Behind the Scenes
Janette's personal blog that tackles updates and news insights.
Janette's personal blog that tackles updates and news insights.
I hate it when the Office of the President announces cancellation of work at a very short notice. Take August 29 for instance. We have scheduled a small event gathering on the morning of August 30. We are supposed to do last minute follow-up on August 29 but now our plans are ruined as the news show today that there won't be any work this Monday.
I hope the Office of the President can already announce if they are extending holidays that fall on a weekend on a much earlier date. It disrupts business operations and schedules. For the SME, it causes so much bother and am sure much so as well for big businesses who may have scheduled deliveries and work deadlines on that day.
It is the 4th or 5th year of this administration, they should have learned already. On our part, we can't make assumption always that holidays will be extended.
I'm going through 3 important trainings this month (as a participant). They are: 4 Roles of Leadership (August 16-18), 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (August 23-25 in Cebu by Righttraining and Human Resources, Inc.), and 4 Disciplines of Execution (August 30-31). I've read so much about these topics but thought of going through the workshop for further validation. It is an interesting experience and hope that the people I train and provide consulting in the future will further benefit from this.
I just realized that the Naga City government created a special website in memory of the Honorable Raul Roco. For those who would like to read more about what news media and bloggers said about him, do check out the site.
I haven't been doing hard core research work since I published the 10th DigitalFilipino StatsReport two years ago. However, I must admit that I'm beginning to get inspired once again with all the reports being published as to how the Blogosphere has changed recently. The ground research work DigitalFilipino.com's StatsReport - State of Filipino Internet User Report Part 3 will start soon. As soon as we finalize our supporters list, will start conducting our survey.
According to Technorati's State of Blogosphere Report Part 1 (August 2005), the size of blogs on the Internet is doubling every 5 months. In Technorati's experience, they were monitoring 7.8 million blogs last March. As of end July, this figure surged to 14.2 million blogs. Growth is is seen in Japan, Korea, China, France, and Brazil. At least 80,000 weblogs are created in a day.
The blogging activity is also impressive. At least 10 blog posts are being uploaded every second or 900,000 blog posts a day. (Part 2) Spikes in posting are partly attributed as well by major events. Of these posts, around 300,000 are tagged for proper keyword and categorization. (Part 3)
As there are numerous easy to use blog tools today, lots of stuff to talk about, the blogging community getting to know each other, advocates encouraging are others to blog, are all factors in its acceleration.
In the US for instance, according to comScore Media Metrix, 50 million Internet users are now reading blogs. The report also stated that traffic to blog hosting services has grown significantly. Blogspot.com has more visitors now that the New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post at more 19 million unique visitors. The top 10 are: Blogspot, Livejournal, Typepad, Xanga, AOL Journals, Blogs.com, MSN Spaces, Blogdrive, GreatestJournal, and Diaryland. The most popular blog drawn by search engine results, therefore having the highest unique hits, is FreeRepublic.com while the most visited blog is the DrudgeReport.com.
Last week, during the iblog Mini: Blogging Gloriagate forum, we partly asked ourselves what will happen next after the issue is settled. Will it lead to downward spiral of blog adoption? I guess in the Philippine context, we have yet to see this. (as if we will run out of political things to talk about)
However, politics and news are seemed to the primary blog driver according to comScore. Stand-alone blogs that focuses on political and news issues are the ones driving the blog traffic, at least 43% are drawn to the non-hosted audience. This is followed by hipster (like Fark), tech (like Slashdot), women (like Wonkette) and media (like MediaMatters), personal (like Kottke), and business (like MarketingVox). Although there's much talk about business blogging, it seems we still have to see how popular can this really get as it is now pegged getting visitor share of only 3%.
Another study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Buzz, Blogs, and Beyond: The Internet and National Discourse in the Fall 2004," cited that blogger audience commands respect as its stands 20% of the newspaper audience and 40% of the talk radio audience. The report also cited that 11 million US Internet users have created a blog.
