Influential Blogger by Janette Toral

Reading biographies

2009-10-30T18:40:00.004+08:00

I read a lot of self-development books especially in the areas of developing thinking as a skill. Although whenever I visit bookstores, novels and biographies of interesting people are also prominently on display.

The only biography I took fascination in reading was that of Queen Elizabeth I. Although it was written from a context of her being a CEO (Queen Elizabeth I: CEO). In my stock pile of unread books include Napoleon's Glance (the secret of strategy - learning from Napoleon Bonaparte) and Alexander the Great (art of strategy).

Although in modern times, politicians, business leaders, artists, sport coaches, and athletes have become famous subjects for biographies too.

One list that was brought to my attention is the best list of sports books that features stories of various famous athletes. I think a lot of prominent sports personalities, seeing how competitive they are, naturally have interesting backgrounds in life.

North Carolina male basketball Roy William's new book is just one of the many interesting biography books that can be read out there. Readers attracted to it are those aspiring to play in these teams and I guess the fans who frequent these games or place bets in sites like Sportsbook.

But if I will come up with my own list of sports biography related books that I want to read someday, it will likely include:

Open: An Autobiography (Andre Agassi)
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (Christopher McDougall)
When the Game Was Ours (Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson Jr. Jackie MacMullan)
My Life Outside the Ring (Hulk Hogan)
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
Ocho Cinco: What Football and Life Have Thrown My Way (Chad Ochocinco)
The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds
Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk about How the Game is Played
Playing With Fire (Theo Fleury with Kirstie McLellan Day)
Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson

Janette Toral - My 10 Maven Secrets

2009-10-27T08:53:00.011+08:00

In the DigitalFilipino Club, I am quite proud on the kind of members that I have been able to attract. I knew right from the start that it is a service offering not meant for everyone.

Entrepreneur Anton Diaz is one of them. He joined when he was still working for a multinational entity and recalled the first eyeball he attended at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (organized a briefing on taxation for freelancers) where I encouraged him to organize food trips for his readers.

I believe that what makes a community great is how each and every member has transformed through the years. Moreso, how you rise above the various challenges and remain supportive - seeing things from a bigger picture, rather than be influenced by emotions-at-the-moment.

This coming October 29, I will be guesting at Anton's Maven Secrets class. Been planning to blog about it and Anton's e-mail on the questions to be asked gave the push needed to make this post. So here are my notes.

1. Can you give a background about yourself? What do you do exactly?

I'm a person who wears different hats. But I strive to become an effective maven, connector, and salesman altogether based on Malcolm Gladwell's defintion in the book Tipping Point:

Share knowledge, become a catalyst, and let others tinker it further to their own advantage.
Connect people who don't know each other so that they can collaborate through the club.
Sell ideas and projects to people "eventually" by first supporting or sustaining it personally.

2. How did you get started? What are your humble beginnings?

Prior to 1997, I was just enjoying life as a yuppie and had my own share of excesses. While organizing the Internet Commerce Expo 97 (ICE '97), I read a U.S. White House paper that in order for e-commerce to thrive, private sector must take the lead. Sounded off the idea in the PH-ISP mailing list that eventually paved the way for a tribe to be created, that was the Philippine Internet Commerce Society (PICS).

Almost at full time capacity back then lobbying for the passage of the Y2K Law and E-Commerce Law. Freelance writing gigs (local and international) and small consulting projects kept me sustained.

Eventually, I started DigitalFilipino.com in 1999 and used it as a means to share e-commerce information. As I stepped down in 2002 as head of PICS, got more focused into research writing and was speaking in various international events every month up to 2003.

Realized that writing research reports can be hard to sustain while maintaining independence. That is where the idea of DigitalFilipino Club got started and was launched last December 25, 2003.

3. What are your lessons learned throughout your Maven journey?

It is important that you take charge of your time and always self-assess whether there are other things that you begin to neglect.
Health-wise, I've been fortunate. Only get into stuff that I will truly enjoy. Where the tasks at hand becomes a pleasurable experience rather than a burden.
Never be afraid to experiment and fail. At times, what other folks sees as success were actually my failures (did not reach the goals originally targeted). Nevertheless, I thrive and gradually become better because of it.

4. What do you think are the critical success factors in your success?

Focus on benefits to be given rather than gain.
Benefits in the club are always designed to exceed the price paid for by club members.
Challenge the status quo and be a market disruptor.
This I carry out especially whenever I hear players being compared to me or witnessing industry developments I don't like.
Learn and share.
I hardly keep what I learned to myself. Usually unloaded and shared immediately to others.
Live a humble life.
I continuously re-invest resources gained to items/services where there's substantive value.

5. What are the most difficult challenge you encountered? Is there a point that you almost gave up?

I haven't as changing perspective or approach always makes a big difference.

6. Can you share technical details about the setup of your website?

The DigitalFilipino.com Club site runs on a service offered by WebsiteWizard.

