Agenda were as follows:

VENUE OPTIONS

1. Punta Villa

• Php10,000 – complete amenities (function room, chairs, tables, air-conditioned, sound system)
• wifi connection is still on the works though
• LCD rental is Php2,000
• Food/person:  Php225 – lunch, Php140 – snacks and Php225 for dinner(optional)

2. University of Iloilo

• prepare email to be forwarded to the person in charge c/o Mawe.

3. CAP

• Php10,000 for the whole auditorium (take note that this does not include the food, etc.)

4. Tatoy’s

• pay only for the food, minimum of Php500 for lunch and 2 snacks

5. The Venue (for PBA)

• Php40,000 is consumable (no dinner just cocktails)
• c/o Marcos, JorP and Bernie

It was decided that the VBS will be held at Punta Villa. Possible expenses for 200 pax:

Php10,000 – function room

Php140 – 2 snacks

Php225 – lunch

Php2,000 – LCD

= Php85,000

PBA will be held at The Venue. Possible expenses for 200 pax:

Php40,000 – venue and food (consumable, cocktails)

TOPICS

Topics for VBS must be finalized ASAP. It was suggested that the first topic should be about Blogging 101.

GUESTS

It was decided last meeting June 30^th that online registration will start on September. And it was also decided at that meeting that there will only be a maximum of 200 attendees. It was suggested by Mawe last Sunday that we invite 2 students from selected universities here in Iloilo to attend the VBS so that they will be encouraged to blog as well.

Friends from the media will be invited as well. So we must expect a total of 200 to 250 attendees for the Visayas Blogging Summit.

Additional Topics

• Who will be our emcee?
• Ask Junelle for access to the VBS website so we can start adding content.

Here’s the list of attendees and their blogs:

1. Berniemack Arellano III – www.habagatcentral.com
2. Efren – efrenefren.com
3. Mawe Barrios – www.iloiloblogger.com
4. JorP – http://www.flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com/
5. Mary Jane Cabrera – www.maryjanecabrera.com
6. Ethel Mae Reyes – www.ilonggos.net
7. Eddie “Junnjun” Mendoza, Jr. – http://www.gigsilonggo.com, http://www.junnjunmendoza.com

Gave our thoughts about BLOGGING and promoted the upcoming VISAYAS BLOGGING SUMMIT & PHILIPPINE BLOG AWARDS-Visayas.

To quote Nong Jorp: “We forgot to say that we are looking for sponsors.” LOL!

Agenda were as follows:

1. Sponsorship Letter and Package Deals:

Will be finalized by Efren (add website details, logo, venue, etc.). Exchange deals are also an option. Hopefully this will be ready for distribution on our next meeting.

2. Website Status:

Our website for the VBS is www.visayasbloggers.com and it is already live. It can now be included in the sponsorship letter/package. Additional content is also needed for the website. Most contents will be added after the summit.

3. Venue:

Junelle has already spoken with her contact at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol and all we need now is a request letter addressed to the governor. Her contact will forward the letter to gov. Efren has drafted a letter already so please check it out on our Google Wave thread about VBS.

4. VBS Logo:

We should all try to incorporate the VBS official logo on our blogs.

5. Speakers:

Miss Janette Toral and Maria Ressa are 2 of the 4 speakers. We need 2 more.

6. Official Letter to the City Government:

Efren (because you are the best in letter writing!) will draft a letter to the city government informing them of the summit. This will make things more easier for us – like the Dagoy dolls.

7. Second Day Tour

Marcos was not present during the meeting so this is still an on-hold topic and will be discussed further next meeting.

8. Souvenirs:

The Dagoy Dolls – We should ask permission from the tourism office first.

9. Additional Topics:

• Hotel accommodation for our speakers and guests. (Days Hotel – JorP, One Lourdes Dormitel – Efren)
• Food – either consumable (The Avenue or at Days Hotel – Jorp). Mawe will also contact Nes and Tat’s about their rates.
• It has been decided that we will only set a maximum of 200 guests for the VBS. So this is on a first come-first serve basis, so it is better to tell guests register now. Only those who have blogs will be prioritized for now. Mawe also suggested that we invite more bloggers from Iloilo because this will be our way of recruiting more members for the org.
• Ask Eric about the air fares of the speakers. Should we shoulder it or not?

