He who blogs isn’t a fool for five
.:Annalyn S. Jusay (now blogging at www.annalyn.net)
His blog posts always start with a question because his objective in coming up with a personal site is "to answer questions, both profound and inane." This is the reason why his blog is titled "Fool For Five." It takes after the proverb " One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not... remains a fool forever." Meet Rico Mossesgeld, who describes himself as "a marketing specialist by day, a freelance graphic designer and writer by night." Aside from getting personal at www.fool45.com, he can also be found blogging for a living at The Smart PDA and Contract Worker blogs.
Q. Please tell us something about yourself which you’d like the reading public to know.
A. Blogging was the last thing on my mind when I graduated last March. I honestly didn’t see the point. But now, it’s a big part of my life. Amazing how things change, especially if you’re open to possibilities.
Q. Can you share with us the story about how you started blogging and then how you got into writing professionally online
A. Inspired by a good friend’s success on the blogosphere—and his kakulitan—I decided to try out blogging about a month after graduation. Turns out starting a personal blog made it easy for me to enter the world of problogging. Blog networks look for people who’ve been blogging regularly, and by the time I applied, I had a body of writing that showed what I was capable of.
Q. Considering that you have a day time job and other projects besides, how do you find time to blog?
A. I sometimes wish sleep was optional! Seriously though, it’s a matter of priorities. I haven’t played a video game in months! (*sniff*) If you really do believe in what you’re doing, things magically fall into place. In other words, you’ll be able to fulfill all your commitments, if there are some sacrifices involved.
Q. What advice can you give other bloggers on time management and such?
A. I’m no time management expert, but an easy way to create more time for quality blogging is to carry around a small notebook and pen. When ideas flash into your head, you can write them down. Most of the time I spend blogging involves coming up with ideas to write about, rather than the writing itself.
Q. The title of your personal blog is "Fool for Five" Why?
A. While deciding what my blog would be about, I came across this interesting proverb: "One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." That’s why all my posts are titled with questions. I’d rather be a fool for five than a fool forever.
Q. What are some of the blogging rules and principles you live by?
A. Play nice. Proposed solutions should always accompany criticism. If you’re writing about someone else’s idea, credit the source.
Q. How many blogs do you maintain and how tough is it blogging for a living?
A. Aside from fool45.com, I write about smartphones and PDAs on thesmartpda.com, and share my experiences as a freelancer on contract-worker.com. Sometimes writing on a regular basis, especially when you’re required to post daily, can be very hard. What a lot of people need to understand though is that problogging is similar to many other career. You have a job to do, and must continually improve how you do it for any chance at continuing success.
Q. What does it take it to be a successful problogger?
A. Staying updated is a big part. Knowing about the current developments of your topic(s) gives you a better picture of the situation. Such a foundation makes creating timely and informative content a lot easier. But you shouldn’t be just a face in the crowd; originality is also key.
Q. In your opinion, how has blogging changed the life of the young generation?
A. I think that maintaining a blog helps the writer become more articulate. That’s what writing regularly does to you. Young bloggers like me are finding out how satisfying expression with words can be. They’re also discovering that the keyboard can keep up with their fast, limited attention span minds, unlike paper and pen.
Q. Your blogging/blogger’s wishlist for 2007..
A. Blogging does play to our infatuation with things foreign and perpek English. What I’d like to see though, and something I try to do on Fool for Five from time to time, is for blogging to show the rest of the world what a wonderful country the Philippines is.
Q. Your plans for your blog. Do you still see yourself blogging 5 to 10 years from now?
A. I’m not really what the future holds for me and blogging. Keep in mind that I’ve been blogging for only eight months; who knows what will happen 5 to 10 years down the road? What I do know though is that because of blogging, I have a better sense of how I live. When I don’t have anything to blog about, it tells me that my life isn’t interesting enough, or I need to learn something new.
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