GameOPS [video games, gadgets, etc.]: My Thoughts on the Philippine Blog Awards 2

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

My Thoughts on the Philippine Blog Awards 2

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The Philippine Blog Awards 2 is now officially over and let’s just say that the results are a bit funny. I know this is already a politically charged situation and rest assured that people will react to what I have to say. Jepoy, Karlo, Mark and Siopao Master already said theirs and I feel I owe it to my GameOPS family to say my piece.

A few days ago, Jepoy and I nominated this blog on the special gaming category sponsored by Level-Up! Games. This is the first time after 7 years GameOPS will compete for a website or blog awards. Let's just say this is not the first time a thing like this has happened. As I said earlier, we nominated GameOPS this year. When the list of finalists was released, GameOPS was not there. Some of the finalists have blogs that are barely a month old. And two of them only have 3 posts. GameOPS, on the otherhand has contents from 1998 to 2008.

The gaming blog award has the following requirements,

The Level Up! Gaming Blog Award is open to:

1. A blog about gaming (console/handheld/online) in general or about Level Up!'s games only.
2. Philippine based Filipino Bloggers only

Notice the conjunction OR. The requirement clearly states that it should be a blog about gaming in general OR Level Up! Games only. The first condition satisfied our eligibility. We blog about video games. Period. There's no mention there about online gaming that only refers to Level Up! Games right?

Judging Criteria

1. Content - 80%
The post itself and all its totality from the headline to the manner and style of writing is considered. Content and how the content was presented is critical. It is the total package, from the headline to the grammar and even to the effective use of images and sound, that is considered. Content for content sake is not enough it must be told in a manner that effectively conveys the idea and leaves an imprint in the readers' mind.

2. Design and Usability - 20%
This refers to aesthetic and usability features of the blog. Not only should it look pretty but it should also be functional and stress free to navigate within. Is it pretty and user-friendly?

Now let us look at the criteria. They wanted a blog that can effectively convey the idea and will leave an imprint on the reader's mind. Now could someone please tell me how a blog that's barely a month old with 3 posts can effectively convey ideas? I doubt it would even leave imprints to their readers' minds.

I'm sorry to say this but The list of finalist is an insult not just to me and Jepoy, but to all of our contributors and founding members. It's an insult to the efforts made by Micael when he reported the Toys 'R Us incident. It's an insult to Siopao Master who exposed some irregularities within the message boards and GMs of Level-Up! Games. It's an insult to Dian who in part have pioneered GameOPS' Gurl Gamer. It's an insult to the efforts of our resident ninja at Nintendo of America who keeps on feeding us exclusive information from Nintendo.

I'm starting to believe Andrew's theory that we were not included because he exposed some disturbing matters about their GMs.

This is not about being bitter and not winning the award but this is about passion and principle. We love video games, that's our passion. We don't need an award to be recognized by everyone. We let our content speak for itself. GamePro, PC World, Nintendo Wii Fanboy, The Tanooki, Kotaku, GameTrailers, GoNintendo, GameRevolution, DS Fanboy, and MaxConsole anyone?

Anyway, since I rarely update my blog because of my work schedule and this post is about the Philippine Blog Awards, let me express my disturbing observations on some occasions. Let's start with some irregularities especially with the time.

11:20PM = 23:00? Could someone please explain if I'm inside of a Time Space Warp? How could the 11:20 PM be 2300? If you're running a blog awards about the best blogs, the quality of your own should be the best.

And here's another questionable irregularity from the Nokia Kaleidoscope of Connections special award. The deadline of entries was clearly stated as September 19. Midnight. I know because Jepoy and my mom was supposed to go to a convention on the 18th but instead of accompanying my mom, Jepoy chose to finish editing his entry (Bastard). Gusto daw nya kasing bigyan ng exposure si Mocha. (if you haven’t seen Mocha, you're missing half your life!)

At around 12:15am of September 19, Jepoy was nagging me to watch his video. If you know Jepoy, he has a knack for nagging. How does 23 SMS and 12 calls sound? And since I'm immune to Jepoy's nagging, I ignored his texts and calls until 8:00am. I've watched all 4 entries from itot54jonie, riajose, jepoy, and mariusoczon in the morning and they're all good.