7. Where do you go from here? What are your vision 2-3 years from now?

I had been thinking about that for the past two weeks as to where will the DigitalFilipino Club go from here. In 2005, I was looking at Ecademy as a model and have already went beyond it in terms of service offerings to the club.

I already set my mind that from hereon to 2014, DigitalFilipino Club will evolve to become a TED-like community. The upcoming E-Commerce Summit this November 12 and 13 is a first step towards that direction.

8. Who are the people that helped you along the way?

The club members themselves have helped me along the way. By telling their concerns and wants, I took the challenge of coming up with new offerings to support them. In the process, whenever we have big projects, they are also there to lend a helping hand.

I never really had the benefit of having a mentor. But I have identified a set of change masters where some of the lessons learned, I have blogged here.

9. Why do you do what you do? What is your motivating force that keeps you going?

My experience in lobbying for legislations was empowering. It made me believe that everything is possible if you only set your mind to it. To make e-commerce grow in the country requires reaching out to as many people as possible, some in a passive manner while others more personal.

For as long as I see people growing and becoming e-commerce champions themselves, the advocacy shall continue.

10. What is your advice for future Internet mavens?

Focus on the benefits that you can give.
Don't over-hype, lie, over-sell, neither take advantage of the gullible. These actions not only harms you but all players in the industry.
Keep your feet on the ground.
Know your purpose in life.
Keep learning.
Be around sharp people to improve your thinking.

Competing using Free Business Models

2009-09-03T20:56:00.010+08:00

I just finished reading Chris Anderson's latest book - Free: The Future of a Radical Price. It is a great follow-up to his book - The Long Tail and recomending it to anyone who conducts business online. It is also a valuable complement to readers of Seth Godin as their insight combined can be really explosive for entrepreneurs.

The timing was also just right as I've been doing my free experiments for quite sometime now observing how people respond to it.

(Click the mind map image for bigger view.)

Anderson cited four free models in the market today that includes (will mention some of the free experiments I've been doing as well):

1. Direct cost subsidies
Customer gets a free product by paying for something else.

Example: When the DigitalFilipino Club was first created, it was intended to be an exclusive online paid community. Later on, I started offering new services and made them free to club members (or special rate if they want more) such as our upcoming E-Commerce Summit, hands-on workshops, webinars, among others.

New club members or those walk-in during the training help subsidize the conduct and cost of the said activity. It also allows me to gain new club members further. This is important as I strive to have a long term relationship with members.

2. Three party market
Products, information, or services get distributed for free to anyone interested. A 3rd party comes into play providing revenue which in turn helps in cost recovery and otherwise.

Example: The monthly State of E-Commerce in the Philippines webinar is a 1-hour briefing where relevant developments in the field gets shared. Participants can attend the event for free and this is subsidized by the parties involved and later on by advertisers.

This is also the same case for most blogs, forums, podcast, and other forms of content that gets disseminated online for free where revenue is generated through advertising, affiliate programs, donations, and the like.

3. Freemium
A product or service that has a basic or free version. Members who want more can avail of the premium or paid version.

Example: Membership in the DigitalFilipino mailing list and social network is free where updates, articles, reports, and free events get organized from time to time in various parts of the country. Those who want more can opt to become a full-fledged club member.

4. Non-monetary
There are stuff that can be given away to people without necessarily asking for money in return now or even later on. This can include reputation points, karma, power or influence, and the likes.

Example: We have four annual events that recognizes various accomplishments such as the Philippine Schools Cyberfair, DigitalFilipino Social Networking Awards, DigitalFilipino Web Awards, and the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs. These are all done without asking the nominator, nominee, and winners for any mandatory fee. However, there is a lot of value in the recognition as the winners are actively used as case studies. During these events, empowerment of stakeholders, in a variety of roles, takes place.

Information wants to be free

The challenge for early players like me is the acceptance of the fact that the cost of producing and publishing knowledge is fast becoming cheaper than ever before. There are information still worth paying for but a growing number of Internet users wants to get them now and if possible - for free.

So to test what I learned from the book Free: The Future of a Radical Price, instead of charging a delegate fee outright to the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit, I am making this free to club members and focus my efforts in boosting our membership base from 100 to 1000. Although non-club members can still join for a fee and sponsors are needed, I outsourced that part so I can focus on my experiment. We also put our past events on video and make them accessible for reference. Some publicly while others within the club members social network only.

The increasing number of Internet users and competitive players provides further pressure in reviewing my current business model and innovate to ensure that we will remain relevant, remarkable, and strong in the years to come.

So last September 2, this blog turned 8 years old while DigitalFilipino.com will turn 10 years old this September 17. We still have a long way to go but always thankful for all the blessings - starting by having readers like you. Thank you.

