Blog Awards Challenge

Blog Awards Challenge 3 Finalist (Merit): blogcebuworld

Winning Entry Title: The Masks Bloggers Wear [original link]

Winning entry is reprinted below.
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Did you ever wonder why Batman, Spiderman, Zorro and other superheroes wear masks? Superman does something with his hairstyle for people not to recognize him. Ninjas and robbers wear masks too. Some rallyists do wear masks. Naked campus runners put on something to cover their faces. They do not want their real identities revealed. Will it also be the same with blogging? Do you have to wear a mask?

The most common masks we wear in the blogosphere are: The Online Alias and the Online Persona

Online Alias: What’s In A Name?

One of the things we can’t choose in life is the name reflected in our birth certificates. Who chose it? Mostly, it is the parents. There are cases when parents hold a contest in order to find a name for their child. I’ve seen it in forums. Or sometimes, an intruding relative insist on a certain name. Some were named after the patron saints of the day they were born. I heard that it is a common incident in the past that a priest would not baptize a child if his name is not found in the catholic almanac, or if the child is without the Maria or Jose.

Our name is our most basic brand. Some people have names that are so common and it is really difficult to market a somewhat generic name. So, in order to stand out, we need to have a new and unique name: Our very own brand.

Take a look at the actors and the actresses we have today. The names they are famous for are not really the ones they were born with. Despite the pseudo-names, they are stars. And if we look back at our Philippine history, some of our heroes wrote with pseudonyms when they published their anti-colonial articles against the powers at that time. Are they not truthful in their scribbling while hiding their real identities?

My real name is so unique that if it is searched in yahoo or google, it will only lead to me. But why did I choose some other online name? The very few people who knew all my other blogs would even ask that question. Why this, why that, and then you blogged wih your real name on the other. If you have read all the comments here, you might wonder who the real owner of this blog is. I’m often called by different names, which makes me laugh at some point. Even firefox had problems identifying me when I log in to my gmail account. In this blog, I am Ceblogger. My About page will tell you who I am in the offline world.

The Online Persona: Who Really Are You?

Online, we can be anyone we want even with the mask on. Flaunt some flashy style, write like a pro, post a pic with you dressed like a pro, and have a blog designed like that of a real pro. No one can really tell the difference.

Or you could be an accomplished individual, burned out by the daily corporate struggles, but found solace in blogging, writing entries like a pre-teen, a fashionista, a frustrated fictionist, a poet, or a sports fanatic.

In the blogosphere, I always keep this in mind: Do not judge the blogger by his blog. I always tell this to myself because the online and offline persona could be different. Not really the Jekyl and Hyde thing, but just different. They have reasons for doing so, and I have to respect those reasons no matter what. I enjoy reading a post without reference to the bloggers’ credentials.

A friend of mine had written about his drunken moments. Some friends who might have read that entry may be alarmed and/or turned off by this. But in reality, he is not what his post may lead us to think. He is just probably acting or testing his readers if they read between the lines. Yeah, some Edgar Allan Poe moments!

In conclusion, is it really difficult to blog openly and honestly? I don’t think so. But we have to draw a dividing line somewhere. We do not know who reads our blogs, even if it is out in the open. Someone might wrongly judge us like we are to be thrown to hell. I do not want to be misinterpreted, nor do I want to write a long justification. Honesty is not compromised with the mask bloggers wear. It is just living at peace with everyone else. A little mystery behind the blog would not do you any harm. As a friend once wrote in his blog; wear shades, just like the rockstars.
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