Earning, Blogging, Tips and More - Bryan Karl dot Com

Inmotion Is Top Web Host Of 2009

2009-12-19T09:34:00.000+08:00

Before all, let me greet everyone an advanced Merry Christmas! The holiday season is in a rush and we are almost there -- Christmas Day. And 2010 will be right in front of us in a blink. Before we end 2009, let's see who got the top spot for the top web host in the web hosting rating site, Web Hosting Geeks.

As said in my title, it is Inmotion Business Web Hosting who got the top place with a 98% host rating. With a monthly price of $5.95, you get the users' choice web hosting in your own fingertips. Second place goes to JustHost. It is the Editor's Choice Hosting. It has monthly price of $3.45 and a host rating of 97%. That's one notch difference between Inmotion's. But the price difference is quite wide. $2.50 is already something to think about. Would you have 97% with a cheaper price or the higher priced 98%? Third goes to WebHostingPad, tagged as Cheap Reliable Hosting because of it's $1.99/mo. and 97% host rating (wow!). Fourth goes to iPage, Trusted Web Hosting ($3.50/mo, 96% host rating) and fifth goes to FatCow, Cheap Business Hosting ($3.67/mo, 95%).

I included the top 5 web hosts according to Web Hosting Geeks because I believe these 5 are reliable ones. They wouldn't end up there if they didn't work hard to fill their customers' needs. For bloggers looking to self-host their blogs, you can see who won in the Best Blog Hosting. And if you are really budget-tight, see who won in the Best Budget Hosting category. Good luck and happy holidays!

How To Know Whether A Web Hosting Provider Is Reliable

2009-12-17T13:30:00.000+08:00

Oftentimes, first time web hosting buyers (like bloggers or small businesses) don't really know where to look when looking for a reliable web host. The very first time I decided to get a web host for my blog, I only asked my friends what their web hosting providers are and if they feel good about their hosts. Answer number 1: Recommendation from friends.

You trust your friends, don't you? And if your friends trust this one web host, you would get an inkling to trust that web host too. Sometimes too immediately. One way to know which web host is right for you is to ask around your friends. Each one of them could have varying opinions but you must get the description of the web host which best suits your needs and capacity.

But let's say you don't have friends who are self hosting their sites, then you could make good use of online ranking resources. Answer number 2: Read around web hosting rating sites. There are a couple of them out there. The best way is to explore. Try hanging out in forums or user feedback areas. You can't just rely on what the web hosts say. Hear it out from their previous/current customers. Customers (most of them) always speak based on their experiences. Learn from their experiences, right?

Let me share this quote from Sir Colin Marshall, The customer doesn't expect everything will go right all the time; the big test is what you do when things go wrong. You can't expect a web hosting provider to be 100% perfect. When things go wrong, what do they do? Leave you hanging (like my previous web host)? The customers will answer your questions. Hear it out.

All I'm saying here is that before buying out a web host, read, search, think and weigh. Don't make the mistakes of impulse buying. Read reviews and rating sites first. Always know that a secure website offers a peace of mind. And you don't want to end up fast in a down-falling web host right?

Good luck to web host buyers-to-be. Read this hosting guide for reference. (:

Retweet To Share Tweets (BETA)

2009-11-21T11:18:00.000+08:00

Twitter's got a new feature but it is still under Beta version. I'm privileged to be part of the Beta group and be able to test this new feature. It's simply a retweeting feature of tweets. Before, we have to manually write "RT" to indicate it is just a retweet. Now, everything's done smoothly.

The image above will tell it all. I'm also trying it now.

Notice the difference between a tweet and a retweet? It's the icon beside it!

I think Twitter must release this feature right away. For one, it is useful. Another it is really a cool feature. Kudos Twitter!

Thoughts On SEO Experts and English Grammar

2009-11-08T12:16:00.000+08:00

I throw this question to all, specially to SEO experts, SEO "experts", SEO lovers and bloggers: Is it necessary that SEO experts be very good in English grammar and usage?

I am just curious really. I consider the likes of Problogger and Dosh Dosh to have excellent English skills (add people skills too). But ever since the advent of the "SEO era" where people seem so much informed about SEO, there was a sudden boom in the number of SEO-related blogs all around the world. People think that it's one speedy way to richness and fame. And so I made myself skeptic about this.

I've seen multitudes of blogs talking about SEO. Though there are excellent ones, I could not help but find out that a lot of SEO bloggers can't even make good use of the English language well. Some have noticeably a number of grammatical errors, a few have spelling errors.

No, I'm not saying I can use English perfectly. I have faults too. I just wonder if correct grammar (which is a factor to GOOD content) affects SEO. Is it absolutely fine to commit errors more than a few times if you "consider" yourself an SEO expert? Or are SEO experts required to be adept in using properly the English language?

For readers and bloggers, does it discourage you to read an SEO blog with grammatical errors?

Just a direct question really and I know we'll all learn something from thinking about this. How about you? What's your stand?

Google Updates PageRank of Blogs

2009-10-30T11:15:00.002+08:00

Yep, you heard it right. Unlike before, today's blogosphere now doesn't really cringe to the thought of PageRank updates, down or up. Only the posties do and since I'm out of the postie line already, I'm not much affected of the PR update. I checked this blog's PageRank just now and it got a PageRank 3. Surprising. Or not.

So what are you waiting for bloggers? Check your blog's PageRank now!

Unfortunately for me, my other blog is still a zero after it has been whip-lashed by Mr G months ago. My main blog with a new domain due to server problemos is still an N/A. I've learned a lot from that though.

