I found this flyer which listed down 10 rules about the internet for kids which was made by Unicef. I think this is a very timely read since a lot of parents don’t have a clue on what to tell their children about the internet. This is good material and I hope that all the parents out there who read this will have their kids take a look at this as well since this is really for their benefit.

1. Don’t give your home address, telephone number, or school’s name to anyone you meet one the internet.

2. Don’t send anyone your picture, credit card, or bank details.

3. Don’t give your password to anyone, even your best friend.

4. Don’t have around a chat room if someone says or writes something which makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.

5. Don’t respond to nasty, suggestive, or rude e-mails or postings.

6. Don’t pretend to be anyone you’re not.

7. Do ask your parent or caregiver first if you plan to meet with someone you’ve met online and arrange a meeting in a public place.

8. Do tell your parent or caregive if you see bad language or distasteful pictures while you’re online.

9. Remember that if someone makes you an offer that is too attractive like getting rich instantly or seeing a famous celebrity, the offer is most likely a trap.

10. Be yourself.

There you go

As most of you know I currently work for Friendster as their Digital Marketing Manager. I joined Friendster 7-8 months ago and it was nothing short of a fun and educational roller-coaster ride! However, I’ve finally decided to give entrepreneurship a chance and leave the corporate world. Last month, I filed my 30-day notice. My official last day with the company is tomorrow (Tuesday, March 23, 2010). Leaving this company was a very difficult decision to make. The people in the Philippines office are great and the working environment is definitely something that I’ll miss. But I really felt that it was time to move on. I put up a consultancy firm a few months ago named Catalyst Interactive Marketing. We’ve had a lot of good clients already and it’s about time that I focus on that and try to build the company into something much bigger than what it is now.

To those who are thinking of leaving their jobs to do their own thing, let me just share some tips that I picked up from a lot of good friends who I consulted with before making this life-changing decision.

1. Save up and make a security fund while you still have a job.
This is very important and I think one of the biggest factors why I finally decided to leave my job. The biggest problem you’ll face in business is the risk that the money won’t come at the end of the month. You’re not really sure if you’ll get what you need to pay off your bills and living expenses. To solve this problem, I strongly recommend that you follow the advice I got from financial gurus Chinkee Tan and Randell Tiongson. Build 6-month emergency fund. Basically have enough money in that fund to cover for your living expenses for the next 6 months. I’m pretty sure that you can either make that business work or you can find a new job if the business fails within that time period (haha).

2. Don’t burn bridges
As much as possible don’t try to piss everyone off in your office when you leave. Turnover all the work properly and adhere to company policy when it comes to leaving. Give a minimum of 2 weeks notice. For senior managers you might want to extend that to 30 days. When I left Level Up, I also gave a 30-day notice because I felt like 2 weeks wouldn’t be enough for me to tie up loose ends. Leaving in good terms will also allow you the opportunity to tap the network that you built in your former company later on when you’re doing different things. Note that the worst thing you can possibly do is to tell people that you’re going somewhere but in truth you’re going to a competitor.

3. Pray pray pray and seek counsel from Godly men and women
Ultimately your life is in God’s hands. Based on experience the best thing I did while preparing for this move is that I prayed a lot and I asked advice from a lot of my mentors and elders. Talking to them and praying cleared up a lot of things. Read the bible. You’ll be surprised. It talks back.

And that’s it for this post. To all my colleagues from Friendster, thank you for the last 7 months. It was an honor to have worked with you guys especially throughout the relaunch. And to those contemplating of leaving the corporate world for entrepreneurship, I hope my notes will be helpful for you.

… and to those who need an internet/social media marketing consultant, I’m all yours! Hahaha!

ABS-CBN’s Pilipinas Got Talent is literally making waves on Youtube. Jovit Baldivino’s audition just crossed the 1,000,000 mark and the other notable clips have already breached 350,000. This is a very good pick-up rate. I’ve been a fan of UK’s X-Factor and they’ve been regularly uploading clips of the show on Youtube. Most of the time the videos just register 200,000 and slowly climbs up to the 1M mark after several days or weeks.

