Ronaldo (1)The Precious Gem as the Lady Programmer
A lot of people who are into freelancing might have once searched something and ended up on The Lady Programmer’s website.
The Lady Programmer, or Gemma Baltazar in real life, is actually a licensed electronics & communications engineer who graduated from Saint Louis University. Gem, as most people call her, is known in the blogosphere as a freelance web programmer and a blogger.
She started blogging when her friend sent her review articles in bulk to write about, and then learned the ropes of SEO. She then moved on to build her reputation in web design in the freelance marketplace, and submitted her first PR4 blog (which is now non-existent) which earned her $5 or more for each post.
The blog which shot Gem into the blogosphere was The Lady Programmer, when she wrote about an in-depth article about how to withdraw funds to the Philippines from a freelance site. Consequently, posts related to funds withdrawal from that freelance site to Philippine bank accounts and debit cards are still the most popular posts in her blog.
As a result, her blog is included in the top five results in Google Philippines for the keyword “oDesk” and “oDesk Philippines,” thereby giving Gem a headstart in the traffic game as more and more Filipinos nowadays venture off to freelancing as a way to get extra income.
True enough, her blog is currently a haven for those who want to venture into freelancing to quit their full-time jobs, or to supplement their income.
After which, she continued to blog about freelancing, and at the same time added some technology topics. Recently, she also began to start writing about blogging tips, as well.
She started to blog not for the readers, but she eventually caught the attention of a handful people. After some time, she continued on to explore various social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Plurk, as well as Entrecard.
Here are some words from The Lady Programmer for bloggers, both new and pros.
For newbies:
- If you want to earn additional income through blogging, start your own blog. Learn to write along with some monetization techniques.
- You can start a blog with poor grammar, but make sure to improve your writing skills fast.
- If you are a writer, don’t forget to optimize your posts for SEO.
- You can also opt not to earn from blog, if you don’t want to.
- Learn how comments are for. They are not made for conversations, not for promoting your blog or exchanging links. The comments should also be highly relevant to the article – it shows a lot about yourself, that you had read through the whole post. Comments are easily understood that a reciprocal visit has to be made.
- The contact form is for contacting the blog owner, if you want to ask some questions, initiate conversation with the blogger which happens not to be relevant to the feeds and even exchange links.
- Learn how to use Feed Readers to get RSS feeds, so that you can still previously published posts. The most recent post on the blog is not always the best post that is worth reading.
- Connect with the pros, to save time figuring out how blogs are supposed to work.
For pros (to me, probloggers are those who earn money from blogs, so this is for them):
- Search engine traffic is not everything. Learn new ways to monetize blogs in other ways, such as using social networks and internet marketing. Who knows when tide has turned around?
- Black practices could earn you good money this year, but how would you deal with the loss of income when the loophole had been fixed?
- Don’t forget that the blog reflects a lot of who you are. If in case you get famous, have a blog that is made for regular blog readers, not only for those visitors who are easily tricked into clicking various ads in your blog.
- Equally annoying are personal blogs that are obviously crafted for sponsored posts. I found numerous blogs that seem to sound the same as the previous blog post after a sponsored post.
- Internet marketing is a good thing that earns huge income from the internet. But don’t add my blog email address to your list then spam me with your offers. It’s best to ask the blog owner first.
- Even if you know everything about blogging, newbies may have useful new ideas too. Listen to them once in a while.
Gem currently has two blogs from which she is known for, The Lady Programmer and the Single Parent Talks. She plans to add a food blog & a CPA blog, and hopes that eventually, blogging would take over freelancing – although that might be a challenge since she can’t seem to part herself from her love for tinkering with programming.
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Our fourth featured blogger is a lady from Baguio who is well into freelancing and who eats and breathes programming codes right at the comfort of her own home. I knew Gem since the early days of my blogging life and her avatar’s display on my post comments, myBloglog and Blogcatalog widgets is always comforting and elicits clicks from guys who were mesmerized by that sweet looking lady with a mysterious smile (di ba pareng…. ahem? hehe).
Bloggista Featured Blogger is a weekly post special “showcasing” bloggers of different niches. If you want to suggest a blogger to be featured here, send me some details (see this post for info). We would be very glad to write a short article and publish it here.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by bloggista. bloggista said: http://bloggista.com/2009/12/12/the-precious-gem-as-the-lady-programmer/ [...]
I met Gem through Jaypee of Jaypee Online. Anybody who’s got Jaypee’s stamp of approval is okay in my books so I have taken a liking to her right away. And then we became Facebook buddies. It’s always fun when we both swoop down updates of FB friends and having fun with them. Which reminds me – you’re one of those we had a grand time ribbing, right? Right!
Well, you and Jhong.. how could I forget. I was away that time and you both took that opportunity. It was fun anyway.
