When was the last time you updated your ABOUT Page?
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 16th, 2007For me it was about ten days ago and boy does it change. I guess when I first “formally” entered the blogosphere in 2003 I didn’t really care much to write an “about me” page as my readers, who were mostly from school + my then girlfriend already knew who I was and what I was doing.
But since one of the purposes of blogging is to help complement your career, especially for those who live prolific online lives, it would be nice to check on your ABOUT ME page every now and then.
Here are a few things that your ABOUT page can have:
1. Your (vague) contact details. I don’t place my cellphone number, but I do place my work email in case people want to reach me. I’ve been getting emails from people here with the first line saying “I’ve been looking for your contact information but could not find it so I searched around and found it on (insert blog title here). Hope you don’t mind.”
2. Some info on who pays your salary. At least vaguely describe what you do for a living. It helps with the whole credibility bit.
3. Links. Not a lot of links, but links nonetheless. On the web, it still helps to see the people and organizations you are connected to.
4. A profile picture. Either you put your face or an avatar that’s consistent to your personality.
ABOUT pages are tricky in a way because its your chance to keep a static page to brag about what you’ve accomplished. So yes it is tricky, trying to ensure that you want to remain credible without blowing up your head. My about page is a little wordy, but I guess its because I love to tell the story of how I fell in love with this industry.
Here’s a question. Would it be too much if you ALWAYS updated your about page, like say once a week? I guess over-updating it can be a bit weird, in the same way how people try to pimp their own Friendster profiles day in and out.
Post Mothers’ Day Blog Entry
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 15th, 2007WARNING: Emo post.
This post is dedicated to my mom (visual cue in picture above) whom without her, I’d never be able to blog or podcast. A lot of people ask how old my mom is and to my knowledge she seems to be in her mid 50′s although she always tells me that she’s 16. Being a good son, I believe her. My mom is often times mistaken by others to be my older sister and that really pisses my dad off for obvious reasons.
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Conflicting Interests with Events
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 14th, 2007Migs wrote a reaction to my post earlier during the week about blogging and the day job conflict of interest. Thought blogging is indeed a personal release of sorts, once a blogger attends press conferences, there MIGHT be some sort of gray line when it comes to work conflict. This is precisely the reason why bloggers aren’t journalists.
Back when I was working for a real estate company, I was also contributing vehemently to a tech magazine. It was a little bit weird keeping a day job and then running off to the other office (I was only paid per article. This was mostly labor of love) at night for editorial meetings. The thing was – I didn’t hide the fact that I was a contributor to a magazine. It’s not like I promoted this passionately within my day job, because that would be imprudent. What I did though was let my supervisor know that I was indeed writing, and she even suggested that I contribute to the company newsletter.
Nowadays, the concept of “conflict of interest” can be vague especially since information can be spread violently through the Internet. I guess my contribution to Migs’ post is that it really depends on what you want to achieve. Full disclosure is always an option and I would encourage that too so at least you are engaging in other activities in good faith with your employer. Remember, render to Caesar what’s due him and render to God what belongs to God.
There are of course, some exceptions to this. Example: If you work for a telco and were invited as a blogger / writer (your “sideline”) to cover a competing telco’s product launch, that’s a definite no-no.
New Blogs at the b5media Tech Channel…
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 14th, 2007If you were to ask me what I love most about my job description, it would be helping craft new blog concepts as well as looking for job-fit bloggers who can weave content in awesome ways. This month, the b5media tech channel launched two new blogs – actually we launched one and rebranded another.
Office Tweaks is a “getting things done” blog that talks about how to make your way around the dozens of office suites available for consumers. It was formerly known as Office 12 Watch. (The) Gadgenista is a glam gadget blog for the fashionistas – something which I’ve been wanting to launch for quite some time. It is also a part of the Glam.com Network.
With companies churning out more and more office productivity suites, Microsoft has a ton on its hands in terms of competition. You got your open source Open Office, your Microsoft Office for the Mac, as well as your web based suite like Google Apps. With a ton of these available at your disposal, it may prove to be more confusing than productive to actually get things done because of the many choices available. Well fret no more! Say hello to Office Tweaks!
