Are We Slackers and Lonesome Bloggers?

I’m a newbie blogger in the blogosphere, but I have been blogging for two years now in another community. I started blogging for personal reason. For one, I wanted to entertain my friends with what I write. Two, I want to make generalized statements meant to air my grievances or observations that sometimes have hurt or offended more than one people or friends. But more importantly, I blog for the love of writing and the option to create beautiful things, the way I perceive what beauty is.

Coming out in public to blog and get paid for it, (but not as big as the pro bloggers make) is one of the most fun pastimes I’ve ever tried and experienced. I very much object to that statement published in a Philippine newspaper that bloggers are slackers and lonely people. Contrary to what to what that notorious Philippine “journalists” Malu Fernandez quipped in her very profound and eloquent column in Manila Standard Today, bloggers are not a bunch of lonely people, or in short losers.

It’s true that bloggers are and have dedicated more time on the internet than the normal user would do. They enjoy typing away or blogging away anything and everything they could think about on the face of the Earth. But to say they are slacking lonely people is such a harsh brandishing.

I am a blogger, but I am not lonely. I have my family with me, especially my mischievous daughter interrupting me all the time, especially when I have the itch to write or browse some blogs I like. I have my hubby, who is patient, loving and understanding. No matter how blogging cuts in with the time I spend with him he doesn’t complain about it since when I blog he can play with his computer games, watch his car films or sports he is crazy about, or go have a drinking spree with his friends. I think he enjoys me blogging now since it nagging is minimal because I am now distracted with my blog. Instead of arguing with him I am busy composing my thoughts or playing with the widgets and templates for my blog.

I have my friends, most of which I can only communicate through instant messaging since we all live far and away from each other, another wonderful use of internet. Sitting in front of the PC all day actually makes communicating with my friends much easier. It also helped making our friendship stronger now that we can be updated about each others lives easily by means of our blogs or chatting on a daily basis.

I am also far from being a slacker mind you. I still do house chores. I cook lunch and dinner. I do the laundry. I clean the house and give my daughter a bath. I also take my own baths too and when my eyes get tired I go for a walk with my daughter or play with her on our veranda on the second floor. I watch TV sometimes, especially when American Idol is on. I go to the market to buy some meat, vegetables, and groceries or anything we need at home. I even have time to entertain some visitors.

Staying at home is my personal choice. I go out with my friends or acquaintances that are near whenever I wish to. To sum it up I have a life, but in the meantime, being a newbie and have this thirst to break-in that ever elusive page rank, I choose to be more at home now and tinker with my blog to improve my rating (if I have any).

My older sister would actually tell my friends that I’m now surgically attached to the computer. She made that conclusion since I began refusing or ignoring all her enticing offers and bait just to get me off my PC chair and leave blogging alone for awhile. In case she was successful to have me leave for a few minutes or hours at its peek, I would take any opportunity I can to peek in my blogs and check for comments or reviews, search for some tools to improve my blogs looks, browse some blogs I like, post comments on blog communities and forums or see if there are opportunities awaiting.

To say that we are lonely slackers is really inconsiderate. We blog because we want to and because we can vent out in here anything that irked us. We can also boast simple or grand life achievements instantly in here. What we love about blogging is that we can do this everyday as long as we have internet access without being censored or being dictated what to write. We choose what to write and we blog what we love.

Compared to journalist we don’t have to conform to any rules or slant of a story. Webmasters are the ones who act as “editors” or censoring board, they decide, but give a fair warning, whether your blog is up to get banned because of what you publish in it. But as long as your blog is up and running nobody can dictate to the bloggers what to write or what to put in their blogs. Bloggers simply rule. Unlike some journalists if not most of them, because they are bound to the rules and the dirty tricks of the trade especially when their publisher favors or caters a particular side and they are made to write about it even if they are against it.

*** TO THE BLOG CONTEST ADMIN: THIS PART IS NO LONGER INCLUDED IN MY ENTRY! TY! ***

My fingers are still itching and the voice inside me still yearns to rant some more. I don’t want to stop at the topic provided, I have so much more as a violent reaction to Malu’s column. She really worked me up that I am going to tell her and anyone reading this blog point by point where she had confused her facts.

