I do actually purchase on the Internet on a fairly regular basis, from companies like Amazon and other large Internet retailers.  I also purchase things on eBay on a fairly regular basis.

I live in the Philippines, though, and to be honest, it’s been a long time since I tried out any e-commerce purchases from Philippine sites.  The last I recall was back about 10 years ago when I bought something on MyAyala, which has now changed names.  The experience was just “OK,” and in many ways it was not all that great.  The payment system was poor, and required that I go to a bank to deposit money, etc, something that could not be completed online at the time of purchase.

Manila Soles Shoes

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I was watching TV, a show about business on a local Philippine News Channel.  They were featuring a Philippine Company that makes shoes out of recycled materials.  The company is called “Manila Soles,” which I found to be a cute name too.  The shoes looked very stylish and comfortable and were priced very reasonably too, around $20 per pair.  I decided that I wanted a pair.  I searched in my local malls and shoe stores, but was unable to find any shoes from this company here in Davao where I live.  We are about 700 or so miles from Manila, and it seems that Manila Soles has yet to move into the Davao marketplace.  Because of this, I was looking online for their shoes to see what I could find.

I found that Manila Soles has an e-commerce site, which is on Multiply.com.  My past impressions of Multiply were somewhat negative, but dated back a few years.  Last time I looked at what Multiply was doing in the way of e-Commerce, it was not a mature solution – no real payment system, and all seemed to be rather loosely put together.  I was certainly unimpressed.  About 6 months ago, or so, I met the Country Manager of Multiply Philippines, Jack Madrid.  Jack and I were both speakers at a conference in General Santos City.  I liked Jack and found him to be a pretty intelligent guy, so I wanted to watch Multiply and see how they progressed in the area of e-Commerce.  So, when I saw that Manila Soles was using Multiply, I thought this would be a good opportunity to see how Multiply has matured in the e-commerce business.

My friend, Jack Madrid of Multiply

So, on a Tuesday afternoon, I decided to order a pair of Manila Soles shoes through their online Multiply store.  To be honest, I was a bit leery about making the purchase, but since the price for shoes was quite low, I decided that the risk was low.  I chose my shoes and went through the checkout process.  One thing that made me quite happy was that one of the payment options is through Paypal.  I like to use Paypal for shopping online, it is convenient and safe.  During checkout, everything went smoothly, and I was pretty happy with my shopping experience.  The only downside to me was that they did not e-mail me an order confirmation or receipt for my purchase.  After I completed the purchase, there was a confirmation on the website, but I was looking for an e-mail confirmation.  I decided to print out the website confirmation, just so that I would have some evidence that I had made the purchase and paid.  I had decided that if I did not have my shoes within one week, I would file a claim with Paypal and get the charges reversed.

On Thursday morning, my son came to my office with a package, which turned out to be the shoes that I ordered!  Wow, less than 2 days after ordering, and they had already arrived.  I was impressed.  Not only that, but when I checked out the shoes and tried them on, I was further impressed.  The shoes looked great, were comfortable, and fit me well.  What more could I ask for.

Good job, Manila Soles, and Multiply too!  You have impressed me with the great service and smooth process of ordering online.  My only recommendation would be an e-mail order confirmation.  Other than that, it was a perfect online shopping experience.  I am actually thinking of ordering a few more pairs of Manila Soles in different colors and styles!

I mean, the fact that I took time out of my busy schedule to help these folks with answers to their questions, then when I send the reply to them, I get a message that the e-mail address is not valid.  It’s frustrating, and makes me usually feel that I have wasted my time in answering, or really even reading their e-mail.  Some such e-mails are quite long.  Some questions are complex, and require me to think for quite a while before responding, considering the possible ramifications of my advice.

The other day, I got such an e-mail from a fellow named Christopher.  When I e-mailed Christopher back, the message bounced.  The thing that frustrates me in this case is that I feel that Christopher is treading on some pretty dangerous ground, and could possibly be putting himself in danger when he returns to the Philippines.  The fact that I am unable to reach him, given that his e-mail address is not valid, troubles me, and makes me worry for his safety.

Christopher was a New York Policeman

Here is what Christopher had to say:

Bob, ive been reading your articles for some time now.

I am a 49 year old American living in a northern suburb to NYC. I am a retired cop from the suburb area job where I live. My pension is $72k a year plus free medical for life. I’m married with 3 kids. Girls of 21 and 14 and an 8 yo son. I am a American who was born in the Philippines to a Filipino father and an American mother.

