Category Archives: Random Posts

I Miss My iPad

Back in 2009, I won an Apple iPad from an online blogging contest I joined. Imagine winning something as valuable as an iPad. Back then, it costs around Php 18,000+ (around $440) in Greenhills, so it was indeed something I was ecstatic about. However, last year, we had to part ways for some reason. I guess it’s because I was aiming for another gadget and I felt like I wasn’t using my iPad as often as I thought I would.

Fast forward to today, I am missing having my iPad around. I use it to read ebooks, do my regular browsing on my favorite social media, news, tech and entertainment sites, and catch up on some of the blogs I follow. I prefer its touchscreen and how much portable it is compared to my laptop. And I’m not comfortable reading ebooks on my laptop.

Enjoy browsing through The New iPad

As much as I want to buy a Kindle instead, I am now aiming for The New iPad. I want to start reading again and catch up on some of the books I haven’t finished because I have no proper medium to read them without straining my eyes.

I am already canvassing and comparing prices. I’ve also tried finding great coupons online for gadgets and sites that have promos for the iPad I want. But, I have to hold off on this plan since I’m also preparing for our 4-day, 3-night vacation in Bohol that’ll coincide with my birthday. I think I’ll just take care of an extra battery or battery grip for my DSLR (Nikon D3100), so I can take photos like there’s no tomorrow during our vacation. Need to scour the web for the best prices for the battery or the grip too. I have’t found any online voucher codes that I can use, so I’m sticking with the same online gadget store where I bought my Canon digital camera back in 2010.

The resolutionary iPad.pg

I’m currently reading a Michael Pollan book, but I can’t seem to stay long reading through my laptop’s screen, so I’m looking forward to getting me an iPad before this year ends. It’ll be like my Christmas gift to myself. 😀

Oh wait, I’m also thinking about getting an Android tablet instead after some of my friends’ recommendation. What do you think?

Upcoming Blog Updates

This blog was supposedly a place for my technology geek side to flourish. However, because of how OC I get when writing tutorials, tech reviews or when I talk about my concepts in design, I’ve spent less time writing about what this blog is supposed to be about. In a couple of weeks, I promise to finally accomplish what I’ve planned for this blog all along.

With that said, I’ll be updating this blog’s theme to accommodate everything I’ve got planned to make this blog better. I’ve already set up a separate site (a subdomain) to house my portfolio as a designer – design.blankpixels.com, which is still under construction.

My design portfolio is still under construction

Last January, I landed a job in Social Media Management / Marketing (SMM). I was blessed to be accepted for the job even with my intermediate knowledge of social media. Since then, I have learned a lot and since it’s one of the things I’ve been geeking about the past weeks, I want to share some of what I’ve learned here so far. All articles will be written in the same personal style most of my blog’s followers are used to.

I’ll also be putting up my own photo gallery here as I take my photography hobby and skills to the next level. :)So, stay tuned for these blog updates right here or follow my Twitter account @blankPixels as I share a lot of interesting contents on there too.

I Miss This

Over a week ago, I got together with my long-time friends at our favorite restobar here in Malabon – Balsa sa Niugan (I’ll be featuring them on our food blog). It was spontaneous and we were all joking around about how our unplanned meet-ups are more likely to happen than the scheduled ones.

My friends and moi at Balsa sa Niugan

We met up really early, around 6pm – something completely unfamiliar to us all since we were all used to meeting when the sun has set. But, it was fun and we all realized how silly we’ve been when we were younger and how much we miss getting together like that night.

We used to hang out  A LOT at our old home in Navotas. We had a terrace and a videoke machine that’s ready for everyone’s enjoyment. We’ll drink for hours like we had no other worries. Let’s just say that we all underwent a great deal of change… thankfully, for the better. 🙂

I’m hoping that after our home has been renovated, I can invite them all again to drink and be merry here at our new home in Malabon. My parents are planning on putting up a gazebo at our backyard, so maybe we can all hang out there soon. I can buy tubs for beverages, so we won’t have to go back in the house to get more cold beverages, wine or beer.

Now, if only I can have our videoke machine set up out back. 😀

Reliable Server, Less Downtime, More Earnings

When I started my WordPress blogs in 2010, they were all hosted for free on a server of a fellow blogger. My blogs were all working smoothly ’til last April. The issues were too much to handle, mostly because we didn’t really have any contracts or agreements on SLA management and how technical support will be provided, unlike when you are on a paid hosting.  This is why I decided to move all my WordPress blogs to a new paid hosting.

It’s hard not knowing right away what exactly is the problem with my old server.  The only technical support I get is directly from the generous blogger who gave me the free hosting. Don’t get me wrong, he was VERY helpful and accommodating, and I’m so grateful for that. But, it already came to a point when I was too ashamed to always badger him for questions or my concerns about my blogs. I know he’s too busy with his countless blogs and sites that are earning way more than I do. So, even though I enjoyed the luxury of not worrying about annual fees, I just had to move to a paid hosting.

Though I am working full-time as a Social Media Manager / Marketer, my blogs have been a very good source of income too. The advertisements and the sponsorships that I get are helping me with finances at home (I pay all the bills and also shell out money for groceries, etc). Even if my earnings from blogging isn’t as remarkable as most popular bloggers I know, downtime or issues with my hosting still affect my earnings and I just had to know what’s wrong on my end. And since paid hosting means you get technical support from the hosting company, problems with my sites are resolved faster without that guilt feeling after.

Since most of my blogs already have a following, it does affect viewers’, especially the new ones, first impressions of me and my site. And you know what they say about first impressions.

This year, I’m planning on opening a new blog / website which I think would require me to move to a dedicated hosting or sign up for a company who offers effective cloud performance management. For now, I’m focusing on making the most out of my current blogs and monitor to see if I can handle the pressure of another blog / website that might get more traffic than the ones I currently manage.

Protect your Online Reputation

Being a blogger and a social media strategist / marketer, I am well aware of how quickly anything can go viral and how easy it is for people to attack someone or spread negative and/or false information about any person or company. This is particularly bad for those who are not familiar about crisis management or how to resolve issues like this that can greatly affect one’s business, especially now that almost everyone relies for information online.

Reputation is more valuable than money

This is why on my personal, review and food blogs, I always point out that readers should take whatever they read on my blogs or from the comments of visitors with a grain of salt. There are companies out there, even PR people, who’ll use drastic measures to bring down a competitor. I even had a firsthand experience of being requested to write negatively about a certain brand, and I declined the offer even when it meant I’ll be paid almost double of what I earn from my actual job. Tempting, I know. But, I want to maintain my credibility as much as I can.

Googled myselfThis is where Reputation.com comes in. What they do is they help you push out REAL information about you or your company. They help you, just by the company’s name itself, build up your reputation or your image again to ensure that the truth about you is out there.

Some companies and people do resort to black propaganda to put down a competitor for many reasons such as they can’t beat them in a fair fight, or they’re in desperate measures to gain more customers. Worst, some are just doing it for fun or they want you to suffer – an act we call cyber-bullying.

Everyone seems to be using search engines to find out information about anything – one disadvantage of the internet, but we know we can’t do without our internet access. So, it’s important to know what options you have out there to help you ensure that only the truth about you and/or your company are the first things people would see on the search results.

Have you tried Googling yourself lately? Tell me what you’ve seen so far.