Profiling the PNG Blogging Scene

I wrote this Blog’s first post only a couple months ago. It took me thirty minutes to write that post. And It took me ten of those minutes to realise the power of blogging. Nobody told me how addictive blogging is – not addictive in the sense that it’s something you need for yourself. No.

Addictive in the sense that you’re sharing bits of you – your thoughts, ideas, the inner workings of your complex brain, and there are people out there in the Blogosphere who read what you write.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, black or white, male or female, educated or not, or anywhere else in between. It’s equity at its best – a level playing field determined by nobody but you. That’s the beauty of the Blogosphere, there are no glass walls or ceilings. It’s almost like a virtual interpretation of fundamental Marxism, apart from the State and one more thing – Blogging actually works.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post: the Papua New Guinea Blogging Scene. I thought I’d introduce to the world a collection of PNG Blogs – as Tubuans & Dukduks sees it.

Madang - Ples Bilong Mi

If you want to be the recipient of up-to-date updates about our sleepy little town of Madang, this Blog is for you. The author occasionally chips in a story here and there about his world travels and has regular pieces on nature which adds to the flavour – and all of that is complimented by some damn good photos (He knows his photography). I love the local news, the reports on what’s happening in Madang, and the PNG photos – especially the ocean shots. Great Blog for PNGeans living outside of the country – relaxing and peaceful, just like Madang.

Malum Nalu

If you want to read about PNG from a journalistic point of view you’ve found your answer. This Blog focuses on PNG in general and covers various issues ranging from religion, politics, education and culture to corruption. The author shares a substantial amount of his journalism pieces from over the years – and his experience and extensive travels throughout the country. I love the feature articles from around PNG, the revelations of what’s happening in the country, the PNG Media industry insights, and the historical posts. If you want to learn more about PNG – even if you think you know everything already, this Blog will prove you wrong.

  • The Masalai Blog (News, ideas, general banter and your comments – acting locally looking globally):

Masalai Blog

As the sub-heading suggests – news, idea, general banter, your comments – acting locally looking globally. That’s exactly what this Blog is about and of course all of that from a PNG perspective. If you’re interested in music, technology, innovation, and practical entrepreneurship – this is your Blog. The author shares extensively from his experiences, both personal and professional, and has established a well balanced blog perspective between local, regional, and global issues. I love the ideas that are generated on this Blog, the behind the scene stories and opinions, the pamphlets of PNG events, and the news through the grapevine. And if you want to know what’s happening in Port Moresby – socially, technology, commercially and just about every other “-y”, look no further. Another top Blog for PNGeans living outside of the country.

  • The Melanesian (A community of critics committed to putting people first):

The Melanesian

If you’re interested in Melanesia and the issues that face this particular region – you will like this Blog. The authors are indeed a community of critics from around the world who have an interest in Melanesia: Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, PNG, and West Papua. I love the academic arguments, the regional issues chosen to be examined and debated, and the ability of the authors to bring together and analyse old and new Melanesia. If you’re serious about Melanesia and enjoy a twinge of anthropology – you’ve found your Blog.

  • Robert@PNG (Personal adventures in the Land of the Unexpected):

Robert@PNG

A comprehensive Blog on the authors’ experiences, travels, and adventures in PNG – particularly in and around Goroka. The author is honest and fair in his assessment of PNG life, the people, and the social constructs of the country. If you enjoy learning about PNG culture, want to understand a bit more about the Papua New Guinean, and don’t mind a hint of computer talk – start reading. The author also includes lots of good pointers about Blogging and boasts a great collection of PNG photos of his adventures. I love the cultural, social, and political observations of the author in regard to PNG, the updates on his projects and initiatives, and the relationships with every-day PNG people the author makes, maintains, and shares. Another top Blog for PNGeans living outside of the country.

NOTE:

There are a lot more PNG Blogs out there too – so please look around and check them out. I would like to do one of these for every PNG Blog (Blogs about PNG or written by a PNGean) – If I can find the time!

~ by Tavurvur on November 23, 2008.

7 Responses to “Profiling the PNG Blogging Scene”

  1. An excellent post – if I may say so!! (Thanks for the plug and the extra visitors that are bound to come)

    I agree with and like your statement about blogging: “It’s equity at its best – a level playing field determined by nobody but you”.

    A blog also becomes an accurate reflection of the author as a human being.

    Onya T!!

    R

    NB: One disappointment… sorry to see you are still using Windows!!

  2. Yeah T, you gotta start using Firefox…but yeah thanks for the plug. A nice and warm wrap up indeed!

    I guess it would be nice if the mainstream media started using our posts in their websites or in print…maybe soon perhaps who knows??

  3. Yeah, I was going to ask you about Open Source Software Rob. I’m not too technologically advanced – I sort of keep to the “mainstream”.

    Although I did switch from IE to Safari – works a lot better. One giant step for Tavurvur.

    I like Safari over Firefox?

  4. Hi Tavurvur
    could I suggest if you are thinking of using open source a great operating system that you could look in to using is Ubuntu. The reason being is that Ubuntu will install on your XP machine and dual boot but with out you having do anything to the partitioning etc, and if you don’t like it simply delete the folder from you C: drive. Another great source of open source software is http://www.sourceforge.net . Anyway here is the link for the Ubuntu website http://www.ubuntu.com and you can download the software or order a free cd (took 8 weeks to get to Pom).

  5. Hello Wantok,

    I didn’t know your blog existed – I’ll provide a link for you from my Blog.

    Does Ubuntu have its own web browser and other programs or does it just run with XP? I think I may have to read up on the subject – looks like I’m behind the times at the moment.

    Not a good feeling being left behind is it! lol.

    And thankyou for my advice – good to see that there are some people in PNG who are on top of the game!

  6. Ubuntu latest release comes with Firefox 3 by default. It also has Open Office, and a lot of other cool features. Your best bet would be to give it ago and see if you like it. There are a heap of other freeware Operating systems out there like Fedora (free version of Red Hat), Debian, etc. It can run as a stand alone operating system or with XP. I personally run it dual boot on my laptop with XP. If you are interested in running a dual boot system with XP have a look at these how to’s on the APC netguide website here is the link:
    http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windows_xp_and_linux_xp_installed_first.htm

    In regards to my blog I am very new to blogging. I only started doing it two weeks ago. So I was very interested in your post to see what my wantoks are doing in the blog world.

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