I moved from the Philippines to NY when I was a infant so America is all I know. I married a lovely Irish gal who I assisted in getting her “green card “.

My dad has substantial property in Quezon City, Batangas City and Lobo. The property includes apartments in Quezon City, a strip mall on Rizal Dr in Batangas and an old beach front home in Lobo. He additionally owns farm property and quite a bit of other properties with value. The problem is that my dad is 85 and lives in NY near me. He has no trustworthy people handeling his buisness affairs and no close dependable relatives. It’s a given that he is being stolen from badly. The farmers on his property pay him by produce percentages which are always way below normal.

Relatives of distant relatives are living on his property for free and are taking advantage of him. My father says that his arraignments are “old -school ” and if he starts treating it like a business the people over there will be offended.

I just got dual citizenship for the Philippines for me and my two younger children (my 21 yo is too old to be eligible). I am considering moving to the Philippines to get our finances in order there but expect a lot of resistance (from squaters and freeloaders) and even goverment laws. My first trip to the Philippines may be this year but I’d be lost there, I haven’t been there since i was a baby. I’m sure that getting my dual citizenship will help to make sure i have the rights of other citizens but I still don’t know what to expect. I don’t want to arrive there with a cowboy attitude and jump right in with guns -a -blazing but i won’t be walked all over either. Can you give me advice on how to proceed and what i could expect for my 8yo boy and 14yo girl if we do make the move. Any advice will be appreciated.

Hi George,

Since I could not e-mail you directly, because the e-mail address you provided is not valid, I am addressing your concerns in this article.  Firstly, for advice on your children making the move, I recommend that you read my article from last week, “Bob, Why did you move to Davao?”

Now, on to the other issued in your query.

Interesting story, thanks for writing.

I think it is possible that you are about to step into a very dangerous situation.  What  your father said is exactly right, when he said that people might get offended.  I would add that they also may get violent.

I would strongly recommend that you need to understand the culture here before you step into the situation.  If you don’t, you will likely say or do something that is considered offensive, and if that happens you may well end up hurt or even dead.

It is a touchy situation, and needs to be handled in a way that will not offend the people who are squatting on the land.  I would say that it might be a wise thing to hire some local folks who have a better understanding of the culture, and also a better knowledge about how things are done here.

Good luck to you, I hope it all works out in your favor.

Any other advice for Christopher, readers?

Here’s what makeup newbie had to say:

hey bob. a friend (X) who’s a dual citizen married a filipina in the philippines. marriage certificate indicates that X is filipino(he being a dual citizen). now, he wants to bring the wife to the US. how can he do it if the marriage certificate shows that he is a filipino? can he just show his naturalization papers or does he need to change the nationality indicated in the marriage certificate from filipino to american? thank you.

Here’s what Bob had to say:

Hello makeup newbie – Honestly, I see nothing unusual about your friend’s case. He files for the immigration of his wife. If any questions are asked by the US Immigration people, he just tells them that he is a dual citizen. No problems. No fuss at all.

This is what Ron had to say:

Hi John,Thanks for the info on 13a.I travel back to Australia every 13 weeks(have been doing it for four and a half years).I am on a pention that if I am not there in person every 13 weeks they will stop my pension.I have 2 more trips to do Aug and Nov then I qualify for the age pension.That is the time I will apply for permanent residency.I will have to go to Cebu to do this and i hope it will all go smoothly.Yes Cebu Pacific do require you to have a ticket out of the country.The one time I didnt have they refused to stamp my passport and I had to buy a ticket at the airport before they would let me in.Cebu Pacific also got fined 50,000 peso for letting me on the plane in Singapore without said ticket.Also it is a lot cheaper to do all your extensions at one time for the limit of your stay.You can save over 2000 peso over a 13 week stay.You are only paying the express fee once.I assume all the documents for the 13a can be down loaded off the internet?As to Kurt his behavior is something that we expats find disturbing as it reflects on all of us.

Visa

This is John’s reply:

Ron: Yes, they are all downloadable, and some of the NSO docs can be ordered online.

Getting back to the school routine and adjusting to new workloads takes some getting used to after a long summer break. Meeting new people or getting reacquainted with classmates can feel overwhelming.

Many stores here started to have back to school promo for their school supplies. In this time, people would really grab every opportunity to buy discounted stuff.

In any public school here, one requirements before your child will be enrolled (elementary or high school) is through school brigada (the mom or dad would contribute their time to help clean and prepare the school in time for the opening of classes). Private institution doesn’t require this campaign though.

