At this year’s DigitalFilipino Web Awards, the WordCamp Philippines blog was recognized as the best website in the Events / Conferences category. This category, to quote: “…intends to spotlight on websites that promotes a specific event or conference. This also includes fairs, festivals, sportsfest, tours, among others.”

Here’s the acceptance speech that I wrote (I couldn’t attend the ceremony, so Engr. Winston read it for me).

First of all, I would like to convey my gratitude to Janette Toral and my fellow DigitalFilipino.com Club members for this honor. All modesty aside, the official site of WordCamp Philippines is indeed deserving of this award. However, I cannot claim the accolade for myself alone. The website draws from the entire experience of putting together the first WordCamp in Southeast Asia, and the commitment and dedication of all individuals involved were faithfully reflected on the website.

I would like to believe that philippines.wordcamp.org was chosen for this award because of how it mirrored the efforts of the organizers and the enthusiasm of all those who participated in WordCamp last September 2008. I think the best feature of the site is its high interactivity. In spite of its simplicity of design and interface, the site was able to deliver timely information to, and encourage participation from, its readers.

The site runs on WordPress MU, and is being hosted by Automattic.com. With permission from Matt Mullenweg, the WordCamp Philippines team is now embarking on a branded website, which will be found on www.wordcamp.ph. Naturally, the new site will take advantage of the WordPress engine and its strong CMS capabilities. We will make an official announcement as soon as the new website is complete and fully functional.

Rest assured, we will keep in mind the lessons learned from the DigitalFilipino.com Club, and will strive to maintain an award-winning website for the benefit of future WordCamp Philippines events. Speaking of which, see you all at WordCamp Philippines 2009!

Once again, in behalf of my team, thank you very much indeed for this award!