Blogging is alive and well in the Philippines!

A chance to meet the faces behind the blogs and comments, free food, free talk, networking and a chance to get more links, about 43 or so bloggers congregated at the National Sports Grill in Greenbelt 3 Makati. Despite the drizzle, the mood was festively bloggy: imagine a cacophony of people blogging away and transalate that to voice instead of keyboard and you’ll get what I mean. It was like blogging wtih your voice =)
Noemi was there first and Kevin came next. I arrived around 6:30PM and placed third. Sana may early bird prize. Jayve came afterwards and the others trickled in as I lost track of their name tags.

Angelo and Noemi gives a good account of the event. Ka Edong has his take here. I’ll update this post when the others publish their respective entries.

Events like these are always welcome. This should spur interest in the world of Philippine bloggers and the PH internet in general. A lot of opportunities are available for business, individuals, corporations, IT people, media and government. I believe interest will continue to grow and more people would get connected - in more ways than one.

Hats off to Globe Innove, event sponsor who is to be on the right track. There was no overt selling (though we were given Speak n’ Surf flyers and a PHP100 Worldpass Prepaid Account).

As usual, I was keen on getting the lessons from my experiences. Here’s what I got.

1. To get people to know you, get to know them first.
2. It is okay to ask.
3. Networking means talking, listening, remembering names and connecting afterwards.
4. People are unique. It’s their individuality that makes them interesting.
5. People are the same. No matter how different you are, you will always find something in common with another person.

Things to think about:

1. Blogging is now part of the Philippine Internet Culture. Businesses should look at the demographics and other pertinent data to identify opportunities for their respective markets. Ideas such as SMS-and-Blogging have begun to create new markets.
2. Blogging is a way to connect with your market. In other countries, products and companies rise and fall because of blogs. Philippine companies should realize that this is a very powerful vehicle, that they should join in. They must start integrating it with their business strategies lest they get left behind the bandwagon. Now, not later.
3. Blogging is an educational tool that should be used by the academe and industry. You will find lots of information, but you must sort which is useful and which should be ignored. Information literacy should be a prime concern. If used correctly, that would be one step towards progress. Miss it and we will take two steps back.
4. There are many ways to earn from the internet and blogging. You just have to find the right streams.
5. So you want to to get into the blogging biz? Make a life plan first and work from your strengths.

Other posts about the 1st Philippine BlogCon

ITPcom | Noemi | Angelo | Ka Edong | Marghil | Sonnie | Kiven | Gail | Chris | Jeffrey | Mike A | AJ | Juned | Abe | Annalyn |
Links to those who were there. I got the list from the original wiki and just removed the bloggers/links I did not meet or see.

Abe Olandres (YugaTech)

Jayvee Fernandez (A Bugged Life)

Rico Mossesgeld (Fool for Five)

Sasha Manuel (The Parody)

Juned Sonido (baratillo @ cubao)

Gloria Gamat (Daragang Magayon)

Bimbo Isidro (Vespinoy)

Kevin Codamon (Kiven)

Gail Dela Cruz (Kutitots)

Annalyn Jusay (Writings on the Wall)

Marc Macalua (Macalua.com)

Christine Ocampo (Shobeceo)

J. Angelo Racoma (The J Spot)

Erald Khrist de Guzman (Emina)

Chris Perez(Misadventures of Penoi)

Marhgil Macuha (Kukote in a Jar)

Karla Redor (Rockersworld.com)

Philip Arvin Jarilla (Philip’s Blog) or was it Philip Esmaquel (kuwentong usapan 2.0)

Elber Cruz (driver ng bayan)

Markku Seguerra (rebelpixel productions)

Anne Bailon (sencillez)

Ade Magnaye (Noisy, Noisy Man

Noemi Dado (Touched by An Angel)

Alan & Arlene Ocab (greatlinksevents)

Karl de Leon (Mimi and Karl)

Mimi Abesamis (Mimi and Karl)

Rick Manzano (ProjectManila.com)

Sonnie Santos (Sonnie’s.Porch)

Edwin S. Soriano (Technobiography)

Mike Leaño (Gamemonger)

Richmond Paul F. Ruiz (Pinoy Big Blogger)

Andrei Patrick (Eche…blah…blah)

Teng Mangansakan (Morofilm)

Girard Bonotan (Kawadjan)

Sarah Alvarez (Rashidsmom)

Mike Villar (Dash Media / The Man Blog/ Rising internet Star)

Peter Juan (Dash Media / The Man Blog)

Marco Palinar (Dash Media / The Man Blog)

Randy Nivales (i.ph)

Gibbs Cadiz (Gibbs Cadiz)

Cathy teodoro (lostsoul)

Jac Ting Lim (Jac Strips For You!)

Dominique Cimafranca (village idiot savant)

Charo Nuguid (The Geekette Speaketh, Fair Trade Technology, The Lioness’s Lair)

Clair Ching (clair.free.net.ph, blah!)

Chris Lagman (Fire In The Gut) - I remember!

If I missed out on your name, please leave a comment and I’ll update the list.

More thoughts later.