John Raul dot Com

My First Tech Conclave Interview: I Got Featured On A Hosting Website

John Raul II — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:56:49 +0000

I was recently interviewed and featured by the people behind B10WH.com because of my tech news show, Tech Conclave. B10WH.com is a web hosting news, reviews, and directory website that features a plethora of web hosting related topics and exclusive interviews of some known web hosting executives across Europe. B10WH indicated that it was their first time to interview someone different and someone very young. I’m flattered!

As far as I can remember, this marks my first time to be featured on a website. And it’s especially remarkable because they interviewed me because of the show that I’m running online.

I’m quite happy with the questions that were asked to me. They basically dug information about how I started with computers, what my computer programming skills are, and how I see myself in my future IT career. Additionally, I was able to share an glimpse of my life when I was younger and the challenges that I’ve faced that have molded me to a kind of person I am today.

In the interview, B10WH expressed their appreciation for Tech Conclave and I’m super happy to learn about that, considering the smaller audience that I have presently with Tech Conclave. As you know, Tech Conclave is something that I’m really working hard for online besides my main job and despite technical constraints, I’m doing my best to steer the show to a good direction by being resourceful and patient.

You can watch my Tech Conclave episodes here.

I’m hoping that the interview would bring more viewers to Tech Conclave. It’s really nice motivation when people appreciate your hard work. It made me encouraged to produce more content for the show.

OMG Big-time Help From A Friend

John Raul II — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:27:58 +0000

Update: HP has already released the list of winners.

You can watch the Tech Conclave video or read the article here.

You know in the past two weeks I’ve drawn my focus to campaigning for my video entry for HP You on You contest in YouTube. I really want to win because the prizes can improve my life, the lives of people directly attached to me online or offline, and my show, Tech Conclave.

Last night, I got a big surprise from my online friend named Bryce whom I met through a podcast and owns a tech reviews blog called Bilsta57. He has been helping me campaigning for my video entry in the past few days and last night he made me stunned and totally shocked when he announced on Twitter that he will do an iPhone 3GS giveaway if I ever win the HP contest. That’s extremely generous. I’m not even an iPhone owner myself nor can afford to buy it. He literally made me cry and my parents were very pleased as well. It’s just unbelievable for me: I’ve never encountered a compassion or help yet that big in my personal life. Bryce actually doesn’t actually talk or chat with me as my other closer friends do and I don’t even know what he looks like, so I firmly believe that his help is extremely sincere.

At the moment, I only have the chance to win the Community Award because my video wasn’t selected as one of the 24 finalists.

Check out his announcement and the video he created for his intent to help. I cannot campaign for his cause because it may cast doubts to HP that I’m violating the rules of contest (an accusation that can easily be thrown at me). If you ever support his intent to help me, thank you in advance for all your thumbs up votes and ratings. I just hope I was able to inspire you with my video entry. To Bryce, man, I cannot express how grateful I am for this act. It’s life-changing.

HP You On You: How To Vote For My Video Entry For The Community Award

John Raul II — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:43:38 +0000

Update: HP has already released the list of winners.

You can watch the Tech Conclave video or read the article here.

The video entry I submitted is included in the HP contest in YouTube’s Week #6 as an eligible entry. Watch my video here.

Unfortunately, the chances of winning for the major prizes are getting slimmer each day since September 1 because I have not received any notifications yet that my video is included in the Semi Finals. However, there’s still a way for you to help me bag a prize and you can do this by voting for my entry for the Community Award. Please vote for me and my video… It takes only 3 minutes of your time.

Here are the steps to do it:

Visit HP’s official channel in YouTube through this link: http://www.youtube.com/hp
In the main navigation menu, click “VIEW + VOTE” and on the page that loads click “COMMUNITY AWARD.”
On the dynamic page that loads, type in the Search field these exact words “Me My Computer” and press Enter. Only my video entry should come up as a result.
Click my video entry’s thumbnail and allow the video to play.
You should be able to see a thumbs up and thumbs down on the right side.
Click Thumbs up to vote for my video entry.
You can cast a vote for my video entry once a day from July 24, 2009 up to September 13, 2009. So please help me and thank you very much for doing so.

