Our handsome web guy has uploaded a bunch of geeky wallpapers for m|PH as well as some golfer wallpapers for Golf Digest Philippines. It would be a shame to not advertise them here. Do check them out and download.
One thing I’ve wondered with the tech wallpapers is that we haven’t shown one with a guy model. Would that even be appealing to girls if we had a guy showing off a gadget or having the m|PH logo sprayed onto his abs or something..? (eww)
Recently, the publishing company I work for acquired the rights to publish the world’s best golf magazine, Golf Digest. In about a month’s time Golf Digest Philippines will be available in news stands.
In the meantime, we’ve launched the Golf Digest blog. Many thanks to Kiven for helping us out.
The blog is a more candid look at the magazine, supplementing material that will appear in the magazine itself. Tournament updates, Golfer-at-Large diaries by equipment guy Mike Besa, and bios of the GD staff can be found here.
Golf Digest Philippines replaces Swing as the golf lifestyle publication for HIP. Swing will be included as a section within GD Philippines.
A friend of mine did an excellent post a few weeks ago about the HYPHENATE life (i.e. doing many things at the same time such as writer slash photographer slash sideline business slash something something).
A lot of people, especially those who are very talented in the arts vie to become a hyphenate – not just because they are multitalented, but also because it is the nature of the artistic to not be held down by a corporate desk and chair.
Here are some practical things to take into consideration for those who want to enter this kind of attractive endeavor.
Build your credit line. One of the reasons why I keep a regular day job is to show certain authorities that I am a financially responsible individual capable of paying bills, taxes and the rest of the stuff I owe to the government and the private sector. Due to the conservative nature of this country’s credit system, it would have been a lot harder for me to land a credit card (I’ve had one for about 2 and a half years) if I had told them that I was a freelance [insert seemingly unstable job here] at an early age.
Case in point, read this recent post by Abe, who is a successful self-employed professional blogger like me. He had a hard time once applying for a credit card and took some measures to prove to the bank that he could pay – by being employed for six months.
So grab the credit card and get the hell out.
Learn to grow. One of the reasons why I choose to remain in my regular day job in publishing is really for the purpose of growth. I’m not going to lie to you that blogging on the side – if optimized can make me at least twice, thrice or even four times more money than my regular 9-5 job in due time. But while I’m young, I don’t see myself glued in front of the computer updating five websites at a time daily. Not yet, at least.
Working a 9-5 shift teaches me a different type of discipline which most of us call the “business acumen.” Some of us have it as early as college, which is why these people end up becoming good entrepreneurs. I suck at those things so I invest my time in work that will necessarily force me to learn, and still have fun.
Ask yourself if there is opportunity to grow. If you can’t see it just yet, find a mentor who can teach you everything you needed to know about the industry and help you reinvent your craft (maybe one day you could afford a George Lindemann Jr. homes).
Show off your talent and market yourself. Isn’t this what most artists do? If you have the opportunity to show off your work, which I call professional bragging, then do so in the most humble of ways. If your craft makes money, show it off. Ciara of Ciara Creates does this pretty well and markets herself like anything. Dominique James does this too.
I had the chance to interview one of the newest writers for m|PH. His name is Hondo Vicente. His work has been around for the past two months, spanning reviews of the Sony Ericsson W550i and the Motorola RAZR V3i. He also helps with the on-location WiFi hotspot shoots.
Jayvee: How long have you been in the tech scene?
Hondo: Not too long ago. I learned a lot about tech from my master. He’s always in front of the computer. Sometimes I try to make pa-cute so he will notice me but he seems to be too engrossed with what he’s doing. So what I do is put my paws on the keyboard and try to mess up whatever he’s typing.
Hondo spending some quality time with tech assistant editor Eva Gubat. He is her favorite writer.
Jayvee: What do you do during your spare time?
Hondo: Apart from running around in the garden and playing with my collection of toy balls, I’m usually asleep or eating. Between chasing the stray cat and my daily 7:00 pm walk, I can be found on the rug drafting my plans for the new democracy.
Jayvee: Tell me something that a lot of people don’t know about you.
Hondo: Contrary to how most people see me, I’m actually a dog.
Jayvee: Are you happy with your life?
Hondo: Yes I am. There are a lot of things to look forward to. I consider myself pretty accomplished for my state of being. I mean, I’m a dog, dude. Name me other dogs that write reviews for a gadget magazine.
Jayvee: Who are your idols?
Hondo: There’s Scooby Doo, Barkley from Sesame Street and Pluto.
Jayvee: If you had one wish that you could make come true, what would it be?
Hondo: World peace.
Photos by Rikki
I’m going to attempt to make this blog entry in the style of how Pam Pastor does it. Kudos you to you Pam, because you sure know how to merge blogging with storytelling.
Who would have thought that a single text message found me trekking my way to UP Diliman’s Chocolate Kiss and making my way to Subic with people I’ve never met before.
So when Gang Badoy (teacher, UN MDG consultant, aspiring rockstar) invited me and a few others to help out with some of Rock Ed‘s activities, I said yes to joining the Subic / Olongapo leg with about ten other volunteers. The purpose was to help launch the Olongapo chapter of Rock Ed — with a free street concert a stone throw away from the Free Port.
And this is Gang between the two clowns (short for ‘Pangga’ in Ilonggo which means ‘love’). What a one-of-a-kind woman. If you’ve read The Tipping Point – she’s been regarded as all three types of influencer personae – maven, saleswoman and connector. In the same way that anybody can trace his or her roots to Kevin Bacon, a lot of people I know can trace their roots back to Gang Badoy in six degrees.
I knew Gang because she writes feature articles for SWING, which is now Golf Digest Philippines, one of our publications for HIP. So at about the same time I was doing this last year, I discovered Rock Ed and was fascinated with the spirit of volunteerism and projects on alternative means of education because I used to volunteer for work camps in different parts of the country when when I was in high school. We built a makeshift rip-rap in Cebu, refurbished an elementary school in the nickel mines in Palawan and a latrine thingee in Mindoro.