The new collection features designs from 28 leading artists from the worlds of fashion and music. This group is amazing, spanning a wide range of styles and genres: Radiohead and Gnarls Barkley used radiant colors; Gucci, Burberry, and Vera Wang illustrated beautiful patterns; and Bob Dylan and Celine Dion created an iconic look (of course). So depending on what you’re interested in, there’s lots of great art to choose from to suit your personality, taste or mood.

While browsing the artist themes page, I LOL’d at this “The Pig of Happiness” theme by Edward Monkton, so I decided to add it to my own iGoogle page. But when I loaded it, the “The Sheep of Destiny” showed up:

Haha, not bad. The truth is, though, I don’t use my personalized Google homepage that often anymore. I’m more of a Google Reader person. I wonder, when will Google start releasing official themes for the Reader?

To view the theme gallery, go directly to the iGoogle Artist Themes, or click on the “Get artist themes” link on the upper right corner of your iGoogle.

What iGoogle theme are you currently using?

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 203 | Filed under: Internet

The first time I noticed the drop, I thought it wasn’t something that I should be worried about. But it went on for two, three, then four days! I figured it must be because I haven’t been updating those sites as often as I initially intended to, or that I haven’t been building links, or maybe there was another Google update that affected the rankings — but the fact that the “change” happened all at once to all my sites was a bit suspicious. I must have done something terrible to set Google off!

Desperate and confused, I googled (ironically) for a solution to my problem. I went back to read the Google Adsense Program Policies, explored the Google Adsense blog for clarifications, and landed on this page. I was guilty of violating guideline #1:

1. Ads shouldn’t be placed under a title or section heading in a way that implies that the ads are not ads. For example, ads shouldn’t be placed under titles such as “Dallas Business Opportunities” or “Today’s Hot Deals”. Placing ads directly below titles such as these implies to your users that the links in the ads are publisher-created content. The example below shows a placement that does not follow this guideline.

Right after I read that post I immediately removed the ads I placed just below the post titles of my blogs. Then I checked if my sites are violating any other policy, crossed my fingers, and went to bed. It was more of a “trial and error” thing so I was surprised to see that a day after I made those changes, my sites’ figures went back to normal.

I’ve known about this ad placement guideline before yet I never thought Google would actually flag my sites! What a dork. I don’t know what I was thinking when I wished I could get away with it. Lesson learned: Do not undermine Google!

Of course I’m not entirely sure if what caused the “drop” was indeed the ad placement policy violation, however, removing those ads did help my sites get back on track. If my theory is right, then it’s apparent that Google is in the business of correcting the way Adsense publishers behave.

Has this happened to you?

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 15 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 457 | Filed under: Internet

While we’re on the subject of social networking sites, why don’t you add me as a friend? (Yun naman eh, may kasamang pag-promote! Haha)

Anyway, going back to Facebook. Every time I sign in I usually just stare at the screen and think of how else I can update that page. “I should be updating because everyone else is!!” I know there’s a gazillion things to do there but I guess I’m just not that interested. Or it’s because I know that Facebook is so time-consuming that I refuse to get addicted to all these apps. As of this moment, I actually have 379 unprocessed requests in my dashboard! So if there’s an app that you really really want to share with me (that you think I’m gonna enjoy) send me a message instead! Else, the invite will just be ignored. Hehe.

Now if you go to my Facebook profile page, you’ll see how boring it is. Lol.

I did enjoy tweaking my Facebook months ago, though. I even added a few apps that some friends recommended. Among those I added is the Visual Bookshelf application. Visual Bookshelf helps me keep track of the books I’m reading and have read. I can also view the bookshelves of some of my friends in Facebook. It’s a terrific way to connect with fellow book lovers.

I added this app around the time I was reading The Virgin Suicides, which was 4 months ago. I intended to update my Visual Bookshelf regularly so when I was done with that book, I immediately added the new book I was reading then — Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides’ second book. This was 4 months ago, but until today my Visual Bookshelf remains untouched. It’s not because I neglected to update it, it’s because I’m still not done reading Middlesex. Great!

