December 07, 2006
I haven't been blogging regularly for the past few weeks, but the RubeTube has still been averaging around 50 hits a day despite my inactivity. (I know this is not a very impressive number, but hey, I'm just a small-time blogger.) There are a number of factors contributing to this phenomenon:
Here are some of the more popular posts on the RubeTube, in increasing order of exposure (by my own estimates):
Personally, I'm not in it for the AdSense hits, and I have no dreams (for the time being) of making it big in the blogosphere. It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I made someone's day more interesting because of something he/she read on the RubeTube. That is blogging's greatest reward.
Happy blogging!
- I have been more "aggressive" in promoting my blog, via different media: email signatures, website profiles, YM status messages, use of Technorati tags, etc.
- More people are linking to my blog (mostly friends; thanks, friends!) which directly increases hits by providing more entry points, and indirectly by making my blog more reputable in the eyes of search engines (see how search engines work). This is a natural form of search engine optimization (SEO).
- My blog has reached the critical mass of content (quality content, of course) such that people are stumbling upon my blog through search engines. Never underestimate Google's power to drive traffic.
Here are some of the more popular posts on the RubeTube, in increasing order of exposure (by my own estimates):
- The YM status message trick. Apparently, a lot of people are wondering how their friends are able to put hyperlinks in their Yahoo Messenger status messages.
- How to remove the Blogger NavBar. "How to" posts are great; not only do you help people out, but they're also great for getting more visitors.
- PoW! Pandora Internet Radio. Visitors stumble upon this entry looking for a way to rip MP3s from Pandora.
- Taiwanese Guitar Idol. "Canon Rock" is a masterpiece and it's no wonder there are lots of people looking for a downloadable video of it. Also, a number of the visitors to this entry were Googling for "JerryC versus funtwo".
- Downloading Mozart. Try Googling for "download mozart collection". Everyone's on an MP3 hunt.
- How to rearrange programs on the Windows XP taskbar. I'm not the only one who wished there was a program like Taskbar Shuffle.
- Entrance of the Gladiators: "The circus music". By far the most popular post on the RubeTube. Now the whole world knows the name of "the circus music", and also, where to get a MIDI of it.
- Write unique blog entries. The battle for search engine supremacy is all about finding your own niche(s). Be the first or one of the few to write about something. You don't have to dedicate your entire blog to something totally out-of-this-world like the mating rituals of the Nicaraguan stag beetle; a few "odd" topics once in a while will do. I'd say there are around 5-7 people a day looking for circus music that end up at my blog. Certain categories of entries are also popular, such as the "how to" and the "top N" list. If you have a dozen or so of those "all-star" entries, it all adds up, which leads me to my next tip...
- Don't give up, keep on writing. You don't have to be a full-time blogger for people to visit your blog regularly. Just keep on writing. On some days, you'll just spew out crap; that's okay, blog space is cheap, if not free. On other days, you'll have masterpieces flowing out of your fingers like a blogging Mozart. But the question is: what to write about?
- Be spontaneous. The key is to just share whatever interests you. Every topic is a potential hit in the making. Your thoughts, observations, conversations, and experiences are probably as boring to everyone else as you fear, but you can make up for it by sheer volume (see tip #2). But that is no excuse to sacrifice quality over quantity. Quality, of course, is also very important, which leads us to my final tip...
- Pick your words carefully. There are two aspects to this tip. The first one is obvious: watch your grammar and spelling, and expand your vocabulary. Develop your own writing style that is pleasing to the eyes. You may have had the most fantastic near-death experience in the world, but no one's going to want to hear about it if your blog entry reads like a eulogy. The second aspect to this tip is more subtle. Pick your phrases such that people are more likely to stumble upon your blog when doing a web search. From the popular RubeTube entries above, sample key phrases are "rearrange programs on taskbar", "complete mozart collection", and "remove blogger navbar".
Personally, I'm not in it for the AdSense hits, and I have no dreams (for the time being) of making it big in the blogosphere. It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I made someone's day more interesting because of something he/she read on the RubeTube. That is blogging's greatest reward.
Happy blogging!
August 14, 2006
You've heard the buzz about Windows Live Writer. It's a true WYSIWYG blog editor (Windows-only, of course) that lets you see how your entries will actually look once they're posted. I think this is a great idea coming from the Live team... if only it would work for me. I've been searching all over for any advice on what's causing a "QI for IEnumVARIANT failed on unmanaged server" but it seems that I'm the only person in the whole blogosphere experiencing this.
