8th I-Blog Philippine Summit

Posted on May 27, 2012 by rence chan

Malcolm Building – College of Law , University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City- Philippines

entrance to the Malcolm Building

I always wanted to join the I-Blog summit ever since , However due to conflict of schedule and work load, i had to shove -off my plans. Last April 15, 2012 a postal heritage tour participant Ms. Bebang Siy and a couple of travel bloggers told me that there was an upcoming 8th I-Blog summit .

early registrants during first day of the summit

The author just took their reminder in passing , It would take several more weeks when i surf the internet and saw the advertisement of the event . After checking my work schedule on May 22 , I quickly signed-up for the summit. This is it , But there were already 400 plus registered participants and i was not able to see my name in the roster of registered participants .

8th i-Blog stand-up poster

How can i come to the summit unregistered ? I do not want to barge into the summit . I tried asking around and was advice by some blogger friends that i should come to the I-blog summit . According to them , not everyone can come and attend despite the pre-registration efforts.

TV channel 5 Kapatid Network and Unilab booth

I woke -up early morning on May 25, 2012 and quickly took a jeepney ride going to the University of the Philippines . I arrived past 6:30 am and was the first participant to arrive at the Malcolm building . About half an hour passes -by , Saw some personnel and event organizers and quickly signed-up as the first participant of the summit Yeyhey ! Finally after several years , This is my first time to attend the summit .

Kasperksy Philippines booth

There are several sponsors and donors of the event. Mc Donald -Philippines gave pack meals during the first and second day of the summit, while Unilab gave away pack meals , snacks items , writing pads, raffled -off some slots in their Marathon and Multivitamin packs during the event. Kaspersky Philippines gave interesting ballers .TV channel 5, the Kapatid network also raffled off I-pod and gave away 2012 London Olympics ID strap ( a commemorative item) TV channel 5 and AKSYON channel 41 is the country’s official free to air television channel of the 30th Olympic Games .

The Villar Foundation booth showcasing their water hyacinth handicraft projects, OFWs , environmental projects, livelihood programs among others.

The Villar Foundation also raffled off organic fertilizers , COMELEC also gave away voter’s registration pins and the commission was in charge of the i- BLOG registration process.

Summit – May 25 ( Day 1)

Before the opening of the summit, we were given time by the organizers to promote our blog sites, advocates , products and services . Knowing that there are still a lot of art, travel , lifestyle , hobby , culture and even paranormal bloggers which had not been part of the postal heritage guided tour . I quickly took the opportunity and promote the event. After all, the main post office building in Manila will soon be converted into a six star hotel and lease to the HK group which controls the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore .

Mr. Carlo Ople the first speaker of the summit

Mr. Carlo Ople is currently serves as the Senior Manager for Social Media Marketing of the TV channel 5, Kapatid network . He is the founder and former Principal Consultant of Catalyst Interactive Marketing Inc., a digital marketing agency based in the Philippines. Prior to Catalyst, he was the Digital Marketing Manager of Friendster and Marketing Head for the Casual Games Division of Level Up Philippines.

increase online advertisement from 2008 to 2011 in the Philippines data from Nielsen

Mr. Ople showed the participants the income potential of having a blog site . companies and advertising agencies have been increasing their on-line advertising during the past 4 or 5 years.

He personally drew this visual representation on “why do people blog ” concept.

relentless passion

I must agree with the speaker that most bloggers are driven to write blogs not for monetary consideration but by sheer passion and determination.

Mr. Mark Joseph Delgado – his blog got nominated at the Emerging Influential Bloggers 2011, a worldwide writing project for blogs one year old and below. He had also been invited to write reviews and cover events by different brands locally and internationally. Currently, the second speaker is taking -up Blog and Social Media Entrepreneurship classes under the instruction of Ms. Janette Toral, a leading online marketing practitioner in the Philippines.

He compared Brand Activation to the famous and ‘best selling’ book, Hunger Games, for the Best marketing tools. To sum his lecture 1.) START with a Purpose 2. ) Connect with Identity 3. ) Choose Your Weapon 4.) Create Alliances 5. ) Make Sure They Remember You

Third speaker is Mr. Jason Acidre

He is the founder and Strategist at Xight Interactive , He started playing counterstrike professionally before he ended up as a research writer, blogger and then eventually became an SEO Specialist.

Fourth speaker is Mr. Sean Patrick Si

( photo is from the website of http:// seo-hacker.org)

He studied Information and communications Technology management in DLSU. He is a blogger and writer at my blog “God and you”. He is a SEO Specialist, Web Developer and blogging coach/consultant. He is a Business-minded, Chinese-blooded Filipino and a God-fearing, Bible-believing, Born-again Christian.

Website: http://seo-hacker.com/services/

I remembered three important ” things” that are needed in his On Site Optimization 101 lecture : 1.) Title Tag 2.) Key Density 3. )Keyword Prominence and Proximity

Mr. Kim Tyrone Agapito

Mr. Kim Tyrone Agapito is a SEO Professional and Lecturer; Internet Marketer; Content Strategist and Search Specialist; Creative Writer; TV Writer and Producer. He is also an occasional hardcore Gamer, Pet Lover and Movie fanatic from University of the Philippines. He also had the opportunity of working in both ABS-CBN channel 2 and GMA channel 7 , Two of the largest Philippine television .

Website: http://www.kimoftheworld.com/

He ask the participants on what is really important in blogging QUALITY or QUANTITY? I like the way he presented Iron man character aspects . Joining a bloging network , social networking sites, forums and groups.