People love watching reality talent shows on Youtube again and again. This is one of the accidental successes that ABS-CBN now has to capitalize on and learn from. X-Factor UK has their own official Youtube channel and they are fast when it comes to uploading edited clips of their shows. They shouldn’t be afraid also that the viewership on TV will be eaten up by online. People who will watch TV will watch TV. People who don’t get to watch it will search on it for Youtube. If ABS-CBN doesn’t do it, someone else will. Might as well be the beneficiary right? If ABS-CBN can harness the viewership and put it into one channel and build-up the subscription and viewership, then they have a formidable tool which they can use to later on launch other shows. This also makes online video advertising more attractive to local advertisers.

Here’s one of the more notable performances other than Jovit. It’s from a dance group called Hello World. Though it’s not mentioned in the show, I think it’s safe to assume that they got their influence from the Jabbawockeez.

Multimedia integration of TV programs will definitely be a big thing in the coming years. Let’s see who is daring and persistent enough to be the first TV station to actually make a strong integrated online TV programming platform.

… that’s what a lot of business people here in the Philippines still think up to today. This made me reflect a bit and it made me realize a few things. First, them being ignorant is actually cool. Why? Because it means that it gives us a a window to penetrate their markets because they’re not being represented online. By simply not being in the fight, they’re leaving themselves and their customers wide open for a flanking attack from other people who are going online. When the money starts to change hands that’s when the brutal reality sinks in for those who don’t understand the power of social media and the internet.

Here’s a good example. Hizon’s Catering is very aggressive on Facebook advertising. They even have a good follow through e-mail campaign that revolves around their Dream Wedding promotion. How many new customers have they gained because of that? Those customers won’t even consider Josiah’s Catering or other options because no one else is presenting themselves on Facebook.

Let me just re-post this video that we made to promote Internet Marketing in the Philippines.

Yes, Internet Marketing is a joke, but the joke’s on those who initially thought it was a joke. Get in the game and go online. The longer you put this off, the more customers your competition will steal away from you.

Lola Techie is Bayantel’s primary viral and social media campaign machine. To those who haven’t been following her, she’s basically a grandma who knows how to use social media and the internet. Bayantel and the agency behind the production of the TVC’s are just brilliant because the content that they churn is insanely funny. The newest commercial is no exception. In this TVC, they had Lola Techie do a “Steve Jobs” keynote speech, complete with the black turtle neck and maong pants! Here’s the video for your enjoyment.

See how viral it is? I’m not the type who embeds TVCs but this is just too good not to share.

Steve Jobs launched the iPad today during his keynote speech in the Mac event. A lot of people have been talking about this product for months now and you could literally feel the electricity in the air as Jobs walked up and got on stage. Once again Jobs delivers a powerful and flawless performance! He was able to hype up the crowd and he definitely played their emotions pretty good. I was glued to the live stream for more than an hour watching the entire talk. However, wow that the dust has settled and the emotional euphoria is a no longer at it’s peak, let’s have a no nonsense look into this “magical and revolutionary” product. Is there truly space for a product that’s in between smart phones and netbooks? I have both so it will be really interesting writing this blog entry.

Based on his presentation, here are my reservations on the iPad:

- Browser doesn’t support Flash which is a major problem. No Farmville! Hahaha!
- No mention yet if the iPad will support Microsoft Office applications
- There’s no USB drive for the iPad to transfer data
- There’s no SD slot. Can someone confirm this? I just heard this on Twitter.

