*A much shorter (and unedited) version of this article appeared in the writer's blog quite some time ago she forgot when.


Why blog?

No seriously, why bother?

A potential answer is, in this day and age, why not? A blog seen as a flash in the pan by some pundits a few years ago, seems to have grown from strength to strength. What was once an outlet for over-angsty emo teenagers, or uber geeks like myself who wouldn't really have much of a voice otherwise, has become the accessory of the Noughties. Everyone, it seems, as well as their duck's pet worm (who chronicles the trials and tribulations of being so close to the HN51 virus), seems to have one. So why not blog?

Blogging is serious stuff

Having a blog is pretty serious business, as I found out recently. I guess it depends too on what kind of blogs people have - some of us treat our blogs as a diary, chronicling our trials and tribulations and everyday life. Some blogs showcase a repertoir of the artist's talents - prose, poetry, photography, art. Others tend to lean towards social commentary; writing on what they observe and what they feel about certain issues. And then there are those that are a mix of everything.

Blogging has also awaken the hidden HTML coder in us. Gone were the days when <head> and <body> were just parts of the anatomy. (I once wrote an essay and by mistake, wrote "<i>properly</i>" when I wanted to use italicise the word "properly". Needless to say, a certain four letter word was bandied about for a few days). Blogspot has made HTML coders of many of a friend of mine, Wordpress has now rendered me PhP literate (with occasional calls out to Sashi to save me). Yes, for all its time wasting properties, blogging, done within the right circumstances, is good stuff.

I've found that blogs are quite an interesting way for me to get my opinions across. And yes, I seem to have an opinion about everything. It's also a good outlet for me when I need to vent; although I must admit there are things that even I keep off my blog - things that strictly go into an offline journal, if you will.

Everything's fair game in a blog. You can debate anything from the merits vs demerits of U2 releasing their single 'One' with Mary J Blige singing along (does she do it justice? Is it a coolness gimmick? Is Bono trying to score one with the homies?) to whether Iran should or should not develop nuclear technology, and how much more hypocritical can the United States be when it comes to having nuclear power, in the Middle East or elsewhere?

But you're fair game in your blog too. Any random stranger can come and comment; leave a message that may or may not rile you up, make you laugh or generally warn you about the level of nutjobs lurking around out there. Of course there are ways round this you can turn off the commenting function, or you can moderate your comments. The former, a bit of a put off, really because the point of blogging is interaction, and it's hard to do that without a comment function. The latter, do-able but a bit of extra work; very useful for those who would like to join the blogging revolution but have nasty time wasters lurking around making hurtful personal comments unrelated to the entry.

Network!

You meet a slew of people from blogging. You meet the serial commenter, who chooses to comment on your post with ideas and thoughts good enough to make a blog entry on its own but cannot be bothered to start blogging themselves. You meet the lurker, who has silently read your most inner thoughts and earth-shattering ideals for years on end, but has never said a word: until you meet them by accident while wolfing down a plate of kuayteow in London (thereby shooting to kingdom come, your pristine, educated, intellectual image). You meet the friendly commenter whom you may want to elevate to the status of YM acquaintance. You meet the trolls who make it a habit to be vicious and unkind. And you met the village idiot. 'Nuff said about that.

There is also a certain amount of responsibility that comes into blogging, especially when you are putting out information. I always do a bit of research before I put down statements of facts; because I don't want to mislead whoever it is that reads these entries. Blogging is almost like what it was when I was doing a bit of journalism on the sly when I was an undergraduate - granted with blogging I get more leeway about what I get to write, but either way l feel I have a responsibility of getting my facts right.

It's easy for us to to think we can spew almost anything because it's our blog and we can do whatever we want; but the Internet is home to information. And it is virtually accessible by everybody, so sometimes we've got the make sure we know what we're saying. I have yet to hear about a libel suit against a blogger, but I'll leave it to the Americans to sort that one out.

I find it somewhat beneficial and credible if you try to gain a reputation of being an informed or at least well researched blogger rather than just spewing rhetoric, especially when it is social issues or current affairs that we are talking about. I don't rate random conspiracy theories, blind hatred or emotional outbursts, especially when responding to a current issue, very highly, I guess. Conspiracy theories, blind hatred and emotional outbursts that come out of life as you are living it, however, makes intriguing reading...

And the exposure is good. I kind of enjoy it when people read the stuff I write and say something about it. Perhaps that's the exhibitionistic streak in me; needing to be visible and all that - why else would I have done part time work as a journalist if not for the thrill of seeing your byline in print - [yes, that is just the least of my personality disorders] - but it opens up new avenues to discussions and what not as well. This column, for instance.. would never have happened had it not been a certain person reading a certain blog. And you make friends too.

To me blogging, apart from writing, is about communicating. Communicating your thoughts, voicing your ideas, communicating with others, getting feedback. Work sometimes isolates us, whatever its nature. The internet gives you a way to reach out. Although, I might add, no amount of virtual communication would ever be able to replace the need for human contact. (Case in point: go watch Demolition Man, when Sly Stallone and Sandra Bullock made 'contact'.) Blogging, to me, is building virtual communities in the same vein that IRC did in the Nineties. Except that this time, a lot more people are standing up to take notice, and a lot more bigwigs is discovering the potential of its power.

Blogs also tend to show a person in a different light - sometimes it could make one out as being serious or fickle or opinionated or blase; where as in real life most of us bloggers are 'human', really... to borrow a phrase from someone I know. It's also interesting to see how people think, as opposed to their outward persona - and I think to a certain extent, at least as far as the blogger allows, blogs allow such an insight. So if you've got a friend with a blog, give it a read. You may just be surprised to see how different they seem to come across as.


Because she was busy writing her thesis, IDLAN ZAKARIA prepared in advance an excellent entry celebrating Malaysia's Thomas Cup win. Sadly, they lost to Denmark, and the entry stays in the essay bank for another two more years.