Media Q&A with The Adventures of Vesper

We recently sat down with Jaya Prithivi Raj, the Founder & Managing Director of The Adventures of Vesper. We talked about what it is like owning and managing a tech blog, how he has developed his blog in the past years and how he wishes to collaborate with PR & Marketing professionals.

1. What inspired you to become a Tech blogger?

There are two people that I look up to; my mom and dad. Ever since I was born, I was exposed to tech thanks to my dad – because he had a computer shop back in the day. My mom, on the other hand, lets me do what I love. My mom used to help my dad build computers and I was always quick to offer a helping hand. I wouldn’t have been able to explore tech or computers without them. Back in 2016 when I was 18, I started my site with the main purpose of sharing what I’m passionate about, which is none other than tech.

2. You’re a med student at MAHSA University. How do you juggle between attending media events, generating content for your blog, and studies?

Honestly, juggling between classes, attending media events and writing for my blog is tough. I do my best to balance work and studies by not procrastinating, because the last time when I was finding a way to juggle between studies and blogging, things did not go well. After every event, I’ll do my best to churn the content out in an hour and get back to studying. During exams, I don’t touch my site that often as I curate content beforehand.

3. How do you decide what stories to be featured on your blog?

Mostly, I like writing stories that teach people what the product is about because until today, there are consumers who don’t know what they are purchasing and many of them are finding it hard to adapt to many products. Hence, I prefer featuring articles about the technology behind these products and how it works in layman terms, making sure everyone who reads it will understand.

4. With the rise of influencers, vloggers and Instagrammers, what are the changes we can expect to see on the blogging landscape in one to two years ahead in Malaysia?

Expect to see many more influencers and vloggers in two years’ time because accessing platforms like Instagram and YouTube is very easy as they’re only a click away. What I think companies will be doing is prioritizing the quality of the content by setting a benchmark.

5. What has been your most effective techniques for engaging readers?

I share my content with my followers on social channels. I also experiment content where I can get a lot more interaction by sharing hilarious tech jokes, InstaStories (the new Snapchat) and so on. The effective one is where I write what my readers ask for, that’s an interesting take.

6. How can PR professionals engage or collaborate and pitch stories to you?

I’ll accept if a company approaches me with content pertaining to tech or anything that is related to it, but what interests me the most is content that could make even me go “WOOOW!”. A long while back, we had a media workshop that explained Artificial Intelligence – AI in and out beautifully that blew our brains out! I did a piece on it on my blog titled “Looking Back: Amazon Web Service Master Class on Artificial Intelligence!”. These are the kind of content that I’d love to have on my site.

7. What is the biggest misconception that people have about you as a Blogger?

That I get things for free. Everywhere I go, someone always approaches and asks me: “Did you get that for free?” As funny as it sounds, it can get pretty annoying over time.

8. You recently launched a Tamil version of your blog. What made you do this?

I had this idea of starting a Tamil version a long while back because I wanted to bridge the gap between Technology and those who speak and read only Tamil, making sure they don’t get left behind. On top of that, my friends, Zhafir and Jeevan gave me the motivation to consider doing it, and now, it’s happening!

9. What’s your best media moment ever?

One of the best moments I had was getting an official invite to my very first media event, which was Oppo R9s’ launch. It was a moment that got me excited because attending launches are special, considering the fact that I was one of the very few to touch and try out the device first hand. It was my first one. So, that’s a media moment I’ll never forget.

10. Android or iOS? 

If I have to pick only one, I’ll have to go with Android. It’s an OS that lets me do what I want and doesn’t contain me into one smartphone. In fact, I still have the option to jump around other devices without losing my precious data.

This blog post is contributed by Christine Pereira, Senior Audience Development Executive at PR Newswire. Christine is in charge of partnerships, expanding our media network, organizing our bi-annual Media Coffee events, conducting media interviews, and other company-wide projects for the Malaysian market. You can contact her at christine.pereira@prnasia.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.