So who wants to blog now?

Just when you thought blogs were losing their appeal in Malaysia, to be replaced by more interesting and hip social media on the web like Facebook (where you could Poke and Super Poke, or play Scrabulous), politics have given them a new lease of life.

Believed to be largely responsible for the ruling coalition's losing the general elections, blogs have now attracted a large group of politicians who see blogging as a means to interact with the masses - nevermind why it took them so long to realise the interactivity of blogs.

Here are some politician bloggers with their new found toys:

http://drchua9.blogspot.com/
http://www.drkhir.blogspot.com/
http://weechookeong.blogspot.com/
http://mykuli.blogspot.com/
http://www.shahrirsamad.blogspot.com/
http://www.muhammadmuhdtaib.com/
http://azalina.wordpress.com/

There is no need to elaborate who they are - their names are dead giveaways and if you have not figured them out, then you probably not a Malaysian, in which case, this piece will not mean a thing to you.

One thing is certain from this exciting development - that most of those who blogged are either deadly ignorant or just pennywise simply because all of them used free blog services - this writer has nothing against using free blogging services, of course.

Heck, if you are an amateur, then you are excused for using the services of Blogspot, Wordpress or Typepad.

But if you are a politician, surely for branding purposes you would want to have a custom-made blog with your unique domain name on it. You know, like when you have a company, you just don't want to use a hotmail.com or a yahoo.com email address.

Why? Pretty obvious isn't it? You simply don't want to look unprofessional. Or cheapskate hanging on to a free homstead.

Politicians should at least attempt to look professional, even on cyberspace. You cannot give the impression that you cannot even afford a USD20 annual domain fee, let alone a paid hosting service.

So, if you are next to want to blog, and a politician, consider what I have just said here for your public image - register a domain name. Please!

Then get a hosting service.

Personalise your blog so that you don't look low-yah. Or cheap. That way, your writings would carry more weight, and perhaps taken more seriously.

Oh, by the way, a blogger is one who blogs. Not one who uses Blogger in case some of you don't know it yet.

You can also use Wordpress, Typepad, Blogsome and more.