Going out of our homes is challenging these days, especially for those without transportation. Other places observe enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that limits movement outside their homes. But with the crisis lie opportunities for enterprising Filipinos, who filled in the needs of people while making money at the same time. Shopping for necessities is very convenient for those with access to a community group on Facebook or Viber. It’s a win-win situation for all of us as we struggle to cope with our “new normal.”
My husband and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary a few days ago and I wanted it to be extra special. How do I now order a cake? Booking from GrabFood or Lalamove often failed me at the start of the Luzon lockdown, so I ditched that alternative. Viber and Facebook Marketplaces sold goods or offered services, but delivery costs were not worth it if the items cost less than one thousand pesos. I turned to my village community group on Facebook. Settings set to private and a threaded conversation allows ease of use. Over 4,000 members comprise our village marketplace. Vendors or personal shoppers from adjacent villages joined to add to the diversity of products and services. One of them could deliver cakes from a well-known bakery. I realized that the enterprising neighbor adds on a service fee, but that’s fine with me. Helping a neighbor is helping my community. And it helped that the cake made my husband smile.
For the past six weeks, I purchased two electric fans, a prepaid Wi-Fi for backup, pork, fish, vegetables, chicken, neoprene face masks, face shields, kimchi and many more. The value-added benefit of our village marketplace is that they bring most items to the house without additional costs. I am impressed at the items sold such as prepared meals, home-baked bread, kakanin, lumpia, fruits and snacks. Someone sells shrimp, Korean food, pet food and even rubbing alcohol. Another provides cleaning services for air conditioning units and even plumbing services. “Pabili” services (errand services such as “Buy/get this for me and deliver to me, please!”) are thriving in my community marketplace. Examples are pa-grocery, pabayad bills and pabili (errands such as grocery shopping, bill payments and buying something.) How helpful to our senior citizens or those who don’t have a ride. I ordered from a neighbor who collects pizza orders and delivers them on cash on a delivery basis. An advantage of a Facebook community group is that the honor system works. If a buyer or seller doesn’t fulfill his promise, the entire group would know about it (without mentioning names). Everyone strives to be a good neighbor.
Buy or sell new and used items are on the Facebook Marketplace. A friend got a few products from there and the sellers she encountered are reliable. “You could check their profiles to see if they’re legit. You could also report erring sellers/buyers to Facebook. It’s also location specific, which is a useful way to narrow your search,” she said. I limited my search to a 5-kilometer radius when I canvassed for an LED TV. Getting quotations from five sellers helped me narrow down my choice. The problem was that our security guards refused entry because it is not an essential item or service. I had to drive outside the guard house to pick up my order.
Over 7,500 members are at the Pasig Residents’ Viber Marketplace, where I browse for things I might need. Scrolling through so many posts is tiring. One tip to backread posts is to look for the media library and check out the posted infographics. The admin created an excel sheet that categorized food, drinks, donation, grocery, health, hotlines, LPG, market and others. The only time I used this marketplace was when I bought vitamin C with zinc capsules from an online pharmacy in Manila. Most of the drugstores ran out of stock, and this one could send through a courier where I had to shoulder the P240 delivery cost. The question is, how reliable are these sellers? The best recourse is to communicate with the vendor and canvass other sources. Know your product and weigh opportunity costs.
Friends have used Lazada and Carousell for their shopping essentials, but I have yet to purchase from these platforms. I still prefer the village marketplace because this is my community sharing resources. The community is not just a group of people living in one place. Neighbors help each other. I want to help the mothers who comprise a bulk of the sellers. Entrepreneurship may not be for everyone but, perhaps some mothers could harness the power of technology to seek innovative ways to augment household income. Many are out there searching for great deals and a variety of products. Imagine the possibilities of the market.
I received an email invitation for my sister’s birthday party with an instruction that each one should bring a cake. The catch is that all four siblings would carry each cake with a lighted candle as we sing “Happy Birthday” over Zoom, a videoconferencing service. Customizing my virtual background to a cheerful “Happy Birthday” graphic not only brightened the celebration but also covered up the clutter behind my back.
For two hours, we laughed and cheered on each other, wondering how long we would have to stay at home. Sharing tips was a breeze with the “share screen” feature. A sister showed off a YouTube video on her laptop of an exercise that entails just walking around the house. Sure, we might just be behind our laptops or mobile phones in virtual space, but the memorable celebration lifted our spirits. Life goes on as we attempt to gain a sense of normalcy, and try to get innovative with our social lives.
Nearly overnight, the coronavirus pandemic transformed everything about the way people are supposed to interact. Last week, the World Health Organization changed the phrase “social distancing” to recommend “physical distancing,” encouraging people to stay connected via social media. Physical distancing is the key, not social distancing. Now more than ever, we need to collaborate, be connected with each other and care for one another.
Adjusting to the self-isolation and remote working, including hearing news of coronavirus cases could bring anxiety, helplessness, anger or sadness. People want the face-to-face contact to affirm that we would be all right as long as we take care of ourselves.
Remote working apps and platforms gained a huge traction because of the work-at-home arrangement. Zoom is now the talk of the town as more self-quarantined individuals discovered that it could be more than a venue for videoconferencing, online meetings, chat and collaboration. One could “hang out” after a virtual meeting.
Though Zoom is free to use, I purchased the $14.95 (about P762)-plan for a longer meeting time for three or more persons. Zoom’s free version allows up to 100 people to join a video meeting together for up to 40 minutes and unlimited one-to-one meetings. Who wouldn’t want to extend the time to be together?
