I am a delinquent blogger!

20 August 2008     •     4 Comments
Tech Things

Yah I know, that’s not something to be proud of. But hey, I got to accept the fact: I have been (and probably still am) a delinquent blogger.

The I-am-busy-with-work excuse is getting old, and frankly, even I’m getting tired of telling myself that very same excuse. Well, it’s true that I’m still very busy with work and the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards… But I’ll have to admit that I did have some free time to blog. Yet, it took me about 17 days to blog again.

I don’t know why, but somehow, I just didn’t feel like blogging lately. Read more

Shakey’s V-League’s big online PR mistake

14 May 2008     •     7 Comments
Tech Things

My husband Marc had been covering Shakey’s V-League volleyball games ever since he started his volleyball blog. He’d been successful gathering the “Friendster crowd,” a fan base that you’d probably call “photo-happy.”

Marc often tagged along my dad whenever he covered it for The Philippine Daily Inquirer, and got free training from one of the country’s best sports photographers in the process. Eventually, dad trusted him enough to forward one of his photos to Inquirer’s chief photographer, which gave Marc his first-ever print byline.

That Inquirer stint made Marc cover and take photos of V-League diligently for his blog and as a “standby” just in case Inquirer needed a photo but all of their photographers were busy covering more important things. He was so diligent that sometimes he forgot his work priorities.

Marc’s just one of the amateur photographers who covered V-League diligently and gave the league free online exposure—there are a lot of them out there. Some have blogs like Marc, while other share their photos through their social networking accounts. We bloggers know better than anyone how blogging can “light a fire and keep it going” in Public Relations (PR). Advertisers won’t waste their time and money inviting us to their events if we didn’t. But apparently, the management of Shakey’s V-League didn’t think the free online mileage they’ve been getting was important: Photographers can no longer take photos of their games unless they have a press pass, even if they paid for their own tickets. No one can take photos other than those with press pass, period. Read more

Events recap

10 May 2008     •     1 Comment
Tech Things

Sorry guys, I’ve been sick for the past two weeks, I haven’t really been able to do much. So this is going to be a “quickie” post. I have so much backlog in blogging lately, so I figured a short update will do. I’ve been meaning to post a new entry once I’ve finished my new design (I’m already in the coding phase!), but I got sick and some of these things can’t wait anymore.

Events recap for April

Read more

The 2008 Philippine Blog Awards

11 January 2008     •     11 Comments
Daily Dose Tech Things

We just officially launched the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards!

2008 Philippine Blog Awards

So, you think you got what it takes to be considered one of the Philippines’ finest bloggers? Well, here’s your chance! 😀 Read more

Thank goodness for blogging

24 November 2007     •     2 Comments
Daily Dose Family Stuff Tech Things

Before Paypal became fully operational here in the Philippines, I have always received my blogging earnings through check payment. Marc and I had to open a dollar savings account when I started monetizing my blogs about a year ago—besides, we needed a dollar account for clients who preferred paying through bank wire as well—and I deposited all my dollar blog earnings there (well, maybe except for those earnings I got from local direct advertisers).

A check I deposited usually took about three weeks to clear, aside from the fact that it takes about another two to three weeks for the check to get delivered. Until then, I wouldn’t be able to do anything with the check I received. Marc and I basically just left our dollar account be, and spent the earnings we got from our web design business for daily expenses.

We don’t normally spend money from the dollar account mainly because we’re just too lazy to withdraw from it 😀 It’s not like an ATM account, where you head over to the nearest machine or use your card to pay for purchases in stores that allow EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). You will have to go to the bank during banking hours (9am to 3pm), wait in line to withdraw the dollars, then have it exchanged to Philippine Pesos before you can actually spend it. If you wanted to exchange your dollars at a higher rate, you’d even have to go to a money changer. Hassle, isn’t it? Read more

My dogs got me a dollar savings account!

16 August 2007     •     9 Comments
Tech Things

With so many issues and controversies popping up for the past few weeks within the Philippine Blogosphere, I need a break. Whatever relaxation I got from a long weekend in Angeles City and Subic Bay was zapped as fast as blinking as soon as I saw the mess that was the Pinoy blogosphere. So I thought of writing about something lighter.

My dogs got me a dollar savings account!

I used to tease Marc, my husband, that my dogs are “earning” more than he was in blogging, but never really thought much about it. But yeah, come to think of it, the majority of my blogging income comes from my dog-inspired blogs. Read more

Are we selling ourselves too cheaply?

15 August 2007     •     10 Comments
Tech Things

I know this isn’t the right time for it, with all the controversies going on regarding the 13-year-old kid (frankly, I really hope this issue would settle down already. Imagine the pressure and the stress this gives the kid), but I can’t help it. I just have to let it out.

