QA: Blogging

Power of blogging… yup, I just want to write something about blogging.

At first, when I was introduced to blogging, I was a bit skeptical. Anything that got to do with putting yourself on the cyber world makes me shiver. My worst experience with internet was somebody (who I believe is very close to me) hijacked my Yah00! email and use it to send nasty things about myself to my contacts. My contacts include my previous clients as well. That was really embarrassing and until now, I do not forgive the person until he admitted and reasoned with me why he did that. That was more than two years ago. But it still makes me tremble.

When I was in college, I have my own journal. And my English lecturer read it every day. She will put her thoughts and encouraged me to continue on. Hardcopy copy journal is hard to share with others and taking up more spaces at home. Then I found blog, voila! I got to continue my journal…

My first entry was in 2005 if I am not mistaken. It was with bl0gdrive. A cabin crew with “Taking u more personally” was my first “guru”. She helped me a lot and later I found out that maintaining a blog on bl0gdrive is not as easy as I thought. So, I switched to blogsp0t. I didn’t write anything in my blog until one incident – yes that incident with stooped project cars…. My mind was mess-up and I just need to let it out. Definitely feel relieve once you write down everything that messing up your brain. The same concept I use when something happen at work especially when I receive an email that I believe not suppose to be sent out. I will write a reply (with a blank To: ) and save it as draft. When I cool down a bit, I will read again and normally, I just delete it.

Blogging has expanded my circle of friends. I have created friends with few Msian bloggers world-wide. I also have a chance to meet some of them in person. Z4ls, SA, F4mil, Sh4h are bloggers that I have met in person. I also have met other bloggers who do not know I read their blogs…. :-)

Since I used my blog as a transmission from my brain to the world, I have to be very careful with what I write. I try to avoid putting real names and places, hence, the usage of “zero” for letter “O”, number 4 for letter “A” etc… is inevitable. However, from the stats, this proves not a good way to hide. When I sign my entry with “M T @ Q 4 t 4 r”, Google search does not recognize the space between the letters. And there are people who search me, yes, searching me on the net using exact sign. Hampeh…

This blog is created for my friends and people I do not know to get to know me. Office mates and family members are the last in the list. I got a sense that my brothers do read my blog (since I am using same address as my email and Skyqe handle. Worse, my Gmail signature has a link to my blog and fotopages (malaytraveller.blogspot.com) – have not updated my fotopages for a long time already :-) Guess what… the things you don’t want to happen, always happen. So, early this week, when I turned on my laptop at work, suddenly Skyqe offline message box appears. (FYI, I always connects my Skyqe whenever there is an internet connection. Anyone of you wants to chat with me, you are more than welcome. My Skyqe handle is malaytraveller).

That’s it…. My office mate found my blog. He was actually searching for a gym in D0ha and he told me my blog appears on the first page of google search. Hahahahaha….. So, my Ninja Skyqe P4kistani Americ4n friend, welcome to my blog :-) Next time you visit this blog, do leave a comment…

From that point on, I don’t care anymore. This is my blog and I believe in a freedom of speech (including “laser-melaser” :-p). So be it. I don’t use real name but the events really happen.

So, blogging does expand your circle of friends. You get more cyber friends that turn out to be your good friends, insyaAllah. You also find somebody who shares the same feeling as you thousand of miles away. You can talk, give and take advice and share your interests. In fact you can also ask for a free consultation on every thing… yes, every thing….. where to go for a trip? What to do when you are stuck to make decision? Relationship issue…. Every thing….. Don’t u just love that??

That’s the power of blogging…. And I just loooovee my blog…… and to all the readers out there, thank you for all your support… Love you all!

~ M T @ Q4+4r

~~ Sadd, D0ha

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~