2011 Highlights (2)

In this second part of my 2011 highlights, I would like to share a part of my life after those last high school semester hectic days. And that part was: holiday. It wasn't just an ordinary holiday, it was a loooong holiday. I had graduated since April so I had like more than 4 months holiday.

Usually people spend long holiday for some vacation. Planning a getaway, going with family and friends. Well I didn't. But I did many things I hadn't tried before. And this list is some of them :

1. Regional Youth Leader Conference 2011

Twitter has changed many people's life. So does mine. Around the end of June 2011, I was watching my Twitter timeline and I found that @twitalkID had a Twitter quiz. The price was free ticket to a Binus International event, Regional Youth Leader Conference. I had no idea what event it was, but I participated in the quiz and I won hahaha. Actually I ran into panic because that was a university students' event and I was still in my "high school graduate" status.

After I won the ticket, the committee contacted me to have my personal information. Some college students who also won the tickets contacted me on Twitter and we got to know each other. I also asked my friend in Binus about the event and he said that it was like "some sort of business seminar". Shortly, I decided to go and I never regret it at all.

At the event, I got many new knowledges and insights about business in creative industry from the speakers, especially Nina Moran who is the owner of leading fashion magazine in Indonesia, GoGirl! magazine. Turns out, Nina Moran is also one of part-time lecturer in my campus. Another interesting sessions were the Project Management and Social Entrepreneurship session from British Council. And the session that really got me caught up is the Leo Burnett session. FYI, Leo Burnett is an international ad agency that has created advertisings for well-known brands all over the world. Since I was a marketing-student-to-be, to watch a presentation of big ad agency was a very valuable experience.

I met many friends from other universities and I still keep my contact with several of them until now. I also met college students from Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It was so interesting to hear about Indonesia from their points of view, how they were so enthusiastic to learn Bahasa, and how they asked us about Indonesia's food and stuffs. Moreover, Alanda Kariza was also one of the committee. Alanda Kariza is a young social activist who is also a writer. She is one of my inspiration and I was so glad that I could finally met her. 

On the last night of the event, all the participants and committees went to Soho Citos for Gala Dinner and Cultural Night. We had sooo much fun and I knew at that time that I was so lucky.

Pigar Mahdar (Project Manager) shaking hands with "Jack" from Thailand, President of RYLC Community 2011

Finally, I would say thank you to the man who found Twitter :)

2. Internet Marketing

I have been long interested in Internet marketing, search engine optimization, and stuffs. So, in that long holiday, I decided to make use of my time learning something new. I took an online course from Asian Brain Internet Marketing Center, the one that was found by Anne Ahira. Since I had much spare time, I dedicated my days to learn the modules and training videos. I bought a domain and paid for hosting service for the first time. The domain's name is http://www.teenager-s.com. The site is about teenagers and its related issues. This is the printed screen I took from the homepage:

For you who have no idea about what Internet marketing is, it is a technique used to market products through Internet, while Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way to increase your page rank in search engine (like how to make your site shows up on the first page of Google search of certain keyword). The simple explanation is like this: you choose an idea (what the site is about), you create the site with related contents, you "optimize" it so the site has a high rank, and then people would put their ads in your site: you get paid for it. Or you could also put the link of a product in your site, and for every "click" or for every sales that originate from your link, you get some commission, something like that.

I only took the courses for 3 months, and the site hasn't even generated any revenue because since I got into college I don't have time to manage it. However, I am very proud of myself for having created a simple site. I am also the one who wrote most of the articles by myself by combining various sources and adding my own point of view. I know that someday I'm going to learn more about Internet marketing, especially because I would have Digital Marketing as one of my college courses later.

3. Good News From Indonesia

I always love writing, fiction or non-fiction. And I always want to have a chance to write. That's why I decided to apply as GNFI contributor last year. FYI, GNFI is Good News From Indonesia, a media which vision is to spread good news about our country. The motto is "Restoring Optimism, Rebuilding Confidence". GNFI is born from a situation that Indonesia medias nowadays are more focused in spreading the negative news about Indonesia, so GNFI is there to be a solution. GNFI is known via twitter account @GNFI and from its site goodnewsfromindonesia.com

What I like about GNFI is that it opens opportunities for all people that want to contribute. My first weeks as a GNFI contributor are filled with reposting articles that I compiled from another news site like Jakarta Globe. I also found some interesting articles and I rewrote it to be posted in the site. When I'm really in a huge spirit to write, I would interview Indonesian people that have achievement. You can click here to read some of my articles.

My first GNFI gathering was in mid-Ramadhan. GNFI contributors from Jakarta and Bandung gathered in Plaza Semanggi Rice-Bowl. The new and old contributors got to know each other and we talked about the future of GNFI.

Now, I don't really write many articles because college tasks are so demanding. But I always try to help when I find good news. Last year, one of my junior at SMAN 1 Pontianak won a Biology olympic at Brazil. I spread the news through GNFI and once GNFI tweeted about it, almost all my high school friends who are on Twitter retweeted it and they were so proud with my school's achievement. I am so happy that I could always contribute in rebuilding confidence and restoring optimism among Indonesians. However, I am a proud part of GNFI.