It Starts With YOU (A Job Opening)
You probably heard by now the recent marketing campaign of Yahoo! whose core message is focused on YOU. As the campaign kicks off in the US and slowly expands to the rest of the markets (really looking forward to it hitting the Philippines), there's a job opening in Yahoo! Southeast Asia that really coincides with the message of Yahoo!'s marketing campaign and it might interest YOU.
Social Media Producer
Yahoo! Southeast Asia is looking for an energetic social media producer to draw, connect and interact with users through new channels such as Twitter and Facebook. This position will be based in Manila.
As part of your daily responsibilities, you will be at the forefront of driving our news articles, blogs, discussions, polls and community activities through social media networks with the goal of attracting a wider audience to Yahoo!.
You must have at least 3-5 years of editorial experience at a newspaper, magazine, wire service or online media site and be able to work under a tight deadline. Blogging and multimedia experience is also a must.
An established personal online brand is an ideal. As a power user in social media, you must have at least 300 followers on Twitter, at least 200 connections on LinkedIn and at least 400 friends on Facebook.
You need to have a passion for social media and a thorough knowledge of the industry. You will be expected to flag trends and be aware of new social media sites on the horizon.
Because social media is really all about YOU, or one way of saying it is "YOU are the media." If you see yourself doing this kind of work, then feel free to email me your resume and I'll make sure it reaches the right people. Who knows, we just might be working together in the near future.
An e-commerce lesson from a local cafe
Every morning I start my day at work by buying coffee in one of Singapore's very familiar local cafes, Toast Box. I order two cups of coffee for me and my wife, the normal coffee with condensed milk & evaporated milk, to go or as they say it in SG, 'take away,' in separate plastic holders since we'll be bringing our coffee to our respective offices afterwards. That's my morning coffee routine.
After ordering almost the same thing for about two weeks in a row, the guy who makes the coffee when he saw me behind the person ordering at the counter looked at me and asked, "two kopi?" I said yes, and a minute later when I got to the counter and ordered, the 2 cups of coffee were waiting, according to how I've been ordering it After that, it's become an easy routine for me every work day. I just say yes every time the coffee guy asks me if I'm still ordering the same stuff and when I get to the counter, the coffee is there, ready to go, and I just pay for my coffee.
Amazing how a guy who makes coffee in a local cafe here in SG actually gets a very basic principle in e-commerce. This is how an online store should be. When a repeat customer comes back to your online store, you should be able to recognize them, have an good idea of what they wish to purchase again and make it as easy and smooth as possible, from the time they reach your store until they reach that point when they're about to pay for their purchases. If you do this, then your repeat customers will not only keep coming back, they'll be thrilled to tell others of their experience.
Starting anew
It's been weeks since I last updated and thanks to a much better work schedule now, I finally found the time to write again. Going back to blogging started with changing the blog design. The old one was okay but it took more time to update because of images I had to prepare. This new template I discovered is sleek, simple, and super easy to manage. And it's always inspiring to write when you have a new blog design, hehehe. This is still a work in progress so expect changes in the future.
Not blogging for a while made me realize how important blogging has been to me in so many ways. It's a surprise for me that until now, my post about my not-so-pleasant experience with Cebu Pacific's online ticketing service still gets a number of comments. It's great to know my post has helped people and I intend to blog about it soon, sort of a follow-up to that experience.
Another thing that's become quite clear to me is that for a blog to be successful, one really has to work on it. It takes time, effort, and a considerable amount of thinking and planning for a blog to reached a certain level of success. And really, there's no such thing as an overnight success. And right now I'm still currently learning along the way. This quote sort of sums up what I feel should be one's attitude towards blogging:
Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last. - Hamilton Holt
It's great to start anew, to not remain sidetracked or derailed. Because with all that's happening in and around me, there's really much to blog about.
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!