Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

As traffic generation schticks go, nominating myself for the Philippine Blog Awards was a pretty nifty idea, altho it’s not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. Go figure.

Of course, I never counted on being a finalist for three categories: socio-political, design and best free custom theme (from my ill-maintained Outside Looking In pseudo-tech blog — although I didn’t nominate this one, but thanks to the one who did, whoever you are). And right here, right now, I want to extend my apologies (and props) to those I whom I took a slot away from in the socio-political category, particularly those whose blogs I regularly read and believe should be there instead of my wise-ass entry:

1. Luis Teodoro - Is there a socio-political blog as well-written, well-thought of, concise and insightful as this one? Probably, but I’d be hard pressed to name one off the top of my head.
2. Susan Ople - Insightful and concise, not a trite entry anywhere.
3. Jester In Exile - Always an interesting read, a nice mix of personal and social commentary.
4. Major Tom - Major Tom was one of my first friends in the ’sphere, and though we haven’t kept in touch after my long blogging sabbatical last year (the latest of several sabbaticals going back to 1999), I’ve always found his thoughts, particularly in international politics where I know next to nothing about, interesting.
5. Ellen Tordesillas and Jove Francisco - Insiders with a flair for keeping things real, and real interesting.
6. Alleba Politics - Not as frequently updated, but still a good read.
7. Sassy Lawyer - Come on, if she wasn’t a judge, don’t you think she should be a finalist?
8. MLQ3 - Ditto.
9. Reflections on the Bangsa Moro - I’ve always held in interest towards the Bangsa Moro situation; as good a perspective  as any on that front.
10. Political Junkie - Always interesting and witty, and gives my tagalog skills a much-needed workout.

There are more, obviously, but a ten is a nice round figure. The blogs listed aren’t necessarily blogs I agree with; they’re just blogs that, bar none, are good reads. And on that note, I sometimes feel like this is the organizers’ and the judges’ way of giving attention to other, less trafficked blogs. But then again, Dean Jorge Bocobo’s a finalist as well, so maybe not.

In the design category, I admit I did a total makeover on this site prior to nominating myself — again. And it actually means a lot, considering who the judges are. Hell, I know I’ve taken more than my fair share of design ideas from the various incarnations of Avalonstar.

Overall, I think it’s a nice publicity stunt, and it lets us feel good about ourselves. It’s a nice way for the organizers to recognize lesser known blogs; share the wealth, kumbaga. That said, I think it also perpetuates the popularity contest/SEO-centric mentality we all share, and should do way with. I never seriously compete, not since high school, so maybe that’s why it’s not that big of a deal for me.

Also, it could have benefited from more mileage, although the how is beyond me. Pinoy bloggers are composed of self-contained cliques, and few venture far from it. Those that aren’t in a clique aren’t given much exposure. It’s like an exclusive club — especially with the probloggers — not through any fault of their own, since links are a valuable resource, but I just wish we could go back to the old days where everybody was linking to everybody else.

Someone once noted to me that the Pinoy blogosphere is like mutual masturbation, since most readers and commenters are bloggers within the same clique, or who want to be in that clique. That’s not really a bad thing, and I don’t know how to make it more open to everybody, but I see it as something that, inevitably, retards growth. Not to say that it’s a closed community, or that it’s a collection of snobs; far from it, as these awards, parties and blogger conferences would attest. But I think we could all do without the cliques, without the exclusive clubs. I think awards and contests contribute to the exposure, but at the same time perpetuate that exclusivity. Still, I do believe it’s one step back, two steps forward.

That said, it is an honor to be a finalist — hell, it’s rootin’-tootin’ dandy, and certainly farther than I thought I’d get

Hugs, everyone.

Popularity: 6% [?]