Social media gave us the comfort and solace we needed to weather through the unknown in the past two years.
Knowing that there were also people out there, strangers even, who were going through the same thing was what kept most of us sane.
After two years of sticking online, BaiCon is finally back with a physical space, where virtual friends can come together and make memories outside the internet.
BaiCon gathered the digital generation in Cebu’s biggest indoor event venue so this was the perfect time to announce upcoming events.
Spearheaded by the Republiq Group of Companies (RGC), BaiCon is now in its fifth year as the biggest gathering of content creators, influencers, and artists in the Philippines. With the theme “Back to School,” this year’s BaiCon brought in over 100 online personalities from all over the country in the IEC Convention Center on November 5, 2022.
According to Bea Alfar Evardone, group COO of RGC and Creative and Production Lead of BaiCon InFest, the event has three objectives— to use the influencers and content creators to be purveyors of responsible usage of social media, to be able to connect content creators and influencers to their fans through a fan festival that connects different niches, different followings, different interests, and lastly, to be able to put Cebu in the map when it comes to mounting events as grand as BaiCon.
BaiCon gathered the digital generation in Cebu’s biggest indoor event venue so this was the perfect time to announce upcoming events. In behalf of Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, who also dropped by BaiCon, Cebu City Councilor Dondon Hontiveros announced that Sinulog 2023 will be held in South Road Properties. In addition, Bea also announced that RGC will release a Bisaya-animated series based on mythical creatures in Philippine history like duwende, sigbin and the like.
READ MORE: Content Creators, Influencers, Social Media Movers are ready for BaiCon InFest 2022
Diversification of the Internet
The internet is a different experience for everyone. Its algorithm is curated based on your interests so to fit all these interests in one room was a feat only BaiCon can achieve. While the internet is somewhere that highlights how different we are, it’s also a place where people go to not feel alone.
“I think this is my third BaiCon and I feel like this is so much more grand than our previous events because I feel like this is more diverse,” said Charmaine de Leon, the finance content creator behind Ready2AdultPH.
This year’s BaiCon tapped into different niches and communities and brought them all together in one place. Along with the much-awaited Influencer Fest, BaiCon also prepared a Mobile Legend show match, a K-pop random dance play, and musical performers featuring local and national artists.
Since Drag Race Philippines was released earlier this year, drag is slowly making its way into mainstream media. BaiCon invited Precious Paula Nicole, the first winner of Drag Race Philippines, to perform along with Viñas DeLuxe and Brigiding, as the Divine Divas. Precious expressed her immense gratefulness to Cebu for welcoming her the second time and the Divine Divas the first time.
Among the online personalities present, Pipay Kipay, known for her comedic takes on social media, shared that this was her first time here in Cebu and she didn’t even know she had this much supporters in Visayas and Mindanao until BaiCon. Pipay also shared her enthusiasm about being able to meet faces that she’s only been able to interact with online and getting to collaborate with other influencers, content creators, and artists who dabble into all sorts of genres across all social media platforms.
Other notable personalities that took the time to visit Cebu are dancing siblings, Ranz Kyle, Niana and Natalia Guerrero, voice talent and Spotify podcaster Inka Magnaye, and Arshie Larga a pharmacist known for sharing his knowledge on Tiktok.
The internet is fun and games until it’s not. BaiCon took every opportunity to encourage their attendees to be responsible netizens. Bea said that RGC tried to best to insert tips on how to use the internet wisely in all the segments as it’s one of their objectives is to have their favorite influencers and content creators remind their followers to practice responsible usage of the internet.
