BlogFilipino

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Filipino blogger's blogs being copied?


Quote from: http://www.bartelby.net/59/3/imitationist.html

Wow! A Filipino blogger reports about being copied by a Malaysian blogger - not once but twice (!), word-for-word and no acknowledgement whatsoever! In his blog, Jaypee Habaradas tells the full story.

The newest update was that the Malaysian guy apparently apologized to Mr. Baradas about the whole thing. Buti na lang the said Filipino is not only worth-copying from, but he is kind and mabait as well for readily forgiving the copy-cat.

This brings to mind my first post on this blog, about how Filipinos can blog very well because it seems innate in the Filipino character to be makwento and mabusisi about details. Thus a Filipino blog has a great potential to be at par with the world's bests. The downside is that nakokopya ka because magaling ka!

The Jaypee Habaradas incident may not be an isolated one, nor will it be the last for a Filipino. As long as there are lazy people who want instant "products" (tangible or intangible) and do not want to pay for it (in anyway possible) - theft will be a mainstay even in blogosphere.

While imitation is flaterring (to know that there are lesser gods than thou), I doubt that sincerity plays a part in there, except to sincerely admit to one's self that he/she is so lazy to make quality content on his/her own, and too brazenly arrogant to even quote the original author. (*blood buzzing behind my ears now*)

In a forum there was this member who reportedly authored an article on domain names, he even posted some links and showed us his "rough drafts", and the resulting products on his former site. Then I stumbled upon an article on a live website about the same topic. I noticed the uncanny similarity of this one to the article posted by that member on the forum; the way the data was arranged, the choice of words, the flow of the story. This prompted me to post it on one of the forum threads.

Forum members have been urging him to take a fighting stance about this copy-cat (who has the audacity to post at the footer of his site a copyright legalese). This forum member refused. Apparently, he has been "battling" the lazy-bunch copy-cats out there for sometime now (on many instances, I believe) that he has lost his appetite for battle anymore.

To cut the story short, the copy-cat has enforced his copyright legalese and the forum member's webpage (where the article was on) was taken down.

Huh?! The supposed originator was now the accused? (*Gulong ng Palad music here*)

I guess, Mr. Habaradas is still fortunate by a wide margin. And yes, that Malaysian guy as well.

posted by Alyannah Marie at Sunday, July 23, 2006 | 0 comments

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Basics for the Filipino Newbie Blogger


For you, the Filipino newbie blogger, writing a blog is very simple. Consider only these 4 aspects:
  1. A space to log the blog.
  2. A manageable theme to blog about.
  3. The time to do blogging.
  4. The drive to do the blogging consistently and regularly.

THE SPACE

Web logs (blogs) are thoughts and ideas put into writing. As such, space on which to write on is an obvious requirement. In blogging, these spaces are available in many platforms.

There are many platforms available for you. Some of them are: Xanga, Multiply, the popular Wordpress, Mindsay, LiveJournal, Movable Type, and the all time favorite of freeloaders, Blogger.

While I cannot tell you which platform to use (as I do not know your level of expertise as well as your objectives for starting a blog) I would unabashedly recommend Blogger for any newbie blog writer. It is so easy to use, enrollment is done in three steps. Plus, like anyone new to any endeavor, mistakes and revisions are made but with Blogger it is very easy to edit a post, a link, an uploaded image and even the template itself!


THE THEME

There are sooo many things to blog about (again, far numerous than our islands, be it hightide or lowtide). It is tempting to embrace a lot of themes, thinking that your interests are as varied as the Philippine flora and fauna anyway, so why not? But again a cliche rings true: "Huwag kaangan ang lahat ng bagay at baka ika'y magtibaro!" Literal translation: Do not spread your legs too wide to accomodate a lot of things or you might fall flat on your face! (Unless you are a ballerina or Mystica, that is.)

As a general rule, your blog should have a particular theme to ensure that it will not have a dissipated effect much like a sari-sari store with all its selection but no distinctive identity to call its own.


Having a central theme helps you, the newbie blogger, in at least two areas:

  • Manageability - Avoid spreading yourself and your topics on too wide an area. Remember that writing your blog with your readers in mind means that you have to give them quality content each and every time. When aiming for such a goal and you have a very broad field to tackle, covering all bases at all times may prove to be too tasking and time consuming in the long run.

Remember, you are in this for fun as well, so do not save the world all by yourself!

