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

http://www.google.com/notebook/feeds/14416997388496334401/notebooks/BDUU0IgoQreOOnd4h/NDRvIIgoQt6eUnd4h2006-09-25T06:24:09.143Z2006-09-25T06:24:09.148ZThe Blog: A New Window of Information Tempo - No. 01/VII/Sept 05 - 11, 200... 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. enda