"Ganun? Eh di self-serving pa rin yun?" Or something to that effect, as Sassy Lawyer asked me how Warm Bodies: Project 2 was doing and how we relaxed the rules to gain more entries. She proceeded to entertain the next online acquaintance at the First Bloggers' Summit. When you're face to face with a star you can't help but stare. Starstruck is true and palpable. I hope I was not putting words into her mouth like an annoying heckler, though.

"But I have a board of editors that will filter everything." My voice was fading into oblivion. Moments and picture shoots later I handed her my card and vowed to help her with the name associated to it.

Content, content, content. That was the meat of her presentation:

What is “good” content? May universal standard ba yan? I don’t think there is. So whose definition of “good” content should we follow? Our definition or other people’s. Again, we go back to our personal motivations for blogging. Self-satisfaction or validation? If you’re blogging because you believe in yourself and the stuff you want to publish, set your own standards. If you blog to please others, well, that’s your funeral.*

I couldn't agree more. So there is always the eternal pressure of coming up with good blog material that I end up not posting anything for weeks on end, until I had to reconcile myself and say this mantra over and over:

"Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.
Do the right thing no matter what."

And blog like nobody's reading.

One epiphany that I had during the summit is to encourage traffic going to my site. Come to think of it, Google searches of "naked pictures of Carlo Maceda" can be good hits too if the perv has been enlightened and wanted to come back for, uhm, content. And with the relative success of Warm Bodies: The Kris Aquino Complex, I don't think hiding would be a good idea anymore. Not that I am promoting linksluttery. My cause is to prove that literary genius exists inside ordinary bloggers with Warm Bodies, and anonymity should be out of the equation.

Good content speaks for itself, even if it is about suman latik. Thanks, Marlon for the isaw treat.

*Harbatized verbatim from Sassy Lawyer's entry.

Update: Somebody just told me that I was seen on Unang Hirit's coverage. Oh my. Jacta alea est!

This entry was posted by sky, on Monday, May 09, 2005. You can leave your response.