Agence France-Presse

VATICAN CITY–The Vatican will publish a report on Friday detailing the launch of Pope Benedict XVI’s own dedicated channel on YouTube, the Osservatore Romano newspaper said.

The deal with search engine giant Google, which owns the video sharing website, aims to “secure the Pope’s presence on the web,” the Vatican paper said Thursday, adding that Benedict has always had been “fond of new technologies.”

The report will be published when the German-born pontiff will officially launch his YouTube channel.

Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican’s communications department, told the paper the pope hopes to reach out to “the digital generation.”

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.

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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!

It’s been a while since we invited readers to be featured in this space. If you’re interested to be part of “Blog Addicts,” you can answer the following questions below. Then we will publish them. (Disclaimer: Your submissions will be subject to some editing for form and content). So send away.

1. What prompted you to start blogging and why?
2. What’s your fondest memories of blogging?
3. Tell us something about you (keep it short, guys).

Send your answers to inquirerdotnetblogs[at]gmail[dot]com.

Agence France-Presse

MELBOURNE — Rafael Nadal reached out to his fans here by launching a blog at the Australian Open, taking questions on everything from what motivates him to whether he has sex during a tournament.

The Spanish world number one said he had always wanted to blog during the tournament, but admits it isn’t easy as his writing skills don’t match his tennis exploits.

“This is my first blog in Australia and I am very thankful to have been given this opportunity,” he said on the posts that appear in Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper.

“I am not going to lie to you, this is not easy for me since I am not a writer,” he said.
Rafa wants to get closer to his fans and feels answering their questions is one way to do that.

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By Marjorie Gorospe

“UNHAPPY the land that is in need of heroes.”

This is a notable quotation from German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It is now the core message of Mae Paner’s (a.k.a. Juana Change) latest video posted on YouTube.

Taking the role of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), Paner portrays a domestic helper who talks about how OFWs are often considered as “bagong bayani” or new heroes of the country due to sacrifices they make.

These new heroes work abroad, leaving their families behind to find jobs elsewhere.

“We do not need praises, we need money,” Juana Change says, as she tells a stranger on a plane about her feelings working abroad.

While more and more Filipinos work abroad as professionals, some end up doing jobs that are menial.

In the video, her character mocks government officials who go abroad to hide their ill-gotten wealth.

The video eventually ends with a familiar face: national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

It was as if Paner was showing the two faces of heroes. Rizal sacrificed his life for the country; while OFWs continue to sacrifice comfort and dignity to support their family and eventually our economy.

But as Bretch’s saying goes, this country still needs more heroes who have the genuine interest to serve the country minus personal interest, desire for power and corruption.

Watch her video:

By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON — Facebook is facing an online protest after removing pictures of breastfeeding mothers found to be overly revealing from the pages of members of the social network.

A Facebook group entitled “Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” has attracted nearly 85,000 members as of Tuesday and a handful of activists held a rally outside its California headquarters over the weekend.

The organizers of the page, which is hosting a lively debate, receiving more than 10,000 comments, said they launched their “Official Petition to Facebook” after Facebook pulled profile pictures showing women nursing their babies.

“The pictures have been reported as ‘obscene’ and have been removed — their posters warned not to repost or fear being kicked off of Facebook,” the group’s organizers said.

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JUST a day after a golf club mauling incident was reported, dozens of blogs are denouncing alleged perpetrators who happen to be high-ranking government officials.

Masui, Lanao del Sur Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. and several of his golf companions and bodyguards figured in an altercation last December 26 with Delfin de la Paz and his 14-year old son Bino at the Valley Golf and Country Club in Antipolo City.

It was later found out that Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman Sr. was also present at the golf club but was said to have not been part of the alleged mauling.

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By Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has approved new regulations banning bloggers from discussing subjects the government deems sensitive or inappropriate and requiring them to limit their writings to personal issues.

The rules ban any posts that undermine national security, incite violence or crime, disclose state secrets, or include inaccurate information that could damage the reputation of individuals and organizations, according to a copy of the regulations obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The rules, which were approved Dec. 18, attempt to rein in Vietnam’s booming blogosphere. It has become an alternative source of news for many in the communist country, where the media is state-controlled.

The new rules require Internet companies that provide blogging platforms to report to the government every six months and provide information about bloggers on request.

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By Glenn Chapman
Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo on Monday began weaving trendy social-networking features into its popular free email service as it vies to be the preferred launching point for Internet surfers.

Yahoo says it is providing tools that lets people use its email service to build interactive communities based on friends and interests.

“Mail is the largest dormant social graph,” Yahoo Mail vice president John Kremer said while outlining enhancements to the service used by 275 million people worldwide every month.

“This is the first time we are exposing that in a significant way.”

A “smarter inbox” puts messages from friends or family in a separate, tabbed file so they don’t get buried under mountains of spam or work email.

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