Malu Fernandez continues to attract negative attention. There’s the movement to push for her dismissal, and supposed motives behind her apparent elitism. But her ruined online reputation wasn’t the only topic Filipino bloggers covered over the last week.
There’s much more to the Philippine blogosphere than arguments, controversies, and issues. The voice of the Filipino isn’t a one-trick pony after all.
In case you haven’t heard, a significant part of the Philippine blogosphere was positively abuzz over the last week. The authorship of carlocab.com, an online monetization blog maintained by a rakishly confident 13-year-old Filipino, came under scrutiny. And so did Jayvee, when he asserted that Janette Toral’s IMMAP presentation on blogging could’ve been more comprehensive.
That’s as diplomatic as you can get, given the passionate discussion concerning these two firestorms (or perhaps “firestorms”?). But among the chorus of agreement and merely personal attacks, some gems of nuance and discernment stood out. Abe (who’s a partner of this network and thus a business associate) got the facts straight, Connie emphasized the subjectivity of everything, while Gibbs took the eloquent offensive.
In any case, whichever side you take, if any in the first place, two things are for sure: One, Filipino bloggers are becoming more assertive of their opinions. Two, anyone maintaining that the Philippine blogosphere is inarticulate has been proven to be out of their mind. At the very least, all the drama has led to an increase of activity and passion—which can only lead to better things for Filipino blogs and their bloggers.
(The picture above was used during the unveiling of the Filipinotown WWII Veteran’s Memorial)
The problem was identified over a month ago, the solution has been found, and redefined. The BBN was one of the first participants in the project to redefine Filipina online, and our own Jonas Diego applied his creativity years before this network was formed.
The word Filipina should mean more than what the linking tells us. I mean, there are Filipina mail-order brides, porn stars, prostitutes, sensual pen pals. But they make up a small percentage. It would be a bit idiotic to ignore websites like the Filipina’s Women Network, the intelligent women we have on this blog network alone (You Had Me at Hello, My Filipino Wedding, Style Manila, Kikay Kits, and the recently launched Style Cebu), and the articulate people over at the Pinoy Mom’s Network.
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Enjoy this Sunday by going over our coverage of the ProudlyPinoy.org logo design contest:
…and the discussion on Wikipiniana:
Anything interesting Filipino content you’d like to share? Let us know.
For this week in the Philippine Blogosphere, I’d like to highlight the success of Noemi’s call to reshape the meaning of Filipina online. It’s been so successful that Google results related to Noemi’s entry are now in the top five, threatening results that are only about sex.
There’s still a lot of work to be done though. Filipina is still monopolized by the dirt peddlers. But first, let’s give link love where it’s due, and take the list of people who’ve supported the campaign (courtesy of Noemi’s original post):
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Some folks over the SM (think of it as the Philippine WalMart) want to build visibility for their new culinary project. So they’ve invited over local bloggers to enjoy free food and drinks! No wonder the list now features 150+ guests! And as I type this quotation from the organizer’s blog:
Fresh seafood grilled right in front of your eyes…Salad tossed while you wait…Mouth-watering soup, noodles, asado…Shrimps, pusit, liempo, pasta, sinigang, adobo…And don’t forget the chilled drink we all love to gulp down…
I’m getting really hungry! And I bet so are you. Before you stand up to grab some grub though, take a look at the particulars:
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Nope, we didn’t lose count. Number 3 of this series covered Benj Arriola’s winning the World SEO Championship.
Mayor Jesse Robredo
This week, I’ll be featuring Jesse Robredo, Mayor of Naga City. A COMELEC panel recently declared him a non-Filipino by a vote of 2-1. This made him ineligible to run for re-election during the recently concluded 2007 midterm elections. Despite the fact that Robredo had been declared a Filipino citizen five times before and served as mayor for four terms previously.
Naturally, Nagueños, who’ve always voted overwhelmingly for Robredo, are outraged. And so is an ex-President. The shameless illogic of the decision shows how common sense is sometimes nonexistent in the law.
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Congratulations are in order for Benj Arriola, who won the first ever SEO World Championship. And since the spoils of the war goes to the victors, Mr. Arriola will be driving home in his brand new Citroen C2. But, he refuses to take sole credit:
I would like to add that 20% of my efforts in getting the top spot in this contest were through the help of the many SEO professionals in the Philippines. This win is not completely my win. It is a win of SEOPhilippines. Where competent and skilled SEO professionals are, SEO professionals in the Philippines have high reliability in off-shore SEO outsourcing.
It’s good to see that this SEO expert remembers those who’ve helped him out and has no problems giving credit where it’s due. Especially when he takes the time to write a lengthy thank you list…complete with keyword-based link loving! Some congratulatory posts:
Here’s to a graceful winner who’s proven himself on a world stage.
With the upcoming 2007 Philippine general election set for May, the polls are buzzing. The Jester-in-Exle highlights a recent survey that gives the “Disingenious Opposition” the lead over “Team Daya”. No wonder Jove writes about the administration wining and dining influential people (thanks to Manolo for the heads-up). And whether or not you think texting matters greatly in Philippine politics, seav’s picture of a cleverly-disguised cell site tower looks interesting. Speaking of pictures, master photographer Elber tells you why two of Sony’s new cameras are monsters. There’s nothing wrong with hating ugly-looking gadgets, but if you want to know more about love, then check out Tina and co.’s recently-launched Godchicks group blog, based on the book.
Lot’s of things are happening in the Philippine Blogosphere, enough to get so many blogs buzzing. Got anything interesting to highlight? Let us know.