We are making progress guys! Let us continue working together pa guid!

Here’s the list of attendees and their blogs:

1. Efren Efren – www.efrenefren.com
2. Eddie “Junnjun” Mendoza, Jr. – http://www.gigsilonggo.com, http://www.junnjunmendoza.com
3. Mawe Barrios – www.iloiloblogger.com
4. Jorry S. Pallada – www.flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com
5. Ethel Mae Reyes – www.ilonggos.net
6. Antoine Greg Flores – www.agboi.blogspot.com
7. Junelle Caravana – http://babsy.name/
8. Mary Jane Cabrera – www.maryjanecabrera.com
9. Annabelle Adrales – www.dreamersnook.com

The Iloilo Bloggers meet-up last Sunday, April 25th at Dos Marias Pizzeria to discuss the Visayas Blogging Summit which will happen on November 27-28, 2010. The Iloilo Bloggers will be the host of this year’s VBS.

Agenda were as follows:

1. Committee Assignments

• Overall in Charge: Junelle Caravana, Bernie Arellano, Enrico Dee

They will be the ones in charge of all the committees.

• Creative Committee: Ethel Mia Reyes, Antoine Greg Flores

Ethel is in charge of designing the logo and the website (collaborate with Marcos), advertising/publicity, tarpaulins, etc. while Greg will be in charge of the venue decorations. etc.

• Venue: Mawe Barrios, Junnjunn Mendoza

They will be the ones in charge of looking for the perfect venue.

• Sponsors: Efren Efren, Mary Jane Cabrera

Will make the proposal (sponsorship package) and hunt for possible sponsors.

• Food: Jorry Palada

Will be in charge of, you know – the food. Will collaborate with the committe in charge of the venue (Mawe B and Junnjun M).

• Program: Junelle C, Bernie A, Eric Dee

In charge of the topics (4 sessions), speakers, registration, IDs, etc. of the program.

• Tour: Marcos Caratao Jr.

Will be in charge of the itinerary, transportation, permits, etc. Tour will be on the second day, November 28th.

2. Team Building

Hopefully we will have our team building next month. This will be discussed again in our next meeting.

3. Recruit more bloggers.

There are so many bloggers here in Iloilo and we must try to contact them.

4. Meeting will be every 2 weeks.

Aside from our online discussions we will also have a meeting every 2 weeks. Our next meeting will be on May 9th, 3PM at New York Barbecue. Try to bring another blogger!

The Visayas Blogging Summit will be the first major event to be hosted by the Iloilo Bloggers. One key to this event’s success is learning how to handle challenges that will inevitably come up. Cooperation is a must!

Here’s the list of attendees and their blogs:

1. Efren Efren – efrenefren.com
2. Eddie “Junnjun” Mendoza, Jr. – http://www.gigsilonggo.com, http://www.junnjunmendoza.com
3. Mawe Barrios – http://www.mawesadobo.info
4. Jorry S. Pallada – flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com
5. Ethel Mae Reyes – ilonggos.net
6. Antoine Greg Flores – agboi.blogspot.com
7. Junelle Caravana – http://babsy.name/
8. Mary Jane Cabrera – maryjanecabrera.com

Iloilo Bloggers Inc.

First of all we are proud to announce to everyone that our organization – Iloilo Bloggers Inc. is now officially registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission with SEC No. CN201027519. Special thanks to Junelle Caravana for doing all the legwork and the other things needed for the registration process. Salamat guid Nel!