Now I'm not bitter or something about me getting out of the postie line. I knew that one day I'd be a non-earning blogger. And now that's what I am. And all I tell myself now is months from now, I'd be getting a job, a real job, and that's what's important. And being a postie is just a side line, for all of us.

I don't know where I'm getting at. Ok, just check your PageRanks my friends. Good luck!

Blog Anywhere! Get Your Globe Tattoo Now!

2009-10-28T19:43:00.007+08:00

Globe Tattoo Broadband just got better! Now you can blog anywhere without spending too much on expensive wide-ranged wireless internet. No need to run to a nearby internet cafe to blog about something, and you can be away from home and still keep your blog going!

Now to attest all those premium goodness the Globe Tattoo Broadband has to offer, the author of Migs Mobile Network wrote his insights and experiences about the product which he won (and which I almost won, argh!) during the Philippine Blog Awards 2009. He also shares tips one can surely make use of.

Comparing the Globe Tattoo Broadband with another Globe service, the Globe 3G, Migs states:

Plus the fact that it seems to be faster than Globe 3G. Or maybe they’re just the same. However, with using your phone with your Globe 3G SIM, you first need to convert the KB browsing to Time based browsing or else, expect a bill for your prepaid plan with thousand of pesos more than what you usually pay. But internet usage via your Globe Tattoo SIM by default is TIME-BASED. No need to worry about over spending on internet connection charges. Nice huh?

Personally, I've tried Globe 3G and err, it was slow. So according to Migs, Globe Tattoo Broadband is way better than the older Globe 3G. He shares his experience about having only a really small amount of signal from 3G but when he used his Globe Tattoo, connection was fast. Add stable. He mentioned that he was able to read his mails, read feeds on his Google feed reader, chat, micro-blog, download a file, and watch live streams. Emphasis intended on the last one, lol. But hey, don't expect Globe Tattoo to be your perfect broadband solution. Migs says it all depends on the area.

...it really depends on the area. But you can try changing the network settings to make your globe tattoo faster. From the Globe Tattoo Connection Menu, click on Tools->Options->Network. Its on 3G only. Try other choices and see what connection is best for your location.

So there you have it, some useful tips and tricks from our techy guy Migs. Read the whole post at Migs Mobile Network entitled "I won a Globe Tattoo".

So a message for me and for everyone who are yet to get their Globe Tattoo Broadband kit: it is now only P895 (I remembered it was P1895 a year ago, lol). What a cool buy it would be. Save a thousand bucks and get speedy internet anywhere, huh. Because Globe loves us, P300 worth of free load will be preloaded into the Globe Tattoo sim. That's 15 free internet hours! Wah. There are also a variety of Globe Tattoo Broadband New Skins to choose from. Check out the Globe Tattoo Broadband Gallery for visual goodness.

More! More! Globe’s also giving you free UNLITXT All Day (promo until Nov. 15 only) every time you load at least P30 to your Globe Tattoo USB Stick and use it for surfing the internet within a day!

Erm, by the way, the P895 promo of the Globe Tattoo Broadband will only be until October 31, 2009. Everyone! Let's head now to the nearest Globe stores and purchase one now! I'll be buying mine on October 30! Woot. Happy blogging!

Lessons Learned From a Bad Experience With My Web Host

2009-10-26T17:58:00.003+08:00

Last October 23, 2009, my self-hosted blog The Extraordinary Kiddo (http://bryankarl.net) went down. I thought everything's fine as after some few minutes, the blog went up again. Then I went to sleep. The next day, boom, blog's already suspended. It was the same (and I prayed it would be back to normal) until Sunday. I emailed my then web host (Kinohost, owned by Jon Towns) and got no reply at all. They're a waste of time so I decided to move on. Here's the complete story.

I've been through a lot because of such incident. I was thankful enough I do everyday backups of my database. I have only one backup of my files and it was one month ago but that's better than none. So here, lessons learned:

Choose a "reliable" web host. Reliable is relative. Reliable can either mean great customer rating/feedback, higher uptime, brand, speed of customer support, features, etc. It all depends on you. On my case, I'd go for the speedy customer support. Why? It irritates me much if I can't contact people from my web host. Now, my new host is just run by someone in the same country as I do and contacting support can be through Yahoo! Messenger or SMS. Easy.
Do regular backup of your database. There is an automatic database backup feature in WordPress. All you've got to do is configure it to send daily/weekly backups of your database to your email. Yes, email. No hassle.
Do regular backup of your files. You don't do this everyday. You just can't. Files always come in huge sizes and it would be burdensome to download them all everyday. Weekly backup of files can be good. Monthly is okay. But if you hate waiting for everything to be downloaded, maybe you could choose which parts to download. As the author of iFancy.Me states, the most important files you need to backup are: plugins, themes, wp-config.php and .htaccess.
Monitor your web host status. You could check how many times a month the server goes down. Or maybe you could check on irate customers. Do some simple Googling. You would find out if similar clients are praising or trash talking on your web host.

After all those, I've now recovered. And I changed domain name so please do link my main blog up. It's http://extraordinarykiddo.com, The Extraordinary Kiddo. By the way, my new web host is iRock Web Hosting Solutions, owned by a co-Filipino. Hope I won't be having problems with my new host.

Have you had similar bad experiences with your web host?

Business in Focus: World First

2009-10-08T19:31:00.003+08:00

Now, let's shift our focus from bloggers and blogs to businesses that find majority of their existence and success on the web. In this post, we'll first discuss what the business is all about and next, the advantages of having your business run (either partially of fully) online.

