Here we go: Online magazine Peneroka!
Posted on August 10, 2011 by Budi Putra in Media
Finally, I launched Peneroka as part of my personal project. Since it’s designed as an online magazine, all writers will write mostly about feature articles like tips & tricks, top lists, review and trivia.
By launching Peneroka, I and Jimmi Kembaren (also a former Yahoos) are trying to do an experiment in term of product and content.
Tech blog Daily Social wrote:
Today, former Yahoo! Indonesia Country Editor Budi Putra and Jimmy Kembaren (also ex-Yahoo) announces their new project, and sure enough it’s a blog. Sort of.
The two partners for their next project where Kembaren handles the product & engineering and Budi handles the content, and believe me when I say that they’re really good at what they do. Their new project is called Peneroka, an Indonesian word for “pioneer”, and they have a good reason to call it “pioneer”. While Peneroka is basically an online magazine with content and all, it’s actually a new way of seeing content and an experiment from the two based on how users consume content on the web.
The philosophy behind this complicated scheme is that Kembaren is convinced that users aren’t looking for content, they want the news handed to them. Give user less options and make it as simple as possible for them to consume the content. The same reason is used by Kembaren to omit the ability for users to find information, no search engine and no archive. If you miss a news, you miss a news.
So, let’s see how it goes…
P.S: Thanks to Ivan Lanin who suggests peneroka for the site’s name/brand, while my wife Elvi Susanti initially suggests peneruka (same meaning though). Check-out Kateglo for the further explanation [in Bahasa Indonesia].
Hiring: Indonesian full-time bloggers needed!
Posted on May 23, 2011 by Budi Putra in Media, Personal, Tech
HERE WE GO! I’ll start my personal project –as one of my post-Yahoo! era‘s projects — immediately. Basically, I’ll be building up an Indonesian blog site and some Indonesian full-time bloggers will be invited to join!
Actually, I am seeking bloggers with the following areas of interest:
- Technology/Science
- Lifestyle/Entertainment/Culture/Arts
- Business/Finance/Media
If you are a blogger and interested in discussing stories in your field of expertise or area of interest, this is your opportunity. Sure, you must be passionate about your subject. You don’t need to be a blogging expert, but at least you understand blogs, add links and familiar with social media.
Email the following information to bp [at] budiputra.com:
- Your Full Name
- Email Address
- Phone
- Country
- Area of Expertise
- Your Blog URL
Please note that for all blogging positions :
- Bloggers are paid per month (good remunerations, I must say!).
- Please note that all applicants must have at least 6 months experience of blogging.
- Posts should be of a good length too (typically at least/around 5-6 paragraphs).
- Deadline for applications: June 10, 2011
Engadget blogger resigns, the AOL Way’s first victim
Posted on February 19, 2011 by Budi Putra in Featured, Media, People
NO DOUBT THAT CONTENT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, that’s one of a few reasons people still reading blogs and checking out their social networking accounts. Good contents will attract community and create conversations. Good conversation then can be curated as new content. That’s the amazing cycle, right?
What’s happen if a business entity just sees content as a commodity? They quickly claim their first victim. Long-time Engadget editor Paul Miller leaving the tech blog, as a response to Engadget’s parent company AOL‘s policy. A few weeks ago, the company –that also acquired the Huffington Post and TechCrunch– released an internal document called The AOL Way that contained the company’s policy to increase page views and then revenue.
But looks like the new policy is unacceptable for some folks in the company. Miller puts his farewell note in his blog:
I’d love to be able to keep doing this forever, but unfortunately Engadget is owned by AOL, and AOL has proved an unwilling partner in this site’s evolution. It doesn’t take a veteran of the publishing world to realize that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content. As detailed in the “AOL Way,” and borne out in personal experience, AOL sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against. That might make good business sense (though I doubt it), but it doesn’t promote good journalism or even good entertainment, and it doesn’t allow an ambitious team like the one I know and love at Engadget to thrive.