It’s really disappointing as I used to be able to finish a novel in just a week or two. Every time I read Aurus, Tina, and Nightdreamer‘s posts about the books they’re reading since the start of the year, I feel bad for not being able to finish anything at all this year. Mind you, the novel Middlesex is interesting, I just don’t have the time to get it done. Sigh. I was definitely doing better at this reading thing last year.

Funny how the Facebook app Visual Bookshelf has sent me this e-mail FOUR times since February:

Visual Bookshelf application is all about organizing and showing off your reads.
We wanted to give you a reminder so that you can keep your profile fresh if things have changed.

Is “Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah’s Book Club)” still a work in progress?

Yes, dear Visual Bookshelf, Middlesex is still a work in progress. :(

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 28 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 546 | Filed under: Books, Internet

As you can see, it’s way cheaper to withdraw funds to a local bank account than to a credit / debit card. The former only costs PhP50.00 to withdraw an amount of PhP 6,999.99 or less, and free for PhP 7,000 or more; while the latter costs US$5.00 for every withdrawal. Both transactions take 5-7 business days of processing time.

Here are the bank codes that you will need:

• ALLIED BANKING CORP 010320013
• ASIA UNITED BANK - 011020011
• BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS - 010030015
• BANCO DE ORO (& EQUITABLE PCI BANK) - 010530667
• BANK OF COMMERCE - 010440016
• BANK OF THE PHIL ISLANDS (BPI) - 010040018
• CHINA BANKING CORP 010100013
• CHINA TRUST COMML BANK - 010690015
• CITIBANK N.A. - 010070017
• DEVT BANK OF THE PHILS (DBP) - 010590018
• EAST WEST BANK - 010620014
• EXPORT & INDUSTRY BANK - 010860010
• JP MORGAN CHASE BANK - 010720011
• LANDBANK OF THE PHILS - 010350025
• MAYBANK OF THE PHILS - 010220016
• METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST CO - 010269996
• PHIL BANK OF COMMUNICATION - 010110016
• PHIL TRUST COMPANY - 010090039
• PHIL NATIONAL BANK (PNB) - 010080010
• PRUDENTIAL BANK - 010150018
• PHIL VETERANS BANK  - 010330016
• RIZAL COMML BANKING CORP (RCBC) – 010280014
• SECURITY BANK & TRUST CO - 010140015
• STANDARD CHARTERED BANK - 010050011
• UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK - 010299995
• UNION BANK OF THE PHILS (UBP)  - 010419995
• UNITED OVERSEAS BANK - 010270189

Then again, never say never. I know I don’t have to say goodbye to my still-shiny, hardly-used EON card. Since it’s a Visa debit card, I still may be able to use it in more ways than one.

What’s your local bank account? Have you tried adding it to your Paypal?

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 22 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 339 | Filed under: Internet

What’s even greater about this Live Writer is you can connect directly to your WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress.org blog (just enter your login details in the configuration popup screen) then it copies your “Weblog Style” so you can see the actual layout of your post while you’re typing. Here’s a screenshot of my Live Writer:

Pretty nifty, huh? You can can also choose the Web Preview option:

It’s packed, of course, with all the other useful blogging thingamajigs like “Save Draft”, “Spell Check”, “Insert Picture, Hyperlink, Table, Map, Tags, Video”, “HTML Code Editor”, and more. It also provides the quick links to your blog and your Dashboard on the left side of the screen, and it automatically uploads the images on your post to the “Uploads” folder in your server.

Windows Live Writer can be downloaded FREE from this page. Read more about it here. I tried to install Live Writer on my PC in the office, but apparently it doesn’t work with MS Office 2003. I’m not sure what it actually requires, but it works well with the MS Office 2007 on my laptop.