Becoming a Good Thinker through Change Masters

2009-08-22T21:18:00.003+08:00

To become a change maker, Tony Buzan in his book Embracing Change cites having change masters as a must and is one of the 7 tools for transformation. Change masters are role models and mentors that acts as personal agents for change. Their insights and inspiration can help in managing personal change and achieve goals.

I use this blog to document lessons learned from authors and individuals that have one way or another influenced my thinking (hence you'll find in the sidebar "lessons learned from change masters). I never had the benefit of having a mentor. A lot of the survival skills I've learned to date were mostly gained from authors. Some of them are:

Although there are some that I haven't blogged to date as the skills learned when imparted may be misused and abused if the reader is not enlightened or matured enough.

In the book Thinking for a Change, John Maxwell explained the value of good thinking as it:

Creates the foundation for good results.
"Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results. Bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results." - James Allen

"The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts." - John Locke
Increases your potential.
If people can keep growing in their thinking, they will constantly outgrow what they're doing, and their potential will always be off the charts.
Produces more good thinking if one makes it a habit.
"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an invasion of ideas." - Victor Hugo. The more you engage in good thinking, the more good thoughts you will continue to think. It's like creating an army of ideas capable of achieving almost anything.

This blog transformed into a reflective thinking blog back in 2005 was a result of the said book as well.

There are 11 thinking skills that John Maxwell emphasized in that book which I will tackle in the weeks to come.

Most of the authors I've read constantly emphasizes the need to change one's thinking in order to reach your change maker potential. I feel fortunate that there are a good number of them who have shared their knowledge through books that we get to read, discern, try it out, and learn further.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Writing Project

2009-08-12T04:34:00.011+08:00

Hi everyone. I thought of making this post as I have talked to a lot of people answering questions after the winners announcement.

Since the start of the writing project, I have corresponded with some of you through e-mail, have given information and clarification. With more than 200 writing project participants, I am sure there are more questions unanswered and I hope this post will give an opportunity for such an exchange.

Question #1: What was the intent of the writing project?

Answer:

To help promote new blogs/bloggers and put the spotlight on them. I hope the writing project, as it introduces new blogs, will give blog newbies the chance to shine and grow.

At the end of it, we celebrate and give recognition to those that were favored by writing project participants.

Question #2: Last August 8, you mentioned that the top 10 this year got the highest votes. How many exactly?

Answer:

Question #3: Last August 8, you shared some sites that "if there were more than top 10" also deserves recognition. Which sites are these and how many votes they got?

Answer: If there were top 20, this would be the 11th to 20th:

11. Lifelots (68 votes)
12. Dear Bloggery (67 votes)
13. Good Times Manila (64 votes)
14. Video Chops (63 votes)
15. The Law of the Force (60 votes)
16. Millionaire Acts (53 votes)
17. Through the Focal Glass (50 votes)
18. It's All a Matter of Perspective (48 votes)
I Love / Hate America (48 votes)
19. Flair Candy (46 votes)
20. Numbrd (37 votes)

Question #4: What do you consider as legitimate blogs that can be used to submit an entry to this writing project?

Answer: For as long as the identity of the blog owner can be identified, it is considered as a valid blog and can be used to submit an entry for the writing project.

Question #5: Can a blogger nominate his or her own blog?

Answer: Yes.

Question #6: Are there restrictions on campaigning?

Answer: None.

Question #7: Are the writing project entries visible to everyone?

Answer: Yes. All submissions are made in the comments section of join the writing project page that anyone can view, check, and make their own tally.

Question #8: Is a voting page something that you can consider for next year?

Answer: Not at this time as this is a writing project rather than a popularity vote contest. It encourages bloggers to take a a stand by writing a post that states the blogs they find to be influential.

Question #9: Will you consider additional criteria next year other than a blog post submission to tally the top 10? This can include Alexa, PageRank, number of posts, number of comments, RSS subscriptions, etc.

Answer: Including additional criteria, in my observation, would require creation of categories. Also, a lot of the parameters can also be directly manipulated if a person knows how to do such. Unlike in a blog post where a person does it on their own desire, or responding to appeals, to come up with a post and cite their top 10.

Question #10: I noticed that you do not directly respond to attacks or criticisms. Why?

Answer: Monitoring the entries week after week gave me a big picture view on the politics happening while the writing project is ongoing. If the person giving the criticism or attack is a writing project participant that I have been constantly in touch with and suddenly lashes out, I observe and see if his issues are bigger than the writing project and me, and if the attacks are personal. If yes, will not respond if I have nothing personal against the person and if their anger is beyond my writing project scope. (still an e-mail and chat person)

In the end, these instances shows the best and worst in us. On the positive side, it will allow us to get to know each other better.

Feel free to post questions about the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 in the comment section and will reply as I update this post. If your question does not appear right away, it is likely that the disqus commenting system has hold it for approval.

Thank you everyone!

Special Gift: Business Summaries Subscription

2009-08-11T20:46:00.004+08:00

During the final count last week, I made a quick note that those who cited all sponsors in their Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 entry post shall get a special gift.

