My ME time is always a relaxing day off from home and work. It’s the day I pamper myself and make myself feel good. Nurturing is about how we show love for ourselves. It can be a visit to the beauty salon, a foot spa, a home service massage or an indulgent visit to a spa treatment salon. I am not where I am today if I didn’t learn to nurture myself. I wouldn’t have a second wind in my marriage if I didn’t have a loving relationship with myself first.
I told myself that I should take a break from blogging. Just when I thought the waters are calm, Mike Abundo reveals that a hearing on a proposal by the Philippines’ National Telecommunications Commission that will require licenses for online content developers will be held today. The public hearing is set at 2pm Thursay GMT+8 (meeting got cancelled) at the NTC Executive Conference Room, 3rd Floor, NTC Building, BIR Road, East Triangle, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The proposal is called the GUIDELINES ON THE PROVISION OF CONTENTS, INFORMATION, APPLICATIONS, AND ELECTRONIC GAMES. Content definition is not quite clear but I hope that can get threshed out. Is the memo applicable to commercial sites? And are personal sites exempted from this definition? Imagine paying 6,000 pesos annually for licenses when people create and post content online. Just the same, I asked my husband to read the memorandum so I don’t miss any fine print.
(edit -updated at 7:00 PM: My husband’s opinion below and read this Business Mirror article that explains the memorandum. Thanks Scrufus for the link. )
The definition of Content Developer is too vague and broad although it would appear to regulate content provided ““for compensation”. It could be dangerous as it could be used to stifle the blogosphere…
Bloggers should question this measure.
It’s not the money, although 6k is a lot. It’s using government policy to control and regulate content online. It’s a freedom of expression issue. It infringes on the constitutional right of free speech and expression.
If there is one place I want to add to my Europe Travel destination list, it would be Sabrosa, Portugal. Imagine rolling hills of vineyards and most importantly, a shared history. Let Butch , my husband and guest blogger, elaborate.
A Common Past, A Promising Future
Photo courtesy of Quinta de la Rosa
Oh the irony of Enfakid A+ Milk Formula with Nourishing the Brain and the Pursuit of Excellence!
Milk Formula Manufacturers are quite aggressive in their marketing campaign that they are not checking their “trying to be smart” ads. Blooey first pointed out the Enfakid Milk Ad as shown in the Inquirer (Page D3, October 22) and I want to re-post the photos and explanation below.
Flipping through PDI today, an ad reads… (page D3)
Flap opens to…
And then the milk formula in the corner.
Their ad further shows that
Your child can learn, discover and imagine far richer with Enfakid A+. Now with enhanced DHA levels that help brain cells communicate well to support your kid’s rapid mental development. Nourish the brain. Pursue Excellence”.
Are you having problems with debt? Are you afraid of answering the phone because it may be an angry creditor calling? Do you have problems getting from one paycheck to another?
The simple answer is you need to budget. But for that budget to work, your entire family needs to be involved. With her years of expertise in the field, learn how your family life can be more enjoyable by freeing yourself from financial worries.
On September 20, Coffee Talk Series of which Mom Exchange and Alveo Verdana Homes will host a wealth management forum with Financial Columnist Karen Galarpe.
When: Saturday, September 20
Time: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Where: Coffee Bean Tea Leaf Greenbelt 3
Please reply below if you can attend. Here is the invitation.
imom, Dine, me and Annamanila
I am truly blessed to be part of the yearlong celebration of the University of the Philippines (UP) Centennial through a book launch, Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way. The book of which I am one of the writers, features 25 UP alumni who have madeâ€â€and continue to makeâ€â€their mark in business here and in foreign lands, living up to the UP tradition of excellence and nationhood. The project was initiated by the University of the Philippines Small Scale Industries (UP-ISSI) and the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF) where I worked for 7 years before I retired in 1987 upon giving birth to my second daughter.
When Carlo Ople, the New Media Consultant of Senator Mar Roxas invited me for a bloggers’ meetup, I almost choked:
“Whaaat? I hope you won’t ask me to endorse him or something”.
My imagination started to run wild. The buzz is Senator Mar Roxas is likely to run for the 2010 Presidential Elections. I could see it clearly now. He sees 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. I sort of nodded “yes” to Carlo, unsure if this was my kind of thing. During the last senatorial election, I only blogged of Alan Cayetano, a family friend the day after the elections. I rarely discuss politics in this blog especially if there is no bearing to my blog’s theme.
So I raised the question in plurk to see if my plurk buddies had the same sentiments as mine, if a senator invites you for a meet-up would you go?
Surprisingly, majority said they’d take the opportunity depending on the senator. Of course, it hit me. This is new media content. I cover food events, press conferences and even the launch of a Governor’s blog so why not a senator’s request to meet bloggers? This is a perfect opportunity to meet a senator up close and know the person behind the senator. Definitely a first in the Philippine blogosphere.
This afternoon, I finally met Senator Mar Roxas. I sat across him so I could easily snap photos of the event. But due to the mirror behind him, he moved over to sit beside me. Great.
He saw my plurk name, momblogger on my macbook and asked, “Is that your name, momblogger?”
“It’s my plurk name. Do you plurk?”, I asked.
He laughed “Not yet. I use Twitter”. Not bad. The senator is very tech-savvy.
