My Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010

This is the fourth year of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs! I won a car from it when I became part of the top ten back in 2007 (go check it out!). Now here's my list for this year's project:


1. Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal - it's my marriage blog with Sweetie which we promptly launched on our wedding day. This is where my family and friends keep tab on our adventures and misadventures. 


2. Gagong Kasabihan - Pinoy funnies! The posts really make me LOL.


3. Version Mine - lovely collection of hits done by amateur singers. 


4. Illogical Poet - this blog works my brain and then I realize, yeah illogical nga!


5. Kumakain.com - just looking at the photos makes me hungry.


6. Yes No Meh - interesting way to review stuff.


7. Tea, Completely - it's the only tea blog locally. It's interesting how the love for milk tea brought on this blog. 


8. Kusina Maria - I'm a newbie when it comes to cooking so I oftentimes defer to my Dad and Ate, blogs and online friends like Ria whenever I have questions. Ria's a great cook and I hope to be as adventurous as she is when it comes to cooking.


9. Ganda Ever So Much - Orman truly dispels the notion that bankers are boring. I always end up laughing out loud whenever I read Orman's posts (even when he is emo). 


10. Project 52 Weeks - this is Mica's video blog project for the year. The effort she puts in it is truly amazing. I wish I had the same zest she puts in this project. 


The project is sponsored by Events and Corporate Video, Budget hotel in Makati, Pinoy Party Food, Copyediting Services, PR Agency Philippines, Budget Travel Philippines, Send Gifts to the Philippines, Black Friday Deals, Roomrent - units for rent,Search Profile Index, and Corporate Events Organizer

My Choice for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008

I've been having a difficult time choosing my Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008, I'm just about half-way coz I just realized that some of my other choices did not meet the cut-off. So I'll probably update this post as soon as I find others I'd want to include in this writing project.

1. You Got Tech - this is a shameless inclusion! LOL. But I know that this project is something that would help non-techies become techie too.

2. Food Blog for Hungry Bachelors - I've been enthralled with the posts the guys have been making! Reading it was easier though and more friendly when they had it on Blogger.

3. Conrad Miguel - I met him when I was at the Davao F.A.T. last March and I must say that this kid is going to go a long way just like Winston.

4. Bloggers Da Who - it's a fun read, though I hope the blogger can post consistently :)

5. Manila Foodistas - great reviews and posts about dining in Manila.

6. Eye in the Sky - the posts make me feel like I'm traveling too.

Update:

After careful review I have finally managed to complete my list. Here it is:

7. Fritzified - a witty blogger and a mobile phone photography-fanatic, check out his Plurks too!

8. General Santos.com - is the "idiot's guide to GenSan". There's really much to discover about the 7,100+ islands in our country and I'd definitely love to go back to GenSan.

9. Davao Deli - I have been very vocal about how I love Davao and their food! Blogie provides great write-ups about Davao's yummy food nooks.

10. Blasted Brains of Billy Coy - I was gunning to include a blog written in Filipino but he did not make the cut-off date so I looked for another blog written in Filipino that's easy to read. Billy Coy's quite entertaining and very Pinoy!

Update!

Since Billy Coy's disqualified, I'm replacing him with Migs Mobile - everything and anything mobile! Migs is one blogger who's really passionate about this blog coz he really does a lot of research for his posts =)

Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008

Last year I won a car during the top 10 emerging influential blogs of 2007 party. I remember being in a daze during the party because I just came from a looooong walk from Ayala to Max's Restaurant. Good thing best friend Anne and Lolo Harry was there with me to keep me calm and collected.

I was fortunately included in the 2007 list and the plaque that was given to me last year is displayed in my Dad's office (home lang). It feels like ages since that party and so much has happened to me as a blogger (I'm also vlogging now!) in the past year. Ahhh, blogging is just really fun, fun, fun!!!

