Photobucket Works For Me!

For the past couple of weeks, I noticed that a lot of my image links to my Multiply has been screwing up. A friend of mine brought it up one time she checked out one of my earlier blog entries- and pointed out to me that all the spaces where the pics should have been were just that- empty spaces.

Empty spaces with the Multiply logo on em. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I've decided to put all my photos instead on Photobucket. Yes, I registered for a new account, and now all my new pics and vids are posted right there.

So far, so good- I like the interface, and the way you could create folders within folders, thereby making it easier to arrange photos. Haven't found a way to browse through all the folders without having to click on each one though. I foresee a time when I'll probably have way too many pictures- I'm having enough trouble keeping track of things as it is.

Nevertheless, Multiply will still be up and running- I still like the whole interactivity of it. But all my pics and vids (to think I just tried vlogging recently) go to Photobucket.

Cheers, everyone!

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iBlog4: The 4th Philippine Blogging Summit!

Janette Toral of DigitalFilipino.com shared this with us on Facebook.

iBlog4: the 4th Philippine Blogging Summit will be held at Malcolm Theater, College of Law, in UP Diliman, Quezon City this April 26, 2008. This event is organized by the University of the Philippines - Internet Society Program.

We would like to thank Alfox Computer Center for being our name badge sponsor. Parties interested to support this event can e-mail me at digitalfilipino@gmail.com

Registration, which will reserve your seats, stuff and schwag, and get you into our announcements mailing list, is now open.

Of course iBlog 4 is still FREE in the beer sense, as long as we can help it, free in the speech sense.

The program as follows:

9:00 - 9:20 Flag Ceremony, Welcome Remarks, Keynote
9:20 - 9:45 How to Blog (from a non-problogger point-of-view) - Charo Nuguid

You want to start a blog. You ask your problogger friend for help. The problem is he starts talking about keywords, SEO, and a few other things that you have totally no clue about. Google Ad-what? "I just want to start a blog!" If you're just looking for a way to post your thoughts on the web for posterity (and give your readers a few kicks every now and then) without the business talk, click here! (Or just walk through the door, sit down and listen!)

9:45 - 10:00 Sponsor Talk
10:00 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 11:00 Student Blogging - Juan Karlo Licudine (http://www.pinoyblogero.com) A perspective and experience sharing from a student / blogger.

11:00 - 11: 30 Photoblogging - Juned Sonido (http://www.baratillo.net)

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And there have been instances that it really has. A couple kissing. Soldiers hoisting a flag in a battlefield. A child fleeing a village bombed with Napalm. Or even a man skipping a puddle.
All are powerful images. As humans we have this drive to show pictures whether it be a holiday, a dinner, friends and family. And as such it comes to no surprise that a lot of people have been posting things on line from Facebook to Flickr. And then there are the photoblogs.
What are photoblogs? Are they the same photo galleries? Do you really need a digital camera to set up a photoblog? How does one set-up a photoblog? Will it cost much? What are the basics? Well this discussion will try to answer that and more.

11:30 - 12:00 Blog to Print - Jonas Diego (http://www.jonasdiego.com)
Bringing your blog content to the printed page. Updates on what happened so far with Jonas initiative on blog comics.

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 1:40 Vlog and Podcasting Prospects in the Philippines (Aileen Apolo - http://www.yougottech.com and Coy Caballes - http://www.thisiscoy.net)

1:45 - 2;45 Blogging and 2010 Elections Panel
(Janette Toral - http://philippineselection.blogspot.com)
- also invited Manuel L. Quezon III and Luz Rimban - to be confirmed

2:40 - 3:00 Sponsor Talk
3:00 - 3:30 Break
3:30 - 3:50 Blogging for Advocacy - Noemi Lardizabal Dado - http://www.filipinaimages.com

3:50 - 4:30 Blogging from the Countryside
Blogging case studies outside of Metro Manila

4:30 - 5:00 Closing Remarks / Group Picture / Raffle

At the very least, it gives me a chance to meet up with fellow bloggers, swap stories with old acquaintances, and meet new blogger buds. It's all about sharin' some linkage love!