Come awards night, I've texted Jepoy and asked if he won. And boy I was surprised to know that the 1st and 3rd placer weren't even on the list of entries I've watched. I've checked them both and they were uploaded around 10:00pm and 11:00pm of September 19. The extended deadline was clearly stated at September 19, Midnight. Midnight is 12:00 am of September 19. Unless I'm still trapped inside a weird place, the 1st and 3rd placer are ineligible to win.

I've already brought this topic to Jepoy but he said that he already told riajose about it and it's fine with her and Jepoy seems to be ok with it too. Why was Coy and Poytee included in the finalist and even won the top awards? Was it because they're volunteers? May the best volunteers win? :)

Don't get me wrong. I know Poytee, Jepoy and Siopao Master are friends but what happened here is really questionable and against the rules they have indicated there in the first place.

My final word on this is that I respect the Philippine Blog Awards. That's the reason why I wanted to join, same can be said about Jepoy and the other bloggers. But when things like this happen it's just hard to let it pass by. Is the integrity of the Philippine Blog Awards body intact? These are hard facts gentlemen but we got to answer them.

I stopped blogging a few months ago. I have a lot of friends who I invited into the blogging world. Once in a while I still visit Yugatech, our fellow GameOPS friend Mike Abundo, Helga Webber, and the J-Spot.

The Philippine blogging community is wonderful group. I didn't make this post because we didn't win. I'm not bitter at all, really. I'm here because I believe that everyone should be given a fair chance. A chance where kaibigan system, cliques, and the most friends shouldn't be a factor.

This is my opinion and not the opinion of the entire GameOPS crew. I believe that this should be a wake up call for everybody. You know what I think? I think technogra.ph is the best Pinoy technology blog (no offense jep). I think I'll give it a visit and say hi. :)

P.S. I think I'm gonna start a blog about Level-Up! Games about hmm... maybe... 1 week before the deadline of the next Philippine Blog Awards. It's not that hard to make 3 posts right? By the way, the one who won the gaming blog award isn't really a blog. It's like I'm browsing through Wikipedia when I'm there.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 25 2008 1230am: Like I said there will be comments. Thanks to Jepoy, I've read a number of comments in Plurk telling me that I’m an "effing idiot", "Bitter Ocampo" and that I should apologize to the concerned parties because of what I said in my last post. Libel is also being brought out and a certain individual announced that he could prosecute me through "RPC 113 et sequencia".

During the heat of those comments, Jepoy has volunteered to post on my behalf. To those interested, here's the transcript of that Plurk.

To start off, I asked for an apology since I never intended to malign Poyt in any way. What I was trying to do was clearly state the discrepancies that happened in the event. I said that “Why was Coy and Poytee included in the finalist and even won the top awards? Was it because they're volunteers? May the best volunteers win? :)”

Is this libelous or with malicious intent? I was merely asking and did not directly say that they won because they are volunteers. If you read my post properly you will see that I never said that. If there was any “malicious intent” being implied then it must have been incidental and not intended.

I've consulted one of the founders of igad and my good friend, who happens to be a lawyer, about this matter. He said if someone is threatening to prosecute us with RPC 113, then I believe he's mistaken. nullum crimen nula poena sine lege. Now let me return the favor back to the same guy who called me an "effing idiot". I know what that means and I told my friend about that. I believe you know what RPC 357 is I presume?

I am not here to prosecute anybody or give them lessons with regards to the law. I know this is going to happen and I know this will get worse simply because I’ve hurt a few egos. Me, a nobody. But lets stay focused on the real issue on hand. I ask again, do some of the winners and finalist of the categories I've mentioned really deserve to win? I am not asking about talent. All these people are talented I know. I am asking about elegibility and content!

I am not a popular blogger. I don’t have a circle of friends to protect me (except for Jepoy, Karlo, and Siopao Master) when things go wrong, but I still went out of my way and said my piece. If I’ve hurt anybody in the process you have my sincerest apologies. I will apologize for a lot of things but I won’t apologize for the fact that I believe there were a lot of inconsistencies in the Philippine Blog Awards 2008.