I've already reported the bug but I'm not hoping for a response; I think mine is an isolated case. In the meantime, I've stumbled upon a very capable alternative: Performancing. It's a Firefox-only plugin and it doesn't offer true WYSIWYG, but if this entry is successfully posted (I'm using it right now), then I'd say it works pretty well. They also offer a service that tracks your blog's metrics. Try it out and see for yourself.
Drawback: there's no feature like in Blogger's editor that allows you to upload photos. Hence no obligatory screenshot. There are also a few kinks here and there, but nothing too annoying.
I've already reported the bug but I'm not hoping for a response; I think mine is an isolated case. In the meantime, I've stumbled upon a very capable alternative: Performancing. It's a Firefox-only plugin and it doesn't offer true WYSIWYG, but if this entry is successfully posted (I'm using it right now), then I'd say it works pretty well. They also offer a service that tracks your blog's metrics. Try it out and see for yourself.
Drawback: there's no feature like in Blogger's editor that allows you to upload photos. Hence no obligatory screenshot. There are also a few kinks here and there, but nothing too annoying.
Labels: blogging, Performancing, Windows Live Writer
August 02, 2006
Every writer has a handful of words and phrases that he/she uses instinctively, without giving a second thought as to whether or not they're appropriate. These are the words and phrases that have proven useful to the author over time in those situations where you can't just think of the right transition, adjective, or conjunction to spice up an otherwise uninteresting series of sentences.
People develop these not-necessarily-bad habits by virtue of overuse. Sure, it's okay one or twice, but at some point you'll use them one time too many unless you're very careful with your word usage. If you go through the entries in my old blog, you'll notice that there's a select number of "Punzki-isms" that are used over and over again. I try to be vigilant but once in a while I'll end up using a Punzki-ism in every other sentence. On the other hand, they come in handy when trying to "stretch" an essay or a paper to make it reach the minimum-word/page-limit.
Without further ado, here's a (partial) list of Punzki-isms in no particular order, with sample Punzki usage (in italics) and commentary. Optional parts are enclosed in [brackets]. You may notice that sometimes, removing the Punzki-ism hardly makes an impact in the essence of a passage. That's just part of their mysterious nature.
basically - "I'm a professional bum right now. My job is to basically just eat and sleep the whole day." Notice how "basically" can just be removed from this example. My hypothesis is that most Filipinos who speak decent English are guilty of overusing "basically", especially in conversations. An even more deadly combination is "so basically": So basically I rule, right?
I suppose/I guess - "I've been gaining a few pounds lately; I suppose/I guess I need a stressful job to stay fit." Similar to "basically", it is absolutely unnecessary except as a means to get rid of that my-sentence-feels-too-short feeling.
so (at the start of a sentence) - "Google invited all the ACM finalists to one of their offices for an interview. So we got to go to Google India since it was the nearest." The word "so" is used to express a cause-effect relationship between two events. But in this example, it would've been better to put the two sentences together or get rid of the "so" altogether.
quite/rather/particularly/somewhat - "As you can imagine, it was quite/rather/particularly/somewhat surprising that they didn't want me on board their company." No complaints about this Punzki-ism either, except that I occassionally use it absentmindedly when a lesser degree of effect was not intended.
I'd like to think that - "I'd like to think that they didn't hire me because I was overqualified." Nothing really wrong about it, except that it suggests a lack of confidence.
pretty [much] - "I'm not worried; being a Microsoft MVP pretty much assures me of getting a job someday." This is one habit that's tough to get rid of. I think it's horrible when "pretty" is used in any manner other than as an adjective, but I just can't help myself. Also, it dilutes the sureness of the "sure" that follows it.
[should] probably - "I should probably stop ranting now." I just use "probably" too often. Maybe I'm really just tentative by nature?
ought to - "I ought to go out and look for a job instead of waiting for one to come to me." See "[should] probably".
[but] in any case - "My friends say that with my credentials, I'll be hired for sure. But in any case, I prepared myself for the possibility of being rejected." Again, not too bad, but I tend to use "in any case" literally in any case, i.e., when it's not properly used.
[but] anyway[s] (at the start of a sentence) - "Anyways, I'm going to go to sleep now and hopefully I'll get over it." Not much different from in "[but] in any case", but nobody ever says "in any cases". Gosh, it's so annoying when people use anyways. It's double annoying when I use it.