At the end of the day, indeed, it’s all about business. But running a business on content, especially related to personal content, should be treated differently though. Let’s see contents as part of creating conversations with community, instead of selling them as a commodity.
Create crowd first and money will follow. In any forms.
Stop thinking that blog is dead. AOL buys The Huffington Post!
Posted on February 7, 2011 by Budi Putra in Featured, Media
Blog is not just alive, but even can be one of the most heavily visited Web sites nowadays! Yes, that’s the amazing Huffington Post! The political and commentary blog is being acquired by AOL for $315 million [$300 million of it in cash and the rest in stock]!
President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bill Gates are among bloggers who have wrote for this site. Hell yeah!
AOL AGREES TO ACQUIRE THE HUFFINGTON POST
New York, NY–February 7, 2011–AOL Inc. [NYSE:AOL] announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Huffington Post, the influential and rapidly growing news, analysis, and lifestyle website founded in 2005, which now counts nearly 25 million unique monthly visitors*.
The transaction will create a premier global, national, local, and hyper-local content group for the digital age–leveraged across online, mobile, tablet, and video platforms. The combination of AOL’s infrastructure and scale with The Huffington Post’s pioneering approach to news and innovative community building among a broad and sophisticated audience will mark a seminal moment in the evolution of digital journalism and online engagement.
The new group will have a combined base of 117 million unique visitors a month in the United States and 270 million around the world**. Following the close of this transaction, AOL will accelerate its strategy to deliver a scaled and differentiated array of premium news, analysis, and entertainment produced by thousands of writers, editors, reporters, and videographers around the globe.
As part of the transaction, Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, will be named president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which will include all Huffington Post and AOL content, including Engadget, TechCrunch, Moviefone, MapQuest, Black Voices, PopEater, AOL Music, AOL Latino, AutoBlog, Patch, StyleList, and more.
“The acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL. “Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers.”
Armstrong continued, “Arianna is a singularly passionate and dedicated champion of innovative journalistic engagement, and a master of the art of using new media to illuminate, entertain and enhance the national conversation. Arianna is a remarkable person and she will continue to create remarkable outcomes for the combined company.”
“This is truly a merger of visions and a perfect fit for us,” said Huffington. “The Huffington Post will continue on the same path we have been on for the last six years–though now at light speed–by combining with AOL. Our readers will still be able to come to the Huffington Post at the same URL, and find all the same content they’ve grown to love, plus a lot more–more local, more tech, more entertainment, more finance, and lots more video. We are fusing a legendary and powerful new media brand with a vibrant, innovative news organization, known for its distinctive voice, a highly engaged audience, an expertise in community-building, and a track record for demystifying the news and putting flesh and blood on the data while drawing our audience into the conversation.”
Huffington continued, “By uniting AOL and The Huffington Post, we are creating one of the largest destinations for smart content and community on the Internet. And we intend to keep making it better and better.”
Kenneth Lerer, The Huffington Post’s Co-Founder and Chairman, said, “The Huffington Post team has created a potent brand with the proven track record of knowing how to grow traffic, inform and entertain its readers and build a one-of-a-kind online community. Add that to the powerful scale and resources of AOL and you have the perfect combination for today and the future. Together these two companies will be a premier online content provider. From local citizen reporting through AOL’s Patch, to The Huffington Post’s national reporting on politics, business and culture, consumers will have access to everything they want whenever they want it.”
AOL has agreed to purchase The Huffington Post for $315 million, approximately $300 million of which will be paid in cash funded from cash on hand. The Huffington Post is privately owned by its two cofounders, as well as a group of investors. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of government approvals. The boards of directors of each company and shareholders of The Huffington Post have approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the late first- or early second-quarter 2011.
