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‘Blogosphere’ Category

Blogapalooza 2011: blogger networking is the new marketing

September 18, 2011 by ajay

Congratulations to Vince Golangco and wheninmanila.com for the successful launch of Blogapalooza last Saturday. I sat, I ate and I owe you this badge….

It was a cool way for businesses to pitch to bloggers and for bloggers like us to get to know some brands in the market. I immediately warmed up to the sight of this lean and limber young lady from Polecats Manila hanging on to a pole by the entrance. Whatta welcome!

This man that lugged along a camera and a printer on his back was also quite a sight. Everybody had fun having their photos taken and then seeing the prints a few minutes later. Obviously, that’s what the backpack is for

We were all assembled classroom style at the Top Shelf of Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street. I sat behind Rowena of Animetric’s World and Melody Co while her boyfriend, Boy Kuripot (a.k.a Jeff) was busy taking advantage of the free wifi (what would a blogger event be without it?)

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: blogapalooza,blogapalooza 2011,bloggers manila,bloggers philippines,vince golangco | 1 Comment
Who is the Big Blogger who is smiling his way to the bank?

January 24, 2011 by ajay

The blogging circle in Manila is just very small and am kinda amused at how someone has been portrayed the Big Bad Blogger (like he’s really baaad!) I’ve heard about this BBB issue as early as two years ago, when fellow bloggers would tell me stories about talking to so and so resort/resto owner that Big Blogger approached. I didn’t easily dismiss it as a result of envy and professional jealousy, but until I talked to affected restaurant owners themselves, I wasn’t ready to believe all the reports either.

I thought to myself then: what is this blogger and his band thinking? Weren’t they afraid that the word will eventually go around and their reputation will be tarnished?

Until the Sunday Inquirer article by Ms. Margaux Salcedo exploded and put certain persons under suspicion.

From the looks of it, looks like the Inquirer article is just the tip of the iceberg as Philippine Star food columnist Stephanie Zubiri promised (in her Twitter) gather the complaints of other restaurateurs and do a follow up story on the subject.

But if I were to base my reaction on the Inquirer article, it is not so much BBB who should be condemned but the pernicious tactics of this PR firm which solicits clients, Mafia-style. Right now, I can only think of very few PR firms who specialize in online buzz marketing and even hires bloggers as consultants or on a per project basis. Hmm. Ito kaya?

Here are my notes from this incident:

1. It is sad that legitimate bloggers have been given the bad rep again, but this shouldn’t dissuade anyone from blogging, if your intentions are clean. We blog about food because we love to eat, explore food territories, take beautiful photos, and see it all as part of our culinary experience. So go ahead and do it without fear or expectations of a reward. We are here to simply enjoy.

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: BBB,big bad blogger,food blogger,Margaux Salcedo,Stephanie Zubiri | 16 Comments
Marketmanila takes a blogging break

September 3, 2010 by ajay

Something picked up from my Google Reader: Marketmanila, one of the Philippines’ top food blogs, is going on an indefinite sabbatical. ” I have decided to take a month or two off, and when that time has passed, decide whether to return to blogging about food on a much less active basis or to call it quits for good,” said the Marketman.

In five years, Marketmanila’s stats are certainly impressive, with 2,700 posts logged and an Alexa traffic rank of 73,942 (which effectively puts it among the top 73,000++ websites in the world). I am truly amazed at the number of blog posts he’s written because in my five years of blogging, I’ve only made 1,001 posts and I feel I’ve worked like a carabao already.:D I guess that when you pursue something with such a passion, blogger burnout is bound to happen. And in such a case, it is well-advised to take a much-deserved rest. It is true that we can only blog ardently at the expense of other things in life we need to do, and sometimes, difficult choices have to be made.

I’ve featured Marketmanila in my Manila Bulletin column Blog-O-Rama and while looking for it in my Gmail archives, I found it creepy that I submitted the column on September 2, 2006 (!) and four years later, on September 2, 2010, Marketman would announce his sabbatical (or not) from blogging.

