
Janette Toral shares the fun and challenges in doing search engine and social media marketing in the Philippines
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Yahoo! Swags at DigitalFilipino Club & Bloggers Meet-up Bacolod, Cebu, & Davao

Sunday, August 19, 2007
Congratulations to Wika2007!
With nearly 60 entries in just a span of two weeks, this competition has a lot of potential in the years to come.
- Huwag mo nang itanong by Michael P. De Guzman
- For the LOVE of Wisdom by Bam
- Tuliro by Lizbeth Buenaflor
- AOL Wika 2007 Entry : “Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa” by Lionheart
- Lahi by Hazel Sheryll Reambillo
- Ang Wikang Tagalog Bow by Geri Barcelona
- Alay sa Buwan ng Wika by Eljon Salenga
- Katimauan para king sariling Amanu! by Jason Paul Laxamana
- United We Stand, Divided We Fall by Mary Roselyn L. Reyes
- Linggo ng Wika Special: “Aral ng Kasaysayan” by Don
- Bayang minumulto… by McRey
- Naykupu! by Ynon
- Language and the Heaven-sent story by Timlight
- Isang Click para sa Halo Halo Espesyal Pilipino by Hatchzel
- Tungo sa pagbabanyuhay by Ding Fuellos
- WIKANG FILIPINO, DAPAT PAGYAMANIN by Alice Fajardo
- Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa by Paul Vincent
- Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa by Hussein Catanyag
- Ang paradigm shift at ang mga erehe ng KWF by Willy Prilles, Jr.
- Ukinenam: an expression only by Rens Sese
- PAGKAKAISA SA KABILA NG PAGKAKAIBA by Mary Grace Reglos
- Ang Pagladlad ng Kapa by Empress Maruja
- A Language We All Need to Learn by Ayel
- Maraming Wika, Matatag na Bansa by Conrad Miguel E. Gozalo
- Ang ‘Tag-ray’ at ang Wikang Pinoy! by Fjordan G. Allego
- Taste the Philippines by Mark Aethen G. Agana
- Maraming Wika, mas marami ang mabahong isda! by Irvin P. Sto. Tomas
- Imperyalistang Maynila: A Wika 2007 Entry by Ariel James A. Matela
- Alitaptap by Denib Josette M. Suguitan
- Ang Ikalawang Tore ni Babel by Juan Karlo Licudine
- Hoy! Mas marami nga kaming wika, matatag naman kami!!! by Jan Marvi F. Atienza
- Wika at Musika by Garry Victor Urbi
- YAPAK NI RIZAL by Kc Victoria
- Si Bisoy, sa hamon ng maraming Wika by Richard V. Diongson
- Liham pasasalamat kay PILIPINO by Mark Monta
- Pitong Libong Pulo: Binigkis ng Iisang Wika by Micaela Fransesca Rodriguez
- Silip sa WIka by Raymund Salumbides
- Tulay by Hedrick Jan Cabrera
- Hindi Ito Entry Sa Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest by Mamang Sorbetero
- Pudra by Edward Purnell
- Bakit ba Hindi Ako nag-Filipino Major? by Tyrene Delgado
- Wikang Filipino… Naaan ka na? by Richard Coronacion
- Filipino: Bonding a Nation and Its People by AnitoKid
- May Himig ang Abakada by Aaron James R. San Pedro
- AKALA MO LANG WALA PERO MERON MERON MERON! WAPAK! by Chibi
- Ang Obra by Feddie Marc S. Perez
- ‘THE’ Filipino Language: WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS MEAN??? by Frances Paola G. Doplon
- Pista ng Wikang Filipino/The Spectacle of the Filipino Language by Marocharim
- Nosebleed by Tricia Ferrer
- MINDANAO KINI (this is Mindanao) by Hector Minoza
- Speak the ‘Wika’ Go Global! by Lord Art Florenz M. Lomarda
- Anthem of Nations by Catherine Pascual
- Ang Mother Tounge at Lingua Franca by Lester G. Cavestany
- Paglipas by Philip Marco C. Caballes
- Posible Kaya? by Donald Bercasio
- Inglish ispiking? by Karla Chan
- Maraming Wika, Matatag Na Bansa by JP Tolledo
I also encourage all participants to also join You Got Blogged (review a blog contest) and the Filipina Writing Project.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Sponsoring the Wika 2007 Blog Writing Contest
The aim of this competition is to promote and strengthen our language. The submission of entries will be from August 6 to 18.