Poyt if you really did all those things that you said then I am sorry. You have my apologies. I never meant to cause you any harm since I did not directly accuse you of anything. I only questioned your eligibility on the things I've noticed like the time and date.

Example, Coy (and even Jepoy) mentioned about the time delay on the videos on OVI. Jepoy explained to me that there is really a 1-3 hour delay before the video appears on the channel. But from what Jepoy saw, your videos were all uploaded on the evening of September 19th. The delay only applies to the channel, not to your profile. Jepoy can vouch for this statement.

Another thing I personally noticed was the date on your video. When Coy opened the calendar application on his mobile phone, the current date indicated there was September 19. We all know that September 19, Midnight (12:00am) is the deadline of entries.Unless he changed the date of his phone, this implies you are shooting the video on September 19. If this is not the case, then I apologize.

These two irregularities have lead me to conclude your ineligibility to enter the contest itself, and I'm not talking about your talent. Well, I am mature enough to say that I went overboard on some of my statements and I am mature enough not to participate in a word war with… oh never mind.

Going back to the issue at hand it was not my intention to incite a war among our community. As a blogger I believe I have a responsibility to tell the truth as I see it. I remember one person whom GameOPS had an encounter with. He told us that bloggers are like journalist and we have a responsibility on what we post. I posted about the irregularities on the last Philippine Blog Awards, that I believe is the topic. I never intended to shortchange the efforts of Coy and Poyt. I only posted this to question their eligibility.

A friend told me once that the blogging community is an elitist society. I told him this is not the case. Now that I am faced with overwhelming facts given the same statement, I might not be able to answer him directly.

I hope we are not just a bunch of people who treat people based on who’s who in the blogging community. I want to believe we are bigger than that. And if being called an "effing idiot" and being subject of a thesis is the price for my insolence then so be it. I may be an idiot after all, an idiot who loves blogging and video games.

I still think some bloggers like masterdiwa.com deserves to win. That much hasn’t change.

Related entries within the GameOPS Network:

* My Turn - In Defense of My Friend Rocky
* Level-up being biased in The Philippine Blog Awards 2
* Level-Up! Gaming Blog Award Finalists: A Big Joke at the Philippine Blog Awards 2
* Level-Up did it again!
* Of Biased Blog Awards

Labels: blogging, contests, level-up, philippine-blog-awards, philippine-blog-awards-2008, site-updates

Posted by Rocky on 9/23/2008 10:10:00 PM | 30 comments |

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30 Comments:

Jehzeel Laurente, at September 24, 2008 3:44:00 AM PHT said:
ako nga din.. gusto kong e nominate si ampota.com sa Best Gaming Blog Award, kaso kahit hindi pa deadline nawala na ung nomination form ~__~

_admin, at September 24, 2008 9:50:00 AM PHT said:
Ako!! Ako!! Ako ang nag-nominate kay ampota.com. Kausap ko pa nga si Kiven eh, pero nung sinabi ko ng si ampota.com yung ninominate ko, hindi na siya nagreply. I think he's busy na.

Now I am wondering bakit wala yung nonominate kong si ampota.com since his blog belongs to 1st class blog na nactive like this blog.

At nagtataka nga rin ako bakit napasama sa finalist yung simpleng blogspot na may 3 posts?! Para lang masabing may gaming blog sya hehehe.

Maraming butas ang Philippine Blog Awards 2008.

Rocky, at September 24, 2008 2:00:00 PM PHT said:
@jehzlau / @_admin - baka kasi may topics din about sa ibang online games kaya hindi pinasok.

@jester - I was trying to be calm, hehehe. Sorry my "aggressiveness" showed.

P0ytee, at September 24, 2008 2:08:00 PM PHT said:
Hi, I'm sorry people weren't informed but Coy and I were having problems uploading our videos to OVI. Coy even finished his video at 6PM on that day. We informed Juned, who is in charge of the Nokia Award that we would gladly upload to youtube first if we can't upload on ovi. I believe Azrael was having the same problems as well.

