The Bali Beat is 2 Years Old!
In some ways April 6, 2020 seems like a million years ago, and in some ways it feels like yesterday.
When The Bali Beat launched Covid had just started to really effect the island. Tourism had come to a halt and nobody seemed to know what was going on. Was the virus spreading here? Which airlines were cancelling flights? What was going to happen to my visa?
I installed the Google Translate extension into my browser and started wading through local news outlets’ websites for updates. I was amazed at just how much information there was. I started to gather up the most important stories of the day for a few friends in a chat group and quickly realized that I had the makings of what could be a pretty helpful newsletter. The Bali Beat was born.
2 years, 560 issues, and about 10,000 stories later, I am just as passionate about this project - about helping keep the Bali community informed - as I was back in 2020.
I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished. Julia Winterflood, Sihkami Denting, and Henri Lambert have helped The Bali Beat to grow and change for the better. This newsletter would have been crushed under its own weight without each of them holding it up. I am thankful beyond words for the faith that they placed in me and this crazy dream of mine.
And, most of all, thank YOU: the 2,000+ subscribers and almost 3,000 daily readers. Your interest in this newsletter means that you’re someone who cares about Bali, and every email that you open and link that you click (especially if it’s a sponsor’s!) lets us know that you value what we do.
As we embark on Year 3 of this project, we’re working on ways for us to more directly engage with the community. The Bali Beat is a community resource, and I want your voices to be more represented in what we do. Look for announcements about some new features that will do this in the coming weeks.
Finally, I’m asking for your support. As exciting as it is to put out a newsletter every day, it’s not yet a sustainable project. Several readers have stepped up to help us keep going by signing up for monthly or annual donations. But we need more. If you can spare US$5/month or $60/year to help us keep the lights on, please consider upgrading your free subscription to a paid tier by clicking here. If you can make a one-off donation - in any amount - please click here.
Thank you again for being the interested readers that you are. I am humbled by every new subscription, positive comment, and donation. If you have any questions or comments about our work, please do not hesitate to reach out at TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.
Cheers,
Mike Shaw
Publisher