365 days of blogging

365 days of blogging

“The clicks have really encouraged me to write. Even when I am busy with coursework I am obliged to write for my readers. I do not take your trust for granted. Not because anyone pays me. It is freely costly, writing.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

This week marks the first anniversary since this blog was launched. It has been an odyssey. We have travelled many places, documented realities as it were. My readers and I have been working together. We do not work for each other. We work with each other. It has been great getting guest columnists, majority who are my ardent readers.

This BlogSpot gave platform for the publication of award winning essays by Fleare Mtana and Kennnedy Kipng’etich among others. The blog has acted as the alternative medium. As the editor, I have delivered the content as it is. No censorship. It has been uncut, unfiltered and unedited. The raw discharge of truth has distinguished Youth Issue as the blog of choice for my followers.

I have aggressively marketed Youth Issue on various social media to tap more readers. The over 2500 hits tells me the readers are hooked. As always I will ensure that your weekly dose of posts is availed in good time.

The clicks have really encouraged me to write. Even when I am busy with coursework I am obliged to write for my readers. I do not take your trust for granted. Not because anyone pays me. It is freely costly, writing. I have learnt patience pays. That I must stand judgment of the audience. I have been confronted by critics and cynics. The absence of hope and pessimism has built me better than my friends. The haters kept me on my toes because of their blunt objectivity. My friends have been slow to give an opinion. They are subjectively biased towards me. I hear: prolific writer, candid analysis, honest mirror. I am not prolific. I am not an author. I am just a writer. On my twitter handle I describe myself as a journalist, a writer and a blogger. That’s me.

Thanks to my critics I have been able to know that favour is limited to those who know someone who knows someone else. That to succeed is different from to prosper. That George Orwell’s animal kingdom analogy is true; some people are more equal than others. That there is always a first among equals-at least in Kenya.

Amidst all this I have found my place in the competitive media. It is something I have appreciated and accepted. I am not here to seek attention. I want to diffuse the spotlight. Fans can make a celebrity (which I don’t consider myself one) let it get to their head. It is in the personality’s interest to moderate the wild love from the audience.

Perhaps the greatest beneficiary of this blog is obviously me. All my award winning writings are immortalized there. This magazine has chronicled the best of my thoughts and distilled the crudest of story ideas to something interesting.

At least I can project that for the next one year this blog will be running. It will include more photos, commentary and better design. The experience has been immense. I would wish it to continue after college. I don’t have problem generating ideas. They have always been there. Some implemented like this tangible blog.

            In future expect great mass media productions from me and my team of journalists. My company is working on various multimedia publications. I wish to divulge more details but you just keep it locked.  I am not allowed to discuss boardroom stuff. They are still on the pipeline. I will inform you when the products are ready. Thanks a lot for the continued reading.

The writer is a student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Email your thoughts to musyokangui02@gmail.com