What’s up my sleeve?
I have mentioned several times lately that some big changes are in store for this blog. Actually, when my plans are complete you won’t even be able to call the site a blog anymore! That’s right, we will be changing to a “Web Magazine for Ex-Pats in the Philippines, and those who want to be,” or something like that. I’m still ironing out details, honestly. So, what is the difference between a blog and a web magazine? Well, lets have a look at that.
Yes, the site will still revolve around blogs. Oops. Did I say blogS? Yes, I did. Instead of the site being a blog, I will be changing it to a site that houses multiple blogs. Right now, we have a single blog with many different authors all writing on that blog. What I envision coming is having multiple blogs, which will result in each author having his own blog. Let’s fact it, each of us writing has a little different outlook, and I am sure that each reader has his (or her) own favorites among the authors, so it will be easier to more closely follow your favorite author, but still easy to follow each of the other authors too. To accomplish this, the home page of the Magazine site will be a single page that ties all of the different blogs together. When you go to the “Home Page” you will see information from each of the authors, and other information too. Then, let’s say you want to follow AmericanLola, you can click over to her blog, etc.
In addition to each author having their own blog here, there are some other aspects of the Web Magazine that I am envisioning:
1. A Video Blog, or Vlog. Each author can post on the Vlog with videos from the Philippines. These could be their own videos or videos from around the net (You Tube and such) that they feel would fit in with the Magazine theme. It could be as little as one new video per week, or it could be a new video each day. That is something we will just have to see. An example of what a personal video might be would be if I took my camcorder and went to town and documented a jeepney ride, or if I went out in the Province and rode a carabao, that could be put on video and shared with the group. Maybe something serious, maybe something silly. It will vary!
2. Photo Gallery. I am envisioning a Photo Gallery where each person (author or even readers) could have their own Photo Album where they can share pictures with the group! For example, if one of the readers comes for a vacation in the Philippines, they could put up some photos from their trip for the rest of the community to enjoy.
3. Job Board. One of my favorite Bloggers that I follow is Darren Rowse, and Australian who is known as the “ProBlogger.” For the past year (maybe more), Darren has had a place on his site where Job offerings are advertised for Blogging Jobs. There is also an area where people can post for jobs that they are looking for. I think that this would be kind of a natural here on the Live In The Philippines Blog. Any jobs that are available for Ex-Pats could be advertised on the site. One of the most frequent e-mails I get is “what kind of job can I find there.” Well, there are not too many jobs for Ex-Pats, but if we could get a roundup of them here, that might be a great resource. Right now, the biggest challenge that I face on this item is being able to find the jobs to list! But, I am thinking about it, and I really want to do this, so I’ll probably figure out a way to get it going!
4. Forum. We’ve been talking about doing a forum in connection with the comments discussion lately. There is so much topic drift in the comments that I think a forum would be a natural here. I am not 100% decided on this, but I feel that it is something that will probably happen.
So, as you can see, we have a lot of work ahead. It is something I’ve been kicking around in my mind for a couple of months now, and we have just gotten down to serious work on the site. It may take a couple weeks, or maybe more. Maybe it will be a couple of months before everything is in place and we settle down in our new “virtual home.” But, it is something that WILL happen!
The main reason that I am posting this is because I want to hear about what the community thinks. Are there other features that you want to see? Do you see something I listed above that you think we should not have? I want to hear your comments! Let me know what you think.
Here goes the comment drift again LoL.
@==>>Bob:, Sorry but your facts on dual citizenship are wrong. US citizens can hold any number of other citizenships and renouncing US citizenship to accept another country’s citizenship is not recognized by the US … It is actually quite difficult to reniunce your US citzenship and make it “stick” except for some uncommon or illegal actions. I dicuss this (with references) in many of my PhilFAQS articles. The conept of no dual-citizenship for US citizens is based on laws about 30/40 years ago which Congress has since changed.