My husband hosted a Zoom meeting with his staff to see if they would like to meet online other than just chat on their Viber group. I helped him navigate through the “New Meeting” menu and copied the invite URL and shared to their group chat. But first, participants needed to download the Zoom Cloud Meetings app. Registration is optional if settings don’t require it. Even if you don’t need a Zoom account to join a meeting, you might as well register so you could also host your own virtual meeting. With an invite link, it connects the participant to the Zoom meeting through the app. The cheerful chatter and smiles of the over 20 people continued on long after the meeting was over. As a host, you could assign the host controls to another user and leave the meeting. If the original host is a licensed user, the meeting continues on for an unlimited time, even if the new host is a free or basic user.
If you look for “Zoom coronavirus” online, the search engine results lead you to several news articles on its use outside remote business meetings and online coursework. A concert of performing artists, a Frozen-themed birthday party, friends marrying are happening on Zoom. Aside from parties, people have tuned in to church services, meditation or art shows. They call themselves the “Zoomers.” College students in the United States are going on Zoom blind dates. Even the House of Representatives used Zoom for a special session to deliberate the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act.
For sure, there are other video conferencing apps like Google Hangouts Meet, GoToMeeting, Skype and Microsoft Teams. Video chat apps on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber and many more work, too. But why Zoom?
“Zoom is known for its reliability, avoiding long outages that discourage repeated use, and it doesn’t have the latency that makes some services painful for extended conversations” says Jordan Novet of CNBC. Most of all, Zoomers, like myself, find it simple and easy to use. Excuse me, as I zoom in to another virtual party.
For the past month and a half, I have been glued on Twitter to read the latest updates on the fight against Coronavirus disease COVID-19 or otherwise known as #coronavirus on Twitter. I have been meaning to compile a lot of helpful tips but saw that Alistair Miles, a Malaria researcher at the University of Oxford and Wellcome Sanger Institute compiled a helpful list. His advice on coping with COVID-19 is very helpful. In his twitter post, he shares “I’ve gleaned from folks who’ve worked in or studied other epidemics. Please take seriously and pass on to family and friends.”
Some coronavirus advice I've gleaned from folks who've worked in or studied other epidemics. Please take seriously and pass on to family and friends…
1. Many countries like UK are currently in containment phase. But likely at some point infection will start spreading via local transmission. At that point, top priority is to slow the spread, and what we do as individuals and communities will be critical.
2. Fortunately risk of serious illness is low, especially for children. But risk is higher for elderly and people with existing health conditions. Everything we can do to slow the spread will help protect people at higher risk, and less people overall will get infected.
3. There are practical things everyone can do to reduce the risk of getting infected. These need practice, so start doing them now. You may still get infected, but it is worth really trying to avoid infection, because the more we slow spread the better. Slow the spread, buy time.
4. Stop touching your face. Especially stop touching your eyes, nose or mouth. This is much much harder than it sounds, and takes practice. But if you start practising now, you will quickly get a lot better at it.
5. Wash your hands often. Wash with soap and water for 20 seconds, or rub hands with alcohol hand gel. Especially wash hands before eating or touching food.
6. If you or a friend or family member takes any prescription medication, make sure you have a good supply, e.g., at least 4 weeks worth.
7. Don’t panic buy enough food to survive a zombie apocalypse. But do buy a few extra provisions. Do it a bit at a time, add a few extra things in when you normally go shopping. Have 2 weeks worth of provisions, including some chocolate or other treats. Don’t forget about pets.
8. When local transmission does start, keep your distance from people, at least 2 metres. Especially people showing symptoms, but some people may carry the virus and transmit without symptoms, so generally keep some distance where you can. Stop shaking hands etc.
9. While a mask seems like a good idea, it can give a false sense of security. There isn’t a lot of good evidence that shows a mask to reliably prevent infection when worn by the public. But they are useful to put on a sick person to reduce their spreading of the virus.
10. If you or a loved one becomes sick, follow the practices of the day. Call ahead before going to a Doctor, fever clinic or hospital and get advice on what to do. Think through now how to take care of sick family members while trying not to get infected.
11. Talk things through with friends and family. Be prepared that some people will be very willing to talk about it, others may be reluctant or frightened. But general advice is that it’s a good way to prepare emotionally for life not as usual.
12. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like this will be over quickly. The new coronavirus may be with us into next year. It might even become a seasonal infection, returning each winter. This is probably going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
13. If you end up stuck at home for a couple of weeks, don’t forget about skype/facetime/google hangouts/etc., a great way to catch up, check in and hang out with friends and family.
14. If you manage a business or organisation, cross-train key staff at work so one person’s absence won’t derail our organisation’s ability to function.
Momblogger, my online name is more popular than this blog. I never imagined that blogging would open doors to a new life, a new career , a new normal as a social media practitioner. This blog post is a throwback. Six years ago, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) selected me, Mom Blogger as “the Best Blog”. My past recognition was mostly about this blog’s grief journey so this award is memorable.
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Tired with my hectic day yesterday, I sipped fruit tea at the gym’s lounge. I didn’t realize I fell asleep until a phone call from Noel awakened me. He prodded me to check my email, and I told him I will do it once I reach home. Maybe he could not contain his excitement because he then told me I received an award from the PUP Mabini Media Awards. Still dazed from my catnap , I asked “Are you sure it’s me?”
Noel said : “Yes, mom blogger… check the email”
I checked my email and indeed it was true but I still remained skeptical . I was only addressed as “Mom Blogger” on the letter. Maybe because I am known for my social media name more than my real name.
In 2013, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, through the College of Communication, launched its first media recognition called the PUP Mabini Media Awards. With over 40 categories in five media flat forms – television, radio, print, advertising and online media –the award giving body commends outstanding programs and individuals in the said fields.
