Cyberbaguioboy

It is easy to blame the Internet today for all the ills of the society–crime, violence, the wave of shootings, and whatnot. But to pin the blame of an increasing number of HIV cases in the country to the rise of social networks is just plain, er, baseless. It is just like blaming TV violence for the rise of criminality. It really does not follow. You are what you are no matter if you’re online or offline. You’re online behavior in most cases reflects your real-world behavior. While social networks have made it easy to connect with other people, it has not really translated to the rise of HIV cases in the Philippines. The article itself says that there are no studies to prove this connection.

Here’s an interesting analysis of the effectiveness of advertising on Facebook. (Yes, guys they have ads but you may be too busy playing Farmville to notice, heh).

While the article points to the increase in ad spend in Facebook, this social network is not really serving up relevant ads to people (again, have you really seen those ads in there?) The article argues that this might have something to do with the low inventory of ads, thus they can only rotate relevant ads to targeted audience.

So here’s my theory: Facebook either has a very low inventory of ads and that’s why they cycle through the limited number of available but irrelevant ads or the ad targeting model is fundamentally flawed. In either case, I seriously doubt that advertising on Facebook is any more effective  than other advertising options like paid search or contextual ads on traditional sites.

Okay, that’s something that Facebook has to figure out very soon.  In the meantime, here’s something to make your day. What if Facebook is played in real life?

Funny how people were tweeting today about how the iPAD is nothing more than a big, big iPhone. With a price tag of $495 for the basic set up, I will tell you now that this new Apple toy is going to be attractive for those who want to play games, watch movies, and yeah, read e-books, among others.

Yesterday, I counted that more and more officemates are holding an iPhone. Okay, it’s sexy and they just love how the overall interface. And I have not told you about the apps available (er, the legal ones, guys). So here’s the question: Would your rather have a Kindle or an iPad? Hmmm, tough choice, eh. But lo and behold. The decision is easy, and people are most likely to gravitate to iPad.

Here’s Steve Jobs talking about the iPAD’s features. I will let him tell the story:

This morning I posed this question on my Facebook profile. And what an interesting mix of answers I got. In summary, people become fans of people, services and products because of:

• Peer pressure
• Common Interests
• It’s a form of sharing
• It’s a statement of support

What about you, what are your thoughts?

No, I’m not talking about a contest on bird-chirping. But seems like a good idea, noh?

Anyway, Joey Alarilla sent me these links to stories about the current state of Twitter in different countries. As you will see, the US remains the biggest market. But the Philippines is now the 5th most active country on Twitter in Asia, according to the POC website, quoting the Sysomos blog.

Excerpt:

The Philippines was listed as the fifth most active Asian country in the micro-blogging and social networking site Twitter.

Based on social media monitoring agency Sysomos report - ‘Exploring the Use of Twitter Around the World, the Philippines enjoys a 0.85% share of voice or tweets around the world. Indonesians are the most active with 2.34% share of the world’s tweets, followed by Japan, India and Singapore. Thailand failed to make it to the top ten.

In today’s world, you can become a star. Yes, you! You don’t need to join American Idol or any of that talent show to strut your stuff. Take this girl: Carmina Topacio. A recent sensation on YouTube, she’s now being invited to guest in Philippine radio stations. (Good luck!)

Who says you can’t be a star.

I was back in my alma mater this week to discuss what I have been doing for the past decade. It was fun sharing your experiences with students and former professors. I also got some feedback about this video that I showed them. I saw this first in an IMMAP event. So here it is again. Enjoy!

p.s. This is a newer version.

Save for the technical and audio problems, TEDxManila is testament to the abundance of good ideas that need an audience. Environmentalist Antonio Oposa Jr. was a surprise, as he entertained audience with stories, while making good points on how we can really help the environment.

Read what attendees were tweeting during the talks.

Graham Glass‘ (@grahamglass) ideas on modular and adventure learning got my attention. Adventure learning is similar to using games to teach kids. Modular learning, on the other hand, is allowing anyone to learn what they want, the way they want it, and when they want it. The News University offers a similar program for working journalists.

@Markruiz’s presentation was one that I didn’t catch because of the audio problems. I could barely hear him from the back. Mark is behind the Rags2Riches idea.

Till the next TEDxManila in June.

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