Blogging from Starbucks, Greenbelt 3…
Can’t keep myself from eavesdropping overhearing a couple of white folks about two tables away discussing Yahoo’s framework/strategy in South East Asia for 2006 (I’m not sure if these two are from Yahoo! or some 3rd-party content providers.).
I can clearly see the powerpoint presentation from my table and it points to 4 major focus:
- Localization
- Mobility
- Social Media
- Integration
They seem to be right on the money here but I think everyone else is doing it as well, including Google. I took special notice of the Social Media angle and looks like Yahoo! is seriously leveraging on their recent Web 2.0 acquisitions (i.e. Flickr, del.icio.us, etc.).
Wait, is there a Yahoo! office around here somewhere?
First ever “Blogger” job posted on local job search service. This one has been posted at JobStreet since February 21:
Requirements:
- With considerable experience in blogging and knowledge of html and SEO
- Superb English communication skills
- Well-versed with the use of PC, Internet Explorer and Mozilla
- Pro active and a quick study
- Willing to relocate to Cagayan de Oro City
* Please forward resume (in Microsoft Word version) with salary requirements and at least 2 writing samples. Indicate in ’subject’ the position applied for and send to jobs@harvestseo.com.
From a Cagayan de Oro based SEO company called SEO Harvest:
SEO Harvest is an internet services company specializing in web and content development, link building and search engine optimization. We have phones ringing both in Hollywood, Florida and Cagayan de Oro City.
Our reason for living: Drive on-target traffic to websites and build a compelling campaign for businesses to achieve their online marketing goals.
The influx of web design and development, content development, link building, and other SEO-related projects in Harvest SEO got us searching for smart, ballsy men and women who are keen on a challenging career in IT.
Marc has an interview with their CEO, Michael Turner, over at PTB.
Now, you can officially hand over a business card with “Professional Blogger” engraved in it.
Can you live without Google? Looks like a whole bunch of us are hooked up on Google and its vast services unconsciously — Google Search, Google AdSense, AdWords, Gmail, Google Groups, Google Base, Image Search, Toolbar, Blogger, etc. And oh look, Google OS?
Chris Pirillo is doing just that — not using any Google services for a week (except for AdSense, you fool).
I think one can do without Google, except for a certain level of uneasiness. Maybe a little tickle in the stomach and some dryness in the mouth. *heh*
So you think you can do just fine without Google?
Saw an iPod Nano imitation this afternoon at Makati Cinema Square (MCS). More details posted at PTB: Fake iPod Nanos hit Manila
Unless these things are dirt-cheap, I don’t see anybody buying one of these.
For Php3,500, would you?
[tags]ipods, nano, apple, fake, imitation, clone[/tags]
It’s confirmed — Google Payment is on the way. Techcrunch has an exclusive look at Google Payments.
Looks like any other payment system, only faster and cleaner. Testing is currently being done via Google Base. However, there are no other details about how this will be implemented throughout all of Google’s Services, aside from the obvious smooth integration feature:
- Will it be available worldwide? Or at least where Google AdWords and AdSense are also available.
- Are you able to use Google Payments to pay for AdWords?
- Will AdSense Publishers be able to transfer funds from their earnings to their Google Payments account?
- Will fund transfers be allowed from one individual to another even without products being bought or services rendered?
- What are the rates? (I hope much less than Paypal!)
Will this be the ultimate payment solution for us 3rd-worlders?
After launching a Geocities 2.0 Page Creator service early last week, Google closed down sign-ups due to high demand. Now, it’s back up again and with a vengence.
Go grab one before they close down again and feel how it’s like back in 1995 with Geocities. 
Here’s mine:
I remember Apple launched something like this in the last MacWorld Expo and called it iWeb. However, you need a .Mac account for that one.
I don’t see any really good use for it except being a potential target for exploits by spammers, scammers and phishers.
Is it just me or what but I’m seeing a hint of PR 6 for my blog.
The Google ToolbarPR5 info is already outdated but the Live Pagerank indicator (via a FireFox extension) is already giving me a PR 6 for this blog.