We are proud to announce that from more than 12,000 voters, you won the Best Blog
In this view, may we invite you to the awarding ceremonies on February 13, 2014, 2:00 p.m. at the PUP Bulwagang Balagtas, NALLRC. The awarding ceremonies coincide with the 3rd Young Communicators’ Congress of the College of Communication.
I sent an SMS to Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Dean Edna T. Bernabe to verify if indeed the award was true . I finally got a confirmation at around midnight today.
I didn’t realize the Awarding ceremonies and the 3rd Young Communicators’ Congress would be this huge and grand. I nearly teared as I walked down the aisle because of the awesome music. I recorded my reaction in my Bubbly Audio post.
I was told by the Dean that the students decided on the nominees. The selection of winners came from the voice of some 12, 436 students of PUP who voted by their Student Information System (SIS) account. I am grateful to the PUP students for recognizing my work on social media. My role as mom blogger is to nuture not only my family but the community so that the future citizens will have a better future. This fourth award is such a big honor because I did not have to solicit and ask friends to vote for me (unlike other nominations where popularity voting counts). The last honor given to me was seven years ago as “Winner, Best Website, Blogs Category- 10th Philippine Web Awards- November 23, 2007”.
Thank you so much , PUP community.
The other winners:
In the new media category, the other winners were : ABS CBN – Best news portal ; Google – Best Search Engine and Facebook- Best Social Media.
Kudos to all the awardees of the 1st PUP Mabini Media Awards.
( I will get the complete list of winners but here are some of the photos I took)
Bubble Gang, Best Comedy show
Kim Atienza for Best Television Educational Program – Matanglawin
Best Radio News Program : Gising Pilipinas!- DZMM
Best Radio Public Service Program: Aksyon Ngayon- DZMM
Best Radio News Commentary Program: Dos Por Dos- DZMM
Best News Program Host: Ricky Rosales
Best Public Service Program Host: Julius Babao
Best Radio News Commentary Program Host: Anthony Taberna
Best FM Radio Program: True Love Conversation (TLC)- 90.7 Love Radio
Best Male Radio Jock: Papa Jack- 90.7 Love Radio
Best Female Radio Jock: Nicole Hyala- 90.7 Love Radio
AM Radio Station of the Year: DZMM- ABS-CBN
FM Radio Station of the Year: 90.7 Love Radio- Manila Broadcasting Company
PUP Mabini Awards for Print:
Best Broadsheet Newspaper: MANILA BULLETIN
Best Tabloid Newspaper: Pilipino Star Ngayon
Best Entertainment Magazine: Yes Magazine- Summit Media
Best Fashion and Lifestyle Magazine: Candy Magazine- Summit Media
PUP Mabini Awards for Print:
Best Blog: Pinoy Mom Blogger
Best Online News Portal: www.abs-cbnnews.com
Best Social Network: Facebook
Best Search Engine: Google.com
PUP Mabini Awards for Advertising:
Best Inspirational Advertisement: Hurray for Today- McDonald’s
Best Family- Oriented Advertisement: Kuya- McDonald’s
Best Advocacy Campaign: Choose Philippines- ABS-CBN
PUP Mabini Awards for Television: (News and Public Affairs)
Best Television News Program: TV Patrol- ABS-CBN
Best Television Magazine Program: Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho- GMA
Best Television Public Service Program: Wish Ko Lang- GMA
Best Television Public Affairs Program: Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO)- ABS-CBN
Best Television Documentary Program: I Witness- GMA
Best Television Morning Program: Umagang Kay Ganda- ABS- CBN
Best Television Male News Anchor: Ted Failon of TV Patrol- ABS-CBN
Best Television Female News Anchor: Jessica Soho of State of the Nation- GMA News TV
Best Television Male News Reporter: Jay Taruc- GMA News TV
Best Television Female News Reporter: Gretchen Malalad- ABS-CBN
Best Television Magazine Program Host: Jessica Soho of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho- GMA
Best Television Public Affairs Program Host: Mel Tiangco of Power House- GMA News TV
PUP Mabini Awards for Television: (Entertainment)
Best Television Drama Program: Be Careful with My Heart- ABS-CBN
Best Television Comedy Program: Bubble Gang- GMA
Best Television Variety Program: Eat Bulaga- GMA and Tape
Best Television Educational Program: Matanglawin- ABS-CBN
Best Television Entertainment Talk Program: Gandang Gabi, Vice- ABS-CBN
Best Television Reality Program: Pilipinas Got Talent- ABS-CBN
Think about the times they have underestimated you. I remember friends and even relatives looked skeptical about a web page I created 25 years ago. “Why are you even doing that?” they asked me. I shrugged, “it’s something new. I want to learn from it.” Did I foresee the future of Digital? No, and I wish I did. Rather, I wished I had been braver and believed in myself more. I believe though that I learned from being underestimated and continued on despite the skepticism.
Leigh Reyes, co-chairman of DigiCon 2019, introduced the learning process during the Opening Ceremonies. She also presented seven questions for the 3,500 delegates in the plenary hall. What do you need to do to learn?
– Do you know more about the technology than your boss?
– Would you be adding new schools to your CV before 2019 ends?
– Have you yourself invested in learning new skills this year
– Has your company added a new job in the past year — in its core services?
– Could Artificial Intelligence do at least 30 percent of what you do today?
– What differences do you want to make in the world — and could your skills help you make that difference?
– Are you ready to Lead, Explore, Apply, Practice (LEAP)?
Organized by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (Immap), DigiCon adopted LEAP as its theme to solidify its status as the learning and networking experience that unlocks digital marketing excellence for its stakeholders. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2022, the core skills required to perform most roles would change by 42 percent. Imagine knowing your team having only 58 percent of the skills needed to deliver their goals. The 2019 Emerging Jobs in the Philippines Report by LinkedIn stressed that digital competency is in high demand, but so are soft skills. It is better to prepare to evolve than watch the world evolve around you. So, I was there at the DigiCon to continue learning how to LEAP and get inspiration from the keynote speakers.
