Still, He is Yom

VALENZUELA CITY – The Buzzerbeater may have ceased as an online identity, but not his oldest of dreams.

Yom published this entry back in 2008 without any idea of the future.

Yom has been blogging for years now. Starting his career on Blogdrive, he is now a loyal WordPress-er for months. He envisioned that WordPress.com would be his last home before having a .com or a .net site.

Five years after, the post you’re reading now is located on a custom domain.

‘Finally,’ he exclaimed as the press approached. ‘Another dream realised. Shallow but true.’

One reporter asked, ‘Why did it take you this long? You’ve been blogging for almost ten years now.’

His eyes widened, saying, ‘Ten years is an exaggeration! Haha. Ditch the 2004-2006 period, for God’s sake. Those were unproductive years, at least online.

‘Anyway, perhaps my early years did not justify the need to own a domain. It was not part of a student’s allowance.’ And the press laughed.

Initially hosted on Blogspot, Yom made a major move to WordPress in 2007 as ‘The Buzzerbeater‘. It was his most successful blog to date with 43 entries and more than 400 comments. The identity even morphed to a more political one as an attempt to mix political commentaries and student life.

It was officially sacked in December 2010 after experiencing a very long hiatus.

Just shortly, two new identities emerged: a serious personal blogger (The Twelfth Chollima) and a food blogger (Tongue Out).

Yom shared the story behind the move. ‘The 12th Chollima existed during a phase of transition. He was more introspective and had more questions about his life, unlike The Buzzerbeater who seemed to be certain despite the uncertainty.

‘That food blog, on the other hand, was the balancing act. I truly enjoyed restaurant-hopping week after week and writing reviews on what I had eaten. But being a food blogger takes much passion – something I haven’t fully tapped yet.’

When asked if he plans to revive the food blog, he flashed a smile, ‘No promises but let’s see. Writing that genre again can be challenging – at the expense of my weekly fortune though.’

Other than the aforementioned links, he had quite a number of short-lived blogs under his account.

But why hasn’t he moved out of WordPress as promised?

‘WordPress.com as my last home? True. Because I’m home and I never want to leave. It doesn’t give me any reason to transfer with its .com and .net offerings anyway.’

With a .net domain now, Yom looks poised to frequent the blogosphere once again.

‘Despite the advent of new social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.), blogging has never left me. I’d love to write, meet new people, and encounter new perspectives – just like the old times. How about an exchange of links, folks?’