The Top 50 Sites
1. Flickr
2. California Coastline
3. Delicious
4. Metafilter
5. popurls
6. Twitter
7. Skype
8. Boing Boing
9. Academic Earth
10. OpenTable
11. Google
12. YouTube
13. Wolfram|Alpha
14. Hulu
15. Vimeo
16. Fora TV
17. Craiglook
18. Shop Goodwill
19. Amazon
20. Kayak
21. Netflix
22. Etsy
23. PropertyShark.com
24. Redfin
25. Wikipedia
26. Internet Archive
27. Kiva
28. Consumer Search
29. Metacritic
30. Pollster
31. Facebook
32. Pandora and Last.fm
33. Musicovery
34. Spotify
35. Supercook
36. Yelp
37. Visuwords
38. CouchSurfing
39. BabyNameWizard.com's NameVoyager
40. Mint
41. TripIt
42. Aardvark
43. drop.io
44. Issuu
45. Photosynth
46. OMGPOP
47. WorldWideTelescope
48. Fonolo
49. Get High Now
50. Know Your Meme
I suggest you read the actual article from Time to get a nice summary of each of the sites.
Monday, November 30, 2009
In Business, Early Birds Twitter Most Effectively
Companies can work wonders before Twitter's vast interactive audience of consumers, but it's best to start slowly and build credibility
By Shel Israel
Like so many others, Lionel Menchaca, Dell Computer's chief blogger, thought Twitter was "fairly worthless for business" when he first looked at it in March 2007, but trying new social media tools was part of his job. Menchaca opened an account and started posting links whenever he posted on Direct2Dell, the company's oft-praised corporate blog, where he serves as principal author.
The results exceeded his expectations. When he posted a link on Twitter, people clicked on the URL in minutes. They commented often—and at Twitter, rather than on the blog. They were the first viewers to spread word of his new blog posts. Twitter moved fast and sent his words further than any medium he had previously encountered.
But that turned out to be less than half the story. Listening to others turned out to be even more valuable than distributing what he wrote. Menchaca discovered that by using the Twitter Search feature, he could monitor and sometimes join conversations about PCs. "Tweeters," as they call themselves, regularly posted links to relevant content he might otherwise have missed.
Menchaca's experience is far from unique. Businesses, ranging from the largest multinationals to home-office practitioners, often come for one reason and are surprised to find greater value in some other aspect they hadn't considered. The surprise plus can bring help in marketing, sales, recruiting, feedback, support, sales or just getting closer to geographically scattered networks (as has been the case with IBM.)
Business uses for Twitter are proving to be as diverse as those for the telephone or e-mail. They generally break into two categories: ways to follow customers and ways to increase efficiency.
Recruit clients and soothe consumers
Companies are joining Twitter for the same reason politicians attend the funerals of famous people: It's where they can find their constituents and hold close, informal conversations with them. For example, CrowdSPRING, a tiny Chicago-based startup, uses Twitter to find buyers and sellers for its online professional graphics marketplace. (Business buyers declare what they want to see in a new logo or website and then, on average, 70 designers bid on each project.)
Conversations start in Twitter and then spread beyond the platform's seamless boundaries, rapidly reaching customers, vendors, recruits, and partners in a wide variety of markets. You can find potential customers on Twitter and perhaps snag a sale. You can also find conversations with consumers who are unhappy with your products and assuage them quickly and publicly.
Twitter may owe its blastoff to the dive the economy took. Microblogging became a much-discusssed option just as businesses began axing marketing, advertising, and public relations budgets and reducing their participation at conferences and social networking events. Because of those cuts, companies understood they still needed to reach out to customers. Twitter turned out to be a less-expensive and more efficient way to achieve this.
Twitter works well with other social media platforms, such as blogs, video, and audio podcasts, creating a whole new kind of interactive integrated communications solution. It is proving not just faster and cheaper—but more credible. Surveys consistently report that people tend to trust their Twitter friends more than formulated company messages. Users increasingly rely on one another for tips on what to buy, watch, read, or listen to.
While Twitter shares similarities with phones and e-mail, there's a major difference: It works best in public. Anyone can see real people in a company trying hard to help.
Avoid one-way, targeted marketing
Comcast, North America's largest cable carrier, has a 10-member Twitter support team. Tens of thousands of tweeters witness employees trying—with customary success—to help customers. Conversely, consumers do not witness call-center conversations and the greatest failures among those interactions tend to make the most noise in the marketplace. Surveys show measurable improvements in Comcast's customer satisfaction ratings since the company began using Twitter for customer service.
