“Life always has different chapters. You just can’t be in the same chapter forever. You’ll get stuck.” ~ @WilzKanadi
This quote jumped out at me as I was checking my Twitter timeline. I did not exactly think of my life in terms of chapters but when I look back, I can indeed see the “chapters” and how they have led me to where I am now and what I will be doing down the road.
In this article, it says “Type A personalities experience a constant sense of urgency: Type A people seem to be in a constant struggle against the clock. Often, they quickly become impatient with delays and unproductive time, schedule commitments too tightly, and try to do more than one thing at a time, such as reading while eating or watching television.”
That pretty much summed me up during my growing up and early corporate years. I lead a very academic- and career-oriented life. Graduating at the top of my class in high school and college were the fruits of that labor. I was just as driven when I joined SGV (over 15 years) where I was exposed to financial audits, research, lectures and training, computer audits and IT consultancy.
In between projects abroad and local work, I also took a 2-year hiatus and went to Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where I earned my MBA degree under a scholarship from SGV.
This is so true. I remember my own late Mom who fussed over me even when I was already an adult. She sent me off to graduate studies in the U.S. with a thick wad of index cards on which she lovingly wrote recipes I could whip up in a short time. She worried I would not eat well and wanted me to have some of her home recipes to bring with me. Even when I got married and had one child after another, I could always count on her advice and years of wisdom to see me through difficult parenting phases.
But unlike my Mom who chose to give up her music career early on in her motherhood days, I continued on my very career-driven, stressful corporate life till our fourth child was born. A threatened abortion was my wake-up call that made me assess what was truly important in life – my job or family. The latter won out. I left behind a promising career, an executive position and a comfortable salary to stay home and raise my kids.
When YouTube chooses the Philippines to launch its first localized service in Asia, that is telling of what my country’s social media statistics must be like.
Media and citizens in the Philippines have taken to YouTube like fish to water. Watch segments of talk shows, entertainment, news on TV and most likely, portions of these can be found on YouTube. I’ve been to birthday parties where the celebrant is greeted via YouTube by relatives and friends from all over the world. My own son is glued to YouTube videos every day as he watches stuff from computer-related videos to videogaming videos. In Blog Watch, the citizen media group I am with, we already had a YouTube channel since late 2009 and we’ve used it extensively to document the interviews we did of the candidates running for office in the last 2010 elections.
YouTube has also brought several Pinoys to fame as their videos unexpectedly go viral. There was Christine Gambito, better known as Happy Slip, who regaled us with her funny video takes on the Pinoy characteristics and customs. This was followed by the Cebu inmates whose Michael Jackson-inspired dances went globally viral. Charise Pempengco and Arnel Pineda were discovered via YouTube. Charise is now a growing star in the music industry who counts David Foster, Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres and many other celebrities as friends. Arnel is now the lead singer of the band Journey. Maria Aragon of Lady Gaga fame (who I recently met at another event) has Filipino blood running through her veins and so is funny man, Mikey Bustos. Who can forget that even the video of Cebu Pacific flight attendants dancing while in flight would become viral? And those four who were caught jumping up and down on a bed after Venus Raj became a finalist?
Pinoys have really become so attached to documenting lives and posting these on YouTube that even PR campaigns and strategies include contests that are intertwined with YouTube.
Several blogger friends and I were invited to the YouTube launch party held at Whitespace. The whole night was a celebration of YouTube’s success globally, with focus on how Filipino YouTube videos turned viral. Whitespace was transformed into a fun, fun place where different YouTube activities were happening in different corners.
A karaoke booth let guests sing their hearts out while being livestreamedMoymoy PalaboyGreyhoundzRivermayaWith Hannah (flaircandy)With blogger friends
With YouTube present now in the Philippines, we can expect easier access to Philippine-originating content. In fact, content from the government will be made available to the YouTube viewing public through two channels – RTVM and Official Gazette.
Jumpstarting this effort will be a Google-YouTube-World View interview on November 4, 2011 of none other than the Philippine President Aquino. World View is a show that features world leaders answering questions from YouTube users sent online. These past days, questions were being gathered from citizens, some of which will be answered personally by Pres. Aquino on the Nov. 4 show.
Exciting times are ahead for Philippine YouTube viewers.
Are you one of us? What do you think of this move to establish a firm YouTube presence in the country?
June 30 is Social Media Day – a day when millions of people all over the world celebrate the advent of technological advancements that have shrank the world and allowed people who live on opposite sides of the world, whether they know each other in real life or have met virtually through a common forum, social networking site, or some form of online community.
The world is indeed so small today with social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Plurk – the 3 more active sites I am on. On Facebook, I have rediscovered my elementary and high school classmates and touched base again with my closest college friends. On Twitter, I get to engage with celebrities, newspeople, bloggers and ordinary folks like myself in discussions that range from intellectual and political discussions to mundane tweets like ranting about the weather or what one is doing for the day. And Plurk is my haven, my closed community, where I get to share things not meant for Facebook or Twitter. Each of these social media sites have a purpose.
My world now revolves around social media. From the time I get up to the time I sleep, I am almost always online. Even when on the road, I feel uncomfortable when I am unable to check back into the internet to see the latest tweets, check if someone sent me email, or what the latest Facebook messages have been.
But it has not all been just socializing and making virtual friends. I have seen the power of social media in public service and in being an influencer. As part of Blog Watch, a citizen watch group that was formed in the months running up to the 2010 Philippine elections, blogger friends and I harnessed the technology and social media sites to bring voter education closer to the online community. To this day, we continue to use all the social media techniques available to us to continue our advocacy for transparency and good governance in government.
