I was invited by Smart and Philippine Information Authority Region 6 (PIA-6) to give a talk to High School student journalists.

This presentation was given in the pre-text of the hostage drama in Manila and the recent achievement of Ms. Philippines Venus Raj at the Ms. Universe pageant.

I presented blogging. Gave them some examples of high school blogs, good practices from Ateneo and Philippine Online Chronicles, and my own example of citizen journalism.

More importantly, I asked them to ask questions that matter to them. Here’s my answer to the run-away winning question. As in Major major!

How can blogging change the image of Filipinos after the hostage drama in Manila? – Ulysses D. Du Jr, 15, M, Sum-ag National High School

Awesome Question!

Lets’ start with ourselves.

Instead of ranting, how can we have a positive, constructive, contributing perspective on the situation? Write about it, make it matter, express what is in your heart and mind, be sincere. If you are able to write a message that is picked up by the global press, then you’ve made an impact. And even if your blog (or facebook note or tumblr story or tweet) is able to positively *influence* 1 or 2 people, then you have made a positive contribution to the Philippines.

Write, blog, express yourself. Be a positive contributor to our country and our world. I thank you! (bow)

Here’s my presentation:

ka edong

I was at Coffee Bean at Salcedo, Makati last night with a friend. Right there, out of maybe 12 people inside the cafe, there were two iPad users. One was reading some books and checking his twitter account. Another girl was with a group of friends and was showing them some photos she took from a recent trip.

The iPad is in the Philippines and more and more Pinoys are using it.

iPad in a Box

iPad user Vince bought an iPad for his wife on their anniversary. Sa tingin niyo, sino ang *tunay* na gustong gumamit nung iPad?

Below is a video demonstration of the iPad from my friend, Mannix Moya. He demonstrates the sleek functionality of the iPad, different orientations, highlighting, graphics rendering etc. He also compares the iPad to the Kindle which he uses as well.

Learn more about the iPad in this two and a half minute demo:

ka edong
iHaveYetToTryIt

Got these global Facebook users statistics through a friend. Released in March 31, 2010.

See how much the Philippines has grown in terms of Facebook usage.

11Million Pinoys are on Facebook.
At this growth rate (1,000% +), we’ll have 11Billion Pinoys on Facebook by March 2011.
But wait, we don’t have 11 Billion Pinoys! LOL!
At wala pa akong nako-contribute sa population natin!

More Facebook statistics here.

facebook

Philippines Facebook user growth, global statistics

Today, my beloved blog, Technobiography, turns six years old! Parang kailan lang!  Six years ago, my life was verrry different. And six years after the birth of Technobiography, I must say: It’s been a great journey!

And there’s so much more to Technobiography, and there’s so much more to life. Abangan!

How do I celebrate this day? Well, allow me to share one of my recent wins: I’m on the latest issue of the MoneySense magazine! Saya!

I’m featured in the article “Make money doing what you love” written by Heinz Bulos. So grab your copy of MoneySense at your suking tindahan ng magasin. It’s the issue with Daphne Oseña-Paez. Quick, the copies are running out fast! My mom’s buying every copy she could get hold of! LOL!

Below, after the images, you’ll find the full transcript of our interview with Heinz of MoneySense which he used in writing the article. 

MoneySense cover - Daphne Oseña-Paez

MoneySense - Make Money doing what you love

MoneySense - Ka Edong on centerfold

Are you doing what you love?
Ka Edong interviewed by Heinz Bulos
Jan 28, 2010

Heinz Bulos of MoneySense: What do you love to do that has also become a source of income for you?

Ka Edong: Two things: blogging (my hobby) and thinking/creating technology-based services that help Filipinos

MoneySense: Is it your main or primary source of income or just a supplemental source?

Ka Edong: Creating technology-based services is my primary source of income. I’m an Assistant Product Manager at Smart Communications.
Blogging is a supplemental source. I blog at www.technobiography.com about my technology life , www.edwinsoriano.com about personal development and at www.eofw.net for OFWs online. 

MoneySense: How do you earn from it, i.e. what’s the business model?

