Blogging as therapy (from YOU's blog addicts)

Blogging as therapy
By INQ7.net

SAY hello to our Friday YOU Blog Addict, Albert Domingo.

Got a blog? Interested in being featured? Just e-mail joeyalarilla@gmail.com. You could be the next YOU Blog Addict.

THIS medical student detoxifies from studying hundreds of pages by publishing online his take on things big and small.

Could you tell us something about yourself? When and why did you start blogging and who got you hooked?

I just turned 22 last February. Right now I'm a second year proper student at the UP College of Medicine. My extra-curricular activities include student politics -- a recent development of which is my election last March 4 as the chairperson of the UP Manila University Student Council for Academic Year 2005-2006.

Blogging for me is a therapeutic hobby, an effective respite for those moments wherein you're trying to understand a lesson in the medical sciences but your brain simply won't absorb the material. I started blogging August of last year, when I opened my first blog (it's still up as an archive -- http://idiopathic.blogdrive.com). I was hooked when I searched something on Google and the results returned the blog of a friend from college. I thought at first that she took some lessons in HTML or something because her layout was clean-cut and smooth to the eyes. I clicked on the link to the blog's host and subsequently found out how easy it is to start and maintain an online diary -- almost like your own opinion column in cyberspace.

What makes a blog better than a regular website? Did you try putting up your own site before you started blogging?

Yes. I've been trying to make my own website from way back in high school (since 1997) up to now. However, the thing with a regular website and an amateur webmaster is that you always come to a point wherein you either get bored or other matters creep into your schedule, and there goes your time. I always ended up with broken links and "Site Under Construction" graphics littered everywhere.

A blog is better than a regular website, at least for us amateurs. The host takes care of the nitty-gritty tech stuff but still allows you some degree of flexibility to tweak your site. In my particular case, it gave me a feel of being a professional webmaster/IT guy even though I kept relying on the WYSIWYG editor of the site. That aspect of blogging allows users to focus more on the content rather than the design. The reverse (more design than content) may also be true sometimes because of one's desire to make a loaded and flashy blog. But for me, form must be focused on function and the webmaster must also be a good content provider.

Would you say that blogging is very addictive? How many people have you convinced to also start blogging?

Blogging is definitely addictive! There have been times wherein I forget to study for a while because you'd find me typing my thoughts away on the computer. Another thing is that blogging does justice to the disparity between my thoughts and my handwriting -- one of them's really a mess. The computer does away with my calligraphic frustration and allows me to just write my mind out.

I'm always out convincing friends to start blogging. So far, those whom I have approached turned out to be bloggers already, and we just end up linking our blogs to each other. One of them even referred to blogging as something new that can possibly take over Friendster's popularity -- because Friendster's space for expression is limited whereas blogs can be filled with lots of your personal thoughts (He answered these questions a few months ago and Friendster has since introduced its own blogging service--Ed.).

How has blogging made a difference in your life?

I've had my try at writing monthly for a local community newspaper, so the realization for me when it comes to blogging is the vast circulation that a blog enjoys. Well, blogs don't really circulate per se, but the fact that it's tagged by a global URL allows not only your neighbor to read your musings; even people in Hong Kong have been reading my posts!

The difference blogging made in my life is that it has given me more of a feel of the global village -- that thoughts, ideas, and culture need not be restricted by geographical boundaries.

What blogging software do you use? What makes it better than other blogging services?

Right now I'm using Blogger. I used to be on Blogdrive, but I started to dislike the advertisements that Blogdrive places above your blog's header -- it always ruins the theme. Blogger's discreetness when it comes to advertising is the primary feature why I moved into it from Blogdrive, so to speak. I've also tried Blog.com because of its nice domain -- yourtitle.blog.com -- but its controls are rigid and it doesn't allow for much flexibility in template design.

What's the most memorable experience you've had in the blogging world?

This one's part of my being a UP student politician. There was a time wherein I posted an update on proceedings for the New UP Charter at the House of Representatives. The incumbent UP Student Regent at the time who happens to be a political opponent actually referred to my blog and my post when he decided to launch a political offensive on a colleague of mine from UP Diliman. To cut the long story short, we fought back by disputing his claims and stressing that a blog should not be treated as a newspaper report would be. He actually took my posts as gospel truth, which was quite flattering on my part. Joey G. Alarilla, INQ7.net

Visit Albert's blog at http://idiopathic.blogspot.com/

Got a blog? Then drop us a line at joeyalarilla@gmail.com and we'll check out your site. You could be our next YOU Blog Addict.

You may e-mail comments to joeyalarilla@gmail.com and visit www.alarilla.com.

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