Of course, Twitter is no elixir. Companies who try to use the tool as yet another marketing arrow in their quiver—one that mostly carries targeted, one-way messages—usually fail.
While Twitter has had remarkable results in times of crisis, companies that jump in just when an emergency is breaking have joined too late. Their customers don't know they are there. It takes time to establish your credibility in Twitterville and you need to understand how it works before that credibility gets tested.
It also takes time to understand how this deceptively simple-looking tool works. Nearly everyone I interviewed in my recent book mentioned how confused and disoriented they once felt. According to Twitter founder-CEO Ev Williams: "People are pretty much clueless when they first try Twitter."
A smart business will start early. Nearly every company cited in the accompanying slide show stumbled and fumbled for a while before they discovered how Twitter could help business in many ways.
Shel Israel is author of TWITTERVILLE: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods (Portfolio 2009).
See the original article here.
By Shel Israel
Like so many others, Lionel Menchaca, Dell Computer's chief blogger, thought Twitter was "fairly worthless for business" when he first looked at it in March 2007, but trying new social media tools was part of his job. Menchaca opened an account and started posting links whenever he posted on Direct2Dell, the company's oft-praised corporate blog, where he serves as principal author.
The results exceeded his expectations. When he posted a link on Twitter, people clicked on the URL in minutes. They commented often—and at Twitter, rather than on the blog. They were the first viewers to spread word of his new blog posts. Twitter moved fast and sent his words further than any medium he had previously encountered.
But that turned out to be less than half the story. Listening to others turned out to be even more valuable than distributing what he wrote. Menchaca discovered that by using the Twitter Search feature, he could monitor and sometimes join conversations about PCs. "Tweeters," as they call themselves, regularly posted links to relevant content he might otherwise have missed.
Menchaca's experience is far from unique. Businesses, ranging from the largest multinationals to home-office practitioners, often come for one reason and are surprised to find greater value in some other aspect they hadn't considered. The surprise plus can bring help in marketing, sales, recruiting, feedback, support, sales or just getting closer to geographically scattered networks (as has been the case with IBM.)
Business uses for Twitter are proving to be as diverse as those for the telephone or e-mail. They generally break into two categories: ways to follow customers and ways to increase efficiency.
Recruit clients and soothe consumers
Companies are joining Twitter for the same reason politicians attend the funerals of famous people: It's where they can find their constituents and hold close, informal conversations with them. For example, CrowdSPRING, a tiny Chicago-based startup, uses Twitter to find buyers and sellers for its online professional graphics marketplace. (Business buyers declare what they want to see in a new logo or website and then, on average, 70 designers bid on each project.)
Conversations start in Twitter and then spread beyond the platform's seamless boundaries, rapidly reaching customers, vendors, recruits, and partners in a wide variety of markets. You can find potential customers on Twitter and perhaps snag a sale. You can also find conversations with consumers who are unhappy with your products and assuage them quickly and publicly.
Twitter may owe its blastoff to the dive the economy took. Microblogging became a much-discusssed option just as businesses began axing marketing, advertising, and public relations budgets and reducing their participation at conferences and social networking events. Because of those cuts, companies understood they still needed to reach out to customers. Twitter turned out to be a less-expensive and more efficient way to achieve this.
Twitter works well with other social media platforms, such as blogs, video, and audio podcasts, creating a whole new kind of interactive integrated communications solution. It is proving not just faster and cheaper—but more credible. Surveys consistently report that people tend to trust their Twitter friends more than formulated company messages. Users increasingly rely on one another for tips on what to buy, watch, read, or listen to.
While Twitter shares similarities with phones and e-mail, there's a major difference: It works best in public. Anyone can see real people in a company trying hard to help.
Avoid one-way, targeted marketing
Comcast, North America's largest cable carrier, has a 10-member Twitter support team. Tens of thousands of tweeters witness employees trying—with customary success—to help customers. Conversely, consumers do not witness call-center conversations and the greatest failures among those interactions tend to make the most noise in the marketplace. Surveys show measurable improvements in Comcast's customer satisfaction ratings since the company began using Twitter for customer service.
Of course, Twitter is no elixir. Companies who try to use the tool as yet another marketing arrow in their quiver—one that mostly carries targeted, one-way messages—usually fail.
