Earning, Blogging, Tips and More

AyosDito.ph is Philippines' Newest Marketplace!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!