Year 2009 was such a fine year for me. I started the year doing several posts per week, then slowed down posting during the stormy months.

Nevertheless, I’ve listed down the most interesting and informative posts during the year – in case you’ve missed them.

January 2009

The year started with oDesk recognizing my efforts in creating a buzz for their freelance oDesk jobs to many Filipinos. One of my oDesk posts: Get paid by the hour in oDesk, was included as an article in their site.

I got two T-shirts from oDesk FREE and shipped to me via USPS: oDesk Recognized My Efforts

February 2009

In case you’ve missed these two useful tutorials on payment methods, then these should be helpful.

• How to Withdraw Money from Unionbank EON to Smart Money
• Alternative Ways to Withdraw Paypal funds in the Philippines

March 2009

Making money on Twitter was the hottest thing on my blog on this summer month.

Are you Twitterpated on Twitter’s Money Makers?

April 2009

I guest blogged on JaypeeOnline’s blog for a tutorial on how to move from Blogger to WordPress. Since I ended up doing a comprehensive tutorial, this became a two-post series:

• HowTo: Move from Blogger to WordPress Part I
• HowTo: Move from Blogger to WordPress Part II

May 2009

This was the time when I started doing hot keyword posts that attracted search engine visitors and got me a significant rise in Google Adsense earnings and other ad network. I’m quite surprised some people still ask what ethical hacking is. Connie Culp, the woman who got a face transplant, was interesting too.

June 2009

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon still gives me traffic and comments up to this day.

July 2009

Achieve That Constant Stream of Work (Income) was the only post I did for this month. I was too busy to write new posts.

August 2009 to September 2009

Blogging hiatus.

October 2009

This is one of the most inspiring true-to-life stories I’ve ever encountered. The boy had been able to provide electricity to his small town by creating windmills made out of junk.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

November 2009

How to Earn Money from Blogging: Pretty basic article for newbie bloggers. I wrote this in the efforts that newbie bloggers could find easily this post easily through the search engines.

December 2009

This is what I call the first blogger mini-meetup! I had a great time with The Lunch Break Blogger. I hope to meet more bloggers soon!

Mid-afternoon Snack with the LunchBreakBlogger

Also, I had changed this blog’s color, but not the template. I hope you can provide me feedback on this: New Theme Colors for The Lady Programmer for the Year 2010.

I have not been updating my blogs for a while. That was not laziness: like many bloggers my excuse is just I was so busy. I had been hopping into one freelance work after another. In between that I try to manage a few hours finding new jobs for my team members who are doing freelance jobs part time while learning all I can about WordPress blogs.

That freelance experience those past few weeks was a race against time. That had really put my time management skills to test. I had to make the best use of my time. I had finally reached the point where I have a constant stream of clients both old and new ones. When my long term projects  runs dry, new opportunities keep coming up. It’s a fact that full time freelancers don’t just work with one client – they have to very good masters of their time to be able to work and earn from different projects coming from different clients.

During that time I was semi-active in social networks, Plurk and Twitter. Since both networks allow only 140 characters, it was easy for me to get interactive without the need to write a full well-researched or well-thought out blog post.

For those very hectic days I just get down to do my freelance work. At the end of the day, I find myself mentally tired to compose a well-researched blog post on any of my blogs.
This next week is yet another busy week for me.

I will not say anymore that I am back to blogging, as other do. I am always here. If you don’t find me on blogs, you could always contact me through other social networks, or through my email. Some of you are even in my chat. If you don’t find my updates here, you can always interact with me in Plurk or Twitter.

If you had been an avid follower of this blog, I had been writing some sponsored reviews in this blog every now and then. I am not limited to a single paid review site though, but one of the places where I get my technology-related sponsored reviews is at SocialSpark – and they got plenty of them in different flavors: blog posts, sponsorship, affiliates and CPCs.

One of the new changes that I like in SocialSpark is their CPC campaigns. I noticed that each click pays more than what I normally earn in Google Adsense. In addition to that, I am not limited to displaying CPCs only in my blogs – I got both Facebook and Twitter, and SocialSpark provides the necessary links for me to display those ads in two Social Networks.

I’ve tried posting out technology-related CPC links right here in this blog, and in Twitter and Facebook too. So far, I’ve earned more from both this blog and Twitter, but not much on Facebook. I guess it is because I’m not too actively involved in Facebook (but I am not simply posting out sponsored links either). However the earnings I got from promoting tech-related products or services are not really that much – I still need to learn and figure out how to get the most out from CPC clicks.

