Blog Covergence, Conversation, Conversion

I did not voluntarily present myself to be lashed out, crowned with thorns and be crucified under the scourging summer sun in a little hill in Pampanga. But after five days, I am resurrected in the blogosphere with the same zest in blogging but with obvious eye bags and body pains. And take my word guys, don’t go near me, or you’d think you are beside an old grandpa who has made a perfume out a liniment oil and tattooed himself with salonpas.

After suffering from Twitter-withdrawal syndrome, I can say that I am totally healed! (May himala!) Hahaha! And I am actually now contemplating of taking to live up to the coined-term of Ate Bingsky of being a Twittarted (twitter retarded). Nah, maybe I am still quite far from that.

I have been to the hospital for four days; stayed in there and five days seemed like eternity, and now I am back in front of the PC to make my post.

So I my apologies guys for the delayed post, hope you understand. You better do, ehehehe! Sorry guys, effects of many sleepless nights and fatigue.

Kidding aside, when I went back to check my blog, there were a great number of comments on my posts especially the most recent one about the Philippine educational system, that I have to reply with worthy comments. I must admit that replying to all the comments of my friends and readers is one hell of a task; their comments are all challenging and exciting, I could certainly pretend to be some dumb blogger with them.

However, I must make a confession that I am not totally satisfied. For some bloggers, they may be automatically elated with 10 or so comments of visitors on each post that he/she makes. Not with me.

Because for me, a blog is not a freedom wall in a school, or dilapidate arm chair screaming of so many scribbles and graffiti that no one hears. It is not something that only receives and nor a place that only gives.

A blog is a place of convergence, conversation and conversion.

That is why, my primary concern that I have brought with me beside the hospital bed is how can I make my commenters return on my blog posts to reply to the comments I made out of their comments? Sounds incoherent? Or simply stupid? LOL

Well, maybe you have experienced this one way or another. A visitor or blogger friend read your post and made a comment. You replied eagerly with all the niceties and substance on his comment to create a conversation, dialogue and interaction. But then, no more replies that follow up.

My goal to simply put it is to make my blog a place of convergence of different peoples and bloggers. To converse with one another through my blog posts. And maybe at the end of each comments and replies, we are all converted in some way to have a wider understanding of things and a wider vision of the horizon ahead of us.

So I tweeted and emailed some blogger friends to share their wisdom and tips in order for me to satisfy my craving. Here were their replies:


"commenters actually have a choice when they post comment to a blog whether they want to be emailed when a new comment is posted." im4pinoy


"hi elmot! im using a WP plugin to do that, im not sure if blogger has one though. i'll try to check and let u know." Jaypee


"Hmmmm..medyo mahirap yan. Some commenters would go back again to your posts for your replies and then comment again . some don't." Bingsky


"Regarding your inquiry, I am using a plugin in Wordpress that sends email
to commenters when somebody replied to their comments.

I am not so sure if there's such a thing with blogger. Perhaps, you can
try signing up with JS-Kit comments and place its code in your blogger
blog.

Meron ata ganung functionality yun." Bloggista


"aw.. nasa commenters na yan kung babalik sila.. yun ang di ko alam sa akin eh, balik ng balik.. hehe " Jehzeel



"Re: How to make readers check back to see the replies to their comments, I have a suggestion. Takes a lot of work - but do Jaypee's style. When he replies on your comment, he emails you a copy of his reply to your comment. That reminds you of the comment you left on his site right? Di ba, most of the time you return to continue the conversation, especially if it's an interesting one? I don't know of other ways though. Except of course for the old fashioned bribery. lol" Jan


Using blogger as a plaform for your blogging is definitely has so many limitations compared to wordpress that has plugins. In this case, blogger lacks the automatic program to send your commenters an email notification thanking them of posting their comments on your blog, and in effect, you are connecting to your readers in a more personal manner that almost always would make them come back to continue to conversation on your blog post. Maybe, I need to invent one eh? LOL!

Therefore, commenters are left with the liberty to follow-up and continue the conversation and dialogue and the blogger is made to be more creative in reaching this goal on his blog.

And I am doing it with my favorite blogs (many of them). I make my comments and click on the tiny box that says automatic email notifications on comments below the comment form. And voila, I can instantly be updated of the conversations on the blog posts I have just visited and could easily go back to make my follow-up comments.

What am I left to do now?

Well, as a blogger, I think I should improve more on my writing skills. I may not be a savvy writer but building good relationships with your readers, visitors and blogger friends is of essence. There is indeed no better advice than writing good and engaging posts.

If still, nothing happens, maybe I would have to follow Jan's advice of an old and tested way: bribery. LOL!

Do you also share the same concern with me guys? What pieces of advice could you give me regarding my concern of creating an atmosphere of active dialogue and conversation on my blog through my posts?

Would you folow Jan's advice of bribery? Hehehe! LOL!

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Signs You are Getting Addicted to Twitter

photo from peterelst



Since late last week, Elmot has been cut off from the Twitterworld. And it has been a calvary for me. Actually I am not really been blocked from using Twitter because of sending some nasty tweets against the administrator for being such a genius, or because of tweeting that George W. Bush is the very reason why we are on a global economic downturn; for the little luck I have is that I could still access it, except from our office computers.

My tweeting may have sent very strong signals to our network administrator that I am having symptoms of passionate loving with Twitter, and so whenever I type twitter.com on my url, a new page automatically opens up to piss me off by bluntly saying: Site is Blocked by Network Administrator. Reason: social networking site.

