Nominations for the Philippine Blog Awards 2008 are now being accepted. The Awards Ceremony is tentatively scheduled for July 2008. It is a bit awkward for me to write a post about these awards, as obviously, I would highly appreciate it if marketmanila.com were nominated for an award or two or three, if readers felt the blog deserved to be nominated… :)
This year, there are three categories of awards, with several new subcategories. The first category is the “Best Blog Division” and in this category, a NEW sub-category of “Food & Beverage” has been added. Last year, marketmanila.com was nominated for Home & Living (?) and obviously didn’t fare well under that heading. The winner of this category is determined by a panel of judges (5 of them last year, I think), the composition of which is still being determined.
A second and new category is the “Best Single Blog Post Division” which seeks to recognize one particularly good post, also under a sub-category of “Food & Beverage.” Readers would have to identify that one post that they thought stood out, either due to the topic, the story, the manner in which it was written, etc. The winner of this category will likewise be determined by a panel of judges.
The third category is for Special Awards. And it is in this category that the award marketmanila.com won last year resides – The Blogger’s Choice Award. Which was selected based on the votes of bloggers/readers from around the world. This particular category is based on votes, not judges. I was honestly shocked to have won this last year, see my post here.
As I reflect on the 3+ year life of this blog, I realize I may veer slightly if not dramatically away from most bloggers. I am significantly older, a techno-idiot, and most importantly, take absolutely no advertising whatsoever. I wouldn’t have thought that last point would really make a difference, but it seems that one who is really chasing advertising dollars must perform and show “the numbers” that indicate they are a popular and widely visited blog. It means that one has to figure out the parameters under which blog popularity is measured, such as visitor rankings from the likes of Alexa, ratings from Technorati, number of links, etc. Frankly, I actively manage NONE of those parameters at all. In other words, because I don’t have any advertising and have no revenue, it doesn’t really matter what other entities rank or do not rank me as. What I do pay attention to are the readers, and I closely monitor how many of you are regulars, how often you visit, if visits still continue to rise, which posts you return to often, what types of posts get the most hits, etc. I also keep a close eye on comments and the interaction between readers and myself and sometimes other readers as well. In the one year period from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, marketmanila.com registered some 3.57 million page views, and that tells me all I want to know. I hope marketmanila.com has been a pleasant diversion for you from the realities of the daily grind… Thank you so very much for being a part of marketmanila.com!
If you wanted to know more about the Philippine Blog Awards 2008, please click on this link for more information. (Marketmanila.com was started in December 2004, and Marketman can be reached at marketman@marketmanila.com, and my full name for the purposes related to this blog, is simply “Marketman” :)
48 Responses
Marketmanila for the win! :-)
Definitely, as no other blog has gotten my attention as much as marketmanila and I’m sure everyone will agree with me!
Best of luck and we will be only too happy to learn if it gets the best honor that it deserves.
I recall that i wanted to vote last year but wasn’t a blogger. Can readers vote this year?
I discovered your blog site only recently, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. =) I hope you stay true to NEVER accepting advertising dollars on your site. There was this other blog site I’ve been religiously reading until the writer started talking about making money from blogging. ‘Twas the last straw when I clicked on my “Favorites” link only to be faced with a “sari-sari store page”. Yikes! No, no, no! It just ain’t right. =( I no longer visit it as often because, these days, I can’t help but wonder if the post I’m reading is a “sponsored post”. =(
So kudos to you, Marketman, for choosing to remain anonymous and for choosing to write only about things that mean something to you, no matter how mundane. I hope you win!
How do I vote? =)
your blog deserves an award over and over!
Hi MM! I am not really a regular commenter of your blog but I don’t miss a day visiting it. My husband and kids tease me everytime I use my pc. They go… Marketman na naman!… So I really think you deserve an award. Your blog is the first one I go to when I need some inspiration in cooking, party planning or whatever. Keep it up! God bless!
Cheers, MM!
Good luck and hope you win 2x in a row!
of course you more than deserve awards!!!! your blog is consistently engaging — in texts, photos, variety.
you have to be recognized again . . . and yet again
Highly recommended!
I have enjoyed coming to your blog everyday. You deserved to win. Voted.
This is the one and only blog i visit daily! You always have something interesting to share, something new or old that most have experienced, and of course your stories on your cooking experiments are informative, if not hilarious. Keep it up and if we could vote, you’re a sure winner!
obvious ba you should get nominated and this year win! ditto to comments made. MM is my daily read.
Top priorities for the day:
1. Check business email
2. Visit marketmanila.com and read new posts
3. Back to work…
I vote Marketmanila.com!
MM, I’m not a blogger, does that mean I can’t vote? =( I really want to vote for your site.
