Internet Mind

Here are some of our articles covering Internet and e-commerce developments.

Viral Ideas
October 29, 2009

LAST Tuesday night, I had a test webinar broadcast for a weekly webinar show, Viral Ideas, with bloggers Juned Sonido and Coy Caballes. We took turns discussing a viral idea, based on what we found online and from personal experiences.

What caught my attention recently was an essay written by a Korean club member of mine, Jaeyoun Kim, titled “My Short Essay About the Philippines.” His paper reflects his observation about Filipinos not loving the Philippines, resulting in our current state of affairs. He made comparison as to how much the people of Korea have made personal sacrifices in order to help their country grow. He also encouraged Filipinos to love their country and teach their children to do the same. That essay was written in September 2003.

Further discussion on year to year stats on this topic.

Website for new parents
January 28, 2009

I JUST got word from Snapworx CEO Arthur Policarpio about his partnership with Marathon Publishing, publisher of Baby Magazine. Snapworx and Marathon Publishing launched last Dec. 1, 2008 the website Baby Central.

(follow-up discussion – What drives community growth?)

Online freelancers
January 21, 2009

AS the Internet continues to mature in the Philippines, the number of skilled freelancers available online naturally increases.

Filipino Internet User 2009
November 19, 2008

THE Filipino Internet user is getting younger and yet his or her usage of technology is maturing.

Creating your own wiki
October 16, 2008

IF you want to create a website where your peers can contribute content, then wiki may be an alternative worth exploring. What makes wiki different compared to blogs and traditional websites are the things you can do through it.

I also discussed in the community site on how to make a wiki sustainable.

Online banking failures
October 9, 2008

THERE are a lot of things you can do through online banking. Apart from checking inbound and outbound funds, you can also do fund transfer and bills payment, among others. Bills payment is very useful because it allows you to pay utility, credit card and mobile phone bills, as well as insurance anywhere in the world. However, outages occur and some banks do not sent prompt notices or explanations.

Do you have problems with some of the online banking services offered today? Share your thoughts.

Dealing with Internet addiction
July 17, 2008

WITH the youth using the Internet more and more these days, parents can”t help but be worried. In the book, “Me, MySpace, and I,” author Dr. Larry Rosen encourages parents to be aware of Internet addiction symptoms and be proactive in dealing with it. Of course, the items below can also be a concern for adults and we should always become good role models. Here are some signs of Internet addiction. (Check out the sample monitoring chart if you need more info.)

Meeting Dong Secuya
May 15, 2008

IN the past week, I”ve been fortunate enough to meet several e-commerce players in Manila, Cebu and Davao to catch up with what they are doing. In Cebu, I was so thrilled to finally meet in person Dong Secuya, who is considered as one of the pioneers in the Philippine Internet industry and was part of an active community back then in Cebu.

Documentation Tools Available Online
May 1, 2008

LAST Saturday, “iBlog4: the 4th Philippine Blogging Summit,” went as planned. Up to 250 bloggers participated in the event. I must admit that documentation can be tough after an event, just as sustaining a movement�s momentum can be difficult.

Creating online TV station
April 24, 2008

DO you like to become the star of your own TV program? Well, you are lucky as there are websites today that allow you to create your own program online.

Online marketing alternatives
January 24, 2008

A friend asked me recently about alternatives for companies to market themselves online. Granted that blogs and websites are valuable tools today, how do you ensure that they get re-gular traffic where part of it can be converted to customers or generate more referrals for the company?

Selling music online
January 17, 2008

THE music industry faced a lot of challenges as technology progresses.

Focusing on social objects for success
January 4, 2008

HUGH Macleod (http://gapingvoid.com/) made an interesting post last Monday on “social objects for beginners.” He referred to social objects as the reason people talk to each other. Social objects can be referred to as common interests or likes that, when discussed, make people click and engage in an interesting conversation. It can be your favorite music, political beliefs and gadgets, among others.

Christmas shopping online
December 13, 2007

WITH the holidays fast approaching and with nine million Filipinos working abroad, Filipino shopping sites attract plenty of buyers who are on some last-minute holiday spending. To ensure delivery on or before Christmas day here and abroad, most online orders should be placed within the week.

The Internet Gets Political
December 6, 2007

THERE are so many interesting things that happened in 2007. For one, the Internet got very political and here are some that caught my attention.

