The year that was 2012

For the year that the world is supposed to end, 2012 will bring a lot of memories. These will stand out to this white hair chronicler.

1. Prudential Plans Inc. closed shop early this year. Just three months before my son would have availed of his educational plan. When the other pre-need plan companies first experienced difficulties paying off claims, Prudential assured the more than 300,000 planholders that the company is stable.Then more than three years ago, they offered to buy back policies at cost. I opted not to sell, thinking that the company could actually rehabilitate itself. Today, I am one of the victims of the pre-need plans fiasco.

2. Habagat brought torrential floods ala Ondoy. But unlike Ondoy, which came and left, Habagat came, left, came back, left again, and threatened to come back again, all in a span of five days. But this time the local governments and the citizens were prepared.

3. In the IT front, nameless hackers, well, hacked into government websites exposing not just the vulnerabilities of websites but the lack of preparation to recover from such incidents. I've posted before that getting hacked is almost inevitable so the next challenge is how soon one can restore one's site.

In the social networking scene, some offices are still afraid of social networks. But there is reason to believe that those who are seemingly afraid will not be so afraid if top management will think that it is their idea and initiative.

4. Sources say frozen shoulder occurs in about 2% of the population. I belong to that 2% now. I realized how painful and inconvenient it could be. It is also said that it occurs to 10-20% of diabetics. I am not diabetic but my mother and grandmas are so it could be that I am pre-diabetic.

5. While Les Miserables will make its way to the big screen next year yet, I am again reminded this year that Javert and his types abound in the workplace. The Javerts are rigid, process-bound, and steadfast in their pursuit of ill-perceived goals. In short, typical bureaucrats.

In a less personal note, aren't we glad Pnoy is our president? The man has shown tremendous political will. He has booted GMA's Chief Justice, quixotically lashed at China, pushed for the sin tax, and signed the RH law. He has deftly maneuvered through fragile alliances in congress to get his pet laws enacted, unmindful of political and religious backlash. He is on his way to becoming the greatest Philippine president by just doing the right thing.

And for 2013, we all must do as Pnoy does.

We must. Just do it.

Ok na sana, may miss lang! (It would have been okay, but for Mai Mislang)

Many welcome PNoy's push for the use of social networking sites in governance. After all, Filipinos are early adopters. But I'm sure nobody foresaw the diplomatic faux pas that can ensue from over confident government underlings.

Definitely, Mai Mislang was out of bounds when she tweeted her displeasure about the wine served at the state dinner. Her tweet about the crossing Vietnam's streets as the surest way to day can be forgiven for it could have reflected more on her non-ability to properly cross a street. Her tweet about 'walang pogi dito' was in Tagalog. It might not immediately offend the Vietnamese as they can counter - maganda ka ba? - 'Bạn nghĩ bạn là đẹp? '

I doubt that the Vietnamese would have noticed her tweets if not Filipinos had pointed them out first. Who among the Vietnamese follow her anyway? But trust some Filipinos' ability to find ways to denigrate a countryman. Much more so if she works for PNoy.

Mai Mislang has since deleted the offensive tweets. She has even deleted her account. Even her Facebook account is deactivated, at the least. She has apologized. She has learned her lesson the hard way. Her immediate boss, Ricky Carandang, has swept the matter under the rug. Vietnam didn't mind the tweets at all.

It is the social networking people who are quick to pounce on PNoy and his team. Not long after Mai's apology, a bogus Facebook account surfaced. If this gathers critical mass, Mai will be back to singing the blues in no time.

Pickpocket victim 3x over

A funny thing happened on my way to the office today. I lost my cellphone and ID/access cards to pickpockets. I took the usual MRT ride to Recto and crossed Recto to board a jeepney to the office. This is the most efficient way. Kid Charlemagne (Steely Dan) was playing on my cellphone. During Larry Calrton's riff, the music suddenly stopped. Instinctively I grabbed the phone to check if the earphone got unplugged, only to find out that my bag's zipper was open and the phone gone.

Realization dawned on me - nadukutan ako. I checked what else is missing. My ID and office access cards are gone too. Na naman.

So my dear friends, if you get a text message from me starting 7:00am Thursday March 18, 2010 Manila time, please beware. I tell you it's not from me.