If you are a blogger who loves to write about technology as well as earn money from blogs, then be sure to head out to SocialSpark – they already got plenty of technology-related opportunities up for grabs.

Since I had decided to embark on full-time freelance ventures, there is only one application that I use most often than any other installed in my computer – Firefox. I just realized that without this beloved browser, I would find it difficult to do freelance work. It is actually the tons of add-ons that are already written for the browser which made my work a lot easier to do.

I have around 25 plugins which I find indispensable in doing web design work and blogging. I don’t plan to discuss all these twenty-five plugins here but I would like to mention those that relate to my blogging work.

useful Firefox plugins for blogging

StumbleUpon

The easiest way to navigate through StumbleUpon is to install and use its add-on toolbar. It makes it easier for me to stumble through friends or even through other news sites. I am not so much of an active user in stumble upon, but stumbling through this site once in a while makes it easier for me to do such stumbling duties.

EasyComment

The EasyComment add-on makes it easier for me to leave comments during a blog hop spree. Using add-on is pretty straightforward: simply enter your name, email and blog URL in its settings then use it to automatically fill out those items in most comment blogs. I find this helpful because it eliminates typographical errors especially when trying to type the blog URL.

Entrecard

I am an active user of Entrecard so I use the toolbar to promote my blog. I just simply have to select the category to which sites I get to visit, drop an Entrecard and perhaps leave a comment or two if I find the site interesting. The Entrecard toolbar also allows me to advertise on the currently visited blog.

coComment

coComment add-on is very useful to me because I get to keep track of blogs that I comment on, particularly blogger blogs. Most of the time, I always love to participate on the blog conversation, not just leave a comment on a blogger blogs, so I need to keep track which blogs I had commented on and read the replies of the author of the post. Although coComment is a good way for me to keep track of comments, it can be used also as a social network to meet other bloggers.

Delicious

I keep Delicious bookmarks primarily to keep track of useful articles and blog posts. I also use these Delicious bookmarks to network with other bloggers who share the same interest. Although it is possible to use this social bookmarking site to promote my own posts, I decided to bookmark posts that I need for my web-related interests.

Power Twitter

Power Twitter is one of the tons of Twitter tools where I get to have an enhanced Twitter web page: shortened links are replaced by actual links to the site, images are displayed and YouTube videos are seen. If you happen to be active on Twitter discussions then this tool is a must-have.

TinyURL creator

Most bloggers are perhaps familiar with the TinyURL service but did you know that such a Firefox add-on exists for that? It saves me from going to the TinyURL website to shorten the URL that I want to promote.

FireShot

FireShot takes a screenshot of the visible or entire part of the browser page then lets the user edit, upload, save, or copy to the clipboard, print email or even edit it in other external editor. Its free version is very powerful indeed for simple jobs, but if you are working on batch images then consider an upgrade.

Google Gears

I’ve installed Google Gears for two reasons: it puts a local cache copy of my WordPress blogs so it is easier for me to update these blogs and this addin is also helpful for me to speed up my Google reader.

SEO for Firefox

SEO for Firefox is a plugin that makes it easier for me to check “nofollow” links as well as those useful statistics like Google pagerank, Alexa ranking, Technorati, Delicious links and other relevant figures that are used in doing SEO. As a newbie in doing SEO work, I really find this plugin very useful.

WordPress Helper

Whether you own a self-hosted WordPress blog or have a WordPress.com blog, the WordPress helper is an optional tool that helps me switch between WordPress blogs. It also provides several shortcuts such as going to the login page, writing a new blog page or post and even managing comments or spam.

Most of the add-ons that I have installed are used for promoting my blogs, including TinyURL. The last four add-ons are the ones that I use when writing content for my blogs. Except in cases where I could not get to run Firefox, I would not prefer to use any other browser to do my blogging work.

Some of you may have noticed an unusual Entrecard widget displayed here in this tech and freelance blog and that of the single parent blog. That widget is called the Entrecard chicklet which looks a lot like those popular chicklets provided by Feedburner and TwitterCounter. Entrecard recently announced this new cool chicklet to Entrecard members. Some members have noticed Entrecard’s announcement, blogged and tried it.

This chicklet was developed by Maddy, the talented guy behind Great Registry Hacks. He was the one who helped me fix the task manager problem I had experienced a few posts ago.

Maddy asked me to try out this widget. I decided to install the chicklets on my two blogs. I am probably the first member to have these widgets even before Entrecard announced this one.

sample EC chicklet

The Entrecard chicklet can either show the popularity rating or the ad price. Once that the chicklet is installed, the chicklet is a clickable link that goes straight to the blog’s original or customized Entrecard profile.

