My Blogapalooza 2013 Review

My Blogapalooza ID

I cannot count how many blogging events in Manila I have joined since I started to blog in 2009. Among them, Blogapalooza 2013 is noteworthy because this is the very first time that in a whole - day activity I was not rushing to go back to work. 

Having a full - time job at the same time running a travel blog and shop has put my health at risk. I had shorter sleeping hours and my productivity in my previous company is suffering because my attention is divided. 

So I followed what my heart says and I quit my job! I am now a full - time blogger and a bootstrapping entrepreneur aiming to follow the path of a location - independent style.  I make sure that I am updated with the trends and events in the Philippine blogosphere more so that I know what is going on and who are the persons that make it going!

Blogapalooza 2013 is one of the biggest blogging events in Manila this year. Four hundred plus bloggers, dozens of brands and a handful of online personalities convened to make this a reality. Again this is not the first time I have been to an event like this so pretty much I have an idea of what are the usual topics that will be tackled like social media ethics, building online influence and working with brands so on and so forth.  

I guess the only difference of this blogging event from the rest of the blogging events, are the speakers and their stories to tell.  But of course there's always opportunities to learn along the way and the bits of wisdom that can be picked up from each of them. The most important is the spirit of being in a crowd of like - minded people who share with you the same interest. That's what makes every blogging event inviting -  your fellow bloggers whom most of the time you only interact with each other online.

Joining blogging events like Bloggapalooza 2013, made me realize that there are two kinds of bloggers in the local blogging industry that a brand should know: the lifestyle bloggers and target niche bloggers.  

With my freebies

The lifestyle bloggers are the ones who has no specific products or services to offer so they need to connect with each other hundredfold. They blog anything under the sun and they are always seen in every brand launching, advocacy promotion, networking meetup and free events etc. I think that majority of them joined the Blogapalooza 2013. Instead of investing on their personal expertise over a certain matter, they rather build a huge online influence and their solicited opinions for the purpose of affecting their readers' buying decisions. Most of them when asked why do they blog, their answers range from having fun doing it, making use of their spare time and feel rightfully compensated of the freebies and loot bags they receive.  But I did saw a number of them that are really making big waves in the local blogosphere.

With the mascots of Chooks To Go & Megaworld Lifestyle Mall

They are very active in social media if not the noisiest (no pun intended) because they need to grab the attention of their target brands and fellow bloggers to network with. They pretty knew each other very well. They have this innate ability to determine a post that will bring them lots of traffic for them to blog about even if it is of little value like viral videos/scandals... whatever that is currently talk of the town. But this does not mean they don't have the passion for blogging.

This is Enrico Curioso, the Chief Caffeine Junkie of Brownbag Coffee Solutions from the business card he gave to me.   I love the title!

The other type of bloggers are the target niche bloggers who only talk  about a highly targeted topic. They have their own products /  services that is why they already possess a brand and image to start with. They have skills and expertise that give them distinction among the rest. When their names are mentioned, one can say "he is the one who traveled the cheapest way, he knows the best restaurants in the metro, she conducts art class for free etc..."  They pour a considerable amount of time to research before they post something on their blog, usually it is very well - written and in details. Makes me really think many can blog but only a few can write! They blog about brands they believe of importance even without pay because they write to educate not to influence. They don't  need to connect to each other hundredfold because they are followed by their fellow bloggers because  they have authority.

With Terry, a new blogger friend. She blogs at http://terryficpinay.blogspot.com/

There you go! I am not saying anyone of these two is better than the other. Each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. It is their differences that make them part of the blogging community. Of course  there are also exception of the rule, there are bloggers who are a mixture of these two or just can't be categorized under any of these. I just remembered a line dropped by one of the speakers of another blogging event I joined few years ago, he said "Walang basagan ng trip!".

I hope the Blogapalooza 2014 will have more bloggers and brands to join next year. Also I would suggest the booth should be grouped according to categories like travel, fashion, food etc. I think it is more fun this way. Also a bigger space will make it the best next time.

PS. I want to thank the brands that are part of Blogapalooza 2013, not just because of the freebies but their presence is enough that they fully acknowledge the power of blogging as an effective medium to spread out whatever product or service they have. I am really sorry my photos of the products and the speakers got corrupted for some reasons so I made a list of brands I want to thank more:

Tempura Grill : water cooler bottle

BYS Complete Cosmetics: nail art lacquer

Big and Small Company : molding daugh for kids

Schick: shaving blades and shave guard lime 

View Park Hotel:  Blogapalooza T-shirt and pen

Plato Wraps:  3 pieces of their bread wraps

Wheatgrass tea: Uric acid blood test   
Gavino's Donuts: for the donuts

and lots of gift certificates!

Hi there :) My name is Maria Rona Beltran, the Founder of this travel blog and shop - Travel Maria you are reading right now. I want to stay connected to you to a lot of other ways so I am sharing you other social media accounts.  See y'all online soon:)

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