My Nuffnang Story: Three years after

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Where do I begin to tell my Nuffnang story? Perhaps it started with that small dinner. I was among the first bloggers to be consulted about the Nuffnang Philippines launch sometime 2008. It was a private affair. What struck me the most is Eric Ramierz, one of the owners sat down with us to listen to our thoughts and suggestions.

There were blog advertising networks back then but I wasn’t too happy with the experience: late payments and selective ads. Without batting an eyelash, I agreed to sign up. I found it challenging as a blogger to grow along with Nuffnang.


with Nuffnang co-founder Tim

I activated my Nuffnang Blogger account on August 24, 2008. It’s been three years now and I have seen its growth, their trials and tribulations. From a staff of two girls, I see now a country manager, a blogger coordinator and many more job descriptions that only speak of Nuffnang’s evolution.

it took me a while to shift to “Gliterrati” where one is exclusive to Nuffnang ads. I saw the income difference immediately when I stopped all other blog ad networks.

What I like most about Nuffnang is they continue to be open to suggestions even if it is not in their policy or stand to lose a significant advertiser. Like, I was totally against milk ads because I am a breastfeeding advocate. Good thing they didn’t pursue the marketing spin of milk companies. After all, we are the bloggers who know about the influence of our community.

It feels like talking to my “parents” about future plans.


“Social Network” Premiere for Bloggers in 2010. Photo by Benjie Tiongco

Most importantly, Nuffnang raised the bar on the value of bloggers. More and more companies are advertising in our blogs. You can see how digital media has been revolutionizing the media sector.

It is not all ads in Nuffnang. We have lots of fun and we meet new friends here and abroad. There are the movie dates, the picnics and the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards. It was fun meeting other bloggers within the Asia Pacific region.

nuffnang11
Meeting a few Malaysian bloggers in 2009

I don’t know where the story ends. More and more we are seeing consumers accessing multiple media platforms simultaneously, especially accessing the internet whilst watching television which many consumers are doing several times per week.

I forsee a bright future for Nuffnang and their bloggers as emerging trends happen.

Come 16th of December 2011, 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region will flock to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011 in Putrajaya Marriott. The Awards aims to not only honour the region’s best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific. The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.

Win exclusive invites. Nuffnang.com is giving you the chance to win an invite to the Blog Awards, simply by participating in the blogging contest as outlined below! The contest starts 25 October 2011 and ends 11.59 pm, 19 November 2011.

filipina-bloggers
Photo via Ada Lajara. Glamorous Filipina bloggers gather at the Link Hotel before proceeding to the Pan Pacific Hotel for The Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards Ceremony

nuffnang awards
With Alodia Gosiengfiao, Ashley Gosiengfiao, Jehzeel

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Photo Credits to Ada Lajara . Philippine Nuffnang President Eric Ramirez with Filipino Bloggers at the Pan Pacific Hotel

7 billion and me : Where do I fit into this story of human life?

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The countdown to the world’s population is expected to hit seven billion soon. I want to reflect on how I fit into this story of human life. After growing very slowly for most of human history, the number of people on Earth has more than doubled in the last 50 years. I feel quite ambivalent about these figures. While it it means people are living longer and more children are surviving worldwide, not everyone has benefited from this achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies.

7 billion and me

By filling out the number in this calculator, I see myself fitting in the world’s population.

In 1500, the population is estimated at 500 million but in 2011, it is 7,000,000,000

When I was born, I was the 2,873,706,564th person on Earth and the 76,375,542,810th person to have lived since history began.

The figure is an estimate of how many people were alive on my date of birth. It is one possible value based on global population figures and estimates of growth rates over time. Data before 1950 is less accurate than figures after that date. The second figure includes calculations based on the methodology of scholar Carl Haub, who estimated how many people had been alive since 50,000 B.C. His calculation has been amended by the UN to include additional points in time.

I’d like to take you further through the UN Population Fund’s detailed population calculator, 7 billion and me to see more.

On the same day I was born 278,627 were born throughout the world. It is interesting to add that on the day I was born, 910,171,342 were living in cities and towns

1,963,529,226 were living in rural areas
1,433,951,908 were women
1,439,748,660 were men
1,041,043,490 were under age 15
and 226,759,928 were over age 60

How does the world population of 7 billion affect me?