Perhaps it is true that blogging is currently limited to the elite audience as pointed out by Atty. JJ Disini last week in iblog. The average US blog visitor is not your typical Internet user as they earn more, according to comScore, have more likely to have broadband Internet access, and whose household head is between 18 to 34 years old. This profiles makes them attractive to advertisers as bloggers are heavy Internet users spending an average of 23 hours a week online. 51% of bloggers are also found to be online shoppers.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project cited as well that blogs have buzz as some of the bloggers are now considered as a new force in national politics. It is now being studied as well whether blogs shall constitute the "fifth estate" (the first four are political nobility, knowledge clergy, popular citizenry, press) because of its capacity to generate buzz.
I like to believe that the studies quoted here provide great insights about the global blogging revolution. It's Globalization 3.0 fast-tracked. Are Filipinos ready?
This New York Times article reported that more than half of Texas (50.2%) and California's (55.5%) population is now composed of racial and ethnic minorities. The non-Hispanic whites making up two-thirds of the US population. The largest Asian population can be found in Los Angeles county. As to how this will affect the US we know now and in the future remains to be seen. However, it is definitely worth watching. For marketers, the need for products catering to the needs and taste of the minorities, such as Filipinos, is largely untapped. We hope to see more local companies taking advantage of these opportunities.
Just read at iblog that Dean and Nikki Alfar both won a Palanca Award this year! Isn't that great? I first saw Dean and Nikki during the first Philippine blogging summit last May. Dean and Nikki are so sweet to each other as you can tell based from what Dean said during the event.
The couple are surely an inspiration to aspiring writers and they do not hesitate to help others too and in giving moral support as well. May they inspire more bloggers, writers, and artist!
Last Thursday, I attended a joint meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), European Chamber of Commerce (ECCP), Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CANCHAM), and Japan Chamber of Commerce (JCCP).
Their guest of honor is former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR). It was a jampacked event as the four organizations did not expect a great turnout.
I was told that FVR is actively speaking in various events lately discussing the need for charter change and shift to a parliamentary form of government. Lobbying now is being made by one of the most influential political personalities in the country.
It is my first time to listen to him. I must admit that based on what I heard, he did not disappoint me. His crowd charisma made him truly a charismatic speaker. As usual, he threw away his talking points, ask everyone to shake the hand of the person next to them (which I haven't done and glad that he asked), and other pleasantries. He was able to work out the crowd to have a good mood at the start of his speech.
And then came the main topic, charter change (cha-cha). FVR believes that the presidential system is falling apart like old pair of shoes. Although some segments feel that the country's Constitution is engraved in the system and must not be changed, he feels the other way. "It should mirror the times and as it changes, we should be able to adjust."
FVR is known for campaigning the shift to parliamentary system since his presidential campaign days. He explains that he wants a fairer and representative of all of us, to be anchored in our Constitution. "Charter change is necessary due to the inefficiency and inflexibility of the political system. It is affecting people's daily lives, especially of poor Filipinos. People power, as a result of unsatisfaction, always results to constitutional crisis. It is unfortunate as well that popularity, not intelligence, competence, and experience, are the best points to enter public office today."
He explained some of the merits of the parliamentary government that includes:
- The legislature combines the role of the elective assembly by creating laws and in performing executive decisions.
- The moment the leader lose confidence, they are forced to resign and can be replaced by a vote of no-confidence.
- Sheer popularity in the parliamentary system will not be enough to enter the system. Young people can be given a chance if they are good and proven leaders. They can rise to the top at much less expense.
- The parliamentary system will unify the policy making process.
- The government will be accountable to the people. They shall be subjected to the regular but intense question hour.
As an example, FVR cited that in the Senate, there's only 1 bill passed but 50 independent investigations are happening in aid of legislation.
He believes that the only way to keep people out of poverty is through job generation, efficient government, and all other solutions are band-aid. 30% of GDP should be invested in productive endeavors. Today, the country only invests 19% of GDP compared to neighbors like Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia who are investing more than 25% or up to 1/3 of their GDP. The improvement of the system is important to meet the global challenges and competitiveness demand today.
One participant asked, "Will cha-cha solve our problems?" He answered, "No. But it can help in cleaning our country, deal with changes in government, equitable enforcement of law, establish responsible civil service, and modernize political parties to become efficient channel and representative of public expression."
He encourages forum participants to persuade and compel our leaders to work as a team. "Let us break out our political stalemate in order to break into economic momentum. A democracy can't confined itself as it has room for improvement. It is always in flux and can't be controlled. Democracy is no more than an idea."
