Toastmaster Speech # 3: GET TO THE POINT

TITLE: BLOGGING MAKES ME HAPPY

Does any one of you here write blogs or maintains a blogsite online?

If you already have a blog or planning to create one, I would like to share to you my ideas about writing a blog and why blogging makes me happy.

For the time allotted to me I will try to talk about:

1. What is a Blog?

2. Types of Blogs

3. How to Create a Blog?

What is a Blog?

According to the online Reference Wikipedia,

A blog is derived from a contraction of the term – “weblog”
It is also known as “online diary”

This word can be used as a Noun or a Verb.

As a Noun
- it is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

As a verb
- it means to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries.

A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic.

Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order meaning the latest being on the top of the page.

One of the important part of a blog is it ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format.

Types of Blogs

- Most blogs are primarily textual
- It cal also focus on a particular Genre such as
- Art (artlog)
- Photographs (photoblog)
- Sketches (sketchblog)
- Videos (vlog)
- Music (MP3 blog)
- Audio (podcasting).

- Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts. Example is Twitter

1. Personal Blogs

The personal blog is something that one wants to write about. Just like an ongoing diary of an individual on a specific topic.

Some personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, and often becomes a way to communicate to their readers.

2. Corporate blogs
A Corporate blog has its main reasons for its existence and it is for business purposes. Corporate Blogs can either be used internally to enhance the communication within the organization or externally for marketing, branding or advertising products and services to the public.

3. By device

Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. One example is a a blog that written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA – MOBLOG

With the ongoing software evolution anyone can make their own personal websites or blogs easily. For novice and non-technical people running your blog for Free is possible.

Presently there are many websites that Offers Blogs for Free, however, among them the 2 most popular ones are WORDPRESS.COM AND BLOGGER.COM.

WordPress is owned by Matthew Charles Mullenweg, a 25 yr old entrepreneur from San Francisco, California while Blogger is Owned by a Search Engine giant Google. When it comes to versatility, design and ease of use, I would prefer WordPress against Blogger.

The design is typically simple but if you have the knowledge you can tweak it to look more artistic or you can customize it your own.

How to Create a Blog?

* First, Find out what you want to blog or write about?

If you like to blog about your Hobby, your dog, vacation or travel, or your journey toward achieving success in your weight loss challenge, or just the heck getting a blogsite and you are not sure what to write, and then fine. You can write anything under the heat of the sun or above the skies, there is no limit.

* Decide on the name of your blogsite. Free hosted Blogsites like wordpress.com or Blogger will give you a sub domain. You need to have an email address in order to create your own blogsite.

Example: If your blogsite name is “traveler”

http://wordpress.com/traveler

In Blogger: http://traveler.blogsite.com

Once you created your blogsite, you can then login as the Administrator on the backend and tweak its theme, design, add widgets, or you don’t have to do an additional effort on your part as most designs are ready to go.

* You can then start posting or “blogging to your blog”. It is best to feed your blog with posts on a regular basis and every time you post a blog there will be a timestamp to indicate the Date and time your blog is published.
As I mentioned it is arranged in a reverse chronological order being the latest on the top of the page entries.

In my own personal experience:

I started blogging in 2005 as a matter of fact I have no clue how to blog at first until I stumbled upon a website that talks about the Benefits of Blogging. Since then it has become my HOBBY.

I am not a pro writer but I have a passion for writing and to create a niche where my unlimited imaginations will be tested.

I write blogs about anything and one of the niche that I did is about popular Filipino Artists in the Entertainment Industry especially in Hollywood.

Writing Blogs allows me to share my thoughts and personal ideas on certain topics. I am confident that my ways of writing as in “Blogging”, it helps me loosen up some emotions and relieves stress as I started punching the key board to express my thoughts.

I always make time to write especially in my spare moments. I have a keen observation on what’s going on in this planet and kept myself abreast with the latest technology.

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG THAT IS THE QUESTION.

With myriads of ideas and opinions passed around the net at certain rate per second, Blogging is a great tool for anyone who has no Journalism background to throw his ideas into the mix of the WILD WILD WEB.

Knowing how to Blog may or may not matter to you but in this world of where we live were technology seems to part of our life, knowing about this is a good thing.

If you have a blog , it is your choice if you want to keep the anonymity of your blog or if you want to promote your blog on the web.

You can list your blog to major Directories and Search Engines like yahoo and Google. Once your blog is indexed, you will be competing with millions of blogs to acquire popularity in these search engines.

