» Starbucks Live & Inspire Series Season II
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Ooo. Long grandmother story, actually. Was really happy one day so I used Tinkerbell’s picture – if you had a childhood deprived of Disney cartoons, that’s Peter Pan’s sparkly, easily-envious, winged sidekick – as my display pic on MSN. A friend I was chatting to started calling me “Tinker”. And I thought, “Yuck. How unoriginal! That’s what they call dogs, man!” So I told him, “Please lah. If you wanna gimmie a nick, can it at least be something that’s cooler and a little more funked up? Like, maybe, Tinki???” He laughed. (Very funny meh? Tinki sounds a whole lot better to me than Tinker lor. Pfft. And yes, I have better name-giving abilities than Paris Hilton.) So for kicks, I put “Tinki” as my display name. Every one of my friends started calling me that from then on and everything after that is, as they say, history. The nick stuck. I was Tinki.

 

Haha. I got into it by fluke. (I was one of those who swore off blogging when it first emerged cos I thought it was lame.) Was away on a 16-day holiday in Australia with my mom and ended up discovering midway through that making calls was a little too expensive for my liking. (Penang people very kiam siap wan.) Therefore, the most cost effective way to let my dad know about what we were up to, was to email… or blog. I chose to blog. In FriendsterBlogs. *rolls eyes* So yesterday, hor?

 

Yeah. Most definitely.

 

Haha. Well, the money I earn from blogging, the freebies I receive and the events I get invited to are merely plus-points. Very sweet plus-points, I must add. But they’re not why I blog. I personally blog because it’s my only available-24-hours, non-judgemental, does-not-interrupt-me-when-I-need-to-rant outlet. Blogging helps me clear my head and process my thoughts. Plus, an added perk I get from blogging is that I’ll always get to look back at what I’ve been through and remember the good times.

 

This is a toughie. The BEST thing? Hmmm. I guess it’s probably the fact that my world has grown, and that I’ve found that I’m significant to the people who read my blog. It’s such an ego boost when regular readers tell you they miss your posts, love your pictures, or bug you for more posts even if you’ve already published 6 times in the last 24-hours. Haha!

 

Hmmm. It’s gotta be black-skinned, small bananas. HAHAHA. Long story. Go read my blog if you wanna know what I’m talking about.

 

I think that in this moment in time, it works. Quick, easy, cost-free reporting can’t possibly be a bad thing, right? The only “problem” would be the lack of monitoring blogs get. Hence, you can’t really believe what you read in blogs. At least not entirely. Unless you personally know the blogger lah, that is.

 

I think it’s here to stay. But only because I think it’s here to stay for ME. I can’t speak for others, though; but I’m pretty sure that there are bloggers out there who’re doing this for all the wrong reasons ­– the quick and easy money they hope to earn, the fame and popularity they hope to get, and the freebies and invites they hope to receive. To me, these are practical… but very superficial reasons to blog or to start a blog.

Am I veering off topic? I think I am. Roar.

Okay okay. Is blogging a trend? For some it is. For others it’s not. So for those of us who don’t see this as a trend, we’ll be keeping the tradition alive. We’ll make sure it stays. (Why do I sound like I’m promoting the upkeep of our local cottage industry??? Heck, I’m in advertising! I don’t weave mengkuang baskets for a living!)

 

It’s already happening. Blog advertising is a very quickly maturing medium. It’s something we’re all jumping on the bandwagon with so as not to be left behind. After all, so many of us spend so many hours scouring the net for work and for things of interest, right? It’s the perfect place to blast targeted audiences with advertising messages… and interactive advertising messages, at that! 

Plus, if anything, advertising agencies are always looking for new media to explore and recommend their clients.  

Haha. Me? I blog about anything and everything I think or come across. Funny conversations I have with the people I meet, the experiences I’ve had, the thoughts that run through my head, the places I’ve been to, the food I’ve eaten, the things I buy, the stuff that strike my fancy, the things that make me laugh, the music I listen to, the movies I watch – pretty much anything me-related, really. Haha. It’s about my life. And about what I feel like talking about. My blog’s called Tinki Talks, remember?