... - "Goodnight, everyone..." This is, without a doubt, my number one pet peeve when it comes to communicating with people.
An ellipsis is used: 1) to indicate the intentional omission of any part of speech; 2) to indicate a pause in speech, or a trailing off into silence; and 3) to indicate a certain meekness when talking to someone you're afraid to offend someone, e.g., "I'm sorry, please don't get angry..." The three previously mentioned uses are fine. What is oh-so-annoying is that when people use ellipses as if they were m.f.-ing periods. For example: "Hello... My name is Mark... I'm a CS graduate from the Ateneo... Nice to meet all of you... I hope we'll all be friends..."
You may think that's an absurd example, but I bet you know a number of people who write like that. And it's worse when you talk to people like that on IM (or SMS): "hi.. r u busy? ah ok, sorry.. talk to u later.." (notice the inappropriate use of ellipses with just two freakin' periods; what's up with that?)
(I will save a more comprehensive rant on the misuse of ellipses for another entry. In the meanwhile, watch how you use those ellipses, people. I simply cannot overstate how annoying all those ellipses are! I notice that this "ellipsis addiction" is common among non-native English speakers, e.g., Filipinos.)
In any case, I suppose I should probably impose a rather intimidating rule that should pretty much prevent me from basically overusing those words and phrases. So I guess I ought to slap myself quite hard in the face when I use them more than once in successive paragraphs. I'd like to think that that'd be a particularly interesting method. Anyway...
What are the words and phrases on your list? Feel free to share them by dropping a comment. I'd like to see if I've missed some common ones which should belong to mine.
(BTW, I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my ellipsis rant...)
People develop these not-necessarily-bad habits by virtue of overuse. Sure, it's okay one or twice, but at some point you'll use them one time too many unless you're very careful with your word usage. If you go through the entries in my old blog, you'll notice that there's a select number of "Punzki-isms" that are used over and over again. I try to be vigilant but once in a while I'll end up using a Punzki-ism in every other sentence. On the other hand, they come in handy when trying to "stretch" an essay or a paper to make it reach the minimum-word/page-limit.
Without further ado, here's a (partial) list of Punzki-isms in no particular order, with sample Punzki usage (in italics) and commentary. Optional parts are enclosed in [brackets]. You may notice that sometimes, removing the Punzki-ism hardly makes an impact in the essence of a passage. That's just part of their mysterious nature.
basically - "I'm a professional bum right now. My job is to basically just eat and sleep the whole day." Notice how "basically" can just be removed from this example. My hypothesis is that most Filipinos who speak decent English are guilty of overusing "basically", especially in conversations. An even more deadly combination is "so basically": So basically I rule, right?
I suppose/I guess - "I've been gaining a few pounds lately; I suppose/I guess I need a stressful job to stay fit." Similar to "basically", it is absolutely unnecessary except as a means to get rid of that my-sentence-feels-too-short feeling.
so (at the start of a sentence) - "Google invited all the ACM finalists to one of their offices for an interview. So we got to go to Google India since it was the nearest." The word "so" is used to express a cause-effect relationship between two events. But in this example, it would've been better to put the two sentences together or get rid of the "so" altogether.
quite/rather/particularly/somewhat - "As you can imagine, it was quite/rather/particularly/somewhat surprising that they didn't want me on board their company." No complaints about this Punzki-ism either, except that I occassionally use it absentmindedly when a lesser degree of effect was not intended.
I'd like to think that - "I'd like to think that they didn't hire me because I was overqualified." Nothing really wrong about it, except that it suggests a lack of confidence.
pretty [much] - "I'm not worried; being a Microsoft MVP pretty much assures me of getting a job someday." This is one habit that's tough to get rid of. I think it's horrible when "pretty" is used in any manner other than as an adjective, but I just can't help myself. Also, it dilutes the sureness of the "sure" that follows it.
[should] probably - "I should probably stop ranting now." I just use "probably" too often. Maybe I'm really just tentative by nature?
ought to - "I ought to go out and look for a job instead of waiting for one to come to me." See "[should] probably".
[but] in any case - "My friends say that with my credentials, I'll be hired for sure. But in any case, I prepared myself for the possibility of being rejected." Again, not too bad, but I tend to use "in any case" literally in any case, i.e., when it's not properly used.
[but] anyway[s] (at the start of a sentence) - "Anyways, I'm going to go to sleep now and hopefully I'll get over it." Not much different from in "[but] in any case", but nobody ever says "in any cases". Gosh, it's so annoying when people use anyways. It's double annoying when I use it.
