chillin’ like a villain

I can’t wait for this sem to end! Everyone is going crazy! Seriously. You know people are going gaga when your FB notifications about acads are cascading like a waterfall. And oh, people are tweeting non-stop to relieve stress or what have you. Thank you Twitter. We love you!

Anyway, being the travel freak that I am, I always look for beautiful places to discover. Sembreak is just around the corner and my boyfie’s board exam is a month away too! So what better way to reward ourselves than to have a fabulous vacation!

So where to go? We really don’t want to go to Boracay anymore because aside from being overrated  it is seriously EXPENSIVE. So I relied on my ever reliable and abused  search engine, Google. Thank you Google for making life easier! I just punched in keywords such as beach luzon, batangas, palawan, puerto galera, coron etc etc to look for reviews and tips on pristine beaches! yes this sembreak, I want to be a bitch on the beach hihi. I really do not go for reviews from Tripadvisor and the like because I want real experiences from REAL PEOPLE. Thank God for Travel Bloggers! Not only do they provide unbiased reviews, they also give tips on how to stretch your hard earned money!

Currently, I am thinking of going to either Amihan villa or Potipot. Palawan will have to wait. They are both beautiful places and they very accessible! I encourage you to check these places out  and have a nice sembreak before all hell breaks loose on our last semester in UP Manila.

So chill like a villain this sembreak!

Find your own special place and sit back and relax!

P.S.

You can message if you want to join me! 🙂 ako na gagawa ng itinerary 😉 

The right kind of buzz

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. I’ve pestered  (well not really :p)my friends and relatives into buying things. In fact, I have tried selling clothes, shoes, gadgets, beauty products and even hand sanitizers. It is really not that hard to sell things within your circle because a. you know what they want , b. you know their weaknesses, c. they personally know you and d. you can always use your charm. Sadly, it is not the same with other people; those outside your circle. I learned this the hard way when I tried an online business. I really had a hard time promoting my products. I tried tapping friends of people within my circle but I still struggled. Maybe I was doing something wrong or maybe  there was something I was not doing?

In a sea of products, it is hard to get noticed.  Maybe if I was able to read Emanuel Rosen’s The Anatomy of Buzz-Revisited before I started selling online, I would have done things in a different way. Anyway, one thing is for sure, for a business to survive–especially a new one, it must have a significant amount of buzz. But even before making one, Rosen suggests that we take advantage of  social media as means to get our message across. He said that our messages should be viral-friendly. What did he mean by viral-friendly? Well it should be interesting enough at the same time it should be natural and should it should establish a positive social connection with your target audience. Striking enough to catch their attention, natural enough and relate-able.

Speaking of Audience, you also have to keep in mind that having an audience is not enough, you should have the right kind. You should know who your products are for and of course you should tap people who are influential. Just like for clothes, knowing am influential  fashionista could mean a gold mine. If she shares your product on her blog or facebook or even tweet it to her followers, not only will people know your brands, it could also translate into sales!

Lastly, for an extra ooomph to your business SEO should be done so that when a person searches for something related to what you offer, your store will be able to reach the page 1.

So go try it out!

“Unlike” it.

I looooooove free stuff! I am sure a lot of people love receiving things (whatever it may be ) that cost zilch (well not exactly free because there’s your electricity bill, you time killed in joining the contest etc etc etc)! Social media has radically changed and empowered how things work in giving away free stuff! Places like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have revolutionized the way things work . Winning cool stuff  like iPhones, iPad, vacation packages etc. are just virtually clicks away!

How to get started

There are tons of contests online. Just type “contests” “promo” “giveaway” and other related keywords into your search engine of choice and you are bound to be bombarded by opportunities to get free stuff! Woot!

Usually you can find these contests or what have you in Facebook Fan pages, Twitter, and some blog sites. There are actually some sites that are dedicated to online contests or promos. You can just search for such websites and just breeze your way in to finding free stuff! These sites are up-to-date so don’t worry 🙂

I found a contest so what now? 

Just read the mechanics of the contest carefully. Most contests involve “liking” the fan page first before you can access or see the contents of the page. Usually online contests are pretty simple. Most of the time they ask participants to post a photo or a comment on their page and the post with the most “likes” wins the coveted price! Wolaaa! Free stuff, well, that is if you can manage to get tons of likes!

All about winning

Contests online were made out of good intentions. Many brands have resorted to do it to boost traffic in their sites, increase awareness about their products, captivate their target market etc etc etc (insert other marketing efforts :P) But sadly, some people have resorted to cheating. Yes you read right, CHEATING their way into generating the most likes to win a contest.

How do they do it?

It’s pretty simple but very stupid, rude, unethical, time consuming and unfair process. These people cheat by creating multiple accounts to able to boost their “likes”. A newbie may make 2-5 fake accounts but a master syndicate who has scamming people into winning contests may have as many as hundreds of accounts or maybe even thousands!

