Instagram almost killed my blog, too

I have been blogging since 2006 and has blogged about 1,299 various subjects ever since. The year 2008 was perhaps the prime of my blogging career (if blogging this much is already a career). It was in 2008 when I was able to make 420 blogs for the year!

But as technology improves, my blogging style has become easier and lazier. And with a friend giving me an iPhone 3Gs blogging has come to another level- Instagram.

Instagram is a free app at iTunes (and is now in androids, too). It's a social network site and a fun way to share pictures. With various filters to choose from, Instagram would give your "ordinary" photo a nice look and feel as if you are a pro photographer. And that almost killed my blog. I am now taking photos more than ever and uploading them at Instagram. In less than a year, I have uploaded about 1,177 photos already (still counting) and gained 83 followers. 

And this blog suffered. I am wishing Blogger.com would make it easier for me to post my pictures from my Instagram just like Twitter and Tumblr. Please feel free to follow me by clicking on the links I have provided.

My love for photography is way above my love for writing. 

Here are some of my shots using iPhone 3Gs and processed at Instagram.

The Fantastic Promise of Networking

I have been invited many times, since college, to this networking stuff. Always, they promise me of wonderful things to come. Some even tell me I can stay at home and sleep all day but still have money in my account, mamatay man sila.

Well- honestly, so many of them networking companies have come and gone. And mostly dead, leaving behind so many unfulfilled promises, so many dumb people and so much legal matters lawyers are having a lot of fun they could go home and sleep but money still would flow to them.

Legacy, for example.

A retired teacher I know invited me to dinner at a classy restaurant in Tagbilaran some time ago. I was more than amused because we were not that close and yet he insisted we see each other and together with some retirees from Canada. I smell something not nice. Well- he invested more than a million. I did not have a thousand. But now we are in the same level- we both have no money.

And the rest is history.

I never like networking stuff, actually. Wait- I have one thing I like in networking meetings- they always have food you could stuff in your mouth. And that's the only consolation I could think of from them.

All of them people who are way above you are the smartest, cutest, clean-looking entities you could imagine. You could tell the disparity between you and them but they seem not able to notice at all. They talk of tiers. I am here. You are there. But we share.

These entities are very polite, always smiles like they have everything in this world, and they always talk about money and gains and the good life. In other words- they are the most perfectly plastic of all people.

They would show you checks of five to ten digits, with their names, of course. Checks you don't know if they are real or not. Always checks from some well-known banks. But until now, I am still wondering why they could not show cash, which is more tempting.

And they would illustrate you the power of triangles just like what the makibaka groups (remember the song Tatsulok) or your nutritionist have them in their notes. Triangles. Pyramids. Money. Lots of money. Schemes.

So many are fooled by easy money.

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Why Pyramid?

A Pyramid Scheme is shaped like a pyramid because they run out of suckers and the deal collapses. About any multi level compensation plan can be used for a pyramid. A pyramid scheme sells products of no or little value at inflated prices so that a lot of money flows through the pyramid scheme. The last people in make very little or no money because there aren’t a spare 100,000 or million people dumb enough to feed the bottom of the pyramid scheme. Get Rich Quick is the battle cry of pyramid schemes! We could say Darwin’s Theory holds true and the smart survivors stay out! The pyramid scheme starts collapsing and the participants complain to the law (usually too late). 

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(Pyramid illustration from www.unc.edu)

The Tricks of Easy Money

When I entered the Weesam terminal last Monday, I saw my relatives already seating at a bench inside. Their faces were a picture of joy to see me. They must have missed me that much.

When I settled myself at their bench after the obligatory kissing of hands, and as if on cue, some of my relatives went to the CR and others went out to buy some food. Only my closest relative stayed with me and introduced me to a guy whom I will call Fatty for purposes of description. Fatty said he has roots in Batuan. The face looked familiar and guessed his family name in my mind. I was correct.

When Fatty shifted his focus on me, the last relative was also gone. His introduction was- Are you familiar with networking? I said yes of course. Who would not be familiar with the so many networking scams proliferating in the country and still victimizing people up to this time? But my short answer only stopped at Yes and nothing more.

He then lectured me on networking and emphasized that his type of networking was not the scam type. Fatty went on introducing his Agel products and the health benefits of it.

It will keep you alert and fit every time you drink it, he babbled.

Are you really using it, I asked. Of course, he retorted.

I was tempted to ask why was he not physically fit, looking at his bloated abs and his double chins, but did not.

Fatty told me that money would suddenly find their way to my bank account even if I just sit in front of my computer and grinned luridly. He lectured me about entrepreneurship, world markets, e-commerce, demands worldwide, blah blah, etc. etc. But his words were all passing through my deaf ears, actually. I was tempted to tell this guy my hate for babbly salesmen and my desire to stitch their mouths shut. But instead, I just nodded and said some occasional Uhuh, Mao, Bitaw, Yeah. All along, my mind played a scenario. How many people were convinced by this person?

I told Fatty that I am an internet savvy. I do market research and communicate through the internet. I even update myself on current trends on the Net. Much better, he said, and suddenly left me without even saying where he was going.

I suddenly found peace. Damn those relatives. They cleverly tricked me to listen to this guy so they could escape from him.

Fatty was back.

I will give you a form and you pay the 100 pesos processing fee. Hmm, yeah, when we get to Tagbilaran, I informed him.

I asked for the website address of his products that he claimed could only be ordered online. He told me he would SMS me the address.

You mean you did not know the URL of your product?

There’s a code, he revealed to me, but I have it in my laptop.

Interesting, indeed. I was convinced this would be another Da Vinci Code in the making.

And he started again to bombard me of the pleasures he got because of his networking stuff. Traveling around Visayas and the National Capital Region. Seeing places. Staying in comfort at luxury hotels. Meeting people.

Why do you travel when you have internet?

I have to get in touch with future clients, he declared.

There goes the just-sit-in-front-of-the-computer promise. I also told him I do stay in luxury hotels, see places, travel and meet people even if I am not into networking. I bragged, of course.

If you are keen on e-commerce, I presupposed you know PayPal. So I asked him if they would accept PayPal.

What is that, he asked. I told him that PayPal is a secure online account that stores your credit card and bank details, enabling you to pay online and by mobile quickly and safely. You don’t have to remember your details every time you shop, and you have the confidence that your sensitive financial information is never shared with the seller. PayPal is accepted by over 100,000 online retailers across Europe, including leading Boots, DHL, Harrods, Photobox, Pixmania and eBay. It’s the safer, easier way to pay (true) and that I can buy his stuff up to 5,000 pesos if they accept PayPal (very big lie, the 5,000 amount, I mean).

He was silent. Just give me your mobile number, he replied, so I can text you the details.

Ok.

I thought that ended the discussion because he was gone again. I have not seen Fatty even if we disembarked Tagbilaran two hours after.

It’s almost a week and I am still waiting for his text message.

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Illustration from http://consumerist.com/