranged. Written in English,
the entries include current events intertwined with insightful
comments. The focus is more on political and legal issues. This blog
journal is very useful for foreigners who want to understand important
issues in Indonesia.

06. A Friendly Marketer and Teacher:
Nofie Iman
NOFIEIMAN.COM
T: 9,591 (292 links from 228 blogs)
G: 4
This blog deals with issues connected to marketing and finance. The
informative menu contains many categories: archive, list of articles,
recommended materials, downloadable items and online shopping. This
blog also has a special menu for foreign exchange (forex) with
complete references. It is a good example of a user-friendly thematic
blog.

07. Diary of a Commentator:
Online Perspective - Wimar Witoelar
PERSPEKTIF.NET
T: 43,061 (115 links from 65 blogs)
G: 5
Wimar Witoelar has been blogging for the past 10 years, for almost as
long as blogs have been around. Written in Indonesian and English,
most of Wimar's postings are about national political issues. This
includes full media clippings and a timeline of Perspektif, his
legendary talkshow.

08. Hobby House
Weblog Wannabe: home of recyclable hyperlinks
WANNABEGIRL.ORG
T: 1,986 (1,048 links from745 blogs)
G: 6
Firda's hobbies are photography and web design, and this is what she
conveys on her blog. Her postings exhibit her extensive knowledge
about design and photography. The diligence of this graduate in
Library Sciences of the University of Indonesia, who now lives in
Canada, has paid off. Her blog has won a number of international awards.

09. Indonesian Celebrity Watch:
Name: whodoyouthinkheare: with mpok jane & neng sarah
WHODOYOUTHINKHEARE.BLOGSPOT.COM
T: 17,022 (198 links from 138 blogs)
G: 3
What do you get when you cross a knowledge of fashion, celebrity
gossip, and an ability to satirize in English? You get a blog called:
Who Do You Think He Are. Here is one posting about the fashion style
used by singer Reza Artamevia: "You see, Mbak Reza, when it comes to
Islamic fashion styles, here's a few pointers... Inneke Koesherawati?
Good. Marissa Haque? Generic. Jinny Oh Jinny, the Medical Student?
BAD!!!!!!!!"

10. A Technorati Star:
William Computer Blog: Latest Information on Technology
WPRAM.COM
T: 13 (8,709 links from 8,425 blogs)
G: 6
Residing and doing business in Sydney, Australia, William Pramana
calls himself a technology enthusiast. This is evident from his blog:
his postings are about the latest in information technology. He writes
well, and his blogs include embedded links and supporting graphics.
There are many outside links leading to his blog, which has raised his
level of recognition in the blogosphere.

T: Technocrati Rank
G: Google PageRank

Ways of the Blogger Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006 Interlude Ways of...

2006-09-25T06:37:08.588Z

Ways of the Blogger
Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006

Interlude

Ways of the Blogger

THERE are numerous ways to create an Internet blog to post one's daily
journal, ideas, frustrations, favorite recipes, photos or even voice
recordings. Video can also be included in blog pages. Several popular
blog sites are: Blogger.com, WordPress.com, Xanga.com, and
YouTube.com. The last one is a special video blog. They all offer ease
of use. A blog can be created with just a few simple clicks.

It is quite easy to set up a blog page, and the procedure is about the
same at each of the blog hosting sites. Just choose one of them. If
you go to www.blogger.com, you only need to follow the directions on
their home page.

First of all, you need to register. Fill in information regarding your
identity as requested. For the next step, give your blog a name and
address, for instance: RajaJawa. Your blog's Internet address will
appear like this: http://rajajawa.blogspot.com. Choose a name which is
easy to remember. Next, continue to follow the instructions in order
to determine the overall design of your blog pages. Blogger.com
provides seven different style selections for you to choose from, from
a provocative purple to an elegant brown.

If you go to Xanga.com, the process is almost the same. After
registering, you will end up on the Weblog Entry menu. You can
immediately enter your headline, text, and photos. Click "Submit" and
you now have a blog page on Xanga.

Be wary of including personal information on your blog. Never give
your telephone number, home address, date of birth, or other private
information which might be misused. Also, never post sensitive
personal photos or videos, because once they appear, it is impossible
to prevent it from spreading across the Internet. This is what
happened to soap opera star Ratu Felisha. Her relative posted a photo
of her nightlife on a blog page, which was soon all over cyberspace.

