Twelve issues later...

The "what if" situation... 

A year ago I began to reflect.
Things weren't looking bright.
There was a voluntary retrenchment. Assholes running the show and idiots hired to a kid's job.
Me, being far down the echelon, there were hardly any ripples.
In the thick of the doom and gloom, I began to think.
I was inspired by Kris Gomeze's work, "Bicycle United", a Thai-English e-magazine.
In Taipei earlier this year, I met her and was really motivated by a short pep-talk.
So, with the resources I had in the blog and my experience as a bicycling adventurer, I started "The Malaysian Foldie".
On the learning curve, I did my own layout.
And it worked for me and since it was a monthly publication, I need to keep going.
That said, I made plans to cycle around the country to chronicle my rides. This became the heart and soul of the publication.

All 12 issues of the e-magazine

The August edition

Finding the right publishing solution..

I ended up using Joomag.com, a publishing domain to enter my e-magazine in the market.
Basically, it's a journal for readers to gain access to folding bikes and such.
There's ride reviews, people, gear, gadgets, bikes and events.
When I put it together, I knew what to deliver and with my editorial background, it wasn't that hard.
Clearly, it was a departure from writing a blog. And I don't think there is a specific e-magazine on folding bikes here in Malaysia. So, it's the first of it's kind.
Joomag is easy to use and The Malaysian Foldie is available on your browser as long as you are using a laptop or desktop.
At the moment, it's not available for mobile browsing.

Supporters

I am very lucky to have the backing of K2 Asia who distributes Tern Bicycles.
And the guys at Tern are also very enthusiastic about my publication.
Being impartial, I featured some bike dealers, which turned out to be real assholes. 
Other than that, I was very careful in picking the subject.
I think that the ones that deserves the mention and sincere people.
To get things going, I even offered support at no cost to some bike shops and dealers and being Malaysians, people are wary of free stuff.
The biggest disappointment in my humble opinion are some of the key characters that were featured.
When their articles were published, they don't even have the decency to say: "Thank You".
These people behave as if the world owes them a living.
And it's true what they say about certain bicycle people and their egos.

Losers

Yeah, in every saga, there's the villain.
I came across a "Tan Leh Chon" who said: "What a letdown, more of a husband and wife adventure."
Learning from this experience, you can please everybody.

The future

This magazine is still lacking of a mobile device browsing feature. I hope to deliver this with some crowd funding so that those who are on the go would be able to access it.

A word of thanks...

The Malaysian Foldie e-magazine won't be circulating on the internet if it wasn't for some words of encouragement from the folding bike community. So, the challenge is content and I am on the constant move to improvise as the e-magazine matures. That said, "Happy Birthday Malaysian Foldie!"