The winner shall be announced on August 29. This contest is open to all Filipino bloggers here and abroad.
Prizes ranged from P1000 to P5000 in cash. It also includes domain name and web hosting.
I'll measure the effectiveness of this sponsorship by the number of persons signing up as a member in the DigitalFilipino.com Club.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
6 reasons why I want to attend the Ituloy AngSulong party
- Meet as many of the Ituloy AngSulong participants and exchange business cards.
- Some Ituloy AngSulong participants have inquired in the past about club membership and hope to be able to give more info while there.
- Meet the female Ituloy AngSulong participants, take pictures, and post it in W3O.
- Talk to interested Ituloy AngSulong participants who have PR6 and up websites to have their website homepage be shown in the cover of my upcoming book in exchange for a one-year link showing book cover image (for front cover) or text link (for back cover). They should agree to be featured as one of the examples in the book as well.
- See if any Ituloy AngSulong participants will be interested to be a speaker or sponsor for iBlog3.
- Campaign for entries and sponsors in the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards and Philippine Schools Cyberfair.
Many thanks to everyone who supported our Ituloy AngSulong entry!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Blog Parteeh Summary
- What Happened at the Blog Party 2007 Stays at the Blog Party 2007 (Jayvee)
- Link Loving (AJ)
- Bo Sanchez interviews people at the Blog Parteeh (Bo Sanchez)
- Link Love and Meet Love: A Post on Online/ Offline Dynamics (Pierre)
- T2B Spotting: Kilt-inspired Short Skirt (Sasha)
- Blog Posts Are The Ticket (Technorati)
- MY FIRST PARTY FOR 2007 (Liz)
- Blogparteeh 07 rundown (Randy)
- Hiding behind a camera (Elber)
- Kudos to all the Bloggers at BlogParteeh07 (Geri)
- Nice Meeting the Blog Parteeh Guys & Gals! (Jozzua)
- Blog Parteeh ‘07: Postscript (Tess)
- Blogparteeh Storeeh (Marhgil)
- At the Blog Parteeh… (Sorsi)
- Err Waiterrr! One lucky table for 7 bloggers please (Geri)
- Blog Parteeh + Family Drama = Pictures (Shari)
- blogParteeh07 (Michael)
- What a Parteeh! (Jomar)
- Blog Parteeh '07 -- Violent Memes (Pierre)
- An incident with bloggers and a lift near midnight (Juned)
- Some shots from Blog Parteeh 07 (Juned)
- The Blog Parteeh Last Saturday (Joni)
- Bloggers Brought the House Down! (Sasha)
- Emo After the Blog Parteeh (Ade)
- Guess Who Won the iPod.... (Shari)
- AUGPhil makes presence felt at Blog Parteeh 2007 (Regnard)
- Blog Parteeh 07 Photos (Noemi)
- Sa Blog Parteeh (Ederic)
- D’Blogparteeh in pictures (Ajay)
- Props to Blog Parteeh 2007 People! (Regnard)
- Shooting at the Blog Parteeh (Luis)
- Starstruck! (Aileen)
- Awesome Saturday... (Marcelle)
- Blog Parteeh ‘07 Photos on Flickr (Mike)
- Blogparteeh07 postscripts (Jhay)
- Blogpartee07 Aftershock (Zaldy)
- BlogParteeh 2007 Anecdotal (Luis)
- Slideshare (Juned)
- Blog Parteeh 2007: The Aftermath (Karla)
- The blogparteeh aftermath (Mae)
- When the Bloggers Went Offline to Parteeh! (Blog Parteeh 2007) (Aileen)
- Krispy Kremes (Jason)
- Blogparteeh07 Aftermath (2) (Poell)
- Blog Parteeh '07 Success! (L.A.)
