In the Philippine scene, Abe Olandres announced the sale of his Pinoy Top Blogs project, although the exact amount was not disclosed. Abe Olandres, who prefers to be called Yuga (of Yugatech), runs his own web hosting usiness (www.plogHost.com) business. He is also a professional blogger, a blog consultant, a serial netrepreneur, and resource speaker, among others. Abe graciously answered our questions despite his busy schedule. This is the first of a two-part series.

Could you briefly tell us how you started in the blogging/webhosting business?

* Got my inspiration from reading Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad, Poor Dad back in 2002. I had a friend who was into the webhosting business for 6 months already and he was doing good. I thought I would start my own and focus the service specifically to bloggers. I studied web programming and by January 2003, we launched the service with Php1,000 capital charged from credit card.

Do you consider yourself as an entrepreneur?

* Only after registering the company with the SEC in 2004 did I consider myself a real entrepreneur. The business has gone full circle.

In terms of current reach and potential, how would you assess the internet or online condition of the Philippines?

* Despite the low internet penetration in the country, I am very optimistic with the progress on the telco side. The infrastructures are already there and it only need to be offered at a more affordable rate until we get critical mass. Besides, we already have some 8 million OFWs, most of them are very familiar with the internet and actually use it regularly.

How far has the blogging scene grown since you've started in this field?

* In the last two years, I've witnessed a huge growth spurt in blogging. A lot of people have found blogs not only for personal use or past time but as a tool worthy of being called new media. From estimates, I would say the total blogging population has quadrupled since 2004 -- now hovering somewhere around 200,000 Filipino bloggers both here and abroad.

You are also engaged in the business of hosting or as an ISP. Why should a company or someone have its/his/her own site?

* In the Internet age, if you cannot be Googled, then you do not exist. It's a simple as that -- online presence is critical to one's career or a company's business. I could tell you some specific real-life examples if you want.

Ok, could you give us some examples?

* Creating an online presence is not only for the mere sake of it but also for online reputation management. I did a presentation in the last SEMCON and you can see the slides I used here. [Ed. SEMCON or the "Search Engine Marketing Conference" was held on 9 and 10 October 2007. Abe is one of the speakers, discussing "Monitoring Buzz: How to Manage Online Reputation."]

A lot of companies now use search engines to do background checks. By having an online presence, you are leveraging these properties to further improve your image. This could translate to  landing a job for an individual or making a sale for the company.

An example, IslandRose.net has been in the cut flower industry for over 2 decades. It has become a billion-peso industry in the Philippines. Now, with a wide network of affiliates and an online website, they are able to firmly set their position as the #1 retailer in their industry with 50% of about 2 million orders a year coming from the web.

Another example is Godiva Skin Care. They were able to expand in the US and worldwide by enabling an e-commerce site, something any small-to-medium enterprise needs in order to scale.

(The second part relates to monetization of blogs and sites, as well as Abe's advice for aspiring and existing netrepreneurs. The Discussion series is about our discussions with Pinoy Entrepreneurs, whether established or just starting out. If you have anything you want to discuss, please let us know.)