Sudden (uncalled-for) publicity

Ever since I became a part of my college’s newspaper, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing a lot of emails waiting to be read in my two primary inboxes. It’s usually reminders for deadlines, returned drafts with attachments that I have to screen later, announcements…the list goes on. Sometimes email blasts from the other orgs I’m part of. All of them from Ateneo.

Then I open my inbox today and see 28 messages waiting to be read.

I would’ve groaned if it was all from my editor. But all of them were notifications from Plurk–apparently, around 28 (and counting) people have now become fans of my timeline. I thought, at first, it was probably a bot that caused all these people to mass-fan me. But some of those accounts weren’t made overnight; some of them were the real, usable, actual things. And then I clicked the Interesting Plurkers tab–and found me on the Popular list.

What, I became popular on Plurk overnight?

Some people would’ve probably revelled in this, but unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. I immediately set some of my plurks to friends-only. I rejected friend requests from people I don’t know. I even set my entire account to friends-only, then reverted it back again. Several people commented on one of my public plurks; it wasn’t derisive, but it did freak me out so much that I deleted it. Now, I’m posting personal stuff as friends-only. Public plurking I leave to insignificant details.

I’ve got that “This person has more than 50 fans” badge, all in one day.

I don’t know how. I mean, I don’t plurk like crazy. I don’t get a lot of responses. And then suddenly all these people were my “fans” (of what? my intrinsic boring nature?)

I value my privacy a lot, so I don’t give out my email address so easily. I use aliases on blogs; I set them to contacts-only. My multiply is tightly guarded. My public accounts aren’t linked to my RL accounts. My friendster account is the only exception; that I consider my “human resources” arm. Just in case.

What’s kind of bothersome is that some people would probably want to be in my position, plurk-wise.

Social networking fatigue

I’ve tried–so far, unsuccessfully–to cut my ties to the social networking world. But since my last post on this topic, I have made digg, del.icio.us, twitter, 100words, facebook, tumblr, and plurk accounts. Yes, all of them. Which kind of makes my “online suicide” hard to finally accomplish.

There are just some sites I can’t leave, you see. Friendster and Multiply, for example, are on my untouchables list; the former because of connectivity issues with friends who won’t leave it, the latter because it’s, well, really nice. I’ll probably let the others grow on me. Del.icio.us I won’t delete because it’s useful. Twitter I’ve let go because it proved to be just-another-one-of-those-hyped-up-sites.

I think plurk’s about to go the same way, but I’ll let it live for some time.

Every sem break I plan to cut down my online memberships to ten, if possible. Now it seems that almost everything is highly needed.

Unplugged

School’s out, and for some city dwellers who won’t be hitting the beach or some other hang-out spot, the Net is their refuge. After weeks of staying away from certified time eaters like Friendster or other such sites, now is the time to update those profiles with new info, graduation and summer themed photos, videos, blogs…the list goes on.

At first it’s fun, fulfilling, and a hell lot of addicting. People you know are almost always on; Friendster isn’t too boring yet since a lot are upping photos and videos, commenting here and there, adding friends you may know, and being a fan of some higher being. They’re all over Multiply, YouTube, IMing here and there–in short, a lot of web activity is going on that compels you to join in the mess.

After a few weeks, when no more photos and videos can be upped, when the only news you get out of your friends’ bulletins are “wala akong magawa” on loop, the Net becomes boring. Save for a couple of sites you stumble upon to grab your attention for a few minutes, practically everything on the Net feels like a “been there, done that” thing.

For a tech-dependent person like me, the Web is (nearly) everything. Even though there’s nothing to do I persist in going online. After all, if there’s nothing to do online, there ain’t anything to do offline either. Flawed thinking, sure, but idling online is, I think, better than idling offline.

Restless, I pulled myself out of the electromagnetic field of my laptop and unplugged. I went out. Went places. Jogged. Read books. Done offline work that had to be done. Now, I’m currently learning how to drive. Simple things, really, but things that make you feel alive after a long period of eyes glued to the screen. After all, how can your stunning meadow landscape wallpaper compete with the real thing, complete with cool wind and warm summer sun? And no, your laptop’s heat and cooling system doesn’t count.

Online suicide

Just recently I decided to cut my ties to fandom.

Well, not all of it, though. I’ve decided to retain my Gendou.com account (in case some new series gets me hooked and I want to download the tracks). I haven’t got the heart to delete my first ever fanfic from animespiral.com, even though it’s chockfull of Mary Sues and other no-nos from fandom; instead, I wrote an apologetic note on the profile page, explaining why I haven’t deleted the monstrosity and pointing out that it need not be pointed out, for that matter. I’ve stopped posting on my FanFiction.Net account, also putting up an “out of fandom” message. My fansite is closed (but fully functional; to delete several months’ hard work? I don’t think so), my Quizilla account deleted, and several other forum profiles and accounts that went with it.

