According to her, the conventional media (or the press) –which is known as the fourth estate– and blogging as the new estate are going to complement each other. “As long as the rules of the game and boundaries are mutually respected, there are many things to be learned from each other,” she said.

Jennie also mentioned Asia Blogging Network (ABN) as a maneuver of the new estate from Indonesia:

…a collective effort to unify Indonesian and other Asian blogs has been executed through the establishment of AsiaBlogging.com, which might eventually form a group of influential pundits and opinionated bloggers and broadcasters. Such a unifying effort is an admirable accomplishment, as the selection process would elevate the credibility of Indonesian and Asian bloggers as equal counterparts to the conventional press.

We hope our blog network could mean something for the world of blogging and Web 2.0 and could be one of trusted sources and readings in the new media era.

Despite the growing risk, few Asian companies have established policies that formally address employee and CEO blogging.

Since blog is one of communication means, the leader like CEO can use blog to communicate with his/her customers, stake-holders, employees, media, and even with his/her rivals!

It’s nice if Asian companies and CEOs could create specific model of this new media and communications tool.

As an observer of Indonesian Internet and media, Roy asked whether AsiaBlogging would take back Internet from currently running Web 2.0 to previous state with centralised content. Budi responded by explaining that AsiaBlogging is still focused on blogs: personal journalism and opinion. It is organised, but it shows different taste and style with mainstream media. Answering Roy, Budi also told two conditions for a writer to join Asia Blogging: must love writing, and must choose a specific theme to write. “Writing for money” type of writer is not suggested to join AsiaBlogging.

Talking to Isyana, Roy questioned the motivation for a writer to join AsiaBlogging. Isyana told that she loves writing, and she sees the opportunity for writers to improve and to grow by joining AsiaBlogging: the system, the community, the chance to grow, etc. She said that after join AsiaBlogging, she keeps her focus only for writing, neglecting all technical aspects etc.

Roy also mentioned that AsiaBlogging is the first initiative in Asia for its kind, and fourth in the world. Concluding the programme, Budi said that AsiaBlogging just opened the opportunity. He’s expecting better authors to join and develop AsiaBlogging together, and better system to be applied.

CEO and founder of ABN, Budi Putra, and a blog writer of ABN, will be the guest on the program. So, don’t miss it! :-)

• Peluncuran Jaringan Blog Asia (Koran Tempo, June 6, 2007)
• Para blogger bergabung ke AsiaBlogging.com (Bisnis Indonesia, June 6, 2007)
• Blogger Indonesia Bersiap Masuk Jaringan Asia (Okezone, June 7, 2007)

Yesterday, we launched this blog network officially. It would not be possible without great efforts from all bloggers, contributors and blog administrators. As an information, we have a special section here where we published articles from our guest writers. Again, thank you Wimar Witoelar (site) and Jennie S. Bev (site) for your articles!

If you are our blog readers, you can see the latest articles from our guest writers from any sites reside in our network. We’re placing a widget in our blogs (more than 60 blogs!). I know, not all blogs have this widget… but it’s about time. We also have plan of releasing this widget for public. So, if you’re WordPress users, and you use widget-friendly themes, we have something for you near the future.