Show me the money

disclaimer: not a real ad

I was listening to the radio a few nights ago on the way home from work. As is my usual habit, I was tuned in to the Disenchanted Kingdom on 99.5RT (love, love, love that show!). Onboard that night together with the regulars was Kell (Kel?), one of the unoffical members of the Kingdom's court.

Although not a regular, I like Kell (Kel?). He's both intelligent and funny, which makes him a good contributor to the show. I think he's been friends with the rulers of the Kingdom for a while, because he falls naturally in sync with them. He sounds good over the radio too.

Anyway, that's not the point.

It turns out that Kell (Kel?) works for Nuffnang. If you've been around the net world long enough and you read other blogs (which I'm sure you do because seriously, mine cannot possibly be the only one you read. If it was, I'm grateful to you... but I might also be secretly judging you...) then you would have at least heard/seen Nuffnang, even if you're exactly sure what it is.

I'm not exactly sure of it myself. But looking up their website I can see a descriptive phrase underneath its logo. It is a "blog advertising community". Right. I see. Ok. Now, from what I can gather, Nuffnang seems to be where bloggers get together to form the mass and scale they need to be taken seriously by advertisers. I think it's kind of like a collective where Nuffnang is the Borg Queen. Nuffnang takes the ads, then distributes it among its members, placing it in blogs where the ad is most relevant, ie. an ad about diapers in a mommy blog. Or an ad about a clothing store in a fashion blog. They also send out bloggers for different marketing events where brands and companies are trying to generate word-of-mouth.

Some people make a lot of money from blogging. Some people make some extra money from blogging. And then there are the some people like me, who make no money from blogging at all.

So that got me thinking, (insert Carrie Bradshaw-esque voice here) can I actually make money with my blog? And if I could, would it even make money at all? More importantly, is my blog even worth an advertiser's time? I'm not famous, I have no specialization, most of my readers are my friends... will companies really think I can bring them the target market they seek?

I've been told on a few occassions that I write well. I always say I write the same way I speak. Read any of my pieces and you can imagine me saying it outloud to you, gesticulations and all. But is a talent for writing enough to make yourself a worthwhile blogger? After all, if you're going to be followed the least you can do is give your followers something substantial, something... relevant.

Am I relevant? At most I'd say I'm good for a few laughs. Or wry smiles.

Maybe I should have a gimmick. Some fancy, creative, kooky idea that sets me apart and makes me more interesting. With a gimmick, I become more than just a blogger, I can become a brand. A brand means something. It stands for something. It's the symbol that says you're not just regular, but special. Yes, like that little red dot on top of the siopao that says, "same out the outside, different on the inside."

Everybody wants to be special, don't they?

Maybe.

But the truth is, I just want to be me. Me when I write. Me when I think. Me when I talk to you via my blog piece. I'm not built for fancy, creative and kooky ideas. I just like to think. And write. And hope that what I think and write about are what you wanted to think and read about too.

In the introduction of Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote of authors:

"When he casts his leaves forth upon the wind, the author addresses, not the many who will fling aside his volume, or never take it up, but the few who will understand him better that most of his schoolmates or lifemates... to imagine that a friend, a kind and apprehensive, though not the closest friend, is listening to our talk."

It's exciting to imagine that I can get paid for doing this. The real question is whether I should.

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It's all in the Mind

This is Manuel A. Blas II, one of Philippine Town & Country's 101 People You Must Meet Right Now. Well... I have not only met him. I am friends with him and his lovely wife. How do you like them apples? :P

I could name a million reasons why you should meet Manny Blas: for the intelligent conversations, for his genuine concern and care, for the wisdom he can impart and for the laughter that he can bring. But Town and Country credits him primarily for being the Managing Director of The Mind Museum, the country's first world-class Science Museum. Yeah, that's a good reason too.

The Mind Museum formally opens its doors to the public on March 16. But we were lucky enough to get our minds moved almost a month earlier than everyone else.

The visit turned out to be a mini reunion of sorts for the Singles Apostolate, with probably a little over 200 members coming in full force that day. Some still single, some now married and came bringing along their kid(s). Almost 12 years old, this Apostolate is proof that what relationship God has brought together, no man can rend apart.

SE threeeeeeee

SE siiiiiiiiiiiiiiix

The first stop at the Museum is Adei's corner, whose short welcome spiel prepares you for the scientific wonders you're about to see inside. Once she finishes, a human Mind Mover (more boringly-known as the tour guide), takes over to begin your journey of science.

