BoyAcads at BloggersFest in Thunderbird Resort, Rizal

Blogging has definitely gone milestones in the Philippines. It has evolved into a total social experience from just mere visiting, commenting, and following other peoples’ blog to actual face-to-face interactions that allow bloggers to know more about their co-bloggers minus being in front of the computer screen. 

I recently attended BloggerFest, an event organized by Mr.Azrael Coladilla from the Manila Bloggers Network. It was a one day affair filled with workshops, talks, and mentorships, attended by almost 200 registered bloggers. It was held at the Thurderbird Resort Event Center at Binangonan, Rizal.

The first speech came from no less than the organizer himself, Mr. Coladilla who talked about the basics of blogging. Now, if he was a salesman, blogging as his product, he would definitely put me to a deal with the advantages and opportunities one could get from blogging.

The next talk came from blogger celebrity Mica Rodriguez of www.micamyx.com who shared her experience and tips in personal blogging. Listening to her made me think about the current status and the lacking elements in my previous blog design. She also pointed out the importance of blogging ethics, discerning what is bloggable and not.

I automatically used to block all technical sides of blogging from my brain when bloggers start to talk about feed, traffic, etc. , thinking I wouldn’t understand its complexity. Jonel Uy’s talk was very important since I got to understand basically what SEO is, the importance of keywords, and how to maximize weight of the posts in the search engines. For some reason he reminded me of my classmate, Carl Ortiz. Perhaps, it’s because their similar way of talking.

Another niche blogger, Anton Carranza of www.pusangkalye.net, shared his opinions on Photo blogging and responsibility of taking quality photos.

Several workshop sessions also set up. Niche blogging on Music, Food, and Photography were the topics of choice. I attended the Music and Coverage blogging where Justin Gabriel of www.justinbreathes.com and Mr. Coladilla shared their experiences on event coverage. I personally like the idea of Justin that goes like, “There is no such thing as good and bad music, only music that you like and don’t like.” After the talk we were introduced to a band named INDIOS, where we had a sort of press conference and applied what we learned from the talk.

The next talk was from Arvin Ello who talked about the importance of revision and beating the writer’s block. While the tips on getting inspiration from writing were particularly helpful, I didn’t quite get the part about the muse and the dwende. I must be spacing out that time.

JP De Leon or www.kampeonngpagibig.com seems to be a real fun guy. I loved the theatrical sense of his music-ushered entrance as he walked on the stage. His humor really stood out among the speakers of the day. Oh yeah, he talked about domain and DNS Management for blogs.

Fitz Villafuerte or www.fitzvillafuerte.com talked about “How to Write Awesome Blog Posts”. I was really looking forward to hearing this part of the program. His tips were practical as they were easy to apply in writing posts.

Overall, BloggerFest seems to be a success not only to the organizers but also to the attendees. I definitely learned a lot and got to meet people from the online community in my first attended blogger’s event. I’d be looking forward to BloggersFest next year!

** Special thanks to Kuya Anton for lending me his pictures. :)

Ang Sarap Magging Blogger!

At muling nagbabalik si BoyAcads! Namiss nyo siguro ako no? Actually wala naman nakakapansin talaga na di na ako naguupdate except sa girlfriend ko at si Kuya Anton. Siguro nagtataka kayo kung bakit Prelim exam week namin at nakakapag blog ako no?  Syempre bakasyon au grande ako ngayon..maraming salamat sa aking German measles na akala ko nung una ay allergic reaction lang (pasosyal kasi eh.. allergy daw)

Waw ah.. every year na lang may sakit akong viral.  Suki na yata ako ng UST Health Service pagdating sa mga infectious diseases. Lagi nalang Acute Viral Exanthem ung nasa reseta. At masama pa, laging muka ko ang natatamaan ng beke,bulutong o tigdas. WTF diba? But please.. not the face! Spare the face!

Naalala ko last year, sobrang depressed ko kasi tila nagging uncemented road ang muka ko dail sa dami ng bakubako. Siguro ung theme song ng mga bulutong ko non ay ung "Breaking Free" ng High School Musical sa sobrang dame. Di ko talaga kinaya yun. Dun ko na lang naexperience na gawan at implementan ng sariling Nursing Care Plan ang sarili ko. Dyahe diba?  Pero ok na ngayon, pogi parn naman diba?

Dahil sa sobrang ka ep-s ko, minsan sa bahay pa lang ina-assess ko na sarili ko using the knowledge that I have earned. (Me ganun?) Bago pa ako pumunta sa clinic, may diagnosis na ako na ako mismo gumawa. Parang for confirmation na lang talaga para makakuha ng medical certificate. Parang nung thursday, pumunta ako sa clinic at sabi ko lang, "may measles po yata ako". Pero sa loob looban ko medyo sure naman ako na measles nga iyon. Todo explain pa si doktora kung ano sakit na yun pero ok naman, magaling naman sya magexplain. Pero sa isip ko, sinasabi ko nang "I know riigghhht!?!" habang nageexplain sya kung bakit di ako pwede lumapit sa buntis at kung bakit kelangan taasan ko ang oral fluid intake.

Nagdaan ang dalawang araw, at ang isolation for 7 days instruction ko ay medyo hindi nagging isolation dahil nakipagmeet ako sa mga bloggers. Sina Kuya John, Ate Anna, Kuya Rico, Ate Kaitee, Kuya Jepoy, Kuya Glenn, at Kuya Anton. Ayun kain kain, kwento kwento, lakad lakad. Sarap talaga pag libre! :)

P.S.: Nais ko po magpasalamat kay Ate Ana Crispino at sa kanyang asawa sa pagsponsor sa akin ng NBA fully loaded meal at mga chocolates na galing Saudi. Naway di po kayo magsawa sa pagtulong sa mga higit na nangangailangan. Joke lang po :)

1st Blogger's Meet and Greet

One thing I learned as I finished reading Tuesday's with Morrie is to "invest" in people. Surround yourself with people, indulge in meaningful conversations, enjoy their diversity, and cultivate these relationships. Truly, my investment came a long way in the 1st blogger's meet up (Oo, First sa akin, second na sakanila.hehe). 

I got to meet the some of the wonderful people of the blogosphere.  It was really a fun night at Pier One, Mall of Asia Grounds except for the fact na nawala ako at napa-alay lakad ng di oras. (Lecheng guard kasi! Pinapunta ba naman ako sa pinakadulo ng MOA tapos wala naman pala dun ang Pier One).  Nagenjoy din ako sa pag commute going to the venue kasi nag-LRT ako. Ang babaw nanaman ng blog post ko, nahiya tuloy ako sa mga ibang bloggers dyan na may sense talaga ang sinasabi at sobrang galing magsulat (At maganda ang structure nila.LOL) 

Dyahe lang din kasi nakauniform pa ako. Kakagaling ko lang sa duty nyan eh, buti nga agad natapos at around 8:30 (Tsaka na ung post ko about the duty, badtrip din un eh.)

Anyway , I really enjoyed the night, sobrang laugh trip kasi. I've never really thought about how blogging could be a social thing. Andame ko talaga natutunan sa mga grown up people. este, sa mga wise people pala. 

I'm so looking forward to the next bloggers' meet up. :)

P.S. Currently nagbabasa ako ngayon ng mga blogs ng mga tao.hehe Enjoy pala. :)