The Decision to Blog

Hi Everyone,

I recently took down my blog  because I was reminded by what had happened so many years ago to one individual who was ostracized where he worked for blogging.   Of course, his blog was about how bad his company was and it was, of course,  full of lies.  It almost seemed like corporate sabotage.   (He had worked at a competing company.)   So, it had a detrimental affect on his career.  This reverberated throughout the company I work for and many people there, such as myself, were afraid to blog about anything, at all.

I took down my Facebook profile for the same reasons, too.  But mostly, I thought about the negative stigma that it may attract due to my eclectic appreciation of an array of books and other forms of art.   I tend to worry a lot and even thought that I may have offended some people because the work that I read was very Eurocentric.

Some people messaged me saying that I was showing off, but in fact all is the truth - it came from the top of my head.  One friend even kidded with me, mocking me by telling me "Contemporary".   Another almost made me paranoid saying that people may use that information to get into your head.    Panic-stricken and full of shame, I took down my Facebook profile.   (I can talk about the immense power of  'shame' in Filipino cultures in another blog post.)

Growing up, I was nerdy and geeky and all of my relatives, siblings and schoolmates used to tease me all the time; often times, it was very hurtful.   There were some other interesting challenges such as growing up in a community that was mixed with different cultures and beliefs, that I can blog  about later, too.  Also, my grammar isn't the best in the world, but I've always had this inferiority complex and anxiety that people would look down on me because of how I spoke.  My decision to take down my blog and hiding my Facebook was influenced by all this.

After much thought, transparency is good; there could be a limit to it, I suppose.  But that's what the comments below are for.  We can start a conversation about it.  How am I to know if people are offended if I can't learn about it?  And I love to see what other people think.  I'm also reminded that I do live in U.S.A. where freedom of speech is a right.  Right?

Once I'm able to find some time, I can stream live some of my piano playing.  I used to be a DJ too, but had only 2 turntables and a mixer with no fancy recording equipment.  Once I have a bigger place, I can stream some of my vinyls too.  I have stories to tell about the adventures that I've taken around the world - some being very dangerous too!  Or, we can have a conversation about Ben Bova's work.  Or, talk about the injustices that we see in today's world...

In any case, blogging was kinda new back then, but now it's almost a facet in everyone's lives.  The incident still lingers in my mind, however.  The good thing is that where I work, we have corporate blogging practices established that I adhere to.  Also, living in the U.S. gives me the freedom to say what I want and believe in.    It gives me a lot of freedom to talk about some of the cool things that I see out there.

Regards,
-Franklin

P.S. You can reach me at franklin.naval@gmail.com or use the comment system to share your ideas with everyone!