Tapping collective intelligence
November 8, 2007

IN the process of making a new design for my website, I realized that there are so many application programming interfaces (API) out there that can be integrated into an existing site. This allows website owners to pull in data from other websites to appear in theirs. In my case, I could have a club member�s profile page and allow them to integrate their user profile in other sites. Depending on the information that gets presented and its use, it can also be referred to as collective intelligence.

Paypal is here
October 4, 2007

THE talk of the town in the Philippine Internet community is the availability of the full-featured Paypal in the country. This means, Filipino Internet users with validated bank accounts and credit cards can now accept payment through Paypal.

Preparing for 2010 elections
September 20, 2007

I WROTE a column recently on how bloggers participated in the recent national elections and gave suggestions on how they can better participate in the 2010 polls. This attracted interesting responses that resulted in the organization of an iBlog mini forum on Nov. 24 at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City to discuss the issue. If there will be interested parties, we can organize a similar forum in Cebu as well.

Creating video tutorials
September 6, 2007

I CAME face to face with the challenge of running an online community the moment the membership roster of my website became diverse. This means having members outside of your locality and even those based overseas.

This was the case of my e-commerce club, where one of the benefits for SME (small and medium enterprise) and corporate members is being able to attend our hands-on workshops. Good thing there are now tools that are free and can be used to create video tutorials. Yesterday, I tinkered with a seven-minute tutorial using the following tools:

Yahoo oneSearch
August 2, 2007

LAST week, I talked about the launch of the Globe and Yahoo oneSearch service. I was able to use the application and here are my observations.

War against copyright violators
June 14, 2007

LAST week, the Philippine Internet Review blog (http://philippineinternetreview.blogspot.com) became a victim of another blog whose domain name was owned by someone in Thailand. It republished several posts without permission. To make it worse, this is the second time it happened involving the same domain name owner.

Making a great website
May 3, 2007

THE staging of the DigitalFilipino.com Web Awards allowed us to have a point of reference on observations and suggestions that website owners could consider in building their site.

Internet connection: a right or privilege?
April 12, 2007

Our Internet connection these days can now be considered as competitive with our neighbor countries, such as Thailand. I hope more efforts can be done so that Internet stations can be made available in malls, through phone booths, for quick e-mail without necessarily going to the Internet caf�. This is especially true for cities like Manila where you could hardly find free wireless Internet available. In fact, cities like Cagayan de Oro and Davao are more progressive or even generous in providing free Internet services to its customers.

RP websites ignore title pages
March 22, 2007

In narrowing down prospective finalists for the DigitalFilipino Web Awards, I realized that a lot of the prominent and beautiful Filipino websites today have been missing for failing to fix their sites for search engine visibility. The very basic but most prevalent reason is the lack of unique title tag for every page in a website. As a result, you�ll notice the company name appearing as the page title, regardless of which page you view inside it.

Internet Mover & Shaker: Jaime Enrique Y. Gonzalez
March 9, 2007

Enrique can be considered as one of the Philippine Internet”s successful entrepreneurs as he had a series of start-up internet ventures including match.ph (that is now itzamatch.com) which were acquired by Bigfoot Ventures (NY, USA), and Adobo Interactive which was acquired by Philippine-listed subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate MBf (now IPVG).

Online election debate begins
February 19, 2007

As the election campaign kicks off last week, politicians reaching out to voters have begun. This is not only through traditional campaigns, but also online. As promised last month, here are some of the developments shaping up online with the start of the campaign season.

Happy merchants this holiday season
December 28, 2006

FOR Jay Frank De Jesus and Joan Pi�on, the holiday season gave their e-commerce sites good business.

Finding answers
December 07, 2006

When I launched DigitalFilipino.com E-Commerce Workshop E-Book last May 2004, there was one professor who used and adopted the book. He teaches in Ateneo De Naga University. As a result, every now and then, I get inquiries from students who ask for help in answering their assignments. Once in awhile, professionals and SMEs who got the book also toyed around with the assignments and try to answer it themselves.

Personal connections prevail
November 13, 2006

Last July, I got the chance to execute a survey interviewing around 211 Internet users in Metro Manila. One of the things that I look at when observing the Internet landscape is�its effect on the lives of Filipinos.

Keep me on
October 19, 2006

Early this week, my friend and I stayed at the newly opened Golden Prince Hotel. I was using PLDT WeRoam and she�s online through her Globe Visibility. Unfortunately, I can�t connect while she was browsing with great ease. I had to go to the hotel�s ground floor to find a good signal and do my work.

