So goes the intro on the About page of this three year old (in September) blog.

Even an old hand at motherhood needs someone or something to turn to from time to time. From maternity clothes to toys to breastfeeding tips (how long exactly would breast milk last in the freezer), mom.exhange.ph has a lot of stylish, eco-friendly, and factual ideas. It even has some posts dedicated to Dad, and how not to henpeck him when it comes to pick up the baby, among other things!

While there check out answers to interesting queries posed by readers. Got a mommy question? Ask away!

With a page design and layout that?s easy on the eyes, flawless grammar and interesting parenting-related topics, moms are sure to get hooked right away.

Recent Posts:

At first glance you wouldn’t think there’s anything interesting with the blog- what with the all too bland design and simple header. But then again you’d think, what maid has the time to fiddle with blog settings and web design when there’s too much laundry and cooking and ironing to do? There’s only so much she can do with her spare time!

What maid owns a macbook and is so well-versed with the World Wide Web? Whose posts always leave us begging for more? Who is so articulate, any CEO would certainly think twice before concluding she is a member of the lower class- a lowly servant, for that matter?

It’s none other than Inday. Check her out. You’re in for a ride.

Recent Posts:

Boy Kuripot, the blog owner, caters to what most Filipinos are after – cheaper prices, freebies, promos, contests, and the like. The blogger himself considers his persona as that of a “kuripot,” a Tagalog word meaning stingy or frugal and offers the site to any one who can relate to the term “kuripot”. The blog is updated with the latest about products and services. It is refreshed with tidbits and news how we can make the best of promos and offers. The blogger has made it easy, compiling every available contest not only for bloggers but for Filipino citizens, so that the readers don’t have to search high and low for it. Think one-stop shopping for offers and promos! It is a blog that will give Filipinos prizes, surprises and chances.

Boy Kuripot brings the Filipinos the latest online promos about popular products like Samsung, Sony, Sunsilk, Pepsi, Sony Ericsson, and Pampers among the list. Many more are offered and some of them include trips, movie passes and promos, and treats. Who would not be interested with the latest about Twilight? Who would not be interested about aVolvo Roadtrip? Who would not want to experience Thailand or Las Vegas ?

One can navigate easily and will enjoy being redirected to the web sites that gives the said offers. What is more interesting are these links: Useful Links where you will be redirected from Communication to Convenience Store sites, Free Web Stuff that brings you to anything free, Blog Faves that redirects you to blogs that offers promos, and Template/Icon that will bring you to template, icons and logos links.

While the blog is visitor friendly- in a Firefox browser, it is somewhat inaccessible in Internet Explorer 7 as tested. The homepage does not completely load and when opening a single post, the sidebar shows up in all the wrong places making the whole layout an utter mess. We have mentioned in a previous post the importance of viewing our sites to various browsers because we may be driving traffic away from our site from IE users instead of drawing them in. We recommend on really finding a way to fix the coding errors because overall it looks perfect in Mozilla Firefox.

Philippine Freebies, Promos, Contests and More typifies the common Filipino’s way of buying and selling. The common Filipino searches for what is inexpensive, at a bargain, economical, low cost, low-priced, reasonable, or worth the money. In short, the common Filipino looks for what is cheap and beneficial at the same time. It is for this reason that the blog clicks in Philippine setting. Except for the browser issues, truly the blog is a discovery.’ Join the fun!

For someone who considers himself to be an amateur photographer, USCLABDOG, his pseudonym, captures anything with skill. How he perceives the things around him reflects on the subjects he photographs. Just by looking at each photo makes one feel that there is beauty around. Each photo makes us feel something. Each picture speaks about life and what it tells us, about family and what they can provide, about children and the lessons they share, about ideals and how we should be guided by them, about purpose and how it should be directing us, or about God’s power and how it is so overwhelming.

One of the photos that could captivate anyone is a shot entitled “Heaven is a Basketball Court,” an entry in October 28, 2007. It is amazing how the blog owner captivated the beauty of the sky caught by a basketball ring and there appeared like orbs, which are actually light’s reflections- became like balls being shot into the ring. It was superbly done with taste.

