I Miss Writing

(Written on April 30, 2009)

I am here at Starbucks with my brother, during one of those rare brother-sister dates that used to be quite frequent when I still controlled my schedule. He is reading one of those glossy high-society magazines where the cover subjects have more attractive clothes than smiles (and I’m being kind), and where they are chosen not necessarily for their value as human-interest subjects, but for their standing in society.

I, on the other hand, up until a few minutes ago, had been reading flow, a magazine I had been curious about but only got to browse just today. I was pleasantly surprised to find the name of interior designer Miguel Rosales (with whom I had collaborated briefly when I was still writing “Living” features for MEGA) as editor of the magazine, and famed furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue as its curator. It’s a magazine that, despite the absence of faces and names on the cover, is much more interesting to me because it’s filled with art, design, and beautiful things that make life much prettier than it is sometimes.

And as I was browsing the pages of flow and appreciating the photography, the layout, and the writing, I silently declared to myself: I MISS WRITING.

More specifically, I miss writing about art, interiors, design, and all the beautiful thing that make life much more interesting than it is sometimes.

I miss going to exhibit openings and galleries and talking to artists about their work. I miss looking at art pieces and being lost in their colors and textures. I miss thinking about the complexities of creation and how much love, passion, and patience it takes for a piece of work to be considered finished (and, sometimes, as artists will tell us, it never really is.) And I miss having the time to process all these and put them on paper (or screen).

I miss talking to people, not always about politics or changemaking or what makes the world a sicker/better place, but about what makes THEM tick, what makes THEIR lives interesting, what makes THEIR worlds go ‘round—politics or changemaking aside. I miss just reveling in the “beingness” of things and people, regardless of their social status, political affinity, or profession. I miss the challenge of turning subjects into friends, of connecting with people JUST BECAUSE.

And again, I miss having the time to process all these conversations and interactions and turn them into my own works of art.

I miss coming home at the end of the day with enough time to sit down, think, and process the events of my past 24 or so hours, to share my thoughts and reflections with anyone who would care to read them. I miss blogging about the adventures and misadventures I share with Paul (which I used to blog about regularly in my first blog A Spoonful of Sugar). I miss blogging about the out-of-the-universe things I discover and read about (which are the subjects of my entries in my blog Out of the Universe). I miss having the time to research on blogging and social media and share them here in Long Live Blogging. And I miss having the time to read and process my Daily Oms and share the inner workings of my soul in my blog Soul Work.

Most of all, I miss reading. I miss feeding my brain with all the great food that nourishes and stimulates it.

Undoubtedly, my job is filled with intellectual stimulation and challenges, and I wake up every day thankful for the opportunity to serve our country and our people through my work. But I miss those quiet moments when I can just be, when I can just let my mind float, when I can let my thoughts fill a page or a screen, and when I can connect with people like you through my words.

Help me pray for more time and energy so that I can continue to do the ONE THING that means the most to me.

Mena Trott, the “mother of blogging”, talks about–what else?–blogging

In need of a break and in search of some inspiration, I logged on to TED.com, one of my favorite sites ever. It’s a virtual repository of interesting (and sometimes not-too-interesting) talks about really great (and sometimes weird) minds, where you can find information and insight about everything from happiness to art to spaghetti to.. whatever else you can think of that someone else is willing to talk about. So I typed in the search field the word “blog”, and the first entry I found was a talk by a woman named Mena Trott.

Except that Mena Trott is no ordinary “woman”; Mena Trott is the “mother of blogging.”

Here, below, is what TED.com wrote about her on her profile page:

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Mena Trott and her husband Ben founded Six Apart in a spare bedroom after the blogging software they developed grew beyond a hobby. With products Movable Type, TypePad, LiveJournal and Vox, the company has helped lead the “social media” revolution.

Time’s 2006 Person of the Year is “You,” which is to say, everybody: “The many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing.” The tools of this revolution have come in no small part from Six Apart, a 2002 startup that helped enable the blogging boom with its products. And co-founder Mena Trott, who rose to Internet fame with her own blog, DollarShort, has become a strong voice explaining the role of personal blogging in today’s culture.

Trott and her husband Ben developed Movable Type for their own use in 2001, but it became immensely popular and they dove in full-time. By the time they were preparing their blog-hosting service TypePad, investors were knocking on the door. In 2004, the company grew from seven employees to 50, with Mena Trott serving as chief executive, as well as an interface designer. Today, having acquired LiveJournal and introduced rich-media sharing platform Vox, Six Apart’s software gives online voice to millions of people and organizations worldwide.

“Like Ms. Trott, Vox is unpretentious and accessible. … She increasingly has the attention of elder statesmen who are baffled by the rise of blogging and need help in ‘getting it.’”

