5 things I learned from doing this blog

Like what I’ve said in my first entry, I’m no first-time blogger. Naturally, I would already have the hang of this in no time. Boy was I wrong. This time, blogging felt like some forgotten talent, a skill that has gone unused for quite some time (much like solving algebraic equations). As an appropriate 15th blog post, I would like to share the difficulties that I have faced in keeping Comm de Garçon up and running.

1. Picking a topic is about as easy as licking your own elbow. Knowing what to write about is obviously my biggest challenge. Given that I am not an expert in communication (at least not yet), analyzing trends and writing about their implications on how organizations should function is no walk in the park. A lot of big news happened over the course of my first entry to this one and yet I did not go beyond my comfort zone to write about them, which brings you to my second learning…
2. When in doubt, stick to your guns. Like I’ve said, it’s hard talking about something that I have absolutely no knowledge about. This doesn’t mean that I’m uninformed about current events though. I just felt that I won’t be able to verbalize them to the best of my ability. It’s childish how I deal with my personal insecurities but then again I do not want to pretend that I know everything. I’d rather do a boring post about something that I am truly interested in (I’m pretty sure my peers are tired of seeing me write about fashion) rather than write a pretentious entry about a recent event just for the sake of doing timely social commentary.
3. Typing the entry is only half the work. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people type their entries on some word processor and then copying and pasting it here on WordPress. That’s the easiest way of actually putting out a post. However, since part of opening your blog to the public means being able to engage them for more than five minutes or so (just enough to get them through an entry or two), putting supporting media is necessary. Formatting it to fit the post certainly feels like a chore that one would rather not do (like washing the dishes for instance). Adding content (photos, videos, etc.) that would grab their interest involves searching for that material, choosing the one with the best quality, and then uploading it to some external host website. This is precisely why each blog post would take me at least an hour to make. Thirty minutes if inspiration strikes.
4. Proofread, proofread, proofread! I am a self-confessed grammar Nazi so you could just imagine my horror if I spot a grammatical error or a misspelled word in my entries. Sometimes things just sound better in my head or when I say them out loud. That being said, I tend to forget that translating something that is orally acceptable into a written piece of work requires much reviewing and rephrasing. My ideas don’t always come out as how I heard them in my thoughts which is why I’m apologizing right now for any “What the hell did he just say?” entries.
5. Dig a little deeper and you just might find oil. Of course, I’m speaking metaphorically. I’ve learned that one must not take everything in its face value. There’s so many implications, so many subtexts behind every situation. With that, I really need to give more time in assessing all the events that happened during the duration of this semester. I know very well that I missed out on a lot of good potential entries but you know how writer’s block can be.

Many of my peers have said that blogging can be a total drag unless you put your mind to it and I admit that with this blog, I didn’t exactly use up all my critical thinking capacity for it. Regardless, it was fun having to put my OrCom hat on and act like I know a thing or two about stuff. I still have a lot to learn  and discover, and just because this is technically my last required entry doesn’t mean I’ll stop posting here. For now, I just need a little breather before I can write about anything again.