My WordCamp 2008 Experience
This article is posted under Blog Announcements, News and Events.Last Saturday, WordCamp Philippines 2008 was successfully held at the College of St. Benilde, Taft Ave., Manila. This was the first WordCamp to be held in Southeast Asia and I’m proud to have been part of this important event.
To my readers who don’t know what WordCamp is, well it is the premier event for WordPress users and developers. WordPress, on the other hand, is said to be the leading blogging platform in the world today.
Personally, when I first heard that there will be a WordCamp in the Philippines, I was really excited because I just transferred this site from Blogspot and I’m eager to discover the many features and possibilities that WordPress can offer me as a blogger.
WordCamp Philippines 2008
Initially, I planned to go as a regular camper but when Ria announced in Plurk that volunteers will get a free WordCamp shirt, I immediately signed up to become one. 
Volunteers' meeting at Krispy Kreme
The day of the event came and I prepared myself for a long and busy day. The organizers and blogger volunteers were joined by the volunteers from the Computer Business Association and the Association of Information Management of the College of St. Benilde. I must say that the students were fun and easy to work with. They are efficient, organized and had initiative.
Bloggers, students and organizers
As the schedule of activities began, I found myself going around the venue carrying out several tasks and doing some errands. Nevertheless, I was able to sit in and listen to some of the morning talks that day. Most interesting for me were the one given by Gail about creating WP Themes and Markku on developing WP Plugins. I think I’ll be studying these subjects more in the next few months so expect a better and more personalized theme for this blog soon! 
Camwhoring at the event
Noon was the busiest time for me because I was assigned in the distribution of food. Lunch time went without any problems and I was able to have a bit of fun guessing the secret ingredient of the delicious Sonja’s cupcakes. While most of the bloggers answered that there was no secret ingredient (thanks to Kung Fu Panda), I insisted that it’s either Vetsin or it’s Star Margarine! Here’s a shot of them which I got from Doc Tess.
Sonja's yummy cupcakes
Anyway, there were less tasks in the afternoon and most of the volunteers were able to socialize with other campers. In my case, I was also able to listen to Matt as he talked about the future of WordPress. He also showed us a preview of WP 2.7 that will be shipping by November this year.
Mr. Wordpress himself
WordCamp 2008 concluded around 5:00 pm. As I watched the campers slowly disperse, I found myself hanging out with some of the blogger volunteers and Micamyx. At around 6:30 pm, we noticed that we were the only ones left in there. Here’s a picture of us before we went to Fort Bonifacio for dinner and the party at Mag:Net Cafe.
Last of the Mohicans
Overall, it was a very productive and fun-filled Saturday for me. Congratulations to the Mindanao Bloggers for a successful WordCamp Philippines 2008. I hope to work with you guys again next year.
Lastly, I’d also like to thank my fellow blogger volunteers for the fun and interesting conversations: Fritz, Rein, Jehz, Arpee, ChiQ, Jonel, Paul, Melo, Arbet, Gwen and Shari.
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Photos courtesy of Manila Freelancer, Prudence and Madness and Mr. Krispy Kreme.
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Hi, my name is Fitz and this is my blog on personal finance.
yeah! I’m one of the Mohicans! ang saya ng WC 2008 no?
Thank you sooo much for volunteering!
@Jehzlau
Yup, sobrang saya. Salamat sa mga tips at sa donuts. Link love na lang ang bayad ko sayo. Hehe.
@Ria
No problem. I enjoyed it very much! Congrats sa inyo.
Congratulations po sa inyong lahat. Don’t know why kung bakit wala akong invi but im one of the first na nag register
thank you fitz sa lahat ng fun moments natin!! sa uulitin!
hi fitz,
am a new blogger using blogpsot, is wordpress better than blogspot.
can i earn adsense in wordpress too.
@Ambo
Honga, sayang wala ka. Anyway, meron pa namang PBA.
@ChiQ
Yup, sa uulitin. Punta ka ulit dito sa Manila sa PBA? Hehe.
@rose
Yes, you can earn Adsense using WordPress, but only if you are in a paid web hosting company and you have your own domain name. Don’t worry, there’s no real difference between using Blogspot and Wordpress when it comes to making money. Both are good performers.
The main advantage of using WP, in my opinion, is the freedom to customize your site in terms of design and functionality. This is probably reason why many bloggers prefer it.
Ang galing fitz.. isa ka pala mga volunteer kaya pala dami mong pic sa net
Hello Fitz!
Nice hanging out with you and the rest of the mohicans!
See you next time weee
Glad to be on the event too! I believe it was Micamyx’s group that was occupying the seats in front of me in the auditorium.. hehe! It was a memorable experience to be in CSB not because of debating, hehe! Aww..
Fitz, I wasn’t paying attention that you were part of the distribution team..I guess I was more focused with the food.lolz! Thanks Chowking!
congrats kasama ka sa finalist ng phil blog awards. http://www.philippineblogawards.com.ph/2008/09/09/voting-for-the-bloggers-choice-award-is-now-open/
@Dexter
Yes, I was a volunteer. Gusto ko kasi ng free WordCamp t-shirt!
@Micamyx
Yup, and our group’s MRT moment was really a memorable one! See you again soon.
@Lee Angelo
Funny thing, when I signed up for the raffle at the SM Movie table. Your name was the previous one on the list. I asked the girl on the booth where you were but she said you just left and she didn’t notice where you went. Sayang! Anyway, meron pa namang next time.
@itots
Honga, gulat ako at kasama pala ako sa Blogger’s Choice awards. Good luck na lang sa akin, pati sa mga kaibigan nating sina Ambo at Mahrgil!
Fitz, hahaha! pagala-gala lang kasi ako nun ‘coz I don’t know anyone sa Wordcamp. But I did finish the whole event. Yeah, may susunod pa naman!
Fitz dami kong natutunan sa iyo!! your a great mentor!! will apply your tips!! di ko nakalimutan yun!! w0oot!
see jah around!!
Napadaan lang. Kaw pala yun. Hihihihi. See you next time