Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?

Here’s a realization that came to me during iBlog5:

There are many different types of bloggers and we have different personalities.  We all have different reasons for blogging and we all have different goals.  Some want to express themselves, some want to advocate something, some want to make money, some want to become famous, some just want to have fun.

I believe that whatever our reasons are and whatever our goals are, we should not let others define who we are as bloggers, because ultimately, we make our own happiness, we carve our own niches, we define our own future.

The measure of your own success as a blogger should not be based entirely on what other bloggers (old and new) tell you.

You measure your own success – that is, if your goal is really to become a “successful blogger” – whatever that means to you.

So are you a blogger or are you a dancer?

(title inspired by Human by The Killers)

Linklovin:
Read the rest of this entry »

iBlog, the annual Philippine Blogging Summit, is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) events that bloggers from all over the country look forward to.  Now on its fifth year, iBlog gathers the best and the brightest and the newbies of blogging to one venue for a day of learning, exchanging of knowledge, and online and offline networking.

My first iBlog was last year, iBlog4.  I was supposed to go to iBlog3 but it coincided with my trip out of the country.  At iBlog4, I did a livestream using my sucky webcam (which I held up so people could see what was going on – owing to the fact that I was seated right smack in the middle of the venue.

This year was different.  Janette Toral asked me if I wanted to do a talk on Blogging 101 (with Micaela Rodriguez) weeks before iBlog5.  I hesitated for about two seconds then agreed.  Besides, doing a talk on Blogging 101 should be easy enough. Or so I thought.

Mica and I did online brainstorming sessions then met once to finalize our presentation. That’s when we both realized that Blogging 101 may seem like a very easy topic to discuss, but it actually is one of the more complicated subjects to discuss to a group of people who already know how to blog, save for about less than 5% newbies (estimate mine, not necessarily correct). The scope of Blogging 101 is pretty wide and it’s quite difficult to cram all of the ideas and all “basic” stuff into a 20-minute presentation. Since the world of blogging is constantly evolving and growing, there are so many things one has to consider to present a talk good enough to cover the basics.

So how does one preach to the converted?

Do what we did. We gave a disclaimer before the start of our talk that those who already know how to blog do not really need to listen or pay attention to us. That seemed to work. Mica and I decided beforehand on one thing: “Baklain na lang natin to.” And so we started with our Blogging 101 talk (presentation below livestream highlights from the official coverage: part 1 and part 2).

After our talk, I went back to my seat right smack on the first row(in front of the Cebu Bloggers – Jorich, Bryan, John, Kevin and Xerxes) and beside the gorgeous timekeeper Noemi Dado) to start my coverage via mobile livestream using my Nokia E71. I was able to cover Photoblogging (by my good friends Faith Salazar and Fritz Tentativa), Video Blogging (by Azrael Coladilla and Kring Elenzano, my uber-favorite ka-baklaan), Blogging 102 (by my other good friends Benj Espina and Juned Sonido), Blog Promotion & Traffic Generation Strategies 101 (by my other cool friends – yes I have lots of cool friends – Winston Almendras and Coy Caballes)and Mobile Blogging (by Edwin “Ka Edong” Soriano).

After a quick lunch at the venue, I and some blogger friends  decided to get some dessert at Chocolate Kiss – where we met other blogger friends. While we were enjoying our desserts (and lunch for some), mother nature decided to rain on our parade – it rained! We got stuck at the Bahay ng Alumni for a good hour or so. I kinda felt bad because we missed a couple of talks, but thanks to the official livestream coverage, I can catch up.

I initially planned on going home to get some rest during the afternoon sessions (since I was up since Friday afternoon – which made me a “Tunay na Lalake” dahil ayon sa kanilang manifesto, ang tunay na lalake ay di natutulog), but I decided to just stay on and finish the day.  Besides, I didn’t want to miss the traditional group photo and after-party. (My Photos here)

So there you have it, my iBlog5 experience.  What did I learn this year?

