Blog, Interrupted
It's been so long since I last wrote an update here that so many things have happened between now and my last blog post. The country now has a new president (who recently launched his new website - http://president.gov.ph), friends and colleagues have either left the company or moved back to their countries, and recently I relocated back to Singapore.
It's funny how the last post I wrote was about Jeremiah Owyang's declaration of "Community Manager Day", well he is in Manila right now as one of the main speaker's of IMMAP's 4th Summit! I never would have imagined 7 months ago that he'll be in Manila (man, how I wish I had the chance to attend and meet him in person).
Anyway, blogging really takes commitment and there's no excuse not to have posted an update for the past 7 months. In the words of the wise Yoda, "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try." The same can definitely be said for blogging. You start a blog, then blog. And there is so much to blog about. Especially since I plan to make some changes in the blog. More about it in succeeding posts.
Starting anew
It's been weeks since I last updated and thanks to a much better work schedule now, I finally found the time to write again. Going back to blogging started with changing the blog design. The old one was okay but it took more time to update because of images I had to prepare. This new template I discovered is sleek, simple, and super easy to manage. And it's always inspiring to write when you have a new blog design, hehehe. This is still a work in progress so expect changes in the future.
Not blogging for a while made me realize how important blogging has been to me in so many ways. It's a surprise for me that until now, my post about my not-so-pleasant experience with Cebu Pacific's online ticketing service still gets a number of comments. It's great to know my post has helped people and I intend to blog about it soon, sort of a follow-up to that experience.
Another thing that's become quite clear to me is that for a blog to be successful, one really has to work on it. It takes time, effort, and a considerable amount of thinking and planning for a blog to reached a certain level of success. And really, there's no such thing as an overnight success. And right now I'm still currently learning along the way. This quote sort of sums up what I feel should be one's attitude towards blogging:
Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last. - Hamilton Holt
It's great to start anew, to not remain sidetracked or derailed. Because with all that's happening in and around me, there's really much to blog about.
How to be a consistent blogger
Of course, this is obviously a question for me. Just when I made it a resolution to blog more this year, I end up not blogging for more than a month. Not that there's nothing to blog about, it's just that so many things can occupy your time that if one doesn't really make time to blog, then inconsistency surely will follow.
So how does one become a consistent blogger? The answer for me is found in this quote that I blogged about last year. It's from 19th century social reformer Jacob Riis and the team motto of the San Antonio Spurs:
"When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."
More to come soon, both posts and changes to the blog. 
Blessings of 2008, Resolutions for 2009
Thankful this 2008:
- Saying “I do” to the love of my life.
- Getting hired as Community Manager for Yahoo!
- Relocating to Singapore, one of the best places to live in Asia.
- Re-launching my blog.
- Finding a home church here in SG.
- Finding out I’ll be a daddy next year.
- Keeping my job and having something to look forward to next year.
- Spending the holidays with my family here in SG.
Resolutions for 2009:
- Read more books.
- Make my devotions more daily.
- Pray more.
- Blog more.
- Budget wiser.
- Launch two more blogs.
- Drink more water.
- Run more, seriously.
- Make swimming a regular activity.
- Travel to another country with my wife.
A happy and blessed New Year to everyone! Welcome to 2009!
What I Did In 3 Minutes – The Pantene Blogger’s Night Out
I was in the Philippines last, last week for a string of events and meetings (more on that later) and it couldn’t have been a better time because it gave me an opportunity to attend Pantene’s Bloggers’ Night Out where it launched it’s newest product, the “3-Minute Miracle Treatment.” Organized in cooperation with Taste Asia at SM Mall of Asia, Pantene treated a number of bloggers that Friday, October 17, to an evening of great food, an exciting new product and a surprise appearance from one of its endorsers.
It’s been quite a while since I last attended a bloggers event so I was pretty excited to attend this treat from Pantene and Taste Asia. I arrived early in MOA to do some work at Starbucks before heading to Taste Asia where I met up with Aileen and Jay. The place was all dressed up (I especially love the carpet walk entrance) and a demo of the product was conducted to one of the bloggers. Again, Taste Asia delivered sumptuous food and to everyone’s surprise, Pantene celebrity endorser Ms. Judy Ann Santos made a surprise appearance.
I didn’t stay long enough to hear what Juday had to say (I did caught a glimpse of her in her van when I was exiting the place) but I did got a chance to chat with old friends (saw Azrael and Joriben, aside from the Sweeties) and meet new ones. Congrats to Pantene and Taste Asia for the great event and looking forward to more creative marketing activities that utilizes social media and the power of word of mouth and click of mouth.