... - "Goodnight, everyone..." This is, without a doubt, my number one pet peeve when it comes to communicating with people.
An ellipsis is used: 1) to indicate the intentional omission of any part of speech; 2) to indicate a pause in speech, or a trailing off into silence; and 3) to indicate a certain meekness when talking to someone you're afraid to offend someone, e.g., "I'm sorry, please don't get angry..." The three previously mentioned uses are fine. What is oh-so-annoying is that when people use ellipses as if they were m.f.-ing periods. For example: "Hello... My name is Mark... I'm a CS graduate from the Ateneo... Nice to meet all of you... I hope we'll all be friends..."
You may think that's an absurd example, but I bet you know a number of people who write like that. And it's worse when you talk to people like that on IM (or SMS): "hi.. r u busy? ah ok, sorry.. talk to u later.." (notice the inappropriate use of ellipses with just two freakin' periods; what's up with that?)
(I will save a more comprehensive rant on the misuse of ellipses for another entry. In the meanwhile, watch how you use those ellipses, people. I simply cannot overstate how annoying all those ellipses are! I notice that this "ellipsis addiction" is common among non-native English speakers, e.g., Filipinos.)
In any case, I suppose I should probably impose a rather intimidating rule that should pretty much prevent me from basically overusing those words and phrases. So I guess I ought to slap myself quite hard in the face when I use them more than once in successive paragraphs. I'd like to think that that'd be a particularly interesting method. Anyway...
What are the words and phrases on your list? Feel free to share them by dropping a comment. I'd like to see if I've missed some common ones which should belong to mine.
(BTW, I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my ellipsis rant...)
July 31, 2006
Hello. My name is Mark Punzalan. I live in the Philippines, proud home to a booming call center industry and birthplace of Manila folders (I have never seen one of these my whole life). I was born one tragic day on August 22, 1985. I like to write code, surf the Web, watch anime, read science fiction, play the guitar, travel around the world, and solve Rubik's cubes. I am fluent in both English and Filipino, but English is my preferred language when it comes to writing. I am mortified when people use Taglish though I can't help it na at times napapa-Taglish ako.
You can call me Mark, but about half the people I know me as "Punzki". (To my knowledge, I'm the only person in the whole world with such a ridiculous nickname. If you know of someone who claims to be "Punzki", please inform me of the existence of the impostor.) If you live on the planet Earth, you will probably meet at least a dozen people named "Mark" in your lifetime. That's why many Marks need a separate nickname to distinguish themselves from the other lesser Marks. As a not-so-strict rule, the people who call me "Mark" are the people personally close to me, or maybe I'm just the only Mark they know. If you call me "Punzki", it's probably because you only know of my existence on the Internet (thank goodness for such a wonderfully unique username), or you have too many friends called Mark.
This is my first blog entry, but I'm actually on old hand at blogging. My original blog (Rubik's Redemption) can be found on theSpoke. I'm moving over to Blogger because it seems a helluva lot easier to use and I can customize my blog's appearance to my liking.
I really wish that I could write more about myself, but I've been laboring at this blog entry for too long already, making sure that it's interesting enough for you to visit my blog again. Not to mention I'm incredibly obsessive-compulsive when it comes to writing a good ending that doesn't leave one hanging.
You can call me Mark, but about half the people I know me as "Punzki". (To my knowledge, I'm the only person in the whole world with such a ridiculous nickname. If you know of someone who claims to be "Punzki", please inform me of the existence of the impostor.) If you live on the planet Earth, you will probably meet at least a dozen people named "Mark" in your lifetime. That's why many Marks need a separate nickname to distinguish themselves from the other lesser Marks. As a not-so-strict rule, the people who call me "Mark" are the people personally close to me, or maybe I'm just the only Mark they know. If you call me "Punzki", it's probably because you only know of my existence on the Internet (thank goodness for such a wonderfully unique username), or you have too many friends called Mark.
This is my first blog entry, but I'm actually on old hand at blogging. My original blog (Rubik's Redemption) can be found on theSpoke. I'm moving over to Blogger because it seems a helluva lot easier to use and I can customize my blog's appearance to my liking.
I really wish that I could write more about myself, but I've been laboring at this blog entry for too long already, making sure that it's interesting enough for you to visit my blog again. Not to mention I'm incredibly obsessive-compulsive when it comes to writing a good ending that doesn't leave one hanging.
