WordCamp Philippines 2010 which is scheduled on October 2nd at the College of Saint Benilde, Manila, Philippines re-opened its registration yesterday, August 16th. If you’re a WordPress user, developer, fan, advocate based in the Philippines or someone who would like to know more about WordPress then this is THE EVENT that you wouldn’t want to miss.

With that said, the organizers of WordCamp Philippines 2010 also recently released the list of speakers and topics for the Breakaway Talks which will be divided into three tracks: Basic, Advanced and Developer. Below is the complete list of speakers and topics for each track:

Basic Track

WordPress Setup and Maintenance by Winston Almendras
930AM-1025AM
Thinking of starting your first WordPress blog? Bring your laptop and we’ll make sure you have a blog up and running before lunch time.

Anatomy of a WordPress Blog by Micaela Rodriguez
1030AM-1125AM
Posts vs Pages, Categories vs Tags. Can’t tell the difference? This talk is for you and as a bonus, we’ll teach you how to upload a plugin.

WordPress in the Wild by Jonel Uy
1130AM-1225PM
The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, The PlayStation Blog, Best Buy, Mashable.. What do all these heavyweight sites have in common? They’re all powered by WordPress. See real world examples of WordPress sites and how easy it is to set one up.

Advanced Track

Integrating Social Media by Misty Belardo
930AM-1025AM
A talk on blogging and how you can integrate social media into the mix. Includes strategies on how to get people to leave comments and interact on your blog.

Plugin Must-Haves by Hans Koch
930AM-1025AM
Find out the most essential plugins your blog will ever need to succeed.

Corporate Blogging with WordPress by Regnard Raquedan
930AM-1025AM
Learn the importance of blogging in the corporate culture and how it can help your business.

SEO, Optimizing Ads, and Blog Flipping by Rocky Tayaban
930AM-1025AM
Essential SEO strategies that matter with discussions on SEO techniques that don’t work. Plus ads optimization and blog flipping.

The Internet is not just for Porn (Videos can be wholesome, too!) by Kring Elenzano
1030AM-1125AM
A step-by-step tutorial on how to do a simple video blog but make it kick-ass at the same time.

WordPress as CMS by Kevin Codamon
1030AM-1125AM
A case study on how Level Up!, the country’s first and biggest online games publisher, started using WordPress as a content management system (CMS) during a time when local companies still relied on proprietary software.

Stats, Hits, Likes: Semantics and Sentiment in WordPress by Marck Ronald Rimorin
1030AM-1125AM
Leverage your blog’s traffic with social media, hits and statistics analysis.

Add Muscle to your WordPress Site by Gail Villanueva
1130AM-1225PM
Take your WordPress site to the next level by adding options to post templates. Learn techniques on utilizing WordPress as a powerful CMS for jobsites, e-commerce sites or portfolio blogs.

Photoblogging with WordPress by Juned Sonido
1130AM-1225PM
Includes the who, what, where, when and why of photoblogging via WordPress. Technical and fun at the same time.

Blogging with Passion by Jayvee Fernandez
1130AM-1225PM
Learn how Jayvee Fernandez evolved and turned blogging into a medium for things he is passionate about.

Developer Track

WordPress Theming and CSS Techniques by Elaine Poh
930AM-1025AM
A talk on theme design. See real examples and learn how to achieve the same effect with CSS techniques and plugins.

Customizing a WordPress Blog with Themes and Plugins by Jonas Roque
1030AM-1125AM
Case study of Facebuko.com. Learn from Jonas on how to transform a default WordPress installation into a niche site.

Optimizing WordPress Webserver Performance by Eric Malloy
1130AM-1225PM
Optimizing WordPress webserver performance with PHP-fpm nginx and memcached with discussions on common security exploits and how to protect against them.

If you’re planning to attend or have already registered for this year’s WordCamp Philippines, the sign-ups for these scheduled breakaway talks will open really soon so watch out for it. Please take note that once you’ve signed up and finalized, you won’t be able to change schedules. Talks have limited slots so make sure to book your preferred topics/talks ASAP.

Aside from these breakaway talks, there will also be a few talks scheduled for the Plenary Session. Last but not least, WordCamp Philippines 2010 attendees will also get to hear Mr WordPress himself – Matt Mullenweg.

The organizers have prepared a very interesting and exciting lineup of speakers and topics for WordCamp Philippines 2010. I really wish I could attend, but I guess I’ll have to wait again til next year.

Anyone here planning to attend, have already registered or who’s speaking at WordCamp Philippines 2010? Which topic or topics would you want to listen to if you had the chance to attend the event?

UPDATE: Added new photos

Time to take a break from the regular programming here in JaypeeOnline to do some public service and help the victims of typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines.

Last week, I heard about typhoon “Ondoy” hitting the Philippines on the news and saw several photos posted and forwarded by people on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. Because I was so busy this past weekend, I wasn’t able to follow the developments of the flood and how badly affected the Philippines was.

Today, I was able to browse through the news articles, blog posts and updates and finally got to realize how much damage this typhoon has done. From what I’ve learned, this is the worst typhoon ever recorded in the Philippines since 1967, with a month’s worth of rainfall pouring down in only 6 hours. I’m sharing some of the photos and videos posted by other Pinoy bloggers.