Are you ready for school year 2012-2013?

The Global Pinoy Center is owned by SM, and can be found in almost all of the SM Malls around the country now.  The Global Pinoy Center is primarily aimed at Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s), and the member ship to the Center is limited to OFW’s and other Filipinos who have traveled or worked abroad.  Expats can also qualify for membership in the Global Pinoy Center.

I joined the GPC about 6 months ago or so, and I am glad that I did.  I find that I use it on a fairly regular basis.

Global Pinoy Center at SM Malls

The cost of membership in the Global Pinoy Center is around P150 per year.  Since it’s been a while since I joined, I don’t remember the exact cost, but as I recall we got a 2 year membership for P300 each (Feyma and I each joined).

What can you do at the Global Pinoy Center?  Well, to be honest, most of the services are things that I don’t and won’t use.  Things like making phone calls overseas, doing cash remittances and such.  These services are squarely aimed at the OFW members, and really are the primary reason for the existence of GPC.  But, I like the GPC for other reasons:

1. They have a “storefront” in SM that is in a quiet, not well traveled area.  I can go there to relax and not get inundated with people who “know me” from seeing me on the web.  Because of this, I can meet with friends, or just sit down and have a cup of coffee or read the newspaper without constant interruption.
2. You get free coffee, tea, water and other refreshments.  Want 2 or 3 cups of coffee?  It’s not a problem, you can have as many cups of coffee as you want, and it’s free.  Want a Latte?  Yep, they have those too!  All free.  It’s included in the membership fee of just P150 or so per year.  Heck, if you go to Starbucks or Bo’s coffee shops, you’ll spend nearly P150 for one cup of coffee!
3. They have a full selection of current newspapers, magazines and such for you to read.
4. It is a nice comfortable place with nice couches, padded chairs where you can relax.
5. They even have computers which are free to use, and have internet access.
6. If you prefer to use your own computer, you can bring your laptop or Smartphone and connect to their wireless network.
7. If you are shopping and need to use the rest room, the GPC has a very nice rest room, which is clean and stocked with toilet paper, soap, etc. for your comfort and convenience.
8. They have a currency exchange counter, where you can exchange dollars or other foreign currencies into Philippine Pesos.

All of these services are for members only, so it keeps the crowd down.  In fact, whenever I have gone to the GPC, usually I am the only one there, or maybe 2 or 3 other people at the most.  It’s quiet, well lit, well decorated, and really a nice service.

The Global Pinoy Center!  I think it’s a great place.  I was even reluctant to share information about it here, because I don’t want it to get too popular, and spoil the peace and quiet I can find there!

Additional note:  As a member, whenever you visit you are entitled to bring one guest with you.  So, if you want to bring a friend who is not a member, he may also enter with you, based on your membership.

What is the debate?

Who do you write for?

Do you write for Google, or do you write for human readers?

What do I mean?

Writing for Google

Those who write for Google are very big on researching everything before they write at all.

1. What topics does Google like, and pay a premium for?
2. What keywords should I feature in my article, and especially in the title, to capitalize on what I can earn from Google?
3. What other “white hat” tricks can I employ to squeeze a bit more money out of Google?

Do you write for Google?

These types of considerations are very important for those who “write for Google.”  You may have a hard time what I mean about “writing for Google.”  You see, because Google advertising (AdSense) is featured on many blogs, a lot of people concentrate very deeply on what they must do to make Google happy, and maximize the revenue that they get from Google through their advertising program.  Of course, real live humans have to come to their blog for them to earn anything, but many people have the attitude that their first concern is to please Google, and that will maximize the earnings when real people come to their sites.

Writing for humans

The opposite consideration is to concentrate your writing on what your readers want to read.  To write information that is entertaining or informative to the people who visit your site.  I am a big believer in writing for humans.  The way that I see it, if I write articles that are interesting to read, that will bring more traffic to my site, and the earnings of the site will take care of themselves.

Of course, there is a balance that must be considered.  You can’t, in my opinion, go 100% in either direction.  If you write 100% for Google your articles might be very dry, and uninteresting.  If your articles are not interesting, nobody will visit your site, and thus you will make nothing from advertising.  On the other hand, if you totally write for humans and don’t even consider what is good for your revenue, then a lot of people may read your site, but you won’t make any money.  You have to find a balance, and capitalize on it.  I prefer to lean pretty far toward the “human” side, and I don’t concentrate much at all on what Google wants.  I often tell people that I don’t write for computers (like Google’s web crawlers), I write for my readers.  The truth is, you still have to put a little effort into making sure that you will be in line with Google’s policies though.