Hi everyone, the voting rules for the blogger’s choice award have not been stated, but I suspect they will be the same as last year, only those with a blog can vote… that would be a shame for many readers who don’t have blogs but I guess we have to follow the rules as stated…
my strong prayers for MM’s victory…such a classy site deserves plenty of awards. wish i have time to blog so i could really vote. maybe in a few years when i’m retired, too..
I remember that last year’s voting process required a blog address/html. If any of you have a Flickr, Friendstr, Facebook, Multiply, Livejournal etc site, then that serves as a blog. So just vote for Marketmanila and use those options! It doesn’t have to be a Blogger account or any of the typical blog addresses.
just voted :) marketmanila is the best blog and i visit multiple times a day. i like the fact that you do not advertise for the money but for the product that you believe in.this site is also very informative. thank you marketman.
I have several blogs. You can use my blogs as “yours” to vote! Haha, just kidding. I wish I had many blogs, one of them a food blog ala-MM. Hehe…
I agree with Homebuddy. Since I started reading MM, I haven’t stopped. As with Rhea, my to-do list reads:
1) boot PC
2) start email client
3) check Marketmanila.com
4) read
5) read
6) laugh and comment
7) read…
8) oops! Boss is coming! *minimize*
Can one blog be nominated in all the categories? Hopping over to the website…
While lifetime achievement awards may be dismissed as a mere concession for just having survived in other circles, longevity and survival are crucial measures of a blog’s success (the bulk of the blogs I discovered at the same time as Market Manila have since been inactive). Of course, a blog would not have survived if there simply was not enough ideas to prop it, or the ideas were stale and so did not provoke people’s interest and participation, or too arcane that only a few related to it. Another measure of success is influence. Hard to measure but I imagine that this blog wields significant influence in raising our consciousness about food (and other timely issues) in all its aspects, its quality and its local provenance. Each day it does so mine.
My all-time favorite post was the one about Tinapa, provoked by a touching empathy for an overseas worker’s craving for food from home but ended up as a tribute to a dying tradition and way of life. Classic Market Manila.
of course, MM. your blog deserves to win. your blog is the only blog that i frequent which gives me productive results. :-)
…..I second Apicio’s comment….your blog TRULY STANDS OUT ABOVE THE REST!!!!
May you never tire of blogging, MM!!!
I hereby declare the only meaningful category: The Readers/Commenters Award! I mean, what good is a blog without its readers/commenters? We are the ones that matter. Who are “them judges” anyway? And who selected them? Wuzn’t us, wuz it? Without uz, they wouldn’t put ads on blogs, would they? WE, you and I, uz, we is the most important component.
That being the case, I hereby assert my importance and declare: Marketmanila as the winner of the Readers/Commenters Award. No others need apply, most others are simply “keyboard poop” anyways!
Honorable Mentions:
Lori Baltazar for writing so preety and having a great smile.
Margaux Salcedo for being “licious”.
Burnt Lumpia for being a pinoy masquerading as a homie,
Anybody else care to join my vote?
Talking about crowd drawers you got it all! Your blog is the best — features a variety of subject matters from all aspect of daily living. Your populous informative to humorous comments from various commenters and your interactive participation is reasoned enough I am drawn to your blog religiously. To top it all no ads involved! Your blog is an ambassador of goodwill too. I made friend with Betty q and yesterday I met Alilay one of your commenters. We hugged and kissed like we know each other before and met the pride and joy of her life – her husband and son who is very good looking (mestizo very light skin and beautiful nose), shy and well-mannered little boy!
Market Manila is part of my daily regimen right after CNN, SFGATE updates. This site trigger memories, sights and smells to a place I used to call home from many years past.
MM, You don’t need a plaque to show you have loyal readers. Your blog’s comment section and worldwide reach alone, can attest to that. Hats off!
I have only recently started reading blogs (couldn’t be bothered with inanities) but when I stumbled upon your site–Nirvana! Organized, informative, interactive, entertaining, concise, inspirational, personal (very) and has soul.
It’s unanimous that it’s one of the best, if not the best blogs around.
You and this blog are inspiring me to begin one myself–and I am sure I am not the first nor the last to say and do so.
You’re turning out to be a cult leader–Iglesia ni Marketman (hehehe)
Kudos!
One of the reasons why I keep coming back to this blog is because I love the “simplicity” of this website, no advertising at all or whatsoever! It is very pleasant to look at, not crowded, no confusion, it’s easy for us to look up past entries and it’s very user-friendly. And I thank you for sacrificing the dollar value that you could potentially generate from various advertising. Don’t get me wrong, I mean I frequent other blogs as well, and I respect their decision when it comes to advertising and all, but as a reader, I can’t help but compare your site to others. :) Just want you to know that I appreciate the simplicity very much! Good luck and you definitely got my vote!
I went to the link and have nominated 2 of my favorite posts on markemanila. Btw, I was also nominating him for the blogger’s choice award and the blog post division but it turns out that someone beat me to it heehee! So, our fave MM is already nominated in all areas so let us just go out and actually vote for him. Yes, I was able to vote last year by using my friendster accout, so you can use that or other accounts like multiply, facebook as suggested by other commenters.
