As the year 2102 finally bids farewell to us, I would like to make a very personal blog post about my observations towards the blogging community. I know I may be new and perhaps have not yet fully known or met the majority of bloggers but what I would be sharing is my first impressions based from what I have observed for the very few months I’ve mingled and worked with my fellow bloggers online and offline.
Many it seems are very passionate with their blogging in terms of being infront of their computers or mobile phones- 25 hours a a day and 8 days a week – with constant updates flooding our Facebook timeline. I can read all about their sighs, their frustrations, their joys and triumphs, etc.. Thanks to social media capable phones (and the free wi-fi Internet access in many establishments such as Burger King, SM and Ayala Malls, and many coffee shops in Metro Manila.
Many are also active attending events like four or more events per day – Wow! Talk about making blogging a fruitful career! Hataw talaga! Kumikitang Kabuhayang Swak na Swak! They get to attend several events, eat sumptuous food, get updated with latest product and services, and bring home plenty of tokens from the organizers. Its truly amazing a blogger can organize his or her schedule to fit several events in just one day.
Many are posting tons of photos on their social media accounts – hundreds of pictures highlighting the event and of course not to miss out on pictures of them rubbing elbows with the popular personalities!
However, I’ve also observed some habits which I believe are faults that may put a bad image on many bloggers (directly or indirectly involved with the issues). Read on!
1. Some bloggers gatecrash – I think its alright to ask permission first from the organizers before attending events that you are not originally invited especially for the new bloggers. There are many new bloggers that are not yet known by the companies or PRs so its OK if you introduce yourselves and request to attend their events. But for the professional or long-time bloggers, that’s a big negative on their part. I must discourage gatecrashing as events usually have a specific budget that’s why there’s an RSVP requirement especially for intimate events where only a few are invited.
2. Some bloggers do not attend the entire event – I attend events mainly because I’m interested about the topics to be discussed or the products or services being launched (also to meet the people behind the events – organizers, endorsers and famous personalities), and not for the food or tokens which I will be receiving. I have to make it a point to be punctual and arrive on time (most of the time I’m always the early bird so I get to take pictures of the venue while there’s few people present), and always to finish the event (except for emergency cases – or if its the fault of the organizer for starting their event too late thus overlapping to my other commitments). I always make sure my next event is at least one hour after the first event so as to have plenty of time to travel to the next venue.
3. Some bloggers just grab the tokens and leave immediately – The “lootbloggers” give bloggers a negative image. Many of us are not after the complimentary gifts or tokens that are usually packaged with the press kits. They’re supposed to be just a bonus or thank you gift from the organizers for attending their events, and should not be a requirement of all bloggers from organizers. What’s worst is if the bloggers would just get the tokens and then leave when he or she realizes there will no longer be anymore chances of getting rewards. I hate myself when I am tempted to ask the question “What were the tokens given?”
4. Some bloggers blog late or do not blog at all – Imagine an event happening today and then the blogger write about it a month after. That’s cruel! I also hate it when they don’t blog about it at all. Perhaps they have forgotten about it because of a family emergency, sickness or hectic work schedule (for part0time bloggers) – but at least have the decency to inform the people concerned that you will be a tad late, or if you don’t really feel blogging about the event because you don’t like it, at least write a short post about what you really felt, and then just put in a few shots you took. I have to admit I would sometimes do that especially for events that were badly organized, or where we were treated differently from mainstream media people (I don’t know why they need to segregate bloggers from TV, radio and print newsmen). But its kinda annoying …..intimidating…..and whats the word? It’s right in the middle of my tongue but I can’t seem to say it…hehehe
5. Some bloggers just copy and paste – Wow! Even the trademark and registered signs were copied! I usually just do that for press releases that I didn’t attended personally (they just e-mailed me the press release) or when its just an announcement, but when you were able to attend the event itself, and actually experienced it, I think its but necessary to blog about it uniquely straight from your own words (whether fun or dragging). Many have forgotten the real reason for blogging – that is to give out your own personal opinions and share your own thoughts to your readers. Our aim should be to influence and engage the people into a discussion or movement. We are here to motivate the people!
6. Some bloggers do not say what they really feel – Mostly happens in paid postings. They do not walk the talk – or their blog post is a big contradiction to what they really are in real life. They blog about the product positively yet they talk badly about it among their friends and colleagues. They promote a certain product or service yet you see them using a competing brand. That’s why I try my best to become neutral in most of my blog posts and just share the news as it was presented to us. I write about what I personally see and how the products performed when I reviewed them. If the product has a downside, I try my best to share it without sounding too bad for the sponsor. If I don’t really like the products or services, then I would probably just copy and paste their press release…hahahaha (bad!).
Well, there are a lot more observations, but I should save it for later because like I said I’m new and is not yet in the right position to comment on the ins and outs of blogging. I may be relying on some stories told to me, but the things I mentioned above were the ones I personally witnessed.
So I would just leave you with the thought that I still believe many of us in the blogging community still blogs in the traditional fun way of blogging (as an online journal) and not purely to commercialize or profit from this very influential medium. It is not bad to become compensated financially from all this blogging opportunities but please don’t forget the decency to act professionally in your every endeavor. Let’s make 2013 another adventure into something clear and with vision! Let us become professional bloggers! A blog is a very powerful tool to influence and motivate people so like what Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben said: “With every great power comes great responsibility” – and some loot bags filled with tokens and GCs!