Many contests online have suffered great loss from these cheaters. These cheaters have become a source of a big deal of a headache to admins of contest. 

The Remedy

Luckily, admins, corporate  communication and promo managers (a lot of them are OrCom graduates! Cheers!) have found ways to combat these trolls. Instead of just relying  solely to sheer number of “likes” , these “likes”  will just be a portion of the criteria for judging, say about 15-20% of the total score. Judges will then evaluate the entries sent by participants on several categories and whoever gets the highest mark gets to win the price!

Sure, it may seem taxing but atleast it somehow assures both parties that the right person will win the contest.

The whole scenario about fake accounts roaming in the net makes me wonder if divulging one’s true identity will lessen these terrible events? What do you think?

 

The man behind the black shirt

He maybe an asshole but he was probably one of the most successful man on Earth. He had the balls to go against the current, to constantly move forward.

Hours ago, the man behind the sinful fruit, Apple, passed away.

Steve Jobs was no ordinary man. He was a visionary that brought extraordinary commodities that forever changed the world we live in. He kept the music industry alive with his introduction of iTunes to the market. He made seemingly out of this world ideas come to life. Who would have thought that you could fit thousands of songs in your pocket? –Steve did not ask whether it was possible because he knew it was, it was just a matter of time.

Apple has reached a success that has yet to be toppled off. From New York City to Nairobi, people have been smitten by Apple, it has become a way of life for most people. I mean who does not know Apple?

Apple products have changed the social media arena. With such gadgets,  one is just literally a touch a way from tweeting, from posting a comment and even from blogging! I for one have a wordpress application on my iDevice so that can blog wherever I go. With iDevices, people can bring their office on the go.

Steve Jobs created a world where social media can thrive.

Thank you for making life easier!

Hats off!

Dahil masarap ang bawal- Apple

Ladies and Gentlemen,  Apple has done it again! After months of waiting, die hard Applenatics(?) whipped their hair back and forth til they’ve gone bonkers.Why? Bloody Apple released a bloody Iphone 4S. After patiently waiting for like forever, all they got was a measly “upgrade” to the trusty Iphone 4.

Sure the new phone will come with a new software but so will the aged 3gs,Iphone 4 and heck even the third gen itouch will receive the software upgrade. So what is the buzz all about? Why the heck should we ditch our phones and take a bite out of the sinful fruit? Well, because it is freakin cool and scary! Well, atleast Siri is!

Siri is a new innovation that can be found in the iPhone 4s. It is like having your own Madam Auring  at your finger tips!  (Okay,that was quite corny. Uncalled for, but you get the point.) To lazy to text? No problemo! Just let Siri handle it. Want to write your life story without moving your poor old fingers? Just blabber away and let Siri do the typing. Having a dilemma whether or not to bring an umbrella, just ask Siri! And if you want to practice your social skills, well just ask Siri and he/she will ANSWER. SCARED? YOU SHOULD BE. (haha)

This is a weird yet a totally valid –When Apple made Siri, they had OrCom in mind.If you look at the picture closer they make life easier for billions of people across the globe. Just imagine the ease of not having to fuzz about something when you know that you have a reliable source of not just information but the capacity to be one step of the game; to be able to anticipate events and make them work to your advantage. Let’s go back to the umbrella dilemma, well had you asked Siri( and assuming you followed it), rain falls furiously at the middle of the day, your crush doesn’t have an umbrella, just your luck! You can make a swift but suave move of getting closer by offering him/her a shade under your umbrella!  With it, no more missed opportunities 🙂

Anyway, I miss Steve Jobs and his attitude.

ANG UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS.

Sabi nga ng mga magulang ko, edukasyon lang ang maipapamana nila sa akin. Kahit magkanda kuba sila ay okey lang basta makatapos kaming magkakapatid ngunit paano na kung pilit kinikitil ng mga mapang malabis ang pagkakataon upang makapag-aral?

I OPPOSE THE BUDGET CUT.

UP FIGHT.

The Remedy

THE MUCH AWAITED REMEDY.

Handa ka na bang lumigaya? 

Panoorin mo ito :

So how was it?

Did you like it?

Nabitin ka ba?

Good.

The video that you just watched was made by yours truly (Ofcourse, with my extraordinary group!).

At an unruly hour, good things do happen. 🙂

Let us spread OrCom Virus.

To watch more awesome videos made by UP Manila OrCom Student just check out our Youtube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ORCOMupm

Subscribe and spread the OrCom Virus

Lalalala

This rainy season, people can easily get sick. Cough and colds are diseases that can easily infect anyone. (Just imagine the horror it could bring  to a jam-packed mrt coach, Que Horror indeed!)

credits to habagatcentral!

mga kuya, keri pa?

