BLOGGING comes naturally for freelance writer Nadia Badarudin. The 31-year-old is passionate about writing and would love it if anyone read her work. In June 2005, her blog, Take Me Down to the Paradise City (http://silverheadbanger.blogspot.com), took off. “I was inspired by the mood and energy of the Guns N’ Roses song Paradise City. I want to have readers excited and anxious to read my next entry, just as how Guns N’ Roses fans would rush into the band’s concert hall.”

Husband-and-wife blogger team, Nadia and Yatt, together with little Deena, hope to take blogging to the next level by starting a book project on the history of rock music in Malaysia through their blog, Hanya Rawk N Roll.

Life documentation in cyberworld

Nadia’s blog covers a wide range of topics, from the performance of the Perak soccer team to the death of Hollywood heartthrob Heath Ledger. She also includes personal notes about her daily life.

“I like keeping a diary, so I write about whatever comes to mind, based on what I read and see, or on subjects that I personally like. My daughter, Deena (Irdina Riadz), is always a main inspiration,” Nadia says.

She adds that her blog serves as a documentation of her life and her family in the cyberworld.

Nadia’s cyber hobby has also inspired her husband, Ahmad Riadz Mohd Radzi, 33, to take up blogging. With her help, Ahmad Riadz, or fondly known as Yatt, started his blog, Serati Tak Bisa Jadi Undan (http://arapayung.blogspot.com) in September 2005. Incidentally, the blog title was chosen based on Yatt’s favourite rock song.

Yatt’s entries are mainly about his encounters as a journalist. Attached to a Malay daily, his job has led him to many interesting characters and places.

“As an observer, I note down in my blog about what I saw at the places I went. I like to think of myself as a neutral person, so I avoid getting personal when I write about issues such as the recent general election.

“Yet, I don’t see myself falling in line with the typical trend of local bloggers who like to post their thoughts on popular issues only. For example, many Malaysian bloggers harp about the rising oil prices, but I’m not going to join the bandwagon and whine about it.

“I am also not the kind of blogger who prefers to project his alter-ego or split personality in his blog. I am comfortable to be myself, offline and online,” he says.


Modern medium of expression

Yatt likes to keep his blog simple. “I also love taking photos and posting them on my blog,” he says.

Like any doting father, many of Yatt’s photos have Deena in action.

While Yatt prefers creative snapshots, Nadia treats her blog as a platform for personal expression.

“Once in a while, I do slot in my poems and artwork. I see blogs as a modern medium of expression, and sometimes an avenue of escape,” she says.

Having recently resigned from a full-time job in Kuala Lumpur to accommodate Yatt’s secondment to Kedah, Nadia says, “Blogging also keeps my mind active, and I truly appreciate the fact that my voice can still be heard.”

“Our blogs complement each other. For example, when blogging about Deena’s birthday, Yatt will write about it and I will link the post to my blog. Sometimes, we both come up with the same idea for a blog entry, hence a rat race to the computer,” she adds.

Stepping stone

While blogging offers intangible value to the couple, Yatt and Nadia are aware that blogging could lead to bigger things in life. On the side, Nadia signed up with contextual ad services with Adsense and Nuffnang.

“I got to know about Adsense and Nuffnang after reading about their services and success stories in the news. However, I just got started, so I have not had much income,” she reveals.

On a bigger scale, Yatt and Nadia’s mutual love for rock music led them to kickstart another blog, Hanya Rawk N Roll, in January 2006.

“The blog is our effort to relive the rock kapak era, which was one of the most significant times in the local music scene back in the 1980s. We grew up during the 80s and it was the first genre of music that captivated our minds,” Nadia says.

The husband-and-wife team also point out that Hanya Rawk N Roll is a prelude to their book project documenting the history of the local rock scene.

“Eighty per cent of the blog is about rock music in the 70s and 80s. It hosts reviews on significant albums, concerts, gigs, DVD and VCD releases, and more.”

As a contributing writer for popular rock magazine ROTTW, Nadia also blogs about future story ideas in Hanya Rawk N Roll. On her blog, she keeps readers in the loop with a teaser of her upcoming articles in the magazine.