Blogs have come a long way, haven't they? From a speck of nothing, geeks and nerds putting their thoughts down on electronic paper, often marginalised, to what it is today: a widely accepted form of alternative journalism. Its terribly bad form for a media giant such as the NY Times to look down on blogging still. In that sense, i'm proud to say that our own local media organizations seem to pay bloggers a bit more respect: The Star's InTech writes positively about blogging often, The Sun even has an online version which includes blogs as an integral section. (Aside: We have The Star and The Sun -- we really should have The Moon, just to keep the ball rolling, eh?)
The local blogging scene? If i were asked to describe it, i would say that its pretty vibrant. Most people who spend any time online (well, at least the ones i've spoken to) have done at least one of the following: started their own blog, reads someone's blog, or comments on blogs. If you think about it, that means blogs have a helluva influence on the online public, which if official stats are anything to go by, make up at least 10-15% of Malaysia's population. Wow.
Its not just that blogs touch so many people that's important: its also very important to note that blogs do so in an multi-directional fashion. There are blogs out there which are left-wing, right-wing, or even those which are basically wing-less, and that's a bloody good thing. Sick of the one dimensional, State-sanctioned dribble you get from traditional Malaysian media? Visit Project Petaling Street for a large collection of the Other Voice.
Blogging frees the individual voice; on their own, bloggers hardly make a whisper. But put many bloggers together, inject some maturity into their thoughts, and those whispers suddenly become too loud to ignore.
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