Davao: DigitalFilipino Club & Bloggers Networking Event on July 18

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It is all systems go for the DigitalFilipino.com Club fellowship / networking event where e-commerce industry players and bloggers can catch up and exchange updates. This will be on July 18, Saturday, 6 to 11 pm at the Pantawan Hall, Grand Regal Hotel, Lanang, Davao City.

This event is sponsored by our club member PAGCOR.

• 6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
• 7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
  Welcome Remarks
• 7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette
  Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Update
  DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates (online workshop and other efforts)
  DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2009
  
  Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 1st half of 2009 (blogs that made big moves in 1st half of 2009)
  
• 8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR Updates
• 8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Bloggers are welcome to attend this event for free. Just reply to this post with your name and blog address. If you have a blogger friend to tag along, please mention their name too.

Those who confirmed are also added in this spreadsheet.

As per request, I will also be having an SEO Tools & Techniques 101 workshop earlier that day for those who wanted to learn more about it. Check out the announcement for more info.

Thank you.

P.S. This event has a one sponsor talk slot. Please contact Janette for more details.

Cebu: DigitalFilipino Club & Bloggers Networking Event on July 11

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It is all systems go for the DigitalFilipino.com Club fellowship/networking event in Cebu where e-commerce industry players and bloggers can catch up and exchange updates. This will be on July 11, Saturday, 6 to 11 pm at the Teatro Casino, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, 1st Salinas Drive Lahug, Cebu City.

This event is sponsored by our club member PAGCOR.

• 6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
• 7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
  Welcome Remarks
• 7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette
  Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Update
  DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates (online workshop and other efforts)
  DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2009
  
  Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 1st half of 2009 (blogs that made big moves in 1st half of 2009)
  
• 8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR Updates
• 8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Bloggers are welcome to attend this event for free. Just reply to this post with your name and blog address. If you have a blogger friend to tag along, please mention their name too.

Those who confirmed are also added in this spreadsheet.

As per request, I will also be having an SEO Tools & Techniques 101 workshop earlier that day for those who wanted to learn more about it. Check out the announcement for more info.

Thank you.

P.S. This event has a one sponsor talk slot. Please contact Janette for more details.

Bacolod: DigitalFilipino Club & Bloggers Networking Event on July 4

It is all systems go for the 1st DigitalFilipino.com Club fellowship/networking event in Bacolod where e-commerce industry players and bloggers can catch up and exchange updates. This will be on July 4, Saturday, 6 to 11 pm at the Lobby Lounge, Casino Filipino, Goldenfield Commercial Complex, Singcang, Bacolod City.

This event is sponsored by our club member PAGCOR.

Program agenda as follows:

• 6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
• 7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
  Welcome Remarks
• 7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette
  Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Update
  DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates
  DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2009
  
  Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 1st half of 2009 (blogs that made big moves in 1st half of 2009)
  
• 8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR Updates
• 8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Bloggers are welcome to attend this event for free. Just reply to this post with your name and blog address. If you have a blogger friend to tag along, please mention their name too.

We are in the process of finalizing the schwags to be given out to ensure that those who confirmed early will get one.

Those who confirmed are also added in this spreadsheet.

As per request, I will also be having an SEO Tools & Techniques 101 workshop earlier that day for those who wanted to learn more about it. Check out the announcement for more info.

Thank you.

P.S. This event has one sponsor talk slot. Please contact Janette for more details.

May 20: DigitalFilipino Club Networking Event

The DigitalFilipino.com Club will be a having get-together this May 20 Wednesday from 7 to 10 pm at Red Box, Greenbelt 3 (3rd level near the cinema). This event is exclusive for club members. Corporate members can send 3 representatives and SME can have 2 representatives. Individual members can't send a proxy to represent them. Non-club members are encouraged to register should they like to take part. Kindly let me know if you can make it.

I also would like to thank GeiserMaclang for co-sponsoring this networking event.

Program as follows:

6:30 - 7:00 Registration
7:00 - 7:30 Socials, Food, Drinks
7:30 - 8:00 DigitalFilipino.com Club Report (Janette Toral)

• Lessons learned in the DigitalFilipino Social Networking Awards,
  
• Insights gathered from Social Networking & eBusiness Conference, and iBlog5 (specifically Blog Marketing & Advertising Situation in the Philippines)
  
• Ongoing activities 2009.
  
  • Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009
    
  • DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Networking event nationwide update. (Initial stop at Cagayan De Oro, Bacolod, and Legazpi City this June 20, July 4, and 18)
  • The Filipino Blogger Report 2009
    Will present report concept and questionnaire. This face-to-face survey shall be carried out during the roadshow and online.
  • DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Forum and DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2009 (October 20 and 21)
  • The Filipino E-Commerce Report 2009
    Will present report concept and questionnaire. This face-to-face survey shall be carried out prior to the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Forum and will be presented in the said event.
    

8:00 - 8:15 GeiserMaclang presentation
8:15 - 8:30 Extending your brand through social networks (Yehey.com experience in developing the Jollibee Sulit Sarap Challenge Facebook application - winner in the DigitalFilipino Social Networking Awards)

8:30 Cheers to Jay and Aileen, raffle, and networking time (billiards and karaoke)

Club members are encouraged to donate raffle prizes. Let me know if you will contribute any and will recognize you here.

• Schwags (Aileen)
  

I look forward in catching up. Kindly let me know if you can make it.

Planning the DigitalFilipino and Bloggers Networking Events in 2009

I am now in the process of fixing our calendar for the DigitalFilipino 2009 Roadshow where we intend to visit a minimum of 16 locations in and outside of Metro Manila throughout the year. However, to be able to pinpoint the target places and get the word out, we need to know if you will be interested to attend in case we will go to your location.

I will very much appreciate if you can fill-up this DigitalFilipino Roadshow 2009 form so we can plan effectively and keep in touch. I look forward in hearing from you.

November 20: DigitalFilipino.com Club Networking Event

The DigitalFilipino.com Club will be a having get-together this November 20 Thursday from 6 to 10 pm. I already e-mailed our club members about the venue. This will be our last one for the year.

Program as follows:

5:30 - 6:00 Registration
6:00 - 6:30 Socials and Dinner
6:30 - 7:00 DigitalFilipino.com Club Report (Janette Toral)

• Website competitiveness evaluation lessons learned in the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards.
• E-Learning program updates (e-commerce, Internet marketing, blogging, etc.)
  
• Plans for next year - 2009.
  
  • A lot of suggestions have been given to us such as being involved in 3 major events. The 1st one coming up is E-Services Philippines (February 2009). We have three services that will be launched at this time and will give you a snapshot.
    
  • Filipino Internet User Report 2009
    Some of you have been inquiring whether we have plans of updating our 2003 report on this topic. We've done a 1000 user face-to-face survey before and yes it can be done. However, this would require resource pooling and would like to put this on the table upfront.
  • DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Networking event nationwide
    
  • Suggestions on programs that we can undertake that will benefit the business interest of club members shall be discussed too.

7:00 - 7:20 Yehey.com presentation
7:20 - 7:40 Raffle
7:40 Socials

Club members are encouraged to pot luck on food and/or donate raffle prizes. Some contributions we got confirmed so far are:

• Lechon (Yehey!)
• Fruitcake and dessert goodies (MyLittleBaker)
• Pastries (Cashsense)
• Concert tickets (Titik Pilipino)
• Black and Decker toolkit (Avanza)
• 3G Phone (GeiserMaclang)
  
• I'll be updating this as I get more confirmation.
  

I look forward in catching up. Merry Christmas! (of course will be giving out our gifts at this time)

October 25: DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Manila Networking Event

The DigitalFilipino.com Club is organizing a fellowship/networking event where e-commerce industry players and bloggers can catch up and exchange updates. This will be on October 25, Saturday, 6 to 11 pm at Forum Hall, Casino Filipino, PIRC Bldg. Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Parañaque City. Shuttle to the venue is available. Pick up time will be at 5 pm and 6 pm at Starbucks 6750. Please contact Janette at digitalfilipino (at) gmail (dot) com should you be taking the shuttle.

This event is sponsored by our club member PAGCOR.

6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette

• DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2008
• DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates (online workshop and other efforts)
• Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 2008 (blogs that had big moves in 2008)
  

8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR launch Internet/E-Commerce project
8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Bloggers are welcome to attend this event for free. Just reply to this post with your name and blog address.

October 21: DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Davao Networking Event

The DigitalFilipino.com Club is organizing a fellowship/networking event where e-commerce industry players and bloggers can catch up and exchange updates. This will be on October 21, Tuesday, 6 to 11 pm at the Pantawan Hall, Grand Regal Hotel, Lanang, Davao City.

This event is sponsored by our club member PAGCOR.

