Ratified.org: Describe your life before you got into blogging.

Lyle: Before blogging, my online existence revolved around internet forum(s) and mobile phone customization and firmware tweaking.

Ratified.org: So what pushed you into blogging?

Lyle: I started blogging out of necessity. Nursing information on the internet was hard to come by back then. If any, information available was either outdated or incomplete. I wanted to create a website about nursing but thought that it needed too much back-end (html, etc.) work on my part. So I decided to use the easiest medium that I could find which is a blog at blogger.com so I could focus on content.

Ratified.org: Would your life have gone a different direction had you not chosen to blog?

Lyle: I think so. I would probably be working in an understaffed but overbooked hospital right now being paid less than the minimum wage instead of writing about stuff that I am passionate about while earning a decent income.

Ratified.org: The blogosphere in Mindanao is thriving. Why do you think this is so?

Lyle: Well, the island of Mindanao is full of smart, tech-savvy, and goodlooking people. So, go figure! =)

Ratified.org: You are a nurse by profession. Blogging about nursing should be a piece of cake.

Lyle: It helps that I am a nurse because I have an insider’s view on issues affecting nursing but it doesn’t make it easier.

Ratified.org: Blog monetization can be frustrating for new bloggers. Which products would you recommend to them?

Lyle: Arguably, Adsense is king. I have tried a great number of ad networks and nothing is more effective than Adsense. What I earn in a year on other ad networks, I earn in a week or two in Adsense.

Ratified.org: Traffic to your site is like a roller coaster ride. Can you give us a little of perspective on how chaotic your traffic might be when the NLE results come out?

Lyle: Fill up Araneta Coliseum (The Big Dome) to full capacity and triple that. That’s the number of hits I get when results are out.

Ratified.org: One of your passions is photography. Can you share any photobloggers you admire?

Lyle: Leonard Pe (http://www.leonardpe.com/) and Andrew dela Serna (http://www.davaophoto.com/)

Ratified.org: What blogging tools can you not live without?

Lyle: My browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) and Internet connection.

Ratified.org: SEO is the bane of Google. Do you think it’s something we should still keep in mind while creating blogs or websites?

Lyle: Yes, because the point of blogging is to get information out to as many people as possible. But it shouldn’t be the primary consideration. I know it’s beginning to sound cliché but content, really, is king.

Ratified.org: Describe your life before you got into blogging.

Aileen: I’ve been writing since I was a kid, mostly though for my own consumption only save for the time I became active in a literary organization in college. After that I stopped writing for pleasure since crafting business plans and marketing plans ate up my muse. It was only 8 years after college that I started to write for myself again and I eventually started blogging. Before blogging I was very much a corporate city mouse and that took up most of my time.

Ratified.org: So what pushed you into blogging?

Aileen: My love for writing and telling stories about my adventures and mis-adventures. I have a lot of friends and that’s how they usually find out what I’m up to.

Ratified.org: Would your life have gone a different direction had you not chosen to blog?

Aileen: Probably not, but I’m really happy to have met many new friends.

Ratified.org: You recently invited bloggers to join the PPCRV initiative. What effect do bloggers have on society?

Aileen: Blogging helps society hear the unheard, see the unseen and feel the unfelt (something like that). We all have so much energy and if you could transform that energy into something that will help our society then that’s a really good thing.

Ratified.org: There have been a lot of Google-related activities in the Philippine lately. What can your users expect for the rest of the year?

Aileen: Just watch out for it! =)

Ratified.org: Everyone was ecstatic when our very own doodle came out on Independence Day. How did you feel when you saw it?

Aileen: I was overjoyed when the Independence Day doodle came out. I’ve been waiting and hoping for that for the longest time. I actually cried when I found out that it was going to come out and waited until midnight for it to show up. Ambabaw ko noh? But it really meant so much for me and I’m really thankful to the team who made it possible for us to have that doodle.

Ratified.org: You call Davao your “second home”. What are the things that people shouldn’t miss while they’re in the city?

