I arrived in Manila at around 10PM of September 5, Friday. My Uncle was there to fetch me from the airport. I was so excited about the event happening the following day, WordCamp Philippines Saint Benilde. Dubbed as the first WordCamp in Southeast Asia.
I woke up at around 5AM, prepared myself for the said occassion. I pulled out my red WordPress shirt that I got from the Mini-WordCamp Davao. It was quite early when I arrived at Saint Benilde, so I decided to see my girlfriend first.
I entered the gates of Saint Benilde at good 8:10 in the morning. My Campers ID had the number 095 on it. Unfortunately, not a very lucky number. Since, I did not won anything during the raffle. It took a while before things got started. And as things finally kicked off, the morning sessions began. So was this yhe start of my disappointment.
Blogging 102, basics and beyond was a pretty nice start though. There have been a couple of new thoughts and ideas that I gained. In this session, I also learned about AIDERSS, and some of it’s cool features. But still, I’ll remain using FeedBurner.
The next session seemed to be a bit boring. WordPres for Corporate Websites followed. Introducing the page feature and some other CMS common functions of WOrdPress. All these little things have been pretty familiar to me ever since I started using this blogging software. CFORM plugin, page as frontpage, and all those basics, you know. I even consider the documentary more interesting than the speaker that time.
The most anticipated session was WP and SEO (based on the jam-packed room of Campers even standing on the side and at the back). But, unfortunately, I’m not the only one who feels a little disappointed about this “supposed to be” awesome session.
Hans Koch listed down 10 pretty useful SEO related plugins, all of them, which I came to make use of very often. And yes, again, nothing new that I have gained. I really expected a lot more.
After the morning session, we had lunch all together. Yet, I was unable to pay much attention to the Campers as I had to great my girlfriend for lunch. She had been waiting for quite a while already outside the Saint Benilde Campus. When I came back, the afternoon sessions begun, which was pretty boring as well.
Topics discussed include Google Analytics, Performancing Ads, i dot PH blogs (correct me if I’m wrong), WP 2.7 and beyond and Q&A with Matt. Among all these topics, WP 2.7 and beyond really gained my attention and interest, and that was all.
I totally hated those sponsored talks, like performacing ads for example. With this, I’d like to come to a conclusion about this event. This is all that I would like to share about WordCamp Philippines. I hope that WordCamp 2009 will be a bit better than this year’s WordCamp.
Bloggers:
0. The Best and Most Memorable Blogger Event in the Phils by Jehzeel Laurente
1. I Got Wordcamped! by Tess Termulo
2. The First WordCamp in Southeast Asia by Adrian Jeric Peña
3. My WordCamp Experience by Master Betong
4. WordCamp Philippines by Hannah Rika Villasis
5. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Nina Fuentes
6. Matt at WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Binary Silver
7. Matt Mullenweg Highlights from WordCamp Phils by The Bachelor Girl
8. WordCamp Philippines Report by Fear the Spork
9. WordCamp Philippines Shirt Please by Evenly Piece
10. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Alrenz Cabasa
11. WordCamp Philippines 2008: A Success!
12. WordCamp Phils, 1st Southeast Asia WordCamp by Ana Katharina Pena
13. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Aftermath by Zero Blade
14. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Mae Paulino
15. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Green Bucks
16. Matt Mullenweg by Charmed Mom
17. WordCamp PH 2008 and Afterparty by Carlo Reid
18. WordCamp Philippines After-Party by The WordCamp Philippines Blog
19. WordCamp Philippines 08 by Project 365 Days
20. WordCamp 2008 Philippines by Karla Redor
21. Live Blogging from WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Spilled Lustre
22. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Aja Lapus
23. Experiencing WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Here’s to Life!
24. WordCamp Manila Blow-by-blow by Jonel Uy
25. Just got home from WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Jayvee Fernandez
26. Bloggers’ Event: WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Ada Lajara
27. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Winners and Bloopers by Funny Sexy
28. WordCamping 2008 by Billycoy
29. Ernie Meets Matt Mullenweg by AJ Matela
30. Matt Mullenweg, Volunteers, and WordCamp Phils by Misteryosa
31. The WordCamp in Philippines by Mark Aethen Agana
32. Matt Mullenweg by Animo Hosting
33. WordCamp Manila 2008, I was there! by Sha Ang
34. On WordCamp 2008 and Meeting Mr. WordPress by Diventare.org
35. My WordCamp Philippines 2008 Experience by Regnard Raquedan
36. WordCamp Philippines Status Report by AWB Holdings
37. Live from De La Salle CSB, Marocharim is at WordCamp! by Marocharim
38. For the Love of WordPress by Kristina Ana Matanguihan
39. WordCamp Pilipinas Success by Ikabon
40. WordCamp 2008: For Healthy and Wealthy Blogging by Hitokiri Hoshi
41. WordCamp 2008 Philippines Success by Arvin’s Thoughts
42. WordCamp, Meeting Matt Mullenweg by Miss Wicked
43. Meeting Matt at WordCamp 2008 by Urriza.net
44. Finally, WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Estan
45. Toothache Vs. WordCamp Philippines by George Putong
46. Notes and Photos, WordCamp Philippines a Success by Tonyo Cruz
47. Some WordCamp Philippines Afterthoughts by Undercover
48. Live Blogging in WordCamp by Pageman
49. My WordCamp Experience by Junele Malaga Caravana
50. WordCamp Philippines A Success! by WordPress Philippines
51. Bakla Goes to WordCamp Philippines by Bakla Ako
52. My WordCamp 2008 Experience by Micaela Rodriiguez
