Rinoa's Virtual Buzz

Theme: How Can We Make the Internet Accessible for Everyone?

Prior to the OneWebDay Celebration (Sept 22), PIUS Inc is proud to launch a blogging competition in order to encourage discourses and discussions on the role of information technology and the internet in our society, bearing in mind the challenges that the Philippines faces today.

All Filipino Bloggers are invited to join 2Blog+2Act: A Blogging Competition and write a blog post on the topic, How Can We Make the Internet Accessible for Everyone?

The blog should have clear idea/proposal and with strong opening and closing statements. Since the Competition also hopes to motivate people to act, the piece should have strong appeal to encourage readers or concerned sectors to do something to make internet accessible for everyone.

Details on how to participate are found in this site - http://piusonline.com/index.php/onewebday/blogging.


Eligibility and Language

The 2Blog+2Act Competition (“Competition”) is open to Filipino citizens who are residents of the Philippines or any country, who are at least fifteen (15) years of age at the time of this publication, and who have been maintaining blogs as of January 1, 2009. You may write in English or in Filipino.

HURRY, JOIN NOW!!!!

In conjunction with Nuffnang's second anniversary and with their title sponsor, Pringles, the first ever Asia Pacific Blog Awards is on. The awards night will be held in Uniquely Singapore on October 23, 2009. The blog awards is held to recognize the excellence of renowned bloggers from the Asia-Pacific region.

Honouring the best of the blogosphere, Nuffnang will be running one month of open nominations and one month of voting. This will eventually culminate in a GRAND Gala Dinner in Singapore. 400 bloggers and guests from all over the region will be transported and accomodated all for free and paid for by Nuffnang.

Bloggers will walk the red carpet being for once, at the other end of the camera, entertained by a celebrity host + top local and regional acts, dining with class and enjoying what Singapore has to offer in a full day exclusive programme!

You can nominate any blogger as long as they originate from this region. You may nominate the same blogger for multiple categories. Each category will have 5 finalists, handpicked by a distinguished panel and revealed on 23rd of September 2009.

The 12 categories are:

1. Best Blog Shop
2. Best Food Blog
3. Best Fashion Blog
4. Best Parenting Blog
5. Best Travel Blog
6. Best Geek Blog
7. Best Celebrity Blog
8. Best Entertainment Blog
9. Best Original Blog Design
10. Most Influential Blog
11. Best Hidden Gem
12. Region’s Best Blog (Not open for nomination)

Visit awards.nuffnang.com to find out more and nominate your favourite bloggers!

The Philippine Internet Users Society, Inc. (PIUS) is holding 2Blog+2Act: A Blogging Competition , which formally opens on June 15. The competition is open to all bloggers who have been maintaining blogs as of January 1, 2009.

The competition aims to recognize the best blogs written on the topic, “How Can We Make the Internet Accessible for Everyone?” The top winning blogger will receive a plaque and a cash prize of P30,000. The Second and Third Prize winners will also receive plaques and cash prizes of P20,000 and P10,000 respectively.

This blogging competition is part of the OneWebDay Celebration which will be held in the Philippines for the first time on September 22, 2009. The OneWebDay celebration is a global simultaneous event which was founded by Susan Crawford in 2006. Crawford, according to the OneWebDay website, “now advises President Obama on science, technology, and innovation policy at the National Economic Council.” The first-ever celebration in the Philippines is being hosted by PIUS and will feature exhibits, forums, and a social/professional networking event.

The blogging competition is just one of the pocket events being organized. The Celebration will also hold essay-writing contest, band competition, art/painting contest, and even an e-commerce open competition meant for netpreneurs.

The blogging competition which is co-hosted by Asyanna (www.asyanna.com), an upcoming online shop of Asian products, aims to encourage discourses and discussions on the role of information technology and the internet in our society, bearing in mind the challenges that the Philippines faces today.

According to Mike Alunan, CEO of PIUS, “Blogging has become a very powerful tool in disseminating information as well as in advocacy. It also provides a very accessible and cheap venue where practically everyone can freely express or read opinions. This competition, therefore, takes advantage of this powerful medium and hopefully, in the process of our advocacy, will pave the way for better access to the internet for everyone.”

Meanwhile, Asyanna’s partner, Mei Velas-Suarin, who is also a blogger at Wordpress and a writer in Suite101 online magazine (www.suite101.com), emphasized the importance of the internet in both the personal and professional spheres. “With the internet, we have created a much smaller world. We can blog and reach out to millions. This was not possible before. More importantly, the internet has made it possible for small entrepreneurs to carve their own niches. We may be small but our combined numbers make the millions!”

Details on the competition, the organizers and OneWebDay can be viewed via www.piusonline.org.