Smug declarations aside, I’m pretty happy with today’s programs. Hands down, it was one of the BEST blog events of 2008. WordPress is something all the participants were passionate about, and you can really see how much bloggers are interested in learning more about this powerful blogging platform. There was an eclectic mix of participants – newbies, probloggers, personal bloggers, developers, designers. All the breakaway sessions were well attended (because they’re all interesting), and the afternoon’s plenary session was especially interesting because it was when Matt Mullenweg delivered his State of the Word address and had a short Q&A session with the campers. I think Matt was amused at how we love to take photos and took plenty of shots of campers taking a picture of him.

Matt and his fans

 
Then there was the serious business of camwhoring after the program XD We all posed for a class picture with Matt, then the Wordcamp organizers and volunteers had their photos taken with the huge backdrop. Then comes the jumpshots. Matt was so amused by all of it, that he had to join the other photographers in taking photos and joining the organizers eventually. Almost everybody wanted a photo with Matt, and he willingly obliged to each request, even chatting up the groups who came up to him for a photo.

I guess that’s one of the reasons why this was such a fun event: Matt was so easy going and friendly. Despite his popularity and status, he remains down to earth. It really was such an honor to meet a person like Matt Mullenweg.

Wordcamp Philippines Organizers and Volunteers

Of course, a big part of why this event was one of the best ever are the organizers. I have to hand it to the Mindanao Bloggers; they really worked hard for Wordcamp Philippines, and it paid off. I was watching them work while I was waiting (because I arrived way too early), and I saw every volunteer doing their assigned tasks, and all the leaders working with them, instead of just ordering people around. That, my friends, is the recipe for a great event

Looking forward to Wordcamp Philippines 2009!

List of Wordcamp posts ganked from Jezhlau:
The New Media Coverage:
0. The Best and Most Memorable Blogger Event in the Phils by Jehzeel Laurente
1. I Got Wordcamped! by Tess Termulo
2. The First WordCamp in Southeast Asia by Adrian Jeric Peña
3. My WordCamp Experience by Master Betong
4. WordCamp Philippines by Hannah Rika Villasis
5. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Nina Fuentes
6. Matt at WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Binary Silver
7. Matt Mullenweg Highlights from WordCamp Phils by The Bachelor Girl
8. WordCamp Philippines Report by Fear the Spork
9. WordCamp Philippines Shirt Please by Evenly Piece
10. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Alrenz Cabasa
11. WordCamp Philippines 2008: A Success!WordCamp Phils, 1st Southeast Asia WordCamp by Ana Katharina Pena
13. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Aftermath by Zero Blade
14. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Mae Paulino
15. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Green Bucks
16. Matt Mullenweg by Charmed Mom
17. WordCamp PH 2008 and Afterparty by Carlo Reid
18. WordCamp Philippines After-Party by The WordCamp Philippines Blog
19. WordCamp Philippines 08 by Project 365 Days
20. WordCamp 2008 Philippines by Karla Redor
21. Live Blogging from WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Spilled Lustre
22. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Aja Lapus
23. Experiencing WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Here’s to Life!
24. WordCamp Manila Blow-by-blow by Jonel Uy
25. Just got home from WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Jayvee Fernandez
26. Bloggers’ Event: WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Ada Lajara
27. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Winners and Bloopers by Funny Sexy
28. WordCamping 2008 by Billycoy
29. Ernie Meets Matt Mullenweg by AJ Matela
30. Matt Mullenweg, Volunteers, and WordCamp Phils by Misteryosa
31. The WordCamp in Philippines by Mark Aethen Agana
32. Matt Mullenweg by Animo Hosting
33. WordCamp Manila 2008, I was there! by Sha Ang
34. On WordCamp 2008 and Meeting Mr. WordPress by Diventare.org
35. My WordCamp Philippines 2008 Experience by Regnard Raquedan
36. WordCamp Philippines Status Report by AWB Holdings
37. Live from De La Salle CSB, Marocharim is at WordCamp! by Marocharim
38. For the Love of WordPress by Kristina Ana Matanguihan
39. WordCamp Pilipinas Success by Ikabon
40. WordCamp 2008: For Healthy and Wealthy Blogging by Hitokiri Hoshi
41. WordCamp 2008 Philippines Success by Arvin’s Thoughts
42. WordCamp, Meeting Matt Mullenweg by Miss Wicked
43. Meeting Matt at WordCamp 2008 by Urriza.net
44. Finally, WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Estan
45. Toothache Vs. WordCamp Philippines by George Putong
46. Notes and Photos, WordCamp Philippines a Success by Tonyo Cruz
47. Some WordCamp Philippines Afterthoughts by Undercover
48. Live Blogging in WordCamp by Pageman
49. My WordCamp Experience by Junele Malaga Caravana
50. WordCamp Philippines A Success! by WordPress Philippines
51. Bakla Goes to WordCamp Philippines by Bakla Ako
52. My WordCamp 2008 Experience by Micaela Rodriiguez
53. WordCamp 2008 Philippines: It’s a success! by Joyceish
54. My WordCamp 2008 Experience by Fitz Villafuerte
55. A Personal Evaluation of WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Danny Arao
56. An Event Which I Failed To Attend by Dexter Panganiban
57. The WordPress WordCamp Fever by Pinoy Web Listing
58. WordCamp Philippines by Batang Yagit
59. Philippine WordCampers 2008 by Sabrina Lajara
60. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Roanna Roro
61. On Meeting with Mr. WordPress, Web Standards and Other Stuff by Shari
62. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Highlights by Sophia Lucero
63. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Mong Palatino
64. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Rowjielogy
65. I was WordCamped by The Industrious Time-Waster
66. HURAH! for WordCamp Philippines by Migs Hipolito
67. WordCamp is on today at De La Salle – CSB by AIM CSB
68. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Updates by Teacher Julie
69. My WordCamp Philippines 2008 Experience by Icezorg
70. I was at WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Gail Villanueva
71. WordCamp Philippines 2008 Ramblings by Sarah Cada
72. Weekend Snapshots #6 WordCamp Philippines by Joni Ang