If you check here, almost half of the Google data Centers have already upgraded my PR to 6, while PinoyTechBlog is showing signs of another PR 6 as well as Pinoy Travel Blog (biggest leap from a PR3).
PinoyBlog & plogHost is going for a solid PR 6.
Get the Firefox extension here.
Published by: yuga under: Events.
posted:
February 26th, 2006
Maita of Architelago was asking what happened to last year’s iBlog Summit and whether there’ll be another one this year.
I almost forgot about that one actually but last week, while meeting with Ms. Rissa Ofilada (one of the original organizers of the iBlog), she mentioned to me that there will indeed be another one this year. Though she’s not with the UP-ISP anymore (she’s with the office of Senator Mar Roxas now), she will still be heading this year’s installation of the Philippine Blogging Summit.
There’s no official date yet but it should be around the same time as last year (first to 2nd week of May). Since she asked me to help out in the planning of the program along with several others, I may be able to relay some updates on this as we go along.
If your organization or company would like to help out by sponsoring this event, just email me and I’ll hook you up with Ms. Ofilada.
The Filipino Librarian asks “Is there a Pinoy A-list?”
I actually asked the same question to Marc in our last beer-drinking session. He mentions that a much better measure for that would be “social currency” and discusses the same in his old entry on “Trust is King“.
Howver, I would like to address here some of the points Vonjobi raised:
1) Pinoy Top Blogs. That project merely counts unique traffic on a monthly basis and compares that to others in the list. That’s all it does and nothing more. It has categorization to rank traffic stats among different fields – personal, political, tech, entertainment. But does the question “If you’re an A-list, does that means you get a lot of traffic?” However, traffic does not equate to regular readers. Traffic is just an icing on the cake.
2) Technorati’s Philippine Top 100 Blogs. This measure is just patterned from Technorati’s Top 100 Popular Blogs in the blogosphere (biggest blogs in the blogosphere, as measured by unique links in the last six months). This list is based on how popular your blog among bloggers and I think that is a close-to-good measure for an A-list.
The points above actually refers to two forms of popularity – the first being popular among internet users which finds the blog thru search engines and the second one refers to popularity among bloggers (because they link to your blog) and forms the basis for most people to refer to as the basis for A-list.
These two criteria is still just half of it though. Marc adds that social currency is still the key factor here: Blog success in my dictionary would mean being able to influence and mobilize people. A successful blogger would be able to persuade people to consider or even adopt his/her bias on a particular topic. He/she would be someone who people will link to automatically. That’s probably the most basic definition of a successful blogger.
And Von, “I think it would not look good if I also include my own blog to them lists since I am the one who updates them.”
Bob Parsons , owner of domain registrar GoDaddy.com, blogged about an impending dot.com scam between ICANN and Verisign.
VeriSign has somehow persuaded ICANN to propose a new contract where VeriSign will be the permanent and unregulated controller of the .COM registry. VeriSign would also get the right of presumptive renewal. This means when the new contract for the .COM registry comes up for renewal in 2012, it won’t be put out for bid – like the .NET contract was in 2005 – instead it will simply renew in VeriSign’s favor.
… Not only will the .COM registry contract never again be put out for bid, but VeriSign will also have the right to raise prices, in its sole discretion, up to 7% per year in four of the next six years. So they can raise prices by up to 28% over the next six years.
That’s about 31% when compounded annually.
Half a decade ago, we’re all stuck with expensive $35-a-year top level domains. Competition and technological advancement has reduced that price to just below $10 a year (I’m even seeing ads for domain deals of less than $2 per year!). But this deal smells foul of scam.
If you are in the states, go help out and follow Bob’s suggestion to email your representatives.
Jan emailed me yesterday and asked me about the state of corporate blogging in the country:
Hi and good day! I’m currently looking for companies in the Philippines who allow their employees to blog about their products, processes, etc… Companies who embrace corporate blogging. Is there a company right now who openly does this? If not, do you know of an employee who’s allowed to blog about his company’s products, processes, etc…? Even a company who do corporate blogging internally would be appreciated.