About World First

Based in the United Kingdom, Word First is a fast growing foreign exchange broker that offers both private parties and companies the ability to achieve better currency exchange rates and other financial services.

For now, World First is serving around 20,000 private clients and 3,000 companies. Quoted from their site, World First's foreign exchange transaction volume was over £1 billion last year (2008).

Based in London, World First has worked with over 20,000 private clients and 3,000 companies to date. World First's foreign exchange transaction volume was over £1 billion last year (2008).

Click here for more information about currency (from Wikipedia).

About the World First website

The World First website offers a lot to customers and non-customers alike. Aside from a well-arrange template and readable text, there are certain features that are related to what the business is all about.

There's a currency converter on the side, a blog about currency, request links, related links, daily podcast from Chief Economist Jeremy Cook and video tutorials about currency and foreign exchange.

Whether you're a person about to transfer money in huge amounts or just a passer-by trying to get a look at the site, the World First website surely tells in detail what the business is all about.

Advantages of having a website, quick look

Some people might ask, why do you have to put up a website when you could go full blast marketing offline? The truth is, online marketing/advertising works as much or even more than the traditional marketing strategies.

Here are what you get when you do an online version or gateway to your growing business:

exposure - some customers nowadays just do a quick Google search and that is how transactions (some huge, some not) start.
connection - you can build connections to related businesses and that's one way for your business to start being heard of. Or you could create business partnerships out of it.
low maintenance, low cost - when you hire someone to build a website, the cost is not that high. The cost is even very low when you can do it by yourself. And maintenance does not require much overhead.
updated - when you are online, and your business is too, you get updated with the latest. Everything's going web nowadays and the news starts here. Financial news also start here as quick as real-time relay. Having a website will make your business "in" and be part of a directory-like world where people could reach up to you in one click.

Those four are just quick notes of the advantages of having a website for your business. Take a look at World First. I am sure a lot of clients found them online especially those outside UK. Those advantages are listed in a jiffy and could be expounded for further discussion.

So to businesses out there without a website, I'm sure you want to get one now. Good luck.

Typhoon Ondoy Aftermath: Bloggers Too Can Help

2009-09-30T15:53:00.007+08:00

As of writing, Manila City (Philippines) is starting to rise up from the catastrophic storm that hit it last week. Though many families are now okay, a lot are still at a big loss and needs our help. Bagyong Ondoy (Typhoon Katsena) has done much damage. It took lives, properties and livelihood. People need help. Now's the time that bloggers must use their online presence to help spread the need for help.

Image from Boston.com
I am glad to see a lot of people calling out for help in micro-blogging sites such as Twitter and Facebook. And there are a lot of replies, willing to help, willing to volunteer. I am also seeing a lot of blog posts telling WHERE and HOW people can help, donate and volunteer. I made a post listing some of the drop off donation points here in Cebu.

I am glad the Filipino spirit of bayanihan is still living amongst us. As Chris Tiu's twitter update says:

Wonderful to see the relief centers packed with youth volunteers! We're not apathetic. There is hope for the Filipino people! - Chris Tiu

You too can help. If you know or have a list of donation drop off centers, spread em. If you are in Manila, you could be a volunteer. Take part now.

Check out this Google landing page on Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines.

I've Got 331 Unread On Google Reader, What To Read?

2009-09-23T18:07:00.005+08:00

I've got 331 unread updates on my Google Reader dashboard. So what? 331 isn't even half of what people get on their readers. And that's my point. I've got 331 and I am as busy as hell nowadays and how could I read 331? I simply CANNOT. So I choose out the best among the many. But how?

This is now the dilemma. How can you make your posts lest your blog stand out from hundreds more? And sometimes, from thousands more?

On a personal standpoint, I choose "what to read" using three pointers in mind. I cannot waste precious time on clicking something which isn't worth the momentum.

History - err too cliche right but of course since we are intelligent beings, we associate what is "now" to what is "before". If I see a blog title, I ask these questions: Have I read this blog many times before? Did I like the posts from this blog? Questions like that could lead you to realize that this blog is indeed what your tastes like.
Post Title - given that I've clicked on the blog title, what faces me next is the post title. This is inevitable. People judge a post by its title, sometimes. Though a little mystery might work too.
Social - the bias part. If you are friends with the blog owner, why not give his blog a read right? This is part of friendship, an unspoken obligation they say. It would hurt to know that a friend isn't reading your posts. :)

The three I've mentioned are very relative, meaning, it might be the same for you or not. But I guess my three pointers may have a point. Or maybe they really do.

Now, from a reader standpoint, I now shift to the blogger presence. From the three, let me formulate some thoughts.

History - What to do if history's included? Keep doing the best and never fail the readers. The effects of a good post can be trailing and so are the effects of a not-so-good one. Keep writing and have some consistency. If people will like you for that and they indeed have liked you for that, then no wonder in the near future they'd continue liking you and your blog.
Post Title - This topic cannot be discussed in a single number. It needs to discussed in a whole different post. But nuf said, let's give a swift catch. Post title is sometimes important. Though there are occasions that it isn't. But most of the time, it is. Based on personal experience, the post title really matters when I have to decide whether to read the post or not. Catchy and inviting titles, effective. Plain and dull, never mind. Though mysterious titles work sometimes, right?
Social - The power of social networking. Keep socializing and socializing and stop when you're already overdoing it. The key is to have lots of friends in the blog network (of course you must be true to them). Make friends with your commentators too. Keep a happy disposition in mingling with people who drop by your blog, blogger or not.

