As the year draws to a close in less than a week’s time, let us recall some of the important and sensational events, which occur in Singapore’s Blogosphere in year 2009. I will be sharing my perspectives of these events as one of Singapore’s blogger. Though I may not be Singapore’s top blogger, I am glad to witness the increasing popularity of my blog, and I must thank to all of you readers out there, no matter which country you hail from, who have supported my blog in one way or another, many Thanks to you once again! I will continue to make my blog as beneficial, as insightful, as interesting, as enjoyable and as useful as possible to you!
A watershed event, which seemed to herald a new dawn for Singapore’s blogging fraternity occurred in the Singapore’s blogosphere just weeks after year 2009 commenced. A popular blogger, Ms Jayne Goh, the marketing director of Mensa Singapore whose blog is at www.eastcoastlife.blogspot.com has set up a pro-tem Association of Singapore bloggers with some of her fellow blogging friends with the noble mission to promote and support the positive development of the blogging scene in Singapore, as a distinct form of media; with all the rights and responsibilities that entails, to every citizen as well as to promote professionalism in blogging among other objectives.
Just days after the association was formed, the unexpected (or should I say the expected) occurred: the setting up of the association drew a barrage of flak among the online community who questioned the need for the existence of the association at all. Their main beef centred on the need to charge members an admission fee as well as the very notion to group the disparate communities of diverse Singapore’s bloggers as one. Bloggers have also lambasted the idea for the formation of the association and from what I have read, a number of famous bloggers have politely declined to join the association too.
I believe the association of bloggers is founded on very noble and good principles to better the blogging scene in Singapore. However, the task of this association is a challenging one as it seeks to introduce some form of a system to the uncontrolled flux of Singapore blogs and Singapore blogging. Many incendiary comments were made online as I believe Singapore bloggers have mistaken that the association seeks to regulate blogs or serves to become their watchdog. To be frank, the association might have achieve its objectives, grow its community and prove its detractors and critics wrong among the torrent of criticism has it persisted. A peek at the association’s website at http://associationofbloggers.wordpress.com/ left no doubt to the standing of the association in Singapore today.
Somewhere in the middle of this year, the annual OMY blog awards 2009 was held, where a senior citizen blogger was crowned the winner in the individual blog section. It may come as a surprise that an older Singaporeans is the winner, however it calls for celebration as it exemplifies that when it comes to learning and navigating the rudimentals and intricacies of technology, our senior citizens can do and do it better!
There were also other blog awards organized by a slew of organizations such as the Nuffnang blog awards, you can read all about it from the internet, thus I should not details these events here.
Apart from the aforementioned events and personal achievements of Singapore’s bloggers, it is quite quiet in Singapore’s blogosphere till a week ago and this week when 3 incidents of different natures concerning Singapore bloggers made headline news, elevating the blog pulse of the nation once again as a last hurrah of sorts of the year.
First of all, the court has ruled that Ms Jayne Goh, (yup, the founder and President of the association of bloggers (Singapore) you read earlier ) has defamed a teacher in her blog entry dated somewhere in Dec 08. Hearing for this case will adjourn next January.
I would like to advise bloggers to exercise prudence while indulging in their favorite blogging. Though blogging provides a cloak of anonymity for bloggers, one must never deframe others, infringe copyrighted intellectual property or write politically, religiously or racially sensitive topics. If one does so, he would have to prepare to answer and defend what he wrote on his blog with a robust justification.
In another incident last week, project Engineer Alex Tan has become quite well-known for the wrong reason when it was reported that he has asked two members of the parliament during a young PAP forum an inappropriate question as to whether the PAP has created political apathy among Singaporeans and a feisty exchange of words soon escalated on the cyberworld between him and another young PAP activist, Sear Hock Rong which continued at this point in writing.
Finally, wedding bells ring for Singapore’s No.1 blogger, Xiaxue as her Caucasian boyfriend, Mike proposed to her in a movie screening and captured their treasured moments to be shared with the blogging fraternity on none other than Xiaxue’s personal blog.
That’s my quick sum-up of the blogging fraternity in Singapore, hope you enjoy my sharing! I hope Singapore bloggers would continue to enjoy their favorite past times come year 2010 and collectively contribute to the memories of Singapore….. imagine 100 years later, when the future generations of Singaporeans were to read our blogs, they will inherit a rich legacy of Singapore’s past which is our present.
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