The Juggling of Blogs

Photo Credit:  

At this moment I run basically two blogs, The Archives of Eduardo Chavez and GallantTeddy. The reason that I have two blogs in the first place is simply because I love sharing ideas, concepts, thoughts, etc. I love blogging, I really do. But when managing more than one, things can get quite disruptive.

It makes sense to me that it would be a lot simpler to manage only one blog instead of two and I have thought about this before. GallantTeddy is the newest of my blogs while Archives is my old one and I have considered deleting Archives. But I have also considered deleting GT. 

Archives is special to me because of it’s URL, it’s just my name really, eduardochavez.blogspot.com. I really don’t want to give up that URL simply because if you were to Google my name, chances are more my blog would come up. Considering my name is so popular, I would love the idea of people finding me instead of others. Also, I have Adsense enabled in it and even though the ad clicks aren’t anything spectacular it really is nice to see some pocket change come in.

Another reason would be because I get so much traffic on that blog, specifically for this post. I modified that particular  image with a couple of words and phrases and to my surprise a lot of people actually liked it! But at the same time, that image does not belong to me and if I receive revenue from my ads, specifically from the traffic coming from that particular post, I can’t help but feel as though I’m cheating the system. Something that I don’t want to do.

GallantTeddy on the other hand is a blog dedicated to all of the posts that I am actually really proud of. So far it consists of my Hangout shows and of posts where I have actually taken the time to write things of significance to me. I don’t want to give up this blog because it is my latest creation and it has also been my most consistent.

Aside from these blogs I also share quite a bit on my Google+ profile. On G+, I try to have a mixture of quick thoughts as well as long posts such as this. In a way, I feel as though I’m juggling three blogs all at once.

With all this in mind, I still feel as though it would be beneficial to get rid of one of three. My Google+ however is out of the process. Heck no! I love G+! So either Archives or GT has to go. So far it seems like it will be Archives, even though I would lose the URL and Adsense from it. 

I’ll still think about it some more though. Maybe there is another option that I’m not quite seeing.

Do you have a blog? Or blogs? If so, how do you manage it, if at all?

Why Is It So Wrong to Unfriend?

Photo Credit: Journey by +Mitchell Wong


I had a discussion with a friend not too long ago and I mentioned to her how I had unfriended someone on Facebook. She gave me a surprise response by saying, “Oh no, you shouldn't have done that.” She told me that if I unfriend someone on Facebook it is basically saying that I don't consider them a “real friend” anymore.

This isn't the first time that I've encountered a viewpoint such as this. I've heard numerous cases from both friends and family about someone becoming upset over being deleted online. Most recently, I had a case where one friend told me that I am no longer their real friend because I'm never on Facebook.

At first I thought that this entire concept was a bit silly. For one, the reason that I would delete someone on Facebook is a good reason. I don't want to see any of their content. If I delete someone online it does not mean that if I ever see them down the street that I won't stop by to say hello or jump-start a conversation.

My friend got me thinking though, was it really a bad idea to delete someone? Did I really just end a friendship when I hit that “Delete” button?

In a way, this notion seems to hold plenty of truth. When someone creates an online profile they are creating what I believe to be an “Identity of the Self.” Their own existential being becomes manifested into this online persona and in many cases this persona becomes a “true” representation of themselves. In other words, it is possible that many users online see their “true” self's on an online profile.

So if a person's true being exists in their online profile it is only natural that they will become upset once they have realized that they have been removed from some else's Friends list. 

It very well seems that the idea of a real friendship is no longer limited to physical interaction either. An online friendship can be just as real as one offline, or so it appears.

At the moment, this whole idea troubles me. If I delete someone from Facebook or my Google+, I don't want them to think that I no longer want to be their “real” friend, but rather it means that I don't enjoy the content that they produce.

But it is becoming more and more apparent that clicking this “Delete” button might actually do more harm than good.

Honestly though, even though I accept this idea as a possibility I will continue to delete people that produce content that doesn't interest me. The way I see it, the profile is solely mine and if I choose not to see content from certain individuals, others should respect my decision to do so and there should be no reason why anyone should be upset.

Yet even though my mind is made up, I can't shake the feeling of “what if?” whenever I click that Delete button.

Talking to Everyone

Photo Credit: +Mitchell Wong

About a month ago, I read a piece from the   blog that made me change the way I approach meeting new people.

Now, normally I tend to be a little shy. I get really nervous when meeting others or engaging in conversation. Either I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing or simply making a bad impression, that I end up trying my best to avoid the situation as much as I can.

