Going back to move forward

I have just completed a very interesting workshop where the instructors can transform kids bean bags to royal thrones. Hehehe. Kidding aside, it's actually a video production workshop. Four instructors -- all of them critically acclaimed directors and cinematographers -- shared their experiences in their respective fields. It was a very, very productive workshop.

And this workshop actually made me decide to go back to some things I decided to leave a long time ago... but in a good way. (The going back -- not leaving them a long time ago -- is the good way.)

I made my FB account public, well, accessible to others once again. I left FB before due to productivity reasons but now, I am going back because I need it as a tool for my new hobby-slash-professional-project. Let's put it this way -- marami akong naipong bote sa bahay at ibebenta ko na sila at mas mabilis mabenta yun online kesa mag-rent pa ako ng kariton. Something like that.

I might be going back to Windows again, unless I can buy another laptop. I had the chance to use Adobe Premier Pro yesterday, and man! The software is so awesome! Thing is, it can only be installed in Windows or Mac OS -- I am using Linux. I am thinking of a compromise -- a dual boot laptop -- but I am not sure if that would be a good thing to do. I'll see what I can do later.

Anyway, I am so excited to work on some new personal projects in the future. The next in line is my RIO 2016 project. I will let you know when it's ready.

Happy weekend everyone!

What's the next big thing?

Do you guys have any idea what happened to Friendster? It used to be the IT thing before Mark got bored and coded something in his dorm room. But now, Friendster is just a website of -- I really don't know what it is, but my closest guess is that it is a game site.

Used to be the best social network application online.

I keep on asking myself, what does FB have (well, at least initially) that Friendster lacks? They are both social networking sites and they are both embraced by many during their start-ups. Friendster is now -- well -- it is gone. While its founders probably are enjoying (looking for) discount acid cigars, Facebook is  now a giant company. It has gone public. Mark Zuckerberg became so wealthy and is worth at least 20 billion. And he is 28 years old.

FML.

Wrong priorities?

With Instagram selling for $1bil & Draw Something selling for $200mm, why would any innovator bother trying to solve real world problems. - @tomkrieglstein (Twitter user)

I guess the guy has a point. Why would a computer genius try to create a software or application that can map outdoor water features or weather pattern or a GIS application that has social implications if an application like Instagram can be sold at a billion dollar value? Truth is I won't be surprised if someone makes a complex rock-paper-scissors app and earn millions from it.

I can only nod my head in agreement when someone pointed this out online: "Imagine what the cancer research industry could do with $1 billion." Yun na yun e.

Something's wrong with the humanity's priorities... with our priorities.

Blogger's new dashboard design/interface

Have you guys noticed the new design of blogger interface/dashboard? It's neat and I like it. I think Google is really making a lot of changes and innovations lately -- this one, Google+ (which I am not yet trying, but have an account already), new stuff in Gmail Labs, etc. I don't know if this is in response to their biggest threat so far (Facebook). Whatever the reason is, I like it!

Here's the screenshot of the new design:

Google's +1 or Facebook's Like?

Facebook, I Like!

For the first time in (this blog's) history, I will admit that Facebook owned[!] Google.If you don't have a Facebook account, there is this Like button where people can "Like" a page, and this event is visible to his or her connections. Now, from a consumer's point of view, LIKES are an indication of how good a product or service is. So, a page (product/service/people/places etc) with many likes means consumers rate it higher than similar page with fewer likes.

Google's +1 is just a delayed LIKE button

Now, Google has a +1 button now and this basically functions the same as a Facebook Like. The only difference is, you don't have to have a Facebook account to do this, BUT you need a Google profile. The rest are just the same.

Facebook has this strategy for quite some time already. It's like Facebook created a steel building, and Google constructed a similar one -- but only after, say, 20 years. There.

I hope Google can redeem itself by coming up with something really new. I like Facebook, too, but Google is my first love. :-D

Post, like, comment

If you have a Facebook account, you'd know that you can post something, "Like" that something, and comment on that something. I said, YOU CAN, but should you?

I hate it but I am a bit irritated by people who make a certain post (say, update their status), Like their post, and be the very first to comment on their own post! Can't they other people to at least make the first comment before they comment on their own?

Ang sabi nga ng kapatid ko: "Ano beh!? Wala kang friends?!"

I really am not sure why I am so effin' affected by this. Kainis lang kasi. Hehehe. Well, I guess it's my fault: Why do I even bother look at their shoutouts and posts then? Maybe it's irritating because when people open their cell phones or e-mails, they don't want to see notifications saying Y commented on something she posted and liked. Too self-centered indeed. :-) Oh well.

