Nuffnang Blogopolis 2012

Last weekend was nowhere near what I would consider a weekend, considering the amount of things that I had to do. Then again it was definitely a very fruitful weekend, considering it was the weekend that Nuffnang Malaysia decides to play host to the first ever Nuffnang Blogopolis Malaysia 2012!

[Nuffnang Blogopolis is here in Malaysia!]

If you don't know what this event is all about (really?), the entire blogsphere have been buzzing about an event where they gather some of the top bloggers around Asia to share their views and methods that took them to the top and further improve other future bloggers on their tricks and trade from blogging as well.

As expected, I for one would not miss this event for the world so obviously I signed up immediately when they open up the gates!

 [Teh Tarik Drinker is here at Blogopolis 2012!]

Before I start, I would have to apologize for not taking as many pictures as I should have because of my objectives of being here. I wanted to make the best of the event itself, seeing that it is rare to see a gathering of some of the top bloggers in one roof and I wanted to take in as much information and notes as possible for the entire event. The cost? Very few pictures indeed.... :(

[All set up for the event]

[Even Batman was all geared up for the event]

As I entered the Grand Ballroom of Concorde Hotel KL, I saw a lot of familiar faces already gathering around the area, partly because they were all hyped to start the show and partly because I got in late from the traffic. Nevertheless, I was keen to hang out with a lot of familiar faces both attending the event and also event speaking in the event.

[Awesome blogger friends who are never short of a good time in events like this!]

So as we got ourselves ushered into the hall, it was just a matter of time before we kick start the event itself. So far we were told that all of the guest speakers have arrived in the event to give their talk, except for Mr. James Yeang from Google Malaysia who unfortunately suffered an extremely serious injury during the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. It was quite disappointing to miss out on his speech but I wish him all the best in a speedy recovery. As a runner, those kinds are my biggest fear to be honest...

[As the clock ticked down to the start....]

[...had my name tag ready...]

[...even had my seat reserved in the front row thank to the awesome people from Nuffnang!]

The first Masterclass was on the topic of Idea Sourcing and Content Generation which was handled by everyone's favorite funnyman Ken Wooi, the food GPS king himself KY and the editor of TimeOut Magazine KL Lim Chee Wah. The entire class was basically exploring what bloggers can use to inspire themselves for new ideas to blog and the different angles that one would be able to take in when writing a blog post. I specifically like the discussion on the guidelines that one would have to abide to in order to maintain your credibility as a good blogger.

The second Masterclass talks about Opportunities Gained Through Blogging, which was handled by established lifestyle blogger Sixth Seal and the ever stylish Hui Wen from Revel In Me, in which I do like the dress she was wearing that day. Their topic covered more on the possibilities of earning through blogs and how they managed to attract the attention of advertisers to their blogs over the years. One particular issue that I really liked was noting a blogger should never sell out their writings for the sake of advertisers. True.

Third topic of the day was a busy one, which was on Blog Designs 101. The panel for that day not only had accomplished web designers like Firdaus from Nuffnang and Lionel from Ripplewerz but also Eric Cruz who is responsible for the creative designs of some top brands around the world. They highlighted some of the key blog designs that they personally like to see more from bloggers around town and in the same time shared some of the do's and don't in blog designing. Funny enough though, all three of them were more into the minimal designs for blogs rather than the bombastic designs.

Then we had lunch which gave me more opportunities for meeting other bloggers!

[Everyone was after the buffet lunch!]

[Some really famous bloggers also joined in the fun!]

After a good hearty meal, it was back to the ballroom for the next sessions!

Our next topic was on Building Your Brands and was handled by none other than established gossip blogger BeautifulNara and the ever beautiful fashionista Prouduck! They basically discussed on establishing your blog as a brand name that can be recognized by people and by doing so will further establish your blog in the blogsphere. Hilarious discussions entailed to this topic, including a rather awkward Q&A session. :D

Next up we had a topic that everyone was looking forward to which was Blog Photography 101. Wit the panels of two photography extraordinaire, Carlos Nizam and Sue Anna Joe, it was fun to see how they explain a right way of capturing moments through photography and also shared some of their amazing photographs they have done so far as an example of what you can do with a camera.

Next up was Finding Your Voice in the Blogsphere and was handled by none other than the queen of Asia's blogging world, Xiaxue! She did an excellent job on highlighting what are the necessary tools that one must master in making your voice heard out there as well as handling negative reviews to your post as well. One of the best quotes I loved from her speech was "always rely on good writing, otherwise you can always fall back on a pretty face, failing that you can always just take your clothes off". Classic!

The next Masterclass was an outlook of how the Malaysian Blogsphere has evolved over time and for this, they had an expert panel of one of the most recognized face in the blogging world in Asia, Kenny Sia, Mr Premseh who is the founder of Malaysiakini and none other than the founder of Nuffnang, Timothy Tiah himself!

Their take on how the blogsphere has evolved over the years,s tarting from the humble beginnings of Project Petaling Street to a full blown internet phenomenon that it is today. The also highlighted on some of the new things that they would expect to see in the future so it is kinda interesting to see whether their predictions will come true or not!

And finally but not the least, we had a Masterclass on Vlogging and Comic Blogging, two new eras of blogging which was handled by the extremely funny Maria Elena and a person not foreign to this blog, Ernest Ng! It was fantastic to see how they highlighted how they broke the scene using something completely foreign and I believe that this will be the paving way for more bloggers to come out with this method in Malaysia!

[Photo credit to TianChad.com]

In the end of the day I had one hell of a day learning so many new things that I can put into use for my own blog and further improve on the things that I captured from this event. Not only I had fun meeting all the familiar faces and new ones, I believe I came out benefiting a lot that I can consider implementing on tehtarkmemoirs. On that note, do expect A LOT of changes on this blog soon...

So in the end did I get what I wanted from the event?

Yes I did. All 21 pages of it! :D

I might have some plans for these notes....

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