On or about September 21, 2009, HP will announce the Community Award Winners. The prizes for Community Award are the following:

1st place: $15,000 USD
2nd place: $7,500 USD
3rd place: $2,500 USD
Top 100 entries will receive an HP Artist Edition laptop

Again, thank you so much for your support. This contest can definitely improve my life here. I also need a faster computer for my video show, Tech Conclave, and this HP contest offers that very opportunity.

Vote For My Video Entry: HP You On You

John Raul II — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:45:36 +0000

My friend Gerardo from Alhambra, California, USA, informed me about another cool HP contest. This time the contest takes place in YouTube with the title "You On You" where entrants create videos featuring themselves in a creative way for one minute without exposing a face. I decided to join the contest because I strongly believe I have a good story that may motivate some people in the world. Here’s my entry and the full script:

Hi I’m John Raul and I’m a geek from the Philippines.
People say life is tougher here and they were right.

Back in my childhood, I experienced selling fruits in the streets
and even massaged people’s feet to convince them to buy.

My parents told me if you want something you gotta work using your mind and heart. And so I did, I focused hard on my education until it brought me somewhere.

Last year I acquired my first room and my first bed after sleeping on the floor since 21 years of my life.

Thanks to my HP Compaq laptop, I was able to work at home,
express my thoughts through my blog, and innovate with my computer skills through coding, web designing, videos, and writing. I even formed a tech news video podcast featuring all of my online friends. I’d like to meet them and see the world someday and my hard work and computer would enable me just that.

I gotta be consistent in doing my best. I’m sure I’ll get there.

For now, I gotta enjoy my life here with the ducks, birds, roosters, the trees, and of course, my computer.

I’m John Raul, your friendly geek from the beautiful islands of the Philippines.

Please vote for me by leaving comments, rating 5-star and favoriting the my video in YouTube. Thanks a lot!

Here’s the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOPJbQhPBwY

Create A Website With Web Studio

John Raul II — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:13:43 +0000

If you’re looking for an instant web presence whether it’s for your business or just to express yourself online, I suggest that you check out Web Studio at NetIDNow. Web Studio is a website builder that lets you create a website without suffering the complexities of web coding or the lack of web tools or IT expertise to start something from scratch. If you run a business and you’d like to establish an identity or port that online, Web Studio lets you build an ecommerce store as well. And guess what, you’ll just create them through your favorite web browser. Isn’t that cool?

Being someone who have worked in the web development and web hosting industry since two years, it’s not my first time to see a web application that lets you create websites on the fly. I have experienced doing something like that using H-Sphere’s Site Studio. However, I think it’s still too complex for an ordinary, non-techie user that’s why I don’t recommend it. I’m more inclined to encourage you to use the WebStudio website builder instead.

Another reason why I liked WebStudio website builder is that besides rapid development of a personal or e-commerce website, it’s also cost-effective and inexpensive. You can also use customized templates for greater design flexibility. This is rather great if you have your own web developers to develop a custom design template for your web application. Their enterprise solution comes with several Internet marketing features ranging from search engine submission to website consultation and features an integrated web hosting services.

Finally, the support team that they have there is excellent and just like what their website claims, they facilitate/advise you so that you can fully take advantage of their web application and you can come up with a site that works as you wanted.

If you think you’d like to try Web Studio, there’s a free trial in their website so you can get familiar with their service and get started to establish your online personal or business identity.

Life Of A Freelance Web Developer After 2 Years

John Raul II — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:17:47 +0000

On August 6, 2009, I marked my official second year (unofficially, it’s more than 2 years LOL) anniversary of my work here at home as a freelance web developer. Well, I’m more than just web developer. Time flies, as they say, and it really just flew in my case. My 48 months were not bad at all and it wasn’t bliss to work at home everyday either. There were lots of interesting and dramatic changes in my personal and professional life as witnessed by this blog.

While my work may have contained my life in the four corners of my home, it also brought some unparalleled events and evolution not just in my life but also to others who were directly attached to me in the offline and online world. I personally believe that I experienced some things that you can’t get in a real office environment. Of course, I also recognize that there are also things I have missed. I guess I can just say “C’est la vie.” I think that if I was working in the city, it would have exposed me to different places and people. Unfortunately, that’s not my circumstance and that being said, I’m relying on my holistic dynamism and upbeat intellect that have brought advancements despite my situational constraints. I believe it will continue to push me forward in the next years to come. After all, I think and dream about my future every day and I parallel that with hard work.

