Updated: edited some text on the “new place to live” paragraph. Apparently, textile converted some extra hyphens into stricken-out text and made some lines disappear.

Oh, do check out what my wish this Christmas is. And I believe I have an excellent photograph posted there.

What has 2006 given you?

Now for the more important part. I’d like to also ask you guys what you are thankful for this 2006. This year has been a very rewarding year to me and my family. It’s the year we had sort of a reversal of fortunes (2005, in contrast, was very challenging!). There are the material things, and there are those that cannot be seen by the eyes, but felt. Here’s what 2006 has given me so far.

Better financial standing. Back in 2005 I was still working my day job. While the pay wasn’t really high, it was a bit better compared to usual wages here in Manila. However, due to some circumstances, I wasn’t always able to complete my 40 hours in a workweek (non flexitime, no overtime pay, long commute, etc.), and earnings fell because of that. I was trying hard to look for ways to monetize my writing talent and netrepreneurship skills, though, so this day job was a stepping stone towards that goal.

I had to resign by December—I originally planned to stick with the “notice” period of 30 days, so I can finish up with my tasks while moving on to start a short-term project I was contracted for. But the company thought it best for the resignation to be effective immediately that time. So that meant I had to do a complete turnover before any of my last salaries, back-pay and 13th month pays were released (which came a couple of months after). The family spent the holiday season last year without much money. I was able to depend on proceeds from my project, but that wasn’t much. Then my then-landlord decided it was time for me to settle some arrears. That made me worry.

Then I started writing freelance early January. Since that time I’d been working from home. That opened up many possibilities, particularly with my getting better-known to the online community as a problogger and freelance writer. I got a problogging gig with the Bloggy Network, and we were in better financial standing since that time.

New place to live (and work) in. Since I was already working from home, I considered the environment we had back at our old place a bit cramped. We were a family of four, plus we had househelp back then. So you can imagine the stress living in a one-bedroom, one-floor apartment. I had to visit my parents’ place (the adjoining apartment) each midnight just so I can get some work done through the night.

Come September, I was quite envious that my fellow problogger (and longtime collaborator, and also colleague at the Blog Herald) Abe Olandres had been sent on an assignment in Taiwan for a blogging and podcasting workshop. We usually hold the workshops together, under the sponsorship of the FNF. I only realized I was fortunate I didn’t come on this assignment since this was the week I was able to chance upon a recently-vacated and renovated apartment just three houses away from our previous place. We moved in mid September.

We’re used to living in this area (UP Village), since it’s convenient and accessible. It’s not so much upscale like other private subdivisions, but it’s a comfortable place to be in. And being a few houses away from our old place does have its advantages. Still, the important thing is now we have better living and working space.

New toys. This year, I was able to acquire: a Compaq Presario V2000, an old PowerBook Pismo, a new refrigerator, a car, a new (cheap) mobile phone, an iPod Video, new Canon digital camera (to replace the Nikon that broke this January), and numerous other stuff. While these are all material, these are tools that make life easier. What I think matters is the added productivity and happiness that these bring about. With the computers, I can work (and play) better. With the car, the family can travel in comfort.

(That folks, is what economic benefits are all about—not money, but happiness.)

The opportunity to share and help out. This year I also had the opportunity of sharing the blessings and helping out people. For one, I was able to hire a handful of people for the company I worked with. The arrangements were also the same—work from home. What’s great is that some of these guys are fresh out of school. And the work that they do is great. This just proves that the Internet is the great equalizer—You don’t have to have ten years of experience to earn good money if you know where to look for opportunities. I’m sure they’re pretty happy with how things turned out for them.

I was also able to be part of several blogging conferences, like iBlog2, and the Go-Ogle! team which I’m part of won fifth place in the recently-concluded Isulong SEOPH contest (we’re on page 1 of the continuation, Ituloy Angsulong).

New opportunities. 2006 is also the year I got another great assignment—as assistant editor (if that’s an appropriate title) and marketing manager of the Blog Herald. With this, I had to give up writing for my great blogs at the Bloggy Network, though, since I had an exclusivity agreement with them. Still, I think this means I’m off to bigger things (and one of those is a plan to start a content network of my own—but that’s for 2007!).

What about you?

In all, 2006 was a good year for me. There were ups and there were downs, too. But overall, I’m thankful to be here (alive and kicking) and thankful for my family, loved ones and friends.

