Although Engel's been in the blogosphere for more than three years now, it's only lately that he's really visited online journals of people like him. While he did follow a number of gay blogs in the past, he was mostly approached or was befriended by the straight crowd.
You see in the past, when Engel clicked on a blog owned by a queer guy, what popped up immediately were pictures of naked men. Now he wouldn't have that because he only had access to the internet at work. And as a person of position in the past, he can't risk having his rep stained. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, but he's already known as a manly man.
He only found a few noteworthy "queer" blogs. He didn't really look that much before because he did meet some cool people. Straight, yet interesting nonetheless.
But now that he's fully immersed himself as an out-of-the-closet blogger (although he's yet to reveal his other persona), he thinks it's high time to write what he's observed about this side of the blogosphere.
EMO MUCH
Not since he read a female's blog has he read aLOT of emo posts. As much as possible he tries to avoid emo posts as he finds it contagious, but then it's usually a trend. One blogger writes an emo post today, then it'll be followed by five others tomorrow. Boo hoo, I'm single. My crush turned out to be straight. My partner and I broke up, we made up again, and then we'll break up again tomorrow. I'll end up alone huhuhu. Oh wait, that's me. But sometimes it's just too much. There are even those who don't even seem to post anything other than depressing stories. Engel does not dislike them, he understands that sometimes blogs are created so that a person can air out his problems. But if the only thing you're doing about the problem is writing about it, then that's just not right.
SEXY MUCH
Straight men don't write about their sexploits often. Carrie Bradshaw is a fictional character, who disappointingly is not prevalent among female bloggers. But gay writers can't seem to stop talking about sex. Not that it's wrong. Engel sometimes touches himself while reading other blogger's sexual exploits. Now Engel's said that he created this blog so he can write without inhibitions, but it's highly doubtful he'll ever post his adventures in detail. Not because he's not getting any, but because he just can't. He's totally fine reading these posts, this is just his observation.
OCEAN DEEP
While alot of queer writers tend to be shallow, there are more than are deep. As in 'ocean deep'. Honestly, sometimes Engel comments for the sake of writing one, but truthfully, he understood nothing of what he read. Oftentimes he'd not even worry about commenting at all. One time, a blog was too deep, it took Engel a couple of readthroughs before he realized that the writer posted about his most recent sexploit. What's up with that? He's fine reading highfaluting words, he knows how to navigate webster.com. Of course he respects those writers, that's their home and they have the right to post whatever they want. If a person doesn't like what he reads or he doesn't understand the words, he can always opt not to go back. No one forces people to visit their blogs.
It's only been two months since he decided to read more blogs written by people like him, so he's not even sure if this is pretty accurate. But this post is not meant to insult writers. He has too much respect for these people for their honesty and for being who they are and not being afraid to share it with the world. Sometimes he wishes he could be like them and not be afraid, but he's still got alot to learn. And alot more to experience.
21 comments:
Minsan talaga may mga blog na worth reading and minsan meron din naman hindi.
Gusto ko yung mga nagsusulat ng may tamang timpla, meaning not boring pero hindi rin masyadong OA to the point na hindi na nakakatawa or may sawa factor.
But nonetheless, this is blogsphere and we all have the freedom to write anything.
sometimes, when there's no one who will listen to us, we ended up writing our thoughts on blogs.
one has to know his limits though.or to try to be sensitive about what he writes and his readers...
minsan, there were new breed of bloggers (i've been blogging like for three years, pero lately lie low na talaga ako..minsan ni di na talaga ako nagbabasa except for knox or ewik.)
when they sprung last year, i realized medyo malapit na ang time ko sa blogworld.. naserve na siguro ang purpose sa akin ng blogging. ung mga sinulat ko, magiging vandals na lang sa rest room walls, parang multo sa isang lumang gusali na walang makakaalala..ako na lang bilang author at biographer ng sarili kong buhay ang nagbabasa ng mga luma kong sinulat at nakakatuwa itong balikan.
sobra akong satisfied.
i also missed yung mga kasabayan ko, although marami pa sa kanila ang nagsusulat, pero nag-evolve na din sila. yung versality nila lumalabas talaga noon from a daring sexual exploit to the most funniest antics of the day, ikukwento nila ng walang pakialam sa mundo...
hay ang sarap magreminisce hahaha.. this is a great post pala.
hahahahahah@ocean deep
napakanta tuloy ako1
I admit, I'm one of the shallow ones. hahaha
Blog hopping is like reading a magazine. Meron tungkol sa fashion, meron tungkol sa sex, meron naman everything under the sun. Kanya-kanyang trip, kanya-kanyang pauso. In the end, the sum of all knowledge can be found by taking out bits and pieces from what these writers have posted. You will see how different people see the same thing.
Grabe naoobserbahan mo pala ang mga ito. Ako kasi, basa lang ng basa. Hindi ko nga alam na may mga trends pala.
Good observations, Engel!
The beauty of blogs is that they are as varied and as interesting as the different personalities who own them.
