baratillo @ cubao : www.baratillo.net

Recently, I was lucky enough to have been part of two events in the Philippines Internet society and the Philippines Blogosphere. First, there was the 7th anniversary celebration Digital Filipino Club[Janette, Thank you for invitation.], the club hosted a series of talks on SME and E-Commerce on One Internet Day and second, was the Philippines BlogCon 2006 last night.

I. WHY?

So … why am I writing about these two events together? If the Internet and the World Wide Web is a river, then E-commerce and blogging seem to be a particular set of river banks that appear from time to time as one journey’s the river. Sometimes they may be at opposite ends and sometimes alongside. And the opportunity to see the Web through the eyes of a blogger or pro-blogger and e-commerce person is an opportunity not easy to let by. Plus, this seems to be perfect opportunity to talk about both events.

II. DIGITAL FILIPINO CLUB’S ONE INTERNET DAY

For the One Internet Day Celebration, the Digital Filipino Club provided several presentations focused one SME and E-Commerce.
The celebration was held at one of the rooms at the AIM. All the chairs were lined up with a couple of cocktail tables lined up at the back. The ubiquitous LCD projector was primed and ready. A bit formal and business-like. The participants quietly filled up the room. The first set of speakers was a little bit late, so people began introducing themselves. We were mixed bunch representatives from big business, e-entrepreneurs, pro-bloggers, bloggers, technology advocates, and different it- experts.

The afternoon proved to be interesting and educational. A revelation and discovery of sorts. Anyway, Here are the things I remembered from the array of presentation during One Internet The thing I remembered and got interested in were the following:

(i)The use of blogs as a form of viral marketing. And the roles of blogs as a good feedback and communication tool. Maoi Arroyo during her presentation provided several examples of how blogs were used to improve business and in one case hurt business.

(ii)Another thing I remembered was the talk about e-payment systems. Several options for the retailer and the customer seem to be taking shape with the use improving telecommunication technology. One example that comes to mind is the in the not so distant future one might be able to use your credit card to buy Guimaras mangoes at the local tiangge. Although, there still seems a lot of things do before we can actually see a good cashless transaction that can replace cash transaction. A side story during the panel discussion though seems to point to a likely tool for cashless transaction, the cellphone.

(iii)There were speakers that did stood out because of the effective manner they eloquently presented their topics. There was the talk of Maoi Arroyo about Blogs and Marketing and then there was Emmanuel Amador’s presentation IPV6 and its potential in generating more work for Filipinos. The talk about on-line gaming was revealing and somewhat alarming given the potential to attract and bringing younger people to the Internet. Although it seems to me that the potential of on-line games as an educational tool has not yet been fully conceptualized or realized.

(iv)The One Internet Day talks also brought to light the Outsourcing. Traditionally, when you say Outsourcing the idea of us working for a foreign company comes to mind. This was the outsourcing of skills. After the talks the other side of Outsourcing was shown. There is growing trend of people to outsource their equipment and software. This was the outsourcing of resources. Now it was possible to rent the hardware and software. And sometimes cases it is cheaper to outsource resources to another country. Outsourcing is a two way street.

Other people have written more extensively about the One Internet Day Celebration, the things done and the things talked about Here are the links to their blogs and post:

Philippine Internet Review
One Internet Day (Maoi Arroyo)
Liveblogging from the One Internet Day, Manila (The J Spot)
ONE INTERNET DAY ON SEPT 19, 2006 (Adrian)
Building Buzz with Blogs (Noemi Lardizabal Dado)
Blogger Stats for Metro Manila (The J Spot)
One Internet Day 2006 (Abby Ongyanco Lim)

Again, Thanks for Janette Toral and Digital Filipino for the invite. The speakers and the forum provided a glimpse on what resources an SME could use to improve its web presence and make effective e-commerce stratagems, outsourcing on-line gaming, and IPV6. As a blogger what interested me was the use of blogs as viral marketing tools.

III. PHILIPPINE BLOGCON 2006

The 1st Philippine BlogCon was held at the National Sports Grill. Unfortunately, the last time I went to the National Sports Grill was several years ago when it was located at the 3rd floor of the old Greenbelt. The lack of sports paraphernalia, the decor of the National Sports Grill, visible as one ascended to the third floor should have been taken in as a warning. Well, It is not as worse as going to the wrong church for a wedding. No hurt, my fault, although security guard’s remark that it had transferred years before lend credence to how long I have not been to such places. Sigh. Anyway, a skip and a hop away I was at the present location of the National Sports Grill.

The atmosphere was less formal and the food in multitude. There were copious amounts of drinks: there was probably enough amount of iced tea to induce a diabetic comatose - I reminded myself to sip not gulp. The less formal attitude provided a good medium where conversations between bloggers prosper and flourish. Yes, It was place to meet bloggers and probloggers. But it was not all social networking. After the dinner there was the formal programme where Abe, Jayvee, Noemi, and Marc presented and shared their knowledge and information about blogging and pro-blogging.

The financial potentials from pro-blogging are amazing. It is enough to make individuals leave the realm of the corporate oompah-loompahs and become pro-bloggers.

The event was sponsored by Globe Innove, which explains enough food and more to feed the multitude. A marketing initiative or a way for Globe Innove to network with bloggers and probloggers. Who knows? The thought and effort though is greatly appreciated. Life is a two way street.

But what was gained from the 1st Philippine BlogCon?

(i)Meeting with fellow bloggers. Aside from reading their posts you get to meet them. Although reading a person’s blog can give you an honest assessment of the person’s belief. If the blog does reflect the true opinion of the blogger. (ii) Getting to learn more about blogging from those who have been successful at it. (iii) Getting inspired to blog more. (iv)And have a good time.

Thanks to the organizers of the 1st Philippine BlogCon. May this be a regular event and may other future events follow. Thanks to Globe Innove for sponsoring the event and special thanks for the flash drive I was lucky enough to win.

Other posts about the 1st Philippine BlogCon as of 14:00, 26 September 2006 include :

BlogCon 2006- Field Report (Sonnie’s Porch)
Back Home from BlogCon 2006 (The J Spot)
Kiven at Blogcon 2006 (Codamon.com)
1st Philippine Blogcon (Kukote in a Jar)
Pinoy Bloggers Face-to-Face (Fire In The Gut)
The first Philippine BlogCon (Kutitots)
1st Philippine BlogCon (Jun)
Philippine BlogCon 2006 (ka edong)
Free Food and Drinks at the Blogcon (penoi)

IV. ONE INTERNET DAY AND THE 1ST PHILIPPINE BLOGCON BOTH A SUCCESS AND OF USE

I think, the One Internet Day and the 1st Philippine BlogCon were both enjoyable and informative events. Internet Day was more focused on SME and E-Commerce but it did provide insight into how to make e-commerce work, the business potentials of the different Internet-enabled industries, and more importantly for a blogger (like myself) it provided a look at how blogs are used for on-line marketing. On the other hand the 1st Philippine BlogCon provided for me a means to meet other bloggers, see and listen to people who have successfully turned their blogging craft into a means to empower themselves - not only financially, but well-being wise as well.