Here’s the transcript of that article and email interview entitled “The Marketman’s Passion for Food”

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: Alexa,Alexa traffic rank,Manila Bulletin Blog-O-Rama,marketmanila,Marketmanila blogging break | 5 Comments
Pinoy Blogfest 1.0 at Richmonde Hotel

April 16, 2010 by ajay

My friends from Gadgets Magazine are organizing Pinoy Blogfest 1.0 which is happening tomorrow, April 17 at the Richmonde Hotel in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. With the theme ” Opportunity & Responsibility,” it aims to gather together alternative media practitioners and bloggers on issues confronting new media.

A Universal McCann study conducted in 29 countries in 2008, estimates that about 90% of Filipino users read blogs (second only to Korea’s 92%). It also reported that the Philippines has the highest percentage of photo uploaders and web video viewers.

Among the hot topics to be tackled in the confab are ethics, copyright concerns, and journalistic integrity. The keynote speech will focus on “The social and ethical responsibilities of new media.” Other plenary topics include “Optimizing the economic potential of your blog” and “Bloggers as media practitioners.” The morning session is expected to close with a facilitated discussion on “Crafting a blogger’s code of ethics.” Speakers include Gadgets Magazine’s Publisher & CEO Maribelle Alba, media personality Ira Panganiban, Yugatech’s Abe Olandres and Yvonne Chua from Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

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Category Blogosphere, Press Release | Tags: Pinoy Blogfest,Pinoy Blogfest 1.0,Richmonde Hotel,social media | No Comments
My votes for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 project

July 30, 2009 by ajay

There’s a search going on over at The Influential Blogger for the best newbie Filipino-owned blogs who’ve made made a splash in the past year. It’s called the The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009. I am submitting my vote before the contest closing today because I’d really like some friends to win and I hope that one little vote can contribute to the vibrancy that is Philippine blogging.

I’ve observed how this contest ran and noted that being chosen an “emerging influential blog” actually translates to being popular, SEO-savvy, and being able to tirelessly campaign among your peers, while having a good marketing pitch. Nothing wrong with that. I am actually reminded of the time when I was a child and crowned the Mayflower Queen of our barrio because my relatives raised the most money, hehehe. Anyway, my choices here include sure winners, two group blogs I am active in and some silent favorites. If only the number wasn’t limited to the Top 10, I’d definitely choose more. Here it goes:

1. Barrio Siete
2. Litratong Pinoy
3. Dear Bloggery
4. Dare to Speak Out
5. Social Media Philippines
6. Patay Gutom
7. Cebu Bloggers Society
8. Millionaire Acts
9. Pinoy Cravings
10. Sumthin Blue

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: Barrio Siete,cebu bloggers society,dearbloggery,group blogs,influential blogger,Litratong Pinoy,patay gutom,pinoy cravings,social media philippines,Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 | 16 Comments
Corporate blogging 101: should your company engage in it? (Blog-O-Rama)

April 30, 2009 by ajay

Note: This post is adapted from my Manila Bulletin Blog-O-Rama column for April 27, 2009.

Because of the popularity of blogs these days, some companies are joining the blog mob or the blog bandwagon. There’s really nothing wrong with this. A corporate blog, after all, is another way to connect with your customers or market on another level. And a blog, if put up well, can project more warmth and candidness than a generic press releases would. It is an affordable, high-impact way to get your message across without the expense of multi-million campaigns.

On the other hand, a corporation or company should also ask itself if a blog fits their marketing goals. It is really not for everybody. Sometimes, it can make a firm vulnerable to unwanted “blog storms” or security lapses and make its stand on certain matters open to interpretation. That’s why I’d suggest that entities think long and think hard before starting a blog. Here are some suggested things to do:

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: | No Comments
What is this thing about labelling bloggers into Exhibits A, B, and C?

April 22, 2009 by ajay

Gamer and blogger Carlo Ople stirred a hornet’s nest when he categorized different types of bloggers in his new blog. While his pronounced intention is to teach marketers and public relations companies on “How to Deal with New Media,” it seems Mr. Ople is now finding out the hard way about “How NOT to Write Derogatory Blog Posts about New Media.” The reaction from certain sectors who felt slighted by the use of the term “Patay Gutom Blogger” to refer to those who attend events because of the free food and freebies has been substantial that Mr. Ople was forced to take down the PGB term and apologize to those who he might have insulted.

