Blog Watch Formally Launches on Nov. 24, 2009

I had an earlier post about being part of Blog Watch, hosted by Vibal Foundation’s Philippine Online Chronicles.

On November 24, 2009, Blog Watch will be formally launched in the presence of traditional and new media at Max’s Restaurant on Jupiter St., Makati, from 11am to 2pm.

The blogger-writers for Blog Watch will attempt to “fill in the gaps” as well as complement traditional media’s coverage of the 2010 elections. We have began some features on voter education and are now beginning to provide backgrounders on the candidates for national positions (both on the personal side as well as the political side, including issues they are supporting). In addition, commentaries stemming from the personal insights of the writers will add flavor to this site.

It is our hope that through Blog Watch as well as other blogs and news sites, including those set up by COMELEC, the voting public will be able to make wiser decisions on who to elect into office.

I invite you to visit Blog Watch regularly to become as informed as possible before the 2010 Philippine elections. You may also follow Blog Watch on FacebookTwitterPlurk and subscribe to its YouTube channel.

The bloggers (as of this writing) who form part of Blog Watch are Noemi Dado (A Filipina Mom Blogger), Jane Uymatiao (Here’s to Life!), Sonnie Santos (Sonnie’s Porch), Dine Racoma (The D Spot), Vincent Golangco (When in Manila), Carlo Ople (New Media Philippines), Marck Rimorin (The Marocharim Experiment)Rochelle Sy Chua, Juned Sunido (Baratillo @ Cubao), Fritz Tenatativa (Fritzified)Leslie Bocobo, Brian Ong (The Philippines and Beyond), Victor Villanueva (Bikoy.Net), Dean Jorge Bacobo (Philippine Commentary), Pierre Tito Galla (Jester-in-Exile), Karen Ang (Bury me in this dress), AnnaManila (Ode2Old), Wyatt Belmonte (Wyatt’s Kitchen), and Blogie Robillo (Blogie Blog).

Getting Tagged + the Kreativ Blogger Award

This Kreative Blogger Award was given to me by my dear friend from my Philadelphia past, Kathleen. Thanks so much, Kathleen!

kreativ_blogger_award

I am thrilled to have been chosen one of Kathleen’s 7 best-loved blogs and as it is with awards like this, it is now my turn to pay it forward and choose 7 of my own best-loved blogs. Of course, I love more than 7 blogs, most specially the blogs of my mommy blogger friends. But for now, I will list the blogs that first come to my mind.

1. Insightful Personhood – My sister in Christ/kumare (both ways)/great friend Aly maintains this blog. Aly is one of the most creative people I have known. She loves scrapbooking and her Christmas gifts are always a delight to receive because she thinks up different ways to wrap the package and decorate it with twirly colored ribbons or a touch of something like a cut-out Christmas tree or hanging ornaments. In this blog, Aly bares her heart. She writes about her family life as well as her insights in her journey as a daughter of God. If there is one blog I can go to to draw inspiration from, it is hers.

2. Heart of Rachel – Rachel is one of my mommy blogger friends. Her blog is aptly titled because it is ALL HEART. She writes about anything and everything close to her heart. She writes about her family experiences, puts up great household tips and anything that catches her heart. When you visit her blog, you immediately notice how bright, colorful and tasteful it is. It gives you a sense that its owner is a happy optimist. Which Rachel is.

3. Memories in the Eyes of the Digiscrapmom – This title fits Liezl to a T! She is my ultimate digital scrapbooking idol — only because I have tried, truly tried, to keep up with the 4 kids’ scrapbooks and am still an utter failure in this department. I have (by last count), 3 plastic stackables filled with long, brown envelopes of the kids’ pictures, schoolwork and other souvenirs. Maybe I do need to go digital instead of tackling the cut & paste style of scrapbooking in the days of my mom and lola.

4. Flipflopping my way around town – Fran’s a neighbor. A really close neighbor. As in — the street right behind ours. And to top it, she blogs mostly about her food experiences. Her blog is eye candy. Colorful, lots of pics, and very light reading. I love visiting and finding out what new restaurants she tried and reviewed. Food blogs are better than visiting restaurant websites because I get the real deal from people who actually tried the food and service. Fran’s blog is one such site. Of course, she is now busy with preparations to move on to another state of life (woohoo!) but she still finds time to do her foodie posts. Keep ’em comin’, Fran!

