The desired outcome for my currently non-existent professional blog is for it to hatch and evolve into a highly regarded, practical, independent, relevant, and indispensable resource for travel and lifestyle in the Philippines.
The unbiased content will be useful and entertaining to:
1) Local and foreign lifestyle readers based in the Philippines looking for fun activities and new perspectives
2) Foreigners planning to visit the Philippines
3) Overseas Filipinos returning to the Philippines or just wanting to get an updated feel of life in their home country
4) People generally interested in the Philippines
5) People escaping from work by surfing the net
6) Bloggers in limbo
7) Family and friends
There is currently a void on the internet in this space as the information that people are searching for is unavailable or in bits and pieces and the market is fragmented. I intend to be part of the solution in filling this void by creating articles and multimedia content to filter and consolidate information and add value for the readers by addressing their needs and wants and will be articulated in a clear, concise, and interesting manner. In preparation, I have outlined the preliminary content for the site and have composed 20 posts out of the initially planned 50 before launching the site.
I am confident that the Maven Secrets Program would provide the essential tools and knowledge base to successfully take the blog to the next level as well as the distinct opportunity to bounce ideas off the group.
While I may have no formal experience in blogging, journalism, photography, creative writing, or web programming (all skills that are required to be successful in this endeavor), I have a natural passion for living life to the fullest and can easily adapt to new situations and learn new skills. A perfect example of this is this blog, as it is my first and I have already managed to figure out creating channels and placing ads through the past few days research on the internet. Our Awesome Planet is a powerful resource that has inspired me to think outside the box and explore my true passions for food, travel, living, and continuing education.
As a brief background, I graduated in London with a degree in Economics and currently head the institutional trading desk of a multinational investment house while my girlfriend is a prima ballerina and performing artist that has an eye for photography and fashion. Below is a photo of our Balatoc gold mine eco-tourism adventure in Baguio that we will eventually provide more information on.
The Philippines is a remarkable country with unlimited potential and while it is rich in natural resources, it lacks in self-promotion, image management, and infrastructure, resulting in only a minute fraction of the Asian tourism pie. I will present the Philippines as one of the best travel destinations in the world with its cosmopolitan lifestyle, unsurpassed beauty, pristine beaches, and affordable cost of living. There are millions if not billions of stories to tell about our islands, culture, and heritage, but yet only a few are telling their tales and pioneering excursions down the road less travelled.
As soon as I am able to achieve my objectives, I can imagine that it would feel like the first time I had fresh buko a la ube ice cream as it brought about a sense of humility and awe, for its simplicity yet exquisitely extravagant taste, followed by a fleeting happiness as I knew that no matter how hard I tried it would never again taste as it did that day.
To clarify this metaphor - on one side of the coin, feelings of humility and awe as it is a mind numbing thought that sharing our views, experiences, and pleasures could have a positive impact on society as a whole and on the other side of the coin happiness, self fulfillment, and tantric enlightenment while keeping in mind that this was only the beginning of the greater challenges that lay ahead. After all not everybody can have their pie and eat it too.
I would finally be able to live to work rather than working to live and have a “real” business that focuses on my true passions in life to the benefit of our community. I would take pride in the creative content that my girlfriend and I will produce out of our love and work to constantly improve on existing methodologies to professionalize and make content more digestible and appealing to readers while maintaining an honest and truthful footprint.
Thank you for considering my entry for the Maven Secrets Scholarship as I believe it is the gateway to a life without boundaries and it would be our priviledge to meet you in person.
Sincerely,
Lord and Aksana
Please check out our site :-) - Hourphilippines.com
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