 

Well, I compromise on sleep (and end up having to load up on eyecream). Haha. BUT THAT’S BAD! Very, very bad. Don’t do it if you don’t have to, guys. It’s crazy unhealthy! That aside, the company I’m with is pretty understanding when it comes to “taking healthy breaks to aid the creative process.”

 

I’d be lying if I said that it doesn’t matter at all. It does. It just doesn’t matter as much as people seem to think it does. I mean, nobody wants to talk to a silent, unresponsive audience, right? Well, neither do bloggers want to tell stories to readers who don’t react. BUT… I started blogging not because I want to be heard. I blogged because I wanted to be able to speak. So I’m going to speak regardless of whether anybody hears me. (Wow. That came out sounding really narcissistic and self-obsessed, didn’t it??? Haha. Whoops. Oh well, there’s no apologising for the truth.) And if they do, all’s well and good. I’m happier than if they didn’t. But if they didn’t, it wouldn’t kill me.

To me, that fine line is marked by two major differences. The biggest difference is the amount of responsibility the writer holds. A professional journalist is to be, and is expected to be, a whole lot more responsible with what they say than an ordinary no-name-no-fame blogger.

The second difference I see is that journalism can sometimes be too neutral for my liking. Or too biased. Depending on the publisher and its associations, of course. Blogging on the other hand, is personal. If the writer is biased, you know it’s because they want to be. Not because they’re told to be. And if they’re not, it’s also cos whatever they’ve written is for discussion’s sake only. Their writing reflects their personality. Not their association’s ideals, thoughts and personalities.

 

One that’s honest, witty and creatively written. It also has to be clearly expressed, so that the post entertains (or educates) without confusing the reader (unless the confusion caused is intentional). Plagarism is a BIG no-no but sarcasm is always welcomed in my books. Oh, and a moderate sprinkling of post-related pictures help bump it up the Good Scale, too.

 

I personally think that creativity and the ability to write well matters more. A good writer can make the most boring topic interesting simply because they’ve crafted what they want to say well. It’s all about the presentation. The subject is the function. The writing style is the form. And in this case, form should serve to bring out the best in function.

 

Blog for the right reasons. Blog for yourself. For your happiness. You can’t go wrong with that. This way, you know that if all else fails (i.e. you don’t earn your moolah, you don’t get invited to events, and you don’t get freebies), you’ll still love what you’re doing.

 

Ah hah! See, that’s why it depends on what and who you’re blogging for. If it’s for yourself, why not blog in any language you’re comfortable with? You’d only worry about being international if you’re blogging for the sake of others. I say bloggers should go with Manglish if they want to.

 

Haha. That’s cos I blog the way I speak. And I speak Manglish. A lot. Very wrong meh? Cannot ah? Can laaa. Dun lah liddat say me then see me no up.

 

Haha. It’s not meant for girls laaa. If it was then it’d be called Operasi Train Betina instead! HAHA. No, no. This series is meant to help my male counterparts out. It’s sort of like a what-women-want online manual, so to speak. And it’s all based on what I’ve seen or NOT seen my male friends do. It’s my response to their actions or their NON-actions (depending on the situation at hand).

The women who read it only gain from knowing that they’re not alone in needing what they need and wanting what they want from their partners and male friends. Oh, and next time, they can ask their partners to read up on the series, too! Haha. That way, their men learn to understand them and their needs better, without them even having to even utter a single word. 

But this series isn’t just for those in relationships. It’s also for single women to know what to look for in their future partners, for single men to know how they should behave in order to be considered ‘eligible bachelors’ amongst the women in their company and for these men to understand the female mind better before they atttempt to wrestle one in a relationship. Very ‘’Girl Power’, I know.

 

 

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