There are many different types of bloggers and we have different personalities.  We all have different reasons for blogging and we all have different goals.  Some want to express themselves, some want to advocate something, some want to make money, some want to become famous, some just want to have fun.  I believe that whatever our reasons are and whatever our goals are, we should not let others define who we are as bloggers, because ultimately, we make our own happiness, we carve our own niches, we define our own future. The measure of your own success as a blogger should not be based entirely on what other bloggers (old and new) tell you. You measure your own success – that is, if your goal is really to become a “successful blogger” – whatever that means to you.

Yun lang po, bow!

(link love from Influential Blogger)

Live stream feed last May 9

Read the rest of this entry »

The 5th Philippine Blogging Summit will be on 09 May 2009 at the Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, UP Diliman, from 8 am to 5 pm. Registration will still be FREE. Register NOW!

Morning session: (some can be sponsored talk)

• 9:00 – 9:20 Blogging 101 (Micaela Rodriguez & AJ Matela)
• 9:30 – 9:50 Photo Blogging 101 (Faith Salazar and Fritz Tentativa)
• 10:00 – 10:15 Break
• 10:15 to 10:35 Video Blogging 101 (Azrael Coladilla)
• 10:45 – 11:05 Mobile Blogging 101 (Edwin “Ka Edong” Soriano)
• 11:15 – 11:35 Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging 101 (Benj Espina and Juned Sonido)
• 11:45 – 12:05 Blog Promotion & Traffic Generation Strategies 101 (Winston Almendras and Coy Caballes)
• 12:05 – 1:00 Lunch break

Afternoon session:

• 1:00 – 1:20 Legal issues in Blogging
• 1:30 – 2:30 Preparing Bloggers for the 2010 Elections
  - COMELEC on Blogging & Bloggers (Dir. James Jimenez, COMELEC-EID Director)
  - Citizen Journalism for the 2010 Elections (Oliver Robillo, NAMFREL Chairman – Davao City)
  - The Bloggers Election Handbook project release (Janette Toral)
• 2:40 – 3:30 Blog Advertising Situation in the Philippines (Yehey and 2 sponsors)
• 3:30 – 3:45 Break
• 3:45 – 4:45 Blogging to the Next Level (Fitz Villafuerte
  and Anton Diaz)
• 4:45 – 5:00 Raffle & Group picture taking

7:00 pm onwards After-Event Party (sponsored)

See you all on May 9 for iBlog5! Spread the word.

(delayed post!)

I arrived 30 minutes late at UP Diliman’s Malcolm Hall for my very first iBlog summit. I was supposed to attend iBlog3 last year but I ended up touring another country. The venue for iBlog4 was quite familiar to and a little memorable for me since that was where I took the UPCAT some 11 years ago. Talk about old eh?

I missed the welcome remarks by JJ Disini and the first half of Charo Nuguid’s talk on Blogging 101 from a non-blogger point of view.

I managed to find a seat beside fellow gay blogger and fantabulous podcast producer, Joel Mcvie who was seated right by the hall’s stage left entrance. When the host, Rommel Casis, announced that the free wifi provided for by the sponsors (thank you to all sponsors, btw: Yehey, Morph Labs, WikiPilipinas, Alfox Computer Center, and Buddy Gancenia) was all set for everyone’s use, I took out my laptop and started my attempt to live blog the event. But no! Twenty minutes later, my battery died (may it rest in peace) and all the electrical outlets in my general area were already taken! So I decided to just put the computer away and enjoy the experience (or catch some shut eye since I had been awake for almost two days already). When I finally found an electrical outlet, I took out my chaka Logitech webcam and held it up high to produce a live stream of the event. Effortness!

Brian Gorrell was up next with a video blog of himself talking about the lessons he has learned from blogging. He shared a few of the things that he has learned from blogging as well as tips to newbies and other bloggers on what I call as surviving the blog world. (I don’t know if it was intentional or not but Brian could definitely use a little headroom since half of his face was out of frame.)

Read the rest of this entry »