iBlog2....

In a strange twist of fate, I found myself in attendance to iBlog2, the 2nd Philippine Blogging Summit held at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City.

Actually I was supposed to be attending the first day of review classes at the neighboring UP Law Center, but since I hadn't been issued my ID yet, and that the prospect of meeting some of the more famous bloggers in the Pinoy blogging community seemed too good to pass up, I decided to see for myself how it is to be in the presence of all the people behind the blogs I get to visit.

I wasn't disappointed.

I got to meet in person reknowned bloggers Atty. Punzi, Manuel "Manolo" L. Quezon III, Jove, J. Angelo Racoma, Abe "Yuga" Olandres, Dean Bocobo, Atty. Marvin, and Ajay, among others.

I also got to pick up a few things from the various speakers who covered a variety of topics ranging from political blogging to blogging as a career. Add to that virtually all of the iced tea I could drink, the summit turned out to be a real sweet deal. :-) Here are a few photos from the event:

That's Dr. Ronald Meinardus of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in the distance, talking about the significance of blogging and podcasting as tools in political education.


Manuel "Manolo" L. Quezon III talking about blogs and the battle for ideas.


Marc Hil Macalua, J. Angelo Racoma, Charo Nuguid, and Abe "Yuga" Olandres talking about blogging as a profession. No kidding. You can actually make money from blogging.

I guess blogging is turning out to be a real force to reckon with in Philippine society, with its power to inform, educate and influence, as well as its advocacy of free and unrestrained expression of ideas. Blogging has come a long way in a relatively short time, though it still has some ways to go. Like many other bloggers out there, I fully intend to keep up with this activity for the long haul.

Go Pinoy bloggers! :-)