Wendy Clark, chief executive officer (CEO) of DDB Worldwide in her keynote speech focused on “Bravery, belief and being underestimated,” and how the three B’s helped her career, her agency and brand clients. Curiosity and passion are what’s going to make us brave, she stressed. This is how we’re going to lead. This is how we’re going to challenge and find innovative ways to lead our brands and lead our companies. To be brave, one has to disrupt the status quo. New research from Effie Worldwide uncovers bravery as the biggest differentiator of effective marketing. Traci Alford, president and CEO of Effie Worldwide adds that “if you want to stand out with consumers today, you simply can’t skimp on bravery. The truth is, if you want to create effective work, your safest bet is to take the biggest risk.”
An example of brave work Clark got involved with is Stayfree’s Project Free Period. An insightful campaign gave Indian sex workers alternate livelihood training in the only days they were free — during their period. Another campaign was McDonald’s International Women’s Day to honor the women who comprised 60 percent of their workforce. To celebrate the day, McDonald’s stores flipped their “M” to form a “W.”
I talked to her about learning and being underestimated after her keynote speech. “On the path to learning is a failure. Failure is a bruise, not a tattoo. Too often, as a society and as an industry, we compare failure as a tattoo. It is not permanent. We need to talk of failure in a positive sense. Position it as learning. Use being underestimated as a lever, as a powerful tool. When someone is underestimating you, use the underestimation as a fuel in your tank to achieve what needs to be accomplished. Embrace when someone underestimates you.” She recalls a “famous” failure when she worked at a US mobile phone company in the nineties. When Nokia approached her about the camera phone, she told them that “people would never use their phones for cameras. Phones are for talking and are for phone calls. I mean, I couldn’t see it.”
Clark laughs at it now but remembers her old boss, that “it is okay to fail once. It’s not okay to fail twice at the same thing.” Why? It means you don’t have a learning organization. Failure needs to be demystified. We need to position failure into learning. The DigiCon cochairman affirms that in learning, “reinvention cannot happen without learning, doing, learning again, doing again, learning more things, resting in between and then you keep learning.” In learning to LEAP in digital I know I need to be brave, hold on to my beliefs and that being underestimated is part of the territory.
Babies are a wonder because in just a year, they grow from closed-eyed and needy infants to toddlers taking one step at a time while babbling their favorite syllables. Click! Click! Click! A mom asks, why so many clicks? Another parent says, “Why not?”
Sharing too much information about one’s kids online is very common that Erin McKean dubbed the term, oversharenting. On May 18, 2012, the Wall Street Journal writer in a “Words of the Week” article remarked that, “oversharenting” is the tendency for parents to share a lot of information and photos of their kids online. Oversharenting was shortened to “sharenting” in the recent years. It is understandable that parents would share the growth and development of their youngsters, but there’s also a fine line between posting family pictures and cutesy photos of a baby’s first bath. You never know where your kid’s pictures might end up. Experts recommend making sure that whatever images or anecdotes parents post are things their children would feel comfortable with later in life.
Fox and Hoy discovered evidence in two complementary studies that women’s feelings of vulnerability about being a mother are associated with their posting on social media. The posts sometimes cover their children’s identifiable information, such as names, birthdates and photographs. “Providing updates on [a child’s] progress with posts of photos, videos and other personal information about the child has almost become a social norm, but it puts the child’s online privacy and, potentially, safety at risk,” the researchers noted.
I understand why mothers are vulnerable to sharenting. I have been there, and I didn’t have a mother to help me out. Questions like “Am I doing this right?” or “Is it normal to be sad?” hit me now and then. Research on the reasons for sharing ranged from pride about their child to personal reasons, involving their own vulnerability about their bodies, their new responsibilities and evolving challenges, and exhaustion, depression, and anxiety. The researchers explained: “Posting about their experiences and sharing personal information about themselves and their children served as a coping strategy, primarily related to seeking affirmation/social support or relief from parents’ stress/anxiety/depression.”
Threats to oversharing on social media are clear yet serious consequences occur when new mothers don’t have a support system or coping mechanisms. Internet was not around in the mid-’80s so I relied on books on parenting, which I had to order from my sister abroad. We could focus on the pressures faced by parents trying to do their best while reaching out for help online. Today, Facebook groups, community forums for new moms (https://www.facebook.com/groups/firsttimemomsph/) or breastfeeding moms (https://www.facebook.com/groups/breastfeedingpinays/) discuss issues online and off-line. Addressing the privacy risks, together with educating friends who could see the content and protecting their children, is a significant first step.
I love seeing the photos of babies, but I wonder how these kids feel in 15 years from now when they could understand their childhood became public without their consent. My daughters were in college when Facebook became popular. I sought their approval first before I posted any of their photos. One condition they imposed was they should look good in the photo.
Some parents go to drastic measures of posting nothing about their kids at all, but for those who still prefer to share photos or videos of their charming children to some extent online, here are some tips that might be helpful:
1. Adjust privacy settings of the social media accounts for trusted friends and relatives. If you are particular of your child’s privacy, inform them that photos taken of their child are for their personal use and not shared on social media.
2. Use a pet name, rather than your child’s real name, to offer some safeguard against companies or individuals who might use your child’s personal data.
3. Avoid tagging your child’s photos on Facebook unless you want the facial recognition tool to work on your child. Turn off geotagged photos, which show locations.
4. Ask yourself if you would take that risk to have your baby’s photos used in other sites without your knowledge and permission.
