I Am Blogie

Last 24 October 2009, during the Philippine Blog Awards – Mindanao Edition in Cagayan de Oro City, the Dabawenyo was recognized as a Globe Digital Tribe Awardee for contributions to the Mindanao blogosphere. This award is an acknowledgment of the recipient’s commitment to, and leadership in, the development of the region’s blogosphere.

I would like to thank Globe for this Award. It’s always gratifying when one’s efforts towards worthwhile goals are given public recognition, because it affords valuable exposure to the endeavor concerned. In this case, the Mindanao Bloggers Community.

I want to express my gratitude to the bloggers of Mindanao, who continue to inspire me to forge on in spite of obstacles along the way. My heartfelt gratitude also goes to my family, friends and colleagues for supporting me all the way.

Two of my co-recipients to whom I’d like to give special mention are Bob Martin of Mindanao.com and Avel Manansala of GenSan News Online Mag.

I first met Bob and Avel (and his brother Orman) online, around 1997, when I joined the old Mindanao-L mailing list, which Bob hosted. This was way before the time of automated mailing lists. Back then, both of them opened my eyes to the possibility of using the Internet for spreading the word about Mindanao. In effect, it was Bob and Avel who planted in my mind the seed which grew into the Mindanao Bloggers Community.

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). [...]

The Philippine Blog Awards, the first of which was held around the same time that the Mindanao Bloggers Community came into existence, is embarking on a grander and more meaningful undertaking this year. In order to make the Awards a truly Filipino experience, PBA2009 is going to be a nationwide effort, with Regional Awards to be held in Mindanao and the Visayas.

The theme of this year’s PBA is One Blogging Nation.

For us in the South, it was decided by the MBC core group, along with the bloggers of CDO, to hold PBA-Mindanao in Cagayan de Oro City, on the same day as the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit. What this means is, there will be special awards exclusively for Mindanaoan blogs (the same is true for Visayas blogs). There are four special awards for Mindanao:

Mindanao Advocacy Blog

In line with the objectives of the Mindanao Bloggers Community, the Best Advocacy Blog is a blog that exemplifies how an online publication can bring a worthy cause to the consciousness of a broad audience. It is a blog that inspires its readers to take action and participate in an ongoing discussion of the issues at hand. Special points go to blogs that promote the best and true images of Mindanao.

Mindanao PhotoBlog

The Best PhotoBlog is one that brings the most beautiful images of Mindanao to the fore. It is a blog that evokes passion and inspiration, and clearly shows the blogger’s love for Mindanao. However, it must not be a site that harbors untrue or doctored images that lie about the true nature of Mindanao’s land and people.

Uniquely Mindanao Blog

This blog, as soon as it is viewed, is clearly identifiable as being from and about Mindanao. It evokes a feeling of belongingness among Mindanao readers, and an appreciation and understanding of what Mindanao truly is among non-Mindanaoan readers. The Uniquely Mindanao Blog champions the objectives of the Mindanao Bloggers Community, and contributes to the realization of these goals.

Mindanao Destination Blog

Beyond being merely a blog geared towards tourism, the Best Destination Blog strongly represents the locale (city, town, region) that the bloggers writes about. This blog is passionate about the promotion of his or her chosen locale for tourism and/or business, and publishes news and opinion articles for a well-rounded view of the destination.

To be considered for the PBA, you must nominate your own blog; or, you can recommend a blog for nomination. The process is quick and painless. Just submit your blog and follow the instructions. (There is one glitch, though: if you want to nominate more than one blog, you must use a different email address for each submission.)

There are many, many deserving blogs out there. Mindanao bloggers can certainly win in the PBA Major Categories, too, but let’s nominate blogs that deserve to win in the special Mindanao Awards categories. This is very much in line with the MBC’s objectives: to bring out blog content from Mindanao out into the open.

The deadline for submission of nominations for Mindanao and Visayas special awards has been extended to the 27th of August 2009.

Since 2005 — or even earlier? –, blog-centric events in the Philippines have been on the rise, with a number of major events becoming well-entrenched in the Filipino blogosphere. Foremost is the five-year-old educational event, iBlog Philippines, led by Janette Toral, who has been a very active and visible Internet figure primarily through her DigitalFilipino.com [...]