Dubbed as the biggest blogging summit of the year, iBlog 4 brought together a spectrum of Pinoy bloggers. This year’s venue was the Malcolm Theater at UP Diliman and was sponsored by Yehey!, WikiPilipinas, and Morph Labs.
It was my second time to go to a bloggers’ gathering this year after the HappySlip Meet and Greet in February. I still felt somewhat alienated. (Not that I’m saying I want to be an outcast! –LOL!) I’m just not so used to mingling with so many faces behind so many blogs.
I believe not all speakers were in their element during iBlog 4. Frankly, one speaker bombed on stage with the topic at hand. The execution of the Pod and Vidcasting lecture suffered audio problems. Sayang.
On the flip side I would highlight the lecture on “Blogging about the Philippine Presidential elections” in 2010. I particularly enjoyed Mr. Manolo Quezon’s speech. Atty. Disini’s clarifications on Philippine libel and copyright laws served as a refreshing wake up call.
Though I was excited to finally see bloggers like McVie, Janette Toral, Arbet, and Aileen, I was somewhat dismayed by the star presence of other bloggers. To think, I subscribe to some of their blogs! Maybe I was rubbed the wrong way and got the wrong impression. Iono. Inputs anyone?
Based on observation the Pinoy blogosphere isn’t exactly one happy family. There are different kinds of bloggers out there:
Critical intellectuals. They are the elite and truest of writers. But they also have tendencies to mock or prey on the weaknesses of other bloggers. Hey, everyone is free to express themselves and criticize others. I just don’t like it when it’s overdone.
Infectious SEO. With today’s trend in monetizing blogs it leaves me to ask what happens to those who don’t want to follow SEO? SEO lures traffic to sites but leaves behind those that don’t use it. In a medium where content is king it appears SEO sites are growing dominant trapping with them the limelight. (Just my opinion po)
Quiet Ones. They are those that sit, listen, eat, sit, listen, and eat. iBlog 4 for us was like sitting through our favorite subject at school. Since I’m a newbie to these events I believe I fall under this category.
Crazy-Active Ones. Those who really dress for the occasion like the famous Chicken Man. These are the pro-active, creative, and attention grabbing bloggers.
Amazing Bloggers from Down South. I was impressed by this group the most. To see them in synergy to promote the image of cities like Davao made me feel proud for them. Only if my home province of Cavite was more exciting. Hehe!
Celebrity. They are at the top of the blogging league. Usually they are the organizers or co-sponsors. The only thing I expect from them is to be able to share their expertise with others. At iBlog 4, I believe most of them achieved that. Then insert the one celebrity blogger I smiled at but was snubbed. –Ay!
Don’t get me wrong this shouldn’t come out as stereotyping. I’m just realizing how it felt to be in a theater with such a diversity of bloggers. The interesting part is learning about conflicts ranging from comment wars to domain names. (May ganon pala.)
Bottom line, it’s really about finding your place and to paraphrase Mr. Manolo Quezon, “It’s also about taking a side and pursuing it.”
In the issue of finding my place in the Pinoy blogosphere, I’d prefer a more intimate dinner with four other bloggers than be a crowd favorite. In the presence of so many bloggers it is extremely difficult to please everyone.
The whole summit was an interesting experience. In terms of being able to bring together all these different bloggers under one roof and discussing relevant issues, I would give iBlog 4 a passing mark. Kudos to the organizers.
To those I exchanged blog calling cards with, it was a pleasure to meet you guys!
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buti ka nga nandun eh!!!
I wanted to be there also, kaya lang… d me nakauwi
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Thanks for the kind words.
From Davao… with love.
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Nakita nga kita eh, kaso parang aloof ka. Ganun din ako. Wala talagang mangyayari he he. Well, maybe next time. I’d plan to organize dutch-treat dinners soon with other bloggers, so I hope you’d be available when that time comes.
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nice report, thanks
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Cool. Hope I was there. But I’m too shy. Lol.
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@umleo – syempre paguwi mo we’ll throw a separate get-together… =)
@ria – of course, no problem. so nice to have sat behind you… lol!
@arbet – yeah i prefer dinners… huge conventions are interesting but i don’t see myself mingling with so many at one time…
@hans – thanks!
@J – shy kaya ako… haha.
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lol, i look fat in that pic!
anyway, theres next time i think. there are two upcoming blogger events next week if im not mistaken. (as the case usually is i can’t make it.)
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about those snob pinoy star bloggers, isa yan sa sakit ng mga pinoy, ang tawag ko dun “nani-nino’, meaning, kung ang feeling nila wala silang mapapala sa’yo they will snob you, but if they know you’re somebody, stars like them or a bigger star than them, malayo pa lang naka-smile na sila sa’yo. pangit ano?
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“SEO lures traffic to sites but leaves behind those that don’t use it.”
George, even if a blogger doesn’t actively use SEO, his or her content will eventually bring in traffic while racking up search engine points. I’ve seen a lot of sites which just focus on content, are completely unmindful of SEO, and yet land in page 1 of Google search engine results for competitive terms.
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George, i need something from you, i posted an event in my blog!
I want you to be in the final video!!! 
Sali ka! Hintayin ko!
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Wow…thanks for appreciating the bloggers from the south.
nice meeting you. 
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@ jake – i guesso… haha. basta the rule of thumb is, at blogger events one can’t please everyone.
@ manuel viloria – good point. honestly i stand corrected. i’m more annoyed at sites that are just flooded with advertisements. thank you for your input!
@ umleo – sure i’ll visit and see what i can contribute.
@ winston – likewise, it was nice to meet you guys. city of free wi-fi… wow talaga… XD
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wah… hindi ako nakapunta… at hindi ka din pumunta sa 88DB.com party! wahahaha… ill see you george sa next event!
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I saw you but I didn’t get to meet you. Sayang.
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@ dak – next time na lang… =)
@ benj – you were like… just three feet in front of me… ahaha, i was shy. but i was looking at you thinking, “ah… it’s the Atheista.” ‘-p
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Hi George. Great to finally meet you at iBlog4. I went blank with your name and all I could remember is your revver id gputz. Thank you for the feedback about the sessions. I already have some ideas to break the ice among participants next year.
Don’t worry about the person who might have given you the wrong impression. There is a lot of uncertainty when meeting fellow bloggers for the first time and maybe that person may have been as tense as you are. (saying this completely clueless on who that person is)
Cheers!
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Hi Ms. Janette! I look forward to attending iBlog 5. I’ll try to get rid of being too shy haha. Thank you.
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