- Fight Pics from Blog Parteeh ‘07! (Mike)
- Blog Parteeh 2007 (Darwin)
- Bloh Parteeh Blockbuster! (Retz)
- So, how was the parteeh? (Abraham)
- The Blog Parteeh After Math (Carlo)
- After Parteeh (Migs Paraz)
- Blog Parteeh '07 -- XXX: ORJEEH! (Pierre)
- Blog-Hopping Offline at the Blog Parteeh 2007 (MagandangBalita)
- Blog Parteeh 2007: Quick Report (Jonas Diego)
- Yes, Virginia, there is a God (Ganns)
- A Blogger's orgasm (Rene Gener)
- Blog Parteeh 07 1, 2, 3, 4 (Migs)
- Blog Parteeh : The Aftermath (And a truckload of new links) (Aaron)
- the blog parteeh sucked!! (Chris)
- Trapped at the Blog Parteeh venue (Luis)
- Blog Parteeh 07 Update (Lauren)
- Parteeh Hangover (Tina)
- After all the blogparteeh fanfare (Apples)
- The Blog Parteeh After Glow (me)
- BlogParteeh Aftermath (AJ)
- will post more here...
Ituloy AngSulong Blog Parteeh! (blogparteeh07)
Friday, January 26, 2007
Blogging 101 Workshop E-Book Finally Goes to Print
We'll be publishing 1000 copies of the book and release it by April 10, 2007. Whether it is going to be a face-to-face or online book launching is something that shall be decided upon soon.
From its original version, the e-book is expanded to 8 lessons so that schools who wishes to use it can plan their programs for a whole semester term.
- Lesson 1: Introduction to blogging (Exercise: Blog critic and setting up a personal blog)
- Lesson 2: Blog copyright and ethics (Exercise: Identifying blog violations)
- Lesson 3: Generating revenue through blogs (Exercise: Identify revenue generating schemes for blogs)
- Lesson 4: Getting started in blogging (Exercise: Theme planning and Setting up your blog for business)
- Lesson 5: Marketing your blog (Exercise: Metrics set-up, trend tracking, and blog promotion techniques)
- Lesson 6: Introduction to podcasting (Exercise: Creating a podcast)
- Lesson 7: Becoming a professional blogger (Exercise: Identify professional blogging opportunities)
- Lesson 8: Setting up your own blog network (Exercise: Creating a blog network)
- The 100-Days Blogging Challenge
- Club Member Directory (Individual member blogs, SME and Corporate Members website)
- Sponsor text ads
If you are not a club member but would like to receive one of the 100 copies we are giving away, just do the following:
- Blog about this project and why you want to have a copy. Make sure to add a link back to this blog entry. Note that blogs created only for this purpose are not qualified.
- Make sure that your contact / mailing address details is clear in your blog.
- At your option, you can add the technorati tag blogging101workshop for mutual promotion.
- Post a comment here with the url to your blog.
- Only one copy shall be given per person. If you are based overseas, we will send you an electronic copy of the book instead.
Those who'll qualify for a free copy shall be posted here and be directly contacted too. This promotion shall end upon reaching the 100 free book giveaway count.
Thank you to all bloggers, SEO competition organizers, and readers for inspiring me.
Ituloy AngSulong blogging101workshop!!!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Blog advertising in DigitalFilipino
It also allowed me to be a little liberal on how to go about site-wide text advertising especially when it comes to my blog properties. The rate I've identified so far are:
Philippine Internet Review
- Site-wide text link ads under sponsors (US$60 for one year)
- Sponsored link per blog post (US$4 for one year)
DigitalFilipino.com Podcast
- Podcast 30-seconds ad (US$100 per episode. For five spots, get one free episode plug)
- Site-wide text link ads under sponsors (US$50 for one year)
- Sponsored link per episode (US$4 for one year)
Philippine Outsourcing Review
- Site-wide text link ads under sponsors (US$45 for one year)
- Sponsored link per blog post (US$3 for one year)
Reflective Thinking
- Site-wide text link ads under sponsors (US$40 for one year)
- Sponsored link per blog post (US$3 for one year)
Women in Web, Wireless, and Outsourcing
- Site-wide text link ads under sponsors (US$40 for one year)
- Sponsored link per blog post (US$3 for one year)
There are more blogs but still under the nurturing stage.