Problems in bringing Paypal.com to the Philippines
October 16, 2006

There are ongoing discussions on how to bring Paypal.com to the Philippines. Paypal.com is a payment processor based in the US where members process payment and transfer funds through their respective accounts. Last Thursday, Paypal.com just had an upgrade that finally included (at last!) the Philippines where one can sign up and have an account for purposes of sending money overseas. However, it can”t be used for receiving money yet, which in fact, hinders us to take full advantage of e-commerce, locally.

Online payment for individuals
October 12, 2006

Ever since I started writing about online payment, I�ve been getting inquiries on how they can use the system, especially among individuals doing selling or services work online.

Radio lives on
August 30, 2006

While preparing for the 12th episode of the DigitalFilipino.com Podcast, I got the chance to talk to Wilson Chua of eRadioPortal.com. Wilson has a small information technology company based in Dagupan City.

2006 top Web sites
August 17, 2006

Three years ago, I published a list of top Web sites based on a survey that I ran at that time. This year, I got the chance to conduct another survey, but only covering Metro Manila. I�m sure that once the survey expands to other provinces, some of the figures and players on top would change.

The Internet is your ocean
August 10, 2006

I�m actively blogging again as I build the content for the second volume of the Philippine Internet Review.

One million in three weeks
July 20, 2006

Did you know that a company that recently launched its e-commerce website last month made P1 million in three weeks? That is South East Asian Airlines or SEAIR.

Passion for success
July 13, 2006

Who would have thought that selling danggit or dried pusit over the Internet would click? Jovel Cipriano of PinoyDelikasi.com did. His dedication in selling Filipino delicacies online earned him his latest recognition, the APEC Digital Opportunity Center Best Practices Recognition on E-Commerce Award in Taiwan last week.

Loyalty and destruction
July 6, 2006

One of the big news recently is the entry acquisition of Cebu-based InfoWeapons by Innofone with the intent of getting a bigger chunk of the inevitable major upgrade that Internet infrastructure around the world will go through, from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPV4) to IPV6.

One Voice
June 22, 2006

Are you tired of the bickering between administration and opposition politicians? I am. And most people are running out of trust and patience with processes and institutions in our country. One Voice, as a movement, is launched today. It is time to speak up for real change. It is time to speak in one voice!

E-commerce law on its sixth year
June 15, 2006

This month, we are celebrating the sixth anniversary of the enactment of Republic Act 8792, otherwise known as the Philippine E-Commerce Law. I am often asked what are the primary concerns that we keep in mind and constantly advocate for. For those who were not involved in those days, may this serve as an insightful piece.

My failure is my success
May 4, 2006

I often receive praises for the things I”ve done in the past. With the kind words comes the inevitable question, “how do you keep on doing it?” Ironically, an act that others may perceive a big success is not necessarily perceived as such by its creator. Some people even consider what others see as success a failure.

Internet celebrity
April 22, 2006

Can the Internet help you become a celebrity? By all means, yes, even if you don”t want to.

Real estate selling online
April 13, 2006

Attraction. If there”s one sector that has benefited from the growth of the Internet, it would be the real estate sector. Online, you can now see websites, like AboitizLand.com, selling Cebu properties to Filipinos based here and abroad.

Freedom and responsibility
March 16, 2006

We have observed how several media outfits were affected by Presidential Proclamation 1017. In a DigitalFilipino.com Club forum held at the Sun.Star Cebu office last week, we noted that the proclamation did not only affect the media but also private sector entities doing business in the country, from Metro Manila to Cebu.

Government e-payment guidelines
March 2, 2006

The Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Finance and Bureau of Treasury are currently drafting an E-Payment Guideline that government agencies can use to accept payments from citizens and businesses electronically. Email ict@marroxas.com to request for a copy of the guideline.

Impact of the Internet
February 23, 2006

I got an interesting set of questions lately from a reader and would like to share my answers here.

Unifying Force
February 20, 2006

For those who have been in the IT industry long enough will realize that the industry has fragmented. When the e-Commerce Law was passed in the year 2000, former President Joseph Estrada merged the National Information Technology Council (NITC) and the e-Commerce Promotion Council, giving birth to the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council (ITECC). It was a situation where I found myself fortunate enough to be part of it.

Challenges in running a telecenter as a business
February 2, 2006

The pressure of bringing information and communications technology (ICT) to the grassroots triggered the establishment of telecenters or community e-centers (CECs) in rural areas of various developing countries. Telecenters are either government, private or non-government organizations (NGOs) that seek to provide Internet facilities where citizens can access the Internet at no or minimal cost.