There are times that I wish that I could thread in two rivers. But I can’t. As a web designer, I am sometimes bound by non-disclosure agreements—especially the outsourced ones. The client privilege of privacy and non-disclosure just sucks when you’re also a blogger. You get the juiciest, first-hand accounts of interesting and bloggable tidbits, but you can’t write anything about it. Sometimes, I really wish it was as easy as disclosing PR involvement (like, it’s as simple as “I got this gift from this company and they fed me dinner, so I’m blogging about it as a gesture of ‘thanks’ even though I don’t have any idea what the product or service really is”), but it’s not.

However, that’s not why I’m ranting.

Are we selling ourselves too cheap?

Read more

Joining the fray on blog disclosures

11 August 2007     •     7 Comments
Tech Things

After two weeks of house arrest in front of my PC, I finally got that much needed break. Marc and I are at Fontana Leisure Park in Angeles City with my college friends right now, taking a very short vacation over the weekend before we tackle another tiring, work-laden week ahead. I made a vow to really take a break, and just brought along this laptop for the sole purpose of pleasurable blogging. But I guess sometimes, it’s really hard to avoid not to sneak in a bit of work if you’ve been so used to doing something more productive than getting morning glory on my eyes from too much sleep. I know I should be enjoying it, but for some weird reason, I find the peacefulness of the place a bit unnerving—it gives me this uneasy feeling that I’ll have another load of work backlog when I get back.

But then again, I have to admit that all these nature stuff (for once I could actually hear myself think, albeit the crickets and occasional croaks of nearby frogs) and peacefulness are helping me to finally get my thoughts in order and blog about something I’ve been longing to write about but haven’t had the time and energy nor the inspiration to do so: Blog Disclosures.

Some of my friends have already made their say on this issue. Others I agree with, but some, I honestly don’t. But then again, disagreements do happen even between the best of friends—because after all, people have different views on things, and stand for different priorities and advocacies. So yeah, you can either agree or disagree with me. But allow me to give you my piece.

I’m a strong believer of transparency, and of how that transparency helps you protect your integrity. I don’t why, I guess my parents just brought me up that way. Besides, I myself have been an unfortunate victim of underhanded tactics, which probably pushed me further to this line of thinking. Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you.

So what does this have to do with blog disclosures? A lot, I think. Read more

At the Krispy Kreme VIP Launch Party; Are we really the “new media?”

28 June 2007     •     11 Comments
Tech Things

I remember reading an entry of Abe’s where he asked if we (the bloggers) are cut out for the hustle and bustle of the press when he joined Kiko Pangilinan’s caravan to Laoag. Frankly speaking, I can’t help but ask the same.

My husband and I joined a number of bloggers (Abe and his brother Ryan, Noemi with “kids” Lauren and Marielle, Ajay with her twins and her friend Nina, Chris and his wife Apples, and Eric) at the Krispy Kreme Greenhills VIP Launch Party last Tuesday night (thanks for the invite, Blooey). I’ll have to be honest and say that this isn’t the first time I’ve been to a PR event as a blogger, but this was the very first instance when I actually felt what it’s like to be “part” of the media without my father.

Krispy Kreme Greenhills VIP Launch Party

I’m not trying to be humble or anything, but as I commented to Abe, I felt small. And it’s not because of my height either. Read more

Bad blog days

5 May 2007     •     6 Comments
Tech Things

I’ve been blogging since 2004. But if you count those years when “blogs” were still unheard of and personal sites with journals were the “in” thing to do, I would say it would go as far back as 1996. I still have an offline record of those entries, but I prefer to keep it there in order to protect my reputation haha.Lazy bum

I started blogging in a “dear diary” fashion, and I’m happy to say that it has somehow evolved into a more focused blog which emphasizes the frustrated philosopher in me. One thing never changed though: I still get those bouts of “bad blogging mood swings.”

I’ve written more than once already about creativity blocks as a designer, and I think this is the first time I’ll write one as a blogger.

I haven’t really encountered a moment when I totally, and I do mean totally, can’t design. It’s kind of like a psychological block just waiting to be blasted away. A moment of relaxation would be enough to conquer that block. But in blogging, it’s a bit different. For one, there is no nagging fear of getting penalized for an unfulfilled design contract. Although I try as much as possible to be consistent in the frequency of my entries in order to keep the flow of traffic and inbound links, the “obligation” of publishing a blog entry at least every two to four days isn’t as stringent as that of submitting a design for a client within three business days. Read more

The text and photos on Kutitots belong to the site owner, Gail Dela Cruz - Villanueva (unless otherwise stated). Should you wish to reproduce my text and/or photo content, kindly send me an email and ask permission first. Please respect my copyright. Likewise, I'll respect your copyright too — I won't post photos from your site without your permission.

About this blog
Powered by Wordpress. Kutitots, Kutitots.Com © 2004-2012. By Gail Dela Cruz - Villanueva. All rights reserved.
Have some shame. Don't copy my flea, my layout and my design.