I don't necessarily see "shyness" as a problem but rather more of this small annoyance that I have to get over.  The article posted on Tiny Buddha had some tips to combat shyness so I decided to check it out to see what they were.

The best tip that I read in the article was simply, "Talk to Everyone." The thought actually scared me a bit. On my daily commute I see a lot of people and the idea of having to communicate consistently with others made me feel a little uneasy.

I finished reading the rest of the article and the other suggestions were also really good. That first tip though, stayed with me for the following weeks. Every time I had an opportunity to speak to someone, input a suggestion or offer an opinion, that first tip kept playing in my mind, "Talk to Everyone."

So that's what I did. Every chance I had I made sure to say something. I started off small from saying "Good Morning," to the neighborhood street guard. Then I went on to chatting with employees in local stores and even strangers on my school campus. During class I would now always say hello to the people around me and talk to them about different topics.

Little by little the "Talking to Everyone," became much easier. It really isn't as bad I once thought. So long as you are nice and polite people will accept the idea that you would like to communicate with them. It is very rare when people don't want to communicate, so now I always feel confident when being the first to say something.

That small step of "Talking to Everyone," has really made a difference in me. I'm still a little shy, but not as much as I was before. I realized that the majority of people around me love to engage and sometimes all it really takes is an opinion or suggestion to break the ice.

So that's a little piece of advice I thought I'd share. I really don't think that you guys are as bad as me when in comes to "shyness," but if you feel as though this approach might be helpful, try it out. Talking to everyone is actually quite fun and little by little the shyness will begin to break away.

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/overcoming-shyness-how-to-feel-more-confident/

Quick Thoughts on New MySpace

I never thought of MySpace as one of those companies I didn't like. If anything what really bugged about it was that a lot of people overused the Flash designs in their profiles as well as some few spam problems.

Other than that, privacy for the most part wasn't really an issue since my profile was private. There were also no status updates to be made, which I thought was great because there was less "noise." 

When you would post a comment on someone's profile, commented on a photo, or chatted with someone else, not every single person on my friends list was notified. I also discovered some great bands from the site such as "Rumspringa" & "Rival Tribal."

In other words, I enjoyed MySpace a lot more than I did Facebook. With that being said I'm comfortable now with my G+, but it's still nice to see a company that I once enjoyed try to make comeback.

So sure, I'll sign up for an invite.

http://vimeo.com/50071857

Why Martinez Will Defeat Chavez Jr.

This Saturday one of the most anticipated fights of the year will finally happen. A fight between the experienced fighter Sergio Martinez and the son of a legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As a Mexican-American it is only natural that I should be rooting for the Mexican fighter Chavez Jr. since September 15th is the day that Mexico celebrates its Independence Day. But in this fight I can't help but feel as more of a fan of the Argentinian fighter Sergio Martinez than of Chavez Jr. 

From the matches that I've seen as well as from HBO's exclusive series “24/7,” I feel as though Chavez Jr. comes off as a careless fighter who's barely learning the ropes while Martinez comes off as the more experienced and determined fighter.

Chavez Jr. in his last fights has gone up against good opposition and he has dominated those fights in stellar fashion, but at the same time he has displayed flaws in his arsenal. Wobbly legs, no jab, and lack of stamina to name a few. Also, that good opposition of fighters many would argue can't even be placed in the Top 100 of that weight class. In other words, Chavez Jr. has faced arguably “good” opposition all while showcasing his many weaknesses.  

Martinez on the other hand has fought the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin, all of which were athletes who were all in their prime. Martinez handled all three of these fighters in highlight-quality fashion, leaving Pavlik a bloody mess, knocking out Williams, and having Macklin's corner stop the fight. In other words, Martinez has had noticeably difficult opposition and has defeated them all in dramatic fashion.

Through watching 24/7 I felt as though Chavez Jr. isn't even invested in this fight at all. He practices when he wants to practice, he takes training days off, and sometimes he doesn't even practice with his official trainer.

As for Martinez, he trains extremely well but also in a variety of methods. He trains his fear by standing on a surfboard and rowing with a paddle (he can't swim), he trains in the ring with a spiderweb like structure designed to mimic punches coming from all sides, and he also goes into a Hyperbaric Oxygen chamber designed to increase the oxygen flow in his body.

All while still doing his normal Boxing training with his trainer and his team.

With all this in mind I favor Martinez to come out victorious over Chavez Jr. on September 15th. I based my decision on both character and past fights. However, the ever-looming surprises that occur in the sport of Boxing are always there.

I want Sergio Martinez to win and I'm sure he will, but in Boxing the unexpected should always be expected.