5. If still you wish to share, put watermark on the photo or at least blur the baby’s face.
Researchers added that they need future studies “to explore how new fathers, single parents and grandparents may experience vulnerability, and explore parents’ motivations to post on social media and engage with brands.” The pressures of being a “good mother” (or father or grandparent) in a connected society need understanding.
The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive – perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine. Mignon McLaughlin
I am saddened that Juned Sonido, a fellow blogger and one of the co-founders of BlogWatch passed away on July 7, 2019. I didn’t get to read the sad news until Monday morning when I checked my phone. Our friendship dates back 13 years ago when I was still new in blogging. “A celebration of life” is probably the best phrase to describe what I am writing here. Remembering his life through my blog posts and photos is like looking back at history in Philippine blogging when bloggers met up for the first time. Bloggers were referred to as “new media publishers” then “emerging media” and today, “influencers”, “content creators” . I searched for my old blog posts with mentions of “Juned” and found these. Some of the photos are from Facebook and friends. I am more detailed in the years before BlogWatch because most of the activities can be read at his articles at https://blogwatch.tv/author/juned-sonido/ and his blog at http://baratillo.net . Perhaps I will write a separate post on his advocacy and musings.
This marked the first time I met Juned Sonido. Bloggers in Metro Manila met up at the 1st Philippine BlogCon (Meet the Bloggers) . I was pretty excited about this meet up. No formal program was planned, just meet and greet fellow bloggers. I don’t have a photo with Juned but I was struck by the name of his blog, baratillo.net. I talked on “Content is Still King”. Abe Olandres talked on “History of Blogging in the Philippines & Professional Blogging” while Jayvee Fernandez on Blogging as New Media vis-a-vis MSM. Marc Macalua talked of “SEO and Blog Make-Over”. How exciting it was to meet fellow bloggers.
December 23, 2006 – Christmas Blogger Meetup
Abe Olandres organized the longest EB I have ever attended. I went home midnight. I thought I was only going to stay for 1 hour. Quite a number of bloggers were present including Juned and my daughter, Lauren. The 20 bloggers present in this meetup must have enjoyed the conversation so much.
June 24, 2007- Dinner and Conversation with the Band of Bloggers
It was Juned’s idea that we meet up in our homes. He once said
I still remember the dinner parties at our house. They were fun and less costly. But, now it seems to be a thing of the past.
It doesn’t have to be that way, Juned. I told him. Though technology and urbanization indeed has made things so much more convenient for us, dinners and great conversation should never be a thing of the past. I had just moved to our new home and I used it as an excuse for a party. Together with my daughter, we hosted a housewarming party for the Band of Bloggers like Jayvee, Abe, Gail, Marc, Sasha, Aileen, Rico, Marc , Sharms and Juned. At the same time, it served as one of the small intimate gatherings for my 50th birthday celebration. Perhaps we had such a great time, that we ended at 2:00 PM
Three B bloggers?
July 4, 2007- Taste Asia Food Fest at the SM Hypermarket
This is probably the first time bloggers met in one big place. Brands and companies now tapped bloggers to their events. The Taste Asia Food Fest laid out laptops as well as food.
By this time, PR started to invite us to their clients‘ product launches. The benefits of blogging not only spread the word on my advocacy but brought friendships and adventure in this “new media publishing”. One time, Juned and I attended an anti-dandruff shampoo event. He muttered, “I don’t need this”. The question that went through my mind that time was, “Why is there a need to launch another anti-dandruff shampoo?” Because inviting bloggers were so new back then, we often stayed together. Sometimes Juned and I would ask ourselves, “what are we doing here?”.
September 9, 2007 – Helping my daughter in a group’s focused group discussion
For the love of my daughter, I gathered five bloggers for a focused group discussion for her Psychology 118 study over at my house for a Friday night dinner. It was such a short notice and knowing young bloggers, their friday night often gets fully booked. Am I glad that Dine, Shari, Juned, Rico and Sasha took time off from their busy schedules for a round table discussion on why bloggers blog.
At that time, Juned and I have the same reasons on why we blogged.
1. I blog to point things out. Anything worth pointing both tho beautiful and not-so-beautiful, the exciting and the mundane; A perfect ice crystal or the drip-drop and sloosh of the monsoon as it makes its way to the house.
2. To chronicle events. To record things for posterity and probably more i importantly to record events from your own perspective.
3. To move people or a group a desired way. It could be political and then again it could be not. The important thing to remember is the personal need to motivate, convince and a maybe even inspire.
4. To satisfy the Ego.
Blog and Soul Movement
Photo via Aileen Apolo
The Blog and Soul Movement initiated by Jayvee brought us together again. I remember this was such a busy week. Bloggers were in demand to talk in a bloggers kapihan and then this new movement. The goals of the Blog and Soul Movement : (i) Blogcentric; (ii) Skills enhancing; (iii) Fun and (iv) altruistic.
October 7, 2007 – Nintendo Wii Games are Fun
If I didn’t know what the Nintendo Wii Games Console was all about, I would have thought my daughter together with Juned, Jayvee were loonies waving their “wands” about in front of my TV set.
Those were the days, when bloggers would hang out at our house and I allowed them to sleep over. The podcast taping materialized at 12 midnight after they played Wii. For the first time in a long time, I slept at 4:00 am
October 21, 2007 Thank You Day Concert
I took this photo when Geiser Maclang called bloggers onstage during the “Thank you day concert” . It was thoughtful of them to acknowledge the bloggers and even called us on stage to stand beside the hosts for a countdown of the Sweet Shower. I guess it was their way of saying “Thank You” for the online viral campaign of the National Thank You Day.
March 9, 2008- Butch Dalisay and Writing Tips
Photo via Jane Uymatiao
For the month of March, I invited Butch Dalisay to talk on Creative Non-Fiction for bloggers at the Kape Isla in Serendra. This was also an activity of the Blog & Soul Movement.
