Case Study 3: Expat Bloggers in Cambodia

Interestingly, one of the most unique aspects of the Cloggersphere is the active group of expat bloggers it has. The expats hail from a whole host of countries (USA, UK, Germany, etc) and are mostly professionally based in Cambodia.

They blog about anything from their everyday lives, the culture and social scene in Cambodia, political issues, and of course their experiences in Cambodia--a key "selling point" of their blog; viewing Cambodia through a foreigner's eyes. Most of them are extremely involved in the cloggersphere and in touch with native Cambodian bloggers, with a sincere desire to grow the cloggersphere.

Some of the expat bloggers:

1. John Weeks (http://jinja.apsara.org/)

• Possibly the first expat blogger in Cambodia. He started his blog in 2002.
• Works on art & work-related projects in Phnom Penh
  
• His blog--Jinja (or ‘chin-chah’)--is the Khmer name for the small lizards which are rampant in Cambodia
• Conducted various web-blog workshops
  

2. Thomas Wanhoff (http://wanhoffs-cambodia.blogspot.com)

• Introduces himself as a blogger, podcaster and media consultant who lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Just within 2 weeks of his arrival in Cambodia, he was invited by the Cloggers to do a presentation on podcasting at the Cambodian Bloggers Summit 2007 (check it out here:http://www.slideshare.net/thomaswanhoff/podcasting-cloggersummit)

3. Elizabeth Briel (http://elizabethbriel.blogspot.com/)

• Elizabeth is an American radio dj and artist blogging from Siem Reap
• With her blog titled Travel-Artist, she blogs mostly about art, culture and a lot about her travels within SEA

4. Kiwibopha in Phnom Penh (http://kiwibopha.blogspot.com/)

• From the Big Apple to the banks of Mekong
• Many posts about Cambodian culture and especially its architectural attractions

5. Phil Lees (http://www.phnomenon.com/) Ex-expat blogger!

• An Australian who was based in Phnom Penh
  
• Strongly believing that Cambodian food is Indochina's most underrated cuisine, he set up Phnomenon, a website about food and drink in Cambodia in 2005
• After relocating in 2007, he decided to stop blogging at Phenomenon in order to preserve its "sanctity" as a website purely about food in Cambodia. Read his final swansong here: http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/uncategorized/the-last-appetite