I just got the nod from DigitalFilipino club member Jojy Azurin to increase the original allotment of 20 Business Summaries one-year subscription to include all writing project participants that cited all sponsors in their entry.

This year's top 10 emerging influential blogs and raffle winners are also entitled to this special gift.

To claim this gift, just do the following:

Visit Business Summaries and sign-up for a 1-month free trial.
Once done, just send me an e-mail at digitalfilipino (at) gmail (dot) com and indicate the e-mail address that you used for the trial.
I will send this to Jojy for upgrading to a one-year subscription account.

Many thanks to all writing project participants who supported this humble writing project. Cheers!

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Post-Eyeball: The Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-08-09T11:26:00.045+08:00

(thanks to Ada for the photos)

Congratulations once again to all the winners of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. Many thanks to bloggers who took time out to attend last night to catch up and listen to the winners' personal blog story.
This event was sponsored by DigitalFilipino Club member PAGCOR. Please don't forget to sign-up as a Facebook fan of PAGCOR today. =)
Here are some eyeball participant photos, videos, and write-ups for your reading pleasure: (will update this as we get to read more post about it)
Video

Blog post

Photos

Lessons Learned in Organizing a Writing Project

2009-08-09T08:48:00.005+08:00

The 3rd year of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs writing project has given me a live preview on what I mentioned in the blogging ahead segment of the book - Blogging from Home.

This year's winners list is something that I'm very proud of for the following reasons:

Masa - Real People
There was a notion in the past that blogging was somewhat an elite activity for the resources and time required to actively maintain one. However, our winners this year represent people of various economic status and some are even going through crisis challenges. This year winners has shown that blogging can no longer be seen as an elitist activity - especially in the Philippines.
Ageless
This year has strongly proven that one can excel in blogging regardless of age as our winners roster comprised of bloggers from various age groups and profession.
Community spirit
I think they key in winning this year is all about genuinely reaching out and being part of communities. The top 10 represents bloggers who do not hesitate to converse, exchange information, and learn from their peers online.

On the administration side, this is the most challenging year so far for the following reasons:

More entries
I was hoping for more entries but what I did not expect is that nearly half of them will be submitted on the last 5 days of the writing project (July 26 to 30). As a result, the one-week final count and preparation time was quite chaotic.

Fortunately, as in the past two years, several bloggers also took this opportunity to observe and learn by making their own tally sheet using information submitted in the comments section, weekly summary, and the masterlist. The stream of e-mail reminders from August 1 to 7 has helped a lot in providing the necessary check and balance on this one.

For next year, will certainly allot a minimum of ten days from the deadline to the winners announcement date to be more rigorous in the final checks.

Sponsors
This is the first time that we required entries to mention the sponsors if they like to be included in the raffle. Our updating requests have caused inconvenience and irked some. We got suggestions for the use of a program script next year to avoid this hassle.

Offline entries
This is the first time I encountered a situation where some entries were offline during the final count for one reason or another. We asked the bloggers concerned for a replacement entry that can be posted in another site. Those unable to provide were removed from the masterlist.

Transparency
In the past two years, I receive clarificatory e-mails about entries - checking if they got included in the weekly summary or not. This year was the first time we got something similar although the questions were more broad and no specific blog url entries mentioned.

One way this concern was handled is by exposing our spreadsheet count. In the process though, it created a new set of problems where some got disheartened to participate as they felt the winners are already clear earlier on. Some also expressed worries about their blog being exposed to spammers since the spreadsheet is already a database of new blogs.

To work-around this, I have provided a list of blog entries to those who worry that their votes not being counted accurately for cross-checking with the hope that we'll get a heads-up in case we missed any for our immediate cross-check as well.

Are we going to have another Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs writing project next year? As of this writing, yes I still want to do it as the writing project has always taught me the following for the past 3 years in various ways:

New and passionate blogs have the potential of becoming trendsetters whom we can all learn from. (The more you know, the more you don't know.)

To be humble and respectful to all bloggers concerned.

I thank all participants, supporters, and sponsors for your patience, understanding, and support to this humble writing project. More power to you all!

Related notes:

Winners: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-08-09T02:41:00.006+08:00

Sincerest thanks to everyone who took time-out to attend the eyeball event for participants of The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2009 writing project.

(thanks to Iris Aeirin for the photo)

As chosen by bloggers who participated in this writing project, the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 are:

Here's the badge (original design made by Just Creative Design) that the above Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 can opt to put at their site:

and

PAGCOR is also giving additional prizes to the above winners. Please coordinate with Gary Viray about it.

The ten (10) raffle winners who got US$100 each are as follows: (please email me at digitalfilipino (at) gmail (dot) com and give me your contact number to coordinate your prize claim. Kindly expect me to perform a verification to ensure that no one is misrepresenting you.)

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, and Blog4Reviews.com.

I'll be posting the details of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2010 soon.