5. Wifely Steps – Toni is in the last stages of her pregnancy and is awaiting Timmy’s birth. Her blog is all about her journey as a wife. Just reading her posts makes me smile because it is so easy to empathize with Toni’s experiences.

6. The Journey of a Yogini – Meet Chona, my BYFF (Best Yogini Friend Forever). Chronological age separates us but not our free spirits. When we’re together, we talk, laugh and get into just about any topic. I love being with her. Our souls commune. We are both free spirits (or at least trying to be as free as possible within social norms, haha). This yoga blog of Chona’s shows how far into her yoga journey she has come. She started her yoga practice later than me but now, she is a regular in her ashtanga class. When you read this blog, you see the depth of my BYFF’s thoughts (but hey, she is funny when she wants to be too!).

7. TeacherJulie.com – Julie is a special education teacher. Her blog is unique in that she shares her own experiences and knowledge on special education and parenting. But that is not all her blog is about. Julie is a warm, wonderful person whose sunshine personality shines through in her posts. I love browsing her blog and finding posts that make me think deeply or laugh out loud or lead me to resolve to do something.

Part of receiving the Kreative Blogger award is making up a list of 7 things that I love so here goes:

1. Christmas – Who does not love Christmas? It’s my favorite season of the year. This is the wonderful thing about the Philippines — when September comes around, it already begins to feel like Christmas. We are probably the only country that celebrates Christmas THIS long! And I love it. I love the sights, smells, and the activities. And I love going to the Masses, hear the carols, greet familiar faces coming out of church, spending time to greet one another…

2. Hugs – I am a touchy-feely person. I easily hug and embrace people (probably sending some people who are not used to this familiarity into uncomfortable fits).  And I do love receiving hugs as well. It’s my first instinct when I am around people I love. My teen boys sometimes squirm when I hug them while they are focused intently on World of Warcraft or some other online video game but I am sure this reassures them that I love them to bits. One of the best ways to start a day is to be hugged. They say everyone needs a hug at least once a day. I agree 100% and the more frequently it is done, the better for one’s self!

3. My family – My support system. My life. My reason for being. My loves.

4. Connecting with friends online or in person – This is one of my real loves — being able to connect with friends in whatever way. Lately, I have been trying to find old friends via Facebook and am happy to report that I have been quite successful. Chatting online or meeting up at some mall for a quiet (no, scrap that.  I meant — laughter-filled) reunion really takes years off one’s face.

5. Reading books – Bookworm, bookaholic, bibliophile, bookista. That says it all. I just love books! And it’s contagious. My whole family reads. That’s why we all have bad eyes….

6. Yoga – This is one of my passions now and I must say it has helped my mindset towards many things. Despite being a Type A personality, I am better equipped to deal with stressful situations as long as I have my yoga. I also feel healthier at this stage of my life compared to when I was in my 20s and 30s.

7. Blogging – I have never been able to keep a daily diary like my Mom who has literally filled more than one filing cabinet drawer with her diaries which she started in the 1950s and has faithfully maintained till now. If I want to know what happened, say, on Christmas Day of 1980, she would have the answer. But now I have been caught by the blogging bug and while it is very far from a daily diary, it gives me a chance to put down in writing things and events that I want to preserve for life.

Now, for the owners of the 7 blogs I tagged, it is your turn to pass this award on to 7 other blogs you love and list down as well 7 things that you love.

Sandbox – My New Playground

A few months ago, a group of bloggers (including myself) were involved in a closed beta project to test Sandbox. Media practitioners and some internet celebrities also joined in during this test phase.

Now, Sandbox is launching into open beta and I would like to invite you to check it out. Most of my blogger friends were in the closed beta with me so it was not difficult to start off as I already had a community of friends in it.

A few things about what Sandbox is:

1. Sandbox is an online platform that connects people together through microblog posts, photos and videos. More than just being a social networking site, Sandbox also has an online content store where you can purchase games and music. The developers precisely chose the word “sandbox” because it is meant to be the place where one can play around.

