Bloggers On Camp

CEBU, Philippines - Bloggers all over Cebu gathered at the CAP Auditorium last May 22 for the Cebu Blog Camp. The event was aimed at featuring the skills of the bloggers offline and was also a venue to discuss the latest on the web, search engine optimization (SEO), making money online, online journalism, and almost anything related to blogs.

The event was a first here in Cebu and it recognized the importance of the island in the field of blogging. Noobs on blogging were also there together with the so-called “veterans” in the Cebu blogosphere. It provided an avenue for bloggers online to meet offline and introduce each other, share their learnings, establish connections and of course, do some camwhoring.

Prominent bloggers from different parts of the country were invited to speak for the gathering.

The discussions started with Mica Rodriguez (www.micamyx.com), a Philippine Blog Awards 2009 Bloggers’ Choice Awardee, for the topic “Blogging 101.” The basics of blogging, the anatomy of a blog post and the blogging platforms available online were discussed. This was a very helpful topic for those bloggers who just started their blogs and wanted to know more about the basics.

Aileen Apolo-de Jesus (www. aileenapolo.com), Google Country Consultant for Philippines, shared her knowledge on “Blogging with Blogger and AdSense.” The topic focused on using Blogger as a platform for blogging (which I have been using for seven years already since I started blogging in high school), utilizing the Blogger designer to tweak the layout and design of your blog, and also, the most favorite source of online income of some bloggers, Google AdSense.

One of the Philippine Blog Awards 2009 – Visayas Organizer, Evanjohnn Mendoza (www.focalglass.com) shared his expertise on photoblogging and videoblogging. There are just some things that you need to do to be a good photoblogger and videoblogger. He said it does not matter what camera you use as long as you know how to create stories from your photos or videos.

“Practical Tips in Becoming an Influential Blogger” was the topic discussed by Janette Toral (www.bloggingfromhome. com), founder of Digital Filipino and author of Blogging from Home. The talk focused on the approaches that a blogger can take in building, promoting, sustaining, and taking his/her blog to the next level. She also shared a bit of mind-mapping to the audience in explaining her topic.

Anticipating the role that blogging can do for a community, Ria Jose (http://riajose.wordpress.com) from Davao Bloggers discussed how your blog can help in community building. She has done this in Davao and I believe we can do this here in Cebu and even in the entire country. One’s good advocacy can be broadcasted thru blogs. Expect that you are not alone in your advocacy in a world of 6 billion people and a lot of those connected online.

Having a blog entails responsibility on the side of the blogger. Juned Sonido (www.baratillo.net) of the Philippine Blog Awards, Inc. shared to the audience “Blogging Ethics.” It is a common knowledge that everyone can assume to be a blogger when that person has a blog, but a blogger who exercises blogging ethics gives more meaning to being a blogger.

Jayvee Fernandez (www.abuggedlife.com), a pro-blogger (professional blogger) talked about how to market your blog, increase its presence online and driving traffic to it. He also shared his epiphany through his presentation. He showed a video on how rich and diverse our country is, especially in terms of marine and aquatic resources. Most of us bloggers who were there were really fascinated by the presentation.

Tonyo Cruz (www.tonyocruz.com) of Asian Correspondents meanwhile tackled how to empower the bloggers in using blogging as a tool for journalism. He believes that bloggers can make an impact in society by reporting news, sharing photos and videos, and sharing them to other bloggers. But at risk here is the authenticity of what is being shared. This is where blogging ethics play an important role.

Wrapping up the whole day event was Wilson Ng of NgKhai Technologies. With the topic “Blogging: Personal Branding,” he spoke about how to make your blog stand out and convert it as your own brand.