I find blog-hopping to be like channel-surfing. There are some blogs that catch my attention at once, while others take a while to have an "episode" that'll make me a regular viewer.
What makes it better than channel-surfing is that it's an interactive medium. In many blogs, the comments section are sometimes more interesting to read than the actual post.
' the very reason why you attract straight crowd from the, may i borrow your term, blogosphere is because you write with such sensibility that it defies sexual preferences. it is so easy to relate to your experiences and the emotions that come with them because they are human, nothin' more and nothin' less.
- now pal i am beginnin to wonder if every comment you made on my posts are product of obligation rather than interests.. ahahahahahahah!!!! but this straight guy is a fan of the out-of-the-closet engel, and no matter what his reasons are, I am thankful for the time and effort he takes to visit and read me. i hope someday i can prove i am worthy of it. =)
Enjoyed reading it.
True enough.. you always have a choice if u want to read other's blogs or not..same as revealing your true self, out in the open..
dylan: thank you. glad you enjoyed it. and thanks for choosing to read this blog.
jedi: i'm not really sure if I deserve such nice words, but thank you.
rude boy: that's true, sometimes the interaction inside the comments section's much more interesting than the actual post.
knox: yeah, i guess i've been blogging for quite some time now that i can spot trends here and there.
jay q: nothing wrong with being shallow. it's easier to be happy.
EW: that's the idea. lolz
anonymous: yan yung downside for having been here for a long time. naaabutan mong mawala yung mga magagaling na manunulat.
geek: sometimes i treat this blog as my best friend. the only place where i can tell how i feel.
domjulian: yup, ganun din ang hinahanap ko sa mga blog na binabalik-balikan ko.
The reason I enjoy reading blogs is because they are more structured compared to what people usually write in other networking sites such as Facebook, for example.
It is more processed and a lot more thinking has been put into the work by the writer. In time, you recognize a particular "voice" and it draws you into his/her world.
It's his/her world, not yours. You weren't invited, you invited yourself. And if you don't like it, you are always free to go.
But sometimes, just sometimes, there are a few whose words resonate within you, and you recognize parts of yourself in their stories. And at those moments, you feel just a little bit less lonely.
Kane
p.s. I might use this comment as part onf an entry one day =)
nasabi na halos lahat.
variation is the spice of life. with the blogs around right now, readers are given a wide variety of things to read. you pretty much summed up most of the categories and such categories caters to different kinds of people.
the blog reflects a bit of what and how the writer is. the posts gives the impression of something depending on how it is written and what message is being conveyed.
i had a straight blog before as well and with it, i felt restrained and boxed up for obvious reasons because it bears my real name and my friends read it. then, i came upon those PLU blogs (some are still up) and from there, i found a new world just on the other side of the blogosphere. and what's more, i've made good friends ever since i stepped into this new environment.
there are things kase na it's better written than confiding to actual friend. Blogging is realy liberating for me. May mga flaws at pagkakamali ako na pwede ko isulat and I won't even fear of being judged at.
EMO MUCH. That would describe the past two blogs that i've killed.
Now that am turning a new leaf, my muses seem to be on leave and i'd rather banter about mi lifestories than chronicle-ing them in mi blog.
Been following your blog for some time now.. it would be interesting to meet Engel in the flesh.
pasok ako sa EMO, lols
i could agree more... nice observation, nice entry!
WC: thanks.
Cloud: ok lang, not to the point of being depressing naman mga kwento mo.
Lukayo: Salamat. Although when you say in the flesh, do you mean in person or in my glorious nakedness?! hahaha. Just kidding!
xtian: that's true, mas maraming iba-ibang opinyon kang mababasa kapag dito ka nagkwento vs. talking to just one person.
maxwell: I'm not restrained with my other blog, it's just that alot of people know me there and alot of the people i know reads it so nawalan na ako ng privacy. i created this so i could be anonymous again.
kane: thank you for your two cents. I think this is much better suited as part of a post rather than a comment. nice insight.
Let's start with our clothes on first. A good chat over what floats your boat (coffee, milk, juice).
But if we get the primal urge to rip each others clothes when we meet then I advise to go with the flow.
Hehehe... have a rainy weekend up ahead!
times are changing. before, we equate gay to sex and nothing more, but now, some of the most influential person including bloggers are gay so hindi na talaga issue yan. the important thing is you can impart as well as absorb something useful and entertaining thru visiting blogs. have a nice day...
note: hopped here via dong's blog :)
as an ex emo blogger (ngayon occasional nalang haha) i would have to say i completely agree with your observations.
i started bloghopping when i was seventeen. i learned a lot about people and how they react to certain things. yes, people are free to write whatever the hell they want on their blogs but we're not really expected to like them all. (haha i've read my fair share of bad blog posts)
rudeboy's right. sometimes, the comments become more interesting than the post in itself. it's one thing to write something and another to bring it out into the world for everyone to read and react.
salamat sa pagbisita at pagkomento.. oo nga no? same idea ang ating posts..
yes, like you, i read more blogs to observe and learn from it. and it surely helps!
nice blog!
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