Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Mindanao bloggers to convene in Gensan for 2-day summit By Edwin G. Espejo Contributor
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- For two days beginning this weekend, cyber nuts and bloggers in the Internet from all over Mindanao will see each other eyeball to eyeball -- EB that is for the uninitiated.
It will be the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit with a theme that is as pressing and as current as today's headlines.
Bloggers who are adept at posting opinions, views, images and a cornucopia of trivia and other irrelevant information in the Internet are becoming an emerging force in today's rapidly changing information and communication technology (ICT).
They may not share the same audiences as their more established cousins in the mainstream print and broadcast media, but their voices are literally and figuratively dominating the ICT highway.
In these days of paperless news, they could explode into a major force before anyone else could realize.
Calling on others to hear them, bloggers in Mindanao are trying to foster a Mindanao consciousness.
Judging from the diversity of characters and backgrounds of bloggers who have committed to attend -- some 150 of them and still counting -- the summit wants to neutralize the negative news and stories that are coming out of Mindanao.
Among those invited to speak in the gathering is Inquirer columnist and ANC's Manolo Quezon who will offer an outsider's view of the politics and history of and commentaries about Mindanao.
Also scheduled to give their addresses are General Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. and Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez.
Bloggers who have accounts in Wordpress, Friendster, Multiply, Facebook and other blog accounts are welcome to join the summit.
The summit will be held on October 25 and 26 at the Family Country Hotel and Convention Center.
Last year's summit host was Davao City.
For more details of the event, inquiries may be made through www.gensantos.com or www.mindanaobloggers.com.