If you ask me DOES BLOGGING MAKE ME HAPPY, my answer is….absolutely YES.
Other than the Fact that this is my Hobby, BLOGGING ALSO MAKES ME MONEY. If you want to ask me how? I believe this speech will run longer than expected but you can write me an email if you want to know.
You can visit my one of my blog at www.webarticlesdepot.com and tell me what you think.

One thing for sure I want to tell you is that this niche has become most fulfilling to me. Thank You!

I constantly monitored her status by calling every 12 hours. i even spoke with the doctor and she revealed to me that my mom has complicated ailments, her lungs, heart and kidney were all in severe condition. Knowing all these made me panic that I have to board the earliest plane to the Philippines.

It’s great if you have friends around you. When my brother died, I took the financial responsibility helping my sister-in-law  and gave a descent burial to my brother. The financial toll hit hard when have to do it all by myself for my mother. My friends are very helpful in extending their financial support to help raise the money to help my financial burden.

My home coming is to grieve and bury my mother. After 11 years years of being away in the Philippines, it is not easy to cope with the lifestyle anymore, not withstanding the heat, smog and facilities, i tell you it was a hard adjustment for me. A good friend accommodated me in her abode and treated me very well. My friends are all beside me physically and virtually. My Inbxo is exploding with emails how things are going and  I f I am ok. Thanks to all my Bffs and I really appreciate your efforts being with me in my crisis.

The burial interment was great and my mother deserved it. She will be happy i know and her togetjer with my brother are smiling for what we did for them. I can fly back to Toronto with peace of mind and be with my family who missed me a lot already.

There is no question that the Internet is now a mainstream in our society in which people, organizations and institutions are connected between different networks. It is even part of your Utilities Bill. Because of its convenience as a communications tool, it makes the world smaller. However, with the paradigm shift to this technology in some ways, the norm in human behavior had been affected. Internet has been a major source of leisure where more users tend to abandon the traditional and old-fashioned activities, such as watching TV in the favor of the Internet.

Mr. Toastmaster, Fellow toastmasters, honored guests would you like to know …WHO’S ONLINE?

As per Morgan Stanley Analysis

22 % – Communications
16 % – Social Connections
14% – Entertainment and Leisure
8 % – Shopping and travel
6 % – Work, Business and Education
35 % – All Other

1. Communications – Sending Email

2. Social Connections – This replaced the traditional Pen Pal writing. Face book, My Space, Linked-in and other social networking sites like dating sites

3. Entertainment/Leisure – People spend more time in watching or downloading movies, videos, audios, Playing Online Games, Gambling than playing scrabble or chess anymore.

4. Shopping and Travel –People go to the stores directly to buy stuff or see a travel agent when booking a trip, now you can shop online looking for best deals in order to save.

5. Work Business/Education- Before we go to the library to do our research or physically attend school to study or come to work but the internet makes us do research online, work at home by logging into to company’s web-site and take courses online.

6. All Other – anything from Surfing, going to Chat rooms, using search engines, creating websites, blogging, doing online business and lots more.

I would like to emphasize on No.6 “ All Other” which is however, besides these common things these are the reasons why people are always hooked up to the internet

1. Surfing the web

People surf the Internet to search for topics of interest using search engines. Using the power of the search engines you can type a word or two about the topic into the search box of your browser and you will find numerous websites with information for you to pursue.

2. Chat rooms
A website where visitors can exchange messages by typing them onscreen and a conversation develops with other user in the same chat room.
Ex. Yahoo chat room. Once logged in into Yahoo, you can see people in your address book that are logged in and you can start chatting with them.

3. Instant Message

Don’t get confused with chat rooms and instant messaging. It can be a bit similar but this is a fun way to interact online. It’s the internet version of talking on the phone.
Ex. Yahoo IM, ICQ, AOL IM, MSN IM. etc

You have to download IM Software, add a contact, and type your message into the pop up box and your conversation will be displayed. You can plug a webcam to see each other online. While webcam is attached there is a talk feature where you can hear each other on the other end. You can chat to more than one contact at the same time

3. Writing Blog

Blog is an expression about anything you wanted to say on certain topic that seemed like a diary. It is collaborative and you need to write stuff on an ongoing basis.