6:00 - 7:00 Registration and Dinner
7:00 - 7:30 Guest introduction / plugs
Welcome Remarks - PAGCOR Branch Manager Arthur Malatag
7:30 - 8:00 Updates by Janette

• DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2008
• DigitalFilipino.com Club Updates (online workshop and other efforts)
• Ratified.org Philippines Top 100 Blogs 2008 (blogs that had big moves in 2008)
  

8:00 - 8:30 - PAGCOR Updates by President and COO Rafael "Butch" A. Francisco
8:30 - onwards - Raffle, Networking, Games

Bloggers are welcome to attend this event for free. Just reply to this post with your name and blog address.

January 22: DigitalFilipino.com Club 31st Networking Event / Birthday Treat

The DigitalFilipino.com Club will be having its 31st networking event this January 22, Tuesday, 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The venue shall be at the Penthouse, East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange / Tektite, Exchange Road, Pasig City.

Many thanks to Chikka.com for being our venue sponsor for this affair.

This event is exclusive for DigitalFilipino.com Club members only and are requested to confirm attendance for food count purposes. Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a member prior to January 22.

5:30 - 6:00 Registration
6:00 - 6:30 Introduction and updates by each club member

6:30 - 7:00 Announcement of January to April 2008 activities and members participation (DigitalFilipino Web Awards, Philippine Schools Cyberfair, supporting iBlog4, Summer Outing, Young Filipino Internet User Survey 2008)

7:00 - 7:30 State of Online Music in the Philippines

7:30 - onwards Networking among members (my birthday treat)

Club members are requested to confirm their attendance for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a member prior to January 22 and confirm attendance for food count purposes. There are three types of membership: Individual, SME, Corporate.

I hope you can all join. Thanks!

Cebu: Web 2.0 and Internet Marketing Workshop

All DigitalFilipino.com Club Members are invited to attend the forthcoming Web 2.0 Applications and Internet Marketing Workshop this February 7 and 8 at CEBU INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE EDUCATION COLLEGE No. 11 Wilson St. corner Pasteur St., Apas, Cebu City, Philippines (location map).

DigitalFilipino.com Club SME members can send 1 representative while Corporate members can send 2 representatives.

Individual club members can attend a one-day (or two half-day) session. Please confirm for food count purposes.

The training program shall be as follows:

February 7: Web 2.0 Applications

• 9:00 - 12:00 Overview of Web 2.0 Applications
  
• Introduction to Machine Learning
  
• Applications
• product / content recommendations
• group clustering
• search engine
• needs matching
• decision predictions
  
• price models
• independent content matching
• Hands-on exercises
• 1:00 - 5:00 Building Web 2.0 applications
  
• Using Open Web Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
• Facebook Application Platform
• Google OpenSocial
  
• Hands-on exercises

February 8: Internet Marketing Workshop

• 9:00 - 12:00 E-Mail / Newsletter Marketing
  
• Introduction to E-Mail Marketing
• Components of an E-Mail Marketing Campaign
• Hands-on exercise
• Introduction to Newsletter Creation
• Creating a newsletter
• Hands-on exercise
  
• 1:00 - 5:00 Search Engine Marketing
  
• Search engine optimization
• Keyword research
• Keyword placement in web site or blog
• Content is key
• Writing good titles, description, and articles
• Re-directing pages
• Sitemap creation
• RSS creation
• Submission to Web Directories
• Internet Advertising (paid placements)
  
• Monitoring Web Site Traffic

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as an Individual, SME, or Corporate member prior to February 7 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Rowell Luna: Plans to Convert Pandeli to Portal in 2008

Rowell Luna is someone I have known for quite sometime now. Like many dotcom players, his site Pandeli.com went through a stage of slow growth - gradually educating the market, suppliers, and bakeries on the benefits of promoting one's business online.

In 2007, he was able to resolve and decide on the most practical way of accepting payments online. For 2008, he plans to expand his site to a portal where bakeries, suppliers, and the likes will find it as a venue to find each other and interact.

Advertising revenue program for blogs

Last January 6, 2007, I've decided to put up an earning scheme for bloggers through advertising. This was first offered to DigitalFilipino.com Club Members. Due to increasing number of advertisers, I'm now accepting any blogger in the world to join.

There are three ways to earn:

1. A fee shall be paid by including an ad link in one's blog post or website article. Depending on the blog or website popularity, fees can vary from US$1 to US$10. The said blog post or website article where the link is added to should not have less than 200 words.
2. An ad link can also be posted and seen site-wide. Fees can vary from US$5 to US$85. The ad link should be immediately seen upon loading of the page.
3. Websites can also be reviewed, not necessarily a positive one. Fees vary from US$5 to US$125.

