Can we live a day without TV? Many Indonesian bloggers almost simultaneously posted a piece about a day without television to commemorate National Children Day on July 23.
Many of them are worried about the quality of Indonesian tv programs which they see as a threat to the children creativity specially when it is seen from quality point of view.
Lita Mariana at Banana Talk, Priyadi, Triaji, Solyaris, and Bocah Cilik are among Indonesian bloggers who urge everyone to stop watching a tv program to pay respect for children and to warn Indonesian tv channels about their programs that could harm children in many ways.
This “one day without tv” campaign is initiated by Kidia a portal media dedicated specifically for children education.
Lita Mariana fully supports such campaign. As a mother of a couple of kids, she is very concerned with many tv programs that she thinks could pose a threat to the way the kids will behave in the future.
So what the point of making such campaign when they know that their voices will reach the deaf ears of Indonesian tv producers if it’s not accompanied with a proper law? A comment here tell us the reason.
Says Rendy AK
It’s not about anti-TV as a technology. It’s just too-much-violence-and-junk-shows on (Indonesian) TV. This is not about proposing a bill that makes TV ilegal, just showing respect to the National Child Day.
As we all know Indonesian TV show is far from child-friendly. Despite that Indonesian children spend more time on TV than on other activities.
Masindi gives an interesting comment on Banana Talk post about how not watching tv can benefit you:
We have lived happily without TV since many years ago:
Read here: ” Celebrating Life at Home Without TV”
-We’ve read more books.
-We’ve entertained more guests (really, we had meaningful conversations and played musical instruments).
-We’ve copulated more often.
-We’ve tried more interesting recipes.
-Now, we’ve got all the time in the world to take care of Noe.
Many Indonesian bloggers respond to the current brutal and terror act against civilians in Palestine and Lebanon with disgust and condemnation.
Indra Pramana who is very concerned about the current escalation of tension in the middle-east, especially the use of excessive force by Israelis against civilians in Palestinian territory and Lebanon, questioning the actions of the Jewish state and the silent voice of the world on the events:
I still don’t understand, why Israel has to kill a lot of innocent civilians, including children, only because they want to save two of their soldiers which are being captured by Hezbollah militants. Why they have to bomb the Beirut international airport? Why they have to sacrifice the life of a lot of Lebanese civilians, including children?
Why all countries around the world did not immediately condemn the attack? When North Korea did a “show-off” with its missiles, most of all countries around the world immediately condemned the move. When terrorists strike Mumbai’s rapid transportation with several blasts to its trains, all countries immediately condemned the attack. Why up to the moment, it’s quite difficult for most countries around the world to condemn the Israel’s attack? Why so far, only Indonesia condemned the attack, while the Philippines only issued Lebanon travel ban for its citizens? And why the UN Security Council finds it difficult to come out with a resolution to condemn the attack?
I really hope that the international community can immediately look into this matter. This matter is obviously more serious than the North Korea issue. North Korea only performed a show-off, while in this case, a lot of civilians, including children, has been killed by the brutal attacks. I also really hope that the international community can do the necessary to stop Israel’s attacks, so there’s no further innocent people become victims.
While many Indonesian bloggers condem the acts of the Israelis against Lebanon and Palesine, Romi Satro Wahono highlights more on the root cause of conflicts happens in any parts of the world including in the Middle East where he elaborates three major factors of conflicts and war that happen throughout the history of the world adding a note that it’s the US who has waged the most wars:
First, ambition to show off and gain recognition on the part of more powerful countries with all possible pretext to support the action.
Second, war as a very profitable business. You can see the table in his blog on the top five countries who export and import weapons and its values in US dollars
Third, poverty, injustices, and big social gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Some commenters seem to agree with him. Arif Widianto, for example, comment that:
Saya tidak terkejut kalau Amerika merupakan negara yang terbanyak terlibat dalam konflik (perang) internasional. Industri senjata di negara tersebut merupakan industri yang besar dan harus diserap. Kalau pasar tidak menyerap, minimal negara sendiri yang menyerap. Boleh dilihat, setiap kali Partai Republik berkuasa di Amerika, dijamin bakal akan ada perang di suatu belahan dunia karena Partai Republik disokong oleh industri senjata. Lihat George Bush dan George Walker Bush sebagai sedikit contoh dari penguasa yang berasal dari Partai Republik. Kedua orang ini menggelar perang yang cukup dahsyat di akhir abad 20 dan awal abad 21.