I couldn’t contain my plurk addiction so I wrote this momblogger is seated beside Senator Mar Roxas and he is asking if momblogger is my username since he noticed my plurk. and even showed him the replies to my plurk. He was surprised at the plurk greetings.
Bloggers from FilipinoVoices.com, Susan ““Toots” Ople,Lester Cavestany, Jester, Arbet Bernardo, Marck Rimorin, Juned Sunido, Sonnie Santos, Abe Olandres, Paolo Florenda, Ding Gagelonia, Gail Villanueva, Marc Villanueva, Ellen Tordesillas, Manolo Quezon, Ricky Carandang, Carlo Ople and myself introduced ourselves to the senator. He scribbled the names of each blogger on a sheet of paper and made sure he remembered each one of us. He even drew a seating layout with our names in it. A man of details. Very impressive, indeed!
The serious talks on VAT on oil started. He said that:
The 12% VAT on oil was imposed in 2005 when the world price of oil was only $30 per barrel and public deficit was at an all-time high. Today, the situation has revered itself. The price of oil has exceeded $100 a barrel and is still rising while our budget deficit has been tamed. In 2005, at the time government sought a higher VAT, the intention was clear: to put our fiscal house in order. Today, at a time when people’s incomes remain largely stagnant against soaring prices of food and oil, it is government’s turn to make the supreme sacrifice of leaving money in our people’s pockets. Stop collecting the oil VAT. This will immediately result in savings of P6 per liter of gas and P66 per LPG tank. Such savings will be felt more by the poor than the rich. These savings will also benefit the government since whatever we buy with it would be VAT-able anyway.
Listening to Senator Roxas, I am very impressed with the structure of his talk. He is highly organized and smart. I would not have known this if I didn’t attend this intimate gathering. The senator seemed unfazed even under difficult questions from political bloggers.
The question is: Do I really want to remove the VAT on oil? Where will the government gets its revenue? The move seems to favor the poor more than the rich but his Senate bill 1962 on a proposal for a 6-months suspension of the 12% VAT on oil has not moved at the Lower House.
(Photo from Carlo Ople)
A cute question raised by Marck was “Who would he want to meet among the three characters in The Dark Knight?” The senator’s answer is 2 Face and he wants to ask him “What happened to you?”. Nick wondered out loud in plurk “if he thinks two face is what happened to Neri..”
Since his committee is on Trade and Industry, I asked him about consumer protection when Internet Service Providers (ISP) don’t deliver.
His answer: Write him and he will coordinate with the Telcos. Wow. I will probably do that only if I exerted all means to fix the problem with my ISPs.
He also launched his Mar Roxas Blog which he promises to update once a week.
What do you think of a senator tapping bloggers or new media to promote an advocacy?
More photos of Senator Mar Roxas and Bloggers
Other Bloggers’ entries
Blogger Meet up with Senator Mar Roxas
Up Close with Senator Mar Roxas
Mar Roxas Asks: What Do We Have To Show For P7-Trillion?
Sen. Mar Roxas blogs, for real
Every now and then, readers email me requesting for such and such topic to be blogged. If I think it benefits the public, I usually blog about it. One simple email request came from Diane on May 25 .
If it’s not too much to ask, can you please link my entries regarding Danvil Plans to your website? I need enough noise to stop this from happening again to other people.
Of course, I had to do my own research on Danvil Plans (soon to be Legacy Consolidated Plans) first before blogging about it. I was appalled to discover that it was the same Family First who have been using this high-pressure and unethical practices for years. The problem with blogging about this topic is that I was not a victim of Danvil Plans . After reading entries upon entries from bloggers, I was convinced that this kind of high pressure tactics need to stop. Not only Danvil Plans but other “scams” as well.
I soon blogged about the Danvil Plans and other Scams with a mirror entry at my Multiply Account entitled Buyer Beware of Danvil Plans High Pressure Tactics.
This entry is a continuation of PR and New Media Publishing.
A few months ago, I got invited to watch the presentation of a scientific study that correlated DHA and ARA (components found in Breast Milk which Milk companies now add to their formula) to the increase of the IQ of a child to 7 points. I was quite puzzled by the presentation of Dennis Hoffman’s Recent Evidence that Dietary Supply of DHA and ARA in Early Infancy Leads to Possible Trends in IQ of 4-Year Olds. Though no milk company was mentioned or direct promotion of the infant formula, I noticed that a popular celebrity was around to host the event. An idiot can easily put two and two together and correlate it to that milk company. I felt sick to the stomach because I thought I was attending a parenting seminar.
No problem there because like I told you, if I don’t believe in the product or event, I am not compelled to blog about it. So I left it at that.
Three months later, I got a call from the PR company. I could have said NO from the start of the conversation. But I listened out of sheer curiosity. She admitted that she was being candid and was exploring the possibility for mom-bloggers to be an advocate.
Hm, an advocate? How?
2006 is the year I started my personal blog. What most of you don’t know is I’ve been blogging on web development, food and entertainment as far back as 2002. The year 2006 is significant to me because I got introduced to New Media Publishing. I know a few bloggers who raised their eyebrows, that bloggers should not be attending PR events or product launches because it is “unethical”. Let me just say that these bloggers are entitled to their own opinion and I’d like to leave it at that.
I have my reasons for venturing into new media publishing.