1. Gingerbread house recipe especially for David. Link: https://www.marketmanila.com/archives/marketmans-gingerbread-house-recipe-happy-1st-birthday-david
2. Tinapa making as suggested by Apicio and also which I consider as something that was written beautifully. Link: https://www.marketmanila.com/archives/marketman-learns-how-to-make-tinapa-from-scratch
I already received the confirmation email on my personal account and I sincerely hope that MM wins! This is just my humble way of saying thank you to MM for making our lives just a little bit brighter everyday!
As for me, you are the runaway winner. =)
Marketman, your blog gets the top award in my books :) I could not have articulated my sentiments better than Apicio has, which I echo.
My favourites are the ensaymada and pan de sal entries. By the fact that authentic ones are hard to find locally, these can be considered dying traditions, too. Thanks to marketman, we try to preserve these in our home(at least the pan de sal).
This is the only blog i read. Before I discovered your blog, i didnt even know what a blog is. hehehe…
love MM, will vote! :)
Pano yan, baka ma-dilute ang votes for best entries kasi you have so many that are worth nominating. Should us readers/commenters agree on one entry para sure winner siya? Which one? Too many great entries to choose from…
Silly Lolo, you have another winner in “keyboard poop”. Hahaha! Keep coming up w/ ’em gems, please. Nowhere else can we find comments as meaningful and amusing as the blog itself. So again, more power to Marketman and let’s show our solidarity behind MM. Lei, thanks for letting us know we can vote via our other accounts even though we’re not officially bloggers. :)
P.S. I just tried to vote but it’s asking for an actual date as to when the blog was established. I tried to just put Dec 2004 as MM said but it needs a day (mm/dd/yyyy) or it wouldn’t go through. MM, pls advise. I don’t want to pull a date out of thin air naman, baka masayang yung vote if it’s the wrong date, di ba? Thx!
Hmmm, now that you mentioned it, I just used 01 as the /dd/. I hope that it just okay, otherwise, I hope it doesn’t affect my previous nominations.
Haha I so agree with you, Silly Lolo.. You are too funny and witty.. :)
MM, how do we vote for your site?
Hi everyone, at this point, these are just NOMINATIONS. The only time readers/bloggers will be asked to vote is for the Blogger’s Choice Award and I will hopefully let you all know when the voting for that has started… Many thanks for all of your kind comments and support! :)
Will definitely look forward for the blogger’s choice awards….you definitely top our list!
Mr MM for us YOU’RE ALWAYS THE BEST!!!!!!
I think I was also nominated (but wasn’t a finalist) for the “Home and Living” category last year, which did not make sense to me at all either. In any case, bloggers that do blog with revenue in mind I think can’t help but become influenced by metrics like click-througs, technorati ratings, etc. For me, I just blog about what I feel like, when I feel like it. =)
For the Best Single Post Awards, let’s also nominate the other non-food blogs that can fit the other sub-categories. The more nominations, the better the chances for Marketman to win.
Hi MM,
I finally know who you are. A friend who knows your niece very well only found out you were MM a few months ago. I was one of the first people she called, since she knows I’m a fan. She has only nice things to say about you. :)
Nobody does it better than MM! You’re the Best!
this is my second comment since i read your blog many months ago. sorry about that. the first thing i do when i open the computer is to read the email of my daughter from abroad then read you blogs. you really are a part of my everydaylife. i will vote for you to win that award and tell my friends about you. rest assure i’ll pray that you win too.
Good luck! I hope you win again this year. Indeed, you top our list!
You inspire me…you should win again.
I have learned so much from you and from the bloggers.. Informative, enlightening, deliciously presented plus brilliant humor.Wow! You deserved to win.
The unceasing reciprocity of interaction between these multitude of people is emotionally rewarding. The exchange of notes, context, ideas, statements, feel as if we are all drawn to a loop e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y…
Just like Mr. Dragon, i couldn’t be bothered with inane idea of checking blogs. With handsful, my consultant recommended checking a ‘list’ of blog spots to gain insight for my business, but i exhilaratingly refused to be persuaded.
To me, the only purpose of getting close to techi meant research, development, a steep learning curve and not necessarily an emaciation of precious time on the net… I dragged myself one morning to my office desk, decided to “click” on just ONE blog page, Mr. MM’s…
Your blog is just not about ideas… It is a conception that stimulates mental activity, it is a palette of colors through imagination and feeling… It is the depth of what is told in every event, every story, every line… Of what is beyond the experiences…
Thank you for sharing with all of us your journal, Mr. Marketman. We greatly admire you for staying incognito, and i third Apicio’s comment. Now, i double my twenty-one-gun-salute to you!
Cheers!