Cheers to blogging! A look at our journey throughout the years

Ask around about the origin stories of your favorite blogs in the Philippines, and you'll most likely hear how most of them started because of the interests of blog owners about a particular topic. TeknoGadyet is the same. In fact, I was encouraged by some members of a now-defunct online forum I joined years ago, where I often share my opinion about smartphones I own. Back then, I didn’t consider it as “reviewing.” It was more like participating in a discussion about a topic I’m particularly interested in.

Cheers to blogging! A look at our journey throughout the years

Taking the forum members' suggestion, I launched a website in May 2013 where I started posting reviews about smartphones. It was only in July of the same year that I named it as TeknoGadyet. When TeknoGadyet was just starting, I bought the gadgets with my own money to try and use for a couple of weeks, then sold them after posting a review so I could buy a new one. If I remember it correctly, the first brands that offered me loaning units for review were SKK Mobile, Cherry Mobile, and O+ USA. After a while, international brands Kata Digital, Nokia, and Xiaomi have also tapped me to write honest reviews about their smartphones. After a few months, more brands from both local and international brands started recognizing TeknoGadyet.

Almost eight years and thousands of published articles and reviews later, TeknoGadyet has successfully established a following. In 2020, the website reached more than 2.7 million total views. Our YouTube channel launched months after the blog, has gathered 3 million views in total. And just like the online forum I joined years ago where I got the idea to have my own blog, TeknoGadyet also has a Facebook community with more than 57,000 followers and counting.

TeknoGadyet grew and continues to grow alongside the blogging industry in the Philippines. Blogging, in general, has evolved from an avenue where one can share his or her personal stories and interests into a platform that can influence consumer behavior. TeknoGadyet, for example, constantly receives comments and messages from our readers that they decided to buy and not buy a gadget because of what we shared in our reviews and various content.

Throughout the years, brands have also partnered with blogs to leverage their reach to deliver their campaign messages. Now that content marketing is booming, what’s important is to establish a clear line between sustaining brand relationships and maintaining content credibility.

What’s also ever-changing is how readers consume content. Although we can say that generally, we’re past the era where people read text-heavy content, we can’t dismiss the fact of how effective hybrid content is. Whether they be in a snackable form or a full feature -- that is combined with articles--also gain more engagement in TeknoGadyet.

No matter what the trends and changes may be and vary the way we present content could become, TeknoGadyet will strive to stick to its role of being an unbiased source of technology news, features, and reviews are of service to its readers. After all, they are the reason why a blog with humble beginnings like TeknoGadyet remains thriving and relevant in this age of instant digital content and social media.