We all do differ on deciding whether to read a blog (post) or not. But I was sharing something which I think may be common in all of us. I hope you've gained some little useful insight from my sharing in this post. I'm busy as hell nowadays and I hope to write more on this blog soon. Good luck! :)

SuperGreen Hosting - Save The Earth!

2009-09-13T09:26:00.006+08:00

We are in the era where technology drives our lives. Almost everything is automated and machine-run especially in first world countries. But no matter how far we advance, we cannot deny that we are still in a world where resource renewal is slow compared to our progress.

Save The Earth!, we hear a lot of environmentalists and advocates saying that. And they're right. What's the use of those ultra powerful nano-gadgets when we still get lung cancer in the end? Together with our advancement, let's aim to protect the natural world we are in.

And that's just the intro.

As bloggers, we usually talk about web hosting. This blog though is not on a paid web hosting but my other blog is. In relation to the dramatic intro above and web hosting, let's talk about a web hosting provider that assures quality hosting and a goal not to contribute to the destruction of the earth.

But first, let's talk about green ethics. Green ethics simply mean running a technology-bound life with sustainable development in the forefront of the principles adhered. Since natural imbalance and ecological backlash are one of the hottest topics nowadays, companies try to contribute to the lessening of nature’s destruction by simply going green – by reducing their carbon foot print. From Wikipedia, carbon foot print is “the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product”. To achieve this, companies make use of “green” devices, those that produce lesser carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

One of the few web hosting providers who adhere to the principle of green ethics is SuperGreen Hosting. Super Green Hosting makes use of Dell servers that produce 20% less carbon dioxide than the average server. The company also is involved in tree planting projects which of course is very helpful to combat global warming. But how could you be of any help? Here goes:

Super Green Hosting is a carbon neutral project meaning your website will not have any effect on the environment. If you want to go a step further and reverse the affects of global warming your kind generosity is welcomed by our special green addons that will allow you to plant more trees, purchase green energy certificates for your website and much much more. Super Green Hosting provides users with Green badges for to display on your website and show you really care about the impact your website has on the environment.

Aside from contributing to the saving of our planet, here are ten reasons that might make you want to host at SuperGreen hosting:

Free domain for life
Host unlimited domains
99.9% up time guaranteed
Customer tailored support
Affordable web hosting
Reliability
Simplicity
Free domain transfer
Free script library
30-day money back guarantee

Let's talk about the price. It's £3.95 per month OR $5.73 per month. That's just the same price as some non-green hosting, right? So where do you go? Go SuperGreen Hosting!

Related articles: Think green, think super green and Super Green Hosting Review

The New Look Of Disqus

2009-08-25T22:32:00.009+08:00

Disqus comments system has a new look and I like it. For me it is sleek and simple, neat and appealing. This adds more reason why I should choose Disqus as my comments system here in my blog (in addition to it being a good way to block cyber stalkers or cyber bullies).

Here are some screen shots of the new look of Disqus:

Do you like its new sleek look too or not?

From me: Kudos Disqus!

But I wonder why my Disqus system on this blog hasn't change to the new look yet? I found Disqus' new look on my other blog on this post.

Or maybe not yet? This post would be updated soon.

Searchles Job Discovery Engine

2009-08-18T07:19:00.004+08:00

Searchles, who brought us the Related Content Widget for Blogs and Buzz Map Tag Cloud is here once again to bring a great service to the people in the internet.

Quick Overview: Searchles is a highly scalable "social search" platform.

Searchles has now added a new service which we call the Searchles Job Discovery Engine. This Job Discovery Engine makes it easy for one to find a job. It uses the search technology behind Indeed.com to find the most related jobs depending on the input parameters. Here is the 5-step procedure of using Searchles Job Discovery Engine.

STEP 1: Go to http://jobs.searchles.com/. Prepare your resume or think of keywords related to your work.

On the text box, paste in your resume or the keywords you want your job discovery results to have. You could also input a zip code for a better search, though it is optional.

In this example, I'll use the keyword "software engineer".

STEP 2: Click Discover!

Clicking on Discover! will lead you to a concise results page that looks like this:

STEP 3: Choose whether to Click on the job or Find similar jobs.

STEP 4: Click on the job title. This will lead you to the page where the job is posted. This is where you take it on your own and apply if you are qualified.

STEP 5: Click on Find similar jobs. Go back to Step 3.

Notice how related the similar jobs are to my chosen keyword. Great search algorithm!

Searchles Job Discovery Engine is really useful especially now that finding a job is not easy. So head on to the Searchles Job Discovery Engine and find the perfect job for you! Thank you Searchles!

I Won A Free BizzHost Web Hosting For One Year

2009-07-26T22:02:00.006+08:00

UPDATED 072909 Joining blog contests really has its benefits. I was a bit surprised when I got an email with a subject Congrats - You won a consolation prize in Tech @ InkAPoint contest. That's surprising yeah. My first time.

But there's a big catch, a really big "small" catch. The free web hosting I got from BizzHost, an Indian company, is only 100MB disk space and 1G per month Bandwidth. What the freakin' hell am I going to use that for?! Aw, anyways, that's a consolation prize. Who am I to complain? And I'm not complaining, I'm happy about it.

Because I was thinking of not letting the prize go to waste, I bought a cheap domain so I could use it. I thought of making it a blog to post some pictures that I took (err, feeling amateur photographer with no tools). So it goes, I bought my domain from GoDaddy and claimed my free hosting. I got my account details and logged into CPanel. I then tried to install WordPress. Then there goes an error saying:

You have reached the maximum of allowed MySQL databases. Fantastico can not proceed with installations until you upgrade your account or reduce the number of used databases (for example by uninstalling a script).