Aedi is idea spelled backwards

new found friends

I normally like tour guides. I like that they are repositories of information that you'd never have known if you just did a tour by yourself. When I'm with a guide, I like to stick as close to him as possible so I catch everything. Plus, I ask them a lot of questions. Unfortunately, there were still technical difficulties coming from the guide's audio speaker and I couldn't understand anything that he was saying. I know the Museum people are working on that right now but for that afternoon, we just decided to slip away from the pack and dive straight into the exhibits.

this is me, getting at the good stuff

Majority of those on display were built for interaction. And nearly all of them come with instructions. But there is something about being in a place like this that just switches on the inner kid inside of me. That meant I deftly ignored all written things and just started poking around like a 5 year old hyped-up on sugar.

To illustrate, I entered room and saw nothing inside but a large timer and a green button. Not knowing what else to do, I snuck up to the button, thought for two seconds, then decided to press it. I then darted my eyes around the room waiting to see what would happen. The timer started its countdown, a flash went off... and there was my shadow on the wall! Woohoo!!! *grin*

look closely, my shadow is there!

My friends and I played with different poses for a while but we had barely scratched the Museum's surface. So I left the room and went off for further exploration.

looking through the eyes of science

a hair-raising experience (one of my fave exhibits!)

ooooh. look at the pretty colors... (it's an illustration of the food chain)

A lifesize periodic table of elements! Galeng!

and they show you stuff that has that element in it! Here's a banana for potassium

I have to admit that in my excitement, I practically rushed through the first half the museum. Fueled by adrenalin, I was just darting from one exhibit to the next, trying to get to them before the crowds came and ruin my shot. Like the one below.

teh... sino ka? At ba't ka nasa picture ko? hahaha...

Oh well. If at first you don't succeed then try and try again.

me and my baby butanding

I was a little surprised at how small and compact the inside of the Museum was. Especially when you think about how big it is outside. I initially thought that we'd be able to finish the exhibits quickly. I was even afraid that I might get bored. But believe me, that would never happen. This place has got tons to do. If you're not careful, you can actually miss some of the smaller exhibits. Don't make that mistake. Otherwise you'd miss out on the really cool details they put into this place.

...like a tiny Lara Croft telling you about fossils

...or the really tiny dinosaurs

...and this tiny replica of an earthquake

...that comes with a straightforward warning

It's easy to gloss over the small stuff because of the huge massive stuff the Museum has. And it's not like the big stuff were just big for bigness' sake. They were quite enjoyable to interact with and you learn a lot from them (if you bother to read the signs... which I didn't... but I'm assuming they would have been very informative if I did. hahaha). It's the kind of stuff that makes you go, "wow..."

wow... a t-rex

wow... a huge human brain

wow... old people. like really, really, really, really old people

wow.. fossilized dinosaur poo (no. seriously. it's dinosaur poo.)

Besides, their being big just offered you the perfect photo opp moment.

me and my t-rex

me and the guy who walks in space

By the time I had reached the second floor, I started to lose steam. I stopped actively looking for buttons to press and when I couldn't figure something out with trial and error, I move on to the next thing on display. I still appreciated everything up there but I mostly watched other people play with them rather than do it myself. It was still fun and it allowed me the chance to catch my breath.

friends operating the primitive printer (at si kuyang hindi namin kilala...)

friend playing on a harp with no strings and yet plays music

At the end of it, 3 hours was probably just about enough time to see the exhibits and appreciate what a world class Science Museum has to offer. If you spend less time in there, I'd say that you really didn't get to know much of what was put up. Spend more than that, then I'd congratulate you for your thirst for knowledge. It's definitely something I'd love to go back to. I'll bring along my nephews. I'm pretty sure even after my 3 hours there, I probably missed an exhibit or two.

But boy do I feel smarter already!

can you read my mind?

On a completely unrelated note, I sigh unhappily at my pictures. I really should learn how to take better shots. :-S

Meanwhile, I'm not sure how this got into my cam...

The Mind Museum is located at JY Campos Park, 3rd Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig , Metro Manila Philippines. Different ticket types are available: Adults at Php600.oo, Children and Private School Students (including college) at Php450.00, Public School Students (up to college) at Php150.00 and Teachers at Php150.00. Tickets are now onsale at their website at http://www.themindmuseum.org/.

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