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One of the highlights of the past week was the finals of the Philippine Blog Awards. Being a judge and minor sponsor to this event, I was egging my friends to go with me but nobody wanted to, either because they were busy, shy, scared or whatever. Finally, my buddy James, managing ed of Metro Magazine relented…maybe because he’s curious about blogging and will start a blog soon?? (abangan)
Here’s one of our first pictures when we arrived at the humungous RCBC Plaza with another blogger, Pierre of The Jester in Exile.
Who else would I see loitering in the buffet area but local blogging celebrity Bryanboy? So I waste no time striking The Famous Bag Pose with him while he played a little trick at the back of my head, nyahaha. BB is a colorful character not only online but also in real. He even came with a uniformed yaya.
At the lobby, I also got to mingle with blogger-friends like Eric of Byahilo (a finalist in the Best Travel Blog category), head organizer and blogging guru Yuga as well as Anton of Awesome Planet. Likewise I saw the other finalists like Bloggers’ Choice Marketman, Lori of Dessertcomesfirst, Manuel Viloria, Paul The Unlawyer, Sonnie, Noemi, Jun of Mabuting Balita, Mike Villar and talented others who I interviewed in the past for Blog-o-Rama. During the awarding proper, I got to be seated next to Connie Veneracion who brought along her whole family. She’s still feisty as ever and every inch deserving of the Blog Achievement Award from Globe.
This was the audience at Podium 4 of RCBC Plaza in Makati. Maybe because admission tickets were limited, it wasn’t filled to capacity. But I can just imagine the excitement felt by the finalists (and winners!) as screenshots of their blog were flashed on the huge screen. The huge Philippine Blog Awards backdrop added drama to the whole thing.
There were a few boo-boos (such as “the two emcees” who my media companion found “vapid” and “annoying” to the max.. quote unquote) but the artwork and stage design made by SheeroMedia really rocked!
One of the highlights of my evening was presenting the award to the winner of the Best Home & Living Blog … one of the hotly-contested categories, as they were all good and famous in their own right. We, judges, didn’t know until that moment. And I was very glad it went to someone dear and near, Toni of Wifely Steps. Another Blogkada, Batjay, won Best OFW Blog for his Kwentong Tambay.
My fellow Blogging Berks Toni (holding her award) and Karla, the event’s official photographer and provider of all the photos in this post,hehe.
The full list of winners are on the Philippine Blog Awards website.
Overall, it was a great night. A model project of volunteerism in action. Winners, finalists and bloggers came in full force to show one and all that bloggers in the country…are going places indeed 
Congratulations are in order for everyone.
Stumble It!
hi ajay!
maraming salamat sa pagtanggap mo ng award ko. hehehe. sana binigay mo rin yung speech ko:
“i want to thank my wife for having good taste. i want to thank my parents for loving me and giving me baon. i also want to thank god for making me pogi. i also wish for world peace! (sabay kaway na parang miss universe)â€
ingat at salamat ulit,
jay
PBA 2007– A Milestone For Filipino Bloggers
Activities like this, in my opinion, will take blogging to the next level, but stakeholders must keep the upward momentum
…
nakakaaliw nga.. I didn’t think it was an Oscar for bloggers until my sister pointed it out to me.
I am quite happy that Bryanboy won! It is nice that you guys started this kind of awards for Pinoy bloggers
Hi Ajay,
Nakakatuwa yung picture nyo ni BryanBoy
Thank you! Thank you very much for the feature at Manila Bulletin’s Blog-o-rama. Sa pagbalik ko sa next trip ko me pasalubong ka sa akin! Hahaha!
The PBA indeed is a successful event. I agree, love the graphics done during the presentations. Though there are some rooms for improvement it was still a great start.
Maraming salamat!
Batjay, walang anuman. Sana man lang binasa ko ang speech na yan nung tinanggap ko award mo. Pwede rin ako kumaway na parang ms. Universe, hehe..
Noemi, it was like the Oscars certainly. The bloggers like you were in a more than glamorous mode.
Chase, it would have rocked if you were here too:)
Thanks Ferdz. I saw you at the blog awards. Too bad no chance to meet and greet. Next time na lang when you give my pasalubong, hehe
Sayang, graduation ng anak ko. I would have been there. ALam mo namang mahilig ako sa EB. hehe
You look great as ever.
Thanks Tito Rolly. Oo nga, we haven’t seen you in a long time. Let’s organize a meet up one of these days..
oo nga you looked fine that evening po, that was why I was actually shocked when I read from one of your posts that you have twins?!
hi ajay
your picture with bryanboy is one of my fave pics in my pba07 set kasi nga ang kulit :p
Thanks Mae. But the more you’ll be shocked if you knew how old I am
Karla, had fun with Bryanboy. You can’t be with Bryanboy and not do The Bag Pose
Tama ang friend mo! Slight hindi katuwaan ang mga emcees. But I’m sure they did their best naman! Hopefully next year we get celebrity bloggers (like KC Concepcion!?) to host the event! That’ll bring in more guests diba! Bonggacious!
I loved that it was YOU who presented the award. What a great coincidence diba? It made the award even more special to me, A. *hugs*
Hi Ajay,
I’m sorry for being boring and annoying you and your friend. Sasha and I tried out best and I will not make any excuses for our performance. I hope next year he’ll be blogging already and will volunteer to be part of the committee.
I had hoped people will be more supportive instead of being negative towards the Philippine Blog Awards. Oh well…
Cheers!
Aileen
Google Philippines Country Consultant
kasi naman pala…judge and presentor!
sorry i wasn’t able to go ms. aj ha! sana next year ulit
Oh look! Miss Apollo signed with the “Google Philippines Country Consultant” title. She doesn’t normally do that when commenting on blogs.
It’s like she’s saying “How dare you call me vapid and annoying! I’m the Google Philippines Country Consultant!” or “You don’t know who you’re dealing with!” Like the fact should exempt her from criticism.
And saying that people shoudn’t give out criticisms or be “negative”? Duh. If nobody points out your mistakes, how will you become aware of them and take steps to rectify them?
guess what — i keyed in “vapid” in google images, and a picture of aileen came up! ha!
aileeeeeeen, you self-promoter youuuuu!!!
number one rule of hosting: audience rapport. did you even hear a single soul in that auditorium laugh or respond to whatever you said?
i didn’t think so….
Thanks Toni. Actually, I didn’t know I was going to be a presentor that day. And when they asked me what category to present, I chose “Home and Living.” Exciting kasi ang result, and that’s the category close to my heart.
Aileen, I didn’t say you annoyed me
I have high tolerance for people and I refuse to be distracted by little things like that (good that am not the finalist whose name you left out in the announcement) . But you’re grown up to know already that people are not the same everywhere. Take it constructively. Perhaps you’re better off being the Google Philippines Country Consultant than being an emcee. And just because some criticized your emceeing doesn’t mean they’re damning the Blog Awards because it was overall a great show. We have to look at the bigger picture here. Alrighty.
Thanks for taking the time to make your point clear, Elixo and Anxxiety:P See my comment above.
Haaaay…
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