Janette recently announced that she has decided to have another project, the "Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008". To join just 10 blogs you think are "influential", remember the blog should have been created from July 1, 2007 onwards. Hmmm... I hope I meet a lot of new bloggers here at iBlog since I have yet to come up with my list. For more info kindly visit Janette's post.

Happy blogging!

P.S. If you like my shirt you can order from me or JayDJ. If you are shy to leave a comment here, please email me at me at aileenapolo dot com.

I Won a Car from the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007 Party

I'm still not feeling that silly. I must be really exhausted. Uh-oh.

I was in a daze last night coz I walked from Ayala to Max's and that's the kwento behind my "Sometimes when I'm alone, I Google myself" shirt from Y.R.Y.S. (I had to buy one coz the long walk made me look like I joined a marathon). Anyway, I was 45 minutes late, but good thing the program didn't start yet.

Last night was the culminating activity of Janette Toral's writing project for the "Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007". She arranged for an eyeball of those who joined and raffled off ten $100 and a lot more of goodies. Dinner was sponsored by our country's local search engine Yehey.com (Yehey!) and Iggy spoke about their new online game Dangka (more about that in a future post).

Anyway, anyway! Let's get to the car chase! I mean... the car! Yes! I won a car! And here it is:


Hehehe. Asa pa ako. The only other raffle I've won in my whole life was during the 2003 Ad Congress and I won PhP100,000. It all went to my Mom and Miguel. Hehehe.

After all the prizes were raffled off, Janette announced the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007 and An Apple a Day was one of the first. Wow! I never really dreamed that my blog would earn such an accolade since I only mainly write to amuse myself. It was also great that my other blogs - Stitching, Lakwatsera Ako, and Tales from the Moonless Sky (I don't think the Twisted Wedding Planner got any mentions though) garnered some mentions. I'd like to thank all those who included any of my blogs in their entry for this writing project. HUGS! Believe me, I was really surprised An Apple a Day was there in all the 11 weeks of the project coz I only got my best friends to join in the last week (thanks Darwin, Anne and Harry!).


Here's the list:

1. An Apple a Day
   The Philosophical Bastard
2. The D Spot
3. CokskiBlue
4. Make Money Online with a 13-Year Old
5. Culture Shiok!
   Utakgago
6. Kubiertos
7. FruityOaty
   PinoyBlogero
8. The Dork Factor
   The Anitokid Chronikos
9. Gibbs Cadiz
10. Confessions of a Hopeless Romantic

I hate making speeches and good thing Janette didn't make me say something last night. LOL. I think I'm able to gather my thoughts better on paper than when I'm forced to speak. I still don't know what to say. I'm still quite overwhelmed by all this attention and am quite embarassed coz I know I've been writing a lot, and a mean a lot, of silly things here in An Apple a Day (ummm... I think it would be better for your sanity if you just read Stitching hehe).

Well, since I've made it a point to go beyond amusing myself, ummm, I guess I just wanna leave these thoughts:

1. Blogging is just a platform - use it to express whatever is on your mind. You can use it for personal use or for your business. There are no rules. No existing code of ethics. And nobody should force you to disclose anything about your blog. And nobody can claim that he/she is the overlord of blogging. So you can basically do anything with it.

2. Be a responsible blogger - always remember that bloggers are human beings and they have feelings. I've noticed some bloggers who attack/criticize other bloggers. Be constructive. Controversy does bring traffic, but it does not really gain anything. It is counter-productive.

3. Check your blogger ego - don't let it get out of hand. Blogging is just blogging. There's a whole world out there who doesn't read you and doesn't know that you exist.

4. Bring Good News - I've said this time and time again (online and offline). Let's help our country. Talk about good news. Help the media with it. I am glad that Inquirer.net and the Philippine Daily Inquirer now have a section on The Good News. Check out iGMA. They've got loads of good news as well.

5. Love the Philippines - the SEO community has a huge project called the Bayanihan SEO Contest which is supposed to promote the keyword "Paradise Philippines" and that is precisely what we need.

