Month: July 2009

No classes in Metro Manila tomorrow

Community issues

Red alert has been raised in Metro Manila tomorrow, due to the president’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) as well as the celebration of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC)’s 95th founding anniversary.

Not only that, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced that classes in the elementary and secondary levels will be suspended on Monday, July 27, 2009. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) followed suit and made their own announcement that classes in the collegiate level are also suspended. This is understandable considering the center of the INC celebrations will be in Metro Manila.

I am sure that students will either be at the rallies or at the mall. Probably the latter since the weather in Metro Manila has gone hotter the past two days. It’s as if there were no storms that passed by the country.

Wherever you will be tomorrow, be vigilant. People with nothing else to do will surely start something to create chaos. Stay safe!

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Bringing in traffic with the use of suggestive images

Blogging in general

I don’t know with you but I get turned off by racy ads, or those suggestive images. I’m not being a prude or anything but I think there are other ways to entice a customer. I also think that more and more kids using the internet should not be exposed to these ads. They are impressionable and let’s face it, not everyone has an adult with them to guide them and teach them right and wrong.

In Entrecard, you will see widgets of women in sexy poses or costumes. I normally don’t approve ads with these images. Why? Because the little girl at home would often look over my shoulder and ask what the image she sees on the computer. This is also the reason why I stopped dropping on blogs with racy or suggestive content. I’ve run into a lot of these blogs.

I know some people use sexy women or suggestive images to entice curiosity, bring in traffic. When I was still a member of Spott, I noticed that this is what they do. Use sexy women in their ads. I stopped being a member and deleted the widget when friends started asking if I was already featuring a porn ad in my blog!

There are so many ways to entice a customer or a reader to go visit your blog/site. I believe we need not use sexy women or suggestive/porn-like images to achieve this goal.

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Entrecard has new management

Blogging in general

Anna of A Commuter’s Life voiced the question that entered my mind when I read Graham Langdon’s email: What lies ahead for Entrecard and its users?

For those of you who don’t know it yet, Entrecard has been acquired by another company, Los Angeles based ZipRunner Inc. You can read the email in its entirety after the jump.

Entrecard has been good to my blog’s Alexa rating. I was also able to lure some members into becoming regular readers and even subscribers to most of my blogs. I have met great bloggers and have found great blogs through the system. In short, I have benefited from the system a lot. It is only natural that when I read the email, questions popped in my mind. I began to worry that the change in management will surely affect the current system. Of course, funds changed hands and I wonder how the new owner would get back their money through the program. Perhaps, we can expect to be asked for membership fees. Or get bombarded by advertisements we wouldn’t want to put in our widgets. And there are many possibilities if you think about it. Sure, the system might improve now that the new owner has more resources than Graham. But will we really benefit from the improvements? Do we really want those possible changes?

Everything remains to be seen. I am just hoping that this change will make the program better and will truly benefit the members in the long run.

Read the email from Graham below… » Read more

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Beware of copycats!

Blogging in general

Plagiarism is fast becoming a big issue in the blogosphere at the moment. A lot of bloggers are complaining about being flagged by programs for having an exact same copy of their posts. I remember there was a post by Reyna Elena about this. He found out that his posts that he submitted to 3P were copied. Antedated, if I am not mistaken. Then, there’s Juliana‘s plagiarized post. With the same program. And then there’s another blogger complaining of being flagged by 3P. For the same issue. Copied post.

Those bloggers copying from another is really shameful, enriching themselves at the expense of another. I pity those who were copied from, flagged by the program and their work going to waste. I know how hard it is to come up with an entry that you have to write immediately. It’s even harder when the topic is something you are not familiar with. And then only to find out that your work is being rejected because someone else already claimed it…

To those copycats: I hope you can still sleep soundly at night knowing that you just robbed someone of their hard work!

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In support of my friend…

Blogging in general

noimitationI know this is not only confined to Filipinos. But let me rant this one in relation to my fellow citizens. Ang Pinoy ang hilig manapaw ng kapwa niya! Grabe talaga! Filipinos would love to do anything and everything just to overshadow his/her fellowman. I’ve seen this happening time and again. Instead of supporting someone who’s doing something good (or is becoming successful in what he/she does), he/she will do something just to overshadow that person. Even to the point of copying something that was originally thought of by that person! Nakakahiya sobra!

This is one of the reasons why I am amazed by how some races would support each other. Mariuca and her fellow Malaysians come to mind. They may not represent a big percentage of Malaysian bloggers, but I see them commenting on each others’ blogs, supporting the projects of each other (memes and all), and even making sure that others support them as well. I am really happy seeing that. Hats off to them!

I know we are entitled to start projects of our own. Just make sure that it is not taken from somebody else’s original idea. We should stop this crab mentality and instead should start supporting our fellowmen (as long as it’s nothing illegal). Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery. It can be as annoying as hell most of the time. And hurtful when you realize that you were copied!

8 comments

EC’s new algorithm

Blogging in general

When I joined Entrecard, I didn’t expect people would drop and comment. I don’t do that when I drop as well. If I don’t feel like leaving a comment, then I don’t. There are topics that I cannot relate to. There are blog posts that seem already complete to me that I feel like leaving a comment will ruin it somehow. There are entries that move me but not enough for me to comment on it. Or there are days when I only have enough time to drop and do nothing else because I have more important things to do online. I am sure other bloggers feel the same way, have the same reasons for not leaving comments.

So it is really surprising to find out about EC’s new algorithm that they will be implementing soon. Why force me (and you) to comment or do something else within another’s blog just to earn a credit? I do believe that it is the blogger’s responsibility to entice another’s curiosity or earn their interest enough for them to become regular readers. If you do not want a high bounce rate (which I assume is the issue being addressed by EC’s Graham), then stop joining EC! The program is actually designed for a “drop and run” style. And now to remedy that, we are being forced to comment and participate in another’s blog just to earn a credit.

Read this article from Mike’s Blog Marketing Tips. More eloquent than my entry.

What do you think about this new development from Entrecard?

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Last will and testament

Life in general, Money matters

With all the talks about Michael Jackson’s will, you are given the chance to realize that a last will and testament is very important. Regardless of how little you have, you need to be able to clearly define to whom it will be given once you are gone. It is better to be prepared for any eventuality so that the ones you will leave behind won’t have a hard time determining which is which and to whom it will be. Or worst, fight for the biggest chunk they can get from your estate.

This talk about a last will reminded me of a neighbor’s large family that he left behind. His children fought like dogs out for a large bone once he was buried. They were fighting for the house. It was determined later on that he left a last will stating that his house will be subdivided between his children and that should they continue to fight for sole possession of the house, it will be turned over to a relative that took care of him while he’s sick. That settled the issue.

Lesson learned: It doesn’t matter when you will die, or how much you will leave behind. Make sure you have a last will and testament that you will leave that clearly defines the division of your estate.

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Former President Corazon Aquino’s fighting for her life

Community issues

I am deeply saddened by the news that Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino is now fighting for her life. She’s suffering from stage four colon cancer. There are complications related to the cancer already and a 9-day prayer mass is being offered for her recovery.

Let’s all say a prayer for the former president. I pray that she won’t suffer anymore and will get to spend more time with her family.

*To read the news, click here.

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