While Twitter has had remarkable results in times of crisis, companies that jump in just when an emergency is breaking have joined too late. Their customers don't know they are there. It takes time to establish your credibility in Twitterville and you need to understand how it works before that credibility gets tested.
It also takes time to understand how this deceptively simple-looking tool works. Nearly everyone I interviewed in my recent book mentioned how confused and disoriented they once felt. According to Twitter founder-CEO Ev Williams: "People are pretty much clueless when they first try Twitter."
A smart business will start early. Nearly every company cited in the accompanying slide show stumbled and fumbled for a while before they discovered how Twitter could help business in many ways.
Shel Israel is author of TWITTERVILLE: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods (Portfolio 2009).
See the original article here.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Software for Writers
For those hardcore writers and writer wanna be's here's a software which they say may be helpful to you. I guess it sets the mood for you when you write on your laptop or PC. Unfortunately they only have it for Mac right now. Check out their site for more information. They call it the Ommwriter...I guess it puts you on a meditative state thus the 'ommmmmmm'
If you use it I guess you have to cut and paste it to your blog though.
If you use it I guess you have to cut and paste it to your blog though.
Imagine Leadership
Here's a good presentation that will inspire you to lead. We can change the world in our own small way ...slowly changing it in a big way. It's time to lead.
10 Big Marketing Predictions for 2010
If you want to see the whole article now simply click: The Rise to the Top.
1. Big Brands Will Learn From Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Niche Brands.
2. Digital Schmoozing: Networking Online
3. Death Of The One-Way Website
4. Content Marketing: Brands As Media Sources And Publishers
5. Online Video: Forget Viral Focus On Function
6. Death Of The 30-Second Ad: Rise Of Creative Paid Content
7. Reputation Marketing: Customer Service And Caring
8. Event Marketing
9. Social Media: No Longer A Buzzword In Marketing
10. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships
To preview the whole article click here.
I think this is very relevant here in the Philippine context as Rogue Digital has actually implemented some campaigns based on what has been mentioned in the article. Big name clients has opted for more efficient pay-per-click (PPC) campiagns versus traditional print advertising and they were very happy with the results. As such, we have actually implemented several PPC campaigns and they have proven a good draw for potential clients.
My current favorite case study for event and relationship marketing is our Century Corned Tuna event where our bloggers really enjoyed the event and gave rave reviews on their blogs. We are thinking of other events to make the experience more enjoyable for the bloggers and readers alike.
We have also started doing Social Media Marketing and in fact we have been looking and observing at how other local Philippine companies are utilizing the social media networks. SmartCares Twitter account is another favorite of mine since they really answer you rants on Twitter. As a customer I felt assured that someone over there was doing something about my complaint - which was actually not thier fault (I loaded the wrong account).
1. Big Brands Will Learn From Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Niche Brands.
2. Digital Schmoozing: Networking Online
3. Death Of The One-Way Website
4. Content Marketing: Brands As Media Sources And Publishers
5. Online Video: Forget Viral Focus On Function
6. Death Of The 30-Second Ad: Rise Of Creative Paid Content
7. Reputation Marketing: Customer Service And Caring
8. Event Marketing
9. Social Media: No Longer A Buzzword In Marketing
10. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships
To preview the whole article click here.
I think this is very relevant here in the Philippine context as Rogue Digital has actually implemented some campaigns based on what has been mentioned in the article. Big name clients has opted for more efficient pay-per-click (PPC) campiagns versus traditional print advertising and they were very happy with the results. As such, we have actually implemented several PPC campaigns and they have proven a good draw for potential clients.
My current favorite case study for event and relationship marketing is our Century Corned Tuna event where our bloggers really enjoyed the event and gave rave reviews on their blogs. We are thinking of other events to make the experience more enjoyable for the bloggers and readers alike.
We have also started doing Social Media Marketing and in fact we have been looking and observing at how other local Philippine companies are utilizing the social media networks. SmartCares Twitter account is another favorite of mine since they really answer you rants on Twitter. As a customer I felt assured that someone over there was doing something about my complaint - which was actually not thier fault (I loaded the wrong account).
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Real Business Geniuses Don't Pretend To Know Everything
I got this article from Harvard Business Publishing written by Bill Taylor.
The Economist owes much of its popularity to its knack for challenging conventional wisdom. In a recent column, it applied its contrarian mindset to the question of what kinds of leaders make the best CEOs, making the case that what the world needs now are more "raging egomaniacs" and "tightly wound empire-builders" rather than the "faceless" and "anonymous" bosses running so many companies today — "bland and boring men and women who can hardly get themselves noticed at cocktail parties."