Evidently, Live Writer is only for PC users. Mac users can enjoy the same capabilities by purchasing MarsEdit at $29.95 with a free 30 day trial.

Btw, I got this desktop blogging idea here. This is not a sponsored post!

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 322 | Filed under: Internet, Plugs, Wordpress

Hey guys, this is my new pre-owned car! It’s obviously not the best one, it’s just an old Toyota Corolla ’92. But at least now I don’t have to go through the torture of finding a cab ride and/or arguing with the cab driver (who either doesn’t want to drive me to my desired destination or overcharges me). I’m sure this is every Filipino passenger’s nightmare!

The downpayment I gave for the car was the money I recently earned online. I also pitched in my 13th month pay so technically this is a car that blogging and my Christmas bonus bought! Lol. Before you comment anything, let me just mention the factors that allowed me to have this car:

1. It was my cousin‘s car. He offered it to me at a discounted price, which was way below it’s actual worth.
2. It was a rush sale. My cousin and his dad had to move permanently to the States last December 12th. They only knew about this when my uncle’s papers were finally approved by the US embassy last week, so they had to dispose of my cousin’s car ASAP. My vacation in Bacolod couldn’t be at a better timing!
3. It’s on installment basis. Since I’m a close relative, I was given that privilege. Which means, the car is mine, but it’s not yet fully paid. Oh no, I’m in debt now. :(

So, the truth is, I was just fortunate to have been offered this car. I love my cousin! :D

What makes this car even more meaningful is that I bought it with my own money (albeit not yet totally). This is the joy I was deprived of when I was a student and was dreaming of my own car (and not just the one I used to borrow from my dad), just as all my other friends had their own cars provided by their parents. My parents aren’t well-off, you know. But that’s OK, I don’t really mind. Now I shall I make it up to that! Except, err, driving in Manila isn’t as fun as driving in Bacolod City. THE ROADS HERE ARE CRAZY. I hope I get used to it in no time. It’s a challenge that I must overcome. Heh!

With my Christmas bonus gone (Poof! Just like that.) I might not be able to buy some people their Christmas presents. I hope you guys understand. Lol.

Here are some highlights of my trip to Bacolod City (November 30 – December 9):

More photos here →

(This post is for Jepoy and Deej. I know they’re waiting for this entry. Haha!)

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 34 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 435 | Filed under: Internet, Personal

I’m not completely sure if everything is in order here. Please let me know if you encounter a bug!

***

Globelines has sent the units for the Wireless Broadband plan I signed up for via Air 21. I was able to set up the LAN by myself but it just wouldn’t connect to the Internet, and the woman who prepared my application is not responding to my text messages. So am I supposed to handle this all by myself? Is nobody from their staff coming to help me with this? Way to go, Globe! Awesome job! A couple more days and your customer service rep is definitely going to get an earful. Heh. Good thing I wasn’t required to make an initial payment for this one.

***

The SEMCON 2007 was concluded three days ago. Despite the negative comments I’ve been hearing about it from the other delegates, I honestly think that the conference was great. Two days of pure SEM talk? How often does someone as geeky as me get to experience that? :P I learned a lot, and if you can believe it, my conference notes reached up to four (8 x 11) pages, front and back. lol.

I still can’t get over this comment I read made by someone somewhere: “Mag-SEO ka na lang!” Lang?? Di nga, Ate? Haha. I know some people associate SEO with just spamming, and even though I sometimes think that way too, I also think that SEM (which is different from SEO in so many ways) is more than just off-page optimization or link building. There’s on-page optimization (of course), proper web copywriting (this is obviously different from print), pay-per-click advertising, affiliate marketing, website ad partnerships, landing page optimization, and more. These are all part of what I’m doing at work and the cause of my headache for the past few months. So, really, an SEM job is not an easy one. I guess what I’m saying is, if you really don’t know much about something, it’s better if you just keep your comments to yourself. (I can see Riz and Romz rolling their eyes at me, hehe!)

