extremelymanlyman

[extremelymanlyman]

Developing My Page

COVID-19 has really left a mark on society forever. Even if it disappears the next day, the mark it created will forever be etched upon each and every one of us, leaving us with a memory of the days we all feared to leave our own homes. Throughout the year, the days started slow, with me focusing on playing mobile games and lying about, resting from school and letting myself feel lethargic and lazy for a long while. Since online school started, I chose to be a bit more productive, lifting weights I had in my home, though my sluggishness and my urge for productivity has gotten rusty.

Time passed and the cycle of doing similar things over and over again became a bit repetitive, though it was satisfying for quite some time, it led to many moments with me having your typical existential crisis. The days changed when I received my gaming laptop. Video games of all sorts, watching streamers, youtubers and whatnot took up my time. Still, the uneventful days passed, eating, working out, taking a shower, class, the routine of being stuck at home with no deviation on my routines continued to occur. 

One day though, a sudden shift in my thought process happened, I was done with my current lifestyle. Missing my old friends, I started messaging the people I used to hang out with, those I stopped talking to for a long time due to certain conflicts and issues that occurred between us. I started reconnecting with people I used to be friends with, hanging out with them, eating out, leaving, though ECQ now currently prevents that. I also started taking up a multitude of hobbies, including riding my motorcycle, reading, cooking, re-studying Chinese and whatnot.

Finally getting my first motorcycle, I drove around town. City to city, together with my friends, we went to far away places like Antipolo and Bulacan, checking out Nike shops, having food trips. They introduced me to new people, hung out with me in their homes, drinking out, having heart to heart talks, even having that special connection with some others, they were magical moments. Though the world has shifted from an open society to one with closed doors, my goals are still the same, though now I’m even more motivated to reach towards them. COVID-19 might be a huge obstacle, but day by day, my motivation to take that leap grows bigger; with one more year before graduation, our dreams have never been closer than before.

@bertongbigtime

[extremelymanlyman]

Social Listening

@bertongbigtime

Ang, Rafael B.

Disclaimer: This is for a class discussion.

Becoming the new faces of entertainment especially towards our youth, creating content that caters to the masses, welcoming themselves into the world of modern entertainment, Filipino Youtubers have boomed since the past year, especially the ones focused on DIY. These Filipino DIY channels are overflowing with creativity, providing artistic and unique ideas to the masses watching their videos, from interesting lamp designs made from spoons, to the creation of speakers from scratch using wood, they bring in more color into the world of entertainment. Some of the most notable names whose content I found interesting is Mozekyto, who focuses on creating and crafting dolls from and designing them from scratch and Techbuilder, who builds jaw-dropping creations such as the BB8 droid from Star Wars or a smartphone film scanner, an alcohol dispense, there are also other notable creators such as Kixkillradio Miniatures and Brains techKnowlogy.

Filipinos nowadays are more than excited to practice their creativity, and learn new things, formulating new concepts from smaller ideas, and showcasing their talents and skills to a wide audience. This pandemic, we are all holed up in our homes, grasping through straws searching for an ounce of entertainment and productivity in our lives, and with these Filipino DIY channels, we can create works that shine upon the masses, inviting even foreigners to see the creations of our fellows. It shows that we Filipinos thrive from creativity, we seek for it, wish for it and desire it in our daily lives, we see others create and craft amazing creations and grow fond of it, allowing us to see the a different side of Filipino culture, not just our regular old drama or comedy entertainment.

[extremelymanlyman]

Spotify

@bertongbigtime 

Ang, Rafael B.

Disclaimer: This is for a class discussion.

A Podcast is one of the most tuned into content that has attracted the likes of not only the current youth, but even older generations, sharing their thoughts and understandings of what the current trends are, providing the people with interesting and thought-provoking info. Journalist Tarra Quismodo’s pilot episode of her newest podcast was an interesting listen. It focused mostly on the trend of scammers from other countries catfishing innocent young females, pretending they were some caucasian, middle-aged, single dads from America or Europe then scamming these women of their money. The episode was a 27 minute listen, starting from her introducing her show, to giving us info about these heartbreak scams, then ending with her talking about her radio show and how to tune into her podcasts. Stated by Miss Quismodo, love scams are one of the most infamous scams focusing on people mostly from Africa preying upon young women, earning their trust and siphoning money from them.

Listening to her podcast, I found it formidable how she never let a single moment go by with any dead air. She started by discussing what love scams are and how vulnerable we can be, spoke about the identities of these scammers, the lies they speak, the things we must take note and lastly what we must do to avoid being victimized by these scammers. With an interesting topic in hand and with her being able to provide both entertainment and information to the listeners without difficulty, the show would undoubtedly sell to the common people. Podcasts are one of the most trending content to be consumed today, and allowing it to be played in Spotify, one the most popular music and podcast playing platform, people all over the world would be able to eye her content and be provided with the entertainment they wished for. With more than 201,000,000 dollars scammed from victims reported in the US, love scams are truly a menace to society, and with her speaking relevant info and providing the audience with sufficient advice, her show would definitely become a hit.

[extremelymanlyman]

Why go Digital?

@bertongbigtime Ang, Rafael B.

Disclaimer: This is for a class discussion.

Digital publishing is extremely necessary especially in our current times where most of us are locked in our rooms, staying safe from the COVID-19 virus. Not only is the number of print publications decreasing from the closing of businesses and the new strict health and safety protocols, the number of people seeking information and entertainment through the internet has grown vastly as most people are focused on living happily in their homes. In the article written by Nick Martin, it’s been studied that over half of the people in the world have access to the internet, compare this to the complaints of many ordering their publications overseas stating that 63% of these costumers believe that shipping costs and delays is the least favorite aspect of online shopping, the mode of delivery is not as convenient as the way they receive digital entertainment. Add this to the fact that digital publishing is way less costly than traditional publishing without the need to print and distribute it through regular means and how easy it is to share it across social media which is estimated to approximately have more than 2.56 billion users in 2017, digitally published works is more accessible and cost-efficient than the traditional way.

Making bank through digitally published works is easier too compared to printed works, as advertisements can be a per click basis with every reader visiting the site, it’ll also allow the segmentation of audiences and the selection of advertisements for each segment, such as advertising and catering to youths, to young adults, to elders, compared to just developing a print paper that can not be altered once distributed. With a digital ecosystem, the industry will have numerous varying content that can be consumed by those who seek whichever they are looking for. If one wishes to look for news about the state of their country, they can choose to visit these sites, if one wishes to look for interesting articles about food, they can choose to visit other sites, without the need to select and order any publication that interests them, consuming content has been made more easier than ever. From my perspective the digital age will move forward no matter what any man believes, and it’s a step in the right direction, as traditional works are more difficult to produce, maintain and distribute compared to digital works. It also allows the common man to create their own form of digital works and share these online, providing an environment of expression for those who seek for it. As a writer aspiring to be a content creator, the age of digital publishing inspires me to share my own works and creations and can possibly benefit anyone else who wishes to write works of their own to enter the writing industry.