Now here are the things that got me really excited:

- More than 140,000 available apps similar to the iPhone and more
- Newly developed and customized version of iWork for the iPad
- The best calendar/PDA system I’ve seen so far
- Amazing multi touch features
- Great for showing pictures and videos to friends
- Can dock with an external keyboard
- iBook looks very promising. Looks like the Kindle now has a strong competitor

The iPad will be selling for $499 US for the standard version. You add $130 for the 3G model. Apple will start selling this in two months in the US and around 90-120 days for international. Plus taxes, this will probably cost around P28,000-P30,000 in the Philippines.

Now the question is if the iPad is worth P28,000-P30,000 bucks?

If the iPad won’t support Office then there’s a big chance that I’ll overlook this until that it has that functionality. iWork is cool and all but most people still prefer using Office applications. The absence of the USB port is also a major let down since I wont’ be able to transfer files on the go (if there’s no internet and I can’t email).

With all of that said, I’d have to give it a thumbs down for that price tag. Don’t get me wrong. I am sooooo tempted to buy one as soon as it starts selling in the Power Mac store at Podium. I also agree with Jobs that this is a insanely nice gadget. The design and UI is flawless but it needs more muscle in terms of functions. My brain just can’t process and accept the idea of paying the price of two PS3 units for a giant iTouch. Maybe if they bring the price down a bit or if I have a sudden excess of money then I’ll consider getting one.

It’s a nice to have, not necessarily a need. Anyway, I still have my Macbook Air. Hahaha. xD

The new BlackBerry Presenter is God’s gift to consultants and freelance workers. Basically all you have to do is to connect the BlackBerry Presenter to the projector. The Presenter is just the size of an Altoids box and it effortlessly streams the PowerPoint from your BlackBerry via Bluetooth.

Here are the specs:

- Conveniently small and light — 3.4″ x 2.4″ x 0.9″ and 140g
- Video Formats Supported: NTSC, PAL
- Video Cable Support: S-Video, VGA
- Power Connection: Micro USB
- Display Resolution Support: 640×480 (VGA), 800×600 (SVGA), 1024×768 (XGA)
- Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR, Class 1.5
- Carrying Case: Synthetic Leather
- Support for most PowerPoint animations and transitions
- No additional file processing required – present files directly without having to pre-process the file on the PC
- Languages Supported: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish

I haven’t seen a price tag on this yet but I’m definitely interested in getting this so I don’t have to bring my laptop every time I do presentations to clients. Let’s just hope it’s not insanely expensive, haha!

I had some free time this afternoon so I decided to do some blog hopping. I think I read more than 20 blogs and I’ve managed to collate some posts which I found very interesting, educational, and helpful. Check them all out after the break. You’ll learn something about social media, healthy teeth, parenting, and even pre-martial sex.

Randell Tiongson: The Cost of a Habit – Personal finance coach and educator Randell Tiongson talks about how smoking regularly can cost you P4,000,000. I loved how he captured the idea in this very insightful and entertaining post. Must read.

Sonnie Santos: Pre Marraige Sex – Fellow Christian and blogger Sonnie Santos tackles one of the most controversial topics of all time. One of his points here is that people who practice pre-marital sex and get into marriage run a higher risk of having a broken relationship.

GM Tristan: The Power of Youtube – A very educational and nice post from my co-worker here at Level Up. In this post, Mon talks about how you can maximize and leverage Youtube to improve your career, business, or whatever.

School Talk: Keeping your kid’s teeth clean – Dr. Bu Buenazedacruz talks about how crucial the involvement of the parents are in the dental care of their children. He also gives practical and applicable tips in this post.

Social Media Philippines: What Cool Kids and Internet Marketing People Have in Common – Funny and interesting read from Rob. Good job bro!

That’s it for now. Hope you guys take time to do some blog hopping.

The past few weeks have been really hectic. I’ve been meeting and networking with a lot of businessmen, fellow marketers, bloggers, and agencies. Basically after work, I go to dinners and coffee sessions to discuss potential projects and collaborations. What can I say? God is really good! The project list that I have so far is pretty much good for the next 2 quarters. Anymore and I’ll probably implode, haha. Anyway, I’ll post the details as soon as I can reveal what those projects are. For now let me share with you a few posts made by several bloggers that I found really interesting. These are really good reads (ranging from business tips, parenting, to Swine Flu) so I suggest you check ‘em all out. Links after the break.