On the day I was born , 2,873,700,568 people were alive and 6,839,911,966 were born since then. Sadly, 2,713,691,135 people have died since I was born. As a result, the population today is 6,999,921,400

The Philippine population

The Philippines population is pegged at 93,800, 552. Every hour, there are 265 births, 60 deaths with an average yearly growth of +1.7%

In developing nations, where improvements in health care and sanitation are seeing death rates fall, birth rates still remain relatively high. This is leading to rapidly rising populations. In fact, 97 out of every 100 new people on the planet are currently born in developing countries. Qatar – which has a large immigrant workforce – has seen its population rise rapidly in recent years. In richer economies, although death rates are also low, widely-available birth control and a desire for smaller families keep birth rates subdued. Fewer babies ensures populations level off or even decline. Moldova, although poor by European standards, has seen its population drop mainly because of emigration.

The average life expectancy in the Philippines is 67.8 years with female at 71.3 on average and male at 64.5.

Japan’s high life expectancy has been put down to a combination of a healthy diet and good public health provision, which includes regular check-ups. The low life expectancy of those born in poorer countries, such as the Central African Republic, is explained by a number of factors, including poverty, conflict, poor access to health care and the high prevalence of Aids.

What’s next?

The global population will continue to increase during my lifetime and beyond, reaching 10 billion by 2083. It is expected that the rate of growth will slow down. Most of the current growth is happening within the developing world.

Longer lives: Death rates and birth rates are falling in my area. This means working-age people like myself will be supporting increasing numbers of older people during the next decades. By 2050 , there will be just 4.6 working-age people for every person aged 65 or above – a decrease of 63% from 2000.

Battle for resources: It is estimated that the richest group of countries consumes double the resources used by other areas of the world – including the Philippines. The UN estimates that if current population and consumption trends continue, by the 2030s we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us.

Wow, those statistics are frightening.

I believe that the youth hold the key to the future, with the potential to transform the global political landscape and to propel economies through their creativity and capacities for innovation.

““But the opportunity to realize youth’s great potential must be seized now. We should be investing in the health and education of our youth. This would yield enormous returns in economic growth and development for generations to come.”

Did you know? Every day 1,000 women die giving birth – one every 90 seconds.

And 4,991 people is the amount the population has grown while I have been working on these stats?

Ensure every child is wanted & every birth is safe.

The clock is ticking. 1 day to 7 billion.

Where do you fit into this story of human life? Put your birthday in this calculator.

Sharing my social media experience at the 1st ASEAN Social Media Strategy Meeting

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“In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”~ Charles Darwin

David Hatcher’s email popped up on my iphone as I stopped to read my inbox while stalled in traffic. He said he was working for the GIZ, a German development organisation that is facilitating a meeting about Social Media Strategy on behalf of ASEAN on October 27-28 in Jakarta.

Whoa, I had to laugh. Two weeks before a meeting? He must be kidding. This must be a scam. I couldn’t resist being more investigative.

Curious about the GIZ, I fired up my browser and read the website. It seemed GIZ was legitimate and impressive. Okay, I could risk talking to David via Skype as he suggested. Well, well…David called via Skype and a smiling handsome German appeared on the screen of macbook laptop. I instinctively fixed my rumpled hair as I talked to him. Funny I did that. Our 20-minute conversation convinced me even more that this invitation was not a scam.

I asked David how he found me because I never get invited to blogger forums or workshops abroad. He said he did a search using various metric tools. They were looking for power users in social media. I wonder what those tools were. I agreed to be there at the meeting to share my experiences.

Let’s face it , Social Media is everywhere today. Social media is being social but I like that it has also influenced positive change in the community I live in. Stories that traditional media picked up from my twitter timeline and that first broke in Twitter include many relevant issues”

The 1st ASEAN Social Media Exchange and Social Media Communication Strategy for ASEAN became a reality as I flew in Jakarta on October 26. I warned David that I have no abstract theories about social media. Everything I learned about social media came from my own mistakes, the engagement and just being true to myself. Sharing my experience is definitely something I can do but don’t ask me to talk about principles of social media.

