Negoskwela's schedule for October 2008

Christmas season and the end of the year is fast approaching. And yet, the opportunities for learning continues. Who knows, the things we learn this year might just be the things which will make you succeed next year. Anyway, here is Negoskwela's schedule for the month of October and the first half of November 2008. Hope you find something of interest.

The Al Ries Brand Strategy Forum

Al Ries, one of the world's marketing stategists and legendary author of 11 books on marketing, will share his latest insights in a gathering called the Al Ries Brand Strategy Forum to be held tomorrow, October 1, at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City.

And, because I am one of those who simply cannot afford those nice but expensive seminars and trainings, usually costing thousands of pesos, I have decided to adopt a nice strategy of my own. I have decided to still learn some things even without attending.

From now on, for every seminar that I come across, I plan to research on the things I probably would have learned had I attended the seminar. Or even just an inkling of what is going to be taught there.

This time, I have decided to research on who in the world is Al Ries. I learned that he is a graduate of DePauw University in 1950. After graduation, he accepted a position in the advertising deparment of General Electric before founding his own advertising agency in New York, Ries Cappiello Colwell, in 1963.

Al Ries later on partnered with Jack Trout to transform the advertising agency to a marketing strategy firm known as the Trout & Ries. In 1972, the two co-authored a three-part series of articles on the concept of positioning. In 1994, Al Ries founded Ries & Ries with his daughter Laura, a graduate of Northwestern University.

Al Ries is the best-selling author of 11 books on marketing including Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, Marketing Warfare, Forcus, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, and the Origin of Brands.

I tried to search for any free materials by Al Ries online but, as of now, could not find one. There are of course a lot of ebooks available for a few dollars. One of these days I plan to get one, if only to appreciate his genius.

Melamine or melanine?

I am sure we all have heard about the milk catastrophe in China where milk manufacturers used a dangerous substance to fake high protein levels in milk. The practice has been exposed after several babies have died and thousands have been hospitalized in China due to illnesses caused by the substance.

The crisis has triggered a milk scare all over the world including the Philippines. Bloggers have been fast to write about it, I am sure with the intention of providing as much information as possible. But then, I noticed some blog writeups, even emails, using the term "melanine" instead of melamine.

What is it really, melamine or melanine? A search on melamine in Google led me to the Wikipedia entry of a chemical substance used in the production of melamine resin, a certain type of plastic. On top is a note which says the term should not be confused with "melanin", a pigment found in our skin and hair, or with melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone regulating the circadian rhythms of most animals.

Clearly the answer to our question is melamine. It is an organic base with the chemical formula C3H6N6. It was first synthesized by the German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1834. It is, among other uses, combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a very durable thermosetting plastic, and melamine foam, a polymeric cleaning product.

The end products include countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, housewares and flame retardants. It is also one of the major compoonents in Pigment Yellow 150, a colorant in inks and plastics.

In the on-going China milk scandal, melamine was illegally added to milk products in order to increase apparent protein content. This is because standard tests like Kjeldahl and Dumas estimates protein level by measuring the nitrogen content, thus can be be misled by nitrogen-rich compounds like melamine.

One thing is sure. The milk crisis is so grave that we ought to handle it with utmost care. There is obviously no room for inaccuracies. Otherwise, we contribute to the confusion rather than help address the problem.

Negoskwela's schedule this month

You may see here Negoskwela's schedule this month, September, and the early part of next month, October 2008. I have also corrected the dead link on my earlier posts about Negoskwela's schedules.

I have said it before, a big percentage of those who visit this blog are people searching for Negoskwela. It seems, a lot of people are really interested in the trainings that they offer. I would assume it is because of the "affordable" registration fees.

I have attended one of their trainings once (on Hydroponics) and was generally satisfied. I have not been able to apply what I learned though. Maybe one of these days when I feel like planting.

List of Accredited Private Training Institutions

This list is dated and I don't really know what the accreditation is for. I just know that the list is stored on the website of the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) and that it enumerates private training institutions in the Philippines.

For someone looking for seminars and trainings in the Philippines, the list should be helpful as it provides the addresses, the telephone numbers, as well as the training subjects, or the type of trainings that the institutions provide.

The trainings include management training, computer training, continuing professional education, local governance, rural development programs, agricultural training, etc. Although not very specific, I'd say the subjects are quite interesting.

The list of course is as of June 30, 2001. But, I am pretty sure that many of the addresses and telephone numbers shown are still valid and useful to someone curious about seminars and trainings in the Philippines. See the list here.

