Borneo Island: Uniting bloggers through Borneo Colours · Global Voices
Kellybays, Tuaran, Borneo. Photo by <PERSON>
Borneo Colours is a website that links bloggers from Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan (Malaysia) and Kalimantan (Indonesia) which are all located in the island of Borneo. It's a platform for the bloggers in this region to network and create greater understanding about their neighbours.
To date, Borneo Colours or BC has over 1,000 members with almost 200 registered bloggers and the number is said to increase daily. Speaking to the CEO and founder of the site, <PERSON> shared with this author the history of the website.
The idea came about during the early part of 2002. The aim was to facilitate and encourage Borneans to show goodwill to the world. Later, the founder realized the huge financial challenge in maintaining the project called “Borneo”. Eventually in 2007, BC was quietly launched but sadly the idea was momentarily put aside as the founder was offered to assist an international NGO in initiating a marine conservation project. It was in early 2009 that the founder decided to bring the idea back to life. Around July 2009, armed with fresh funding and support, Team BorneoColours.com began their work by promoting their ideas to the Borneo Island Community and tourism bodies in Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Brunei and Kalimantan. BC had its soft launching on 25th September 2009 but it was only last January when it became operational.
Photo by <PERSON>
What are your aspirations for Borneo Colours?
To be the official new media and community portal endorsed and recognized by governments within Borneo island, but most importantly by the Bornean and international online community. Our goal is also to shape borneocolours.com as a mechanism for a transparent sustainable financing to raise funds for local charity organization, community development and environmental awareness activity on the island.
What can one get from reading/being a member of Borneo Colours?
Content is provided and shared primarily by registered members also known as bcbuddy. 696
The community shares content by promoting events, happenings, or showcasing their talent and interesting articles that would be of help to others. There is also the Borneo Business Directories and Bloggers Listing. One particular feature that Borneo Colours is proud of is the integration of our content and a social networking tool similar to Facebook.
You got a Blogging Competition going on at Borneo Colours? What do you aim to achieve from that competition?
Borneo Bloggers Award 2010 was designed to give prominent and upcoming bloggers in Borneo island a network window to understand, accept and appreciate each other's differences but most of all to create a sense of Borneo without borders. We are also hopeful that this program will help Borneo bloggers to be much competitive and improve their content, style and creation of original content. At the end of the day, who else is better in promoting their tourism destination and attraction if not the bloggers themselves.
Any future plans?
BorneoColours.com will be organizing a dialogue called B2.0 as in Borneo2.0 “Borneo Bloggers + New Media Dialogue”, This dialogue is schedule to be held at 1Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in mid-October 2010. B2.0 would bring together diverse blogging communities and creative local and international new media practitioners to provide rich opportunities for learning, networking and growth.
Many bloggers from the island of Borneo are endorsing BC:
A Woman Diary says ” It's practically everything you wana know about Borneo. Made by Borneo-an. I like”
<PERSON>, a BC buddy has this to say in introducing Borneo Colours.
Are you a BC Buddy? If not, why don't you guys check out BorneoColours. Its a site where you can get info surrounding Borneo designed with a social networking function, BC Buddy. BC Buddy is a place for online community to hang out like other social networking site.
Choco8Vanilla says that
Borneo Colours is a website designed to gather people to know more about borneo or to gather the people of borneo itself to know more about its beloved island and the latest news or just simply, be friends (Isn't it great? XD). The site is new. But everyday its more new people coming, don't you want to be part of this beautiful community? Its a bit… kinda same… or so alike… facebook or friendster or tagged (maybe?) Besides the website, I had one more thing (should I stated here WOW! 696