Touched by An Angel

25Sep 2006

Live Blogging at the First Philippine Blogcon 2006

I am an early bird at the First Philippine Blogcon 2006 here at the National Sports Grill, Greenbelt 3 Makati. The reason I am early is because I have to fix my powerpoint for my talk “Content is King”.

5:20 P.M.- The Globe-Innove Group, our gracious sponsors for this event are here busy fixing the place. As you register, they hand out out 100 pesos worth of Globequest internet wifi access. It looks like they are giving out other prizes in their game portion.

6:54 P.M.– Abe and Jayvee are busy fixing their visual presentation. Abe Olandres will talk on “History of Blogging in the Philippines & Professional Blogging” , Jayvee Fernandez on Blogging as New Media vis-a-vis MSM

And Marc Macalua on “SEO and Blog Make-Over”. I had to end my live blogging when dinner started. Just View the Photo Gallery for the highlights of the event.

At the meet, I met new and old faces like:

Abe Olandres; J Angelo Racoma; Marc Macalua; Kevin Codamon ; Jayvee Fernandez; Rico Mossesgeld; Jennifer Velasco (Globe Innove) ; Mike Abundo ; Bimbo Isidro ; Gail de La Cruz ; Marc Villanueva; Gloria Gamat; Annalyn Jusay; Markku Seguerra; Jun Asis; Dominique Cimafranca; Ade Magnaye. Sorry if I missed out on anyone. My memory fails me nowadays. Hehe, blame it on old age.

The photos show the events as it unfolded ( I still have to label them soon). Since I took these photos, I am not in the gallery but thanks to Annalyn, here is a photo with both of us posing. Another photo here, thanks to Mimi and Karl and from Eugene.

All I can say about the meet is that it was so much fun. Being the oldest among the bloggers made me feel younger and completely at home. I thought I’d feel out-of-place but no…it shows that the internet knows no “age” boundaries. Maybe we can continue this meet on a regular basis? Now what does Globe Innove think about this?

Other Bloggers who wrote about this event

Abe Olandres on “Blogcon aftermath”

J. Angelo Racoma on “Back Home from the Philippine BlogCon 2006”

Gail Villanueva on “The first Philippine BlogCon”

Bimbo Isidro on O6 BlogCon Roundup

Annalyn Jusay on Seen and heard in the 1st Philippine BlogCon

Chris Lagman on Pinoy Bloggers Face-to-Face

Sonnie on BlogCon 2006– Field Report

Kiven at Blogcon 2006

Penoi on 1st Philippine Blogcon 2006

Ka Edong on Philippine Blogcon 2006

Juned on 1st Philippine BlogCon and 1 Internet Day

Kukote in a Jar on 1st philippine blogcon

Mike Abundo on PICS Book Launch and BlogCon

Markku Seguerra on After the Blogcon 200

Mimi and Karl on Blogcon 2006 (with lots of photos)

Janep @ Blogcon (janep.org)

Blog Con 2006: Shoulda; Coulda’s (Me and my Delusions of Grandeur)

To the Blogcon (Morofilm)

What Happened at BlogCon 2006? (Fool for Five)

The Flash Drive that Blogging Won (vaes9)

Teh BlogCon is the Shizzle! (The Parody)

Marc Macalua Philippine Blogcon 2006

Jayvee Fernandez on Back from BlogCon 2006

Jun Asis on 1st Philippine BlogCon

Noel Bautista on the 1st Philippine BlogCon

Gloria Gamat on BlogCon 2006 was a blast

Christine Ocampo on First BlogCon 2006

and Blog-o-rama mention.

The Mystery of the Missing Radiator Cap

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 4 Comments

“uh , where’s the radiator cap?” my husband’s irritated eyes glared at me.

I followed him to the car. “Look you have been driving the car without a radiator cap.”

Ugh, I was dumbstruck and felt stupid. I normally let the service guys over at Shell Station check my radiator and the usual engine fluids. I hate soiling my hands with black soot or yet breaking a nail whenever I have to check under the car hood. The guy must have forgotten to put it back or just placed it loosely on the radiator. Maybe he was multi-tasking and had totally forgotten he was checking my car. It pays to carefully watch these guys as they fiddle with your car parts.