What about you? We’ll be publishing your Christmas wishlists and 2006 “thankful for” lists by this weekend. Keep the comments and emails flowing!

Do check out jobs.racoma.com.ph .

I will also be opening this site to other people who:

• Are looking for writers or business partners for their netrepreneurial activities;
• Are writers, freelancers or probloggers offering their services; and,
• Netrepreneurs seeking venture funding or partners.

Hmm. I probably shouldn’t have named it “jobs,” but I think it’s a good starting point.

• Good command of written English
• Perfect manners (okay, good enough manners will do)
• Knowledge in vB scripting and/or templating would be a big plus.

Why would you need crisp English and good manners? Well, we live in a connected world, and working on a telecommute basis, you would need to talk to people online via email, IM, and sometimes even VoIP. You would also be writing articles/blog posts on vBulletin skins/themes. It gives people headaches having to translate across nuances among different “Englishes”.

As for manners, it would sure make everyone’s lives easier if everyone just got along well.

Interested? You know how to get in touch with me.

All right, I’m interested. What games do you need material for?

We run a subscription-only forum-type community with areas for different MMORPGs.

Currently, we need people who can write guides, walkthroughs, strategy tips, cheats, and reviews on the following:

• City of Heroes/Villains
• EverQuest 2
• Lineage 2
• Star Wars Galaxies
• Dungeons and Dragons Online

Good writing is a must. It’s even better if you’re passionate about gaming! You should also be able to answer questions and inquiries related to the game you’re handling. As for the articles, of course we’re looking for original work. Or, at the very least, you should be able to come up with well-researched material that can be synthesized appropriately.

The writer would be expected to come up with two to three articles per day, which will be posted on the forums.

Cool. What do I expect in return?

As for compensation, it would depend on the volume of content you can come up with, and this has to be agreed before you start to work with us. In a nutshell:

• 60 articles per month – $300
• 90 articles per month – $400
• 120 articles per month – $500

Now ain’t that cool? You can play games all day and write about ‘em, and you get compensated in return. You don’t even have to leave home to do it.

And then there’s unlimited access to the forums. As our writer, you won’t have to pay for access to the site, which—again—contains cool reviews, cheats, guides and other interesting discussion on various MMOs.

You can refer to my previous post about my hunt for game writers for other information.

I’m so excited my palms are all sweaty. How do I apply?

Just email me or leave a comment here expressing your interest. Please include links to writing samples, which may include your blog or posts on other websites or forums. The samples don’t necessarily have to be about games, but previous game writing experience would be a plus.

Good luck!

So I find myself using the power of blogging and word of mouth to do just that—get the word out. I’m looking for people who can work with game sites.

The Game Blogger/s

For one, we need game writers. Game bloggers to be specific. MMORPG game bloggers, to even hit closer to the bullseye. In summary, we currently need a person (or people) who can write for one of our premium MMORPG sites mainly about World of Warcraft. We need these qualifications.

• Passionate about writing and coming up with creative, useful and usable content.
• Familiar with the game, and preferably plays WoW.
• Can answer questions and inquiries related to WoW.
• Can author guides, walkthroughs, strategies, and other useful articles about the game.
• We are looking for original work, or at the very least, well-researched material that can be synthesized appropriately.

Openings for other game titles would also be available soon, but we prefer to fill in this one first.

Passion for gaming would surely be a plus. And sometimes, these “plusses” are actually the things that people look for when hiring prospective employees.

Speaking of “employees,” we don’t really prefer to treat each other in a you’re-working-for-us kind of way. It’s more like we’re working with each other. And by “we,” of course I mean Enthropia.

You get the drift. If you get exposed with us online people enough, you’ll understand.

The Game Site Manager

Abe beat me to posting about the game site manager opening, and you can check out his post here. And I cite some specifics:

• Preferably female
• Hardworking and diligent
• Knows or plays games
• Has a good understanding of online games (how MMOs operate/work)
• Has knowledge of gaming technologies (private servers, etc)

Abe’s right about hit the target with his particulars, but let me expound a bit further. We need someone with great communication skills and with great passion not only for doing things right, but for making things right. Working these sites is like working magic in a way only a person with energy and charisma could. If you think you’re that person, this might be the job for you.

