This is going to be a rant, of sorts. So if you're not into that, then you're better off waiting for my next book or game related post (though the latter might take awhile because I haven't had the groove nor desire to game recently).
Was simply browsing through local blogs and noticed a trend - that the more popular and famous ones are usually that of fashion bloggers or lifestyle bloggers. You know, the type where the posts are predominantly large pictures of the author in clothes sponsored by the thousands of blogshops in the market or pictures of food at a swanky restaurant they had been invited to or selfies. The selfies I just attribute to the generation of self-gratification and narcissism. It's always there just that it now runs rampant and some people think that more pictures of themselves justifies the substance of their blog.
Sad really.
I was reminded of time, years before (let's go back to say... 10 to 13 years back), when most blogs were really what they were - outlets of creative expression. The more active bloggers were the designers, because it was one way in which they displayed their design capabilities and prowess. I used to envy people like Yimun (who used to own the now defunct wire-d.net and Chun who was also a musician). I was friends with bloggers across the causeway (a time where our neighbours didn't always view us with distaste) and even across the world.
There were shoutouts, conversations, dialogues and discussion. We talked and shared our lives, our thoughts and our feelings. There wasn't any antagonism or rivalry. There was a lot of help when any one of us was down or in need. And of course, the command of English was really superior unlike the trash prose that's on all these newbie newfangled blogs. Granted they claim to be long-time bloggers (I'm talking about the new ones here) because they shot up in 2006 when blogsites like Blogger and LiveJournal became more mainstream. I think LiveJournal appealed more to the locals because of it's functionality - easy to use and start and if you wanted to be a bit more advanced, deceptively easy enough to manipulate the layouts.
But that's all ended. I miss those days. Where there weren't blogger outreach programs, where people didn't rush to get visitors and hits and then sell themselves out to the highest bidder or free stuff. There was no distinction between the 'popular' and 'less popular' bloggers because really, we were all equal and we all specialised in our own niche things that made us different and unique no matter how similar we were. Our individual personalities were what attracted people, not the pictures we spammed all over or the advertorials and sponsored or paid posts or even the ad space.
In fact, we preferred being a part of community blogrolls instead of narrowing on being the elite.
Times have changed. People changed. I no longer know where the old bloggers I've known before have gone off to. Since I left Facebook, that connection I have with them is lost further.
I miss the days. I miss the people. I miss the interaction and conversation. I miss the no-drama and the intense dialogues we'd have over books, anime, design, or anything else.
I miss the gorgeous layouts depicting anime/manga characters or even illustrations drawn by the bloggers themselves. And that's the thing, they were all somehow so amazingly talented with drawing.
It's why I'm quite content with my blog, with it's simplicity and lack of needing to please everyone or anyone, just me.
Pity the rest of the world no longer feels that way. Haha.
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