Interview with two Malta-related bloggers

One of the reasons I love blogs is they are not bound by time and space. They have a strong time and space bias in their favour, something which a newspaper does not time. This is much more marked in the case of a weekly newspaper supplement, such as i-Tech on The Times.

I am publishing the full interviews with Maltagirl and Sabine Cassar Alpert. Excerpts from these were published in the article about the rise of blogs on the i-Tech this week. I could not reproduce every single word because a newspapers has very limited editorial space, but I though it was worth publishing them all, the same as with Robert Micallef's comments I published earlier this week.

So here they go ...

Interview with Maltagirl:

1) Why did you decide to start one of the first Maltese blogs? (When did you start?)

My first blog post was on May 1st, 2002. I think that makes me the first of the current active bloggers but I'm not sure. Some blogs have posts with older dates, but that doesn't mean much because you can back-date your posts!

I decided to start a blog because I had stumbled on blogs while surfing the net and the concept seemed tailor-made for me - I have always enjoyed writing and journalling, and used to write very long emails to my friends detailing my latest funny adventures. I also loved spending time on the Net, and building websites, so blogging very neatly combined these two interests. Four and half years later, I'm still going strong!


2) Do you think the Maltese are heavy or light bloggers?

It depends what you mean by 'heavy' and 'light'. I'll assume that you are referring to the content of the blogs.

I would say that the difference would be that 'heavy' would be moral/political and 'light' would be lifestyle/entertainment - some Maltese bloggers fall under heavy and some fall under light. For example I would put Jacques Rene Zammit and Fausto Majistral under heavy because they usually talk politics and current affairs, and I would place myself
squarely under 'light' along with people like Reesa, because all I talk about is my little adventures and life in general.

The men tend to go more for heavy, the women for light, although there are exceptions :-) When I realised that everyone else had serious blogs and mine was very frivolous, I thought that mine was less valid or important - but then as more Maltese women joined the bloggosfera, I was told that my blog was just as valid, just different :-)

I don't think you can generalise Maltese bloggers as being heavy or light because now we have quite a mix going on.


3) Was it a surprise for you that Robert won the e-journalism category of the Malta Journalism Awards with his blog? Why?

I wasn't surprised at all that Robert won the e-journalism category with his blog - I thought that he deserved it. I've been reading Wired Temples for almost two years now, and Robert has helped me to be better-informed about all kinds of topics. For instance, I didn't use to take any interest in politics, but thanks to him I now know more about Maltese and EU affairs. His posts are to-the-point, and he publishes every day (sometimes more), making him the most consistent blogger that I know.


4) Can bloggers really take their place alongside traditional journalists as content producers for news media?

Bloggers in general do not have access to the information channels that traditional journalists do, and so they are unable to report breaking news in the same way.

However when it comes to analysing current affairs, writing opinion pieces and so on, I think that bloggers might become even better than traditional journalists. I say this because bloggers in general become very good at gathering information over the Internet, they are used to communicating with all kinds of people using all kinds of methods (email, VOIP, instant messaging), they read widely from many sources, and tend to be articulate.

Bloggers as journalists are not limited by column-inches, or by the fact that their medium is only published once a day or once a week. One crucial difference between blogging and traditional media is that blogs provide for feedback from readers. If a reader doesn't like what a blogger has written, he can leave a comment on that post or even go off and write a rubuttal on his own blog.

Not only are bloggers are held accountable (they WILL be challenged by their readers!) but they are also using a medium that by its nature provokes active reading rather than passive, whether this takes the form of leaving a comment, writing a seperate post, or clicking through the links in the article to find out more about the topic.

5) How much time do you dedicate to your blog? How important is it in your life? Did it change your life?

