In this week’s Talk of the Town (for both print and online), you will find an article I wrote about the social networking phenomenon. This issue also highlights the top 10 social networks (but there’s a disclaimer there that says the list changes depending on the source of the information) and the steps on opening a Facebook account.

Here’s an excerpt of the article:

JUST a few years ago, you could hear people say, “Call me” when they want to keep in touch. Later, it evolved into “E-mail me,” and with the explosion of mobile phones, “Text me.”

Thanks to the Internet, people are now connecting and interacting with friends and family through online social networks.

Just to give you an idea how big social networks are, MySpace has over 184.1 million members, according to “5 Facts about Social Networking Sites” published by Pipl website, an online search engine for people.

P.S. Just as I was writing this blog entry, I received some feedback about the top 10 social networks. They were asking why Multiply.com was not there in the list. Apparently, Multiply.com might be big in the Philippines, just like Friendster, but worldwide, it is not. Here’s one list, which I found very useful and informative. This list also provides a different picture.

What about you, what do you think are the top social networking sites out there?

THANKS to HappySlip, the US-based Filipino-American video blogger, the Philippine Department of the Tourism (DOT) has recently been awarded the Grand Bronze Anvil Award and the Anvil Award of Excellence.

The DOT launched its online public relations marketing program to reach out to Americans to visit the Philippines, according to Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano in a statement.

The Grand Bronze Anvil Award is given to the most outstanding public relations tool designed and implemented during a year, in this case, in 2008.

“I am very pleased that our venture into Internet marketing and PR to reach and invite thousands of North Americans to visit the Philippines is once again recognized by the country’s PR industry,” Durano said.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

If you’re a Facebook addict just like me, you’ve probably seen this already:

Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised. For more information, visit the Facebook Blog.

If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.

Okay, I’m not that addicted to Facebook to join the virtual mob against moves to change the privacy terms of this popular social network. But some of the 175 million subscribers are up in arms, including tech expert Leo Laporte. (One of his more recent tweets declare: Facebook backs down. Put down the pitchforks and call off the rabble. http://bit.ly/zM1gy).

So what’s this fuss all about and why are people against this new privacy policy.

In a blog, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explains:

Our next version will be a substantial revision from where we are now. It will reflect the principles I described yesterday around how people share and control their information, and it will be written clearly in language everyone can understand. Since this will be the governing document that we’ll all live by, Facebook users will have a lot of input in crafting these terms.

You have my commitment that we’ll do all of these things, but in order to do them right it will take a little bit of time. We expect to complete this in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we’ve changed the terms back to what existed before the February 4th change, which was what most people asked us for and was the recommendation of the outside experts we consulted.

Actually, you can be part of the writing of this new privacy policy, which Facebook calls the Bills of Rights and Responsibilities. Go check it out.

Witnesses have quickly posted a video of the plane crash in Buffalo, New York.

Here’s one of the video clips posted on YouTube by user SpikeTheCowboy711 who lives in Buffalo, New York.

Excerpt of the details of the crash:

NEW YORK — (UPDATE) US media reports say 49 people were killed when a commercial plane crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York.

Officials told reporters several people were killed, including one on the ground, but declined to confirm reports that all 48 people on board the plane were killed.

US media reported the Continental Airlines plane was arriving from Newark, New Jersey before crashing some eight kilometers from the airport.

MSNBC said the plane hit the home and burst into flames at 10:10 pm (0310 GMT).

CNN showed burning wreckage in the center of a residential neighborhood and reported that two people were taken to a local hospital.

Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO—Compete.com has crowned Facebook the most popular social networking website, saying it racked-up nearly 1.2 billion visits in January.

The Internet-tracking firm released social-networking website rankings that show MySpace slipped to second place during the course of the past year while micro-blogging service Twitter catapulted to third place from 22nd.

News Corp-owned MySpace saw approximately 810 million visits in January, while Twitter was visited 54.2 million times, according to Compete.

“No surprise here,” a Compete reader using the online name Bauer said in a comment viewable Wednesday at a chat forum at the US firm’s website.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

IN the spirit of the upcoming Valentine’s Day, we’re giving you a chance to say it out loud, why do you love to blog? What compelled you to blog? What keeps you from blogging? Declare your love for blogs.

Fire away!

Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO–A service that targets Twitter users for marketing messages is reining in spammers as advertisers strive to take advantage of the popular micro-blogging network.

TwitterHawk is limiting marketers to sending only a single message each to any particular Twitter user every six hours, according to a message at the firm’s website on Monday.

TwitterHawk runs a service that scours Twitter messages for key words and then fires off missives that are essentially advertisements targeted in a manner similar to Google matching online ads to search queries.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Filipino bloggers are now picking up Filipino songwriter Gary Granada’s recorded complaint against GMA Kapuso Foundation, which he accuses of allegedly using his study without his permission.

A blog called “Ang Kape Ni LaTtex,” says Granada’s recorded complaint has been making the rounds via blogs, Plurk, Twitter and e-mail. The blog says:

In a nutshell, Mr. Granada, a noted Filipino singer-composer, voiced his sentiments against GMA Kapuso Foundation, regarding a jingle that he composed music for. According to Mr. Granada, GMA rejected his study for the jingle, but allegedly used his revisions for the lyrics (which was provided to him by GMA), and based the final tune on the musical structure of his study, all without attribution or pay. It would be best that you listen to the audio cast and hear it in detail and come up with your own opinions regarding the issue.

What makes this audiocast special, however, is the extent of Mr. Granada’s use of New Media — or, “Web two point oh” — to detail his complaint, in a totally unprecedented manner, and against Mainstream Media to boot!

Filipinovoices blog has also picked up on the issue.

Rarely do we ever write about the music industry here at FV, but this specific case will be an exception, only because this is a case of an entire media company denying a wrong that it has done, especially to a very talented composer like Gary Granada.

Songwriter and Composer, Gary Granada, was given lyrics which he was supposed to translate into music. This music would ultimately be used by GMA for a Kapuso foundation media campaign. But, GMA ended up not using Gary Granada, but it seems that they used his musical creation in the end, and basically ditched Gary and gave him nothing at all, not even a claim on the work itself, because as GMA says, Gary’s work was a “collective” work.

Ang Kape ni LatTex notes that Granada’s complaint is “totally unprecedented” because of the use of the Internet to air his sentiments.

What makes this audiocast special, however, is the extent of Mr. Granada’s use of New Media — or, “Web two point oh” — to detail his complaint, in a totally unprecedented manner, and against Mainstream Media to boot!

In the audiocast, he included a clip of his original study, the final product, and a detailed explanation on the musical structure of both, including the musical theory behind his gripes and a re-rendered tune comprising of his accompaniment and the tune used in the final cut of the jingle. To say that Mr. Granada maximized new media to explain his side is an understatement — he clearly understood that this is the best possible way to make people understand the situation in its fullest extent.