I won’t lie. Surveys have reported a huge decline in blogs for the past two years. So, the question remains; “Is Blogging dead?”. For me, the answer is both a “yes” and a “no”. Read on.

IS BLOGGING DEAD?

According to this source, blogs have “declined from 50% of the Inc 500 in 2010 to 37% in 2011, while it’s remained constant at 23%”. A couple of years ago, everyone and his brother had a blog. All companies, brands, big and small had blogs. Now, if you check the old blogs you frequented, you’ll find that most of them have either closed or remained stale due to the lack of updates.

What has contributed to this decline?

• Facebook - Facebook continues its aim to dominate the world. Zuckerberg and crew can’t seem to do anything wrong. Facebook has allowed companies and individuals to do their “blogging” there. It’s so easy to maintain. And since everyone checks it daily, you’re sure to get more hits and return visits than old blogging sites or blog-based services. For now, there isn’t a way to monetize the traffic (yet). But brands have relied on Facebook via the “Page”. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article on why it was important for brands to make their own brand pages instead of profiles. It seems that I don’t need to explain myself again.
• Twitter and microblogging – Want to share your sandwich? Your coffee? It’s easier to just Tweet it rather than spend a couple of minutes on the blog platform. Twitter has allowed a lot of bloggers to capture their targeted audience and still maintain their presence in the Internet.
• Greed – bloggers who look up to successful bloggers tried to join the bandwagon and attempted to make blogs to make money. It doesn’t work that way. A lot failed. That’s why there was a surge of bloggers 2 or 3 years ago. Today, only the true blooded bloggers remain.
• The debate on who should be a journalist – There’s a huge rift between bloggers and journalists. And they have their own “camps” too. Even laws were passed to either merge the two or “divide the line”, so to speak. Old school journalists do not recognize anyone with a laptop, a digital camera and a smartphone as a real journalist. The debate goes on.

Meanwhile, blogger and web entrepreneur Jason Calacanis said in an interview “”The concept of journalism is going away. It is not enough to be a writer. You need to be a writer and an expert.” Calacanis goes on to say that there is a new “Web 3.0″ and it’s going to be “The Age of Expertise”.

For me, I think he’s on to something.

Blogging will still be here but only those who remain true to blogging’s ideals will prevail. They will retain their followers if they cater to their own communities and provide fresh, new and relevant content. Content will still be key. But now, content is easily devoured via Facebook, Twitter and all those other micro-blogging platforms. Our iPhones and Android phones can give us news and content anytime, anywhere and it is devoured fast. Your news could be stale in a matter of minutes. Before, you could still afford to be fresh even if you posted it a few days later.

In the end, blogging will have a lot more opportunities in terms of monetization because only a few are doing it now.

That’s why us bloggers, need to hone our skills and become experts rather than just ordinary “sharers”.

Keep the flame, burning!

Peace!

image via Gettyimages (royalty free)

This is our second roadshow or guild/player’s assembly for our newest game, Bounty Hounds Online. This time, BHO goes to San Fernando, Pampanga!

Last Dec 7, 2011, the BHO team, led by Ryan Sacares and GM Aveline trooped to Pampanga to show the game and have fun with BHO fans. We also gave away a LOT of beta keys. This was also the event where we unveiled the AWESOME, new, BHO shirt!

Check out more of the pics…

Our first event was at Metro Manila.

The BHO team will now head to Davao and Cebu! See you there!

For more details, head on over to our BHO Facebook Page and if you want to get exclusive Beta Keys, join my Facebook contest now!

Thanks!

It’s been a while since I wrote some tips for fellow bloggers.

With the advent of social media (read: Facebook, here in the Philippines), it makes your articles, ideas or media (video and photos) a lot more easier to share. The question now is: are you utilizing these “sharing tools” to its full potential?

The key here is to make your content/articles easier for others to share.

With a lot of new tools and plugins, gone are the days that you have to manually “copy” the URL and then past it on your wall, group or page in Facebook (or any other SNS site for that matter). There are stuff out there that I’ve already tried. The main goal is for your reader to immediately share (hence, make viral) your content with a single click of his (or her) mouse.

The easier, the faster, the better.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Using my own blog, gmtristan.com, as an example, I am fond of using Sexy Bookmarks which you can see below;

The plugin has a LOT of options on which social sites to use and also has a ton of options for customization. Don’t get carried away and use a gaggle of sites. For me, I think Facebook and Twitter are the most important.

Next up would be how to find a better solution for the traditional and boring “comments” section of your blog. For me, there are 2 options.

In gmtristan.com I use DISQUS. Disqus can totally replace your comments box and allow the user to log-in using one of his SNS accounts. It will also automatically “post” or “share” his comment on his wall (if he “allows” the app to do it) thereby giving your article and links a little more “link love”. Sweet! The second option, as will be detailed below, is totally replace your blog’s comment section using Facebook comments. In gmtristan.com, I opted to stay with Disqus since a migration of old comments was not possible under that system.

