Cebu Bloggers Society, Inc. and the traditional media

A few years back, the issue between the bloggers and the traditional media here in Cebu blew up when I wasn't able to control myself from a news item of a certain local newspaper that branded us Cebu bloggers from a certain organization as a bunch of brats storming events and hoarding giveaways. In short, the new gate crashers of media. I can't blame myself for such outburst online as I have been dedicated in my blogging career since I started last 2004 as a 2nd Year High School student of Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School and as a co-founder of Cebu Bloggers Society, Inc. (CBS).

Bloggers also meet well-known people the same as those in the traditional media. Here, CBS members meet radio anchor Bobby Nalzaro during an event.

To give an overview, CBS was created last February 14, 2008 by my blogger friend Mark Monta, Jerry Gervacio, and myself. We used Yahoo! Groups back then for our networking.

CBS was incorporated and is a registered organization under the Securities and Exchange Commission since February 26, 2010 as a Non-Profit Organization here in Cebu City.

CBS represents an ongoing lifelong commitment to promote Cebu’s overall beauty through blogging and social networking and at the same time be a productive group and productive individuals towards nation building.

Blogging back then when I was still in high school was not what we know now. Most of my blog posts then were purely text until Blogger made an innovation of allowing their users to post pictures using the Picasa software. What I post back then were about my thoughts in the current issues and news about the US 2004 election. It was something that my classmates and friends back then can't comprehend on why I am blogging. In our school, only 5 of us were bloggers. I taught 4 of them on how to blog but unfortunately, they were not able to continue it since they had other priorities. This made me realize that blogging is indeed a passion.

Now, bloggers have been considered as the new media but not everyone agrees. Everyone can be a blogger but not everyone can be in media. While there are bloggers who strive to be part of the media, it's still a challenge for us to emphasize that we should also practice ethics the same as being espoused by those in the traditional media.

CBS members gather to talk about the organization and meet their fellow members.

As a blogger, I must also admit that I don't have enough skills that would equal the learnings of a person who spent four years in a University to learn about journalism. Although, I have been part of the school paper during my elementary and high school days. I had a short stint as an editorial cartoonist in my elementary and as an editor-in-chief in my high school. I was having a hard time to write a news item since I can't help but always comment on a certain issue that's why I loved writing my thoughts. But these once again will never equal their learnings unless I also take the initiative to learn. Besides, life is a learning process and it continues to change.

Here are just some of the questions that were asked to me by a certain friend from the traditional media:

1. Why are there so many bloggers during events?
My Answer: We in CBS receive invites from different people and entities. Most of them come from their Marketing Department. They send us an email and invite us to cover their event. They set the number of bloggers they want and we disseminate it to our group on who can go or inform certain people that should go to that event.

We enforce rules within our own organization and we assure you that those bloggers in the event are officially sent by our organization. Our remiss might have been that our bloggers don't carry media IDs during events as you have but as of now, we are already creating media IDs for the bloggers for your guidance.

We have also informed our members not to tag along friends which are not invited to the event since it would go against our rules.

2. Why most of the bloggers are young people?
My Answer: The CBS is mostly composed of young bloggers within the 18-30 age range. Probably, you have been wondering what a young blogger can do without a journalism experience. Anyways, yes we can write and most of us love to share what we like and not about something. It's probably the difference between writing a news item and a personal blog post.

3. Are bloggers just after the freebies instead of the event?
My Answer: I must admit that there are some bloggers who have that kind of motivation instead of really attending the event but we in the organization is currently on the process of reiterating basic etiquette during events. We have been informing our members to arrive on time, wear proper attire, no wearing of slippers during events, not to expect freebies all the time, listen to the speakers, take down notes and etc. Rest assured that we are policing our own backyard to preserve the integrity of other bloggers who strive to do their best.

Bloggers documenting an event using their cameras, laptops, cellphones or the basic notepad.

Currently, CBS and Yahoo! Philippines entered into a partnership to report, feature and share things that we bloggers come along the way here in Cebu. This partnership is just one of the indication that big companies such as Yahoo! Philippines acknowledge the role of bloggers in the society especially when it is organized.

My outburst might have gave way for better understanding that both the new and traditional media should not compete but instead, complement. After all, we have a common goal of informing our readers about certain things that interest them.