I’m helping a friend with her thesis and we need someone whom we can interview regarding the subject matter. I’ve been googling for a while now and it seems that not a lot, if any, of companies do corporate blogging in Philippines. And the I saw your post about corporate blogging so I figured that you might be able to point us in the right direction.
Thank you very much for your time. A kind response would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Jan Alonzo
I thought I’d share my response to the rest of my readers here.
- Around January 2005, Kokoro Works launched with co-founder Gabby Dizon evangelizing corporate blogging especially for small businesses. They have a corporate blog here and a related interview here at Inq7.net.
- January 27, 2005, Trends and Technologies (a leading Solutions Provider in the Information and Communications Technology. With extensive experience in Voice and Data Communications, we are capable of delivering the best services to the customers, from design and consultancy, to installation and maintenance.) launches its corporate blog called BlogIT.
- Last month, Sheero Media, a local web development company based in Quezon City, sought my help in looking for corporate bloggers for their clients which I posted here.
- Last month, Outsource2Philippines (O2P) added a section on their corporate website a blog which allows company executives to share information and industry news. Inq7.net covered the story here.
- Domain Registrar dot.PH and provider of blogging server i.PH was actually hunting for a corporate blogger last year. An offer was given to Connie of houseonahill.net but she declined. dot.PH has since scrapped the idea of corporate blogging.
There are a couple of other people I know who are into corporate blogging but I’m not sure if I am at liberty to disclose about them here. However, the companies involve are not really based locally but they have the bloggers working from an office in Makati.
Published by: yuga under: Events.
posted:
February 24th, 2006
There will be a blogging and podcasting workshop this March 9 and 10 sponsored by Friedrich-Naumann Foundation, Philippines and while I’m one of the resource speakers, I’d like to share this open invitation to anyone who might interested:
FNF is organizing “Express Yourself”, a hands-on workshop on blogging and podcasting as political tools. This will be held on 9-10 March 2006 in Makati City. Students, young practitioners, and communications or politics enthusiasts (preferably from the Liberal family) are invited to send their applications by 1 March 2006. Applications consist of: (1) CV (2) short essay on why they want to join and (3) Samples of previous work (if any) . A good command of the English language is expected. Applications can be sent through email at liberal@fnf.org.ph or by fax at (63 2) 8101431.
Resource persons will include well-known Filipino bloggers like Mr. Abe Olandres (www.PinoyBlog.com) and Mr. Manolo Quezon III (www.quezon.ph/blog). I am including a draft of the program. To get aquainted with podcasts, you might also want to tune into The Liberal Times Manila Podcast, which you can download from www.fnf.org.ph/podcast.
The workshop objectives are:
(1) Participants have an overview of best practices in the field of blogging and podcasting with a special emphasis on the Philippine political context
(2) Participants appreciate the potential power of blogs and podcasts as basically uncensored communications tools
(3) Participants understand the importance of a clear message that defines their online publishing
(4) Participants are familiar with the basic editorial and writing guidelines regarding online communications and apply them and
(5) Participants are able to produce and maintain their own blogs and podcasts
As this is a workshop with many practical, hands-on exercises, only 15 successful applicants will be invited to participate in “Express Yourself!”. Please take note that participation is free of charge and inclusive of materials and lunch. FNF may also cover transportation costs and accommodations for participants traveling from outside Metro Manila.
If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact me at +63 2 8403728 / +63 2 8403729 . You may also visit FNF’s website at www.fnf.org.ph.
Thanks to Jayvee for a copy of the email.
Been a little busy with so many other things since I came back from vacation which made posting on this blog a little slower than usual. However, stories still abound:
Here’s a short note from a SitePoint newsletter: According to ContentBiz, one of MarketingSherpa’s publications, Google paid out $1 billion to Adsense publishers last year.
