When A Blog is No Longer Interesting

It’s been more than 10 years since I started blogging. If you look at my archives, my number of posts is dwindling over the last 3-4 years. This is my eighth posts since January 2013.  It looks like posting an entry is a semi-annual thing for me.  But hey, where did I lose the love? 

Bloggers’ Interaction

Since I also deleted my blogroll, I lost touch of all my blogging friends.  If I’ll look for them, I’ll just go to the comments section of my posts in 2007 or prior.  I know some had evolved into some kind of blogging superstar. Others just went back to hibernation and deleted their online persona.  Perhaps because of Facebook and Twitter, blogs are no longer interesting. Anonymity in blogging has died long ago.  Most of the interactions are already in Facebook and no longer at the comment section of a blog.  If you don’t have an FB account with a real name, people just ignore you and count you as a troll.  Me, a troll?  Maybe by now you know that my real name is not exactly what this blog tell you. Please don’t count it against me.

When I happen to interact face to face with another blogger, (I’m not really that cloaked in anonymity) I’d normally tell them that I deleted all my blogs.  I let the domain expire and did not renew the hosting plan.  That is true.  They know the feeling because they too, at the height of blogging, had three or four blogs only to keep one or none at all to last up to this day.

Tip: Get interested in others first before you lead them to your site

Traffic  

Thanks to a few of my posts, I still have traffic of about one unique visitor per day. Very lame! But are these the visits that I want? At some point, I want those visits converted into cash.  But the unfortunate thing is, the blogs that brought me more dollars are the ones I deleted.  Ok, so do I want a post to go viral just to get more traffic?  I have a real FB account somewhere and over 1000 friends. What should I do? As if I don’t know.  Haha.  Traffic is overrated.  And it can obviously backfire if not properly handled.  Write against a popular figure or a popular opinion, submit it to some viral sites and you’ll see yourself obliterated and your blog crushed to the ground.

Tip: Know the traffic that you want and work hard to get them.

Boring Posts

Who would read a boring post? A real fan may, but not a new visitor.  Even your friends will not read them, because they already know you apart from your site. Your ramblings are nothing, unless you make them interesting.

At one point, I find some of the blogs I follow as boring.  There was no longer a personal touch from the blogger as they became mostly shallow reviews of something.  There are those who tried to be discreet, making up stories until a paragraph or two about the review.  Funny indeed!  I tried to do the same but failed.

There are plenty of tips out there how to make your posts interesting.  Post a picture or even a video.  Make funny faces, or crack jokes good enough to throw me off from my seat. Narrate a story and stuff it with some figures of speech.  Check your spelling and grammar.  Bad writing turns off the readers.  There are bloggers out there who shun the grammar police but are not really doing enough to improve their writing. Do not dumb down your readers, but do attempt too much just to impress us with useless gobbledygook.

Tip:  Write simply but put a little twist

Write for the Love of It

Honestly, I lost the love somewhere a few years ago. I was maintaining lots of sites plus Twitter and Facebook.  A topic keeps running in my head by I struggled to write. I can no longer type and put hours into it.  I redirected my energies towards things other than blogging.

But now, maybe I should give myself another chance.  Let’s see if I gain a new following and reclaim the love for writing.  This is just my second post this week and second for the year too.  Expect 50 more after this.

Tip: Write for the love of it.

What do you think?

Hypocrisy and the Likes of Us

In the news a couple of weeks ago, incoming president Duterte spoke against the leaders of the Catholic Church, calling them hypocrites and 'sons of a whore'. He even declared that he's more influential than the bishops because no matter how they campaigned against him, the people just ignored the warnings and voted for him overwhelmingly. Is it a sign of people's silent protest against the Institution?

Many had lauded Duterte for his bold (most of the time, brazen) stance to go up against the Church. Opinions had been written in all media agreeing to his viewpoint. People seem to unite against the hypocrisy of these so-called religious leaders.  But this is really nothing new. The Bible recorded a lot of instances of hypocrisy. Prophets, upon God's instructions, spoke against leaders, even at the face of death. Jesus himself spoke against the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his time.  Yet the Bible also reminded us not to fall to the same pretensions.