The Huffington Post over-indexes on educated, affluent users, reaching the key decision makers in C-suites around the globe. The Huffington Post speaks to this influential audience via a host of prominent voices on its group blog. Among those who have blogged on The Huffington Post are: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Larry Page, Diane Sawyer, Buzz Aldrin, Nora Ephron, Bill Maher, Madeleine Albright, Robert Redford, Katie Couric, Neil Young, Rahm Emanuel, Mia Farrow, Senator Russ Feingold, Senator Al Franken, Ari Emanuel, Harry Shearer, Senator John Kerry, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Madonna, Lawrence Summers, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ryan Reynolds, Craig Newmark, Alec Baldwin, Aaron Sorkin, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Russell Simmons, Sean Penn, Bill Gates, Norman Lear, Charlie Rose, Elizabeth Warren, Tavis Smiley, Sheryl Sandberg, George Clooney, and former President Bill Clinton. And the audience speaks back, generating four million comments a month***.
The Huffington Post’s affluent, influential audience, that is growing at a rate of 22 percent (December 2009 vs. December 2010)****, when combined with AOL’s massive scale, video offerings and local expertise, will represent an incredibly desirable demographic for a broad range of advertising partners across the board.
Actually, blogging is dead (again)
Posted on December 25, 2010 by Budi Putra in Featured, Tech
THAT’S TRUE. It’s like a term says that there is “iPhone killer” while the Apple’s shiny gadget is still there.
CopyBlogger writes:
How many times have your heard them say that?
They said it in 2007.
They said it in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Maybe they’re right.
When you’re promoting a business, or a cause, or an idea with online content …
It’s content marketing.
Blogging? That’s just a hobby, right?
So go ahead and ramp up your WordPress-powered content marketing in 2011.
Just don’t say you’re blogging, okay?
That’ll shut them up.
“Blogs have been declared dead more often than Paul McCartney, yet blog readership is increasing every year,” Kimberly Turner of the Regator blog writes.
Moral of the story: Keep on blogging. Keep creating contents. And keep sharing them with your friends through social media outlets.
That’s all!
P.S.: In the meantime, for those who keeps blogging, go check-out the most reliable blogging services here. That’s a useful list for you.
Nick Denton’s manifesto for an old-school blogging
Posted on December 1, 2010 by Budi Putra in Featured, Media
Nick Denton writes a long blog post explaining his “obituary” on the standard blog format. Basically, as I wrote a few weeks ago here, he wanted his Gawker Media’s blog network to be more newsmagazine-style and move away from “reverse chronological format.”
Denton shows an example why he proposed the change:
In order to keep video of the iPhone prototype at the top of the reverse chronological flow, Gizmodo actually stopped publishing for several hours. How ridiculous! In any sane medium, a story as powerful as that, one which was drawing more than 90% of the site’s traffic, would be given commensurate real estate; and it wouldn’t require a hack to keep the item prominent. Hence the splash story; now we can finally create front pages that match the visual impact of a tabloid wood or magazine cover; and we can leave them up as long as they’re generating interest.
[Btw, did you notice that my blog's design is also in-line with Denton's new strategy? Yay!]
Like a blog post? Just tip, fund and donate it to the blogger!
Posted on November 23, 2010 by Budi Putra in Tech
THAT’S A BRILLIANT IDEA AND WAY to support high-quality online content. My friend Jimmi Kembaren tipped me a cool site: TipTheWeb. The new service lets you directly support your favorite web content by tipping, and funding it, then donating an amount of money — like 25 cents or more. “Think a bookmark + pocket change,” the site says. You can tip what you like: articles, blog posts, photos, video, cartoons, etc.
TipTheWeb keeps track of all your Tips. Later, you can sign in to your account and fund your Tips, by making a donation to TipTheWeb (we’re a non-profit organization). When you donate to TipTheWeb to fund your tips, we use that money to make monthly awards to the publishers of the web content that you (and other TipTheWeb users) tip.
As we know, the vast majority of web content is available for free. Since great content always requires time, effort, and resources, while publishers (particularly small publisher; individual publisher like blogger –which is the majority one) can’t sell it easily and advertising isn’t also fruitful for them, that’s why community-supported web publishing like TipTheWeb finds its momentum.
