By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

There are over 10 million blogs, podcasts, and videocasts worldwide and many of these are created to talk about a person’s ideas. Some are about like-minded groups who talk about basically anything under the sun, from technology, finance, gaming, politics, lifestyle, entertainment, among other things. What if “netizens”, at least for one day, talk about one thing only, one subject that could perpetrate one idea that may change the world?

To encourage bloggers to be part of that change, a small group of them have dedicated October 15 of every year to Blog Action Day. This year’s main theme will be on poverty, a perpetual issue that affects more than half the world’s population.

So far, there are 9,887 blogs, podcasts and webcasts joining, with an estimated 10,800,000 audiences, the website says.

Blog Action Day’s goal is to talk about one topic, particularly a global issue.

It also intends to create a venue for people to share their ideas that can be used to spur change. They will only talk of one topic every year. The group intends to show the world that the Internet is a viable platform for change.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

SAN JUAN City, Manila – They start late at night, with bags of junk food and pizzas. They sit on floors covered with mattresses and small tables and put their footwear on the cold cement. Around them are paintings and sculptures from fine arts students and their mentors. It’s a scene typical of an art gala but people here are not talking just about art — they’re hoping to share in national change through their blogs.

And at the last small and intimate gathering at the My Little Art Place in San Juan City, the group of amateur and professional bloggers talks about how blogging is changing information dissemination.

The event is simply called Philippine Bloggers’ Night. Essentially, the event is a workshop on creating a blog and how individuals and other institutions are using it. Some bloggers gave insights about how they built their blogs and what they focus on. Others shared how media companies are adapting to the changes brought about by the Internet. The realization is that media is not the gatekeeper of information anymore. The power to disseminate has also been given to the ordinary individual.

Of course, being in an art place, the event also has some creative essence to it. Percussionist Paul Zialcita showed some of his instruments, such as a daiko-like drum that is actually made out of a garbage can and a drum made out of a half-filled water gallon placed on top of the opening of a hand-made baby walker. There is also a performance by “spokenword” artist Miko Pepito and recording artist Nityalila.

The event is organized by a group of bloggers calling themselves Flippyknows, whose name is a play of the word “Filipino.” Just as their tagline says, “Because the Filipino Knows,” the group focuses on encouraging Filipinos to develop their creativity and also on technology.

For this particular night, the group also partnered with Team RP, who is advocating change in the society for the sake of truth, accountability and reform.

After a successful night, both groups are hoping to continue holding such events to encourage people to get involved in social issues while enjoying creativity at its simplest.

Editor’s Note: We’re reposting this article with permission from Filipino blogger Juned Sunido. Catch him as he blogs at Baratillo @ Cubao.

+++

By Juned Sonido

WITHIN a span of two years a lot of things have changed. It would seem that the blogger has entered mainstream. First, blogging is slowly being recognized as an Internet medium: Another source of news, information and opinion available through the Web. Second, a lot of marketing, public relations and companies seem to be recognizing this thus the increase engagement with the bloggers through contests, events and product launches. Third, bloggers are often stereotyped or miscast as ranters or in it for the money.

There is nothing wrong with ranting via blogging and nothing wrong with making money from blogging. For me its not the end all, be all and sole reason why I blog. It is more complex than that and the blogs are not a thing one can conveniently pigeon-hole.

And sure enough a lot of opportunities are opening up to bloggers. A lot are now treated like media as they are invited to press launches and a greater number are tapped to spread the word about a certain product or bit of information. These are done via press launches and events.

The question comes up: should a blogger avoid going to press launches and events?

It is an option that the blogger might take. Then again the blogger might also take to attending press launches and events. There are reasons why the blogger opt to go. First, in order to get fresh information or news about something–product, service and bits of news. Second, it is always a nice to develop contacts and make friends. At its most brutal, it is a way of developing a network of sources and information. At its best, one gets to meet true and genuine friends. Third, press launches and events provide the blogger the means to sample a new product, try a new service or preview/review a gadget. All of these contribute or add things that we can post.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Must admit, since I started micro-blogging the urge to blog has waned. Why?

1. Micro-blogs offer more interactivity.
2. Micro-blogs are easy to write. You only need 140 characters to put your message across.
3. Instant feedback. Plurk! Nuf said.
4. Micro-blogs like Twitter, Plurk are increasingly attracting more people (growing community).
5. Blogs are getting spammed. Micro-blogs not yet (or not as prevalent as blogs).

Bloggeratto offers some explanation. But as Socialmediatoday puts it: both serve a different purpose. Socialmediatoday writes:

The majority of my social interactions are online & I’ve gotten to know people quite well thru Twitter. It is well worth my time. But I also need to be blogging. Investing in both is valuable for me & each offers unique paybacks.