Boinks, how stupid of me to assume at first that WP needs more than 1 Database. ~~That's only one MySQL Database and WordPress needs more!!!~~ Okay, I then tried Joomla and Drupal. ~~To no avail, that 1 MySQL Database is so insufficient.~~ My bad if I once thought that these CMS's need more than one DB. They only need one though and I am still in the process of finding if Fantastico Deluxe (installer) is at fault for the DB error. My bad.

Where am I now? Oh yes I did win some free web hosting but I can't use it and I have no plans of upgrading the plan. So I'll let it sleep for one year before the plan expires. And as for my domain. Sleep too. Sigh. Any suggestions what to do with both?! Remember, 100MB and 1 MySQL DB.

Now I'm in the process of manually installing WordPress. An update soon.

Anyways, this has been a good experience. So I encourage everyone to join blog contests as often as you can. Thanks to InkAPoint and BizzHost anyways. You guys rock!

How To Lose Feed Subscribers Fast

2009-07-26T18:52:00.005+08:00

I am a blogger and at the same time also a reader. Yes, a reader. Some people think that bloggers only write. We also do read, right? And as for me, a lot. Long ago I used to just remember the URLs of blogs that interest me most. When the list came overflowing a bit, I made use of bookmarks. Then the list of blogs-to-read just got longer so I have to start using Google Reader. Up to now.

Using Google Reader made me say, so this is how it feels like not to be just a reader but to be a subscriber (I don't subscribe through e-mail as I hate cleaning my inbox). Apart from that, I also experienced how it feels like to unsubscribe to the blog that disinterests me.

Why do feed subscribers unsubscribe? I made a post not long ago that tells the Top Reasons Why Subscribers Unsubscribe. I'll be doing a fresher comeback of the topic with some slight out-of-the-box personal "unsubscribing" experiences too.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slackline/
So on my previous post I held out 5 points. In this post, let's talk about 4. Note: Don't assume these points are applicable to all. Know that personal taste rules.

Too many lengthy posts - In my personal opinion, too many lengthy posts can be a turn-off. As a reader subscribing on almost 50 blogs (that's even just a few for some), time is of the essence and over-long posts can really just be time-killing. Most readers may prefer medium-length posts and photos can really be an attention-catcher. Suggestion for blogger: Around 300 words is fine.
Poor content - 'Poor content' is really ambiguous. Let's break it down to: boring, nonsense and uninteresting. But who are we to judge if a post is boring, nonsense and uninteresting? Well certainly we are the reader and as I've said on the note above, personal taste rules. I don't need to explain this one. This is really of personal bias. I myself unsubscribe to a blog that may be interesting to you but dull for me. Suggestion for blogger: Uhm, be yourself? I know not all will find your post boring, nonsense and uninteresting. Get it?
Irrelevant - Again, this is a case to case basis. An aspiring cook may be subscribing on blogs that talks about the latest Italian cuisine but suddenly that blog started talking about race cars. Here, irrelevance comes in. Irrelevance has a keen eye on personal blogs. *wink wink on my personal blog* Suggestion for blogger: Consistency is the key. TRY not to confuse your avid readers especially when you are a niche blog.
Wrong grammar, spelling - Err, I'm quite biased here. But really, the biggest turn off is when a blogger murders the English language. I'm not saying I'm a perfect English writer/speaker but at least I'm able to set out my English right. But hey, a warning, don't go on storming on other people's blogs and yell at them how their English sucks. Or go announcing on a social network that Blogger-da-who's grammar is like dog poo. That's bad, mind you. Suggestion for blogger: Proofread and read. Reading itself enhances one's grammar and spelling (based on experience).

Those are the 4 main reasons why a feed subscriber like me will go and click 'Unsubscribe' on a certain blog's feed. Where all this boils down is if you really want to do good in blogging (and not just blogging to air out your emotional stress), then be open for ideas and learning. We cannot please everybody, oh yes. But let's just even try not to displease anyone, especially not our readers.

We blog for ourselves, yes. But know that readers exist too. And it is a happy feeling knowing you made a reader happy. Happy blogging!

Topmost photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sansbury/

Internet-based Business Through Blogs

2009-07-23T20:25:00.004+08:00

There are many types of business and there are equally different number of ways to channel your business to your customers. Before you even actually create or setup your business, you have to carefully plan the course and the probable future of the business. We call it prediction. Even if we apply minimal statistical skills to it, predicting can still be useful. Say for example, you plan to do Business A. Then you would predict on marketability, saleability, probable profit, etc. if the business would last long or is prone to bankruptcy. This is a small part of the basics of starting up a business. There are a lot more to explain.

One road to building a business is making it online or what we call internet-based. Internet-based business can either be set up with a website or a popular choice, a blog. With the popularity advancement of blogs and their functions and uses, business has came in to the scene. But is internet-based business more effective to the so-called 'brick and mortar' type of business (offline type)?

The PROs

Inexpensive - Relatively, having a website or a blog can be cheap or even sometimes free. The estimated cost of having a paid website would be as low as $25 up to $100,000 per month. This depends on your business. But $25 a month isn't a big thing in business.
Easy way to find customers - A lot of people are now 'online'. If you just apply basic search engine optimization on your blog, finding customers would be easy. Another issue opens up here though and that is how to convert visitors to customers.
Possibilities are almost endless - When online, there are a lot of options to choose from on what to sell. You could sell your paintings, your software, your used clothes, etc. Because the WWW is open, the possibilities are (near) endless.

