Blog turns 3, Mario wilts, glam girl Kawadjan

This blog is now 3. Happy birthday, blog!

How much has it changed?

When the blog started on this day three years ago, it contained stories with a gay theme which I originally posted at a Thai webboard.

I grew tired of the trolls on that board, so decided to move the stories to my own blog instead.

Regular posts about Thai film, gay life, and the boyfriend were to come later.

At first, I wrote mainly about my friends of the night, and Thai entertainers.

Boyfriend Maiyuu and I enjoy following Thai entertainers, especially those we fancy might be gay. I thought I would write them up on the blog.

Back then, few English-language sources were available. The internet contained the odd fansite, and one or two web forums.

But the coverage was patchy and irregular, as most contributors were just fans, like us.

If I knew little about a particular star, I would have to ask Maiyuu to fill in the gaps, as the stories I found in the Thai press rarely told me everything I needed to know.

Fast forward to the present. Today, we are spoiled: readers can turn for daily coverage of Thai entertainment news to Lyn’s Lakorns blog, the Man of the Rose blog, and Dirtilaundry blog, to name but a few.

Three years down the track, I am no longer so interested in the antics of Thai stars.

If I write about them at all, it's usually because the story has some gay theme, or because their fame makes them interesting.

I complained yesterday that research for blog posts can take hours, and at the end of that I still can't be sure if readers will like it. Solution? Write stuff that interests me, and hope others will understand!

This blog probably has a mix of readers in their early 20s looking for star gossip, and another group aged 30 and above, interested in stories about Thai gay life.

Most readers who Google the actor Mario Maurer, for example, are probably young themselves.

They might be interested to read about Mario here, but I doubt they want to know about the new sofa I have just bought. That stuff probably sounds too domestic, and - well, old.

If those posts sound like a man in his 40s wrote them, it’s because he did.

I still write about Thai stars occasionally, as they provide a source of new readers to this blog. However, I also enjoy writing about 'old' stuff as well, because I am getting old, and can't help the way I think.

These days I write much more about my boyfriend, and our lives together in Bangkok.

Stories about the homely side of Thai life draw many more reader comments than those about Thai entertainers. They also give the blog a more personal feel, which I like.

I want to keep up that balance, so will continue writing regularly about the boyfriend and life in Thailand, with the odd post about Thai stars thrown in.

However, the best part about blogging for me is feedback from readers. Posts now get an average of eight responses each, which is great.

Please keep them coming. As I have said before (though it took me a while to learn it), a blog is nothing without you.

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My favourite Thai-based blogger over the past 12 months is Kawadjan.

Like mine, his blog is three years old, though he started it before he arrived on these shores.

Kawadjan, who comes from the Philippines, lives and works in Bangkok.

He has a distinctively gay voice as a writer, is funny, and blogs with a sense of excitement about this place.

He also visits out-of-the-way places in Bangkok, and travels in the region. Could you ask for more?

I like the look and feel of his blog: it is a good place to be. He sounds as if he is talking to intimate friends, even though he is also writing for a wider audience.

He posts pictures he has taken, MVs, and reviews books which have taken his fancy. Kawadjan’s blog is distinctively his own, much more than mine has ever been.

In the next 12 months, I would like to make my blog's 'stamp' more personal, like his. I can't promise to travel, as I hardly go anywhere. I will bring you more tales from Maiyuu's busy kitchen instead.