Philippines Internet Review Blog

Verceles: Blueprint for National Internet Exchange - Will it happen in the Aquino administration?

2010-12-02T09:20:00.002+10:30

I got the chance to catch up lately with former Congressman Leandro Verceles Jr. For newbies in the Internet community, Verceles is a major proponent and co-author of important IT-related legislations in the country such as Y2K Law and E-Commerce Law. He is also the man behind RPWeb that mandates government to connect online and use it as a means to render public service.

Shared with him the paper written by Tunde Fafunwa on the Need for a National Internet Exchange where the urgency for such is amplified or else the quality of our Internet infrastructure will degrade in the long run. Having a local Internet exchange will provide more reasons as well for sites to be hosted locally rather than route all Internet traffic abroad.

The Need for a True National Internet Exchange (Philippines) - V1.2 by Tunde Fafunwa of Kitskoo.com

This issue is not new anymore and discussed from time to time for a decade now. Verceles sent me quite a lengthy reply on this and decided to publish it in full.

I am hopeful that for as long as the local Internet community keeps clamoring for better Internet, there is still chance for a National Internet Exchange to be implemented in the country. I guess it is only a question of whether President Noynoy Aquino will take the leadership and mandate the players to make it happen.

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My comments on the “NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE” and a suggested BLUEPRINT for its immediate implementation and sustainability

by Leandro Verceles Jr. (former Congressman of Catanduanes 1992-2001)

I am quite surprised that it has been a decade now and the viable “National Internet Exchange” (“NIE”) concept continues to remain a concept. As then congressman and chairman of the Congressional Sub-Committee of Information Technology (1992-2001), I had advocated for the realization of this important infrastructure item to pole-vault the growth of the then sunrise IT industry. Starting with RPWEB (1997) that mandated internet connectivity in every government division office numbering in the thousands and the E-Commerce Act (2000), both of which I humbly had authored, it was the intention eventually that a NIE would come to be to handle the steadily growing internet traffic in the country.

The creation of the NIE would give more sense to and reduce the cost of expensive bandwidth for our telcos and ISPs. The choking point is that pipe from the Philippine gateways to the international internet grid, most likely ending up in the United States. By avoiding this pipe in the transmitting and receiving of data, traffic from the Philippines meant for the Philippines would be less congested, less delayed, and will translate to savings for the local carriers and users of bandwidth. Business wise, it would really have made good sense for the telcos if they had set up a NIE in the country.

I would suppose that the normal distrust of the stakeholders, most especially among the telcos, with having a supposed neutral entity to run the NIE has been a deterrent to its set-up. An organizational model that would be acceptable to the stakeholders, most especially to the telcos, has so far eluded the industry. Likewise, the distrust of government to be that neutral entity has likewise been a consideration.

With confidence on the present administration to level the playing field starting with the President’s strong support for private sector-public sector joint ventures and a non-sense regulatory environment to be demonstrated by minimal government interference and equal treatment to all, government should try once again to get the industry stakeholders together.

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) with the participation of the DOTC and the NTC can take hold of this great opportunity and invite the stakeholders, most importantly the telcos, in a sit down conference to work out a strategy leading to the creation of the NIE. At this juncture, the stakeholders have nothing to lose if they attend the conference. Coffee will be free and snacks should also be served and the air-conditioning cold to make it as comfortable as possible so all will stay for the talks. Telcos sponsors of the conference should be avoided.

Invited should be no less than at least executive vice presidents of industry stakeholders, most especially the telcos, to ensure that the talks will start at a high level. If that proves difficult, then go to Plan B, that is, the occasion may be graced by the President himself even for 30 minutes only. With President Aquino there, it is the hope that there will be enough excitement and gentle persuasion for the CEOs and presidents of the telcos to come to the conference and involve their companies in the NIE.

Once there is positivity amongst the invited stakeholders to at least explore the possibility of creating the NIE then the work can be left with the stakeholders’ middle management to work out the figures, details and implementing activities.

Taking the lead in trying to get the stakeholders to come up with a NIE may be a special task group coming from the CICT. But it must be very clear that the participation of the CICT is not to run the NIE or put it under their jurisdiction but only to get the stakeholders together. The end product (a NIE) will be the creation of stakeholders themselves. The DOTC and the NTC can assign officers to be seconded to the CICT to help the stakeholders navigate the complicated government regulations.

Some ideas for consideration in the set-up of the NIE:

The CICT, DOTC and the NITC should not have jurisdiction in the policy making or implementation of the NIE as the latter is strictly a private endeavor. But as an expression of the government’s sincere efforts to ensure the long-term existence of the NIE, the CICT, DOTC and the NITC can assign officers or offices to support the needs of the NIE if assistance is so desired.
The NIE may be non-profit corporation fashioned after the United Nations organization to give the telcos comfort. Like the UN security council, there may be a council/board comprising of about 12 members wherein the major telcos will be permanent members such that a veto vote from any of them on any measure will immediately cause the rejection of that measure. The chairman of the council/board does not vote and may be determined by rotation and better if he is not representing a major telco. Other members of the council/board composed of the smaller telcos and ISPs, who incidentally are also members in the bigger general assembly (to be discussed later below) can be rotated to seat in the council/board. But all the members of the council/board must be members of said bigger general assembly akin to the UN General Assembly. All major and minor telcos and ISPs of the general assembly will have one vote each. The measures voted upon in the general assembly may be expressions of ideas translated into resolutions of the industries represented and like activities. These measures are recommendatory in nature but in relevant cases, may be elevated to the council/board if said measures are of a character that will need the cooperation and implementation of the major telcos who are permanent members of said council/board. Working committees can be established with their outputs sent to the council/board or the general assembly.
The NIE can also be the institution that will unify the IT industry. The NIE as a whole will become the most persuasive organization that will work hand in hand with government to ensure maximum growth and a healthy and harmonious business environment of our domestic IT industry, which, steadily with the BPO industry, is becoming a major contribution to the nation’s GDP. To include the BPO and computer industries including non-profit organizations representing them as members of the general assembly (not as permanent members of the council/board) may be worth considering.
Quarterly financial contribution of the members of the general assembly (and council/board) should be based on their estimated usage of the exchange gauged by their bandwidth access requirements. Failing to pay the quarterly financial contributions will mean losing temporarily voting rights in the general assembly and the council/board as the cases may be. This should even apply to the major telcos who are permanent members of the council/board. Otherwise other parameters of cost sharing can be explored. But for the initial set-up, physical works and electronics, etc. the telcos inasmuch as they are more capable, should contribute more, either in cash or in kind. In exchange the telcos get permanent seats in the council/board and veto rights.