Photos:

Videos

If you’d like to help, you can check out this Disaster Relief Google Spreadsheet updated by volunteers, bloggers, NGO’s and citizens that contains the complete list of relief drop off points, hotline numbers and establishments that accommodate relief goods for typhoon Ondoy victims in the Philippines.

Donate to Red Cross Philippines

Donate to the Philippine Red Cross for ONDOY victims
September 26, 2009 — ninaterol

Monetary Donations

1. CASH or CHECK
Please send cash or check donations to the PNRC National Headquarters in Manila. Checks should be made payable to The Philippine National Red Cross. We can also arrange for donation pick-up.

2. BANK DEPOSIT
Account Name: The Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross

METROBANK
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 151-3-041-63122-8
Dollar Acct.: 151-2-151-00218-2
Type of Acct. : SAVINGS
Swift Code: MBTC PH MM

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 4991-0010-99
Type of Account: CURRENT

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
UN Branch
Dollar Acct.: 8114-0030-94
Type of Account: SAVINGS
Swift Code: BOPI PH MM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

Credit Card
Please fax the following info to +632.404.09.79 and +632.527.0575:

Name of card member, billing address, contact nos. (phone & mobile), credit card no., expiration date, CCV2/ CVC2 (last three digits at the back of the credit card), billing address, amount to be donated.

For online donations you may also visit our website at www.redcross.org.ph

In-Kind Donations

LOCAL
Please send in-kind local donations to The Philippine National Red Cross – National Headquarters in Manila. We could also arrange for donation pick-up.

INTERNATIONAL
1. Send a letter of intent to donate to the PNRC
2. A letter of acceptance from PNRC shall be sent back to the donor
3. Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to The Philippine National Red Cross–National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Corazon Alma de Leon, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 2803, Philippines.

The PNRC does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods. Though we appreciate your generosity, the PNRC also discourages donations of old clothes as we have more than enough to go around.

SMS and G-CASH (Globe)

SMS
text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)

G-CASH
text DONATEAMOUNT4-digit M-PINREDCROSS to 2882

MOST URGENT NEEDS
Food items: Rice, noodles, canned goods, sugar, iodized salt, cooking oil, monggo beans and potable water

Medicines: Paracetamol, antibiotics, analgesic, oral rehydration salts, multivitamins and medications to treat diarrheal diseases

Non-food items: Bath soaps, face towels, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, water containers, water purification tablets, plastic sheetings, and Laundry soap

Rehabilitation Programs: Shelter materials for house repair

Call Hotline 143 or 527.0000

THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL RED CROSS
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
Bonifacio Drive, Port Area,
Manila 2803, Philippines

Aside from that, you can also help plot out Ondoy emergency areas. This map is updated by a group of volunteers called the Typhoon Ondoy Mapping Team. Click here to view actual map.

We Filipinos are known for “bayanihan” – a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. This is one of those times that we really need to put “bayanihan” into practice. We need to put aside all our differences and work together to help the victims of Ondoy. Any type of help you can give – cash, food, clothes, etc. will help ease the burden of the poor victims of these recent calamity. I also pray for the countless families who were displaced and affected by Ondoy and hope that they’d get the help that they need and be able to recover as soon as possible. God bless the Philippines!

Sources: USA Today, Reuters, Xinhua English News, The Euphoria Pill, ajb{log}, TechPinas, A bugged Life.

If you’re a Pinoy blogger or a WordPress user/fan then most likely you’ve heard or read of this already. But in case you haven’t, I have good news for you. There will be a WordCamp held in the Philippines this coming September 6, 2008. If you don’t know what I’m talking about here’s a little info.

What is WordCamp?

WordCamp is a conference type of event that focuses squarely on everything WordPress. Everyone from casual end users all the way up to core developers show up to these events. These events are usually highlighted by speeches or keynotes by various people. WordCamp is a spin off from the popular BarCamp which was a spin off of FooCamp. – Weblog Tools Collection

WordCamp Philippines will be the first ever WordCamp organized and held in Asia. WordCamp Philippines is being organized by a group of Filipino bloggers based in Mindanao who were also responsible for organizing the successful 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit held last year.

What are the objectives of WordCamp Philippines?

…to encourage more developers to use and deploy WordPress, not only as a blogging engine but also as a full-featured content management system for Web sites. Another is to increase the number of WordPress users and developers in the country. By developers, we mean programmers of WordPress plugins and designers of themes & templates.

WordCamp Philippines will be held on the 6th of September, 2008 (Saturday) at the College of St. Benilde, Taft Ave., Manila. The event will be divided into several components: Deployment (Usage) Track, Development Track, Panel Discussions, WP Install-Fest and last but not least, the After Party! So make sure to mark your calendars and don’t make any other appointments on that date.

I’d really love to go and be a part of this event. Unfortunately, I’m no longer in the Philippines. Since I won’t be attending WordCamp Philippines, all I can do is help support it by promoting it here on my blog. If you’d like to help and support WordCamp Philippines, there are many things you can do. You can be a volunteer and help the organizers plan/setup this event, you can be a speaker and share your knowledge and expertise, you can be a sponsor or like me you can help promote this event by blogging about it or spreading the word to your family, friends, schoolmates and officemates.

Anyone attending WordCamp Philippines? If you are, aside from those stated above what other activities would you want to have? What topics would you want to be discussed in this event? If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to make this event more fun, please share it with us.