Squeezing Some Truths in Malu Fernandez's "The Problem with Blogging..." : A Newbie's Response

Got the hint from Pinoyblogero about the article published by Malu Fernandez in her column in Manila Standards Today regarding issues that really concerns the blogosphere. She entitled it ” The Problem with Blogging….” As expected, lots of bloggers reacted negatively, most of them almost cursing the writer. I’ve read the article, well it is really enraging, but as I read it again and thoroughly chewed every idea the writer is trying to impart, I’ve realized some facts in it.

(blogging) for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect. Unless you’re in bloody Siberia or in a Gulag prison, try stepping outside your comfort zone and turn off the laptop or pc, you just might find some real live people to talk to instead of typing away in cyber space.

It is true that some bloggers blog to somehow give relief to their loneliness, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that bloggers blog because they are lonely. The truth is, some bloggers find blogging a great way to release their emotions, which should be the main purpose of having an online journal.

Regarding blogging as a slacker job, I honestly don’t know how the writer associate us with this offensive term. We are not slackers, were not weak, inefficient, unprofessional, lazy, inactive, or any other synonymous words. Okay, I’m talking in general here.

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. However, I simply detest people who place vicious comments and slanderous statements in blogs yet sign their messages as ‘anonymous.’

First of all, I, as a blogger, never considered myself as a journalist, and I guess most bloggers don’t think they are journalists as well. Most blogs are personal blogs, aside from our moral guidelines, we don’t need any governing guidelines for us bloggers to filter everything we want to share in our blogs.

For me, the main difference between blogging and journalism is the option of writing for yourself (e.g. personal bloggers) and writing for your readers. I don’t think journalists have that option of writing for themselves. True journalists writes to give facts, not to degrade anyone, and not for any other purpose. Bloggers on the other hand, have all the rights of writing for themselves, besides, blogs are meant to be personal anyway.

Regarding the anonymity of some comments in blogs, I admit that I share the same feelings with Malu. I also believe that if you have something to say, don’t hide in pseudonyms, publish your name and take all the responsibility of all the consequences it might bring. But there is one thing the writer forgot about comments in blogs. Bloggers are not 100% responsible of all comments in a particular blog post. She forgot that even non-bloggers give their reactions in most of the articles written by a particular blogger, and considering that as one of “The Problem with Blogging” seems very irrelevant.

Perhaps it is the Filipino culture to foster backstabbing because they never mean what they say face to face. Just how many times have you dealt with co-workers who will smile in your face when you ask them to perform a task or engage in just plain conversation, when in fact they are quite uncomfortable with the situation and are forced to do what they absolutely detest with a smiling face. I guess it’s the kind of culture brought about by 300 years of Spanish colonization. To one particular blogger of Spanish descent but with an Indio face, don’t act like a peninsulares and quote Spanish words from the generation of your abuelita… jeez and they call me elitist. The Spanish rule is over, get over yourself and your Español relatives who used to have power… but I digress (oops, my bad…) Let’s move forward.

About the backstabbing thing, I do agree on that and I will not elaborate more about it. What I want to emphasize in the statements above is the way she inserted Filipino bloggers in the topic. I thought Malu was talking about blogging in general? Alright, she maybe setting examples from their, but why go in depth? Just found another irrelevance there…

From the way that statement sounds, it seems that Malu is addressing this article to a very particular sector of the blogosphere, please correct me if I’m wrong, the article is for the Filipino bloggers. I can’t help to think that this article is to give vengeance regarding the reactions Filipino bloggers gave in her previous article that degrades OFWs. I’ve read that article, and I can’t really comprehend and appreciate the wit/humor Malu is trying to impart. Is it because I am not a member of the society where she belongs?

It’s just like all this hullabaloo about ousting GMA. You deposed ERAP in Edsa Dos. Now you’re unhappy with his replacement. Make up your minds. (For the record I’m not pro anybody I’m pro whatever lesser evil is out there). You can’t overthrow one president then decide you made a mistake with your second choice. I’s not like buying a green Hermes bag and suddenly deciding, oops I should have gotten the black one instead. Unfortunately that’s the kind of nation we have become, a bunch of wishy-washy whiners who whine about everything under the sun and found the blog sphere to be the new medium for whining.

Huh?? I thought we’re talking about blogging? Alright, if Malu is trying to say that she is against bloggers that use blogs to broadcast negatives especially to our country, well I must admit that I’m with her on that one. The insertion of Philippine politics however, is a very good evidence to whom this particular article is addressed. The title seems very inappropriate as I go along my reading. She should have entitled it “The Problem with Filipino Bloggers”, or “My Vengeance to the Pinoy Blogosphere”.

About the whining issue, oh well, it’s undoubtedly true. My defense here is, again, blogs are meant to be personal.

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