Now, this doesn't sound like me. LOL. I know it's not a silly post. But then again, being silly is just my writing style for this blog and it does get the message across (I think). Hehehe.

Before I end this post, I'd like to sincerely thank Janette for pushing me to blog more. She gave me a lot of tips and really encouraged me when I was just starting to blog. We need more generous people like Janette in our country. Will you be one?

What about you? What are your objectives for blogging? Have you thought of how it can help others? Your community? Your country?

And, now for the photos...

View Album

Get your own

You know what I realized about the photo opt part? There were more cameras than any media event I've attended! I think about 70% of people had cameras trained on us when we posed with our certificates.

Oh and please don't forget!

SM Hypermarket Blog Writing Contest
Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest
Digitalfilipino.com & Mindanaobloggers.com Review-a-Blog

And mark your calendars for August 23! Planning is still underway, so kindly await further announcements!

100 on Twitter and the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007

I just noticed that I now have 100 followers on Twitter!


Eeeps! I hope I'm keeping them entertained coz there are things I twit about that wouldn't be found here on my blog. If ya know what I mean... wink wink.

Read Janette's update on her Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs project. There's one more week to go!

Well, I just wanna thank you (since you're reading this) for the patience in going through all these content that I keep putting online. Huwag magsawa!

And don't forget these -

Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs Writing Project
SM Hypermarket Blog Writing Contest
Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest
Bayanihan SEO Contest

Hyperventilating

Goodness gracious! Great scott! Oh-my-gaaaaaawd!

--hyperventilating--

Last month when Janette told me she was going to launch a writing project called the "Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs of 2007", I said, sure I'll write about it since the aim of the project is to help out newbies in the blogosphere. I thought also that it would encourange shy bloggers to be more passionate about their blog. It surely helps when you know that people read your blog. Who knows? We just might get the title "blogging capital of the world"! And that would be another feather on our salukot.

Okay, so I just sent a SMS to Janette and told her I'm hyperventilating over the latest results of the project. It's really surprising and overwhelming coz I've always been shy about my writing. But blogging has helped me come out of my shell, meet many more people, have a topic to speak about when dining with CEOs (and they've requested me to give a workshop on "Blogging for CEOs"!), connect with old and new friends, learn about new things (especially the techie stuff!) and, of course, this is my way of promoting the good side of our country (through my travels, gimmicks and mishaps).

I would like to thank --- super, duper to the max thank everyone who reads my blogs (An Apple a Day, Stitching, Lakwatsera Ako, Twisted Wedding Planner and Homegrown) and a huge, warm hug to those who mentioned me in their Top 10.

It's not too late yet, join the writing project - just mention your top 10 fave blogs (make sure they only started blogging after August 2006) and then drop Janette a line at her writing project post for your entry to be included.

And, I would just like to reiterate that I hope you'd blog about what a great country we have and why people should visit us. Bloggers! Let's unite and help our economy! I heard SEO Philippines will be doing the same soon. Chin up! Be proud you're Pinoy!

Warm, fuzzy feeling...

*Photo by Sasha Manuel (and no I'm not pregnant LOL).

Blogs I Read

Janette asked me the other day if I could participate in a project of her that intends to recognize the top 10 emerging influential blogs for 2007. I read a lot of blogs and I use Google Reader to keep my reading at a sane level. It was quite difficult for me to come up with a list since the blog's start date should be August 1, 2006 at the earliest. So, here's my top 10 and what I read it for:

Wit and humor, and a little on dating
Bakla Ako, May Reklamo?
Stephanie Caragos
Jobarclix, the life & times of Joeyboy
Strangeweed

Writing style and the Single Life
Sunday Duty

Parenting
Stay at Home Mom
Solo Mother
The D Spot

Work/Tech
Hanson at Large

Ranting & Other Stuff
Ideas de Locura, sueños y pensamientos

I don't know though if I could say it's influential at all coz I read mainly to entertain myself. Most of the work-related blogs I read are quite old blogs and they've been around for years already.