To kick it off, I just created a DigitalFilipino Premium Advertising Package that offers five (5) site-wide text ad (no more than 4 words) for one year.
Although I'm still conservative when it comes to advertising in DigitalFilipino.com as I have a club membership program that covers it.
On the other hand, I'm now considering creating a new club membership category that will give the benefits of a corporate membership plus site-wide ad links in all our blogs for US$500. (thinking....)
Ituloy AngSulong blog advertising!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tunog Pinoy Star Search Grand Finalists
The final line-up for the first ever Tunog Pinoy Star Search singing competition for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong is now complete. Organized and managed by locally-listed company IPVG Corp (PSE: IPVG) on the Konek Pinoy information service platform and accessed exclusively through a leading phonecard provider in Hong Kong, ten aspiring singers will compete in the Grand Finals to be held on January 28, 2007 at Chater Road, Central in Hong Kong. Filipino TV and radio celebrities will attend the event as special guests and judges.
The Grand Finalists who hail from the various regions in the country are as follows:
- Elija Clave
- Irene Aquino
- Julie Ann Jereza
- Elvira Manacmul
- Mary Jane Corpuz
- Erwin Yumul
- Lowelin Addu
- Marina Torcuato
- Erlyn Guillermo
- Ruzziel Lumibao
New votes for the top 10 finalists are now being received and will end at 5pm on January 25, 2007, three days before the Grand Finals.
Launched last August 2006, two winners were selected every month from hundreds of participants who used their phonecards to record their songs. Their entries were aired on the weekly Philippines Tonight Show (PTS) on Metro Plus AM 1044 radio. Listeners were invited to cast their votes for their preferred contestant also using phonecards. The contest attracted close to 400 aspiring singers and about 350,000 votes were received during the elimination periods.
As a run-up to the Grand Finals, the top 10 finalists will be featured and interviewed in the upcoming weeks on the Philippine Tonight Show. Listeners of the show will also be able to phone in to give their prediction on who will be the first Tunog Pinoy Star Search singing champion. Under the rules of the contest, the winners will be selected 60% based on public votes (made through phonecards) during the period from 11pm Friday 22nd December 2006 to 5pm on Thursday 25th January 2007, while the remaining 40% will come from the panel of judges based on the live performances at the Grand Finals.
The Grand Finals will be aired live in Hong Kong by Metro Plus AM 1044, an afternoon weekend radio programme. Philippine residents can also tune in by logging on http://www.metroradio.com.hk/1044metroplus/, January 28, 2006 – Sunday at 3.00 pm. Winners of the singing contest will receive fabulous prizes, including a recording contract with Viva Records. Mechanics and details of the competition are available at all major phonecard outlets in Hong Kong.
Ituloy AngSulong IPVG!
Other news:
Monday, January 08, 2007
Create an E-Newsletter Hands-on Workshop on January 18
We shall be having a Create an E-Newsletter Hands-on Workshop this January 18, Thursday, from 1:30 to 5 pm.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Ten ways I use LinkedIn
Although I must admit that adding new found contacts nowadays meant following them on Twitter and connecting through Facebook. But on a more professional level, I believe LinkedIn is still as valuable.
- Keep in touch with people met and get to know them more.
When speaking in events, I usually end up not seeing the people met that soon. This is most true for international speaking engagements. I invite them to LinkedIn.com and at least maintain that connection.
- Promote the DigitalFilipino.com Club through LinkedIn for Groups.
When LinkedIn for Groups was first launched, I immediately had the DigitalFilipino.com Club registered and this allowed all club members to have the club logo, at their option, posted in their LinkedIn.com profile. At this time, we only link to individual club members' LinkedIn.com public profile in our members directory. This allows the club members to get to know their individual club members much better.
- Got contacts and clients to recommend me.