Microsoft reminds users, especially parents, to keep an eye on blogs
made by their children. The thing is, similar to Internet communities
such as Friendster and MySpace.com, blog pages often become a hunting
ground for criminals who target children and adolescents. Armed with a
child's personal data, these fiends attempt to lure them into a trap.

Even though the legal ramifications are not yet clear in Indonesia,
never use a blog to make statements which insult or slander anyone or
which are not known to be true. In China, you can get arrested for
making political statements on personal blog sites. Hao Wu, a
documentary filmmaker, was arrested by police in Beijing on February
22 for writing about a Protestant church on his blog, with the
headline Beijing or Bust. On September 29, 2005, Li Yuanlong, a
reporter from the Bijie Ribao daily newspaper also ended up behind
prison bars after criticizing the Chinese government on his blog.

Sapto Pradityo

Cyberspace Storytellers Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006 Interlude Cyb...

2006-09-25T06:35:32.650Z

Cyberspace Storytellers
Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006

Interlude

Cyberspace Storytellers

People become bloggers for different reasons. It is their medium of
choice.

IT may surprise you to know that bloggers do not have to be experts in
information technology. These storytellers of the virtual world have
different backgrounds: from housewives to models for men's magazines,
from marketing managers to reporters. Via weblogs, these people make
their voices heard in cyberspace—which can often have an effect on
their daily lives. Here are profiles of a number of bloggers.

Tiara Lestari
Profiting from Anger

TIARA Lestari, 26, was angry when a number of Indonesian mass media
outlets all began commenting on her life. Keep in mind, they were
publishing drivel about this model who had appeared in magazines such
as the Spanish Playboy and the Thailand, Dutch, and Australian
editions of Penthouse, without ever asking her for clarification.

Disinformation has to be addressed by giving accurate information,
thought this girl from Solo. Because at the time she was still living
in Singapore, Tiara decided that a blog would be the most effective
medium to go up against such inaccurate reporting. Thus was the
beginning of the blog called "Tiara Lestari's Personal Journal," in
September 2005. "It was well-received by the public," said Tiara, when
met at a cafe in Jakarta, recently.

As of July, 250,000 people had visited her blog. Don't be surprised if
the majority of them are males.

Now, she spends from three to five hours a day on the Internet taking
care of her blog. At her virtual office, Tiara writes about whatever
is on her mind or just reads the comments.

The blog has unexpectedly supported her career in the entertainment
field. She has received many job offers, from home and abroad, after
interacting via her weblog. Realizing the blog's enormous potential,
this oldest of three siblings started some new blogs, each with its
own focus. The blogs for her female fans, for instance, are called
"Tiara Lestari's 4 Women Only" and "Call Tiara Lestari." She has also
made a "Press for Tiara Lestari" blog for the mass media crowd.

Now, Tiara's early blog postings are being collected into a book.
Another new business is born from her blog!

Enda Nasution
A Reference for Indonesian Bloggers

SINCE junior-high school, Enda Nasution, 31, kept a diary. The arrival
of the Internet led this father of one to note his daily activities,
because in the virtual world he was freer to record his personal
history. When blogs started to receive attention in the early 2000s,
Enda began keeping his diary on the Internet.

At that time, not many Indonesians had taken up blogging. Enda
remembers when there were less than 100 bloggers in Jakarta, Bandung,
and Yogyakarta. "We knew each other and were very close," said this
graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

With his extensive "flight time," Enda is a senior figure among
bloggers. He willingly shares his time to help beginners who want to
get involved in the world of blogging. He has already posted a guide
for novices on his blog.

Enda is also a sort of "baptiser" for new bloggers, because many of
them send their blog address to him to be announced to the blog-going
public.

Enda's role has also been recognized at the international level. His
diligence in voicing freedom of expression via blogs drew the
attention of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), which invited
him to their Freedom of Expression conference in Manila last April.
"This shows that blogs have been recognized," said Enda, who is online
most of the day.

Enda now lives in Bangkok, Thailand, and works as an e-marketing
manager for a local company. "Next year I plan to return to
Indonesia," he said. Or course, this will not affect his position in
the blogosphere.

Fatih Syuhud
An Ambassador

AN Iraqi blogger called Raed inspired many bloggers to follow in his
footsteps. In 2004, Raed's daily diary about the American invasion
there became an alternative source of information among the many
reports coming out of the international news agencies. Raed's
integrity and idealism in reporting these events did not go unnoticed
to them. The Reuters news agency and the Guardian, from England,
recruited him as their employee.

