Our story begins, as many stories do, with the fury of a woman scorned. It was Ping.sg’s first anniversary, and they held a blog awards ceremony. An up-and-coming blogger, Jayne had secured 4 of the 11 awards, a remarkable feat by any standards. However, as the ambitious are wont to do, Jayne threw a hissy fit when she didn’t win the largest award of them all.
Depending on whose account you heard, you either came away with the conclusion that people ought to learn how to lose graciously, or that the people in “power” were abusing their godlike status.
Fast-forward to present day. Jayne announces the registration of the Association of Bloggers (Singapore):
“Association of Bloggers (Singapore) is a non-profit association. It is dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating its members; supporting the development of blogging as new media. I hope eventually it can help to provide legal assistance to bloggers too. It is a professional body for bloggers in Singapore.”
This association was created, if anything, to coalesce power.
“[Singaporean bloggers were] easily manipulated and even banned for standing up against the foreign tyrant from self-proclaimed ‘community meta weblog for Singapore bloggers’.”
And if Jayne’s own blog posts are anything to go by, the association has a maniacal leader at its helm.
Personal disclaimer: I am a civil servant, a fact made publicly known numerous times in all my online discussions. I find Jayne’s broad sweeping attacks on public servants extremely hurtful and uncalled for.
I believe that a person who judges another by the place he is born (Chua Uzyn … is a ‘foreign talent’, educated in Singapore, enjoying our subsidies) should not be in a position to educate anyone.
It is my hope that the Singapore blogosphere would evolve to be an environment that fosters creativity and intellectual discourse. Starting behind a web of hypocrisy and an insatiable thirst for power is a bad place to start.
never heard of these people, and they're winning best blog awards?
A well measured and objectively written post. Your observations are quite sane and indeed lucid. There are blogs and then there are blogs.
There are blogs that facilitate useful benefits and insights for the community via the selfless efforts of their authors. Then there are blogs that purely exist to stroke the egos of the authors.
Min makes a very good point too.
She hates ping but still, cannot help but use it as a platform for announcing this joyous occasion nevertheless. Its top 10 yo! lol
While your remarks are revealing about Jayne Goh (which were left out of the TODAY article but unfortunately would be known to only those who knew what's going on), I hope the Association can stand for more than a personal vendetta.
The chuauzyn link is not properly done. ;-)
Thanks Draco! Fixed it.
The idea that one has to pay to be in a society that promotes kampong spirit, by itself, isn't very kampong-i.
in due time, issues about financial transparencies will develop and then the drama-king/queens will appear again, and the "main stream" media will have a fun time mocking these so-called "new media" people...which i hope, won't happen.
they have really behemoth ideals and objectives which, if, based on how the assoc came about, will be just that, talk.
sincerely hope they do something good about it.
Yeah, I second Min.
Who are these people?
Putting the motivations of the organizer aside, this government-approved association literally is a "voluntary" form of the blogger registration act. :(
I do not understand why any blogger, with the democracy we've enjoyed so far, would rather be encumbered by the bureaucracies inherent in an forming an institution. Such a tradition would be clumsy and quickly irrelevant.
In this age of networking, where there exists a worthy cause, there will be good people to support it. There is no need for an intermediary to mediate (or mandate) the process of citizenry. Such is the will and responsibility of every Singaporean.
http://topmleehsienloong.blogspot.com/2009/01/moes-head-of-web-management-bashes.html
Mr Teo, get your facts correct before bashing peasants.
btw Yuhui is the brother of Yu Mei Balasingam-Chow
http://eastcoastlife.blogspot.com/2007/06/finally-moe-admitted-false-de
claration.html
She got join this too! http://sgblogawards.omy.sg/finalists/?blogCat=entertain
Again, she didn't win and then start smearing everyone. Super sore loser.
Seems like she has a megalomania disorder.
Dear Jayne (eastcoastlife), it would help us all immensely if you stay with the issue at hand.
In response to your post, I'd like to state that I am my own person. I am not defined by my job.
