|
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Toral: Celebrating bloggers
By Janette Toral
Digital Filipino
Last Saturday, I was in a meeting with JJ Disini (http://disini.i.ph) and the University of the Philippines (UP) Internet Society Program team to discuss the preparations for iBlog2: The 2nd Philippine Blogging Summit (http://www.iblogph.org).
I was tasked to be the conference chair for this year and we all agreed to hold the event on April 18. From Sunday until today, through the power of e-mail, we got a full program up and running, with 69 registrants so far.
In just one year, Filipino blogs have grown and evolved. These past three days, I have been able to update myself on various developments in the blogger’s eye. I monitor blogs using Bloglines.com.
For instance, Dominique Cimafranca’s blog at http://villageidiotsavant.blogspot.com/ gave an interesting preview as to how the Charter change barangay consultations took place in Dumaguete City last Saturday. It was scary as barangay officials, who are in favor of Cha-cha, often make a one-sided presentation of the benefits of amending the Constitution. His experience and sharing underscored the importance of promoting citizen and community journalism.
I also met Davao City Councilor Peter Laviña (http://www.funchain.com/~peterlavina ) who, I think, is the only elected government official who actively blogs on various issues today. The councilor is pushing for all fellow government officials in the city to look into the use of blogging as a method to reach out to constituents and foster participatory governance.
Another blogger worth noting is Dean Alfar (http://deanalfar.blogspot.com ). He will be launching his first novel, “Salamanca,” this Saturday. He wrote this under 30 days, for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2004. It was awarded the grand prize for novel at the 2005 Palanca Awards.
One person I’m eager to sit down and chat with is J. Angelo Racoma (http://jangelo.i.ph/ ). In last year’s iBlog, this guy was still working for I.PH. But I just found out that he already resigned and switched from full-time employee to full-time professional blogger. I think with blogs and friendly revenue generating programs like Google Adsense (http://www.google.com/adsense) and paying community networks, it is really much easier now to take the plunge and fight it out.
Another person with whom I’m excited to work with is Pocholo Gonzales ( http://voicemaster.podomatic.com/). This guy specializes in podcasting. We had great fun when he interviewed me last year for Podworx (http://podworx.blogspot.com).
After hearing their finished work at that time, I was really very impressed. He just started his own company providing podcasting services to firms. We are currently negotiating for the creation of a DigitalFilipino Podcast and we will let you know once it is out.
Despite the fact that bloggers can be sued for libel, note that blogs still remain as one of the most important media to exercise our freedom of expression. Use it wisely and responsibly.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 30, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