Set-Up, Compensation, the Nitty Gritty

I can’t peg a specific amount for the compensation for now, but it’s definitely competitive with the rates that other established blog networks are offering (see my post here on problogging options). Actually, Abe already gave the mean figure, and I can say it’s approximately that level. For the blogs, it would actually depend on performance, or on the quantity and substance of the articles that you can commit to attaining/doing.

Oh, we pay in greenbacks, or the equivalent in Philippine currency, so you will be at the mercy of the foreign exchange market. Hah!

As for work set-up, it would be a work anywhere, anytime type of undertaking. We don’t exactly have a penthouse office in Libis or Makati. We do work whenever and wherever we are productive—and that’s usually with our spanking new laptops on our laps at home or at a table at some WiFi-enabled cafe. Of course, there would be some output and/or input considerations (such as quotas and/or weekly work hours), but that would depend on what our agreement would be.

It could be part time (for you), but we will consider this as a full-time undertaking, so we expet the output to reflect full-time effort.

Where Should I Be? And What About My Toys?

We’d like to say we’re an equal-opportunity employer and all that, but let’s face it—we can’t probably hire someone who’s in a faraway continent, and whom we cannot even send money to (we would need to have PayPal for the Philippines for that to work). And one reason we’ve set up shop here in the country is because we love the Philippines so much we would like to help out the economy by tapping the skills and knowledge of the capable members of our ICT community.

So you’d have to be somewhere in the country. You can be in the boondocks for all we care, but just make sure you have decent Internet connection out there, and you can actually play the games and talk to us over IM and email. We can probably consider someone overseas, but that would depend—talk to us.

Speaking of Internet connectivity, we won’t be able to provide you with a desk and workstation and a blazingly fast Internet connection like most companies out there. You would have to provide your own equipment and spend for the ‘net connection. But hey, that comes with the freedom to telecommute or work mobile. It’s a tradeoff. In the end, you would probably realize it’s cheaper that way than having to spend for gas or fare everyday commuting to and from the office. You get to keep your toys, too (you bought ‘em)!

I’m Interested. How Do I Apply?

Just shoot me an email with your desired position in mind, or if you prefer to tell the rest of the world, do leave a comment here. Talk to me. I’m not some HR department, so please feel free to send me a note in your most convincing, yet, informal manner. We’re not looking for people who would write press releases after all, and we’ll probably get the feel of how well a fit you would be in the above-mentioned positions from the way you communicate with us.

At the very least, we’d like to be able to see what you can do. Please do include the following, if applicable and/or available:

• Your latest resume, or a link to your latest online profile with CV. It’s not really necessary for you to be Summa Cum Laude in your PhD class, but we’d love to know what you’ve accomplished so far (or what you’d want us to believe you’ve accomplished ).
• Link to your portfolio or existing body of work. Resumes can be polished and embellished, but existing bodies of work speak for themselves.
• Your contact details. These may already be in your CV, but we’d like to have something on our Gmail for easy reference (nifty search functions!).
• A half-body photo if you think you’re cute. Okay, scratch that. At least point to a link on your site or gallery or attach something with your likeness on it, so I would have an idea of who I’m talking to.

My contact information can be found on my sidebar or my about page. I do have my mobile/SMS number there, but I would prefer email—at least we have a record, and neither of us are likely to forget. IM (YM or GTalk) works also, but only for follow-up. Same with SMS.

I hope I didn’t forget anything. Good luck!

Hence, I’m moving the thread here, but with one major modification. I’m hoping this post—particularly its comment thread—can serve as a clearinghouse of sorts where aspiring pro-bloggers can post links to their blogs, portfolios, and other sample works, and blog network owners can check out prospective writers for their qualifications. This way, I won’t have to deal with the inefficiency of asking everyone to email this person or that company or this network and so forth.

Perhaps it’s still a crude way of doing it, but I’m hoping it would be a good start.

You may also wish to refer to online ads for blogging and blog-related work over at these sites (I’ll update the list as we go).

• BloggerJobs by BlogMedia (I used to write for them. Great guys!)

What to write

Some useful information should you include:

• Your name or alias
• Your contact details (email will do)
• A link to your existing blog or other online portfolio
• Links to blog posts or writings you consider to be your best work
• The setup you are looking for (pay-per post, revenue share, fixed salary, etc.)

Hey, be sure to check your writing for correct grammar and appropriate style. After all, you’re going after writing jobs and it pays to dot your j’s and cross your t’s, so to speak. If you want to be able to edit your comments later on, be sure to sign up for a subscriber account first via the registration form. You can always login using this form if you already have an account.