Social Networking most important Internet activity for Filipinos

2010-10-13T10:11:00.001+10:30

According to TNS Digital Life, social networking is the most important activity among Filipino Internet users at 44%. This is followed by:

emailing 36%
gaming 24%
knowledge & planning 19%
multimedia 6%
organizing 1%
news, weather, and sports 5%
personal interest 3%
shopping 2%
browing 2%
admin 0%

TNS just launched its Digital Life site showing Internet statistics and social media habits as of September 2010. Out of almost 100 million population, it is estimated that the country has 29.7 million Internet users. Average age of the Filipino Internet user is 22.7 years old spending an average of 10 hours online per week with 171 e-friends.

TNS also observed that majority of Filipino Internet users Digital Lifestyle is that of the "aspirers" at 83%. Newbies accessing the Internet from home using the personal computer and mobile phone who are learning to do more of everything online. This is followed by:

communicators 11% (active talking to people online via email, instant messaging, social networking, etc.)
influencers - 3% (can be an active blogger, passionate social network user, online shopper, and has many social network friends.)
knowledge seekers 2% (interested in the latest things and use social network or related platforms to pursue such)
networkers 1% (likes to use social networks and open talking to brands. Does not voice opinion online.)

Related research:

Stickiest websites for Filipino Internet Users

2010-10-11T20:48:00.003+10:30

Using estimates generated by Double Click Ad Planner by Google, the following sites have high page views or stickiness among Filipino Internet users. (data covers September 2010)

Some thoughts to ponder on the image:

Facebook active users count is at 10 million for the Philippines generating 3.9 billion page views.
Google and YouTube traffic data not available for the Philippines which is a bit ironic. Am expecting Google to share their own data too as much as it encourages others to do so.
Friendster still has an active user community that can't be counted out.
Tagged users are very active in checking out profiles (which I assume includes photos). Its visitors also drops by dating sites.
Sulit and AyosDito are top 2 Pinoy sites most visited by Filipinos.
Habits of Filipino online gamers are changing as they focused more on games that are integrated in social networks.
Noting Multiply, Blogger, and Tumblr as popular blog sites for Pinoys.
Growing number of Pinoys spending their time in online service marketplace oDesk to get freelance projects.
When counter-checking the list with Alexa, a lot of the sites listed in Alexa have low count in Double Click Ad Planner.
There are 1.5 million active Twitter users in the Philippines.

Look forward to your thoughts.

Dataset:

Top 300 uploaded in DigitalFilipino Club.
Top 600 uploaded in Search Profile Index.

Winners of free delegate pass: The Digital Ripple: 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010

2010-08-13T02:21:00.000+09:30

Many thanks to those who joined our free delegate pass contest for the The Digital Ripple: 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010 organized by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines. This will be on August 19 and 20 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

Search Profile Index by 4th Media Internet Technology Corporation is an exhibitor in this conference.

The winners are:

Note that this slot is not transferable. Congratulations to the winners!

Get a free delegate pass: The Digital Ripple: 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010

2010-07-24T14:15:00.003+09:30

The Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) is organizing The Digital Ripple 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City this August 19 and 20, 2010. They are giving away two (2) delegate passes to this event.

Should you like to participate and hope to get one of the passes, this is what you have to do:

Make a blog entry about the The Digital Ripple 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010 and cite why you like to attend this two-day event.
Your blog post must have a link to the following:
link 1: The Digital Ripple 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010 at http://www.immapsummit.com/speakers.php
link 2: Follow IMMAP on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/immapPH
link 3: Monitor #immap summit discussions via Twitter at http://twitter.com/immapPH
Add a Facebook "like" button to your blog post to enable your readers to give a thumbs up.
Post a comment to this blog entry and give me the url link where your entry can be found.

Deadline for submission of entries is on August 7, 2010. We will list and link to all entries that get submitted here.

Two winners will be chosen based on:

First winner shall be based on most number of Facebook likes or thumbs up from readers. Deadline for counting of likes will be on August 9 (before 12 midnight).
Second winner will be based on the blog post story - why do you want to attend the summit.

The 2 winners who will get one delegate pass each shall be posted here on or before August 10.
I hope you can join and see you at the The Digital Ripple 4th Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit 2010!

Search Profile Index by 4th Media I.T. Corp. is an exhibitor in this conference. Chilline Tagaytay will also raffle an overnight weekday stay for delegates who will check in via Foursquare in the said event.

Chowking, Jollibee, Greenwich, Red Ribbon to Launch Integrated E-Commerce Fast Food Chain Site and Delivery Service

2010-03-25T02:14:00.020+10:30

Just got word from Manolo Almagro, Head of the Digital Team at Jollibee Foods Corporation that the company is launching the e-commerce initiative of the 4 brands in coming months. It will start with Chowking (soft launch on March 31) and Jollibee (soft launch on April 19). Followed by Greenwich and finally Red Ribbon (both will have soft launch schedule sometime this May).

The initial delivery area is limited to Metro Manila and shall be expanded to other delivery areas over time.

However, what will make this effort different is the integration, Almagro explained, "There will be a site that will allow for cross brand ordering. You can order from any of the 4 brands and mix and match a meal."

I was able to take a sneak peak at one of them and like the easy to use interface. Gave some suggestions on how can it be improved further after trying out to pick my favorite food order online.

Like in the case of Jollibee, a sample order would comprise of 2-piece burger steak, macaroni soup, chocolate sundae, and pineapple juice (plus a champ or yum burger with cheese take out). Their coffee is one of the best too.