There are people who are quick to equate religiosity with hypocrisy.  I can't really blame them.  They must have experienced hurts or condemnation by religious people once close to them. I also pity those leaders who are earnest and true to their calling. Are the CBCP leaders really hypocrites?  Or maybe they just happen to be on the unpopular side of the issue.  Being judgmental is as bad as hypocrisy.

To those of us who claim to be Christians, let us be discerning and not quick to judge.  I know of some people who grew up in Christian churches, who are now religious rebels.  First, they rebel against their own parents and relatives accusing them of hypocrisy. When you listen to the parents, they say they were just correcting an aberrant behavior. When we expect love begetting love, it does not always happen.  Second, they rebel against their religious leaders.  They are quick to listen to gossips and remember only the bad sides of the story.  So when they talk about hypocrisy, they have tons of information about leaders who have fallen.  Third, they will deny that they are rebelling against God. But their actions speak otherwise.  And when you talk about how good God is, they just give you a condescending look.

There is really this temptation when you go by the tide of public opinion. Who has fully obeyed the ten commandments? Are we actually listening to sermons when we go to church, or just waiting for words tingling our ears?  Or maybe we just sit there at the back for the sake of attendance and then look at the Priests or Pastors with suspecting eyes. At the back of our heads we ask, "How many girlfriends does he have? How many boys has he exploited? How much does he earn by using religion?"

Shouldn't we look beyond the messenger and focus on the message?  Perhaps in these days, moral uprightness is no longer a criteria we look for a political leader, and hypocrisy only applies to the religious. It is a very unfortunate sign of the times!

Five Reasons Why Floyd Mayweather Jr. Beat Manny Pacquiao

I watched the fight on pay per view paid  by my boss.  Seated on a corner in a room full of people who were more or less twice my age and were more noisier that I am, I was silently hoping for a knockout to blow the spectators away.  What would you expect from a fight called the "Fight of the Century"? I want blood.

But after twelve rounds, I wanted more.  Can they not add a few more rounds to determine the rightful winner?  After the announcement, my heart goes out the loser. I couldn't help by write here the five reasons why Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat Manny Pacquiao.

1.  It was Mayweather promoting the fight

Pacquiao was already a step behind.  He was underdog and all odds, whether it was betting or the media, were against him.  Mayweather controlled everything right from the start. All Pacquiao did was nod and agree.  Same with Arum and all the boys surrounding Manny.

2.  Mayweather is the face of American boxing

Mayweather's loss is America's loss. And it is in America where boxing is huge.  UFC is a threat alright.  But as long as Mayweather is there and unbeaten, there will be a massive business in boxing. Pacquiao is the face of Asia, but business-wise, it's just a fraction of what Las Vegas and Mayweather can produce.

3.  All bets were on Mayweather

"My heart is with Pacquiao but my money is on Mayweather" said my boss.  His sentiment is similar to some people I know, like my landlord who was a world title contender during the pre-Pacquiao era. "Mayweather is smarter" he says. What was the odds?  I heard that a P1k bet on Mayweather will only win P400. I may not have heard it correctly, but just the same, the bet was on Mayweather to win.

4. Mayweather was too scared

He's scared to lose a fight.  That is why he handpicked his opponents and controls every aspects from promotion to the actual fight itself, and event the post-fight events. He's too scared that he feints and dances  his way out of trouble when Pacquiao cornered him in the ropes.  He know full well his reach advantage. A few punches thrown wins him the round.  Maybe even his shoulder roll or his frequent hugging were counted as punches.

5.  Pacquiao did not do much damage

We want blood and a ugly-faced Mayweather after 12 rounds.  But there was none.  Pacquiao thought he won, but that's what many others thought too. If only he bloodied him like De La Hoya, or knocked him down like Hatton, then there would be no question as to who won the fight.