Now how was my husband going to Baguio without the cap? It was 7:00 on a sunday morning.

A quick look at my gas receipt showed that the last time I had loaded gas was on September 13. Imagine for 11 days, I was driving to and fro Quezon City without a radiator cap?

By this time, my husband was livid with rage. I went about ignoring his dark mood knowing it was completely my fault.

Where in the world will I get a radiator cap at this time of the morning? He yelled.

What can I say? In my mind “I don’t know. How should I know?” I know better than to be a smart ass in time like this.

My husband left in a huff. Thirty minutes later, I heard him arrive but still I avoided him .

He was in a better mood when I showed up in the garage a few minutes later. What do you know? He found a surplus radiator cap in Evangelista St.

A car junk shop saved the day.

23Sep 2006

Customer is (still) King

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

I believe that customer service and satisfaction is critical in my webhosting business. In fact, I offer money-back guarantee and refunds for unused months. That’s how confident I am with my services. Happy customers are loyal and even refer you to potential customers. Word of mouth referrals is a more effective advertising medium in the initial stages of business growth. I make sure that valid customer complaints are addressed to immediately. But we in the service industry are just human. What if the customer is rude and cursing at you?

You people must be stupid. I have had nothing but problems with you idiots. I have asked for information on this account. can’t get it. I tell you I need to pay for the year. Cant’t get it. and you keep turning my shit off. Who do I FUCKING talk to in person to settle this.

Ugh, receiving an email like that makes me want to combust spontaneously. This is an actual query from an irate customer in another business. He’s not from the Philippines. I can’t imagine a local talking like that. So far , Filipino customers are patient and whenever they have a complaint, it’s in a polite tone. When I received the above email, I thought about replying “Um, I’m sorry I can’t help you”. However, I placed myself in his shoes. What did he really mean to say if he wasn’t so angry? Most likely this customer was ignorant and impatient with the steps to take in filing a support request. He didn’t even submit a helpdesk ticket (the standard method of support) and got frustrated when he didn’t receive any reply through emails. I chose the peaceful manner of settling this issue and released an invoice of $100.00. If he wasn’t happy with my service , he can choose to ignore the invoice. What do you know? He paid it. He hasn’t bothered me in months. In fact , he ordered another plan.

Can you imagine if I spoke to this person? Pity the poor call center workers who have to deal with irate customer complaints. It’s alright if the customer is angry but cursing and name calling is a no-no. And then one can be more rude in emails since there is no direct confrontation. That’s so much better than dealing with their ire over the phone.

Is a customer still king? Customer is king as long as they don’t curse and call you idiots.

22Sep 2006

Shopping for a new Cable Broadband Internet Provider

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 20 Comments

My family is moving to our new home in the Pasig-Markina sometime next year. It’s an exciting move and something to look forward to. One of the things that I will miss in Makati are the array of Cable Broadband Internet providers and free wi-fi hotspots. I just realized how fortunate Makati residents are when it comes to broadband providers. I have been spoiled by Destiny Cable my primary broadband provider since 1999 which provides us with no speed limit at a reasonable rate of 1688 pesos a month. And this includes TV cable as well. In fact the speed falls to 386 kbps, the support service is sent to the house. Now, I also have Smart Bro which is incredibly slow. If you are spoled with 2MBPs internet speed by Destiny Cable, you will scoff at Smart Bro’s dismal less than 200 kbps speed. It’s supposed to be 386 kbps. Speed and reliability are important to me because I am a netrepreneur and derive income from my e-commerce sites.

When I started to ask around the area of our future home, disappointment overcame me when I found out that my trusty cable provider did not have any service there. I need 2 cable broadband internet providers for redundancy measures. What choices did that leave me?

20Sep 2006

Building Buzz with Blogs

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 6 Comments

Yesterday , I celebrated One Internet Day which coincided with the Digital Filipino Club’s 7th anniversary through the invitation of Janette Toral . I caught sight of J. Angelo live blogging during the event and Adrian.

