Tatt Awards gets loud and proud

MANILA, Philippines - I understand that this section’s existence requires some suspension of belief. A youth section that primarily exists in the newspaper? We’re a weekly contradiction.

After the late ‘90s-to-mid ‘00s salad days of broadsheet sensations, we’ve got a lot to contend with. We’ve got an age group that has notoriously always needed more than a bit of coaxing to read, a medium that’s just not as by-the-minute and immediate as social media, and a platform that competes with a new world’s distractions.

Still, we’ve managed to exert our share of relevance, by using new tricks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to promote old stand-bys (the newspaper column), embracing technology instead of shunning it, and interacting with our readership more through events and activities. It’s an uphill battle but the word, we’ve found, is still good—at least judging from the consistently enthusiastic response we get from you guys. And at the end of the day, there’s still no getting over the excitement of the printed page. Old thrills, sure, but still thrilling for sure.

When Globe Tattoo asked to team up with this newspaper section for Tatt Awards, their annual party celebrating the best and brightest of the local online community, we saw yet another way we could exert our mission-vision in another aesthetic. We came up with the Future Perfect Blog of the Year Award, a distinction for an up and coming site that manages to push local culture in a unique way. At the end of the day, this is what Young STAR is about, after all: Youth plus their passions, minus the bull.

Tatt Awards 2013 was held July 5 at the Peninsula Manila. Hosted by TV hosts Bianca Gonzalez and Atom Araullo, the awards night was well attended, with performances by Zia Quizon (ending the night with a medley of Carole King classics), FlipTop Battle pioneer Abra and former Philippine Idol finalist Pow Chavez, and YouTube sensation Sebastian Castro.

The complete list of Tatt Awards 2013 winners are:

Blogger Phenom of the Year: The Professional Heckler (professionalheckler.wordpress.com)

Trending Twitter Phenom of the Year: Kimpoy Feliciano (@kimpoyfeliciano)

YouTube Phenom of the Year: Jamich

 (www.youtube.com/user/JamichTV)

Instagram Phenom of the Year: Patrick Dee (@patrickdee)

Best Social Media Movement: Gawad Kalinga (www.gk1world.com)

Best Comedy in YouTube: Lloyd Cadena (www.youtube.com/user/LloydCafeCadena2)

Best Music on YouTube: Abra (www.youtube.com/user/aabraaTV)

Best Sports Blog: Takbo.ph (www.takbo.ph)

Best Tech Blog: Unbox Podcast (www.unbox.ph/)

Best Style Blog: David Guison (davidguison.com/)

Best Photo Blog: When in Manila (www.wheninmanila.com/)

Best Travel/Food Blog: Filipino Recipes (www.pinoyrecipe.net/)

Best Podcast: Becky Nights (www.youtube.com/user/beckynights)

Future Perfect Blog of the Year: Stache Magazine (http://stachemagazine.com/)

Blogger Phenom for Davao: AJ Perez (http://www.ajperez.org)

Blogger Phenom for Cebu: Carlo Villarica (www.zerothreetwo.com)

Twitter Phenom for Davao: Naprey Almario (@NapreyAlmario)

Twitter Phenom for Cebu: Sinugbang Sugbo (@SinugbangSugbo)

Tattoo Triple Threat for Davao: Algene Cutamora (www.iamthecoffeechic.com)

Tattoo Triple Threat for Cebu: Philippine Street Fashion (www.philippinestreetfashion.com)

The major category winners received cash prizes of P100,000 each, while special award winners received P50,000 each from Tattoo Broadband. The winner for the Young STAR category then received P20,000 together with a Tattoo Media Pad and one-year subscription.

For last Friday’s Tatt Awards 2013, Young STAR teamed up with photographer Gabby Cantero for a studio setup that gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “photo booth.”