And I have met Gem through Jan Geronimo. Isn’t it interesting how we build relationships around the sphere, hehe. Gem’s blog is one of my favorite stops when I blog hop. I have already featured a post from her blog on my Weekly Echoes as she always gives sound advice and doable suggestions. It is really up to the “reader” to act on it or not.. Great tribute…
Thanks. Wow! You loved my posts!
I sort of had a connection to Gem’s blog when I found out she was from Baguio. I lived in Baguio from when I was in High School through College and in the early years of my marriage.
Baguio is home to me and anybody from Baguio sort of triggers that soft spot in me.
Wow! Nice to see you. I never knew you were from Baguio, judging from the contents of your blog! I often see you around Entrecard when I was still actively dropping cards with them.
I met Gem Online, thru comments in my blog, And I know that when it comes to free lancing Gem is the name. I usually tell my commentor to go to Gem whenever they asked about How to make money online thru free lancing.
And I believed she is helpful.
I get lots of people asking about how to start freelancing or blogging, how to get paid and even begging for work. I’ve also actually referred you to one of the people who regularly asks me questions about payment methods.
out of topic.
Need to change “featured blogger” link.. it’s a dead link…
Thanks for that Dex – mafia wars, farmville and ninja warz were the culprit I posted a dead link. LOL
Pareng.. ahem? Sino yun? Hahahahaha!
and I’m still intrigued!
Hehehehe.
gem was my ex-gf.joke! ahehehe! she loves my new profile pic on facebook.ahehehe! like jan said, we’re also facebook buds.
hahaha! baka maniwala sila. You’re also my plurk pal. Great to have you around. How could I forget those funny pics of you imitating those plurk icons – especially that (hungry) emoticon holding that big spoon and big fork! Hahahaha!
Wow congrats Gem! Alam ko matagal na kaming nagkikita ni Gem ke Pareng Jessies blog eh. Naging close lang kami nyan dahil sa pesbuk naks!
Pa-fan fan ka pa sa plurk. Haha. You were some quiet plurker then. Di ko akalain we’d end up wonderful buddies with itot!
Hmmm.. mandatory beginning ba yung “I met Gem…” hmm.. i don’t remember hehe. On Twitter I think. Or on someone’s blog. Well, in any case, I got to hear and know more about her through the PG50 and her blog.
She is very smart and very sweet. And I think I know who that last line is referring to (which narrows it down pretty much to…)
Hala… sino ba kasi yon! hahahahaha! Isa ka pa! I think I met you first in Twitter.
@Reyjr – hmmmm. Hahaha.
I’ve been enjoying a lot of tweets from Gem since I started following her on Twitter. I find topics on her blog very informative and has helped me a lot with my blog as well. I hope to meet Gem one of these days. Peace!
Hi Daily Manila. I like sharing informative posts. I hope I get to meet you too!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by bloggista: http://ping.fm/Weeqh...
i have not met Gem
i have met Gem
we are now friends
i like gems
but i like Gem better
#murderedhaiku
-mizdi
I love this! I appreciate being liked more than the gems! Thanks! Thanks!
Friends are like gems… the longer u keep them, the higher their value get… so pagmatagal na tayo friends… pwede na kita isanla.. yeheyyy!
Tutubusin mo ba ako pag isinanla mo ako?
joke lang yun friend, mainit yata ulo mo… meron ka ba?
I met Gem recently. She is quite a “Lady” indeed. Very classy and professional, always swooping in like a superhero to help people out with the astounding depth of her technical knowledge, then swooping out and leaving everyone hanging with their mouths open.
Great article! Thanks for featuring her.
Superhero! Hahaha! I’m just sharing stuff that I already know. I work on fixing and setting WordPress blogs full time.
I ‘met’ Gem thru this website. As far as I know, she’s one of the nicest in the blogosphere.
I am? Oh well, hehehehe! Thanks! <3
Yeah, you do. Honest to goodness comment.
inspiring post!
Beauty and brains si Gem and very helpful too. Kudos to you and more money to come…lol…
Thank you. Beauty and brains helped me get further in my career, but I had to admit, I am a bit unlucky in some aspects of my life. Oh well. More money to us! I’d love to meet you as well!
These people have excellent memory, I can’t seem to remember where I met Gem… was it at plurk?
See, it wasn’t even through blogging where I met this mesmerizing, sweet lady with a mysterious smile. I am glad that pareng bloggista featured her here.
These are good pointers and I would love to learn more from my internet mentors, I have not yet optimized my sites and will soon learn how to walk the walk on the blogosphere.
Z
Oim pareng Z. Napadaan ka. Balita ko, next kana lalarga. Hehe, ayos, magpapa inom ka.
Btw, I agree with you, especially for those who wants to explore the world of Freelancing, Gem’s a great resource to check out.