L-R Mr. Kim Tyrone Agapito, Mr. Jason Acidre and Mr. Sean Patrick Si

The three speakers entertained questions from the crowd after their presentation .

representative from Unilab

A representative from the company talks about the brief history of Unilab, The social networking community mutal role in the promotion of their lifestyle events. ULAH (Unilab Active Health) stands as Unilab’s advocacy for the Filipino’s health and wellness. ULAH manifests itself concretely in its year-long program of activities highlighted by TRI UNITED, the triathlon, BIKE UNITED, the cycling event, and RUN UNITED, the running event.

He also presented the calendar of marathon in which Unilab will initiate and organize.

To learn more about the company events and other projects : http://www.unilabactivehealth.com/aboutulah.html

The author took some time in asking the company representative who are their beneficiaries of their fund raising activities . He was quick to cite some communities and NGO groups.

a lovely promotional girl from Kopiko Philippines, the company had a sampling of free coffee , candies and warm smiles to all

The participants were given lunch packs courtesy of Unilab , one of the major sponsor of the event. By that time, the first day crowd reached over 600 people !

Mr. Danilo A. Arao

Professor Danilo A. Arao is an assistant professor of the Department of Journalism at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication(UP CMC) .

Personal blog : http://risingsun.dannyarao.com/

Professor Danny Arao

Blogging, social media and journalism: The use, misuse and abuse of freedom of expression . He also told the crowd that he was a victim of character assassination and cyber bullying .

We Don’t Want Anarchy Right ? Showing the recent NAIA scuffle between Mon Tulfo , Claudine and Raymart Santigao

Here are some simple lessons he shared with the participants : 1. ) be level -headed to engage in a healthy debate 2. ) Be mature enough to ignore personal attacks 3.) Don’t stoop to the level of the individuals whose concept of debate is maximizing logical fallacies .

He also shared Blogger’s Code of Ethics : 1. ) Be Honest and Fair 2. ) Minimized harm 3. ) Be Accountable

Mr. Tonyo Cruz

( Photo from http://www.formspring.me/tonyocruz/picture )

Mr. Tonyo Cruz is a blogger and social media practitioner based in Manila. He wears many hats online and offline. He is a former reporter for Philippine English-language newspaper Malaya (Free), and served as press officer for a number of cause-oriented groups and party-list Members of Congress. He studied sociology at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. He is a graduate of the Manila Science High School.

Personal site: http://tonyocruz.com/

Asian Correspondence : http://asiancorrespondent.com/author/tonyocruz/

Social media, especially blogging, play a role in propelling advocacies and causes, whether by individuals or organizations. What the trends and tools in the arsenal of social media that have been and could be used for social change. Recent calamities like Bagyong Ondoy ( International name Typhoon Ketsana ) in September 2009 and Bagyong Sendong ( International name Typhoon Washi ) last December 2011.

Help in the mobilization of much need assistance from government, private sectors and the international community .

Ms. Gellie Anne Abogado

a blogger , digital artist , inline skater and a video gamer

Important details of her lecture: Unwritten Blogging Etiquette

I shall do my research well on the subject matter before I put up my blog post online.
I shall not commit any act of plagiarism.
I shall show respect to fellow bloggers, blog readers, companies, PRs or any individual who wishes to connect with my blog.
I shall blog about an event I have attended if I’m invited and came as a blogger.
I shall give my honest thoughts on products,issues and topics I would be blogging about.
I shall be accountable for all the things I put up and write about in my blog.

Mr. Lloyd Salac

Fresh perspectives about the youth and their impact on the blogging community and social media. What’s next for the blogging community and social media with youth bloggers.

He cited several youth bloggers that are active in Tumbler and in other Social Networking sites like Mr. Melvin Tordecillas, Mr. Alexis Lim, Ms. Regina Belmonte, Mr. Augustine Paredes, Ms. Lissa Kahayon , Mr. Kimpoy Feliciano, Mr. Lance de Ocampo . A lot of them have celebrity status and have been chosen as product endorser for the youth.

Mr. James Jimenez of COMELEC

After the short break , the next speaker was Mr. James Jimenez of COMELEC, He cited the role of bloggers and social networking groups in the proper dissemination of vital information needed by the general public like the voters registration .

Since the elections of last 2004, There are some bloggers that were accredited by COMELEC to cover such election event.

Mr. Boris Joaquin

Mr. Boris F. Joaquin is a social media marketing consultant, coming alongside a handful of NGOs, foundations and corporate clients. He is also a budding social entrepreneur, finding joy in bringing together people and groups through networking and partnerships.

Website : http://borisjoaquin.com/#

Mr. Gary Zaldy De Castro

Bloggers can also help spread financial literacy, I actually like the topic of the last speaker of the day, having been a graduate of a business course.

” Money is the Root of Evil ” , not true ! It is how people use money for good or for worst . He also lamented how some bloggers once earning a lot of money soon became bankrupt .

He also made a citation of a Lotto winner- Mr.Dionie Reyes (DR) For 3 months, winner of P14,125,032 in a Lotto 6/42 pull on Apr 22, 2008 – lived a life of a millionaire, something he had been yearning to experience.

He lived in a P4-million residence in a posh subdivision, gathering around in a sports application automobile (SUV), and gave goodwill money, trimming P1,000 to P 850,000, to kin and friends. He also gambled daily, womanized, and went on unchanging celebration sprees.

Link : http://mb.com.ph/node/354133/lotto-winner-

After the lecture, the organizers raffled -off items like 8th i-Blog t-shirts , Pro-Active packs among others.