Heh. Should have taken a pic? Most ppl will say ‘SS or it didn’t happen’. (SS = screenshot, but in this case it just means a picture.)
The statements above was what hit me after I met him face to face. Then I catch myself, “Hmm, he’s a blogger. A famous one, one of my favourites, but still a blogger. Since when have bloggers gained celebrity status?”
Disclaimer: If anyone who knows Kenny, or if Kenny himself reads this, PLEASE DON’T TAKE THIS POST THE WRONG WAY. I respect those who blog, have no grudge against them, and am just writing this on an emotion / chord that struck me in an odd way.
I was walking out of the MCA 9-Point Party Platform after the last session I intended to attend, when I bumped into Kenny. Before that, I passed an area which was roped off for a ‘blog meeting’ (or something along that line). I was asking what was going on in that area, kinda guessing it was a bloggers meeting (I saw Nicole there), and was asked back if I was a blogger. I told her I blog, but only once in a blue moon, and she asked me again if I was a member of N-something (no, I can’t remember the name). No, I told her, and I was regretfully told that it was a bloggers only thing for those who joined that society. Huh? What? Wow… Bloggers now have celebrity status and have this kinda meetings? Wow… I wanna be a pro-blogger too…
Then the ‘I bumped into Kenny’ happened, and in the midst of that, I actually catch myself in thinking of them with a celebrity tag. Hey, another disclaimer here, I love Kenny (not in a homosexual way), his blogs are extremely entertaining and his travelogues have given me insight on what I should do if I do decide to take a trip to some-remote-area-backpacking-with-chicks-wanting-to-hop-along :) . But to put him on a celebrity status… kinda… wrong… in quite a number of levels (SORRY KENNY, DON’T EAT ME PLS).
What I feel, tagging a ‘celebrity tag’ to them will most unfortunately, bloat some egos. And for those who say ‘nay’, I’m sorry, but look at history. Man repeats history unless it becomes fatal. Then he (or she)’s not alive to repeat it. Putting on such a tag might destroy the core of a blogging society. We feel nice reading others’ blogs because we can ‘click’ with the topic, with views from the blogger coming from someone who is human, who isn’t scripted. Someone who’s in touch and in tune with the community will always interest us compared to those ‘up there’.
Blogging has been an interesting way to advertise something, with some big brands cashing into something that is made ‘by the people, for the people’. Those who reads blogs expect the blogger to give honest opinions on a product, as viewed by the blogger, not some trumped up marketing scheme to boost sales. In saying this, can bloggers keep to being impartial and be truthful on something? With sponsorship and advertisement time, bloggers might then take the route of THE advertisement space to be, and bloggers will the be put into a limelight which were formerly reserved for models, actors/actresses, etc (aka, celebs) 10 years from now, 20 years from now, when a new celeb class has emerged (the bloggerz… oooOOOoooo), can we look into the mirror and tell ourselves it’s us who gave them such a status? And can the regular bloggers actually look upon themselves and say “I blog for myself, with no editting and no scripting” and not “I blog for my fans / sponsors”? Think about it.
Maybe I felt left out, being a ‘once-in-a-blue-moon’ blogger and not in the loop. Maybe I felt jealous of the people there. Maybe, just maybe, I can see a bigger picture and feel that the road that fate twists will lead to pain and frustration in the future. Maybe?
A step further.
KW
Attended the exhibition last weekend, with the intention of learning new stuff on business and employment. It was held at the Putra World Trade Centre in conjunction with the iYouth ‘08 exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Being a 3 day thing, I attended quite a few seminars, selecting those of which I feel were of use to me.
Friday (18/01/08):
Business Funding 5c’s Strategy - useful, highlighting on the criteria as seen by banks and financial institutions on loan approval
Debt Management - not bad, highlights the need for financial management, but is targetting the people in debt and promoting the government institution AKPK
Memory Power: Forget No More - good course, trying to apply what I’ve learnt
Saturday (19/01/08):
Making Money and Adding Value Via The Internet - not bad, quite good advice, won a shirt (speaker was from google)
Money Works@Wealth Management - =/ Not as good as I hoped, nevertheless, there’s always something to be learnt, this guy was promoting himself and his company a lot more than teaching
Painting with your Brain: Mind Mapping & Creativity - not bad, but like the earlier one, is promoting himself and his business more than teaching the methods
Knowing What you Want and Getting What you Want - urgh. if i’m not motivated, then it might do me some good. but since i am motivated, bleh.
Legal Talk: Intellectual Property - Devolved into a mostly Q&A session, but I managed to learn a LOT from this session.
Sunday (20/01/08):
Entrepreneur Group Coaching: Turning Dreams into Deals - a change of speaker, and like some sessions, more of promoting company services
Striving towards Job Excellence - great talk, something that every EMPLOYEE should learn, with conflicting ideas with what I’m taught as my dad is grooming me to have more of an employer mindset
Managing Difficult People - good talk by the same guy as the job excellence one. good impression with great ideas on how to manage people, regardless of in the office or with customers.
Took notes on the seminars I attended, close friends who want to know what was said, I can send a copy of my notes (please pardon the messiness, it’s hopefully legible :P ) to you. In the course of the seminar, I met some people and of course, networked as much as I can.
A particular thing to note, while the MCA 9-Point Party Platform Exhibition was something that was of immense use to youths (things that everyone who faces real life has to learn), it was massively overshadowed by the Youth ‘08 convention that was going on. I noted that most of the youths around preferred to hang out at the ‘cool places’ there like the stage that took up most of the middle area on that floor, with people yelling, singing, and doing youth stuff. The whole of the lower floor was also reserved for youths, with things like shuffling competition and graffiti art going on down there. Kinda makes me sad to see the lack of enthusiasm from youths on what could be a great boon to their future being neglected. Heh me speaking like an old man? The sad thing is, I see most of the attendees to the seminars being held were old people (mid 30s++?) and of course, parents bringing their reluctant kids (less than 14 yo by my estimate). Where are the youths? Where are the people whom this exhibition was aimed at? Financial management, debt management, entrepreneurship… these are the topics that shape a youth’s future, and yet it’s something that they neglect?
Well, if partying and enjoying oneself is something that defines being a youth, then me, being a 24 yo guy (year 2008) would like to find the ‘youth counter’ so I can return my membership on a category that I find ‘not progressive’ to my future. Does anyone of you know where the ‘challenging young people’ counter are? I would really like to sign up.
A step further.
KW
