To Blog or not to Blog

As a media agency, we are probably one of the few ones that have been left behind in the digital revolution. While others are talking about bandwidth and wi-fi, we still have to struggle with our Jurassic dial-up connection. Every now and then, we get e-mail from readers across the world who are wondering when we are going to update our website, or when it's going to stop being "under construction."

We have no easy answers, mired as we are in financial difficulties and the weekly burden of putting out a good quality community newspaper on time. Last year, I saw a glimmer of hope when I was invited to attend a blogging conference for journalists in Manila. I've been aware of blogs for sometime, but had not really ventured into this new territory due to other concerns. The meeting was a bit of a let-down though, as there were no hands-on exercises.

Hence, the invitation from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation to participate in Express Yourself! was a welcome opportunity to get reacquainted with this new relatively new form of cyber-communication. The program seemed very interesting, and the fact that it included podcasting was another big incentive to attend the two-day workshop on March 9-10.

After a fruitful first day of the training, I think the time I spent coming here was worth it. Despite a rerouted flight yesterday that turned our usual one-hour flight into a five-hour one, I'm happy that I decided to come here. I've finally published Bandillo's first blog, and I'm looking forward to another exciting day learning how to do podcasts tomorrow.

To blog then, perchance to gain (and regain, a wider audience, that is).