Was at Shangri-la, Ortigas with JAngelo and Marc this afternoon on an interview. After that, J helped me looked for a good laptop bag (or sleeve) and found several at Rustans and Jansport.
The one I got was a neat Jansport Laptop Shockshield Sleeve:
The laptop sleeve is made of high-density foam and neoprene, quilted and weighs 410 gms, with velcro closure — just wide enough to fit a 12-inch laptop.
Fits perfectly well inside my mailman bag.
Damage: Php2,290
From a recent news at Inq7.net, myAyala’s General Manager defended their being de-indexed by Google by pointing fingers at everybody else:
Moya acknowledged that the website’s developers had placed hidden text at the footer of the www.myayala.com. But he said that everybody had been doing this for the past two years until now.
He said that other local e-commerce websites are still using this trick, but apparently myAyala.com was “singled out” since it is currently the popular e-commerce website in the country.
Marc discovered they were out of Google last week and blogged about it at PTB. He even sent an email to myAyala informing them of this violation of the Google webmaster guidelines but no reply was sent.
Apparently, they don’t want to thank the very person who tipped them about it but they’re glad to admit their mistakes on the newspaper. They just feel that they’re too big so Google “singled” them out. *wow*
Update:
http://sureseats.myayala.com still has some hidden and stuffed text in it.
A new service in the US, TextPayMe, which is said to rival that of Paypal has been widely covered by western blogs for weeks now.
I think I need not explain how this system works as we already know much about Smart Money, Smart Padala and G-Cash.
TextPayMe is actually giving away $5 for each new subscribers and sending a XBox 360 to people who refer 36 new users of their service.
Yeah, yeah, we’re ahead of them by leaps and years, but we we have enough volume? A commenter named JLP over at PTB says so.
The only other advantage I saw in TextPayMe is they serve across several mobile providers unlike here where exclusivity is a big hindrance. Makes you wonder if these telcos (Smart & Globe) are merely crunching value-added services not for its individual merit and profitability but only to retain or attract more customers to switch over.
Published by: yuga under: Telecoms.
posted:
February 22nd, 2006
Got this new PLDT promo at PEx:
Promo Period: January 23 to April 23, 2006
Coverage: Nationwide
Target Market: New Postpaid Residential Subscribers who will also subscribe to any myDSL package
Offers:
Discounted Installation Fee: P500
Free MSF on the 12th month
Pre-activated NDD access
Free Speed Calling 20
Free first 10 ndd unlimited calls (P10/call)
Optional: Free Activation of Megabundle + Free 1st 2 months MSF of Megabundle (subs must have a CID unit)
Discounted TEL.+ DSL Bundled Rate
1. P 750 + 999 = P 1,749 – 200 = P 1,549 MSF (net)
2. P 750 + 1,499 = P 2,745 – 400 = P 2,345 MSF (net)
3. P 750 + 3,000 = P 3,750 – 600 = P 3,150 MSF (net)
Guidelines:
Application may be filed thru Business Office, 171, CSFs** & all Bilis-Kabit Blitzes
24-month lock-in period (for both voice & data service)
Pre-termination fee of P2,500 (for voice) + 3X MSF for the DSL Plan
**For more details and to apply, contact:
Rene Bautista
PLDT Agent Code: 5003632
(02) 8740183 // (0927) 4567254 // (0918) 22312423
add616reneb@yahoo.com // add616reneb@gmail.com
Published by: yuga under: WiFi.
posted:
February 22nd, 2006
Will be using this entry to compile a list of free WiFi hospots all over Metro Manila (and maybe the rest of the Philippines as well). If you know of any other free WiFi hospots that are free, please leave a note here so i can update my list. 
