Ed Earns

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of faceVsion Technology USA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve had my fare share of needing to make a conference call with my employers in different areas especially when we talk about our work and our daily deliverables. There is a need for some video conference so that we will be able to understand and see our emotions as we talk about business and our my freelance work. This helps in having a better impact because of getting more personalized in coaching and providing feedback for a work that was done.

Small and medium size business owners cannot afford high price points of video conferencing solutions from major brands that is why faceVsion has the faceVsion FV Express Combo which is a very affordable high quality personal HD video conferencing solution for all Gmail users. Users if this service cannot achieve HD quality internet video calls using consumer graded HD webcams such as Microsoft Cinema and Logitech Pro 9000 as their HD quality can only be accomplished locally.

It is definitely a plus to have the best quality available which is really a big deal in the business industry for proper communication. You can drop by and check out the faceVision on line store for your FV Express Combo HD Video Conferencing solution needs.

I’m passing off some freelance jobs in my bucket to my sibling and colleagues who don’t have jobs. It’s good because I get to help them out provided that they are able to comply with the requirements. It’s actually a win-win situation; they have jobs and they get paid, I also keep my credibility intact.

Right now, I have a new task in my freelance work in transcribing audio files. These audio files come in 25-30 minute interviews and I have to transcribe or convert them into Word formats. This means that I have to type everything that I hear in the background. I can deal with it but I just need a better software as it takes time to transcribe since I have to switch between different windows in order to pause or stop the recording from playing because I can’t keep up with the pace of the people talking. It’s a daunting task but it’s just a matter of acceptance.

I’m still proofreading some of the finished freelance write-ups and will submit them to my client once done.

4 more days and the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs 2010 will be revealed. Who do you think will be on the top 10?

For this  I want my nominees to be counted as well. Here are my nominees for the Emerging Influential Blogs 2010:

Project52weeks – This is Mica’s Video Blog where she posts her weekly video updates.

Music Vlogger – This is Rabsin’s music vlog where he posts his performances and version of the songs requested. Purposely created to entertain and share his talent, this blog is one of a kind.

Pigginoutsessions – An interesting food blog by Doyzkie that shares lots and lots of food and details to his viewers.

Libotero – One of the big time bloggers in Cebu, Sinjin, has a goal to travel every corner of the Philippines and hopefully discover new things.

Everythingubec – A frequently updated blog gives you current and upcoming events in the Queen City of the South.

Adventurouslei – A blog that shares all kind of this. I can see good potential on this young blogger.

These are my nominees for now. Don’t forget to join the writing project and cast your nominees now!

After I made a Paypal transaction online, I received an email from PayPal themselves notifying me of a Limited PayPal Account Access being done to my account. I was shocked! – I still had some funds I needed to withdraw at that week because of an important trip that I’ve been saving for.

Of course, with these Paypal emails, I usually don’t believe them right away and I have a better eye in checking for PayPal scams. However, this seemed legit because of so many ways. Here’s a body of the Paypal email message I got:

Dear Edxxx Sxxx,

As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system. During a recent screening, we noticed an issue regarding your account.

We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.

Case ID Number: PP-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

For your protection, we have limited access to your account until additional security measures can be completed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

To review your account and some or all of the information that PayPal used to make its decision to limit your account access, please visit the Resolution Center. If, after reviewing your account information, you seek further clarification regarding your account access, please contact PayPal by visiting the Help Center and clicking "Contact Us".

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Department

It was written in all plain text and the email addresses on the email header were correct. I was scared shit of what might happen to my account knowing that I still had about 300 dollars left which I was planning to use for a trip.

So when I logged in back to my Paypal, I had to follow a few steps in order to restore the limited access of my PayPal account.

Here are the Steps that I took in order to restore Security and access my Paypal again.

How To Restore PayPal from Limited Access Notification Email

Step 1: Update Your Credit Card or Bank Account Details

Step 2: Enter a New PayPal Password and Pick Out your Security Question & Answers

Step 3: Confirm Your Email Addresses that are Linked To Your PayPal Account

 Step 4: Verify Your Email Addresses again   

Step 5: Once You Click Submit, You’ll be taken Back to Your Account Overview Screen in Paypal.

What happened after all the filling out of data was that I was greeted back to my account with my balance still intact. Phew!

Those steps in updating my account and security were good but I’m glad that the Limited Access Notification Email was just a false alarm. The email was legitimate but I thought my account was really put on hold. But it wasn’t!

I was wondering too, because the previous transaction that I made which was withdrawing money in Philippine Peso currency was reversed and I had to withdraw the Peso amount again in PayPal. I immediately took the remaining money that was left in it; including the dollars that was available.

Situations like these, I am wary and I feel a bit crazy because of how easily the money can be thrown away after how many months of saving it. I’m just glad that PayPal has never let me down so far.

I also received another update in my email wherein PayPal apologize for the inconvenience that they caused due to this recent security update and that they wanted to make my account secure. My PayPal account has been successfully restored!

Word of warning to my readers: Always make sure that the email comes from PayPal themselves and make sure that it’s not a scam. Here’s an entry on how I was able to detect some PayPal email scams.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve always wanted to have a grand celebration together with my friends from the different places I’ve been to. Being a mobile person, I get to travel from one place to another and I build relationships from each place. What I want to do is have a good time with these people and share the same connection so each one can bond with each other.

