Overwhelming Response to BlogCritics

I started to gain enthusiasm to blog again during the first time I spent my vacation leave here in Saudi Arabia, last February, 2011. I had nothing to do with my spare time even after having my part time job in the hospital clinic; still I had so much to kill time so I had to do something. I could not think of any but to blog. I may be a nurse by profession but I will always be an artist by heart. I strongly advocate freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and for me, one way to a free cognition is through blogging that speaks for the mind.

My wordpress.com blog didn’t work out so well that I had to migrate in blogger.com.  Though in terms of layout, themes, templates and even widget applications seemed to be much more manageable unlike in wordpress.com, the way to increase traffic and search engine optimization is still quite more like a challenge in order to gain more visitors here so to speak.

From here I came across Technorati, a blog search engine that is very significant to gain visitors by registering blog from its directory. I am newbie still, in terms of the different blogging tips and how to improve the sites so I had to explore and learn more.

From Technorati, only then I came across with Blogcritics, which from my research, is an online magazine which offers writing reviews on all aspects covering all the contemporary culture and society with more than 3600 registered writers.

I attempted to register my blog and was glad that they accepted my post and be a part of this online magazine. I knew there is something quite unique from this BlogCritics site and I am so happy that they did not turn down my writing post.

The response is quite personal and the approach to a human level is very touching and truly awesome. The treatment, the way they welcome and reach for writers are so much overwhelming. And more than any of the exposure that a blogger can get to increase traffic and to get on top of the page ranking in online marketing from Blogcritics is the learning experience and the relationship that any writer can gain from them and that aspect is priceless and irreplaceable.

I could feel some excitement starting from the very first time I have received an email offer for blog reviews from this site because I knew that this community will offer more than anything else that I will not find from any other sites.

Though the instructions are quite complicated just to make a new entry or make a new post, but still, I knew that I would learn more from this site and that is actually my main goal that’s why I am blogging. It is quite a challenge to submit the first article for any writers but I knew that this is one way or another to show that Blogcritics is hands on with their members and to show how they care. The way they moderate all the entries shows how persistent they are to help their clients or writers to improve more of their skills.

I do hope for the best for BlogCritics. I do look forward working with the team.

Written By|Azeweht

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Philippines License.

Friendster Demolition or Reinvention?

The first time Friendster was introduced was the actual hallmark or the beginning of the interactive social media connection and "Friendster" being the pioneer was considered as the original and even the "father" of all social networks.

Friendster is where I started. This is where I started to learn how to manipulate computers and see what is in the cyberspace. This is where I started to gain interest in blogging and this is where I had written my first blog post. I honestly admit that I have been addictive on it before. But even in Cyber-world, nothing is permanent and everything will come to an end.

I only got the information like a week ago that Friendster will delete users files by the end of May but from the latest updates, they are extending until 27th of June. To be honest, I rarely open this site since everyone seems to be much more of a facebook users now.

From what I have read, Friendster is actually reinventing itself and it's on its way on repositioning itself into a gaming site and it has to discontinue all the users social network account.

In order to save all the data like photos, messages, friends, testimonials, shoutouts, blogs, groups and the like, an application called "FRIENDSTER EXPORTER" was created to download all the files. 

Here is how to donwload file via Friendster Exporter:

1. Log in to your friendster account and from the upper portion of your HOME page, a banner like this will appear. Click on it. It will take some time to direct you to Friendster Exporter. 

2. The Friendster Exporter page can be looked like the screenshot below where the zip containing your profile information is being generated. Just refresh the page or go back to the Home page and hit the banner again after quite sometime if this happen.

3. A message like this will appear if your file is ready for download after being generated from the system. Click on the link "Restart Download" below.

4. It will provide you with options as to how you want your profile to be saved or to be downloaded. Either you choose the Faster Download or the Slower Download, the first one is recommended where photos are not included but it can be exported either to Flickr or Multiply while the latter one will take so much time as photos can as well be included from the download file.

5. If you opted to go for the Faster Download. The exporter will ask you to verify your email address and password for the user account. After entering your email and password, hit "Download" button.

6.Then a zip file will be ready for download. From here, either you save or open it automatically with WinRar.zip which is a software you need to download and keep in your computer in order to extract or unzip the file.

7. Once you open the file, this can be extracted in WinRar.ZIP

7. Hit on the Friendster file, click on "Extract To" and choose in which folder you want to save it from your computer.

8. The extracted friendster file, once you open it, it can be viewed as html like this...

9. Again, if you opted to go for a Faster Download, you have to export your photos either to Flickr or Multiply and the exporter will give you an option like this...

