racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

I just arrived home from the (first) Philippine BlogCon 2006 and I’m dog tired. Working out at the gym this afternoon was probably not such a good idea. My legs hurt–probably because I used an ill-fitting old pair of shoes to work out. And I had to walk a mile (almost?) across three shopping malls from the Ayala MRT station to Greenbelt 3, where the National Sports Grill is located. (Reminder to self: get a car. Soon.)

But it was worth it. I got to meet up with old friends and former colleagues from dotPH (you know who you are), the usual suspects (the bloggers and probloggers I always get to meet during blogging events), the sponsors (the Globe Innove people from the last Globe-sponsored blogger meetup) and new faces.

I wasn’t able to listen much to the presentations since I came in a bit late, and my group was holed up in this corner table, hence the low visibility, and–yes–higher propensity for side-discussions. My mother actually asked me, earlier this evening when I picked up the calling cards I asked her to print (more about this later), why I wasn’t speaking this time. I told her that in events like these, it’s usually best to stay in the sidelines and get to meet the people. That’s where the real stuff happens.

Networking

The primary reason for my attendance is to network with people, and possibly look out for new business prospects, and I consider this blogger meet-and-greet to be successful in that regard. This time around, I got several inquiries on the problogging/writing jobs I had written about. I met with some very capable game writers, and I’m hoping we can get to talk soon, and that our discussions turn out to be fruitful. I also had inquiries on whether I had other requirements that weren’t game-related, and for this I would have to refer them to my other contacts in need of bloggers for other niches.

Of course, people asked me about the PayPal for the Philippines campaign and we got to exchange ideas about the need for payment gateways in the country. I also got wind that PayPal is actually on its way to setting up here. Of course, those are still unconfirmed info tidbits, but it’s good to hear something is happening, whether influenced by the campaign or not.

One Big Community

What’s great about meet-and-greet events like these is that the people seem to be familiar with almost everyone else, even if it’s usually their first time to meet. Here’s where the virtual community extends to the real world. In the blogsphere, we usually know people by the ideas they communicate and the opinions they make on their blogs. In the real world, you see a new face or hear a familiar name, and you get to connect that face with the person’s online persona.

You see your online correspondents in the flesh, and it feels great!

Handing Out Calling Cards

I wrote before (a long time ago) that blogs are the new digital handshake, that one doesn’t usually need calling cards anymore these days. It turns out that calling cards are important, after all. No matter how digital we get, and even if most–or even all–of our clients are online, one still needs something tangible to hand out to people one meets.

And here’s where the calling card comes in. Weeks, months, and even years after, when emails get archived, blog links get buried deep in blogrolls, and text messages get deleted, calling cards will be there to stay. Even if the contact details, companies (or businesses) and interests change, physical cards are likely to remind the recpient of the person who gave it, and the circumstances of their meeting. That’s why it’s a good idea to note down on the business/calling card the date, venue, and event where you met the giver.

Speaking of calling cards, here’s my latest one, designed and expertly cut by myself (concept blatantly stolen borrowed from Abe’s “kickass Web2.0 calling card” idea).

The card says problogger / tech evangelist / new media consultant. Wow, what does that mean?

Photos

I wasn’t able to get many shots, since I was busy with my primary objective–that is, getting to talk to people. But here are a few photos I was able to squeeze in.

Pinoy Big Blogger Retz, in the flesh!

Fellow man-blogger, Noisy Noisy Man Ade Magnaye

i.ph webmaster Randy (right)

Dash-Media and fellow Man Bloggers people Marco “The Site Guy” and Peter

Abe Olandres, thinking of his blog-derived millions

Jayvee of b5media/m|ph and Peter

Check out my Flickr photoset for larger versions.

Linklove!

Here are a few of the people I got to meet. Sorry if I can’t post a complete list of names and links for now (I tend to be forgetful). Please do post a comment so I can add you.

* Abe Olandres
* Peter Juan
* Randy Nivales
* Kevin Codamon
* Jayvee Fernandez
* Juned Sonido
* Noemi Lardizabal-Dado
* Sonnie Santos
* Jennifer Velasco (Globe Innove)
* “Retz Ruiz”:http://retzwerx.com
* Marco “The Site Guy” Palinar
* “Ade Magnaye”:http://blog.ademagnaye.com
* Noel Bautista
* “Mike Abundo”:http://mikeabundo.com
* “Jun Asis”:http://www.intourpreneur.com/

‘Til next year, or next time. Now, back to work …

I don’t usually do this, but my headhunting skills have been somewhat lagging lately (sometimes it’s a hit-and-miss thing), so I’m foregoing the targeted approach for the meantime. It can get tiring to pursue a person and find out in the end that he or she might not be the perfect match. Oh yeah, this goes for personal relationships also, not only professional (I’ve been watching too much of Smallville, I think).

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 original Million Dollar Homepage of Briton Alex Tew was recently brought down by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

Alex Tew, 21, hit the headlines at the start of the year when he revealed his Million Dollar Homepage had made him a million dollars in four months. But the publicity brought the unwanted attention of extortionists who knocked the site over with a massive denial-of-service attack.

Nearing the US$ 1,000,000 mark, Tew received demands for US$ 50,000 from what was apparently a Russian group of hackers in exchange for not continuing a planned attack to the site. He did not heed the threat, and a few days after, his site was brought to a crawling halt.

The malicious hacker’s e-mail was shared exclusively with the Financial Times, which quoted it to read:

Hello u website is under us atack to stop the DDoS send us 50000$.

You can be sure to trust kids with bad grammar to bring down an innovative, revenue-generating site.

(via DIGG)

Haven’t been blogging much lately (if you call the two posts I made yesterday not much), or at least I haven’t been blogging much here at this particular blog lately. Yes, I’ve been busy blogging elsewhere.

More accurately, pro-blogging.

I’ve gone the way of Yuga, who has been problogging for the past couple of months. My business model isn’t exactly the same as his (which is based on ad revenues), but I’m hoping to go into that soon–my ad revenue kind of plateaued the past couple of weeks.

Instead, I started to maintain a handful of blogs in exchange for a reasonable compensation. Check out my other stuff below. Pretty soon I’ll be posting a regular summary/roundup with links to my interesting articles elsewhere here at the J Spot.

• WiFi Wireless
• Voice over IP
• New Software Titles
• Visit a Lawyer
• Online Dating Weblog
• UK Company Blog

CNN features Alex Tew, creator of the original million dollar homepage:

Because chances are, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old student from a small town in England, is cleverer than you. And he is proving it by earning a cool million dollars in four months on the Internet.

As of the CNN online article’s writing, the site has sold 911,800 pixels. As of my last checking of the site, it’s up to 999,000 pixels. Only a thousand to go.

Kind of an unsustainable business model, methinks, especially with the multitudes of copycats that came up in a jiffy like mushrooms in a damp tree trunk (see my post on PTB here). But after earning close to a million US dollars, it’s a good enough deal.

Thanks to Michael Balcos for the link.