My LJ remained unscathed, simply because it contained non-fandom entries as well. But also recently I’ve also cracked down on useless non-fandom accounts; I’ve deleted blogs that did not get updated and other accounts on various forums and social networking sites. I’ve tried to keep my online presence minimal with the idea that ‘rarity equals coolness’.  I’m not sure if it’s working.

It’s hard, you see. I can’t leave LJ–despite its TOS problems and other abuse issues–because of the online friendships I’ve formed with other users and the comms I’ve joined. I can’t delete my Friendster account–despite the boring atmosphere and the lack of anything to do in the place–because it’s one of the only solid links I have to connect with friends. I can’t leave Multiply because my photos, videos, and essentially memories are on it. I can’t leave Flickr because my better and slightly more artistic shots are on it. I can’t leave WordPress because my three writing blogs are on it. And the list goes on–despite my ‘need’ to cut down on excessive online linkages, I just can’t find the will to part with them.

It’s not looking up for me either, what with all the new stuff looming on the horizon. To date Twitter, Digg, Facebook, del.icio.us and other sites haven’t seen me officially yet; they probably soon will. Then my online suicide would be an utter failure because of this unsatiable need to be connected.

Oh, I don’t speak for myself–many Filipinos share the predicament. Multiple Friendster accounts? Smart, Globe, and Sun SIM cards?  Aren’t we connected enough as it is?

The buzz around social networking sites

When Friendster debuted, most of cyberspace snapped up accounts and started building web connections. It was then that social networking became news.

Since then and after Friendster decided to remain private, many other social networking sites have popped up, the most notable of which are MySpace and Facebook. Oddly though, Friendster continued to be the Filipino’s haven despite its obvious shortcomings and the lack of things to do on the site.

Why are we so fixated on the idea of social networking? Doesn’t text messaging provide the solution to the insatiable need to be connected? How much more connected do we want to be?

When a friend sent me an invite to sign up for a Friendster account, I was wary of doing so–it was still viewed largely as a dating site back then, and I was not eager to be part of such a service. Eventually I got curious and signed up, got bored and left my profile to rot somewhere in cyberspace.

Then suddenly friend requests came pouring in, and I found myself updating my profile once a week or so. I signed up on MySpace, but deleted it soon after–the site, with its userbase of admittedly low programming IQ, was nauseating. Friendster was too; I contemplated leaving the site, but doing so would mean being out of touch with classmates I was no longer even in contact with.

I recently have seen Wikipedia’s list of social networking sites, and I’m amazed at the sites I’ve been on: I’ve tried and said goodbye to Xanga and Blogspot; I’ve tried and bid adieu to Ringo, MySpace, Piczo, Gaia Online and hi5; I’ve set up camp in Friendster, LiveJournal, Multiply, del.icio.us, Flickr, 43things, WordPress and Last.fm. I’ve contemplated signing up for Facebook, but I know no one on there, so I’ve delayed. Who knows, I just might set up camp there too.

As editor-in-chief of our school paper I wrote our first issue’s editorial, and it had something to do with these sites and how they are promoting a “me-centricity” mentality. It was a good thing I wasn’t too critical of them, for then it’d be hypocrisy: my two LJs, my Multiply account and my Friendster profile–not to mention these three WordPress blogs–would’ve been incriminating evidence of my shame.

Still, I reiterate what I wrote then: social networking sites aren’t really bad–just spare us the many high-angle photos and cutesy profile descriptions, please. Rule of thumb: if you won’t say it up front, don’t say it on your profile page.

The gadget Christmas list

Of course gadgets would top any Christmas wish list. Even those who need food more than expensive gadgets would yearn to have that must-have item in the (black) market: the Apple iPhone.

Rumors–and fakes–abound. Hacked iPhones are all the rage, but many say that the iPhone is not all that it’s said to be.

Until it becomes more readily available, and its features examined and scrutinized more thoroughly, we could only guess and speculate.

(I Don’t See Why I Wouldn’t Survive) The Strikethrough 07

As of today the hottest story in CNET right now is about the mass deletion in LiveJournal. I’ve been following the case half-eagerly because of three reasons: one, I personally own an LJ; two, I personally am part of the fandom; and three, I found the backlash unbelievable.

Although I’m part of several fandoms and fandom-related communities in LJ (one of the reasons I can’t find it in my heart to wholly switch to WordPress), I personally do not like yaoi or yuri or het fanfiction and fanart posted in those communities. As soon as I see ‘Not worksafe’ I move along. I don’t ask them to stop–that would be tantamount to censorship without authority–because it is an open community after all, and it pays to be open-minded. Besides, they label their work properly so as not to be liable for cries of “Oh my innocence!” uttered by unaware newcomers lurking in the shadows. What is nice about these communities is that the members respect each other’s preferences and tolerance for worksafe and not worksafe material.

Even if I’m not entirely interested nor affected in the mass deletion and accompanying mass revolt, I do share the sentiments of the majority of fandom in the LJ-verse. According to the heavily formatted posts, journals for RPGs and obviously fictional character journals as well as legitimate journals seriously discussing serious, real life events were deleted without proper review. Journals and communities hosting works of fiction with themes that are obviously not safe for work were deleted or suspended, while more disturbing journals and communities that were supposed to be the target of the strikethrough were left unscathed.