The CONs

Improper mindset - A lot have been conditioned falsibly that internet-based business is a get-rich-fast scheme. No it isn't actually. People who follow this thinking are prone to giving up with even minimal failure. Know that internet-based businesses are like any other businesses and basic management and business principles still apply. The difference is the environment and some processes.
Distractions - The online world is a big big world. Distractions arise from anywhere. Trends change fast but trends can be misleading. If you are quite shaky in your niche and you keep on changing focus in relation to trends, tendency is you won't be able to build something firm online. Consistency is the key and sticking with your niche is the best thing to do.

Those are the PROs and CONs for building an internet-based business. So how would you go about and avoid failure? Careful planning is the key. Just like in developing software, a careful planning phase must be done to ensure a business that is in a good foundation. ECommerce case studies show that ECommerce consulting is one of the strongest choices to building a long-term internet-based business.

You can always get help from leading consulting agencies such as ECommerce Partners.NET who are primers in New York Web Design.

References:

http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/2007/12/27/online-business-offline-business-pros-and-cons/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ksgirl/

Are You Ready For The 2009 Philippine Blog Awards?

2009-07-11T09:04:00.005+08:00

Philippines' another prestigious blog awarding body is to come in the coming months. The 2009 Philippine Blog Awards will be here again to honor Philippines' best and coolest bloggers, to give pride to the works of a true Filipino in the online community.

Now in its third year, Philippine Blog Awards would be bigger, better and grander. Bringing the tag line One Blogging Nation this year, the whole Philippines, Luzon, Visayas & Mindanao will take part in this huge blogging event.

So what is Philippine Blog Awards? Is it just an award-giving body? Or is there something more to it?

The Philippine Blog Awards is a yearly event that aims to give recognition to outstanding blogs in but not limited to the Filipino Blogging Community. The Philippine Blog Awards is organized by the Philippine Blogger Awards Inc. a non-stock and non-profit corporation.

Here's a nice article from the official website of PBA:

It has often been said that the Internet breaks down boundaries and leaps oceans to connect people. And it is true. Lost friends, old loves and distant family members become connected in the virtual world. But like the infomercial says,”Wait there is more!”

Due to this virtual network of among Filipinos – To be specific among Filipino Bloggers relationships develop and communities spring about. In recent years, the numbers of bloggers have increased and its not limited to one area alone. From Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao: Bloggers have increased in numbers. And its not only in our local shores. Filipino Bloggers can be found almost everywhere.

Click Here To Read More

The awards night for the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards would be on:

October 9, 2009 - Luzon
October 17, 2009 - Cebu, Visayas
October 24, 2009 - CDO, Mindanao

We at the Cebu Bloggers Society are organizing the Philippine Blog Awards - Visayas. We are still in the planning stage since most of us are busy with our own careers but we would assure that the first regional Philippine Blog Awards would be something worth remembering.

Are you ready for the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards? Read more about this at the official website.

Photo credits: http://www.philippineblogawards.com.ph

AyosDito.ph is Philippines' Newest Marketplace!

2009-06-17T19:01:00.002+08:00

AyosDito is the newest online marketplace in the Philippines. This is the venue for Filipinos to sell and buy items online. AyosDito.ph is the local version of the much renowned Amazon online store.

I first saw AyosDito.ph in some ads of Filipino-run blogs. Who would not notice such ads especially that AyosDito itself is a Filipino word. When I went to Manila to attend iBlog5: the 5th Philippine Blogging Summit, AyosDito is one of the major sponsors, making it possible for all the bloggers nationwide to take notice of its business potential.

What's good about AyosDito is their localizing of the different regions of the Philippines. I wouldn't say that it's good if I haven't tried using the feature. I was once looking for a gadget that has a Wi-Fi connectivity so I could use it while on school (since UP Cebu is a Wi-Fi zone). One thing that concerns a buyer is the seller's location. I, from Cebu, wouldn't want to pay for shipping from Manila, so I rather buy from someone in the same locale. I just chose my region (Central Visayas) and searched. I found some pretty good relevant items for sale after the search (though I did not push through on buying).

Given how tech-savvy the ordinary Pinoy is now, online marketplaces such as AyosDito would soon be the center of buy-and-sell transactions nationwide. You don't need superb internet or business skills to sell and shop online. Plus, you can absolutely buy and sell any item, may it be a PSP, a bike, a book, a mobile phone, etc. Anything! So if you hate the traditional way of shopping, buy online at AyosDito.ph!

WordPress VS Blogger, a Quick Look

2009-06-09T10:33:00.006+08:00

It is just recently that I transferred to self-hosted WordPress. I've been with Blogger since I started blogging and I thought Blogger is already the one for me. But it proved wrong. WordPress became my instant favorite ever since I started using it. I know I'm a late comer since a lot has been using this platform for years now but it's okay. So what made me love WordPress and exchange it to my Blogger loyalty?