And here’s the agenda of our meeting last January 14th:

1. Announcement of the SEC registration and turnover of documents (Membership Book, certificates, etc.)  from Junelle to me.
2. Media Pass for Dinagyang will be taken care of by the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc.
3. The Iloilo Bloggers will have 2 IDs. One Media/Events ID and one official ID and the layout will be taken care of by Marcos.
4. Junelle and Junnjun were the final representatives for the Tibiao Media Tour. They went to Tibiao, Antique last weekend January 15th to 17th.
5. We will have a Kasadyahan Meeting on January 23rd and the Media Passes for Dinagyang are expected to be ready on this day. Location is TBA because the restaurants and cafes will not accept reservations due to the Kasadyahan celebrations. Bloggers from Manila are expected to attend as well as forumers from  Skyscraper City.
6. We are looking for bloggers or non-bloggers who could volunteer to take note of tourist spots here in Iloilo then map them at Google Maps. This was requested by Miss Janette Toral and Miss Aileen Apollo so that it will be easier for them and other tourists to find the gems of Iloilo.
7. We are also invited by Spa Riviera on February 7th to avail of their Free Spa Services at SM City Iloilo’s Activity Center. Please arrive early so we can be accommodated first.
8. Now that we are SEC registered we will finally reorganize/restructure the Iloilo Bloggers website. We will prioritize the IloiloBloggers.com website, it will be our main portal.

After Dinagyang we will focus on the different ways we can improve our organization and on how we can help Iloilo as well. We will talk more about this on our next meeting this Saturday, January 23rd during Kasadyahan. We hope more bloggers will attend. This organization as well as any other orgs will only thrive if all the members will cooperate and help each other. If anyone has questions or suggestions please feel free to approach any of the officers. Thank you!

Here’s the list of attendees and their blogs:

1. Marcos P. Caratao Jr. – http://www.exploreiloilo.com/
2. Junelle Caravana – http://babsy.name/
3. Emmanuel Barrios – http://www.mawesadobo.info
4. Riza Belgira – http://pinoyfoodtaste.blogspot.com/
5. Vicente de la Fuente – http://iluvprada.blogspot.com/
6. Antoine Greg Flores – www.agboi.blogspot.com
7. Mary Jane Cabrera – www.maryjanecabrera.com

July 4, 2009 Digital Filipino event at PAGCOR Bacolod. This was the first event that a few of Iloilo Bloggers attended. A first meeting for those few of us.

July 31, 2009 SM Wi-Fi Launching. The event didn’t turn out the way we expected.

August 15, 2009 First official Iloilo Bloggers Meeting at Fort San Pedro.

September 5, 2009 Meeting at JD Roadhouse.

September 21, 2009 Meeting at Joey’s Pepperoni Pizzaria

September 28, 2009 SEO Workshop by Maam Janette Toral at Netopia SM City.

September 29, 2009 Meet and Greet with Luzon Bloggers at Green Mango

October 4, 2009 Food Bloggers event at SM City. This time, we had fun because we were face to face with delicious food. Bloggers love food

October 18, 2009 Philippine Blog Awards Visayas. Proudly, one of our member got an award, which is the “Best Visayas Locale Blog” – CONGRATS MARCOS! Also during this event, Marcos and I received a sponsor awards – Globe Digital Tribe.

October 31, 2009 Meeting at Kopi Roti

Iloilo Bloggers

November 28, 2009 Joined heART Campaign

November 29, 2009 A fail online conference

December 1, 2009 Invited by Red Ribbon for launching of new products

December 4, 2009 Bloggers Trip to Roxas for Western Visayas Tourism Assembly

As I could remember these are the activities we had last year, and I expect more this 2010.

Good Luck to US – AMEN!

Iloilo Bloggers

The Iloilo Bloggers had their 6th successful meeting yesterday, November 21st at Kopi Roti, Smallville.

The agenda were as follows:

1. heART Campaign
Patrick Mabilog, a new addition to the Iloilo Bloggers family, asked support from the org by doing what we can for the heART Campaign. The heART Campaign is a new movement started by the Marketing Society Inc. which is an academic group of BS BA major in Marketing students from UPV. The heART Campaign’s objective is to bring a new culture into society that puts priority into having the “heart” for whatever “art” or craft that they venture into.

