News

  • Nation
  • World Updates
  • Courts
  • Parliament
  • Columnists
  • Opinion
  • Honours List

Sunday May 11, 2008

Celebrity sites


Blogs are all the rage these days. Malaysians have taken to blogs and blogging like ducks to water.

By some estimates, there are roughly 500,000 blogs by Malaysians, but it would not be a surprise if there were actually much more, as some people have more than one blog to their name.

The blogs making headlines are mostly socio-political blogs, which have become very popular of late.

But blogs in this category are actually in the minority; there are many more that have very little, if at all, to do with politics and current affairs.

Some of the most popular are celebrity blogs, and blogs on the local entertainment scene.

Managing it well

Executive producer and artiste manager Vernon Kedit-Jolly’s blog (mrmanager.blogspot.com) was in the limelight recently when he wrote about Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng flying economy class.

But even before, his blog was already popular with entertainment fans.

“I give the readers a peek into the lives of celebrities. Maybe it is a kind of voyeurism for them and part of the ‘glamour thing’,” he says.

Vernon not only blogs on the glamorous life, but also other topics such as food.

He started blogging two years ago, and today, his blog has become a must read. (See story at thestar.com.my)

Not estranged

Award-winning band Estranged have been blogging (estrangedmusic.blogspot.com) for about a year.

Band members Richael L. Gimbang (Rich), Solihuddin Hormat, Azwin Andy Abd. Malik and Nor Hanafi Noor Hadir believe that their blog has been instrumental in building a close relationship with fans, who are increasingly becoming Internet-savvy.

The band saw a spike in visitors after it won the 22nd Anugerah Juara Lagu, according to Rich, the band’s frontman.

The blog also provides visitors with information on the band’s activities and upcoming gigs. The band members all take turns to update the blog.

Estrange also have an official website (www.estranged.info) that includes a forum, chatroom and a link to the band’s My Space page.

Rib-tickling

Funny man Afdlin Shauki's blog, Inside My Head (afdlinshauki.blogspot.com), is a big hit.

Started about three years ago, the blog has 482 blogs linking to it. According to Technorati

(www.technorati.com), the de facto worldwide blog directory, Afdlin’s blog has a rank of 12,848.

This means that only that many blogs, of the 112 million blogs that Technorati tracks, are ranked higher.

And it’s no surprise to see it attracting visitors, as Afdlin’s personality shines throughout the blog.

His latest post has the actor and film director apologising for putting up

regular posts of late due to his busy schedule.

“I miss you all but most of all I miss my sanity. Yes folks, blogging makes me sane,” he writes, with his trademark wit.

Our own space online

Readers of mStar Online (mstar.com.my), The Star’s Bahasa Malaysia portal, will be familiar with Kolum Kakak Tua, a lively column on the inside story of the local entertainment industry.

The blog version of the column can be found at kolumkakaktua.blogspot.com, where readers can interact with the writer.

MStar editor Zieman has also started her own blog (iamzieman.blogspot.com).

A veteran of the entertainment media, Zieman’s blog contains poems of her personal experiences of someone who has been actively involved in the industry, both inside and outside of her role as a journalist.

Hand it to Hannah

Multi-talented Hannah Tan (www.hannahtan.com) gives her blog a very personal touch.

She addresses visitors to her blog as “dear fans”, making it feel intimate and exclusive. Her posts usually talks about what she has been doing and her upcoming events, and they love it.

Visitors can also view photos of people she’s worked with and the interesting things she sees on the job.

“The blog is basically a way for Hannah to interact with her fans.

“She's quite fond of them and sends them regular newsletters in e-mail form that sometimes offer free tickets to her events,” says Hannah’s personal assistant Jessica Choong.

Registered members enjoy access to exclusive screensavers and wallpaper downloads of Hannah. They also get to view videos that she has appeared in.

The blog was started in December last year and has a fan database of almost a thousand people to date. The busy lass updates it at least once a week.

The blog is currently being upgraded, and the new and improved version should be up some time next week.

The new-look blog will have more features such as a chat area and a voting poll for fans to choose what song they want as Hannah’s first single from her upcoming second album, according to Choong.

Blog Fantasia

Mention the hugely popular Akademia Fantasia reality show series, and

tech-savvy fans of the show will tell you that the place to go online would be Sultan Muzaffar’s blog sultanmuzaffar.blogspot.com).

The site is a veritable treasure of all things Akademi Fantasia, including in-depth news, information and the blogger’s take on what’s going on in the show.

While he made his name for his comprehensive coverage of Akademia Fantasia, Sultan Muzaffar has expanded the scope of his blog to cover other events and happenings in local entertainment and arts.

If you’re into this scene, his blog is required reading.

Related Story:
Vernon's entertaining blog

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

News Poll