I’m also excited to read all the post about this contest, so I can show it to Malu’s face. She is just plain notorious, and she think she is so great. With two strikes including this I think she is very unprofessional for making conclusions without checking the facts. She did it before and it almost costs her “journalism” career. With this one she is just inviting more haters than lovers. “I have been called an irresponsible journalist so what does that make you?” she said so herself on this loved column she wrote and published entitled The Problem with Blogging .

Malu, I pity you girl, because you don’t know a damn thing about what you are talking about. Get your facts straight and do more research. Let me enumerate to you and to everyone your false statements and my answer to all that trash you just shamelessly published (even if my opinion doesn’t matter to you).

1) It makes no difference in my life.”
Exactly Malu, it makes no difference in your life. You are not important to the bloggers either, or the bloggers you read. It’s not all about you, you are not directly affected so why give such a fuss?

2) I must stress the point that this is not about my previous issue, but simply the point of view of someone who has been a victim of vicious blogging and blogging as a new communication medium.”
Hah! You have been a victim of viscious blogging. Have you wondered why? It’s because of these kind of articles you shamelessly publish. It appears to me that you haven’t learned a bit from your previous issue (do I need to elaborate what issue that was?) You didn’t research your “facts” before writing about it. Do you want a libel suit again or another public apology is on its course? (Nah bloggers are tolerable people, we will let you get away with this but not without a vengeance, prepare yourself, more hateful blog comments for you!)

3) By all means say what you need to say. Unfortunately for most of the bloggers without advertising you get paid nothing. If in fact you do get paid then hooray for you. But blogging, aside from Perez Hilton and the other big time bloggers (you know who you are) is for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect.”
Hey, hey, hey Malu, where did
all this angst come from? So I suppose you get paid well at Manila Standard, but I think you’re putting your mouth in your foot again with this. Perez Hilton is the only person you know who does well in blogging. You are a journalist and exposed to many realities how come you are being skeptic of something you haven’t really tried or at least inquire a bit more than just publish what you think of it. You are a journalist, you should be responsible for everything you write and publish, don’t just write things that are based on your personal opinion, because you are not writing a blog, you are a journalist (or are you?).

Don’t be mean to people who makes blogging a living, and don’t insult people who are hoping to get by with blogging. I know I have no right to personally attack you but well, you caught my attention and I am one of those bloggers therefore I react this way.

You are right by saying that this is a pastime though, but to brand the bloggers that they are lonely people, which blogs have you been browsing anyway? Have you seen some other blogs and their writings about their daily adventures. Some of these are professionals and are even well-off people than you I think they are . They are composed of chefs, artist, event coordinators, journalist, doctors, financial investors, IT professionals etc. You can also see pictures they included in their blogs to entice more readers or just simply to show off.

Bloggers are not lonely; they have social lives and large network of friends. The fun part in the blogging world actually is the getting to know new people and meeting them for real and make real friends among them.

A slacker job you say? Or you are just jealous because some people can actually stay at home and make a decent living and don’t need to run after a story or another, beat deadlines, and be treated rudely by some officials. This is not a job by the way, it’s a sideline for most of the bloggers, meaning they have a regular source of income other than what they get here and this is just a supplement. Everyone can use a little boost financially even you.

4)”The difference between a journalist and a blogger is that journalists have to adhere to certain guidelines that govern the freedom of speech. And whatever a journalist chooses to write about—be it popular or unpopular—we do not hide behind an anonymous name and are resigned to the fact that we have to take as much as we dish out:”
You said it yourself, there are guidelines that you have to adhere to being a journalist and you lack in that area very poorly. Before mouthing anything or should I say typing away your angst, you should do more research. All journalists are very well reminded by their editors and publisher to be responsible in what we write. It’s your column so whatever you write in there is your own opinion and does not reflect the Editors and Publisher so I don’t see why I have to address a letter to the editor just for your “poorly researched” idea/opinion/ “journalists” view on this matter.

Malu, if you really know what you are talking about the anonymous comments and getting those is upon discretion of the blog owner and they can choose either to allow this comments to appear or not. But I guess you don’t know that because you don’t have a blog and didn’t do your research to know these things. I agree they are cowards but does having a by line make you better than the bloggers? You just have the opportunity to have your work published daily in print than most bloggers but if most of the good writers in here have the opportunity to have theirs too, they would grab the opportunity and show the world what a true journalist is.