For Chowking, a sample order would either be Spicy Chaofan / siomai, Kings Congee, or Beef Wanton Noodles (Mami). Then buchi and pineapple juice. I am also a big fan of their Kings Special breakfast and hope that can also be ordered online. However, since Chowking has a wide variety of individual and group food menus, I'm sure this site will be an exciting one to watch.

I consider the soups, desert and drinks as add-ons and I think they should appear on the side-bar as options after one picks a main meal order.

Although I think it is possible that there are two types of customers: (which of the two are you?)

Shop and choose. Those who want to look at the menu and pick.
Just give an order right away. Where a form with drop down menu option would suit best for fast transaction. (Well it is fast food to begin with.)

It is interesting when Manolo said that the 4 sites will have similar user experience (design) and ordering interfaces -- but each shall have unique branding. This uniformity will make it easier for users to shop from one brand site to the other without having to take much effort in re-learning the interface.

"The concept is that if we design each site to have similar ordering building experience, we will be able to leverage on the institutional knowledge that will be built up over time. It is much like how ATMs work, if you use one- then you can pretty much use them all – regardless of what network they are on.

We’ve integrated these directly into our delivery call-centers. It will allow people that have ordered online to already be registered as customers for phone in orders."

Special features of the upcoming e-commerce sites also include:

“Share-this” - a widget that will allow people to post recommendations of their favorite meals on their social media networks,
The ability for registered users to save their previous orders. This way, they can place an order in seconds – as their “usual” order.

The sites shall be built on Magento - an open source e-commerce engine. It is the same platform used by companies like The North Face, GAP, Old Navy, and Stussy.

The Digital Team of Jollibee Food Corporation is a new group that was created in June 2009 (when Manolo moved to the Philippines from the US). It is a cross discipline group of marketing, digital, and software development skill sets. It is part of Jollibee Corporate and work across all of its brands.

To monitor the launch developments, follow the brands at Twitter @iwantjollibee @ilovechowking @greenwich @iwantredribbon

I recall that my first time in doing online ordering was around 1999-2001 and have done so several times. The funny thing then was that we were using dial-up Internet connection. So after ordering, we have to hang-up the Internet connection and wait for the phone call for our food order to be confirmed. But these days, with more advanced Internet connectivity, things should be easier.

Sulit.com.ph shall adopt Sure Seal & Sure Pass Trustmark for its Sellers and Buyers

2010-01-28T18:21:00.013+10:30

RJ David, CEO of Sulit.com.ph, announced that they will give higher importance to advertisements posted by authenticated sellers in their site. The authentication shall be carried out through their partnership with Qartas Corporation, a company offering Trustmark certification service for Philippine-based websites to ensure a safe and responsible environment for the conduct of online trade and business transactions.

Sulit.com.ph is one of the most popular classified ads posting forum site in the Philippines. It has more than half a million members with 800 to 900 new members signing up daily. As of to date, the site has accommodated up to 2 million ads posted on the site. Around 2000 to 3000 ads get posted on a daily basis.

Its popularity made the site attractive also to those committing fraud, scam, and identity theft. As a result, due to feelings of uncertainty by both buyers and sellers, a lot of transactions happen offline.

Moving forward, Sulit.com.ph shall be giving priority to authenticated sellers in listing of ads and will have the utility to control the personal information one desires to share on an as-per-request basis.

Sulit.com.ph partners with Qartas Corporation to validate legitimacy of sellers and buyers by authenticating the details they post about themselves. This in turn, RJ David hopes will also increase overall trust to products and services marketed through the site.

Qartas offers three types of certification:

The Sure Pass Personal is the verification service for independent entrepreneurs or individual sellers. This is applicable for professional service providers like programmers, copywriters, graphic artists, or micro entrepreneurs. The fee for this is two thousand five hundred pesos (P2500).
The Sure Pass Business is the verification service for BIR, DTI or SEC registered small enterprises (Sole Proprietor, company below 2 yrs tenure) looking to have their business credentials verified. The verification process includes verifying all legal documentations of your business. The fee for this service is five thousand pesos per year (P5000).
The Sure Seal Premium verification service is for established businesses (at least 2 yrs. tenure) registered with the BIR, DTI and SEC. This also includes claims, ocular, and privacy policy verification consistent with International APEC Data Privacy Standards. The fee for this service is sixteen thousand eight hundred pesos (P16,800) per year.

I first heard about the new service, Sure Pass, when Jovel Cipriano shared this in the last E-Commerce Summit. It is meant for individual sellers to assert themselves as credible individuals to deal with. (I will be personally getting this)

The Sulit.com.ph and Qartas Corporation announced their partnership as part of the Philippines 1st Data Privacy Celebration event earlier today (January 28) at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Mandaluyong City. Top sellers of Sulit.com.ph community and other industry players were invited to discuss the importance of data privacy, how integrating trustmarks in websites help in increasing conversion rates, and the growing concern on internet fraud.

Data Privacy Day, an international event that is celebrated on January 28th in the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries in an effort to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy and protection.

The event is graced by speakers Dir. Maria Lourdes Yaptichay (DTI E-Commerce Office), Jun Malacaman (representing Usec. Vertus Gil, National Cyber Security Awareness Coordination Office, NCC) , Atty. JJ Disini, and Jovel Cipriano of Qartas Corporation.

My take on data privacy is that it is a personal Internet user responsibility. Companies and other parties getting information from you can only abuse the data you shared will depend if you will allow them to do so. However, when you exercise your right not to give information that you feel is unnecessary (and this I do whenever I get asked to fill up forms offline), you'll realize that they can't force you to give details that you refuse - especially when data privacy is used as an argument. Here are other examples where you can assert your right to data privacy:

Person calls your home claiming to be from a credit card company and wanting to get the contact information of a relative who is not home. Best to ask the person's number and tell that you'll have your relative return the call. I have experience in this area where the person who called can't give such information and be contacted back, I argue "how do I know that you are indeed from that credit card company".
Be wary when your personal information is being asked through e-mail. This is most true to passwords.
Be wary when a site asks too much information that is no longer related to become part of the service.

JJ Disini gave a lot of insight about data privacy, specifically informational privacy. Here is what he presented during the Social Networking Conference 2009 that also tackles the topic with focus on privacy in social networks.