Here were the tips that I gathered from the two hour conversation with Butch and the 22 bloggers in attendance.
1. You are your first audience. You have to please yourself. If you are not happy with your blog, then who else will read it?
2. When you think of your readers, you write for a reasonably intelligent reader. Your reader is just smart as you are. That’s the reader worth going forth.
3. When you write about yourself, it’s never just yourself. It can’t be. Who the hell are you anyway? Why should your life be so interesting to people? It could be interesting only up to a certain point. There’s got to be a point when you are no longer talking about yourself. Or even when you are, there are points others can relate to .
4. Educate , enlighten and entertain. Have a way to make them accessible and funny. Using self-deprecating humor makes your reader feel relaxed and that’s what creates a bond.
5. Find the image that will capture the idea rather than express the idea itself.
6. Move towards one syllable words. The simpler the word the better. It is not the fancy word that carries the story.
7. Read authors you want to emulate. Stop reading authors that don’t write as well as you. You won’t grow.
He added that “Blogs are here to stay. Standards will emerge. People and readers will develop a sense of good and bad. Someone will not set these standards. People will be discerning of the writer and the reader.”
It’s been eleven years since we talked Butch Dalisay. Is his prediction of blogging still relevant today?
2008 Philippine Blog Awards
The Philippine Blog Awards started in 2007 but it was only incorporated in 2008. I was the first President & CEO of the Philippine Blogging Inc. and Juned took over in 2009. The other officers are Gail Villanueva and Jayvee Fernandez. It wasn’t easy getting sponsors that time since bloggers were still so new. At that time, the awarding was open to all Filipino bloggers who have full ownership of their blogs. This implied that blogs belonging to blog networks or corporate blogs couldn’t be included because of ownership rights. The awards paid homage to “grassroots bloggers” who built up their blogs from their own efforts.
August 8, 2009 – Meeting Secretary Mar Roxas
The buzz at that time was that Senator Mar Roxas was likely to run for the 2010 Presidential Elections. He saw the potential of bloggers and new media to promote his advocacies. I was really hesitant about the whole meeting idea because first of all, I don’t like politics. Second, I felt uncomfortable having to “chikka” with a senator. But I was with fellow bloggers like Juned, Sonnie. Abe and others
December 10, 2008 – Orbit Event at Chef Laudico Bistro Filipino
December 18, 2008-Department of Tourism/MTV 2009 Plans
Secretary Ace Durano and MTV present to bloggers a sneak peek into DOT and MTV Plans for 2009. Happy Slip (Christine Gambito) was also present during the dinner
January 9, 2009 – Another meet up with Mar Roxas
I found myself once again with Mar Roxas and other political bloggers last f at the Balai Ni Mar in Cubao’s Araneta Center
April 19, 2009- Blogging & Blog Marketing: Conversations that can lead to Conversions
I thought we were supposed to be an observer/participant of the Bloggers’ round table discussion on Blogging & Blog Marketing: Conversations that can lead to Conversions at the Internet Marketing Course specifically called Winning Internet Marketing Strategies & Tactics at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) . We ended up seated as panelists on blogging, blog advertising and blog events. It was during this panel, that we laid out what bloggers are:
Bloggers are diverse: We come in all shapes & sizes, and different backgrounds, interests & motivations
Despite the diversity, bloggers have one big thing in common: passion
Bloggers follow a personal code of ethics (e.g. advertising, blogger events, etc.)
For most bloggers, online reputation matters
When working with bloggers, authenticity of the advocacy & commitment of the company/proponent is important (i.e. “one shot advocacy events,” hard sell to bloggers)
Money is generally looked down upon as a reward/incentive
When working with bloggers, companies should strive to make an impression and make sure the blogger has a story to tell after the event
October 10, 2009 – 3rd Philippine Blog Awards
Juned took over as the President of the Philippine Blog Awards.
September 4, 2010 Embassy of the United States in Manila invites bloggers
The government inviting bloggers was slowly catching on. It was a matter of time that the embassies in the Philippines would invite bloggers to their reception or events.
August 2011- Tatt Awards
Photo via Globe Tatto Tatt Awards page. Blog Watch members who are Tatt Awards Finalists Dean Jorge Bocobo, Jane Uymatiao, Noemi Dado, Dine Racoma, and Juned Sonido
We didn’t often see each other that often in media events of brands
We were at the Samsung 5 launch
ASEAN social media coverage
In January 2017, Juned, Sonnie and I were hired as consultants for the Committee on Media Affairs and Strategic Communications, led by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) for the the ASEAN 30th Summit and Related Meetings . 2017 was a busy year for us and we saw each every week for work.
February 2017- BlogWatch Core group meeting
#AllMediaPH
Juned was part of a public consultation held by the Presidential Communication Operations Office . It was a town hall themed event and had participation from attendees on-site and online — via Facebook and Twitter. Around twelve of us were resource persons given five minutes to give our comment on the draft policy.
It wasn’t all work.
2018- Democracy and Disinformation Conference
It saddens me that after our busy year, we barely met up in 2018 and 2019. This was the last time Juned and I were together. I gave up my slot as a panelist for the “Disinformation and Social Media: The Global Experience” because I thought he would give another perspective.
Though we communicated online, I did not want to disturb him after I found out he was hospitalized late last year. Knowing Juned , he avoids talking about himself but I should have followed my instincts. A few days before I left for the farm this weekend, he was always on my thoughts. Perhaps , this is why I wrote this post.