P0ytee, at September 24, 2008 2:35:00 PM PHT said:
By the way, I guess you don't know how much it hurts to have your worked dismissed just because you're friends with the organizers or just because you're a volunteer (as if were being paid NOT TO SLEEP because were volunteers). Please take your concern to the organizers before you tell us we just won because WE'RE JUST VOLUNTEERS.

Coy, at September 24, 2008 2:37:00 PM PHT said:
Nah, Poyt I actually finished around 3PM. Tried to upload to Ovi THREE times without any success then went off to MOA for a meeting.

And FYI, once you upload the video, it doesn't immediately appear on the Kaleidoscope site.

The problem is technical. Hope this explains everything.

xpac, at September 24, 2008 6:47:00 PM PHT said:
pustahan tau sa kanila or sa kakilala lang nila yan mga blogs na yan. para lang contests yan sa mga ol games nila. mga kakilala lagi nanalo

chukchakcheness, at September 25, 2008 4:04:00 PM PHT said:
eto lang masasabi ko. "bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan sapul!" hehehe

im sure yung mga nag react ng negative eh may "guilt feeling" yung mga yun. kase according sa nabasa ko dito. tungaks na lang ang hindi makakaintindi kung qualified ka maging finalist o hindi! hindi naman nila kinuwestyun kung magaling ka o hindi eh. hindi din naman tinanung kung talentado o hindi. ang tanong lang eh paano nakapasok gayong lagpas na sa deadline? hahahaha

isa pa pala yung sa Level Down. sana hindi na lang sila gumawa ng criteria para walang magreklamo. eh halata namang lutong luto yung sa Level Down eh. yun ang obvious na gag*han sa PBA, ni wala man lang sumakto sa criteria yung mga finalist na nilagay nila.

tsk tsk tsk... iba na ata ibig sabihin ng PBA eh. (Para sa Barkada Awards)

PIS!

itot54joni, at September 25, 2008 8:43:00 PM PHT said:
sa akin wala naman naging problema sa pag upload kasi nagupload ako ng tama sa oras.tsaka tapos na yan.manalo o matalo e friends pa din tayo!

Siopao Master, at September 25, 2008 11:57:00 PM PHT said:
Whoa! what the heck is happening here? I am not here to defend Rocky (sorry rocky) or flame you guys. Poytee is also a friend of mine who happens to love making videos (go to her tanggera site if you don't believe me) So when she won, it wasn't really a surprise to me. But honestly guys, the point of this post, my post,Jepoy's post and Karlo's post(which BTW our own opinion) was all about the questionable finalists and how-the-hell-did-they-chose-the-winner scenario. I don't know where will this rage will end., but hey, this always happen when you're on the world wide web. Take Care guys!

anonymark, at September 26, 2008 12:51:00 AM PHT said:
Hmmm i have read rocky's comment several times and its realy perplexing that people call his statements libelous. rocky is merely airing out his concerns through the only means he can. yes he should have gone to the PBA organizers about it but what are the odds of them admitting anything? what's this talk of a libel case against them? rocky's statement was like this:
Why was Coy and Poytee included in the finalist and even won the top awards? Was it because they're volunteers? May the best volunteers win? :)

he was merely showing doubts and airing questions. whats so bad about that? i saw someone say "rocky is an effing idiot" now thats libel. but we dont see rocky telling anybody that he'd make a case study about him and rocky would not be self righteous enough to say that.

Anonymous, at September 26, 2008 11:23:00 PM PHT said:
@jester: hey u malnourished wimp! kahit nanalo ka ng award panget ka padin, kulang nalang sayo kabaong!

P0ytee, at September 29, 2008 12:43:00 AM PHT said:
Thanks for the update. I already exchanged emails with Jepoy clearing what happened. The thing is, you could have gone to the organizers first. That's just my issue, man. And your statement was implicitly saying that we won just because were volunteers, implicitly, not directly.

Enough of that, I've already explained my piece to the organizers. I would like to make it clear that my plurk account is private, it is for my friends. So, sharing my thread to the general public defeats the purpose.

chukchakcheness, at September 29, 2008 1:36:00 AM PHT said:
ako nga hindi ko alam papaano contactin mga organizers.. sponsors pa kaya...