Final count & See you on Saturday!

2009-08-05T09:32:00.011+08:00

Hi everyone. I just finished counting submission on week 12 (July 26 to 30) and got an unexpected 116 entries. Just like to sound off the following:

Edits to your writing project entries, those who have not been marked as complete yet, can only be done up to today.

The few new entries whom I have checked this morning that had problems, you have time to fix it till tomorrow.

I'll start doing rounds in all blog post submission from week 1 to week 11 for complete markings today. If you have concerns with your entry, you can GTalk me at digitalfilipino.

For those of you who have not confirmed your attendance to our August 8 eyeball event, I will very much appreciate if you can do so now as this will affect our food pax allocation, raffle items, among others.

There are certainly a lot of challenges and lessons learned that I shall post on August 9.

Love and regards to all participants, supporters, and sponsors who supported this humble writing project.

August 8 Eyeball: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 Winners Announcement

2009-08-03T08:05:00.035+08:00

First, many thanks to those who submitted entries to the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs writing project. Let us meet up on August 8, 2009 Saturday, 6 pm to 11 pm at the Forum Hall, Casino Filipino, PIRC Bldg. Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Parañaque City. Shuttle to the venue is available. Pick up time will be at 5:30 pm at Starbucks 6750. Just state in the comments section that you'll be taking the shuttle.

This event is sponsored by DigitalFilipino Club member PAGCOR. Please don't forget to sign-up as a Facebook fan of PAGCOR today. =)

PAGCOR on Facebook

Program shall be as follows:

Dinner
Observations and Lessons learned - Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs writing project (Janette Toral)
Eyeball sponsor talk - PAGCOR
Raffle Draw - 10 winners who will get US$100 each. Of course, those who can't make it are still part of the draw and can win.
Recognition - The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2009 - as chosen by writing project participants.
Raffle (we will welcome all raffle contributions), games, networking

Writing project participants are requested to confirm their attendance by posting a comment here. As slots are limited, interested guests must join the writing project in order to attend.

Non-writing project participants interested to join are requested to sign-up as a DigitalFilipino.com Club member.

Attendance confirmation: (you can also confirm via Facebook)

I will update this post as soon as we receive confirmation.

Thank you!

Entries Masterlist: The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2009

2009-08-01T20:05:00.143+08:00

Here's the master list of entries in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009 writing project.

Note that those who submitted an entry with a complete and qualified list of ten blogs are listed here.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, and Blog4Reviews.com.

(Due to lack of time, all entries who have cited sponsors in partial or full were included in the raffle last August 8. However, those who took effort of mentioning the full sponsors list will get a special gift from Business Summaries. Thanks for your patience.)

I got a suggestion to improve the listing here to reflect on masterlist entries based on the week they submitted. I shall be updating this one to reflect that within the week.

(work in progress)

Week 12 (deadline week - July 26 to 30)

Monitoring Traffic Using Performancing Metrics Spy

2009-07-30T22:18:00.005+08:00

I was doing a class earlier on website traffic analytics and decided to upgrade my Performancing Metrics account to be able to fully showcase its features.

My favorite in Performancing Metrics is the Spy feature where you can monitor live traffic as it happens or arrives in your website. I stopped using the fully upgraded version the last time as it got me so addicted by just monitoring it. However, I guess there is no harm indulging once in awhile and see my websites live in action.

10 reasons why I love Performancing Metrics

Week 11: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-07-28T07:17:00.001+08:00

Here's the eleventh and last week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join. Last day for submission of entries is on July 30.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 11 only
For the eleventh week, we received a total of 5 entries from Eryllsy, Iva, Sheryl, Rabsin, and AsianTribe.

A total of 27 blogs were cited from the 5 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

The weekly update posted above is based on submission as of July 25.

Noted the entries of Lio Loco, Joycelle, Jhongmed, Eryllsy, Iva, Rabsin, and AsianTribe for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today:

If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join. Deadline for submission is on July 30.

Additional notes:
Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, on or before July 30, will include you in our final count. Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

I also encountered a concern being said to me that some votes are not being counted. Please give the url of the entry so that we can check on our end whether I am missing them or not.

Monitoring of entries completion hereon will be tracked at the entries masterlist.

Week 10 : Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-07-25T04:54:00.009+08:00

Here's the tenth week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 10 only
For the tenth week, we received a total of 19 entries from Nadine, Leomar, The Photoblogger, Downloader, Joycelle, Dragonblogger, Jodapoet, DianNeil, Jhongmed, Jonistar, Lindsey08, Badudets, imybg, HotMomma, MinnieMadz, KotsengKuba, Clarissa, Angelcuala, and Chinkygirlmel.

A total of 92 blogs were cited from the 19 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Nina, Itot54joni, Elmot, Jenn, Ever, The Photoblogger, Downloader, Dragonblogger, Jodapoet, DianNeil, Jonistar, Lindsey08, imybg, HotMomma, MinnieMadz, and Angelcuala for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today:

Note that the weekly update posted here is based on submission as of July 18.

