Ang Dabawenyo

Recently I read a post on a blog somewhere about the difference between pure blogging (i.e., unadulterated) and pro-blogging (adulterated??). The author apparently had an axe to grind, alluding to pro-blogging as some form of prostitution.

Some bloggers might be hung-over the fact that blogging was supposed to be for freedom of expression. It’s still the case, but we can’t deny the fact that business has a way of insinuating itself where there are gathered masses. (Why is Coke in China?)

Personally, I have no qualms about getting paid to write. Not counting street-walking, it might be one of the oldest professions in the world. And if pro-blogging is — as a friend has succinctly put it — being an AdSense whore, well then what profession isn’t being carried out for monetary remuneration ultimately?

Moving on…. I’ve come to realize that pro-blogging is now becoming an honest-to-goodness occupation. You could actually make a living doing this professionally. That is, if you can get your blog to soar high in PRs (no, not public relations: Google PageRank), link exchanges, Technorati ratings, and in a myriad of other Web benchmarks.

It might seem daunting. I mean, not only do you have to write well and get your ideas across beautifully, but deal with techie stuff as well??

My blog buddy Marc Javellana has a brilliant idea. He plans to encourage students to start blogging as a means of learning and earning. Actually, this has also been my plan for, and the purpose of, the Davao Blogspace @ www.davaoblogs.com. So now Marc and I plan to embark on this endeavor in order to see a growth in blogger numbers down South. Details of this will be published when the Blogspace launches.

The Davao Blogspace is an aggregator site of all Davaoeño and Davao-related blogs. It gathers feeds from all of these blogs into one place. It will also have articles on how to create and maintain blogs, targeted to those who’d like to take up blogging.

Hopefully, we will be able to encourage Davao’s next generation to stay in Davao and contribute to the domestic economy. Pro-blogging, you see, not only has the potential to let you make money, it also exercises your mind. Instead of going abroad, you could blog right in the country, get an MBA degree, start a family, get a hobby….

And the beauty of pro-blogging is, you get paid for something that you love doing!