Create Blog using free blog sites online or you can have it hosted for a fee. You can upload images and photos as long as your web space allows. Most of them are very user friendly with easy to follow instructions. People like me who have a passion for blogging loves to write blogs and in which the unlimited imaginations will be tested. The popular blog software that are commonly used are WordPress and Blogger.
4. Creating website

Websites can be for personal or for business purposes. Although to some this may sound complicated if you don’t have html lessons, but there are free websites online that offer free hosting as well. Website can also be similar to blog sites.

5. Message boards

Who among you here ever joined a message board? They are also called forums. People who joined this board share common interests in a certain topic. The topic of discussion is presented and the members send their own opinions, comments and ideas that will benefit others. It is a great way to interact with other people if you have questions that needs solutions. The thread goes on and on and messages are sent back ad forth until a closure to the topic is established. It can be moderated or non-moderated sometimes.

As you can see, Internet has many uses. You can find information on any subject; promote your niche through blogs and websites, meet new friends, participate in online discussions or message boards, chat rooms, stay in touch with friends and family, and much more. However, some people tend to overdo their online activities than it should be.

Sitting for more than 4 hours straight without standing can cause back pains and aches on the body, posture issues, or it could be some carpal tunnel, tendinitis, or even blood clot, you name it.

It is advisable that while doing some online activity on your pc;

1. Sit properly in a good chair comfortably without hunching in front of the keyboard.

2. Stand up every half an hour to stretch or walk around. Stretch your neck, flex your head forward/backward, side to side and look right and left. Never roll your head around your neck. This could cause damage to the joints of the neck.

3. To help prevent blood clots from developing in your legs, stretch your calves. Blood clots are very common among middle-aged computer users.

4. Roll your wrists regularly (this will help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome if you spend a lot of time typing)

5. Roll your ankles regularly, this helps improve blood circulation (and that tingling feeling you can get when blood circulation is cut off, also known as “Pins and Needles”).

6. Contract your abdominal and gluteal muscles, hold them there for a few seconds, then release. Repeat this for every few minutes all day long while you are working at your desk.

7. While sitting, Stretch your arms, legs, neck and torso while sitting to help prevent you from feeling stiff.

8. Take a few deep breaths. If possible, get some fresh air in your lungs.

9. Have a bottle of water by your side and make a habit of drinking some every half hour. If you do this consistently you will begin to feel more alert and in the long run you will get thinner.

Thank you for listening to my Internet Facts and Online tips. If you are one of those who believe that Internet is something that you can’t live without, then practice good habits and still keep at pace with your traditional activities that can create balance in your life. Regardless you are newbie or a pro to the internet; there’s always something for everyone.
The internet is a very useful tool. Make the most of it and enjoy!

In line with the current theme I am pleased to present My word of the Day

frisson: ” \free-sohn\, noun: – A moment of intense excitement; a shudder; an emotional thrill.
Origin – Frisson comes from the French, from Old French friçon, “a trembling,” ultimately from Latin frigere, “to be cold.”
Sentence – When we think a story hasn’t been invented, there’s an extra frisson in reading it.

According to the Toastmaster Bible:

Grammarian: The Grammarian will note the words and sounds used as a ‘crutch’ or ‘pause filler’ by anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate interjections such as ‘and’, ‘well’, ‘but’, ‘so’, ‘you know’. Sounds may be ‘ah’, ‘um’, ‘er’. The Grammarian also introduces a Word of the Day. It should be a word that will help us increase our vocabulary – a word that can easily be incorporated into everyday conversation. In letters large enough to be seen from the back of the room, print your word, the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective or adverb), and a brief definition. Prepare a sentence on how to use your word. Towards the end of the meeting, the Grammarian will be called by the General Evaluator to give a report, i.e., number of times the Word of the Day was used and the number of “ums” and “Ahs” that were counted.

Good after noon fellow Toastmasters, Honored Guests My name is Sandra! It is my Pleasure and honor to be your Toastmaster of the Day. This is my First time to assume this role and standing in front of you today as a Toastmaster is not easy; but then I said to myself why not give it a whirl as I’d better do it now or else what is the point of joining Toastmasters.

I would like to thank the guests that despite of their busy schedule they managed to attend to our meeting, my friend from Advisor 411, Deyanira Jackson…et al

What is funny is that while I was thinking of a theme, I thought I would base it on the Word of the Day “Tattoo” which was originally sent by our Grammarian, Wendy. I thought “Dancing with Life” is as close as it can be. Why? This reminds me of men and women with marks and paints on their faces and bodies dancing to the beat of the drums as they dance through the Mardigras or Ethnic Festivities.

