I’m referring to Shai Manuel-Coggins, one of the few Filipinas to truly make it in the international blogging scene. Weeks before, Shai’s energetic blogging sister Sasha announced an informal meet n’ greet with Shai scheduled for Nov. 30 at the Kape Isla in Serendra and we didn’t hesitated to sign up.

On the big day itself, Kape Isla was closed to accommodate the private blogger function. There was a buffet of yummy appetizers laid out by the bar and I was glad there were bottomless cups of brewed Philippine coffee to keep me warm that cold November night. The biggest revelation of course was meeting Shai in the flesh. She was friendly and tres lovely in person and I must say the official profile photo on her eponymous site doesn’t do her justice. She joked about how she’s often mistaken as a Chinese, which is not impossibility considering the borderless and multi-cultural world she circulates in.

Shai is charmingly petite but is definitely a blogging biggie. In 2005, she established Aboutweblogs.com, a women-dominated network dealing with crafts, parenting, homemaking and other stuff the mainstream didn’t touch. This ingenuity paid off because soon after, Shai was approached by Jeremy Wright, Darren Rowse and Duncan Riley to merge with them in b5. Riley has since left and b5 has grown to a well-funded network of 350 or so blogs, dealing with every possible niche under the sun.

In the network, Shai uses her masters in psychology background to the fullest as vice-president for community of b5. This is more of a "mothering" role in making the b5 family as vibrant and as connected as possible. "We hold contests, have weekly chats, and publish newsletters. We have internal forums, blog launch parties and theme days in the channels where everyone gets to write about a certain topic," she said. Looks fun indeed. The fact that most of it is conducted virtually, on Skype and everything else, makes it all the more exciting. We were informed that b5’s physical office is in Toronto, Canada with seven or eight employees. Other than this, b5’s roster of 250 or so bloggers are scattered all over the world and there are more than 20 Filipinos on this list.

Being a wife and a mother of two, Shai is for the most part a home-based executive, juggling with a flexible work schedule. "I got wi-fi at home and my computer, for the most part, is on 24/7. I get up at about 8 or 9 in the morning and the first thing I do is check and see what’s online, have a break, and work again in the afternoon. I usually end my day at 2 or 3 in the morning because I am in Australia and most of the bloggers are in the US and Canada so I have to catch them at that hour," she said.

We asked Shai the inevitable question of what opportunities lie for Filipinos interested to make money with problogging and she said you just have to look up with the b5 and Problogger job boards. And no, you don’t need to have a backer or know somebody. "But first, (applicants) have to familiarize themselves with our existing line-up and come up with a topic or propose a niche that we aren’t covering yet," she explained.

‘’There will always be opportunities for bloggers, not just with b5 but in other networks as well. My advice is for local bloggers not to be afraid to try things. We have the Filipino ‘mahiyain’ mentality and it’s good if you overcome that and give it a go. When I started blogging, I didn’t expect it to be my main source of income. One must also remember that blogging is a platform you can use not just to make money but to establish yourself and promote what you want to promote. Whatever it is you want to do, there are different ways of doing it," Shai enthused.

"These are exciting times for bloggers from all walks of life," she adds. "Blogging, as we know it, is leveling off but there’s still more to come." She says this is possible with faster internet connection and more people in the developing countries yet to have access to the Internet. Also, there are technologies like video and audio podcasts that have yet to be harnessed to the fullest.

Being a passionate blogger, Shai is a firm believer that blogging should be taught in school, as part of the curriculum for the simple reason that it develops one’s skills in writing, reading and intelligently participating in the online conversation.

"Blogging is a discipline; it’s hard work, but it’s fun if you know what to do with it," she notes.

Having said that, Shai has some precious tips to share to other bloggers.

On productivity: "It’s important to know what your priorities are and what you need to get done. It’s easy to get distracted when you’re online, out of so many sites you have to surf and visit but it’s important to develop a system on how to get things done."

On creativity: "Try to be as fearless as possible. We’re all afraid to be judged by other people, we’re always afraid that we’ll not meet other people’s expectations. One way to overcome blocks to creativity is to be as fearless as possible. Just do what needs to be done. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, as long as you like what you do."

And that is how the blogger mixer with Shai Coggins ended, on an inspiring note.

(For comments and inquiries, email annalyn.jusay@gmail.com)