The crux of The Economist's argument relies on what's known as the Great Man Theory of History. After trumpeting the virtues of business geniuses such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Lou Gerstner, and Jack Welch, it then generalizes from this handful of larger-than-life moguls: "The best ambassadors for business are the outsize figures who have changed the world and who feel no need to apologise for themselves or their calling."
It's an intriguing essay and a good read. It's also a false choice — and a bad reading of history. For one thing, when it comes to larger-than-life CEOs, I can name as many scoundrels and failures as I can geniuses and world-changers. There's a reason Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind titled their bestseller on the Enron disaster The Smartest Guys in the Room, and it goes beyond the criminality those deeply flawed executives displayed. That familiar phrase captures the mindset too many of us expect even our most honest leaders to display — the assumption that being "in charge" means having all the answers. In simpler times, fierce personal confidence, a sense of infallibility as a leader, might have been be a calling card of success. Today it is a warning sign of failure, whether from bad judgment, low morale among disillusioned colleagues, or sheer burnout from the pressures of always having to be right.
That's not a case (and here's the false choice) for aiming low or being dull. The best executives I've met understand that there is a vast difference between advancing big, exciting, important goals — aspiring to change the game in your field — and assuming that you know best how to achieve those goals. Sure, great leaders champion new ideas and disruptive points of view — they have vision. But that doesn't mean they have to see the future on their own.
Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you have to have all the answers. Real business geniuses don't pretend they know everything.
To be sure, it's easier to divide leaders into either-or categories: risk-takers vs. bureaucrats, those with ambition vs. those with humility. Fortune just named Steve Jobs its CEO of the Decade — and while it's hard to argue with the choice, it's even harder to reproduce his talents. The problem with trumpeting the virtues of one-of-a-kind geniuses like Steve Jobs is that — duh — there is only one of them! Memo to The Economist: It's not a good idea to urge CEOs to emulate leaders whose success is, almost by definition, impossible to copy.
Keith Sawyer, a creativity guru at Washington University in St. Louis, has literally written the book on where good ideas come from. In Group Genius, he explains how few leaders are prepared to recognize the messy and hard-to-manage truth about the real logic of business success. Many (perhaps most) executives subscribe to what Sawyer calls script-think — "the tendency to think that events are more predictable than they really are." In fact, he says, "Innovation emerges from the bottom up, unpredictably and improvisationally, and it's often only after the innovation has occurred that everyone realizes what's happened. The paradox is that innovation can't be planned, it can't be predicted; it has to be allowed to emerge."
Harriet Rubin, one of the great innovators in business-book publishing, and an accomplished author in her own right, uses different language to make a similar point about leadership and innovation. "Freedom is actually a bigger game than power," she reminds executives who are eager to make their mark in the world. "Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash."
The most effective leaders no longer want the job of solving their organization's biggest problems or identifying its best opportunities on their own. Instead, they recognize that the most powerful ideas can come from the most unexpected places: the quiet genius buried deep inside the organization, the collective genius that surrounds the organization, the hidden genius of customers, suppliers, and other constituencies who would be eager to share what they know if only they were asked. For companies, and the CEOs at their helms, those are the smartest (and most sustainable) sources of greatness.
The Economist owes much of its popularity to its knack for challenging conventional wisdom. In a recent column, it applied its contrarian mindset to the question of what kinds of leaders make the best CEOs, making the case that what the world needs now are more "raging egomaniacs" and "tightly wound empire-builders" rather than the "faceless" and "anonymous" bosses running so many companies today — "bland and boring men and women who can hardly get themselves noticed at cocktail parties."
The crux of The Economist's argument relies on what's known as the Great Man Theory of History. After trumpeting the virtues of business geniuses such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Lou Gerstner, and Jack Welch, it then generalizes from this handful of larger-than-life moguls: "The best ambassadors for business are the outsize figures who have changed the world and who feel no need to apologise for themselves or their calling."
It's an intriguing essay and a good read. It's also a false choice — and a bad reading of history. For one thing, when it comes to larger-than-life CEOs, I can name as many scoundrels and failures as I can geniuses and world-changers. There's a reason Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind titled their bestseller on the Enron disaster The Smartest Guys in the Room, and it goes beyond the criminality those deeply flawed executives displayed. That familiar phrase captures the mindset too many of us expect even our most honest leaders to display — the assumption that being "in charge" means having all the answers. In simpler times, fierce personal confidence, a sense of infallibility as a leader, might have been be a calling card of success. Today it is a warning sign of failure, whether from bad judgment, low morale among disillusioned colleagues, or sheer burnout from the pressures of always having to be right.