So, as a publisher or writer, if your blog posts or online contents get Tips through this approach, you can use this service’s simple verification processes, then you’ll be able to claim the tipped and funded content and get Awards!
When you get an award, you can choose how to receive it. The easiest option is to redeem your award as an Amazon Gift Card code, which you can use instantly at amazon.com. Other options (for amounts over $100) include receiving the money through your Paypal or Amazon Payments account.
Yeah. While browsing, you can use TipTheWeb’s bookmarklet to tip the content you’re enjoying. Let’s support your favorite stuff online!
Content, instead of blog, will be the king
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Budi Putra in Featured, Media
I JUST READ AN INTERESTING PIECE from The Wall Street Journal this morning regarding the future of blogs. The story is about Gawker Media, one of the biggest blog networks in the blogosphere, which will start to drop its old blog design. Basically, they wanted to be more newsmagazine-style and “will abandon their reverse chronological format.”
According to the Gawker Media founder Nick Denton, the new design will accommodate “original work and the growing number of video.” His nine blogs, including Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Kotaku and Deadspin, will get the new look in January.
No wonder Mr. Denton’s new strategy will attract bloggers –including me– and media organization’s attention since they admired his technology instincts for a long time.
Despite the fact the design is not everything, but great site’s design and navigation will add spice to great content and it means will attract more readers. We all know that almost all of Mr. Denton’s blog properties offer high-quality contents –”when it comes to content, Mr. Denton isn’t likely to stray too far beyond his roots,” WSJ writes.
This story clearly suggests that “honeymoon” for bloggers (once become the world’s media celebrities and rock-stars) have almost ended –in this sense, of course. We can see that “the distinctions between blogs and other types of online contents are fast disappearing” and Twitter and Facebook are even “blurring the lines between blogs and personal profiles.” Moreover, large media organizations –besides doing their job very well with fastest news gathering and delivery– also are coming-up with personal touch and tone –just like bloggers.
What does it mean? Will blogs die very soon? Should bloggers just join the mainstream media instead and keep writing? The answer depends on how bloggers to respond to this. Actually bloggers can convert these challenges into opportunities with some ammunition: Keep creating good contents with more personal touch and experience as well as maintaining conversations with social approach; etc.
You know for sure that online readers prefer to click on links recommended by their friends and networks, rather than visiting particular sites and blogs directly. It means that readers now have another ‘layer’ before deciding pick-up stories to read and share. What does it mean? Correct: It means that bloggers and mainstream media have the same opportunity and “playing field” to grab readers’ attention.
And please do not worry about Mr. Denton’s latest strategy. That’s just a maneuver from a blog pioneer to survive blog itself.
In the future, you can keep naming these personal sites as blogs, or whatever. But as long as you could provide good contents and engage the conversations, they will always love you, wait for your piece and return to you site.
The term of “blog” can be disappeared someday, but high-quality and personal-contents will survive and have their own niches and communities. Personal brands will always live along with big media brands. They will complement each other.
Because I believe that content is always the king — no matter it’s coming from individual bloggers or large media organizations.
Why mobile blogging helps me most?
Posted on November 1, 2010 by Budi Putra in Media
I’d just aware that I often rely on mobile blogging in maintaining this blog: while having a coffee or hang-out, business travelling, or even on my way home (thanks to my driver!). I found that around 70 per cent of my previous blog-posts are coming from mobile blogging!
The reason behind this is simple: I always try to blog as soon as possible as I stumbled upon an idea. Once I got the scoop, all I need is an instant Internet connection –and mobile phone is a “killer” device for this purpose.
Sometime when I skipped mobile blogging and try to reach a desktop, it doesn’t work. Yes, you’ve got it right: when I got my PC at the office, my mood is not the same anymore, since I should catch-up with work’s emails and activities. When I got home, I prefer to enjoy browsing or checking my social accounts instead at my PC.
