2009-The Year that was for GenSan News Online Mag

Finally, Bariles is back after a hiatus of over a week caused not so much by the holiday “lazy virus”  but by a “writer’s block” so powerful that it knocked out all his resolve to go back to writing, after living and eating like a boar during the long Christmas break.

Anyway, all that is past now and so with your indulgence, dear readers and subscribers, here is Bariles’ first blog post for the Year of the Metal Tiger, 2010,

For this article, Bariles reviews the year gone by, starting with this item, on the most read articles for 2009.

I.     GENSAN NEWS ONLINE’s TOP 10 POSTS for 2009:

1. More Funny Pictures of Manny Pacquiao –     8,517 pageviews
2. Dionisia Pacquiao and Presidentiables’ Funny Pictures –     4,716 pageviews
3. More and more Pacquiao Funny Pictures by Popular Request –     4,231 pageviews
4. Jinkee Paquiao’s Fashion World –    3,861 pageviews
5. Happy 60th Birthday, Mommy Dionisia Pacquiao –     3.727 pageviews
6. Pinoy Big Brother Double Up Housemate is from GenSan –     3.476 pageviews
7. An Invite to Manny Pacquiao’s Daughter Queenie’s Baptismal Party –     3,398 pageviews
8. Dolores Tropicana Resort’s 10th Bikini Open, A Visual Delight –     2,958 pageviews
9. Manny Pacquiao fetes Dionisia in Grand Debut Party –     2,870 pageviews
10. Hong Kong Columnist calls Philippines a Nation of Servants –     2,715 pageviews

The Top 10 posts which received the most number of readers were mostly about Manny Pacquiao and his Family, including wife Jinkee, Second Daughter Queen Elizabeth and mother Dionisia.  This just goes to show how even more popular GenSan’s former resident has become for the past year and with fame, he and his loved ones have become favorite subjects of cartoonists, caricaturists, photoshop artists and anime artists.  And as a sort of tribute to them, this blog gathered most that it can find out there in the Internet.

Bariles has also noted that readers would like to peek into Pacquiao’s family’s parties and grand celebrations in General Santos City.  This is the reason why his blog posts on the birthdays of the Champ, daughter Queenie and mother Dionisia also got a lot of pageviews.  Bariles is very fortunate to have been invited to these events and was able to relate first-hand the star-studded ongoings during those fabulous gatherings.

II.  YEAR OF AWARDS.

2009 turned out to be a Year of Achievement for this 2-year old blog about GenSan  with its three awards from the Philippine Blog Awards for Mindanao, held during the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Cagayan de Oro in October 2009.

These are the Chikka Reader’s Choice Awards for Mindanao (chosen by text voting); one of the 10 Globe Tattoo Digital Tribe Awardees; and, the Best Destination Blog for Mindanao.

One award was actually enough for Bariles to keep him going with his advocacy to promote GenSan but having been given three awards unexpectedly has made this a lifelong commitment… wherever this may take him.

III.  YEAR OF THE BLOG CONTESTS

For 2009, we conducted a total of 8 blog contests, with restaurateur Mr. Michael Wee as perennial partner in most of them.  Mr. Wee represents the new breed of entrepreneur in GenSan, young ,very dynamic and in tune with the times where Internet presence is now a necessity for business sucess.

1. Vote For Your Best Photo in the TAHANAN NI MARIA PHOTO CONTEST QUALIFIERS
2. David Pomeranz in Concert Blog Contest
3. Pooh-K “Laugh Out Loud” Concert Blog Contest
4. Side A Band All-Hits-Live SEO Contest
5. “What Air Supply Song Are You?” Blog Contest
6. The 2nd Blogoversary Ultimate Greeting Contest
7. PBA Coca-Cola Tigers vs. Talk n Text Tropang Texters Game Contest
8. The Next One – Sarah G. Concert in Gensan Blog Contest

GenSan News Online gathered about 250 entries to all these contests and the winners were given their very own row of choice VIP seats during the concerts.  For 2010, Bariles will again conduct contests and promises to make them more exciting and with more prizes.