The time I dedicate to my blog very much depends on how busy I am at the time - some days I'll spend hours writing, editing photos, tweaking the layout. Other times I'll go a week without posting and get complaints from my faithful readers who want some entertainment ;-)

My blog is very important in my life because it is my primary means of expression. I don't write about private things online, but I love telling stories, especially about funny things that happen to me, and my blog is where I do that. Sometimes I write in my blog when something annoys me and I always feel better afterwards :-)

I blog primarily because there are stories I want to tell - that is, I blog because it's something that I love to do - but there are some other pleasant results. For instance, it helps my fiance' understand me better because he can see how my mind works (always a mystery between a man and a woman!), and if I haven't been around much then my Dad logs on to see what I'm up to in my life. My blog also serves to remind me of fun times I've had, ridiculous things I've done, and is a great aide-memoire for dates. For instance, someone asked me what I got engaged, and I couldn't remember the precise date, but all I had to do was go to that month's posts and there it was...

Blogging as such didn't change my life - I didn't experience any great epiphanies as I pressed the "post" button - but the people whom I met through blogging did!

For instance, in December 2004, Robert featured me on Wired Temples and let me know about it, and then I discovered Sharon Spiteri's blog when he featured her. Sharon and I got to commenting on each other's blogs, and a few months later, when I blogged about a play featuring some of her friends, she introduced me to them via email... a few months after that, when Michael suggested that he and I start doing drama together for fun, I asked one of my new friends where we could go. She (Coryse
Borg) pointed me towards Stagecoach, a musical theatre school where she teaches. We joined, and loved it, and got involved with the MADC too.
Now, most of my friends are from these spheres, I've just performed in my first play, and I'm having a great time!


6) Anything else you would like to add?

Blogs are what you make of them. A blogger starts with a blank window just like a painter starts with a blank canvas, and the quality of the blog depends on the quality of the blogger. In traditional journalism you get great publications as well as mediocre ones (or sometimes just plain awful ones), and blogging is the same. So I don't think that blogs in general should be put on a pedestal and lauded as the medium of the future. Robert puts a lot of time and effort into Wired Temples to make it what it is, and it is his work and dedication, not the medium he used, that earned him the award.


Interview with Sabine Cassar Alpert:

1) How does your blog keep you in touch with the rest of the world from tiny and tranquil Gozo?

I have several "cyberfriends" who are scattered all over the globe - but I have been in touch with most of them before I started blogging. The blog has replaced e-mails to some extent though not completely. And obviously there is the possibility for "outsiders" to read and comment on the blog. I don't think Gozo's size has any bearing on this at all; it would be pretty much the same if I were still living in Berlin. But obviously it can contribute in a small way to Gozo becoming known to the rest of the world - the whole of which is becoming tinier!


2) Do you think the Maltese are heavy or light bloggers?

As I follow mostly Maltese blogs and only a few of other countries, it's difficult to judge. It does seem like the Maltese are a quite blogger-happy folk though! As for the Gozitans, they seems to be utterly different - not many bloggers around!

3) Was it a surprise for you that Robert won the e-journalism category of the Malta Journalism Awards with his blog? Why?

I can't say I was surprised. Wired Temples is the only blog of its kind in Malta, and it was only a matter of time for Robert's efforts to keep the Maltese abreast with what others think about them, to be rewarded. I might add that his is not a typical blog but it is rather unique in that the blogger keeps his personal opinion out of it!

4) Can bloggers really take their place alongside traditional journalists as content producers for news media?

Certainly. The vast majority of bloggers expresses opinion - which for me defines blogging. Blogging cannot and will never replace traditional journalism, but it is a complementary source of information on any subject.

In a way blogging does not differ much from letters to the editor, but blogging is more immediate and publication - in the absence of an editor - is guaranteed. A thought on immediacy: since I started blogging I haven't written to the local press, although I'm often tickled to do so. As I often read the Times online, I'm sorely missing a "reply" or "comment" button on articles!!

5) You have been with us for 20 years. What are your views on how the Maltese and Gozitans used technology such as internet? Have they changed us in any way?

Just recently I realized how many people of my age group here in Gozo hardly use the internet at all, and even check their e-mails only sporadically, if they have an e-mail account at all, that is! I am an active member of Malta Forums, which most notably brings people to talk to each other who outside cyberspace wouldn't even get to meet, let alone talk to each other. From occasional meet-ups between members even friendships have evolved, which perhaps wouldn't have formed without the internet's help.

