In two years, blogging in Cebu has ripened from just being a mere online diary to something that takes an active role in civic and social awareness.

One of the factors that contributed to this positive development in the blogging scene in Cebu is the creation of a local blogging community.

The Cebu Bloggers Society was founded on February 14, 2008, with the main goal of uniting Cebu-based bloggers into a well-bonded community. And indeed, after its creation, individuals with diverse backgrounds but with a common interest, which is to promote Cebu and advocate blogging as a key tool for progress, converged together to establish Cebu’s first and largest blogging community.

The Cebu Bloggers Society has really grown and evolved quite significantly. From its humble beginnings, the group presently has at least 80 members and still counting. And now, the group is already anticipating its 2nd founding anniversary! Dubbed as “CBS @ 2: The Cebu Bloggers Society 2nd Anniversary Celebration”, the event is envisioned to further strengthen the bond of friendship and camaraderie within the blogging community.

The anniversary celebration will be held on Sunday, February 14, 2010, 5-9PM, at SM City Cebu Foodcourt – SM Storyland Celebration Hall.

This big and important event won’t be possible without the help and assistance of the following:

BatangYagit.Com

JehzLau-Concepts.Com

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

The first part of the program was the Presentation of PoliticalArena.com v2.0 by Racquel Cagurangan, General Manager of PoliticalArena.com.

Politicalarena.com is the country’s first socio-political networking site, developed to promote awareness and interactivity in the local political scene. It provides users with a common platform to access information about candidates and, at the same time, offers candidates with a venue to disseminate information to the public, real time.

Just like any other networking site, politicalarena.com encourages visitors to register and voice out their concerns, express their views, interact with candidates and learn more about Philippine politics. They could also post photos, upload videos and share their views through blogging, asking questions and posting testimonials.

Taking the May election and Social Networking to the next level

Major changes have been introduced to politicalarena.com, the most notable one being the reduction from 22 ‘perceived’ presidential candidates featured on site down to the 10 official presidential candidates.

The site also now includes not just the presidential candidates but their running mates and the whole senatorial slate. This will provide users with access to majority of the candidates running for national seats.

While politicalarena.com introduced a lot modifications to better cater to its member’s needs, some features still remain the same. Users can still upload and view photos and videos in the Photos and Videos section of the site. The Forum which encourages healthy discussions on everything related to politics ad the Philippines is still s great venue for site members to gather and discuss. The News, Announcements and Calendar sections of the site still continue to relay important information on current events and other campaign activities.

What’s new?

Politicalarena.com promises a lot more for its browsers and members as it takes social networking and 2010 elections to the next level – with more exciting and interactive features – for a more informed and intelligent electorate.

Official Candidate List

After COMELEC’s recent declaration of official candidates, the website has included the complete list of candidates for the national positions, together with their respective profiles.

Now, have you ever wondered how this new voting system works?

Another part of the program was the Demonstration of the PCOS Machine Testing conducted by Miguel Avila, Smartmatic-TIM.

Now here’s the step by step tutorial of how this new voting system works:

Step 1

Fill up your ballot bu shading in the ovals next to the names of the candidates you want to vote for.

Some position will require you to choose more than one candidate, so read the instructions carefully!

NOTE: DO NOT OVER-VOTE! If you vote for more than the maximum number allowed, your votes for that position will NOT BE COUNTED.

Step 2

Insert your ballot into the counting machine. It doesn’t matter if you insert the ballot bottom first or upside down.

Step 3

At the end of the process, the voting machine will count all the votes cast and produce thirty copies of the election returns.

It’s that simple. Now, are you ready to cast your vote?

“VOTE WISELY”

Hopefully, on October 25th will be my 3rd visit to the resort. My first was last May 16, 2009 when they gave the bloggers a Summer Blowout to remember. I hope this post will be included in the first batch of bloggers to have the free day tour. Thanks to Mr. Ruben Licera for informing us about this another lovely treat.

Now, are you a blogger who wishes to stay and relax at a white sand beach resort in Cebu for a Sunday? Visit PinoyWorld and read the post entitled Maribago Bluewater  invites bloggers to a Sunday by the beach and simply follow the instructions provided. What are you waiting for? Post your entry now!

Fore more information, you can visit the Maribago Bluewater blog and see also the Maribago Bluewater video.