Welcome to Semidoppel’s “Create a Logo for my Blog” Contest! Before anything else let me share to you what made me decide to make this “super duper mini contest”. A member from Proudly Pinoy Bloggers posted an “okrayan blog design” and the purpose is to criticize the theme layout of each other’s blog.  I posted Semidoppel’s Reports’s URL, and I asked them to criticize it. With the help of the okrayistas I found out an important part that is missing on my blog…and that’s the logo. The logo is one of the factors for an effective branding, for me it’s more like an identification card. Now, my fellow bloggers show me your prowess in logo making/designing and join my super duper mini contest.

Mechanics:

1. Deadline of this contest will be on February 15, 2012, 11:59 PM GMT+8.
2. This contest is open to Philippine residents. If you’re a Filipino living abroad, you are also qualified to join this contest if someone in the Philippines will claim your prize if ever you win. If you’re a foreigner living in the Philippines, are also qualified to join
3. Only one entry per blogger, post your entry in your blog.
4. The logo should fit my blog’s header (468×90).
5.  You need to leave the link of your entry by posting a comment in this post.
6.  Tell something about the logo you made, no number of words required.
7.  Your entry should have a link back to this post using the anchor text “blog logo“.
8.  Lastly link back to the sponsors of this super duper mini contest. You may do it this way, “ This contest is brought to you buy Semidoppel’s Reports sponsored by Jehzlau Concepts, and Two-Sided Perspective.

Prizes

• The winner will receive a Blogger shirt  and a LIFETIME HOSTING for his blog/domain.**(Conditions apply)
• Two  (2) consolation prize winners will receive a Blogger shirt

*You can only choose the available designs from Bloggershirts.Com

Announcement of winners will be on Feburary 28, 2012. Good luck guys!

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What are the common things you observed when reading Yahoo news comment or feedback section? Well to hit straight on my point, let’s specify the Yahoo Philippines News – Yes, you’ll be annoyed just like what happen every time I open my web browser though I can’t help not to read the comment section since there’s like a magnet that pulls me through (and very forceful I guess) and read it anyway possible.

Usually you’ll get this feeling you read something good happen to a certain personality and you’ll feel aloof for them – for their success then suddenly annoyed when you read most of the comments are all negative towards certain individuality. I’m not going to say it since I feel ashamed though I should – They call it “Crab Mentality.”

Crab Mentality is a way of thinking best described by the phrase….”If I can’t have it, neither can you”. It’s a metaphor referring to a pot of crabs in which one of them tries to escape and instead is pulled down by the rest of them. The point in referring crabs in the pot – it has to do with the fact that if you’re in a situation like don’t try to squeeze your way out of it because everyone else will just pull you back into the problem but even deeper than before.

Let’s dig in a much deeper accounts, I did research online on the idea and line of crab mentality and it is so repulsive that “crab mentality” is often associated with Filipinos worldwide. Yes, if it’s twitter – we Filipinos are the undisputed top trending worldwide for the hash tag #CrabMentality.

The term “crab mentality” is used to describe a kind of selfish, short-sighted thinking which runs along the lines of “if I can’t have it, neither can you (referred to previous phrase).” This term is especially widely used among Filipinos, who use it specifically to refer to people who pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or pursue their dreams.

“As a general rule, an accusation of having a crab mentality is a poor reflection on someone’s personality.”

This concept references an interesting occurrence which happens in buckets of crabs. If one crab attempts to escape from a bucket of live crabs, the other crabs will pull it back down, rather than allowing it to get free. Sometimes, the crabs seem almost malicious, waiting until the crab has almost escaped before yanking it back into the pot. All of the crabs are undoubtedly aware of the fact that their fate is probably not going to be very pleasurable, so people are led to wonder why they pull each other back into the bucket, instead of congratulating the clever escape artist.

Factors proximity to being a Crab Mentality State

1 – Envy and Jealousy – These is the major factor I guess so I don’t have to explain it.
2 – Redefining Individuality – in a way that somebody negates others in order to define h/she is different from that certain individual.
3 – Resentment – planting hatred to somebody and never have the time to forgive, that’s certainly a not lost cause.
4 – Greediness – This explains “if I can’t have it, neither can you!” in a worst way.
5 – Selfishness and Self-indulgence – it’s just that there are people who just feel happy and indulge when they pull someone downward.

