Digital Nocturne

Over the weekend, I configured my Feedburner feeds and email subscription link and it took me several hours to get the result that I really wanted. It has been a long while since I used Feedburner so it was quite frustrating but rewarding at the same time. I really appreciate what Google did in improving Feedburner.

In addition to that, I also realized that I already have a number of RSS feed subscribers much higher than I expected. If you are one of my subscribers, the old RSS feed may not work because I have to redirect my old RSS feed to the new Feedburner RSS address. When it happens, kindly add the new RSS address, please?

Right now I am fixing my accounts in the blogosphere website Technorati. I know a lot has changed since I last used it but I don’t understand how my blog dropped to an abysmal authority of 1. Was it because of the site change that took place last October? The worse thing is the website rejects all information that I try to update. Basically, it’s not working!

Later on, I found out that I am experiencing a 3-month-old problem. I’m really disappointed. Where is the website that I used to enjoy before? Somehow, I am getting the impression that it is losing its magic among bloggers.

Delicious bookmark, originally del.icio.us, has been around for years already. It revolutionized the way we share content in the internet, especially on how we use bookmarks. Social bookmarking suddenly became a hot trend and many alternatives popped up.

Competition is good. It should drive innovation and give more freedom for users but nothing really beats the original, most of the times.

For those people who are stuck in Delicious bookmarks, many wishes that we  get an option to filter what we share publicly. For instance, I like to opt out some tags as public because I want to keep some bookmarks private. I was thankful when Delicious introduced private bookmarks on March 2006 but until today, the functionality is still lacking more controls or options.

Fortunately there are two ways that I know to make all new bookmarks in Delicious marked as private by default.

Note: this is only tested in Firefox 3.5 using the official Delicious add-on.

1. Use userscript. You must have Greasemonkey, then install this nifty Private delicious.com check script.

   When I tested this, it only works with bookmarklets but it does not work with the official Delicious add-on.If you are using the official Delicious add-on, then I suggest you use the next option.

2. Configure about:config
   1. Go to about:config, right click somewhere then add a new integer
      
   2. Then, type extensions.ybookmarks@yahoo.sharemode and enter 1.

      After adding that, you should see something like this:

      

So now that you can bookmark privately by default, you only explicitly choose which bookmarks to share.

At first I was hesitant if I would be able to capture an expiring domain name because it is a highly competitive market. I have been using back orders to secure several expiring domain names before but I have failed numerous times already. However, after doing some research I was able to capture my first dropped domain name. It was a fantastic experience and I love doing it again when the opportunity comes.

Snatching an expiring domain name is not easy. There are domain squatters, professional domainers, internet marketers and branding agencies looking for high valuable domain names. In my research I found the story of Mike Davidson in Mike Industries very helpful in gauging the competition surrounding this market.  You have to be smart, fast in making decision and more importantly, tactical. If you don’t have any plans in mind and you rely only in one single resource, you are placing all your eggs in one basket. Not good.

I was in a tight budget when I got my first expired domains and I thought that you don’t have to spend so much just to buy a good expiring domain name. You just have to make use of the best tools around to monitor competition. That way, you won’t overbid and you won’t be stressed needlessly.

I’ll write a new post once I am able to complete my next dropped domain name registration. Since I am doing this part-time, it might take some time. Feel free to look around and give me your feedbacks.

Project 52

I recently joined Project 52, a personal challenge geared towards getting fresh content on website owners.

I accidentally discovered it on new year’s eve of 2010 when I was browsing some articles in Mashable for year-end reviews. After reading news, I became curious about the article authors so I started looking up their Twitter profiles. Apparently, I landed at Christina Warren’s blog and this particular post caught my attention. That post was about Project 52 and her opening sentence was “I don’t like neglecting my blog. That’s why I’m joining Project 52!” For a moment I thought, that sounds just like me!

I immediately read the challenge. All we need to do is commit to the challenge and write at least once a week for the next 52 weeks starting January 1st, 2010 to January 1st, 2011.

I grinned when I found out how dead simple the challenge is, but that grin faded when I realized anything can happen for the next 365 days, just like what happened when I put my blog in hiatus several times already. Nevertheless, I committed to the challenge and I am up for it. This is is my pledge to write more content — more sensible and valuable posts and not just random babbling.

Project 52 was made possible by Anton Peck and you can find the original proposal here.

At the moment, the website of P52 is just a plain and simple webpage because it is only serving as a placeholder but there will be more developments for the coming weeks.

Look forward for more updates here in my blog as I participate in Project 52.

I was already on my way to ride a jeepney when I realized I left my camera batteries at home. It was very inconvenient but I had to go back and search for the batteries somewhere in my room. On my way  back home, I received a text message from my friend. I was relieved and I was really thankful I came all the way back to get my batteries because the plan for today was postponed and was rescheduled tomorrow.

Everything happens for a reason. You have probably heard of this cliche over and over again but this is true. It happens all the time. At first, I was very frustrated when I left my camera batteries at home. I could have just walked away and neglected my problem but it would render my camera useless. I don’t want to render my camera useless! After all, I already took the trouble bringing it.

I don’t know if it was just a gut-feel but I knew I should go back or I would regret it. Regret that I won’t be able to take pictures, or regret that I didn’t decide to come back when I know it was the right thing to do. Either way, I decided to just come back even if it would delay my travel.

So I was back in my room and I searched for the camera batteries that I misplaced somewhere. Found it! Then before I packed up again, I was informed that THE plan was called of, and now I am typing this story here in my blog.

There are many things happening in our lives everyday and we don’t know why those things are happening to us, yet. Sometimes it could be as simple as forgetting your camera batteries for an important occasion or it could be as bad as getting a flat tire on the way to a very important business meeting, or it could be worse.

Most people would panic and forget to control their emotions on a tight situation. However, when unforeseen events happen, I suggest that you stop, step back and take a deep breathe. Think positively and think of ways on how this may help you. You might be forgetting something or you have to learn something from the whole experience.

I am thankful because this experience reminded of the valuable lessons that I learned outside during the hiatus of my blog. So, let me end this post with a quote from Soren Kierkegaard:

Life must be understood backwards; but… it must be lived forward.

This is the start of a new beginning. From here forward, you’ll see more content, both serious and not so serious stuffs.

A lot has changed and I need to adjust quite a lot in this blog. I feel sorry that this blog had been in hiatus for about two years already but I’m going to revive it again from the ashes.

Now, let me welcome you to a new decade. Welcome 2010!