2010 Best Travel/Destination Blog Award for Mindanao given to GenSantos.Com

Bariles is very proud to announce that this blog of his, GenSan News Online Mag has been awarded as Best Travel/Destination Blog for Mindanao for the second year in a row.

The award is courtesy of the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards – Mindanao leg which were given out during the fruitful  4th Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Zamboanga City headed by its gracious convenor Ryann Elumba last Saturday, October 30, 2010 at the Garden Orchid Hotel.

Last year, during the conduct of the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Cagayan de Oro City, GenSantos.Com was awarded its first Best Travel/Destination Award for Mindanao along with two other awards, the Chikka Reader’s Choice Award and one of Globe’s Digital Tribe Awardees.

Handing out the award to Bariles (besting eight other finalists in the process) last Saturday were Philippine Blog Awards President Juned Sonido, Google Philippines’ Aileen Apolo and Mindanao Bloggers Lead Convenor Blogie Robillo.

This award comes at the right time as Soccsksargen’S most multi-awarded blog is celebrating its 3rd blogoversary on November 8, 2010.

Now after three years of sharing developmental news and pertinent info about the ongoings in Region 12’s most vibrant city together with updates on its  very active advocates for positive reporting, the Soccsksargen Bloggers,  GenSantos.com has indeed proven right that there is a niche for GOOD NEWS after all.

As Bariles himself mentioned during his talk on “Promoting a Locality thru Blogging“ at the Ateneo de Zamboanga during the Blogging 101 Seminar last Friday, October 30, 2010 and later reiterated at his Report on the Soccsksargen Bloggers the following day at the MBS 4 Proper, bloggers just need to write religiously about the positive ongoings in Mindanao to change people’s negative perception about the island.

Yes, people from around the world will read them and most probably, convince them to come and visit the island.

In the end Bariles left them one  very positive outcome he and the other bloggers of Mindanao have come to expect while blogging for this advocacy  – IF YOU BLOG IT, THEY WILL COME.

Bariles humbly shares this new recognition with the following: To the Lord God, who has given him the inspiration to continue doing this for the good of his beloved hometown; the Soccsksargen Bloggers, from whose presence he draws his drive to continue on blogging; to his countless readers, subscribers and regular commenters who have provided him the traffic he needs to sustain his blog and the  necessary feedback he needs if his posts were of utmost value or just plain trashy and the right dose of pinoy humor with their raves and rants; to his blogger friends from Davao, Manila, Cagayan, Iligan, Cebu, Bacolod and elsewhere who have provided him enough blogging lessons, tips and tricks plus the necessary linkages to be more effective at blogging; to his sponsors and supporters in  GenSan, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Davao and Manila, who have gamely opened the doors of their establishments and their wallets for Bariles’ numerous blog events and activities, including his friends in America, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Middle East.  And lastly to his family, led by his small brother Orman plus his partner for five years and official blog photographer, Marz, for being his #1 fans ever.