Blogapalooza 2013: Where bloggers and businesses collides

Blogapalooza was one of the most awaited events every year that a blogger would surely would not miss.  I first became part of this event last year when it was held at Bonifacio Global City and where I met lots of fellow bloggers and businesses as well.  Blogapalooza 2013 like the previous one was once again a true convergence, an event where bloggers and businesses truly collide and interact with one another. It also became a trending topic on Twitter for the #Blogapalooza and even attained the top spot.

This great annual event was founded by WhenInManila.com and OurAwesomePlanet.com, through its key personalities, Vince Golangco, Francis Simisim and Anton Diaz.

So what happened at Blogapalooza 2013?  Here is our experience for this year.  Do follow me on Twitter after at www.twitter.com/shenbrood.

 That day I went to the event with Veronica in order to teach her about blogging and also help out cover the events.  Blogapalooza 2013 was held November 16 at the SMX Convention Center SM Aura.  We are not familiar with the place so it took awhile before we rode a cab going to the venue. Also, we had regrets because we did not took advantage of the P150 refund from Grab Taxi, it could have been free even if there was a fifty pesos booking fee.

Upon entering the event we were presented with the ENJOY CARD.  This card is a privileged card which lets you enjoy discounts and freebies.  Enjoy is the Philippines premiere loyalty and privilege marketing program operated by Super Lucky Happy Potato Corp. (SLHPC), under the franchise of Enjoy China Holdings (HK) Limited.  You can also check out various venues and shops with reviews there.  To know more about it check out http://enjoythebest.ph/ 

PLDT was the official internet provider of the event and they are introducing their new Fibr lines.  Fibr allows you to get as much as a 100Mbps connection plus it can synchronize with Cignal TV and offer discounted price for that.  Will write more about this interesting offer in another post.  The WiFi was good enough as well during the event.

Megaworld was also present with a cool game.  Well, Veronica won free cinema tickets at Eastwood Cinema while I won a cool Line character doll.  Unfortunately, I have to turn over the doll to Veronica because it was more appropriate for her with the hope that we can watch a movie together.  Megaworld is also promoting their cool app which can be downloaded via the Google Play Store.

Here are some other companies present at Blogapalooza which we visited:

Chooks-to-Go.  Their game was great and I did won one whole chicken for all the effort plus an additional benefit of cool exercise.  It was fun and I can't forget one fellow blogger who even broke her eyeglasses due to the intensity of the game.  The chicken was by the way great tasting and my kids enjoyed it.

View Park Hotel.  Tagaytay City's View Park Hotel came with a free and cool Blogapalooza shirt for bloggers plus a P3,999 overnight stay for 2 at a Premier Room with a romantic setup plus signature massage.  I want to really experience that.  You can check more about them at www.viewparkhotel.com.

Big and Small Company came with free toys for bloggers.  Though I am happy to receive the freebies it could have been cooler if they did offer a toy which can be appreciated more.  Hope this is not offensive but giving out a Moon Dough is okay however, it should have some with something more for the adult or kids at heart.  My kids were fascinated by the magical molding dough by the way.

They also gave out 20% discount voucher for the Barbie Live Show at the Mall of Asia Arena on December 11-15, 2013 plus 15% off at Big&Small, Spin, Orange Juice and Havin' A Baby Store.

Plato Wraps give away their signature tuna dish which was pretty tasty.  Wish I could have tasted more of it. They also gave a gift certificate which entitles you to one piece of any flavor regular size plato wraps.

The Mind Museum at Taguig was also present and they had a little game where you draw questions from a bowl.  I did get my answer right about the one who published the first press, it was Guttenburg of course though I failed in helping out Veronica with her question. t The Mind Museum is a great place to visit where you will really learn a lot of exciting things and also bring more excitement to otherwise boring studies.

Ambient Digital.  I am already signed up with Ambient and it is a great ad platform.  For sure, these guys are there to scout for new blogs and offer them partnership.  They also have giveaways for everyone.  I was unlucky at first but they were kind enough to give me a second try, and for that I win a tumbler.  Wow cool!

Lazer Xtreme.  I never played laser tag before but it is worth a try perhaps if I would have time.  They gave out 2 pcs ONE FREE GAME to all the bloggers.  Each game costs around P170.  Have to try this one definitely, it's probably like the usual counterstrike type of game anyway.

Tempura and Congo Grill are the official food provider of the Blogapalooza.  It was a superb lunch or dinner depending on when you arrive and how long you stayed.  The food was just tasty and amazing and I even like their Maki.  The small plates which they provided was so small that the food they have are overflowing and I felt really full that I have to sit down before continuing my blogging quest.  I wish I could have stayed longer to eat again for dinner.

Nice Day Coffee.  A quite good tasting coffee manufactured by HealthWell.  The product is said to aid in skin whitening, figure slimming and body cleansing.

Wheatgrass C.A.N. International (WCI).  Easy Pha-max Philippines is getting a new name as WCI.  Easy Pha-max Wheatgrass is honestly the only wheatgrass product which I enjoyed drinking simply because it does not have the stingy taste which others have in their product.  As I believe, a healthy product need not taste bad right?

We also received a key chain from Flavours of China and a fan from Eagle's Wing Enterprises.  I also won a cool laptop bag from Blogapalooza.  Now, I can replace my old laptop bag and feel comfy again.  Plus, peepz from YSA gave out flyers which entitles blogger to a free intense diamond peel.

Attendees were also given tons of prizes since there were freebies given by the hour from 10am to 9pm.

Well, Blogapalooza is not just about the freebies of course though I know most blogger really anticipate and look forward to them.  There were also speakers who shared their experiences about blogging and how bloggers can become better at their craft. I was not able to sit youthe area for the talks but what stick on my mind was when one speaker simply pointed out that when you start blogging, you should not expect earning immediately since it would too at least 6 months to one year to actually make anything out of it.

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of FREEBIES...

Speakers includes: Boys Night Out, ToniTony, SlickRock and SamYG who talked about podcasts; FHM hottie Karen Bordador shared about Vlogging, and McCann MRM Directo Jason Cruz who shared one of the most important knowledge for bloggers, Branding for your Blogs.

There were also added attractions which brought life to the event like Tim Tayag and the Comedy Carted whose Stand Up Comedy performance was awesome.  Also present were GoNegosyo’s Ramon Lopez, AFFI’s Armando Bartolome, Mikey Bustos, Bogart the Explorer and Jako De Leon.

We went home at around 5pm and even though we did not stayed until the closing, I can say that this is another successful Blogapalooza.  So should I say, see you at BLOGAPALOOZA 2014!