That's not a case (and here's the false choice) for aiming low or being dull. The best executives I've met understand that there is a vast difference between advancing big, exciting, important goals — aspiring to change the game in your field — and assuming that you know best how to achieve those goals. Sure, great leaders champion new ideas and disruptive points of view — they have vision. But that doesn't mean they have to see the future on their own.
Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you have to have all the answers. Real business geniuses don't pretend they know everything.
To be sure, it's easier to divide leaders into either-or categories: risk-takers vs. bureaucrats, those with ambition vs. those with humility. Fortune just named Steve Jobs its CEO of the Decade — and while it's hard to argue with the choice, it's even harder to reproduce his talents. The problem with trumpeting the virtues of one-of-a-kind geniuses like Steve Jobs is that — duh — there is only one of them! Memo to The Economist: It's not a good idea to urge CEOs to emulate leaders whose success is, almost by definition, impossible to copy.
Keith Sawyer, a creativity guru at Washington University in St. Louis, has literally written the book on where good ideas come from. In Group Genius, he explains how few leaders are prepared to recognize the messy and hard-to-manage truth about the real logic of business success. Many (perhaps most) executives subscribe to what Sawyer calls script-think — "the tendency to think that events are more predictable than they really are." In fact, he says, "Innovation emerges from the bottom up, unpredictably and improvisationally, and it's often only after the innovation has occurred that everyone realizes what's happened. The paradox is that innovation can't be planned, it can't be predicted; it has to be allowed to emerge."
Harriet Rubin, one of the great innovators in business-book publishing, and an accomplished author in her own right, uses different language to make a similar point about leadership and innovation. "Freedom is actually a bigger game than power," she reminds executives who are eager to make their mark in the world. "Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash."
The most effective leaders no longer want the job of solving their organization's biggest problems or identifying its best opportunities on their own. Instead, they recognize that the most powerful ideas can come from the most unexpected places: the quiet genius buried deep inside the organization, the collective genius that surrounds the organization, the hidden genius of customers, suppliers, and other constituencies who would be eager to share what they know if only they were asked. For companies, and the CEOs at their helms, those are the smartest (and most sustainable) sources of greatness.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Branded Mobile Applications
Here's an effective way to use branded mobile applications. The guys behind this campaign used something very practical which consumers can actually use - how to remove different kinds of stains. Well people won't use this everyday but it did give a brand something to do on the mobile phone.
Adverblog: Housekeeping goes social (and mobile)
The challenge now is to create an application which would actually give value to the consumers at the same time relate it to your brand or product.
Adverblog: Housekeeping goes social (and mobile)
The challenge now is to create an application which would actually give value to the consumers at the same time relate it to your brand or product.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Lyceum Cavite
Here's the newest campus of the Lyceum system located at Gen Trias, Cavite. You can't miss this because of it's modern architecture. This easily stands out as one of the best campuses I've seen here in the country.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Manny Pacquiao makes web history?
Manny Pacquiao was in 5 of the 10 hottest terms in Google Trends during his historic fight Miguel Cotto. If people still question the power of the internet and still ask how many Filipinos are online maybe this is proof of that. I think it is safe to assume that it is his fellow Pinoys that are following his fight. I can say that I was one of those trying to get free streaming video of the fight.
Click on the Huffington Post article here.
Click on the Huffington Post article here.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Carbon Economy
"The argument that the dangers of climate change is great and that the world should act strongly and urgently, is or should be, over.
We should now be working on policy and strategic response" - Lord Nicolas Stern, London Business School
We should now be working on policy and strategic response" - Lord Nicolas Stern, London Business School
Did you know 4.0 re-post
I am re-posting this since the window on my first post last month was quite small. Anyway, here's a glimpse on how fast technology changes. I'll post the earlier versions as well...even in with these videos change happens really fast...
Reviewing is the New Advertising | ReveNews
With Web 2.0 word of mouth marketing is really gaining ground and marketers should take notice. This is especially true for high ticket items but the recent corned tuna wars seems to be changing this. There is now this gap between awareness and purchase which marketers should worry about and which they should address. This article tells us about the 'reviews' which they call the new advertising.