Any fandom outside should understand that fandom is not entirely composed of internet stalkers and lurkers waiting for the chance to jump out at an innocent child on the Web. Fandom understands LJ’s desire to keep the children safe and will even moderate communities to ensure this. What fandom is outraged about is that the mass deletion was done without proper review or thorough examination. Fictional works were regarded to be completely factual. References to actual publications with LJ’s “bannable themes” were also thought to be inciting other people into illegal action. Character journals participating in RPGs were even deleted. What is worse is that real threats were not wiped out.

The management made a public apology yesterday, acknowledging that they “screwed up” badly. In it they said that they only had the children’s interest at heart and they only wanted LJ to be a friendly place for all, including children stumbling onto the journals and communities. The apology was well received by some cooler heads, but the rest merely commented with more bashing. The more cooler headed but not calmed down asked why LJ chose to make statements to other sites (including CNET) before them. At that time, most of them already knew before LJ even made their statement, but through other sites. They asked why the community was left to gather news from other sites when the management could have been the first to tell them.

Up to now, even with LJ making amends, the anger still hasn’t dissipated. Truth be told, I’m rather curious to see where this is going. It’s like being in the sidelines of a warzone, but with a protective screen.

Filipinos and their mysterious affinity to cellphones

We Filipinos are, by nature, hardworking people. We have tilled the soil, manned the machines, built buildings. We have been known to be workaholics for the sake of the family. We are known to be efficient and quick-learning. Thousands of Filipinos are now scattered all over the world, building your buildings, manning your machines, and tilling your soil. Give it a few decades and we may as well have formed the backbone of the global society.

By ‘we’, I meant the general population. Surely not all of us had been relegated to manual labor.

Because of that, technical skills are not quite as adept as it should be, given that everything has been highly digitalized. In some countries, broadband internet is a commodity; here, it is a luxury. We still have a long way to go before we become as digitally advanced–or aware, as the case may be–as the rest of the world.

Which brings me to the subject of cellphones. Before, they were a luxury. Now, everybody has to have them. Not only for communication, but also for general showing off. Oftentimes you would even find even the poorest of the poor flaunting their (often loadless) cellphones. And yes, they still complain of the scarcity of food and the low quality of their lives. Funny how they can say that, seeing as they have the capacity to buy these phones. And promptly swap them for better models every time something better hits the stores.

You could say that the Filipino likes to be connected. Going a week without proper food just to buy P30 worth of load from the nearest sari-sari store has become second nature. Who cares about an empty stomach when there are sweet nothings to be exchanged, cable channel chatrooms to join, faceless textmates to find and pointless forwards to be sent? You could almost say that the common Filipino can live on emotions alone. Cellphones are doing what social networking sites are doing. Just on a lower, 140-character-limited scale.

From the outsiders’ point of view, this almost ridiculous affinity of Filipinos to phones may imply a lack of knowledge in technology (ignorance spawns excessive hype).While it is true that not a lot of Filipino students get taught how to use a computer in school, quite a good number is hooked to Friendster and MySpace and chatrooms, just like the average teenagers in various technologically-advanced countries. Some of us may not know CSS, but so what? Not everyone knows it, anyway. So, strictly speaking, we’re not really behind in the appreciation of technology. We just overdo it.

To all first-time users of the World Wide Web: some things we hope you know (and things long-time users should know by now)

“Hey there! I’m xxx. You new? Noob, huh? Well, I might as well help you; got nothing to do anyway. Want me to help you set up a PayPal account? No problem, just give me some info and I’ll do the rest. What’s your name, by the way?”

If you are a complete novice and you encounter people like this online, and you:

a.) gave out your true and complete name;

b.) gave out your contact details;

c.) gave out your credit card information either to a person or to a site without verifying their authenticity, or

d.) did two or more of the above,

then that was, indeed, A Very Stupid Thing To Do.

Normally, you don’t give out personal information to strangers on the street, and that doesn’t differ much from doing the same online. While there are accredited shopping sites and trustworthy individuals on the Net, it’s still quite a shady place to be. Rule of thumb: never give out any of the above unless you are assured of their validity. If you need a name, go with an alias.

Why am I bringing this topic up? Because as past novices have grown wiser to the ways of the Net, they have also grown tired of listening to the sob stories of other novices who got duped either because of Really Not Knowing Anything or Plain Stupidity. This is not to say they’ve grown too arrogant to look back on their own hard beginnings. They have. Many times. And felt stupid for being, well, idiotic in the first place.

So to all novices out there, we ask you to get a gist of how things work online before jumping into the fray.  Trust me, you don’t want to be labeled with the derogatory ‘noob’ for as long as your account stays active…or until you change aliases.

And so, without further ado, here are some of the things other people wish and hope and pray to the Powers That Be that new users know: