racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

At least that’s what the Blog Parteeh! 2007 tagline says. Sounds like a cool event anyone into blogging would be interested in going to. Time for a little get-together offline.

The details are here, the list of sponsors is here. I’m actually part of—or was once part of—some of the groups and companies sponsoring the event (namely the Blog Herald, Enthropia and the PinoyTechBlog team).

The parteeh (Why can’t we just spell it as “party”? SEO reasons? Or was the blogparty.com domain already taken? Heheh!) will be this coming Saturday, the 27th of January from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. Venue is 6th Floor (Poolside Area), Classica Tower 2 Condominium, HV dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. Why, oh why, can’t blogger meet-ups be organized in Quezon City or somewhere near my place?!?

See you there!

Update: Sponsor list is included below.

This event is sponsored by: Sheero Media Solutions, MyJournal Philippines, FeedText, Inc., Migs Paraz, A Bugged Life, The Blog Herald, b5media blog network, About My Recovery, Pinoy.Tech.Blog, Enthropia, Inc., Krispy Kreme Philippines, GMA New Media, Awesome Philippines, Codamon.com, Boracay.com.ph, Recipes.com.ph, WebMaster.com.ph, Bouncing Red Ball, Bo Sanchez, Microwarehouse Inc.

BlogParteeh07 Donors:

Marc Javellana, Bubba Gump, e-YellowPages, Adobe User Group – Philippines, Weddings @ Work, Google Philippines, Hinge Inquirer Publications

Oh, the instructions say I should include my email address. Well, it’s in th e sidebar, or I can be reached here.

Here are some interesting info tidbits I picked up from yesterday’s One Internet Day Manila event. Maoi Arroyo, who presented on blogging for buzz (the most engaging presentation during the event, IMHO), cited some figures pertinent to blogger demographics in Metro Manila.

Based on the latest Blogosphere report (available only to Digital Filipino members), there’s an untapped way of talking to the young and upwardly mobile segment of Manilenyos:

* 18% of internet users read blogs
* 55% of bloggers are < 20 years old
* 20% of bloggers are between 20 to 29 years old
* 71% are male
* 84% are single
* 48% are students
* 97% have their own computers at home

I’d be interested in seeing the full details of the report. I guess I’d have to sign up for a membership for that (do you offer discounts for bloggers, Janette?). From this summary, though, one can surmise that there is still a good proportion of the Philippine market that can be tapped by blogging services or as blog readers, with only 18% reading blogs (knowingly or unknowingly, I’m not aware–there is a difference). I think there are about 10 million Internet users here in the country of about 80 million.

Thing is, most of our Internet users do not have their own computers at home. Some may have access to computers and the Internet at the workplace, but most others access the ‘net from cafes. The fact that 97% of bloggers have their own computers at home is indicative that the inconvenience of having to blog from an Internet cafe is a barrier to entry.

The figures are quite as expected, though, as they reflect the usual expectations from blogger/Internet user demographics. Most bloggers are younger than 20–perhaps teenagers–, most are male, and most are students. One notable concept from Maoi’s presentation yesterday was that the age group that comprises the 20-29 year-olds are probably what the marketers should target. They are, after all, the group with the most disposable income (as a ratio to total earnings) and probably the ones who have a higher propensity for consumption rather than saving.

Okay, sorry for the econ speak here. But you get the drift. When you’re young, unmarried and already earning–and you probably have stacks of credit cards–you’re bound to splurge on stuff for yourself. And this is just the ideal target for firms that sell clothes, apparel, gadgets, and other such things.

I think it’s a good idea to conduct a survey among my readers, just to know what my “market” is. After all I’m selling some things. And these are ideas.

Things sure happen fast. After my post about higher resolution satellite imagery available for Metro Manila, I got in touch with my colleague, j4s0n, to brainstorm on what we could possibly do with such a development. Just a few days later (about half a day’s worth of work perhaps), he announces his latest Web app, Pinoy Locator.

The concept is simple. Find where you are on the map (or satellite imagery, in the case of the Philippines) and post your shout-out. These are then collected and presented as those cutesy push-pins on Google Maps that pop up messages when you click them.

It’s still a very basic means of using Google Maps to pinpoint one’s location, or even geo-tagging establishments and landmarks, but it’s a good start. As I wrote on PinoyTechBlog,

If you ask me, this could be a good precursor to a contributor-driven directory of places in the Philippines. For now, such geo-data is available, but commercially (meaning you can have it but you have to pay for it). Of course, there’s the issue of accuracy and filtering mechanisms. One problem with Web 2.0 is having too much trust on the user (even if systems can be gamed, after all). But hey, for a country that Google forgot when it put up vector and geo data online with Google Maps, something like pinoylocator is a good start.

So do try it out. Here’s where I live–approximately, at least (lest I get pestered by stalkers). People have been tagging establishments and other landmarks such as malls, rivers, and the like, and it’s great to see the map being filled up with useful stuff. Please feel free to tag your location, too, and even your favorite places.

Maybe we can build up a database of geo-tagged places this way so we can start with a true iBegin or LocalBrit type of Web app. I’ve really been itching to have a more usable and functional version of Clickthecity–I mean, it has good content and comprehensive information on a lot of places but I can’t see them on the map! And what about mapcentral? It has lots of information, too, but the interface leaves much to be desired.

Hey, does anyone have vector or geo-data you would like to share (or perhaps even sell)?

Wow! I didn’t realize this until I tried looking for our new apartment via satellite imagery. Previously, only the client-version of Google’s geo service, “Google Earth”:http://earth.google.com , had higher res aerial imagery of Metro Manila. now, even the online version, “Google Maps”:http://maps.google.com does! I say “higher” because this is definitely better than what Maps had to offer before. Still, it’s not as good as Google Earth, and it’s definitely not up to par with the aerial photos or “Ikonos”:http://spaceimaging.com / “Quickbird”:http://digitalglobe.com satellite images that the surveying companies will give you for a few million Pesos.

Some Snapshots

Here are some screencaps of imagery of my beloved Quezon City.

Both our old and new apartments “are in this area.”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=quezon+city+philippines&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=14.647047,121.057706&spn=0.002263,0.004576&t=k&om=1

Here’s the “University of the Philippines Admin building, where the Oblation is located.”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=quezon+city+philippines&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=14.654821,121.064937&spn=0.002263,0.004576&t=k&om=1

“Here’s the Gateway Mall and the Araneta Colliseum in Cubao.”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=quezon+city+philippines&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=14.621224,121.053023&spn=0.002263,0.004576&t=k&om=1

“Here’s SM North EDSA, sans the new ‘Block’ mall.”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=quezon+city+philippines&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=14.656518,121.031892&spn=0.002263,0.004576&t=k&om=1 This means the aerial photos were probably taken pre-2006, when SM was still using the area as a parking lot.

This could open up a lot of new business opportunities for people who do web apps! This was exactly what I was looking for back when I worked with i.PH–location-based services and geotagging were the hot thing back then. I wonder if it’s still a good idea to do this today. Joel was right. Google’s going to put those aerial photo and satellite imagery companies out of business (at least for the consumer/low-end market, and not those requiring millimiter-level accuracy). Google is giving this stuff away for free!

Web apps, anyone? I hope we beat you guys to it!