Lessons learned in social media

I cannot share the discussion in this meeting. Suffice it to say that the overall objective is to facilitate a reasonably informal exchange about Social Media Strategy for ASEAN. It is likely that various formal outcomes and implementations would emerge from the meeting and be rolled out in 2012, probably as a suite of related projects which may include internal training at ASEAN, follow up initiatives addressing topics that emerge from the meeting, etc.

Being there with other social media personalities in the ASEAN region was a learning experience. The sharing meant also an exchange of ideas that can be also replicated in my sphere of influence. What did I share? There is no secret to SOCIAL MEDIA except to listen, connect, share and engage and be passionate about the topics shared. The informal meeting also inspired me to consider writing more about the ASEAN instead of just concentrating about Philippine issues. The progress in ASEAN integration and the ongoing community building efforts is something that everyone should know.

There were many insights I shared along the way.

1. Action speaks louder than words. . Walk the talk. All those tweets and status notes are utterly useless without action. Actions and hard work speak for themselves. At the end of the day, these matter because they are what people use to judge you. The rest does not matter.

2. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Always take the high road even if someone is rude to you. Mistakes happen but be willing to acknowledge them and try not to repeat it again.

3. Be interested in people’s lives. Create bonds between your social media friends even if you think this is just an online friendship.

4. Continue learning from your own mistakes or from others.

5. Forget the numbers. Forget quantity. Real influence is measured by the way others look up to you.  No matter how big or small your circle is. ( I didn’t know quite how to phrase this but I found tips from How do I become influential?)

One cannot claim to be influential unless others tell that about you.

ASEAN: ““One Vision, One Identity, One Community”

“Asia is a major driver of global growth, and ASEAN is right in the center of the action. Our countries offer complementary advantages to businesses, and a neutral core around which the rest of Asia can build economic ties, and a regional framework of cooperation. To sustain this, ASEAN has to become more integrated and cohesive. Only thus can we keep up with larger and stronger economies like China and India,” said Singapore Prime Minister LeeHsien Loong when addressing the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held here on Nov. 17.

The vision of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” benefits all the ASEAN neighbors but how many of us know exactly what ASEAN stands for. It is about time ASEAN reaches out to the member states. Social media is still a new way to communicate. One has to jump into the pool to be in it. It is just natural that people who are in the institutions have a natural fear of it. But the scary part is not being there at all.

Pete Cashmore once shared that “We’re living at a time when attention is the new currency. Those who insert themselves into as many channels as possible look set to capture the most value.”

To achieve the historic collective leap of ASEAN countries towards ASEAN’s goal of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” starts from communicating this charter acros the ASEAN.

How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?

I believe ASEAN needs to be there, to be seen, to listen and be heard in social media. It might seem overwhelming but baby steps will do at the start. Even those delving in social media still know nothing.

#Twitter is where 40% of users spam, 5% share/interact & 55% are social media experts.

I continue to learn about social media.

“Social Media is about being open, being a connector, being supportive and being yourself.” ~ Michael Q. Todd, @mqtodd, 12Most

Thank you for the company and the experience, my fellow co-participants:

Durudee Sirichanya, Assistant Director, Head of Public Outreach and Civil Society, ASEAN: http://www.asean.org/, http://www.facebook.com/aseansecretariat, http://twitter.com/#!/ASEAN2015

Nuraini Soulisa, Public Outreach Officer, ASEAN

Chris Tan, consultant, ASEAN Web team

Delwin Keasberry, Brunei’s most prolific tweeter: http://twitter.com/#!/BruneiTweet and Founder of ProjekBrunei.com: http://www.projekbrunei.com/

Prof John Ure, Economist and consultant based in Singapore with consultancy in Hong Kong: http://www.trp.trpc.com.hk/, also Executive Director of the Asia Internet Coalition, http://www.asiainternetcoalition.org/

Melina Chan, Founder of Kinyei in Cambodia: http://www.kinyei.org/, extensive experience with development, peer-to-peer education, unconferences and social enterprises

Ong Hock Chuan, Technical Advisor at Maverick, protagonist behind Pesta Blogger and this year’s ON|OFF: http://www.maverick.co.id, http://theunspunblog.com and http://www.onoffid.org/

Danny Butt, Member of Editorial Board at Digital Review of Asia Pacific (joint project of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the ORBICOM Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications, Member of Creative Industries Advisory Group for Auckland City: http://dannybutt.net/

 