I hope this post will be useful. Wanna get started with pro-blogging? Do leave your note at the comment thread.

Here’s a tip: if you want your name to be linked to your blog or website URL, do edit your profile here and key in your address at the URL field.

Update: Check out my post on problogging options here .

The Work-At-Home Dad

No, I’m not gay, you blockhead! I’m a dad and I work from home. Now that’s not very common for guys, especially men my age. While everyone else is climbing up corporate ladders with some multinational company or bank, I chose to, well, build my own ladders. While many of my classmates are finishing their postgraduate studies here or abroad, I’ve put a hold on my own (much like Sergey Brinn and Larry Page?). Why? I chose to pursue a career and a business that would allow me to be closer to my family.

So I left the full-time corporate grind many moons back, and I now work from anywhere I can connect to the ‘net. It’s a remote-working / telecommuting arrangement of sorts, which also gives me room to be more creative (for me it’s difficult to create when in a very very stressful and pressured environment). Then, of course there are the great projects (Go-Ogle, Isulong SEOPH and other great stuff I’m doing with great people)—some of which I earn from, others I do for fun or because of passion!

Plus, I earn a heck of a lot more.

I remember my own dad tried a similar set-up when I was a bit younger, but things did not turn out to be as good as what I’m experiencing now. Things were different back then—businesses and enterprises were not as connected as they are today, so management and coordination were more difficult. And I deal with knowledge and content, and not bulky, concrete stuff that was fashionable back then, which can be very, very expensive and very, very risky. Anyway, I credit it to a bit of luck that I’m doing what I’m doing now (and of course, mostly to effort on my part and that of my colleagues, correspondents, and partners).

The Interview

So back to the interview, the good fellows over at ABS-CBN thought of interviewing a dad who stayed at home to take care of the kids while also making a living at the same time. You see, staying at home to attend to domestic matters is a very difficult and daunting task—ask any housewife homemaker about that and I doubt they’ll give a different answer. I’m not too good at it at times, actually, and that’s where shared responsibility comes in handy. Add to that the need to work and earn, and you’ve got yourself an interesting situation, which I get to pull off well, nonetheless.

When? Where?

I’ve still to meet with my interviewer, Mr. Willard Cheng, who works the field for ABS-CBN’s various news programmes. We’re set to talk this evening at one of my safehouses in Quezon City (he’ll be blindfolded and led to walk in circles before reaching me—just a standard measure I ask my visitors to undergo, to guard against stalkers. Really.).

So I hope you catch the programme later tonight. If you’re in the Philippines, the interview will be aired on Insider, which usually comes out about 10:30 to 11:00 p.m. on Channel 2. If you’re abroad, it would likely be telecast also on TFC (likely a delayed telecast).

As for me, I’m pretty nervous!

Update: Insider is set to air about 11:30 p.m. tonight. There’s a trend for news programmes being pushed later into the evening because of the evening telenovelas (and these days there’s no definite schedule for shows)! Talk about prime time.

Update: An online copy of the video may be viewed here.

A couple of weeks back, I was at a relative’s house visiting with the wife and kids, and an uncle was presently having a business meeting (I was supposed to have been part of that venture, but I had been busy. Very.). Of course the laid back individual that I am, I was wearing my signature khaki shorts, plain T-shirt and leather sandals—my usual casual attire when not going to meetings or upscale places.

Kids needed milk so I went to the living room—where we had earlier set our things down—to get the big canvas bag we use to keep the kids’ bags and stuff for easy handling. It was also there where the meeting was taking place. I was introduced by our uncle to one of his associates. And she immediately noticed the bag, which had a big Pfizer logo emblazoned on the front.

“Are you a medical rep?” asked the besuited lady.

“Umm. No,” I responded.

My uncle said I was into various online ventures, and he also asked me how business was.

“Very busy lately,” I responded. “Many times I even stay up two days in a row just to get things done.”

“So you work at a call center?” the kind lady asked, probably thinking that the only people who stay up late to work are those in these offshored contact center industries.

“Umm, no. I work for myself. I write. I’m also in the business of providing content to online publications, and I do publish my work on my own websites,” I kindly explained, gesturing as how one would usually type on the keyboard.

Confused looks.

