Manila Bulletin Feature

(This blog was featured by Annalyn Jusay in her Blog-O-Rama column in Manila Bulletin on Monday, November 27, 2006. See the online version here.)

LIVING PASSIONATELY AT FIRE.IN.THE.GUT
By Annalyn S. Jusay (now blogging at www.annalyn.net)

These days, more of the so-called corporate types who are often pictured as engrossed in meetings, cocktails or avidly playing golf are blogging instead. This holds true for IT executive Christopher Lagman, the marketing manager for anti-virus company Trend Micro who can be found sharing his thoughts at the eponymously-titled http://chrislagman.com/blog. He is a physicist who holds a masters degree in information technology and currently finishing his MBA at the Asian Institute of Management. He adds that he is “single and unattached,” probably the reason why he has more time to focus on things like reading ,photography and his blog which recently made it as a semi-finalist in the Philippine Web Awards. Get to know more about him in the following interview:

Q. What’s the story behind your blog title “Fire in the Gut?” What does it mean?

A. I got it from the Navy SEALs. Each year, they give out The Fire In the Gut Award to the SEAL candidate who has demonstrated superior dedication, leadership and perseverance in rising to the top of his or her profession or accomplishing an extraordinary deed. For me it is the symbol of my aspiration to live a life with fiery passion and a mighty purpose.

Q. When did you start to blog? Did anybody influence you?

A. In March 2005, I went for a job assignment in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA, USA). To fight off homesickness I decided to take blogging a bit more seriously — that was when I started to blog with some level of consistency. In June this year I came back to the Philippines (for good), but it was too late to get blogging off my system

Q. Why do you blog? What do you like about this activity?

A. I’m a very sociable person, and I get a natural high from interacting with other people. Blogging is one venue where I get that kind of high. It is fun interacting with people, especially in the realm of ideas and shared experiences.

Q. What benefits do you derive from blogging?

A. Enjoyment — mostly from interaction with my readers, and to a much lesser extent, from the Google Adsense checks that come every so often. (But hey, I’m no big earner… let’s just say my blogging pays for my gym membership, and my weekend visits to the spa.)

Q. On the other hand, what do you dislike about blogging, if any?

A. I don’t like the idea of totally opening up my life to everyone through my blogging. Sometimes I get this feeling that I’ve been too transparent in one too many blog posts. And then I too have my share of occasional blog hecklers — too bad for them, I moderate the comments that readers leave in my blog, so only those I approve get published.

Q. Do you still see yourself blogging five years from now?

A. Yes. Five years from now, I am sure I still enjoy articulating my thoughts, and interacting with my readers.

Q. How many blogs do you maintain? Would you recommend keeping multiple blogs?

A. Oh a lot! But my main blog is Fire.In.The.Gut — it has my name as its domain name, chrislagman.com. I keep multiple blogs because of two reasons: first, so that I can blog about my very varied interests without packing it up in one big messy blog; and second, to segment my readers — they have different interests so I offer them different blogs to read.

Q. How do you choose which topics to post? What topics do you most often write about?

A. I use my blog Fire.In.The.Gut to talk about living a passionate and meaningful life. If I am passionate about something, it definitely figures in my blog. I have a photo gallery there because I have photography as a hobby; I also blog a lot about love for country because I believe in my heart that we are a great country with great people; every now and then I also blog about the things I enjoy — the community service activities I get involved in, and the books I read or the movies and plays I watch.

Q. Your blogging habits…

A. I used to blog everyday — now I have become a bit more choosy on the topics I write that it takes me a week or so to post a new entry. Sometimes a post sits as draft for days, even weeks.

Q. Can you tell us more about your blog design and what platform you’re using?

A. I use Wordpress as platform — it’s easy to use, and it affords me the flexibility in design and features. In my first couple of months using Wordpress, I played around with different designs and themes. Then I found a very minimalist design which I am currently using. I really like it because it fits the personality of my blog. I don’t foresee changing it in the near future.

Q. In your own opinion, what are the qualities of a good blogger?

A. I like blogs that feel authentic — somehow you can tell if the person behind the blog enjoys what he is doing and what he is talking about. I veer away from blogs that do nothing but rant.

Q. What have been the highlights of your blogging life in the past year?

A. Two particular moments. First, when my blog was selected as a semifinalist for the Philippine Web Awards. And second, when out of the blue, my US-based boss told me he reads my blog. Ooops!

Q. Can you tell us more about what kind of readers you have? What have been the feedbacks from your family and friends?

A. In my family, only my elder sister knows about my blog, and she doesn’t even read it regularly (she’s too busy being a mom and a doctor). Most of my friends know about my blog, and some of them have actually been inspired by it enough to start their own. Readers of my main blog come from all over — and most of them are lovers of ideas.