Insert Clickbait Title Here

I've been asked this question far too many times, so I'm finally writing about it.

“How come you get brand collaborations when you’re NOT a content creator?”

And I get why people ask. I DON'T HAVE A BIG FOLLOWING and I don't post on social media as much as content creators do.

I hate to break it to you, buddy, but I am a content creator. It's just that, I do it on a different platform. I am a blogger. I create content on my blogs. 

Some brands I worked with and events I attended.
L-R (top): Samsung Galaxy, Maya, POP Mart.
L-R (bottom): Cebu Pacific, foodpanda, Big Bad Wolf

I've witnessed how the digital world grew. I was there when there were only bloggers. Then came vloggers, influencer, streamers, digital creators, and UGC creators. And now, we are using the umbrella term content creators to refer to all of them. It makes sense, of course. If you post something online, technically, you are creating content.

And it goes without saying that not all content creators are bloggers but all bloggers are, in fact, content creators. But despite spending a considerable amount of time online, taking photos, making videos, writing captions, and sharing stories, I've never really felt comfortable calling myself a content creator.

For one, I don't have the charm, confidence, and the flair to become a content creator. And it's not that I think being a content creator is bad. Far from it. There are content creators I genuinely admire. There are creators who educate, inspire, entertain, share hobbies, and make beautiful things. That's a craft in itself, and it deserves to be recognized.

I know how much work goes into creating something that looks effortless on a screen. There's planning, shooting, editing, writing, posting, responding to emails and messages, and constantly thinking about the next piece of content, the next trend, the next hook, or the next way to keep the audience watching. There are people who thrive in that world, and I'm glad they do. The internet would be a much less interesting place without them.

But I also can't ignore the other side of the content creator culture.

Sadly, there is also a growing kind of content that seems to be created simply because it gets attention. Nonsense pranks, ragebait, deliberately misleading reviews, products being hyped just because there's money to be made from selling them, and increasingly cringey things done simply for clicks, views, or clout.

If bad publicity gets you views, then bad publicity becomes the strategy. If ragebait gets engagement, then ragebait becomes content. If making an ordinary product sound extraordinary helps sell it, then suddenly, everything is a "must-have".

I can see why we're treating everything as content now. And I can't completely blame people for it. When attention can rake in money, opportunities, free stuff, and brand deals, it’s easy to start seeing every moment as something that could be turned into content.

We try something new, and before we've even experienced it, we're already thinking about our voice over script. We eat something, and before we've tasted it properly, we already have the "right" words to describe it. We travel, and before boarding the flight, we already have 73 instaworthy poses in mind and how we pan the shots. Yes, I’ve tried it but it’s not really my thing. 

It makes the act of sharing feel almost industrial. There is content to produce and maintain, a posting schedule to follow, trends to catch, engagement to monitor, and an algorithm that constantly needs to be fed. Life starts to sound less like a life and more like a content calendar.

Blogging, at least for me, has never felt quite like that.

And that's probably why I still hold on to the title "blogger", as old-fashioned as it sounds.

I don't want to lose that joy of sharing something because it was interesting rather than because it fits the week's content strategy. I don't want to lose the spontaneity of having a thought and simply writing about it, rather than doing so because I have a content gap to fill. I don’t want to lose the freedom of creativity because I’m too busy worrying about metrics, views, and likes. I like knowing that my posts will still be there—even if I only ever have one reader—because, well, Google exists. And most importantly, I can write something that isn't necessarily optimized for anything other than being honest. 

Another thing I appreciate about blogging is there's room to be critical without being cruel. In social media, when you have a few seconds to get someone's attention, everything tends to become a verdict. Good or bad. Love it or hate it. Worth it or skip it. The short-form content itself encourages quick conclusions. There's also something uncomfortable about trying to explain a criticism in a short reel when a single sentence can easily be taken out of context.

And because of that, it's easy to understand why so much of what we see on social media is overwhelmingly positive. Social media often rewards positive certainty. Go-to. Must try. A game-changer. Don't miss this. Best ever. A hidden gem. You need this. And punishes unpopular opinion and hot takes. The internet loves a strong opinion, but it doesn’t always have the patience for context. And context along with the minute but necessary details is something we cannot give when our audience nowadays have the attention span of a toddler.

For the record, I'm not trying to draw some grand hierarchy between a social media content creator and a blogger, or suggest that one is more authentic than the other. I'm simply saying that I know which one feels more like me. 

I would have stopped blogging ages ago if I were only here for the clout (although, clout isn't exactly what you get doing this. Self-doubt, maybe. Haha). But obviously, that's not the case. I don’t think I’ll be able to write as often as I’d like, but I’ll keep writing and telling my stories whenever I can. 

Writing a blog takes time. Reading a blog takes time. And time, nowadays, is a luxury we don't have. Fewer people have the patience to read a long-form narratives when they can watch an easy-to-digest, summarized reel instead.

If you think blogging is a dying art, it's not. Blogging is just as important as any attention-grabbing post on social media. Social media might get people to notice a brand, but blogging gives people more reasons to trust it, understand it, search for it, and eventually buy from it.

Blogging may not be as popular as social media content creation these days, but it still plays an important role in brand marketing.
- Searchability. People would still go looking for more answers. Searching on social media sucks.
- Credibility. Blogs offer room to explain and lay everything out in detail, not just promote.
- SEO and long-term value. A blog post can keep working after a campaign ends. It can continue attracting readers months or even years later.

So yes, bloggers, even if they’re not as popular as social media content creators, can get sponsors too. We work with brands, attend media events, and receive invitations and opportunities. 

One of the perks of being a blogger: TRAVEL for FREE.

And yes, I do paid campaigns and reels on social media. But underneath all that, I’m still a blogger who types out an unnecessary number of words.

Well, I’ve somehow managed to write an entire essay when I could’ve answered the question in a single line. Apparently, I have a lot of feelings about being a content creator. The recent hullabaloo involving some content creators in the city may or may not have pushed me to do it. But heck, I'm a blogger. We don’t exactly specialize in getting to the point quickly. And before I type two more unnecessary paragraphs, I’ll stop here. 😅