2. The user content is locally developed, meaning it is Filipino through and through. And because it is Pinoy, those of us in the Philippines have access to ongoing raffles, giveaways and chances to win prizes.

My friend Jayvee cites 5 good reasons to join Sandbox.

1. Your friends are most probably already there
When Sandbox launched in April it had a few hundred beta testers who were members of mainstream and online publications. Communities have been growing at a steady rate across all spectra — video gaming, anime, tech, love, blogging advice, photography, food and dining .. the list goes on. And, if you can’t find a group that fits you, why not create your own?

2. It is built as a one stop shop
There are two components to Sandbox – the user generated features that’s composed of the social network aspect, blogging platform, and photo / video uploads and an online content store where you can download games and music (P30.00 per song, cheaper than iTunes). Sandbox integrates what’s on your web browser with your mobile in your account creation page thus when you order items from your desktop or laptop, the information is pushed to your phone.

3. It has tangible benefits
Not that I have anything against other social networks, but this is the first locally developed one that actively gives out rewards and benefits to its members. So apart from the fulfillment you get with connecting with your friends, there are true offline benefits for participating in promotions and campaigns.

4. You can make money
Because Sandbox is locally developed, there are more interesting opportunities for you to make money through the system. Apart from an advertising platform within Sandbox that is currently being developed, there are going to be other engagements that will allow Sandbox netizens to build their online real estate such as the mobile site development. During the beta brief, Anton discussed the feasibility of growing your community. Just like with blogs, your real estate inside Sandbox values over time, especially when you grab potentially high ranking keywords.

5. It is continuously being improved
So really, the most exciting thing about Sandbox is that it is continuously being improved based on the feedback from the community. I’ll be the first to say that what you’re currently seeing is still the tip of the iceberg and the team led by Rezza Custodio has been actively looking into feedback. Of course, change doesn’t happen overnight but the plans for the future of Sandbox will take a stronger stance on Web 2.0. So yeah, tell your friends!

Personally though, I have been using Sandbox primarily for microblogging and the phone I am using specifically fits this purpose. Of course, this competes with the likes of Twitter, Plurk and Facebook where I am on so it behooves the developers to find features and niches which will appeal to the local folks.

Smart is at the helm of this project so I am sure that with the proper feedback during this open beta phase, they will be able to tweak it.

To start off, I have a few things lined up as feedback for the people behind Sandbox:

1. Improve internet connection uptime.

The trick to get people to mobile blog is excellent internet connection (meaning, no dropped connections) and easy access to the blog site itself. The thing going for Smart is that it is using a new technology called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access). But I have had several experiences while traveling when the internet is interrupted (sometimes as it changes from HSPA to 3G mode or vice versa). I am just imagining that if people had to pay P10 every time they connect to the internet, unstable internet connection can be a deterrent.

2. Make mobile blogging easier.

Mobile blogging must be so easy that you need not to have to log in and out before you can do so. I have an ipod touch and I find mobile plurking quick on the fly. As soon as I activate the app in a wifi zone, I am ready to plurk because my username and password are saved on the device. Sandbox is currently easier to view on a computer rather on a mobile phone. I have tried navigating via my mobile phone and it gets frustrating because I need to scroll left/right, up/down constantly just to go through the content and find my way. While I have done some posts via mobile, I find it easier at the moment to do so via the web. A mobile Sandbox interface would be great.

3. Create easier access to historical blog posts and activities by my other friends.

Yes, the concept is microblogging and we were told that anything posted is just for that moment. But as we are normally not online via a mobile phone all the time, friends’ activities remain unknown to me. I cannot see beyond the most recent 5 Happenings. If friends created a group, posted a microblog post, added a video, added friends, etc. these would all be lost if I do not catch them within the top 5 Happenings.

4. Make photo/video uploads painless.

Blog posts look better with a photo or two. Mobile bloggers would also love to send videos on the fly as news/events occur. So why is it so difficult now? First you have to go through the entire log-in process. Then the photo/video has to be uploaded first into Sandbox before it can be used in a blog post. All these take up so much time to do and if the internet connection breaks down through all that process, one has to start all over again. Sandbox has to be able to allow uploads via MMS (because isn’t that what mobile phones are great for after all?).

Don’t get me wrong. Sandbox has a future as a mobile blogging platform.