Why Should You Install the Entrecard Chicklet

JaypeeOnline is a good example to illustrate the importance of having this chicklet. At this time his blog’s Alexa rank is near to 100k but his Entrecard popularity rating at less than 40. His customized Entrecard profile clearly shows that (see screenshot below). I would surely spend 64 EC/day to get featured on his blog because of these reasons:

• His Alexa rank clearly shows his blog is getting a good traffic. An EC popularity rating of 40 is low, which means he is not all too dependent on Entrecard to drive traffic on his blog.
• If I happen to land on directly his blog and and his EC chicklet I will surely consider spending some EC credits for a day of exposure to take advantage of being seen by non-Entrecard visitors.

JaypeeOnline's Enhanced EC profile

The obvious catch here is that a blog needs to have this chicklet installed using the customized Entrecard profile.

How to Install the Entrecard Chicklet

Installing the chicklet is not too difficult. Go to this page and follow the instructions below:

1. Select whether you prefer to show the EC popularity rating or the ad price chicklet.
2. Choose whether you like to show a customized EC profile or the original EC profile page that is shown when the chicklet is clicked.
3. To fill out the fields easily, click the gray links at the right of each text fields for the Entrecard ID and color codes.
4. Specify your desired chicklet label to accompany the popularity rating or the ad price.
5. Leave the code for the chicklet field blank.
6. Click the Update button.
7. Copy and paste the JavaScript code that appears on the code for the chicklet field on your blog.

Entrecard chicklet

Entrecard Chicklet Support

Since the chicklet is was not developed by Entrecard it would be better to contact Maddy if you need some support for this widget. He had voluntarily created this chicklet and offered his web host free for this one.

I suddenly remembered my new good-looking online friend, Jaypee. I was busy these past few days because I had some outsourcing job to do.  As I had announced in my previous post entry, Jaypee provided me the hosting space for this blog. He also made it easier for me to learn WordPress by sharing what he already knows about this stuff.

He had been a lot of help and yet he was still inviting me to his Christmas Giveaway contest – well this is my first time ever to join a blog contest, really!

Although the contest had been announced last November, I was able to blog about it this very last day. As I’ve said, I got knocked off from the net, then I had to catch up on everyone. Just recently, I had accepted an outsourcing job that would make up for the lost money-making opportunity when I was offline.

I am particularly interested in any of the prizes that are offered – really. I’m falling in love with self-hosted WordPress and all the power that comes with it. Sadly, Jaypee doesn’t want to give all the prizes for one person. Well, I still hope luck smiles on me on this New Year.

• 3 Revolution Two Pro Plus Memberships (each worth $149.95) – courtesy of Brian Gardner
• 2 Mimbo Pro Single-License Copies (each worth $89.99) – courtesy of Darren Hoyt
• 2 FlexxTheme Single-Use Copies (each worth $79.95) – courtesy of Cory Miller
• 1 WP-Member Plugin Ten-Site License (worth $67.87) – courtesy of WP-Member.com
• 3 WP-Member Plugin Five-Site Licenses (each worth $44.78) – courtesy of WP-Member.com
• 5 WP-Member Plugin Single-Site Licenses (each worth $27.13) – courtesy of WP-Member.com
• 2 Elegant Themes Membership Licenses (each worth $19.95) – courtesy of Nick Roach

As I am writing this, I am three hours  hours from the contest deadline which is December 30, 2008 midnight US Pacific time. If you happen to read this post, have a self-Wordpress blog and want a chance to upgrade to a new look this New Year, then hurry up (like me) and join this one!

Let’s not also forget the sponsors of this wonderful contest:

1. Revolution Two WordPress Themes
2. Pro Theme Design
3. iThemes Premium WordPress Themes
4. WP Member – Advanced WordPress Membership Plugin
5. Elegant Themes – Premium WordPress Themes

Hey guys! I’m back, and with a bang. I hope you notice the new look of this site, but that is not the only thing that you’ll see here. The Lady Programmer is now on self-hosted WordPress!

new look on a new home

A good thing to have this Christmas, and just in time for me to realize that I have just turned to be a one-year old blogger!

I was so so very very happy to be given this push by Jaypee, a interesting Plurker behind the blog JaypeeOnline. He offered me the chance to move from Blogger platform to WordPress. As I prepared my blog weeks before, he had helped me with some things that he already know about setting up a self-hosted WordPress blog.