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Friendster focuses on Youth, Security, Online Shopping, & Advertising in 2010

2010-01-05T16:41:00.009+10:30

Last month, I got the chance to exchange e-mails with Ian Stewart, Head of Asia of Friendster. We first met during the Social Networking and eBusiness Conference 2009 and it was a thrill listening to all the insights he shared about the youth and why he thinks this segment is exciting.

After 8 months with Friendster, I thought this will already be a good time to ask about developments forthcoming and here it goes:

Janette Toral: You mentioned in the last Social Networking and e-Business Conference the acceptance of the fact that Friendster will always cater to the young. This in Philippines context is nearly 50% of the Internet user population. What activities or features will you be anchoring on to keep that segment loyal to the social network?

Ian Stewart: 80% of our users are under 24, and most of them belong to 3-4 social networking site (SNS). We have the opportunity to be the best site for them and their friends to hang out on. Key drivers for youth online are gaming and music, and these will be key areas of focus for us moving forward. Expect to see a lot more from us in these areas early 2010.

Janette: There has been a lot of talk about cyber bullying that occurs in social networks like Friendster and this includes accounts being hacked, fake profiles created, anonymous profiles created bashing teachers, classmates, school, etc. What is Friendster's point of view or stand on cyber bullying? What is the social network doing about it and fast turn around policy or process in place to ensure that Friendster won't be taken advantage of for such purpose?

Ian: We take site safety and security very seriously, and have both internal service teams and external partners working to ensure that Friendster remains a good environment to be in. Complaints are dealt with on the spot, and our rules of engagement are clearly spelt out. This will only grow in importance moving forward, as those online demand more and more privacy and safety features from their favorite sites.

Janette: Multiply has taken steps to carve its niche in the area of e-commerce. With the young being encouraged to become entrepreneurial, is that a direction that Friendster aims to explore too? If yes, how? If not, why not and what would be the main focus?

Ian: We believe that the inherent trust of friendship communities is perfect for social shopping. Knowing you are selling your goods to a friend, a friend of a friend, or a friend of a friend of a friend (!) will encourage more people to transact, buy and sell online. Other sites are exploring this too. For Friendster our recent partnership and then acquisition by online payment provider Money Online (MOL) is a clear sign of our intent in this space moving forward.

Janette: I have tried Friendster self-service advertising for 2 to 3 campaigns and apparently disappointed on the reporting tools and lack of control once the campaign is rolled out. What areas of growth can we expect in this area happening this 2010?

Ian: We dived into self-service ads in 2009 to offer more advertising solutions to our users and to advertisers. We have received a lot of feedback on where we are to date with this feature and are working on strengthening the backend as we speak. This is also a revenue growth area for us to get right moving forward.

(Bonus! Here is Ian Stewart delivering the keynote address at the Social Networking and eBusiness Conference 2009)

Asia Youth 2009

View more documents from IAN STEWART.

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Ian Stewart, Keynote (Part 1) at Social Networking and eBusiness Conference 2009

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Ian Stewart, Keynote (Part 2) at Social Networking and eBusiness Conference 2009

Manny Pacquiao & Hayden Kho Top Yahoo and Google Philippines Search Terms for 2009

2009-12-11T18:46:00.009+10:30

(I'll be discussing this further in our Viral Ideas webinar this Tuesday, December 15, from 9 pm to 10 pm. I hope you can join.)

Both Google and Yahoo! Philippines recently announced its 2009 review highlighting the top searches and trends on their respective search engines.

2009 Yahoo! Philippines Year in Review

Yahoo! Philippines announced its 2009 Year in Review which highlights the top Searches and trends on Yahoo!. The annual review, which accounts for billions of Searches, is a distinct way to look at people’s interests and to identify the ways they use the Web to find information and breaking news as it happens.

In 2009, the Web was an integral part of the news cycle as people rushed online to get updates about topics as diverse as the economy, and local gossip. People now search for information through search engines not only by using their Internet-enabled computers but also via mobile phone.

The issues that peaked Pinoy’s interest this year, included celebrities, sports, politicians and local events which shook the country. For Yahoo!, Manny topped the list as the most searched for person in the Philippines as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world beat former champ Ricky Hatton in two furious rounds in Las Vegas in May. The death of former president, Cory Aquino topped the Yahoo! News searches and Yahoo! Questions as people remembered how she toppled Ferdinand Marcos, and her years of peacefully restoring democracy in the country. Her burial march lasted 10 hours, with millions of Filipinos joining in to mourn their “queen.”

Top overall search terms for Philippines in 2009:

Manny Pacquiao
Cory Aquino
Francis Magalona
Ondoy
Dionisia Pacquiao
Shalani Soledad
Eraserheads
University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)
Mar and Korina
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)

In Yahoo!’s celebrity search rankings, homegrown talent comes first. Local celebrity searches prove that national interest in controversy and scandal is growing. Kris Aquino touched people’s hearts during her mother’s wake as she detailed the last days of the beloved ex-president. The top celebrity searches in the Philippines also included:

Maricar Reyes
Angel Locsin
Sandara Park
Pamela Bianca Manalo
Kris Aquino
Marian Rivera
Michael Jackson
Coco Martin
Anne Curtis
Judy Ann Santos

In a market where mobile penetration is more than 68%, Filipinos are definitely spending a lot more time searching and surfing the Internet on the mobile. The top mobile searches for Philippines included:

NBA
Katrina Halili
Manny Pacquiao
Marian Rivera
Hayden Kho
Francis Magalona
Citigroup
Michael Jackson
Cory Aquino
PBA

Google Zeitgeist Philippines 2009

Google announced its annual Zeitgeist for the Philippines, a look at 2009 through the collective eyes of Filipinos browsing the web. The 2009 Year-End Zeitgeist includes a unique perspective on the year's major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted on Google.com.ph.

