Blog Updates for November

Happy Thanksgiving! I know, this celebration is only for those who live in the USA. But personally, I have a lot to give thanks for myself. Firstly, my wife is pregnant and is expected to give birth to a baby boy. We have been waiting for this for quite some time now, so we are both very excited. And secondly, I amabout to receive my Google Adsense check next week! Blogging for me has become a rewarding past time.
For November, we launched a new blog which is about Bartender Careers. It is a blog that talks about bartending as a profession. It's a blog for those who were, who are and for those who want to be, bartenders. Go ahead and visit and let me know what you think.

It's a month to go before Christmas, and people are starting to feel the rush. It is the start of the season for so many Fairs, Expos and Shopping bazaars. In fact, it is in one electronics expo where we have spotted Sam YG. Have you already started buying gifts for Christmas? Don't wait 'til the last minute because you might get overwhelmed.

For December, I plan to blog about my baby boy and how my life will forever change since I will now become a member of the exclusive tatay's (father's) club. I don't expect to make a lot of time for blogging then. I will prioritize my personal life and I am sure people will understand.

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Blog Updates for July

Google got me a very sweet birthday present today. I just received my first ever Google Adsense check. I had it immediately deposited to my bank account. It's not much, but it still feels good to know that I am getting something from blogging besides having fun which is already good by itself.

The month of July in 2009 was short but sweet. I wrote about my mother-in-law's experience with Refurbished Cellphones. I posted about The Best of Michael Jackson as my own sort of tribute to the late King of Pop. I also talked about Magic 89.9's pretty DJ and the newly released Andi-9 Music Video. I made some new posts but made updates on some of my old posts. I also made several revisions on my other blogs to make it more up to date.

So what's next for me? I plan to continue doing what works for me, which is to continue to be true to what this blog is all about. I hope to get more readers to subscribe and comment. I hope to get more visitors dropping by after searching from Google or Yahoo. I hope to sustain my writing momentum, to be inspired to blog as long as I can. I am satisfied with what I have achieved so far, but feel free to give me suggestions on how you would like to make my blog more useful and exciting.

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Blog Updates for June

This month went by pretty quickly. I met my Adsense payment threshold, which means I can receive revenue next month. I am more motivated now, because I am getting a bonus from doing what I like to do. I saw my traffic increase this month as well. I also wrote some more posts and am slowly getting my momentum back.

But if there is one event that has to be remembered this month, it was the sudden passing away of Michael Jackson. A lot has already been written about it in the bloggosphere. I wrote a post about the Philippine Dancing Inmates as they paid tribute to their idol and danced the Michael Jackson's Thriller. And soon after writing this post on my blog, CNN linked it in their own news page... which resulted in more traffic for my page. I captured the link in this screenshot below:


Thanks again to CNN for the referrals.
I can't wait to find out what happens next in July.

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Google Interest Based Advertising

Starting next month, Google will have access to your internet usage via a cookie. This cookie will help Google provide the most appropriate ads for my blog, and any other website using Google Adsense, basing on your internet history.

For example, if you frequent websites about Blogging, Health and Fitness, or Personal Finance, Google will show health or finance related ads in my blog, and any other website using Google Adsense. The reasoning is that you will be more interested in these ads and will help you find what you are possibly looking for.

For more information about these changes and how it affects our privacy, go to Google Privacy Center. Also, if you think these changes are not acceptable for you, there is a blue "opt out" button you can click. If you opt out, you will still see Google ads in my blog, but they will be based on the content of my posts, not on your personal internet history.

Please take time to read more. Whatever you do, make sure you understand the effects to your privacy.

photo credit, bejealousofme

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Infolinks Tweak

I just made a simple Infolinks tweak in my Infolinks settings that made my earnings multiply by 5 times compared to my previous month's Infolinks earnings. My Infolinks earnings is nearing my Google Adsense earnings for this month.

The Infolinks tweak I am talking about is simple. I just inserted this code in my Infolinks script.

var infolinks_double_underline = false;

This code specifies that the Infolinks ads appear as single underlined units (the default is double underline). This Infolinks tweak, combined with customizing my ads to blend with the blog theme, makes it more "clickable". I know my readers won't mind because these ads are unobtrusive and would only redirect once the links are clicked.

If you have a blog or website, why don't you try Infolinks and use this Infolinks tweak in your blog? Let me know if you have the same positive results!

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Adsense Inside Blog Posts

I managed to insert my Google Adsense ad units inside my blog posts. Adsense experts say it increases the chances of readers to read them and click on them since they are more visible and more naturally integrated to the blog.

To do this in your own Blogger blog, edit your Blogger template HTML and click Expand Widget Templates. Then look for this code:

<div class='post-body'>
<p><data:post.body/></p>
<div style='clear: both;'/> <!-- clear for photos floats -->
</div>

Then add the parsed adsense unit before or after this post body element. Insert it before this if you want the ad unit at the start of the post, or after this if you want the ad unit at the end of the post. You can change the float style from left to center or right, whichever you feel is the best location for your ad:

<div style='float:left;'>
insert parsed adsense code here
</div>

For this blog I have one Google Adsense ad unit below the title and another Google Adsense ad unit after the post body. Let's see if we get more results from this Blogger tweak. How about you? How did this work out for you? Let me know through your comments.

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Google Adsense PIN

My Google AdSense PIN is coming soon...

I just received an email from the Google AdSense Team:

...We've recently sent you a Personal Identification Number (PIN) via standard mail. You should expect to receive it within about 2-4 weeks. Once you receive your PIN, you will need to enter it into your account in order to become eligible to receive AdSense payments. To enter your PIN, simply follow the instructions included with your PIN mailer...

I hope I can receive my mail soon. I am a little worried that the mailman won't be able to find our address.

January 21 update: I got the mail from Google this afternoon. Yehey!

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