If you’re new in Indonesia’s blogosphere town, you may have heard Photoblogging or Fashion Blogging before, but the term Bridge Blogging may sound unfamiliar to you. So did I, until the terminology was introduced by Pesta Blogger 2007 committee as one of the breakout discussion groups, a category in blogging simply put. The group is facilitated by Ong Hock Chuan from Maverick and Global Voices Online’s Preetam Rai. Fatih Syuhud is also one of the facilitators but he couldn’t make it to the event.

What is Bridge Blogging, anyways? As defined by Rebecca MacKinnon on behalf of Global Voices Online, a bridge blogger is “somebody who acts as a “bridge” between their blogging community and the rest of the world. Lots of blogospheres are springing up around the world, in lots of languages, but many of them don’t communicate with each other. That’s unfortunate, as there is much potential for dialogue across these communities”. [Link]

So, if you happened to own an online publication, whatever it is, it may be a blog, a plog or a vlog, a magazine, a design portfolio, and you have become a representation of Indonesia in the global world, you are –whether it’s intentional or not—a bridge blogger for Indonesia. Here’s the personal commentary written by Ong Hock Chuan on Indonesian Bridge Blogging [Link]:

Bridge blogging is writing your blog in English or some language other than Indonesian so that the world outside has another window with which to peer into your country. Most blogs in Indonesia provide fascinating insights and information on various aspects of Indonesia, but are mostly written in Indonesian. They are therefore inaccessible to someone who does not read Indonesian.

As a result, perceptions of Indonesia from the outside are skewered since they have to rely on the traditional media like CNN and other non-Indonesian sources to render information in English for them. Unfortunately, however, CNN is interested in Indonesia only when it comes to terrorists, bombs, riots and other mayhem. So lots of positive things about Indonesia do not get reported and people outside think that Indonesia’s a basket case.

Traditionally, the other source of news in English that comes out of Indonesia are blogs kept by expats (disclosure: Unspun is an expat, of sorts, who’s been living in indonesia for 10 years or more). There are some good blogs among the expats but most of them are droll and comprise of grouses about the country they live in, deprecating remarks about local women and mutual masturbation among unattractive expat men.

This picture is compounded by the fact that some of these expats were the only ones who blogged when blogging was stil a new phenomenon, so even though time has passed and the world has changed, they think they are still center for the action where Englsi-language blogs are concerned.

Fortunately for Indonesia, this picture has been changing, although perhaps not fast enough. In the past few years we have seen many Indonesian blogs written in English spring up and over a variety of subjects. Some are very good. Some are penned by Indonesians living abroad. Others are written by Indonesians living here. They are from all walks of life. Some even blog as groups. Many have great content if not grammar. Still some, lke blogs in any language, are downright bad. But that’s the beauty of it; together they provide a rich mosaic of Indonesian life, insights and outlook.

But they are growing and as a result they may yet be the best hope for Indonesia to change its image abroad. as more Indonesians blog in English they form a bridge to other countries and worlds. Sometimes it provokes disagreements and arguments but that’s just great because with conversation comes understanding.

But not everyone is too fond of the idea, Jennie S. Bev. have doubted the true nature of bridge-blogging for Indonesia, for these particular reasons:

First, I see Indonesia with neutral eyes. As a person of three cultures (Indonesian by birthplace, Chinese by ancestry, and American by residence), I believe all of them are of equal value and equally beautiful. Choosing one over the others is favoritism and not healthy for my existence.

Second, Indonesia is where most of my personal pains reside, so it is very hard for me to write only the positive sides of Indonesia. It is not 100% beautiful, some parts are really really awful. And I have seen them firsthand, which I can never deny.

Third, as an author, a peace activist, and a partial scholar, I need to see the truth and the truth only. I cannot make a partially grim picture completely rosy. Of course, as a person who motivates myself, it is important to see the positive sides of ourselves as human beings, but we need to acknowledge the bad sides as well.

Fourth, anything we do have political consequences and promoting something so passionately may be perceived as conveying a propaganda on behalf of the government or the ruling regime. Who are they, deep down inside? We never know for sure. I prefer not to be perceived as taking this side, because I simply don’t. It would not be credible for me as an author, a peace activist, and a partial scholar to do so.

Fifth, a blog is the fifth element or the new fourth estate, it should be used as a check and balance medium, ideally. I choose this side, not the publicist’s side. I have written an article on this for the Jakarta Post. Read it here.

So, do I love Indonesia and Indonesians? There is no doubt about it. But do I believe in nationalism? Parochial nationalism? No, I don’t. I believe nationalism should come in alignment with internationalism.

We all are parts of something much larger, the human race. It would not be wise for me to favor Indonesia only.

I want Indonesia to move forward and realize that it belongs to the whole human race. And to be acknowledged as such, Indonesia must propel itself strategically using international standards.

In short, my love for Indonesia is tough love. Love that is not blind. Just like how I love in general. Thank you for listening.

Jennie S. Bev has made her point [Link] and we’d rather have a point well taken rather than to sugarcoat the whole thing and rant about its flaws in future time (and we Indonesians tend to rant and ramble. Admit it.). Nevertheless, her thoughts are real-life examples of how pathetically we require bridge blogging. Try picture Jennie S. Bev as a foreigner, not an Indonesian. She was stating how the international world perceives us, and she doubted whether anything that perceived in such way would worth the fight. She said, “We all are parts of something much larger, the human race. It would not be wise for me to favor Indonesia only.”, which pretty much suggests Indonesia and human race is two different choices that contradict each other.

