I created my first website in 1999. That was the year the Internet was introduced to me. The very same year I fell in love with the Internet. I poured my heart out online through static pages. I drafted my HTML through Notepad. I crafted my graphics through downloaded image tools.

The butterfly and the Medusanity mask were pastels on paper, scanned and edited for my Medusanity portal.

I’m so gonna miss this space, these memories. I wish someone could save Geocities. I wish I could. Not just this one. But all of it. All of the world’s first foray into online expression. All of the glitter and the blinking. All the tables and the marquees. All the memories.

Goodbye Geocities. Goodbye.

(Hear my heart break into tiny little frames.)

My First Website

Stumbled upon a new Blogger issue today. I’d rolled out a few posts and my friend Heidee wanted to post a comment. Alas, she could not, because she could not find the word verification input box.

Here is the screenshot she sent:

As you can see, the verification word is visible but the rest of the comment box seems cut off.

I tried to duplicate her issue, but since I was logged in to Blogger, I was not asked for word verification. I logged out and tried commenting on my own blog, and was able to duplicate her issue on Firefox and IE. (My friend tried it in Safari as well and it’s broken as well.)

The cause of the issue is all too clear. Blogger is now showing a preview comment before the verification box, where before it was not. It seems that whomever approved this change did not test it out on the embedded-below-post comment forms, or failed to consider to increase the height of the pop-up word verification form, so that the input field is now inaccessible.

I thought to scour the web for a quick fix, but the issue seems fairly new. I found posts documenting the issue on Blogger Help here and here, logged July 10, 2009. So I doubt there’s already a fix. And since this is a Blogger issue, editing my template won’t help.

For now, I have disabled word verification on my comments. It makes me vulnerable to spam, but I have no other choice. If I revert to the default pop-up window comment form placement, my template might get messed up because I edited it before to get the embedded comment form to work.

For others encountering the same issue, you can do what I did, disable word verification. And if your blog is inundated with spam, then turn on comment moderation. The alternative is to switch from embedded comment form placement to full-page or pop-up comment form placement.

Hopefully Blogger fixes this issue fast.

P.S. Thanks for the heads up, Heids!

Just discovered a new way to use Twitter*: automatically posting a link to my every new blog post.

All you need is an RSS feed (like this) and an account in Twitterfeed. Log in, and click on create a new feed. Choose your destination as Twitter, enter your Twitter login details, and then your RSS feed URL.

You can set how often Twitterfeed checks for new blog posts (least being once a day, at most 5 times every 30 minutes). You can deactivate the service anytime.

Twitterfeed can also post to identi.ca, custom laconica installations, HelloTxt and Ping.fm.

Follow me on Twitter!

*Or annoy your Twitter followers, depending on how you look at it.

I am sure many Blogger users out there admire the myriad plugins and functionalities of WordPress. I am one of those admirers.

I especially like that there’s a WordPress plugin for category feeds, or label feeds. It’s not immediately apparent that the same is available in Blogger, since it’s never promoted, but you can actually get label feeds in Blogger.

Why would you be interested in label feeds? Many reasons:

1. Letting readers subscribe to a selected category
2. Placing the latest posts from a category onto your sidebar
3. Styling your blog into a magazine layout
4. Creating label widgets for iGoogle

And you can probably think up more creative ways to use category feeds. These are just some of the few reasons I went looking for the label feeds in Blogger, and so far I’ve used #2 and #4, but quickly abandoned #2 because my sidebar looks busy enough as it is.

So how do you get the Blogger label feeds? It’s pretty simple. First, you have to make sure that your Site Feed is turned on. To do that, your blog’s Settings -> Site Feed -> Allow Blog Feeds -> Full. You can also use Short, if you don’t like offering full feeds. But don’t use None.

Now, if you have a regular Blogspot URL like such:

http://yourblog.blogspot.com

Then your default posts feed is this:

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/

But you probably know (and use) that already. To get the feed for an individual label, just add an -/labelName to the end of your default feed. So, for example you have a label Technology, the resulting feed would be:

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/Technology

A note to remember is that the feeds are case sensitive, so this feed:

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/technology

…won’t work.

Now let’s say you have a label like this: Things I Like. Just replace the spaces with a %20, so your feed should look like this:

http://yourblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/
Things%20I%20Like

Again, be aware of the cases.

Say you have a customized domain like mine. This is my URL:

http://www.randomdetox.com

The rules are the same, you just change the prefix of your feeds. So, an example of my label feeds are the following:

http://www.randomdetox.com/feeds/posts/default/-/Lost
http://www.randomdetox.com/feeds/posts/default/-/Gossip%20Girl

There! Now that you know, make good use of the feeds! :)

Oh and if you’re interested, here are some of my label feeds you might like to subscribe to:

Pop Culture

Hello Kitty
Manny Pacquiao
True Blood
Ugly Betty

Tech Stuff

Blogging
Tech
Tutorial

Travel Stuff

Cebu Pacific
Dakak
Dapitan
Dipolog
Philippine Airlines
Travelogue
Zamboanga
Zest Airways

Other Stuff

Discounts
Free Stuff
Personal

Oh yeah, and here’s how my iGoogle looks like.

How might you use label feeds from Blogger? Leave a comment!

Is the Philippine government trying to tax bloggers?

That seems to be the case, judging from an inconspicuous proposal posted on the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) website. Here is the crux of the matter. They want everyone on the Internet to register through them…

Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Providers, Contents Developers, Information Sources, Applications Developers, and Electronic Games Developers are required to have commercial presence in the country and shall secure Certificate of Registration (COR) from the Commission.

…and then pay fees. A filing fee of Php300 ($7) and an annual registration fee of Php6000 ($133). Whoa!!! I haven’t even made that much from Google Adsense in five years, and I have to pay that amount EACH YEAR just to be able to place a banner ad over my blog??? That’s just crazy!

Stop right there, you say. How do we know if we really are part of this proposal? Well, firstly let’s take a look at what is addressed by the proposal:

Content – refers to all types of contents delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers such as music, ring tones, logos, video clips, etc.

Information – refers to all types of information delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers, e.g. road traffic information, financial information, visa application information, etc.

Now that we know, let us ask ourselves whether we, as bloggers, offer either content or information. And the answer is yes, on both counts. Content is definitely an area that some, if not most, bloggers have ventured in. Who hasn’t tried to upload a Youtube video or two? Information, on the other hand, is most definitely blogger territory. That’s what we offer our readers everyday, that’s everything we do.

So we know the kind of data addressed by the proposal. The next step is to analyze whom the proposal really pertains to. Are we actually involved? Well, here are the affected, and my comments in brackets:

Contents Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing contents to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers [If you place advertisements on your Youtube videos, you're a content provider. Or if you sell graphic designs or web templates, you're also a content provider.]

Information Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing information to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers. [Okay, we're talking about the paid bloggers here. In fact, anybody with an ad network like Google Adsense falls under this sweeping definition, and that's like, almost the entire blogging community.]

Contents Developers – are persons or entities creating contents. [Uhhh. The only thing differentiating this term from a content provider is the issue of compensation. Meaning, a content provider is a subset of a content developer. So why even make up a "content provider" if they're gonna tax all content developers anyway? Or do the content providers get taxed TWICE??]

Information Sources – are persons or entities providing information to Information Providers. [Rest assured that if you have any original thought in your body, share it and get taxed.]

Applications Developer – are persons or entities creating applications. [Oh, are you a programmer like me? Too bad, we're getting taxed. Say goodbye to the opensource movement.]

Electronic Games Developer – are persons or entities creating electronic games. [My, my. As though electronic games were not applications. I wonder how many times I will have to get taxed here.]

Man, that’s a whole lot of people the NTC wants to tax. The entire Internet fits in there! In fact, I alone, fit in five categories of people the NTC wants to tax. I am a content provider, an information provider, a content developer, an information source (sometimes), an applications developer and an electronic games developer. So, I guess I should pay NTC a filing fee of Php 1500 ($33) upfront and a registration of Php 30,000 ($667) from now and each year thereafter.

Then, on the matter of scope. How can we be sure that we’re talking about the Internet here? Maybe we are just simply discussing the mobile networks in the country? Well, that’s where the ambiguity of the entire document comes in. While the data and the persons addressed by this document are defined clearly, the scope is not defined at all, only the goals are:

• Promotion of competition in the telecommunications market, where telecommunications carriers are free to make business decisions and interact with one another in providing telecommunications services, with the end in view of encouraging their financial viability while maintaining affordable rates.
• To further encourage the development of contents, information applications and electronic games, the prevailing access charge regime between the contents, information, applications and electronic games providers and the networks providers which is revenue sharing should be replaced by fixed access charge.

Telecommunications is mentioned in the goals, but does the term “telecommunications” solely pertain to the mobile carriers like Smart and Globe? And then, these companies do not serve only the mobile market, but also the data market (they are Internet Service Providers as well), and so if these companies are involved, then are we, as data consumers of these companies, not part of them as well?

It’s nice that the NTC would like the telecommunications market to be more competitive. It’s nice that they think that by enforcing more fees from everybody, that somehow everybody else would experience lower fees (where is the logic in that?). But goals are just goals and not often the end result, especially not from such an ambiguous, all-encompassing proposal such as this.

