I know that there is a lot more to be monetized with vlogging than blogging. But why do I still continue to blog more and vlog less?

There are monthly revenues while blogging here at wordpress. And those are the WordAds you can see – usually centered on the latest three entries and scattered on one or two posts which continue to have engagement/s. Hence, it really helps me a lot if you click on those ads (you should know that by now). The US dollar earnings vary in amount based on ad impressions. While they do not compare to what someone like mimiyuh or Alex Gonzaga would earn on Youtube, I have no false ambitions of achieving their level of popularity. I have a YouTube channel – normannormandotcom – but it’s really more of a depository for videos I’d like to share here. Directly uploading them will mean eating up on my precious allowable space as a premium user. Now some may quip, “but the potential of earning a lot more is already at your beck and call!”. True, but I like working as a one-man band. When I was doing full-time corporate work in the Human Resource industry, I always have a hard time finding a trustworthy and dependable assistant. And I end up doing almost everything if nobody can measure up to my sense of urgency and standards of work output.

So back to the question. Why do I blog more and vlog less? Well, I consider this site as an online diary of sorts. And I love putting all my passion in pageantry here. I may not have the consistency of writing a 200-word article all the time – as one PR practitioner tactfully asked me once in the past – but the speed by which I churn out a post or two on a daily basis is something that even WordPress commended me about. In vlogging, I will need to set up a lot of things in motion before I can finally consider myself as one. I am not camera-shy. But to actually (and frequently) dress up for the part (from the waist up at least) and have someone do my face to look decent on videos is something that will significantly drag my train of thoughts and spoil the spontaneity. Or maybe I’m just too lazy to go through all that. I enjoy moving at my own pace – which is quite speedy compared to most – and blogging allows me the independent leisure.

As for the core value/s I exercise as a pageant media and blogger, I keep matters simple. My two favorite English words are “humility” and “serendipity”.

Humility is something which has kept me and continues to keep me grounded all these years. I have never felt the need to rub in any feelings of entitlement because I was never raised counting all my achievements and brandishing them around like bling-blings around my neck. My pride is always full, but it is something that I exercise with caution. Just like when BPCI decided to stop inviting me to all their events after certain unintentional oversights that you should already know by now. I bowed down and accepted the sanction. But I still continue to support their pageant regardless.

I treasure my relationship with all the other national pageant organizations like Miss Universe Philippines, Miss World Philippines, Miss Philippines Earth and Mutya Pilipinas. And it’s not in the sense of doing everything squeaky clean and beneficial in their eyes. There is this sense of belongingness when Jonas Gaffud, the two Arnolds (Vegafria and Mercado), Lorraine Schuck/Peachy Veneracion and Cory Quirino would instinctively send me signals that they value my presence. Or perhaps, I already know how to relate well because of the direct access. And perhaps too, it was something that I did not cultivate hard enough with the Aranetas or their trusted officials (save for Raymond Villanueva who has always been dear to me and vice-versa).

Let’s go to serendipity. It is one word which describes how I feel whenever I get to be invited as a judge or mentor or media in beauty pageants around the country. I have never enjoyed local tourism before 2015. But after that, the trips I made from as far north as Pagudpud to as deep south as General Santos City and Sarangani (with Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Tuguegarao, La Union, Aurora, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon Province, Camarines Sur, Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Tacloban, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cotabato City in between) were all special. And income-earning as well!

In this period of COVID-19, I suddenly found myself with a lot of time to reflect on what I do. And hopefully, this will just be the first of a few. With my blogging chair getting occupied longer than usual, I should find the inspiration to write more about stuff you don’t usually get to read here. And when I say blogging chair, it literally is an actual comfortable seat I relax on – with a cup of brewed coffee to keep me company. All in the protective confines of a house I share with my mom. But that is subject for another curious side of my life that may or may not interest you. Insulin and all.