Darn, this is an apocalypse.

It tried some simple experiment and at the same time have some fun.

I opened some sexy site and voila, hot chicks roasted under the summer sun. Seems like I brought the sun inside my cubicle; boiling hot at 100 degrees Celsius. While Twitter is blocked for being a social networking site, -----.com is not blocked despite displaying chicks wearing nothing but belts and hair clips. The experiment worked out, and proved one thing: you should not socialize online, but you can watch some hot mommas doing a pole dance.

Maybe blocking Twitter impedes my work and many of those in our community including students, but if I may argue, I am spending even longer hours to check on my emails from Yahoo than tweeting. Sounds angry? Nope, just being reasonable. Well, I could still tweet home or even on internet cafes.

I find it funny when Jan and Jeremae told me to drop off my goal of finishing my Master’s degree for it simply distracts my sheer love of tweeting. If tweeting could only give me some big glistening cash I would. LOL! Hey guys I am not addicted to it yet, right Jan? LOL!

But for me tweeting is just but part of the game of life; expanding your horizon, learning more meeting more people. This is the phenomenon called globalization. Boundless horizon, limitless opportunities and unending expansion of thoughts. I am not tweeting to gain traffic, for in all of those who experimented on it, search engines are still the top sources of traffic. And so the answer for it is simply to use SEO techniques. I am tweeting to gain friends and not only confine myself to the solitary space of where I am; learn more through what others see, hear and say.

To make a balance look at the growing phenomenon of tweeting, one may also fall prey to addiction which by all means unhealthy. So I made a list not only for me to introspect and check my level of sanity but also as helpful tips for everyone.

Here is my list of signs when you are already getting addicted to Twitter. And to all those who are guilty, kindly raise your hands and say tweet, tweet. LOL


1. You always check your twitter account every second, every minute and tweets even your blinking and breathing to all your followers. Wow seems like a demi-god? Ahahha…

2. You are already having a hard time as to what blog post to make for you are so consumed by tweeting, but most of the time you end up writing a post about your tweeter or your tweets.

3. You connected twitter to your mobile and even when you are praying your mantra on your toilet, you are tweeting your friends of what you are doing. Yuck!

4. You are always overzealous to receive the replies from your sent messages via twitter and gets suicidal when they don’t reply.

5. When some of your followers who you do not even know or have not even tweeted some Hi or Hello’s unfollowed you, you mourn for more than a week.

6. You jump for joy when you receive a message from your followers or from those you follow and dances like a robin.

7. You are tweeting even in your dreams and wakes up to tweet the same things you dreamt of.

8. You are chirping when you sleep instead of snoring. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet.

9. You get afraid of cats.

10. You go up the 5th floor of your office building and tend to believe you can fly. Its a bird, its a plane, its TwitterMan!


I am certainly not addicted to Twitter. I just have some passionate loving with it. How about you guys, any number from the list that you have experienced? Tweet, tweet, tweet.

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Be Careful With What You Tweet

If Karen Carpenter is still alive today, had she thought of not succumbing to totally fast, she will certainly be on ecstasy for one of her songs is the now like a mushroom growing here and there, every second, every minute. As her immortal song goes, "Why do birds suddenly appear?" This is because everytime you visit a blog and even corporate and business sites, you will always see a bird somewhere in the corner of your screen saying tweet, tweet, tweet.

Indeed, Twitter has become one of the fastest global phenomenon spreading in the blogosphere unceasingly. I am even wondering, is twitter on steroids? Twitter has certainly made the lives of bloggers and those enthused with online networking with friends easier if not more enjoyable. With Twitter, you can follow the latest happenings about your favorite sites or blogs and those who are behind it every minute, every hour through somewhat like a short messaging system. And it applies vice-versa.

I am also on Twitter (Elmot), I am using it too. And my verdict is that it is simply amazing. No second thoughts when I signed up for it.

But every coin tossed in the air will always give gamblers two sides to choose from. Though Twitter has reaped up praises for all those users who are into it, there also users who become so comfortable of tweeting anything and everything. They have become irresponsible users and that little bird that used to gently tweet haunted them back like hungry vultures. Here are some of those unlucky fellows.


During this hard times when all economies cringe at the spiraling down of wealth and millions losses their jobs, a lucky job applicant tweeted this courtesy of bhc3:

Cisco just offered a job! NOw I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.

What a nuthead. This message caught the attention of Tim Levand, a channel partner advocate of Cisco. And his response to this tweet?

Who is the hiring manager? I'm sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.

And his little bird came back bitten by a vulture. I guess this guy, ended up falling in line in some soup kitchen station.

Another guy, a PR Man also tweeted this one about Memphis posted over at Shankman:



Anything more to say on this one? Only that, his tweet came back to haunt him.

The morale of these stories: Tweet responsibly. Use the web responsibly. If there is one greatest morsel of wisdom for us to always keep on our pockets is that we will reap what we sow. Roy said it right on one of his comments on my blog post, that Your are what you write.

Maybe this time, we should be more vigilant of those being posted on twitter, for it maybe its already something about us. Hmmm...

Ever encountered incidents like these on the web? Do think that Twitter has to do something to avoid this kinds of incidents, or are these things totally beyond their control and solely depends of indvidual sense of responsibility? Be heard.

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