1. Thammie Sy: Maalala Mo Kaya – Thammie talks about an experience with her daughter when she tells her “I don’t want to have a mommy anymore!” Ouch.

2. GM Tristan: Internet Cafe Business in the Philippines – Interested in putting up your own internet cafe? Mon “GM Tristan” Macutay is the man to go to.

3. Momblogger: Surviving a Gunshot – Shameless plugging. Noemi was kind enough to have me do a guest blog post about the time when I got shot by a ’45 pistol. Yeah it hurts, haha. By the way, Noemi also made an excellent post about Swine Flu, you might want to read up on that since there’s now a confirmed case in the Philippines.

4. Sonnie Santos: Will You Block Social Media in the Workplace – Nightmare question that every HR Director has to face. Will you block Facebook? How about Plurk?

5. DJB: Whither Filipino Voices – My favorite writer in Filipino Voices says goodbye. It was an absolute pleasure reading your work DJB. Looking forward to your next project. I heard you were thinking of coming up with your own collective site.

6. Clueless Church Planter: Christ’s Love is the Killer App – Amazing how Pastor Dennis is able to relate almost anything to Church Planting. I liked this post since it’s in tune with what I usually talk about in New Media and Internet Marketing, haha.

7. Ready to be Rich: Tips On How To Start A Vending Machine Business: Another interesting and very helpful article from Fitz. I was actually thinking to myself how to start doing this since I know for a fact that the vending machine in our office has a lot of patrons.

Excellent posts guys! Looking forward to reading more interesting and value-adding blogs from all of you. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

I make it a point every week to have one post that just talks about other articles written by local bloggers in the Philippines. It’s a way of giving “link love” as well as providing my readers with quality content about New Media from a different perspective other than this writer. For this week, I chanced upon very insightful, practical, and helpful posts from several bloggers that talk about community blogging, the politics of blogging, and protecting your blog brand.

1. Baratillo blogs his reaction to the entry Blog for your Community, not for Everyone: Interesting read, but I don’t agree with that statement that “everyone who reads your post is automatically considered part of the community”. Yes, they maybe readers, but if they don’t relate to and understand what you’re writing about then there is clearly no connection. There are a gazillion definitions of “Community” and this is tackled in detail in Wikipedia. When I use the term though it refers mostly to a group of people who are bound by a common belief or value. It is not necessarily group think, in fact communities should agree to disagree.

2. Sonnie’s Personal Branding Blog talks about how to Synergize your Social Media Accounts: Here he discusses the importance of being consistent and active across all of your Social Media accounts (Friendster, Facebook, etc.).

3. Janette Toral, in her latest post, discusses the Politics of Blogging: This is a very insightful article that basically shows the dirty but true reality of the local blogosphere. There is no known utopia yet in the world. The moment people converge and interact, conflict and polarization is bound to happen. With the rapid growth of the industry, we’ll see more issues and problems arise in the coming months and years. Personally what I believe is that, as a blogger, what’s important is that you stay true to yourself, your blog, and your community. Critics and nay-sayers will always be there. It is up to you if you will get affected or not.

4. Lastly, Rob writes about Your Brand and Social Media: how to use social media as a tool to communicate, interact, and get feedback from your consumers. It’s so easy, there’s no red tape, and everything can be exchanged in a click of a button.

Hope you guys visit their blogs and read the posts I linked above. They are filled with good insights that you can definitely use to better your blog and business.