Also, it's a great time to hang out in UP again- I think it's been at least 5 or 6 years since I last visited UP Diliman. They got great food places to check out- and that's another bunch of things to blog about.

Anyway, I just signed up for the event- I hope to see you guys there too!

Cheers!

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You Gotta Multiply!

Every blogger has to have a social networking service that allows storage of media files. The more notable of these sites are Photobucket, Picturetrail, Shutterfly and Flickr. But personally, I go for Multiply.

Just like many other social networking sites, Multiply allows you to post videos, photos and blog entries and share them with your friends (assuming they're in your network of course). It allows you to form groups and communities with other people who share your interests. And if you know a thing or two about CSS, you can go ahead and customize your Multiply page however you like. If not, there are a lot of templates you could use for your site, anyway.

But one of the coolest things about Multiply is that it provides cross-posting of blog entries. Which means your posts from Blogger/Blogspot, TypePad or LiveJournal can automatically get posted to Multiply (after a while), or the other way around.

Me, the most useful function of Multiply for me is that it acts as a repository of all images I might need for my blogs. There is virtually no limit to uploading photos- not that I need to upload so much. I just find it convenient to store all my pics in one site- organize em, share em, put notes and tags and all that.

There are a lot of other useful built-in modules as well, but I really haven't had the chance to make good use of them. Still, while I think I'm more of a no-frills kind of guy, it's nice to have the option of having the modules around in the event that I might feel like exploring that space sometime.

So go ahead and get Multiply. It's not only great for storing your media online- pics, vids and blog entries- it's also great for sharing and fulfilling all your community needs. Feel free to add me up when you've checked it out.

Cheers!

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Fifty Posts and Counting. Now What?

This blog- "Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!" has already reached the fifty-post mark. Took me quite a while- probably about a month and a half of steady writing to build it up to this point.

Fifty posts should be sufficient enough content to somehow set the general tone for any given blog, as well as provide enough reading for any casual passerby curious about the work you've put together.

For me however, putting together fifty posts is really more of an exercise in discipline and structure. It's more of a habit-forming activity, and I'm glad that it had worked for me. In fact, when I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is log on to my Blogger account and put out a post or two- if not on this blog, at least on another upcoming piece of work.

So at this point, what's next?

Now that I feel that I have enough content, and now that generating content seems to take less of an effort- we can now focus our attention on marketing this blog.

That would entail reading up on Internet Marketing in general- and various blog-specific aspects of it- Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), directory submissions, link building, Social Media Optimization (SMO), and more importantly, perhaps- interaction with fellow bloggers.

So for the next few posts, you know what you'll be expecting- we'll be discussing more Internet Marketing strategies, while consolidating gains from the content-building phase of putting a blog together.

"Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!" will continue its direction as a blog-building resource for starting bloggers- an online source for tips and advice for anyone who wants to get into the blogging lifestyle. That has always been the grand plan.

Seems we still have a lot more work before us, so let's get to it, shall we?

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I Like AddThis.com!

In my quest to find out how they put little "Bookmark This!" buttons at the bottom of every post on your blog, I have managed to stumble upon (no pun intended) a rather useful service on AddThis.com.
As a blogger, you'll want the buttons from AddThis.com because of several reasons, all pretty much pointed out on their homepage.

1. It allows for easy bookmarking.
2. It helps promote your site.
3. It increases your rankings.
4. It reduces overall clutter.
5. It's easy to install.
6. It comes with free statistics.
7. It's very reliable.
8. It's free!

Read the rest of this article in full on my other blog on The Blogging Lifestyle, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Diddling with Del.icio.us

I was playing around with my del.icio.us account the whole day today, mainly trying to figure out how to slap a del.icio.us script at the footer of each post, versus just having one at the side of my blog.

Del.icio.us is a free social software web service for sharing web bookmarks. See, there used to be a time when you'd bookmark your favorite websites from whatever PC you'd be using at the moment.

Del.icio.us takes all that bookmarking several steps further because, not only can you store all your personal bookmarks on an easy-to-use, easy-to-access online account, you can also share your bookmarks with other people, as well as check out what other people are bookmarking.

