little. yellow. different. A weblog by Ernie Hsiung

The Gay Bloggies, part 2

I’m competing in the Gay Bloggies this year. It’s in the form of a webgame. A webgame where people vote.

More than a year ago I was nominated for the the same awards, similar to the Weblog Awards that are announced every year at the SXSW conference except with categories like “Best porn star,” “Sexiest Queer candy” and sponsored by a bunch of gay porn all-male adult entertainment websites. I didn’t win the “Best Gay Asian” category, and after a year of therapy and mild sedatives to dull away the thought of being the “WORST GAY ASIAN EVER,” I’ve moved on with my life.

When they invited me to join the contest, I hesitated. Blogging now is very different than when the first community of bloggers developed in 2000 - it was a time before 9/11, corporate blogging or social networks like MySpace gave non-computer nerds an internet presence. Nowadays, it feels like people are more self-aware about putting things up on the Internet to reveal to the entire world, and rightfully so - the blogs I skim across now seem to have blog titles like “15 WAYS TO MAKE MORE MONEY OFF YOUR BLOG” or “20 WAYS TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE YOUR BLOG READERSHIP.” (And yes, there is a little hypocrisy in writing that since creating 8Asians and dabbling in corporate blogging. Thank you for noticing.) Gay blogs in particular seem to be hyper-glossified (thanks for the word, pk) with posts about celebrity gossip or targeted ads for gay cruises or HIV medication. Hey, I’m a blogger that wouldn’t mind getting paid, but that doesn’t necessarily mesh with my vibe, either.

Then I found out they were offering $2,000 for the winner. And subscriptions to gay porn sites, but mostly $2,000. Two thousand dollars is also the answer to the question, “How much money will Ernie sell out to compete in a contest sponsored by what is, essentially, a gay porn portal?” Ding.

So here I am, competing against a former go-go boy and a porn star and a bunch of guys with really good abs and Dan from The Real World: Miami. (A sidenote: Dan actually sent me a really nice e-mail to me, saying that he called into a radio show and was going to “wipe my face on the floor.” Which is really awesome when you think about it - it’s kinda like Omarosa from the Apprentice popping out of the television “The Ring” style and telling you that you totally suck. Kinda.)

I feel like I’m probably not going to win, but it’s an experience I’ll take full advantage of. It’s been a while since I’ve been motivated to write on a regular basis, and I’ll probably repost some of the stuff I’ve written there on LYD as well. You can visit the contest here, but a word of warning - while my content will be tame for the most part, I can’t gaurantee the same about the banner ads and the links and my competition. (In other words, quite possibly NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Alas.)

I thought that vanity photo you did was awesome! Truly clever and genius.

On a sidenote, I’m really sad to see the drastic turn the competition has taken. I saw tonight where they said that in Round 5 they want bloggers to try to boot each other and they will be deducting points each time.

Is it just me, or is that really sick? I dunno, I guess it’s nice to win money, but it’s just a blog. It should be light-hearted and fun.

Encouraging people to act that way, and even making it a requirement to move forward just seems really messed up.

Also, what’s with asking people to take pictures with their logo, and then asking all these questions about their history that you have to know in order to move forward?

Sorry, I’ve bitched and moaned enough. You don’t even know me. I guess I’m just disappointed. You seem like a nice person. It’s too bad they’re forcing you and the other contestants to fight against each other like catty high school girls.

Good luck with the competition I admire you for staying true to yourself.

Ernie, I wish you (again) the best!

I thought this contest last year was a little more serious (Realistic? Honest? Engaging? Something-for-everybody?) than some of the silly stuff they are expecting this year. I think it is unfortunate that some it seems to be reinforcing stereotypes, but then again money does get people to do some really strange things.

Whatever the case, do this because you want to and don’t feel forced to compete in a way you will regret later on. That is why so many people read your blog as you are now!

You rock. Like a hard stone. Or a rock. With a me in between. Oh yeeeaah.

There is still time for you to become a porn star or a go-go boy. Level that playing field!

Hey guys! This is Toby, Master of Ceremonies of GayBloggies. We’ve received alot of feedback about the Challenges, and we’d like to just ask everyone to be a bit more patient with us and see how the rest of the contest pans out. This is no Angus Ross competition, as blogging entails more than just good writing. The different Challenges will test various skillsets of the contestants and we hope that we can get a glimpse of the myriad of personalities through how each blogger handles the task on hand. We’ve already got a couple of quitters. But we’re just glad Ernie’s not one!

As for the catty voting off. Welcome to Gay Survivor.

See you guys at the other side. And all the best to Ernie and his supporters! =))

Woof!
Toby

You’re a superstar without the need for musty boy porn applause. Someone needs to hand out the hand sanitizer and baby wipes for most of the nominated bloggers.

Your vanity photo was spectacular! Keep up the good work!

Best of luck to you, Ernie. You’re a sweetheart.

Your foray into video action was astounding!
Marker spooge…wow. You’ve raised porn to new heights. What’s next, crayola paint bukake shorts?

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