  • Pigeonhole Marketing- You may call it the niche marketing. (I like to call it pigeonhole, so as to be more illustrative.) For example, there are blogs about dogs and dog breeds but yours is about Chow Chow (a particular breed). A person who is interested about Chow Chows would be more inclined to read your specialized blog on this breed as against the other blogs which covers a more general view on dogs and their kinds.
The benefit of this is that your blog gets to the top of the search on that particular narrow theme you have as not everyone is into it, thus the competition is not as stiff. This is particularly good for b-blogging (or business blogging).



THE TIME

From the onset, decide how frequent your "blog issues" will be based on the available time you have. Could you write once or twice a week? Every Wednesday at 10am or every Sunday afternoon after church services?

Indirectly correlated to this is the length of your articles. Depending on your expertise on the chosen theme and topic, a 300-500 word article may be written in as short as 5 minutes, slow typing skill notwithstanding.

The frequency and regularity of your blog issues will contribute to the increase rate of your blog's readership. Once a blog visitor gets interested in your site, he/she may bookmark it or subscribe to its RSS feed with the expectation that you are posting regularly and frequently. (Yes, once every 90th day, is technically regular but not frequent enough to hold the interest of your readers unless your blog is a stocks increase quarterly report.)

(I am guilty of such a sin also, as I lag behind schedule in updating my blog sites. Time to practice what I blog! )



THE DRIVE

Many blogs have been left orphaned in cyberspace. Their human authors left them due, in part , to the lack of sustainable drive: writer's block, fad waned, ningas cogon, etc. You, the Filipino newbie blogger may have none of this yet, as you are still too enthusiastic to feel the yoke of blogging for an audience (or lack thereof).

It is important that on the onset, goals should be established and realistic expectations should be acknowledged. The following may help:

  • Having an interesting theme from which to mine rich posts.
  • Sticking to the central theme.
  • Commit to shorter and concise posts.
  • Look at a different angle on issues to make posts interesting.
  • Invite a friend to contribute a post. Or have team mates post on one blog.
  • Posting interesting images (but still related to theme or topic) may make up for the short posts from time to time. But, doing such always may turn your blog into a photoblog, if it isn't a photoblog in the first place.
  • Read, read, read. Be aware of your surroundings and keep interested in a lot of things.


Get your blog planned now!





posted by Alyannah Marie at Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | 0 comments

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Why the Filipino should blog.


The joy of blogging is too much to stifle that I yak about it often and much. However, offline with my internet-is-for-email-and-chat-only friends they don't seem to understand my glee.

Ayan ka na naman. (Eyes roll up.)

I often had to change gears or else the conversation would result in a ho-hum standstill where goodbyes are the next thing we would exchange to each other.

Some are inclined to listen while some do not have the attention span needed to wade through the internet lingo like RSS feeds, RSS readers and simple HTML.

A dear friend who lives Down Under finally reacted during one of our online chats (after few months of telling her to glance blog's way); "Unsa diay na siya? Wa jud koy kabalo anang blog ba. Bi, sultihi ko bi? Tell me about that blog you've been cheering about."

I tried my best to explain it to her. Needless to say, that dear friend of mine "saw the light" (and its seeming endless possibilities) and is one of the recent converts to blog and blogging. Welcome aboard, mate!


So, why should the Filipino blog?

The web log (truncated to BLOG) is relatively new and today is still considered an emerging trend of online presence for individuals (personal journals) as well as small and big entities (e.g., business blogs). Blogging (the gerund form of the verb; the act of writing blogs) is now a worldwide pasttime where age is not a limitation.

The whole world is blogging! Teka, bakit sila lang ba ang marunong? Of course, like most blogging earthlings, the Filipino should make his presence felt.

The Filipino is naturally madaldal, makwento (kahit walang kwenta) and mausyoso. He wants his stories to be heard and his opinions be taken into consideration.When the Filipino will realize that blogging is just an extension of these activities and traits, (ay naku) the Philippines might not just be the SMS capital of the world, baka pati blog title angkinin na rin!

Plus, the time is ripe ('net cafes on every nook) and blogging is relatively inexpensive. (Umandar ang kakuriputan ng Ilocana!)


Why the blog?

Of course there is the old and trusted texting (SMS) that should not be just dropped like a hot camote. But if the Filipino wants to broadcast to a lot more people apart from those in the cellphone address file, and granting he is not a celebrity with an access to national TV networks, blogging is the way to go.

