For most people I know, their first day on the job as Work-at-Home employees also signifies the beginning of the deterioration of their social life. Why? Because most of those who work at home – especially moms – will apparently find themselves spending little time outdoors.

*photo from the web

However, let me tell you that though you work at home – and you eventually become a homebody, you can still engage in various online social activities which can help you build your social network of friends and acquaintances.

• First, you can start joining groups in various social networks. You can start with Facebook. I’m sure you’ll be amazed with how many and how varied Facebook groups are.
• Join Memes. Memes can be done online via blogs and social networking accounts. If you have a blog, I suggest you join various memes wherein participants do posts on a certain topic – and all of them visit each other’s posts and exchange comments.
• Play games. You can find games in social networks, and in various websites. How does this help? Well, when you play games such as poker, casino games, and other group games at Onlinebingo.com and at other websites, the game usually has a ‘chat’ feature so you’ll be able to communicate with the other players.
• Join a forum. If you have a certain hobby, fascination, or anything that’s your favorite, just google it with the word ‘forum’, and I’m pretty sure that the search results page will yield tons of forum sites you can freely join.
• Join webinars and online conferences – some are free. You’ll be surprised at how many webinars and conferences are done over the internet – and how many of them you can join for free – without any fee whatsoever. When you join such, you not only get the chance to build connections, you also learn.

image from the www.theantisocialmedia.com

If you get higher ranks in whatever ranking there is, if you get high traffic, or if a lot of your posts appear on Google’s front pages – maybe you’re not the better blogger, maybe you’re just good at SEO, right? The same goes if you earn hundreds or thousands of dollars from Google Adsense every month.

If PR firms send you press releases or product for reviews, or if you get invited to events more frequently than others – maybe you’re not the better blogger; maybe you’re just the more accessible and the more approachable blogger, the more PR-friendly blogger? The same goes if you have a lot of blogger friends and you get nominated to this and that awards stuff – and if you belong to this group and that group – or all of those blogger groups that mushroom everywhere. Maybe you’re not the better blogger, maybe you are just plain friendly, charismatic, the people-person.

If you get a lot of visits and page views on your blog, if you have tons of followers – there are still a lot of things that you should consider before you esteem yourself as the better blogger. Do they follow you simply because they love what you write? Do they follow you to return a favor? Do they follow you because you have tons of giveaways on your blog? Do you get visits simply because – again – you’re good at SEO and social networking and you’ve created quite a buzz about your blog? Do people visit your site because your niche or your posts are more diverse, more mainstream? Or do people follow you because you’re popular (not blogging-wise – maybe you’re a celebrity or something)?

If you have flawless English grammar, does that make you the better blogger? Maybe yes for those who are also members of the grammar police squad but maybe not for others because sometimes, people don’t really care if you’re writing ‘fluently’ for as long as they can understand the message you’re conveying. Maybe you’re the better writer though and your ‘perfect’ writing skills can get you a nice web content writing job.

If you don’t get paid from posting or you don’t accept paid posts, blog sponsorships, loot bags, or freebies; and if you blog for free and expect nothing in return, then maybe you’re again not the better blogger. Maybe you’re just rich or you have a high-paying job and you can afford everything you’d like to blog about, right? Or maybe you’re just contented of blogging whatever you can already access? Maybe you just don’t need the money, right?

So who exactly is the better blogger?

It is for me to know and for you to find out…. Joke. Lol.

Kidding aside, let me start with the fact that blogging is not a formal profession though we can make a career out of it – IF we want to. Anyone can blog for as long as he/she is literate, she/he knows how to set up a blog, and he/she can construct comprehensible and logical sentences. There’s no regulatory commission, no qualifying exam, heck, there’s not even a bachelor’s degree requirement for someone who wants to be a blogger. It isn’t all too technical and there are no well-defined standards we can use to gauge who’s qualified, who’s better than another, and who’s the best.

Bloggers don’t even have bosses or editors. We are the boss of our own, so I think we only become better when we have satisfied the goals we have set for ourselves – without engaging of course in unethical blogging (This happens when you try to fool or mislead your readers by not disclosing that you’re doing paid posts, when you promote products you don’t really believe in, and when you are using your blog as a tool to blackmail, for propaganda, etc. – that’s a whole big but different issue).