Magpapa inum din yang si Gem, bababa na Manila yan, for sure,., Hehe
Magtatago na ako. Hahaha.
Have you ever noticed that the keyword “mesmerizing, sweet lady with a mysterious smile” is now number in Googledotcom? Hahaha!
Hahaha, hahanapin ka namin kahit san ka magtatago. I gogol lang namin, gogol will find you… Hehe
Sayang nga eh, di ko na mamimeet ng personal si Doc Z at aalis na. Malamang di ko na maabutan ang painom niya hehehe.
I think we met in Plurk. Mas gusto ko lang talagang tumambay doon than Twitter.
“mesmerizing, sweet lady with a mysterious smile” – I never thought of myself that way.
I hope for your blogging success Doc! Mararating mo rin yan basta gagawin talaga.
i dont know how i met Gem. i already forgot. maybe through entrecard or maybe through theladyprogrammer. or maybe she commented on my blog at first.
anyway, i’m glad to have met Gem. May nagbibigay sa akin ng stuff sa mafia wars, farmville, etc. hahaha.
I think it was the opposite. You commented first on my blog. Nacurious tuloy ako.
Sure no problem. I’ll send you more stuff. Pero bale wala lang sayo, ang taas ng level mo – grabe.
Gem who??? lol, I don’t call her Gem, i call her “Ate” because she’s like my sister. I haven’t meet her in person yet (hope to see her soon..hehehe and her kid “J”) but she is my boss at odesk hehehe. She is a very kind and understanding girl? oh..sorry about that, i mean Woman.
She’s very approachable, slow to speak and very nice. She taught me lots of things, learned a lot from her The lady programmer blog.
“bit unlucky in some aspects of my life” hehehe…i know that, i can well remember we’ve talk about it once. (secret ate..lol)
Good luck Ate and God speed.
Hi Kent. Di po ako boss.. hehehehe. With my single parent blog the world knows my secret! Hehehe!
I came upon Gem last year, not on her blog but on another blog, she was a contributor on that blog (a tech blog run by Pinoys). I left a comment on her post and proceeded on stalking her. Yes, I stalked her because of her avatar. We became blog friends, we often exchange ideas on blogging and on how to earn online. I learned a lot from her, she’s very dedicated to her work.
Her avatar best describes her being “mersmerizing, sweet lady with mysterious smile”. Exactly the reason why this post’s image is using that avatar. Too bad I couldn’t find a bigger version of her avatar…
humingi ka na lang sa kanya he he he mukhang meron ako nyan, benta ko sa iyo, $1500 tumatanggap ako Paypal payments nye he he he
I met Gem thru her Lady Programmer blog when I was blog hopping sometime 2 years back. It was still in Blogger platform. Being a newbie online worker myself, I got curious on this Pinay programmer working as freelance online. I learned so much from reading her blog. After sometime, I decide to drop comments on her blog and found out that she’s friendly pala. From then on, we became connected on Twitter and Facebook. Nag apply pa nga akong matchmaker nya eh. Pero mukhang wala yatang time sa love eh..puro work. Toink!
We used to share stuff! Thanks for those affiliate plugin. I always remember you for that. Matchmaker? LOL
Hi peepz, it’s very inspiring to know a lot of people, in one way or another, share the same feelings and impressions on Gem. I agree, as with most of the other comments, Gem is really a Gem – she visits lots of blogs, ever helpful to those in need, gave lots of inputs and new stuffs esp. on Facebook and blogging and freelancing.
Also, when you check her facebook updates, seems that she’s up 24 hours a day. Hehehe.
Talks about ping.fm, wordpress plugins, designs, css and handjob gadgets. LOL.
I am one of Gem’s satisfied customers. She is indeed very good and she puts the interests of her customers first and foremost.
Hope she will continue to flourish as a blogger.
Ate Gem cleared my mind before going into oDesk. Was searching through payment methods..and stumbled upon her blog.
If one has a good programmer/SEO specialist like Gem, and a good freelance writer like you, naku yayaman yun. Hehhe.
i never met her yet, but hopefully!
Hi PD, baka bigla punta ng Thailand si Gem ma meet mo rin yan. Hehe.
It is good to know something about Lady Programmer. I will visit her website if i have time. Curious lang po…
You should visit her Lea. She’s also into SEO just like you.
I must have stumbled upon her blog sometime in the past and I really envy girls who are not only into, but pretty good in programming. I know that most programmers are guys and I am happy that Gem is acing it as well. Go Gem!
I haven’t meet Gem but she’s interesting just like her blog posts.
As newbie in blogging, I haven’t meet anyone of you too. But i wanted to know all of you. For now, the best thing that i should do is learn from all of you. Thanks for the information.
More power Gem. See you when i see you