We still have 1 weekly update to go (based on submission up to July 25). If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:

Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 11 (our last weekly update). Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

I also encountered a concern being said to me that some votes are not being counted. Please give the url of the entry so that we can check on our end whether I am missing them or not. Note that those submitted as of July 11 got included in this report.

The next update will be on or before July 27.

8 Steps to Achieving Meta-Positive Thinking & Changing Perspective

2009-07-24T05:23:00.007+08:00

I always believe that our worst enemy is ourselves. At times, we are deadset in achieving something, then one event happens, and everything disintegrates. We blame ourself and those around us - using them as excuse. Although deep inside, we know that is not the reason and that is why our pursuit towards self-improvement continues.

This blog post is a continuation of my feature on Tony Buzan's Embracing Change where meta-positive thinking is one of the seven tools for transformation that a change maker must harness.

Changing perspective
According to Buzan, meta-positive thinking is a self-talk technique focused on your goals & vision done in a positive way. It is grounded on reality by making it happen within the sphere of your influence.

For instance, if you live a life now where you feel trapped as 95% of things you can no longer change and is entirely negative, then focus your mind instead on the 5% where there is positive voice of change.

Meta-positive thinking

Buzan gave 8 steps on how meta-positive thinking can be achieved. If followed, it will allow you to enhance your positive qualities and let go of the negative ones.

Make the decision to change
If you have reached a decision that you want to improve your present situation to an envisioned goal, then you are already a positive thinker.
Clarify your vision
Wanting is not enough. One must focus and decide on the steps (TEFCAS) that must be taken in order to achieve it. This includes having the determination to get it done despite negative forces around you.
Establish a meta-positive attitude
Have a goal that is totally positive, accurate, and will direct you towards your desired outcome.

This includes having meta-positive thinking statements that are:
- personal (use "I)
- stated in the present (use "am")
- stated as a process (use present verb ending with "-ing")
- real (related to current situation)
- obtainable (target possible)
- motivational (focus on what you want to achieve)
- relevant (related to current situation)
- truthful (true and beneficial, not based on lie)
- beneficial (you can benefit from it)
- attractive (pleasant image - visualize)
- positively directed (positive and directed towards your goal)
- accurate (focus on desired outcome)
- vision (clear image)
- repeated (restated regularly for brain to adjust its behavior)

Example - "I am providing e-commerce knowledge to help club members, community, and industry at large be successful."
Shape-up your brain for meta-positive fitness
We all have negative and positive voice of change in ourselves. The negative one (Vic) encourages us to achieve (using ego-infused statements i.e. "you are a...") while reminding us of our weakness or failures (blame game).

The positive one (Victor) constantly points towards your vision. (using statements in relation to attaining your goal)
The truth principle
Vic always has a tendency to fill your mind with horrifying truths and negative images (which I think sometimes come in disguise as bias). Victor will focus more on positive reward where the brain is more attracted to.
Repetition
Our inner voice of change constantly talks to us (encouraging & guiding us). It is up to us whether we will focus on Vic or transform it to a Victor (become a meta-positive thinker).

This will require repeating our meta-positive thinking statements regularly to tweak our brain.
One step at a time
Change does not happen overnight. It takes place one step at a time. Therefore, this part requires you to be very clear on your current situation or knowing where you are (step 1). Otherwise, your goals will be unrealistic and may cause you to drift.
Commitment
Until you are committed, there is a tendency to draw back or be ineffective. You have to commit, begin it, and be bold.

Week 9 : Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-07-16T23:10:00.003+08:00

Here's the ninth week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 9 only
For the ninth week, we received a total of 17 entries from Kwakaduck, Shydub, Irene, Holly Jahangiri, Earthlingorgeous, Gopal Krishna, Fifi, Stephen Chua Roxas, Joji, Archie dela Cruz, Chris dela Cruz, Racquel Sison, Kevinraychua, Sherry, Reica, Lena Ballug, and Enchie.

A total of 55 blogs were cited from the 17 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Kelvin, Reyjr, Irene, Holly Jahangiri, Earthlingorgeous, Gopal Krishna, Stephen Chua Roxas, Joji, Archie dela Cruz, Chris dela Cruz, Racquel Sison, Kevinraychua, Sherry, Reica, and Lena Ballug for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today:

All blogs listed in the previous weeks won't be re-posted unless it gets chosen again by entries submitted in Week 10 or still included in the total The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009.

We still have 2 weekly updates to go. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:

Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 10. Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

The next update will be on or before July 24.

Gary Viray on making money online and Blog4Reviews.com

2009-07-13T14:08:00.001+08:00

I just found out that my Blog4Reviews partner, Gary Viray, was featured in Manila Bulletin last Monday (and a part 2 today). His interview also got published in Yahoo Philippines.