For the record Uzyn and I have had the intimacy of having shared a cafe with a few hundred other people. I have never spoken to him on a one-to-one level. You see, the world isn't divided into "your friends" and "Uzyn's friends". Some are both, and many of us are neither.
I do not care about your squabbles with Uzyn. I have no need to know about cakes and what-not. My main grouse, as articulated in this post, is that your vision for the blogger's association is inconsistent with your conduct on your blogs.
I do not leave comments on "member's blogs" or any blog under another name as your screenshot and caption suggests. I'm hoping it is a typographical error on your part and not some insinuation that I lack the integrity to post as myself. I have not categorised myself as educated nor have I doubted your competence; and it is vastly clear that I have not mentioned anybody else in the association.
In response to:
"Instead we have this top civil servant bashing nobodys for setting up this association. Probably only educated people like him can qualify to do it, but why didn't he?"
I need not qualify your accusation. People know that I have.
It was entertaining at first and now it has become sad and pathetic.
@Lucian, maybe you should slap a huge "The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily those of my employers." all over your page. I'm thinking Comics San MS and font-size 72 and perhaps a blink tag to go with, woot!
@eastcoastlife, give it a rest already. Standing up for your rights and beliefs is one thing, but on the way bringing others down while doing so is just ugly. All the defenses I've seen from your posts are against said persons' background, personal feuds and what not. That alone makes you a very sad person. I'd like to believe what you are doing is for a good cause, but from your actions, it makes one wonder what you're actually promoting. (Okay seriously I don't know what you're promoting but I just thought your quotes in your page's about is kinda against what you're doing now).
And I don't know why I'm posting here instead of her blog, oops, Lucian hope you don't mind.
The Association of Bloggers, to me, serves to divide the already divided online realm. In this disgustion, we can clearly see the cracks forming in this government-approved society. If Jayne aims to bring the grains of sand together, I think she is spreading them apart.
And what's with the categorization of famoose bloggers and not so well known bloggers? In Singapore, the island is so ucking small that there's no such distinction! Or do they claim blogger elitism?
"The Association of Bloggers (Singapore) is different from those groups who just simply register a .com or a .sg website and claim to be representing the Singapore blogosphere. The association is a registered society with Ministry of Home Affairs. It is govern by a set of constitution and we have to oblige to The Societies Act (Chapter 311). The registration of the association will also be published under the Gazette."
Who gives a shit if they are registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Who wants to anyway? Why would any sane netizens want to be control by the so called people in the governement? Is she kidding? Bloggers, dime a dozen already already blog, so what is there the need to promote people to blog. If people want to blog, they will. Is she learning from the PAP that you have to promote? like promote/teach creativity - this is a joke.
"Why did I join the Association of Bloggers (Singapore) and become a member of the protem committee? I feel that as more and more companies and government bodies start to engage the new media, there is a need for an official association to accredit bloggers.
Who are they and how are they qualified to accredit bloggers. Who needs accreditation. This is UNIQUELY Singapore.
"There is a need to promote blogging." - Why, there are already in % wise more bloggers in Singapore than in most ocuntries. Singapore has the highest numbers of bloggers.
"There is a need for dispute resolution." - Why? Each blogger is entitled to their views and perspective. What to there for dispute resolution? or is this group of bloggers aleady having disputes among themselves.
"There is a need to educate bloggers and improve the quality of blogs." - What need? what quality? Are the current members producing quality blogs? What is their definition of quality blogs? Anyway who do they think they are? educate what - my foot?
"There is a need for all Singaporean bloggers to unite together to show everyone that the new media is also a reliable source of information." -the new media is currently by far more reliable than the mainstream media. With so many bloggers writing about similar topics, there is cross checks? so what is there to unite together for? The mainstream media need more cross checks, which the new media is providing without the current so called association?
This is probably the most ludricous association.
Ok, I'm going to take the privilege of having the last word here before things get out of hand.
They have every right to start an association, whether or not other people deem it necessary. Heck, I have 5 sugar cane stalls within 10m of each other here and you can bet some enterprising fellow may think to start a 6th. It is their prerogative, so I will not comment on that.
I think we've all made our points quite clearly, so I'll be closing comments from here on.