53. WordCamp 2008 Philippines: It’s a success! by Joyceish
54. My WordCamp 2008 Experience by Fitz Villafuerte
55. A Personal Evaluation of WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Danny Arao
56. An Event Which I Failed To Attend by Dexter Panganiban
57. The WordPress WordCamp Fever by Pinoy Web Listing
58. WordCamp Philippines by Batang Yagit
59. Philippine WordCampers 2008 by Sabrina Lajara
60. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Roanna Roro
61. On Meeting with Mr. WordPress, Web Standards and Other Stuff by Shari
62. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Highlights by Sophia Lucero
63. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Mong Palatino
64. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Rowjielogy
65. I was WordCamped by The Industrious Time-Waster
66. HURAH! for WordCamp Philippines by Migs Hipolito
67. WordCamp is on today at De La Salle – CSB by AIM CSB
68. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Updates by Teacher Julie
69. My WordCamp Philippines 2008 Experience by Icezorg
70. I was at WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Gail Villanueva
71. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Ramblings by Sarah Cada
72. Weekend Snapshots #6 WordCamp Philippines by Joni Ang
73. My WordCamp 2008 Experience by Paul Villacorta
74. Success! by WordCamp Philippines Blog
75. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Tina Elaine
76. On Being a Remarkable Responsible Blogger by Scrumptious Anime Blog
77. Word-F’N-Camp! by The Deranged Writer
78. WordCamp Philippines 2008 – a success! by The Mindanao Bloggers
79. WordCamp Philippines, below expectations by Kevin Georg Paquet
80. My WordCamp Experience by The Grape Bunch
Other Media Coverage:
1. WordPress developer previews new version in RP by Inquirer.net
2. WordPress enthusiasts meet for WordCamp by GMANews.tv
3. WordPress Developer lauds RP blogging community by Alexander Villafania
Photos from the WordCampers:
0. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Jehzeel Laurente
1. WordCamp 2008 Photos by Jayvee Fernandez
2. First WordCamp in Southeast Asia by Hannah Rika Villasis
3. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Tess Termulo
4. WordCamp Philippines by Ada Lajara
5. WordCamp 2008 by Regnard Raquedan
6. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by AJ Matela
7. WordCamp at Benilde by Normz
8. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Micaela Rodriguez
9. WordPress Philippines 2008 by Shari
10. WordCamp Philippines by Sofimi
11. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Andrew Dela Serna
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Buti at hindi nasasayang fare mo to Manila? Sabagay, you met YOUR DAIZEL nga ^^
at least wp 2.7 gained your interest 😀 kesa totally 0 🙂 Thanks for flying all the way from Davao to join this prestigious event! yay 😉
@Jehzeel Laurente – WordCamp Philippines was NOT BAD hah, just MUCH LESS than I expected it to be. :
Awww.. sorry to hear about your disappointments.
I suggest, next time, choose the talks that you really love to hear/join… sa dami ng talks.. i’m sure meron dun na you wont feel bad about.
also, if walang mga sponsors talks… siguro pwede nating gawin na may bayad ang wordcamp… mga $20 – $25 siguro… yun naman ang minimum eh.. (sabihin na nating less than P1k)
i think this is one of the few wordcamps na FREE… so pasensya na sa mga sponsored talks…
naku, baka ma-disappointssss ka na naman pag may bayad! hahahha puro nalang disappointmentsssss.
Thanks for coming!
Awww. Yeah, I feel your pain. Next time we’ll come up with a more interesting program. But note that the talks that you didn’t sign up for were really awesome.
~WHEW ang haba ahh..sayang di ka nanalo sa raffle!
great to know you came all the way from davao just to attend the event. 🙂
We’ll try to look into those ‘disappointing’ things you mentioned. 🙂 it’s a big help for us in making the next wordcamp more exciting.
WordCamp is nothing without sponsors. So far, if you have attended bloggers’ meet before, you will realize that WordCamp is the best so far, and with the presence of Matt and other well-known blogger, WordCamp is nothing without them, like J.A Racoma (who discussed the Performancing Ads) and Joel Disini of i.PH.
Sir Migs is right, kung walang sponsors, malamang may bayad ang WordCamp.
You should have acquainted with some bloggers as well because it will give you some fun.
If you want something new, attend the SEMCOM 2008
—–P9,500.00 for two (2) days, inclusive of meals and conference kit
—–P8,500.00 for two (2) days, for academe and government
—–US$250.00 for two (2) days, for foreign delegate
LOL!! Go for the registration fee if you want something new. This time you’ll not be disappointed because you paid for it!!
You were expecting too much dear, and pag ang mga speakers naman nag talk ng malalim na to your expectations … paano na lang yung mga nagsisimula pa lang .. at yung mga tipong wanted to learn more about our field. Kung ikaw mas malalim na yung topic na hanap mo, there are seminars specifically to cater that topics. Besides the sessions only have limited time so it can’t be broader. You should have known that since the schedule stated the time naman. I came from Iloilo and traveled for a day back and forth just to be at the event. I attempted to enter 2 gates before I arrived at the right gate, I was not able to finish the event, yet I could say .. it was a day that is worth every second of my time. Hindi ka lang siguro nakapag pa picture kay Matt 😛
@Junelle – I don’t need a picture with him because I got one from WordCamp Davao.
@Migs &@Ada –
WordCamp wasn’t actually bad. I was just a little surprised about those Sponsored Talks, I have not been expecting them :p
WordPress is such an easy platform for CMS or SEO it makes be bored, unless your a newbie.
I do agree with the Sponsored Talks, I think one guy called WordPress, WordStar….hahahaha I could not stop laughing…