I am not surprised to see the US as a country with the most involvement in international conflicts (war). Weapon industry in the country is one of the biggest business and has to be dealt with. If the (international) market does not absorb that (weapon) production, it’ll become the burden of state to do it. See, everytime the Republic is in the helm of power, it’ll be rest assured there would be a war in other parts of the world because the Republic party is supported by weapons industry. See for example George Bush Sr. and Jr as a case in point. The two father and son president have waged the greatest war in the late 20th century and early 21st century respectively.
Politics, sport, business towards Israel
Ahmad Qisai at Politics and Society highlights the ever growing tension between Israel and Palestine and Indonesian government decision to boycot the playoff of the World Group II in Tel Aviv later this month but seems to have a double standard in case of economy. He said,
The unjustified ‘collective punishment’ by Israel to the Palestinian people seems to have evoked contradicting responses in Indonesia. Being a staunch supporter of Palestinian cause and statehood, Indonesian leaders think that Indonesia needs to show her sympathy and solidarity to the Palestinian people. But sport and business in Indonesia seem to have different take on this Israel – Palestine political conflict.
Based on the precedence set by Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) who had government nod to go to Israel, the Indonesian Fed team should go ahead as they are invited by an independent institution not by Israeli government:
… Showing sympathy and solidarity to the Palestinian people does not mean that we have to sacrifice our national interests. Kadin has given this example. Being able to play more active role in international forums to pressurize Israel to solve the conflict in the region peacefully is more important for Indonesia than boycotting a tennis tournament.
Charity There, Charity Here too
Yosef Ardi at Indonesia Today, one of the most active Indonesian blogger-journalist discusses a new phenomenon among Indonesian big bosses: setting up a charity foundation. Even though some skeptic see this current trend with cynical view, they got no less appreciation from some other corners. He wrote:
Some praised these foundations for what they have done so far, just like Bill and Melinda Gates or Warren Buffett who decided to give away most of his fortunes to Bill’s foundation. These foundations are aggresively announce what they called ‘donations’ or corporate social responsibility (CSR)…give scholarships or professorships to big universities…give billions of rupiah to help the victims of the recent Yogyakarta earthquake or tsunami in Aceh…
But others are cynical, especially certain names with poor track records (still) and considered the criminals to the state as bad debtors or walked away smartly with huge burden to the state and the people..or their current operations of destroying forest for raw materials.
Looking up to the Future
Martin Manurung, in the meantime, disagree with the current statements made by many national figures like Abdurrahman Wahid, former Indonesian president, who urges the nation to go back to UUD’ 45 philosophical constitution instead of go ahead with the reformasi. He believes that:
Leaders are called on to build their nations by creating the future rather than investing in the past, vision matters more than ever. Vision requires what looks to others like a leap of faith: the ability to go beyond the data and to make a smart guess.
10 Blog Pilihan
Dari hutan rimba blogosphere, Tempo memilih 10 blog yang pantas Anda kunjungi. TIDAK gampang memilih weblog atau blog yang terbaik di antara sekian blog. Masalah paling krusial adalah menetapkan kriteria. Itulah yang dihadapi tim Tempo saat menentukan ”10 blog In-donesia terpilih”.
Setidaknya ada tiga kendala ketika kriteria akan dibuat. Pertama, sebagai sebuah entitas, ”usia” blog baru sekitar 10 tahunan. Jadi, dari segi format dan karakter, blog masih mencari-cari bentuk. Ke-dua, umumnya blog me-ng-usung beragam topik dan minat. Mulai dari diary, puisi, foto, hingga blog dengan posting se-rius. Ketiga, terdapat jutaan blog di -jagat blogosphere. Menurut mesin pencari blog, Technorati, saat ini terdapat 49,5 juta blog. Para blogger me-ngirim setidaknya 1,2 juta posting setiap hari.
