Director’s Notes on The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards
As a first time attendee of the Philippine Blog Awards last 31 March 2007, I was very impressed with the extent of the preparations behind the event, such as the venue— the remarkable Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC Plaza, the presence of TV coverage and cocktail food, and the ladies and gentlemen dressed in semi-formal to formal wear.
It gave me the impression that The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards organizers, namely, Abe Olandres, Gail de la Cruz-Villanueva, and Jayvee Fernandez, were attempting to bring the event to a level akin to a formal awards night, sentiments that are quite laudable and admirable, and must be definitely supported.
In this vein, as a director, I would like to offer some suggestions as to how the event may be improved in the future.
Delete the invocation. As succinctly put by Atheista, it was politically incorrect to include a Christian invocation during the awards.
Get a professional host. No offense to the lovely ladies Aileen Apolo and Sasha Manuel, but their general demeanor lacked the professional polish that the event required.
Write a script. There must be general information, jokes and fascinating tidbits regarding a category that will ease the passage of one category to the next.
Make cue cards. A site that turned out to be the winner in the Home & Living category was almost not mentioned because the site was printed on the next page of the hosts’ notes.
Improve the video quality. Seeing the three 2007 Philippine Blog Awards organizers Abe Olandres, Gail de la Cruz-Villanueva, and Jayvee Fernandez give their comments about the event is very interesting, however, minimum video quality must be attempted.
Lower the Philippine Blog Awards signage. For photo opportunities, The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards signage onstage can be lowered to a level so that it’s included in every picture taken of the awards being accepted by the winners.
Use an instrumental music bed. When words are a major part of an event, clarity can be enhanced by an instrumental music bed.
Disqualify judges and hosts from any category or special awards. To ensure the integrity and confidence of the community in the awards, utmost impartiality must be maintained, which means the non-inclusion of any judge, host, etc. from any award, even the special awards.
Get another caterer. Seeing four servers behind the catering table slumped against the wall while squatting on the floor is unseemly. Even my reprimand that was covered as a joke asking, “Anong nangyayari sa baba (What’s happening down there)?†fell on deaf ears except for one who took the hint and stood up.
Open the event to more streams of people. A full house for any event is always preferable. Maybe the manner in which invites are given can be examined, and avenues explored on how to entice more audience members.
Get an airlines sponsor. It would be really nice if finalists who are not based in Manila can make it to the event. Maybe an airlines sponsor can ease the traveling expenses somewhat.
For a complete list of the winners, please visit the The 2007 Philippine Blog Awards Official Website
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For tolerance of each others belief:
Dedicated to Pinoy Bloggers
Am I the only one who felt that the perky hosts were entertaining?! Ok kaya.
If anything, they should have a production number next year – by the finalists! lololol
Yes, no doubt the hosts were perky. And yes, no doubt they were entertaining to a certain degree.
Thank you for all the suggestions. We really needed all the help, manpower and financial, we can get. The hosts were last minute volunteers. I didn’t want to pay for pro hosts as I don’t have enough money to pay them. Everyone who volunteered were all amateurs in doing this kind of event. The caterer was sponsored as well. Everything was sponsored actually except for the rent of the venue and the trophies. I actually shelled out more than 50k in emergency funds.
Hi Yuga,
Thank you so much for being so open to suggestions. These are but the small details. Please be reminded that, as I’ve mentioned in my post, I find your efforts and the other organizers of the Philippine Blog Awards really admirable and laudable.
If you’re open to accepting help on the creative end regarding The 2008 Philippine Blog Awards, just let me know.
Again, congratulations on the very successful 2007 Philippine Blog Awards!
yes, we’d very much need all the help we can get. Its great to hear there are bloggers out there who are really willing to help out.
See you next year! 
okay
cool