Philippine Blogosphere Pitch: Why not aim for the Anvil Awards?
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 26th, 2007Every year, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) gives out a set of Anvil Awards for remarkable public relations campaigns done in the Philippines.
The ANVIL is a symbol of excellence in public relations in the Philippines awarded by a distinguished multi-sectoral jury for outstanding public relations programs and tools designed and implemented in the past year. The Anvil Awards competition is conducted annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.
The Anvil symbolizes excellence and quality. The standards for winning are high. No award is given unless the standards are met.
There are four award categories:
The Anvil Award of Merit
The Anvil Award of Excellence
The Bronze Anvil Award
THE GRAND ANVIL AWARD
What exactly am I pitching? Why can’t we pitch the ongoing Filipinas Campaign as an entry in the 44th Anvil Awards happening in February 2009. This February 2008 is the awarding for the Anvil for campaigns done between October 31 2006 to October 31 2007. Though it would be too late to include the Filipinas Campaign as an entry to the 43rd Anvil Awards, it can still very well make it into the 44th.
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Nokia Fever: Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia E90, Nokia 7500 Prism
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 12th, 2007
I have some reviews of a couple of Nokia phones over at Cellphone9. If you’re interested, check out the following links:
- Nokia N95 8GB first impressions
- Nokia Prism 7500 first impressions
- Nokia E90 impressions
- More thoughts on the Nokia E90
On Friday, November 16 2007, Nokia will be holding the launch party for the Nokia 5310 at Makati Avenue. Sign up by clicking on the link above and place your first and last name on the comments section for the VIP room access.
Time Machine Makes Backing Up Fun
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 9th, 2007Here are some charts that show how often Macintosh users back up their data. 26% of all Macintosh users back up their systems regularly. However, only 4% make use of the auto back up feature:
Hands down, the three most eyecatching experiences with Leopard are, in no order, the new iChat moving backgrounds, the new reflective effect of the dock, and Time Machine. Apple engineers intentionally made Time Machine look this good so that people will be encouraged to back up often in exchange for the eye candy.
It is advised to purchase a “time machine” (aka external drive) that is at least equal to the total hard drive space of your current Macintosh. It is advised to run Time Machine before you go to sleep so that when you wake up the next day, the backup process would have been completed.
Leopard Now.
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 8th, 2007
Mac OS X Leopard is officially in the Philippines.
If you bought a Macintosh anytime beginning October 1 2007 in the Philippines, you are entitled to an almost free upgrade to OS X Leopard for only PHP 527.00. All new Macs come pre-installed with Leopard.
On a side note, I’ve heard reports of retailers in the Philippines going out of stock for the MacBooks. This can only mean two things: (1) the new Macs are coming with Leopard, which is no surprise OR (2) the new version of the MacBooks may be due in the next few weeks.
One. Ultimate. Version.
Farhad Manjoo (Salon) makes a compelling case. “If we’re going just by what’s better—the ages-old Mac-vs.-PC debate is over. Long over. Yell it from the rooftops; The Mac has won.” Now’s the right time “to buy an Apple computer,” proclaims Manjoo. “Indeed, it’s been that time for the past five years.” After all, “its Macintosh business is now in league with that of the biggest PC companies in the world.” And “everyone who’s used it agrees that Leopard, the operating system that Apple released late last month, is to its chief rival, Microsoft’s Windows Vista, roughly as Richard Wagner is to Richard Marx.” Manjoo even takes the opportunity to “put to rest the myth that an Apple computer will set you back more than a Windows PC. In fact,” he says, “it’ll cost you less.” [Start]
“Amplifying Peace Across Borders” by Anne Elicano
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 5th, 2007Ladies and gents, I’m proud to share with you a piece written by a good friend – well she was more than just a good friend. Anne, my ex former girlfriend back in college (we agreed never to call each other “ex” because it didn’t sound right) had a huge achievement to share with me a few days ago. She was always a good writer and I knew she would go places in one way or another. She recently won the International Essay Contest for Young People (2007) on the topic of Amplifying Peace Across Borders. Her current line of work has something to do with human rights, governance and politics.
Ironically, Anne was also the reason why Yuga and I met for the first time. I was invited to give a talk on podcasting for the FNF, while Abe went on with the blogging seminars (the reason why Abe travels so much now – the lucky dog 
). Sadly, I was not able to make it for that stint.
This is not a political blog, but Anne shares a common thought that echoes in the minds of the technologically blessed. The Internet can really bring people closer together, or can be a tool for strife and controversies.
It is clear that, in this “information age”, peacemakers are not those who remain silent in the sidelines for the sake of harmony. Bono does it with his music and anonymous writers in Iran do it with their blogs. It is a relief to know that, with media and communication technologies, there are several platforms for peacemakers to speak out.
You can read the full essay here. Congratulations Anne! You really deserved it.
On another more personal note, how many of you can say that you’ve remained friends with your ex? I dunno. I still talk to my past girlfriends. Except one. Because she’s really crazy. 
