The Philippine Online Chronicles

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iBlog5, the 5^th Philippine Blogging Summit, was held last May 9 at the Malcolm Theater in UP College of Law, UP Diliman.

With around 300 participants, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, the entire event was brimming with excitement from members of the blogosphere and expectations of an information-filled day from its speakers.

Though the weather exhibited its fickleness last Saturday, the Malcolm Theater was still barely enough to house the number of attendees this year.

Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, one of the event's organizers, said on her blog that "there were more bloggers this time compared to the previous years." Organizers were overwhelmed with the turnout of this year's summit (resulting in a number of people without food stubs), yet were thankful for everyone who decided to attend.

The attendees proved their interest in the topics presented, when the event ended almost half an hour past its scheduled end due to the questions launched at every speaker.

Bloggers' role in the 2010 elections

A good portion of the afternoon session of the iBlog5 was dedicated to talks regarding the 2010 elections, particularly on how bloggers can participate in the upcoming event.

Atty. James Jimenez, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) EID director, talked of the potential power the blogosphere holds in influencing public opinion for the 2010 elections. According to him, what bloggers can do is not so much affect the results, but "change the atmosphere" or the "way people see politics." He enumerated ways in which bloggers can accomplish such feats, including organizing internet campaigns for certain causes or publishing opinion pieces.

Jimenez added that "blogging is a powerful tool," because it makes information more "engaging" by giving a new "dimension" to it compared to just reading the news. He further commended the comments feature of blogs, which increases feedback and interactivity between the author and the audience.

The internet, according to organizer Janette Toral, is an "interesting block" to take on, since members of the blogosphere are "not easily swayed" and are "opinionated." She agreed with Jimenez by saying that bloggers publishing opinions on their respective websites "can be a form of citizen journalism."

"Do not hesitate to express your opinions," she emphasized.

Toral noted that social networks can be a "battleground for political opinions." Browsing through these sites can be a way to gauge various perspective for issues concerning the elections. Toral encouraged fellow bloggers to report also on local elections, and give commentary on newspaper coverage of the event.

She also advocated the creation of a Bloggers Election Handbook to provide the guidelines for bloggers to be effective citizen journalists, especially during the elections. Toral encouraged bloggers to join the social networking site and participate actively.

Padded with information

Attendees left the venue stuffed with knowledge imparted by fellow bloggers on the how-to's of blogging.

During the morning session, speakers gave insightful discussions on their respective areas of expertise: the basics of blogging were covered by Micaela Rodriguez and AJ Matela; photo blogging by Faith Salazar and Fritz Tentativa; video blogging by Azrael Coladilla and Kring Elenzano; mobile blogging by Edwin "Ka Edong" Soriano; the "Do's and Don'ts of Blogging" by Benj Espina and Juned Sonido; and promoting blogs and generating traffic by Winston Almendras and Coy Caballes.

The afternoon session, aside from the election topics, provided an arena for issues in blogging to be tackled: Atty. JJ Disini's discussion on legal issues in blogging, particularly libel, invasion of privacy on the internet, and copyright issues; sharing of experiences in blog marketing and advertising by speakers from different companies, including the Philippine Online Chronicle's editorial director Kristine Mandigma; and "Blogging to the Next Level" by Fitz Villafuerte and Anton Diaz.

The organizers of the event gave away 110 free iBlog5 t-shirts in a raffle towards the end of the event.

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Photo by Ofelia T. Sta. Maria. Used with permission.