Recollection and Evaluation

When I started my work 2 years ago, I had nothing else in my mind than just four goals that boosted my motivation:

to find an opportunity to visit, work, and live abroad,
to solidify my career in Information Technology,
to make money to help my parents and brothers, and
to find new special people that I could integrate and be part of my life.

My first goal didn’t happen yet; I kind of fulfilled the second one but not to a sustainable point due to changing circumstances; the third one is a continuous work and that’s evidenced by what I do online; and the latter, I believe I managed to find special people that are now part of my life.

The past two years working at home have taught me many things and brought realizations that I have presented in the past milestone posts listed below.

Professionally-talking, I think being a freelance developer has a risk especially when you’re not eager enough to teach yourself to be better in your field of expertise. As in my case, I have no choice but to develop my knowledge. It’s the key to realizing my goals and it has always provided me ways through life’s obstacles.

What’s Ahead

As uncertain as the future can be, I can only pledge to be consistent with my hard work to realize the goals I have and to be dynamic with each new circumstance. I’m looking forward to meet my online friends, I’m excited to the development of my tech news show, to start new venture and engage more in online business, to hone my I.T. expertise, and most importantly, to fly somewhere. With all these goals I have, it only means there’s an opportunity to do more in the years to come.

Web Hosting For Geeks

John Raul II — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:40:14 +0000

I’ve written many web hosting articles in the past 12 months until my life has gone super busy with my web development main job, and the existence of my tech news show, Tech Conclave. Today, I’ve decided to update myself with the latest in the web hosting industry and I found this website called Web Hosting Geeks. Certainly, the site captured me because of its "geek" word. Like what I always say at Tech Conclave: it’s good to be a geek.

So, in their home page, they have a list of best web hosting companies for 2009. In my opinion, the top web hosts listed there are the ones who have established themselves in the web hosting industry since ages. People who are new to web hosting could easily be convinced that the top has the best value for your money. Certainly not. Remember, big companies have better funds to initiate a massive marketing. However, looking at the site’s reputation (and Internet marketing parameters), it seems to me most of the web hosts listed there are reputable. Now, that’s just a tip.

Back to Web Hosting Geeks, their website presents neat hosting categories for specific hosting platforms and purposes. In addition to the top ranking for each year, you can view lists of web hosts sorted according to the type of services they offer (e.g., Unix Hosting, Blog Hosting, VPS Hosting, and many others), according to type of web hosting (e.g., dedicated server, green hosting, multiple domain hosting), according to web hosting rating, or come up with the result of web hosting companies according to the awards they have received.

If you feel like you need to familiarize yourself with the web hosting terms and/or you want tips and tricks, they also have useful web hosting blogs you can immerse into.

Presently, this blog is currently hosted at Top Hosting Center, running over their Speedy hosting plan. My show’s website, Tech Conclave, is hosted at Host Color.

Tech Conclave To Try Weekly, Needs Support

John Raul II — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:40:59 +0000

Hi everyone. Sorry, I wasn’t able to write for my own personal blog for a couple of weeks due to high workload that I have with my main job, my tech news show, Tech Conclave, the Global Geek News Patrol, and Tech Webcast.

Speaking of Tech Conclave at the time of this writing, I’m now working on our eighth episode, the first to start in a weekly basis, and I’m very happy at this point because Episode 7 was a success (probably because of the new microphone). It earned honors at YouTube.com and I earned some new friends from other places in the world. The exciting point of the show is its social aspect: every episode I am self-mandated to hunt for a Geek of the Week online.

I have several personal complaints with the show though: my Internet is slow and video editing is choking my laptop! The system that I use to work on the video is truly not meant for video editing and I need something better and faster. I believe I’m only limited by the systems and resources that I have, not what I can do out from my ideas or motivation since I’m full of it. I’m looking now for sponsors and if you have suggestions, please let me know.

On the side, I’m also working on several websites for survival. As far as you know, I only earn like $200 a month and that’s a pain because my bills eat more than half of that and considering that I work like around the clock each day. I’m hoping that Tech Conclave would escalate and my hard work be recognized: I am doing my best for it and I spend many restless nights to bring great episodes for the world. So if you can, please support my show. Your $1 donation can help me a lot or if you don’t want to offer monetary help, there are things you can do to support Tech Conclave like subscribing to our official YouTube account, spreading the word to your friends and to tell your friends to tell their friends, and registering at Tech Conclave website.