It is sad that the photo blog hasn’t been updated in six months. Nonetheless, we found his photostream in Flickr which is not only up-to-date but has hundreds of remarkably awe-inspiring photographs. So that’s where he’s been hiding! Or should we say showing (his photos)… We’re not sure of his plans for the photo journal blog but we hope he will continue doing so.

For what it’s worth, we sincerely recommend keeping the blog and perhaps changing the layout to something more dynamic and striking. A theme designed specifically for photoblog or portfolio type would do wonders! Unfortunately, there isn’t much themes for Photoblogs in Blogger except a handful we found from a favorite Blogger guru’s site. The photojournalist should really consider moving over to Self-hosting WordPress where more resources are available for posting such great work!

For something as beautiful as USCLBDOG’s photography, it deserves a much better home and better theme/template to showcase the work of art and attract more visitors! The photographs are just too good to be ignored! That’s just us. Perhaps there’s no need to move since the black background is already in perfect contrast to the beautiful photographs. Maybe a cleaner and less cluttered sidebar can do the trick just as well…

Remedy’s photo blog would definitely pave the way to recognition and stamp a mark among those excellent photo bloggers and photo journalists. The blog owner has expertise in his own right that is so unique and a talent that has a lot to give. A visit will teach any visitor important lessons in life, and about photo journalism. You would not want to miss it.

No PageRank yet.

His deep interest to produce excellent photography and meet the expectations of site visitors only adds to the website’s magnetic pull, drawing an average of 650 page views daily. With good reason, the blogger has recently won 1st place in an international travel photography contest, “The World Around Us” category sponsored by the TNT Magazine London and garnered the People’s choice award in the same contest. The site is also this year’s “Best Travel Blog” in the recently announced Philippine Blog Awards. His works have been published in various travel magazines in the Philippines and abroad. His work portfolio is simply impressive.

Indeed his skills and talent transform each moment, each object, each food, each person or each place from being simple to exceptional.

The author, Ferdz also has passion for food and restaurants. He has written posts about different cuisines and delicacies encountered from his travels- some are conventional and some eccentric. He made those food photos look delectable.

As a blogger, Ferdz is empathic. His cheery and enthusiastic mood resonate in every journey post, engaging his readers. There is excitement, drama and bewilderment. He makes each destination appealing that one can’t help but be drawn; desiring one day to visit along the places he has seen.

En Route’s theme is user friendly and the site loads extremely fast. Prepare to stay awhile or bookmark his site for more because Ferdz has 545 Blog entries since blogging in 2003 and counting. Except for the fairly large header which compliments the title anyway, the whole blog is easy to browse and each visit will be worth it.

This internet tech-con-gadget-con-modding blog has the makings of a successful blog in its niche. It mixes the blogger’s love for game consoles, collecting ‘toys’, tweaking, PC talks and *homebrews with a bit of his personality showing in his posts- open and friendly! Two of the many essential assets on running a fruitful blog.

While the English syntax is visibly lacking in various spots, the message gets across to the reader nonetheless and that’s what counts. Unless a blog focuses on English literature and writing where the bar is set higher, grammar deficiencies in other types of blogs even on personal blogs are openly received.

We like blogs with About page. Believe us when we say that 1 out of 2 bloggers would click on your About page on first visit! It’s the first one we ever click when visiting a blog we have never seen! A Contact page is helpful to your readers and this site has one. We’ve mentioned about tagging and this blogger from Canada has a page dedicated to it. That’s nifty!

He runs his own advertising throughout his site with clear explanation on pricing and stats. However, we think that stating your blog age or when exactly you started is necessary. Being vague by saying that you’re a newbie would not be helpful to your readers and possible advertisers. If you don’t want to indicate it, the best way is to put a monthly archive of all your posts on the sidebar. An Archive is another friendly add-on you can give to your readers for ease of navigation on your pages, especially in finding older posts.

The other aspect that we like about the blog is also the area that concerns us the most. True to majority of Tech blogs, the layout is sleek and professional. The sidebar balanced, and the theme colors- easy on the eyes. Here’s the issue: the site is totally bungled up in IE and AOL browsers (and could be in others based on the screenshots we saw). The blogger is most likely unaware of it as it is seamless in Firefox browser!

