New blogging project: Fictional Books blog

I admit that I have been neglecting my blogging since I got busy at work but recently I got some free time and has revisited one of my old passion which was reading some fictional books. The first book I read was "City of Glass" the first of three of the book series entitled "Mortal Instruments" by renowned author Cassandra Clare. The story of the book series revolves around the supernatural (demons, werewolves, vampires and the Nephilims aka half human-half angels).  

With the renewed passion of reading fictional books (technically I am reading these books in e-book formats using my portable devices for convenience). I decided to create a blog called Fictional Books Blog to which I will blogging my opinions and reviews about each books that I read. I already posted my first book review about City of Bones. Aside from the Mortal Instrument Series, I already have lineup the books that I will be reading soon, which includes Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games Series and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series and other great titles. 

Kadayawan 2011

It's now August and as usual our beloved city will celebrate the annual Kadayawan Festival which started on August 15th and will end on the 21st. As usually there the festival will include the annual "Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan" and other festivities. For a complete listing of events you can check out the Kadayawan 2011 Events Schedule Guide

5 Tips On Finding The Best Topics For Your Blog

Blog topics are an important part of a successful blog. Some bloggers simply write about whatever is on their mind, creating an online journal of sorts. Successful bloggers know however that to have a great blog, you cannot always write about what you want to write about. You must also keep the interests of your readers in mind when writing. After all, if you want a successful blog, you have to depend on the readers to show up often. To keep your blog as fresh as possible, consider using these five ways to find winning ideas for your blog topics.

Back to Reading Books (E-books that it)

During my college days (to which the internet was just on it's dawning stages), I liked to read books, specifically fictional books. At the time my genre of choice where either "medieval and fantasy" (Dragonlance series of books), futuristic or science-fiction themes (Star Wars series, etc.), and Gothic (Vampires, Demons and Angels). The last set of books that I read was the Dragonlance trilogy entitled "The Legend trilogy" which was a sequel to the the "Chronicles trilogy", I was about to start reading the next book entitled "Dragons of the Summer Flame" when weeks after I lost interest on reading. There where a lot of books at the the time that where great (and some of it where turned into movies like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, Harry Potter series of J.K. Rowling and even the favorite gothic hit the Twighlight series by Stephenie Meyer).

With the advent of digital book e-readers like Kindle and now the various type of tablet computers like the iPad and the Galaxy Tab, my interest on reading books (now on it more accessable and enviromentally friendly digital form) has come back. As of this writing, my list books that are currently loaded on my e-reader are: The Mortal Intruments series by Cassandra Clare; The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins; and all five books of George R.R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series (actually my reason of reading the book version of this series was due to the fact that I cannot no longer wait for the second season of the TV version of Game of Thrones). Aside from these books I am planning to finish reading the "Dragons of the Summer Flame" the final book of the Dragonlance Chronicles series after which I will proceed on reading the rest of the sequels of the Dragonlance.

Another factor that lead me to reading these book is because I am an avid listener of the Sword and Laser, a 

science fiction and fantasy-themed book podcast which is hosted by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont

Joining Google Plus

It's been rumored for quick some time now that internet search engine giant Google will create their own social networking service that might rival Facebook and Twitter and finally they launched Google+.  It basically turns all of Google into one giant social network, thanks to a core group of social products (Gmail, Picasa, Buzz and Blogger) and a new navigation bar that integrates sharing into every single Google product.

One of the great features on Google+ is adding your friends in the "circles". The friend "circles" are basically categorizing or "grouping" your set of friend depending on how you label them (friends, family, co-workers, etc.) to which you can later on filter you news feeds by "circles".

So if you have not join Google+ yet, you login to the Google Plus site and sign-in using your Google account or register and finally you can add me on your circle of friends via http://gplus.to/cesarnoel

5 Things You Should Know About Blogging

So you want to join in on the blogging phenomenon? Before you get started, there are a few things you should know about blogging. Blogging is a lot like an online journal. There are thousands of bloggers online posting each day. It is a trend that started in 1997 and has continued to grow steadily. If you are interesting in blogging, but have not yet began, read over these five things you should know before you begin.

