A work in progress
Note: To clarify, this post pertains to bloggers who deal with businesses, not to those who write about what they ate for lunch or how their dog died.
You might have heard a silent bomb explode on the blogosphere today. It's about this, supported by this, and answered by this.
Now, I normally don't join the fray of blogger politics. I usually have better to do with my time than bicker about issues like this. I do think however that this one is different.
Professionalism
Blogging is only now treated with new respect by Philippine companies and traditional media outfits despite being around for a decade. Why? Because there are a lot of bloggers who work very hard to be professional in doing their blogging duties such as attending events and reviewing products. They practice proper decorum and courtesy when facing media contacts, and then objectiveness and meticulousness when reviewing products. In other words, professional bloggers make themselves relevant by being ethical, well-mannered journalists and media personalities in their own right.
Respect
The core blogging community is supposed to have "grown up", so to speak, and is starting to earn its place as a force in the media.
However, the blogging medium still has a long way to go. Not everyone acknowledges, nay, even know how relevant the medium has become already. So sometimes, bloggers are badly handled. The best way to deal with it is simple - handle it better. Take up the issue with the PR agency or the company itself privately. If they don't address it, then leave it at that. No one is forcing bloggers to suffer through an event and waste time.
It's bad form to complain about something one could have easily avoided and handled discreetly.
Repercussions
The Philippine blogging community is a painfully small world. Issues like this affect the community negatively by casting a shadow on the medium as one that is conducted professionally. Case in point - here's a text from a friend who handles PR events for bloggers (mind you, she found the post somewhere else. I didn't send it to her):
I read the post. Both sad and annoyed. How can blogging gain respect as a medium? Are blogs then becoming tabloidish in a sense? Work in progress it is. :)
So, what are your 25 cents?
Do check out the comments for a more detailed discussion. These links are also useful:
10 Key Learnings from a MEGA Nega Blog post