I thought that was it, but then yesterday, I got another email from our Grammarian that she is going to change the Word of the Day change based on the THEME. Well I said sure why not, and you know what, it worked and this time we have more reasons to Dance with life as we are seeing the “undulation” of the Stock Market. We in the real world might not notice it but we are also dancing with Life since birth…as we inevitably face various life situations least to say this particular Recession. Many of us could be dancing with life gracefully while others can be dancing offbeat on their feet…. and that’s the fun part of it.

Ok Considering that we have 3 speakers instead f the usual 2, this meeting will be a fast-moving meeting considering and as should limit the number of Table Topics to accommodate the time frame.

Ok… Let me call on our grammarian Wendy for the Word of the Day.

Before we start to the most awaited part, the Table topics, I am going to introduce to you some major role players for today’s meeting.

Our Speech evaluator is Kevin Pennycoke.

Our Timer- Bill, can you please explain the timings for various speeches?

General Evaluator – Elsie,

Now to get everyone adrenalin going I would like to give the floor to our Table Topics Master, Greg.

Objectives of Each Speech

Speaker # 1 – Evelyn Fernandez ( Speech No. 2) –ORGANIZE YOUR SPEECH
1) To select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech
2) Make your message clear with supporting material directly contributing to that message
3) Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another
4) Create a strong opening and conclusion.

Speaker # 2 – Helena Pathinathan (Speech No. 3) GET TO THE POINT
1) To select an appropriate topic and determine its general and specific purposes
2) Organize the speech in a manner that best achieves these purposes
3) Ensure the beginning; body and conclusion reinforce the purposes
4) Project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness
5) Strive not to use Notes

Speaker #1 – Deanna (Speech No. 1)
ICE BREAKER

1) To begin speaking before an audience
2) To discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need some attention.

Well in harmony with the Valentines Day celebration my topics for today is about Hearts.

What objects can we find hearts? Ans: Cards

Yes, The Club of Heart is part of the 4 Suits of the Deck of Cards and each have their meaning from Ace to King. I have these cards in the envelop and please pick one and tell us what you think this card means to you as it is described in the paper attached to it.

Each toastmasters will share their own story, experiences in the past or present that could be coincidental, realistic or just fantasy.

After each have said their pieces, before closing, you can share these thoughts about the Cards.

According an online source, the four suits Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs have meanings that the Playing Cards and the Calendar have fascinating relationships which you can find interesting.

For instance;
• Twelve face (or court) cards, directly relating to the twelve months of the year and the twelve signs of the zodiac.
• Two colors to the deck – red and black – matching the two halves of the year (summer solstice and winter equinox).
• The four suits – Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts and Spades – match the four seasons of the year.
• Thirteen cards in each suit to match the 13 weeks of each season.
• Deck holds 52 cards just as there are 52 weeks in a year.

Isn’t hat interesting?

When they Toastmaster announced my name I stood up and before I stand at the Podium I shook hands with him. I greeted the Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and guests. Then I pop a question..what object can you find lots of hearts? Some one correctly answered in the deck of cards and that’s it.

I thought of Playing Cards. One of Suites of the Deck of cards is the Heart. I researched the meaning of Hearts from Ace to King. I printed and attached each meaning to the card and whoever picks which card will think on its feet and tell the group what they think. There are some tho thought it is a coincidence that they picked the card that applied to happened to them in the Past. Some said that it is indeed their luck that they had this type of thing going on with their lives while others said it is not really happening to them and they just thought of anything out of the box to think quickly and make up a story instantaneously.

As usual the “ahs and ams: counter keep them on tract recorded how many times you used the word of the day. So far, my record is 2 ams and I used the Word of the Day twice. Indeed it was fun and after my role, I received a email compliment from one of the members saying that they loved my Table Topics.

QUILT OF LIFE
About This Speech:This is my Ice Breaker Speech for Toastmasters Session in IPC dated 12.04.08

Why Quilt? For me, life is like a patchwork of squares interwoven together to form a quilt; a tapestry that is made up of various colors, designs, and artistic patterns. These patterns symbolize where my life had been and the circumstances around me from the past, present and the future.

According to this quote;

Life isn’t given to us all in one piece,

But in patches of ours to use,

That each can work out his pattern of life

To whatever design he might choose.