As I've been solo most of the time in my online endeavors, I get asked on what made me decide to partner with Gary. My straight answer would be, he is an SEO king - a man who knows SEO inside and out, from the good, bad, and ugly. He also earns well in the area of paid blogging. Got to tag team with him also in several speaking stints and I think we did well. His hard work also paid off as he was able to bag two awards in the last 6 months.

We team-up last April to launch Blog4Reviews as we believe in developing the market potential of sponsored posts in the Philippines and go international from there. It also has a twin site that focuses more on broader Internet advertising requirements that will be launched soon.

We are still in beta testing stage finetuning the website as we roll-out opportunities. As we get to calibrate them, our community members can expect gradual growth of opportunities being posted online. Although Gary may not be as visible as I am but our twin sites won't work without him.

To my SEO King, cheers Gary!

Week 8: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-07-07T06:36:00.004+08:00

Here's the eight week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Week 8 only

For the eight week, we received a total of 21 entries from Chris, Marcelle, Jacris, Willa, Ria Rosaura Romero, McBilly, Christalice, Pats, Club Tourist, Jelz Naguiat, Jenn, Donna Llaguno, Jerbp, Dhonzkie, Wana, Nurseyapi, Luke, Seiko, Frances, Lio Loco, and Ever.

A total of 78 blogs were cited from the 21 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Crisiboy, Arbee, Alex Gavino, Chris, Marcelle, McBilly, Christalice, Club Tourist, Jelz Naguiat, Donna Llaguno, Jerbp, Dhonzkie, Wana, Nurseyapi, and Luke for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today (will update it shortly):

All blogs listed in the previous weeks won't be re-posted unless it gets chosen again by entries submitted in Week 9 or still included in the total The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009.

We still have 3 weekly updates to go. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:

Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 9.

Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

Social responsibility - what drives you?

2009-07-03T09:13:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, I listened to an interesting talk by Chit Juan of Philippine Coffee Board, during the Public Relations Society of the Philippines 2nd general membership meeting, about the subject of corporate social responsibility or CSR.

There are key take-aways in her talk that I'd like to note in this blog post:

CSR is not limited to big enterprises
Even SMEs and individuals can undertake social responsibility efforts. A good example will be about hiring local talent and not taking advantage of their situation by paying them reasonably.
It must outlive the CEO or initiator
As an individual, I think that is easier said than done on my part. I have founded an organization in the past and have let go for continuity. Apparently, when things got quite hot, and the pioneers started checking, seeking for transparency, we got cut off. That experience brought a lot of lessons learned and saw how people change the moment they are given power. It makes me wonder whether DigitalFilipino will outlive me or die with me.
Customers choose responsible companies, those with CSR, and recommend them to peers
I think becoming top of mind is more than just skill and portfolio. It is also what you are about. Are you all about money or you have a purpose that is bigger than you? It is not just blogging about it or putting a badge on your site. It is actually living it without any complaints. I noticed as well that for the clients I've worked with, a lot of them note of the various extra-curricular activities undertaken that is not directly related to the service being offered. Subconsciously, it plays a big role indeed.

What differentiates you? Quality? Price? CSR?
For me, I think all the above applies. Services are being offered that is worth more than what one pays for. Pricing was done in such a way that is affordable to the budget. A big chunk of revenues goes to CSR (such as funding of writing projects, awards, free seminars/roadshow, free books and reports). Everything else that remains is profit.
Doing good and telling it well
This makes me wonder how do you tell it without appearing to be boasting or overselling what you are doing? Most of my undertakings did not have much stories written about them as they are advocacies and not intended for media mileage.

Chit Juan's talk was very insightful and made me reflect on the advocacies I have been undertaking lately and the one put on hold last year - the Philippine Schools Cyberfair project.

My goal for that project was simple. To encourage elementary and high school institutions to come up with web content that talks about their community. I started it in 2001 and have been sustaining it since. Last year, decided to put it on hold and realigned limited resources to other things.

However, the past two weeks have been quite interesting as I get contacted by young people who used to be high school students that have participated in the project. Some of them studying in college while others began working already. They kept in touch just to share how are they doing or in need of possible help.

That made me reflect on how that project, despite having limited number of participants and hardly any sponsors, have touched some of the students who joined it.

At the end of the day, it is not the glitz and glamor that makes a project great, its impact and how it touches those who participated mattered the most. With that and after listening to Chit Juan, I just made the decision of jumpstarting the Philippine Schools Cyberfair 2010.

Yahoo! Purple Hunt phase 3: Guess the location of 6 BlackBerry Smartphones

2009-06-29T16:58:00.007+08:00

The Yahoo! Purple Hunt Phase 3 kicks off tomorrow, from June 30 till July 12!

Purple Hunters all over the Philippines can guess the location of six BlackBerry Smartphones hidden all over Metro Manila by deciphering clues seeded out on Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! Groups and Flickr (Purple Hunt Clues).