We have no idea why some users still use Internet Explorer! (Try Firefox and experience the difference today!) For sure we can’t dismiss them so we have to be considerate that they can view our site using their favored browsers. Do you know that there is a cool site that lets you see how your site looks like in various platforms, Safari, Sea Monkey, Opera name it? Bookmark this must-have tool!

Going back to Pinoycole.com, the solutions are either fix it of course (but entails a huge amount of time because with the heavy scripting and coding, it is hard to pinpoint the cause), do nothing which is probably the worst option because that is driving away traffic from IE users and denotes that you don’t care about your other readers. This leads us to the only difficult but plausible choice: change to a different theme, a tough call because the theme is a great fit to the theme’s site. We leave it to the blogger’s discretion.

Starting a niche blog is hard but Pinoyconsole.com is well on its way to leaving its own ink in the internet. Gamers and techies, this blog’s for you!

*Homebrews refer to programs such as games, utility software, and the like, that are made at home by individual people (as opposed to development companies).

Note to blogger: You have no DISCLOSURE and PRIVACY POLICIES. Very important that you check out the links please and place them on your site!

Other than it references to the writer’s keen interest on the music genre “Acid Jazz” and 42 was his “class number in grade four,” “Acid42 is the Soft Asian Enemy” is nowhere near ‘acidic!’ In fact it has just the right sweetness to it that makes for an exemplary blog.

Sure, it’s make up is very simple, some of the sidebar alignments are off (fixed!) but that doesn’t take away anything from the content as they are flawless! The header is cool and refined. The ad-free site covers spiritual reflections and media reviews by a talented writer, musician, editor, artist, husband and proud Catholic immigrant in California.

The writings are inspired and driven. Reading some of his best posts elevates you to an almost spiritual level- and it doesn’t necessarily even mean on a religious tier- just ethereality. It is full of heart, personal emotion and depth that you sometimes feel you’re being intrusive reading yet thankful and privileged to have encountered the author’s works.

This blog is praiseworthy and contains some of the best writings we’ve seen on a personal blog. When you’re at the site, explore via “tags” on family, poverty, and or immigrant life as start off point. The rest of the entries are notable and totally relate-able. If you’re not moved by any of it, check your heart, it may have stopped beating!

What’s most interesting about this blog is how the blogger has evolved over the years. He has started blogging on and off as early as 2003. His earlier entries were written as though it was an open diary- true of a personal space in the internet and the concept of blogging then.

As blogging grew to be more than a personal online diary, so has this student athlete. His blog now ventures in making money online (MMO), talks about technology, gadgets and his love for sports. The layout is nice and clean with various posts presented to you in one glance.

Another unique quality of the blog is showcasing student athletes from all over the Philippines by way of a written interview and open submissions.

We wish there had been a photo or two on articles that needed it, like writing about a latest product or profiling an athlete or featuring a new site or technology. Having no visual in a post is all right in very few cases but it is almost a prerequisite in blogging especially if you have a web theme in a semi-magazine format.

We also feel that some of the articles are just way too short. Perhaps the blogger might expand more in its writings. May we also suggest the use of tags or label cloud and here’s why.

Student Athlete blog shows the blogger’s open personality and we like that! He has an About page that really shares things about him and everything else is transparent and honest. A Services page offering his services in various areas both technical and in sports with very clear fees and conditions; the same goes for his Advertising and MMO pages.

There’s one lingering thought after we left the site, we’re curious to know what the author will name his blog when he’s no longer a student!

Then again by grabbing a URL with your name on it, you can change from one title to another easy! Very smart domain name choice indeed.

Good luck, Galwin!

The author, though not a native or “taal na taga-Marikina,” was born, raised and is still living in Marikina making her by heart, a true-blooded Marikenya.

Marikenya.com is therfore a blog on Marikina, Philippines by a Marikenya. “It showcases this small but popular city in Metro Manila that has dramatically changed in the 90s,” according to the blogger. It probably has the most comprehensive topics on anything and everything to do with Marikina in recent years. Minor topics on the blog includes blogging, teaching and learning, business ventures, events, politics and national issues.

The layout and design of the blog is very welcoming. In every post, you can see the dedication the blogger puts in her work from the well-written articles to its photos and other details.