Eugene, at September 29, 2008 3:52:00 AM PHT said:
Er, I think most people interpreted the Nokia deadline as the one minute after 11:59 p.m. of September 19. At least that's how I've seen practically all midnight-based deadlines go.

Take note that the term "midnight" is actually ambiguous.

Why? Because the activity pertaining to the time is before it. An example is weekend sales: "3-day sale on September 17, 18, and 19! Extended mall hours up to midnight!" You would rightly assume that the midnight closing time of September 19 is the one-minute-after-11:59p.m. midnight, right?

So I don't think Coy's and p0yt's videos are late.

Jepoy, at September 29, 2008 12:11:00 PM PHT said:
@eugene - yeah I know it's ambiguous. That's what I thought of initially. Midnight is after 23:59 but before 00:00. But If you're going to be strict and follow the real time, it's 00:00.

Wikipedia clearly states that computers and digital clocks interpret midnight as (insert date) 00:00. The dictionary also states that it's 12'o clock in the night. So if it's 00:00, then the time after 23:59 of September 19 is actually September 20. Ahhh.. ewan. Basta magulo talaga yan. Depende sa individual interpretation :)

The organizers (or sponsors) should be clear and avoid using these kinds of terms. If it's 00:00, then specify.

It's not only me who noticed this. I know someone who also entered the Nokia category who decided to keep his mouth shut to avoid enemies. He was actually observing until the wee hours for new entries. He was also the one who pointed out Poyt's missing link.

Tama na. Tapos na to, pinalalaki lang kasi ng iba dyan sa mga "friends" mo na ayaw tanggapin na mali yung kaibigan nila. Imbes na magpakumbaba, tatawanan pa at lalaitin ang ibang tao.

Anonymous, at September 29, 2008 2:35:00 PM PHT said:
tama na! sobra na! alis dyan! resign erap! kita namng dsqulified yung isa dyan, nangangatwiran p.

chukchakcheness, at September 29, 2008 6:38:00 PM PHT said:
"Er, I think most people interpreted the Nokia deadline as the one minute after 11:59 p.m. of September 19. At least that's how I've seen practically all midnight-based deadlines go."

Err.. isa yan sa error ng sponsors or philippine blog awards or kung sino naghahandle nyang category na yan. Kung ikaw interpretasyon mo eh 11:59pm, papaanong naging 12 o clock yung description ni pareng webster?

---

"Take note that the term "midnight" is actually ambiguous.

Why? Because the activity pertaining to the time is before it."

Kaya nga dapat nilinaw yung time at hindi lang basta midnight ang nilagay!

---

"An example is weekend sales: "3-day sale on September 17, 18, and 19! Extended mall hours up to midnight!" You would rightly assume that the midnight closing time of September 19 is the one-minute-after-11:59p.m. midnight, right?

So I don't think Coy's and p0yt's videos are late."

I disagree. Bakit? Yung binigay mong example eh ibang iba sa binigay na deadline sa PBA '08.

Ang sa PBA eh September 19, Midnight = so naka specify na hanggang September 19 lang ng 12 o clock ng gabi ka pwede magsubmit at hindi na lalagapas pa ng 12:01!

yung binigay mo naman eh 3day sale from Sept 17, 18, 19... na inextend ng midnight... Ibig sabihin "3 days sale from sept 17, 18, 19... extended till midnight!"

Ibig sabihin inextend yun ng SEPTEMBER 20, Midnight o ibig sabihin eh Sept 20, 12:00 midnight. Tama ba?

nu ba yan para kang nagexplain kung anu ibig sabihin ng deadline sa PBA.. pero kinampihan mo pa din mali.... tsk tsk tsk...

Ano ba sabi sa internet?

READ:
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, states:

To avoid confusion, the correct designation for twelve o'clock is 12 noon or 12 midnight. Alternatively, the twenty-four-hour-clock system may be used.

---

Kahit ano pa man, kung magpapacontest ka dapat ay linawin.

Papaano kung normal na tao at hindi volunteer ang magsubmit ng 12:01am? Tatanggapin kaya ng PBA'08/Nokia?

