ON|OFF 2011: Ideas Meet Opportunities [INTERVIEW]

With all the attention surrounding social media in Indonesia these days, it’s no wonder that we’re seeing lots of blogging going on. Last month, two events related to social media and the internet were announced. Indonesia’s Social Media Festival is one that we told you about last week. Another is ON|OFF 2011.

ON|OFF, with its tagline ‘Ideas Meet Opportunities’ is a new version of Pesta Blogger — or in English, ‘Blogger Party.’ Pesta Blogger is a yearly event that was started back in 2007, aiming to bring the online blogger community to an offline meetup. But this year the concept is changing a little.

We interviewed Aulia Halimatussadiah, the chairwoman for the event, and Enda Nasution, the chairman of the first Pesta Blogger and the founder of SalingSilang. First here’s the interview with Aulia, and our talk with Enda is below.

Aulia Halimatussadiah

1. Can you explain to us in your own words, what is ON|OFF? Will there will be more events before the big one in October?

ON|OFF is a series of events with two days in October as its focal point. It caters to a wide spectrum of people from those who are simply curious about social media to those who want to gain knowledge, share ideas, network, find opportunities for partnerships, or simply have a good time meeting people with the same interests.

In August, we’ll start our roadshow in 10 cities, starting off in Solo, a historical city in Central Java. We’ll invite local community leaders and student activists; those who act as “agents of change” in their city, and get some speakers to share how social media can be utilized to empower them. Two weeks before the ON|OFF event, we’re also planning to have series of talks and competitions. We’re also working on a program that might involve ASEAN social media users that we hope to announce soon. Details will be updated on our website onoffevent.org.

2. Pesta Blogger was held annually since 2007.  Why did you change the concept?

It’s not so much of a change, but an evolution. How people have used social media since 2007 has also evolved. Then, blogging was the main platform, but since then we’ve seen other platforms coming into play. Social media networks enable people to do more things, which they have. In Indonesia, social media users have started using these platforms for purposes that range from creative collaboration, social movements, knowledge sharing, disaster response to entrepreneurship. Our social media users are very vibrant and dynamic, we need to embrace them and create a bigger impact with ON|OFF.