Filipino Librarian: WikiPinoy of the Year?

Thanks to Noemi, I learned almost two weeks ago that this blogger was cited in a list that accompanied an announcement regarding the WikiPinoy of the Year. Recognition is always good, but the reason it has taken me this long to write about it, aside from the fact that I've had a lot to do, is that I have mixed feelings about the "award."

First of all, the announcement was made through a newspaper print ad (see Manila Bulletin, 6 January 2008), with no corresponding page online until much later. I find it strange that an online entity like WikiPilipinas would choose to honor Filipino bloggers, who are known for writing online, through an offline ad. It doesn't compute.

Second, the citation begins with the following: "WikiPilipinas honors the Filipino Blogger in 2007," and ends with a list with the names of 3 bloggers and 7 blogs whose owners went unnamed. It's possible that those on the list were intended to represent "the Filipino Blogger," who must number in the tens of thousands by now, but no such explanation is made, and neither is the selection process spelled out. Who was eligible? Who made the decisions?

Third, this blog has always been known as "Filipino Librarian," and so I wonder why it is listed as "The" Filipino Librarian. It's flattering, of course, to be thought of as "the" whatever, but I'm the kind of person who is wary of people who make mistakes about simple but very fundamental things. It makes me wonder, "What else did they get wrong?" But more important than this is the fact that the category I'm in is "Communities." What does that mean? As I commented on Noemi's blog: "what did i do to be classified under 'communities'?"

I suppose this is just an elaborate form of linkbait, and that's why other bloggers haven't commented on the issues I've raised above, but I just had to get this off my chest =)