Hi Tonyo and Janette,
I am in favor of what the National Bloggers Association aspires for but I don’t believe that you need a new association to do this. Here are some of my thoughts and I hope you consider them. Thanks! 🙂
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MAJOR ADDITION (March 7 2011): Late last night on Twitter I had suggested that it would be more convincing if Tonyo laid down more specific projects that the NBA could be involved in so that people see some sort of roadmap. It will also be less controversial if this association were turned into a volunteer movement (just like RockEd Philippines) which had specific goals and would disband after a set number of years. Gang Badoy did chime in on this mentioning that there was some sort of dictatorship in the beginning before it turned into a democracy. What is important however is that RockEd effectively gave birth to several separate projects which are independent of the organization.
Look at their manifesto. RockEd is a group that has volunteers. You can come in and out and choose the projects you want to be involved in. You can pitch projects. The Tech Tanod project headed by Juned is in partnership with RockEd Philippines.
I’m not putting the NBA side by side Rock Ed Philippines because that would be unfair. I’m just suggesting that the system of volunteerism works better because it is less controversial and you really get quality people involved with their time and ideas rather than waste so much time with the bureaucratic decision-making.
On another note, I do agree with Sonnie that people directly involved in this should not have a business interest because it will really raise eyebrows:
I am not interested for a seat or position, if it pushes thru, for conflict of interest [I am also a marketer and entrepreneur]
I hope the organizers take these insights into consideration from someone who has had a lot of experience in helping build communities in the past.
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Forming a National Blogger’s Association is like trying to form an association that promotes breathing. Everybody loves to breathe. We all need to breathe. We all know the importance of breathing, but we don’t go around building a manifesto around it. Yeah we have the Clean Air Act and the whole marathon thing that’s somewhat uso. These don’t promote breathing per se, but they do so indirectly. The act of blogging by itself is promoting blogging.
Suggestion: Why can’t you just ask individual bloggers to become members of IMMAP or PICS? We have too many organizations! The fact that we’re trying to form more of these groups makes it more apparent that IMMAP isn’t working. What about Digital Filipino? Why can’t you just open up membership to more bloggers? (Why aren’t they joining?)
The manner by which the draft was spread wasn’t advocating blogging at all. If you’re going to form an organization of bloggers to push blogging, the least you could have done was use BLOGGING as a tool to get insights on the manifesto. Janitor Al is right: a wiki would be the best way. There is no excuse. Despite the Janitor being anonymous, the points raised make it look like the organization is being founded by rookies who are more interested in lobbying and the bureaucracy.
With regards to the Professional Bloggers Association, I am also a bit iffy about this. However, to move on, you will need to clearly define what % of income a blogger should be earning from blogging to be considered “professional.” The standard is usually at least 30% of salary if I am not mistaken. Also, you need to define if “blogging” means your personal blog. Because I think it should (i.e. if I am a hired social media guy from a company like Netbooster and I do blogs, am I considered a professional blogger? Because in the strict sense, no). Also, anyone who joins this organization should be able to issue an official receipt. They should strictly follow the WOM manifesto, or something similar to it. An official receipt. Yeah, maybe that’s something the organization can help with. Some sort of blogging co-op that helps with accounting. But going back, I am not in favor of this because in the past, organizations like this don’t really make a dent in anything. Again, why not just enhance IMMAP?
Look. Guys. That’s the beauty of blogs. They are the anti-thesis of such organizations. Why are we trying to stop it? Putting up such organizations will send out a stronger statement via the people who don’t join. And from a PR standpoint, that looks juicy.
Also, and this is towards Janette: I am aware that you are pushing Effective Measure in the Philippines. Congratulations on this by the way! I hope you do not use these associations as a means to lobby the use of EM. That will put you in a relatively powerful business position which may put you in an eyebrow-raising conflict of interest. I trust you naman but I do have to point that out. It’s what people WILL think so I’m just saying it now, in the open, while it’s early. I apologized to you in the open back in ’07 so you know I come with no malice intended. EDIT: Her reply regarding EM.
To Tonyo, I know how you feel dude. Believe me. That’s because something similar happened to me in 2007, which was duly resolved and I even apologized to Janette in public.
Net of it all, I think the push for a national association for bloggers is not timely. Not timely not in the sense that it is too early, but because next thing you know, blogging isn’t the next big thing and it may just be too late.
I hope you both consider these insights to heart and hope we can engage in proper discourse. 🙂
Here’s what others are saying: (send your links in the comments section)
Aileen Apolo: Blogging is a mass of niches
Jonas de los Reyes asks Yahoo! Answers
Regnard Raquedan suggests to make it a professional association