Ruhani Rabin - the man to know online Malaysia
My guest for this week’s interview has a dream of harnessing the power of the web to help make the world a better place. His name is Ruhani Rabin and he’s an Asian tech blogger whose life story seems at times to border on the fairytale realms of the Arabian Nights.
Rabin lives in Petaling Jaya, the bustling city that serves as a commercial hub for the kingdom of Selangor, one of the 13 federated states that compose modern Malaysia.
Originally born in Dhaka he moved to Malaysia eight years ago after leaving Bangladesh to seek his fame and fortune. So far he’s well on his way to both – last summer Archanid, the independent agency where Ruhani works as Chief Technology Architect, won the award for “Digital Agency of the Year” from Malaysia’s prestigious “Advertising + Marketing” magazine. His next position is even more impressive (but you’ll have to read this interview to learn more about it).
I got to speak to Ruhani about his blogging career just as he’d moved into a new apartment and the only thing he’d unpacked was his PC.
Mike:
Hiya Ruhani, how’s the move coming along?
Ruhani:
I barely have my setup ready yet. Relocation is a mess.
Mike:
I’d have thought that for someone whose shifted countries such as yourself, a move between apartments shouldn’t be a big deal.
Ruhani:
When moving it’s not the distance that counts as much as the number of boxes you need to pack and unpack.
Mike:
Good answer… I’ll remember that one
So tell me Ruhani, how has your relationship with the web shaped your career?
Ruhani:
My relationship with the web IS in many ways my career. Over the years I’ve been involved in software, hardware, design, construction, data warehousing and other internet related industries but these past 5 years I’ve been very active on the social media scene.
It granted me the ability to create my personal brand simply by building honest relationships with my audience. My write-ups and blogs have provided me with enough exposure to keep me busy. In fact the last 3 positions I’ve filled were all opportunities that came my way thanks to my social networking activities. I didn’t apply for any of them – they just found their way to me.
Mike:
That’s an amazing testimonial you’ve just given to the power of social media but since I know you’re going to be leading Friendster soon you certainly have some pretty solid proof to back you up. Talking about Friendster, I’m really curious as to any details you can share about the plans you have for the site?
Ruhani:
Yes, Friendster has recently been bought by MOL Global/MOL Access portal (Malaysia). MOL is an online gaming, points system, prepaid and money transaction platform. I’ve been assigned to be Vice President of MOL in charge of integrating social engineering ideas for Friendster. Friendster, as I’m sure you know, is one of the oldest social media platforms around. I feel that what it needs is an injection of fresh and creative ideas integrated into the existing platform.
Mike:
I’m sure we’ll all be hearing more about that in the near future and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Friendster returning to center stage of the social media scene, but I’d actually like to look back for a moment and ask you about your original motivation for blogging
Ruhani:
I blog in order to share the advantages of the technologies I’m exposed to with as many people as I can. I’ve always felt that it’s best to share the knowledge you have.
Mike:
Very true!
How and when did you start?
Ruhani:
I first started with Tech2all.com in 2006, around the same time TechCrunch launched. Sadly I lack the location benefits that TC’s team has…
The name tech2all reflected my sole purpose for blogging which is, as I mentioned earlier, to empower people through technology.
I began RuhaniRabin.com as part of my self-branding and I use it to give my personal perspective on topics I find to be of interest or value. I only wish I had more time to dedicate to my writing.
Mike:
How do you decide what topics to cover on your blogs?
Ruhani:
Tech2all covers and reviews “Web 2.0” topics, products and insights.
RuhaniRabin is more personal and therefore a little more eclectic. The main topics revolve around Social Media, WordPress, Photography and Open Source tools. Lately Twitter has become a hot topic that influences my writing too as well.
Mike:
It seems that between the two blogs you really cover a lot of topics. I’ve also noticed, and you stated yourself earlier, that you’re heavily involved with social media. How did you first get involved?
Ruhani:
Actually my perspective on Social Media is that it’s all about getting to know, and being able to reach REAL people. The reason being that the knowledge you earn from people is knowledge you can’t find written in any book.
I originally started out on Myspace soon after they were launched. My first experiences were pretty unpleasant – I discovered a lot of dishonesty and deception. Rather than let this initial experience daunt me I moved on to Friendster, Multiply, Facebook, Twitter and a multitude of other social networks, some you’ve probably heard of and others too esoteric to mention. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had.
Mike:
Quite a journey you’ve had. I think that in light of your experiences it’s especially interesting to hear what your perception of Headup is?
Ruhani:
Headup is a wonderful utility, I started using it slightly over month ago and for me it’s like an on-the-spot jargon explainer. The truth is that as a tech blogger I sometimes use terms that aren’t necessarily easy to understand or explain. Headup is my rescue toolkit for these situations. All my readers need do is mouse-over the keyword, and Headup explains it clearly along with related contents from other blogs, videos and tweets.
I think there could be a good monetization option for the widget.
I’ve taken a peek in the light edition of the widget and loved it too (note: Ruhani has been kind enough to let us test a pilot of our snippet widget on his blog).
Mike:
I’m curious as to what suggestions you have for us.
Ruhani:
I think in future it would be great to give an option to select which widget the blog displays to end users. Adding usage stats to the publisher dashboard would be simply fabulous. I’d love to see the speed improve as well.
Mike:
I’m glad to say that all your suggestions are already well under development and should be released later this month.
Ruhani:
Great!
In my opinion, Headup is a must-have for blogs. It really helps readers understand terms and words without having to leave the blog. Before I had Headup installed readers were often required to Google these topics. Headup reduces this need while simultaneously providing contents such as videos, images and tweets that the reader might not even know exist.
Once the stats are available I think Headup will help authors understand which words and terms are popular on their blogs. I really would encourage bloggers to try it out.
Mike:
Thanks so much for this incredible testimonial and all the support you’ve shown us along the way. Congratulations on your new job and good luck! I’ll be talking to you again soon…