Ka Edong: I earn through blogging mainly through Google Adsense. When visitors to my blog click on advertisements, I get paid. I also have link advertisers — people who are willing to pay me when I display a link to their site from my site. 

MoneySense: How long have you been doing it?

Ka Edong: Been blogging since 2004  

MoneySense: What is it about your work that makes you enjoy it?

Ka Edong: I enjoy blogging because it’s my form of expression. I get a high as well when I know that there are many readers who benefit from my articles.
I enjoy my work at Smart because I’m able to implement the many ideas I have or at least influence the products that serve the Filipinos. 

MoneySense: What skills, talents, and strengths do you have that makes your work a perfect match?

Ka Edong: I have a technical background (Electrical Engineer from UP Diliman), I am firmly attuned with the man on the street, and I’m able to communicate well between management, developers and end-users. This puts me in a very good position to create products (in Smart) or articles (in blogging) that serve Filipinos. 

MoneySense: How did you come to the realization that it’s something you really love to do? When did you know this?

Ka Edong: I’ve been a telecommunications analyst for a very long time. In fact, when I started blogging in 2005, I wrote a whole lot about my observations of the telecoms industry. I was an outside observer of the telecoms industry, a customer who had many ideas about how to improve the telecoms, especially in relation to mobile commerce. 

MoneySense: Did you plunge into it immediately or did it take you a long time carefully planning for it?

Ka Edong: Blogging is a long-time hobby. Eventually, I will be taking the path of the “New Rich” as described in the 4-hour workweek by Tim Ferris. For now, I enjoy the best of both worlds of full-time employment which I enjoy a lot and supplemental income of blogging which I enjoy a lot as well. As I like to say: Awesome work, Awesome play, Awesome worth and Awesome pay! 

MoneySense: Did you study the market and made a business plan first or did you just go ahead for the fun of it?

Ka Edong: For the fun of it.

MoneySense: Were there people doing the job you love that you wanted to emulate? How did you learn from them?

Ka Edong: Anton Diaz is a friend and role model for me. He built up his blog www.ourawesomeplanet.com , he learned fast and did very well — enough to resign from his corporate job and spend more time with his family. I’ve taken Anton’s course, Maven Secrets, and continue to work on my blog to increase the value that I create through my blog. Anton and I share a similar passion as well for teaching/coaching. I look forward to doing more of that in the future. And of course, we’re proud Filipinos! Saya!

MoneySense: What small steps did you take to get started?

Ka Edong: I used www.blogspot.com ! . And I just wrote for self-expression without worrying much about what other people would think about my blog. Many newbie bloggers get analysis paralysis when they dwell too much on the look of their blog. Basta, sulat ka muna ng sulat, and then improve along the way.

MoneySense: What made you realize you’re on the right track?

Ka Edong: When I hit my first $100 per month earnings from my blog, I was amazed! Wow, this is something I could grow! What was even more amazing was the time that I didn’t blog for more than a month. And the money still was coming in. That’s when I realized that there are ways to earn from blogging without necessarily sweating it out too much (meron pa ring sweat, siyempre).

MoneySense: Do you believe in the saying “Do what you love, and the money will follow? Is pursuing your passion enough to become successful?

Ka Edong: I would take this advice with a grain of salt. There’s a balance that allows you enough risk to go out of your comfort zone, without putting your life (and the people you love) at a compromising situation.

MoneySense: What advice can you give people who are stuck in jobs they hate or they have accepted as their fate?

Ka Edong: First: Find the good in your current situation. Gratitude has a way of increasing our blessings.

To share a story: I had a conversation with a utility lady at our building.
I asked: “Kumusta buhay, ano balita?”
She replied with a long face: “Wala sir, walang magandang balita.”
I asked: “Bakit walang magandang balita? Buhay ka pa ba?”
She replied: “Opo.”
I asked: “May trabaho ka ba?”
She replied (now with a hint of a smile): “Opo.”
I said: “O, naka-dalawa na tayong magandang balita! Ano pa’ng iba?”
 
Second: Slowly but surely, develop yourself. Learn something new everyday. Expand yourself beyond your comfort zone. Do something that you always have wanted to do! And joy will increase.

