Happy Blogging 101 – Hosting & Domain

July 5, 2015 by Prisanti 2 Comments

Post ini adalah post pertama untuk post series Happy Website, Happy WordPress. Tema besar pertama yang akan dibahas adalah tentang Happy Blogging 101.

Seperti sebelumnya saya katakan, post series ini sebenarnya dimotivasi oleh Creative Series dari Living Loving yang membahas tentang Blogging. Menurut saya, topik pembahasannya cukup singkat, padat dan mencakup keseluruhan. Post-nya juga selalu menyertakan wawancara singkat dengan beberapa ahli di bidangnya. Topik pertama yang dibahas adalah seputar Self-Hosted Website. Sebagai pendahuluan, saya menyarankan untuk membaca terlebih dahulu post mereka sebagai bekal :)

Kali ini saya mau sharing beberapa rekomendasi saya seputar Hosting, dan Domain.

Happy Website, Happy WordPress Series

July 5, 2015 by Prisanti 1 Comment

Ketika mulai mengetahui tentang Blog di internet, topik yang selalu saya cari adalah tentang anime dan manga. Maklum, zaman itu, Animax baru masuk Indonesia dan majalah Animonster sedang naik daun (kelas 6 SD-ku yang berwarna). Para penggiat dan kontributor artikel majalah itu adalah blogger pertama yang saya ketahui. Mulai dari sana, saya mulai mengenal HTML dan CSS. Saya mulai belajar Dreamweaver (yang menurut saya tidak terlalu nyaman digunakan #TeamNotepadFTW) dan mengenal Photoshop (sampai sekarang menjadi tumpuan untuk bertahan hidup) di waktu yang sama.

Saya mulai rajin mendesign layout blog sendiri. Walaupun tidak pernah di-post ke dunia maya, saya semacam punya diary pribadi yang kontennya selalu di-update setiap hari. Kemudian saya mulai mengenal beberapa blogging platform dan mulai benar-benar membuat blog pada tahun 2008 di DiaryLand, pindah ke WordPress tahun 2010 sampai akhirnya membeli domain pertama saya di tahun 2013.

Di luar negeri sendiri, Blogger adalah sebuah profesi yang sudah cukup lama hidup. Sedangkan di Indonesia, profesi ini juga sudah mulai dikenal luas. Walaupun yang namanya Blogger ada beberapa jenis menurut saya. Ada yang memang ingin mendatangkan traffik via SEO dan iklan semacam Google Adwords, biasanya ditandai dengan banyaknya iklan di sidebar, diselingi dengan iklan jualan e-book/MLM, dan artikel-artikel yang terkadang tidak punya tema khusus yang berkaitan. Tapi ada juga beberapa Blogger yang memang melakukan branding yang baik terhadap blog-nya dan mendapatkan income dengan cara yang, menurut saya, lebih baik pula. Di antaranya adalah adalah Diana Rikasari atau Evita Nuh di bidang fashion, Andra Alodita & Tara Amelz di bidang lifestyle & beauty, atau Living Loving di bidang creative lifestyle.

Ketika mau membangun website Kawung Living, saya blank apakah memang harus menyewa designer khusus atau tidak. Awalnya memang belum pede karena kemampuan WordPress masih setengah-setengah. Kalau ada masalah dengan plugins yang crash, saya masih sering panik sendiri. Sempat tanya ke beberapa teman soal rekomendasi designer web, tapi masih tetap bingung seputar range harga, mekanisme maintenance, dan hal-hal lainnya. Saya sempat browsing juga harga-harga pembuatan web E-commerce sejenis, harganya beragam, mulai dari 3 – 8 juta atau bahkan lebih dari itu. Kalau harga jasa, saya memang tidak bisa komentar banyak. Harga suatu jasa memang hanya bisa dinilai oleh diri sendiri. Ada beberapa yang memasang harga rendah, tapi kualitas yang didapat juga seadanya. Bahkan ada yang cuma custom dari premium themes yang ada (yang sebenarnya bisa kita lakukan sendiri). Anyway, pastinya kamu selalu tahu budget yang kamu punya. Akhirnya, kami memutuskan untuk develop website sendiri karena masalah budget ini (dan merasa yakin akan selalu ada jawaban untuk pertanyaan apapun di pencarian Google).