Menurut pendiri Technorati,- Dave- Sifry, blogosphere ini ber-lipat ganda setiap enam bulan. ”-Se-tidak-nya 75 ribu blog baru mun-cul setiap hari,” ujarnya. Ba-yang-kan, bagaimana mesti memi-lih 10 saja dari hutan rimba blog ini.
Tetapi kriteria mesti di-tetapkan. Maka, disusunlah sejumlah panduan berdasar kriteria umum, teknis, dan operasional. Kriteria umum, bloggernya orang- Indonesia—tak pe-duli menggunakan bahasa Indonesia atau Ing-gris. Mi-nimal sudah ngeblog selama enam bulan. Kriteria teknis lebih ber-kaitan dengan web, yakni harus menggunakan peranti lunak blog. Dengan demikian, situs web biasa tidak akan diperhitungkan. S-itus agregator blog (situs yang ber-isi kumpulan posting terbaru dari se-jumlah blog) juga tak ikut dini-lai, karena perhatian diutamakan pada blog personal.
Untuk mempermudah pemilahan, peringkat di Technorati (jumlah link dari sekian banyak blog) dan Google Pagerank (tertinggi 10) akan ikut diperhitungkan.
Nah, yang paling me-nentukan adalah kriteria operasional. Ini bisa dilihat dari manfaat blog bagi pengunjung atau pengaksesnya. Blog yang menyajikan topik yang spesifik menjadi ”pintu masuk” melihat bermanfaat atau tidaknya sebuah blog. Alias, blog yang hanya berupa diary akan terpental dari daftar ini.
Kecekatan memilih entry tulis-an atau posting menjadi kriteria berikutnya. Posting-posting me-narik umumnya bersifat ak-tual. Biasanya posting bisa populer ka-rena kelihaian memilih angle yang berbeda dari arus utama.
Teknik menulis pranala rujuk-an dalam posting juga menjadi per-timbangan. Sebab, pranala yang benar, akurat, dan disi-sipkan pa-da kata atau frase tertentu sudah menjadi etika dunia blog.
Pengelolaan kategori-kategori yang sesuai dengan posting jelas sangat bermanfaat bagi pengunjung. Jadi, salah satu nilai plus sebuah blog adalah kekayaan a-rsip-nya. Jangan lupa pula, hierarki menu dan komposisi rubrik yang disajikan secara baik membuat blog bisa dinikmati dengan enak (visitor-friendly). Terakhir, harus dicatat, blog -pi-lihan belum tentu blog terbaik- di bidangnya. Tapi, ber-dasar- k-riteria di atas, blog pilihan adalah blog yang layak dilongok bagi yang i-ngin menjelajahi blogosphere. Berikut blog Indonesia pilihan (disusun berdasar urutan abjad nama-nama blog).
01. Dubes Blogger Indonesia
Blogger Indonesia A. Fatih Syuhud
http://fatihsyuhud.com
T : 14.240 (656 link dari 162 blog)
G : 5
Visi utamanya, bagaimana dunia luar makin memahami negeri ini dari blog-blog Indonesia. Itu sebabnya, A. Fatih Syuhud mendorong para blogger Indonesia agar makin banyak menulis blog dalam bahasa Inggris. Ditulis dalam bahasa Inggris, sebagian besar posting-nya bersumber dari berbagai peristiwa penting di Indonesia. Salah satu fitur blognya yang terkenal adalah ”Blogger Indonesia of the Week”.
02. Silahkan Tersenyum
bloGombal | catatan ringan angin-anginan
http://gombal.blogdrive.com/
T : 14.077 (485 link dari 163 blog)
G : 5
Blog ini mengajarkan satu hal: jika kita cermat dan sensitif, banyak hal lucu dan tak terduga yang bisa ditemukan setiap hari. Mungkin muncul di gerobak pemulung, iklan baris, atau dinding truk. Selain didukung foto-foto, posting blogger anonim ini ringkas, padat, dan memikat.
03. Blogger ”Kantor Berita”
Enda Nasution’s Weblog
http://enda.goblogmedia.com/
T : 5.482 (889 link dari 360 blog)
G : 6
Dijuluki Bapak Blogger Indonesia, Enda Nasution mulai menulis blog sejak 2001. Selain berisi berbagai posting ter-baru, blognya juga menampilkan menu quick-link (pranala cepat) berisi informa-si- pranala situs atau blog terbaru. Ba-nyak blogger pemula mengirimkan in-formasi via e-mail ke Enda agar di-masukkan dalam quick-link-nya. Enda bi-sa dijuluki sebagai blogger ”kantor berita”.