Personally, I don’t believe in taking down what I blog about, even if it’s too easy to press DELETE in cyberspace. My conviction is to always stand by what I write. (and pataygutom.com is one blog food blog I like!) However, I don’t believe in labelling people myself, even though it’s quite tempting to categorize the numerous characters that populate the internetz. Blogging is called “citizen journalism” precisely because anyone can post his thoughts and materials in the great WWW without the stiff hierarchy and requirements of the media networks. Considering the diversity, we would certainly run out of terms to categorize people. But is that even necessary? Name-calling and criticizing is a human propensity but it should be kept by people within their groups, not in the open field where respect, decency and tolerance is called for.

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: | 10 Comments
DigitalFilipino.com Club networking in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao – whew!

October 29, 2008 by ajay

The past week has been very busy as I joined my first roadshow which had us flying to Davao in Mindanao, Cebu in Central Visayas and back again to Manila for DigitalFilipino.com Club‘s bloggers’ networking events. Here, I witnessed first-hand “Blogger Power” and the charisma of Ms. InfluentialBlogger herself, Janette Toral, to pull in the numbers.

It was my first time to join blogger events “on a mass scale,” with the exception of the Blog Awards, and I liked it. It was great to know the faces behind the blogs, and I like the part where everyone introduces themselves. There’s bound to be an interesting story on how one got to blog, or what one has gained from it so far. It’s my first exposure to DigitalFilipino and I think am joining it soon, haha.

Our first stop was the boom city of Davao, home of the Mindanao Bloggers. Close to 100 bloggers had fun in PAGCOR-Davao’s Pantawan Hall where we ate and drank the night away, capped by a friendly tournament of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.

At the Teatro Casino party in PAGCOR-Cebu, members of the Cebu Bloggers Society came in identical “Blogger Ko Bai!” shirts which showed their complete solidarity. Couldn’t resist buying one.

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: | 17 Comments
‘Mga Kwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig:’ Batjay, the second time around

April 22, 2008 by ajay

SPOT THE YELLOW BOOK . Batjay (seated) with his blogger-friends Apol, Wats0n, Tito Rolly and Fisherpau. Not in photo is yours truly

The king of the blog humorists, Nicanor David a.k.a Batjay launched his second blook recently.For the occasion, he went straight from the airport to Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street, wearing his Spiderman shirt. There’s a long line of people clutching the yellow copies of “Mga Kwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig” and he obliges with personalized dedications, with matching cartoon drawings pa.

We asked him if he flew all the way from California for the launching, and he says not really. He foremostly wanted to see his beloved mother. Growing up, Batjay was a “batang kaning lamig” and the book’s title is driven by memories of him hanging out with his friends, highlighted by eating sessions where they would eat cold rice served by his mother, amid big steaming hot bowls of sinigang.

Anyway, Batjay’s book is so handy and funny that I don’t have it anymore. Somebody snitched it!! Here’s the full text of my article as it appeared on Manila Bulletin yesterday:

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Category Blogosphere, Language & Lit | Tags: | 4 Comments
Uncle Google is l-o-v-e, and other highlights of my 2007 blogging

December 25, 2007 by ajay

(Adapted from Blog-O-Rama)

In 2007, I wrote 154 blog posts and counting. This is a milestone for me, considering the time, wit and energy it entails to blog a wee bit sensibly.On the average, I made 17 posts per month and I consider blogging at a steady rate as my biggest achievement this year.

During my early years, I admit to blogging for art’s sake. Now I realize I can be more prolific when I don’t take my creativity too seriously and just let the gods of SEO take over. This has given me more returns in terms of traffic and advertising and I believe we are now saving for the Hong Kong Disneyland family vacation that blogging bought

Lest I be misunderstood, I am still into blogging for the sheer love of it…. because I will always be at home with the written word and because blogging has enabled me to gain more friends, know more people, interact with readers and network. They are definitely add-ons I can’t complain about.

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Category Blogosphere | Tags: | 6 Comments

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