@==>> Teng: perish the thought. The last thing I (or any other expat (in my opinion of course) should be doing is getting involved in Filipino politics. If I wnated to deal with that mess I could have stayed in the US. Besides, I have a great many rights already due to my wife;s Filipino citizenship and the Philippine Family Code … and I don’t have to pay taxes on income from outside the Philippines … it’s the best of both worlds.
@===>> The Google comments:
Google Earth is a very fascinating tool but it requires download of an application to each user’s machine and along with it a lot of data. impractical for a normal wbesute or dial-up users.
Google _Maps_ however uses the imagery from Google Earth and is completely web based. Anyone can go to Google Maps (maps.google.com) and make personal maps, adding place marks (with data, or photos, etc. linked to each place mark, lines, shapes and so on. Then with one simple URL you can either email the map or simply “drop” the link in a blog. Google stores the map and serves the map so disk space, bandwidth, etc. are not an issue. See:
http://philfaqs.com/things-to-do/things-to-do-go-to-the-mall/
for an example and feel free to contact me off list if anyone wants more info/help on this.
Hi Bob,
Follow-up question related to post #44.
If ever there is political instability in the Philippines, (just a hypothetical question), can the US order American expats to go back to the USA even if they’re considered “Philippine permanent residents” and even if married to Filipino spouses?
Can you be ordered to go home? And what happens if someone’s spouse does not have a green card or is not a naturalized US citizen?
Hi Angie – The United States is a free country, in other words all Citizens of the United States are free. As long as we don’t break any laws while in the USA, the country cannot “order us” to do anything. I do not believe there are any circumstances where the USA can force me to go back there again.
Hi Dave Starr – OK… I knew that the dual citizenship question would spark some major debate. I stand corrected on my statement, although I say that I am still correct. The reason? The USA does not officially recognize dual citizenship, but they also do not go after those who have dual citizenship either. However, the key here is that the Philippine law specifically says that the only way you can obtain Philippine Citizenship is by giving up your former citizenship. Here is a quote from a Philippine Government website:
“If you’re not a former natural born Filipino, and want to obtain Philippine citizenship, you will be required to give up your original citizenship. Naturalization is possible after 10 years (5 years if married to a Filipino) of legal residence in the Philippines. In either case, the process is costly and takes considerable time, and it is probably best to consult a lawyer specialized in this field before getting into the process.”
Hi Zois – I’ll do the best I can with the search capability. Thanks for your suggestion.
Hi Dave—ROI Guy,
Your comment is highly appreciated. I think you’re right knowing the dirty things about politics in the Philippines. I only hope that the present goverment would come up with more investment protection for Expats who would like to settle down or invest in the Philippines.
The US _does_ recognize dual nationality Bob, it’s been tested a number of times in the US supreme court … again, your information is 30 years behind the times. In the US State department’s own words: “The Department has a uniform administrative standard of evidence based on the premise that U.S. citizens intend to retain United States citizenship when they obtain naturalization in a foreign state, subscribe to routine declarations of allegiance to a foreign state, or accept non-policy level employment with a foreign government.”
I’ve alreadyposted quite a few offical references on this … if the US citizen does _not_ intend to permanently renouce his US citizenship the act of voluntarily aqyiring another citizenship is not precluded. Also, no US citizen may voluntarily renounce US citizenship, as far as the US is concerned, excpet in person in front of a US consular officer in a US emabassy or conbsulate.
I probably will never go for it myself but it’s not rigt to perpetuate the myth that a US citizen will lose his/her US citizenship by acquiring another … that used to be the case and has been clearly overcome by events.
It;s worth noting that a number of other devloped countries _do_ strictly limit “dual nationality”. Germany for one only allows dual citizenship under very limited circumstances, likewise, Japan. Sweden changed their law similar to the US in 2001 … before that they strictly prohibited an adult acquiring another nationality. But the US, Canada, UK and Australia to name a few “big names” allow it.
A number of interesting court cases here for those interested:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/cases.html