To ‘be a better blogger’ is both vague and relative. It all depends on your goals, your purpose in blogging. If you just blog because you want to and you don’t really care if you earn from what you do or if other people are reading it, then page views won’t be a good gauge of being ‘a better blogger’. If your goal is to make money from your blog and you already do through paid posts and blog advertisements, then event invites won’t be a good measure of your being ‘the better blogger’. It actually doesn’t matter at all.

In principle, if you have a blog – an online journal where you display or inject your personal views and opinions – and you maintain it yourself (there are those who hire ‘ghost bloggers’), then you’re a blogger. That’s it. If anyone suggests this and that to help you improve your blogging –and those suggestions are in line with your goals, then by all means, go embrace constructive criticism. On the other hand, if anyone tells you that you suck at what you do or that they think they are better than you based on the blogging standards they’ve set for themselves, ignore them. Always remember that your blog is – first and foremost – for you. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice if we just avoid all the judging and just stop comparing ourselves with each other? If you want to compete with someone, let it be with yourself.

First off, I want to point out that this article is just for fun, and that I wrote it based on my own experience and well, what I have observed. Anyway, enough of the explanation. Let me now enumerate the 10 must-haves of an Event Blogger.

But wait, wait. To clear things out, I’ve used the term ‘Event Blogger’ to refer to bloggers who get invited and then attend and cover events such as product launchings, press conferences, seminars, concerts, fashion shows, and more so they could write about it on their blogs.

Now, let’s move on with the list…

>>> A DSLR camera. Maybe a funky point-and-shoot camera would do for some but a DSLR makes a lot of difference. First, you’ll look more of a blogger or a media person and not just an innocent bystander or gate crasher. Second, it is easier to take fancy pictures using DSLRs – if you know how to use it.

>>> A fancy mobile phone which easily lets you communicate with everyone – people from the PR firm, your fellow bloggers, and more.

>>> A notebook or a laptop – If you’re a blogger who blogs all the way – almost throughout the day, then having a notebook which you can carry around and go tikiti-tikitak with whenever you want to can be your best buddy.

>>> A real notebook and a pen – I’m referring to REAL paper and a pen. Okay, maybe you can just notes on your mobile phone but as for me, I’d prefer papers and pens because I think I write faster than I click on keys.

>>> An iPad, a Galaxy Pad, a Blackberry Playbook, or any kind of tablet. Install with all the games you need and al the social network apps you frequently use – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and perhaps even a blogging app. You need this to connect with the rest of the world – your blogger friends, your followers, and your social self.

>>> A car – If you don’t want to live most of your life stuck in traffic, get a car which can help you go around the city or out of town with ease. This especially applies if you often have a series of events you plan on going to everyday. If you’re in California, go get yourself one of the riverside used cars or a brand new one from the ontario nissan dealership.

>>> A multi-media player – Well maybe you don’t need this if you already have a fancy mobile phone or a tablet – but if you don’t, you gotta have a multimedia player that will ease you of boredom when the going gets dull. Lol.

>>> Your contact card – You have to have a blogger’s contact card which features your name, your contact number, and the list of your blogs. This will help spread the word of your presence.

>>> A big tote, shoulder bag, body bag, or a backpack – Do I need to explain why? This list only shows that you already have tons of things to carry. You can’t possibly hold them all.

The GFC – Google Friend Connect – widget for blogs (at least for non-blogspot blogs) is gone. So, aside from having Facebook pages and subscriptions, how can we offer our readers a chance to ‘follow’ our blogs and get updates on our post? Among the most popular options these days is through Google Plus and Pinterest. I have yet to explore the latter however, so let me just give you an overview of Google Plus.

They say that Google Plus affects search engine rankings. Apparently, the more “plus 1s” you have on a post, the higher your chances of getting the post on the first page of keyword-related Google search results. I’m not an expert on this but it seems that every +1 that you get serves as a recommendation from a “Googler” so your site would get more attention, more recognition from Google. It seems like “Google plus” aims to gauge your site’s “social interactivity/social relevance” as determined by users and not bots.

That being said, it’s a must for us to integrate +1 buttons on our blog posts. There are many plug-ins available and most ‘sharing’ plug-ins have this already (the one I’m using – Shareaholic – already has it).

Apart from including +1 buttons, make sure you create Google Plus pages too. It’s actually very easy.