My daughter is in school now

It's the month of June and as it's the start of the new school year but for my daughter, it's her very first time to be in school and as a parent I was excited that she was also excited to be in school. As usual we had some first time jitters and some "separation anxiety" which is normal for every parent.

As my daughter entered the classroom, she was a bit anxious but later she mingled with the other kids which was a relief. I didn't stay for long as I it was my time to go to work. Later my wife told me later at night that my daughter had a great time as she was very participative. My wife took some pictures and some videos to which made my day. I just wanna say that I am a very proud parent to my daughter. 

What is Paypal?

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods such as cheques and money orders.

A PayPal account can be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can either request a cheque from PayPal, establish their own PayPal deposit account or request a transfer to their bank account.

PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It may also charge a fee for receiving money, proportional to the amount received. The fees depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. In addition, eBay purchases made by credit card through PayPal may incur extra fees if the buyer and seller use different currencies.

Signup for your own Paypal account now

Blogging: Advances In The Numbers

There are many various multimedia advances happening to the good old blog. Although the blog is only a few years old, technology has kept right up there with it. Now, you have the ability to do a number of fascinating things with it. As the blog owner, this can mean huge potential dollars in marketing. If you are just a blog reader, you can now access your favorites online any time that you feel like it.

There are several areas in which the blog has entered the multimedia world. Here are some of them to think about.

• Text. Okay, so this isn't anything new. It is the most commonly thought of type of blogging. Simple writings that are done on the blog.
• Images. This takes it one step ahead. Now, you can send images to your fellow bloggers, your family or your friends.
• Video. Even better, the blogs can now come packed with video from your digital camera or the cell phone that is video enabled.
• Podcasts. The latest feature. It allows individuals to receive the information that they want, when they want it. Very marketable tool here. Podcasts allow you to receive both audio and video over the internet.

But, just because you have the ability to use these various types of blogging, what happens to it? Does it just sit on your website in the hopes that someone will actually want it? The good news is that you can now send these multimedia advances to individuals on their iPods or their mobile phones once they sign up for services at your site. This means instant notification when you update the blog and instant access no matter where they are located. In short, it translates into dollars through marketing.

New advances in blogging are occurring all the time. Learn what is out there and available. Stay connected to your consumers, your fellow bloggers and your favorite blogs. The fact that you can do all of this from your mobile phone; just makes it even better. More than likely, you'll have something to blog right now.

Where To Get Content For Your Blog

Blogs and websites that have rich content are always going to do better than those that don't. I am sure you wondered where these blogs get their ideas, views and opinions. It is easy to write about something you are passionate about- but to do that most days of the week is extremely hard, since you would probably run out of things to talk about or you simply don't have the time. So how do they do it? Where do they get their ideas? Do they get help from tools and other sources available on the Internet?

The best way would be to provide the content yourself, and this is of utmost importance if your goal is to try to create traffic to an affiliated link. You'll definitely want to sell the idea about the services and products beforehand. What that will do is set the stage or the "mood" and give your recommendations authenticity.

Expounding on the uses of a particular service or product, with your own likes and dislikes, achieves this naturally. With an affiliate program, it is a good idea to have a personal anecdote that goes hand in hand with the product or service.

Using private label articles is a viable alternative. PL articles abound in the Internet and you can always buy some that are connected to your central topic and then place them in your blog. One way of maximizing a purchased PLA is to cut it down into several pieces, thereby maximizing its content.

Utilizing RSS feeds to post on blogs is becoming very popular, although not everyone is familiar or willing to learn about RSS feeds. The advantage to an RSS feed is that your blog is automatically updated with fresh news and content. The disadvantage is that it is not unique content and that anybody interested in the feed will likely click out on a story that appeals to them.

