Online Publication Blackmails Event Organizer: Kick Them Out or We Won't Publish Your Press Releases

Wazzup Pilipinas!

I got a phone call yesterday from an event organizer who told me that there's this online publication that threatened not to publish the event's press releases if Wazzup Pilipinas is kept as a media partner.

The words "threatened" and even "blackmail" were mentioned by the caller because the online publication was sort of forcing them to kick Wazzup Pilipinas out as a media partner of their event, or this online publication would back out as a media partner. You could imagine it like an "It's either her or me, make a choice!" scenario in movies where a man is caught in a situation to pick between two lovers, could be a wife and a mistress, or two girlfriends.

In this case, there was indeed a "romantic relationship" that happened once but eventually went awry due to circumstances. If you'll take time to scrutinize further by looking deeper into our past, you'll understand why this online publication is so keen in putting us down.

The event organizer tried to keep this online publication anonymous but when I mentioned the probable suspect, he readily confirmed and was wondering why this online publication has personally pinpointed us out. He was asking what could be the reason behind their blatant disgust of Wazzup Pilipinas? For him, it felt like "away-bata" or children's quarrel wherein someone like a student would tell his teacher that he doesn't want to cooperate in a group project if the classmate that he hates is a member.

So I naturally told him my unflattering history with this online publication that I'm sure its veracity will be contested profusely by them. They once tried to make it look they kicked me out of their team, when in fact I have stopped writing for them even before we parted ways.

Yup, I was their former Senior Writer (promoted to that position after 3 months as among their newest writers). But I was disenchanted with them when they reacted negatively when a point came in our relationship that I was the one giving out assignments to the other contributing writers. This was because there were a lot of opportunities for collaboration coming my way that I was actively sharing slots for possible feature stories. Back then I was getting plenty of event invites including tons of requests for restaurant features that I saw myself going to a max of 4 to 5 restaurants a day together with other bloggers whom I invited to join.

This online publication is obviously up to its nasty "unfair competition practice" again! I should say it has not stop at all the first time I discovered. I actually got a hunch already when there were sudden events that would suddenly back out from a partnership, and so it was only last year that I got confirmation when somebody sent me a screenshot of their nasty "threats". When I posted about it online, the testimonials grew and soon I got so many screenshots and revelations from other events and organizations of how this online publication backed out from the media partnership and tried to indirectly convince them that they should only partner with those on the "top" of rankings.

Before, the reports I received were not specific to which media partner they were referring to but yesterday the caller told me Wazzup Pilipinas was specifically mentioned by no less than the Editor-in-Chief and founder.

This is something that the Philippine Competition Commission needs to really look into before it becomes too big to handle and blows up into their faces when they act too late. This also adds to my collection of reports submitted to us by the many media partners who informed us about how this online publication sends e-mails threatening to back out from the media partnership because they do not want other media partner(s) present among the event supporters.

What this online publication is doing is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to muscle out others because they think they will be chosen to remain, or that they are too confident of themselves that it is alright to lose partnership with other events because they have so many anyway. It makes event organizers wary to invite other media partners especially if they want to keep the partnership with the so called claim to be the top online publication in the country with millions of views or "impressions" - something that could be easily done if you would invest on SEO and other strategies, even the dirty ones that fools people in believing they have the numbers to effectively influence people in patronizing a brand.

In a country like the Philippines which eats up most "entertaining" articles like the viral and trending stories that could be refurbished or rehashed to become new articles, they don't automatically translate into a sale  for a brand since most readers of such content are just visiting the site to be entertained. When I left the online publication way back 2013, my site was already getting the same number of daily views they were having because I implemented their strategy, but eventually stopped because I realized it is actually "hurting" the readers more because I was putting out insignificant stories that would not contribute to healthy nation building but rather turn people to focus on the trivial and ignore or set aside the more important ones.

"Blogging has become a very profitable business, but we would rather be true to ourselves and to our readers, than kiss asses just to keep relationships. We believe we would benefit more if the nation is well-informed of the truth and not of superficialities."

Why is this online publication trying to put us down? They won't directly give out the reason to the organizers they sent emails to, but would only claim that they are among the top online publications and that the event organizers should look into partnering only with publications with similar stats as theirs - something to that effect where their stinking arrogance could be smelt (or smelled) several miles away.

They boasts of their stats but many have told me that they only have the numbers because they fill up their site with memes, controversies, click-baits, and many similar insignificant stuff that would not even encourage a sale for the brands that sponsors or advertise with them. Just as how predictable and cheap "teleseryes" dumbs the masses, their content is mostly rubbish designed to add to their stats. There was even a PR who was among their contributors but called out to them online to air the same concerns, so they eventually removed him as a contributor and unfriended him. Just as how they did a witch-hunt among their writers back then to find those who were allied with me, and removed them as well.

If they are indeed among the top, they do not need to resort to crab mentality and/or character assassination by indirectly or directly demeaning their fellow media entities, or media personalities, may they be bloggers or mainstream media, and would readily set themselves side by side with seemingly competing media entities. They do not need to bring down others if they are truly on top.

Furthermore, the more media partners supporting, the more advantageous it is for the event. This is why we detest exclusivity with regards to media partnership. You should not keep the news reporting or event promotion to yourself or only a few. Those who usually do this believes there would be a big return, or profit, for them, or there really is something already agreed as a rewarding ex-deal.

