Blogapalooza is planting the seeds of a revolt against old media

Francis Simisim (front center) and Vince Golangco (front right) at the first Blogapalooza.

Manufacturing. Technology. Retail. Agriculture. Blogging?

If you’re like most people, you do not think of blogging as an industry, much less as a pillar of the Philippine economy. But the attendees, presenters, and organizers of the second annual Blogapalooza – Vince Golangco, Francis Simisim, and Anton Diaz – would argue otherwise.

Given how active Filipinos are in the blogosphere – the country is not called the social media capital of the world without warrant – there’s big business to be had in shaping online chatter. You want bloggers to be talking about your brand, and you want them to do so constantly.

Slated for September 20 of this year, Blogapalooza promises to connect businesses with bloggers. In an ideal world, the bloggers will go from booth to booth and chance upon causes and companies that they feel compelled to write about and champion in the long-term.

In a less than perfect world where bloggers are more materialistic, the “connection” merely boils down to the contracting of a deliverable – in what is popularly referred to in the Philippine blogging scene as an “ex-deal.” The blogger will agree to write about a business, but only in exchange for company swag, third party merchandise or services, and/or, less commonly, money.

In truth, Blogapalooza can be both these things, and the extent to which it will lean toward genuine connections and not impersonal transactions will depend on how well it can vet its bloggers. The event needs attendees, who – as spurious as this may sound – hold blogging sacred. They also need to have a sizable online following and write in a recognized niche, such as lifestyle, culture, business, fashion, food, parenting, and relationships.

There is arguably no better team in the Philippines better suited to choosing bloggers than the group behind Blogapalooza. Golangco and Simisim jointly own and operate WhenInManila.com, which is the most trafficked blog in the country. Diaz runs Our Awesome Planet, which is the most-visited food blog in the Philippines. Somehow Simisim also finds the time to lead popular tech blog TechFilipino.

Together, the team managed to bring over 500 of the country’s most influential bloggers to the first Blogapalooza. As the series grows, however, the team will undoubtedly have to pay more attention not just to the total number of bloggers, but also to the numerical breakdown in each writing niche. Last year, for example, there were noticeably more lifestyle bloggers than tech bloggers – a stronger balance between the various specialties will ensure that all businesses get the same value.

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To cluster or not to cluster

Another matter yet to be settled is the question of clustering versus protected categories. The inaugural Blogapalooza had a few cases of similar businesses, such as coffee shops, but they were spaced out in terms of the layout. Would it be more effective to invite even more coffee-related businesses and cluster them together, so as attract more total coffee enthusiasts and bloggers?

Or would the opposite approach – having a single business of a particular kind – be more effective? Businesses, presumably, would pay more to have the this kind of exclusivity, as it could serve as a de facto endorsement from the organizers and allow them the focus of their target bloggers.

For the moment, the Blogapalooza is proceeding with a mixed model. Competing companies can register for a booth. However, if a company chooses to co-present the event with the Blogapalooza team, their business category is protected due to the greater support that they are providing.

What Blogapalooza points to

Blogapalooza is significant for what it portends. It hints at an entire offline and online industry dedicated to more efficiently matching Philippine businesses with the bloggers best suited to writing and promoting them.