This year's fastest rising Google searches in the Philippines sum up what was top of mind for Filipinos this year. In the tech world, Facebook and Twitter are the latest sites to get Pinoys connecting with each other online. As always, music-related searches made it high up the list, with Love Story being the hottest sing-along song for Pinoys, Lady Gaga getting everyone grooving online after playing live at the Araneta Coliseum in August, and Michael Jackson's unexpected death. Pinoys' interest in celebrities continues with Hayden Kho, Maricar Reyes and Korean TV star Kim Bum and, of course, our unofficial national hero Manny Pacquiao, who knocked out British boxer Ricky Hatton in the second round.

From politics to sports, 2009 was peppered with events that got Filipinos searching for more information online, and Google was there to provide Pinoys unlimited access. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, Liberal Party candidate for president in next year's national elections, was the hottest politician in online searches this year. Hayden Kho, whose "Hayden Cam" videos were leaked online, was the fastest-rising local buzz maker. But the list of current events topics that had Filipinos searching for more information online showed what truly mattered to them, such as the A (H1N1) flu pandemic and the typhoons that severely damaged the country.

The Philippine Zeitgeist also shows that the top tech trendsetter for the year is internet social game Pet society. Further, Baler is the fastest-rising local travel destination search term for Pinoys. A period film shown late last year starring Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales spurred local interest in this surfer’s paradise. Local band Sponge Cola's "Di Na Mababawi" is this year's anthem, leading the fastest-rising OPM songs category. Carla Abellana, who got her first big break by starring in the local remake of Mexican telenovela “Rosalinda,” is the hottest searched local showbiz celebrity of 2009.

* Disclaimer: All lists are fastest-rising except for the top queries list. All duplicates, as well as the country name “Philippines” have been removed from the list.

Faces of, Phases of 2009
The personalities that gave a face to 2009

hayden kho
francis magalona
cory aquino
ted failon
carla abellana
noynoy aquino
princess velasco
bebe gandanghari
boyet fajardo
jacque bermejo

OMG (Our Most Googled) Issues in Google News
Issues and controversies that made the headlines in 2009

h1n1 philippines
typhoon emong
ted failon case
typhoon ketsana
typhoon parma
amiel alcantara
chip tsao
daniel smith
superferry 9
reproductive health bill

Running or Not ... Here They Come
Fastest-rising politicians searched on Google News

aquino iii
panfilo lacson
escudero
ralph recto
mar roxas
villar
gilbert teodoro
joseph estrada
willie revillame
gloria macapagal arroyo

Biyahe Na!
Fastest-rising travel destinations locally

baler
amana resort
acuatico beach resort
coron palawan
cwc
anawangin cove
canyon cove
el nido palawan
8 waves resort
eco park

Zeitguys and Gals
Up-and-coming and most popular celebrity searches

carla abellana
bebe gandanghari
sandara park
coco martin
aling dionisia
katrina halili
maricar reyes model
angel locsin
denise laurel
katherine luna

Ang mga Himig Natin
Fastest-rising OPM songs searched by Filipinos

di na mababawi
true love ko
note to god
kaleidoscope world
ikaw na nga
walang hanggan
balisa
bintana
paglisan
nagmahal ako

Towards a Philippine e-Government
Fastest-rising government-related info and services searched online

pagasa weather forecast
lotto results pcso
tesda training center
pag-ibig housing loan
civil service exam
nso birth certificate
sss contribution inquiry
napolcom exam result
nursing board exam
bar exam results

Hinahanap-hanap sa Pinilakang Tabing
The most popular Pinoy films searched in 2009

katorse movie
darna movie
sundo movie
bff movie
jay movie
tarot movie
serbis movie
jose rizal movie
anak movie
dayo movie

Top Tech Trends of Two Thousand and Nine
Fastest-rising gadget-, application-, and software-related searches

pet society
dota hotkeys
farmtown
windows 7
mixpod
iphone 3gs
nokia 5800
samsung s5233
firefox 3.5
globe tattoo

Google Insights for Search, a publicly available tool, also provides unique insight into a number of recent, significant issues and events. According to the most recent data from the tool, while the Maguindanao massacre is currently top-of-mind for many Filipinos searching online, Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Miguel Cotto galvanized the country in such a remarkable way that search volumes about the record-breaking feat still overwhelmingly eclipsed that of the recent tragedy.

Data from Google Insights for Search also shows that in a matter of four months, searches for Noynoy Aquino have managed to gain on and even slightly overtake the searches that fellow presidentiables Manny Villar, Dick Gordon, Joseph Estrada, and Gilbert Teodoro have accumulated for the entire year.

Trying out Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi

2009-12-06T03:35:00.004+10:30

For the past two weeks, I got asked to try out the Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi service. It is a mobile phone program that turns your Symbian mobile phone into a wifi hotspot by connecting through Globe’s 3G service.

This is ideal especially if you are in areas where Globe Tattoo is performing well (such as those cited in the Nesic Philippines wireless broadband speedtest).

I was able to try the service out while inside a taxi and shared it to some students during workshop class. It can be useful and convenient to share with 2 to 3 people for light Internet use activity.

The license fee of Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi is P300.00 (VAT inclusive). This is charged when a subscriber text 9999 for the installation key/activation code. The Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi installer can be downloaded from myGlobe website for free.

When starting or using Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi Hotspot, you will be charged with Globe’s mobile browsing rates. You can choose how you will be charged - by KB (kilobyte) or by TIME (per minute).

KB Browsing Rate - P0.15/kb
Time Browsing Rate - P5.00 for 15 minutes (this is the recommended charging scheme for Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi)

Globe Prepaid and Postpaid subscribers are by default on the KB Charging scheme. To switch to the TIME charging scheme, text TIME to 1111 for free.

To shift back to KB browsing: text KB to 1111. To check the charging scheme that currently applies to your account: text STATUS. Send the keyword to 1111 for free.

Requirements:

Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi can be installed in Smartphones with Symbian v3 OS. The handsets should also have WLAN and 3G capabilities.
The phone needs to have the latest firmware inside. Old firmware versions do not have the technology to enable WLAN sharing (should not be older than October 2007). For Nokia phones - In case you have an old firmware version in your S60 device, you can update the firmware using Nokia Software Updater. For Samsung phones, firmware is also available.

For further questions in using the service, please post them here. I look forward in trying out more services in the future.