So, is the Internet involved? Are we, bloggers, involved? Scope is not spelled clearly in this document, but if we forget that for a moment and say that yes the Internet is involved, then yes, we bloggers are definitely involved and are definitely taxable.

So let us not let this proposal be passed into a bill, in its very ambiguous state. Because if it does pass, then only a tiny misinterpretation of the law is needed to spell disaster for bloggers.

It’s the best way to curtail free speech in a third world country. Don’t let this happen.

* * * * *

Here is the full text of the proposal:

2 December 2008 draft

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR
No. ______________________

SUBJECT: GUIDELINES ON THE PROVISION OF CONTENTS, INFORMATION, APPLICATIONS, AND ELECTRONIC GAMES

WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution fully recognizes the vital role of communications in nation building and provides for the emergence of communications structures suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation;

WHEREAS, the promotion of competition in the telecommunications market is a key objective of Republic Act No. 7925 (RA7925, for brevity), otherwise known as The Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, which mandates that “a healthy competitive environment shall be fostered, one in which telecommunications carriers are free to make business decisions and interact with one another in providing telecommunications services, with the end in view of encouraging their financial viability while maintaining affordable rates.”

WHEREAS, RA7925 further defines the role of the government to “promote a fair, efficient and responsive market to stimulate growth and development of the telecommunications facilities and services”;

WHEREAS, the provision of contents, information, applications, and electronic games to the consumers creates demand for telecommunication networks and services – the development of contents, information, applications, and electronic games should therefore be encouraged and facilitated;

WHEREAS, the entry of more contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers in the market will result to lower prices benefiting the consumers;

WHEREAS, to further encourage the development of contents, information applications and electronic games, the prevailing access charge regime between the contents, information, applications and electronic games providers and the networks providers which is revenue sharing should be replaced by fixed access charge;

WHEREAS, in the power sector the consumers can purchase their power requirements from independent power producers – power producers are not subject to nationality requirement;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to RA7925, Executive Order (EO) No. 546 series of 1979, and in order to encourage and facilitate the development of contents and the provision thereof to the consumers, the National Telecommunications Commission (Commission) hereby promulgates the following guidelines:

A DEFINITIONS
1. The following terms as used in this Circular shall have the following definitions:
a. Content – refers to all types of contents delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers such as music, ring tones, logos, video clips, etc.
b. Information – refers to all types of information delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers, e.g. road traffic information, financial information, visa application information, etc.
c. Application – refers to all types of applications delivered to/accessed by the users/subscribers, e.g. mobile banking, electronic payments, point of sale service, etc.
d. Electronic Game – refers to games played online except gambling.
e. Contents Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing contents to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.
f. Information Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing information to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.
g. Applications Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing applications to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.
h. Electronic Games Providers – are persons or entities offering and providing electronic games to the public for compensation through the networks, systems and/or facilities of authorized networks, systems and/or facilities providers.
i. Contents Developers – are persons or entities creating contents.
j. Information Sources – are persons or entities providing information to Information Providers.
k. Applications Developer – are persons or entities creating applications.
l. Electronic Games Developer – are persons or entities creating electronic games.

B REGISTRATION
1. Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Providers, Contents Developers, Information Sources, Applications Developers, and Electronic Games Developers are required to have commercial presence in the country and shall secure Certificate of Registration (COR) from the Commission.

2. There shall be no nationality requirement for contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers, contents, applications and/or electronic games developers and information sources.

3. The application for registration shall be filed and acted upon by the Commission not later than seven (7) working days from date of application.

4. The application shall include the following documents:
a. Valid registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission or from the Department of Trade and Industry and Articles of Incorporation;
b. Facilities lease agreement with duly enfranchised and certificated public telecommunications entity; and

5. The Certificate of Registration shall be valid for a maximum period of five (5) years. Applicants for registration may opt to apply for shorter period not shorter than one (1) year. Certificates of Registration shall be renewable.

D FEES AND CHARGES
1. The following fees and charges shall be imposed:

a. Filing Fee : PhP 300.00
b. Annual Registration Fee: 6,000.00
c. Surcharge for late : 50% of the annual registration fee if application
filing of application is filed within six (6) months from date of expiry
for renewal 100% if filed after six (6) months from date of expiry

E RATES
1. The rates shall be deregulated. The contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider shall inform the Commission of the rates for each of the content, information, application or electronic game offered at least three (3) days prior to the offering of such content, information, application or electronic game. Contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers seeking increases in rates shall inform the Commission of the details of such increases at least five (5) days prior to the implementation of the increase. The Commission in the exercise of its mandate to protect consumers may not allow the increase. If the Commission does not act on the information within five (5) days from receipt of the same, the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider can impose the new rates.