Control - In WordPress, I have maximum control over my blog. I could access files which I could not normally do on Blogger (e.g. .htaccess). Basically, I could do anything with my WordPress blog whereas with Blogger, there is always a limit.
Efficiency of Codes - Let the programmer in me talk. I love how WordPress divides the codes into many chunks, that which is taught to us at school on how to effectively code a program. The CSS code is separated, the scripts, the PHP files and the HTML files are on different files too. When I have to change something, I don't have to deal with a file that has a miniscule scrollbar. Let the pictures talk below.
Quantity of Themes or Templates - Undeniably, for me, it is easier to create a WordPress layout than a Blogger one. For functions you just have to look it up in the Codex and you just need HTML, PHP, JS and CSS basic knowledge (plus Photoshop). Around the web, there are a LOT of free and premium WP themes available. There would be no trouble looking for one.
Ownership - Even with your own domain but hosted for free at Blogger, Google still owns your blog technically. With WordPress, since you are the one who installed the platform and you pay for the hosting, you solely own your blog. Whatever you want to do with it, you can actually do without accessing a higher power.
SEO Capability - There is still much question over this one but a few researches have proven that WordPress is more SEO capable than Blogger. But a lot are still in the middle ground, saying that there is no difference at all. This needs a little expanding.

From SEOWizz.net

Apart from the odd little tweaks that Wordpress allows there isn’t that much difference in ranking abilities. In fact I would say I have ranked Blogger blogs quicker than Wordpress blogs on average, but really the timescales are hardly worth debating. Both are capable of competent search engine optimisation.

From Cybercoded

Wordpress SEO gets four times the searches than Blogger.

So which is which? For further reading about WordPress and Blogger SEO comparisons, head over to Blogger vs Wordpress: Which is best for SEO and How Does Self-Hosting Fit Into the Equation?

So that's it. This is the quick look of how WordPress has its edges when compared to Blogger. If I would to choose between the two, I'd go WordPress. But wonder why this blog is still on Blogger? Because it is always better to have the best of both.

Blog Stats Addict? You Need Rehab

2009-06-07T19:01:00.006+08:00

Oh yes we are bloggers and aside from airing out our happiness and grievances on our blogs, we also make money out of them. I don't know the exact percentage of bloggers who are making money (or trying their hardest to make money) out of their blogs but I'm sure there's a hell lot of 'em (I mean us). And we also know that to make the most from blogging, we need traffic, we need sparkling and fragrant statistics to begin with. Oh yes we need that.

I am sure a lot of bloggers use Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Sitemeter, and Statcounter to name a few. WordPress users have built in statistics analyzer in itself. We all have the resources to have our blog's progress reported in beautiful graphs, in fancy line and in stunning percentages. But where does all that end?

Crazy Over Blog Stats, Are You?

Some of us just don't seem to be happy with a weekly report. Some want it done HOURLY! Well of course manually. Are you addicted to your blog statistics just as much as you are to yourself (silly)? Then put yourself in and ask if these symptoms are within your system:

You have nothing else to talk to your friends except that your blog traffic has increased compared to yesterday's.
You wake up everyday putting in your blog analytics site on top priority for browsing. And e-mail is now second choice. Aaaw.
You spend an hour staring at your blog stats. Either glad or dismayed, you're in.
You sign up on all blog stats ever made on the web...
and you check all these sites everyday. Unless you are sick or away.
You get depressed upon seeing your blog stats. Stressed.
You are just addicted to your blog stats like how a fan girl is addicted to Zac Efron. No pun intended.

You May Be Missing On A Lot Of Things

If you just qualified on the 7 symptoms of being blog stats crazy (or even at least half of those), then you are officially a blog stats addict! You ask, is that even wrong? Oh no no I did not say that's wrong. But you may be losing the essence of blogging when you start to care more about blog stats. First of all, blog for yourself and your readers alike. Being too indulged in your blog's statistics will make you miss out on the following:

More interesting ideas for posts - since you would spend more time on analyzing your blog stats
More areas for improvement
Time lost, less gained

Though there are many tidbits to lose when being too much indulged in staring at your blog stats, time is the biggest thing to lose. You could be more productive than that.

Not Too Much Please

Now moderation's the key. It IS good to keep a watchful eye on your blog stats but putting too much effort into it may not be a very good thing unless you have all the time in the world. Sometimes it is a bit annoying to listen to a friend talk about his blog stats all day as if that's all his life has got to do.

Blog stats are just there to guide us in our path to becoming a successful blogger (define successful blogger). Blog stats are not everything and could be wrong. An alternative to blog stats? Ask your readers. Or better yet, ask yourself.

Don't forget to join this dNeero survey about Twitter and YouTube!

Why Getting Your Blog Ratified Is A Power Move

2009-05-30T09:37:00.002+08:00

We have heard a lot of blog directories that also have ranking features in them. Some are reliable enough, some are not because of a widening population of spam blogs. Here in the Philippines, Top Blogs Philippines is a common ranking directory for most of us. Some say the ranking is reliable, some say it isn't. But recently, a lot have been annoyed of the number of splogs (spam blogs) joining in the ranks. There must be a change of history. Then comes Ratified.org.

Ratified.org is a new directory featuring the best Filipino blogs in the blogosphere. Using data from Technorati.com, each blog's statistics such as rank, links and other information are gathered and stored, therefore "ratifying" it. The data is then used as the basis for ranking Ratified.org's top 100 Philippine blogs.

What's good with Ratified.org is its consistency in its criteria of rankings. Though we know Alexa can be a bit confusing and inaccurate, there's no bias because all ratified blogs undergo the same judging. So what are the benefits of getting ratified?

You get listed for free in a premium and reliable blog directory
There is a manual screening, unlike in other blog directories wherein you add your own blog, the process in Ratified.org is different
You know where your blog stands
You would see the areas for improvement
The many benefits of generally listing your blog in a blog directory e.g. traffic, back link, etc
Getting ratified; being listed in Ratified.org is already one big step to your career

Ratified.org is only for Philippine blogs only as of the moment. Finally, there is a high-quality blog listing in the Philippines. To join:

First, make sure you're Filipino. Then, go here and send us a message containing the Title, URL, Description and feed URL of your blog. In addition, do a search on Technorati.com to check if your blog is currently ranked. If not, register and make a claim on your blog to get the Technorati robots roving! International versions of Ratified.org coming soon!