FVR has no desire to take part in the political system that he proposes to take place. However, he is not retired from his duties from advocating his beliefs. He had done it before and would consider it a demotion if he would take it again. He challenges Congress to prohibit former presidents from running in a parliamentary office in the future.
He ended, "Be patient and stay with us. Learn how to swim. Do not abandon ship. We will learn how to swin not because we are abandoning but to rescue everybody who jumped before and try to save them. That is our role to our people. When all of this happens, assuming the best case scenario, we will come through as a better country than we ever are."
4 important elements that can make it all work for the country in the future:
1) Strong leadership (not popularity)
2) Good constitution,
3) People who must be enlightened that at the end of the day that it is about competitiveness, self reliance, and not dole-outs that will get us to the next level.
4) External elements that we don't have control of, that we must always be ready to face.
One participant asked, "Why are you lobbying for change when the presidential system seemed to work well during your time?" FVR replied, "I was successful during my time because we were working like 25 hours a day. However, why give the same hassle to the future generation when we can do something about it?"
I recalled that FVR faced a tough term with our power and water crisis then. As we are all in pain, there's a great spirit then for everyone to work together for the sake of the nation.
Another participant asked, "In the past 12 months, Congress pass 5 laws, and based on Congress' composition and competencies today, how confident are you that they'll be able to review the Constitution, in all sensibility within 6 months, when it took them so long to pass a law?"
FVR remains optimistic as he doesn't see the need to overhaul the entire Constitution but only to focus on 4 issues that need to be amended:
- Form of government (Convert to parliamentary system.)
- Electoral reform (New kind of arithmetic to put in place, to make an honest and credible elections, computerized but simplified procedures in vote handling and proclamation of winners.)
- Political party reform (Serve to eliminate dynastism and turncoatism. Those who change parties should not run for public office for 3 years.)
- Economic prohibitions (To speed up the dispensation of justice, limit economic interventionist of our courts.)
"Those that have qualms about this (especially in the Senate), work out some transitional provisions that will respect their term of office. Better to start with a completely new slate. We must all take the necessary sacrifice," FVR ended.
I must admit that I'm keen for constitutional change way back in 1999. I even said such in a forum as our competitiveness will not be sustainable if we can't catch up with all the incentives other countries are offering such as land ownership, investment in mass media, education, among others.
However, I like to believe that cha-cha can only progress as fast as the administration likes if it will give the same speed of process for the impeachment trial. The more the administration blocks the impeachment process to proceed, the more likely that cha-cha will not happen in PGMA's term. I recall reading a news item last week that House Speaker Joe De Venecia (JDV) belittled the opposition's claim that they are nearing the 79 votes that they need, JDV said that he finds that to be impossible as he had assurance from his allies not to support such moves. It gives an impression that regardless of merit, they are already firm not to support it. I find that sad as it totally conflicts with his earlier statements that he wants the truth to come out and clean PGMA's name.
Most of us Filipinos have no access to our leaders, the best that we can do for now is air our public opinion, at least through blogs. It our children's future that is now hanging in the air with our current state of flux.
Oh well.. it seems my Seoul and Taipei speaking stints won't push through for this month. The Congressional Oversight Committee for the E-Commerce Law changed its meeting schedule from August 17 to August 30. As all report submission gets adjusted so is my State of Philippines E-Commerce Report writing. However, in these times of political conflict, I am also thankful with the change so that our legislators can attend to urgent political matters at hand.
I started putting more photos in my photo blog here and certainly brought back great memories to mind. From Cebu, my first book launch, to a trip yesterday.
It seems a lot of people are searching for information about Raul Roco these days. My blog hits shoot up a little with Raul Roco topping the search queries.
Attention: All elementary and high school teachers!
Engage students in performance-based, collaborative, project-design competition this school year 2005-2006!
- Support standards-based, authentic learning
- Connect students to their local communities
- Increase students' global perspective
- Increase real-world, transferable skills
- Involve students in the assessment
- Teach students information-age skills (research, project management, publishing, digital media)
DigitalFilipino.com is launching the 5th Philippines School CyberFair Project with the theme, "Inspire and Unite". This competition encourages students to "shine the spotlight" on people, places, businesses and other things in their local community -- that serve to "inspire, motivate, and encourage positive change."
