racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Got home this midnight from the “first SEO Philippines BeerCon”:http://www.macalua.com/2006/10/23/seo-philippines-beercon-2006/ (hey, it’s October, after all!). I’m too tired to give a detailed explanation of everything that happened, so let me just use the ol’ trusty bullet points.

* Mr. “SEO Philippines”:http://seophilippines.org “Marc Macalua”:http://www.macalua.com talked on the mission of SEO Philippines as an organization, and as well its plans (and hopes) for the foreseeable future. We want to help professionalize the SEO and search engine marketing industry in the country.
* New Google country consultant Aileen Apolo gave her keynote about Google’s strategies and how the Philippines fits in. She also said (reiterated, actually) that she’s Google’s eyes and ears here in the Philippines. She’s out to feel the market and the environment, particularly on what we need and how Google can best serve (and earn from) us.
* Marc also explained the mechanics of the second SEO Philippines keyword ranking contest. This time, it’s a triple jackpot system–we’ll be fighting for top positions in Google, Yahoo! and MSN.
* *Second contest keywords: ituloy angsulong*
* First monthly raffle of an 80GB iPod was held.
* Buffet dinner, finger-foods and free-flowing beer!
* Great band: *Peppermint Jam*. We had a great serving of ’80s music rendered in acoustic fashion.

Some of whom I met tonight: Anton, Migs, Abe, Jozzua, Erwin, Jayvee, and of course Marc. (Who else?)

Thanks to the sponsors for another great techie meet-up event! In this case, Lakeside SQL was there. Did I miss anyone?

I was unable to post about the Isulong SEOPH awarding night earlier because of the extended power outage we had in our part of town. I thought power would’ve already been restored, but it turns out we lost power again after coming back home, and it wouldn’t return until two days after.

Caren and I generally had a good time, save for some not-so-pleasant observations of some people (don’t ask). The food and refreshments were okay (Jason treated me to a pre-event beer. Thanks Jason!), but the venue was a bit cramped. I think Marc wanted people to have more intimate space to interact, so he chose not to set the event up at a larger place.

I just arrived home from the (first) Philippine BlogCon 2006 and I’m dog tired. Working out at the gym this afternoon was probably not such a good idea. My legs hurt–probably because I used an ill-fitting old pair of shoes to work out. And I had to walk a mile (almost?) across three shopping malls from the Ayala MRT station to Greenbelt 3, where the National Sports Grill is located. (Reminder to self: get a car. Soon.)

But it was worth it. I got to meet up with old friends and former colleagues from dotPH (you know who you are), the usual suspects (the bloggers and probloggers I always get to meet during blogging events), the sponsors (the Globe Innove people from the last Globe-sponsored blogger meetup) and new faces.

I wasn’t able to listen much to the presentations since I came in a bit late, and my group was holed up in this corner table, hence the low visibility, and–yes–higher propensity for side-discussions. My mother actually asked me, earlier this evening when I picked up the calling cards I asked her to print (more about this later), why I wasn’t speaking this time. I told her that in events like these, it’s usually best to stay in the sidelines and get to meet the people. That’s where the real stuff happens.

Networking

The primary reason for my attendance is to network with people, and possibly look out for new business prospects, and I consider this blogger meet-and-greet to be successful in that regard. This time around, I got several inquiries on the problogging/writing jobs I had written about. I met with some very capable game writers, and I’m hoping we can get to talk soon, and that our discussions turn out to be fruitful. I also had inquiries on whether I had other requirements that weren’t game-related, and for this I would have to refer them to my other contacts in need of bloggers for other niches.

Of course, people asked me about the PayPal for the Philippines campaign and we got to exchange ideas about the need for payment gateways in the country. I also got wind that PayPal is actually on its way to setting up here. Of course, those are still unconfirmed info tidbits, but it’s good to hear something is happening, whether influenced by the campaign or not.