When you think you know where each BlackBerry Smartphone is hidden, go to the microsite and input your answer! If you're right, you stand a chance to win the skinned purple BlackBerry Smartphone! If you're wrong, you may ask the Purple Crew for more clues that may help you. You can also post a comment here and share to me your answer, I will try my best to give you the right clues to get there. =)

Remember, you need to provide the full address of each location when submitting an answer!Purple Hunters can guess as many times as possible. If you get the answer wrong, you will not be able to register and a prompt comes up asking you to try again.

Note that this is not a first come, first serve basis contest. People can guess the locations of all 6 BlackBerry Smartphones right up to the end of the phase, Once the phase ends, Yahoo! will do a random draw on the winners. (as of July 21, winners have already been picked and announced.)

Check out my Yahoo Purple Hunt Adventures blog for clues.

Happy hunting!

Week 7: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-06-29T08:54:00.002+08:00

Here's the seventh week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, http://www.eventsatwork.com/, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 7 only
For the seventh week, we received a total of 15 entries from Ayei, Zorlone, Hannah, Edelweiza, Po0t, Jennai, Pehpot, Marius, Fitz, Crisiboy, Sonnie, Arbee, Juned, Alex Gavino, and Jangeronimo.

A total of 69 blogs were cited from the 15 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Coy, April, Fedhz, Zorlone, Edelweiza, Po0t, Jennai, Pehpot, Fitz, and Jangeronimo for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today:

All blogs listed in the previous weeks won't be re-posted unless it gets chosen again by entries submitted in Week 8 or still included in the total The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009.

We still have 4 weekly updates to go. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:

Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 8.

Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

Week 6: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-06-21T19:54:00.004+08:00

Here's the sixth week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, http://www.eventsatwork.com/, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 6 only
For the sixth week, we received a total of 15 entries from April Rose Kwong, Silver, Fedhz, Doctor Dude, Aeirin, Ambo, Dee, Amor, Reyjr, Jehzlau, Yapatoots, Shalomsiy, Aileen, Eel.jay, and Jet.

A total of 62 blogs were cited from the 15 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Mica, Mommy Dharlz, Silver, Aeirin, Ambo, Amor, Jehzlau, and Eel.jay for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist.

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist as of today:

All blogs listed in the previous weeks won't be re-posted unless it gets chosen again by entries submitted in Week 7 or still included in the total The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009.

We still have 5 weekly updates to go. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:
Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 7.
Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.

Yahoo! Purple Hunt phase 2: Guess the location of 6 cameras

2009-06-15T22:44:00.013+08:00

The Yahoo! Purple Hunt Phase 2 kicks off tomorrow, from June 16 till 28! What does this mean for all Purple Hunters in Philippines? It means you can guess the location of six cameras hidden all over Metro Manila by deciphering clues seeded out on Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! Groups and Flickr (Purple Hunt Clues).

When you think you know where each camera is hidden, go to the microsite and input your answer! If you're right, you stand a chance to win the skinned purple Canon camera! If you're wrong, you may ask the Purple Crew for more clues that may help you! Remember, you need to provide the full address of each location when submitting an answer!

Purple Hunters can guess as many times as possible. If you get the answer wrong, you will not be able to register and a prompt comes up asking you to try again.

Note that this is not a first come, first serve basis contest. People can guess the locations of all 6 cameras right up to the end of the phase, Once the phase ends, Yahoo! will do a random draw on the winners. (as of July 6, winners have already been drawn)

Check out my Yahoo Purple Hunt blog for clues as well.

Happy hunting!

Week 5: Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009

2009-06-14T20:12:00.003+08:00

Here's the fifth week summary of entries and their choices/nomination in The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

This writing project will not be possible without the support of sponsors such as Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, http://www.eventsatwork.com/, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, and Blog4Reviews.com.

Week 5 only
For the fifth week, we received a total of 13 entries from Badong, Mommy Dharlz, Animetric, An2nette, Dinah, Beejing, Ron, Buraot, Ang Lolo Niyo, Aajao, Coy, Frjimz_rain, and Atenean101.

A total of 67 blogs were cited from the 16 entries. They are:

The following blogs got one mention each:

Noted the entries of Reyna Elena, Roy, Aika, Fatherlyours, Dfish, Animetric, An2nette, Dinah, Beejing, Ron, Frjimz_rain, and Atenean101 for citing 10 blogs and therefore included in the entries masterlist (to be updated this week).

These are the top blogs based on entries that got included in the entries masterlist, to be updated this week, as of today:

All blogs listed in the previous weeks won't be re-posted unless it gets chosen again by entries submitted in Week 6 or still included in the total The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009.

We still have 6 weekly updates to go. If you haven't submitted an entry yet, head on to our writing project page on how to join.

Additional notes:
Some entries did not get included here as they did not link to the writing project page. Once done, will include you for week 6.
Thank you again everyone for your patience and participation to this humble project.