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

I often find myself envious of people who have the time and the passion to write thought-provoking articles and editorials. When I originally launched my blog, it was my intention to contribute such content to the world. I wanted to focus on making a point, making a stand, and helping people understand these.

I never realized I would gain a considerable followership (while a humble number, it’s the connections that matter, I must say). But then, one thing turned into another, and I found myself writing—blogging—for a living. And the pressure and constraints took me away from using blogging as a platform for truly expressing ideas and ideals. There have been so many “me too” posts, one-liners and link lists. There’s the pressure to earn. There’s the pressure to stand out.

Racoma.net is, in a way, the contradiction of those “me too,” one liner and link posts, in its every relaunch. You see, everytime racoma.net has been relaunched, it’s often been at a point in my life I’m trying to reach new heights (and that, perhaps because of hitting lows). And it’s a way of recreating and reinventing myself. The last time I relaunched racoma.net, it was in 2006. Now I find myself relaunching once more.

For some time, I have let racoma.net languish in obscurity, ever since I switched to this .com.ph version of my blog. Even with this most recent relaunch, it has been about 10 months since my first post. But now that is changing. I’ve been trying to be more consistent with updating the site with what I hope are thought-provoking, interesting, funny, or at the very least grammatically-correct posts.

And this is a discipline I intend to maintain.

And so, folks, I give you racoma.net. Redesigned. Relaunched. Reloaded. Re-impassioned. Re-infused with goodness and warm, fuzzy feelings.

Feel free to drop by at www.racoma.net. I have, so far, discussed Twitter, social media and, yes, even Rick Astley.

Image credit: flickr/jurvetson

David Rohde, a journalist, was kidnapped in Afghanistan, and his employer, the New York Times, has tried to keep this information from going public for the past nine months. Some Wikipedia editors had been persistent in adding the kidnap information to his profile, but this was thought to potentially endanger his life.

Would you withhold information to help save a life?

They say print media is dead. But I don’t think so.

No. Print media is not dead. Perhaps print media as a business is a declining trade. It’s a sunset industry. But print media as tangible objects … It’s something we keep alive.

Read here why I think print media is not dead.

Should know PHP, MySQL, and most modern scripting, languages and platforms used for web applications, such as XML, Javascript, AJAX, and the like. Should be open to learning new technologies, and applications (such as the Twitter API, Facebook, etc.) and exploring how to develop applications over these.

Willing to work full time. Initially, might be asked to telecommute. But the job entails working full time at our office.

Please send me your application and resume at jangelo (at) gmail.com. I will be conducting interviews via email, phone, chat or in person.

My mother has been banking on the Virtual Assistance business for some time now, having helped set up a VA outfit for about a year, and then setting out on her own. And so I’ve decided to graciously turn over my prized WorkSmartr brand for a ridiculously discounted price of $10,000. And so after laughing myself all the way to the bank, I assigned the fix-up of the site to my own VA (whom I pay a paltry $20 per hour), and so WorkSmartr.com has been reborn.

Mum offers various services, like administrative assistance, telephone support, research, transcription, data processing, and even the infamous outbound call assistance from our friendly Elbonian telemarketers.

So if you are in need of virtual assistants, do pay them a visit. Oh, I do sometimes consult with them, when it comes to the more technical stuff.