Mindanao Bloggers Community

No, I’m not talking about this baby blog of ours. The Mindanao blog, if there ever was one, is Bob Martin’s and none other. Although he’s American and has been living here less than a decade, Bob has been to more places in Mindanao than most of us! Check out his Lakbayan map: you’ll see he’s covered more than 80% of the country’s 2nd largest island already. (Some of us were astounded when, one day, he showed us photos of his trip to Tawi-Tawi!)

What I appreciate the most in the Mindanao blog is that it’s honest, down-to-earth and very today. Reading Bob’s posts, I can see how much he cares about how the world perceives his adoptive home. We all know the bad image the world holds of Mindanao (due in large part to unfair and incomplete reportage); they’re not all untrue, but the bad press has certainly been more damaging than the real deal. The Mindanao blog balances this — dare I say, cancels out the negative publicity?

True, there is strife and hardship and poverty in Mindanao. The blog doesn’t hide that fact, and I have never seen Bob sugar-coat his posts. He paints the true picture, as only an objective outsider can achieve. And yet, this amiable fellow is no longer an outsider. His love for Mindanao has made him one of us.

The Mindanao blog is part of Bob’s e-commerce network of websites. Yes, it’s a monetized site and Bob actually makes a decent living off of his online presence. But beyond that, the Mindanao blog, through its balanced views and timely updates, provides an invaluable service to the world. I’m not exaggerating: Whenever there’s bad news on the wires about our island, Bob’s blog gets hit with tons of online traffic from all over. So much so that he’s had to upgrade to a bigger and faster server recently.

My good friend Bob, whom I first “met” via an e-mailing list called Mindanao-L in 1996, now lives with his family in Davao City. He has been a positive influence on my blogging activities, and is in fact generously providing hosting services for a number of my blogs.

Bob Martin will be one of our speakers during the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit. He’ll be talking about his various experiences with regards to his Mindanao sojourns, as well as how and why he blogs about it.