Finalist at “The One” and/or “The Ballbreaker” & Blog Watch as the Advocate for Globe Tatt Awards

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Set the bar higher. It’s not about lists and numbers, it’s about actions. And popularity does not mean influence, at least not anymore. -Lauren fisher

I am a finalist in two categories. If you think I deserve to win, then please vote for me…via this link http://tattoo.globe.com.ph/tattawards/vote

What can I say? I believe in awards for the recognition because it makes the advocacy easier to reach a wider audience. Last August 10, I found out that I am a finalist as an individual for two categories : The One (the top award) and The Ball breaker. My work speaks for itself. I will continue to do so till my last breath. It is my passion doing what I love best. The prize money will go a long way to fund writing grants to bloggers and other social media users to promote their own advocacy and post it in Blog Watch , a citizen media portal.

Win or lose, I will continue what I love doing best.

What is “The One”?

The Globe Tatt Awards site describe it this way:

The most influential trendsetter that shaped opinion, moved people, and ultimately starting fire in Philippine internet. This person is ahead of the pack in terms of online popularity and content. S/he may come from any background and engages on any platform. S/he can have one channel of engagement or an ecosystem of social media channels that you handle under your brand or name.

And what is the Ballbreaker?

For the opinion that launched tons of comments or retweets, from the person with so much balls to make that legendary post in the first place. S/he should be a blogger or a Twitter user who started a debate or revolution of opinions with just one (1) hard-hitting post. Everyone linked to it, posted a comment, shared it on their walls and retweeted the person’s thoughts because of an idea that’s meant to trend and spread like virus. It sparked a series of conversations in the Philippine social media space that will be remembered for a very long time.

Oh and Blog Watch is also a finalist in “The Advocate”

This award goes to a person or a group of individuals who worked to improve the state of a societal cause in the Philippines through social media. This person or group invested time and effort (and sometimes even money) for the betterment of other people’s lives. The nominees can have a photo/video/audio channel, a blog, a Facebook page/app or a Twitter account on environmental, political, educational and other relevant advocacies.

If you think I should win, here is what you can do from August 10 till August 24.

1. Visit http://tattoo.globe.com.ph/tattawards/vote. 10% of the scores will be coming from your votes so …

2. Vote for me (Noemi Lardizabal-Dado) in The One category.
3. Vote for me (Noemi Lardizabal-Dado) in The Ballbreaker category.
4. Go to The Advocate category and vote for Blog Watch. (This is the work that Blog Watch has been doing the past two years.

You will need a Facebook account to vote.

Your vote will go a long way to promote bloggers advocacy and citizen media.

Thank you.

You are what you tweet

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“Most bloggers who rise above the clutter are quite often prolific . They work hard, not just writing content but networking, engaging in Social Media and more.” Darren Rowse, problogger.net

Let’s face it . Social Media is pretty much a part of our lives. Whether one is young or prime time like me, those social media tools catch up on us. Don’t you find yourselves speaking social media lingo without even knowing it at times? After a photo shoot, you can hear your friend say “tag me in facebook, okay?”. Soon it will be “google plus” me later.

There is nothing like bringing one’s online community offline. This is what we did for Blog Watch , our citizen journalism community. Social Media day was last June 30 and we completely forgot to make plans for the day. Well, it is never too late to celebrate it and make plans for the future.

Blog Watch has been around since September 2009, almost two years now . We are slowly making our mark in digital activism and it is about time to expand our coverage and reach out to more netizens .

I barely write about it in this blog since the time my presidential candidate lost. You will recall Blog Watch introduced live streaming in its citizen media coverage . We were the first to use curation tools such as storify.net to gather news from different social media sources.

  1. Interviewed seven (7) presidential candidates in the May 10, 2010 elections
  2. Interviewed some senatorial candidates, congressional candidates and a few local candidates
  3. Covered the first Inaugural of President Aquino, first media coverage of the Aquino administration
  4. Stories that traditional media picked up from our twitter timeline and that first broke off in Twitter

There are many lessons and quotes in social media I learned in the last two years especially in Twitter. Starting out with only 500 followers in September 2009, I now have 7100 plus followers because they wanted to hear about news not found in tri-media. Compared to big media networks and celebrities, the number is a drop in the bucket. The numbers do not matter. Let me tell you how it is.