So? Mobile blogging still rocks! :-D
[image source: Getty Images]
Rama, Indonesia’s next full-time blogger
Posted on November 1, 2010 by Budi Putra in People
As someone who once became full-time blogger almost four years ago, I am really happy to welcome another one: Rama Mamuaya (@rampok), the founder of tech blog Daily Social. He just started his new gig today!
Rama himself is one of most popular bloggers in the country. Not just a blogger, he is also a tech activist, start-ups enthusiast and actively conducted some off-line activities.
He has good personality, too. No wonder everybody loves to work with him. Any prominent tech people, for instance, always reach him first before visiting Indonesia. So, for them, Rama is a kind a “password” to understand about Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago and most sexy emerging market.
Good luck Rama!
Indonesian blogger gathering Pesta Blogger 2010 started!
Posted on October 30, 2010 by Budi Putra in Tech
The 4th Indonesian blogger meet-ups called Pesta Blogger+ 2010 to be held today in Epicentrum Walk, Kuningan area, South Jakarta. More than 1,300 online communities including bloggers, microbloggers, Tweeps, Facebookers, Plurkers, Koprollers, podcasters who coming from across the archipelago will attend this annual blogging party.
This year’s Pesta Blogger’s tagline is ‘Merayakan Keragaman’ (Celebrating the diverse). The following is the previous tag-lines of the Pesta Blogger:
“ONE SPIRIT ONE NATION” menjadi tema Pesta Blogger tahun 2009 yang mengangkat semangat kebersamaan dengan merangkul seluruh entitas komunitas blogger dalam sebuah ide besar. Pesta Blogger 2009 adalah tentang keragaman yang berbungkus semangat persahabatan. Semangat ini juga akan membawa harapan baru negeri ini melalui budaya blog, yang akan memainkan peranan penting sebagai medium untuk berekspresi di masa depan.
Mengusung tema “Blogging for Society”, Pesta Blogger 2008 ingin membuktikan bahwa dunia blogger dapat dan telah memberikan kontribusi positif yang cukup besar untuk masyarakat Indonesia. Kembali didukung oleh Departemen Komunikasi dan Informatika, Kementerian Negara Riset dan Teknologi serta Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Pesta Blogger 2008 dihadiri setidaknya 1000 peserta yang terdiri dari blogger-blogger terkemuka dan perwakilan komunitas-komunitas daerah. Pesta Blogger 2008 juga dihadiri oleh 110 wartawan dari 71 media dan menghasilkan 123 liputan.
Menjadi tahun pertama kali Pesta Blogger digelar. Dengan mengusung tema “Suara Baru Indonesia” (New Voice of Indonesia), Pesta Blogger 2007 diikuti oleh lebih dari 500 blogeer ternama serta perwakilan komunitas blogger dari berbagai daerah di Indonesia. Diliput oleh lebih dari 60 media cetak dan elektronik, hari dilaksanakannya Pesta Blogger 2007 tersebut ditetapkan sebagai hari Blogger Nasional oleh Bapak M.Nuh, Menteri Komunikasi dan Informatika RI.
Unfortunately, I can’t attend this year’s Pesta Blogger, due to family matters. But as one of five judges for the event’s Blogging Competitions –called Apresiasi Blog — I am glad that I just got the judging process done! Yeah, the winner for each category will be announced today at the event!
Enjoy Pesta Blogger 2010, fellas!
Alexa’s top searches for budiputra.com
Posted on August 10, 2010 by Budi Putra in Personal
The following is Top Search Results for budiputra.com according to Alexa: haiti relief, motorola milestone, motorola dext, milestone motorola, nexus one, iphone telkomsel, google singapore, skype, hotmail, google hk.
For me, it means that I should keep blogging about technology (mostly about gadgets) and, if possible, related to Asia. Thanks Alexa, and my site’s readers, for giving me this clear directions!