A. Fatih Syuhud is a blogger who was inspired by Raed's story. This
Indonesian, who has lived in New Delhi, India, for 10 years, believes
that each individual—in this case each blogger—can serve as an
ambassador for his country. "In a blog, we self-publish," he said.
Meanwhile, his editors are a wide readership. For this reason, Fatih
does not hesitate to plunge into the blog world.

After a while, Fatih was not only busy with his own blog. This
doctoral candidate in socio-cultural affairs has become an impetus for
other Indonesian bloggers to write in English. He, for instance,
periodically reviews Indonesian bloggers who write in English. "This
is important so that the contents can go worldwide," said the man from
Malang.

Thanks to his dedication, Fatih was selected as a contributor to
Global Voices Online, a non-profit organization founded by Harvard
University. Contributors in this movement are selected bloggers from
around the world. In addition to this, he is also a permanent
contributor to Aqoravox—which resembles Global Voices—which is
headquartered in France.

Hasan Aspahani
Sparking the Creative Process

FOR Hasan Aspahani, 35, a blog is a place for him to share his poetry,
so that he can quickly hold a dialog with readers. This interactive
process has influenced the creative process of this poet from Sei
Raden, Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan. "It's as if I am
always challenged by their comments," said this man who works as a
reporter in Batam.

Hasan initially started putting his poetry on a blog in order to build
up his self-esteem. He never felt confident enough to submit his works
to famous publications. After starting a blog, he tried sending his
poems to the prominent media outlets in the Indonesian capital. After
repeated attempts, his work was finally published.

Despite being published in the mass media, he has not abandoned his
blog. Checking his blog while having coffee is a regular part of his
breakfast routine. "Without that, my daily activities will seem
strange," he said. In total, he spends three hours blogging each day.

To date there are about 1,000 poems stored on his blog, which is
entitled "A Million Poems of Hasan Aspahani."

Rovicky Dwi Putrohari
Chronicler of Disaster

THIS 43-year-old from Yogyakarta never thought that he would become a
star speaker at Kuala Lumpur International University in February
2005. Speaking to hundreds of students and lecturers, Rovicky
eloquently detailed the evidence on the tsunami which had just hit
Aceh two months earlier. With the assistance of a laptop computer, his
explanation was fascinating. Lengthy applause echoed at the end of his
presentation.

Rovicky is not someone who is usually asked to speak at seminars. His
blog is what took him to the international level. "They invited me to
speak on account of the blog I made," said this graduate of the
Geological Engineering Faculty of Gajah Mada University (UGM). With a
blog named "Geological Fairy Tale," Rovicky became famous as an expert
in earthquakes and tsunamis. Interest peaked during the tsunami
disaster in Aceh at the end of 2004. His first posting about the
tsunami was accessed by 4,000 people in the first hour!

These days, just when a series of earthquakes and tsunamis have
affected various regions of Indonesia, his blog has been swamped with
visitors. "Each day 8,000 people link to my blog," said this man who
aspires to become a teacher. It is no surprise that his blog has
become popular as of late.

Rovicky, who now works at the Amereda HESS Malaysia gas and oil
company, has long been involved in the virtual world—even before the
booming of the blog era. He was even responsible for maintaining the
website of the Association of Indonesian Geologists. Then came the
blog era, which gave him a chance to share his knowledge. "The blog
has become an alternative media to convey opinions," said this Masters
graduate from Geophysical Engineering at the University of Indonesia.

The Blog: A New Window of Information Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 200...

2006-09-25T06:24:09.143Z

The Blog: A New Window of Information

Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 2006

Interlude

The Blog: A New Window of Information

EVERY day, 75,000 new web logs or blogs are created in cyberspace. At
least 1 million pieces of information emanate from these blogs every
day. Of course, not all of them contain important news; there is a
virtual flood of trivial tales.

But a new wave is beginning to appear: the bloggers are beginning to
write like journalists. They take part in providing the latest
information on all sorts of events—in addition to making special
analyses. The tsunami that swept across the south shores of the Island
of Java, a month ago, for instance, had filled the blogosphere just a
few moments after it happened, and even before television could report
on it. Even before this, CNN had no problem quoting a number of
postings from Iraqi bloggers when America began its invasion.

Undeniably, the blogs have taken on a new role: opening new windows of
information for the citizens of the world.

