Earlier this month, I was approached by AOL Weblogsinc associate producer Sarah Gilbert to blog on BloggingStocks. BloggingStocks is a blog that obsessively follows the eight most followed stocks in the U.S. market. Now that the contracts are signed and my first post is up, I thought I’d share the good news with you!

How Did It Happen?
I discovered AOL’s new blogging venture early during its launch and wrote a post on my investment blog. Since Investorial (my investment editorial blog) was about investing / financial media information, I decided to keep tab on what I believe to be an emerging force for the industry. I answered a Craigslist ad in May — a call for investment bloggers by AOL. I applied and got a second look, submitted a few sample posts but the experience did not bear any fruitful results.

I kept reading BloggingStocks articles and being my very opinionated self, I wasn’t agreeing with how that they were delivering investment information. In particular, I had issues with one of their bloggers Sheldon Liber. But while I was giving my “harsh” constructive criticisms through the many comments on his posts, Sheldon contacted me numerous times for rebuttals. I stood by my assertions everytime but made sure I backed them up further. From those interactions, I knew that Sheldon is a really intelligent person and may have chosen his own way to express the information.

In retrospect, I believe Sheldon had a lot to do with my inclusion into the BloggingStocks roster! I am currently in the same team with him. And his writings have steadily improved while gaining popularity since our paths crossed. So I want to publicly thank Sheldon and Sarah for giving me a voice, and an opportunity to interact with fellow investors and blog readers out there!

What Am I Hoping To Achieve?
This development means to me, a validation of my passion to blog about investing and finance. I hope to continue evolving as a writer since I have no formal training, and also to keep blogging with integrity. It’s very easy to become hypocritical when I blog about the good, the bad, and the ugly in investment media at Investorial if I don’t follow my own standards when blogging at AOL.

I’m currently developing my craft in this niche through a trinity of blogs. I dissect media and news at Investorial. I’m a proud member of InvestorGeeks and focus more on technical and investing principles there. Now, I get the opportunity to blog specifically about stocks with a well-known blog network in Weblogs Inc.

I will still actively comment on BloggingStocks. You won’t see me shying away from my opinions either. That’s how I started, and there’s no reason for me to act differently now that I’m also writing for them. Though I’m now paid for my writing, I refuse to churn out quantities of material to pad my bottom line if those material are rushed and not of quality. Blogging about investments is a passion first and a part-time income second. My income on Investorial has also steadily risen over the last year of blogging and my first anniversary for that blog is coming up soon. (Watch for the anniversary post!)

What started out as a passion, has turned into a good opportunity for me. Blogging can potentially get you an income. But is that really what matters? Blogging can be educational, social and cathartic. Blogging can help you make new friends, new contacts. Blogging can open doors. And so can commenting! It’s all about the community!