Will cellular phone numbers become obsolete soon?

2009-08-28T14:27:00.008+09:30

Last May, I attended Cherry Mobile's launch of its dual SIM phone series. Having 4 active mobile numbers can be a drag and may sometimes end up neglecting some of them. It will be convenient to just have them in one phone and just switch when necessary.

Also found out that my monthly mobile phone plan can be renewed or downgraded by January 2010. Now I'm partly torned as there are developments in the market that are affecting my plans on this.

Landline numbers are now mobile or wireless, can text, and surf the Internet too

With the kind of business I'm in, it will be convenient if people can reach me through mobile landline numbers especially now that they can be taken anywhere in the country and be able to receive the call.

I remember being surprised receiving a text message and the number that I replied to was actually a landline.

Some can even be plugged to your PC and you can already start surfing the Internet. So come October, I will likely have a mobile landline number of my own that I can take anywhere.

What will happen to mobile phone numbers?
I think the local telecommunication companies have already saturated the market. When you have 70 million mobile phone users (Philippines 2009), their needs for upgrade and changing of mobile numbers won't be that much right?

Therefore the whole new untapped market will be the wireless landline numbers where some can also be used with mobile phone handsets. If you can do almost everything that you are doing now with your mobile phone at your wireless landline phone (except international roaming - at least for now), then what is the use of having to maintain an expensive mobile phone subscription plan in the long run?

I think it is possible that a lot of us in business will have one regular cellphone and wireless landline number inevitably. This may decrease the size of the cellphone market as it will become more practical to have a wireless landline number as features get further beefed up. Unless of course, cellular phone subscription plans gets a radical make-over.

Personalized jump drive and storage as gifts

2009-08-11T00:15:00.006+09:30

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In attending and organizing IT events lately, I noticed that Personalized Jump Drive are fast becoming popular choices for giveaways or souveniers. This is where the identity of the company gets used for brand recall.

Hopefully, with its increasing affordability, our next conferences, such as the upcoming E-Commerce Summit this November 2009 and the April 2010 Social Networking & eBusiness Conference, will have these personalized flash drives as storage for handouts rather than burning the materials in a CD that often takes time.

With such an option, this will also allow us to customize the flash drive further in terms of packaging by allowing the posting of our logo, among others. For example, the site Flash Dealer allows buyers to shop for various flash drive design and have it customized further.

Giving a personalized usb drive also promotes re-use as contents in flash drive can be deleted when done and be used for storage of various files. Unlike in a CD where it gets thrown out sooner or later.

I’m now thinking with Christmas happening in a few months time, perhaps it will also be good giveaway souvenier for our club members where our various training materials for the year 2009 can be stored in it.

Ratified Top 100 Blogs !st Half of 2009

2009-08-10T00:59:00.000+09:30

Our next State of E-Commerce in the Philippines webinar will be on August 18 Tuesday from 11 am to 12 noon.

The topic for this episode will focus on Ratified's Philippines Top 100 blog based on blog growth from 2008 to first half of 2009.

I hope you can join.

P.S. To view a sample on how a webinar works, check out my first one.

Review - Self Study Source

2009-04-17T02:28:00.002+09:30

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Another website by K Alliance LLC is Self Study Source. The site aims to promote the availability of self-paced computer based training videos on a wide variety of topics from its site. This includes:

Microsoft computer based training courses such as in the areas of programming (.net vb and / or c#,), web development, database administration (SQL), web applications, security, operating system, server, among others.
Microsoft Office or desktop applications (Access, Accounting Professional, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Project, SharedPoint, Visio, Vista, Word, among others.)
Cisco certification (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE) on network administration (CCNA), network professional (CCNP), and internetwork expert (CCIE).
CompTIA certification trainings (Linux, A+, Network +, Security +, among others)
Network security certification training (CISSP, CEH, CFED, ACFT, CPTS, CWNA)

Demo videos are available but one must register first. After that, the link to it gets sent.
The training packages available includes video cds, workbooks, courseware, and live mentors or trainers.

I think packages like this are timely as I.T. professionals need continuous training if one desires to be on top of the game against competitors. One has to choose between self-study program or instructor-interactive face-to-face program.

On the improvement side, it will help if there are testimonials that can attest to the effectiveness of the program.

AKA: First Philippine Mobile Mini-Site Directory

2009-04-15T19:04:00.005+09:30

Last April 7, I catched up with Ariel Roda and got introduced to one of his investee companies - SAKLOLODOTNET. The company is headed by Mike Jabillo (managing director) and Lawrence del Mundo (business development head).

One of their projects, AKA Mobile Directory, aspires to be the first Philippine mobile directory. At a glance, the service allows users to:

Sign-up for free if done on the web. Standard peso text rate applies if registration is done via mobile phone.
Create a mini-site with keywords that best describe who they are, what they're selling, contact number, e-mail address, etc. Those who are familiar with keywords and search engine optimization can harness this feature.
Users can also follow other profiles and receive alerts for any shout-out and mini-site updates. They can also use the same facility to contact the mini-site owner and receive the message through text (without having to know their mobile number).
Sellers can also do direct follow-on advertising via trailer ads that gets received through the mobile phone. This is received by mobile phone-based searchers who hit their sites with specific keywords. This can be used to give discount or freebie items to also measure the effectiveness of the medium.

Non-registered users can still search within the site or through the mobile phone using the command syntax AKA FIND produsts, services, skills using keywords. (Example AKA FIND seo sem)

(example: Janette Toral's aka mini site on seo sem)

I believe this site has a lot of potential and will be more useful if it will have features like:

Be embed on a website to attract followers.
Be able to post shout-out ads to other members and take advantage of their following size.

Social network users who leave negative feedback are real to themselves (mostly)

2009-04-05T20:23:00.007+09:30

Azrael Coladilla will be delivering the User Keynote at the upcoming 2nd Social Networking & eBusiness Conference this April 23 & 24, 2009.

I'm glad that Azrael gave me the opportunity to do this short interview to have a glimpse of his talk and personal experience in social networking.

Janette: What does a social network mean to you?

Azrael: By connecting with people online. Build your own community from a massive network of people.

