Pinoy Top Blogs just turned 2!

This completely escaped me until Von mentioned it in the comments. Last Sunday, my Pinoy Top Blogs project just turned 2. Here’s that first post that started it all, and a year later, it was already running on it’s own domain in a dedicated server.

A lot of sleepless nights tweaking mySQL, tons of spam submissions, and several thousand dollars in server costs later, it’s still running and tracking over 2,800 Pinoy blogs (probably the largest list of active Filipino blogs out there).

It has been cited in so many academic research, both in print and broadcast media as well as conferences and summits. The Filipino Librarian has also been very diligent to track the monthly progress and shifts in the rankings.

Despite that, I often encounter comments from casual visitors how the list has degraded. There was this one time, ~~at the band camp~~ during the recent iBlog Summit, a person came up to the microphone and addressed Manolo this question (and I’m paraphrasing here) — “You talk about creating great content refer to this top blogs list, but if you look at the list all you see are blogs ranking on top with not much compelling content. Does this top list represent the Philippine blogosphere? If this is the creme of the crop, then I don’t think blogging is a performance art.”

I wanted to stand up and offer my opinion but I don’t think he’ll understand SEO or search popularity. Content might be king, but it’s the Search Queen that drives traffic. Besides, I suppose he might have not noticed that the showbiz and entertainment industry cuts across all borders, and that includes blogging. Even in Inquirer.net, it’s usually 9 out of the top 10 most read articles of the week are about showbiz. That makes Dolly Anne Carvajal the most widely read or popular columnist.

Again, the list doesn’t represent anything grand or majestic. It only tells us which blogs gain the most traffic without distinction between direct, organic search or repeat readership — that’s it. It does not represent the creme of the crop (I originally hope it would but I gave up on that one too). It only tells us entertainment is still #1.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

9 Comments

fruityoaty says:

17 years ago

Belated happy 2-year anniversary…

Oh, I also just wanted to add… Thanks for finally approving my blog (unsuspended). I just noticed the change recently a few days ago. :D

WOW, it was so cool to find out that I’m currently 147 overall in the list of thousands. :) I didn’t know I’d risen in traffic, like that. I FIND THAT SO BIZARRE since I have written ONLY 82 ENTRIES in 10 months! I wish I could write more, but I find blogging boring sometimes.

I don’t know much of that SEO business. I wish I did… I haven’t really put much effort into understanding SEO or link-building. To date, I have yet to ask proactively ask anyone (and I mean ZILCH) for a link exchange. Maybe I should. That seems to be the name of the game for going up in ranks.
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leo says:

17 years ago

we are bomberded by showbiz gossips and rumors in radio, tv, print media.. and now blogs 24/7! feeding us crap after crap of showbiz trash.. and we love it! Pinoys are now a bunch of showbiz junkies! hay buhay…
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Chris says:

17 years ago

It may not represent the creme of the crop but it surely is the pulse of what Filipinos are blogging and what kind of blogs Filipinos are reading. It reflects our culture in general. We love entertainment and we are good, or should i say, excellent in that field.

We may not excel in technology or architecture or sports compared to other countries but when it comes to entertainment, we are able to be on top of the world. And what does it reflects about us? That we Pinoys are talented and creative.

The list may not represent anything grand but Pinoy Top Blogs is a noble undertaking that promotes our culture as Filipinos and enhances our identity and well-being. It promotes nationalism. Not to mention that Pinoy bloggers are helping the economy.

Congrats and thanks kuya Abe, no. 1 pa rin ang Starmometer since February 2007 :) Happy 2nd anniversary to Pinoy Top Blogs!
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SELaplana says:

17 years ago

i was wondering why my other blogs are suspended from the ranking system….
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Karlo.PinoyBlogero says:

17 years ago

Happy 2nd anniversary to Pinoy Top Blogs! I really wish I have submitted my blog a little sooner.
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Nick says:

17 years ago

You’ve done a great job with Pinoy Top Blogs, I just posted an article about it, without noticing this particular post.

The article is with regards to the submission process, which your previous post regarding Malkin has shed light on…
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Doi says:

17 years ago

I submitted a site two years ago and another one a year ago. It is still ‘suspended’ although I’ve noticed that some new sites have been added? What’s the status of this site, are you still accepting sites?
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Dexter says:

17 years ago

Congrats..
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