on Dec 5th, 2008Responsible Blogging, Self-censoring?
At the recent blogging events I attended, I got to speak to quite a few PR and marketing people. During our conversations, I realised how bloggers are becoming more and more like journalists in the most ironic sense.
When the blogging platform first became popular, it was easy and simple to create a blog with Blogger and various other blogging platforms. Anyone can own a blog! Anyone can write anything on their blog! Although this fact hasn’t changed now, but something else has. Bloggers are beginning to feel a certain sense of responsibility towards their readers.
I suppose that’s the difference between writing an e-diary and writing a blog in 2008. Although I think the lines are still blurry, but trends have emerged and bloggers’ words are taken more seriously now as compared to just two years ago.
I find myself censoring my own blog entries more and more. I start to think about the consequences of posting each article, be it responsibility towards my readers or abiding by Singapore’s laws.
The blogging platform was once thought to be our new found freedom of ‘speech’. In places like the states, they already have the First Amendment, but in a repressed Asian society like Singapore, we thought we were given a new voice. Imagine little mermaid finally getting back her voice after being muted for a long time! Hooray! Under the sea, under the sea~~! So us Singaporeans started singing and singing in our blogs. Until the government steps in to try to mute us again.
I don’t believe that the government’s intentions are bad, we need to promote responsible blogging.
I wouldn’t be able to imagine if traditional media were given the liberty to defame or accuse anyone they like for the entire nation to see. People’s lives, companies, reputations could be severely damaged on a whim of a depressed and unhappy editor.
I have chose not to publish at least 10 blog entries in the past year because they were either too offensive or too political. Too bad you won’t get to read them 
Related posts:
