Exciting upgrades enriching my blog for a better user experience

(651 words)

(3 minutes read)

This week, one of my friends from the Maldives has been teaching me about ChatGPT, Google Translate, Google Lens, and other tools. I plan to make the most of this newfound knowledge by translating articles into English that Maldivian newspapers don't typically provide for foreign or English-speaking audiences. This includes Maldivians who prefer reading in English and even the younger generation with limited Dhivehi language skills. While this is an experiment, I hope it proves successful.

As I work on enhancing and bringing positive changes to my blog, I've noticed that foreign articles from websites tend to be lengthy due to thorough research. However, given time constraints, both my readers and I cannot allocate sufficient time to read them all daily. To address this, I have decided to provide ChatGPT summaries alongside links to the original articles. This will save time for both myself and visitors to this blog.

This also applies to lengthy Dhivehi articles that I translate into English using Google Translate. Some feature reports and opinion columns from Maldivian newspapers may interest certain individuals, so I will translate them into English, provide a ChatGPT summary at the top, include the full English article below, and provide a link to the original Dhivehi article.

I want to emphasize that I am not profiting from this blog; it is a free service. Since entering the field of journalism in 1995, I have recognized people's thirst for information. If newspapers and other websites are unhappy with my efforts to draw information from them while giving credit, they can find solace in the free publicity I provide. Alternatively, they can consider me a competitor and rise to the challenge of delivering a more competent service using their media resources. Nonetheless, it's important to note that I took up this challenge due to the disappointment expressed by many of my followers and friends regarding the poor service offered by mainstream media despite their abundant resources and advertising funds.

Those who have closely followed my blog since late last year would have witnessed its growth and now the active collaboration of friends and followers. They have contributed in various ways, including submitting articles, providing feedback in the form of comments, offering technical assistance, and some choosing to remain anonymous even while assisting me in so many ways. I am immensely grateful for their support and appreciate their contributions in improving this blog.

Speaking of the younger generation, it's unfortunate that many of them struggle to communicate properly in Dhivehi sentences nowadays. Multiple factors may contribute to this issue. For instance, parents encourage their children to speak in English from a young age, driven by the desire for their children to excel in everything. While understandable, this has led to the prevalence of terms like "mammy" and "bappy" instead of "mamma" and "bappa" to cite just one example. Some may consider these matters trivial, but in reality, they are not.

Although some may criticize me for perpetuating this "negative" scenario by presenting English articles about our country to Dhivehi-ignorant youngsters, it's not my fault that I am not influencing "good parenting." As a realist, I address matters practically. I cannot change the thousands of parents who encourage their children to speak English whenever possible. My aspiration is to keep them informed about the Maldives and the world by offering articles in English on my blog.

I apologize to senior citizens who prefer Dhivehi content, as I don't have the time to provide daily articles in both English and Dhivehi. They can rely on over 90 news websites that offer Dhivehi reports covering a wide range of topics, from local and world news to recipes, sports, and human interest stories. Hopefully, elderly Maldivians can use various software and apps to translate their desired English articles into Dhivehi. Additionally, they may consider attending information technology courses to keep up with technological advancements, similar to how private English language classes are conducted.