Thanks for reading this and for your time. I’ll try to do more and become even more productive. In some ways, I truly need your help.

I Am Now 22 And More To Come

John Raul II — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:07:52 +0000

As I write this I’m listening to Adam Lambert’s rendition of Gary Jules’ Mad World on YouTube. The song is nice, soothing and sad – and if my good friend Tom would listen to it, he might add it on his "Freezer Tunes" playlist.

Now to the gist: the clock just hit 12:00 AM! Drum rolls…I’m officially 22 years old! But whoa, the memory of my 20th birthday is still very fresh in my mind. Time flies, huh? It does.

Speaking of which, this year’s birthday is probably one the simplest natal day that I ever have. I don’t have plans of what to do today: don’t have any money to go/hang out or start a celebration and I’m clueless if my parents are going to do something special because they just spent a good amount of money recently from their modest income to send my two brothers in college this year – one of them is a senior college student and the other one a freshman. Anyway, who knows? I might get a surprise! However, it’s a thing I’d less expect. Life goes on.

However, despite the drought of celebration (I’m thinking about eating my favorite chicken curry with lots of potatoes, fruit salad, etc), I’m happy because I got plenty of greetings and blessings from my online friends. Brad of Tech Webcast, for instance, sponsored a condenser microphone to help improve my tech news show, Tech Conclave. Hopefully when it arrives, I’ll be able to use it for the upcoming episodes.

I’m taking Tech Conclave (and all the other shows that I participate or co-host with) seriously because I believe that it brings a lot hope in realizing my dreams, helping my family, finding new friends, and reaching places that I can only think about for now – as well as meeting that special person dearest to my heart and rather one of the reasons why the show exists and I put so much effort into it. I’m also thinking of recording my karaoke songs and hopefully they’ll sound good enough for me to be able to share to the world. lol

My wish this year is that I hope my family’s health will remain stable and good, that all the relationships and things I’m involved with will improve, and I wish that the global recession will end so that I’ll not be choked anymore with all the bills and I will have more freedom. I don’t want to stuck here forever and I’m looking forward to reaching new places.

To myself: happy 22nd birthday! Thanks for being so productive, objective, dutiful, and persevering and hopefully one day you’ll find what you’re looking for. Everything that you do is a legacy that will remain in me.

Win a Free Web Hosting and Domain Name for 12 Months at Tech Conclave

John Raul II — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:02:04 +0000

Updated: Easier steps to enter the contest!

My birthday is coming on May 25th and Tech Conclave, my tech news show is doing great. In line with that, I decided to run a contest on Episode 5 which will be formally announced and commenced on May 15th and I will be giving away free Speedy web hosting and a domain name to five (5) lucky winners valid for 12 months! The prizes are sponsored by the nice folks at Top Hosting Center who gladly accepted my invitation.

What’s a web hosting and domain name and why do you want them?
A web hosting is what you need when you want to start a blog, a website, or anything Web-related. A web hosting must be partnered with a domain name. A domain name is the web address you want (for example, www.yourblogaddress.com, or anything)

How To Enter

So you might ask: how to enter the contest? Well, the steps are quite simple. The phrases I wrote in bold letters below means the important steps you must follow.

1. Register to Tech Conclave Community Forum if you are not a member.

2. Tell the forum community who you are, what you do, and why do you like technology at Introduce Yourself category in the forum.

3. Follow Tech Conclave’s official Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/techconclave – if you don’t have a Twitter account, create one at www.twitter.com. Also, subscribe to Tech Conclave’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/techconclave

After completing the steps above, you will have one (1) valid entry and you now have a chance to win the prizes. There are five winners so chances are high since as I write this, there are not much entries / members yet on the forum: so don’t miss it. The winners will be drawn randomly and will be announced on Episode 6 which is slated for release on May 30, this month. For more information about the official rules and regulations of the contest, please follow this link.

Before I end this post, I have one little favor to ask you: could you follow me on Twitter as well and greet me on May 25th as I turn 22? That would make me the happiest person on that day. Thanks a lot!

My Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/anmjoven

Please spread the word about this contest and participate in my tech community! Everyone is welcome – geek or not!

John Raul dot Com

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