To some extent the internet does away with social circles and age groups, which can only be a good thing! The traditional definition of an internet user is geek or loner - but the opposite is more accurate.

They have taken notice of blogs, at last!

My colleague Robert Micallef has won the e-journalism category of the Malta Journalism Awards, sponsored by HP and organised by the Institute of Maltese Journalists. Well done Rob!

His winning submission were from his Wired Temples blog on MaltaMedia.com

This is the third time out of the four that MaltaMedia.com won the e-journalism category sincd its inception. The other winners are me and Pierre Mejlak.

I interviewed Robert to shed more light on rise of Maltese blogs which have finally been recognised as part of Maltese media.

1)A blog has won the e-journalism awards. Is this proof that Maltese blogs can be news content creators?
Bloggers have established themselves in The US, Asia and Europe as part of the mainstream news environment. In the Maltese scenario, blogs tend to be less news creators and more in the line of online journals in which people share their thoughts and ideas on certain topics. There are very few examples of breaking news via Maltese blogs as in the case of American politics, news from the ground in Iraq or the Tsunami in Asia. But it wont be long before blogs become channels for new news content even in Malta. One advantage of news blogs is that blog readers can immediately post comments pointing out inaccuracies that later visitors can read.

2) Why did you start a blog and what is its function on the web?
When I started my blog in 2004, I had no idea where it would take me but I used it to express my own opinions about a number of issues and events. I started independently on a Blogger platform and later joind the MaltaMedia Online Network. I also established my blog as a channel to promote other Maltese blogs and contribute to the development of a 'Maltese blogging space'. Later, I started using it as a platform for Malta references on the blogosphere, in cyberspace and the online international media so, in a way, it is partly a kind of online depository of views about Malta as seen by others.

3) Can you point me to other Maltese blogs with newsy content? What’s their offering?
I recommend a visit to Toni Sant's blog particularly for his music podcasts, Mikiel Galea's cartoon blog for his depiction of the cultural scene in the eighties and Antoine Cassar's blog for his reflections on the Maltese language. For blogging of a more political nature, Jacques Rene' Zammit has entertaining commentaries about the news while Aaron Farrugia is a promising new blogger who writes from a labour perspective.

4) Do you think online journalism is leaving its mark locally?
Online journalism is still under construction locally. More new content needs to appear online. Established news websites tend to rely on news that is created elsewhere. Maltastar is one bold exception even if under - resourced. The Times of Malta has the best webpage amongst the mainstream press even if, like the others, it only reproduces the news that is published in the printed version. The breaking news section is welcome but still limited in scope. The left wing media have been in the forefront of technological innovation around the world and I would like to see more signs of that locally. Online journalism could also be the ideal platform for more free and independent news sources in Malta.

5) MaltaMedia has won 3 of the 4 e-journanilsm awards since the category was started. To what do you attribute this success?
MaltaMedia and its sister portal aboutmalta.com have a loyal readership particularly amongst Maltese who are travelling or living abroad. It has been very consistent over a number of years and it is now ready for the next stage of its development.

6) Anything else you would like to add?
I hope that the award by the Institute of Maltese Journalists will help to increase exposure to the idea of blogging in Malta and to increase recognition of new media as a growing phenomenon. The mainstream media have been slow to acknowledge the rise of new media but they will eventually embrace it once they see more evidence of its growing popularity.

Looking forward to e-tourism booking portal

Two weeks ago the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) held an information seminar in collaboration with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) to discuss the new e-tourism portal.

The portal, a sort of one-stop shop for potential tourists to book on internet all the services they need to enjoy their stay in Malta, was announced last April by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at the end of a crisis meeting with MHRA in Castille. The announcement said the portal would be ready "in summer".

Procedures to kick-start the development of this kind of e-tourism portal proved lengthy and much more complicated than envisaged, proving the Prime Minister's promise to MHRA unrealistic. At the end of August the request for proposals closed and Alert Communications, the same company that has designed the http://www.gov.mt portal and other government websites, was chosen from among the companies asked to submit by the MTA. The call was not open but a limited list of companies with a track record in e-government projects were asked to submit their proposal.

Almost seven months after the Prime Minister's announcement, works are still in the early stages and it is envisaged the portal will be ready in early 2007.