Janette: As a user, which social networking services do you use the most and for what purpose?

Azrael: I have a lot of social networking sites subscribed to. One of them is Friendster, the first social networking site I got engaged in. Used it to look for old friends. Also connects me to my family since many have an account here.

Then I have Multiply. This is one of the busiest social networking site ever, and where I have my largest number of connections to people. I use this to blog, host my photo album, and marketing space in promoting my events and services.

Facebook is my next largest network and active space for connecting to people; studying the market and people’s behavior; promote and invite people to my events; connect to famous people online and get in touch with them locally or overseas.

Janette: How did social networks empowered you or made a difference on how you conduct your activities or business?

Azrael: Because different people are connected to each other, you will start to learn how to market more your business. By just reading and observing, you will understand what they want and decide if you need to go with the flow of interest based from those people.

The social networking site is a big ground of learning the target market and know their behavior online and offline. I learned a lot from different people especially those I met online and then offline. It makes me pop-up with new creative ideas and concepts that can be applied in my field of work or business.

Janette: Without social networks, what would be the difference for you?

Azrael: BIG. I might be lurking around in some online forums or hanging out in offline community and events.

Janette: In general, how do you assess the way majority of Pinoys use social networks?

Azrael: Filipinos use social networks mostly for making and meeting friends. There is greater potential in using social networks for marketing in the future that includes making a brand stronger and build your own community.

Janette: What should Pinoys do to take advantage of social networks in these times of crisis?

Azrael: If you are going to use the social networks for business, then you’ll be saving a lot of budget in marketing and promotion. It will be cheaper as the target market is already there. No need to search because it has tools to help you filter, connect to people, and even build your own community.

But before you take advantage of it, you must first learn on how to use it and maximize its functionality in the online space.

Janette: What are the biggest issues for you when it comes to the use of social networks? How do you hurdle it?

Azrael: The issue will be the immediate response to negative feedback in public networks. We can’t avoid it because people can express their opinion. We must be ready to answer, explain, and face it just to resolve problems.

The good part is that most people who leave negative feedback are real to themselves. They use their own identity and not afraid to share it in public. The trust will be received easily with this. It can make the social network user bond stronger by talking to them directly.

Janette: What do you want the future of social networks to be?

Azrael: The future will be - people can connect to the social network via mobile. More offline activities will be organized just to make the community alive and active. There will be a time, perhaps sooner rather than later, social networking sites can be monetize by its members.

IT training grows online

2009-04-03T08:40:00.003+10:30

The big challenge in being part of the Internet and IT industry is that one must be able to cope with the demand of the times especially in terms of information technology (IT) skills. There is a growing number of websites today that allows you to become a subscriber, pay a fee, and take various online training programs.

Others are membership based and training is delivered through a coaching and sharing of lessons learned structure.

(advertisement)

Using K Alliance as an example, an ideal online training allows:

Student or subscriber to get individual to corporate subscription.
Pick from a wide range of desktop, IT, soft skills, among others type of courses.
Choose to get a computer based training or online (dependent on Internet connection).
Prepare for IT certification.
I used to take beta test exams before and often find myself in the old days just reading through manuals. With a customized program like this one, it should help you prepare better and simulate an actual exam.
One unique feature with K Alliance is that they have a USB dongle that needs to be plugged in whenever the online training is accessed. This is for piracy protection purposes. It is also unique per course.
Online chat with an expert with whom you can ask questions.
Learning management software hosting services available where you can also load your internal special trainings. This instead of building on your own.
If satisfied with the service, have programs where you can become a reseller and make a full business out of it.

Online social networks booming in the Philippines

2009-03-30T15:34:00.000+10:30

I noticed that there are so many online social networking sites today made by Filipinos. This includes:

There are also online sites and services today that allows you to create your very own social network such as Ning. Here are some of them: (those with more than 50 members are listed here)

Another site that allows you to create your own social network is WetPaint. We did not find one that is big enough to be mentioned here at this time.

Will add more to this list. If you know of local social network sites worth adding here, just post a comment. For Ning-based and Wetpaint-based sites, only those with more than 50 members shall be listed.

Learning Philippine Internet History

2009-02-18T06:46:00.002+10:30

When the book, Philippine Internet Review: 10 Years of Internet History (1994-2004), was conceptualized, I knew that I have a project that has a big future since we will take the challenge of documenting the local Internet scene every ten years.

This blog was also used to partly track the developments.

I'm glad that there are now tools today that allows people to read books online without necessarily compromising the copyright of original creators.

I also hope this will allow us to explore future editions through this medium.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Internet & Technolog eBooks internet history philippine internet

7 ways to Facebook marketing yourself, product, service, blog, website

2009-01-22T12:10:00.016+10:30

With a growing number of Filipinos joining social networks like Facebook, I'd like to take this opportunity to cite some examples on how it can be used as marketing tool. I also encourage those who have done campaigns or about to do one to submit an entry to the DigitalFilipino Social Networking Awards (submission deadline is on March 31).

The nice thing about Facebook is that the whole site presents an opportunity for you to market a product, service, blog, or even yourself in Facebook.

Here are some examples:

1. Profile page

There are 4 ways that you can promote in the Profile page:

Status
Similar to Twitter, this is where you can share what you are up to. It can also be used as a medium to plug it.
Information 1
On the left sidebar, you can put more information about yourself and the things you are up to. This can be seen by those who visit your page.
Information 2
You can share websites and blogs you are maintaining. This can be seen by those who visit your page.
Posted Items
Share links. This is visible at your page and common news feed with friends.

2. Posted Items
If you have a blog post or update in your website, you can share a url link and even attract readers from your friends. If what you shared is great, it can also be a conversation-sparker.

3. Groups
Create a Facebook Group where you can invite friends (and their friends) to join. This allows you to do the following:

Have a discussion with group members.
Send a direct message to group members.
Post shared link
Share photos and videos (from your personal gallery)
Organize an event.

4. Pages
Facebook allows you to create a page for a person, establishment, product, service, among others. It has the features of typical group. However, adding of photos and videos is independent therefore requiring you to upload photos and videos twice if you want it to appear both at your personal profile and pages.