1. Influence is not about popularity.

2. It is not the number of followers or fans that matters. Think about what to achieve with and through the community who cares about your goals.

3. “Facebook is for people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know.” Author Unknown

4. Find the key issues that concern your audience and this will easily get them to be engaged with you. “You are what you tweet.” – Alex Tew

5. Credibility is all you’ve got. Be consistent and fair.
Nils Montan says “ATA be AUTHENCTIC, be TRANSPARENT, be ALTRUISTIC, and you will find enough success in Social Media to have a satisfying career and experience.”

6. “Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social.” Jay Baer
Be conversational, engaged and true to yourself.

7. “Build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may come and stay”. Seth Godin

It is great to be in a community composed of people with diverse interests yet share a love of country , and trying to make President Aquino’s administration succeed. Social media is just a tool we use to achieve this.

“Live to Love and Love to Live! Relationship is everything in the Social Media world”

Celebrating the Rizal in me

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“It’s a useless life that is not concentrated to a great ideal. It’s like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.” Jose Rizal

I braved the rains and drove all the way to Fort Santiago in my period costume to celebrate Jose Rizal’s 150th birthday. Celebrating Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary is not just a one day affair or even a year-long sesquicentennial festivities.

The organizers decided to call this celebration ““MY RIZAL” as it “engages all of us to be a part of what JOSE RIZAL stood for. It invites us to internalize a version of RIZAL in our own personal lives. It inspires us to feel the hero in each one of us, and to follow RIZAL’s footsteps in his true love for country.”

I look at the Rizal in me. Just like some of the bloggers and social media users that joined me in Fort Santiago, each of us have our own advocacy and ideals.

In my role as a blogger and editor of Blog Watch, I call out the societal evils such as environmental destruction and child abuse. I hold President Aquino accountable for his campaign promises. I believe in the promise and unwavering passion of the youth. I am sure Jose Rizal will also fight for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill).

Most of all, love of country is what I am fighting for. Who wouldn’t want a good future for their children, and children’s children. I still cannot understand why corrupt officials exist. Why do they think only of themselves? It is a long and difficult road to fighting corruption and poverty. But if we call upon ourselves to check our government and talk about it, we have gained something.

Rizal’s ideals, as exemplified by his life, his works and his heroism, are universal. They live in each one of us in many ways.

We can live Rizal now.

“Filipinos don’t realize that victory is the child of struggle, that joy blossoms from suffering, and redemption is a product of sacrifice.”- Jose Rizal

The ocean is a mighty harmonist

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““I have always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in my face, the gentle roar of the waves all combine to create a sense of peace and calm.” –Anonymous

I grew up in Cebu, surrounded by blue skies, sunny smiles and the deep blue sea. The beach was always a family activity every weekend. No ritzy mall or entertainment centers during my childhood days circa early 1960 to distract me. The picnic by the sea is what I called fun. Mom prepared a picnic basket containing our lunch of roasted chicken and apple pie and it was off to the most popular beach destination, Talisay just 20 minutes away.

There was just something magical at the beach. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. It is as if I live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun. The beach is probably the only place children actually entertain themselves without parents having to think of million ways to distract them.

Perhaps my dad noticed these frequent trips and decided to buy a small property near the beach in Talisay and in Mactan Island. How we loved the bahay kubo nestled under the coconut tree.

College years brought me further away from Cebu. Being based in Manila, the beach was just too far away to travel even once a month. I miss the memories of joy in a summer breeze and sinking my toes in the sand.

I often tell my children these stories ..how as college students, we would just get to the car and travel to the beach. The pretty little fishes swimming by the sea shore. How fascinating it was to spot the sea horse or sand dollar during low tides.

Everyone in our family returns to the beach instinctively, just like the sea turtles. Robert Henri asks himself, ““Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”

Each one of us looks at the sea differently. For me, the sea represents my roots. Appreciating its beauty, breadth and power is appreciating my existence, who I am and why I am here. Like the ocean, all of us are connected and interdependent yet each person is significant in its existence. Even John F. Kennedy felt tied to the ocean. “And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came… ”

““Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.”
–Albert Schweitzer

““We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
–Mother Teresa


Photo of El Nido by Anna Oposa

““Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”
–Anonymous

Let us all act now to save our seas, what’s left of our coral reefs and to protect our marine life so those beautiful and important natural resources are preserved for our children and future generations to enjoy.

