Blogging continuum

I started blogging sometime in Dec 2003. I was first introduced to this cyber-world by a friend name Pak Adib. After getting to know what a blog is and how to create a blog, blogspot was the only one I know. It was user friendly and within minutes, I had my first blog.

Title for the blog? I had trouble trying to figure out what name should it be. At that time, Pak Lah had just become Prime Minister and Nazri Aziz was having a tiff with the deputy Director-General of ACA. Nazri was telling Datuk Nordin Ismail: "I have to teach him (Nordin) that, “Politicians are not called the ‘Political Masters & him, only a Servant for nothing.”

Pak Lah responded the next day with this speech:

Political leaders should lead by example in combating corruption, said prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He said it was sheer hypocrisy to tell government officials to behave when they did not uphold good work ethics. “If the political leaders are themselves involved in corruption or are inefficient in carrying out their duties, how can they expect the officials under them to serve the people well? “So, on behalf of all political leaders, I would like to make a New year resolution. All political leaders under my administration will show good example in carrying out their duties.

“I will ensure that there will be no place for political leaders who “Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin,” Pak Lah said at the Fifth Public Service Council Meeting at INTAN, Bukit Kiara.

These words struck me hard on my cognitive faculty. I was so impressed with our new prime minister. I believed that we now has a prime minister who would drive the nation to a new paradigm - prosperity, equality and harmony.

Anyway, that dream has now become a nightmare.

Back to my story; that's how the blog title came from.

Over the next few months I spent a lot of time writing: writing all sorts of articles, from jokes, to management, and knowledge and social problems, and of course politics. I do not yet have the traffic meter and so I did not know how many visited my blogsite.

In July 2005 I learned to install the traffic meter Addfreestats and it is then that I began to observe the daily visitors. I keep track the records of the traffic in an excel worksheet and till today I still monitor them (I don't know for what reason).

It was disheartening to note that the number of visitors were hovering at around 20 to 60 hits and the commenters -"nil". In the words of fellow blogger Avatar, "Feeling a bit down. Seems like I'm talking to myself most of the time on my blog". Ya, Avatar, I felt the same. I admired Jeffooi who has followers numbering tens of thousands, Aisehman, Kenny Sia, et al; they all are having many of thousands visitors and I am struggling to attract tens and twenties each day. I had more than a thousand students over the years but they don't seem to read what I wrote. I then started a few more blogs to write on management, project management and religion. The visitors are the same lot. I admired my friend Pak Adib who enjoys some 200 visitors per day. How I wish that I had as much.

The funny thing is, we bloggers write for nothing, not a penny, and I actually started writing on blogs for the fun of it and also to amuse myself. How then did the traffic thing becomes an issue? Hahaha! That's social phenomena! That's the phenomena that drives the blogsphere and bloggers and even Dr Mahathir loves his traffic.

Disillussion, I wrote in my blog: "I QUIT"! That did not last; there was this fello blogger Howsy who clamoured and plead that I continue. He even got a few others (Desiderate, Lucia Lai and many others) to penned at the comment space to encourage me to continue. I was truly appreciative and motivated to continue. The rest is history!

Today, I also wish to plead to all others to show moral support to fellow blogger Avatar. I think all bloggers need to assist the newbies and help promote blogging in this cyberspace. Avatar is a great writer. He writes a lot about book reading skills, financial philosophies and is an accountant by profession. Let's go and visit his blog and give him some encouragement.

The beauty of the blogsphere is that bloggers may not have met each other and neither have they had any prior connections or relationship. We may not know each others color or creed or wealth position, but we become friends in this cyber space and we communicate often. Some who do not have blogs but would spent time to communicate and share their thoughts at the comment space. I have great appreciations to many of them.

Last but not the least, thanks to all the visitors to my blog and in particular to all those who spent their time to share their thoughts and opinions at the commenters. Thank you all!