Achievement equals pride, and pride involves pleasure on the part of the achiever. Self-actualization is a human necessity – accordingly, it is normal. The questions that must be involved with these behaviour or way of thinking: How happy are you scrutinizing others achieve their goals? How do you sense seeing people thrive in their deeds? Do you appreciate the accomplishments of people around you? Are you glad with someone else’s success?

Whether we agree to it or not, if we self-assess today and reflect that we actually or secretly feel sorry about seeing nice things happening to people, chances are, we are guilty of the loathsome trait of crab mentality!

THIS IS A GUEST POST BY JESUS RICARDO BUHAN OF ALWAYS10 – TOP TEN LIST COLLECTION|TOP TEN LISTS

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Here’s another surprise! I know you are familiar with my Blogger Quotes but most of them are in Tagalog. This time I decided to make Bloggers’ Proverbs in English so bloggers from other countries can relate and understand them. Aside from that, a commenter suggested that putting images with my proverbs , might help to make it more appealing and probably might go viral (I’m hoping). Thanks for the suggestion sir, you know who you are and you are right, they look better than the previous editions. I hope you will like them and I am also hoping that you will share these post/proverbs via Facebook, Twitter, or to whatever social bookmarking sites you use. Plus one naman ‘jan mga igan! Thanks in advance!

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• Blogger’s Proverb Shirt Now Out!
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Katahimikan! Katahimikan! After the Blogger Proverbs, here’s my new surprise! I haven’t seen an article featuring blogger pick-up lines and I am hoping that I am the first to create one. I have included few of the “Blogger Pick-up Lines” and I will add more if this post will have a positive response from you guys. I will have be more enthusiastic to make more of these if these will be chosen by Bloggershirts to be printed on the shirts they plan to produce. Ehem! Ehem! Calling…calling Sir Fitz! LOL

I hope you’ll like them:

Google ka ba?

Bakit?

Nasa iyo lahat ang hinahanap ko eh!

Para kang Adsense?

Bakit?

‘Coz you “Add sense” in my life

Para kang Google Panda

Bakit?

Ginulo mo buhay ko!

Sana Alexa na lang pangalan mo…

Bakit?

Para alam ko ranking ko sa buhay mo.

Status ko ngayon parang bugged HTML script

Bakit?

It’s complicated

Sana Blogger na lang platform ko

Bakit?

Para naka-indexed agad ako sa puso mo.

Pa-subscribe nga!

Bakit?

Para updated ako sa iyo.

Ayoko sa iyo para kang Infolinks!

Bakit?

Kuripot ka!

Sana ituring mo akong parang Google Adsense

Bakit?

Para ako lang at wala ng ibang compatible sa iyo.

Kung buhay ko ay artikulo, ikaw naman ang attachment video

Bakit?

Naka-embed ka na kasi sa puso ko

Naks! Cheesy ba?

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• TAPATAN with JEHZEEL LAURENTE ^_^

I can say that Semidoppel’s Reports started year 2011 pretty impressive, with a Pagerank of 4, the 1^st quarter of the year is fruitful in terms of earnings. The 4^th payment from Google Adsense was received last February and paid posts reached a desirable amount, enough to pay my own bills. My blog is a trending blog, that’s why it was Semidoppel’s Reports, reporting about what’s new and what’s hot. My blog’s stats are impressive before I shifted to a new niche, the highest ranking I attained in Topblogs.ph is Rank 4 and Alexa ranking is within the 800-900k range. I have traffic with a minimum of 1,000 a day and not less than $2 in a day, paid posts not yet included. But I wasn’t happy because I feel that there is something missing, something must complete each article I publish, and that’s the interaction between readers, subscribers and followers.

I officially switched to a new niche last March, Semidoppel now is a personal blogger. I published “The Nightmares of a Jeepney Passenger” and from that article, it’s clear that I can achieve my goal with this new kind of approach. That article reached 33 comments, including my replies, it might not be as many as the comments you have in your blog but I am still very happy. Now, bloggers know that Semidoppel exists and most importantly, I can now share what’s on my mind, my thought, my views, and my life. Days go by, and the usual 2 to 3 posts a day became 2 to 3 articles a week, I always aim to create an article which my fellow Filipinos can relate that’s why it always took me a long time to publish a new one. Then, one day I realize that I am now creating articles which focus on Filipino culture, lifestyle, hobbies and traits, then I made the following:

• This Funny but Annoying Filipino Habit
• I Hope You Can Write Your Own Songs
• Are We Ethical in Posting and Commenting in Facebook
• The Pinoy Inuman Cast of Characters
• Pamahiing Pinoy: Should We Keep on Believing