You can also add extra features like Notes (where you can import RSS feeds from your blog) and other applications that allows to be added to a Page.

The challenge for both Groups and Pages is that it doesn't show members any news feed on what is happening in these pages. As a result, a lot join without having to visit them at all unless they get invited to an event or there was an explicit announcement from the Group or Page creator to mention updates.

5. Events
If you organize events, Facebook has a very friendly event invitation and updates service where you can invite contacts (and they can ask their friends) to join. This is effective when disseminating information about events. It also has typical group features like uploading of photos, videos, sharing of links or posted items. You can also broadcast special announcements to everyone you've invited or to only those who confirmed.

You can also organize an event under one of your Facebook Groups or straight from a Facebook Page.

6. Marketplace
Allows you to plug products and services requirements and what you are selling. Marketplace, a 3rd party application, allows you to post products inside Facebook.

7. Paid advertising
The above ones I listed are those that you can do within Facebook for free. If you have a small or non-targeted contact list and have budget to spare, another alternative is to fully advertise within the social network. You will find this at the bottom part of Facebook where there is a link to "Advertising".

Here's a deck I found online that may be of help too.

52 Facebook Advertising Tips & Best Practices

View more presentations from Brian Carter.

See you at Search Engine Marketing Conference Legazpi City

2009-01-07T06:37:00.005+10:30

This coming February 5 & 6, I'll be one of the speakers at the Search Engine Marketing Conference organized by the Aquinas University of Legazpi. It will be held at the Daragang Mayon Hall of the said educational institution.

I look forward in catching up with Rodion Herrera and Gregory Kittelson, and club member / Busby SEO Test peer Gary Viray who will be there as resource persons as well.

My topic for the said event will be on Marketing Your Products & Services Through Social Networks. I look forward in giving a preview on the various international and local social networking sites and how can companies tap them as a marketing tool.

My Internet Story

2008-11-30T15:38:00.006+10:30

One of the questions I receive from friends is how did I got into this whole Internet thing. Here's my brief sharing. This was first published on page 7 of the Philippine Internet Review.

My fascination with computers started as early as 1984 while I was in grade school. I remember the time when I went to the office of my Auntie (who works for Globe at that time) and had my first encounter with the computer. It was running a spreadsheet program called Visicalc. I played around with it for a few minutes, just typing in numbers. From that moment on, I knew that I want to work in the field of computers. In 1986, I studied basic computer system, COBOL, Wordstar, Dbase II, and Visicalc.

In 1988, there was a big marketing pitch that one doesn't need a college degree to get a high paying job. I believed in it and took a computer literacy course and trainer's training in two computer schools.

I had my first computer tutorial job in 1989 and pursued various IT careers thereafter. In 1995, I logged on at Daniel Chua's Nightstalker Bulletin Board System who also convinced me to try out and subscribe to Extra Mile Online. That is where I got my first shot to moderate my first forum - Infotech. With that experience, I began writing to several ISPs offering volunteer forum moderating work in exchange for Internet access. Portal Inc. and The E-Mail Company accepted my offer. (The photo inserted herein was taken back in 1994)

I guess you can say I got hooked to the Internet and my life was never the same again.

What is great about the Internet is that you can be who you want to be. In the past 13 years since I first went online, I had become a writer, community organizer, lobbyist, activist, evangelist, entrepreneur, online educator, among others - living all of these identities online and offline.

Information Technology and the Internet provides you with a feeling of empowerment. It gives you room to achieve greatness and attain personal achievement if used properly. But it can also destroy you as well if abused. The again, it also gives you room to bounce back and start all over again.

How about you? What is your Internet story? If you have your Internet story posted in your blog, let me know and will link it here. Cheers!

Online Phone Directory Philippines

2008-11-15T08:59:00.001+10:30

Is it really hard to have a single or common phone directory? I mean, more often than not, a person does not really know to which telco is another person or company subscribed to.

Perhaps someone should consider building a unified online phone directory where phone owners and businesses, who opted to, can list their contact details. It should not be dependent on whether an entity advertises or not.

I decided to update this old post to reflect some of the phone directory attempts made online. If you own a phone directory site referring to a particular location, let us know and will include your site here.

Telecom Phone directories online:

Cruz Telephone Company (Mindanao)
E-Yellow Pages

National Capital Region

Luzon

Visayas

Mindanao

Philippines A-List Bloglebrity (October 2008)

2008-10-01T21:56:00.007+09:30

With 500 or more blogs linking to these sites in the past 6 months, the Philippines A-List Bloglebrity are:

With 100-499 blogs linking to these sites in the past 6 months, the Philippines B-List Bloglebrity are:

This is still incomplete. Work in progress.

If your blog is in the A or B -list, please post a comment and will add it here.

Chito Bustamante: The Engineer Takes Charge for a New Chikka Era

2008-09-05T21:10:00.009+09:30

When doing a chronicle of Philippine Internet history, Chikka became synonymous with its founding CEO Dennis Mendiola. As he takes on a new role in the organization, leadership is passed on to Chito Bustamante.

Not known to many, Chito is a founder of Chikka as well and shares an equal passion for product development as Dennis. He was that Silicon Valley based engineer whom Dennis and partners first consulted on the business and technical viability of a “mobile instant messaging service” for launch in the Philippines.

Chito actually came up with the name "Chikka" for the service. The name also being a Filipino colloquial term for "small talk" which is the nature of many of our text messages really.

For a long time as chief operating officer (since 2002), Chito has stayed on top of both engineering and product development departments, the heart and soul of Chikka. He has led Chikka thru its ISO and CMMI Maturity Level 5 certifications, giving "a method to the madness" or the frenzy that characterized product development, marketing, quality assurance at Chikka, and making sure it could sustain the same even as the company pursues an aggressive international roll-out.

Some of Chito's more notable inventions include "TxtBack", a free-reply (sender subsidized) text service that has been a boon to pre-paid mobile users.

Chito as new Chikka CEO
As CEO in this new era at Chikka, Chito is focused on continuous product innovation and global partnerships that will replicate Chikka's success in similar markets, as well as services adoption by the mainstream of the on-line community.