Congrats to Bossing Marc for a successful first SEM conference! Sana next year si Rand Fishkin naman. :)

***

Anyway, despite this site update, I am still sad. And I just wanted you to know that. But what’s important is that you‘re happy… and everybody else is happy. That’s all that matters to me now. Goodnight. :)

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 24 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 496 | Filed under: Internet, SEO / SEM, Site Updates

My fear, though, is that after a while their bandwidth speed will drop significantly just as all the other local Internet broadband connections did. But I guess there really is no perfect Internet provider. Each has its pros and cons. It’s just a matter of weighing the options and choosing wisely.

For a while now, I’ve actually been toying with the idea of signing up for PLDT WeRoam. The initial payment is Php 7,500 and monthly subscription is Php 1,700. Expensive, I know! That’s why I just couldn’t go through with it. Heh. Globe Visibility‘s price skyrocketed, too. Monthly payment is now Php 3,000 and the data card is no longer free. You have to pay Php 11,000 for it. The sales agent I talked with said that I can at least purchase it with 0% interest using a credit card. I still can’t see why she thinks I’d be happy to hear about that.

Good news for Mac and Vista users who are looking into subscribing to Globe Visibility: Their HSDPA data card is now compatible with your laptop or personal computer. Visit their official website for more info. :)

But before you do decide to sign up, I suggest you ask Riz for updates first in regards to Globe Visibility’s current data transfer rate. I believe it’s been fluctuating for quite some time now. I just don’t know if they were to able to fix the problem completely. The sales people at Globe always make it sound outstanding that it’s almost a shame if you don’t respond with a “Wow!” – So it’s better to hear the opinions of objective subscribers.

I was informed that PLDT WeRoam is not that great as well. I was only thinking of subscribing to WeRoam (or Visibility, if it was cheaper) because I wanted to be able to go online wherever I go. But I realized recently that I value faster speed more than I do mobility when my SmartBro connection slowed down big time two weeks ago. It hasn’t gone up since. I can go online, but the browser is taking 48 years to load! I couldn’t work on my projects at all because, as it turns out, I don’t have that much patience. Lol.

*For recent SmartBro reviews, read the comments that some random visitors left on my old post.

Anyhoo, before I sign up for Globelines’ Wireless Broadband, I was hoping to read reviews about it first. If you know something about this new service, please, please, please leave a comment and let me know! After all, word-of-mouth recommendation is still very much reliable.

But if you don’t know anything about this service, please tell me about your own ISP instead and what you think about it. I want to explore my options first before it’s too late. I’ll sure to send link-lovin’ credits on my next post to those who are kind enough to leave a quick review.

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 106 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 585 | Filed under: Internet

I’ve never left a comment like that, though. A blogger’s blog is his own. He can do whatever he wants to do with it, say whatever he wants to say. I don’t want to be told off by any blogger to mind my own business.

I’m hoping that I could at least get the message across by writing this post, especially to newbie bloggers. Not that I’m not an expert at this or anything. I’m really not!

I know Google Adsense can be frustrating, especially if you’ve done everything you can to get more clicks. I remember the first time I was mulling over the idea of earning through Google ads — I asked my cousin in Virginia to click on my site ads once or twice a day if he could (as clicks coming from U.S. territories have higher CPC compared to local clicks). Had I not told him the following day to not do that anymore, he would’ve gladly clicked on the ads on my website every chance he could. And eventually, I would’ve been forced to say goodbye to my then premature Adsense account.

While engaging in invalid click activity works in some advertising networks, Google on the other hand is a lot smarter than some people think. To all the Dexters (read: geniuses) who keep Google up and running (and made it one of the top companies in the world today) a small thing such as tracking down invalid clicks done by publishers is a no-brainer. So, we, as Adsense publishers, should be more cautious.