I did the header and took a fitting theme and made more changes. I have also decided to change my Entrecard widget while I modified the theme extensively. I still have some few loose ends left, but I think this blog is now ready.

I hope you like the new look!

You’ve probably noticed that there is no obvious change in this blog’s template. A few days after I had published the announcement that I am going for my own template design, an angel was suddenly sent down from heaven to help me grow my blog. I would not be putting much detail on what this sudden change is all about. For now, I’m sorry to disappoint everyone, but chances are, I’ll still be using a free template. However, the change is much different – and more exciting – than sporting a new look.

I promise.

Oh, I still hope everybody is still checking me out. I have not visited you guys for a while. I do blogging as a part time work right now so I don’t get to update all my blogs and I find myself running out of time to promote my stuff. But I will find another effective way to make up for the lost time.

I miss you guys.

UPDATE: Hoops! Almost forgot, thanks to Pastilan for emailing me a copy of SEO Optimization.

I’ve previously mentioned about my quest to learn SEO skills which is a growing demand in freelance jobs. Even before I put out that post, there are a number of people who had been asking me through email or through blog comments on any previous post that instructs them on how to do SEO. I am not really an expert on this one, and I’ve realized that SEO skills takes time – it can even take years to understand this stuff.

I keep a number of blogs that I follow all along to learn such skill. Here are some SEO sites that I keep in my Google reader:

• Tech At Hand Dot Net 
• Macuha.com
• Money and SEO
• Search Engine Guide 
• SEO Fast Start 
• The Ad Master

I only know Marghil Macuha through reading his Macuha.com blog regularly. It was from his site where I found the eBook in understanding SEO the easiest way. His blog deals more his SEO explorations though.

Dexter of Tech At Hand Dot Net is a blog that I visit regularly. This guy too, has his own SEO explorations. I find his posts useful in learning SEO. You might want to check out his SEO category – I’ve been digging through that archive a day ago and find his posts very helpful.

Engr. Cesar Noel was very helpful guy who is into this stuff for several years. He had been very helpful in giving me leads on where I could get the good SEO resources to start with.

All the remaining blogs are also worth reading. Check them out too.

Like Dexter had mentioned, on the previous post on freelance SEO skills, forums are a good way of learning SEO. Here are some good ones:

• DigitalPoint forums 
• SEO Chat forums
• Webmasterworld
• and even our own SEO Philippines Forum

Engr. Cesar Noel was also kind in mentioning SEO Guy forums. He also reminded me that the best SEO practice is producing good content.

I have been tweaking out this blog’s layout over the weekend. Finding a new combination of widgets was not an easy task: it took me more than a day to accomplish. Finally I got a layout that I am happy to have – at this time.

Read More About Me

Since I got a very early post about myself, I thought that I might as well place that link below my profile. I’ve also added a contact me page for those who need to get in touch with me through email.

Easy Entrecard Drops

Entrecard visitors are a different bunch. They usually skim information and make their drop. I made that widget accessible right below my profile.

Freelance Stuff

These are featured posts that I plan to change from time to time. These posts are the one’s that I have written well but did not make it through the top lists.

What’s Hot and What’s New

Image credit to jonner

What’s Hot is a list of my most commented posts. What’s New is a list of my newest posts. Take a pick.

Purely oDesk or Paypal

I’ve created One-Stop oDesk Corner to accommodate oDesk and Paypal visitors to these information. I have written a lot of posts about oDesk, Payoneer and Paypal but these information get buried under the dozens of posts that I have written. Now the link should be easier for oDesk visitors to get to the posts.

Paypal is a very common payment method. The write-ups should also help these visitors well.

Other Minds

This is simply a blogroll that lists down blogs with the most recent posts. This is a great opportunity for link lovers to get their blogs listed. I maintain two blogrolls, a page containing links where blogs are categorized, and a blogroll list at the right side. If you often update your blogs, then this is a good way to get featured.

I decided to have one blogroll to maintain. It is the list of links along the right sidebar of this blog.

Lessened Number of Posts

From seven posts per page I decided to reduce it to only three posts to facilitate loading time. I believe this move made by blog load significantly faster.

My Own Template

I am still interested in coming up with my own template – the one that I can truly call my own. Right now I’m contented with the change in widgets.

Do you like the new layout?

The main reason why I changed the layout is for every group of visitor to easily access information that they need. I got oDesk visitors, blog visitors and search engine visitors too, so I need to cater to those groups. I still have some loose ends to finish but I think the major changes are helpful enough to most visitors of this site.

Do you have something to say?