Remedies

Truth is, if you concentrate more on your readers, you might, and probably will, get a bit of a ding from Google, and make less than if you really concentrated all of your efforts on doing what Google’s computers want.  But, there is a remedy for that, one that I have found to be very effective.

What are those remedies?

Consider writing an eBook

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.  Find other ways to monetize your site, other than just Google advertising.

What I have found to be very effective is selling my own products and services.  Selling eBooks on the topic that you write about.  Writing and selling books on the topic of your site.  Truth is, these products are much more profitable than advertising in most cases.

I am not saying that you should eliminate advertising on your site, but what I am saying is that you should not count on it for 100% of your income.

Think about this, most pay per click advertising pays a very small amount.  Based on my contractual commitment to Google, I cannot give specifics in terms of how much you get when somebody clicks on your ad, but let me say that most publishers make only a small amount from pay per click advertising.  Yes, there are some people who make thousands of dollars, even tens of thousands.  Such people are rare, though.  Some people only make $1 per month or so.  I don’t know what the average is, but I would guess that the average blogger makes less than $20 per month from pay per click advertising.

Now, I have a lot of eBooks that I have published.  I have eBooks that cost from $9.99 up to $49.00.  If I sell one of those eBooks, I have made more than a lot of people make for a whole month.  And, on average, I sell more than one eBook every day.  Sometimes I sell way more than one book in a day.  But, it is rare that a day goes by that I don’t sell at least one book.  I also make a “way above average” amount from advertising on my sites.

My motto is to make sure that I don’t do something that gets me penalized by Google, but other than that, I write what my readers want (at least that is what I try to do, of course some articles are more successful than others). I find that it works for me.

How can you get penalized by Google?  By breaking their rules.  Some things that Google will penalize you for are simple mistakes like having poor spelling or grammar on your site.  Of course, nobody has perfect spelling, everybody makes mistakes, but just try to minimize the mistakes.  Don’t publish duplicate content, that will get you on Google’s bad side.  What is duplicate content?  Having the exact same article on your site that appears on other sites too.  It’s not hard to stay on Google’s good side, just make a commitment to yourself that you are going to do that, and you will likely come out just fine.

So, my advice is to write for your readers, follow Google’s quality policies, and aim for a mix in revenue sources for your site.  If you do this, and keep doing it over time, it is likely that you will experience some success in publishing on the net.

Good luck.

Here’s what Janice had to say:

Hi Bob,

I have a 16 yr old daughter who was born in San Francisco, Ca. We moved here in the Phils. when she was 7 yrs old using a Philippine Passport. Right now, she has both Phil and US passport. My questions are: 1. Does she needs to renounce her Filipino citizen when she reaches 18 yrs old? 2. If yes, how can she keep her filipino citizen? does she needs to have her renewal of US passport be done in the US? How old can a naturalized born US citizen petition her parents? I am a Filipino citizen… Hoping you can help me with these… Thank you and more power to you..

Here’s what Bob had to say:

1. I see no reason why she should renounce any citizenship at any age.

2. By doing nothing she will be a US and Philippine citizen, in my opinion.

3. She can renew her US passport anywhere in the world.

4. I am sorry, I know nothing about what the steps are for her to sponsor you to the USA.

Good luck to you and your daughter.

This is the best time to give thanks or say thank you to our beautiful mothers for all the things they have done for us. Especially for taking care of us everyday.

All Mothers’ deserve to be loved and respected. Because being a Mother is really not an easy job.

To all the mommies around the world, HAPPY MOTHER”s DAY!

This is what Claudette had to say:

In terms of obtaining a 13 series resident visa, I think the entire process is perfectly doable without a lawyer. All it takes is to know the process and not to be intimidated by the immigration personnel. A great deal of patience is also necessary as they (BOI personnel) seem to think you are at their mercy and can make you wait as much as they want to get whatever it is you need from them.

But in fairness to the BOI satellite office, they processed our papers very quickly. I do wonder though if it is a big factor that the petitioning spouse (myself), is an Ombudsman lawyer. hehehe… maybe…:p

Visa

This is John’s reply:

Claudette:

The BOI people at Intramuros were fine to me… As I mentioned, it was foreigners usually causing the problems. The regulations are complex, and that office is very busy, so, as you said, patience is really what it’s all about.