By Carlo S. Ople

I was just reading the latest articles on the recently concluded Anti Con-Ass rally on Inquirer.Net. According to the police, this rally had the lowest turnout, around 6,000 based on their estimates.

The organizers, on the other hand, claim that they had 13,000-15,000 warm bodies. You got to ask yourself the question: despite all the outrage this issue has generated, why only 15,000 people went to the streets?

I’m sure there are varied reasons but at the end of the day the measurement of success for events like this is the number of participants. Sadly 15,000 is not representative of the majority of the Filipino people and can easily be dismissed by the politicians pushing for Con Ass.

However, the good news is that on the Internet, we have almost double the number of the people who went to the rally sign up on the “Stop Con Ass Now” cause on Facebook. As of this writing, there are almost 28,000 sign-ups on the cause.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Anna Valmero

THE Filipino online community slammed the approval of House Bill 1109 that set up a constituent assembly (ConAss) that might allow the administration to stay in power beyond 2010.

The approval of HB 1109 on Tuesday midnight empowered Congress to convene itself into a Constituent aseembly, where members of the House and the Senate could vote jointly to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Filipino quickly jumped on the issue, as they launched an online website called No to Con-Ass!. Others linked to this site, as they included an online badge that said, “Have you no shame?”

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Carlo Ople*

(Editor’s note: re-posted from author’s blog http://newmedia.com.ph)

AS most of you probably know by now, the House of Representatives approved HR 1109, more commonly known as the Con Ass (Constituent Assembly) resolution. I’m pretty sure that the Senate will take this up with the Supreme Court to determine if what the House did was in accordance to our constitution. Anyway, I wanted to focus more on what was happening on Facebook while the hearing was going on. Several opposition congressmen were actually micro-blogging on Facebook! Imagine that, hahaha! I took some screen shots for your viewing pleasure. Check out what some of our congressmen said in Facebook after the break. [Read the rest of this entry »]

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

REALIZING the power of blogging to disseminate information, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is tapping the Elections Education and Information Department (EID)’s blog to give updates on the ongoing voters’ registration.

“Now that we have the technology available and stable, the Comelec will use the bagongbotante.ph blog website to give voters here and abroad updates about the ongoing registration and at the same time, to gather feedback from voters, especially the youth,” said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

Jimenez said the Comelec aims to educate the youth on how registration is being conducted in the National Capital Region and to encourage them to register as voters.

“Unlike before when technology is unavailable to us and blogging is a domain for hobbyists and experts, now is the right time–when we have access to technology and blog systems are more stable–to fully utilize the power of blogging to encourage Filipinos to register and exercise their rights of suffrage,” said Jimenez.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

SOCIAL networking sites continue to evolve and now shape up for a new career: in the political arena. At Facebook’s News Feed menu, you can identify friends who are attending the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama online.

In the study “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship” by Danah M. Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison, one of the first recognizable social network site launched is SixDegrees.com (1997), as well as Classmates.com which started in 1995.

Today, social networking sites abound boasting different features, such as multimedia sharing, links, messaging and micro-blogging.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

As I’m writing this, I’m watching the unfolding of a historic event in American history over the Internet. Thanks to CNN.com and Facebook, I can now watch president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on the web–wirelessly, that is.

What makes this event interesting is I’m getting this supposed “live” stream from CNN over my wireless connection of 1.8Mbps. There are slight pauses. But so far, my connection is not giving up on me.

To make things more spicy, I can see people in my Facebook network logged on to this CNN Live streaming video in partnership with the popular social networking website. Now, I can chat with fellow Facebook addicts from the Philippines.

One Facebook user says this is going to change how Presidential inaugurations are covered. And the social network aspect of it is simply brilliant. Score one for CNN and Facebook. Another was wondering how many Filipinos are watching this live feed. Judging from the comments that are coming in by the minute (or seconds), a lot. I also found from fellow Facebook friends that this online video streaming service is different from what you see on cable TV!

This unexpected reaction from an Iraqi journalist is now getting more hits on YouTube. Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi from Al-Baghdadia television network threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on December 14, 2008.

Reports indicated that Bush later laughed off the incident.

By Marjorie Gorospe

Director Mae Paner, the person behind an inspiring interpretation of national anthem “Lupang Hinirang,” has come up with another video. This time it’s about the cha-cha.

Taking on the character “Juana,” Paner plays two characters. One is a dance instructor showing the right steps to doing a cha-cha.

The other is a character showing the steps to a different cha-cha, which is a shorter description of charter change.

Instead of showing the right moves, Juana’s alter ego describes how “cha-cha” is done.

Just like the dance, the political cha-cha follows right timing — knowing when to lie-low as public unrest emerges and when to revive the cha-cha to cover up scandals.

In an earlier interview with Paner, she mentioned about upcoming projects of the “convergence team.”

She said that “Juana Change: CHA-CHA” is actually a result of people’s reaction to the Lupang Hinirang video, which is also up on YouTube.

As the video ends, Paner delivers this statement, which is her take on the current state of the Philippines: “Ang mga taong bayan ngayon, mga tanga.. ang mga magagaling nagsipag-abroad na. Ang mga natira na lang dito iyong mga walang magawang sumasali na lang sa Wowowee, tumataya sa Lotto o naghihintay ng remittance abroad [The citizenry are becoming foolish. The smart ones have gone abroad. Those left are often seen joining Wowowee, betting on Lotto and waiting for remittances from abroad].This country deserves people like me.” She then snorts, as if saying that the country has gone to the pigs.

By Agence France-Presse

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s leading blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, was Friday released from detention under controversial internal security laws after a court ruled the government had no right to hold him.

Raja Petra, a vocal government critic who had been held at a notorious detention camp since September, wept and embraced his family after being freed by the Shah Alam High Court.

“I’m realy glad it’s over. I’m really tired. The judge’s decision proves that there was no justification for my detention,” he said, calling for an end to the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial.

“We have to fight all-out and get the ISA abolished,” he told reporters.

Looking haggard and dressed in a brown T-shirt and jeans, Raja Petra was garlanded by dozens of supporters outside the court before stepping into a maroon Rolls Royce provided by a supporter to ferry him home.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

MAKATI City, Philippines — Senator Manuel Roxas III is taking his online presence further.

Aside from his official website, an e-forum and accounts in social networking sites, Roxas has finally opened his own blog and is setting up his own virtual rally to further promote his advocacies.

Roxas’ other websites include one that is about his official function as senator. He also has entries in Facebook.com, Friendster.com and MySpace.com.

Roxas who uses the handle “misterpalengke” launched his official blog last August 1, after meeting up with bloggers in Quezon City. It appears, however, that he made his first posting on July 27.

[Read the rest of this entry »]