Hampton has one of those unique promotions wherein they are oggering a great way for you to reconnect with your friends this summer called the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes.

The Chain-of-Friends Grand Prize gives the winner the chance to receive a free stay for themselves and 100 of their friends at a Hampton for one weekend. The winner will also receive $5000 to help pay the tax for the weekend!

That’s 100 friends and all free! I would be a king for an entire day and I’ll definitely have a blast knowing that the people around me are the people that I know. It would be an all day and night party so I would maximize the space and location that will be allotted for me.

The sweepstakes is open to everyone, not just those that are Hilton Honors members or those that have previously stayed at a Hampton. So this is definitely going to be a real blast if I were to get the grand prize!

A friend sent some money to me via PayPal and the currency was from my country which is in Philippines pesos. Usually, there are three options that I could take in order to take some action on the money thaat was sent:

• Accept this payment and convert it to $xx.xx USD.
• Accept this payment in Philippine Pesos and create a balance in this currency.
• Deny this payment and return the money to the sender.

Of course, I don’t want to deny the payment, so it’s among the two options that I had to take. Usually, I would choose the first option wherein the Philippine Peso PayPal money will be converted to US Dollars depending on the rate for that day. Afterwards, when I would have to withdraw the money to my Philippine bank account, the dollars would then convert to Pesos.

Today was different because Nuke (my friend) sent 7000 Php to me and said that I need not convert it to dollars. Both of us didn’t want to get any more deductions from the transfer of funds so she told me that I can just directly accept the PayPal money in Philippine Pesos. I tried it out and then I withdrew the money to put it in my bank account.

In my Account Overview page, I already had two Currencies placed in my balance: One for the Dollars and one for the Pesos. I guess more currencies will be added depending on the currency that was accepted.

I’m hoping that there are no other deductions left when I check my Philippine bank savings account; except of course, for the processing fees from the bank.

Withdrew some money using Philippine Pesos as my currency. I’ll post an update when the PayPal money arrives.

I have 4 friends who resigned from work in order to pursue careers in blogging and freelance. These people all worked in a prestigious contact center and they were all my colleagues. I even started blogging before them and I influenced a couple to start sharing their thoughts online and earn some income at the same time.

The funny part about this is that I was the one who told them that I’d raise the white flag first. Now, I’m the one left in this business process outsourcing industry; still doing the same things that I’ve been doing for almost 3 years now. I actually feel toxic knowing that the job has been monotonous already. My friend told me that I’m at a plateau and I’m not moving anywhere. I know I should take action but the job that I have is the most flexible one considering that I’ve been doing freelance jobs at odesk, onlinejobs.ph and blogging jobs at sponsored review sites and other payperpost sites.

These jobs don’t really generate a stable income and the benefits are less when it comes to insurance and security; however the possibility of owning one’s time and being able to stay in a different place is limitless. Doing freelance work and blogging makes you less location-bound since you only have to have the internet and a good laptop computer in order to do your daily tasks.

My goal now since I haven’t really gotten full-time with my freelance work is to pursue my education and get that diploma. For now, I can just be envious on how free my other colleagues are who already resigned in order to work on a freelance scheme. I’ll definitely join them but it’s not about to happen anytime soon.

I just had a conversation over lunch with a fellow blogger/colleague and we were talking about our jobs. We’re running 4 years within this business process outsourcing industry already and we have come a long way from being classmates back in our product training class. Although we haven’t reached our peak, it seems that the years have passed by so fast. Funny at times that we wonder what will happen once we reach the 5 years if we’re going to opt for an early retirement or we’ll pursue other careers.

I have my fair share of doubts and questions on how I see my future. Although it seems that I’m busy with my blogs, it seems that I haven’t really pushed myself to the limit in promoting and marketing them. I know there’s a huge potential in the blogging market but I still need to tap some resources in order learn more.

Then there’s studying — I have to go back to school within 2 months and stay in it for probably a year until I get that elusive diploma.

In the mean time, I’m preparing myself for some travels that are lined up for me in the coming months.

It was a busy lunch; somehow it seemed that I did all the talking.

I’ll be going out tomorrow for an event wherein I got invited because of being a blogger. It’s starting to come to fruition, the results of being able to write quality posts about a particular niche. My main blog, which used to be a personal blog has shifted to a travel blog which showcases the different places I’ve been to in this country.

Tomorrow, I will be covering an event with a couple of travel bloggers. Somehow, I should be able to expand my network in order to reach more people. I’ve already done that in some cases but there’s a battle within me that’s a bit conflicting because of wanting to be anonymous so not much hype will be generated. But then, if I want to earn more, it would be wise to also spread the news and promote my site some more.

For now, my day job is still preoccupying a lot of my time so I’m letting it get me stuck in limbo.

I have so many write-ups I need to finish today:

• 2 750-word articles – freelance work
• write-up for a call center magazine that also serves as my application
• blog entry submission for a contest I’m joining
• long-overdue post for ceburoadtrip.com – I haven’t contributed an entry ever!

I only have this afternoon and tonight as my free time. Good luck to me.