04. Blogger Bawah Tanah
Gerakan Bawah Tanah – Mr. GBT by Budi Rahardjo
G : 6
Jangan mengira blog ini penuh dengan ajar-an untuk melakukan makar.
Budi Rahardjo, si blogger, adalah salah seorang pakar Internet ternama di Indonesia. Salah satu pelopor blog di Indonesia ini banyak menulis buku teknologi informasi. Ia juga dosen ITB. Materi kuliahnyalah yang kerap muncul di blog ini. Dengan nama ”seram”, mungkin Budi berharap mahasiswa-nya antusias membuka blognya dan men-diskusikan materinya di sana.
05. Jurnal Politik
Indonesia Matters
http://indonesiamatters.com/
T : 52.495 (114 link dari 55 blog)
G : 5
Sebuah jurnal yang dikelola dengan baik dan rapi. Ditulis dalam bahasa Inggris, entry-nya aktual dan dibumbui berbagai komentar yang cerdas. Fokusnya lebih pada isu-isu politik dan hukum. Blog jurnal semacam ini sangat bermanfaat bagi orang asing untuk memahami masalah penting di Indonesia.
06. Pemasar dan Guru yang Baik
Nofie Iman
http://nofieiman.com/
T : 9.591 (292 link dari 228 blog)
G : 4
Blog ini mengulas isu-isu yang terkait dengan masalah pemasaran dan keuangan. Menu yang ditawarkan sangat informatif dan kategoris: mulai dari arsip, daftar artikel, berbagai materi yang disarankan, hingga fasilitas unduh dan belanja online. Blog ini juga punya satu menu khusus forex (valuta asing) dengan rujukan yang lengkap. Sebuah contoh blog tematik yang digarap dengan apik.
07. Diari Seorang Komentator
Perspektif Online – Wimar Witoelar
http://perspektif.net/
T : 43.061 (115 link from 65 blog)
G : 5
Wimar Witoelar sudah ngeblog sejak sepuluh tahun yang lalu, hampir seusia blog. Ditulis dalam bahasa Indonesia dan Inggris, sebagian besar posting Wimar berisi isu politik nasional. Termasuk kliping lengkap dan timeline seputar program talk-show-nya yang legendaris, Perspektif.
08. Buah dari Hobi
Weblog Wannabe: home of recyclable hyperlinks
http://www.wannabegirl.org
T : 1.986 (1.048 link dari 745 blog)
G : 6
Firda, pemilik blog ini, memiliki hobi memotret dan desain web. Itulah yang ia ekspresikan di blognya. Berbagai posting-nya dipumpunkan pada pengetahuannya yang luas tentang desain dan fotografi. Ketekunan dan hobi alumni Ilmu Perpustakaan Universitas Indonesia yang kini berdomisili di Kanada ini membuahkan hasil. Blognya memenangi sejumlah penghargaan internasional.
09.Artis Indonesia Watch
whodoyouthinkheare: with mpok jane & neng sarah
http://whodoyouthinkheare.blogspot.com/
T : 17.022 (198 link dari 138 blog)
G : 3
Bagaimana jika pengetahuan yang memadai terhadap mode, gosip artis, dipadu dengan kemampuan meledek dan bahasa Inggris yang renyah? Jadilah blog dengan nama unik: Who Do You Think He Are. Coba simak salah satu posting-nya tentang busana muslimah yang dikenakan penyanyi Reza Artamevia: ”You see, Mbak Reza, when it comes to Busana Muslimah, here’s a few pointers… Inneke Koesherawati? Good. Marissa Haque? Generic. Jinny Oh Jinny, The Medical Student? BAD!!!!!!!!”