THE tempest had passed. Pangandaran Beach was still bleak on that
ill-fated Monday afternoon. The sea breeze carried a rancid stench and
an air of death. Bodies floated near the beach. However, it was if
this misery and gloom went unnoticed, because there was not a single
television broadcast about it that afternoon, even though a tsunami
had swept across the southern coast of Java over three hours earlier.

However, the horror was being "witnessed" by people who were thousands
of kilometers from the cold coast in the south of the Regency of
Ciamis, West Java. In San Francisco and Tokyo, people were reading in
the news: "Tsunami pounds Java." The news spread quickly on the
Internet. It was not CNN, BBC or Yahoo! News spreading the news, but
bloggers (people who write various things—such as their daily affairs,
complaints, and ideological matters—on a personal website or blog
page). At that time, when Indonesian television stations had just
instructed their trucks equipped with satellite transmitters to go in
search of images of the disaster in Pangandaran, a weblog run by
Sigoplus (echosiglo.blogspot.com) was already showing a disturbing
photo: a man fighting the oncoming rush of the tsunami. The other
electronic media had decisively been outpaced.

In the following hours, hundreds of thousands of pieces of information
about the tsunami in Java had already swept across the blogosphere.
Bloggers from Yogyakarta, California, Ethiopia, and other corners of
the world were exchanging (and supplementing) information about the
tsunami—from the latest developments to discussions from various
perspectives.

One blogger said, that at that time if we typed the word "tsunami"
into the Google Internet search engine, we would only get about 1,200
pages of information. "But at Technorati (a weblog search engine),
there were already about 200,000 pages of information!" said this
blogger, who wishes to remain anonymous. If all these bits and pieces
of information about the onrush of the tsunami in the South Sea were
gathered together, it would produce a very thick report.

The weblog (also called a blog) has become a phenomenon. The tsunami
in Java is only a case in point that the strength of blog reporting
cannot be underestimated. Previously, weblogs were only considered a
forum for channeling narcissistic concerns. Since their initial
appearance in the mid-1990s, blog owners had only written about their
daily activities—something which even at this time is still in vogue.
A blog is a kind of daily diary, but written on the Internet.

"The blog is now an alternative media. Abroad, it has already
developed into a sort of citizen journalism," said Yayan Sopyan, an
observer and consultant for independent information technology (he
runs www.mediakita.com and owns the www.yayan.com website). Simply
put, citizen journalism is journalistic activities which are conducted
by ordinary citizens (in this case, by bloggers). They report on the
events which they see on their weblogs.

A phenomenal example of the exploits of an amateur blog reporter is
the activities of an Iraqi man named Raed (pseudonym). A few moments
before Baghdad was attacked by US missiles, he was reporting on his
blog (dear_raed.blogspot.com). His reports were often quoted by CNN.
At present, Raed's reports have become a critical counterbalance to
conventional media reporting. The Reuters news agency and the British
paper the Guardian were impressed by this man and recruited him as a
columnist.

The New York Times has recently started recognizing blogger exploits.
In its online version, the New York Times has a section called "From
the Blogosphere," namely blogs which feature amateur journalists from
various parts of the world. The newspaper cooperates with Technorati
to find the appropriate weblogs.

However, the crown of news blogs belongs to Ohmy News owned by Oh
Yeon-ho. This blog first appeared in South Korea in February 2000. It
is the most successful and profitable news blog in the world at this
time. In the past two years it has made a profit of Rp3.7 billion.
Every day this "paperless paper" is visited by 700,000 people.

The blog is held in high esteem. It was able to mobilize a large
number of protestors in South Korea to oppose the United States when
two Korean girls were hit by a US military vehicle. Ohmy News also got
the first chance to interview South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun when
he was elected. Ohmy News receives its supply of news items from about
41,000 citizens (citizen reporters) who write what they see in the
blog. The site has also launched English and Japanese versions.

The popularity of blogs has spread around the world, Indonesia
included. Teenagers and computer enthusiasts are not the only ones
interested. Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, Angelina
Sondakh (a member of the House of Representatives and former model),
and Playboy photomodel Tiara Lestari are avid blog writers.

According to Enda Nasution, a famous Indonesian blogger, there are
about 30,000 bloggers in Indonesia at this time, whose blogs can be
found at several blogging websites such as Blogger.com, Multiply.com,
LiveJournal.com, Indosiar Blog and Boleh.com. They write about all
sorts of things, from recipes for brownies, love stories about House
members, and criticisms of the government.

l l l

Blogs actually started booming in 1999 when people like Brad
Fitzpatrick, a blogger, created a system to make an online diary which
was easy to use for computer novices. He began by making an online
diary called LiveJournal.com. With his software, people could post
their daily activities by copying and pasting from MS Word.

