Year: 2007

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Mostly Everything

When was the last time you updated your ABOUT Page?

For 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.

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Mostly Everything

Post Mothers’ Day Blog Entry

WARNING: Emo post.

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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.

Continue reading “Post Mothers’ Day Blog Entry”
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Mostly Everything

Conflicting Interests with Events

Migs 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.

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Mostly Everything

New Blogs at the b5media Tech Channel…

If 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.

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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!

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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.

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Mostly Everything

An Invitation to Shoot, Learn, and Have Fun!

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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]