The D Spot
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Blogging, to me, is another form of "literary" medium, a new one, as opposed to the traditional media--books, magazines, journals, etc., in hard copy. Blogging allows one person, as the owner of his/her own blog, to freely post articles in one's own writing voice/tone, without going through an editor. As it is immediately published, and one gets instant gratification. Blogging is a medium to share experiences with, and to reach out to people. This, however, entails responsibility, responsibility to one's readers, and respect for other people in the blogosphere.
I blog almost every day. My readers have to get a clear indication of how regularly I blog, so that they will know when to come back. My blogging is kinda witty, light material, open, sometimes personal, sometimes funny, sometimes poetic. My favorites are my series on "The Joy of Being a Mother".
My main objective in blogging is to put my free flowing thoughts in essays and poetry, and eventually share, educate, entertain, and sometimes inform. Blogging has done a lot of things for me:
- Blogging has made retirement easy for me. No transition, no regrets, no post-retirement blues, no sadness, ALL joy. Now, I am doing what I like doing most--writing. It's my passion. Yes, it's true, In the past, I would write everyday: endless templated memos, endless templated letters, endless templated reports. Now, I am free, I can write anything that I would like to write about, with no templates, no rules, no boundaries. Now, I am more aware of my surroundings, creating thoughts out of anything interesting that would catch my eye, taking snapshots, scribbling notes, which I could eventually shape into the art (yes, I call it an ART), known as a BLOG.
- Blogging has helped me recreate myself. Slowly, I have made a career out of writing (content, research).
- Blogging has unearthed for me new friends--they're my latest finds, my latest gems. Diverse interests, different personalities, all ages (doesn't matter at all) living in different parts of the planet, sharing experiences, expressing thoughts, crazy thoughts, sane thoughts, concocting out whatever is in their minds, new recipes, amazing photographs, anything, accepting me for all my writing worth. Sometimes, I wonder–are they really from this planet? are they for real?
- Blogging has made me keep my old friends. In the past, I would have daily lunches with best friends and weekly drinks (those margaritas are unforgettable!), mostly blah blah blah of daily toiling and bickerings. Now with thoughts passionately written, hilariously explained, secrets bared, I am sharing more than what was shared in daily lunches and weekly drinks.
- Blogging has helped me find classmates, former colleagues, former neighbors, even the dead.
- Blogging has made me understand my children more better. When I was not into blogging yet, I would PEEK into their blogs and other social networking media (friendster, my multiply, tweeter) to catch up with what they and their friends are up to. Now i would DIGEST each sharing and each emotion expressed.
Some tips on blogging: Be yourself, think about your readers. If you want to reach an international audience, use English. Mind your grammar, at least subject-verb agreement should be correct. Interact with your readers.Give personal touch in responding to comments. Visit other blogs, too, and make meaningful comments. Do not plagiarize, do not post photos of other people without either asking their permission or acknowledging their source, do not smear other people's reputation.
Here are some personal high blogging points in my blog life. When a reader sends me an email or a comment saying that I have touched his/her life, I am happy. Each time I see my daily statistics come up is a high for me. Each time I receive a comment, I am happy. High point in blog life is when others link me, others discuss about me in their blogs. When the big wigs/pioneers in blogging write about me or acknowledge my work, I am happy.
About earning money? My primary reason in maintaining my blog is to share my thoughts and experiences with my readers. I also keep my blog because it is one way of networking and introducing myself--of telling my readers that hey, here is a writer. It also showcases my writing skills. Through this blog, I was able to earn money--it has caught the attention of some people who wanted help in writing and research. I have adsense, though this is not much. I have learned from a recent local blogging summit that blogs can be monetized. I am trying to learn about how one can get passive income or residual earnings through the blogs.
Dine Racoma is Sexy Mom in the blogosphere. She is a mother of 7 and is a Young Retiree. She worked for 27 years in the corporate world, the last 22 years as an international civil servant in an international development bank with HQ based in the Philippines. She has traveled extensively to many countries which has brought about rich experiences and lessons learned which she would like to share with her dear readers.
Internet is a lonely place without Blogging; a fine art, also s science. Blogs are different to different people. In the first project, Quasi Fictional that still focuses on blogging basics, I asks prominent blog artists (through emails and this post) to share their views on what is blog to you? Here are the previous posts:
Liz Strauss, Aliza Sherman Risdahl, Mihaela Lica, Sterling W. Camden, Peg Haustetter, Steli Efti, Vicky Stringer, EXSENO, Axinia, Daniel S, Turo Jantunen , Alina PopescuLabels: Fine Art of Blogging
posted by Shirazi @ 8:00 AM,
13 Comments:
-
At 03:02,
EXSENO said...