There is no argument with the fact that it would be more beneficial for an event to have as many media partners as possible to gain more mileage, and thus attract more audience or attendees since each one of these media entities have their own set of followers. It would be a waste of opportunity to be able to reach out to more people if limited to just a few media partners.

Though it will be unfortunate for us to lose the partnership if the event organizer would choose to keep the arrogant online publication, we would prefer to partner with those who truly knows what to value more - give in to a blackmailer who flaunts their questionable wide reach and belittles others, or stick with the underdog who's obviously being bullied by this menacing threat. 

Dinagyang Festival: A Grand Celebration of the Vibrant Culture of Iloilo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Iloilo's famous Dinagyang Festival, showcases the tribal costumes, culture, history, tradition and devotion to the image of the Santo Niño."

It was indeed a grand celebration of the vibrant culture of the city! It bursts with color and creativity that's comparable to the other Philippine fiestas across the country.

Iloilo is also a favorite destination of both local and foreign tourists during the festival parades and ceremonies.

The Dinagyang (dee-nag-yungh) Festival is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the fourth Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog in Cebu and the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan.

 
The 50th Anniversary in Iloilo City was a pleasure to see and feel. Similar to other festivities all over the country, many of those who performed were high school students who spent the entire year working on their routine and costumes. 

The youth has an endless supply of eagerness and enthusiasm that they seem to be tireless and always full of energy. It makes me wonder how they could cope with the after class practices and extracurricular activities while they study their lessons, or vice versa depending on their priorities. Lol!

But for me, being actively engaged in such activities during school years builds the youth to become better citizens of the nation since it also improves many of their necessary attributes like camaraderie among their peers, involvement in culture-inspired movements (honoring the city they represent), plus builds up their stamina and endurance (from all those weekly routine practices).

Nothing can beat the street parties in Iloilo City, also known as the City of Love, even if others would challenge or contest that statement. This is probably because it is not as commercialized as other festivals that have turned into mostly brand-sponsored activities ruined by so many brand tarpaulins, posters and banners carrying logos and promos.

But we're not really complaining as the sponsorship also made it possible to bring in more stuff such as celebrities for additional eye-candy. Though it somehow robbed the attention of the masses on the original concept of the festival, the new generation would not be eating up the showbiz attraction if they are not really addicted to teleserye or movie fanaticism.

By the way, these celebrities would readily hop aboard a plane and show up in Iloilo on their own if the festival is truly awesome. We would prefer to see those who naturally adore the festivities rather than those who were paid to be there. But hey, they won't be expected to perform a song and dance number if they were not hired to do so. Thus, it makes sense to have sponsored activities since a city would need to spend a lot for talent fees.

Do we also cheer for the politicians who were seen as VIP guests on stage, and those mingling with the crowd like they are common Ilongos?

The Dinagyang festival culminated with the intense Ati-Atihan parade but as we go back home to Manila, the memories will forever seem immortalized in our souls as we excitedly anticipate next year's run.

I can't show you all the wonderful photos we got from the festival but you can check them out at our official Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/wazzuppilipinas
Congratulations Iloilo. Keep on making us proud to the world for having yearly successful performances that awe the crowd of both new and returning visitors, including the locals themselves.

"Jetlagged and peeling like an amphibian. I would describe my skin color as Dinagyang-Black."

Photos by Collin Yap

Entertainment and Music Network Soon to Rise Online

Wazzup Pilipinas!

My kids no longer watch TV.

It has been several years already that we couldn't even keep them away from their tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and laptops because they're all glued browsing the Internet, and among what keeps them busy is watching livestreams and other video content.

Information is faster, more comprehensive and intellectually-challenging compared to the traditional TV (especially the very predictable and cheap Pinoy teleseryes), plus you could immediately choose your preferred content - that is humungously endless on the Internet. Whether it is from fellow Filipinos or from citizens of other countries, you'll find a lot more amazing content-providers online.

Even traditional media have alreadyvbeen  sharing news or information that they see online .... which only means one reality - online is the NOW and the FUTURE.

This makes us so very excited for our online TV/radio project that's soon to happen anytime now. There's already a lot of interested hosts/DJs joining so this will be an awesome collaboration with peeps to air their own shows specially conceptualized by themselves.

We've identified all the equipment already, and now we're doing the stage/booth designs next!

We'll be able to invite various guests to share their stories, promote their products, services and events, and of course, advertise.

Everything's livestreaming online, and also recorded, thus media mileage will be better because the content will stay on the Internet forever! Yup! There is forever!!! Meaning you can watch again and again your favorite shows.

Viewer interaction is immediate since everypne could post their comments, questions, feedbacks, etc. in real time.

Enough with the expensive advertising, we can customize our packages to fit your budget!

"In time we should be able to do it all, in one sense. For now, we're just testing and rolling. In a few more days, or a week we are in the process of re-designing our logos, our our websites, our formats, etc. etc.  For now, please always also remember that we are INTERNATIONAL / WORLD-WIDE IN SCOPE!   So when Philippines is "sleeping" we do have the rest of the world listening as well.  And we will also have DEEJAY's and Radio/ TV Personalities there as well.

So what are you guys waiting for?

Find out how you could collaborate with us! there's always rooms for everyone because this project is for all of us.

Online rules!