Terms:

1. The link should remain for a period of at least one year in the said blog post or website article.
2. The ad should be the only one linked in a blog post or website article.
3. Your blog or website should be active, having at least 2 post or article a week, and regularly promoted.
4. Payouts are released every 1st Friday of the month through Paypal.
5. The more active your blog or website is, the more assignments you'll receive. Your rate increases as well in due time.
   
6. These ad assignments can be about our websites, our clients, SME club members, and corporate club members.

I initially e-mail blast this to DigitalFilipino.com Club Members for dissemination and now using other means to attract more bloggers.

Prior to roll-out of this project, I tested the concept and happy that it passed the Stickiness Aptitude Test. With a growing advertiser base, I'm happy to see this program get rolled out to as many bloggers as possible.

Your feedback on how this program can be enhanced will be very much appreciated. Parties interested can add me to their YM or GTalk. My id is digitalfilipino.

Thank you.

Forthcoming changes in the club

As the DigitalFilipino.com Club turns 4 years old this Christmas, I must say that its time has come to be properly upgraded that shall include the following changes and will be seen in the last quarter:

• Creation of specialized content section
  As our content has grown in time, I will be creating sections on various interest topics where materials shall be filled in on a regular basis that ranges from marketing, project management, outsourcing, product management, research, writing, traffic analytics, among others.
• Post live projects in the innovation forum
  I've converted our forums to an innovation section to discuss possible project opportunities. This time, I'll be citing projects that can be explored for collaboration and revenue sharing.

We will also be having our One Internet Day event this November. I will have the venue finalized soon and shall post the details when ready. I think the improvement of approach to the club is necessary as we get more members outside of the Philippines.

On another note, I'm helping one of our club members promote this HDB. I'm sure there'll be a lot of opportunities here.

Online tutorials are now up

Hello club members. I just like you to know that our online tutorial section is now up and have uploaded our first video, audio, and handout with exercise.

Our first topic is all about Integrating Feedburner in Blogger.com. We are also learning in the process of doing this and your suggestions on future topics will be very much appreciated.



More to come!

Switching to online video / audio tutorials

One of the things happening right now in the DigitalFilipino.com Club is that our growing membership base has expanded outside of the Philippines. This poses the challenge for our hands-on training workshops be made available to as many club members as possible.

I've been getting requests to post videos of our training to benefit those who are too busy to attend. After participating in the Thirty Day Challenge, I finally got the much needed inspiration on how to execute it. In that regard, please expect podcast and video content to be posted in our membership site and blogs shortly.

We've had so much content to put online that covers our training in the past such as:

• E-mail marketing
• Website marketing
• Website evaluation
  
• E-commerce website development
• Setting-up and analyzing website traffic
• Online payment acceptance
• E-Newsletter creation
• Website enhancement
• Google Adsense
• Google AdWords
• Blogging
• E-commerce workshop
• E-commerce basics

All video/podcast presentations shall be supplemented by handouts that can downloaded from the members-only area. It will also be accompanied by exercises that you can work on and submit to me for further one-on-one interaction.

Your suggestions on the content will be very much appreciated.

Lessons Learned in Launching and Operating a Membership Only Site

I just found a great post from Yaro Starak sharing his experience in launching a members-only site. I will cite some of the key points in his post and share my experience as well in starting and maintaining the DigitalFilipino.com Club from December 2003 to the present.

• Build your preeminence
  Becoming known as an expert in your field requires a lot of hard work and investment. In my case, writing numerous articles, joining or forming an association catering to that niche, creating free e-learning programs (using an autoresponder), doing speaking engagement and advocacy on e-commerce helped in establishing myself in this area.
  
  This is a continuous effort and getting your contacts to spread the word for you will be helpful, in addition to your resources.
  
  
• Communication channels
  My mailing list/newsletter is one of the most important moves I've taken when putting up DigitalFilipino.com. By the time the membership club was launched, I have sufficient number of contacts to offer the membership and pitch it whenever appropriate.
  
  
• How to launch a membership site
  The right combination of tools must be available to launch a membership site. For me, I used WebsiteWizard to start my online membership program. That web service allowed me to:
• accept payments online
• have a members-only area where members can download research reports, join forums
• have a mailing list system that can be used for broadcasting services.
  
  
• Content and pricing
  A membership site will have higher chances of success if individuals that join or sign-up will find high quality content. In our case, these are composed of research reports, e-commerce related e-books, tutorials, advice, presentation papers by fellow members, among others. Always give more than what they pay for.
  
  Depending on which country you are based and the package you're offering, pricing may differ from one membership program to another. To find the right price is to get an estimate on the value you are offering. Adjust this based on freshness of offerings and changes in the target market.
  

