Manila Freelancer

Blogs are now a near second to newspapers as the most trusted information source: A quarter (24%) of Europeans consider blogs a trusted source of information, still behind newspaper articles (30%), but ahead of television advertising (17%) and email marketing (14%).

High spenders are most trusting of blogs: Of those who spend more than €145 (£100) online every month, the proportion of people who trust blogs rises to 30%.

France leads European blogging: Across Europe, six out of ten (61%) internet users have heard of blogging, and one in six (17%), have read a blog. France is the most blog-savvy country in Europe, with 90% of respondents familiar with blogs. The British are the least blog-aware, with only 50% having heard the term. In Germany, 55% have heard of blogs, 58% in Italy and 51% in Spain.

Blogs are now driving purchase decisions: More than half (52%) of Europeans polled said that they were more likely to purchase a product if they had read positive comments from private individuals on the internet.

They also block purchases: Nearly 40 million Europeans have not bought something after reading comments posted online.

notice-to-the-public, originally uploaded by travelwriterph.

Magbasa ka kasi!

1. Because we all like to hear the sound of our own voice! Go ahead promote yourself… Blogs enable you to articulate your viewpoints, knowledge and expertise on matters pertaining to your business and interests.
2. Blogging builds credibility. As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs. As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.
3. Blogging builds your market. Unless you are a Celebrity, chances are, only your Mom,  Friends and House helpers reads your posts.  It really impresses people when you say “Oh, Search Melo Villareal and you will find me anywhere in Google.” (some are not impressed though LOL).  Blogs give you an increased presence on major search engines, like Yahoo! and Google. A well-written, routinely updated, keyword-oriented blog can enhance your chances of garnering high rankings on search engine return pages.
4. Bloggers are more updated than non-bloggers… Just always keep in mind for  possible business opportunity in everything you blog about.. The information that we get from blogs is usually week’s ahead of the press releases and newspapers because bloggers keep looking for new development areas to publish i.e. something which is very new. Discussions and interactions happen on the spot. So there is no delay of information sharing. Blogs act as Real time Forums and one may find answers to one’s queries with a fraction of a second.
5. Knowing more also means you’re more likely to hear about interesting jobs coming open.
6. Networking is good for your career. Blogging will keep you in touch with a lot of interesting people and expands your view of the online world, providing new ideas for your potential business.
7. If you’re a journalist like me, blogging puts you in good position in searching for stories to write about.  For a technologist, politician or anyone with a pulse and who doesn’t know everything, blogs matter.
8. If you’re in marketing, you’ll understand that internet is the best advertising medium of all time. Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free.
9. It’s a lot harder to fight with a blogger because he has a public voice, because anytime, a blogger can shout out! Because blogs give you the opportunity to tell your story over and over, its a lot more efficient than a 30 second CNN news flash… believe me…
10. Blogging can be a very effective tool for your business or even you as an individual. Just be sure your blog is real without masking it a blatant advertisement or your message will be transparent and your blog won’t be read.

Kanlungan Lyrics
by Noel Cabangon

Chorus:
Pana-panahon ang pagkakataon
Maibabalik ba ang kahapon?

Natatandaan mo pa ba
Nang tayong dal’wa ang unang nagkita?
Panahon ng kamusmusan
Sa piling ng mga bulaklak at halaman

Doon tayong nagsimulang
Mangarap at tumula

Natatandaan mo pa ba
Inukit kong puso sa punong mangga
At ang inalay kong gumamela
Magkahawak-kamay sa dalampasigan
Malayang tulad ng mga ibon
Ang gunita ng ating kahapon

Refrain 1:
Ang mga puno’t halaman
Ay kabiyak ng ating gunita
Sa paglipas ng panahon
Bakit kailangan ding lumisan?

[Repeat Chorus]
Ngayon ikaw ay nagbalik
At tulad ko rin ang iyong pananabik
Makita ang dating kanlungan
Tahanan ng ating tula at pangarap

Ngayon ay naglaho na
Saan hahanapin pa?

Refrain 2:
Lumilipas ang panahon
Kabiyak ng ating gunita
Ang mga puno’t halaman
Bakit kailangang lumisan?

[Repeat Chorus]
[Repeat Refrain 2]
[Repeat Chorus]

Winners of the DigitalFilipino Web AwardsDigitalFilipino.com Web Awards 2007.

Tatsulok
Album:We Stand Alone Together
Artist:Bamboo

Verse 1:
Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo
Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw

Verse 2:
Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka’t humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno’t dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito

Pre-Chorus:
Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman

Chorus:
Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo

Verse 3:
Ngunit ng suminag,kay daming mga tao,
At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo’y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad ng dukha, nailagay mo sa tuktok

Repeat Pre-Chorus:
Repeat Chorus:

Repeat Pre-Chorus:
Repeat Chorus:

Outro:
Di matatapos itong gulo