This year’s theme is E-Commerce Build-up for SMEs with topics on:

1. E-Commerce for National Competitiveness
2. Data Privacy and E-Commerce
3. Building Buzz with Blogs
4. State of E-Payment in the Philippines
5. New E-Commerce Opportunities
6. Making E-Commerce Work

But what caught my attention was Maoi Arroyo’s talk on Buzz Marketing with Blogs. Take a look at this latest Blogosphere report (available only to Digital Filipino members which you should join if you’re into e-commerce), there’s an untapped way of talking to the young and upwardly mobile segment of Manilenyos:

18% of internet users read blogs
55% of bloggers are < 20 years old 20% of bloggers are between 20 to 29 years old 71% are male 84% are single 48% are students 97% have their own computers at home

So that means I belong to the 25% bracket of 30 years old and above bloggers and the 29% female blogger? Hey, that doesn’t mean I have nothing better to do. It just means we , female oldie-bloggers know how to maximize the internet’s capability other than just emailing or chatting.

Another aspect in building buzz with blogs is to pay attention to “long tail” influentials like Connie’s
sassylawyer.com. Connie is so popular that her blog was mentioned twice by Maoi. I know that Connie cannot be easily influenced by PR practioners. Watching her on the Cheche Lazaro’s ““Media in Focus”, she mentioned that she will not compromise her blog having ads that are contrary to her food blog’s theme. Corporations now realize that bloggers can create a buzz. Remember the Globe-Innove sponsored meet in Temple Bar? And there is blogcon sponsored by them for September 25. These corporations should be prepared for favorable and non-favorable feedback from bloggers. I even mentioned to Globe-Innove that you can learn a lot from your most difficult customer. Tomorrow, I got invited to an intimate gathering with them. I wonder what they have to say about their products and services this time. I do hope they offer superior services not available from other telecom providers.

Read related blogs on One Internet Day- Manila celebration:

The J Spot
Adrian
Philippine Internet Review

19Sep 2006

BlogCon on September 25

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 2 Comments

Calling all bloggers in Metro Manila. There will be a BlogCon event on Monday, September 25, 2006. Here are the details from Abe and Pinoy Tech Blog

What: Philippine BlogCon (Meet the Bloggers)
When: September 25, 2006 7PM to 10PM
Where: National Sports Grill, Greenbelt 3, Makati
Who: Bloggers from all over!

Philippine Idol Wildcard Performance & Results Night

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 8 Comments

I can still feel my heart pounding–kabog-bog-bog. My husband and I were seated at the left side of the spectacular [tag]Philippine Idol[/tag] stage, just below Mel Villena and his band. Gosh, the bass sounds made my heart go thumpity-thump after the show and my throat searing with thirst. As a live audience we are constantly reminded to continue the rooting, raving and cheering throughout the show. I don’t think we have to be reminded as the fans were screaming their heads off. The Wildcard performance photos will explain more on the inside story of the live show as I am already sleepy and tired.

My favorites are for the girls:
IRA and MAU while for the guys, it’s GIAN and ONYX

View the behind the scenes Philippine Idol Wildcard Performance photos and if you missed watching it, here are some youtube videos

15Sep 2006

Most Inspiring Techno Entrepreneurs in the Philippines

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 8 Comments

One of the highlights of the Techno Negosyo Expo (which by the way ends today, September 15) is the recognition of the 10 most Inspiring Filipino Techno Entrepreneurs. See, I went to the Techno Negoso yesterday to keep myself abreast with the recent technologies or e-commerce solutions. My husband thinks I can be the next technopreneur (in his dreams. hehe). Yet, I wanted to see the brillant minds behind the Philippines Information and Communications Technology if I can be inspired to go beyond my small and medium business frameset into the realm of high technology.

Awarding of the 10 Most Inspiring Technopreneurs in the Philippines:
1. Diosdado Banatao (Computer Chips- Mostron and S3)
2. Nonoy & Ben Colayco (Online Gaming- Level Up)
3.Joey Gurango (Software Development- Webworks OS)
4. Danilo Manayaga (Biotechnology- Servac Philippines)
5.Dennis Mendiola (Wireless Technology- Chikka Asia)
6. Manny Pangilinan (Telecommunications- First Pacific, PLDT,)
7. Dr. William Torres (RP Internet Pioneer- Mozcom)
8. Peter Valdes (software development- Vinta Systems )
9. Orlando Vea (Mobile Communications/New Media – SMART founder, MediaQuest)
10. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II (Diversified IT investing-iAyala)

Enlarge photos here, here , here and here

For me the most brillant of the lot is Diosdado Banatao, better known by his nickname, Dado. Why? It was Dado’s genius that gave the world the first Ethernet controller chip that enabled computers to link up and communicate with one another (our internet cable for one) and the first chip set that significantly reduced the complexity of the personal computer. In short, Dado’s innovations made computers cheaper ,faster and more people-friendly.

