Enlarging Network, Enhancing Solidarity (1)

Pesta Blogger 2008 was a real big party. 1500 bloggers enlisted, but I don't think they were all showing up that Saturday. I was having a flu for more than a week, so I decided to go to the doctor for medicine on Thursday...It helped, I did enjoy the party although I could not really going around, chatting with others as usual. I was mostly busy with my nose...he..he..he...

They've made a whole day party, and then on my way back (by busway) I got stuck in Blok M station for almost an hour. That made my three sons protested (not to mention their keeper...my mom and dad). We drove back to Serpong that night because in the morning we need to go to the Sunday school. I skipped helping the Sunday School's activities since my grandmother passed away, mostly because we spent our week-ends in my parents' house...but I do need to be more responsible...so we drove back that night.

Perhaps I was too tired lately. It's been two months since I'm without any helper at home, and also because of the bad weather...And today is the worst. I have to forget about making an article for OhmyNews International. I need my time to take a good rest, but perhaps I can blog a little bit :)

I think we can't expect much from a party...it's a party, time to enjoy the event, to meet friends and new friends. That's why I like to compare it with the Indonesian wedding party.

What I like about this year's event is the chance to know a little bit about bloggers' community around Indonesia, and of course...the presence of the five international bloggers.

It was a bit surprising to see the booth of the US Embassy, they were offering Green Card - the US Diversity Visa Lottery. I asked the lady who is giving away some brochures about this lottery, and she kindly asked me back: "Would you like to register?" I said politely: "No, thank you," but actually my mind is racing around. "Why are they campaigning for visa lottery here?" I remembered the article I've read that the racist incidents were increasing after Obama was elected as the President of the USA. Non Caucasian immigrants' number is already increased, and if it keeps going up...then in the year 2040 there will be different story of majority. So, why do they need to promote their -free to register- visa lottery? Another question that popped in my mind was the consequences of taking this lottery. I saw some youngsters gathered there, took their pictures and register themselves. I wonder if their registration would do no harm to their visa application in the future. Being young,sometimes people do what their peers do, without asking the detailed consequences of their acts in the future, nor even think of its possibility. Actually I don't know anything about visa to go to US, except that it is difficult to get, and it is expensive...And green card? No idea...

Another surprised that came to me was the fact that the auditorium for the discussion session should be shared for three groups. It was a little bit annoying, but the discussion seemed so much better than last year's session. The topics available were all interesting, but we have to choose...

I joined the citizen journalism group which was talking about ethics and the boundary of writing a blog. We had Budi Putra, an professional journalist who turned to be the first Indonesian full time blogger, and Pepih Nugraha, a professional journalist from Kompas daily as our speakers.

When Budi Putra started his talk, he mentioned about a law suit that came across a citizen reporter. He mentioned about how important it is to check and rechecking data, to have all the important facts checked and ready to defend the article, as it is how a journalist work. Writing news is easy, but having the access to the right resources is more important there. Blog in his view should come back to its essence; something unique, personal, and worth reading. Every person is unique, and they have their own unique experiences. When a blogger write something that they really like, a subject in which he/she has the expertise, then the content of the blog is going to show "something".

To be continued.