Blogging is Fun, Easy & Profitable

Here's hoping my FB friends will take this post about blogging seriously.

What is blogging? Simply put, it's very similar to what we do with our diaries and that's where the comparison ends.  Diaries are supposed to be private and read by the writer only until death overtakes all events in which case your heirs have the privilege of reading the diary and discovering embarrassing entries you made concerning  your or, their private affairs. So much for that, you won't hear their curses anyway.

Secondly, diaries are very personal. Blogs are not. Writing in a diary doesn't demand an almost perfect command of grammar, spelling and literary style. And once you've entered your innermost secrets in the diary there's no way you can rewrite your entries (either to correct or disguise them) unless you start from page 1 again. With blogs, you can go back anytime anywhere and edit what you wrote... Oops! I shouldn't given my cousin that funny name (e.g. "Abundio") which reminds me of a brand manager at Unilever with such a first name. So embarrassed was he with the label his mother bestowed on him he changed it to "Ding" for the rest of his life until he needed to get a birth certificate for this passport application.

Now, in a blog, you have to find a niche. Meaning, a subject you're good at and then concentrate on that area for as long as possible. Why? There must be a billion bloggers out there who publish their garbage, near garbage and classical efforts on the Internet! Your blog will get lost if you don't have a niche. For the moment, the most searched topics are recipes, bible quotes, gardening, literary passages and historical events. Go to Google and enter "Tinola" recipe and you'll get taken to  probably a hundred sites. Many of them are graphic masterpieces - with colored pictures and other cross-links to boot! If you spelled your entry "Tenola," Google won't find you unless someone types "Tenola!" This illustrates how important spelling is in the game.

For the moment, I wouldn't encourage you to write topics on Bible subjects. There are lots of them out there and many Bible blogs are very scholarly written. A few are crafted by bigots you won't even go beyond the first paragraph. If all you know about the Bible is what you heard in Sunday school, go jump in front of a speeding bus, man! And don't even think to write about the lives of Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein if you want the NSA to stay away from you!

Assuming you found your niche and you believe you can write intelligently and interestingly about it, the next step is to get a cyber ad company to tag ads to your blogs. Now, every time somebody opens your blog (say it's about potty training Siberian monkeys) and the blogger sees the ad next to your blog, that's called a hit. Whether interest was generated or not is unimportant. It's a hit! and the advertising company charges the advertiser for the hit. And you get a percentage of the income generated.

How do you start? First, create a Googgle account (did I spell that right? Never mind, I'll edit later) and experiment. Click on "More." Somewhere on the page you'll spot "New Blog." Click on that and start doing your stuff. Don't worry about the end product. Keep going back to your stuff and the site and experiment with templates. Later, when you've really mastered the techniques, explore other sites that offer free blogging and once you've found what you like it will be downhill all the way. In short, you can blog in many sites! Hey, that's like advertising also! You expose your talent (or lack of any) to a wide market. If your expertise is poetry, zero in on analyses instead of writing poetry. The latter will have a limited audience unless you later become a Nobel literature winner.

Remember, for a start, it doesn't matter what topics you start with. It's pre-K! Share your toddler steps with your FB friends and don't be embarrassed to publish it on the Internet - no pain, no gain, remember? By the time you're running 3 miles per hour it's already safe to assume you can start hobnobbing with the best of them.

So, what subjects shall we write about? Forget current events - these easily get dated. If you have a medical degree, try cloning. Even with just a general knowledge of law, cloning is a gold mine you can dig up without running out of complicated topical extensions: supposed I clone myself, does my clone get my Social Security benefits when I die? Ha! From the moment he's born he'll be collecting a pension already. Now, what happens if he clones himself again? Oh, heck, Social Security will have gone bankrupt already by that time. My first clone will be my son's "Dad" genetically-speaking, right? Oh, boy, I can imagine the confusion arising from the situation!

The possibilities are endless. All you have to do is start with something. Another topic just as popular as recipes is sex! If you have some special knowledge to share go for it but if you want a bright future avoid sexting, particularly, if you're as ugly and as dumb as Weiner!

Postscript

I went to another blog that lists 10 reasons for blogging. I'm copying them here verbatim.

1. Express your thoughts and opinions. There is a pitfall here, though. Your thoughts and opinions could be influenced by your own prejudices but if you present them in a well thought out manner you don't run the risk of alienating most of your followers. In short, qualify your thoughts and opinions the best way possible.
2. To help people. This is where topics such as cooking, gardening, rearing children, etc. come in. Not just children - say, autistic or disabled children. The latter cries for lots of sacrifice and dedication. Your experience can be a big help to people with similar situations.
3. To market or promote something. If I were in the Philippines, I'd go to the Bureau of Tourism and  strike a deal with them. I'll write about the fun places in the Philippines and blog them complete with photos and testimonials.
4. Establish yourself as an expert. All or almost all my friends are experts in marketing, advertising and promotion. These fields are potential gold mines!
5. Connect with people like you.
6. Make a difference. Support causes and issues that affect the elderly, the young, women with special needs, the third sex, etc.
7. Stay active or knowledgeable. My favorite! This I call mental calisthenics.
8. Stay connected with friends and family. This is where I'll  have to read "Blogging for Dummies" so I'll know how to do pictorial blogs.
9. Make money! Who doesn't like the smell of folding money, huh? It starts with coins going "caching-caching" before they get folded!
10. Have fun and be creative. This is related to # 7.