AsiaLIFE

Coinciding with the official launch of the new AsiaLIFE Guide website, www.asialifeguide.com, this month we talk with Mark Jackson, publisher and owner of AsiaLIFE Guide, about what the site has to offer readers.

AsiaLIFE: This is the 27th issue of AsiaLIFE, why has it taken you so long to launch the website?
Mark Jackson: When we launched AsiaLIFE Phnom Penh back in December 2007, we shared a website with our partner magazine in Vietnam, AsiaLIFE HCMC. Unfortunately a disagreement between my two business partners in Vietnam led to the three of us going our separate ways, although AsiaLIFE Guide still works in cooperation with AsiaLIFE HCMC. When we re-branded our magazine as AsiaLIFE Guide Phnom Penh last summer, we decided to launch a new website. This was designed late last year by Carlos Tulloch, and since Christmas we have been testing it out. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Carlos for all the hard work he’s put into the website – most of it beyond the call of duty.

Two months of testing means it must be just about perfect?
Not at all. The main features of the website seem to be working well, but until we get visitors using the more community-based elements of the site, such as the forums, we won’t know quite what needs to be tweaked. Certainly we want plenty of feedback from readers and visitors.

From that I gather that the website is more than the magazine online?
Precisely. We will always upload all the main articles from the current issue, as well as the more interesting articles from past issues. If any reader wants a past article uploaded then they just have to email me and we’ll put it on the site. This will ensure that we have the largest database of lifestyle articles about Cambodia on the Net. But we hope that the website serves as a community for readers to give feedback not just on the magazine, but on life in the Penh generally.

Can you give specific examples of the interactive elements of the site?
It all starts at the home page. Here we have a poll of the month. At the moment we are asking people what is the perfect pizza in the Penh. We will announce the winner in the April issue of the magazine, and run a new poll for the May issue. Then there are the articles themselves. At the end of each one – not just on the reviews – we ask people to send their feedback. Do they agree? Do people want more information, etc. We’d like to publish these in the magazine, to generate a proper debate on what life is like in the capital.

You mentioned the forums?
Yes. This is where people can get really involved. We’ve set up some topics, more as an illustration than anything else. The idea is that our visitors take the discussion wherever (within reason) they want to. Since setting up the magazine I’ve felt that there has been a lack of debate on some of the issues we raise, I’ve been frustrated by a lack of feedback. This is a way for us to hand over the reins to our readers and visitors.

Is this the only way that people can get involved?
No. One of the forum topics is article of the month. Send in an article and we will publish the best one both on the website and in the magazine. We also want people to send in their photographs. Our scrapbook section is one of the most popular in the magazine. Each month we will put these on the website, but we also want people to send in their own photographs. All they have to do is post them on the site. Who knows, we might even put the more interesting ones in the magazine, should the photographer agree.

Are there any other features, you think will be of interest to our readers?
I think ‘Upcoming in the Penh’ will be one of the most useful parts of the site. Similar to the calendar in the magazine, this is where we list the main events happening in the Penh. All people have to do is email me with their events and we will put them in the online calendar. The next ones will automatically show up on the home page – ideal for anyone lost for an idea about what to do. We also have a classifieds section, where people can advertise their events, put on promotions, or sell their motorbike. Like the calendar, this is totally for free.

The magazine is free, the website is free, how do you make any money?
Just like the magazine, revenue is from advertising. Anyone wishing to advertise on the website should contact our sales manager, Qudy, on 012 960 076. People can also pay for an entry in our business directory. The initial entry is for free, but if people wish to add photographs of their restaurant, a logo or detailed description there is a small charge.

Sounds like an interesting development in the AsiaLIFE project, what other plans do you have in the pipeline?
We were going to launch a magazine for Siem Reap and the Coast, but unfortunately the downturn in tourism has forced us to put this on hold until the next high season. However, we are planning to launch a new product in April, although I’m afraid I can’t share details of this with readers yet. We’re also considering establishing a Reader’s Council, where a selected sample of our readership will sit down once a month to discuss potential future articles and direction for the magazine. I hope that along with the launch of the website, this will help ensure that AsiaLIFE Guide is a firm fixture within the Phnom Penh community.

How can people keep become informed of developments within AsiaLIFE Guide?
We’ve opened a group on Facebook – AsiaLIFE Guide Phnom Penh. To receive regular updates on the magazine and the website, simply join the group.

To contact Carlos Tulloch, the designer of the website, visit: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
If you want any more information about anything mentioned in this interview or want your event mentioned on the website, email Mark at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it