With a blog, the Filipino can reach the whole world, araw man o gabi. Aparri to Zimbabwe. Tulog man o gising. With blog, the expenses are relatively minimal. Consider for example this post, the sheer number of characters in it; right now not even the nation’s latest SMS technology can send such a lengthy one.

Blogs are easy to do too, as long as anyone can type and click a mouse, he can blog. Anybody, from nine months of age to as ancient as the batch mates of Methuselah, may blog.

With blog, the freedom to express opinions coupled with the almost instantaneous way of publishing them gives a sense of clout and authority to the Filipino blogger. Aspiring writers can have a taste of the splendor and magnanimity of being published - fast, easy and without the dreary censorship of an editor.

In addition, blogs are more personal and conversational in nature. Parang nakikipag-usap lang sa kaibigan. This is a plus factor for those who are into b-blogging (business blogging) because someone usually buys upon a recommendation of a friend (albeit a cyberfriend).

In blogging, the grammar and sentence construction are not as exacting as straight journalism. Personal style can shine too. If the preference is coño, then coño it is.

And for the Filipino, it gets better as he can write his blogs in different dialects.

Oen Manang Biday! Pwede ka tana kasulat sing blog mo sa Hiligaynon. Pwede man sa Karay-a kung kamaan ka man timo magsurat kang damo ti rrrrrrr. Puydi sab sa Sugbuhanon ug bansay ka, ug imbitaha na sab ang mga pagarikong Muslim sa Mindanao. Oki sad ang badja, badja ug ikaw Bol-anon. Waray waray utan kamunggay, apil pud diri. Inday uno, Surigawnon ko! Chada kini sa Cagayan de Oro!


What should the Filipino blog about?

Ay madami! Topics abound that it exceeds the number of Philippine islands, high tide or low tide. Hobbies, personal opinion on politics, current events, pets and personal crusades are just a few of the things that the Filipino could blog about. The trick in blogging is simple; awareness and interest in something. Then drum the keyboard away. Then do the same cycle regularly - being aware, have the interest and blog about it.

For example: I am aware that Manny Pacquiao (pride of General Santos City) won in his recent bout with Larios but blogging about the fight may not be a compelling enough reason for me to hammer my keyboard and blog about it. But I may write about his presidential conferment of that Lakandula thing. (Wow! No less than a Republic Act for that Kampeon sa Habang Panahon title, huh?)

Also, I may blog about the breakfast I had this morning because the egg was cooked just fine, not over easy.

That’s the beauty of blog! The Filipino can blog about momentous events of global and national importance and yet write also about minor and mundane matters. He can write about anything under the moon. Who cares if the topic is about a PAINFUL HANGNAIL. E, sa iyon ang nagustuhang topic, di ba?


Opps, I have to do a double take. Yes, anyone can blog on any topic and discuss hangnails and even smelly feet. But that depends on what the blogging goal is.

If the goal is just to have a diary of daily grunts, for example about a hangnail and the manicurist’s inability to work on it, there is a blog that fits. The writer may use blogging to vent off steam. (Advice: Go slow on the #%+)*&%@# words though, they aren’t nice to hear and read.)

If the goal is selling or marketing: Hangnails and smelly feet may still be discussed BUT there is the unmistakeable suggestion of the favorite product or spa that will help cure these problems. (Talk about subtle product plugging! Hitting two birds with one stone should that particular Pinoy happens to own the spa or product recommended.)


So, if the reader may ask: Why write mostly in English then if this is a Filipino blog?

Kasi po, mga Manong at Manang… I hope to cater to the Global Pinoy. Filipinos being the most ubiquitous people on the face of the planet that even Mt. Everest’s summit itself was visited by three Pinoys just recently. (Note: This number may increase if somebody will come forward with enough Sherpa witnesses.) As such, it would be fair to have the majority of the words in English so that even the non-Filipinos could also read our blogs and learn from us.

My second goal why I am and will write in English is for my blog to be read by spiderbots and have my blog rank in search engines and hope to earn from Adsense and other advertising offers. Spiderbots can only read in English, so… (Stupid bots.)


The Filipino has so much to blog for! Kaya, ano pang hinihintay mo. Blog na!



posted by Alyannah Marie at Thursday, July 06, 2006 | 1 comments