Most people may see blogging as just an outlet for self-expression and nothing else. But the past years have shown that blogging has itself become a poweful tool for change.

For instance, blogger Ella Rose delos Santos’ expose on undistributed relief goods in the Department of Social Welfare warehouses spurred the government agency to take action. An untold
number of netheads on microblogging sites like Twitter and Plurk helped coordinate rescue and relief operations during the height of Ondoy.

A group of 19 bloggers seeks to harness that power for the 2010 elections through Blog Watch (http://www.blogwatch.ph), an initiative to feature underplayed but equally important election related-stories that may not receive as much attention from the country’s mainstream media.

Blog Watch is a project of Vibal Foundation and its news and features website Philippine Online Chronicles. It seeks to use new media to present a multiperspective, multimedia coverage of next year’s elections, events leading up to it, and relevant topics such as election automation, campaign finance, and the candidates’ personal and political backgrounds, platforms and issues.

Headed by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, Blog Watch’s blogger roster with diverse reader bases and several blog awards under their belts includes Marianne Angela Abella (Everything and the Girl), Karen Jane Ang (Bury Me In this Dress), Wyatt Belmonte (Wyatt’s Kitchen), Dean Jorge Bocobo (Philippine Commentary), Leslie Bocobo, Rochelle Sy Chua of (HeaRty’s Haven), Myrna Rodrigues Co (Annamanila’s Ode2Old), Pierre Galla of (The Jester in Exile), Vince Golangco (When In Manila),
Brian Ong (The Philippines and Beyond), Carlo Ople (New Media Philippines), Dine Racoma (The D Spot), Marck Ronald Rimorin (The Marocharim Experiment), Sonnie Santos (Santos[dot]Ph), Juned Sonido of (baratillo @ cubao), Fritz Tentativa of (Fritzified), Jane Uymatiao of (Here’s To Life!), and Victor Villanueva (Bikoy).

Obviously, it is Blog Watch’s diverse group of bloggers that is the site’s biggest draw.

“Our Blog Watch contributors are diverse, from a teenage student to a 61-year-old grandma. That is why they have very diverse opinions and that makes our commentaries really attractive to our readers because they want to make informed choices,” says Dado.

One of the key topics, for instance, is campaign finances. ‘’We want to advocate vigilance on the candidates’ campaign spending as this would impact directly on their governance upon assumption to office,” Dado adds.

Blog Watch is also looking to extend their presence beyond the online world by conducting tours in different school in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, discussing the 2010 elections and social media, as well as distributing election primers in coordination with the Commission on Elections.

INTERNET RED FLAGS

Ed Lingao, PCIJ multimedia director, says that Blog Watch is a perfect example of a platform where “old media” and “new media” can complement each other.

“There are those who are part of the new and old media who believe in opportunities to work together, to gather the stregth of both formats and discard the weaknesses. In the Philippines, PCIJ for one believes in networking with those who have the motivation and the skills to write, to talk, and to act,” he says. “The Internet is infinite and limitless, and there is no end to how much they can discuss or pick apart a topic or issue that will only be given a minute and a half on TV Patrol or 24 Oras. We want to spur discussion in young Filipinos who have questions and seek answers. That is our job all along as reporters, to provide a new medium for asking more questions and getting even more people to ask them with us.”

The speed with which information spreads on the Internet however makes mistakes even more apparent. Juned Sonido (baratillo @ cubao) addressed those concerns, explaining that Blog Watch has its own editing and fact checking mechanisms to prevent such a thing from happening.

“I think it also boils down to our participants. If you’re a good blogger and you’re doing commentary, it’s part and parcel of the practice to do fact-checking,” he explains. “When a blogger achieves a certain level of success, they certainly need to have some fact-checking. In the world of blogging, there are repercussions if you don’t check your facts. Readers are not dumb, they find out.”

“We are very strict with putting in sources. I am the editor and I check their grammar and syntax. If anything is libelous, we consult with the lawyers of Vibal Foundation,” adds Dado.

In the interest of free information, all content published in Blog Watch are licensed under Creative Commons, meaning all podcasts, videos, articles and photos may be shared by readers with others as long as they will be attributed to the source, will not be used for commercial purposes, and will be shared under the same license conditions.