But such is not the case with my other blog, geekzkrieg.com. There, it’s the comment section is full-Facebook.

If you want to know how to do this for your blog, head on over to the instructions for Facebook HERE

Now that you have a couple of tools for your content to “go out”, you will then need some more content to “come in”. I’ve already written about the great convergence of your blog and Facebook before where I highlighted the importance of having a Facebook Page for your blog.

It’s time to get that “sync” into action by using Facebook Socials.

Facebook Social is a suite of tools and plugins that you can use on your blog or on your site. My favorite app would of course have to be the Like Box. Setting this up is very simple. Just go here, take note of your sidebar width, add a few info and you’re good to go.

The Like Box will do wonders for your blog as it allows you to

1. Grow your Facebook Fan base – those not members/fans yet can instantly become one just with one click!
2. Push relevant topics back into your blog – so your readers can see other content on your page which they missed.
3. See your fan growth from your own page

Finally, in order for your readers to “go deeper” into your blog (this means that you want them to browse more than one article and push relevant content to them), you also need a couple of tools. Here are some of what I use;

1. LINK WITHIN – www.linkwithin.com

Link within is the app that “suggests” related content to your readers with a “You Might Also Like:” choice with thumbnails at the bottom of your post. Setup is a breeze.

2. THE SLIDE by SimpleReach www.simplereach.com

Notice that little box which slides on the bottom right corner of my blog? That’s “The Slide”, Their marketing message tells it all “Help Readers Discover More of Your Content”. ‘Nuff said. Click here to make an account and set it up on your blog or site.

I guess that’s it!

I hope you learned a thing or two. And if you did…

Don’t forget to share!

Thanks!

Last weekend, I traveled to Hong Kong to proudly accept the award for Philippine Ragnarok Online as the “Most Popular Online Game” in the Philippines at the first Asian Online Game Awards.

Held at TVB City in Kowloon, Hong Kong, The Asia Online Game Awards saw the biggest names in the Asian online gaming industry come together to promote and recognize the best that online gaming has to offer. 14 awards were given at the AOGA, including Asia Online Game Grand Award, Best Design, Best Technology, Best Graphic and Best Creative, as well as nine regional awards that included the Philippines in its prestigious roster. In the end, Philippine Ragnarok Online came out on top as the Philippines’ Most Popular Online Game, whose award was graciously accepted by yours truly.

The first Asia Online Game Awards (AOGA) Presentation Ceremony is organized by the Hong Kong Game Industry Association, and produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). AOGA is also co-organized by the Game Publication Committee of the Publishers Association of China, and the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Industry Support Centre (HKDEISC) of Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). Sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), the cross-regional event aims to enhance development of the online game industry in Asia.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the kind organizers and their staff for making my stay at Hong Kong a pleasant and enjoyable one; Annie, Cynthia, and Florence to name a few. Thanks so much!

Also, I’d like to say that the show at the TVB studios was awesome! They truly did a grand production number with famous hosts, celebrities and artists. The Angry Birds segment (sponsored by Rovio) was a great hit!

In behalf of Level Up, we’d also like to thank our great partner, Gravity, for always being supportive and working with us to improve the game and make it even better for all the fans and players.

Last but not least, is a big THANK YOU to all loyal Pinoy pRO players. This award is dedicated to you guys. Without your support, pRO wouldn’t reach this level. As a special thanks to Level Up!’s loyal and growing community, Ragnarok Online players will get to enjoy 3X EXP mods across all servers from August 10 to 17.

Thanks all!

>GM T

Marketing is trying out different ideas, trying to “one up” the competition and come out with ideas that are fresh, innovative and (hopefully) work.

Here’s an interesting concept; embed a chip in a print ad so that your target market can hear your audio ad…

Let’s check out the video…

Don’t forget to share, ok? Happy weekend folks!

[ source ]

It’s official.

We’re now the official partner of LiveGamer. And you can now use Level Up Top Up cards to buy Facebook credits for your favorite games such as Warstorm, CityVille, FarmVille, Restaurant City, Zombie Lane, Texas Holdem Poker and much, much more!

See the “How To” after the break…

How To Buy Facebook Credits using Level Up Top Up Card

It’s quite easy to purchase Facebook Credits using Level Up! prepaid cards.  All you need to do is click the Account button on the upper right part of the Facebook interface and click on Credits Balance.

Choose buy more in the Credits Balance portion.

Click the More Payment Options link when this window pops up

And you should see the Level Up! payment option displayed!

Just enter the Prepaid Card number and the PIN on your Level Up! prepaid card to load up, and you should have your account credited with the corresponding Facebook Credits.  Very easy!