Join Blog Action Day on June 8. Details here.
Save the Philippine Seas!
The ocean is a mighty harmonist… (William Wordsworth)

The global perception of the Filipina

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Now I know what it feels to be an actress. Yesterday, a UK Travel documentary group came over to my house to film a 3 minute segment for the 45 minutes Philippines series in “It’s a Woman’s World” with a potential 60 million viewers . I think we finished close to 3 hours. The interview revolved around cooking Adobo and the FilipinaImages.com advocacy. I let Dine prepare the Green Mango Salad as Camilla asked questions. There were probably 5 questions that focused on the Filipina, They concentrated on me cooking adobo and Dine with the salad while asking questions about The Filipina, What is a Filipina, the international perception and our online work . The action type of interview went quite well.

You know I am used to only one filming angle done during an interview but the videographer took 3 angles. Now this is one film I should see.

They concentrated on me cooking adobo and Dine with the green mango salad while asking Camilla asked questions about The Filipina. It was an action and interview story. Some of the questions asked :

  • What is a Filipina
  • How would you describe the typical Filipina?
  • Why did you start your website/blog?
  • Why do you think Filipina’s have the international perception they do, especially online?
  • Do you want to change this perception and if so how are you doing this?

You will just have to hear our answers when the documentary comes out on October. But let me just tell you, after almost four years, The Filipina Images project has been successful in at least creating balance in the search engine results. When we first started, almost 9/10 search engine results in the first page was dating sites. Not that these girls are Filipinas but there are more Filipinas that need to be showcased. The word “Filipina” is used by these sites.

Since then, search engine results on the first page for keyword “Filipina” has other sites that are not connected to dating services.

What image pops up in your head when you say or hear the word ““Filipina?” is a question my sister Lorna asked four years ago.

A smile.
A mother breastfeeding her child.
An excellent homemaker.
A powerful leader and mentor in her chosen business, profession or vocation.
Another smile, inviting you to meet her family and firends.
A friend who’s there for you, no matter what.
Ah, I’ve never met a Filipina — but I’d like to.
An influential, affluent decision maker.
A woman, confident and willing to go an extra mile to get things done.
A woman I can trust to take care of my kids.
A sexy woman.
A mystery?
A girl, shy and innocent.
A fun-loving woman.
A beautiful person, inside and out.
Endless, timeless images of a Filipina.

I am glad that the Travel documentary series of “It’s a Woman’s World” communicated with us to be part of this filming project. There is no one exclusive category of Filipino women who has the better right to claim that it is more representative of the Filipina than the others The Filipina campaign should not only be limited online.

Television viewers need to see that we , the Filipina of the Future deserves a more empowered, diverse image online and offline.

Multiple, complex, and whole.


Left to right: Camilla Andersen, me , Julia Cornes and Dine Racoma

The documentary series will be viewed on October 2011. It’s a Woman’s World will introduce and immerse viewers into the lives of interesting and inspiring local women they meet. So many travel experiences these days are mocked up for tourism, It’s a Woman’s World wants to avoid these and get the inside perspective on each culture they are discovering.

Filing a child abuse complaint against Willie Revillame

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Remember my article Discovering Tranquility in Luijoe Meadow? I felt something good was going to happen. Positive developments on the resolution of the Willing Willie incident looked promising. During the Holy Week, I received news that a child advocacy group would file a complaint of child abuse against Willie Revillame. I kept the good news to myself.

What I did not expect is I would actually be a co-complainant in a suit filed by DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman. Together with ““running priest” Fr. Robert Reyes, environmentalist Froilan G. Grate, advertising executive Frances Irene Bretana, and myself, we filed separate but joint complaint-affidavits before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, charging Willie Revillame for violation of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (Republic Act 7610).

Sure I had plans to file a complaint against Willie Revillame but I was awaiting a formal report from the Commission of Human Rights.

Trying to keep the issue burning, I initiated a ““blog and twitter carnival” in which people online are invited to write articles and express their views about the controversial March 12 incident concerning the crying dancing boy. The blog carnival began on April 18 and ends tomorrow April 28. Not many seemed interested to blog and instead chose to tweet their views.