It sure took a while, but we’ve found our Gadgenista! And ever since, the technology channel has added a little bit of pink to its corners. The Gadgenista is that one stop blog for things that make you go “oh that’s so cute!” to the utterly weird in tech + fashion finds. It’s also a place for guys to find something special for their geeky better halves.
Office Tweaks is written by Kyle Pott while The Gadgenista is written by Lia Espina.
An Invitation to Shoot, Learn, and Have Fun!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 12th, 2007
What: Cosplay Photo Shoot with Jerry Polence with guest photographer Markku Seguerra
When: May 20 2007 2-6 PM
Where: Club Intramuros Golf Course (how to get there)
I’ve helped put together a mini event thanks to Jerry Polence, Mike Abundo and Markku Seguerra on the 20th of May. We’re going to be shooting models in full cosplay attire thanks to the Pinoy Cosplay organization. This invitation to shoot and learn is open to all bloggers who would want to learn to take better photos. It is also an excuse to take time out of your usual routine and join in on something completely different for the lazy weekend.
MANILA, Philippines – Seguerra, one of today’s fast-rising photographers has volunteered his time to do an informal hands-on photo class with help from Jerry Polence and other models from the Pinoy Cosplay organization. Seguerra’s work as a photographer has been acclaimed to highlight the best in outdoor portrait photography capturing. His many works can be viewed on his personal site at RebelPixel.com.
If you own a camera (you don’t need to have a Digital SLR and if you have a lomo, why not?) and want to join in on the fun, please feel free to come. It is another chance to meet a lot of awesome people in the blogosphere, cosplay as well as hobbyist photographers. I really hope to see you there. Markku and I will be in Intramuros by around lunch time on the 20th to survey the area.
If there are other hobbyist photographers who would like to share their own tips, please, the floor is yours to share too! 
[image taken from Wikipedia]
Bloggers: Will you be able to take time off for a press conference?
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 11th, 2007Some bloggers have expressed their desire to attend press conferences related to their “fields of expertise.” I’ve been helping funnel bloggers to attend such conferences for several weeks now but there remains to be one obstacle which should be taken into account. Most press events happen on week days usually in the Makati area at around 11 AM.
If a blogger was invited, could he or she take time out of the day job to attend such events?
The PHP 120,000 Wagyu Beef Meal at the Diamond Hotel
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 9th, 2007
Here’s the (PHP120,000.00) beef!
Photo credit to Noemi Dado
Today I embarked on a walking tour of the Diamond Hotel courtesy of Carlos Celdran for the Wagyu Beef Fest. Alongside other traditional media folk were lifestyle new media mavens (aka bloggers) Lori Baltazar, Noemi Dado and Anton DIaz – and they all had cameras to take pictures of the event (sob! I left mine at home). I invited a couple more but they were not able to attend. I also had the chance to meet up with other media friends like Art Ilano and Nina Chua of HIP, Nicole de los Reyes of Summit, Elbert Cuenca of PhilMUG, freelancer Shaira Luna, Steph Ongkiko of RPN 9 and blog-o-rama columnist Annalyn Jusay.
Diamond Hotel Philippines will showcase the King of Premium Beef in a gastronomic exposition so decadent, it might actually be healthy. Backed by the expertise of the country’s portal for all things deliciously Japanese (where Wagyu traces is savory beginnings), we are inviting you to explore the poetically complex flavors of Wagyu as interpreted by the culinary expertise of Diamond Hotel’s team of chefs who have managed to achieve the Zen ideal of Wagyu cooking.
So here I am waiting for them to post pictures of the event. We sampled about 12 different dishes of Wagyu Beef. Carlos Celdran put up a good show touring us across the hotel to sample Wagyu prepared in the styles of Teppanyaki, Sukiyaki, fine dining slices and even locally prepared Wagyu bulalo and Wagyu burgers.. Oh god, that didn’t even sound appetizing. I’m definitely no food writer.