Mike Abundo plurked a very interesting article from the New York Times website. The gist of the article is that global web companies are thinking of restricting access or lowering service standards for people who access their websites in developing countries. The problem is that the cost of operating and delivering the services is not at par with the advertising that they get for these particular regions (low income bracket doesn’t interest major advertisers). In short – they’re not profitable and they need to cut down costs to increase their profit margins. Is there really a chance for Facebook to have low quality pictures and videos in the Philippines? Or for Youtube to have slower loading time? Is there a chance that they might even restrict access?

Only Time will Tell
At the end of the day, the decision is with the people in the boardroom. If the costs are really too much to handle, then they will really take measures to make sure that they deliver their numbers. In fact, some of the companies have already started making changes. Here are some examples and quotes from the NYT article.

Veoh blocks access from several countries:

Last year, Veoh, a video-sharing site operated from San Diego, decided to block its service from users in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, citing the dim prospects of making money and the high cost of delivering video there.

“I believe in free, open communications,” Dmitry Shapiro, the company’s chief executive, said. “But these people are so hungry for this content. They sit and they watch and watch and watch. The problem is they are eating up bandwidth, and it’s very difficult to derive revenue from it.”

MySpace has already started with Profile Lite:

MySpace — the News Corporation’s social network with 130 million members, about 45 percent of them overseas — is testing a feature for countries with slower Internet connections called Profile Lite. It is a stripped-down version of the site that is less expensive to display because it requires less bandwidth.

MySpace says it may make Profile Lite the primary version for its members in India, where it has 760,000 users, although people there could click on a link to switch to the richer version of the site.

Youtube to give slower loading time and lower-quality videos:

But Mr. Pickett also says that YouTube has slowed the creation of new international hubs and shifted its focus to making money. He says that does not rule out restricting bandwidth in certain countries as a way to control costs — essentially making YouTube a slower, lower-quality viewing experience in the developing world.

Facebook might do quality control with their services and web features:

“We can decide, either on a country by country or user by user basis, to engineer the quality of the service for that cohort of users,” said Jonathan Heiliger, the executive who oversees Facebook’s computing infrastructure.

Potential Solution: Do a Friendster?
The global marketing and sales trend is to go niche. Try to satisfy individual groups instead of trying to offer something to everyone. Friendster decided to do this when they finally set up office here in the Philippines. Seeing as 50% of their traffic comes from here, they localized and partnered with local agencies. The result? The companies based in the Philippines have been scrambling to come up with online campaigns with Friendster.

A possible solution for this dilemma is to identify possible growth areas and to set-up a local team that will be in charge of growing the business in that particular region. If they can’t expand, then they can also explore the possibility of partnering with a local agency to be their reseller.

I subscribe to and follow a lot of local and international blogs that talk about new media, blogging, and digital marketing. It’s amazing how fast the local blogosphere has matured and grown over such a short period of time. As a tribute to them and just to give some link love, I’ll share with you guys some of the posts made by other local bloggers that I think would be good readings for everyone here.

1. Social Media Philippines: Basics on Branding: Talks about the importance of having your own brand and a few short tips on what to do to make you stand out among the clutter.

2. Sonnie Santos: What Constitutes Your Brand: Sonnie discusses what are the elements of your personal brand and zeroes in on building credibility in line with your projected image.

3. Anton Diaz: First Day of Teaching at AIM: Anton shares a picture and some snippets of his first day teaching at AIM about Internet Marketing Strategies.

4. Pinoy Blogero interviews Sir Martin Perez Teacher Blogger: I actually know Martin personally. Never knew he was an active blogger until I saw this post on Pinoy Blogero! Here we see how a teacher uses his blog as another tool to reach out to his students.

5. Mike Abundo shares Twitter goes Mainstream: Mainly because Oprah decided to make an account and Twit. Imagine all the housewives around the world, they’re probably trying to make a Twitter account as we speak, lol.

6: Baratillo on Blogger Credentials: A very interesting take on the on-going raging war with Reyna Elena and Filipino Voices.

As much as possible, the posts I will link are the ones that talk about New Media. Have a nice Sunday everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend. Monday is just around the corner.