At saka akala ko ba yung entry form sa website ang pinaka "official entry" mo sa contest? Kahit magupload ka sa tamang oras, kung wala ka naman sinubmit na form walang kwenta video mo. Yung isa nga dyan hindi sumusunod sa instructions, nanalo pa ng prize.

Rocky, at September 29, 2008 11:16:00 PM PHT said:
Poytee: I have already talked to Jepoy with regards to that decision. I believe that one of the organizers approached him and discussed if we wanted to file a formal complaint. Beforehand we have already talked about this issue and both of us agreed to not let things get out of hand since it already is.

In the first place Jepoy has no problems with what happened within the Nokia awards, our primary concern was the Level-Up! category.

Poytee if you have already read my updated entry you know that I have already apologized to you several times. I am mature enough to say to admit that what I said was too much. Unlike someone you know.

Regarding your plurk, I believe the privacy has already been compromised. It's no longer private since not all your friends know each other. Once something has been shared to a third party, it's no longer considered private.

Jepoy is my friend and he is also one of your Plurk friends. He conveyed to me your post since it was about me. You and your friends have talking behind my back and I have every right to react. Jepoy was a third party in your conversation therefore waiving your right to privacy.

P0ytee, at October 2, 2008 3:25:00 PM PHT said:
chukchakcheness, yes, Nokia/PBA did. Another video was also uploaded after midnight. We were all trying to upload before the midnight of September 19 but I got two error messages. I uploaded my video twice and Coy's video three times because he's also getting error messages.

Rocky, so if you and your friends are talking between yourselves then your friend records what everyone's been saying and releases it in a podcast without your knowledge? I know that Jepoy will be able to read that thread so he would be able to reply. I'm not responsible for other people's opinion. If they think what you said was libelous, then they are free to think that. They have every right to air out what they think, publicly or privately.

I have no ill feelings towards you, Jepoy or your friends who have commented here. I also don't owe anyone an explanation. Thanks.

chuvachuchu, at October 2, 2008 10:35:00 PM PHT said:
Disqualified ka pa din kahit sampung libong beses mo i-upload yan. Hindi ka sumunod sa rules. Dami mo pang dakdak. Ikaw pa may karapatang magyabang. Wala ka pang sense dun sa comment mo.

Wag ka na magexplain. Wala naman naniniwala sa inyo.

Jepoy, at October 4, 2008 2:08:00 AM PHT said:
@poyt - I believe what Rocky was trying to say is that your claim of privacy on that plurk has already been nullified.

Let's say you have Plurk friends A, B, C, D, and E. You and A, B, C are common friends. D and E on the other hand are not friends with A, B, and C. D and E are also not friends.

Your Plurk conversation should be private within your friends only, unfortunately, Plurk allows two-way communication with the Plurk owner and all of his/her friends.

If A says something or replies in that certain Plurk conversation, his/her opinion can be read by D and E. D and E are considered as third parties since they don't know A.

The Plurk I shared with Rocky is not considered private per se. Some of your friends who posted their replies on that plurk aren't even my friends. So I am a considered third party on that conversation, thus nullifies your claim of privacy on that plurk.

Tama ba ako Rocky?

Euri, at October 11, 2008 6:41:00 PM PHT said:
Hindi bat nangyari na rin ito last year? Same issue for different category. XDXD

Oh, well. :P

badoodles, at October 13, 2008 9:54:00 AM PHT said:
my f*cking two cent's worth: i agree, when a deadline is imposed, it's a deadline, no ifs and buts. simpleng analogy, magpa-file ka ng candidacy sa comelec, natrapik ka o sumabog makina ng kotse mo. pwede mo bang i-alibi kasi i'ts a technical problem? no. i-technical mo muka mo. maghintay ka sa susunod na election. ung pagextend ng dedlyn on a select few without giving notice to all who are privy to the issue puts the integrity of the body in question. anyhoots,
charge this to experience pba peeps.

Sam Milky, at October 16, 2008 2:23:00 PM PHT said:
hello guys, just dropping by... i checked the jester dude's blog and all i can say is that maybe he purposely wears that ridiculous jester hat in crowded places to strategically distract people's attention off his face... xoxo

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