F ACCESS CHARGES
1. Networks, systems and/or facilities providers shall provide access to contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers upon request and based on an access agreement. Access to the networks, systems and/or facilities of duly authorized providers by registered contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers shall be mandatory.

2. The access charge shall be negotiated. The access charge shall be cost-oriented and shall not be higher than the prevailing retail rates, not promotional rates, for the service where the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games are offered/provided.

G CONSUMER WELFARE AND INTEREST
1. Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Providers shall strictly comply to the provisions of MC No. 05-06-2007 (Consumer Protection Guidelines), MC No. 04-06-2007 (Data Log Retention of telecommunications traffic), and MC No. 03-03-2005 (Rules and Regulations on Broadcast Messaging Service) and its amendments.

2. Complaints from the subscribers/users shall be presumed to be valid. The burden of proof shall be upon the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games providers.

H Sanctions
1. Violation of any of the provisions of this Circular shall be a ground for the revocation or cancellation of the registration as Contents, Information, Applications and/or Electronic Games Provider.

2. The Commission may direct the disconnection of the access to the networks, systems or facilities of authorized providers pending the investigation of a complaint filed by a subscriber/user if the Commission finds that there is strong evidence against the contents, information, applications and/or electronic games provider.

3. Any violation of this circular shall be dealt with in accordance with law.

E Final Provision
1. Any circular, order, memoranda or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

2. This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation and three (3) certified true copies are furnished the UP Law Center.

Quezon City, Phlippines _________________________.

RUEL V. CANOBAS
Commissioner

JORGE V. SARMIENTO
Deputy Commissioner

JAIME M. FORTES, JR.
Deputy Commissioner

* * * * *

This is not a law yet. This is just a proposal, and in fact there was a public hearing earlier this afternoon, at the NTC Executive Conference Room (3rd Floor NTC Building, BIR Road, Quezon City). (Will update you on the outcome of that.) Apparently, the hearing was cancelled. No news on whether it will be resumed later.

Please blog about this topic and air your thoughts. Let us not let the Philippines government take away our right to free speech.

Other bloggers reporting on this story:
Mike Abundo
Tech At Hand

Update regarding the update (heh): Matt cutts twittered the confirmation, and the PR update is finished.

Is there actually a Google PR Update going on?

The geeks over at SEO Philippines Forum are speculating it’s so. Most people are just optimizing for the term. But I haven’t noticed any ups or downs in my PR. (I just got PRed to PR2 last October so I’m not expecting any big changes to my site anytime soon.)

Have you experienced a change in your PR this December 2008?

I’ve been sparse on the updates lately, sorry for that.

It’s just that I’m working on a new blog. :-) I’ve put it up in EntreCard already, wonder how it will fare? :-)

I received so many comments from the biscuits post so I thought, why not do a whole blog on junk food? Everybody loves it (don’t deny…) so it seems like a good idea. Plus, it gives me an excuse to buy and eat all those bad foods I shouldn’t. For the sake of art, right? Hehehe.

I’m calling it Junk Foods Heaven. Nice, huh? :-D

I’ve only got one post up, but I hope you go on over and give my new blog a good sound welcome. :-)

Hmmm… This strange Google ad replaced my normal Google adsense today. It’s normally supposed to look like the ad links that you see above.

I left Firefox and viewed my page in IE and it was still there. I refreshed the page in Firefox and it went back the normal ad links. Luckily I had the good sense to make a screenshot of it.

I did a search on “Google View Ads About” and it turned up some paltry results. Apparently it’s been around for quite some time. The general thesis is that it shows up when there aren’t enough relevant keywords to generate an ad.

That sucks… Gotta get back in the niche!

Well, I up and did it. ;) I’ve been stalling for the longest time, ‘coz I’m quite comfy here in Blogger. I’ve been here, what, 3 years now? I’m not sure… I don’t celebrate anniversaries (…should I?). Anyways, it’s been a fun free ride.

But having your own domain just looks so cool. A few years ago you’d have to pay $35 a year and that was just registration. Now registration only costs $6 a year while hosting costs as little as $3 a month… or less!

Anyways I decided on getting the domain name BodySoulDetox.com. I didn’t get RandomDetox.com, but maybe I should too. I just feel that the word “Random” is used far too much among blog names, so I thought maybe I’d try something new. (I’m so not good at making up blog titles! My last title was Self Absorbed Female, hehe.)

I’m still testing the domain thing so I’m not gonna be moving yet. Or maybe I won’t move at all, I’ll just use my domain with Blogger. We’ll see.

I feel like a child — no, no… I feel like myself — in a grocery store. Hehe. Excited.

I’m the featured blog in SocialSpark today! Haha! I’m so psyched!

Here’s a screen shot for posterity! Thank you SocialSpark! :-)