Reviewing is the New Advertising | ReveNews
Reviewing is the New Advertising | ReveNews
Saturday, November 14, 2009
It's about time we start that Christmas feeling!
These gurls are really cute they remind me of someone...
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Funny Print Ads from Web Designer Depot
Here's a link to funny print ads...I particularly like the "I am you father" ad...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
An Aunt's advice to his nephew...
A friend of mine wrote this article for a newspaper a few months back. I felt her advice is relevant to all ages and genders looking for love or a partner in life...
About your psychotic girlfriend
By Gang Badoy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 17:51:00 01/23/2009
MY dearest nephew,
You are now a man and have been going through your share of demented relationships while I just silently watch from the sides of the ring.
I wish I had more time with you so I can tell you what I’ve learned about the psychosis of girlfriends, having been one a few times myself. I’m not sure I qualify as psychotic though, as I fight fair more often than not. I do not employ the pouting mouth tactics nor the breathy Marilyn-Monroe-cleavage-state move. I have neither the voice nor the chest to do so.
I’m afraid I have to be brutally frank with you, my boy, as it seems like your Mom will never be able to do this with you because she is your parent. That’s how it goes. As I did not give birth to you, nor do I feel any obligation to society or any Jesuit alma mater to produce “Men for Others,” I will tell it to you straight. You will “fall in love” with someone very wrong at some point in your life. Hopefully it will be a passing fancy and that after a while you will dump that nymphet and proceed to the higher level of woman partners. Always level up, like the video game moguls say. Incidentally, I say, “fall in love” because after much scrutiny you will realize it’s just hormones and availability and proximity talking. Ouch, I know.
A lot like love
Yes, you will always mistake sexual attraction for love because they look a lot alike and you will also mistake love for acquisition or conquest—they release the same serotonin brain squirts and yes, if your Mom or Dad raised you to worry about society and image, you will also mistake being “socially-acceptably-coupled” as love, too. These things are not totally wrong, but none of them are exactly right either. Sexual attraction is great, a feeling of conquest and achievement is good for character, and societal norms are good to follow but they are not the absolute lines we follow when choosing a life partner.
Believe me, habit and the feeling of financial security can look a lot like love, too—so be wary. And be smarter than the rules. Hell, even be smarter than this set of words I’m stringing for you now.
I’m Auntie Gang and I will never want anything bad to happen to you, I assure you. But for your demented girlfriend, I will wish her all ill if she ever does anything sociopathic like embarrass you in public, freak out on your friends, bash your male pride online or emotionally cheat on you by whatever means. (We talked about this before, remember? And there are many ways for a moodswinging egocentric harlot to cheat on you sans sleeping with another man. So again, keep those lenses focused on your sanity—not hers. That’s her parents’ responsibility, not yours.)
Next, don’t ever feel guilty about anything that happened to her in the past. Especially if you weren’t the one who inflicted her pain. She cannot throw those misfortunes at you and emotionally blackmail you into thinking that you ought to be her protector. This also doesn’t mean that you should allow her leeway and give her exemptions from bad behavior because she was once hurt. Well, don’t let her throw that sh* on you. Hurt, my tush, aren’t we all? So, no. That won’t fly. That is not healthy. You don’t want to be there. If I were you, leave her alone, pick a shade and watch her undo herself on her own. It won’t take too long.
Emotional blackmail
If it’s a sturdy partnership you want, something that can possibly produce offsprings that will become pillars of society—Do. Not. Stay. With. Someone. Who. Emotionally. Blackmails. You. Do. Not. Just. Don’t.
Jesus, you’re a smart guy, stay with someone who will not only support you but also expand your universe by having a world of her own to introduce to you. You cannot (and I will not allow your mind to shrink so small) wrap yourself around her world and neither can you make her wrap her world around yours either. You have to have two separate galaxies so when you are together you have two galaxies’ worth of conversation, adventure, learning and laughter. No shrinking allowed.
Do not adjust what you hold important just to keep your sniveling little princess who rebonds her hair like it was federally required.
You’re still aching, I know. You’re still checking your phone if she sent an SMS. If it had a smiling face. If it had your name on it. If it had those squiggly stuff that comes with pressing a bit more on one letter so that the letters look like they’re wearing scarves. Stop. I know. Believe me, I see it. You miss her and God knows no one can make you stop feeling that.