I am filled with regrets, with questions of “why? If only? I should have” , “why God? ” but I am also aware that all these are part of my grief talking . He also leaves behind the people who loved and cared for him, for truly, it is in us that Juned will live on. How? Because we – the ones who were touched by his grace – will share with the world, the parts of us he was able to influence. This is what a man truly leaves behind when he passes.
And though these memories may bring back pain, they bring back memories of joy. All these because pain is the price I pay for someone who touched my life.
Yes, I am comforted with the knowledge that Juned will be forever alive in my heart and in my memories.
Juned, you know, I love you. Every life you have touched will forever live on. Until we meet again my friend, I will carry your precious legacies within my heart..
Below is the last photo I took of Juned. I want to remember him this way: thoughtful, kind and insightful. You will be missed, Juned.
I would like to end with a quote from Thomas Campbell.
To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die. ~Thomas Campbell
Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. ~Norman Cousins~
Rising skills signal tech transformation in industries in the Philippines: LinkedIn studyMy good friend asked me what I should tell her son who is interested to pursue digital marketing. I have already written on Emerging jobs in the Philippines reveal growing demand for talent with hybrid skills. One must understand what skills to look for instead of job titles. Digital competence, is composed of a blend of hard and soft skills. There are many possible ways to develop skills on digital competency. I shared the current report of LinkedIN‘ s Future of Skills 2019 Report, which identifies the top 10 rising skills of LinkedIn members in the region over the last 5 years. LinkedIN looked at the skills listed by members with the highest month-on-month growth. As part of the report, LinkedIn also conducted a deep dive into employees’ readiness to tackle the future workforce and how L&D professionals are responding to the skills transformation.
Remember, World Economic Forum reveals 65% percent of children entering primary school will end up in jobs that don’t yet exist. So if you have kids wondering what skills to pursue, let them be aware of the future of work and the skills required in traditional industries. ?
Anticipating rising skills to ensure businesses stay competitive
As traditional industries adopt
new technology and ride the wave of digital transformation to improve
operations and introduce new products and services, it is unsurprising that the
top rising skills in APAC are dominated by technology-related skills.
These rising skills can be used
as a signpost for organisations to determine how the industry is innovating and
transforming, and help their employees cope with the pace of change through upskilling.
The report also studied the top three rising skill categories in each country that
are more prevalent compared to the APAC average. These are the skills that have
a higher prominence in the Philippines compared to the region:
Rising skill
What do professionals
with these skills do?
Examples of
occupations with these skills
Social media marketing
Promoting
products and/ or services through social media platforms to achieve business
goals
•
Digital Marketing Specialist
•
Marketing Manager
•
Social Media Marketing Specialist
Frontend Web Development
Converting
data to?a graphical interface to build websites?or web apps
•
Frontend Developer
• Full
Stack Engineer
• Web Developer
Human-Centred
Design
Developing
solutions to problems with a deep focus of understanding the human
perspective in all steps of the process
•
Graphics Designer?
•
Product Designer?
• User
Experience Designer
Feon Ang, Vice President for Talent and Learning Solutions, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn shares: “As digitalisation continues to transform the workforce at a rapid speed, certain skills are becoming less in-demand simply because different skill sets are required to navigate such transformation. It is therefore important for organisations to have a deep understanding of their current talent pool, and how to evolve it for their long-term business goals. Helping current talent to upskill or reskill early can help organisations ensure that their future talent needs are met.”
“While we encourage organisations to tap on real-time data and insights to help inform them about trends in the talent marketplace, we also believe that embracing a culture of learning is just as important for organisations to remain resilient amidst a rapidly changing workforce,” said Ang.“At the same time, employees need to be empowered and motivated to learn on their own terms, given difficulties in finding time and accessing opportunities.”
Encourage our children to develop hard and soft skills even outside their education. The future of work won’t be about degrees says Stephane Kasriel, Upwork CEO . “More and more, it’ll be about skills. And no one school, whether it be Harvard, General Assembly or Udacity, can ever insulate us from the unpredictability of technological progression and disruption.”
Kaspersky strongly advises Filipino parents to keep a closer eye on their children’s online activities on the heels of soaring web threats the company has been monitoring in the country. From its latest data, the cybersecurity company confirmed that 82.46% of web threats from January to December 2018 have attempted to attack home users in the Philippines.
The global cybersecurity company also recorded over a 230%
increase on annual web-based infections in the Philippines for 2018 at
31,887,231 versus 2017’s 9,487,775. These web threats were scanned and blocked
by Kaspersky Lab products when its users accessed websites or downloaded online
files.
About 33.39% of the country’s population currently make up
the 0-14 age group while 19.16% comprise the 15-25 age bracket according to
statistics from data portal IndexMundi.
Latest data from the
cybersecurity company revealed that the following categories of websites were
the most popular among Filipino children, which they have either visited or
attempted to visit from their computers:
1. software, audio and
video – 42.04%
2. internet
communication sites (social networks, messengers, chats, and online forums) –
29.17%%
3. e-commerce (online
stores) – 16.04%
4. news – 4.76%
5. computer games –
3.76%
Gathered from May 2018 to May 2019, the
report confirms that kids are now fast moving towards the use of mobile devices
for their online activities instead of using computers.
“The younger set is
undeniably the most connected of all age groups today. Some even have their
digital presence laid down long before they are even born — the consequence of
our inherent nature of sharing that has crossed over to the internet world. And
when these kids get older, they exhibit curiosity, another primitive instinct,
but which they do online albeit carelessly. Just as the internet has been used
to empower individuals, communities and nations, so too can it be used to
destroy reputations, steal identities and hurt the vulnerable, particularly our
children,”
said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Kaspersky Southeast Asia.
“When it comes to kids’
online safety though, we recommend that parents should step in so that the
balance is tipped for good. By staying in constant contact with them plus
getting a little help from advanced security solutions, parents can continue to
harness the positive benefits of the internet and keep their children safe from
online dangers simultaneously,” he said.