Happy Internet to launch WiMax service in 2008
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 31st, 2007
it seems like everybody is launching their own WiMax network. Abe mentioned Globe launching one in 2008, but assuming this is true, they are going to have a hard time justifying the price as HSDPA currently costs P3,000.00 a month. What more for a 4G WiMax dongle + service fees? You can’t just implement a WiMax network and expect peoples’ laptops to be compatible.
WiFi runs on a 2.4GHz frequency but WiMax runs on something completely different. Another dongle for us consumers to purchase then – or buy a new laptop in 2008 with Intel’s new certified WiMax doodie built in. Consumers who are currently paying P3,000.00 for Globe Visibility may want to rethink their options if Globe is really going to go WiMax in 2008.
Anyway.
Met with the Happy Internet marketing head, Marvin Cruz (he’s Microsoft PH engineer #001) over coffee. Happy Internet has been around for the past five years, albeit in a different form. Marvin and the rest of the 40 strong individuals of Happy Communications are supposedly here to make a difference. But yeah, we’ve heard that before. So let’s see what exactly Happy Internet has to offer.
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Diving at Paradise Island, Davao City
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 29th, 2007
Diving. Unlike basketball, football, volleyball and badminton, where winning is defined by the number of points your team scores by the end of the game, the objective of diving is different: don’t die.
We went diving over the weekend at the Paradise Island, a good 15 minute drive from Davao City, and though it may not be the best diving spot in Davao, it was still an experience. I’m hooked. We weren’t too adventurous as 20 feet deep was the most we went. I think Anton Sheker is planning a dive soon. Stay tuned.
More photos after the jump.
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Rejoice! Leopard is here!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 26th, 2007I’m miles away from the Leopard store launch in Greenbelt (allegedly, all the Apple Powermac employees are in Leopard spots make up). But this is the most I can give. I videotaped the countdown to Zero Hour.
Was honestly expecting something grand to happen to the site. But still, I’m such a geek. Such an Apple Geek.
Mac OS X Leopard in the Philippines
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 26th, 2007
Today is October 26 2007 in Philippine soil. In about a day’s time, Apple will make its biggest operating system announcement in the form of Leopard. The countdown on the Apple website current reads 17 hours to go. By that time I’ll be in Davao for the Mindanao Bloggers Summit, which means that I won’t be able to watch the keynote. I mean really, its not Leopard that I’m waiting for – great as the software is, this isn’t a scoop. It’s the anticipation of the new line of MacBook hardware that Steve Jobs MIGHT announce. I can hear him say it now:
“Mac OS X Leopard is available now for a retail price of $149.00. Oh and just one more thing … the new line of MacBooks will ship with Leopard starting today.”
But what about the local launch of Leopard? Well, I have the official date from the email invitation. Mac OS X Leopard will be launched on November 8 2007 in the Philippines.
November 8 2007.
November 8 2007.
November eight two thousand and seven. Venue and time to be announced.
See you MacHeads there!
Thesis: Blog Networks should NOT rely on Text Link Ads or Google AdSense
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 25th, 2007Aaron Brazell, our technology manager at b5media confirmed a suspicion I’ve kept to myself. A few weeks ago, Cellphone9.com dropped from a solid Google PageRank 6 to a 5 and then today, a 4. Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger also dropped from a towering 7 to a measly 4. Same goes for Brian Clark’s Copyblogger. Must be disappointing to admit it, but A Bugged Life, though not linked to the network dropped in PR from a 5 to a 4 a few weeks before Google declared jihad on blog networks. Funny though, because as soon as my personal blog’s PR dropped, it made Technorati front page.
At b5media, we are weighing how we want to respond to this. Either we give in to Google and let them dictate what we do and have the unenviable position of losing pagerank and possibly advertising dollars, or we take the stand that quality content is quality content regardless of Google and that our content will speak for itself. We still produce millions of pages of content per month. We still have respect in the community. We still have advertisers recognizing that these sites are valuable assets to leverage to get their campaigns out on. [Technosailor]
Update 3: Glorietta ‘Bombing’ photos taken by INQUIRER.net from bloggers
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 19th, 2007More than the INQUIRER breaking news page, “Disney” has been getting a lot of traffic over at his Multiply site for the photos he took of the bombing this morning at the Ayala Glorietta malls. I was actually nearby when this happened, attending a press conference for the new line of SHARP TV’s with Yuga. After leaving the Shangri-la, I saw crowds of people making an exodus towards the bus stops.
I decided to walk and wait the traffic out. I was also carrying this with me and silly, should have taken pictures too.
According to “Disney”,
Yup nasa parking ako nito pero when it happened I was like 40m away lang inside the mall….I have to walk around outside glorietta just to go back to park square 2. Yung walkway from G2 to Park Square 2 dapat yung daan ko (Yes I was at the parking lot, but about 40 meters away when it happened inside the mall. I had to walk outside Glorietta to get back to Park Square 2. I was supposed to take the walkway from the G2 to PS2.)
Tragic day for the country today. I hope this doesn’t scare investors off. Truth is, stuff like this DOESN’T HAPPEN ANYMORE.
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