Monday, March 26, 2012

Dear Ego




Feature mo naman si @Tanginaconfused dude. Hehe. Kung okay lang. :)

Anu sabihin ko? :)

Kaw... Sabihin mo mahal mo na siya... Hehehe. 

Seryoso?

Exposure lang. Kaya mo na yan. Never associate it with me ha?

Are you confused with your sexuality? What made you create that twitter account?

Bucket? Masama? Hehehe?

You are asking me to write about your other Twitter account. I need details. 

Kasi madami Tangina accounts. TanginaMars, TanginaBro, Shutanginabeks... Inggitero lang ako.



Once, J. Neil Garcia told our writing class that he doesn't blog; that he doesn't keep an online journal and he has no plans of joining other writers who have moved to cyberspace to gain more readers. For him, blogging is like starting at your navel. It's a useless and excessive exercise in self-contemplation. 

His loud musings were brushed off. I am a blogger after all. But I cautioned myself not to let my online journal (and its growing popularity) go to my head. I did my best to keep a low profile, and revealed my presence only to fellow bloggers.

Because I don't want to be seen as desperate.

I would always remember the story about a group of bloggers who used their influence to gain some perks - like a free meal in a restaurant. They were despised. They gave the whole blogger community a very bad rep. And there was also this blogger who peddled his webpage in events. "Leave a comment ha?" He would say. As if a single post can make a reader follow your blog. I'm sure, those who did leave a comment wanted the traffic to spill over their portals.

And there are bloggers who are so full of themselves, they include the entire link of their webpage when leaving a comment in some random online journal. I know one blogger who did this. He even nominated himself in the Philippine Blog Awards and won.

I don't say that self-promotion is wrong. Even I am guilty of leaving my footprints when wishing to draw attention. But I do so with such subtlety and sincerity that I feast on the entry before leaving a comment. You will never hear me say, "Oi, read naman my new blog entry." or throw some random or inappropriate comment so it could be traced back to me. When I can't spare some thoughts, I read quietly. I would rather be found and appreciated because of my words' own merit.

Humans are social animals, and those who wish to communicate would go to great lengths just to convey a message. Whether it's a blog, or a twitter account such as the one I "exposed," surely there must be deeper reasons as to why it deserves the spotlight. Some reveal a truth, while others, comfort a sagging spirit. But to appease one's ego, or serve as a masquerade for something that is unreal, (you tell me, you represent the confused?!?) then something must be awfully wrong. And the sad part is, our brief, nonsense conversation is a stark reminder of how lonely it is to be profound.

I did what you ask. Here is your free publicity. But just to let you know, hollowness won't get you anywhere. It never does. And if you think that joining the bandwagon would give you fame. Think again.

The ones who lead the world stand out from the crowd.




19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I think this validates what Pisanu (of www.bisean.blogspot.com) wrote years ago that blogging is the latest internet "shit." :)

Kasi naman, bloggers should be re-educated of that one absolute rule in maintaining an online journal: You blog for yourself and not for others.

Besides, blogging is supposed to "perpetuate" a blogger's story and not to promote oneself.

red the mod said...

Readership is earned, not acquired. The statistics only give a false sense of one's own relevance in the digital realm. Some people obsess on this, thinking more hits means more people care, or give a damn, about what they say. This, a sense of self-entitlement, will be an author's imminent downfall.

You have to first learn how to write for yourself, and if there is sincerity, style, perspective and verisimilitude in what you write, the readership will follow.

rei said...

Amen. :) Substance is the element of blogging, I believe. If you don't have it, then you're a worthless cow.

zeke said...

This probably hit more than two birds in a single throw. Interaction may present an edge but is not solid to provide fame. It is a good ego booster, though.

I echo Red's point because he has already said what I could not put together. You guys are the greatest writers I've ever seen here.

Little Nikki said...

It feels great when you have readers on your blog, but that isn't everything about blogging. It's a form of expression rather. You gain readers because they feel that they could relate to your posts and also they think that it's interesting to them, until they form a habit of reading your posts. It's just an added bonus for writing well.