Artikel WordPress dalam bahasa Indonesia sekarang sudah cukup banyak, tapi isinya kebanyakan teknikal dan tutorial standar. Saya kadang kesulitan mencari tips yang pas dan bingung harus memulai dari mana. Kadang tidak selalu pencarian Google teratas memberikan hasil yang paling baik. Resource dari luar terkadang banyak dan solutif, tapi ada beberapa yang kurang praktikal dipakai di Indonesia. Hal inilah yang membuat saya ingin menulis post series berjudul Happy Website, Happy WordPress.

Outline post series ini saya bagi sebagai berikut:

Let’s Take A Time

May 1, 2015 by Prisanti Leave a comment

There is something calm and somewhat fear towards mountains. The silent guardian, telling story about million years before us. The story of every explosion and every friction of the earth. Sometimes we forget how to be human, caught up in the middle of the universe. Mending broken pieces which supposed to be left unsaid. We forget how to take a silence between the hustling moments.

Let’s take a time today, to remember every moment that matters. Every people forgotten. Every hearts that need to be heal. Let’s take a time today to sit around and glad to be alive.

late-night radio broadcast #3

March 12, 2015 by Prisanti Leave a comment

It is midnight and it’s starting to rain outside. Feeling sentimental about the rain? I told you we’re on the same wavelength about this. Have you found another way to forget those lonely spaces? Have you tried the hurt healer and wound patches?

One question remains tonight. How do you measure a broken heart?
Minutes? Days? Moments?
I’m sure all of you have different ways to handle it but do you exactly remember when it stops hurting you? Is it when you find another ‘someone’? Is it when you find yourself in another routine that keeps you away from feeling miserable? Is it when you pull out an Adele? Pour the rage out and turn it into six Grammys?

‘When’ isn’t exactly the case, because you are who matters. People find themselves in different ways. Finding you isn’t easy, but as Dr. Seuss once said, ‘There is no one alive who is Youer than You.‘. If it isn’t because of those shitty broken heart drama, you won’t be standing this high. So, I will leave you tonight.
Enjoy the height.

PS: It’s back in 2010 when I wrote the first piece of late-night radio broadcast :’) That time, I never knew when I was going to write the continuation but I did write the ‘#1’ on its title. When I finally wrote this, some of my friends are experiencing a broken heart. It is the distance that separates me from getting them a bar of chocolate like I always do back in those days. I wish I can be more than the-late-night-chats on their mobile data plan. But then again, they are some bad ass people that much stronger than any other, so I know you are going to be okay (and be the greatest you’ll ever be).

I’m wide awake, so what’s the point of dreaming when your life is great?
Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling.
Can’t complain about much these days, I believe we’ll be okay.

What We Barely Understand

February 15, 2015 by Prisanti Leave a comment

I bumped into a friend, couple weeks ago. We didn’t say any hello, we didn’t talk. In an event with hundreds of people attending, it is likely to happen since we don’t really that close. I didn’t know his story, until I really met him that day. I’ve heard rumors and finally I knew what likely happened at an after-party later that night. I didn’t respond much after hearing that, but I thought about it a lot. Days after days. I’m kind of sad and blaming myself to not greet him personally. I’m disappointed by myself that something was holding me for saying hello. I’m mad that I’m becoming a person I hate that night. A person that afraid of differences.

The world has becoming a place with too many differences right now. Some crazy things that we cannot imagined happens. Maybe I will be forever opposed some of it, or I will never support it at all. But I can still accept it. I want to accept you.

I just want to give love.

It is easy to live alone, and be enough for yourself, enough for your little family, enough for your circle of trust. But there is nothing as too much love, since God pours a lot into the world. There won’t be enough love to give. I cried tonight, for love that I cannot share that night. I don’t know whether we would meet again in the future, but I want to tell you that I cannot be more proud of you. It must have been hard, for you, for anyone. I know for sure, that you won’t tell me those story personally. But I want to still love you for who you are, for whatever things you’ll become.

Tonight, my prayer goes to you. For every plan you’ll have after this. May all the sunbeams and moonbeams shine upon your path. There is always be place for you, the one which is caring and loving. You’ll share it someday, you’ll find one someday. A state when your love won’t be enough for yourself. It is true that we don’t need another mountain. It is true that what the world needs now, is love. Love is always kind.

We don’t need another mountain
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
Enough to last until the end of time

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some but for everyone