These viral infections can be catastrophic. They can make you miss your class, an outing and heaven forbid your date with a prospect beau! Which could probably jeopardize your entire life completely well, atleast your love life but that’s another story.

So what are you waiting for?  Arm yourself with the best medicine available!

And the best part is that its is absolutely free ladies and gentleman!

YES YOU READ RIGHT, ABSOLUTELY FREE!

                OC 152 Lab gives you a healthy dose of

LAUGHTER

Yes folks! They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor a way but I beg to differ, we all know what happened to dear granny when she got addicted to the Ipad.

Laughter boosts your immune system to help fight diseases and helps release Endorphin for instant GV! 🙂

even the dark lord needs some evil laughter

So how will we tickle your funny bone?

😛

The plus

Whenever I chance upon ads for job hiring, I get a bit discombobulated. Most of the positions posted are not your usual boring   typical blue or white collared job. Every position seemed to have a “suffix” of some sort.(Let us call thy suffix as “Specialist”). Technical specialist in Xbox games, Online shopping specialist, Canine care specialist and the list goes on..

The Age of Hyperspecialization 

(My two cents on it)

Jobs nowadays are rapidly becoming highly specialized. Before, a supervisor does not only look after the performance and well, supervise his unit, he also took care of the nitty gritty stuff like filing documents. Now, jobs are becoming so specialized that if I were to exaggerate, this would mean that in the process of manicuring nails, each process would be handled by an expert of that step and that would mean that your nails will be carefully handled by a nail cutter specialist, nail color specialist and nail cleaning specialist. Strange analogy but  you get the point:) This also means that you would receive the best manicure experience in your life bought to you by only the best of the best!

nice no?

Let us face it. We mere mortals cannot be possibly good at every single damn thing we do.  There would always be another person better than you in a certain way and vice versa. People tend to be exceptionally good at something and we must be able to realize that and make it work to our advantage.  Imagine specialists working on a project rather than just a few people. Not only does the work get done FASTER, the quality of the work increases as well as long as the project is directed by a person that has the capacity to maneuver the people in the right the direction.

So what’s in it for the Stakeholders?

The Company

It means that companies save money because they get  the job done faster and as a bonus outputs are of quality due to the level of expertise of the people who had done the work.

The Worker

The pool of specialized workers will have the opportunity to do what they do best. Having jobs broken down to bit size pieces means more jobs for people.

Conclusion: A win- win situation for both parties!

But for this to actually work we need people who could bring the two together the ” + ” or the operation in Company + Experts = Happy Relationship equation.

The “+ ”

Organizational communication is the thread that knits the stakeholders together. It puts together the supply and the demand from the stakeholders to perform the task. We can see Organizational communication as the facilitator in speed dating wherein OrCommunicators find the perfect match from the pool of people to be able to assure that a good relationship between them may occur. It is very important that Orcommunicologists get the messages to and from them So that :

• The company will be able to get what they want
• The specialists/experts know exactly what they are tasked to do
• A good relationship can form

🙂

Note:

My random thoughts after reading

The Age of Hyperspecialization by Thomas W. Malone, Robert J. Laubacher and Tammy Johns. (A MUST READ)

Want P80M? READ THIS.

Time is gold.

In the frivolous world we live in, things do not come cheap. A good old G-tec pen which used to be P35 (circa 2002) would now set you back  P7X.XX!  Prices sky rocket at a pace that our pockets cannot handle and not to mention leaves many in neck deep debt.

With the minimum wage pegged at a measly P426, Pinoys have looked for ways to get rich, FAST.  Hence the boom boom pow of the following:

yes, the ever annoying Willie Revillame.

Shows have practically aligned themselves strategically. People need money and shows have become an avenue for companies to advertise by giving hefty moolah / prizes to the masses.

 Well, it works!

Who doesn’t know “Walang aww sa Pao!” LOL

Then there’s

the ever elusive lotto.

Folks! When the super lotto reaches P100 million you can bet that the line reaches from baranggay to baranggay and this is not an exaggeration. (I was one of the many hopeful lotto ticket holders)

And finally the love child of the Internet.

The ever lovalable

TUKO

Could this “little” tuko be a Pokemon?

Pinoys are going gaga over this reptile!  The tuko or Gecko, is probably the most talked about and researched animal in Google Pilipinas.  But who can blame them? With a 400g Tuko being sold online for P80 million who wouldn’t want to board the millionaire’s chariot.

The Tuko fever started online.  With countless of ads wanting to buy Tukos (that allegedly can cure AIDS) that weigh 200g and up for a huge sum, the tuko spectacle reached even the far flung areas of the country and even caught the attention of  local news programs.

The buzz?

The Tuko treasure may just be a big hoax.

Yay or Nay, there is no contesting the power of the mighty internet.