Friday, September 28, 2007 Lee: Blogging your thoughts By Kelvin King Lee Babble On
BLOGGING seems to be the newest medium of discussion on the internet. Where people once went to newspapers and columns like this one to read up on opinions and ideas on current events, more and more internet users are now turning to blogs. In fact, blogs have become one of the most popular ways to communicate and share one’s thoughts.
One reason for this is how it allows people to communicate on a mass-level in a simple manner. Adam Salamon a personal branding advocate agrees. "Now with the internet and blogs, we all have the ability to communicate on a mass level. We now all have the ability to let the world know what we think and what our unique perspective of things are."
Robillo, a prominent Dabawenyo blogger, has even taken up the cudgels of being a blog evangelist. In his own blog (www.robilloblog.com) he mentions that he was able to inspire a few of his friends to start their own blogs. He hopes to inspire more people to get into blogging and share their thoughts to the world.
Adam Salamon, whose online profile can be found at www.adamsalamon.com, credits blogging with helping him expand his own thoughts and ideas. "Blogging has helped me refine my thoughts. When you put your ideas on public display, you really think about the message you're communicating to the world. You gain a better understanding of why you believe what you do. In that way, blogging does expand your horizons."
Jude Cartalaba, creative writer and a moderator of the Pinoywriter email group, says that his blog allowed him to communicate with long lost friends. "Who could imagine that through my online journals and blog, a long-lost classmate back in my primary years would be able to stumble on my Web page and get in touch with me?"
Others consider blogging as a great way to learn. Ryan Healy of Employee Evolution (www.employeeevolution.com) believes that blogging is one of the best ways to learn online and to improve oneself. In his article, he writes that "if you have a focused blog, then you can jump from job to job and learn many skills, but the constant will be that you are an expert in whatever area you choose to research and write about."
Then there are those who are able to use their blogs as a career booster, like Penelope Trunk. Her blog, the Brazen Careerist, (blog.penelopetrunk.com) became so popular because of her often unorthodox opinions, she landed a deal to write a book with the same title. She is also currently a columnist for Yahoo Finance and the Boston Daily Globe.
Money is a good reason to blog too. The best Filipino blog success story would be that of Yugatech (www.yugatech.com). Arguably the most popular blog in the Philippines, Yuga, the owner of the blog, landed an endorsement deal for the AdAuction program of Auction.ph. This can perhaps be traced to the thoughts and ideas that he posts on his blog, which resonate with an amazingly large audience.
Even writers can find great opportunities online to write through blogs and the internet. "Today, there are a lot of venues to write now," says Jude. "It's
not just limited to print, movies, television, radio, the Internet is one vast venue to create opportunities. If you are an observant individual, which a writer is supposed to be, then you will never run out of opportunities."
Some bloggers use their blogs to espouse and share their faith. Ganns Dean of www.gannsdeen.com openly talks about God, religion and faith in his own blog, aside from talking about his lovely wife and kids.
Rebecca Thomson of Modite.com/blog uses her blog to write on leadership and Generation Y, the next up and coming generation. Sam Davidson uses his own blog and website to talk about his advocacies and his social entrepreneurship company CoolPeopleCare (www.coolpeoplecare.org).
Blogging can also be a great forum to make, or sometimes force, change. Tingog.com, for example, was pivotal in causing one erring journalist to offer her resignation to her newspaper. Councilor Peter Lavina uses his blog (www.ptlavina.wordpress.com) to share his thoughts on the political landscape of the Philippines, and in the same manner, create change as well.
There are also those who use blogs to share their travels. The Unlonelyplanet
(www.theunlonelyplanet.wordpress.com) offers great travel commentary by someone who has traveled much of the world, and one can get different thoughts and ideas about the places visited.
But perhaps the best reason to blog, and the most consistent thought or idea shared, is the simplest. To let others know who you are. "If you don't have a blog or any type of internet presence, no one will know who you are," Adam says. "You will have to seek others when you need help. With a blog and social networking presence, others will already know who you are.
They've found you."
(You can reach the author at babbleoncolumn@yahoo.com or at check out his own blog at www.kelvinlesterlee.wordpress.com. The Mindanao Bloggers Summit is on Oct. 27, 2007 and will be held in Davao City. Check out www.mindanaobloggers.com for more details.)
