It’s been more than two days since the first Philippine iBlog Summit, and apart from my live up-to-date reporting of some relevant events that transpired during the said bloggers’ meetup (here, here, here, and here), I feel I owe it to my readers (all two of them?) to now reflect on my experiences and observations.

I arrived at the venue a little after 8 in the morning, since I had to do my share in setting up the i.PH

signup booth along with colleagues Emil, Alvin, Jolo, Wilma, Issa and Mike (and

since I contributed three laptops in all).  Unfortunately, Mike

and Issa met an accident at East Ave. corner V. Luna Road.  The

motorbike they were riding had a flat front tire and they fell off

balance (they suffered minor scratches and the scare of their

lives–who won’t be scared with the sheer number of buses plying East

Ave?).  I had to

meet them to fetch some equipment they brought from the office.

Fast forward to a few minutes later at the NISMED Auditorium. 

After successfully setting up the WLAN access point and sharing one

connection with via cross-over connection (one of our laptops didn’t

have WLAN), we proceeded to go live on the net via UP’s connection.  Many thanks to Emer Bañez (Bangus Supremacy) of UP Law for coordinating the setup with NISMED and helping out during the event itself.

Great.  The i.PH signup sites were up.  Skype was  up

(for our demo).  People are beginning to check out i.PH and sign

up for their free accounts.  Everything was set.  It was time

to meet people.

I first got to chat with Sacha Chua,

whom I haven’t met in ages.  Last time we met in person was during

an EB back in our BBSing days.  We were both too young to drink,

drive, and get married.  Now I’m married and Sach’s into drinking

and driving (just kidding).  We caught up with what each other was

into these days, and we were pretty surprised we had quite a number of

things in common in terms of our advocacies and interests (i.e., her BHAGs).  Pretty cool, I thought.  Yet another blast from the past.  I also got to meet her significant other, Dom Cimfranca.  They make a perfect techie pair.

Sacha was with geekette friends Clair Ching and Charo Nuguid.

Also got to meet Atty. Adrian Sison,

who’s into business radio.  Had quite a discussion about

podcasting and how I’m really into business blogging as a form of

corporate communication–blogging gives a human face to an organization/company.

Also met Pocholo Gonzales,

who’s quite the entrepreneur.  One of his main advocacies is youth

empowerment through information technology, which I likewise

share.  We talked about how he intends to professionalize the

voice-over talent industry in the country, and how certain media

entities are exploiting voice talents, especially the younger set.

And of course, there’s Alecks Pabico, who made a presentation on journalist-blogging on behalf of PCIJ (site / blog). 

I publicly commended his group for deciding to go into blogging, since

PCIJ is perhaps the most authoritative and credible journalist group in

the country.

Got to chat for a while with ABC 5’s Jove Francisco,

with whom I have been exchanging emails for quite some time now (guess

what about–blogging!).  Also had a chat with GMA Producer Alwyn

Alburo, who discussed with me the dynamics of news and public affairs

in the big media.

Also ran into Von Totanes,

who turns out to be the brother of Verchie, an Ateneo High School classmate of

mine.  He’s a a librarian who’s at present working on a project for the ADB.  I

promised to visit when I get to pass by (or through)

ADB one of these days.

Also met Ederic Eder, whom I had previous dealings with through the BNC forums, as well as Christian Jeff Garma of ang jspot ni garma (namesake ), Mike Aquino (micketymoc), and Ren Paul.

Also got to meet speakers Abe Olandres (Yuga) and Connie Veneracion (Sassy Lawyer herself!).  Pretty interesting people.  With pretty interesting personalities to match!

Of course, what’s an event without rubbing elbows with the organizers themselves, the iBlog organizers (among others) Atty. JJ Disini and Atty. Rissa Ofilada.

i.PH was able to sign up about 70 people for free blog.standard

accounts.  70 lucky people.  I hope they get to realize the

full potential of their i.PH blogs and domains.  Actually, that’s

what I’m here for.

In the end, the iBlog summit, for me, was a wake-up call to Pinoys

that blogs and blogging have much to offer–blogs are an excellent

means of communication and expression, and of course

community-building.  But the other side of the coin is that blogs

and blogging have yet to achieve mainstream status in Pinoy society and

culture.  While we are gaining momentum, especially with the

onset of high-profile journalism blogs such as PCIJ’s, and with quite a

number of mainstream media  practicioners and government officials

embracing blogging as an alternative and even primary means of

communicating to the public, we still have to reach that critical mass

where even the common tao appreciates blogs and blogging as a way of life (pretty much how mobile phones and SMS are now).

At this point, we bloggers should carry on.  Keep

posting.  Keep discussing.  Keep critiquing and

criticizing.  Keep communicating.  It will all be worth it.

See you at the next summit!

(Pics available at my gallery.  Atty. JJ has a compilation of links to other bloggers who wrote about the event.  I hope I didn’t leave out anyone.  Email me if ever.)

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