What is a blog? A blog is an online journal that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information, usually presented as a list of entries in reverse chronological order. The world of text blogs expanded to include photos, and video blogging. According to blog veteran Rebecca blood, the term weblog was originally started  by an American blogger John Barger in December of 1997. Today, a blog is created every second and there are more than 10,000 blogs being added every day. In 1999 Blogger and LiveJournal was launched, a software that makes blogs much simpler to create

Blogs are can be made into different niche, from the personal to technology, or a general blog  that focus a whole range of subjects. To start a blog, remember to:


Set a blog correctly. Setting a blog doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Blogspot and wordpress are the two most famous free site to start a blog. More and more people are starting blogs every day. Starting a blog does not required technological skills, as long as you know how to use the computer then you can build your own site. You will be able to start a blog  within 30 minutes or less from a scratch.

Have a passion for writing. Blogging is about sharing your knowledge with the world. Choosing a topic that you are passionate about will makes the process of starting a successful blog so much easier.
Learn from others. Learning how to build a blog makes a ton of mistakes. But learning is a part of life, you learn through mistakes. It helps to visit other sites, read some tips and tutorials that will benefit you as a new blogger.

By starting a blog you can expect the following benefits:  

A. People WRITE blogs as a way to express themselves and to share their knowledge. There are people who reads blog for information or because they find the article interesting. Blogs are both useful to the writer and the reader. It is a great way to share your ideas with like-minded people.  writer may have a lot of knowledge to share, and the reader may want an informal way to learn about a topic. Some people use blogs to find other people with similar problems, issues or situations. Blogs can be anonymous, which helps a lot of people share information without being known. (Colin Peters)
Adii Pienaar, founder of PublicBeta, quoted “write for yourself first & foremost. Ignore the fact that anyone else will read what you write; just focus on your thoughts, ideas, opinions and figure out how to put those into words. Write it and they will come.” People read blogs as a source of information or because they find the writer interesting.

B. INCOME

More and more people blog to earn money. In order to have a successful blog, your first priorities are to grow your blog’s brand, gain credibility and authority, and create a quality content for your readers. With hard work and commitment you can make money through advertising and other income-generating activities on your blog.

Google AdSense is the biggest advertising networks available and the top income generating ads for bloggers. It’s simple to use and doesn’t require you to have a great amount of technical know-how.
Once to have established your blog, you can apply for Google AdSense to put ads in your site.

Paid post. Today many bloggers earn money by posting an article about the company. They will write an article according to the company requirements and you will get paid by posting and promoting it to your own blog.  Amount ranges from $500 to $20, depending on how much the advertisers can pay the blog owner.

Amazon Associates. The Amazon Associates program allows you to earn a portion of sales when people click-through from your blog to Amazon.com and make a purchase. You only earn money when people buy something from the online store and the amount you earn varies based on what people order and how many people purchase through your links.

Ad Space. To sell  ad spaces, blog topic should  fit for whatever service or product they offer
 and your blog should have a sufficient amount of traffic in order for the company to place ads in your blog. High traffic means high page view and more chances for the company to advertise their product.

Personal Appearances. As your blog becomes respected and well-known, you will get invitation from organization to say a few words or for some readings to the public. You might get paid  from it and a recognition for showing up to their event.

C. RECOGNITION

Recognition can be through blogging awards, speaking engagement, A successful blog can gain you a ton of recognition in their respective field. Through blogging, you  start learning and expressing  your opinions in front of others while being willing to listen to theirs as well.

Best Tips to New Bloggers. Starting a blog is easy and one of the simple if you do it for passion and not thinking of earning right away. Before you start, define your goals for it and what do you want to accomplish out of blogging. Are you simply blogging for fun or to earn? Think ahead of what you'd like to gain from your blog in a span of time.

1. Explore other blogs before creating your own blog. Visiting other sites will help you with the basics of blogging like template design.

2. Create a niche that is in line with your profession or things you are more knowledgeable about, a niche where you can build your own reputable identity and eventually become an authority.

3. Know Your Audience. If you can't decide yet what topic to post, your target audience will help you decide on the design and content of your blog.

4. Be unique and informative. Write well and readers will come.

5. Post/Share links through social network sites like twitter and Facebook, at least your first followers/readers will be your family and friends. Social media helps your blog reach readers through your friends and family.

6 Join many groups to share your posts daily.

7. Keep on updating a blog will work the best. If you can post 1-3 articles every day the better. The best way to keep readers coming back is to always see your blog visible with new articles.

8. Comment to other sites to establish connections with other bloggers.

9. Blog blog blog blog- Do not think about earnings yet, keep blogging.

10. Love what you are doing. You will enjoy blogging if you love what you're doing whether you earn money or not.


We have seen that blogging is not all about writing, it also gives us the chance to earn in many ways while in front of the computer. Starting a new blog takes a lot of hard work and this can put many people off but don’t be discouraged, keep writing quality article. Spread the word about your blog and new posts. Promote your site on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Remember, your blog is an extension of you and your brand, and your loyal readers will keep coming back to hear what you have to say. Don't blog like a reporter. Blog like you're having a conversation with each of your readers. Blog from your heart. And if you want other people to read what you have to say, you need to write well. With more experience, you begin to understand how to engage your readers and as you continue to write, you become a better communicator. Dave Kerpen, author and CEO of Likeable Local.