IV.   THE YEAR OF EYEBALLS, PLURK FIESTAS AND SCHWAGS:

The Soccsksargen Bloggers Group which Bariles helped organize with partners Hecky Minoza, Bro. Vince Celeste FMS, Ariel Lalisan, Job Oberio and Mark Aethen Agana in 2008 have gone a long way since the time they first eyeballed at Coffee Club 1o1.

Now boasting of more than 160 members from all over the globe (from 83 in January 2009), 40% of which are the more active ones based in GenSan, the bloggers have been busy in a good number of gatherings, together with Davao Bloggers (Blogie Robillo, Lyle Santos, Brendel Balaga, Jim Haw, Angel Abella, Chattee) as immortalized in the following blog posts:

• Plurk Fiesta at Generals Brew
• GenSan Bloggers at St. Elizabeth Hospital’s New Modern Wing
• Bloggers Plurk Fiesta at Ranchero Grill
• Plurk Feista at Orange Bistro
• Taaz Bar Welcomes the Bloggers
• Rediscovering Giacomino’s Pizza
• Rediscovering Olaer Springs Resort
• Soccsksargen Bloggers Grand Eyeball at Robinsons Place (by Hector Minoza)
  
• Photo-Journalism Workshop for Bloggers and Christmas Eyeball
  
• GenSan Google Mapping Party
  

V.  THE YEAR BARILES GOT EXPOSED:

Two publications took notice of Bariles and this blog and exposed him to its thousands of readers.  We have not even included the few times that ABS-CBN Socsksargen featured him in their news reports.

• Cebu Pacific’s Smile Magazine
• M Magazine

V. THE YEAR OF FACEBOOK:

• GenSan News Online Mag built its own Fan Page last year on Facebook.  To date, it has over 1,500 fans, mostly generals, some of which are now based abroad.  To check it out, log on to:  www.facebook.com/gensannews .

VII.  THE YEAR OF RECORD-BREAKING PAGEVIEWS:

For 2009, General Santos Online Mag received almost 400,000 Pageviews, according to the blog’s Google Analytics.

Next year, we are aiming for at least HALF A MILLION.

VIII.  THE YEAR TO BE MOST THANKFUL FOR.

The year 2009 came and went by so fast and despite some issues on personal health and work, everything went better than what Bariles expected.  Shout-outs of gratitude are therefore given to the following for making our 2nd year of existence more meaningful and eventful.

• Bro, the Great Editor-in-Chief.
• Orman, Bariles’ #1 Fan and Critic who has now become a well-loved blogger himself — www.gandaeversomuch.com/.
• The Planetman who has been Bariles’ formidable companion throughout all his blog sorties, acting as photographer, listener and wake-upper when sleep takes over at the middle of an occasion.
• GenSan News Online Mag’s 500++ subscribers.
• Bariles’ mailing list consisting of uncomplaining friends worldwide who receive his updates everytime there is a new blog post.
• Generous readers of GenSan News Online Mag who have touched Bariles so much with their personal gifts (George, Eve, Marilou, Ate Guy aka Mimi, Bobby, Lelen, Bambi, Ging and Roi, Ate Sen, Kimberly, Peng, Sir Ernie, Malou and Tito, Cecille D, Kuya Ely, and others whose names will be added here later once Bariles remembers them).
• GenSan News Online Mag’s Contest Sponsors.
• GenSan News Online Mag’s Sponsors for two years in the running:
  • East Asia Royale Hotel
  • RD Hotels and Resorts
  • GenSan City Mayor’s Office
  • Amie Zonio of My Fairways and Bunkers
• Bariles’ close-knit blogger friends who have been his constant companions for the most part of 2009, sharing his triumphs and joys and giving him the much needed wind to spread his wings and fly even higher (flying fish huh?).  You know who you are.
• And of course to YOU, dear reader for always finding the time to visit this blog, leaving a note or two and telling other people about it.  Thank you very much, Magandang GenSan and  Happy New Year!