This is actually an exciting venture because just about anyone with a mobile phone (and in the Philippines that is the great majority of the population) is a potential mobile blogger. It just has to be tweaked fairly fast by the developers so it becomes a truly handy medium to get the news out into the online world as things happen.

In order to help them out, why not join Sandbox’s open beta now and give them your share of feedback. After all, once this is up and running effectively and efficiently, we will be the ultimate beneficiaries in terms of blogging mobility! To register, go to the Sandbox registration page.

This is my Sandbox profile.

My Sandbox Profile

Hope to see you there. And do join the groups I created:

1. Anything Yoga

2. Pinoy Humor

3. Raising Teens and Tweens

Reunion with Raquel & Mommy Bloggers

I missed the mommy reunion at Burgoo’s last year when Raquel was in town from Germany with her family (though I did see her at Dine’s birthday dinner at The Old Spaghetti House Katipunan).

So when Raquel made the trip back to Manila again this year and called for another mommy reunion, I jumped at the chance for another meet-up at Burgoo’s Podium.

What do mommies do when they are put together like this? Talk, talk and talk. Haha. But seriously, it was a chance to catch up on each other’s lives, especially Raquel’s. I also got to meet Aileen for the first time and found out that her uncle was  someone I knew from my past job at an accounting firm. Of course, being mommy bloggers there were a lot of photo ops too. Good thing, Burgoo’s staff were very accommodating and were patient enough to take our pictures with over half a dozen cameras each time.

Here are some pictures from that super fun afternoon. 

 

Couldn't resist a photo op while waiting for the other mommies
Couldn't resist a photo op while waiting for the other mommies

 

Raq with one of her girls (extreme left) and a relative
Raq with one of her girls (extreme left) and a relative

 

All mommies represent!
All mommies represent!

 (Back, L-R: Salen, Rach, Wenchie, Chats, moi, Dine, Myrna, Julie. Front, L-R: Noemi, Aileen, Raquel)

Playing with Rach's 5-year old son, Yohan. I miss this kind of playfulness...

 

Clowning around & wishing we were as slim as this mirror post makes us look.
Clowning around & wishing we were as slim as this mirror post makes us look.

Beauty Time with Clinique’s 3-Step Skin Care

Clinique's 3-step Solution

My history with Clinique goes waaaayyy back to the years when I was in the States taking my masters degree. Being one with sensitive skin, I always relied on Clinique products which are all allergy-tested and 100% fragrance free. Clinique is not known for being cheap; I had to scrimp and save in order to buy the products I wanted to use. So whenever my late sister-in-law, who lived in Canada then the US,  visited us she regularly gifted me with Clinique products.

Out of the blue, my friend Noemi invites me to a Clinique skin-typing. YEY! We went to Rustan’s Makati and had ourselves “typed” by Clinique. With us also were Noemi’s daughter Lauren and her friend Nikki.

Clinique’s 3-Step Skin Care System is Cleanse-Exfoliate-Moisturize. Cleansing removes dirt and oil (if you use makeup/foundation, you need a facial cleanser prior to the 3-Step Care. Exfoliating removes dead skin from the surface that make our skin look rough, dull, and flaky and helps skin renew faster. Moisturizing brings back the moisture into the already clean skin to keep it soft and hydrated.

My beauty consultant for the day was Malou Gagarin.

The first step was to analyze my skin type. Clinique categorizes skin types into 4:

The 4 skin types

Continue reading “Beauty Time with Clinique’s 3-Step Skin Care”

iBlog5 Coming Up in May

IBLOG5

Just a quick heads-up for bloggers in the Philippines.

The 5th blogging summit will be on May 9, 2009 (9AM-5PM) at Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, UP Diliman campus.

If you still have not joined any of the past 4 blogging summits, this is your chance. This will be my 3rd summit and I have to say that my experience has been totally positive. Not only did I learn a lot about blogging from the topics but this is THE chance to meet up with veteran as well as newbie bloggers and exchange business cards and knowledge.

Registration is FREE but will be limited. As of this posting, there are already over 170 registrants so hurry and sign up.

Here are a few links:

iBlog5 Homepage

iBlog5 Registration Form

Hope to see you there!