The Old Media Coverage:
1. WordPress developer previews new version in RP by Inquirer.net
2. WordPress enthusiasts meet for WordCamp by GMANews.tv
3. WordPress Developer lauds RP blogging community by Alexander Villafania

Some WordCamp Photos from WordCampers:
0. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Jehzeel Laurente
1. WordCamp 2008 Photos by Jayvee Fernandez
2. First WordCamp in Southeast Asia by Hannah Rika Villasis
3. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Tess Termulo
4. WordCamp Philippines by Ada Lajara
5. WordCamp 2008 by Regnard Raquedan

6. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by AJ Matela
7. WordCamp at Benilde by Normz
8. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Micaela Rodriguez
9. WordPress Philippines 2008 by Shari
10. WordCamp Philippines by Sofimi
11. WordCamp Philippines 2008 by Andrew Dela Serna

Matt is winding down the session with the Q&A session. Battery’s running out so this is probably my last update (and I’m getting lazy). Watch out for the proper WordCamp post later!

2:57 pm

It’s Ms. Google Earth Philippines, Aileen Apolo! She’s going to talk about Google Analytics. Woohoo! The crowd got really excited when she took out a Google shirt.

2:24 PM

Matt has the most awesome e-mail address, and I thought his url was already cool. Ria had a fan girl moment XD

1:59 pm

What’s this in the slide?? WordPress 2.7! It looks awesome! The Dashboard has been reorganized. It’s intuitive, you can even drag and drop the panels in the edit page! You can easily download and install themes and plugins right in your WordPress admin panel. How awesome is that? We’d all have to wait until November though. But still… YAY for WP2.7!

1:48 pm

I won a Php500 Gift certificate from Italianni’s! But enough of that… it’s Matt’s turn on the stage! First thing he did was to take a photo of the Wordcampers!

1:28 pm

Lunch is done (thank you, Chowking!), and we’re just waiting for the afternoon’s plenary session.

Jeff and his cupcake

12:07 am

Apart from the overly technical stuff, this is really quite interesting. Specially since I need it for work and freelance projects. I’m really impressed at the sites Karla showed us that uses WordPress as their CMS. They really doesn’t look like your typical wordpress blogs! Impressive.

11:50 am

Nosebleeding at Karla’s session. Should’ve gone to the presscon (g_doh)

11:31 am

The SEO session was PACKED. Eric and I are now inside Karla‘s session, WordPress as CMS.

11:19 am

We were late to join the other breakaway session, so we’re just hanging around the CSB halls. But at least we have pictures with Matt Mullenweg!

With Matt Mullenweg

Second breakaway session is over. Moving on to WordPress & SEO!

10:42 am

Gail’s session is winding down. Important lesson: Don’t use your theme to spam! Oh, and while it’s often overlooked, it’s also important to edit your image.php and 404.php files.

9:59 am

Gail showed her work on the Pinoy Adventure Blog‘s theme. Ang ganda!

PinoyAdventureblog.com

9:53 am

Gail’s talk is starting. She’s walking around the front of the theatre, wearing her Ateneo jacket. Kamusta naman.

Fritz, Gail, AJ and Hana

9:39 am

Migs is giving a run down of the day’s schedule. The two tracks will divide in a bit. I’m attending Gail‘s talk on Creating WordPress Themes & CSS Power. A new travel blog will be unveiled.

9:36 am

Blogie is now addressing the campers and welcomed Matt Mullenweg.

9:31 am

Opening remarks by De La Salle Benilde Dean Benhur Ong of the School of Management and Information Technology.

9:29 am

Wordcamp is starting!

9:23 am

Still not starting. They said the program’s going to start in two minutes a couple of minutes ago. I’ve finally met Estan, on my way to the loo. Nggh, forgot to take a photo *face palm*

8:27 am

People are trickling in. I’m seeing many familiar faces, but there are plenty of new faces as well. All around me are people taking about variable widths, widgets, header.php, upgrading to WordPress 2.6.1. My being an early bird got me a cute WordPress button!

Mica and Arpee

7:23 am

I’m early. So early lol. I take comfort in knowing that I’m already the 3rd camper to arrive. The volunteers (save for the Rockstar Fritz Tentativa are hard buzzing about, making last minute preparations. The WC volunteers look spiffy in their black WordCamp Philippines shirt.

The Rockstar with his LG Secret phone.

 
I shall be updating this post throughout the day (or at least when I can remember), with the latest updates appearing at the top of the page. Here’s to hoping I actually pay attention and not Plurk all day!

P.s. The Fritz is now working.