August 1: DigitalFilipino.com Club 29th Networking Event with Bloggers

The DigitalFilipino.com Club will be having its 29th networking event this August 1 Wednesday, 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The venue shall be at Max Restaurant, Park Square 1, Makati City.

Our sincerest thanks to Yehey.com for hosting our small get together.

This gathering is exclusive for DigitalFilipino.com Club members only and are requested to confirm attendance for food count purposes. Those who submitted entries to the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007 writing project were also invited.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a member prior to August 1.

Agenda shall be as follows:

5:30 - 6:00 Registration
6:00 - 6:30 Introduction and updates by each club member and blogger guests

6:30 - 7:00 Updates from Yehey.com

7:00 - 7:30 Club Updates (Janette Toral)
- 2007 Young Filipino Internet User Top Websites
- Final Result: The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007

7:30 - 8:00 Raffle of Ten Entry Winners in the The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007 (Prizes sponsored by YesPayments.com, YesPinoy.com, GiveMeUnlimited.com, RegaloService.com, and GalingPinoy.com)

8:00 - 9:00 Networking among members and bloggers

Club members are requested to confirm their attendance for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a member prior to June 29 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

There are three types of membership: Individual, SME, Corporate.

We hope you can join. Thank you.

June 29: DigitalFilipino.com Club 28th Networking Event

The DigitalFilipino.com Club will be having its 28th networking event this June 29, 2007 Friday, 2:00 to 5:00 pm. The venue shall be at EGG Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City.

Our sincerest thanks to Asia Pacific E-Serv Corporation for hosting our small get together. This gathering is exclusive for DigitalFilipino.com Club members only and are requested to confirm attendance for food count purposes.

Agenda shall be as follows:

1:30 - 2:00 Registration
2:00 - 2:15 Introduction and updates by each club member
2:15 - 3:00 Internet Payment Solution Service (Ronald Magleo, Asia Pacific E-Serv Corporation)
3:00 - 4:00 Club Updates (Janette Toral)

• Changes in the Filipino Internet User Profile in the past 13 years of the Philippine Internet (release of the Filipino Internet User Report 2007: Youth-Focused)
• Blogging 101 Workshop E-Book release
  

4:00 - 5:00 Networking among members

Club members are requested to confirm their attendance for food count purposes.

Interested non-members are requested to sign up as a member prior to June 29 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

There are three types of membership: Individual, SME, Corporate.

We hope you can join. Thank you.

June 7: Website Marketing Hands-On Tutorial

To all SME and Corporate members of the DigitalFilipino.com Club, we shall be having a Website Marketing hands-on tutorial session this June 7, Thursday, from 9 am to 5 pm. This will be held at Alfox Internet Cafe (beside Chowking), Kamuning Road, corner Edsa, Quezon City.

Topics include:

1. Writing good page titles
2. Meta tags
3. Proper text formatting
4. Creating a sitemap
5. Search engine registration
6. Blog marketing
7. Internet Advertising
8. Website traffic monitoring
   

SME members can send 1 representative while Corporate members can send 2 representatives. Please confirm for food count purposes.

Interested non-members and individual members are requested to sign up as an SME or Corporate member prior to June 7 and confirm attendance for food count purposes.

We hope you can join. Thank you.

Organizing an online writing project

Last week had been fairly exciting as I joined a group writing project for the first time. Although I did not received any monetary prize, the value of getting to discover new blogs, the link love, ideas inspiration, and website traffic (even for a short period of time), made it all worth it.

There were a lot of posts I read citing that majority of blogs today are bound to fail. I believe that the reasons behind it can include:

• Unable to build a readership base.
• Had a hard time in earning some link love. It seems that link love is easiest gained by participating in some online or offline social activities.
• The blogger starts getting lost and ponder as to why they are blogging in the first place.
• and there are many more (please feel free to add your thoughts)

Last Saturday, I acted on this lingering idea of initiating a writing project, The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007, but with emphasis on recognizing new blogs that are out there today. What inspired me to do it includes:

• I noticed that majority of connections and community members in MyBlogLog have blogs that are less than a year old. This is a good opportunity to put the spotlight on them.
• Getting bloggers to recognize the new ones may perhaps contribute in lessening the percentage of blogs that lose inspiration, fail, and die within a year.
• New faces! Sometimes it gets tiring to see the old ones being mentioned again and again and again.
  
• Take this project as a means to promote some of our corporate club members and other sponsors during the activity.

I'm conservative on the number of entries this effort will generate. However, in the years to come, I hope it will gain momentum.