- Cyberzone, SM Megamall Building B (Philcom)
- Baywalk – in front of Max’s Resto (EG 6 )
- Mabini cor. Salas (linksys)
- Shell – Magallanes (linksys)
- Starbucks Greenbelt 3 near the lagoon
- Mobile 1 Park Square Makati
- Palm Store Glorietta 4th Floor
- Starbucks G4
- Seattle’s Best, E. Rodriguez
- Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas
- Shangri-la Plaza, Ortigas
- Ermita, Manila (Ferguson Plaza)
- Podium, Ortigas (Philcom)
- Libreria Coffee Shop & Bookstore, Tomas Morato
- Seattle’s Best, Eastwood City
- Robinsons Place, Manila (near food center)
- SM San Lazaro
- DavidSpot! HotZone (within the vicinity of DLSU-CSU, St. Benilde) Get free account here.
- WalterMart along Pasong Tamo-Pasay Road (Linksys)
- Masas, and Greenbelt 2 area
- Baang Coffee Shop, Timog Avenue, QC
- Starbucks Ash Creek Center, Ortigas Avenue (near Xavier School/Mary the Queen Church) – free WiFi provided by Cooltoyz laptop store.
- Hotel Intercontenental, Ayala Avenue, Makati
- Manila Peninsula, Lobby area
- Robinsons Pioneer
- Rustans, Shangri-la (I’m inside the taxi at Shaw)
- Makati City Hall (accessible from Guadalupe Bridge)
- Shell Maya vicinity (corner Buendia & Ayala Ave., Makati) {name: tsunami}
- Captain’s Bar, Mandarin Oriental, Makati
- Free Public Wifi (ad hoc) at Paseo de Roxas near Mandarin Oriental, Makati
- Amorsolo cor. V.A Rufino (formerly Herrera), Makati {name: linksys}
- WLAN PS – in front of Philam Life Tower, Makati
- Sotto cor. V.A Rufino, Makati {name: Asus}
- Pier One, The Fort, Taguig City (BayanTel)
- Pier One, Tomas Morato, Quezon City (BayanTel)
- Holiday Inn Galleria Manila (Galleria Suites), Ortigas Center
- Seattle’s Best, Powerplant Mall, Makati (linksys)
- Shangri-la Hotel Makati, Lobby and Lobby Lounge
- Entertainment Arts Center, Jupiter St., Makati Avenue
- Mario’s Kitchen, Metrowalk, Ortigas
- Placemat Pinoy Cafe in Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Castor, Quezon City
- Italliani’s, Greenbelt 2 {name: wireless, ISP: Globe}
- Bluewave Mall, Macapagal Highway, Pasay City (linksys)
- Teriyaki Boy in Buendia (Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue) cor. Jupiter Street {Jupiter Suites}
- Zupa, Cybermall in Eastwood City, Libis
Rojo recently launched FeedShare as a service that helps bloggers with similar interests promote each other. As a blogger participant you give exposure on your site to other blogs in the network, and in return your blog will be promoted on similar sites in the network.
You give exposure by displaying “Feed Listings” (see sample at the bottom of the main page) which display the name and description of blogs and other feed publishers. When visitors click on these listings they can then subscribe to the RSS or Atom feed for that blogger or publisher in any one of several feed readers.
You then create a listing for your OWN blog and for every impression you donate to the network on your blog, you will receive a listing on someone else’s blog or in Rojo.com. The goal is to help build the feed subscriber base to your blog, increasing awareness and traffic to your site.
This service is something like BlogExplosion but the focus in on your RSS feeds rather than direct eyeballs. Current ad formats is limited to full banners (468×60 pixels) and vertical box (120×240 pixels).
You can signup for FeedShare here, or if you already have a Rojo account, just login and add/share your feeds.
No, not serving coffee. Just working the afternoons here at Starbucks, Walter Mart (at the corner of Pasay Road and Don Chino Roces Ave.,)
This branch offers Globe WiZi (WiFi Zone) instead of the usual Airborne Access (so AA is not really exclusive to Starbucks, huh?). However, I sniffed thru 4 other wifi connections and found one open. Not sure where it’s coming from but the IP is PLDT-based and the signal is a little weak (29%) inside the coffee shop.
Still catching up on emails and new contacts.
It’s an office away from the office and the comfy sofas and aircon are charging the blogging mojo. (And I’m still shedding skin like there’s no tomorrow!)
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