May 15, 2010

Life Without A Blog

A few readers have asked why I have been blogging less and less frequently. One colleague expressed his "disappointment". Another reader asked if everything was okay in my life.

Well, everything is okay. Except that I've been too busy with various things (mostly work and family), to be blogging a lot. That's one answer, and it is true. However, another answer (equally true) is that I just don't feel that interested in blogging anymore. In fact I have been feeling distinterested for some time.

It seems a waste to just abandon the blog, especially when I've kept it going for quite a few years. On the other hand, to keep it going just for the sake of keeping it going also seems to be an illogical decision.

Well, everything is impermanent. Blogs are no exception. Most of the Singapore bloggers whom I once considered as my "contemporaries" have largely vanished from the scene as well. That includes Xeno Boy; Molly Meek; Singapore Angle and Singabloodypore. I wonder how many people even remember those blogs/bloggers now.

I've noticed that the less I blog, the less I bother to keep up with the news. Once upon a time, reading the online Straits Times was pretty much a daily habit for me. Now, many days might pass, before I bother to read it once. I still read Today quite frequently, but mostly because I often get handed a free copy while on the way to work.

Due to my regular inattention to the news, I feel somewhat out of touch with this country now. Nevertheless my life goes on smoothly. Sounds a little strange, but it seems eminently possible to get by just fine in one's own life, without knowing too much about the broader national developments. I mean developments in areas like politics, government, education, healthcare, the economy etc.

Maybe the nature of the world now is that people can just easily zero in on the specific information they need, when they need it. For example, you don't need to be reading the newspapers regularly, to know what's happening in the property market. Instead, right at the time when you want to know, you can just google to find out what you want to know. And you could get much more relevant, detailed information from a few dedicated property websites, than from the mainstream media.

I've considered blogging about topics other than current affairs. To some extent, I've already done it. In many of my posts this year, I have often mixed news articles with personal anecdotes drawn from my own everyday experiences. Then again, perhaps the most important question is whether I'm wasting my time blogging here. And whether I should be doing something else.

It's been almost a year since my book Two Baby Hands was published. Part of me feels that it's high time I got started on a second book (I'm considering short stories - I have plenty of ideas floating around in my head). But writing a book takes a lot of time, and I'm not a full-time writer. To succeed, I need to decide exactly what I want to do or not, and after that, I just have to avoid spending any time on things that I don't want to do.

So the question for myself is - do I want to blog, or not? Hmmm.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

blog or dun blog? chin chai lah, up to you lah

nothing changes... fork it man! just do it.


;)

recruit ong

Anonymous said...

I got the sense that you've already decided to give up on blogging :)

But personally I think blog can be more "life-like" than books, therefore, more useful for us readers. Of course, writing book can be more interesting for you as a writer:)

I hope you keep the blog, because I learned a lot from it.

lumos said...

i'm one of your readers who have missed your insightful posts on politics and news in singapore.

i do understand where u are coming from though as i also seldom read the singapore papers nowadays, unless i'm bored at work and want to take a break

i remember reading mollymeek but like u, she/ he? has kind of disappeared

i do hope that u will continue to blog but ultimately the decision is up to u

Kayangmo said...

Take a chillout...I took one too.

Best thing to do...

wei said...

i wish you will

Anonymous said...

Blogging is entirely voluntary and out of interest. No monetary rewards(except some bits of ads revenue on blogs if any) unlike career, business or investing.

Hence, if the interest is no longer there, naturally blogging will stop.

But sometimes things can happen in a cycle. Like after a while the interest and urge build up again.
Pretty much like sex and hunger. Hahaha!

Anonymous said...

Life is like that. You take up something, you have to give up something else. Time is always the factor.

Artxy said...

i missed your articles too. whatever you may choose to do, enjoy yourself!

Anonymous said...

I have learned a lot from your blog and really appreciate what you have given us. I hope you would continue to blog when time permits.

Best Regards,
Ken

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Wang
Please dont stop blogging .

Your articles are definitely interesting and insightful

You have BUILT a GOOD REPUTATION - as one of the best bloggers in Singapore.There's absolutely no doubt about that !

Anonymous said...

please do continue blogging. i've always looked forward to your articles.

Ser Ming said...

Whatever your decision is, keep in touch =D

We can do a lunch or dinner when you have the time. Heh.

Anonymous said...

please do keep blogging -- it is not often we hear such a logical voice, on politics or otherwise.

if it's possible could you pass a commentary on this article? http://www.todayonline.com/Print/Singapore/EDC100510-0000060/Death-penalty,-a-trade-off

i am fairly certain there are a few loopholes in the good minister's argument

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Wang, please continue to blog! From your faithful reader!

