There are numerous reasons why I like Twitter. One of them is that Twitter lets me encounter interesting people quite frequently. I recently came across one such guy on Twitter who appeared a kid with his profile pic but had a decent stint with blogging which couldn’t be easily ignored.
Jehzeel H. Laurente is a young ‘Trying Hard Problogger’ (this is how he defines himself) and blogs at Jehzlau-Concepts.
At an age when the folks strive to get some job for themselves, Jehzeel dumped his job and today enjoys a healthy living out of Pro-Blogging. Today, his blog ranks 3rd among the entire Philippine blogosphere.
But it’s actually the age factor that makes Jehzeel’s achievement unique. You might be following many probloggers out there on the web but most of them might have already passed 30 years of their life before turning a Full-time Problogger.
Blogging newbies can certainly take some inspiration from this young lad. Here’s a candid interview with Jehzeel, where he answers a couple of questions in his unique witty style. Take a look !
[We usually write about/interview CEOs, Startup folks, web products etc, somewhat more serious but we thought it would be fun to interview a ‘Young Problogger’. We might interview many interesting folks in the future].
Here it goes…
Q. How old were you when you wrote your first blog post on web ?
I’m not that young compared to other so-called genius kids who wrote during their first 6 months and posted something on the web at the age of 2. I’m just a simple and ordinary human being who has no idea about the web until I went to college.
I first encountered Windows and Internet Explorer when I was 16 years old (yeah.. I know, I’m too old before having a knowledge that the world wide web exists).
After 3 years, I posted my very first blog entry in Blogspot. I didn’t have an archive or a screenshot of my first post, because I deleted all my posts in Blogspot and moved to WordPress (to avoid duplicated contents).
Wooot! I think my answer was already too long, I should have answered 19, hehe.
Q. How old are you right now ?
I’m too old right now to be considered as a young blogger. It has been 3 years since I posted my very first blog entry. Do the Math.
Q. Who’s your inspiration ?
My mom. Because she loves to write and she’s so good in writing and in grammar. I suck in writing and grammar (I’m her exact opposite). That’s why I’m trying to prove to myself that I can be like my mother. I can also write and improve my skills through blogging.
Q. Being a pro-blogger at such a young age, how does it feel ?
I feel happy and somewhat proud. Being tagged as a pro-blogger even if I didn’t consider myself one, or even dreamt of it, is quite an achievement.
Q. How much do you make every month nowadays ?
Let’s say, it’s just enough for me to buy the stuff I need, to pay for the house rent, give something to my mom, pay the electricity bills, water bills, credit card bills, other miscellaneous bills, buy gadgets, buy groceries and other things that I really want. Let’s just say it’s my main source of income that keeps me alive and breathing today and hopefully in the years to come.
Q. What did you do, that most of other bloggers didn’t, due to which you could achieve a decent success as a Blogger ?
I’m just being patient. Patience is the key to online success. If you’re not patient enough, you’ll fall into the pit failure.
Another advise is that you should write good and useful content. If you are looking for something and you found that something, write something about it and share it. So others who are looking for that same something can easily find that “something” from you.
Q. Any ‘BIG TOY’ you bought with your own money and want to share your experience about it ?
I haven’t invested into something big yet. I’m still looking for something worth investing. All I bought from my blogging money are gadgets and appliances. I consider these big toys because I consider it expensive and I’ve been dreaming of it for so long and now I have it because of blogging.
I don’t have a “BIG” toy yet as you may describe. But I have something that if compared to car’s normal price, it’s relatively more expensive or equal. I already built my very own ‘Home Theater system’ from blogging (I don’t really pertain that I created it myself, I just bought some appliances and other necessary stuff to complete a customized home theatre system, rather than buying a set).
I also bought a Sony PS3, Samsung LED TV Series 7, Sony Blu-ray player, HTC Touch HD, HP Business Tablet PC, Macbook Air, HP Elite Desktop, Bose Lifestyle, HP Colored Laser Printer, Logitech THX Digital Surround Speakers, 5pcs 500GB portable hard drive, a 4-TB HP Media Server, 3pcs 1TB WD Portable Hard Drive, 2 Samsung split type air-conditioners, a 2-door refrigerator, lots of genuine Blu-ray movies, lots of genuine PS3 games, Wii Games, and a whole lot more of other thingamajigs.
Each month I’m buying something new for myself (appliance or gadget) so that I can see something from my earnings. I deposit the rest to my savings account.
Q. You probably started blogging from your school days, isn’t it ?
I started blogging during my first few days of work, because i was bored at the office and was looking for something fun to do. I was a bored web developer and I resigned after 2 years from corporate slavery.
Q. Any plans to go for a “Job” ?
I have no plans yet. Maybe in the near future if I really need it. As of now, i am planning to invest my savings in a business (I’m planning to franchise a restaurant chain or a fast food chain), or something worth investing.
Q. Any further plans you want to share with us ?
As of now, I want to create tons of blogs and websites with useful content. I’m also planning to create online applications that will have a great impact to various netizens. Just like twitter, wordpress, feedburner, youtube, and other “BIG” and successful online projects, i want to create something unique, something useful and something worth seeing. That day is not today, but I know that day will come.
Q. Any message you want to give out to young blogging newbies ?
Keep on blogging. Be patient. Write useful content that will help other bloggers and readers. Avoid plagiarism. If somebody contacted you and asked you something, be good and give your best to answer it. Always read the comments in your blog. Think positive. Don’t lose hope. Don’t blog if you’re only blogging for money. Blog about your interests, something useful, something worth reading. Money will come slowly, but surely.
All in all, it was fun to have ‘Jehzeel’ on TechPluto this Sunday.