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A Guide: How To Use Technology To Survive Sudden Memory Loss
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 8th, 2007If a Haitian (specifically the one from Heroes) were to suddenly gag me from behind and erase my short term memory in a dramatic display of acting prowess, this is how I would try to spring back to remember the lost memories:
Prior to this occurrence, I would write down my email, social network and blog passwords somewhere where I would eventually chance upon within 24 hours, like the bottom of the lid of my toilet seat or something.
I would log into my Friendster account and view all the testimonials that people wrote. I’d contact them one by one with PMs with a message like “hey you wouldn’t believe this but I’m suffering from memory loss.” (If I accidentally sent it to an ex, she’d prolly slap me online and say “I’d prefer you stay lost!!!”)
I’d look into my LinkedIn profile to see who I’ve worked with in the past. Like that Darren Rowse guy.
I’d log into my Google account page and use the Google Web History tool to see what keywords I’ve typed in and what sites I visited for in the past several months. Have you tried this? It’s freaky. Google History records everything you’ve ever searched for on your browser.
I will check my blog and Technorati trackbacks to see what type of people read my stuff. I will read my blog entries from day 1.
Assuming my phone was dumped, I would buy a new phone and sync it with my Plaxo Online contact list to restore my database of phone contacts.
I would also keep a menagerie of files on my Mozy account. Then I’d restore files I found pertinent to my desktop. Speaking of which, I recently let my .Mac account expire and got myself a Dreamhost hosting account instead. It makes so much more sense in the long run and costs less too if you think about the offerings. So if you have my .Mac email address, it won’t work starting next month.
Lastly, I’d still probably buy a Macintosh
Well, doing these won’t restore all my memories, but it does give me a big springboard to finding out what happened to me. Technology isn’t very forgiving in these times. It’s actually scary. Anything to add?
Protected: The Password is SECRET
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 7th, 2007Book Recommendations May 5 2007
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 5th, 2007
I’ve been scouring the bookstores for this particular title. All of the Fully Booked and Powerbooks branches in the metro either have never heard of the book or have it on order basis. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers by Henry Jenkins takes a look at how media influences the geek culture with focus on the digital age. The estimated price of the book is about P1,200.00 on order basis from Fully Booked.
Bringing together the highlights of a decade and a half of groundbreaking research into the cultural life of media consumers, Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers takes readers from Jenkins’s progressive early work defending fan culture against those who would marginalize or stigmatize it, through to his more recent work, combating moral panic and defending Goths and gamers in the wake of the Columbine shootings. Starting with an interview on the current state of fan studies, this volume maps the core theoretical and methodological issues in Fan Studies. It goes on to chart the growth of participatory culture on the web, discuss blogging as perhaps the most powerful illustration of how consumer participation impacts mainstream media, and debate the public policy implications surrounding participation and intellectual property.
Another book – this one I have on the shelf – is Dominic Gettins’ How to Write Great Copy: Learn the Unwritten Rules of Copywriting. It is an easy-to-follow book about .. err .. writing great copy. I appreciate the way Gettins tackles copywriting also from a technical standpoint, knowing when to apply which grammar rule to a particular situation for maximum effectiveness.
…”a shortcut to the sort of knowledge gained by trial and error over many years by the icons of the advertising business.”
Thank You Hsien Hsien!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 3rd, 2007I rarely write about goodbyes on the network I work for. Truth is, bloggers come and go. Some stay for a month while others stay on for a year or two and then leave. I’d like to bid goodbye and good luck to a virtual friend I’ve made over the past several months in Dr. Hsien Hsien Lei who was channel editor for the genetics and health channel. Hsien was part of the About Weblogs fold that came into b5media several months ago.
As one who has been with b5media since the start, I’ve seen bloggers write, write, write some more and then leave to pursue their other passions. Hsien was one of those who I got to know, albeit briefly on a slightly deeper level when I opened up and asked for advice about my brother’s medical condition (he has a swollen cornea that thank God is healing well now) several months ago. Not that she gave a doctor’s prescription, but she was there to empathize and listen through about two or three days worth of rants from me.
Thank you Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei for being part of my b5media adventure and good luck with your passions!