So as bloggers, it was discussed that we can help their campaign by spreading the word in what we do best – blogging. We can write features and connect with their campaigns, to name a few. Patrick also invited us to join their press conference soon. He’ll just inform our president when. And we are also invited to attend their oathtaking ceremony. So if you are an artist, feel free to join!

To learn more about the heART Campaign check out their webpage.

2. Dinagyang
Junelle, on behalf of the Iloilo Bloggers, has sent a letter to the Dinagyang committee asking permission for the bloggers to have media passes. Ma’am Nena Magalona has responded that right now they are still reviewing the guidelines for media accreditation and they will let us know by the last week of November if we will be given media passes.

3. Registration Fee
The registration fee of Php200 was agreed upon. It will cover the expenses for the T-Shirt, ID and the membership fee. The membership fee will be a source of funds of the org.

4. Bank Account
It has been decided that Efren, our Treasurer will open a bank account at UnionBank under the name of the Iloilo Bloggers and will be signed by him and our president Claire Bretana. UnionBank was chosen so that it will be easier for the org to acquire a PayPal account. All funds will go to the bank account.

5. Red Ribbon
Red Ribbon has launched new products that would surely give people a “deliciously memorable experience” so in line with this Miss Meyan B. Lim (Marketing Services Officer of VisMin Operations) would like to invite 2 representatives from the Iloilo Bloggers to join them in celebrating their newest product offerings. They will be showcasing some of the offerings through a tasting event solely for the media on December 1st , 3PM to 4PM at the Red Ribbon store in SM City Iloilo. Press conference will follow.

We have no representatives yet. Contact Junelle or Claire before December 1st if interested.

6. Online Conference
We will have an online conference on November 29th at 8PM to follow up on our plans so please send or post your Yahoo Messenger ID to our Facebook events page. Our president Claire will be in charge of the conference.

7. Bloggers Forum
John Ray Recabar – a new member of the Iloilo Bloggers – has invited Claire and Antoine Greg to attend a Blogger’s Forum for his students at UPV on January. More details will follow regarding this.

8. Minor topics:
-Profile “makeovers” at IloiloBloggers.com. And only the profiles of the active members will be posted at the website. Before removing profiles it has been agreed upon that the inactive members’ will be informed first so they will be given the chance to introduce themselves to the org personally.
-Tithes every meeting was suggested.

And here’s the list of attendees and their blogs:

1. Eddie “Junnjun” Mendoza, Jr. – http://www.gigsilonggo.com, http://www.junnjunmendoza.com
2. Antoine Greg Flores – www.agboi.blogspot.com
3. John Ray Recabar – http://johnrayrecabar.wordpress.com, http://salin.wordpress.com
4. Ronald Medina – http://www.visita-iglesia.com
5. Vinz de la Fuente – www.e-buzzonline.com
6. Jesa Christine T. Capagal – www.fadstock.tk, www.mheesgee.blogspot.com
7. Gian Tamayo – www.gianex.blogspot.com
8. Efren – blog.efrenefren.com
9. Junelle Caravana – www.babsy.name
10. Duds Daquilanea – www.taga-iloilo.blogspot.com
11. Marie Claire Bretana – www.malditangpinay.com
12. Mary Jane Cabrera – www.maryjanecabrera.com
13. Patrick H. Mabilog – www.wix.com/heartcampaign/webpage

So what has been discussed?

• Media Pass
  • The group created a draft letter to be given to Tourism officers.