(end of interview)  

Gratitude for 6 years of Technobiography and a great life ahead!

I thank all friends and readers of Technobiography as well as blogger friends and online friends we meet along the way. We celebrate what we have achieved, and we look forward to so much more we could achieve!

Here’s to many more years of fun and fulfillment in doing what we love!

ka edong
Claim!

This opportunity is for people who would like to make money by selling airtime load and other similar services.
This is also for people who consume a lot of load and would like to economize through discounts.

There’s a business opportunity called Load Mo Sarili Mo or “LMSM”. From the information I gather from different interviews and flyers I’ve seen, LMSM is basically a different way of distributing airtime load across the Philippines.

LMSM - Load Mo Sarili Mo

LMSM uses a “member-gets-member” concept. The member becomes a load fund reseller and enjoys 3-5% discount.

After the jump, take a look at the LMSM slide presentation, earning opportunities, advantages, membership types and more. Also see details of the Grand Launch of LMSM.

Advantages

• Simple and straightforward ( single product, which is “eload”, single network, which is “Smart”)
• Fast, efficient and convenient self-loading, anytime/anywhere
• Product is highly consumable and is actually considered basic commodity.
• Open to international membership since Filipinos abroad also use SMART airtime through roaming Pinoy SIMs and Plug N Talk
• You get the full commission which you don’t have to share with a downline because your downline has its own allocation of commission.
• Provides web access for online registration, load fund checking, genealogy checking/tracking

Membership types range from Regular, Bronze, Silver, Gold and OFW members. Depending on the type of membership, they get a combination of one or more of the following items upon registration: Activation ID, load fund, handouts, SIMs, handouts, Smart Bro kits, Plug n’ Talk kit.

Earning Opportunities include commissions, one-time referral fees and earnings from the stockist program.

Payout Methods include: Load Fund, Cheque, Smart Money or Bank Account

Load Mo Sarili Mo (LMSM) Presentation:

This business is currently in its soft-launch. Come join the LMSM Grand Launch

• When: February 20, 2010, 1-4pm
• Where: SM Megamall Cinema4
• Raffle Prizes: Laptops, cellphones, SmartBro Kits, Plug N Talk, Smart Buddy Cards, Load Mo Sarili Mo Loadfund
• Give-aways: Smart Money Freebies, Smart T-shirts

ka edong
loaded

Dear friends, 

When I began Technobiography in 2004, I just wanted to write about technology and how it affects my life. 

So much has changed since 2004. And it’s time for me to make a change and take this blog to the next level. I have decided to tighten the theme of my blog around the niche of How to Make Money with Mobile. 

Mobile Millionaire - Make Money with Mobile

I reached this decision at the Maven Secrets Program by Anton Diaz, especially with the inspiration of Kid blogger Carl Ocab (Make Money Online with a 13 year old kid blogger). When I met Carl, I half kidding when I declared “When I grow up, I want to become like Carl Ocab”.  :-) 

Thus, begins my transition from Technobiography to www.MobileMillionaire.Net . 

Mobile Millionaire – Make Money with Mobile 

Mobile Millionaire about helping people Make Money with Mobile. I’ll be writing about many ways of using the mobile phone to earn money, including 

• selling airtime load
• mobile advertising
• having a cellphone service
• creating an application or game
• mobile commerce
• or even doing business with the help of mobile.

Many of these topics are not new to me. For instance, I’ve been writing a lot about mobile commerce in the past 5 years. There are so mechanisms for making money with mobile. I’d like to help my readers discover the many ways to make money with mobile.   

But more than making money, I also want to talk about Creating Wealth with Mobile. 

True wealth goes beyond money. In a seminar called PSI (People Synergistically Involved), I learned that True Wealth is what we have that cannot be destroyed nor diminished without our permission. True wealth includes our knowledge, our skills, our talents, our network of friends and much more that we have inside of us. 