For conversion rates, it’s like this:

• LU Card 50 (50.00 PHP) : 6 FB Credits
• LU Card 100 (100.00 PHP) : 13 FB Credits
• LU Card 350 (350.00 PHP) : 45 FB Credits
• LU Card 500 (500.00 PHP) : 65 FB Credits

See? Now everyone can be happy!!!! Time to pay for those games and get the advantage you want.

Spread the word! Don’t forget to share.

Thanks!

Building and growing your Facebook fanpage, either for business or for your own personal “branding”, is just the start. Even if you pile up huge statistics in terms of “likes”, it wouldn’t mean Jack if your followers are not “engaged” or caught up either in your brand or personal niche. A lot of so-called ‘social media pundits’ will utter the words “engagement” or “viral” or “evangelism” but most, if at all, rarely know how to actually wave this magic wand, so to speak.

Again, I am NOT a Social Media expert. I’m a marketing professional. And yes, Digital Marketing is here to stay whether we like or not. Those in the industry that adapt to the trends and technology will be the ones to reap the benefits. What follows are my own personal notes on how I did (and still keep on doing it) based on personal experience;

Engaging Your Users On Facebook

1. Post regularly – at least once a day will do. The max should be around 3 to 4 in a day. Anything more than that and you’re flooding up your wall/feed. Based on experience, lunchtime and coffee break time (3pm) are the “spikes” in Facebook usage in the Philippines. Some walls/pages will experience slowdown (less activity) during the weekends. This may be because most of the users that access it via the office (outside home) are more than those that have mediums of access during weekdays (i.e., very little households with multiple PCs or homes with DSL).
2. Keep the posts relevant - stay to your brand, to your niche, but…. You can ALSO post related products, tips or services from other sources. As long as they are not direct competitors, your followers will see the value of this and will appreciate seeing this on their feeds rather than the “hard sell” day-to-day-brain-wash-type posts or reminders.
3. Interact - one of the frequent things that Admins fail to do (guilty here at times) is regularly interacting with your community. Try your best to answer their questions, help them with their inquiries or just replying and saying “thanks” or “great photo” will go a long way towards building real and lasting RELATIONSHIPS with your customers/users. Your fans will really appreciate this for sure. Also, try to be “real” when you reply. The corporate/formal tone is passe. Be yourself. If they ask in Tagalog, reply  in Tagalog, if in English, then do so in English. As much as possible, keep it SHORT and SIMPLE. In the Internet “Less is Always More”. As a follower, I don’t have time to read through your 7 paragraph answer when I only asked if your product tastes good, right?
4. Have programs for both Acquisition and Retention – you should then plan your calendar accordingly by having both acquisition (to gain more “likers”) and retention (to stop them from being bored or worse, ‘unlike’ your page) programs. Simple contests daily, weekly and monthly can be a huge boost for this. I can’t tell you what the right contests are for your brand or page, you’ll have to look at world-class brands’ pages and see what they are doing right. Then you can plan and tweak accordingly. In my FB page, I have regular T.A.Y (Talk Among Yourselves) sessions where they interact about current events and topics (where I butt in if needed). That’s an example of a retention program.
5. Praise - Nothing beats positive energy. Showcase your talented users’ works, posts or even media. Acknowledge them and it’s more likely that they’ll post this on their own walls, thus increasing your “reach” and attracting a few new fans in the process.

That’s it for now. I hope you learned a thing or two.

For additional reading, you can check out my presentation on “Your Blog and Facebook” which I did for this year’s iBlog conference.

Thanks!

Image via Stone Junction

On May 28, it was our National Flag Day.

Apparently, the people working on the official site of the President do not know which color of our flag is right side up.

The “FAIL” has apparently been taken down, but not before media discovered it.

Nakakahiya.

President Noy, you should seriously reconsider and review the people behind your site.

Little things like this go a long way. If I were the President, I would fire them.

But that’s just me.

So-called “social media experts” in Malacanang will be in a tight fit after this fiasco.

I also found a fake PNoy website which just leeches off adsense and SEO.

via GMA News

Whenever there’s web content or online promos, most websites have potential viewers or contestants verify their age by the hoo-hum boring “enter-your-age-to-confirm” dialogue box.

Well… I found the epic system that pawns them all (see above)!

I guess it really is a deterrent. Most youngsters won’t even know what that thing is! LOLS.

via Failblog

First, we’d like to thank all KOS players for patronizing our game.

Due to the increasing demand, we will be launching a new server, Magnum for KOS Philippines. Our goal is to have Magnum up after the maintenance for KOS tomorrow, May 19.

And that’s not all, to celebrate, the KOS team is giving 3X EXP mods for the remaining days of May! Wow! Ratratan na!!!!

And hey, if you and your friends are up for it, you can join the official tournament for KOS for LIVE 2011. Who knows? Your team might be the best in the Philippines. Cash and other prizes up for grabs!

Spread the word!

Via KOS PH Official Site