Read the rest of the post on my blog on The Blogging Lifestyle, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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A Disaster Recovery Program is in Order

Frack it.

I got no one else to blame but myself. As I was toying around with blogger/blogspot templates, I must have inadvertently uploaded another template on my blog- "Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!"

Doing so takes out ALL your installed widgets- pictures, text boxes, html codes, etc. No do-overs on this one- once you've hit 'save template', you just kissed them all goodbye. I thought I may have undone it pressing the 'back' button. And while I may have been able to salvage the old code, the fact that I have to insert bits of code all over again to bring everything you once had back can be quite annoying.

Which is, unfortunately, where I'm at right now.

But, "glass-half-full" kind of guy that I am, I see this as an opportunity to consider a serious disaster recovery program for my blogs.

1. The texts in the text-boxes, fortunately for me, I can get from an old archive I keep in my hard disk- so it's just a simple matter of cutting and pasting it back. Or, I could just say 'screw it' and enter in an entirely new Introductory Message and other shameless self-promoting material.

2. Blogrush. Blogrush is a handy blog syndication service that cross-promotes your blog into other blogs of the same persuasion. It's a good way to check out what other bloggers are up to, and makes for great material and networking as well.

3. Technorati. Gotta load that Technorati button back. This allows your readers to 'bookmark' your blog as a favorite, and share it with other bloggers, which in turn gives you more 'authority points'. This works on the model that a positive reader experience gives you more credibility, and therefore brings in more traffic into your site.

4. Twitter. I think it's a nice touch- giving your blog a little personal flavor, giving your readers an idea of what you're up to.

5. Multiply. Oh, just a badge that links to my Multiply, social networking fiend that I am.

6. RSS Feeds. Damn, I gotta find all the feed URLs and encode them back in. Fortunately for me, I think I've been able to save all those on Google Reader- *checking* - oh, good, there they are :)

7. My various link lists: have to build em up again from scratch- online buds link list, blog-building link list and others.

Well it looks like I still got myself quite an amount of work to do. So I'll check you out in a bit.

Lessons Learned Today.

Pick yourself a template and stick with it :). Back your files up, even on notepad; at least export your blog as an xml every so often.

Cheers everyone!

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The Search for the Next Best Blogspot Template...

Can you believe it? My whole day was pretty much spent on fickle-mindedly going through different Blogger/Blogspot templates for one of my blogs.

I'd have to say my benchmark design would be something like this one, on this blog, "Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!"- a design I'm totally happy with; a template I see myself using for quite a long while.

It would seem that I have a preference for the 3-column variety of templates. I think the issue was more of trying to find the right design that looks nice, but at the same time is also functional enough to accommodate a particular load-out of widgets.

I suppose I'm just at a point where I'm trying out putting in all kinds of widgets only to see if it's something that works for me or something I really need.

End result: I'm still not entirely happy with the design on my other blog, "My Thoughts In Stereo". It's adequate for now, but somehow it doesn't seem to have the same clean design as "Blog. Blogger. Bloggest!"

Well, in a way, that's the beauty of Blogger/Blogspot- it's very easy to just chuck out a design and pick from any of the templates they've supplied, or you can go ahead and search for other free templates online. There really is a wide variety available, and when there are just so many to choose from, it's likely you'll end up trying out all kinds of templates until you finally stick to one.

It's already 7pm, and I have to get moving for a dinner date- so I suppose the quest for the next best template will have to wait 'til tomorrow.

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Twitter, Twitter!

I've just successfully put up Twitter on a few of my blogs.

Twitter is a free micro-blogging service, which enables you to post updates of about 140 characters long- enough for a short sentence, and enough to tell people what you're doing, what you feel or what you're going through with just a few words.

You can go sign up quickly for a Twitter account here on their website. Once there, you'll want to start looking for friends who are also on Twitter. Eventually, you'll be able to 'follow' each other through little updates you leave online.

