05 March 2008

A blog, a skit and a hop

So, what do you want to with your life right now?

Asked a half-friend I always fail to meet for coffee even if it was my idea. My world halted for a few seconds, not just because he actually managed a full sentence in a human language, but also because nobody had asked me that very question since a heated encounter with a Theology instructor in junior college. I want to resume writing, I answered, “I feel like I'm about to lose it for good and that's before roaches have evaporated from this world—so tragic.” Of course, in reality, and personally, I'd hate it should it ever happen because if it does then what's gonna be left for me, shampooing? So while I keep at my measly-paying job as a marketer and, well, party-goer—comes with the package, and I got no huge complains so far—I began to look for ways on how to rejuvenate my scribe alter ego. That's when I remembered an old friend: my blog.
Xio: Hello, lover.
Blog: Wha-
SLAP!
Xio: What, you wanted me to say, Hello, virgin?!
Blog: WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!
That could be a selling dialog should Diablo Cody decide to write my reunion story with my 3-year old blog into a movie. Killer teaser. Ellen Page can call me anytime.

So I went back to it and this space was reborn. I changed the layout, put on some widget stuff, linked with other blogs and sites and even gave it a new name inspired by an amazing tale. It's reconciliation con carne and it's a delight: Not only have I found a nice way to exercise my alleged talent with pens and papers—now with QWERTY—but I also get the chance to improve my flailing social skills, at least in cyberspace. And I can't believe how fast time has flown. When I started blogging, it was an almost odd thing to do; not everyone even knew how to spell f-... vl... blog. Now, while I've managed to push my posts from 20-for-2 years to 70-for-3 months, the entire Philippines itself has earned quite a massive space in the blogosphere. Online local forums even report that Filipino bloggers have had collective impact in the phenomenon that is blogging—even implying that the country could soon overtake international groups specializing in blog resources if cyberscribes continue to hone their craft.

And there's more. While journal writing satisfies your personal need to “let it all out”, blogging also offers you a stab at other skills—like, said the author of PinoyBlogero.com, marketing:
“Blog-marketing is an equally important task that aspiring pro-bloggers should look into. It is just one out of the many activities of blogging. Take some time to learn about Internet-marketing and apply it to your blog.”
If you want others to read you, of course. And you do, lest you should have simply collected scratch papers from your office and squiggled to your heart's content.

If you want to be a productive geek, blogging can teach you those HTML, RSS, CSS, what-have-you codes brouhaha. You can design your own site yourself. I haven't bothered diving into the whole nitty gritty, but it's always good to have a few more Internet skills aside from porn surfing and Youtube.

Moneymaking is now at large in blogs too. Services like those of Payperpost and Google AdSense allow bloggers to earn money by allowing ads on their sites. I have yet to receive a check from these, but I am more focused on reaching my immediate target right now: 500 posts by January 2009. I do it by constant ranting and friend-bashing... and of course by typing away boredom, watching movies, appreciating other bloggers' works, going out more often to see what's up in the Metro, hanging out with smart people so I can get infected and catching up on my paperback readings. Much as I'd want to, basking in the brilliance of great literary writers is too big for me at the moment—I prefer blog hopping instead. It's a bit easier, it's more today and it's simply way more fun. You get to read thoughts people your age, people your junior and people your senior whose voices, ideas, angst, humor and even pain are so vast and enjoyable you wouldn't care getting 77 eye defects by the age of 27 because of staring at the monitor “25/7.” You get direct interaction from the authors too and a chance to get comments from total strangers on your own pieces. If the next thing on your list is falling into a coma due to boring routines and expensive frien-ships, give those porn sites a break and try blog hopping every once in a while. It's cheap fun.
QWERTY-ed by Paoper at 13:06 |  
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