Third Reason: What’s In Blogging?
Why not YouTube or Facebook or Twitter or IG or Tiktok?
Without YouTube I would not have learned to cook the kinds of food that I could otherwise only taste if I went to a specific restaurant or travelled to other places on earth to find them. Or, if not for those DIY videos I would not have built our backyard tool shed during the pandemic days. And discovered my hidden talent as a handyman as a result. Ha ha. Tongue-in-cheek. I thank the gods and goddesses behind all the social media apps being enjoyed by most people in the world. Life is easier and communicating is faster. There is that sense of being a part of something so big that you do not need to feel alone. Once you are connected to the internet you are transported to another whole new world. It is a world where everyone is welcome. The possibilities are endless.
The lesson from Avatar movie
In the first Avatar movie we see the Na’vi people living in great harmony and peace with each other and the rest of Pandora. Their Great Mother – Eywa – is always there to make sure that everything and everyone in that ecosystem maintained their balance, or equilibrium. They come to worship under the Tree of Souls (in times of need) and Tree of Voices (before they embark on crucial missions) to connect with Eywa.
Then they connect their queues or tendrils (a braided hairlike whip attached behind their skull) to each other and to the trees. This creates an instant powerful link that allows everyone to access the Pandoran Neural Network. In silence and with great and solemn reverence, they download and upload all information that profoundly unites them and Eywa. That include their memories, dreams, hopes, joys, fears, promises. This also allows them to communicate with their deceased ancestors, family, and friends. As long as they remain conscious of their interconnectedness, harmonious coexistence is assured. But…we know what happens next. Bad guys from another world came down on Pandora and tried to ruin that paradise. Does it sound like what is happening on the internet right now?
The vanishing art of listening
Why do I choose to enter the digital world primarily through blogging, and not in those other platforms? While the great talents of content creators behind those platforms continue to fascinate me, I would like to think that blogging allows me to speak my mind in a quieter manner; without the shouting and screaming and the instantaneous judgments. It is like being at a party, and you want to have a more personal and intimate conversation with someone. You go to a corner, or outside, where the exchanges are more than just about talking but – more importantly – listening. This is what seems to be greatly missing in our own Pandora.
Context is king
To put it another way, according to Trevor Noah, “Context is everything, and it’s important to think more before reacting to information online.” And context is hard to come by without listening. There is another way of putting it further, the fading skill of a critical mind. In blogging I can have all the time to think and research and reflect more before I post something. And I expect my readers to take their own time to understand the context of what I am talking about; and trust them to make their own judgment and conclusion. And if they have anything to say, I am always there to listen. There is so much discord in many social media platforms because of the lack of context, the inability to listen, and not enough time to chew first the information before swallowing it.
This site is for those who need space and slow pace
I believe there are people willing to step back away from the crowded space in other social media platforms and take things a little slower – Turtle(s)Pace. Or looking at things from above for a better and different perspective. People who still love to read stories in a way that makes it easier to understand their context. People who still believe that words do have the positive force to encourage, to help, to understand. Trevor Noah again: “Please don’t forget the world is a friendlier place than the Internet or the news would make you think.” Yes, I do not forget that. And I believe many other people who read this do not forget that, either.
A character named Miles Quaritch
Since I use the world of Pandora as metaphor to describe the great potential of the internet in general and social media in particular to make our own real world a better place for everyone, I might as well introduce the character in the movie as the cause of all the troubles that befall the Na’vi people.
“You’re not in Kansas anymore. You’re on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact, every second of every day. If there is hell, you might wanna go there for some R & R after a tour on Pandora. Out there beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you. And eat your eyes for jujubes.
We have an indigenous population of humanoid called the Na’vi. They’re fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin that’ll stop your heart in one minute. And they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fiber. They are very hard to kill. As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed. Not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude. You’ve got to obey the rules. Pandora rules.”
Words of hatred result from lack of context
Those words come from the mouth of the main villain in the movie Avatar. His name is Colonel Miles Quaritch. And he is addressing the new recruits of a private security hired by the company who come to destroy Pandora for its rare natural resources. His mission was to annihilate the Na’vi people and the destruction of the whole of Pandora. It was not part of his duty to listen and understand the context of the lives of the Na’vi population in coming to Pandora. But behind the façade of his official duty, he is a man driven by so much ego, consumed by hatred, and with a heart enveloped in bigotry and racism.
Living in Pandora today becomes riskier
This is one risk of living in a “democratized” world of social media, each one has something to say, each one has a mission. There is always a Miles Quaritch whose mission in life is to disrupt the digital equilibrium. And there’s not much anything you can do about it. For example, one early fan of Facebook who deleted her account many years ago shared her experience, “I thought they were all my friends. The sarcasms, the mockery, the taunting, they were just unbearable.”
Of course, there is always an easy fix. Just block them, instead of deleting your account. There is always that good side of Facebook. Many great things are happening there too. There are also those who try to quit but just simply can’t, they are thrilled to get updates on the good and bad comments about other people. But they hate it when they become the object of nasty comments themselves. They only want good comments about them. A very real dilemma. I was amused when Trevor Noah hit the nail on its head when he quipped, “That awkward moment when you are sitting next to people who gossip too much that you are even scared of leaving them. Because you know that you are next.”
My third reason for blogging
The good thing about personal blogging is that I have more time to think and reflect on what I should post. Impulsive instinct is minimized and there is less risk of issuing a public apology right after because of the instant backlash. And if you who read my posts want to send your feedback, which I highly encourage, you always have the time in the world to reflect first, and be critical minded in making your own opinion. You can also send it in private, a tool provided on the site page.
The importance of a healthy exchange
There is more sincerity, honesty, and a healthier exchange of ideas and opinions in this way. Less instant outburst of reaction – positive or otherwise. Sometimes in a platform where posts and reactions are seen by other users in real time, people are afraid to say anything publicly because they fear what others would think. One last quote from Trevor Noah on this, “Often, people who can do, don’t because they’re afraid of what people that can’t do will say about them doing.”
This is the third reason I blog. Using the internet for the noble purpose it was intended to be, to harness the positive power of words. To invite people like you with the same goal and intention. All the best to us!