Ratified.org is here because of the efforts of Andrew dela Serna of Alleba.com.

Is this blog ratified? Yes of course. Though I am a bit faraway from the rankings, I'm still glad I got ratified. Please check out my blog listed on Ratified.org. Get your blogs ratified too!

Choose Your Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-05-20T18:47:00.003+08:00

The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 Writing Project by the Influential Blogger Ms. Janette Toral is now on it's third season. The purpose of this writing project is to give credit, distinguish and honor the top blogs who have been utmost influential to the readers in 2009. Qualified are blogs only that started May 1, 2008 up to the present.

So why join this writing project? First and foremost, you will be a promoter of the next generation of influential blogs that could be life-changing or system-changing or just purely influential. Nominating ten blogs is a considered power. You could make a lot of difference to your nominees, to yourself and to everyone. So who could write? Anyone from the world. You only have to pick ten nominees and link to the sponsors. There is no SOP in the post, you can do whatever you want. After writing, comment on the Influential Blogger's blog your link and your nominees are good to go.

This is my first time in joining this writing project. It is somewhat satisfactory to nominate ten blogs of your personal choice. Nobody would care if you are overrun by bias or by critical thinking. Just choose which blogs you want. I have already chosen my nominees and they are here: My List For The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs For 2009.

It's time for you to make your own list too! Visit this post for the specific details of the writing project.

Free DreamHost Web Hosting

2009-05-05T19:37:00.007+08:00

Isn't it awesome? It is awesome but unfortunately, your little guy here isn't qualified for that goddamn free hosting. This uber-FREE DreamHost web hosting with unlimited space and bandwidth for two years is a gift from mighty Yahoo! Geocities since they are saying good bye to all of us. As soon as I found out about this over at Jehzlau's blog, I scrambled over my past [and secret] Yahoo! accounts to scavenge for any old Geocities account. Lucky my bad luck I found none. None as in nil, zero, nada, etcetera. It was a huge Disappointment with a capital D. I then commented over at Jehzlau's blog again and expressed my short-lived remorse and I was given a hefty advice about asking some of my non-blogging friends if they do have Geocities accounts. Well I did it excitedly and again became the loser in the end. I know I have two Geocities accounts way back in high school but I don't know how they got lost. I give up. Ooops, have I been ranting too much? Back to topic.

So qualifications. You have to have a Geocities account, an existing, not an imaginary account. What follows would be a simple process and since I have not (or never will) done this, I am forwarding you to Jehzlau's blog for the full instruction with screen shots. I am doing this because I can't tell something which I haven't experienced so better go to the Pro. Click this: Free 2-Year Web Hosting with Unlimited Space and Bandwidth. Did you click it? Unfortunately, the offer is over as this is only available to the first 1000 account holders. So unlucky you, unlucky me.

I am just quite disappointed. Regretful perhaps. I missed a big opportunity given by DreamHost and Yahoo!. If only. If only. Never mind. The offer is over anyways. So to the unlucky ones, we'll have to wait for another miracle to come.

Note: This is not an April Fool's post. April 2010 is still far to go.

PayPerPost Punks Will Start Kicking Again

2009-05-02T09:55:00.004+08:00

Did I hear the economy's going a little bit up already? The heralded PayPerPost punks will again rise from being so poorly paid. Recently, when I looked up at the PPP site, I've noticed that the opportunities have slowly risen from $0.5 to $3. And just today, the front page now contains $10 worth offers and a lot lot of $5 offers. It is not that big, but hey, it is obviously better than cents, right? The PayPerPost punks, posties I mean, will surely be happy. But looking at the picture, why are there only a few votes? I wonder.

And what does this odd yet happy news bring? More money and more work for Google. Google will be active again in hunting down and exterminating the PPP punks. Poor them. But at least the situation of paid posts are slowly going back to the good old days. Congratulations posties!

Get Yourself Featured In 8vertise Blog Directory

2009-05-01T07:41:00.005+08:00

8vertise is a general web directory founded by Ian Kree, a Malaysia-based Internet entrepreneur. It was officially launched on November 8th, 2008. Just recently, they sent me an email, a general invitation asking me to send some personal details and opinion about backlinks telling me that I could get a free do-follow backlink from their directory. I just have to focus on the question: Why you submit your links to web directories?

And with that I answered:

Because backlinks are the blood vessels of our sites, having them listed in blog directories would be a very smart idea. Being listed in blog directories is one of the highly recommended SEO and traffic generation moves. Being listed in a premium blog directory is more than great. So what is the purpose of being listed? For me, aside from the precious backlink, is exposure. I know some people go to blog directories to find interesting blogs in their chosen category. Having one's blog listed in the right category may mean an increase of quality traffic.

Just the other day, I got an email from 8vertise telling me that they have already launched their page called Why I Submit My Links To Web Directories and was quite shocked to see my silly face on the page.

As you can see, I have a smirk worn on my face. I did not expect it would be placed specially in one page. HAHA. But the do-follow link is precious. And I am proud my answer is shown in their page.

Anyways, if you have a current blog listing in 8vertise, then you are eligible for this featuring stuff. Just send your image, full name, website title, URL and your opinion to admin[at]8vertise[dot]com. Good luck and hope to see you on the same page!