Read the rest of my article on Twitter here on my blog about The Blogging Lifestyle, "Renzie On Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Toying with Technorati

Seems like a real fun site. Technorati is an online service that allows you to keep track of other blogs from all over the world.

It works just like a search engine, you can search by topic, tags or keywords, keep track of your favorites, and visit blogs based on your searches, or by other people's recommendations.

Signing up to Technorati involves letting them know which blogs are yours- so you not only create a short profile (so other people can know a little bit about you), but you also create a list of all the blogs you author.

Read the rest of this article on Technorati here, on my other blog, "Renzie On Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Linking to Technorati

As part of my efforts to promote this blog, and learn about promoting blogs in general, I have started to visit and understand various online networking services.

One such service, is Technorati. I've even gone as far as making my own Technorati Profile and see what it has to offer.

I was reading it up as well here on Wikipedia. More about this later on.

Cheers!

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The Blogging Lifestyle.

In my opinion, the beauty of blogging is that it complements any kind of lifestyle.

You can be a fashionista, a political pundit, a geek, a fitness buff, movie critic, or be just about into anything- whatever it is, it works with blogging. All it needs, really, is a genuine desire to be interactive and share your experiences with the world.

Read more about blogging and the rest of this article on The Blogging Lifestyle here on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Blogs, Bloggers and Blogging.

Blogs (short for Web-Logs), are essentially online showcases of a person, usually posted for all the world to see.

Blogging is just like writing something on your journal, except that this journal is now online, and that (depending on how much you want to share) it is available for people to interact with.

When you do maintain a blog, you are in effect, a blogger. And there are thousands of bloggers out there all over the world, blogging on so many different things.

Read the rest of this article on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Verry Eenteresting...

Holy crap!

I was at the eCommerista Night 2.0 event last night at Mag:net cafe. Though the turnout wasn't as big as the last one, this one was still quite alright. I showed up with one of my business associates, and by the time the night was over, we already have at least three speakers lined up for our next few events, and the promise of future projects and collaborations.

Andrian Lee has always been such a fun speaker. What struck me was a little story he shared: that, recently, Facebook use in the UK has actually exceeded email usage.

Wow, that huge, huh?

And not entirely unbelievable, I suppose. Run a Google search on Facebook usage in the UK, and you can already get a feel of how widespread -as well as controversial- Facebook is.

Apparently, everyone in the UK is doing it- and is extremely hooked on it. Heck, if you have Facebook, you know it's easy to get addicted to it. So much so that companies have banned Facebook outright at the workplace. While BBC has, in a recent newscast, reported that employees should be allowed to use Facebook on breaks, during lunchtime- and the controversy just goes on.

So is it really a surprise that Facebook use can, one day, replace our need for email? We can email family, friends and colleagues on Facebook anyway, right? Lay down some smack on a few vampires, share and tag photos, give virtual drinks, and even flirt online?

Heck, I'm addicted myself. I've even RSS'ed Facebook straight into my Gmail accounts. That way, I don't miss out on the moment someone throws sheep at me. Whatever :)

More interesting facts: the Philippines accounts for one-third of all Friendster activity online, and up to a quarter of all worldwide activity on Multiply.

It's really all you need: Facebook, Multiply, and Friendster. OK, Myspace, if you have toh have a fourth one. Good God. Have we really too much spare time on our hands?

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Quelling the Self-Doubt Inside You.

When you're just starting out your very own blogging career- just like me- you can easily get overwhelmed jumping from one blog/site to another.

As blogs and blogging have steadily gained popularity, you'll find a wide variety of material out there- stuff you'd like to read, stuff you'd like to comment on, stuff you'd like to link to and share to your friends.

Take for example this great read on this year's most successful Pinoy probloggers. It was a brilliant post. The fact that I have actually been able to meet some of these guys was just, for me, awesome.

Then you realize- damn, my blog is nowhere near these other guys' blogs! So you suddenly get hit by a wave of self-doubt and get rattled by the realization of how puny you look next to a whole bunch of other blogs.

At least, that's how I feel.

Read the rest of this article here, on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Learning to Use RSS

If you're going to be a blogger, RSS is going to be your new BFF.

