Most of us do not like history when we are young. We appreciate it better as we get older. Why? Well, because when we were younger, we were taught the “big” history, i.e. about emperors, nobles and warriors. What about the small folks who together formed the “small” history? Until the advent of blogging , observations of one’s past or of days gone by would be either recorded in a diary or reminisced in a coffeeshop. Some might share with their grandchildren what they did. “You know, in my time, a bowl of noodle soup cost only 20 cents. And if you want to buy char kway teow, you could order one plate for 20 cents and bring your own egg to have it fried with the kway teow“.

Blogging has revolutionised the way history is documented and transmitted. Now, even common people like us are empowered to share our recollections with family members and friends all over the world, and also with anyone else who is interested Why, even the most mundane things that we do in a day, which might take anthropologists years to uncover, can now be publicised via this medium. We could compare notes from visitors who leave their comments in our blogs or fellow bloggers may invite us to read what they have written. And if our entries catch the attention of popular heritage interest groups such as tomorrow.sg and yesterday.sg, the hits received on our blogs could be amplified many times.

While many attempt to reminisce the past from the vantage point of the present, I think it is also great if we make an effort to observe the present as well so that future generations can have a more accurate account of the past which is actually what we regard as our present now. For that to be realised, it is important for the technology of tomorrow to be “backward compatible”. While a piece of paper might remain as a piece of paper, a datum could be lost forever if the harddisk crashes, or if the disk is damaged, or if software can no longer read the codes.

What to write in a blog? Don’t waste your time if you cannot think of any. It should come to you in a wave of inspiration, or as an urge to write and share. It could be triggered from a conversation, or from what you have just heard or seen. When I looked at the number “555″, many things are conjured in my mind. Ah, it could be the Vietnamese Beer, or it could be a Thai laughter, or it could the now almost unknown “State Express” cigarettes, or it could be that humble notebook that many poor families of the past have made use of. That will be my next story. (^^)

As long as we begin to write, we will surely have something to reminisce, no matter how young we are. If you are still young, looking at a tin of KLIM could remind you of the wonderful bottle that you had. Or that favourite pacifier that you used to suck, or of how Mum hid your pacifier to get you out of the sucking habit. (^^)

There’s just so much to write from one’s own experience and playing them out against a bigger background. There I was sitting and having my fruit when I decided to switch on my telly to watch CNN. To my disbelief, I saw one plane crashed into a tall building. Was that a forthcoming movie or what? I thought to myself. It took a full few minutes before it dawned upon me that I was watching a real-life event. Then I got busy texting and emailing my friends to find out more about that event.

There are those who would prefer to be sleuths, looking for clues of the untold past. Who built this temple? What was the role of this temple during the war? Something is just not in place. Bloggers love to share their discovery on their blogs. Who knows, some of these findings could change the way history had been written.

Whatever, take that one small step and you are on your way to making big discoveries not only of your surroundings, but of yourself too. If there is no history, there is no tomorrow. Or would it be that history repeats itself? These are for us to prove or disprove. (^^)

The writer is the founder and writer of the noted heritage blog Bullockcartwater, where he records the history of Singapore’s Chinatown. Victor also made history as the first of the new wave of heritage enthusiasts to receive a public shout-out from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the 2006 National Day Rally speech. The editors of this journal consider him a preeminent example of a citizen historian.