So okay, if you want to see if you can still fix it, if you think that despite her staging psychotic meltdowns for relaxation you want to stay then I shall just equip you with what I have learned about dealing with young romance.
I feel for you, my nephew, because women are not the most direct beings on the planet.
The World’s Mysteries are as follows:
1. Young women
2. Those big rock slabs arranged on Salisbury Plain
3. How Filipino politicians and greedy landlords sleep at night
PhD-level Math problems are easier to understand than some of the things my friends have said to their boyfriends. I know because I’ve done it too.
He: What’s the matter?
Me: Nothing.
When it comes to certain emotionally-charged issues, women prefer to use indirect communication because we can find out a lot more about men with a few misleading statements.
You see, the way a guy reacts to each mysterious thing she says is a test to see if her boyfriend is a mind reader. She wants to know if you can read her mind.
That, to a woman, is the truest measure of love. No, it’s not enough that you remember to leave the toilet seat down. If you could just master the mind-reading thing, you can get away with leaving the seat up forever.
No. I am not betraying my sex by clueing you in on this, I am doing this out of charity. Because the faster you know what your girlfriend means, the faster she gets what she wants. That’s a lot better than waiting for you to figure it out.
She says: “Nothing’s wrong.” (And it’s followed by any or all of the following: silence, tears, the sound of your iPod or a guitar being smashed to pieces, looking away theatrically or the sound of your door locking.)
She means: “Something you did a minute/an hour/three years ago upset me, and if you really loved me you’d know what it was.”
What you should do: Say something like, “Level with me here. Tell me what’s bothering you so we can talk about it and fix it.”
What you should NOT do: Say, “Fine!” just so you can watch TV uninterrupted while she texts another guy friend to pick her up from your place.
When she says: “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
She means: “Sit down, have a beer, read ‘Noli Me Tangere’ if you like...”
What you should do: Look for the TV remote, you’re not going anywhere for at least an hour.
This is all I have for now. Tell me if you want more. If not, just break up with her. Lots of fish out there, believe me—and not all are as demented as her. Everybody prunes up when they get older. You might as well be with a nice, funny, stable prune.
Love Always,
Auntie Gang
About your psychotic girlfriend
By Gang Badoy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 17:51:00 01/23/2009
MY dearest nephew,
You are now a man and have been going through your share of demented relationships while I just silently watch from the sides of the ring.
I wish I had more time with you so I can tell you what I’ve learned about the psychosis of girlfriends, having been one a few times myself. I’m not sure I qualify as psychotic though, as I fight fair more often than not. I do not employ the pouting mouth tactics nor the breathy Marilyn-Monroe-cleavage-state move. I have neither the voice nor the chest to do so.
I’m afraid I have to be brutally frank with you, my boy, as it seems like your Mom will never be able to do this with you because she is your parent. That’s how it goes. As I did not give birth to you, nor do I feel any obligation to society or any Jesuit alma mater to produce “Men for Others,” I will tell it to you straight. You will “fall in love” with someone very wrong at some point in your life. Hopefully it will be a passing fancy and that after a while you will dump that nymphet and proceed to the higher level of woman partners. Always level up, like the video game moguls say. Incidentally, I say, “fall in love” because after much scrutiny you will realize it’s just hormones and availability and proximity talking. Ouch, I know.
A lot like love
Yes, you will always mistake sexual attraction for love because they look a lot alike and you will also mistake love for acquisition or conquest—they release the same serotonin brain squirts and yes, if your Mom or Dad raised you to worry about society and image, you will also mistake being “socially-acceptably-coupled” as love, too. These things are not totally wrong, but none of them are exactly right either. Sexual attraction is great, a feeling of conquest and achievement is good for character, and societal norms are good to follow but they are not the absolute lines we follow when choosing a life partner.
Believe me, habit and the feeling of financial security can look a lot like love, too—so be wary. And be smarter than the rules. Hell, even be smarter than this set of words I’m stringing for you now.
I’m Auntie Gang and I will never want anything bad to happen to you, I assure you. But for your demented girlfriend, I will wish her all ill if she ever does anything sociopathic like embarrass you in public, freak out on your friends, bash your male pride online or emotionally cheat on you by whatever means. (We talked about this before, remember? And there are many ways for a moodswinging egocentric harlot to cheat on you sans sleeping with another man. So again, keep those lenses focused on your sanity—not hers. That’s her parents’ responsibility, not yours.)