10. Jagoan di Technorati
William Computer Blog: Latest Information on Technology
http://www.wpram.com/
T : 13 (8.709 link dari 8.425 blog)
G : 6
Berdomisili dan berbisnis di Sydney, Australia, William Pramana mengaku sebagai seorang technology enthusiast. Hal ini terlihat jelas di blognya: posting-posting-nya mengenai teknologi informasi terkini. Ia menulis dengan baik, dan blognya memiliki pranala yang terkait dan gambar-gambar pendukung. Blognya banyak di-link dari situs luar sehingga membuatnya diperhitungkan dalam kancah blogosphere dunia.
Sumber: Majalah Tempo Edisi 31 Juli 2006
Opinion and Editorial July 03, 2006
Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta
Corporate communicators, journalists and PR hacks take note: Your defense minister has just started blogging. What are you going to do about it?
If conversations with professional communicators in Indonesia are anything to go by, the answer is probably nothing. The typical attitude, especially for those over 40, is that blogs are for angst-filled teenagers writing syrupy prose and bad poetry on the Net.
They couldn’t be more wrong. Blogs are very likely to change the way businesses and organizations communicate, especially when it comes to crisis and issues management. The rise of the blogging phenomenon as a force in society is well documented in publications such as Fortune, Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat, and Naked Conversations, a book co-authored by Robert Scoble, best known as Microsoft’s appointed blogger, and Shiel Israel.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has apparently taken all this seriously and started blogging (www.juwonosudarsono.com) in April. So far he’s made five posts. The first was personal, having to do with the arrival of his grandson. The next were about the U.S. Secretary of Defense, development planning and the debate on Pancasila.
His last post, however, is particularly interesting from an issues management point of view and may foreshadow how businesses, organiza-tions and personalities try to engage their detractors in the future.
In a post titled Military Businesses and the Reform Process, Juwono rebuts the Human Rights Watch report of June 2006 calledHigh a Price: The Human Rights Costs of the Indonesian Military’s Economic Activities.”
So what does he achieve?
Potentially, a lot. By even going into the so-called blogosphere, Juwono is sending a strong signal that he is willing to discuss his views on matters that he cares about. He is also sending a message that he is willing to have a conversation with these stakeholders, whether they are supporters or detractors, through his blog.
By doing this he is presenting himself as an open person, and by blogging about his grandson, he also presents the human side of Juwono, the defense minister.
Through his blog he is able to engage critics like Human Rights Watch and respond blow by blow if necessary. This is something that is very difficult for an attacked party to do in the traditional media.
That is because in the traditional media, the advantage goes to the party that strikes first. A typical example would be an NGO calling a press conference to accuse, say, a mining company of pollution. It makes the front page if the accusations are sensational enough.
By the time the mining company calls a press conference to rebut the allegations, the story is downgraded to an inside page because a defense is usually not asas an accusation. By then, the damage is done, and there is little the company can do to mitigate it.
In the blogosphere, however, companies and NGOs enjoy a level playing field. An NGO can make an accusation and the company can rebut it almost in real time, as well as bringing other stakeholders into the ensuing conversation. Since most Indonesian NGOs and activists are plugged into the Net anyway,an even better medium to engage them.
There is also increasing evidence that many issues now begin in the blogosphere and only jump to the traditional media when they reach the critical point. The woes of bicycle-lock company Kryptonite,problems involving a flawed chip and other business crises were apparently caught early in the blogosphere.
So this is the best place for businesses and organizations to intercept issues before they become crises.
But for all their potential, blogs are still a relatively new phenomenon, and not a few people will be questioning whether Juwono can influence anyone at all.
Time will tell, but in the meantime, here are some figures to help you decide whether Juwono’s blog will amount to anything.
Nobody knows the total number of blogs in the world, although some experts place it at 100 million. Juwono’s blog is now ranked at 122,749 by Technorati, a web service that searches and ranks blogs by order of influence.
Technorati also says Juwono has 44 links to his blog from 26 other sites. Among those links are Komunitas Blogger Muslim, Global Voices Online and an influential Indonesian blog, Blogger Indonesia, whose author, A. Fatih Syuhud, has named Juwono the Blogger of the Week. And this is a blog that is less than three months old with only five posts (most influential bloggers post at least once a day).
Juwono is certainly creating a buzz among bloggers, many of whom would now like to see Human Rights Watch engage the minister on his criticisms of their report.
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