What about you? What are your thoughts?

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

THE proliferation of weblog tool and publishing platforms, such as Blogspot, Wordpress and its evolution to include multimedia content such as art sketches, photographs, music and video drove a shift in paradigm of publishing and sharing information. Everyone has power to become an author and publisher.

In the corporate space, executives use blogs to deliver opinion on the industry and information on their products and offerings. Then there’s the personal blog. For most of us, the blog has become the extension of dairies, chronicling personal events and a sentimental log of personal statements on almost anything. For some, it becomes a therapy to deal with pain or loss. Still, others try to provide entertainment by dishing out entries of a fictional, intelligent house help.

Sharing anecdotes, opinions or thoughts is inherent to us Filipinos. Given this and the blog, it is all but possible to turn the Filipino blogosphere as social catalyst for positive change. The act of blogging in itself is a form of struggle to express opinion.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

BEFORE aspiring writers would need thousands of pesos in order to publish a book.

Today, being published is just a click away. For some, they only need to pay P25 for computer rental.

Blog has revolutionized the way people get published on the Internet. It has opened a window of opportunities to amateurs and professional writers. During the Pistang Panitik at the 29th Manila International Book Fair, literary writers Vlad Gonzales, Marne Kilates, Dean Alfar, Vic Nierva and Sonny Villafania shared their experiences on how they use their blogs and how it helped them promote their literary works.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Izah Morales

The Philippine Blog Awards (PBA) is set to recognize more blogs this year, organizers said.

This year’s PBA will give away 36 awards under 3 divisions, namely Best Blog, Best Single Blog Post, and Special Awards divisions, and 15 categories, organizers said. Last year, PBA only gave 15 awards to local bloggers.

“This shows that the Filipino blogging community is actually growing,” said PBA vice head and chief executive officer Juned Sonido in an interview.

For this year, a total of 600 nominees joined the PBA. About 5 to 10 nominees will be judged per category.

Blogs will be generally judged based on content design and usability, but the Best Blog Post division will be evaluated based solely on content, organizers said.

Judges were tapped to choose the winning blogs. However, bloggers and readers are given the chance to vote for their favorite blog under the Bloggers’ Choice Award category.

According to a Universal McCann study, the Philippines has the highest growth rate in “blogging engagements” in 3 years. The country has also exceeded the global average for blog readership – 72.8 percent in 2008 –growing form 33 percent in September 2006 to 64 percent in June 2007, and 90.3 percent in May 2008.

With more blogs becoming more “mainstream,” Sonido said bloggers should now be more responsible for what they write. “Each blog is a representation of your idea on the internet. It’s like a kaleidoscope of ideas,” he added.

The Philippine Blog Awards is scheduled on September 21, 2008 at the One Esplanade.

AT least two bloggers, a journalist, and one opposition politician were arrested under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA) on September 12 in what media and activists are afraid may be the start of a wider crackdown ahead of an anticipated opposition push to gain control of parliament next week, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) said.

SEAPA said in a statement that Malaysia’s leading blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who is also a staunch government critic on his website “Malaysia Today,” was the first to be arrested in this week’s arrests.

Journalist Tan Hoon Cheng who works Sin Chew Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper that had recently covered a controversial outburst from a ruling party member who called the ethnic Chinese community “squatters,” was also reportedly arrested, SEAPA said quoting reports from. Malaysiakini.com.

Lawmaker Teresa Kok of the Chinese-based DAP and Deputy Chief Minister in Selangor was also arrested under the ISA, SEAPA said.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Journalist Dana Batnag put out this question in a blog entry dated August 11.

She writes:

Where are the bloggers of Mindanao, the citizen journalists who we have hoped would keep us updated on the ARMM elections? The ARMM elections are the first automated elections in the country. If all goes well, the government hopes to also automate the 2010 national elections. I was expecting blogs on the elections — how the machines worked and how the people reacted to them, even pictures on the voting precincts and the voters. I was told there had been no posts as of lunchtime, but maybe that was because the voting wasn’t over yet at that time.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

BLOGCRITICS.ORG, an online blog community of bloggers providing news and reviews, announced that it has been acquired by blog search service Technorati.

Blogcritics joined the Technorati Media Network in June but there are no plans to merge the two properties, Blogcritics said.

In an e-mail newsletter to its subscribers and contributors, Blogcrritics said Technorati intends to grow the Blogcritics community, where more than 2,000 bloggers and authors contribute.

Blogcritics said it has been providing “bloggers with an entry point to publish their content to a much broader audience than their own blogs afford.”

[Read the rest of this entry »]