More twenty years ago, my pocket was picked while in a jeepney also along Tayuman. I found out when I was about to get off the jeep. I blurted "yung wallet ko?". Two passengers suddenly alighted and I noticed my wallet on the space where they were seated. I took my wallet and checked. The money's gone but I lost track of where the two went. Then around three years ago, in Mabini, also in a jeepney, I was again a victim. And again today.

The phone contained contact nos., pictures of my family, to-do list, saved passwords to email accounts and social networking sites. Now I have to find an Internet cafe to change passwords since my office blocks access to social networking sites. Whew!

Google yourself

Do you google yourself? I do. This practice may seem narcissistic, though I just want to know what pops up when others google me. Sometime ago, when I google my name, some events/seminars that I have been part of show up. But two years ago my name wrongly appeared in a news item about raps filed against some NGO. And ever since I realized some elementary school classmates search for me in their attempts to reconnect with former batchmates, I wanted 'better' Google results for me.

A Google study says that people search for themselves because of their curiousity about what other people see when they search for their name.  But the problem is we don't have any control over the search results.
To give people a bit more control over search results, Google introduced a feature it calls a "Google profile," which users can create. Once users create a Google profile, their name, job and location (photo is optional) appears in a box on the first page of the search results for their name. Next to the thumbnail info, there's a link to a full Google profile page that resembles a Facebook page.

Google maybe jealous of the inroads made by Facebook. It fears it will suffer the same decline experience by e-Bay because of Facebook. By giving users a some control over the results that appear on a search for their name, Google hopes to take on Facebook and MySpace.

The Google profile lets you set up a personalized page on which you can include links to your blog, photos, videos, and personal website. You can include a brief bio, list your current interests, places you've lived and schools you've attended. There's also a space where you can list your "superpower", a curious attempt to be cute.

Unlike Facebook there is no feature that lets you "friend" another user. There is a "Send a message" where others with a Gmail account can send you e-mail without knowing your e-mail address. It's tight integration with Google maps enables your profile to locate you on a map, approximately.

Google says the more information you add to your profile, the higher your page is likely to be ranked on a Google search for your name and associated keywords, such as the name of your hometown, your job title or where you work or go to school. So I think my elementary school mates can find me easier on Google now and the I hope the results about the syndicated estafa raps filed against a client will be deep down in the results pages.

There may be a downside to this, however. The more richly detailed your Google profile is, the more Google knows about you. Already, Google has my photos, email, videos, blog, etc. What happens when Google suddenly goes down? It is possible, could be a problem when that happens. But I'll ponder about that later. So go and create your own profile. Meanwhile my Google profile is here.

Use Facebook, Get low grades?

There's a new reason to stay away from Facebook, if a new study from Ohio PhD candidates is to be believed. According to the study, college students who use the social network have significantly lower grade-point averages  than those who do not. The study surveyed undergraduate and graduate students and found that GPAs of Facebook users typically ranged a full grade point lower than those of nonusers. But the study also says that most of Facebook members did not believe there was any link between their GPA and their networking habits.

The authors clarify that the study does not suggest that Facebook directly causes lower grades, merely that there's some relationship between the two factors. "Maybe [Facebook users] are just prone to distraction. Maybe they are just procrastinators," said one of the authors.

Hmm, does the study indicate that I, and my 90 friends, are less intelligent? Or if not, are we procrastinators? Or are we easily distracted?

Other earlier studies have warned that social networks were "infantilizing the brain into the state of small children" by shortening the attention span and providing constant instant gratification. A new book, iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, warns of desensitizing effects of social networks and other modern technology to reading real-life facial expressions and understanding the emotional context of subtle gestures.

The study may have its flaws and there are definitely other distractions aside from the social network sites. Facebook tries to defend itself by pointing out a study released earlier this month showing that personal Internet use at work can help focus workers' concentration and increase productivity. Facebook also said that "it's in the hands of students, in consultation with their parents, to define priorities and decide how to spend their time." That is equally true with the workforce and management. Facebook is saying don't blame us, blame the users.

People do spend a lot of time logged onto Facebook. A Nielsen report earlier revealed that social networks are the fastest rising segment of the Internet. Educators are iked with students who post messages more than listen to lectures. Management is equally up in arms. Offices have banned Facebook, etal., on their corporate computer networks. But there's no stopping this surge.

I found a lot of former classmates through the social networks, particularly Facebook. We are now happily reminiscing, catching up, and once again sharing heartaches, pleasures, ideas. Facebook did its function famously, it connected me with my past friends. It is the educators' and management's turn to find ways to do their jobs amidst these technological innovations.