Blogging, with feeling

via @Kurapak  https://www.instagram.com/p/BSq1D9TBbc6/

Last night was my first real hug to my mom when we all greeted her happy birthday at midnight. The previous one when I was still a teenager. I don’t know the feeling but I always wanted to hug my mother. – Ranoadidas http://rano360.com/2017/04/08/a-sons-love/

 

two posts over last week caught my eye. an instagram post by kurapak and a long post by Ranoadidas. it was from two veterans (long serving members) of the blogging community and what interested me was how their individual stories felt anachronistic to the type of content they usually provide.

their posts, usually filled with dry advertisements and humor-filled captions offered something more. it perhaps could be said that decades in the limelight have left them wanting from their social media. as rano writes:

“There are many times that I’ve really wanted to post something more on a personal level.”

this also indicates perhaps a shift in what social media content bruneians are more willing to consume. personal, emotional, raw. are brunieans more willing to open themselves up to the public?

the answer could be yes. this content, which hits a nerve is found aplenty in places like songket alliance and to a lesser extent in musylfe. there are glimpses when a facebook post goes viral, recalling an anecdote or an intensely personal moment. however, the effectiveness of posts on rano and kurapak is that they offer a glimpse to something that we didn’t think was apparent. it’s a look into a personal social media account that doesn’t seem so personal. their names are tied with their social media handles, less so with their personality, what views they are representing or their emotional viewpoint.

it’s a stretch to call it a shift, but it’s certainly an indicator of the tone that people expect from public figures. the tone that is reflected in the most shared Brunei FM posts, Instagram captions of our most memorable moments and  Tweets which recall our worst fears.