When I was young I have limited choices on what patterns or designs of life I want to be. When I became an adult I started to imagine things; what I would become someday; my wants, my ambitions, my dreams and aspirations. While sewing the different patterns in this tapestry of LIFE …”TIME” is my companion. I learned to cherish each and every moment of my life and I am happy that until now the memories of the past are still fresh in the so-called “RAM” of my Brain.

I know it will never come again, but I cherished how I have lived and this is a great pleasure.

I Believe In A Saying That …Taking Advantage Of What Life Can Offer And Enjoying It To The Fullest Is A Beautiful Gift.

When I recall what the great Mr. Abraham Lincoln had once said:

“AND IN THE END, IT’S NOT THE YEARS IN YOUR LIFE THAT COUNTS….BUT IT’S THE LIFE IN YOUR YEARS”

Well I’m moved ….and ponder the thought…..

How colorful and enjoyable my younger years really were? Being the eldest and the only girl in the brood of 3 and as an average kid, I always keep in mind what my parents advice. They always reminded us that whatever happens, we have to priorities our Education above all things. We lived in a spitting distance from the school where I studied my Elementary Education and most of the kids in my neighborhood are my playmates. I enjoyed the playful years of my life playing outdoors, climbing up the hill and trees and doing lots of things that a regular kid in our neighborhood did. I fairly had a great share of childhood fun in my elementary days and I made my parents proud of me because they always go up to the stage to pin my Ribbons during the School Recognition day.

However, in high school things had been different. I took advantage of a scholarship and I was sent to an exclusive NOTRE DAME Girls High, run by the Dominican sisters. This is one of the toughest schools to study in our place at that time. For 4 years I was behind the so called “Berlin Walls” that divided the area between the Boys and Girls Department. We have strict rules to follow and Boys are off limits.

I can still remember the fun, the giggles and the teasing when a handsome guy from the Boys department passed by the narrow path connecting to both schools. I saw that letters were being tossed from outside the window to the Girls Department’s classroom if someone wants to communicate with some girls.

Probably you’ve seen scenarios like this in movies; where in Boys tried to sneak in just to see their crush or someone they love on guarded homes, dormitories and school campuses.

That is just some of the exciting moments of growing up as a teenager. Rarely, we have some social events combined with the Boys, but it depends if the nuns would approve. That was not quite a normal atmosphere and socializing with the opposite sex is usually done outside of school hours.

Well, I just learned recently that the so-called”Berlin Walls” had fallen and that the school I used to study in High School is now a COED.

I hated Mathematics in High School but I have no choice when I took advantage of a Scholarship Grant in College. There is no option but to study Science Courses only. For me Math is like poison but everything turned around and it was good. The subject I used to hate became my favorite, thus completing a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in which I never would have thought of. I am proud of my achievements especially when I took the Board Exam with high marks that almost landed me to be on the top 20 in the National.

Finding my first job after college is easy and my first and only employment for 13 years is in a Government Irrigation Project. We build bridges, irrigation canals, dams, weirs, and structures made up of concrete and steel. It sounds manly but I was involved in the preparation of the Program of Works and all I have as a tool is a Pen and Calculator. Computer was rare at that time and all the outputs were typed-written. We only have one computer for the whole project but I never got the chance of using it.

The project completion really brought a good turn in my life when I decided to migrate to Canada. With high hopes, I pursued a profession quite different to what I had ever studied back home but it was one of the smartest decisions I’ve made. As an Engineer, I had built bridges connecting roads and suddenly, within the sphere of Computer Technology – I am building bridges connecting to the clients that I dealt with.

But then —– the unthinkable happened!

After 16 years of being a mom to two teenage girls. I gave birth to yet another little miracle. Now she is 4 years old and the challenges keep getting better and better when my eldest daughter who was 20 at that time gave birth yet to another girl.

As the patchwork of my life continues to form, there are times that I have mended them when the ends are frayed. There are trials and obstacles that came along way and I am just thankful and lucky to say that I survived most of them.

Well, I can’t help thinking what I am going to be in the next years of my life. What ever it will be, I hope this life I will face will be like a new pattern that will just fit together properly into the QUILT OF MY LIFE.

My first few months of being a member is great, I had been assigned various tasks such as a Timer, Table Topics Master and General Evaluator. We have a contest or game lately and there’s only 3 people who volunteered to participate in the Table Topics Game. We have to pick a number corresponding to an object. I picked a “LED Book Light” and I made up a story about his object and out of 3 I’m 2nd. I won the price and brought home this item as a gift.

More to come on my journey as a new member of Toastmaster’s International.