Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009: My Top 10 List

[Note: I had to change 3 sites in my list to meet the requirements of this contest. Thus, I have revised my introduction for this purpose. For the sake of my readers who have read the previous entry of this particular blog, I had included the following sites: Obra: Pinoy Artist Network, Filipino Paintings and Culture Inside. These 3 sites were then replaced with: Daily Du jour, A True Review and Bulagspot. Please see all 10 sites below with their hyperlinks.]

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Choosing my Top 10 list of Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 was a gargantuan task. One basic requirement is that the blogs should have been created between May 1, 2008 until the present only. On its 3rd year, the Influential Blogger project was initiated by Janette Toral and true enough it has recognized new blogs that are getting significant readership on the net and also the ones that need a little bit of a lift.

Honestly, of a compelling number of interesting blogs, I had a really difficult time trimming it down to 10. There are, I must say, exceptional blogs (which I also read on a regular or casual basis) that are worthy of commendations, but unfortunately don't meet the inclusive date of site creation requirement.

I'd like to emphasize that half of the blogs (5 sites) that I have included here are in the line of ARTS (actually, i have a lot more in my draft list both created by Filipinos and foreigners); 1 caters to reviewing other Filipino blogs; 1 that encapsulates featured segments of a tech show on Philippine television; 2 that were created by fellow blogger friends (1 is about food & travel adventures while the other 1 documents about the blogger's city); and 1 personal blog that deals with culture & humor. I believe that the blogs on the ARTS don't get the much needed attention they deserve. Or perhaps they haven't reached the eyes of the Filipino bloggers, I suppose. Feast with your senses as I present to you, Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009: My Top 10 List.

1.
The Intersections & Beyond

The Intersections & Beyond offers you a wide array of art menu that intersects each other - from art, literature, theater, entertainment, film to culture. It also gives you updates on art exhibitions (both current & upcoming), upcoming contests (both in art & writing), calls for submission, publication, book launchings. For theater, the site also makes reviews on various productions (like plays, etc.). I recommend that you follow this site and subscribe to this site's rss feed so not to be left behind.

2.

Artpipe: Events in Manila & Beyond

Artpipe is a very interesting site posting events on visual arts, film, theater, literature & music. Since it's a hub that caters to my interests, I definitely recommend this neat site if you want to get updates on what's going on in the arts scene that happen mostly in Metro Manila.

3.

What's Art:
Eye on Malaysia's Contemporary Art Scene & Beyond

I stumbled upon this site by a Malaysian artist-blogger that caught my fancy. What's Art covers the different events in the visual arts, about Malaysian and Asian artists and their works. We share the same passion for the visual arts. This is a must-see!

4.

Daily Du jour

Based on the definition from Dictionary.com, du jour comes from the French words plat du jour or "dish of the day" in the early 20th century on restaurant menus, abstracted as an all-purpose modifier in 1989. Du jour as a noun means "as prepared on the particular day; of the kind being served today." Daily Dujour is a website on art & culture. Maintained by 6 editors based in the United States, this site covers events and discussions on art, features artists and their works. I'm fascinated by the brilliance of the contemporary American art. We, Filipinos, surely can learn a lot from it.

5.

A True Review

I personally enjoy reading reviews especially in the areas of art, literature, theater & film. This site authored by Neil Byce (based in Orlando, Florida) is truly a remarkable read for Film. A True Review is a blog that reviews films in the box office. The goal is to provide reviews that are unbiased covering 5 criteria concocted by Neil, namely: Direction, Acting, Cinematography/Editing, Plot & Redemptive Value. He also added 2 more discussing the Introduction & Conclusion of the story. For each of the 5 areas, he gives a point out of 5 (with an increment of 0.5). Then he sums all up for his "overall score." Neil puts his best foot forward writing long reviews, and it's all worth it!

6.

Let's Go Sago

Where is Sago going? What is he craving? This site that uses a small monkey as its icon gives you a colorful adventures on food and travel. Because of its creativity, Let's Go Sago is created by Jonel Uy is getting huge attention on the web. Sago is always on the go! So, shall we go?

7.

Marikina Life

This site is created and maintained by Jay de Jesus. I like the concept here. And as the name states, it's anything and everything Marikina, a city within Metro Manila. Marikina Life gives you updates on what's happening around the metro. Because of Jay, I got the idea of doing the same for my city (hopefully in the near future).

8.

Philippine Blog Reviews

Who could've thought that there is such a blog site that reviews other blog sites? Philippine Blog Reviews writes reviews on websites made by Filipinos only. It randomly selects sites to be reviewed. There is also a rating that goes along with it. I am glad that this site made its first post reviewing my website.

9.

The Andi and Andy Blog

A new program of QTV-11 is getting raves on Philippine television. Hosted by Andy Smith and Andi Manzano, Qtube covers everything about the technology, the internet, the world wide web and Filipinos. The show also features Filipino bloggers who make an impact on the Filipino blogosphere.

10.

Bulagspot

Bulagspot is like a parody of Blogspot in terms of its website name and terms used in the site. In a way, it is also a bastardized version of Blogspot turning the word "blog" into "bulag" that means blind. The site imitates the look of the original's dashboard page. The author blogs about his funny takes about life and the mundane things. This site is very creative in terms of format and content. Blogs are written in both English & Taglish. Though it uses Tagalog colloquial/ slang terminologies, this site's humor is worth a try.

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