All Philippine entries shall also join the International School CyberFair. On its 11th year, it has been described as the largest educational event of its kind ever held on the Internet. This program has brought together more than one million students from over 100 countries.
It is also an authentic learning program used by schools and youth organizations around the world. Youth conduct research and publish their findings on the Web. Recognition is given to the best projects in each of eight categories: local leaders, businesses, community organizations, historical landmarks, environment, music, art, and local specialties. This program encourages youth to become community ambassadors by working collaboratively and using technology to share what they have learned. Students evaluate each other's projects by using a unique online evaluation tool.
CyberFair encourages youth to connect the knowledge they learn in school to real world applications. It also supports current education subjects such as Filipino, English, Computer, Social Studies, Science, Music, Practical Arts, Character Education, among others.
This year, schools can submit multiple entries. However, it should only be limited to one entry, per category, per division (elementary / high school). All entries must be written and presented in English and Filipino.
We are launching earlier this year to give way to the regional competition. Prizes this year includes:
Regional level (August to November 2005)
- Trophy for the school, medal for students
- Regional IT leadership convention for all Cyberfair participants
Note that regions with less than 40 entries shall be merged with nearby regions or be directly included in the national competition.
National level (November 2005 to March 2006)
- Trophy for the school, medal for students
- National IT leadership convention for all Cyberfair participants
- Train the teachers on E-Learning Content Development 5-days workshop
For more details, visit http://www.cyberfair.ph
Do you like to support the Philippine Schools CyberFair 2006? Here's how.
1. Disseminate this information to the schools in your area.
2. Coach teachers and students in preparing the CyberFair entry.
3. Volunteer as a reviewer of website entries.
4. If you are from the media or have a blog, write or talk about this initiative.
5. Become a corporate sponsor by providing resources needed for this project.
6. Become an individual supporter by buying a book, e-book, research report, or become a club member at http://www.digitalfilipino.com
I just read from PCIJ and AlterNation101's blog that former Senator Raul Roco just passed away this morning.
I first met Senator Raul Roco when we were lobbying for the passage of the E-Commerce Law in the year 2000. At that time, Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. has successfully went through the deliberation process with Senators Santiago, Biazon, Revilla, Guingona, Enrile, Tatad, and Jaworski. But when it came to Senator Roco, we got into trouble. He remarked, "Your proposed bill is patterned after Singapore but most of our laws, court rulings, and references are patterned after the USA."
As a result, we had to go back to the technical working group and re-wrote the bill patterned after the original UNCITRAL model. In my observation during floor deliberations, our legislators usually exchanged pleasant introductions to each other. So, prior to Senator Magsaysay's return to the floor, I asked him to recognize Senator Roco as the only I.T.-sensitive presidentiable in the 1998 elections and first legislator to have his own top-level domain name, RaulRoco.com.
And so during the floor deliberation, Senator Magsaysay did recognize him. Senator Roco laughed, smiled, and said, "I think I better sit down. You know in this floor. Flattery can get you anywhere." It is a remark that I will never forget. He did sit down and not contend much about the revised version anymore.
During the law's bicameral conference, he also set the direction. That's where I've learned from his explanation that any section in the House version that is not in the Senate version shall be put in and vice-versa. Only those with conflicting versions shall be discussed. If similar, choose the much appropriate one.
I also recalled another lesson from him. This was during a floor deliberation about a proposal to amend the Copyright Law. He said that with so many pending priority bills, Congress shall not amend an existing law without proving first its ineffectiveness through actual cases in court, where such law is futile. That is why when people approach me about the need to amend the E-Commerce Law, I always tell them that such is very far-fetched from happening at this time. You need significant case studies to prove the law itself is flawed, and not its implementation. More often than not, the problems cited now by most parties are implementation issues rather than flaws in the law itself.
He is indeed a great person and greatful of these that I've learned by just listening to him at the Senate floor. So long Honorable Raul Roco.
I just got an email lately asking this question:
"Is there a way in E-Commerce to handle online remittances of OFWs ? I am just wondering what a good business opportunity it will be for us?"
My answer is this:
I believe there's a great opportunity to handle online remittances for Overseas Filipino Workers. However, my only concern will be if they have a credit card to begin with. Based from OFW Research we did 2 years ago, only OFWs of certain professions have a credit card to begin with. As a result, remitances are sent via traditional bank and couriers. Having a counterpart brick-and-mortar and/or pick-up service can also be of value.