Some of us have questioned too many times, are we ready in becoming citizens of the world? Are we ready with the international standards? We know how easily the negative vibe rises in the air. We know there are still paranoia, prejudice, and jealousy bounce back and forth. We know that it’s better off keeping our mouth shut. Ong Hock Chuan replied to this notion, “I do not mean that bridge bloggers have to be positive about Indonesia or their home countries. They can be as critical or skeptical as they want, so long as they keep it real and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Critical expressions also provide an invaluable insight into the mosaic that is a country.” [Link]. Of course, I might add that being critical can also suggest being positive. Apathy is crippledness.

At least now we have some clues on how it is going to be. What exactly are our consequences in Bridge Blogging, then? I am sure I am not the (professionally) right person to state these points, nevertheless –without sounding that I’m “teaching the teachers”– here are my views on Bridge Blogging in Indonesia, according to how the situation is in my community and the consequences related to it.

1. The consequence of using English.

Prepare to be assumed as yet another tech-savvy preppy snob blogger, especially when using casual American-english like how you find here, some are going to assume we’re just trying to be cool on daily basis or just bragging that Daddy has been paying for our school abroad. A person forwards this following article by Ari Subagyo titled “Melawan Dominasi Bahasa Inggris” [Link] (check later this week for the English translation) to my mailbox and critisized subtly on why I choose to write in English. Maybe this individual hasn’t read my Bahasa Indonesia-written posts or articles I contribute to a local media which were also written in Bahasa Indonesia. I write mainly in English because somehow it “mentally sounds” less heavy and readers-friendly. Even an SEO amateur would’ve figured that if it’s the quantity of traffic we’re after, we’d be much better off writing in Indonesian and focus more on the mindless hyped-up topics. If we’re using English, according to those li’l spying Googlebots, we are standing in line with everyone in the world. And that is a long line.

This goes vice versa. Writing in English, does not make us more superior than the ones writing in Indonesian, or even make us instantly a bridge blogger de facto. English language is one primary factor of bridge blogging, but not the only one. If it is as ideal as how it is proposed, then Bridge Blogging must rely on its content quality and representation as well.

2. The consequence of (still) having socio-religious issues in the spotlight.

As Ong Hock Chuan said, “Unfortunately, however, CNN is interested in Indonesia only when it comes to terrorists, bombs, riots and other mayhem.” True. I don’t know which one’s more paranoid anymore, us or them. My point is, if you’re religiously fanatic, don’t be a bridge blogger or even try to appreciate bridge bloggers. Really. First thing first, we’re for Indonesia. Not the Vaticans, not the Arabs, not the Afghanistans, not the Palestines, not Israelis, not some planet X. There’s this assumption that in order to be a nationalist, you have to become a moralist, and given that the country’s educational system only provides moral in religious viewpoints instead of humanism, inevitably you have to be “religiously acclaimed” in order to be a nationalist. Just because we write in English (the Anglo-Saxon derived language), it doesn’t mean we’re representing the Western culture or Christianity either. There are gigazillions of Moslem journalists carrying Moslem names working in the media and they are writing in English. Such biased prejudice in modern Indonesia is quite hillarious, but it’s there for a reason.

Vice versa. Religious and socio-religious issues are crucial and people who can produce such articles in English are highly essential for Bridge Blogging of Indonesia; but as I implied above, people can tell the difference between an intelligent news-like commentary and a hate page.

No, I don’t care if this donut I’m eating have funded the Israeli army.

3. The consequence of serving.

Do we really serve our country that much? Well, here’s the thing. Have you heard anyone say: “Bule lebih cinta ma Indonesia, daripada orang Indonesia sendiri.” Or something like it? The saying suggests that foreigners (not always Caucasians, just not this country’s natives.) are more attentive and appreciative to our country than most Indonesians themselves. If this is a fact and not just myth, well shame on you, Indonesians. However, there is also an assumption that the foreign countries are more responsive to our country’s wealth rather than its people (read: human resource, workforce, etc.).

In terms of serving, there’s also the slave-master concept; who’s the slave? Who’s the master? Eventhough being independent for over sixty years, the majority of Indonesians has been sociologically mutated to the idea of the slaves-and-masters hierarchy; without it, there shall be chaos. Blogging itself is one example of applying the ever-learning idea of “autonomy of morale”, where one governs his or her own device, action, creation, and companionship. Not all Indonesians are educated to become autonomy of his or her own morale, hence not all are educated to serve and become responsible of his or her own national identity.

4. The consequence of paradoxical internationalism.

The last risk on the list elaborates on the contradiction of Bridge Blogging for Indonesia; in worst scenarios, it can be contra-productive. What if we choose to consider ourselves as citizens of the world? What if it goes in reverse and we’re representing The World to Indonesia, instead of the other way around? What if we’re delivering global humanity to the religiously standardized Indonesia? In this particular situation, we’ll learn whether Indonesia accepts The World, as much as The World accepts Indonesia.

Summary

Presently Bridge Blogging cannot be simply aligned as a blogging category that separates from the rest, because by bridge-blogging we can represent various different aspects (niche) of Indonesia, from its nature, its economy, its political affairs, its humanitarian issues, its urban cults etcetera; Bridge Blogging is more of a function, a function with consequences as its progressive challenges and a function that is already there along side with the rise of Web 2.0: as the architecture of participation. This architecture comes as assistance to nations planetwide to present initiatives, transparency, and media democracy amongst its own citizens. Even so, the credibility of bridge bloggers is no different from other types of blogger; it is mainly regarded by its quality of expression, not merely the freedom of it. If Jennie S. Bev said that it’s tough love, then we are all labours of love in the end.

If you’d like to read more examples of Bridge Blogging articles, please click the image below:

Popularity: 26%