Marikenya.com gives us the feeling that Marikina City is just as alive and colorful as the blog portrays it to be! There is real pride, respect and camaraderie among its residents and it shows on the reader’s comments and Marikina residents writing the author either to announce something, seek help or just give kudos that they finally have a place in the internet they can call “home” and be really at home with. We want to relocate in Marikina!

Unfortunately, there is a downside. After staying on it for a little while, we found that despite its number of contents, the website is still short on things that we want to know about Marikina. For one, there is no quick facts and figures (population, landmarks, best known for, popular residents, current mayor, local economy, etc). We’re suckers for quick numbers and statistics and we were looking for that. We know that we can get it at Wikipedia or somewhere else but we were already on a Marikina website, weren’t we?

We have to dig into the About Marikina section only to find small bits and pieces of its history and there aren’t enough photos and information! Case in point: the Shoe Museum article. It mentioned the history of the museum which felt like more like reading a brochure than a personal account, and the photo while very nice, professional (brochure) looking and all is just too small to appreciate the museum plus it only shows one area of the museum. We clicked on the photo to get a zoom but it lead us to photobucket.com. (We realize later that most [all?] of the photos either link to the website or photobucket.com- disappointingly, it doesn’t zoom.)

Where is the rest of the article on the Shoe Museum? The history doesn’t make the museum. We want photos. We want information. Is there a website we can go to get more info? We thought Marikenya.com is THE info for Marikina… What is it like inside the museum? How big is it? Can you buy shoes there? Are some of the infamous Imelda Marcos’ shoes donated to Marikina really there? How many? What is its showroom hours? Is there a fee to get inside? Where is it even located?

We’ve never even heard such a museum exist in the Philippines! The article would have been perfect if all questions were answered so those who have never been there will see it through the article- and as sort of promotion, Philippine residents could go there easy after reading the basic information that should have been on the article.

Same with the rest of the historical houses/buildings featured. Is it open to the public? Where is its exact locations? The article “Are There Museums in Marikina?” is a great question, but should we have asked more to get more answers? Seems like the author literally just answered the question, yes there museums and their names are and then stopped and have us wait on the answers… We’re still waiting.

Our modest evaluation is meant to be beneficial in the long run. We would be negligent and sloppy if we would not make mention of it on our reviews. We mean well and hold the utmost regard for bloggers and publishers because we are one and we know how hard it is to create and maintain a website where our only consolation is reaching out to as many people in the internet and give meaning to their browsing experience.

With that, we wish Marikenya.com more power! It is still one of the most reputable, professional, authoritative blogs we have ever seen covering a particular niche. We can see it becoming more popular and ever growing as it ages. A good read not only for Marikenyas and Marikenyos but for anyone wanting a taste of the city life of Marikina!

Note: We noticed a Disclosure page but not the Privacy Policy page. Did we not see it? To know more of the policy, please visit our friends over at Blogs That Follow.

You may also want to check: The History of Marikina. Hacienda de Mariquina… link. When you click on it, it doesn’t lead you to the article but to your category on about Marikina. We had to do a manual search to find the article.

“And why ‘Starmometer’? …it’s a coined term using the words “star” and “thermometer”. This site is an instrument measuring the hottest celebrities, the hottest events and the hottest news in the entertainment industry. And by “hottest” we mean the latest, the freshest and most updated showbiz news.” – About page, Starmometer.com

Entertainment does sell! Even moreso Showbiz blogs with quality content sell! True to its claim, Starmometer.com is your “Total Entertainment Blog!” It covers a variety of topic from the hottest stars and the latest buzz in the Philippine entertainment industry as well as Hollywood 24/7. It has short, easy to read posts that jumping from one article to another is a breeze.

We admit we’re more inclined to reading Hollywood entertainment and we get our dose at People.com and EW.com but visiting Starmometer.com once, we found ourselves coming back to it again and again!

For very good reasons, it really does deliver not only Hollywood but more importantly Philippine entertainment in the most interesting way! The site’s traffic is skyrocket and consistent. The blog uploads fast enough. There are no frills, just a very nice layout with effortless navigation from one category to another.

It’s pleasantly surprising how easy it is to lose track of time and be buried in the pages of Starmometer.com. The “problogger from Makati” certainly is doing a fine job keeping its thousands of viewers ‘entertained’ daily and coming back for more! Congratulations!