From hobby to online business
January 14, 2006

Before Christmas, a good friend of mine started getting into the hobby of jewelry making to create personalized gifts for friends. In less than a week, my sister and I got hooked into it as well. From various trial and error experiences in making these fashion accessories, the three of us decided to bring this adventure online at BeadClubPhilippines.com. Through it, I hope that bead jewelry hobbyists will find a common community to learn, ask questions, share their work, swap handiwork and even sell.

CHED and miscellaneous fees
January 5, 2006

A subject of complaint by today”s parents who have kids studying in different colleges is the collection of miscellaneous fees. More often than not, students don”t understand the details and are not capable of explaining the issue to their parents.

Exciting 2006
December 22, 2005

A lot of friends have been asking me lately as to what we can expect to see in 2006. Here are some of my thoughts.

Philippines #23 in 2006 Waseda University e-Government Ranking
December 19, 2005

Last Friday, the Waseda University Institute of e-Government has released the result of its recently concluded 2006 Waseda University e-Government Ranking. The Philippines ranked #23 out of 32 countries evaluated in the study.

Look behind the story
December 15, 2005

Last Tuesday, I got the chance to visit St. Mary”s College of Meycauayan, where I delivered a one-day workshop on Internet and E-Commerce Development 101. Twelve high school students and five teachers attended.

The Internet of things
December 8, 2005

The International Telecommunication Union just released the ITU Internet Report 2005 with the theme, “The Internet of Things.” ITU explained that the Internet of Things is a technological revolution that represents the future of computing and communications.

A participative Internet
November 10, 2005

The Internet has been transformed into a much more mature state and is now referred to as Web 2.0. According to Tim O”Reilly, this is where the Internet has become a platform. The users are in charge of controlling the data. It is also focused on services that support user participation. More importantly, it harnesses collective intelligence.

Cyberporn hackers
October 6, 2005

I got an email from a student in one of Cebu”s prominent universities about peers who have hacked (or stolen) accounts and use these to access porn sites where models strip in private rooms. He asked if such an act is legal and if there is a law that covers the act, if caught.

A greater purpose
September 29, 2005

This week I�m conducting a free e-Biz training for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The training, which drew about 40 SMEs from different parts of the country, is sponsored by the APEC Digital Opportunity Center based at the National Computer Center in U.P. Diliman, Quezon City

A maturing NTC
September 22, 2005

The recent memorandum circular on VOIP issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) indicates how the agency has matured and has come to understand value-added services (VAS) and those control the resources to kill prospective competitors.

E-commerce ups and downs
September 08, 2005

My column today is a reflection on the assessment of the state of e-commerce in our country. Perhaps, the problem of lack of unity, as displayed in our current political situation, also comes up in e-commerce initiatives in the country.

Memory lane
September 4, 2005

While surfing the Internet to monitor our articles that get published online, I stumbled upon 3 articles that brought some old memories.

Common data dictionary
August 25, 2005

As more government agencies are pursuing integrated e-commerce projects, the need for a common data dictionary is becoming more evident. Having a data dictionary will allow government agencies to have a reference point in designing their databases, to establish an acceptable format that will make it easy to consolidate or match data later on.

Preparing for the holidays
August 11, 2005

If you noticed, there are a lot of advertisements today announcing Christmas promotions. But don�t be surprised. In the US, statistical reports have been released on how US-based retailers are gearing up for the holiday season.

Blogging Gloriagate Forum: A Success!
August 5, 2005

Yesterday, the 1st iblog Mini: Blogging Gloriagate was held at the U.P. College of Law. It was a smashing success! My sincerest congratulations to the team behind the UP-ISP for the hard work they poured for this effort.

Women and e-commerce
August 4, 2005

The APEC E-Biz Training for Women SMEs finally ended last Saturday. Around 30 participants from 15 countries joined the program this year.

The world is flat
July 28, 2005

During the Cebu ICT event last month (June), Senator Mar Roxas delivered his keynote address and quoted a perspective from the book written by Thomas Friedman, “The World is Flat.” Upon return to Manila, I bought a copy of the book, along with his other book, “The Lexus and the Olive Tree.”

Fighting for your copyright
July 28, 2005

I got an email asking what must be done if a print publication infringes on one”s copyright, such as by publishing photos that one took and posted in his website.

Recharge in Seoul
July 21, 2005

I am currently preparing for my trip to Seoul next week. The APEC E-Business Training for Women SMEs is one of my fondest advocacy every year. It is organized by APWINC.