We are inviting everyone who can engage a lot of people for their advocacies not only in Social Media but also offline to attend the 3rd Laguna Blogging Summit.

When:Oct 3, 2014 
Where: Malayan College, Cabuyao, Laguna
Time: 8 am to 5 pm. 
Fee: Php 200.00

Don't miss the event. See you all there.

FREE 50 slots for Filipino Bloggers Worldwide (FBW) member who can blog about it using hashtag ‪#‎3LaBS‬ ‪#‎FBW‬ and tagging @rodmagaru on Twitter. Content is just the background of the event and inviting your readers to attend.

You may say that there are no good, honest, and God-fearing drivers anymore in the Philippines. Truth is, there are still many of them out there despite poverty and small income. We still encounter those who do their job with dignity and pride.



Gerardo Gamboa- Filipino American taxi driver from Mabalacat, Pampanga, and currently a Nevada resident found a paper bag full of cash worth 12.6 million pesos ($300,000) in her cab and turned it over to his employer, Yellow Checker Star cab company.

Maximo Aton- 35 year-old, is from Montalban, Rizal. A passenger and his companion left one of their bags which contained a laptop and P5,000 in cash.

"Hi guys, I just want to share the experience we had with this guy.
Indeed i can call it "a day"...

Meron kaming "raket" sa Crowne Plaza Hotel sa Ortigas, tabi ng Robinson's Galleria. It was a very stressful day. Somehow na-overcome namin. Sobrang nakakapagod...

Uwian time na. Around 6:30pm, sa main entrance ng hotel. Ang hirap maghanap ng masasakyang taxi. Although maraming taxi sa daan, dala na rin ng sobrang traffic at rush hour, karamihan kokontratahin ka. Taytay ang way nmin from Ortigas. After an hour and a half finally nakahanap kami na willing maghatid ng pa-metro lng ang charge then sabi ko dadagdagan na lang namin. Madami kaming dalang gamit pero 2 lng kami na sasakay. Nakarating kami sa bahay, nagulat ako sa metro ng taxi. From Crowne Plaza Ortigas hanggang bayan ng Taytay P163.00 lang ang metro, given na natrapik at halos nakatulog na kami sa bandang Ever Ortigas. Dinoble ko nlng yung bayad sa kanya. Pagkababa ko ng taxi sabi ko kay Hero, "Pare pakibaba na lahat ng gamit magpapapalit lang ako ng barya". Wala kasing barya si manong. Pagbalik ko naibaba niya na "daw" lahat ng gamit. Dala rin cguro ng pagod hindi namin namalayan na may naiwan pala. Nakaalis na yung taxi nung malaman nmin. Naiwan sa taxi yung BAG.. na ang laman ay laptop at P5000 cash..

Indi namin nakuha yung plate number or anything sa taxi dahil din sa pagod at kagustuhan na lng namin makauwi. Then naalala ko, sa Crowne Plaza kami sumakay, baka nakuha ng security yung plaka ng taxi. Tawag agad ako sa Crowne Plaza. Sabi sakin titignan yung record, tawag ako after 5 minutes.. After 5 minutes, binigay sakin yung plate number at pati cellphone number nung driver! Nagulat ako. Bumilib ako sa security ng hotel na yun.

Tinawagan ko agad yung driver. Pagkasagot niya, sabi ko "Kami pla yung hinatid ninyo ng Taytay kanina lng.." hindi pa ako tapos magsalita sabi niya sakin, "ay oo sir may naiwan kayong bag. Sinubukan kong bumalik sa inyo, ndi ko na matandaan yung lugar narito na ako sa Recto". Sabi ko sir baka pwedeng makuha ko yung bag kasi importante yung laman. Indi ko sinabi kung ano laman, even though alam ko na pwede niyang tignan yung laman. Sabi niya ibabalik na niya sana sa Crowne Plaza since hindi nya alam kung anung gagwin dun. Sabi ko magkita na lang kami dun para makuha ko. After a while nagtxt siya. "Sir gusto mo sa junction na lang tayu magkita para hindi kana mahirapan.." Nahiya ako, at the same time medyo nagtaka dahil mapapalyo pa sya para lng hindi ako mahirapan. Effort talga si manong. Sinabi ko na lang na pwede po mas malapit with doubt kung magpapakita ba siya or hindi. Mahirap magtiwala agad. Sinama ko si Hero, punta kami ng junction 7-11, sabi ko sa driver dun kami magkita. Indi sya nagreply. Pero after a few minutes, bigla syang dumating at nakangiti pa sa amin. Nawala stress nmin. Naibalik yung laptop ng maayus, pati yung pera na walang bawas at hindi nagalaw.

Para sa akin napakalaking bagay ng effort na ginawa niya, kung tutuusin pera na yun may gamit pa. Binibgyan ko sya ng pera para sa abala ayaw nyang tanggapin. Pero pinilit ko pa din iabot. Nakakatuwang naranasan ko yung ganito. May mga ganitong tao pa pala. Para sa akin saludo ako at hindi lahat ng taxi driver may kalokohan. Salamat Sir! Kudos din Crowne Plaza Security para sa kumpletong detalye ng mga taxing sinasakyan ng mga guests nyo."

MAXIMO ATON
O.L.A. Taxi with Plate number TYZ 619.