Arao, D. A. (2007, May 16-22). Blogging bilang pagtutol at `pagkilos’. Pinoy Weekly, 6 (18), p. 5. This may be retrieved from http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw6-18/op_ed/ed-6_18_3.htm.

Perhaps this is an article that has the most number of italicized words so far. It’s hard enough to write about technology as you need to have both textbook knowledge and actual experience.

What makes the task more daunting is when you have to write in Filipino. It’s often hard to avoid the use of English jargon, as they have no direct Filipino translation.

For example, do you know the Filipino translation of HTML and WYSIWYG? What about “software program” and “operating system”?

Does this mean that we are better off writing in English than in Filipino, at least when it comes to technology? Of course not. We must keep in mind that the choice of language depends on one’s intended audience. It’s just that when writing about technology in Filipino, you should be open to using jargon, mostly in English. In addition, you should make a conscious effort to explain these jargon in words that the intended audience can understand.

In any case, I’ve wanted to write about HTML hand coding and blogging for quite some time and it was only after I heard about the cyber-fever campaign of the Kabataan Party that I finally got around to doing so. As I analyzed the use of blogging for political ends, I also promoted the use of hand coding in designing websites.

Dependence on WYSIWYG software programs, in the final analysis, not only benefits transnational corporations in the long run. It also makes future webmasters lose sight of the principles of design and layout, focusing more on maximizing the software programs they are exposed to. In the process, they end up creating, developing and maintaining websites that could end up alienating their target audience.

I hope that you would find time to read this article. Thanks for your attention.