The Blogging Community
Our dear Mr Brown & Singabloodypore have been mentioned in the Straits Times. For the full article, click here.
Apparently the issue of information and opinions being circulated through the internet has raised some concerns.
An excerpt from Mr Brown
"I think the Government knows that, and has become more transparent as a result. If it does not address the facts directly, the online discussions will decide (on issues) for it,"
Given the fact that we rank 147th for Press Freedom perhaps a new regulation will be imposed for Singaporean Bloggers. Have bandages ready fellow bloggers, chains & iron balls are on their way.
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Friend of mine asked what it's like to keep an online diary. Her first comment was, "Don't you worry that someone out there is reading your personal stuff?"
As Ms Beautifuk have explained before, there is a difference between just an online diary and a blog which attempts to educate and provide alternate perspectives perhaps even critical views. My wish? Not to just provide details of my personal life but more importantly to document things that happened around me which gets me thinking. Besides, you have a choice of what subjects and issues to post on your blog. If you're posting simply personal details with no issues to address then yours is considered a diary.
Certain blogs did give me a good laugh when I did some random browsing but this particular blog owner apparently had a switch of brain positions for the left and right brain. Reason? His blog entries are reversed. I simply cannot fathom why a rational person would torture his readers. Originality? Like a cow attempting to play the guitar.
An excerpt dated 30 Oct goes like this:
Ih!!!!
!!!!citamotua m’I dna wolley si ruoloc etiruovaf ym, mu dna dnuora elpoep evird I dna em wonk t’nod uoy esac ni bac a m’I. gniht gniggolb elohw siht ot wen m’I, Bac Kwards m’I !olleh
that's interesting because the only word I recognise was "Bac Kwards" which would apparently revert into "Sdrawk Cab" which sounds totally absurd.
And I was thinking bad english was the worst that could happen.
"There's no news like bad news" - This quote was taken from the villian who's a media mogul in the Bond Movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". Starred Michelle Yeoh.
Yes indeed, as Ms Beautifuk sums it up. It's Sensational News which catches our attention.
What catches your attention? The news story of a ghastly murder where the press provided gory details of how the killer used a chainsaw to dissect the body parts and cook the flesh and sculpt the bones into pieces of art? Does the movie character Hannibal Lector fascinate you? Oh for Hannibal fans I'm very sure you're pleased by the anticipation of a new book explaining what made Hannibal Lector the man he is. For others who might be interested you can catch the news here.
Does the blog reveal much about the writer's character? If the author chooses to. Does he/she not worry about the backlashes? Why worry if you're only revealing what you know & feel? On the ethical issue yes, it would be a basic form of respect if issues are addressed and no personal attacks are directed.
What about the people who do not reveal anything about themselves on the web? 'Bloggers' were given the inverted commas in the straits times article, such a highlight perhaps draws our attention to the fact that most bloggers prefer to remain anonymous as highlighted in the case of 'Xeno Boy'
Are these people labelled as cowards? Subjective. It's one thing to post your views and not reply them versus posting them & engaging in discussions, clarifications even debates when the replies flood your inbox. If you ever caught a TV series titled "Dark Angel" starring Jessica Alba think "The Voice" which the main male lead is a man who only uses intercepted frequencies to broadcast his views about the evils of his society. The audience are fed with the information, but they cannot clarify their doubts. Hence they are left alone to decide if their intuition would lead to believe the society or to believe this man who's constantly feeding them with information they cannot be sure of. Most of the time, only through actual discussions with constructive comments can the issue be properly addressed.
A man whom I respected a lot once gave me this analogy - A person with only one arm cannot grow strong. The other arm is needed so they can wrestle with each other and grow stronger in the process. The keypoint is - constructive competition. Are we able to offer views that quotes references and past examples? With related case studies if needed? Constructive debates & criticisms, that's the main point.
What about trouble? Steven from Singabloodypore quoted 'There is a perception that getting involved in politics will get you into trouble,'
I beg to differ. Socio-Political Commentary offers critical views and perceptions on specifically political issues like executions in Singapore, where most issues addressed in blogs would be closely-related to "Social Commentary" which injects bits and pieces of alternate views or perceptions on how we can view the environment around us. Unfortunately there is a very fine line between "Social Commentary" and "Socio-Political Commentary" since Singapore is by large a well-regulated state. Of course for fellow bloggers we can simply choose to blog about personal issues and perhaps hobbies in general, make your blog an information blog which does not offer views and perspectives. Safest bet.