Funny Articles Such as:

• Love is Like a “Tsinelas”
• The Four Types of Love: Pikon Not Allowed
• Too Much Ka-Torpehan Will Kill You
• Lies that Women Say

Inspiring Articles Such as:

• When God Continues to Reach Us
• Let Us Reflect Before We Whine
• Are Bloggers Guilty of Impatient Journalism (must-read for bloggers)
• Sometimes We Just Have to Roll the Dice: An Article I Dedicate to Chris Rene (hey, he won third place at X-Factor USA)

Fully Researched Articles Such as:

• Facts and Fallacies About Sex and Getting Pregnant
• How to Detect Online Hacks and Scams
• History of the Dirty Finger

These are just few of the articles I made, I won’t list them all here, this article might look too long if I enumerate all of them (LOL).

But, harsh reality slapped me. My Pagerank went down from PR4 to PR2, then on the next Panda Update it went PR3 then on the next update it went to PR2 again. I was so disappointed, and thought of shifting back for a trending blog to recover my stats. That’s the downside of the personal blog. But as I reflect, I asked myself again, “Anu ba talaga ang goal mo? Bakit ka nadi-depress?”. But with the help of my mentor and some reliable blogger friends, they keep on telling me, it’s just a number, so I convinced myself not to be depressed (even though I know they are important). Then as I read the previous articles I published, I saw what I gained. I gained blogger friends, subscribers (blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Networkedblogs, Social Bookmarking followers, Google Plus), found new reliable persons who can help me improve my blog and I am also recognized by some well-known bloggers and the numbers are growing every day, making me feel that I am a part of the blogosphere.

I also earned trust from bloggers, it was a surprised when I was assigned as an admin in several Facebook Bloggers Group such as Proudly Pinoy Bloggers and Prime Blogger Sync, BTW let me include my own FB Group Bloggerista Pilipinas (it’s a closed group so you have to ask me if you want to join). I was also chosen to be one of the judges on some blog contests which were organized by some bloggers.

Two of my Blogger Proverbs were chosen by Sir Fitz of Bloggershirts and it was the t-shirts’ design released last November.

I was nominated in PEBA’s Any Blogger, Anywhere, this is the first time my blog was nominated for the Personal category. Although I didn’t win, being one of the 120 nominees is already an achievement, “At least pasado ako sa standards ng PEBA Board of Trustees, makapasa ka lang sa screening malaking bagay na ‘yun”.

2011 is also the year when I started attending blogger events. Last August, I attended Blogger Fiesta and there I met Gian Faye, Csseyah Brenn, Lulu Cemanes and Jesus Ricardo. I also attended Blog and Soul, I met Winston of Batang Yagit, and I attended PEBA where I met Ian, Anciro and Ate Shirley Mandel. I met Sir David D’Angelo at Otaku Encore.  I also met Cai, the Bilibid Boys, Helen Mary Labao and Jehzeel Laurente, but not from a blogger event.

Ian, Ate Shirley and Me

Sir David, Ma'am Eve, Me

I want to thank God for the latest miracle He did. Share ko lang…I was in Megamall, I went to the Toycon Event. I wanted to buy something for myself but I can’t afford those collectibles then suddenly I prayed aloud ”Lord, bigyan Mo po ng earnings ang blog ko, wala na ko pera”, my girlfriend looked at me smiling, I know she wanted to laugh because it was so silly to do that in public. You know what happened? On the next day as I checked my Adsense, I earned $38 in one day, that’s the highest amount I earned from Adsense, then on the next day He gave me another $16 and on the following day He gave me $14 more, then add my $33 earnings from the past 6 months. I told myself “Parang sinadya ni Lord ahh!” You know why? I think He calculated how much I need to have a payout… if you will add them all I already have $101! Oh ‘di ba parang sinadya talaga!

Oh my! I almost  forgot to share this very important stuff, I already have a business card! LOL!

Semidoppel’s Reports as of this moment is PR2 with an Alexa rank within the range of 390-430k, Ratified rank is 169 with subscribers from 80-100 a day. The stats probably are not  impressive if you’ll compare it to your blog, but as of now, I can say that I’m contented on what I gained… it’s all worth it. I am now living to this principle which I always share to those who are new in blogging, “Blog about your passion, and make blogging your passion”.

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We all experience this, and we hate it when it happens this is worse than losing your blog’s traffic… it’s what I call “BRAIN DRAIN”. I know you can relate on this topic, this is not experienced only by bloggers, even writers, well-known, experienced or professionals suffer from this. So, I decided to set some rules that I think can help you on how to cope with “Brain Drain”.