I was afraid the child abuse issue would die down after the holidays. As I said earlier, this Willing Willie episode erupted to such madness that it zapped so much energy from me. I got sick for two days with one day totally bed-ridden. My immune system must have gone haywire. I knew I just had to be tranquil for a day. I needed to let go when things are just beyond my control.

I prayed hard to Luijoe to show me the light. The image of the crying boy just could not leave my mind. I must do something. If filing the case was not meant to be, I will accept it. Even if Luijoe is not around, I still talk to him. I told him about the six year old boy. “What should I do Luijoe?” Is filing the complaint a good step? Then I lifted my prayer to God.

Truly, God is faithful. Yesterday, I got word from End Child Abuse Community Facebook administrators Froilan Grate and Frances Irene Bretaña that we could be co-complainants in a suit filed by DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman.

I yelled “I am in.”

Today we walked the talk . We filed this child abuse complaint so we could speak in behalf of the children who have no voices.

This is not about networks. This is not about Willie alone. This is about our children, the future citizens of our country.

I will now let the Courts take care of this as I cannot make comments anymore on the complaint and Willie after today.

Every child deserves a nurturing family and a safe environment, free from fear, abuse, and neglect. Parents, guardians, relatives, and neighbors all share a responsibility to prevent these devastating crimes, and our government plays a critical role as well.

National blogging organization in the Philippines?

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big-bad-bloggerThe topic is still a burning issue. The Big Bad Blogger and the evil PR brouhaha is still making waves in the Philippine blogosphere. I am always asked, “who do you think is big bad blogger?” or “is there really a big bad blogger?” I am aware there are a lot of bloggers with various interest, business model and purpose. I may not agree with all the time but I have yet to hear or encounter allegations of “extortion”. The accusations are downright unfair. In fact the the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) issued a statement on
“In the Interest of Philippine Blogosphere”

(This is an industry response to Marguax Salcedo’s column dated 23 Jan 2011 in Sunday Inquirer Magazine, where she hinted at unethical behavior by a blogger and a PR agency http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20110122-315972/)

Please-Dont-Give-Blogging-a-Bad-Name IMMAP recognizes the value that blog marketing brings to the success of building brands in the digital space. Bloggers themselves are publishers of their own personal websites, and as such are entitled to embrace opportunities to monetize their online presences.

We also recognize the fact that digital PR agencies, which help clients manage their online reputation, often engage bloggers for word-of-mouth promotion.

We understand that blogging as a credible medium can only grow if there is transparency and accountability by all parties — clients, agencies, and writers. It is in the public’s best interest to know if a write-up is affected by a potential conflict of interest.

Our biggest concern with Ms. Salcedo’s article is that it was essentially a blind item. Speculation (amplified by social media) only casts doubt on all bloggers and all PR agencies, which doesn’t help anyone. However, if the insinuations are true, then such behavior — essentially blackmailing a potential client with the threat of a negative review — is unacceptable as a marketing services practice. This is something IMMAP frowns upon as it diminishes the credibility of the medium. We also believe that such behavior is limited to a few black hat practitioners and not representative of the Philippine Blogosphere.

We hope that at some point Ms. Salcedo will clarify the issue and disclose the names of the client, blogger, and PR agency involved so the matter can be brought to the proper light. We at IMMAP are always open if Ms. Salcedo wishes us to mediate between the parties concerned during this discussion.

To help strengthen the credibility of the majority of the Philippine Blogosphere, IMMAP recommends the with the ability to safeguard its practitioners. We would be more than happy to be of assistance in the formation of this organization. In doing so, we can table the interest of the Philippine Blogosphere in the broader digital conversations in the industry.

For our part, IMMAP is currently updating its 2007 Code of Ethics with updated guidelines for digital advertising and social media. We’re looking forward to having a dialogue with representatives of the Philippine Blogosphere immediately to assist in the establishment and ratification of relevant ethical standards.

The statement hits it right on the part where doubts have been created if names are not mentioned or brought forth to the right forum. While I do agree with a collective set of ethical standards for bloggers , I am not convinced on the establishment of a national blogging organization. Bloggers are so diverse and may not want to belong to one big group for one reason or another.

Before the establishment of an organization, a set of ethical standards should first be deliberated and agreed upon in a conference or summit, then the rest can follow.

It is good to have guidelines and let’s start from there.
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