I Am Blogie

On my last bloggers conference, I got my biggest surprise yet when the organizers handed out a Samsung Galaxy Tab to each invited participant (there were about 16 of us). It’s my first Android-powered gadget, so I’m pretty stoked about it. The operating system is clearly designed for mobile in all kinds of awesome. But, the graphics resolution of the Tab’s screen, while it’s much bigger than my old iPod touch, leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the latter. Still, I’m happy with it because (1) it’s a new toy that’s proving to be quite useful, and (2) I didn’t have to pay for it.

And here are my de rigeur unboxing photos:

I’ve received quite a few gadgets since I started blogging in earnest, which was around 2007, either directly (gifts, prizes) or indirectly (acquired through blog-related earnings). There was a series of Nokia phones and a Bluetooth headphone, each of which I got to use for about a month — and my all-time favorite was the N82, which I got to keep. I won an HP mini at a press launch of HP’s new line of computers. Except for that and my very first laptop, my notebooks (as well as two iPods) were all bought with earnings from ad placements on my blogs. Same goes for my Lumix LX3, the quintessential blogger’s camera.

What I really would like to be given is a Sony Bloggie. A handy pocket videocam perfect for interviews and such, don’t you think? Of course there’s the Flip Mino and similar cameras of other brands, but I believe the Bloggie is for me. It’s nearly identical in spelling and pronunciation to my own nickname, for crying out loud!

It’s fun and it’s fulfilling in a way to receive gadgets. After all, these devices are tools of the blogger’s trade. But it shouldn’t be an end, it shouldn’t be the objective for blogging. It’s disturbing to see some people taking up blogging because of a desire to get hold of material things. More often than not, so-called bloggers of this ilk fail to appreciate the raison d’être of blogs: quality and meaningful content. But that’s an entirely different topic which I’ll leave for another day.

In the meantime, I’m finally going to be able to play Angry Birds on a bigger screen. Oh yeah, keep my Google Apps calendar and contacts beautifully synchronized as well, of course, that too. Now I’m in a quandary as to whether I should dispose of my old iPod touch 3G or not…

As I’ve indicated here, I am in favor of having an association of Filipino bloggers, and one that will have a nationwide scope and reach. I have already attempted to address concerns about potential drawbacks here, so I will leave it at that. And, I have shared my thoughts on what sort of organization I [...]

There’s a new “new media” publication in town — BlogWatch.ph, and I feel very privileged to be a part of it. BlogWatch, which was launched last 24 November in Makati, is a worthy undertaking that aims to provide news and commentary in the proven style of traditional journalism but with the flair of “Web 2.0″. [...]

“Technology drives the modern world, and the Philippines is fast becoming a technology-driven society. Tech-savvy Filipinos desire the latest and coolest devices, from mobile phones to digital cameras to flat-screen TVs. For these enthusiasts and buyers, Consumer Electronics Live! Manila is the premiere technology event of the year. CEL Manila is the first and the [...]

My long-time friend, Avel Manansala of General Santos City, invited me to be one of the judges for his blog contest, What Air Supply Song Are You? (creative, don’t you think?). So I dutifully read through around 20+ entries, thinking inwardly that it was going to be at least amusing. Air Supply was (probably) all the [...]

I was having my favorite cup o’ joe over at Kangaroo Coffee about a couple of months ago when I was struck by an idea for a domain name. Checking if it was still available, I couldn’t believe but was very delighted that wp-evangelist.com was still up for grabs! So I acquired it right then [...]

It’s a truly exhilarating experience after having put together two successful WordCamp Philippines events! The preparations for the second WordCamp in the country, held in Makati City last 19 September, was actually stressing me out to the point that I wasn’t getting my bread-and-butter work done properly the last couple of months. But, with the [...]

I have just nominated two of my own blogs in the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards: Davao Delicious, under the Food & Beverages category; and Ang Dabawenyo, under the Mindanao Destination Blog special awards category. In this year’s PBA, a set of four special awards will be given to Mindanao blogs (and another set for Visayas blogs). [...]

Today I’m in General Santos City, but on my way back to Davao in a few hours. I spent the weekend here with blogger-friends, Lyle & Brendel, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and to help out Bariles Republic’s Avel M. in his local blogging efforts. Marz, happy birthday again!! I’m happy to say that Lyle and I [...]

In continuing my advocacy for the adoption of the world’s #1 blogging sofware & CMS across Mindanao, I’ll be conducting an advanced training seminar on the deployment, utilization & management of WordPress this 25th of July (Saturday) at Cagayan de Oro City.

Specifically, the following are the topics to be covered:

• WP installation & maintenance
• Web hosting fundamentals for proper WP deployment
• Understanding WP theme templates
• Choosing & managing useful WP plugins
• Managing content on WP
  • Recommended usage of categories & tags
  • Publishing best practices
  • Fundamental SEO techniques
• Monetizing your blog with Google AdSense (for confirmation)

Cagayan de Oro is a wired city, with lots of free-wifi hotspots all over the place, and a growing number of bloggers and online content writers — the perfect setting for promoting the use of the most flexible content management engine there is. Moreover, the city is the appointed host of the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit, which will be happening on 24 October 2009.

The WP training seminar will be held at Coffee Works, from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM. (Please bookmark this post for updates.)

Registration fee is ₱500 per person (to be collected at the door on the seminar date). Please click here to sign up!

I look forward to meeting with the CDO Bloggers very soon!

Sponsored By: 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit - 27 Oct 2007, Davao City