Purple Thumb: Our Mark, Our Vote
A lot has already been said about the importance of the elections and our right to vote. That's why the recently launched initiative of Yahoo! Philippines to cover the upcoming 2010 Elections is aptly entitled "Purple Thumb", because the elections is essentially of the people, by the people, and for the people. Which means every Filipino qualified to vote should have taken the time to register or in short, we all should have a Purple Thumb.
But of course, registration is just the first step of the journey. We need to be properly informed of all aspects of the elections, from getting to know each and every candidate to understanding how the new automated elections will take place. We should also take the initiative to share the info we know about the elections to others, and what better way to share than through social media. Here's something worth sharing, a step-by-step video tutorial of the 2010 Philippine Automated Elections:
Rest in peace, Master Rapper
(Photo by mela sogono)
As a tribute to the Master Rapper who went home to be with his Master and Lord, I'm reposting this article here which I originally wrote for the Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog.
Today is a sad day for the Philippine music industry. The King of Pinoy Rap, Francis "Kiko" Magalona has passed away today at around 12 noon (March 6). He was 44 years old. The sad news was announced by his friend, Vic Sotto in Eat Bulaga where a moment of silence from the viewers was observed in honor of Francis.
As most of you probably know, Francis was diagnosed with AML or Acute Myelogenous Leukemia with Mixed Lineage back in August of 2008. After that, he sought treatment at Medical City Hospital in Mandaluyong and underwent chemotherapy. Francis shared the details of his ordeal and requested for prayers from everyone in his blog, A Free Mind. He is survived by his wife, Pia and their eight children: Unna, Nicolo, Francis Jr., Elmo, Arkin, Clara, and actresses Maxene and Saab.
Also known as FrancisM, Master Rapper, and The Man From Manila, Francis is credited as the first Filipino rapper to successfully crossover to the mainstream through his nationalistic hit “Mga Kababayan” (My Countrymen). And aside from being a prominent rapper and song writer, he was also a producer, actor, TV host, VJ, director and photographer.
He is without a doubt the King of Pinoy Rap and his music will always serve as a reminder to all of us that we should not be ashamed of our color but be proud because we’re Pinoy. In his words, “Dapat lang malaman nyo, bilib ako sa kulay ko, ako ay Pilipino!” The Master Rapper has now gone home to be with his Master and Lord and he will be missed by all Filipinos. Rest in peace, bro!
Be part of the Pinoy Business Boom!
This is event organizer Fil-Negosyo's title for its email dispatch about its Business Mentoring and Coaching sessions, and yes (bashfully, hehehe), I'll be one of the featured "coaches". Should you have free time this October 27, 28, or 29, this new activity in the yearly Fil-Negosyo Tradeshows will feature various guests who will offer their insights and expertise in various fields to interested participants. I will also be giving a talk in the same event this October 29, 3:00pm, about Web 2.0 and how to maximize it for your business. I copied and pasted the schedule with featured "coach" for the Business Mentoring and Coaching below for everyone's information.
October 26, 2007 (Friday)
1:00-2:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
2:00-3:00pm - Azrael Coladilla, Blogger, Toycon Organizer
4:00-5:00pm - Mylene Abiva Sazon, President/CEO, FELTA Multi-media Inc.
5:00-6:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
6:00-7:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
October 27, 2007 (Saturday)
1:00-2:00pm - Mark So, CEO, Business Maker Academy
2:00-3:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
3:00-4:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
4:00-5:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
5:00-6:00pm - Azrael Coladilla, Blogger, Toycon Organizer
6:00-7:00pm - Gavin Bunker, President, INSOL Development Foundation
October 28, 2007 (Sunday)
1:00-2:00pm - Gavin Bunker, President, INSOL Development Foundation
2:00-3:00pm - Mark So, CEO, Business Maker Academy
3:00-4:00pm - Charlie Gaw, President, Acclaim Butterflies
4:00-5:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
5:00-6:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
6:00-7:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
Be part of the Pinoy Business Boom!
This is event organizer Fil-Negosyo's title for its email dispatch about its Business Mentoring and Coaching sessions, and yes (bashfully, hehehe), I'll be one of the featured "coaches". Should you have free time this October 27, 28, or 29, this new activity in the yearly Fil-Negosyo Tradeshows will feature various guests who will offer their insights and expertise in various fields to interested participants. I will also be giving a talk in the same event this October 29, 3:00pm, about Web 2.0 and how to maximize it for your business. I copied and pasted the schedule with featured "coach" for the Business Mentoring and Coaching below for everyone's information.
October 26, 2007 (Friday)
1:00-2:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
2:00-3:00pm - Azrael Coladilla, Blogger, Toycon Organizer
4:00-5:00pm - Mylene Abiva Sazon, President/CEO, FELTA Multi-media Inc.
5:00-6:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
6:00-7:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
October 27, 2007 (Saturday)
1:00-2:00pm - Mark So, CEO, Business Maker Academy
2:00-3:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
3:00-4:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
4:00-5:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
5:00-6:00pm - Azrael Coladilla, Blogger, Toycon Organizer
6:00-7:00pm - Gavin Bunker, President, INSOL Development Foundation
October 28, 2007 (Sunday)
1:00-2:00pm - Gavin Bunker, President, INSOL Development Foundation
2:00-3:00pm - Mark So, CEO, Business Maker Academy
3:00-4:00pm - Charlie Gaw, President, Acclaim Butterflies
4:00-5:00pm - Lourdes Rivera, Vice President, Ultima Entrepinoy
5:00-6:00pm - Ricky De Vera, Certified International Trainer, Pinpoint Marketing
6:00-7:00pm - Jonas de los Reyes, eCommerce Manager, Yehey!
It feels GREAT to be Pinoy!
Aileen, who got tagged by Marc, recently tagged me for the meme What are the 3 signs you see happening now that make you say, "It feels great to be Pinoy". I believe that every Filipino should stop to think about this every once in a while. The good news for me about being Pinoy nowadays are:
- Political maturity. The recently concluded elections showed that Pinoys today don't just vote for who's popular, who had the most gimmicks, or who had the best ads, posters, or giveaways. People are really thinking twice if this candidate is fit for the job, if they can deliver what they promise, if they even have something to offer the people in the first place.
- Healthy economy. I guess it just follows that if democracy is evidently well in place here in our country, then it means more investments, more business opportunities, in short, a healthier economy. The surging peso is just one of the signs of an improving economy.
- Undying Optimism. It goes without saying that we Pinoys have a never-say-die attitude. Whatever the form of the obstacle and the challenge, we have always looked for solutions and answers to problems, and we always focus at the brighter side of things. This explains why we find more and more Pinoy entrepreneurs who are seeing opportunities everywhere they look. Whether it's offline or online, Pinoy entrepreneurs are capitalizing on these opportunities and profiting from them because they saw the positive side of things.
It's truly a blessing to be a Pinoy and it's something we should all be thankful to God for. 
Allow me to tag the following and hear their thoughts about this: Jozzua, Rain, Gwen, Adjeng, Gibbs, Iggy, Pia, Dave, Joriben and Cheekie.