December 2004 Archives

The Star Tech Central published a piece of news today in which some of my comments appeared. A reporter approached me to get my reaction about how Malaysian bloggers are reporting and writing about the tsunami to strike the shores of Asia.

The following is my complete response (unedited) to the questions posed by the Star reporter via email:

Dear [Star reporter],

I take it these questions are meant for an article to show how Malaysian bloggers reacted to the tsunami? Alright, here are my answers:

> 1. What's your opinion of local blog coverage in the first 24 hours, in terms of breadth, depth and timeliness?

According to bloggers contributing to Project Petaling Street (PPS), bloggers reported the event much, much faster than traditional media and even non-traditional media sources such as Malaysiakini.com and The Star Online. Besides the timeliness, the reports made in some blogs come from personal experiences to the tremors/tsunami. That makes compelling and revealing reading.

> 3. In your opinion, what advantages do the local blog community have over the mainstream media in reporting events such as these? What disadvantages? What could local bloggers have done better?

Speed is the chief advantage. No editorial control, no need to cater to the schedule of the printing press = faster speed. Disadvantage = resources and reputation. A blogger is still a single person, while a newspaper or tv station is an army of people working towards a singular goal. Furthermore, with the exception of a few blogs, most people discount the opinions of bloggers -- bloggers have yet to earn the trust of the Greater Audience (i.e. Joe Public). Further disadvantages include their reach. For all their speed and timeliness, bloggers only reach people who log onto the internet and browse blogs. The number of people who access blogs is relatively tiny.

> 4.Do you think blogs foster a spirit of community in trying times like this?

Absolutely. Blogs foster a spirit of community ANYTIME. A lot of bloggers have become friends in the offline world, and meet up regularly for parties, meetings, activities, etc, etc.

> 5. Do you think that blogs can provide an emotional outlet for people who are affected in any way by events such as these?

Absolutely. One blogger once wrote (i forget who), "blogging is self-therapy". Writing about the issues in your mind help you think them through.

> 6. Feel free to add any other comments you have on the matter.

I'm very proud of the Malaysian blogging scene; i've been around for a while, watching it develop at a steady pace, and the maturity of thought demonstrated through the writing of Malaysian bloggers is excellent; the tsunami event is an example of what i'm referring to. I've always been an exponent of the written word, and i think that blogs are a genuine 21st tool for learning and teaching. You learn about yourself and the world when you blog. You teach others what you've learned by writing it down and sharing it on your blog.

Peace,
Aizuddin Danian
http://www.aizuddindanian.com/

A terrific 18 days in the hot Australian sun, spending every single last minute with the family. They are, without an once of doubt, the most important people in my life. And it was a sad moment to wave goodbye to them as i boarded the plane to leave.

But life must go on. Its time to get back to the daily grind.

Officials are calling it the worst natural disaster to hit Malaysia. With 53 confirmed dead, and many more missing, its been a terrible, terrible couple of days for our proud country. Makes me feel guilty to be so far away when it happens.

Across the Asian regions, up to 10,000 more are dead. Its so difficult to imagine the kind of devastation simple waves can cause in such a short period of time.

Malaysia's best source of breaking news on the Net is undoubtedly Jeff Ooi's Screenshots. Updated regularly with the latest links.

Its good to be home; for the first time in nearly a year, the family sat down and shared dinner together.

Australia is bloody hot. Temperatures are reaching into the high 30 degrees celcius, and on a very hot day, its even reached 45 degrees. Ouch. Just standing in the open for more than 5 minutes is almost too much to bear. Sunblock, where is my sunblock? I tried joking about the heat: is Australia closer to the sun or what? I got some stares from everyone -- apparently, during summer, it is. My bad.

But the nights are pleasant. Cool and windy, i sat outside shivering in the chilliness, smoking a couple of cigars, reading a book, sipping on some fresh apple cider. It was quiet, very quiet -- its never this quiet in KL, even in the lofty balcony of my apartment deep in the recesses of Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Ahh, the little pleasures of life. I'm loving it. Its good to be home.

I'm off to Australia tonight to be with the rest of the family. Its going to be a fun filled 18 days.

Found this old photo of my parents and my dad's parents. This shot was taken about 29 years ago -- 1975, perhaps. At the old Lorong Batai house. My grandparents passed away a long time ago and i do miss them very much.

The good thing about having so much time on my hands is that i end up spending a lot of it cleaning up the house -- its a mess, but i'm slowly getting it all together. I found this old photo of me; taken in 2000 while i was in Thailand for a university trip -- damn, i used to be so slim! I think i weighed 65kg back then; a far cry from the 80kg i weigh now. Something to work towards for 2005 -- i need to lose 15kg -- i think i look really good when i don't weigh so much.

I was once thin and slim -- can i be once again?

Baizura went digging into my old photographs and discovered some real gems of me and my mum! Looking at these photos, had us both laughing out of our pants!

Can you imagine this giving birth to...

...this! Hahahahaha...

Here's an interesting view on Malaysian blogs by an interesting new Malaysian blog-on-the-block, "Looks Easy". A good read.

Even before i graduated from uni, i was fortunate enough to have a permanent, full-time job (don't ask how i managed to handle a full load of classes at the same time!). These past few days is the first time in my adult professional life (just over 5 years now) that i've actually had no job to go to early in the morning, no deadlines to meet, no bosses to please, no customers or clients to attend to. I'm jobless, and quite frankly, loving it.

Well, i think i like it now because of the novelty of it all. But it'll wear off soon enough; the next time a bill comes, it won't be a very pretty sight! :)

Oh well. I'm going to try my darnest to enjoy this next month. A month without work, and very little to worry about. Ain't life grand?