Blogger Stories: Jayvee Fernandez

Jayvee Fernandez's story begins in the Philippines winds its way towards Australia and Canada (via b5media) and eventually finds its way back home to the Philippines. Jayvee's virtual round the world paid journey is complemens of the blogopshere. He is proving that pro blogging can be a viable career path. Jayvee is also committed to giving back. He is working to develop a support network to help Filipino bloggers understand how they too can succeed in social media.

Blogger Story Teller: Jayvee Fernandez, A Bugged Life

In a few days I will be celebrating my first year anniversary as a professional blogger with b5media's Cellphone9. This is monumental for several reasons: "C9" is actually b5's very first blog domain to be registered. Second, because of b5, several other channels were opened up for me to grow in, including Know More Media's business network.

But beyond these two reasons is a third all-encompasing epiphany that has grown me into a place I never would have expected to be in, back in 2005. Last year, confused by the pangs of quarter life crisis, I was moving from one job to another - I'm an educator by course but have tried out stints in development work, real estate, and marketing. All this time though I have been writing and editing for a home grown tech mag in the Philippine Islands called Mobile Philippines.

So in spite of all the job switches, the one thing constant in my life was writing and technology. I had also been blogging  since 2002 but mainly as a means to chronicle my life and improve my writing - a la Livejournal style. Confused but hopeful, I jumped into writing for b5media late last year, knowing "hey, what could I lose?" And it sounded like fun anyway.

It was at that same period when I decided to go full time into the print publishing industry because that's where I felt most fulfilled after wandering through jobs. It was only in March of 2006 when I felt like I wanted to do exactly what I was doing for the next several years: You see, I found my niche - the publishing industry - online publishing and print publishing together in one. What a unique opportunity this was!

On the print side, I've been made in charge of my company's online efforts because they knew I was blogging for a living. On the problogging stint, b5media and KMM have been very good to me and I owe them a lot.

Blogging in the Philippines is an interesting phenomena, especially when it comes to monetizing. Earning in dollars is a big deal. In the Philippines, my total ad earnings actually match those of a middle manager in a multinational corporation (that is actually why a lot of foreigners end up in the Philippines for vacations, because it is cheap). For instance, USD $1.50 can already buy you lunch.

I don't want to call myself a blog evangelist, but 2006 is the year where I'm helping establish the local network of bringing Filipino bloggers together and encouraging others to blog seriously. The Philippines prides itself for being good communicators in English through print and spoken word (another reason why foreigners love to vacation here - no need to translate). Who would have thought that blogging could be a diverse and fun industry?

Comments

[Robyn Tippins]

Jayvee is a nice guy. I work with him at b5 and Know More Media and he's always going above and beyond to help out fellow bloggers. :)

[Easton Ellsworth]

Jayvee's a nice guy and a fine blogger. I hope his support group project is successful.