Movie poster moment! (Image courtesy of Ryan H)
This year was a year where blogging has gained mainstream recognition in ways we never thought possible a mere year or two ago. From the very express inclusion of bloggers in the campaign plans of most candidates to the strides bloggers have taken to effect change within this nation, 2010 was a continuation of the seeds planted in 2009 that really shone at its brightest in the aftermath of Ondoy.
Still, despite all that, it’s easy to look at this year and just paint it as all rosy. Ironically, with the absence of a galvanizing tragedy like Ondoy this year, while blogging has gotten more recognition in the mainstream, in light of how the national election coverage disproportionately dwarfed the local election coverage, the blogging community ended up not being much of an alternative to mainstream media, after all. We still paid attention to the same stories they did, and we became less the source of something new, as the continued expansion in the online world especially through Twitter has put the information gateway power firmly back in the hands of mainstream media.
Despite that, this was still a year of changes, and a year where bloggers have been able to showcase exactly what it takes for blogging to become more than just online diarrhea or random preaching to a choir and a captive audience instead of breaking free and actually meeting opposing ideas head-on in a civilized but enlightening manner.
This was a year where entitlement complexes, feuds, and issues also erupted, but then, it’s not like this has been anything new. There will always be bloggers who will use their being bloggers as an excuse to act like a boor, and there will always be bloggers who will call them out on it, only to be looked upon as busybodies. It’s a bit sad that we’ve gotten to a point where if you’re the one at fault, you’re the one who gets to be angry for being called out on it, but at some point, natural selection will deal with it like it always has.
It’s good to see that there’s a lot of new blood and that at least half the people who went to the Blog Awards this year were people I have never seen in PBA 2008 and PBA 2009. New blood is always a good sign, especially when these people are decent human beings first, and amazing bloggers second. At least we have a lot of people who have their priorities straight.
I can’t say I have any dispute with the winners for this year, albeit I was heavily favouring Foodie Manila to win the best Food Blog. I can’t speak about the Visayas and Mindanao edition of the awards, though, because I know only so few of them there. Overall, I think that the nominees deserved to be there, and the wins were well-earned, as opposed to how a certain Christmas party I’ve been to didn’t quite make me feel that way, but that’s a story for another time.
Congratulations to the people who made PBA 2010 possible, and here’s hoping for an even better PBA 2011 next year!
For reference, here’s the winners’ list.
Still, despite all that, it’s easy to look at this year and just paint it as all rosy. Ironically, with the absence of a galvanizing tragedy like Ondoy this year, while blogging has gotten more recognition in the mainstream, in light of how the national election coverage disproportionately dwarfed the local election coverage, the blogging community ended up not being much of an alternative to mainstream media, after all. We still paid attention to the same stories they did, and we became less the source of something new, as the continued expansion in the online world especially through Twitter has put the information gateway power firmly back in the hands of mainstream media.
Despite that, this was still a year of changes, and a year where bloggers have been able to showcase exactly what it takes for blogging to become more than just online diarrhea or random preaching to a choir and a captive audience instead of breaking free and actually meeting opposing ideas head-on in a civilized but enlightening manner.
This was a year where entitlement complexes, feuds, and issues also erupted, but then, it’s not like this has been anything new. There will always be bloggers who will use their being bloggers as an excuse to act like a boor, and there will always be bloggers who will call them out on it, only to be looked upon as busybodies. It’s a bit sad that we’ve gotten to a point where if you’re the one at fault, you’re the one who gets to be angry for being called out on it, but at some point, natural selection will deal with it like it always has.
It’s good to see that there’s a lot of new blood and that at least half the people who went to the Blog Awards this year were people I have never seen in PBA 2008 and PBA 2009. New blood is always a good sign, especially when these people are decent human beings first, and amazing bloggers second. At least we have a lot of people who have their priorities straight.
I can’t say I have any dispute with the winners for this year, albeit I was heavily favouring Foodie Manila to win the best Food Blog. I can’t speak about the Visayas and Mindanao edition of the awards, though, because I know only so few of them there. Overall, I think that the nominees deserved to be there, and the wins were well-earned, as opposed to how a certain Christmas party I’ve been to didn’t quite make me feel that way, but that’s a story for another time.
Congratulations to the people who made PBA 2010 possible, and here’s hoping for an even better PBA 2011 next year!
For reference, here’s the winners’ list.
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