The Economist

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So I clicked on her talk, thinking I might get some insight into the birth of blogging, or some stats that would be interesting to quote at some time, or some technical tips that I didn’t really know about. I expected to see a tall, lanky, Silicon Valley-ish girl–maybe with glasses and hair hurriedly tied in a loose ponytail (pardon the “racism” and the generalization)–speaking quite flatly about things that only geeks like me would like to know about.

But then this is TED, and this is social media, and so Mena Trott, the “mother of blogging”, was nothing like what I thought she would be. Her voice was nothing but flat, and her talk was nothing but uninteresting. She talked about her foray into blogging, her husband, other blogs that she visits, her pet, a blogger friend, a baby… what she likes about blogs, and so on, and the thing that struck me was that she talked the way we ought to blog.

She told stories. Mena Trott told anecdotes–as much anecdotes as her 16-minuter could hold–she painted pictures, she engaged us about account of real people doing real things. She didn’t give stats or lecture excerpts, or some jargonese or another. She told very personal stories about her blogging world–and she asserts that the best blogs are personal, too.

I believe that. And, as in my previous post, I maintain that “what’s personal is universal”. People will somehow find a way to relate to you when they do. They may not relate to everything that you post, or they may not know everyone whom you post about, but they will recognize some truth behind your words. Whether you’re writing about your shopping spree abroad, or about your a**_ _ _ _ of a roommate, or about something as seemingly inane as–based on Ms. Trott’s experience–a banjo, readers will recognize when you’re being sincere and authentic, and they will follow your stories if only for that.

Know what I mean by clicking below:

The "mother of blogging", Mena Trott, talks about--what else?--blogging? Click on the image to view the talk

So, why do YOU blog? And what makes you follow others’ blogs?

Why I Must Blog, Why We ALL Must Blog

Today being the first day in a loooong time when I actually have time to rest, I postponed opening my email inbox ‘till about lunch time. But when I did so, I was greeted by a message that sent me spinning around my social networks. It was from Amy Liu of the Marketing Department of Blogged.com, and here was her message:

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Dear Nina,

Our editors recently reviewed your blog and have given it a 6.3 score out of (10) in the recreation category of Blogged.com.

http://www.blogged.com/blogs/a-spoonful-of-sugar-124827.html

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style…

Please accept my congratulations on a blog well-done!!

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I was surprised because, number one, I didn’t know that A Spoonful of Sugar, my very first blog (and where I had chronicled much of my romantic journey with Paul), had been registered and was being reviewed by Blogged.com. It’s been a while since I had last written in there, so I didn’t really think that people would still bother looking at it. Number two, I didn’t think that a 6.3 would merit “congratulations” and would mean “Good.” Nonetheless, it was good enough feedback, and I wrote to Amy thanking Blogged.com for my rating. I also promised to be more diligent in updating A Spoonful of Sugar.

Knowing that one of my blogs is on the global radar, and knowing that there are people who still appreciate it, is a very good reason for me to improve my work on that site.

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But there are other, more important, and less selfish reasons why I believe ALL of us in this wild, wired universe should blog.

1. For writers and other creative souls, blogging is practice. Participants of my Freelance Writing for Dummies class know this: I cannot stress enough the importance of blogging, especially for an aspiring freelance writer. Blogging offers a free platform for writers and other creatives to test out their ideas, hone their writing style, explore various subject matters, and begin developing a relationship with an audience.

Writing is very serious work, and anyone who wants to become a writer—whether full-time or part-time—must treat it with utmost respect. It is a demanding art-craft that requires the reader’s full attention once the page is opened, so the writer must ensure that the written material is worth the ink, the space, and the reader’s time.

Blogging, then, is like the rehearsal before the actual performance. It allows the writer to flex those critical writing muscles and get into character so that once “real writing” is needed, the audience won’t be disappointed.

2. For public personalities, it is an avenue to connect with their audience using more than their on-cam personas. Ours is such a media-inundated culture that it’s sometimes difficult to tell which is real and which is reel. News is often biased, sensationalized, and “telenovela-d”; reality shows are sometimes “gamed” and are often part of the celebrity-manufacturing machinery of our ratings-hungry networks; and there is hardly any time or space for public personalities to just let themselves be. While blogging by celebrities is one more way of extending their media reach and, therefore, of expanding their popularity, it can also be a good venue for them to show the public what they’re really made of.

3. For politicians and other public servants, blogging is one way to connect to their constituencies and have an alternative forum for feedback-gathering. My principal knows this, which is why he tries to update his blog, Facebook, and other social networks as often as he can. Blogging is a great way to test out ideas, solicit instant feedback, and continue a two-way dialogue with constituents that is just made impossible by mainstream media. US President Barack Obama harnessed the power of blogging and social media to the max; other politicians from around the world have learned from his example and are trying to follow suit.

