Q. Please tell us something about yourself and how you got into blogging.

A.  I took up Accounting in UP, taught there for four years before joining the corporate world.

Since I'm quite interested in computers and the internet, I experimented, built web sites, and somehow stumbled into the world of blogging. Actually, it's just an extension of a hobby born in 1995. 

Q. Please tell us something about your blogs and describe. How did you set up your website? What CMS are you using? What makes it different from the others?

A. I don't actually feel comfortable looking at some of my sites as blogs, because they're actually just web sites that happen to be updated at least once a week ( http://www.viloria.com).

Under Viloria.com are two "blogs" called "Angelhouser" and "Secondthoughts". They first started as simple html web pages, but after getting tired of writing the code and then copying the files from the hard disk to the webserver, I decided to try some kind of Content Management System called Greymatter by Noah Grey.

That somehow speeded things up because my wife could now update her own blog easily (http://www.viloria.com/angelhouser ) without having to first send me the MS Word files and wait for me to perform the old webmaster-ish duties.

What makes Viloria.com different from the others?
1. Advertises and promotes Pinoy businesses for free.
2. Has a very simple site design; minimal graphics.
3. Contains streaming audio and video.

Q. Can you tell us the different uses of a blog? Is it quite possible for a blogger to earn money from blogging?  Any tips on increasing readership and such?

A. You can use a blog to provide updates to friends and  family, whether in text or photo format, without having to  strain the email system. You can also use blogs to spread  your  ideas and easily get feedback from your readers. Blogs also help  you advertise yourself and others quite inexpensively.

Yes, bloggers can earn money online in the form of commissions,  whether it is through the referred online sale of a book at Amazon,  for example, or through advertising revenue-sharing arrangements.  Some bloggers can also earn by establishing a reputation online  which opens the doors to speaking engagements or consultancy projects.

You can increase readership by finding out what topics a lot of  people find interesting. For example, you can write about the news,  the most popular movies or TV shows, or even help solve problems  that people find themselves struggling with. Put yourself in the mind  of your desired visitor, find out what their questions are, and post  the answer in your blog. Before you know it, you'll surprise yourself  with a ton of visitor traffic.

Q. What's your assessment of the present blogging climate in the Philippines, including its demographics? What are the  blogging trends as you see it?

A. More people are experimenting and trying to put up blogs, I mean  often-updated web sites. I don't have any hard numbers, but I've  met bloggers aged anywhere from 19 to 50. If you can get some kind  of demographic info on people who enjoy writing, that will probably  be similar to blogger demographics, too.

Blogging interest in the Philippines is on the rise, but only a  small percentage (10%) will continue updating their blogs. But  that's okay, since you can't really expect a lot of folks to enjoy  maintaining an online conversation with a seemingly faceless and quiet audience.

Blogging trends? Blogs will continue to grow. And die. And grow. It's like the grass  in the field. Sometimes the whole field is covered, other times you'll  see some patches of earth. Some spots near the sprinklers will remain  green and lush. The field won't necessarily grow larger, though.

Q. Can you expound on podcasting, if you're engaged in it? Do you think it will catch fire among the local blogging population soon?

A. I tried it, but couldn't sustain it because it requires a whole lot  more effort than simply writing. In addition, it's harder for others  to find your audio file than it is to find your text file online.

Will it ever catch fire in the Philippines? No, it won't. It requires a lot of time to make a good podcast or voice recording, and you probably won't get enough encouragement to  continue. Perhaps some popular AM radio announcers or comentaristas could try putting their radio shows online so that their fans could listen to missed shows. That would help extend the marketing reach of the show's advertisers. 

Q. Can you enlighten us on how to set up a podcast, from a newbie's point of view?

A. You'll need a computer that has a soundcard and a microphone. Get help from a techie who can assist you with recording software such as Audacity, and who can put up a Wordpress-powered blog for you. Or better yet, call up techie friends, have them record your voice over the telephone, and have them set-up your podcast.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not being facetious. Podcasting is definitely not for newbies unless you're willing to pay for automated services like Audioblog. I wouldn't recommend paying unless you're more or less certain you'll enjoy talking about anything for at least 150 minutes (or ten 15-minute recording sessions). 

Q. Do you think blogging is literature? Or do you believe it will become part of literature someday? 

A. Blogging is putting up a web site and regularly updating it with text, images, audio or video. Yes, blogging is literature (in the broadest definition of the word). Some bloggers have even compiled their posts and published a book, similar to  Jessica Zafra's or Karen Kunawicz' compilations.

Q. What are your thoughts on plagiarism and safeguarding your works online?

A. Plagiarism is so much easier online. It's just a few copy/paste keyboard clicks away. Your work can be emailed, put up on another web site, or even sold on eBay. If you want to monitor your work, try http://www.copyscape.com

I've tried it, got shocked with what I found, complained and tried to get things rectified, succeeded a few times, failed a lot, grew tired, and held on to this thought:

A good way of fighting plagiarists is to keep producing new works.

Create, create, create. Leave copycats with ghosts of your past successes. This does not mean to say you'll just let plagiarists get away with it.  Seek them out and do as much as you can, but try not to get a stroke in the process. Stay healthy and just keep on creating. 

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More on plagiarism, we continue with last week's discussion on how other Pinoy bloggers view the issue:

Q. What do you think should be done to safeguard blogs/online works from being plagiarized?

A. Toni: I know of the Creative Commons license and a small online organization  that fights against this offense. There is an HTML command that can prevent a reader from highlighting a website's entries so cutting/copying and pasting can be avoided. I am not aware of any software progams that can directly counter plagiarism.

What can be done is to have an active organization that is on the lookout for online plagiarism. But wow, now that's ideal. It will be very difficult to track because there is a possibility that what is ON the net may be passed of as someone's own OFF the net.

Tito Rolly: I have encountered webpages where one cannot copy said page.  It may not work effectively as the idea can be copied as well.  however,  that can be a deterrent.  The plagiarist will have to go elsewhere. This way, you do not encourage plagiarism. 

Batjay: Be vigilant and confront the plagiarist. You can protect your site by making it difficult for people to copy stuff - ie disable the right click key, etc. but this can only go so much.

Dr. Emer: To safeguard your blogs against plagiarism is difficult at this point. There are no clear laws to protect bloggers from getting copied. In my case, I put a note saying that reproduction of any material found in my blog is allowed only with written permission from me. Sometimes, people write me to ask. Sometimes, I'm just plain surprised to find my posts in some unknown place in the Net. As for software, I don't think there's one available. But as a minor protection --- though it really doesn't help much --- you can use the anti-right-click javascript found in many HTML tutor sites. Just Google it. It's free for everyone. But in my experience, the spammers and plagiarists have found a way to disable it.

Ate Sienna: I suggest once in awhile you google your entries.  Wala lang, yung tipong out of nowhere, randomly chosen phrases sa entries nyo.  That's how I found out about that young guy who was copying another blogger's entries. 

I guess sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter what precautionary measures you take, minsan mangyayari talaga ito sa'yo.  I think the best thing is just to be vigilant about it.  

Q. In your own opinion, what should be done to plagiarists?

A. Batjay:  I   am thinking of a 1001 things to do to plagiarist. Maganda, ikulong sila sa isang kwarto na may computer at may internet connection kaya lang walang keyboard at mouse.

Dr. Emer: I think there should be a regulating organization in the Net to monitor these things. It can be local or abroad.   I think it would be a welcome improvement for many bloggers. Said organization ahould have clear rules and corresponding penalties or punishments for plagiarists.

(For comments and inquiries, email annalyn.jusay@gmail.com )