the(new)mediaslut

The attack on bloggers has, predictably, began.

With Malaysian bloggers running for state and parliament in the upcoming elections, especially as the Opposition, that attack on bloggers from their opponents have started.

Wrote Jeff Ooi who is running in the elections,

My opponent has started to attack me and question the validity of bloggers in general.

On Page A14 of Guang Ming Daily (Feb 27, evening edition), my opponent whipped all bloggers in a broad sweep by stating that “bloggers hide behind computers and live in a virtual world”.

He said “people could only imagine but could never feel the sincerity (of bloggers) beyond the computer”.

Jeff countered by highlighting that it is this virtual world, called the Internet, that he managed to raise RM85,000 in 11 days to fund his campaign.

Would people who could never feel the sincerity (of bloggers) beyond the computer but can only imagine it go all out to donate such a huge amount to a blogger’s election campaign?

Strangely, Barrack Obama is also using a blog to spread his campaign messages for the US presidential elections.

The irony of this is that many still use blogs as an online dairy to update their friends and relatives on what they are doing in real life.

One young executive once told this blogger. “I started blogging so that I can let my parents in India know what I am doing in Singapore. This pacifies them as they have wild thoughts that I could be drug runner in this island state.”

Lack of sincerity or the lack of understanding of why bloggers blog?

Let the battles begin!