Thinking he could outsmart Google, this friend of mine, a web developer, IMed me one time to say that he found a way to make his clicks undetectable by using some kind of command that will produce multiple IPs and blah blah, yadda yadda — I didn’t really understand the technical stuff he was saying. Despite my warnings, he went and kept on clicking on his own ads anyway. He was earning quickly at first, and he was very excited when his PIN finally arrived. I was even beginning to think that he has found his very own gold mine! But, weeks later, when I asked him how things were going, he responded by using frown and cry emoticons. He told me he got an unsolicited e-mail from Google telling him that they had disabled his account. It wouldn’t have been very nice to tell him “I told you so.”

I also know this one guy who was so psyched when he was finally done setting up his website with a bunch Google ads that he asks his brother to click on them. He explained that he will be paid by Google for every click he gets. Thrilled with the idea of quick and easy cash, his brother clicked on the ads on the site. Not just once or twice, but plenty of times! I think you can guess what happened next.

To ensure that our Adsense accounts won’t be disabled, Google has Adsense program policies and rules that we need to follow. And among the 10 other rules to keep our accounts in good standing, the first two support this post:

• Don’t click on your own Google ads.
  Clicking on Google ads on your own site for any reason is strictly prohibited. If you’d like more information about one of the advertisers appearing on your site, please type the URL of the ad directly into your browser’s address bar, or use the AdSense preview tool.
• Don’t ask others to click on Google ads.
  Users should click on Google ads because they’re interested in the services being advertised. Encouraging users to click on your Google ads, either directly or indirectly, can lead to inflated advertiser costs and can cause your account to be disabled.

Between your random visitors and regular visitors, you want your ads to be clicked by the random ones who actually find those ads being displayed on your blog interesting. Getting frequent clicks from a regular visitor (which means the clicks are coming from a single IP, assuming that visitor is using the same computer) would do you more harm than good.

Google has its own way to investigate invalid click activity. Aside from blatantly inviting your visitors to “click the ads” or “visit the links”, they also flag websites who do not comply with their ad and image placement policy to protect both their advertisers and users. The label “Sponsored Links” above Google ad units are OK, but not “Favorite Sites“. It’s a good thing this guy received a warning before they disabled his account.

Google also wouldn’t be too happy to see ads in close proximity to Flash games or other interactive features, ads under pop-ups or download prompts, ads near site navigation controls (drop-downs or menu links), ads beside small images that suggest a relationship between the two, and more. It’s really better not to risk it.

As an Adwords advertiser (for the products our company sells online), I’m a bit sad to learn about some publishers who engage in click fraud activity. Every invalid click on the publisher’s side is a price the advertiser has to pay… in vain. And for Adwords advertisers like us with a limited budget for our PPC campaign and a sales quota we have to reach, invalid (and useless) clicks are the last thing we need.

OK. I know that’s beside the point. But that’s just to catch a glimpse of the other side of the coin.

To wrap up this post (because it’s already too long!), might I suggest that instead of encouraging your visitors to “click on your Google ads”, why not focus on writing more content for your blog? (“Content is still king.” Lol. So cliche!) Also, have more websites link to your blog (“Linking is queen!” ) That way you’d get more traffic not only from referring sites, but also from search engines. The more content and backlinks your site has, the more it would be visible in search engines. The more visible your site is in search engines, the more traffic you’d get. And the more traffic you get, the more you’d have random first-time visitors who would most likely click on the Google ads displayed on your blog! *Kachiiing*

I don’t know if this post has been helpful or not… but I hope it at least serves as “a friendly reminder”. :)

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 13 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 1,121 | Filed under: Internet, SEO / SEM

When you’re watching ABS-CBN‘s Umagang Kayganda over breakfast, with your *clueless* mom, and you suddenly blurt out something along the lines of, “Hey! Look at that show’s logo! It looks like an RSS button!” Grrr.

Umagang Kayganda Logo

RSS buttons

© Joni for Joni Ang, 2007. | Permalink | 20 comments | Leave a comment
Word count: 47 | Filed under: Internet, Just For Laughs