Saturday June 28, 2008

Celebrity bloggers rule the roost

Blogged out
By NICOLE TAN

THIS might sound ridiculous but, in the blogosphere, we have established ourselves ably into an empire of varying status, mainly classified into three categories: high-, mid- and low-traffic/range blogs.

I am a mid-range blogger getting between 500 and 8,000 unique visitors a day.

Realistically, a blog’s popularity depends directly on traffic statistics. The more visitors a blog generates a day, the more recognised the blog is.

Popular choice: Kenny Sia gets about 20,000 unique visitors a day.

A unique visitor is a statistic or traffic unit that counts each visitor once every 24 hours.

The term “celebrity blogger” started out in America when blogs generated a big number of readers. The bloggers became significantly well known among a sizable audience that promoted them to celebrity status.

Occasionally, these bloggers can even end up being more famous than actual celebrities. In time, celebrity bloggers not only develop fame, money and recognition, they also have loyal fans, worshippers, haters, stalkers, fan clubs, and anti-fan clubs.

But what is the difference between a celebrity blogger and a blogger besides their precipitous traffic difference?

Well you don’t get paid to make public appearances just by being a blogger, you don’t get invited to sponsored trips nor get featured in newspapers or magazines as a blogger, and you mostly definitely do not get to act in a TV commercial just because you own a blog.

Which is why Kuchingnite Kenny Sia, 25, is in a league of his own in both the celebrity and blog worlds.

With a staggering 20,000 visitors daily, his blog stands out like a pink flamingo among a flock of birds.

When not jetting off to a foreign land on a sponsored trip, Kenny is an IT manager for a supermarket chain in Sarawak and enjoys a chat with friends in his free time.

With all the benefits, fame and money a popular blog can bring, it's no wonder everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

A quick chat with Sia reveals some insights on how to become a famous blogger, after all, it's better to hear it from the king himself.

What do you blog about?

Nonsense. Normally, I blog about wacky and unusual stuff which I somehow managed to develop a knack for spotting and I try to introduce some humour in all my entries because everyone enjoys a good laugh.

How do manage to attract so much traffic to your site?

When I started blogging, I got only one visitor daily, myself. Over time, I started attracting people who dropped by regularly to read my updates. Within the first year, I managed to attract 10,000 visitors daily. By the second year, it increased to 15,000 daily. Nowadays, it hovers around 20,000 daily.

How do find the inspirations to blog?

I’m pretty observant about everything that’s happening around me. Anything can be good inspiration for me to write, whether it’s some stupid sign, a hilarious conversation I had with a friend, or thoughts and opinions I have on certain issues. Anyway, the ridiculous political scene in Malaysia should provide enough inspiration for anyone to blog about daily.

Have you ever experienced blogger’s block? How do you resolve it?

If you try to appease your readers and update every few days just to suit their expectations, then it is easy to experience blogger’s block. There’s no need to resolve it really. Just don’t update for a few days but keep an eye out for blogworthy stuff.

Share with us some of your secrets to becoming a famous blogger.

There are no secrets really. You just have to write consistently in a way that’ll engage casual readers. Oh, and knowing some other popular bloggers who are happy to pimp you on their blogs also helps.