Creating Wealth with Mobile means enhancing our knowledge, our skills, our talents or maintaining our connection with our network of friends. Thus, I will also be talking about how to use the mobile to 

• gain knowledge, skills or talents through mobile ebooks, audio books, applications or the mobile web
• nurture connections with our friends through mobile web or a plethora of applications

Through articles on this blog Mobile Millionaire, I aim to help my readers Make Money with Mobile and Create Wealth with Mobile. 

Help me help you . Let’s make this world a better place. 

ka edong
Mobile Millionaire

Looks like Liberty is in town. Saw this at the Petron station in Buendia cor. Makati Ave. They call it Wi-Tribe (Pronounced “wye tribe”). And they call it a 4G (4th generation) broadband technology.

Some quick bullets:

• I remember my friends at Intel being part of the WiMax testing back in circa 2005/2006 . Glad to know it’s now reaching the masses … slowly but surely.
• I hear they’re offering trial accounts in selected areas
• I hear (again) that they’re giving a guarantee of internet speeds of 2Mbps at P999 . That’s fast and cheap.
• The modem is rather big. It’s nomadic — meaning it can be transferred from one place to another, but it will not work *while* it’s being moved.

Related links:

• http://www.wi-tribe.com/en/region/wi-tribe-worldwide/wi-tribe-philippines.html
• http://www.wi-tribe.com/en/partner/about-wi-tribe/investors-partners/san-miguel-corporation-slug.html

More info when we have them.

Update Jan 31:

• They’ve got a Philippine website: http://www.wi-tribe.ph/
• From Manuel Villoria: http://www.viloria.com/secondthoughts/archives/00001778.html

Here’s a clipping from: http://www.wi-tribe.ph/facts-about-4g/

Facts about 4G
wi-tribe uses 4G because it is the future of broadband technology the entire world is moving towards.

4G (Fourth Generation) is the class of technologies that delivers hi-speed broadband and multimedia services and applications.

In contrast, 3G is voice technology that is being used for some internet applications like small screen applications and casual surfing.

Facts about 4G in a broadband application:

4G is broadband that delivers true wired speeds without wires.
4G is faster because it has more bandwidth.
4G is completely portable so you can enjoy it in your office, so you can bring it to your favorite coffee-shop,  or your hang out.
4G is 3 times faster than 3G technology.
4G is the preferred broadband technology that will give you the richer,  pleasurable internet experience you truly deserve.

Contact

Office Address:
Technology Center
2298 Chino Roces Ave. Extn.
Makati City, Philippines

Email us @ customercare@wi-tribe.ph

Call us @ 31 – tribe (31 – 87423)

ka edong
liberte

I’ve been updating my wordpress blogs the past weeks.

On www.edwinsoriano.com, I was trying to update one of my widgets. But when I click “save” on the widget, I kept getting this error:

Are you sure you want to do this?

Please try again.

After many attempts and getting the same result, I did a Google search for “Wordpress error are you sure you want to do this“. Most of the results had to do with Wordpress MU which I wasn’t using.

I was able to fix the error on my own. I found that if I deactivate one of my plugins, I no longer get the error.

Here’s how I did it:

1. In Wordpress, Go to Plugins section
2. Deactivate ALL plugins
3. Test if updating your widget now works.

   3.a. If widget update works, it means one of your plugins is causing the error. –> Proceed to step 4.

   3.b. If widget update still doesn’t work, it means the error is *not* caused by a plugin. –> I have no other solution so far.

4. RE-Activate your plugins one by one, each time checking if widget updating still works.
5. When you find a plugin that, when reactivated, causes the widget updating to have an error — REJOICE! You’ve found the erring plugin.

   5.a. Update this plugin or revert to older versions of the plugin. See if that works.

   OR

   5.b. Deactivate this plugin.

6. Repeat step 4 until all other plugins are reactivated.

Now I’m a happy puppy because I found a solution for the error in www.edwinsoriano.com . Hope the solution above can help other bloggers too.

One post-script, though. I’m encountering the same problem in www.technobiography.com . And the above solution isn’t working — I get the scenario 3.b. where the plugins do not cause the error.I’ll try in a while: reverting to basic theme. Let’s see if that works.

Worked like a charm for me. For both www.edwinsoriano.com and www.technobiography.com .

ka edong
back blogging