One Big Community

What’s great about meet-and-greet events like these is that the people seem to be familiar with almost everyone else, even if it’s usually their first time to meet. Here’s where the virtual community extends to the real world. In the blogsphere, we usually know people by the ideas they communicate and the opinions they make on their blogs. In the real world, you see a new face or hear a familiar name, and you get to connect that face with the person’s online persona.

You see your online correspondents in the flesh, and it feels great!

Handing Out Calling Cards

I wrote before (a long time ago) that blogs are the new digital handshake, that one doesn’t usually need calling cards anymore these days. It turns out that calling cards are important, after all. No matter how digital we get, and even if most–or even all–of our clients are online, one still needs something tangible to hand out to people one meets.

And here’s where the calling card comes in. Weeks, months, and even years after, when emails get archived, blog links get buried deep in blogrolls, and text messages get deleted, calling cards will be there to stay. Even if the contact details, companies (or businesses) and interests change, physical cards are likely to remind the recpient of the person who gave it, and the circumstances of their meeting. That’s why it’s a good idea to note down on the business/calling card the date, venue, and event where you met the giver.

Speaking of calling cards, here’s my latest one, designed and expertly cut by myself (concept blatantly stolen borrowed from Abe’s “kickass Web2.0 calling card” idea).

The card says problogger / tech evangelist / new media consultant. Wow, what does that mean?

Photos

I wasn’t able to get many shots, since I was busy with my primary objective–that is, getting to talk to people. But here are a few photos I was able to squeeze in.

Pinoy Big Blogger Retz, in the flesh!

Fellow man-blogger, Noisy Noisy Man Ade Magnaye

i.ph webmaster Randy (right)

Dash-Media and fellow Man Bloggers people Marco “The Site Guy” and Peter

Abe Olandres, thinking of his blog-derived millions

Jayvee of b5media/m|ph and Peter

Check out my Flickr photoset for larger versions.

Linklove!

Here are a few of the people I got to meet. Sorry if I can’t post a complete list of names and links for now (I tend to be forgetful). Please do post a comment so I can add you.

* Abe Olandres
* Peter Juan
* Randy Nivales
* Kevin Codamon
* Jayvee Fernandez
* Juned Sonido
* Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
* Sonnie Santos
* Jennifer Velasco (Globe Innove)
* “Retz Ruiz”:http://retzwerx.com
* Marco “The Site Guy” Palinar
* “Ade Magnaye”:http://blog.ademagnaye.com
* Noel Bautista
* “Mike Abundo”:http://mikeabundo.com
* “Jun Asis”:http://www.intourpreneur.com/

‘Til next year, or next time. Now, back to work …

As I write this, there’s only a week and a few hours left to go for the Isulong SEOPH contest. This is basically your usual search engine ranking contest, where the ones at the top of Google search by the end of the duration for a certain keyword would be awarded the prizes.

Digital Filipino Janette Toral invited me to the One Internet Day event in Manila, which also coincides with the Digital Filipino Club’s 7th anniversary. Among the topics to be discussed are as follows:

* E-Commerce for National Competitiveness
* Data Privacy and E-Commerce
* Building Buzz with Blogs
* Panel: State of E-Payment in the Philippines
* Panel: New E-Commerce Opportunities
* Panel: Making E-Commerce Work

I’ll try to post photos and updates as things happen. Good thing there’s free WiFi here.

Bloggers spotted so far: Noemi Dado and of course, Janette. Atty. JJ Disini is also here (he’s a speaker) but I haven’t seen him around yet.

You can check out this photoset on my Flickr for some snapshots:

Me, liveblogging!

DTI Dir. Ludy Yaptinchay, keynote speaker

DTI Dir. Domingo Bagaporo

Awarding of the drafters of the E-Commerc Act by-laws

Maoi Arroyo talks about blogging for buzz

Unfortunately, I had to leave the event early. So I’ll just refer you to Janette’s blog and the Digital Filipino website for recaps of the event.