That's really simple syndication for RSS, and best friend forever- at least until the next great new syndication technology comes along.

In any case, as a new blogger, you're probably checking out websites and other blogs for new content. After all, you do need to draw inspiration from someplace, right? You'd like to see what other people are talking about, have your own perspective on things, and react to what other people have to say.

In the course of your meanderings through the internet, you would most definitely find a couple of sites that you would find more interesting than others- new favorites that you would usually then add up to your bookmarks.

Now it used to be that you would have to visit and re-visit your favorite bookmarked sites to get updates on new stuff they have posted up, right? And a lot of us actually still do that.

But if you have a LOT of favorite sites, and a LOT of stuff you want to keep tabs on, then keeping yourself updated can get a little tedious, done this way.

You might even miss an important update, and it can take you the whole day to check out all those sites- assuming of course, you even have the time to do all that checking!

RSS helps you out with that- and to know more about how RSS can help you build a better blog, or how it can save you lots of time keeping up on all your favorite sites, read about the rest of my post on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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How Much Cash Do Bloggers Make From Blogging?

Remember just a few months ago how we had a couple of workshops on Blogging For Money? The idea really was to show our participants how to make extra cash by putting in a few hours a day churning out a few posts on a blog worthy of attention.

Yes, you can blog for money. Some locals actually have gone completely professional, and have foregone a regular job to do just that: blogging.

The real question is, how? How can you make money from your blog?

The answer to this seemingly very important question can easily elude the amateur blogger. And while most blogs are really a labor of love more than anything else, it doesn't really matter to a lot of people if they make cash or not.

Read the rest of this article here on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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Who Are The Bloggers In Your Neighborhood?

After last Friday night's event, I thought it would be a great idea to feature some of the blogs (and possibly, other works online) of the bloggers I have actually met. Expect to see some of the ones I met last Friday featured here in the following days & weeks. Naturally, we'll be hearing and reading more from others as I keep attending these cool blogger mix-ups and other special events.

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Woohoo! Battlestar Galactica!

I fondly look back earlier this year when I discovered Battlestar Galactica. Well, more like re-discovered. I remember getting interested in the show when it first hit local Cinemax in 2005, but never got to follow it enough to get a good grasp of the story.

When I took my retirement from the last radio station I worked for (which was Mellow 94.7), I found myself with, interestingly enough, a lot of spare time on my hands. And it was this one particular Veronica Mars episode which sort of inspired me to 'acquire' a copy of the re-imagined BSG from the very start.

After the four-hour mini-series/pilot, I immediately fell in love with it- it was sci-fi, but not campy, it had chicks, a compelling storyline, interesting characters, and enough action to keep you locked in.

And locked in I was, indeed. I was able to finish all 40 episodes- the first 2 seasons + the webisodes + the first few episodes of season 3- within a month of watching the pilot, thus bringing me up to speed and current with what's showing in the US/UK. I wasn't just locked in, I was incredibly hooked.

Season 3 wrapped up by the end of March (with a killer season-ender, I might add!), leaving a gaping hole in my chest where the Galactica should be.

So you could imagine my surprise when I found out- just today- that the prelude to BSG Season 4 already came out!

The prelude is called Battlestar Galactica: Razor. Why it's called "Razor", I have no idea just yet, but I intend to find out. It currently has seven (7) 2-minute Flashback episodes + two (2) full episodes thus far.

I've already seen the Flashback episodes and -well- it's like my obsession for BSG all of a sudden came back to the fore.

Man, I can't wait to watch the other two episodes...

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How Many Blogs Can You Maintain?

Indeed, how many blogs can you realistically maintain?

I got into blogging in March 2007. I knew nothing about how to start a blog, or what it was for, or what good it was to your everyday life.

Shortly after starting out with my first blog, I suddenly realized that I wanted to have a blog for each of my various interests. Soon enough you had one for music, another for TV and movie reviews, and then another on PC gaming, then one came up on business and marketing, followed by one on cats, another on writing, and it just went on and on.

Read the rest of the article here on my other blog, "Renzie on Blogging".

Cheers, everyone!

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