Allow me to share the excerpts of our interview with Juan Karlo Licudine, a 21-year old talented computer engineering student from Mapua Institute of Technology who dabbles in drawing, web designing and of course, blogging. Though he’s groomed to be an engineer by profession, he is actually looking at blogging as an alternative career and for good reason.

Q. Can you tell us how you started with your site and what got you started blogging? How many blogs do you maintain right now?

A. I am actually one of the few Pinoys who actually got tired of the monotony and simplicity of Friendster. While everyone was busy tinkering with their profiles, I was surfing the net looking for something different, something that isn’t a waste of time, something that can allow me to express myself better. It was then that I discovered blogging.

I started out with a personal blog back in 2004. Three years later, I noticed that the Pinoy blogging community was growing fast. I figured that the Pinoy blogosphere needs someone who can cover the latest happenings, news, and issues that is happening around the community. Out of that idea, PinoyBlogero.com was born.

I have two working blogs right now, PinoyBlogero.com and BlogComics.net, the latter offers free comics that bloggers can put on their blogs. I’m planning to build two more on the coming months.

Q. What do you love about blogging as an activity?

A. The thing that I love about blogging is that it gives people, like us, the power to voice out our opinions, thoughts, and ideas to a wide audience with ease. It also gives us the chance to exercise our freedom of self-expression regardless of social status and educational attainment.

Q. Can you share precious tips to newbies on being a successful blogger and blogging successfully?

A. Always put your reader first. They are the air that your blog needs in order to survive. Your blog is not just about you, you should also keep your readers in mind, after all, they are your audience. Never forget to interact with your readers and give them what they want.

Q. How about the common mistakes bloggers commit? blogging pet peeves?

A. I must say that there are a lot of bloggers who get too caught up with earning money online that they forget about the true meaning of blogging. They try so hard that they forget about their readers. Then they wonder why their blogs are not growing and why their readership is decreasing.

Q. Considering the vast number of blogs about blogging, how do you aim to make yours stand out?

A. I try to set my blog apart from the crowd by concentrating on a particular group, which is the Pinoy blogging community. Instead of talking about blog monetization, SEO, and other blogging stuffs that had already been repeated by countless of bloggers already, I try to cover and analyze certain issues and news that really concern Pinoy bloggers.

Q. How important are things like SERPs, Google PR, Alexa/Technorati ranking to a blog?

A. A lot of people say that rankings are important because they tell the blogger how much their blog has grown on a particular timeframe. But if you would ask me, I would say that it is not as important as having a big readership. What’s the point of having high Google PR or Alexa Ranking if nobody is actually reading your blog, right?

Like I always say, a blog’s true success is not determined by the number displayed on its rankings but by the number of readers that are reading your blog.

Q. Your thoughts on blog monetization. Have you earned money from your blogging? How did you do this?

A. Everyone has the choice if whether they would monetize their blogs or not. Earning money from blogs is already part of the blogging world. However, bloggers must know how to do it in moderation. Instead of immediately focusing on earning money, bloggers must first establish their readership and authority. After that, money will come in naturally.

I earn on my blogs through Pay-Per-Click advertisements like Adsense and through selling of ad spots on my blog. My earnings are not as high compared to other probloggers that is because I try not to concentrate too much on these kinds of stuff.

Q. Your plans as a blogger.

A. I plan to become an authority on all my selected niches. It may be a very difficult task, but I believe one can do it as long as they know what they are doing. Once I get enough footing on my career, I will then try to pursue and enter the world of Problogging.

Q. How do you balance blogging and your studies?

A. Juggling two big responsibilities is obviously a difficult task. I do a lot of time management and productivity activities to help me juggle them both efficiently. I allot less time on things that don’t really matter like gaming, gimmicks and the like.

In spite of all the efforts, I’m still having a hard time with all the juggling. In the end, it all boils down to what I prioritize the most, which is of course, my studies.

Q. Do you think blogging should be taught in school? Why or why not?

A. Yes, I am a firm believer that blogging can be a great tool for alternative learning. For example, It can be used by teachers as a replacement for essay compilations, not only have the students learned how to write, they also get to know more about the internet and social community interactions.

(For comments and inquiries, email anna.lyn@mac.com)