A note for politicians though: don’t use blogging and social media merely for grandstanding or to win an election. Use it, too, to improve on current projects, update your constituencies about your projects, ensure transparency in all your operations, and provide a forum for the public to air their grievances. Like reading on a page, reading a blog requires the audience’s full attention, so please make sure that your words are worth our time.

4. For organizations, blogging is an über-cheap alternative for reporting to stakeholders and constituencies, rallying support for a cause, expanding one’s constituency base, or announcing events. If your organization doesn’t have the budget to maintain a website or produce newsletters or annual reports, put up a professional-looking blogsite that can store your updates, photos, advocacy materials, and event announcements. In this age of free blogging platforms (I like WordPress and Blogger), free widgets, and even practically-free documentation courtesy of camera phones and low-priced digital cameras, you now have no more excuses to not have your org information and updates online.

Oh, and if you want to fundraise online too, blogging will NOT give you the platforms for online fund-collection, but it CAN give you avenues to begin a conversation with your constituency, build relationships, and “raise friends.” Then the money can start flowing in.

5. For artists, musicians, and other creatives (again), blogging is a free platform to promote your work and nurture a fan base. For years before he finally put up his Multiply site, I’d been bugging my fiancé Paul to have a venue for connecting to potential clients and audiences online. Now that he has a Multiply site and is also on Facebook, he’s enjoying the process of putting some thoughts down, choosing photos and videos to upload, making contacts, and meeting “online buddies” from different parts of the world.

For creative souls in search of inspiration, blogging is also a great way to call out to the Muse. So is reading others’ blogs. Who knows what images, words, rhythms, and ideas can arise while reading someone else’s words, commiserating with someone’s pain, or sharing someone else’s joy?

6. For companies, blogging is a great way to reach out to a certain segment of your target market. One brand-built blog that caught my attention is Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which featured real blogs by real women. It made real Dove’s brand proposition that beauty is not only the domain of models and celebrities, but of everyday women living everyday (but not necessarily ordinary) lives.

According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008: “Brands make up a major part of bloggers’ online conversations. More than four in five bloggers post product or brand reviews, and blog about brands they love or hate… Companies are already reaching out to bloggers: one-third of bloggers have been approached to be brand advocates… Bloggers are most open to receiving marketing messages from other blogs. Even non-blog web content is more influential among this group than traditional media sources for brand information.”

If you see that blogging would complement your overall brand strategy, then there shouldn’t be any reason not to try it.

7. For families, blogging is a great way to document and share precious family moments that can never be replicated. More than just sharing photos and videos on your social networks, it’s also great to capture the feelings and the conversations that were all part of the experience. Whether it’s a momentous occasion such as a birth, a wedding, an anniversary, a graduation or a “non-event” such as making pancakes with the kids, taking the pet out for a walk, having an “adult-like” conversation with a toddler, or practically anything else under the sun, blogging is a way to make sure memories don’t just fade away.

I’d also recommend good ol’ scrapbooking, but for busy parents who don’t have the time or the patience to artfully lay out photos and other mementos, blogging is the way to go. (Blogs can also be set as private so the whole world won’t have to see what’s meant only for your family and friends.)

8. For individuals, you actually don’t need a reason to blog. Some people blog to share recipes, others to share lyrics and quotable quotes. Some use their blogs as online journals and share their thoughts and feelings with the world; others use their blogs to comment on social events and be engaged spectators in a world that’s constantly shifting. Some write lengthy prose that seem like magazine articles; others write catchy one-liners. Some have an audience of millions; others have an audience of 10. But it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) matter. As long as you’ve got something (non-violent and non-offensive) to say, then you should be able to say it.

What is personal is universal

If you think about it, never before in the world’s history have we been given a chance to document the world’s collective consciousness. Now, thanks to blogs and other social media, the Web has become just that—a repository of the state of people’s consciousness at any given time.

What were people feeling when the United States elected its first African-American president? The blogosphere gives us a clear snapshot of that through people’s blog and micro-blog (e.g., Twitter) entries. How are people coping with job loss and financial instability? We can find out at any time, too. What went through your head the moment your crush told you that, yes, he wanted to be with you too? If you blogged about it, then you can revisit that time, too.

More than self-promotion or self- flagellation, blogs and blogging allow us to understand ourselves and our world better. Brands and politicians alike tune in to the blogosphere because, here, they are able to capture real, instantaneous thoughts and feelings that don’t have the normal editing or censure processes of traditional media. Through micro-blogs like Twitter or Plurk, we’re able to capture “The State of My Nation—Right Here, Right Now”.

The world is constantly changing, the Web is constantly changing, WE are constantly changing. But thanks to the introduction of blogging and other forms of social media engagement, one thing that will never change is our desire and our ability to connect to other human beings—even if it’s just through flickers of words or images on a computer screen.

© 2009 Niña Terol