Next, don’t ever feel guilty about anything that happened to her in the past. Especially if you weren’t the one who inflicted her pain. She cannot throw those misfortunes at you and emotionally blackmail you into thinking that you ought to be her protector. This also doesn’t mean that you should allow her leeway and give her exemptions from bad behavior because she was once hurt. Well, don’t let her throw that sh* on you. Hurt, my tush, aren’t we all? So, no. That won’t fly. That is not healthy. You don’t want to be there. If I were you, leave her alone, pick a shade and watch her undo herself on her own. It won’t take too long.
Emotional blackmail
If it’s a sturdy partnership you want, something that can possibly produce offsprings that will become pillars of society—Do. Not. Stay. With. Someone. Who. Emotionally. Blackmails. You. Do. Not. Just. Don’t.
Jesus, you’re a smart guy, stay with someone who will not only support you but also expand your universe by having a world of her own to introduce to you. You cannot (and I will not allow your mind to shrink so small) wrap yourself around her world and neither can you make her wrap her world around yours either. You have to have two separate galaxies so when you are together you have two galaxies’ worth of conversation, adventure, learning and laughter. No shrinking allowed.
Do not adjust what you hold important just to keep your sniveling little princess who rebonds her hair like it was federally required.
You’re still aching, I know. You’re still checking your phone if she sent an SMS. If it had a smiling face. If it had your name on it. If it had those squiggly stuff that comes with pressing a bit more on one letter so that the letters look like they’re wearing scarves. Stop. I know. Believe me, I see it. You miss her and God knows no one can make you stop feeling that.
So okay, if you want to see if you can still fix it, if you think that despite her staging psychotic meltdowns for relaxation you want to stay then I shall just equip you with what I have learned about dealing with young romance.
I feel for you, my nephew, because women are not the most direct beings on the planet.
The World’s Mysteries are as follows:
1. Young women
2. Those big rock slabs arranged on Salisbury Plain
3. How Filipino politicians and greedy landlords sleep at night
PhD-level Math problems are easier to understand than some of the things my friends have said to their boyfriends. I know because I’ve done it too.
He: What’s the matter?
Me: Nothing.
When it comes to certain emotionally-charged issues, women prefer to use indirect communication because we can find out a lot more about men with a few misleading statements.
You see, the way a guy reacts to each mysterious thing she says is a test to see if her boyfriend is a mind reader. She wants to know if you can read her mind.
That, to a woman, is the truest measure of love. No, it’s not enough that you remember to leave the toilet seat down. If you could just master the mind-reading thing, you can get away with leaving the seat up forever.
No. I am not betraying my sex by clueing you in on this, I am doing this out of charity. Because the faster you know what your girlfriend means, the faster she gets what she wants. That’s a lot better than waiting for you to figure it out.
She says: “Nothing’s wrong.” (And it’s followed by any or all of the following: silence, tears, the sound of your iPod or a guitar being smashed to pieces, looking away theatrically or the sound of your door locking.)
She means: “Something you did a minute/an hour/three years ago upset me, and if you really loved me you’d know what it was.”
What you should do: Say something like, “Level with me here. Tell me what’s bothering you so we can talk about it and fix it.”
What you should NOT do: Say, “Fine!” just so you can watch TV uninterrupted while she texts another guy friend to pick her up from your place.
When she says: “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
She means: “Sit down, have a beer, read ‘Noli Me Tangere’ if you like...”
What you should do: Look for the TV remote, you’re not going anywhere for at least an hour.
This is all I have for now. Tell me if you want more. If not, just break up with her. Lots of fish out there, believe me—and not all are as demented as her. Everybody prunes up when they get older. You might as well be with a nice, funny, stable prune.
Love Always,
Auntie Gang
More of the Century Corned Tuna Blogger Event
The Venue
The ingredients
The hosts JM Rodriguez and Rosebud Benitez (Chef from Quickfire)
The Cook-off!
Games with the other Bloggers who came
Judging ...
The Winners
The Sexy Chefs and Superbods
Thank you to all those who came. We all hope you enjoyed the event.
Just some more pictures to wet your appetite.
It's now time to buy Century Corned Tuna.
The ingredients
The hosts JM Rodriguez and Rosebud Benitez (Chef from Quickfire)
The Cook-off!
Games with the other Bloggers who came
Judging ...
The Winners
The Sexy Chefs and Superbods
Thank you to all those who came. We all hope you enjoyed the event.
Just some more pictures to wet your appetite.
It's now time to buy Century Corned Tuna.
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