Talk on Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication and Dissemination Forum

I had FUN Moderating, Speaking, Sharing, and Listening on my thoughts, other speakers' thoughts on Political Blogging and its impact during the 2010 elections during a Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication~ dissemination forum organized by Strengthening ICTD Research Capacity in Asia (SIRCA) and Center for Research and Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Me as moderator

I was one of the invited speakers (aside from being the moderator) by Ms. Mary Grace P. Mirandilla-Santos who is a grantee of SIRCA to do a study about the Filipino political blog-o-sphere. There were certain challenges in the topic I was assigned with but nonetheless, I dived into research to find what I can. Some of the Challenges:

1. Cebuanos are not that vocal about political issues online; though in my circle of friends and family, we do discuss these matters but it does not gain traction to be shared online (This was confirmed during Atty. Ethelbert Ouano's presentation)
2. There aren't that many Political Bloggers in Cebu, (I only know Kevin Ray Chua and Jerry Gervacio)I am not so sure about the rest of the Visayas though but in mainstream media there are a lot of commentaries from established Journalists but is not shared online (As far as I know).
3. The local blogging organization CBSi is politically neutral, and that there actions, or whoever they support during the historic May 2010 elections was by all means are theirs and theirs alone. Though we did do iVote, iBlog Election Coverage to have a varied view on the different experiences of bloggers in their respective areas.
4. In Reference to #3, I found something interesting among Netizens[students] (Not necessarily bloggers, though).

The Diverse Audience

The forum entitled "The Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication and Dissemination Forum" was held at Don Merto's Restaurant, 94 Juana Osmeña Street, Cebu City, it was attended by local bloggers, members of the mainstream media, some students, and interested individuals. Though not all were satisfied by my presentation after the event, it is still fun and a learning experience.

1st Speaker: Kevinraychua.com on Blogging & the May 2010 Elections

Atty. Ethelbert Ouano on the Local Political Blogging Scene

Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos presenting the results of her Study on Political Blogging

See uploaded presentation of the Talk on Filipino Blogosphere: Political Expression, Communication and Dissemination Forum Below:
Filipino bloggers & political participation

View more presentations from Vernon Joseph Go.

Talk Outline:

1. I started off talking about the nature of political blogging for FYI purposes;
2. Then went on to compare the Blog from MEDIA, similarities and differences and then to Citizen Journalism;
3. After that, I proceeded how bloggers blogged during the last May 2010 Elections (based from my observation) and mirroring it with the needs of Politicos;
4. Showed some of the ways on how politicians used the Internet and how Netizens and bloggers responded (Through, blogs, videos, social networking, microblogging and even photo-editing);
5. Showcased some local events, and activities related to Politics at the time (Voter's Education..etc..);
6. Finally showed examples of locally initiated efforts such as the iVote, iBlog Election Coverage by CBSi, national such as #JuanVote; and even NGO-initiated campaigns such as VOTEGOD.net;
7. Showed some infographics on the global scene and Philippines' regarding internet participation through blogs, and social media;
8. Stressed some current examples of twitter conversations regarding current issues in government (Ex. 'Alleged AFP Corruption;');
9. lastly, present an observed trend or Outlook on the Future of Online Political Participation

Open Forum

Disclaimer: 

• Sources such as Twitter "tweets" and Facebook Status "SCREEN SHOTS" from various individuals shown are used for Sample Purposes only;
• I am by no means representing them (individual/organization/group), or in agreement to their statements and is subject to multiple interpretations;
• I am a member of ALEx and an Alumna of CIT University, anything I say/said may not represent the organization and its goals in the course of the Forum
• I am not affiliated with STAND, Tingog or the like cited student organizations/party and am not promoting them.

See Feature Article on this Forum via Sunstar Cebu --> 'Shaping' the Political Landscape

Special Thanks to my fellow speakers, organizers (CBSi), SIRCA, Ms. Mary Grace P. Mirandilla-Santos and participants for joining the event!