Why am I impressed?

13Sep 2006

One Web Day: How the Internet Changed My World

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 9 Comments

In celebration of [tag]One Web Day[/tag] on September 22, , I am going to list down “about the ways the web has changed your world.” Having been online since 1995, a lot of changes has happened in my life. Janet Toral started with her entry, How the Internet changed my world

Here is my list:

1. The [tag]internet[/tag] brought me business opportunties , such as e-commerce and problogging.

2. With my affordable webhosting packages for the Philippine market, I am able to help small and medium businesses promote their products or services 24/7 . This gives me such a rewarding feeling.

3. Because of reason no. 1, my online business brings flexible working hours. In fact I don’t need a physical office since a virtual office will do. I can bring my work through my macbook in any part of the world as long as there is internet connection.

4. Initiated a grief support group , The Compassionate Friends Philippines to help bereaved families cope with the death of their child or sibling. When grief support was unavailable in the Philippines in the yar 2000, I found grief resources which provided me with great comfort.

5. Instant messaging keeps me in touch with loved ones. Even if my kids are in their dorm, I can still chat with them through Google Talk or Yahoo Instant messenger. I can also give advice in homework or relationship problem. “MOOOOOOOOOMMMMM” is the most frequent word in my chat box, followed by “You there, mom?” Sometimes, I also “poke” my husband when I see him online, checking if he’s stressed or not from work or just exchanging love notes.

6. Paying bills online via BPI Express Online is very convenient. It beats going to the bank and filling up a deposit slip then falling in line which can reach up to one hour if the bank is full of depositors. When the kids need money, I just transfer funds online. No waiting time.

7. I can still see and chat with my siblings in the states using the webcam or skype. Of course, email and instant messaging forms part of our daily chitchat. My siblings often get jealous when I show myself on the cam eating ube ice cream or some other Filipino food not available in their grocery. My bad!

8. Through the magical powers of google, the internet reconnected me with old friends who I haven’t seen in years. Hi Betty. Hi Bing.

9. It paved the way for new hobbies: amateur photography and web development . These hobbies kept my sanity intact during my grief journey.

10. Lastly, a memorial site for my son, angel-luijoe.net was one way to unleash my grief into something creative. Through this memorial site, it brought some comfort to other griveing parents with similar situation as mine. The only help a parent can find when they are grieving the loss of a child, is in the company of another who fully understands that loss.

What about you? How has the internet changed your world? How do you intend to celebrate One Web Day?

12Sep 2006

Christmas Bazaars

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 3 Comments

UPDATE Read Christmas Bazaars Schedules in the Philippines – 2007

While strolling Market! Market! this afternoon, Christmas songs blasted away from the mall’s pipe-in music. Ah, as always, September signals Christmas shopping season. I feel a gnawing pressure but my mindset is not to make shopping a stressful activity. My favorite shopping hangout are the bazaars because one can find interesting finds or bargains not normally found in flea markets or department stores. Flea markets are similar to bazaars though. I used to enjoy the Greenhills Flea Market since it first started in the early 80’s. Lately, I noticed that their goods are similar to the 168 Mall items . Before I was into bazaars, I thought that these places sold expensive goods. A few years ago, my husband gave me tickets to the Manila Polo bazaar. Not expecting to find anything, I surprised myself by lugging a bunch of gift items and Christmas decors to the car.

Looking at the list of Philippine Christmas Bazaars, there are bazaars almost every weekend. I’m sure my girls will want to go and investigate the stalls.They are usually adept at finding something unique. For them, the fun part in bazaar shopping is looking for the bargain items. For some reason, the girls will not buy anything that is “expensive”. I enjoy these mother-daughter shopping adventures.

« Previous 1 … 141 142 143 144 145 … 159 Next »

Post Navigation