In the Philippines, mobile broadband is becoming more
affordable than fixed broadband and it’s one of the countries where Facebook
offers its Free Basics service which allows users to get free access or what
Filipinos refer to as “free data”. This enables anyone in the country with an
internet-ready mobile phone to access the web instantly and without limits.
Recent figures show Filipinos surf the net from two to 10 hours daily.
“As a cyber security professional and soon-to-be-dad myself, the online security of my child is surely going to be one of my foremost concerns. We’re lucky that, as modern-day parents, we’re now presented with an array of tools to safeguard our children from online threats so parenting becomes easier. We don’t need to protect them the old-fashioned way anymore! Kaspersky Safe Kids is one solution that empowers parents to be fully aware of their kids’ online activities without the need to check their devices frequently and still respecting the children’s privacy,” said Eunice Quilantang, Pre-Sales Manager for Kaspersky Southeast Asia.
Kaspersky Safe Kids is a feature in Kaspersky Total Security
(KTS). With this module, parents can now:
Manage the child’s screen time
View the child’s location using a GPS tracker with a real-time online map
Know the child’s device battery level so they can be warned to recharge the device
Monitor their public Facebook activity
Block access to adult websites and content for most platforms
Kaspersky Total Security is available online at https:/www.kaspersky.com at P2,764 (1 device for 1 year), P3,801
(1 device for 2 years) and P3,455 (3 devices for 1 year). KTS can also be purchased from the on-demand subscription service
through telco company Smart where a single license costs P30 for 7days (Text
KTS30 to 8933) and P120 for 30 days (Text KTS120 to 8933).
Below are top tips from experts at Kaspersky for parents to
help internet-proof children:
1. Have the talk regularly. Be involved in
children’s online activities from an early age so this is the established norm.
Encourage communication so you can both learn from each other and to help build
mutual trust.
2. Set boundaries. Ensure that children know what is acceptable
and what is not. Also make them aware of the consequences of going somewhere
that they shouldn’t or using tech when they shouldn’t be. This should be
reviewed as child gets older.
3. Use available resources. Understand that there’s a lot of help as you
raise digital children. Use the resources provided by some companies or
organizations such as parental control software as well as tips and techniques
to better manage kids who use digital devices. Also remember that not everyone
has the same parenting style and that is OK — pick and choose what is right for
you and your family. If a situation ever seems like it is going out of control,
especially with cyberbullying or pedophiles, remember that you can get help
from the local law enforcement agency.
How time flies. My blog , Touched by an Angel (aboutmyrecovery.com) is now 13 years old.
Losing a son felt like the end of the world to me . I wanted to die along with him but I had to remember that I still had two children and a husband to look after. I knew I had to transform my pain to something that will help not only myself but everyone around me. One night as I sat down on my couch, I found out there was no use making sense of my son’s death but there is hope in making sense of my life. I pondered “What can I do about it now?” “How can I help?” or “How do I pick up the pieces and go on living as meaningful as possible?
When I look back at my grief journey, the turning point came when I became a blogger. It must have been my angel that touched me that one night.
That is why I chose to call my blog, “Touched by an Angel”.
Looking at my first post in 2006, I merely wanted to give hope to parents, siblings and grandparents that there is a new normal after a loss of a child. I did not know how to blog and merely wrote a few sentences. This is ,my first post :
After being online for the past 10 years, I felt it was time to start a blog. Not that blogs are commonplace but I felt I have a lot to share especially with regards to my grief journey and the transformation that has taken place in the past year.
I chose joy over sadness. It is said that grief is inevitable but misery is optional. I realized that it did no good to sit in my misery pit. It does no good for the loss of my son to lead to the loss of two.
What does do good is doing good. I decided to lead the second part of my life differently and better than I would have imagined in the name of my son, Luijoe. I know that as I reach out to bereaved parents , the world is changed in some small way for the better, and then the actions taken become my living tribute to my son. And then Luijoe is never entirely gone.
Indeed, it was a choice between joy and misery. I transformed my grief to joy in doing something meaningful. I know I would always be grieving for life but I wanted that pain to move to a positive resolution.
Never in my wildest dream did it occur to me that this new life without my son would open doors to an even more meaningful life. I hope you will indulge me a bit more if I talk about the past 12 years.
The recognition (4 major awards plus two more from a telecom company) helped promote this blog so I could reach out to more who may need comfort.
Best Blog, 1st PUP Mabini Media Awards
February 13, 2014 read more?
The Mabini Media Award is quite unique because it covers all that I am today. It affirms the evolution of my journey as a blogger and a bereaved mom to an active mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement on family and social issues.
Three years after I started this blog, an opportunity presented itself to me to be part of the Automated elections in a 2009 training. I grabbed the chance. I felt sad that the democracy that we fought so hard in 1986 was getting fragile. I felt the same heaviness in my heart as I saw the corruption slowly destroying our country. What will happen to the country that my children will inherit one day? I wanted to be part of the change of transformation of governance.
I chose to be a citizen advocate making change happen, one blog post at a time, one tweet at a time. Being part of that positive change is a meaningful life to me. Blog Watch is so much a part of my life aside from this blog.
Do I miss my beloved Luijoe? Of course , I do. Is there sadness or a tear now and then? Yes. But there is a big difference. The sadness no longer steals the joy away. The awful pain and emptiness lessened as I treasured the memories of the moments spent together, not dwelling on the times which will never happen. That pain is giving me courage to focus on my purpose in life. To live a meaningful life as a citizen advocate, to make a difference by advocating social change for good.
I’d like to thank all of you for being part of that change, of being part of my community.
