FILIPINO professional bloggers Abe Olandres and J. Angelo Racoma are set to take over the Blog Herald now that it is under new management, INQ7.net learned.In his recent blog entry, Olandres disclosed that the United Kingdom-based Bloggy Network Ltd. now owns the Blog Herald. Professional blogger Duncan Riley founded Blog Herald, which provides news and commentary on the blogging industry. In February 2006, blog network Blog Media Inc. (now known as Problogging Inc.) bought Blog Herald. Olandres expressed both excitement and fear considering the bigger responsibility of running the popular blog. "The Blog Herald was offered to me a couple of weeks ago. My thoughts were a mix of both excitement and fear. Excited because I have been entrusted in managing such a high-profile blog, yet I fear that people might think I don't deserve the role. I will have to prove them wrong if I must. Excited by the fact that this new task is a huge challenge for me and, with such, comes the responsibility that tags along with it. Ahh, the Spiderman complex," he wrote in his blog. Racoma will come in to help manage and market the blog, Olandres said. In a separate Internet chat interview, Racoma said that the UK firm approached Blog Media Inc. with an offer to purchase Blog Herald several weeks ago. He said that the Blog Herald "was put on sale again...but not announced publicly." Successful buyer and new Blog Herald owner Bloggy Network Ltd operates from the Philippines, employing freelance writers for content, Racoma added. "They were in a search of prospective managers to fill in for Matt Craven (from Blog Media Inc.) and they set their sights here. So now Abe will be running the show. He was given free rein on how to manage and improve the [Blog] Herald as necessary," Racoma said. Olandres expects that this news will "lift the spirits of fellow Filipino bloggers and hopefully inspire more on the growth of the blogging industry." Asked about their plans, Racoma said they intend to make Blog Herald more like a 'mainstream news and information website on professional blogging. "Something like huffingtonpost.com," he added, noting that it will also contain entertainment, politics, and other relevant content. He also disclosed plans of expanding its regional content for the Americas, Asia, Europe, and other regions. "This shows that Pinoys have a big say in the blogosphere. Most major blog networks have at least a couple of Filipino contributors. Some have even been founded by Pinoys, like About.com," he added. With the Philippines as the "base" of operations, blog will likely hire more local writers or contributors. Racoma, however, admitted that he and Olandres have the biggest challenge to 'keep up to the standards," considering this was once held by known professional bloggers like Riley and Craven. "The new owners of The Blog Herald have given me a whole lot of trust in running the site and steering it to the right direction. With the help of my able colleague and our current pool of bloggers at TBH (and newer ones as well), I hope to accomplish something tangible and concrete in the coming months -- and yes, not disappoint the loyal readers of The Blog Herald," Olandres added. Olandres also posted the official announcement of the changes at Blog Herald. | 