Putting in your very own content is the best way to go. One way to find fresh ideas is to look for an appealing news article and then do a summary write-up based on it. It's not as easy as it sounds, but you and your readers will find it the most rewarding way. If you feel that you just don't cut it as a writer or you genuinely don't have the time, then hire someone else to do it for you. There are many services out there who provide a "blog service" which includes daily posts of unique, engaging content and you can instruct these content writers as to where you want the links in your blog pointing to- so that any burden of cost in terms of hiring them should be offset by the gains in your increased visitor base, the marketing of your other websites and earnings from your affiliate programs.

These are the best ways to generate content for your blog. It is advisable not to be going with the automated path. If you do decide to do that, you will probably have plenty of content- but the substance of the text is unlikely to increase traffic for you. Putting in some good, old-fashioned content work will yield better results for you. As the expression goes- "you get out what you put in…."!!

5 Things To Overcome The Tough Parts Of Blogging

There are times when a blogger, like any other writer, will 'loose the muse.' Every idea that comes to mind seems either trite or dull or, worse still, no ideas come to mind. What's a blogger to do? Here are five tactics that just might clear away the cobwebs and allow you to find an inspiring idea for another great post:

Start with the news! Open up your favorite news page or open a newspaper and see what catches your attention. What are the politicians up to today? Any pending legislation that worries you or flat out scares you? Or perhaps someone is running for office or proposing a law that you may want to publicly support. Some celebrity is sure to be in trouble again; have anything to say about that? Maybe you have an idea about who should be dating or marrying who. Who died? A nice memorial post for a nice person may be in order. What happened "On This Date" in past years? Some past events are worth researching and writing about. Are you into sports? Many bloggers or blog readers are sports fans and they might be interested in your take on the playoffs or the players. Don't forget to check the editorial page and the letters to the editor -- do you agree with the opinions? Tell the world why or why not.

Read some blogs! Start surfing your favorite blogs. What are they talking about? You might have a different perspective on the latest hot topic that might just be interesting to your fellow bloggers or a perspective that might make them mad (BTW, never worry about making bloggers mad -- most of them love having something to gripe about). If you can't find anything that inspires you in your favorite blog, surf through some of those blogs that always make you mad; the ones that seem to promote everything that goes against your lifestyle. Anger is always a good blog motivator but don't get so angry you get irrational. Comment on some blog posts and then expand your comments into a post on your blog. Also try logging onto Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker or one of the many other blog traffic generator programs -- there are lots of ideas out there that are worth writing about from either a pro or con perspective

What have you been watching or reading? Have you read any good (or bad) books lately? Write about your latest read -- recommend it, blast it or even write an abstract for your blog (but don't give away ending). How about movies, the great ones or the pitiful losers might be worth some good or bad words -- you could make movie or book reviews regular features of your blog. The same goes for television shows. Start a series that follows your favorite TV show, there might be quite a few fans of the same show that will be interested in your take and appreciate your summary of episodes they missed. If there is a book, movie or TV show that you thought was great there is sure to be a reviewer who panned it. Find the bad review and write a post countering the reviewer's opinions.

What have you been doing? Your work place, your co-workers, you bosses, your home and your family members are all fair game for your blog -- keep it short and amusing and you'll have a great post. Once you introduce a particularly interesting person to your readers you may want to do some sequels. When was your last travel vacation -- write a travelog about where you've been or do some research on some places you'd love to go to and write about them.

Do you have a special skill? If you can make something that is unique or something that is common but made special because of what you know, there may be people interested in knowing how to do it. Give away tips on cooking, sewing, cleaning, fix-it projects, pet care, child care, beauty secrets, personal care or organizing tips. Make it a regular feature on you blog. If you have a digital camera find an interesting subject, take some pictures and then write something based on the subject. If you found it interesting or comical or sad its likely to interest someone else.