Rule Number 1: Do not push yourself to make one if you don’t feel like doing it.

• You cannot produce a very good article if you don’t feel like doing it. If you feel that you are lacking on ideas…STOP! Never push yourself and remember this “Work badly done is worse than work undone”

Rule Number 2: Determine the ambiance that makes you feel the mood

• Take it from me, I cannot work unless I have the following: blissful environment, good ventilation and a cup of coffee, just like while I am making this article. As a matter of fact, some writers even those well-known ones tried to go out of town just to set their focus. Why the ambiance is important? It helps you to be in focus, and even makes you think better on what topic you want to write/produce. Setting the mind’s condition is very important, without it, it’s like publishing an article without any sense.

Rule Number 3: Don’t be too specific on what to write, don’t limit yourself

• Madam Alohagems asked me where I get my inspiration, I answered “I can’t specifically define”. I told her that most of my articles are based on the things I observe, sometimes it is about the dream I had, sometimes about the experiences I had and some are inspired from the priest’s homily. I write when I see something worth blogging, I take down notes and sometimes I even save drafts in my phone just to make sure that I will not forget about what I saw. This may not be applicable to some blogs which focus on specific niche but in the other hand this is the advantage if you are having a personal blog.

Rule Number 4: Look around, Observe, and Reflect

• This is related to Rule No. 3, if you noticed my tagline “I Search, I Observe, I Share”, I chose that tagline because that is what I really do. I observed Filipino traits, culture, habits either it might be good or bad, gestures and things which can only be seen only in the Philippines. Why is this important? I am Filipino, with Filipino friends, relatives, workmates, blogger friends and to cut it short, I am targeting a specific group of people/readers and they are my fellow countrymen. Targeting is very important because the visitors/readers of your blog should easily relate to what you are talking about. After that you can see if your targeting is successful, when? When you have interaction between your readers by means of commenting or replying back to  their comments. That’s how to effectively gain readers. (wink)

Rule Number 5: Determine what inspires you

• I think this is the most important aspect in writing… the inspiration. It’s where your heart is and also this makes it beat. I intentionally put it in the end of this article even though I know that this is the most important because all the previous rules were provided for setting up, for starting effective article writing. When you have certain niche/topic/things that inspire you, writing an article will not be hard, sometimes it’s like your mind and hand automatically processed the whole article.

I hope these simple rules can help you when you suffer from what I call “Brain Drain”.

This article was inspired from the recent conversation  I had with Madam Shirley Mandel. Thanks ma’am for that conversation, as a result I finally finished this one.

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After the success of my article “Filipino Proverbs: The Blogger Edition”, here comes another set of Blogger Proverbs I am sure you will like and I bet you can relate. By the way, if you are wondering why I categorize it as a successful article it is because… two blogger proverbs were chosen by Sir Fitz and they are now the latest t-shirt designs released in Bloggershirts. Mabuhay! They are still available and you can still avail both designs.

Fellow bloggers, friends, readers and followers, Blogger Proverbs part 2 unveiled…

• Aanhin pa ang kaalaman sa SEO kung iyo naman itinatago.
• Ang hindi lumingon sa blogging mentor, hindi dapat tulungan sa script error.
• Habang mababa ang earnings, matutong gamitin ang trendings.
• Kapag link ang itinanim, link din ang aanihin. (link building)
• Google Adsense man daw ay masuspendido, kay Chitika tatakbo.
• Kapag deadma kay Google ang motion, register na kay Smowtion.
• Ang blogger na walang earning ay parang natinik ng malalim.
• Bloggers Facebook Group ay titibay, kung lahat ng miyembro matututong magbigay.
• Kapag mayroong mainit na balita, newsbloggers nagkakandarapa. (meaning nagmamadali magsulat, baka ma-misinterpret)
• Ang blogger na nagigipit, sa Facebook Likes humahapit.
• Nasa Blogger ang ngawa kapag Google Adsense ay nawala.
• Pag may guest post at may pic, may sasagip sa traffic.
• Sa blogger na may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.
• Walang mapait na paid post sa blogger na mag-eexpire na ang host.
• Walang ligaya sa lupa kapag kita sa Adsense ay hindi nakuha.

I hope you like this set. If you have some blogger proverbs in mind, kindly include it in your comment and I will include them on the next set. Good day! Happy blogging!

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