Wanted: Cyber crime fighters
July 21, 2005

STRENGTHENING LAW ENFORCEMENT. During the Department of Trade and Industry”s 1st dialogue on Data Privacy last Tuesday, I realized how much help our law enforcement needs today in combating cyber crime. The agency”s high tech equipment is all donated.

Data privacy guidelines creation
July 14, 2005

CZAR CHALLENGE. After the Department of Trade and Industry”s (DTI) announcement during the Cebu ICT 2005 about taking the e-commerce czar challenge, efforts are now underway to craft data privacy guidelines to protect the data shared by consumers with companies and other entities today. A law enforcement framework is also being looked at to ensure an efficient response to cybercrime.

E-Commerce Czar
June 23, 2005

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Juan Santos just announced his office”s renewed commitment to leading the implementation of the E-Commerce Law.

PCPS Best Practices Award Winners Announced
May 26, 2005

Yesterday was the climax of the PCs for Public Schools (PCPS) Best Practices Awards. It was an honor for me to be a judge of this competition.

Congress to look at e-commerce
May 19, 2005

The Congressional Oversight Committee for the E-Commerce Law formally organized its structure and work program for 2005 yesterday. Sen. Mar Roxas and Rep. Junie Cua, the Senate and House of Representatives chairmen on trade and commerce, share the chairmanship of the oversight committee. During the meeting, the chairmen agreed to work on four themes:

Teaching and learning maturity
April 28, 2005

More than a decade ago, I worked for MCC Associates. Part of the perks was to participate in this sales training in its sister company. Although I can”t recall the name of the trainer, segments of the training remain memorable. Most of them were the side remarks that were not necessarily connected to the topic but were interesting.

Confusing advertisement
April 14, 2005

TABLET PC. Last week, my friend saw a newspaper ad from a manufacturer about a laptop tablet PC available for less than P130,000. As she asked for quotations, what she got was no less than P145,000. After making a few calls to verify the matter, the dealer sent another quotation correcting the amount.

Resolving disputes online
March 31, 2005

For those who are entering into contractual agreements today where money is involved, consider using arbitration and mediation as a means of settling disputes. With arbitration, instead of waiting five years to have a case resolved, it can be done within a day or a few months.

Losing the thrill
March 24, 2005

I was one of the many Filipinos throughout the world that anxiously awaited Manny�s fight versus Morales. However, prior to the start of the fight, if you are an Internet user, monitoring several boxing sites will immediately give you a perspective on whether he won or not.

Working Wirelessly
March 17, 2005

Wireless technologies have affected the way we work and how we communicate with peers. Whenever free, I find myself scrolling through my mobile phone�s address book and old text messages to see whether there are pending items that require follow-up or closure.

Teaching Via Instant Messaging
March 10, 2005

Two weeks ago, I was scheduled to arrive in Cebu to conduct an online payments and Internet marketing workshop. As the flight was overbooked, I arrived at 4:30 p.m. already instead of 9 a.m. It was a good thing that a friend was available to assist my students. Upon getting the news of having no chance to go on board, I immediately went to Netopia in front of Dusit Hotel Makati City and chatted with my students via Yahoo Messenger.

CCNow.com Merchandising and Discounts Tools
March 3, 2005

The first online payment system that I used in DigitalFilipino.com was CCNow.com. At that time, the service requires no monthly fee. Even though it charges a per transaction rate of 9%, its market entry cost and mechanics are very entrepreneur-friendly compared to local payment gateway services in the country today.

Digital Pinay and the meaning of Power
February 5, 2005

Like many Internet users, I was surprised when I received the application form for Digital Pinay 2005. Right there and then, I knew this would solicit many reactions and have read some of them in various mailing lists.

Schools cyberfair and a new child
December 23, 2004

CYBERFAIR. On its fourth year, the Philippine Schools Cyberfair was just launched with the theme, “Prepare and Unite.” Students are challenged to create digital Web-based stories that showcase programs and people in their own local communities that look to the future.

Dynamic advertising with Google
November 25, 2004

ADWORDS. Last week, I signed up at Google AdWords (http://adwords.google.com). This is a service that allows entrepreneurs and big businesses to launch an Internet campaign, paying for it at their own set budget.

High-tech amenities and e-commerce goings-on
November 18, 2004

Talisay City. One of the challenges in conducting hands-on e-commerce workshops is the need for a good Internet-enabled computer facility that offers a quiet room, updated software and fast connection.

Managing risks of online payment
October 7, 2004

I just finished teaching a two-day workshop about online payments. One discussion that we spent a lot of time on was about managing risks in online payment.