Worst Ten Bloggers in the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As a blogger, I've been called so many names already that it's actually horribly disappointing that you are being judged completely for a few unverified accusations coming from obvious detractors who just wants to ruin your reputation so they could fulfill their own devilish desires of dominating the blogging community.

Those few bloggers who call themselves top, elite or authority don't even have the guts to say it directly to my face. They are the ones who are actually ruining the essence of blogging by creating factions and groups that are limited to only the few "chosen" ones.

I do understand that we should have some form of quality control But even trash deserves some filtering to segregate the "recyclables" and put them into good use later.

I believe everyone, especially the "newbies" deserve the time, patience and guidance from the "veterans" to straighten them out. But what I really hate is when a few "feeling entitled" bloggers dictate their perception of what a "professional" and ethical blogger should be.

I've written down a few undesirable traits of bloggers that I've personally witnessed throughout my couple of years as a blogger. It's how I see the blogging community based on the bloggers I've seen at events, and communicated with online. I know I'm still young in the world of online media but I'm betting I would be seeing more surprising acts as the years go by.

1. Grammar Nazi Magnets - Many grammar Nazis are itching so much to correct those awful and poorly constructed sentences. You can't stop feeling dismayed when their first sentence can already wake up the long dead literary geniuses. A few mistakes is tolerable but when you can't simply express your thoughts in written format, it's better you just write in the vernacular.

2. Events Hoppers - Yeah, they may have so many events for the day. But they were only able to do that because they stayed for only a few minutes per event. They will either arrive late, leave early, or just show up to get the goodies we all call as loot bags or tokens, and maybe eat at the buffet, and get the other freebies. You are not expected to tell a great, and real, story if you were only there for a few minutes.

3. Free Willies - Who doesn't love the freebies. We all love to get those lovely tokens in the many colorful loot bags. We all love to win amazing gadgets and GCs from the raffle. But it's so frustrating to witness bloggers taking home the extra food or even the decors from the event. I often see bloggers going home with what they can quickly grab and put in their large eco bags. I also saw some going home with more than just one loot bag. The other related act is the bloggers who bring along plus ones to events. Bringing along kids is not an exception unless you made prior arrangements with the PRs.

4. PR Leeches - We do understand that it's nice to have a good working relationship with the PRs and events organizers, but it becomes sickening when its too much for comfort. We become biased with a particular brand or brands if we develop an intimately close relationship that it influences how we write and perceive the brand. Realizing some bloggers do it to ensure they will always get invited and get some favors, it ruins the bloggers reputation since we would owe something in return.

5. Time Travelers - These are the bloggers who don't understand how time is of the essence. They probably think time can be manipulated so they publish their articles several weeks after. All event invites whether it may be a product launch, a food tasting, a hotel review, or anything called a bloggers event, deserves a write-up not "as soon as possible" but at least within the week after the event. I believe the reason why bloggers have become so "in" right now is because we can quickly publish news and information in real time, as it happens, and even before tri-media can release the same.

6. Rumor Mongers - I know we became bloggers because we love to share our opinions and sentiments. But unlike journalists that makes their write-up intellectually investigatory, bloggers just say their personal point of views without considering to hear out the other side of the story. This is why "blogger haters" exist because they believe we are not only competing with them, we are also spreading half-truths by writing about half-baked stories.

Blogging should be like baking a cake. We should not just smother it with colorful frosting and fancy decorations or toppings to make the cake beautifully appetizing. What is equally important is the fluffy stuff underneath which comprises the majority of the cake.

7. False Prophets - They see themselves as the messiah who can save us all from erring bloggers. They will create discussion threads on social media saying they are deeply concerned with what is happening to the blogging community and would rant about bloggers either through blind items or PMs. What they fail to do is call the attention of the bloggers in question to try to mend or repair the faulty acts. They could not offer solutions to prevent such atrocities and would only resort to name-calling and staying away from the alleged culprits.

8. Foreign Exchange Students -  They are the ones who resort to Comments, Likes, etc. exchange or syndications to level up their blog ranks and hits. I know it is a form of invite to get the attention of other bloggers to read each others blogs but after realizing we only did that because we owe something in return or we were just obligated to do so, it becomes unnatural and we only end up fooling ourselves. It will be strange to see that your commenters are your fellow bloggers.

9. Quick Draws - I find it weird to read about an event being told in just a couple of paragraphs. That's too much of a summary for me especially when it's a food tasting event when you are expected to tell something about the food and your dining experience. It is equally weird to see just one or two photos to accompany the article. It's absurd to read about a hotel and all you could show is the façade. Blogs were meant to be personal and full of delightful photos to please every reader as if our readers are actually there.

10. Invisible Men - These are the "no show" or "last minute could not make it" bloggers that will not be able to attend your event due to numerous unforeseen reasons beyond their control. These bloggers should understand that it will be difficult for the invitee to adjust especially if its a limited invite. It's hard to call up a replacement in the middle of preparing for the event. It's even harder if he throws in a lame excuse that only her mother would believe.