Hello, Monday! :-)

Childhood memories

If you have a Facebook account, you probably have noticed this:

November 22 to November 29, change your profile picture on Facebook, for a cartoon of your childhood. Why is this? To see only cartoons until Monday on Facebook, to create an invasion of memories of a well spent childhood to join the fight against child violence.

Either that, or this:

Change your Facebook profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until monday there should be nohuman faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories! This is for campaign against violence on children.

Are these really the memories of your childhood? Cartoon characters?

The first one is actually the original text, according to some net reports. I did not really buy this. One, because I don't usually buy memes in Facebook. And two, because these are not really the memories that I have from my childhood. I only saw a Simpson episode just a couple of years ago. I was introduced to Yuyu Hakushi only when I entered college. Dragon Ball Z is something that I followed only when pirated DVDs became 'rampant' in commercial districts.

I am an old school kid. After class, I don't go to my room and watch TV or cartoons -- I go to the streets and wait for my friends so we can play patintero or tumbang preso. During summer, we play softball or fly kites. If I have to post childhood memories in Facebook, these are probably some of the things I'll post:

Tumbang preso, patintero, softball, kite flying, and
hide-and-seek (where places under kitchen sinks are a fortress!)
are just some of the best memories of my childhood.

Batman, Superman, and the rest of their 'species' came into my life only after my Hulk-Hogan-Ultimate-Warrior-and-Hitman phase. :-)

Woohoo!

Hmmm.. Wala lang. A friend of mine knows the reason behind this "Woohoo!!!" For the rest of you guys, I suggest you try this, too. Masayang sumigaw ng walang dahilan.* :-D

*But try to do this in a place where no one can hear you... mahirap na.

Fake Obama Sex Video Contains Virus -- BUT OF COURSE!

Some people are just so stupid sometimes. Here's a news clip from a news site (http://www.switched.com/2008/09/11/purported-obama-sex-vid-is-just-more-malware-in-disguise/):

Like Megatron's Decepticon minions from 'Transformers,' spyware and malware keep finding new ways to hide themselves in an effort to infect your home computer. The latest attempt is a supposed video showing Barack Obama engaged in some sort of sinful act. It's all a lie -- it's just another piece of malicious software looking to hide itself on your machine.

In this case, the malware is a trojan called Mal/Hupig-D. It runs in the background and, as with most malware, steals passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information, and can pretty much do whatever it wants once installed. That's no fun, of course, so as with every other example we keep posting about, watch what you click, and keep that virus scanner up to date! [From: Yahoo! News]

People's reactions from Facebook people? Range from "Oh, thank you, Sir, I was a victim of this, too," "I was a victim, I got ot from someone reliable *sigh*, " to "I suspected it was a virus because it's all over the Internet, but I fell for it". Holy effin sh#t! They needed to hear this from a news source just to confirm it was a virus?!?!?! WTF! And some of these people are the ones who hated Adam Carolla for telling the Filipinos to get our sh#t together. Maybe Adam Carolla simply had the guts to said what everyone was thinking about us.

Using Gmail to Update Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, Plurk, and Twitter

Reposting a short article I posted in a tech blog... baka may maitulong sa mga nakablock na Facebook, etc sa offices nyo. :-)

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In this Web 2.0 generation, social networks and microblogging platforms are almost as essential as telecommunications devices. But do you really have to login to all of your networks (Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, Plurk, and Twitter) just to say you are “in a meeting; will check my e-mails tonight”?

I found out a way how you can simultaneously update all these networks just by sending one message to a certain platform — through GMail chat. OK, fine, some of you are probably doing this already, but for those who doesn’t have any idea how to do this, please read on.

I will be assuming, at the very least that you have a Plurk and Gmail accounts. If not, create your own. The first step is to configure your Plurk account such that it can be updated through Gmail. How do you do that? See picture below:

Setting your Plurk Bot

Click the alert icon and a dialog box will pop up. Refer to the tip encircled in the picture above. Actually, you just have to click the link (Get started now) and everything is as easy as ABC. There will be an instruction for you to add the Plurk Bot to your list of friends, and as soon as it’s done, you can now update your Plurk page thorugh Gmail chat. You just have to open up a chat window with your Plurk bot, and send message to it. Your messages will be saved as a Plurk update.

So, once you are done with that, all you have to do is configure your Plurk account so that all your updates in Plurk will be reflected as a status updates in Facebook, Friendster, Multiply, and Twitter. See below:

Your Bot

Isn’t that a convenience?