Although I don't actively seek for it anymore, great to have past clients or those who have benefited from DigitalFilipino free services kind enough to give a recommendation.
There was a website before that ranked SEO professionals listed in LinkedIn. I recall topping the list based on number of recommendations. What's funny though is that one day, rank #2 person sent me a message saying he will almost have more recommendations than me and will beat me soon. Although he sent that when the list was no longer there.
- Facilitate introductions for contacts.
Have introduced several contacts to each other especially those who go out of the country trips. Although I admit that not many users are as active visiting their LinkedIn profile. So best to follow it up through other means too.
- Find contacts.
Use LinkedIn to look for people I need to talk to for a variety of reasons. Through connections, also found past contacts who I haven't been in touch with for a long time and connect with them.
- Shamelessly self-promote.
Post enough info about oneself in order to build contacts and possibly generate business. Of course, one has to add value as well. This is where I integrated my Twitter, Slideshare, and latest club blog post sharing relevant updates as much as possible.
- Build a company profile. (October 18, 2010 update)
LinkedIn now allows you to write a company profile and this can help in promoting your company further.
- Join groups of interest. (October 18, 2010 update)
There are many groups in Linked where people interact on a variety of topics. This can be used to build connections by asking and sharing what you know.
- Plug events. (October 18, 2010 update)
LinkedIn has an event tool where you can plug your latest event and invite friends to join. Although I suggest using it early and be proactive in inviting.
- Filter quality of contacts. (October 18, 2010 update)
In most social networking sites, I spend more time proactively seeking contacts, especially after events. Though most of us get invitation from people we never met, I still advise you to be wary of accepting such especially if your friends list is viewable among friends. If your circle of friends in social networks matter to you, protect it by having quality of contacts and don't just share it to others.
Ituloy AngSulong - Blogging and Social Computing!
Jasper Jugan, a technology evangelist from Microsoft Philippines shared numerous interesting points. This includes:
- There are 1800 Microsoft bloggers
- Microsoft has active communities such as Channel 9, PressPass, Windows Live Spaces, theSpoke, Aggreg8, Microsoft Philippines Community, MSDN, TechNet Forums, and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
- In-person community activities are important that includes game eyeballs, tournaments, free-playing, parties, concerts, and socializing. They have plug n play activities where the community members form their own band and play.
- Two of Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals today are club members too. They are Rodney Jao and Wilson Chua.
What makes Jasper interesting also is that he got discovered by Microsoft Philippines through these communities and is a Most Valuable Professional himself.
The eyeball was scheduled quite early this year. We took advantage of club member Sacha Chua being here for a vacation, escaping Canadian winter for the next four weeks. Sacha is currently taking her master's degree at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on social computing for large enterprises, and is funded by the IBM Toronto Centre for Advanced Studies. She is a technology evangelist who has given numerous talks here and abroad.Sacha gave a great presentation about what social computing is and how it can be used to grow one's network. She featured tools such as del.icio.us, Upcoming.org, and Xing. Her talk about LinkedIn.com is a great relief for me as all club members can actually post the club logo in their profile. We had the club joined the LinkedIn for Groups program. However, some members aren't sure how LinkedIn can be of use and don't see the need for it. I'm sure her perspective on social computing had a great impact with club members.
One person I'm actually pretty excited to hear was Noemi Lardizabal Dado. Her blogging journey is simply amazing and recently won the best blog in the Philippine Web Awards. Her personal blog gave birth to new niche blogs that is giving her good revenue as well. What I learned from her that I will apply in my blog includes:
- Create an About Me section
- Use senses in expressing oneself in writing
- Encourage readers to tell something about themselves
- Use one topic per entry
One great break Angelo got is to manage the BlogHerald. It gave him the opportunity to manage a big blog network without the exclusivities. He is now on his quest to be a Blog Overlord and generate bigger income through aggregated revenue.
Although the expense of being a problogger can be higher as one has to cover equipment, bandwidth, time, among others. But I agree with Angelo that it can be one's ticket to bigger things. My experience in having DigitalFilipino.com took me to places, outsource and self-started projects, writing, and research assignments that I never thought would be possible.