Anonymous said...

I think u are bored cos election is not here yet! nevermind take a break n recharge for when the time comes .. hahaha!!

Anonymous said...

i know what you mean when you say life goes on the way it does without you reading newspapers. But i think its the way life is when the country you reside in is peaceful and essentially with not much "happenings". If you stay in a war-torn zone or place with much political strife and hardship, you wont be needing the papers very much to know what is going on. That said, its normal to feel the need to not blog. Afterall, its not your career, and sometimes, there is just not that much to talk about that hasnt been discussed to death.

I always feel we as a world dont need too much news,esp economic news. If one dont read the papers during the economic crisis, one's life still goes on.


~anonymous

Anonymous said...

to add to my earlier point, forgot to say, provided one is not retrenched during the crisis...

anyhow.. if you blog, its our benefit as your insights are interesting. But if you decide to take a break, i hope you can 'return' in time to come. ~anonymous

Anonymous said...

Mr Wang...hope to see your blogging back during "cooling-off" day :)

FB said...

Mr Wang, your insight to local news and the not so publicly published news allows us, the ignorant, to be more aware of what's really happening in Singapore.

Without your blog, the 66.6% of incumbent supporters will continue to be blind and be led blindly.

Please, I beseech, do not stop giving us the light... Else the general public will always think people whom wear white are always right.

Eaststopper said...

Perhaps there are not so many issues which tug at the heart of Mr Wang. There are not so many gapping holes left to be picked at, considering the dire state the rest of the world is in. Our petty issues pales in comparison to the reality facing Europe and some other parts of the world.

chengguan said...

to me, you are providing a community service. thank you very much!

hope you keep blogging!

Anonymous said...

Just do what makes you happy, as there is no obligation. If you have the calling to contribute something to society and get some satisfaction from it, then continue. It is totally voluntary but who knows? The readers here do appreciate your writings and the thoughts you share. Wish you well whatever you decide for the future.

Alvin said...

You will be missed, but there are far more important things than a blog. Best wishes whichever your choice.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Wang,

If you must stop, pls stop only after the general elections, can? There'll be so many issues come election time and there're not many platforms for credible alternative views readers like me can refer to.

Anonymous said...

Mr Wang, please continue to blog. You write the sharpest comments on local issues. It will be a big loss to the local blogosphere if you stop.

Anonymous said...

All the best whether you choose to blog or not. Thanks for excellent posts.

Anonymous said...

Your analysis is usually spot-on, your writing a pleasure to read. I do hope you continue blogging as and when the inspiration hits you, and will continue to check this website.
BTW, Two Baby Hands--enjoyed it thoroughly. I have never been into poetry; it was a revelation.
Best, CKH

Anonymous said...

Mr.Wang,

I hope you do continue to blog. At least on issues that affects most Singaporean.
Many a times, your views have open up my eyes and mind, which I don't really get from reading our national papers.
With election coming, it's even more important that that we hear from you, things that are not said which should be said in our papers.

Lyn said...

I'm a faithful reader of your blog. I like to read you political and social blogs that increase my awareness of events happening around us.

I look forward to the articles about education and young children especially, as I have a baby whom I hope I'm able to nurture as well as your kids.

I actually enjoy re-reading some of your blogs dated way back in 2007 to 2008. Those were the times that you wrote lengthy and detailed blogs frequently. :)

porcorosso said...

To paraphrase Hamlet - to blog or not to blog – that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the blog to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous comment,
or to take arms against a sea of spam and, by filtering, end them. To delete, to log off – and by logging off we end the heartache and the thousand vitrual shocks
that the web is heir to – and the rest, as they say, is silence.

SG Girl Next Door said...

Don't stop lah.. You have many fans you know?

Cheers

The said...

Hmmm, sounds just like the young teenage girl having her first heavy petting session with her girl friend.

Girl to boy: "Please don't. Stop!"

The boy persisted, and after a while, the girl said breathlessly: "Please don't stop!".

Just a matter of punctuations in the right places.....

The said...

Oops - should be "with her boy friend"...

Anonymous said...

You shouldn't be reading local news. Your latest topic proved my point. I'm sick of local media. There's too much censorship and , as always, too much focus on crappy issues that only the local kaypoh is interested in. But please, stay updated, read other stuff, the articles that somehow is published everywhere else in the world except, suspiciously, here.

Yours is a voice in a country of ignorance and insanity. I hope you would continue to carry the torch. When people are trying to shut you up or discredit you, you know you are doing something right