Posts tagged blogging
on blogging.
Jan 6th
Each year, I write myself out of MY BLOG. Blogging for me started out as an outlet and now it’s about everything and nothing in particular – all at once.

I am not my job. (If you notice, I don’t write much about my livelihood.) I am not my reviews. I am not about the events I get to go to, the interesting people that I meet, or the things that I eventually end up doing.
I am how I act like at my job. I am how I feel about reviews. I am how I approach events, the first impression I leave on people (for worse or for absolute better, there’s only one me) and how I do the things I end up doing.
That realization makes me think — am I a character I write about, or am I the digitized memories of the person writing this? (at.this.exact.moment?)
Sometimes, I even wonder — do I write for you, or do I write for me?
Friendster: Connecting Smiles!
Dec 3rd
This Friday, Friendster will be launching it’s revamp — and the new direction they’ll be taking, in order to strengthen the brand.
See?! It comes in green! Lovely! With the new look, comes new, better features — which have all been developed to meet the wants/needs of their target market: the youth!
It’s now easier to upload/organize photos — and from what I hear, high-res photo uploads will also be supported. Customization of profiles is also still there, in case you don’t like the new green look. (And why would you not?) Ben Dunn, (VP Philippines & Global Head of Brand Experience) even jokes about people mistaking Friendster’s new direction to be … green.
More entertainment options! “A brand is a product that has great personality,” as Ben Dunn relates, and what they want to happen is when you mention “fun” or “entertainment,” you think of Friendster. There will be wrapped digital gifts and music and that definitely moves things forward, in terms of being a social network. These are what people are into, and that’s exactly what Friendster will be providing.
Here’s Cheftonio‘s video from the talk the other night:
“A brand is, what a brand does,” as Ben says, and getting to see that the people working on the Friendster are young, happy, cool, spirited and positive — we can only see how that shows in the revamp.
Eliciting and displaying the same values as their target market, they aim to capture the passion — when you see that new white-over-green Friendster logo, they expect you to smile — as their new tagline is “Connecting smiles.”
So log-on this Friday to see the new Friendster! Add me up!
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A special thanks to the Friendster team and Ben Dunn for the official photos, the video and the talk.
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I still owe Friendster for helping me locate my crush from elementary school. :p
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Here are some pictures from the presentation:
Dare to be Fit ‘n Right
Oct 26th
Say “Fit ‘n Right” and immediately you picture the sweet Del Monte drink running down your throat, making you feel healthy. Del Monte and SM Taste Asia presented a unique health/wellness/lifestyle blogging event called Dare to be Fit ‘n Right last Friday.
Fitness isn’t all about being thin enough to fit in a pair of x-sized jeans, nor is it about being buff, as master Coach Jim Saret relates — it’s about being healthy, losing x-number-of-pounds or developing biceps is just a bi-product. It’s about being well-rounded.
He’s done talks for offices, corporations — trains atheletes/champions, even, but give him bloggers — the diverse diversity of mostly-on-their-chairs/in-front-of-computers/junkfood-munching/perpetually-caffeine-hooked (mostly)/probably-too-busy-with-other-things-to-workout types — well, he’s got just the thing for that.
The human body (and how it works) is a science, and he’s a sports scientist.
The group get a full-on scientific explanation (basically) on why we’re … unhealthy. Sedentary lifestyles coupled with unhealthy nutrition equates to most of us. The inactive body, may, on its own, burn off 1800 calories a day by being inactive, but couple that with that giant burger, soda and other various junk? That equates to more calories than the inactive body can burn out in a day.
I’ll try and encapsulate the futile efforts for being unhealthy, based on Coach Jim Saret’s presentation:
If you’re not getting any results, then you must have a lot of reasons.
That’s why he developed the FIT method.
The FIT method is a workout strategy designed to burn off as much as 400 calories by doing just 2/4-minute exercises. Which is perfect for people-on-the-go, really. It takes advantage of his extensive knowledge of how the body works, the science and backed by the testing he’s done via-athlete/champion-training. It’s worked for champions — why shouldn’t it work for you?
But that’s just part of the equation. Health also means a balanced nutrition.
Del Monte’s Fit ‘n Right has L-Carnitine, a naturally-occuring substance in the human body that, on living cells, helps transport the fatty acids into the mitochondria during the breakdown of the fats and helps generate metabolic energy. (Essentially, a way for weight loss is speeding up metabolism.)
It also contains B and C vitamins which do all sorts of great things like speed up metabolism, maintain healthy skin tone and promote cell growth and division.