In the past, such content management systems (CMS) were only used by
large companies, because they were expensive and complicated. Yayan
Sopyan, who took part in building the Detik.com website, also used
this kind of tool. "I even had to make my own CMS for the Detik.com
portal," he said. However, this system has been provided for free by
blog providers such as Blogger.com or LiveJournal.com since 1999.

With it, "Anyone can publish their writings or pictures without having
to understand any programming," said Yayan. Blogs began experiencing
revolutionary growth, breaking all the limits and reaching every
region. A female blogger in Iraq gave an interesting example of this.
This prolific blogger writes her thoughts about war and politics at
her blog at riverbendblog.blogspot.com. It turns out that her writings
impressed feminist activists in the United States. Her writings were
used in a book, and it became the first blog which was nominated for
the Booker Prize in England.

In Indonesia, the blog has not grown to such an extent. It is still
considered modest, judging from the numbers. According to Enda
Nasution, the first generation of Indonesian bloggers came from web
designer circles or Indonesian university students living abroad. The
second wave of bloggers was only about 100 people. Enda said that he
was a part of this group. They mostly started blogging in the early
2000s. "This second generation started appearing on the mass media's
radar." It is estimated that the number of Indonesian bloggers will
reach 45,000 by the end of this year, and will exceed 100,000 by the
end of 2007.

For Fatih Syuhud, an Indonesian blogger who lives in India, the figure
of 100,000 will be very beneficial if they write their blogs in
English. According to him, they can become ambassadors for their
people to speak to the outside world. That is, of course, if they are
able to manage their blog as more than just a diary. "All along, we
have been analyzed by foreigners. We allow foreign graduates to become
our spokespersons abroad. Whenever they show a bias, we get angry," he
said.

The advantages of blog writing in English are appreciated by Nurul
Widyaningrum, who runs thelightofwisdom.blogs.friendster.com. John
McDougall forwarded her English writings to the Indonesia Studies
mailing list which he manages. "Afterwards, many people responded to
my writing and I made new acquaintances," said Nurul. However, it is
apparent that Nurul's blog does not focus on a particular area, but is
written in two languages—English and Indonesian.

For Yayan, such events only further convince him that the future of
the blog as an alternative media is very bright. The number of pages
in a conventional print media is limited. On top of that, the
editorial policy of each press company clearly limits what kinds of
writings are published in a newspaper. In a weblog, each person can
overcome that barrier. "Each blogger can immediately share their news
coverage and knowledge."

However, running one's own media in the virtual world is not without
its risks. Some bloggers have been arrested by the authorities in
several countries (see
www.globalvoicesonline.org/help-these-bloggers/). The arrest of Hao Wu
by the Chinese government caused a strong reaction from bloggers
around the world. This man was detained for five months on account of
his writings on a weblog, which had angered the government.

According to Yayan, this kind of censorship is useless, because people
will always be able to write in their blogs. "There are many ways to
slip the information in," he said. The blog revolution can no longer
be held at bay.

Tulus Wijanarko, Budi Putra

Blog Glossary

A
Aggregator: a site featuring a collection of the latest postings from
a number of blogs.

B
Blog: an online interactive diary whose main attraction is its
constant updating.
Blogcensus/Blogcount: efforts to calculate the number of blogs on the
Internet.
Blogdex: (blog + index) an MIT project which tracks the diffusion of
information throughout the weblog community.
Blogger: the operator of a blog.
Blogging: blog-related activity.
Blogshares: a simulated, fantasy stock market for weblogs.
Blogosphere: the blog world. This term is often used to differentiate
the blogs from mainstream media.
Blogdating: when two bloggers have a date.
Bloggathering: a gathering of bloggers.
Bloggenic: having a good blog personality.
Bloghopping: jumping from one blog to another.
Blogjunkie: someone addicted to blogs.
Blogkidding: when someone jokes on their blog, or makes a blog just
for fun.
Blogwalking: moving from one blog to another.

R
Roaming: using local languages which are not understood by others.

S
Sideblog/Sidenote: a side column on a blog, which usually consists of
quick links or announcements.
Shoutbox: a chatting facility built into a blog.
Screenshot: a recorded image of the monitor screen.

Q
Quick link: a short description linked to a new or important website
or blog.