Futhermore, you have to establish yourself as a trustworthy establishment that OFWs can feel safe that their remittances will reach their loved ones as committed. Putting up a company with sufficient capitalization is a must.
Lastly, I believe that a money remittance service capable in depositing to any commercial or rural bank or home delivery at a competitive cost will prevail and rule the remittance target market of your choice.
I hope this helps.
Yesterday, the 1st iblog Mini: Blogging Gloriagate was held at the U.P. College of Law. It was a smashing success! My sincerest congratulations to the team behind the UP-ISP for the hard work they poured for this effort.
I agree with Jove Francisco in his belief that blogs have made an impact to our society already. Whether the government admits it or not, blogs have contributed greatly in the knowledge dissemination and expression of views on a lot of issues today, especially Gloriagate.
I admit though that a great effort must be exerted to teach more people how to blog and realize its benefits. I think a person will appreciate the value of blogging once he/she realizes the role or mission they're taking on for themselves. All in all, blogging is about sharing, to inform, to educate, to impart our perspective, even to entertain, and be ourselves (or least give a glimpse about we are).
When Manuel L. Quezon III said that "blogging is crisis-driven, and the Philippines is in a perpetual crisis," I think this can be construed not only in terms of politics but also about being a Filipino. A lot has been written about how damaged our culture and ideology is. In times of conflict, I'm sure a lot of us are amazed when we hear quite far-fetched point of views. Moreso during elections, the kind of people enlisting, aspiring to become the country's president, is a reflection on the wide-array of values, principles, and beliefs that Filipinos have in the country. Of course, you can also use your blog to declare your future political plans like Paeng who thought of becoming a senator someday.
Thefore, blogging presents an opportunity for all us to understand each other more and hopefully be able to appreciate and respect our fellowmen's point-of-view. So when the Gloriagate ends, there's much more to blog about and this is just the beginning. I hope those in the profession of personal/values development will take blogging as an opportunity in influencing change in the Filpino culture and values, especially among our young.
Atty. JJ Disini considers as partly an elite's tool to-date. Perhaps bloggers today would consider a major task of influencing educators to teach ordinary students how to blog. I remember in grade school days, we were required to maintain a diary that our teacher checks on a weekly basis. If journaling can be used to document lessons learned and creative ideas in a day, I believe this young people will be able to appreciate and recognize their potential to bring about change in our country. Build up hope and self-esteem.
An interesting blogger I met during the event is Atty. Punzi, ang cute ng blog story niya. But like him, I agree that we live in interesting times and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I think we are now beginning to see the weakening of discussion groups as there's a value in documenting our insights rather than see them forever gone when a community shuts down.
For those of you who were not able to make it to this event, I encourage you to visit J. Angelo's blog as he took photos and blog, blog, blog during the event. Galing talaga!
Last night, I just arrived from Seoul. As I was about to crossed the street to get an airport cab, I slipped and landed with my lower hip hitting the floor. I felt liked Triple H slammed by Batista directly to the steel stairs during their steel cage match. While being treated at the clinic, airport personnel talked about how that area is so accident prone. Actually, it is not my first time to slip in that area but have prevented myself from falling. I guess when you are too tired and anxious to get home, you tend to forget which areas of the airport are dangerous.
Funny thing though is when I was on the floor and aching, airport personnel approached me wanting to pick me up, I objected and requested not to be moved. Thanks to my training during high school with the Red Cross, I learned that in such situations, it is best to be handled by those knowledgeable of first aid. As I felt a bit better, I allowed myself to be picked up. What contributed to the fear of being mishandled is a recent news report where 2 men were victims of a hit-and-run incident. The policemen and town folks who picked them and put them in the police car obviously had no first-aid training. They could have aggravated their injuries more.
Next week, I'm tutoring a government official, working for the Ministry of Trade in Bhutan, about e-commerce. It is interesting to find the interest about this subject increasing once more.
Last week, my book project with TechFactors.ph fully materialized. The book is about Introduction to I.T. Projects, meant for 4th year High School students. What I like about this opportunity is being able to introduce and document the Philippine Schools Cyberfair as the case study of the book.
For more updates about the Korea training, I urge you to check my Teaching Life blog.
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