When we organize blogging events such as the BlogCon, the Blog Parteeh, the Blog Awards, we always want it to be a community-driven activity — for bloggers, by bloggers. We wanted everyone to participate within reasonable limits. We wanted everyone to take part and help out because in the end, it’s all about the community.
We wanted more links for you, more visitors to your blog, more subscribers to your feeds, and more awareness and motivation to those who are not blogging yet. Still, it sometimes dampen our spirits when the community you are trying to promote are the ones who find the littlest flaw with every single detail you do or not do.
Me, I tend to look at the “bigger” picture. I look at it as a group effort, a collaboration, a synergy. When I was still young, my mom would always tell me that there is strength in numbers. That I should support my brothers and teach them instead of pointing at their mistakes and laughing at them. That if you think you can make a difference or correct a wrong, it is better to join and help rather than to point fingers and put blame on someone else (worse, demand an apology).
It’s like giving soup to the hungry and in return they slap your hand because the broth wasn’t warm enough for their lips.
So, I’m repeating what my mother told me here — if you feel you can help and make a difference, please do. The doors are always open. We alway welcome more helping hands and discerning minds. Isn’t that what community is all about? Pointing out mistakes and shortcomings will not correct what has been done.
Of course, criticisms are welcomed. Hopefully next time, the statement would be “we did it” and not “they did it”.
“We may be professional bloggers, but we’re just amateurs as event organizers.” – yuga
@ benj
It was not the pointing of the mistake that I was disappointed with but the manner by which the mistake was pointed out. If you read my comment in your blog, I thanked you for noticing that oversight and I said I will take note of it next time.
I thanked you even though the tone and the words you used were overboard. You were at the event. I’m sure you’re familiar with our faces since you were also in the Blog Parteeh. I believe it was easy to come up to any one of us and mention that incident personally or it could have been relayed to us by your other companions during the post-event party. We love comments and suggestions because it helps us to be better next time. But come on, what did you expect me to do or say when that manner by which you pointed out the mistake was disrespectful?
At the end of the day, I, as the head organizer, am accountable for everything that happened and did not prior, during and after the event — organizational-wise. We’re just simple people na madali paki-usapan. We don’t deserve that kind of treatment from people who we are trying to help promote and recognize.
I would like to think that “ideas” count as well. I have no idea why people keep on hitting people just because they didn’t volunteer. That sends out a message that only those who volunteered have a right to criticize the proceedings. I dunno about that.
I noted the irregularity that I spotted, and that’s that.
I’m sorry that you felt bad about the criticisms. But everybody do want to make PBA successful. Eerybody has learned from this experience and it is time to move on.
I do appreciate all the efforts the organizers and the volunteers have put into making PBA a successful event. Nobody can deny that.
So to help with the turning over a new leaf, I do want to help with next year’s blog awards. I just hope there is something that I can do to contribute. Well, I do hope my ideas can help.
exactly my point gail. They’re just all talk. No actions.
So just keep it up guys! There is still a next year!
Unfortunately, the same people who felt so strongly about changing something in the Blog Awards to the point of blowing it way out of proportion and insulting others in the process, would rather rant about it than actually do something. Tanungin mo tumulong para wala nang problema, bibigyan ka lang ng excuse. And different excuses at that.
Sad. I really pity those who are all talk and no action.
@ Yuga
I can help next year dude. I’ll share you guys all I know in holding an event. From production, technicals and whatever I may have knowledge to.
This criticisms are nothing but something to learn from for the next year. To make the 2008 PBA much more better.
And for the jerks… I think it would’ve been better if you just did volunteer rather than blabbing about this and that.. complaining on things. If you have a better idea.. share it here. If you think you can do better, then help.
I’m all for criticisms, constructive that is. What we didn’t really like was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Our lines are open. People can reach me via YM, email. My landline and mobile phone is right there in my contact page. I was there at the event, entertaining everyone and introducing myself to bloggers I recognize (thru nametags).
I believe I’m a very approachable person. So, I didn’t understand why all these shortcomings had to be publicized and blown out of proportion. If people are really concerned and are sincere in helping out, they could have relayed it to us directly first. We would have appreciated it a lot if that was the case, but no, they had to highlight the flaws for all the world to see and read that we’ve fucked up big time. Other people were informed about our mistakes before we did.
Well, now we’ve truly learned our lessons.
Awwww… Ganun talaga. We cannot please everyone. I’m sure next year more people will volunteer! (Especially those who have been ranting and ranting tsk tsk tsk). I just hope people will eventually see that these efforts are not just for the community, but for a bigger cause – and that’s moving forward the Philippine internet industry in the forefront of the IT world – the whole world! Naks!
With that said I hope this will end all the ranting from the past few days. We did, they did. We prayed, we shouldn’t. We were vapid, you were annoyed. Well! It’s all water under the bridge. Let’s move forward people and show the world we’re intelligent people who can move forward from these petty arguments.
Congratulations to the organizers! Just let me know if you need any more help and I’ll be glad to help out again.