However, i-Tech can reveal that MHRA already has its very own online booking engine and this occurred before the announcement of the new e-booking portal.

"MHRA felt the need to find a partner for its members, who can deliver the necessary level of exposure and facilitate potential visitors who are looking for accommodation in Malta and Gozo to book online. In this respect, ChooseMalta.com was approached and agreement was reached to offer MHRA members exposure on this ever-increasing popular site. ChooseMalta.com is an associate member of MHRA," the association said on announcing the new partnership.

ChooseMalta.com was launched in January 2005 and claims individuals that booked a hotel through it have an average stay of five nights and an average room rate per night of Lm39. To date ChooseMalta.com has generated sales of over 1,900 room nights to individual travellers.

"ChooseMalta.com has an online booking portal and therefore we thought this would be another opportunity for hotel members to be exposed on the internet for room sales," explained to i-Tech George Schembri, CEO of MHRA.

Jonathan Shaw, sales and marketing director at ChooseMalta.com, gave more details on how this partnership works.

"ChooseMalta.com offers the MHRA and its members the possibility to promote Malta and Gozo hotels online through our website. In just 18 months we ranked in the top five results on Google for Malta hotels related keywords. Hotels have the ability to directly manage their rates and availability and customers book online through ChooseMalta.com. Hence, this is an extra channel to generate exposure and increase the chances of generating online direct bookings. Hotels do not pay to be featured on hotels and a commission is taken on any bookings generated."

Asked whether MTA's new e-tourism portal will compete with their portal, Mr Shaw said: "One can debate if the government should compete with private industry and do its own booking engine. Nonetheless, it's also positive to note that the government understands the importance of the internet as a booking tool".

Mr Schembri insists ChooseMalta.com is just another channel and is not in competition with the MTA's new e-portal.

"Hoteliers have got to obtain the widest exposure possible and therefore eventually they will be on MTA/Ministry of Tourism portal too once this comes on stream. Hoteliers can have their establishment on several global portals at the same time."

The promise of the new e-tourism booking portal is to provide a complimentary service to the established information portal http://www.visitmalta.com.

Albert Vella, the initiative's project manager at MTA, said the e-tourism portal represents a progressive improvement from the current and highly-popular http://www.visitmalta.com, which is regarded as an "information website", to a portal capable of providing online transactions and payment facilities.

Requested to comment on the technical aspects of the project, Mr Vella told i-Tech he would be in a better position to do so once the portal starts to take shape.

So where does internet stand in the current trends in the Maltese tourism industry?

"Over the current two years hoteliers have reported that there has been an increase in bookings through the internet. However, tour operator business remains the highest contributor to our industry," explained the CEO of MHRA.

"The Visitmalta.com website is very informative and well structured and we are sure this is of benefit to the industry too," he added.

The sales and marketing director of ChooseMalta.com provided more focused opinion on internet and tourism.

"You cannot generalise and classify the various players in the tourism industry altogether," said Mr Shaw. "Having a website or online booking facilities is also not enough. What in my opinion is lacking is the concept of regular yield management whereby the rates are managed according to capacity and bookings. Taking hotels as an example, most of the four- and five-star hotels do it but the problem lies in the two- and three-star hotels. Ironically, these are the ones that are complaining that they have a decrease in business and profitability."

Maybe the most important views come from tourists themselves. Serena Mitchell from East Sussex, England, a few weeks ago wrote to the editor of this newspaper to share her experience of booking her holiday in Malta on internet as an independent traveller.

"Website development should be at the heart of any integrated marketing campaign, but from my experience of Maltese websites this is not the case. Easier navigation, better links, more in-depth info about accommodation, eating out and places to visit, and plenty of photographs are all needed on Maltese websites. I managed to book online what so far has been a very enjoyable holiday, but only after hours of internet research, with web pages that were often very slow in uploading."

The MTA said it plans to hold more information seminars which will discuss the e-tourism portal currently under development. Valuable feedback from internet-savvy tourists like Ms Mitchell should be taken into account.

http://technology.timesofmalta.com/article.php?id=2436