Dirtbag on [excerpts] mode.

Casting my vote

Influential. Emerging. Such “hefty” words are associated with the Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs held annually (since 2007), a project by Ms. Janette Toral. We all have our connotations with those hefty words mentioned above, and my connotation - I’m afraid - might be the sole basis of my candidates this year.

Last year’s winners were dominated by personal blogs, and it’s quite refreshing that group blogs are - so far - populating this year’s nominees. Last year’s winners, though, haven’t stood that long against the tests of time. A number of them (like the nonexistent one-hit wonder blog named Utakgago, whoever that is, and Jhed) became either inactive, nonexistent, and lost a lot of factors that somehow summed up their “influence” in the blogosphere. And I’m really hoping that this year - whoever makes it to the Top Ten - will surface and stand for a couple of more years.

So much for the sentiments and the expectations. The (three) blogs I nominate are as follows:

1. Visit Sagada - This blog promotes the hidden beauty of the Cordilleras (which I suspect, is a world-class beauty since it’s regarded as the Philippine version of Shangri-La - see, I know a loooot), which is still unknown even to us Filipinos since a friend even thought of it as a cave (well, it’s NOT just a cave). And maybe because I have my ulterior motives so I nominated this blog (like an all-expense paid trip to Sagada, LOL).

2. Billycoy - Ever since this site started at Blogspot, I’ve been a fan of Billycoy’s brain-blasting way of humorous writing!

3. Wawsabaw - I’m actually paid to vote this blog (35 pesos = a kilo of rice!). This blog - please read this as sarcastic as you can - is ONE OF MY FAVORITES. EVAR. I always bookmark it at any computer station I use around the globe, really. He’s a promising (sarcasm again) writer and a drop-dead fan of mine. Heh.

So as you can see, I really need a lot of “catching up” to read other blogs and follow-up my list.

UPDATE! UPDATE!

4. Fritzified - Dickery + flawlessly-written posts = total Paparazziness. Despite his numerous attempts to become a rockstar of his own world - well it doesn’t matter. He might be putting a bit (or lots) of dickery in the middle of his formally tuned-up posts, but hey dude - I never thought it could sound so awesome (and his PICS! HIS PICS ARE JUST GUHHREAT)! It’s just one of the blogs I read daily, even if he rarely updates it and I only see those mind-numbing headers he made for the color-blind. LOL. I shut up nao. Anyway, to help Fritz reach his rockstar Nirvana (not the Plurk-related nirvana), I now vote him.

5. Manila Foodistas - I’ve been eyeing on their blog for more than a MONTH now, imagine.

6. Pass the Sauce - I actually saw this blog somewhere around Fritz’s blog and the way she captures that Ferrero Rondnoir, there. My stomach growled again. I should avoid food blogs right now, I’m craving for chocolates. Heh. They ruin my austerity program, but I’ll still check their blogs!

7. Samjuan - Need I say more? This blog totally speaks out every inch of an OFW’s life - the longing, the desperation to come home, the hardships just to earn all the dollars and the even growing desperation “to find his blue-eyed wifey”. The blog appeals to a broad audience, and it did appeals me so much.

8. Filipino Voices - I think it was THIS blog has this raffle of giving books (as what Gibbs had told me, but again I failed to join! Hrmph. I’m so lazy. Any writing seminars out there? LOL) and a contest about giving your opinion about a certain Philippine news or anything else. Bleh. Anyway, I’m probably not an avid reader but I DEFINITELY read this blog - it’s this kind of blog where it encourages you to actually voice out every unheard opinion about our country (politics and anything under the sun). Definitely on my list.

Sorry, I’m running out of blogs to vote.

This post is tagged: Filipino Voices, Fritzified, Manila Foodistas, Pass the Sauce, Samjuan, Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs of 2008