I have this habit of random blog hopping and because of it; I got to know about the Philippine Blog Con 2006 that was held last September 25, 2006 in the National Sports Grill, Greenbelt 3, Makati City. Traditionally, whenever you put a word “Con” or “Conference” at certain event, the first thing that would pop in your head would be a seminar of some sort. I have a lot of shoulda’ woulda’ coulda’(s) in my life and this is definitely one of it.
Pros:
1. The event was swarming with food, which made me regret having a heavy dinner before going.
2. Globe, a communication conglomerate sponsoring the said event, made it to a point that the event was for the event itself. Although they have some sort of hidden marketing agenda too, (cough, blog advertisements etc., cough) it was made so discreet, the participants, the speakers, the organizers, and the whole event itself didn’t have this sell-out feeling.
3. I participated and even emceed a few academic and non-academic events that I know if an emcee is good or not, which made me conclude that the emcees from Globe were neither good nor bad emcees.
Cons:
1. There was this speaker, this Marc guy from Ateneo, who reminded me of professors who are intelligent but very bad sharers of information. He never gave a damn if the audience understood a thing he was saying. He was like, “Okay, if you want to know about this… go to this website…”
2. If you’re new and everyone knows each other. You have this feeling of being left out.
In the end, I had to resort to buying an overpriced beer just for me not to feel empty and cheated. I went to great distance (from Fairview to downtown Makati), spent a few hundred pesos, and tired myself for all of that. You know that feeling of watching a mediocre movie from an overpriced movie house and somewhat, you want your money back.
Mental note to self: I respect my blog. I love my blog. I’m not in it for the money, yet.
Pros:
1. The event was swarming with food, which made me regret having a heavy dinner before going.
2. Globe, a communication conglomerate sponsoring the said event, made it to a point that the event was for the event itself. Although they have some sort of hidden marketing agenda too, (cough, blog advertisements etc., cough) it was made so discreet, the participants, the speakers, the organizers, and the whole event itself didn’t have this sell-out feeling.
3. I participated and even emceed a few academic and non-academic events that I know if an emcee is good or not, which made me conclude that the emcees from Globe were neither good nor bad emcees.
Cons:
1. There was this speaker, this Marc guy from Ateneo, who reminded me of professors who are intelligent but very bad sharers of information. He never gave a damn if the audience understood a thing he was saying. He was like, “Okay, if you want to know about this… go to this website…”
2. If you’re new and everyone knows each other. You have this feeling of being left out.
In the end, I had to resort to buying an overpriced beer just for me not to feel empty and cheated. I went to great distance (from Fairview to downtown Makati), spent a few hundred pesos, and tired myself for all of that. You know that feeling of watching a mediocre movie from an overpriced movie house and somewhat, you want your money back.
Mental note to self: I respect my blog. I love my blog. I’m not in it for the money, yet.
14 comments:
At least I got to shake your hand. =) But look at it this way: the events could only get better. Nice meeting you.
Er... I would imagine that you met a few interesting people, at least. That's always good, right? :)
I thought it was too short to really go around and meet/greet everyone. Di bale, next time, I'll try to make it more engaging. The signature campaign didn't turn out the way I wanted it. It should have been a random blogger and not just a few people. Hope this does not dampen your enthusiasm in the next event.
Jeff,
I remember you...You were asking me pa nga if the food was free...Ok lang yun...ako nga I came all the way from San Pedro, Laguna.
By judging the photo on your profile, I think I saw you there! =) Am sorry I didn't get to meet you. Next time perhaps? A little less formal gathering maybe?
Well, thanks for the comments. I only said a declarative sentence and I mean it as it is. It may sound that I'm a bit disappointed with what happened but here's a good way of looking at it, or not... The first would always be the worst... ;p
Jeff, now that we know you've emceed a few times before, you better be there next time. =)
It's always difficult the first time, but I'm sure the next ones will better. The more you attend, you'll get to know more bloggers personally, and that's where the fun really starts. =)
One more thing, let's try talking more about blogging as it is in the next meetup, and stay away from problogging talks, at least for a good part of the night. :) It's not always about the money, and I'm sure we all agree. =)
Like I said in my short talk, just keep on blogging because you never know what will come out of it. Sadly, the night was really short...i really wanted to socialize with everyone. But we will have more meets. Hopefully you can join again.
markku: "...stay away from problogging talks, at least for a good part of the night. :) It's not always about the money, and I'm sure we all agree. =)"
- I guess so. The part where everyone talked too much about money and pro blogging really sucked.
ey, i was there too, and i share a few of your observations. i felt iffy about not knowing most of the guys in the room, and all that talk about money didn't really resonate with me -- not yet, anyway. perhaps next time would be a more felicitous experience, and that includes saying hi to and shaking hands with you. :)
ey, i was there too, and i share a few of your observations. i felt iffy about not knowing most of the guys in the room, and all that talk about money didn't really resonate with me -- not yet, anyway. perhaps next time would be a more felicitous experience, and that includes saying hi to and shaking hands with you. :)
I was also there! I think I saw you around, and too bad I wasn't able to meet you. However, I did feel a little out of place also, but it won't stop me from meeting people in the future.
Hope to see you at the next BlogCon!
on a plus note, thank y' all for the words of encouragement. however, I'm not so sure about the next BlogCon, if ever... ;p
Hello!
I am contacting you because I am working with the authors of a book about blogs, and I'd like to request permission to use the photograph you have posted in this book. Please contact me at matt@wefeelfine.org, and I'd be happy to give you more information about the project. Please paste a link to your blog in the subject field. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Matt
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