My first blog post was dated 2007. I remember I was in Grade 6. At that time, Webs.com existed as FreeWebs, and our class section has this online space complete with a chatroom too.
If I remember it correctly, the site was seen by the school admin and was advised to be taken down, but I might be wrong on the latter part. At that time, there were no privacy issues.
That’s also the time I am learning more about the web widgets, Widgetbox and eventually the OpenSocial API… but that’s for another story.
I am here to share stories that I always remember when I remember the first few years of my blogging and the lessons I learned from it, as well as a few insights.
Blogging Lesson #1: Dealing with client materials
Around 2011, I was offered an opportunity to post material provided by a bank client, and as soon as I got the material, I posted it.
A few days later, I was asked to take the whole post down. I need to create a post about the product using my own words, and the material I got was actually for reference.
That’s my first-hand experience with client-provided material, and I learned a lot from it. If I pursued the mentality of copy-posting every client material or press release in my own space, it will become a mere billboard.
This, among other things, led me to ask people not to copy-post in a deck I presented at iBlog9 two years later.
Another story: There was this blog contest by a certain beverage brand that requires me to input their material in the overall site (pages affected). At that time, I was subscribed to an affiliate program of a certain anime podcast.
So one of the guys behind the podcast found out what I did with my blog, and called it “blatant advertising.” Eventually, the podcast’s affiliate program ended altogether.
I’m too embarrassed to mention any names as both the beverage brand and the podcast still exist, and I don’t want to open wounds on my part. It’s just that painful.
Blogging Lesson #2: Partnerships with organizations
I remember going to Trinoma for the first time to join a blogger meetup organized by Sir Az. It was a yogurt bar, and we are offered a taste test. I even thought I had to pay to taste it. I think I was in high school when the meetup happened.
This is one example of businesses organizing meetups for bloggers. Blogging is rad that time, and it was late for me to realize that I will be doing more of this in the future. If there’s one thing that overlaps my day job with my blogging career, that must be partnering with businesses or organizations.
Exchange deals are a way to get value for value, and during my days as the front-liner for Deremoe, we were sending our portfolio and proposal to event organizers, asking them if we can be partners.
Deremoe’s first event partnership was in 2012, with Ninjin Events. They had this event called Otomonogatari and one of the performing bands there is Yui for President. It’s a cute name for a band, isn’t it?
When B-Side at the Collective was alive, there was this event called the Otaku Summer Jam 2014. That’s where I met a lot of people who will eventually make names in the cosplay community. That’s also where I got introduced to the band Sadistic Massive Breakdown (SMB).
Sending media partnership proposals led me to connect to a lot of event organizers and organizations, and it still does today. Mind you, it’s easy to send proposals to organizers as media partners… but sending proposals to media as an organizer is a totally different story.
Spreading content beyond the blog itself
A bit of trivia: I have tried basically every blog platform available, from Blogger to WordPress.com to Tumblr to Medium, to even Drupal, Multiply, Xanga and Ning. I love chasing new stuff at that time.
Regardless of the platform your blog is in, what matters most is that people read your stories… or watch and listen to it.
My second deck, presented at iBlog13, is “Sharing Beyond your Blog.” This deck describes the ways to spread out content beyond having a weblog.
Nowadays, we are more focused on video content. Facebook has successfully chewed off a part of the video pie that YouTube and even Twitch has enjoyed for so long, so the bloggers are then turning into vloggers as well.
This happens as they catch up with celebrities jumping into the online bandwagon.
On my end, I have introduced keepsakes. as an online journal composed of a weblog, videos on YouTube and Facebook, and a podcast. While the content varies from platform to platform, it is the keepsakes. brand that bands these three together.
I felt compelled to share another story as a bonus: I was at Robinsons Galleria, testing one of the websites I built on Tripod at a gadget shop. I was so young at that time that I got to talk to an actual web developer.
That guy went on to build his web design business, which still lives today.
That said, I am glad that you reach the end of this post. Drop your reactions in the comments area, and I hope to talk to you next time.