It isn't always for the fame.

eon said...

it is why i turned off google indexing and made sure the blog is not google-able. i am happy with my blog stats, and happy especially with the people that visit and read me.

Lady Datu said...

Ah yes, good old days.

- aging geriatric prune reminiscing times long ago, when words were fresh and fruitful, and when boys were plenty and cute :(

Mugen said...

Lady Datu:

The golden age of blogging is now over and we are, but empty remnants of that period.

I was told, the prune's recent reincarnation is as fresh and sweet as newly picked grapes.

Eon:

Pansin ko lang, the better wordsmith you are, the less you want to show your works to everyone.

Nikki:

I know some bloggers who were consumed by their own fame. They burned so bright their fire died out swiftly.

Ayokong mangyari sa akin yun. :)

Mugen said...

Joe:

Like what I said to Eon, the more prolific writers keep their words to themselves. :) Help them be discovered. :)

Sa totoo, na-ooff lang ako dun sa iba who try desperately to gain fame when they don't really deserve it.

Mugen said...

Rei:

Substance and honesty. These elements kept my blog breathing throughout the years. :)

Red:

I totally agree with you. =) Establish your character as a blogger, keep your head low and you will be blessed with materials to write about. The problem with me is that I'm so withdrawn from the world, my words die out.

It's been a while. I'll find you, soon Red. :)

Shenanigans said...

hala! na conscious naman ako bigla sa mga kinikilos ko sa blogsphere at cyberspace

Eternal Wanderer... said...

And there are bloggers who are so full of themselves, they include the entire link of their webpage when leaving a comment in some random online journal. I know one blogger who did this. He even nominated himself in the Philippine Blog Awards and won.

ay parang kilala ko itoh.

hihihihi

Mugen said...

Ternie:

Bottom line, kanya-kanyang trip daw yan. sakin naman, poignant observation lang.

Naging boylet mo ba yan?

Shenanigans:

What you do? Wala naman akong napapansin. :)

cHard said...

Well written and well said..

Readers are more discerning now..compliments are freely given and expressed when appropriate..

Readership and following should be earned..what does one gain knowing that fame is a result of doing something that he himself can't rightfully justify or even at its most basic, does not know his main reason or purpose for doing?

Shenanigans said...

aaahhh.. wala ka pang napapansin so meaning di pa ganun ka bulgar. hehe!

sin at work said...

korek!

minsan nga the others who leave their site sa comments nila (lalo na pag comment eh generic sabay link ng blog nila aftwerwards) eh 'di ko talaga niki-click. parang ayaw ko tuloy gawin kung ano yung gusto nila mangyari. ahihihi :D
(and i'm talking about yung comments sa posts ng blogs ng iba ah. hindi yung sa akin, di ako famous para iwanan ng ganun. hahaha :D mahilig lang din kasi ako magtingin-tingin ng comments ng iba kaya may nakikita akong mga ganung kembot.)

Raymond said...

I don't have anything against this blog commercialization pero it always comes to a point na mabobore ka rin sa kakakalat ng links mo.

After I re-examined what my goals as a blogger were, I realized that I didn't need anyone to write for. Now, I just blog for myself at my own pace, fulfillment na lang talaga habol ko :)

Mugen said...

Richard:

Agree. It's the reason why I wrote this entry.

And I hope he learned from our collective voices. :)

Shenanigans:

Next time you comment and include a link like this:

http://projectrusell.blogspot.com/

That's the only time you'd get my attention - badly. Hehe.

SW:

Napako yung attention ko nung sinabi mong "I'm not famous..." Naisip ko bigla, how's it like to be a blog celebrity.

Seriously.

Mugen said...

Raymond:

It's not bad to write about something, as long as you write it with your experience.

I think that makes a blog more interesting

Refer to this entry for more info:
http://isnotlifegrotesque.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-be-more-interesting-1.html