When in Manila, I was glad to discover that there exists an event catered to budding bloggers like me! Just a couple of weeks ago, I went back to my alma matter, De La Salle University and attended the Bloggers Congress 2. Bloggers Congress was created to ignite a greater passion for blogging in the Philippines. Their vision is for these bloggers to unite and create a positive impact in the world.
This Bloggers Congress was held last October 15, 2011 at the Yuchengco Building, and it was fully packed with success stories, tips and trivia’s from renowned bloggers that have successfully crossed the chasm in the cyber world. Bloggers, writers, budding bloggers, blog fanatics, blog enthusiasts, read on and learn from the pros.
Rob Cham is a guy who simply loves to draw. He did this on the side during his college years; like anyone from a Chinese family, he too was enrolled in a business course. While dragging his feet to school, he still pursued his passion — he illustrated comics, shirt designs, etc.. All these can be seen on his blog. Soon this passion took Rob Cham to places. People all over the world have licensed his drawings for foreign magazines, shirts, etc.
One of Rob Cham’s last words to the writers and budding writers in the Bloggers Congress 2 was, “Work Hard and Be Kind.” Short and sweet. Easy to Remember.
Next came Anton Diaz, the man behind Our Awesome Planet. He was the Chief Information Officer of Procter & Gamble before he resigned, and during that time he knew the importance of leveraging the internet, he knew that blogs would be the next “in” thing.
Now, what to write about.. Anton Diaz enjoys traveling even while he was in his teen years. He discovered that there are more beautiful beaches in the Philippines than the much-commercialized Boracay. He wanted the whole world to see the hidden jewels in the country. “Philippines has one of the best natural resources in the world,” he explained, “while others have the money to create (i.e. castles in England).”
What is traveling without food? According to Mr. Diaz, even if our getaway destination is a total letdown, as long as there is good food, the trip is good. Food is one of the viral topics in the net. Filipinos love food. And if you love food, by all means, write about it. If you are thinking of creating your own blog, ask yourself, “What is one topic you could write forever? Or until you die?” Start with that. Build up your number of posts. “Income is proportional to the number of posts,” Anton Diaz shared.
For those who love fashion, you must be familiar with the next speaker, the fashionable Camille Co. I find her posts in itscamilleco very sweet and calming to the eyes, like a sweet candy treat. Camille Co posts her dress-up-for-the-day everyday on her website.
Like what you see? Most of the things she’s wearing are freebies for her. Camille Co was kind enough to share with us how she got all those freebies and sponsors: Be cohesive. Keep it clean and simple. Connect to important accounts and links. Limit ads. Invest time and effort. Keep it light and fun. Filter what you share. Have a direction. And lastly, be honest, grateful and humble.
The last speaker is the adorable daughter of the late Francis M., Isabella Magalona. Although she wasn’t as prepared as the others, I admire her for her honestly. This same honestly is apparent in her writings as a Lifestyle Writer of her personal blog. She gave tips that other bloggers won’t dare say, like, “Don’t let it go to your head.” It’s indeed very tempting to praise ourselves when there’s a great number of “likes” on or “tweets” of our blogs. Perhaps, its her honest, fun, charming character that has spread her presence in the internet scene.
When in Manila and you want to change the world through blogging, then you should watch out for the next DLSU Bloggers Congress!