Iloilo Bloggers

• Fund Raising
  • Christmas Caroling seems too hard to be implemented since not everyone are active. Greg suggested we just focus on building the group for more people to be aware of us.
• Awareness Activity
  • We approach event organizers to let us cover the event and acknowledge the group. (Example, during Tigkaralag festival, I called the tourism officer if Iloilo Bloggers could cover the event, and during the event they acknowledge us even if it was just me covering it. It was nice hearing Iloilo Bloggers is one of the media covering the event. – LATEST: Greg has informed me of a Fashion show, which I forwarded to those interested like Vince, who blogs about Fashion)
  • We need to contact shops or any company owners to inform us if they have promos or sale so that those interested bloggers could blog about it. (Ex. The sale at Off-Price store, info could be seen at Explore Iloilo and Gigs Ilonggo as informed by the Manager – who is luckily one of of members, Efren)
• Membership fee
  • This is one resort for us to have funds, at first during our previous meeting, we discussed Php 100 which will cover the ID, so we raised it to Php 200 [to be confirmed by the President] just enough for the group to have funds. (better to discuss on the next meeting)
• Next Meeting
  • Saturday, November 14, 2009 – 6PM – venue needs to be discussed.

More pics during the meeting:

Iloilo Bloggers

Iloilo Bloggers

Iloilo Bloggers

Agenda:
- Media Pass for Dinagyang
- Caroling
- logo
- walang katapusang discussion sang T-shirt
- event to plan (ma charity ta?)

All bloggers are invited to take part in the said event. Free food and drinks. There will also be a place for bloggers to sit and talk, or to charge their laptops.

The event will be blogged and documented by bloggers. In fact, they are encouraged to take photos of the dishes that will be presented. Information about each foodcourt tenant will be provided.

Tomorrow afternoon there will be a Food Bloggers Event at SM Foodcourt. The starting time, however, has been moved to 12:00 noon because there will be another event at the Activity Center at 3 pm. Registration starts promptly at 12 noon.

First come, first served.

Registration is needed because only the first 15 bloggers to register will get the full range of freebies from the event’s sponsors. The rest of the group who were late and those who did not send their names and blog URLs will not get certificates.

However, there will still be raffle prizes where everyone can join as long as they have registered for the event. The total value of the raffle prizes and freebies is worth nearly 4,000 pesos.

Here is the list of bloggers I have sent to Mr Leo Sorita, Marketing Manager of SM City Foodcourt:

1. Vicente de la Fuente – http://iluvprada.blogspot.com/
2. Riza Belgira – http://pinoyfoodtaste.blogspot.com/
3. Jalexander Hongco – http://theorygame.wordpress.com/ or http://theorygame.multiply.com/
4. Maribeth Daquilanea – http://www.dudsonline.com/index.html
5. GM Roland Agreda – http://www.xmodx.com/
6. Junelle Caravana – http://babsy.name/
7. Marie Claire Bretana – http://www.malditangpinay.com/
9. Alvin John Juliano – http://ohmyiloilo.wordpress.com/
10. Leomel Pasquin – http://totomel.wordpress.com/
11. Emmanuel Barrios – http://www.iloilohotels.info or http://www.mawesadobo.info
12. Sarah Jean Tillo – http://www.tsiken.com/
13. Rodrick Guarin – http://shurikenstuff.blogspot.com/
14. Kristine Buenavista – http://modernpatadyong.ph/
15. Gian Carlo Tamayo -http://earthlingstuffs.blogspot.com/
16. Ronald Medina -http://www.visita-iglesia.com/
17. JunnJun Mendoza – http://gigsilonggo.com, http://junnjunmendoza.com, http://www.youngentreps.co.cc, http://www.newsbits.co.cc, http://www.mymusicportal.co.cc, http://musikero.co.cc

The SM Foodcourt Marketing people has provided the following program schedule:

PROGRAM
Registration: 12:00 nn – 12:45 pm
Welcome Remarks: 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm
Food Pictorial: 1:15 pm – 1:30 pm
Food Tasting: 1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Blogging: 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Awarding of Tokens & Raffle: 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm

A sofa and some chairs will be provided for bloggers. If they want to live blog, electrical outlets will be provided and they can use the free wifi at SM City. Everyone is encouraged to take pictures of the food and publish these online.

In return for all these, SM Foodcourt is asking all bloggers to blog about the event, mention the names of restaurants and food stall tenants, and generally engage their readers to eat at SM Foodcourt.

Please come either in black or white outfit. Your cooperation is highly appreciated. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Claire Bretana
President
Iloilo Bloggers