-
Comments are important to bloggers, without comments,it would be like talking to ones self and being versatile when it comes to blogging keeps things interesting. Nice post.
-
At 08:28,
dine racoma (aka sexy mom) said...
-
thanks EXSENSO. comments also is a form of interaction between the reader and the writer, and sometimes with the other readers as well.
-
At 08:34,
said...
-
Racoma! Wecome to this part of the world. I am following you there at the D spot. What is D spot btw. Could you explain?
-
At 10:07,
sexy mom said...
-
hi, Babur! thanks. The D Spot was actually taken from The J Spot (http://racoma.com.ph). He is my son, one of the pioneers of problogging in the Philippines. He is well known here, he also works with The Blog Herald. He was the one who encouraged me to blog.
"D" because my name is "dine" -
At 11:24,
said...
-
I think I too have to learn blogging before I hang my helmet.
-
At 13:27,
annamanila said...
-
You have been invited to another part of the blogging world?! Congrats. And congrats for the piece. It was a thorough treatise and well-written too.
As for me, blogging can be as fine, as creative, or as casual as the author wants it to be. And yes, it can be poetic one day, prosaic, the next. Poignant, flippant, funny from one piece to the next. It is such a flexible form it can only be limited by the imagination.
Funny, I had this blogoging boohoos and woohoos that I told you about ... in draft form. Waiting for the right time to publish it. -
At 15:55,
SASSY MOM said...
-
Hi, dine!
Congrats! You're really one of the best and a very informative piece you have....
More power! -
At 17:06,
Loving Annie said...
-
Good Monday morning Sexy Mom !
Very good article on blogging -- you explained it quite well. I have a lot of the same feelings about why I like it, and what it has brought to my life, thank you ! -
At 00:29,
sexy mom said...
-
@farid - do learn blogging. it is not only a fine art, it is also a joy!
@Annamanila - i look forward to your blogging boohoos and woohoos!
Loving Annie and Sassy Mom: thanks! -
At 03:11,
Pericharis said...
-
Hello there, Sexy Mom ! Excellent post on the art of blogging: clear, concise, and very happy sounding... I'm curious though: don't your kids sometimes mind you "exposing" some of their personal stuff (such as the holding in of the tummy -which, btw, I do too...) ?
Best regards,
Pericharis -
At 06:29,
sexy mom said...
-
dear Pericharis,
you won't believe it, but it was my 3 girls who downloaded the pictures. actually most of the inputs (re BMI, etc) were provided by my eldest girl.
no--they do not mind, they are not very private, anyway. and it is for the spirit of fun.
most mornings, my kids would ask what my new post is all about.
also, what makes my blogging fulfilling is that i share experiences with my readers--varied ages, high school, college students, moms, dads, etc.
and thanks, for visiting my site (do you think holding the tummy is universal?) do comment in my site, so that you can also interact with my other readers. -
At 23:37,
vk said...
-
hello sexy mom,
thanks for the ideas for creating or having a blog....
you are really too kind to share your ideas, thoughts and etc.
your blog is very informative.....i got more ideas-knowledge reading all your post.........
thank you....... -
At 09:20,
lijialefw said...
-
cheap wow power leveling cheapest wow power leveling buy wow power leveling CHEAP power leveling CHEAPEST wow gold BUY wow powerleveling
Links to this post:
What is a blog to you?
Internet is a lonely place without Blogging; a fine art, science, also economics. Blogs are different to different people. Fine Art of Blogging asks you to share your views on what is a blog to you?
Please contribute your thoughts on blogging in general. In particular, write how you blog? Why? How blogging matters in life and work? Success stories and inspirations. Answer these questions and more (add what you feel is important dimension for you) and email me.
Fine Art Claimer
My blogs are a resource for my writings. More often, I blog informally, sharing impressions, generating ideas to see how they invoke reactions, keeping track of others’ work in the fields of my interest, or simply ranting or pointing out things that come to my attention.
Also, I use blogging as a platform to prune ideas. This is where I meet others and share experiences. “I am neither geek, nor nerd, I am not a hacker, a phreaker, a programmer or any variety of technoid dweeb.”
Post a Comment