Updates on the blogging book project

Our target book release last June did not go as planned. It seems going for an international book release is much more complicated than I first thought and had to go through several steps in completing it. However, now that I'm here in Adelaide, I hope to be able resolve all concerns and get it released. If things will happen as a I planned it, this September will be an exciting month.

To those who availed of our free copy offer, I'll keep you folks posted:

• Jeric Peña
• Weng Cheng
• Rowena Lim Lei
• Jane
• Jervis
• Vix
• Aaron Roselo
• Pierre T. G.
• Happy Lizzette Pajimna
• Shari Cruz
• Jomar Hilario
• Maria Kristina Eduardo
• Tess Romulo
• Ria Jose

If there's anything positive that came out as a result of this delay is that I'll be able to include my lessons learned in the recent Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs and in setting up Ratified Australia.

I had a great time during my talk at the recent Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit. A lot of opportunities opened as a result of it and hope that many got enlightened as well. To find out more on what happened, you check out the day 2 blog coverage and winners of the Boomerang Awards.

For those of you who are looking for inspiration in building up your blog, I encourage you to visit these two interesting activities created by Darren Rowse:

• 31 days to building a better blog
• 7 days to rediscovering your blogging groove
  

Get your blog included in our blogging book's directory section

Ok, this is a very short notice, I have to admit. Our book project actually has a blog directory section referring to websites that offers tips, advice, and best practices to improve one's blogging craft.

However, since joining Darren Rowse's Group Writing Project, I realized that there are numerous blogs out there offering insight on how to grow one's blog.

With that, I invite blog owners specializing in this area to post a comment and recommend your blog (and of others) for inclusion in the said directory section. Just post a comment with the following information:

Name of Blog:
URL:
What the blog offers to newbie/aspiring bloggers:

We will wrap up for printing by the end of next week and it will be great to have these nice blog resources included.

Guidelines on how to get a free copy of the book is also available.

Thank you!

Top 5 Reasons Why I'm Writing a Blogging Book

Darren Rowse just announced his Top 5 - Group Writing Project. This is timely as I often get asked why I'm writing and publishing a blogging book. I hope this Top 5 reasons will satisfy the reader's curiousity.

1. Demonstrate that blogs can be used as a medium to promote products and services by individuals, educators, entrepreneurs, SMEs, and even corporations.
   
2. Share personal experience and of friends on creating blogs suited to their needs. This can be from personal sharing to generating e-commerce revenue on a product website or service offering.
   
3. Show how to join 3rd-party advertising or revenue program for blog sustainability. I will also share my personal experience in creating an ad revenue program for bloggers.
   
4. Provide tips on how to avoid legal problems including how to protect one's copyright and run against those who violate it.
   
5. Discuss marketing practices and performance monitoring that can be explored in driving traffic to one's blog.

More than anything else, I am up for the challenge. After writing and publishing three (3) Philippines-centric books, working with this online blogging tutorial turned book as a project can provide a lot of international publishing lessons learned.

Through it, I hope to expand my network of contacts too.

Get a free copy of Blog This: How Blogs Empower Every Internet User

Last September 2, 2006 we released the Blogging 101 Workshop Online (blogging101workshop) and have been improving it since.

We'll be publishing 1000 copies of the book "Blog This: How Blogs Empower Every Internet User" and release it by June 29, 2007. 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)
• Blog Directory (focus on blogs that provides further advice to improve one's blogging craft)
• Sponsor text ads

All DigitalFilipino.com Club members are entitled to a free copy of the book. SME members will get 2 copies while Corporate members shall get 3 copies. Individual members will get 1 copy.

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: (this promotion will end on May 29, 2007)

• 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.

So far the following have linked to this blog post and shall get a free copy once it is available:

1. Jeric Peña
2. Weng Cheng
3. Rowena Lim Lei
4. Jane
5. Jervis
6. Vix
7. Aaron Roselo
8. Pierre T. G.
9. Happy Lizzette Pajimna
10. Shari Cruz
11. Jomar Hilario
12. Maria Kristina Eduardo
13. Tess Romulo
14. Ria Jose

Thank you for all the support.

Blogging 101 Talk at PUP

I just had a Blogging talk at PUP last Saturday. Interesting questions I got at that time include:

1. Can you be sued for libel with what you posted in your blog?



2. How do you protect children from pornography online? (although the person who posted the question admitted that such is not related to my talk)


3. How do you know that the ad revenue programs being offered online are real or legitimate?


4. Is there such a thing as a first mover advantage in blogging? If yes, will those who will only start blogging now can benefit in much the same way as the early movers?


5. How do you get your blog to be found in major search engines?
   
6. Can blogs be used for election campaigning? Won't this violate any ban?

Many thanks to Dr. Marilou Padlan, Prof. Annette Manansala, and PUP-ICTS for inviting me in this event.