More power to bloggers! This recent eyeball also inspired me to finally work on the launch of an advertising revenue sharing program for club members who blogs. I hope this will inspire more club members to blog professionally.
Check out the coverage and photos for more! Here are some:
- Populating Upcoming.Org for Metro Manila (J Angelo Racoma)
- How to Promote your blog: Personal Blogging Experience Part 1 (Noemi Lardizabal Dado)
For those who attended and blogged about it, do let me know and will add you here. Thanks!!!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Real estate selling can be fun
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Blogging Forum this January 5
Parties interested to join the club and attend this networking event are encouraged to sign up and be a club member.
Four club members will be sharing their knowledge during this event. This includes Sacha Chua, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, J. Angelo Racoma, and Frank Holz.
Join ka na!
Monday, January 01, 2007
DigitalFilipino.com home page updated
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
E-Commerce Web Hosting and Development
However, since 2003, I find myself launching two new websites either on a December or January. Actually, this was triggered after I discovered WebsiteWizard.
Today, I have 4 websites hosted in that service. They are:
- DigitalFilipino.com Club
- Philippine Software Process Improvement Network
- Bead Club Philippines
- Prima Play School
What I like about WebsiteWizard is that they have great features that is of value than the fees they ask for.
- register your .com domain name
- create your website
- choose from a variety of templates
- use a simple web-based visual editor
- experience 24/7 accessibility and ease of use
- add web-forms to your site easily
- create your own logo
- get search engine traffic
- help to optimize your site for search engines
- add a shopping cart to your website
- accept credit card payments
- take online orders 24/7/365
- deliver your digital products automatically
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Credibility and endorsement: Internet advertising and DigitalFilipino
This is something that I usually get and have refrained from accepting such type of offers directly for several reasons.
Credibility and endorsement
While a potential advertiser product may be good, oftentimes loyal site visitors believe that you are accountable to any advertisement appearing in your website, especially if its very specialized in nature. Unlike Google AdSense which is common to a lot of websites, a brand advertisement do have some strings attached.
The moment the advertisement contract ended, the relationship is also terminated. If they have fouled up in their service and disgruntled folks signed up through you - that's an instant accountability on the website owner.
Alternative approach
So whenever offers for advertisement get served to me through e-mail or phone call, I always advise the company to sign up as a corporate club member instead in the DigitalFilipino.com Club.
Instead of paying me US$300 to US$500 per month, they just pay a one-year corporate club membership fee and be part of our banner ad rotation system. This also gives me the opportunity to get to know the new members much better and explore areas where the club and its members can be of benefit.
I guess you can say that I invest in something more serious or a committed inner circle relationship with peers. Not just a fancy fling where I-use-you and you-use-me.
Ituloy AngSulong - 2007 Philippine Biotechnology Venture Summit
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Falling in love with Blogger
The creation of these features actually makes a Blogger a full blown website service. The Links element can be used to create permanent sections in your site. During my Website Enhancement Workshop yesterday, one of my club members, Trabilis Travel & Tours, took advantage of this feature to create a website prototype.
The only catch is that these new features can only be taken advantage of by new blog creators.
I hope that Blogger will allow old blog site owners to choose a new template and immediately take advantage of the new page element features. It will really make the maintenance very easy.
I will be using these new features to create my successive blogs starting with the DigitalFilipino Web Awards blog.
Monday, December 11, 2006
I want to test drive - Flybook V33i 3G HSDPA / Mobile Broadband
Then, last Friday, during DigitalFilipino.com Club eyeball, I learned about Flybook V33i HSDPA. A laptop that has HSDPA / mobile broadband where you just need to insert your SIM card.
The laptop size is so sleek as well which reminds me of my old Fujitsu Lifebook which I sold already. I can't wait getting my hands on this gadget for a test drive! (yes it is available in the Philippines!)
Monday, December 04, 2006
December 8: Web Marketing Forum / Christmas Party!
Once you are registered, you can attend our Web Marketing Forum that will start at 4 pm. I hope you can attend and let's meet up!