It also really helps that Fit ‘n Right comes in delicious flavors — of which, apple and watermelon are my favorites. They also announced (and my mum likes this bit) that Fit ‘n Right now comes in liter bottles! (A cousin points out that this is being advertised, but I haven’t seen television in quite a while to verify.)
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Also, Del Monte, in partnership with SM has organized the Dare to be Fit ‘n Right Fun Run 2009 — a running event on November 22 at the SM Mall of Asia. Runners may register and choose the race they want to participate in: 3K, 5K or 10K, and is open to both men and women.
It’s also worth noting that there will be big prizes and it is for the benefit of typhoon victims through SM Foundation.
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It was a pretty fun and educational event. A big plus was getting to see some of my blogger friends to try out the FIT method — active participation after the discussion! Also, Coach mistook my flab for a 6-pack, so that’s something. (I held my breath that time.
)
A very big special THANKS to Del Monte Fit ‘n Right and SM Taste Asia for this great opportunity for a healthy change.
Thanks to Azrael for the heads up and blogger friends for the awesome time.
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Also, line for the night: “nasa labas, nagpapa-picture.” Blast. :p
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[Image above from Azrael's album.
]
The Samsung Corby Puts The “You” In “Youth”
Oct 19th
October 17, 2009 — Samsung brought in a little more color to SM North as it launched its newest mobile baby: The Samsung Corby. (model: S3650)
This mobile baby, to be precise, is a new full-touch handset that is designed for the socially-connected lifestyles of the youth. (rather than trying to fashion a business phone that can ALSO do that)
With built-in support for the BIG big boys of social networks, (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, flickr, etc) this might be the phone that makes you ditch that big bulky (or mebbe sleek and sexy?) computer of yours at home.
“We see strong growth opportunities in this sector and will continue to pioneer new markets with innovative technology. The Corby is consistent with Samsung’s legacy of developing new products and technologies designed for specific audiences and bringing new devices quickly to market,” explained Charlse Choi – VP Hand Held phones, SEPCO
Having the youth in mind, (and realizing their desire to be different) the Corby shall be known for its sleek body design and bold colors. Having interchangeable slip-on battery covers (called “Fashion Jackets”) in different colors + designs (Jamaican Yellow! Cupid Pink! Minimal White! Festival Orange! They deserve exclamation points!) makes the phone stand up and shout, “No! I will not be just another phone that everyone else has!”
The phone’s UI also has what they dub the “Pop-up SNS” notification, to inform you of any new updates and live feeds from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. It also incorporates device features into these social networks, meaning a video of your dog going bonkers over its own tail can be posted directly to YouTube, or that secret stalker picture you took from the Corby of your crush can be uploaded directly to flickr, Picasa or Photobucket.
“Globally, we are number one for full-screen touch phones and recognize the importance of social networks in the modern mobile industry. Samsung’s target audiences are at the heart of its business strategy and the design and functionality of Samsung Corby meets the needs of a highly digitally connected and style conscious youth audience – as does the affordable price point,” continued Choi.
The full-touch design makes it easier for Corby owners to manipulate on-screen widgets (of which, it was mentioned, are customizable!), or utilize “one finger zoom,” which allows users to zoom in or out USING ONLY ONE FINGER. There’s also the “smart unlock” feature, which unlocks the phone when the user draws a specific letter, or symbol.
Aside from the colorful phones, there were games, performances that involved orange/pink/yellow-colored girls on stage and a raffle for not one, but two Samsung Corby phones (whose winners are both not me :p ).
For the more technical-detail-looking-reader, here’s the tech specs for the Corby:
|
Network |
EDGE/GPRS, Quad Band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) |
|
Display |
2.8” QVGA 262K TFT-LCD Full touch screen |
|
Camera |
2 Megapixel CMOS |
|
Video |
H.263, MPEG4, WMV |
|
Audio |
FM Radio with RDS |
| Poly 64, SP-Midi, i-melody, MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA | |
|
Value-added Features |
Fashion Jacket (changeable battery cover) |
| Pop-Up SNS | |
| Cartoon UI | |
| One Finger Zoom, Dictionary, Smart Unlock | |
|
Connectivity |
USB 2.0, BT 2.1/ EDR |
|
Memory |
50MB + microSD (up to 8GB) |
|
Size |
103 x 56.5 x 12.0 mm |
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Weight |
93g |
|
Battery |
960mAh |
|
SRP |
7,990 (!!!) |
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A very special thanks to Samsung and Kat (who invited me to the event, of whom FOR SURE grew like 2-3 inches since the last time I saw her?)



















































ramblings.