Blogging made easy

By Neil Ray Ramos

No doubt, computers have become a way of life for most; if not for work, then, at the very least, for leisure.

More than a means to travel the world without a need for passport or reading new books without the need for a library card, computers allow for many pleasurable activities, including tons of games, downloading songs, videos and what not.

And then there is blogging.

For those not in the know, blogging is simply the act of maintaining a blog (a simplification of the term Web log) Web site, which contains commentary or news on a particular subject, or other material such as graphics or video. Most often than not it also function as a personal ?online diary.?

There are many kinds of blogs, of course. Though most blogs are primarily text-based, some, and not a few, focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which most often form part of a wider network.

Blogging have become quite popular among technophiles. Recent survey shows in fact that there are already more than 112 million blogs in existence. Count among them that of musician Jett Pangan.

Yes, the lead singer of legendary rock group, The Dawn, is now part of this seeming craze.

?I?ve been doing this since 2005,? he shares.

His reason? To simply communicate. ?We owe our success to our fans who supported us throughout our career,? said Pangan. ?This is why we value them. To show our appreciation, we try to communicate with them regularly.?

Blogging says Pangan is a boon not only for him but for the music industry in general.

?Blogs are now very important to the music industry. It is one of the easiest ways to stay in touch with fans and keep them updated with the latest news and gig schedules. It is also a way for us to exchange ideas and share our thoughts to more people?fast and easy,? he said.

And it is going to become even easier with the Microsoft Office 2007, the latest productivity suite from Microsoft, which actually includes a redesigned user interface (UI) in all its applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook with additional applications that give users easier ways to do daily tasks in the quickest time possible.

According to Pangan, the most useful application in the 2007 Microsoft Office system is Microsoft Office OneNote 2007.

?OneNote 2007 is a digital notebook that allows for me to easily jot down thoughts and ideas which I can later organize to create blog entries or write lyrics. For a blogger and musician like me, this is good news indeed,? he enthused.

Pangan says he has tried various ways to produce and publish entries. ?There was a time when I used to compose my blogs online, and every time I lose Internet connection, everything I wrote would just disappear. After a while, I tried a new way?using Notepad. This worked for a while but having to copy-paste one entry to all the sites used to take me more than 30 minutes.?

?When I discovered OneNote and the enhancements in Microsoft Word 2007, composing blogs for our site became much easier to do,? continues Pangan. ?Now posting online can be done in just one click in Microsoft Word and it automatically updates all the sites I want to post my entries to.?

Pangan added that OneNote 2007 is also useful as a songwriting tool. ?There?s this function in OneNote that works like a voice recorder which comes in handy for a lyricist like me.?

Pangan believes that Microsoft Office 2007 is a great example of software that provides users with the easiest and most convenient ways to do their tasks. ?You don?t have to be a techie to learn your way around Office 2007. Even users with just a basic background on computers are ready to tap and take advantage of the new capabilities of this technology,? he said.

According to Marivi Abueg, Microsoft Office product manager of Microsoft Philippines, ?OneNote 2007 demonstrates how technology helps individuals perform different tasks more efficiently. For people who enjoy blogging, like Jett, this digital notebook allows them to gather thoughts and organize a variety of files from text to images to Web, even audio and video recordings easily. From within OneNote, they can then go direct to Microsoft Word to finalize the entry, before publishing to multiple blogs in one click.?

?Jett?s use of Microsoft Office and Windows Live demonstrates how technology is relevant to all sectors of society. It also shows that the benefits of Office applications go beyond the school and workplace. With Office 2007 and Windows Live, he?s easily able to bring his music and ideas closer to his fans and in the process, inspire other musicians as well,? Abueg concluded.

*Just recently Pangan signed up to become part of the Microsoft Office Icons campaign, a project which brings together a group of individuals who have made a significant mark in their respective fields, influenced other people to pursue their own goals by making technology an essential part of their lifestyle.