10. And of course, if you have your friendster blog, you also have the option either to transfer it to wordpress or blogger.

For a slower download, you will have to follow same procedure, only it will take so much time as it will include all the files including your blogs and photos. A Faster Download option is still recommended.

So this is how the Friendster Exporter works. Friendster is just reinventing itself in to something different which will hopefully give more fun and entertainment but this time not as a social networking site but an online gaming site... and I don't know which among the other social media platforms will come to an end, I just do hope that FACEBOOK can survive. =)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Philippines License.

Technorati: Verifying the Claim Token

In order to optimize my blog, I need Technorati to have my blog become more visible in search engine. Unlike here in Blogger.com, in Wordpress.com, blogs can be automatically visible from search engines by adjusting the setting without making too much effort to increase traffic, but since I migrated here, I had to register and claim authorization on my blog. The instructions from Technorati is not that clear enough, though, but here is how I got the claim from Technorati:

1. Start to claim a blog. 

Just type your blog URL on the space bar then hit the button "CLAIM"

 2. Fill out the next page with all the detailed information about your blog.

This includes the blog title, blog feed URL, linking blogs (optional), site description (1000 characters maximum),site categories and blog tags.

 

3. After hitting the proceed to next page button, a message like this will appear regarding your blog claim status. Then hit the "RETURN TO PROFILE" button.

4. Verify your authorization on the blog claimed by searching for the unique code upon hitting the "CHECK CLAIM" button.

5. While Technorati claim is in progress, a message will be sent via email consisting of the important short code.

6. After hitting the "CHECK CLAIM" button, a message like this will appear with an instruction on how to verify the claimed blog. 

•  Make a new blog post (literally new post)
• Put the short code like this "R7QS2TZE6NDU" on the blog post
•  Publish the new blog post
• Go back to Technorati Account
• Hit the button "VERIFY CLAIM TOKEN"

7. After publishing a post with the short code and hitting the button "VERIFY CLAIM TOKEN"

 a message will appear that Technorati is evaluating your claim.

8. A message will be sent via email after a few minutes, like this...

..and that's it. =)


This is my actual post to claim the token to verify authorization of this blog and my short code is "R7QS2TZE6NDU."



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Philippines License.

Care for the Elderly

Image Taken from BloggersUnite Event--"World Day to Combat Violence Against Elderly"

Being "family oriented" is one of the great qualities that is innate among the Filipinos and this is the chain that exceptionally binds them. The worth and value being given to families would be synonymous to love and sacrifices and would also mean more than the life, itself. Who would forget about the care and love of parents to their children and how they always wanted to have their children to have a better future?!

All the sacrifices of parents are considered priceless and irreplaceable that at the end of the day, their children would only wants the best thing that they could offer to their parents in return. As Filipinos, the moment we get older and become more mature enough to handle things, it is the moment when we take responsibilities to care for our parents in return especially at times when they needed us most or even more so, during our younger age, everyone learns and always tries to find ways to repay them in our own simple ways.

The care for the elderly varies from one country to another which is basically depends on each culture and tradition. In some countries, most of the elderly are nowadays being kept in the home care but to most of the Filipinos, despite all the uncertainty of situations and poverty, they wouldn't dare to give up on their parents or grandparents.

There are only few home for the aged that can be noted in the Philippines like Hospicio de San Jose and Golden Acres.These are the two known institutions where most of the abandoned elder people are being kept in refuge, but other than that, we are all uncomfortable leaving our grandparents in the care of others.

 

"Hospicio De San Jose," Taken During My Nursing Affiliation in Manila, Year 2006

Though, there are several institutions which can be enumerated, established to cater for the elder people in other countries, still, this is a better way to care for them rather than to abandon them with no one else besides them. Perhaps, the lack of time and effort would mostly be the reasons for the others to allow their elderly to be kept in such institutions and  they don't mean to neglect them.

Today, 28th of May is the BloggersUnite's World Day to Combat Violence Against Elderly and this is a simple way to advocate the rights of the elderly: the rights of the elder people to be given proper care and proper needs, and the rights be given proper shelter if unable to provide proper refuge at home and not to be abandoned. 

Any act of abuse or violence against the elderly is unacceptable act of ingratitude and disrespect and we are here to fight against it. Our parents or grandparents deserve to be treated in a way they treated us during the old times. Their love, efforts and sacrifices are worth more than anything else that without them we wouldn't be here.

Written By|Azeweht

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Philippines License.