So the choice ultimately rests in our hands - The Blue Pill? Or The Red Pill?
Apparently the issue of information and opinions being circulated through the internet has raised some concerns.
An excerpt from Mr Brown
"I think the Government knows that, and has become more transparent as a result. If it does not address the facts directly, the online discussions will decide (on issues) for it,"
Given the fact that we rank 147th for Press Freedom perhaps a new regulation will be imposed for Singaporean Bloggers. Have bandages ready fellow bloggers, chains & iron balls are on their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friend of mine asked what it's like to keep an online diary. Her first comment was, "Don't you worry that someone out there is reading your personal stuff?"
As Ms Beautifuk have explained before, there is a difference between just an online diary and a blog which attempts to educate and provide alternate perspectives perhaps even critical views. My wish? Not to just provide details of my personal life but more importantly to document things that happened around me which gets me thinking. Besides, you have a choice of what subjects and issues to post on your blog. If you're posting simply personal details with no issues to address then yours is considered a diary.
Certain blogs did give me a good laugh when I did some random browsing but this particular blog owner apparently had a switch of brain positions for the left and right brain. Reason? His blog entries are reversed. I simply cannot fathom why a rational person would torture his readers. Originality? Like a cow attempting to play the guitar.
An excerpt dated 30 Oct goes like this:
Ih!!!!
!!!!citamotua m’I dna wolley si ruoloc etiruovaf ym, mu dna dnuora elpoep evird I dna em wonk t’nod uoy esac ni bac a m’I. gniht gniggolb elohw siht ot wen m’I, Bac Kwards m’I !olleh
that's interesting because the only word I recognise was "Bac Kwards" which would apparently revert into "Sdrawk Cab" which sounds totally absurd.
And I was thinking bad english was the worst that could happen.
"There's no news like bad news" - This quote was taken from the villian who's a media mogul in the Bond Movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". Starred Michelle Yeoh.
Yes indeed, as Ms Beautifuk sums it up. It's Sensational News which catches our attention.
What catches your attention? The news story of a ghastly murder where the press provided gory details of how the killer used a chainsaw to dissect the body parts and cook the flesh and sculpt the bones into pieces of art? Does the movie character Hannibal Lector fascinate you? Oh for Hannibal fans I'm very sure you're pleased by the anticipation of a new book explaining what made Hannibal Lector the man he is. For others who might be interested you can catch the news here.
Does the blog reveal much about the writer's character? If the author chooses to. Does he/she not worry about the backlashes? Why worry if you're only revealing what you know & feel? On the ethical issue yes, it would be a basic form of respect if issues are addressed and no personal attacks are directed.
What about the people who do not reveal anything about themselves on the web? 'Bloggers' were given the inverted commas in the straits times article, such a highlight perhaps draws our attention to the fact that most bloggers prefer to remain anonymous as highlighted in the case of 'Xeno Boy'
Are these people labelled as cowards? Subjective. It's one thing to post your views and not reply them versus posting them & engaging in discussions, clarifications even debates when the replies flood your inbox. If you ever caught a TV series titled "Dark Angel" starring Jessica Alba think "The Voice" which the main male lead is a man who only uses intercepted frequencies to broadcast his views about the evils of his society. The audience are fed with the information, but they cannot clarify their doubts. Hence they are left alone to decide if their intuition would lead to believe the society or to believe this man who's constantly feeding them with information they cannot be sure of. Most of the time, only through actual discussions with constructive comments can the issue be properly addressed.
A man whom I respected a lot once gave me this analogy - A person with only one arm cannot grow strong. The other arm is needed so they can wrestle with each other and grow stronger in the process. The keypoint is - constructive competition. Are we able to offer views that quotes references and past examples? With related case studies if needed? Constructive debates & criticisms, that's the main point.
What about trouble? Steven from Singabloodypore quoted 'There is a perception that getting involved in politics will get you into trouble,'
I beg to differ. Socio-Political Commentary offers critical views and perceptions on specifically political issues like executions in Singapore, where most issues addressed in blogs would be closely-related to "Social Commentary" which injects bits and pieces of alternate views or perceptions on how we can view the environment around us. Unfortunately there is a very fine line between "Social Commentary" and "Socio-Political Commentary" since Singapore is by large a well-regulated state. Of course for fellow bloggers we can simply choose to blog about personal issues and perhaps hobbies in general, make your blog an information blog which does not offer views and perspectives. Safest bet.
So the choice ultimately rests in our hands - The Blue Pill? Or The Red Pill?
posted by Inarticulate at 9:07 AM
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