Aileen: Lachi’s! The first stop should be to dine at Lachi’s and have several plates of pork marinara and at least a box of sansrival. I love Davao because there are so many places you can go to, like the beach (Samal Island), Eden, Crocodile Park, then there’s the Xcelerator, plus everyone is so friendly. Everything is way more inexpensive compared to Manila and if I could, I would live in Davao.

Ratified.org: What blogging tools can you not live without?

Aileen: My camera (and since it’s in the shop right now, I’m really not living) and Theodore, my PC and Blogger!

Ratified.org: It seems that most Filipino bloggers are on Plurk. How does this affect the dynamics of the blogging community?

Aileen: I believe that most Filipino bloggers who are active are on Plurk. It’s like being in your barangay. There are so many different personalities and interests, it’s a slice of our society and if you are very observant you’d notice how the community continues to evolve. And like life, there’s nothing permanent and you’d have to be careful as well who you make friends with.

Ratified.org: What top 5 qualities should a blogger possess?

Aileen: Humility, openness, be sensitive, be honest and be observant.

Ratified.org: Blogging Mafia. Figment of our imagination or not?

Aileen: There’s no such thing as a blogging mafia. This was probably invented by people who: (1) think so highly of themselves; (2) are bent on making it to the top and use this as an excuse for not making it. It’s funny how some people talk about it as if it were true, everyone has a place under the sun so I think coining something like this is detrimental to the community.

Ratified.org: Describe your life before you got into blogging.

Jayvee: Dark and barren.

Ratified.org: So what pushed you into blogging?

Jayvee: Keeping a journal through my MA thesis was something that kept me sane. So I did it. Writing for work and writing for leisure are two different animals.

Sadly writers in the Philippines don’t make a lot of money. So instead of being a starving artist, why not outsource your stuff to other countries? That was my mindset in 2005. I discovered The Blog Herald and b5media and the rest, like Michael Jackson, is history.

Ratified.org: Would your life have gone a different direction had you not chosen to blog?

Jayvee: Perhaps. I would have pursued my career as a rock star. And trash hotel rooms. And stuff.

Ratified.org: If you were to talk in front of a crowd of bloggers in Silicon Valley. How would you describe the Philippine blogosphere?

Jayvee: Vibrant. With strong offline character.

Ratified.org: You are the Technology Editor for Uno Magazine, Editor for Splashpress, a professor at AIM. Plus you’re a part owner of BlogBank. And you’ve started scuba diving (lol). Tell me, is there anything else you haven’t done yet?!

Jayvee: Politics?? Just kidding.

Ratified.org: What does Blogbank have in store for bloggers in the coming months?

Jayvee: We’ve been quiet for some time. We were into doing blog events but stopped because everyone was doing it. So we’ve actually been reassessing the company and have come up with two interesting things which we are launching soon. The first is called the Endorser Program which we’ll explain in our next meet up (very soon!!) and the second, which I’m more excited about, is a little like that comic / TV show, Global Frequency. We’ve already launched 2 projects to pilot the second program and we’ll unveil everything also in our next meet up!

Of course, we’re still selling ads.

Ratified.org: What online tools can you not live without?

Jayvee: Google Apps. Google Spreadsheets. Google Docs. Multiple Browsers (Safari, Flock, Firefox). Skype for conference calls.

Ratified.org: Name 5 bloggers that you follow regularly.

Jayvee: Follow, like stalking?? No.

Maybe Andrew. He owns Ratified.

Seriously:

1. Luis Katigbak (songsinthecity.blogspot.com)
2. Butch Dalisay (http://homepage.mac.com/jdalisay/blog/MyBlog.html)
3. Anna Foz Castro (dezphaire.blogspot.com)
4. Yvette Tan (glossmania.blogspot.com)
5. Cat Juan (calamansi.blogspot.com)

Ratified.org: If there are only 3 things a blogger needs to be successful, what would they be?

Jayvee:
1. Write about what you are TRULY passionate about.
2. Don’t burn bridges. Be nice. (especially applicable in the Philippines)
3. Never shoot against the light.

Ratified.org: If you were to write a guest post for any blog, what would it be and why?

Jayvee: Neil Gaiman’s blog. I’d write a post about how he, a foreigner, made me appreciate my local folklore.