`Nuff said. :)
I put up a college magazine once (which involved months of hard work and very little time to sleep), and in one of the fashion layouts, someone made a comment and said to me that the model had a tiny-i-need-a-magnifying-glass-sized spec on her left elbow that should have been removed using photoshop. I was holding a permanent marker at that time and really wanted to use it to draw specs on this commenters face so this person could see the difference between blemishes that needed to be photoshopped off and ones that we could be more forgiving about. But, instead, I just took a deep breath, smiled and said ok because I knew that this comment was useless and I did not need to waste any of my energy on it.
We can’t please everyone. No matter what we do. And that is an indisputable fact. But criticism is important. The challenge is to be able to consider which ones we should listen to in order to lead to improvements. And which ones we should just ignore.
That being said, I would like to thank the event organizers for all their hard work. I do hope that this will not discourage all of you from pursuing and organizing more projects in the future.
What about if WE (yes WE, not YOU nor THEY, but WE) come up with a “sorehead award” next PBA for whoever you are referring to Yuga? …hehehe.
Peace yo!
abe, let’s call whatever inconveniences there were that night “birthing pains.” just that, and no more than that.
having said that, may i say “job well done, people.”
more to the point, accept my thanks (to you and gail and jayvee and your army of volunteers) for allowing me to be involved in your initiative to recognize excellence in pinoy blogging.
The Web in general and blogging in particular seems to be the place for whiners, complainers and the “Do nothing but criticize everyone else” folks to gather. I don’t think it’s a demographics thing or a nationality thing or even an age thing … it’s just a thing.
One just has to do their best and move forward. My hat is off to those who are doing, rather than finding fault, even when they are oh so careful to find their fault so “politely” and “helpfully”.
With a little luck the ones who are so “helpful” with their “polite suggestions” will actually _do_somehting next time, but I wouldn’t count on it.
It’s not “We”, not “They”, but YOU! YOU!! YOU!!! It’s all your fault Abe… joke lang, haha.
welcome to life, we can not please everyone but we must continue to do our advocacies and doing what we think is right.
Better yet, just expect criticisms to eventually come. It just happens. People are like that. They expect quite a lot. It only shows the high regard they have for you and the rest of your crew. When they didn’t see what they thought they wanted, they’ll make a comment. It’s only natural.
Oks lang yan Abe.
Pointing at mistakes and laughing at them helps, only if action to address those mistakes follow suit.
The one thing I learned in highschool is that in everything we do, no matter how hard we labored for it, no matter how good our intentions were, there are just somethings that we failed to see, but which were very visible to others.
Oh well, everyone learned lots of things from the recent awards night.
I’m guilty of nitpicking on the dress code (for reasons I’ve gone into elsewhere), although I do understand and appreciate the need for a certain sense of formality. Rather than be an ass and attend wearing the clothes I have as a statement, I chose not to attend — this was not done as an insult to the event, but in deference to it and its rules. Do I think the formalities should’ve been loosened up? Absolutely. But I see the point in having some formality. But I personally got discouraged. This is not a knock on the efforts of everybody involved — which is more than appreciated — but I do perceive the exclusivity (elitism? not really, though I’ve said so on occasion — rhetoric gets the better of me sometimes) as something that limits the growth we all want.
That said, congratulations on a successful event, yet, despite and nevertheless the criticisms :)
Like what I said man – I’ll help out next year :-)
I think it’s really good that you guys do set up these events and it’s really been uplifting so don’t mind these things, let’s just keep doing things the way they are. Although it’s virtually impossible to satisfy everybody, at least a lot of people appreciate your efforts than those who don’t.
I think I know what you are ranting about Abe. I know how that feels.
The know-it-all critics don’t know the time and effort that went with this event or the challenges we faced. I know . Anyway, some criticisms are quite good but some are really impractical due to financial constraints.
I really appreciate what the Philippine Blog Awards (Organizers, volunteers, etc) did for the Philippine blogging community. and the judges were certainly “top guns” in the blogging arena.
I can’t speak for everyone and since I wasn’t able to attend the awarding (but not for lack of trying or wanting to go) I can’t really know what went on that night. But as far as online activity goes (i.e. site visits, etc) It gave my unknown blog a huge boost from visits and linkages. And I’m sure it did the same for a lot of blogs, too.
Saw some rants about the blogawards lately. And it’s pretty stupid.
It would be better if those people just shut their mouth instead.
Abe, i sensed that you received something you did not expect during or after the awards night.
Quote: “Pointing out mistakes and shortcomings will not correct what has been done.”
It’s true that it can’t undo what’s been done. However, I believe evaluation is important to improvement. Criticism isn’t always a bad thing.
Offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others can help identify relevant issues and improve things for the future.
Anyway, I really don’t know what exactly you are talking about (I’m an “outsider”, really); I am just taking your post as it is and reacting accordingly.
My 2 cents. :)
P.S. Hi Mr. Yuga. It’s my first time commenting here. Hope you remember me; we met at some awards ceremony. Hint: I do polymer clay jewelry. :)