Just go to https://plus.google.com/pages/create , identify which type of pages you should have, and assign a name for it

Next, create a tagline for your page and then upload a profile photo

Share your new page via your personal Google Plus profile

And then you’re done. You can start posting, sharing, giving updates, and adding people to your circle

It’s not just the blogs that need Google Plus pages. You need it for promoting brands, people, and businesses – local and international. It’s actually works pretty much like Facebook and Twitter. You can share photos showing your kid’s milestones or some food which impressed you, your activities like playing at OnlineBingo.com or finishing reading a book, some rants or praises, etc..

You can also set who would see your “status shares” – depending on your circles – your family, acquaintance, friends, followers, etc.

It has been a while since I have written anything here and perhaps I will have to back post – not just on this blog but also on three others. I have been very busy with a lot of things last year – mostly with my mommying and I still am busy but this 2012, I promised myself that I will make it up to my neglected blogs. So, here goes, another blogging tip – on SEO this time.

I have done a bit of SEO article writing through my freelance work and believe me, Search Engine Optimization is one complicated process – in the sense that you’ll have to really study it and use applications and online tools so you will succeed at it. I am no SEO expert but I think I’m doing fairly well in SEO writing.

Now, unlike the whole SEO process (which includes linking, coding, etc.), SEO writing is far more easy to adapt with – especially in blogging. It just takes a bit of practice but it’s something which one can get used to after a week or so. To get you started, here are four simple and easy to apply SEO writing tips for bloggers.

1. Choose your Keywords wisely. When you’re planning to do a post and you already have a topic in mind, pick one main keyword that best describes or relates to it and then focus on that word or phrase while writing your post. You can also derive “supporting” keywords from it and incorporate them in your post. You can also do keyword research. The most basic strategy in choosing keywords for your topic is to think of those topic-related words which regular internet users will type in search engines. For example, if you are writing about “platinum wedding ring“, you can use the following phrases as keywords – platinum wedding band, platinum rings for women, men’s platinum ring, etc. You can also use the Google Adwords Keyword tool to make everything easier for you.

2. Place your Keywords wisely. Most SEO experts say that articles must have a keyword density of 3 to 7 percent. That means that for every 100 words, you need to make sure that your keywords or parts of it appear at least three times. However, make sure that you distribute the keywords properly so both Google and your readers won’t be annoyed with the way you write. Also, make sure that the main keyword appears in your post title, your post URL, and within the first two sentences of your first paragraph. If you need to place images, use the keywords in your image title if it is applicable. Do not forget to also place the keywords as tags of your blog post.

3. Use your Keywords wisely and write sensibly. Don’t write for the keywords, write for your readers. When you start typing, don’t think of the fact that you are trying to make a keyword optimized blog post. Instead, write freely – with your topic or post title in mind – and just insert those keywords after you’re done with your draft. Normally, if you have written ABOUT your keywords, then you won’t have trouble inserting them afterwards. Be creative with the way you write and make your keywords blend in with your flow of thoughts. Try to make sure that your every post will have MORE than 200 words in it and make every word count.

4. Be descriptive and specific, and informative. As much as possible, choose a specific topic for your blog post and use descriptive but not very limiting keywords. If your blog is on jewelry, you can make an article on “How to choose the perfect wedding ring for your bride”. The main keyword there is “wedding ring” and you can write about the types of wedding rings, wedding ring prices, popular wedding rings, etc. Make your post informative – research if you have too (because readers want information – that is why most of them will be visiting your blog). Ensure that your every post is also engaging – it doesn’t really have to always positive – but it has to be interesting and worth your reader’s time.

Here’s an excerpt of a good SEO article (I did not write this though):

One of the most over looked part of getting married is what type of wedding ring you will get. A lot of talk lately has focused on tungsten carbide rings. They are fairly new to the market and are being worn more and more by both men and women. The best thing about them is they are very affordable and they don’t fade or get scratches. This makes them very appealing to someone that works a lot with their hands and doesn’t want to scratch up their ring which is a symbol of their love for each other.

Many people would want to get a more expensive ring like a platinum wedding ring but there are many downfalls to that. First, its cost is almost out of this world. The same ring in platinum is going to be in the thousands of dollars while a tungsten ring will be in the low hundreds of dollars. This makes it an easy decision for anyone that is on a budget. You should get a ring that will hold up much better and won’t break the bank…