By this time I was sort of exasperated and said my good-byes, smiling politely.

I could only imagine how confused that young lady might have been (young being approximately the same age as I), encountering someone with no clear job description and probably not having a regular job at all.

For all she knows I might be just some unemployed guy bumming around at home.

I do have a job (or a business or a venture, or whatever you may call it). I do write for this great blog network, Bloggy Network, and I do consulting work with the company that co-owns Bloggy, and yes I’m trying to wrap up my government project that I started months ago. Oh yes, I do try to help other people GTD (get things done) with online productivity tools—pro bono, of course. However, like many entrepreneurs and netrepreneurs and freelancers, I work from my SOHO (small office/home office, which I usually consider to be my small—very—home office).

But most people would be baffled with the idea of anyone earning without having to wake up in the early morning hours and beating the rush hour traffic. For most, it’s the job title and job security that matter. But for me, I love the fact that I create, that I use my mind to think up great things and share them with the world just with a few strokes of my keyboard.

I write. And I’m glad to say for a fact that I’ve somewhat inspired—or even influenced—other people to do the same too, that is to make a living practicing their gift with the written word. They’re probably better than me at this, but I do believe that writing style is only as good as the idea that one is trying to convey and the effort and discipline that a person puts into his craft (or art, as I prefer).

To each his own, I guess.

However, as for Serendipity, that’s another thing. Sometimes when you set out to do something and for a certain goal, the results can turn out to be quite surprising.

A week ago, I posted about having the blogging blues and went on to link to other sites that I found interesting. I do a lot of blog reading, after all and I thought I’d share with my readers (all three of you) what I’ve been reading up on lately. I intended to divert the attention from my stuff, for the meantine, to other people I find to have more interesting insights than I do.

However, things usually go beyond how you intend them to be. And now, after one thing leading into another, I’m glad to say I’ve had two of those people I linked to—Phillip and Ia (or is it supposed to be “Ia and Phillip?” Bah!)—working with us in one of our major undertakings. I’ve gone into dealings with them several times over the past couple of years, but I didn’t expect we’d be working together on something (and something quite financially rewarding, too).

Actually, I’ve been seeking out people for this purpose (you might remember references to “headhunting” in some of my previous posts). I had been looking for creative people, and I can say I’ve approached quite a few so far, but our work didn’t seem to be the good match with ‘em goodfellows. The good match was right under my nose all along. These guys can sure weave magic with words and imagery each on their own! But as a team? One word: synergy (which in this case is something that’s beyond my comprehension, by the way. Go figure!).

So here’s to our creative team. Here’s to great works. And great deeds.

Résumés or Curricula Vitae (plural of Curriculum Vitae, of course) may indeed serve as indications of potential to help job seekers to introduce themselves to prospective employers. Or for distinguished professionals, CVs may serve as records of accomplishment. However, Chris Pearson points out that there is only one thing that will matter to a smart person, and it’s not on your résumé!

Intelligent people really don’t care what’s on your resume. In fact, intelligent people don’t really give a damn about formal interviews, resumes, or anything of that sort. Sure, your portfolio matters, but even that’s secondary to the number one, be all, end all factor. It’s the one thing that matters above all else to any truly smart person with whom you’ll ever do business. What is it?

It’s you.

I agree (surprise!). In this day and age, you cannot really put your accomplishments (or potential) on paper, and expect the written word to adequately relay what it’s supposed to represent. Accomplishments are seen and felt, and usually when one gets to know another individual on a personal basis (or sometimes even in the virtual world).

But still, in many cases, it’s not the accomplishments that matter, but the potential. Usually, you’d have to meet a person face-to-face, or talk a meaningful conversation with them, and you will just know whether that person has what it takes to succeed, and whether his/her potential matches the field of expertise you expect that person to succeed in. And in most instances, you cannot just rely on your rational facilities to know, but rather your gut intuition.

In a way, this is how I work these days. I’ve done away with formalities and have instead actively sought out people whom I know have what it takes to make the grade. And I do not base it from their undergrad GPA or whether they have MBAs or PhDs in quantum physics or molecular biotechnology. I base it on who they are. (And yes, in a way this is also why I shun the intricacies of the corporate world.)

Résumés can still be a good starting point, though—perhaps just to give a cursory introduction of oneself—but not the end-all, be-all of things.

At times it’s still trial and error, but this is how I’ll learn, isn’t it?