I found out that some people claim that blogging is useless. They claim it’s wasting time and brings no benefits.
I disagree.
Blogging has improved my networking by leaps. I’ve made new friends and while I’m at it all, I’ve met lots of wonderful people from different walks of life. The proof? Easy… when I have breakfast, I have a lecturer, a researcher, an accountant, a student, a soon to be nurse, a soon to be politician/lawyer, an engineer, a sales exec, a photographer and many more… all at one table, sharing stories and laughter. To sweeten the deal, the mix of people is of different ethnic groups, yes including Bidayuh, Melanau, Malays, Ibans, Chinese etc.
While it is not really a motivation for me, but I do earn some cash from blogging. It pays for my hosting bills, and does also pay for my electricity bills for up to 3 months. Here’s a tip: The longer you keep your domain name active, the more you could earn. Also, proper advert placing is important, and yes.. branding your blog!
Thirdly, I notice I am more concern about my language when I blog. While many bloggers may not notice it, but blogging does make you conscious about English (if you do blog in English) because you’d want your readers to get you message accurately.
Fourthly, blogging is good for expressing yourself, but yeah… there is boundaries you should adhere. For instance, I have my own self regulation and ethics in blogging. It omits me from any possible trouble.
Last but not least, it makes you heard. I know, my blog is rather unknown if compared to many, but at the very least… I get my voice out there, and sometimes the right people do stumble upon my blog. I had researchers from outside contacting me about the Bidayuhs, and I was also asked to go on a phone interview by ASTRO AWANI on the PPSMI issue. There are also several other incidents where I am contacted by certain people in regards to my opinions on certain local issues, but let’s keep that confidential. If you think you want to make a larger impact, there’s always huge online blogging communities like the Sarawak Bloggers =P
So, is blogging useless? I doubt it. If it’s anything, it’s definitely something good, and well… if you must say it, it promotes the idea of ONE MALAYSIA. It’s basic fundamentals in which blogging is basically color blind.
p/s: I also forgot to mention, blogging is a good way to earn votes. Proof you may ask? Well, look at how well PKR and DAP scored in the last general elections? They spread their propaganda using blogs, and took Malaysia by storm. If it weren’t for them, you won’t have a blog called ‘1Malaysia‘ today. =P