Macuha.com - My choice for the Bloggers' Choice Award

As I earlier posted, I only learned recently about the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards scheduled to be held on September 21, sunset, at 1 Esplanade. But, even if I learned late about the event, I am not going to miss the opportunity to participate.

The Awards allows us bloggers to "vote" for our favorite blogs for the Bloggers' Choice Award. I am doing so now. Of all the wonderful blogs nominated, I choose Macuha.com of Marhgil Macuha. I personally like the way Marhgil blogs, which is very natural and free flowing, and covering a wide range of interesting topics.

I also like the way he openly shares information and tips on blogging and SEO, which is great for us who are relatively new and inexperienced as bloggers. His blog, Macuha.com, really encourages me to pursue with fervor Pinoy Seminars, my personal blog on seminars, trainings and negosyo in the Philippines.

My congratulations to Marhgil. Hopefully he will be among the winners.

Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Paquiao

Well, this has nothing to do about seminars, trainings and entrepreneurship, but the outlook of every Filipino is sure to rise, or fall, depending on the outcome of the December 6 fight between Oscar "Golden Boy" de la Hoya and Manny "Pacman" Paquiao in Las Vegas, Nevada. Please allow me to wade into the excitement.

For starters, here is the Tale of the Tape during Oscar de la Hoya's fight against Steve Forbes last May 8 which he won by unanimous decision. Take note of De la Hoya's birthdate, the height and the reach. People are saying those are the significant difference between him and Manny.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA	STATS	STEVE FORBES
San Juan, Puerto Rico	HOMETOWN	Pontiac, MI
38-5 30 KOs	RECORD	33-5 9 KOs
February 4, 1973	BIRTH DATE	February 26, 1977
150	WEIGHT	150
5'10 1/2"	HEIGHT	5'7 1/2"
72"	REACH	68"
39"	CHEST (NORMAL)	38 1/2"
42 1/2"	CHEST (EXPANDED)	41"
12"	FOREARMS	11 1/2"
21"	THIGH	23"
13 1/2"	CALF	15"
15 1/2"	NECK	14"
7"	WRIST	7"
9"	FIST	10"

Do you think Manny can bring him down? Freddie Roach thinks so. I just wish his judgment is not colored by the millions of dollars that Team Paquiao is expected to earn from the fight. Definitely, no Filipino would want Manny to lose.

The 2008 Philippine Blog Awards

I am really out of touch. I only learned lately that the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards will already be held this September 21, Sunday. It will be held at 1 Esplanade which is at the back of the SM Mall of Asia and fronting Manila Bay. Registration will start at 5 pm and the awards will commence once the sun sets.

I wish I can be there to see who the winners this year will be. I am not sure now because I am scheduled to be in Marinduque the next day. But, given the chance, I won't miss the event. It is really a good time to see in person the people behind my favorite blogs. I am sure most of them will be among the winners. My congratulations in advance.

Compendium of Training Programs

To the willing, there is really no shortage of opportunities to learn. Recently, I came across a list of human resource development and entrepreneurship programs for micro, small and medium enterprise produced by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Trade Training Center.

The compendium is in support of the National SME Development Agenda, said to be a priority program of the government. The objective is to provide existing and potential entrepreneurs the the necessary skills and knowledge to become competetive players in the local and global market.

The compendium should remove the doubt from all of us who are raring to go into business but are hesitating due to the lack of information and training. You may get your copy of the compendium here and tell me what you think.

Advertise on Pinoy Seminars

Now open for advertisements at reasonable rates:

200 x 200 Ad on topmost portion of sidebar

200 x 200 Ad on lower portions

For inquiries, email gilbert@lumantao.com.

Niche marketing online, Pinoy style

Guess what? Later this month, I will again receive my pay from Google Adsense. It will be my third since I started posting their ads on Pinoy Seminars as well as on my other blogs.

The amount is by no means staggering but still something to be happy about considering that not all bloggers end up getting paid by Google.

One of the things I am happy about with this blog is that, I feel I have found a niche which gives me steady traffic. This niche, though not far reaching, has been largely unserved in the past.

With a few posts and some sidebar links, I feel I was able to provide information that will serve the niche and attract new visits, day in and day out.

I intend to build upon this modest success by learning more about niche marketing and search engine optimization. My personal target is, to double, if not triple, the income I derive from my blogs before the year ends.

What do you think?