Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

Social Networking, Philippine Style

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Web 2.0.  Do you know what that is?  Ever heard the saying before?  Well, basically Web 2.0 is the second incarnation of the World Wide Web.  Most people would agree that Web 1.0 (although that term is rarely used) would be from the mid-90’s through 2000 or so, when the tech stocks took a big plunge.  A few years later, Web 2.0 was born, and continues to this day.  One of the foundations of Web 2.0 these days is Social Networking.

There are lots of Social Networking sites:  Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and dozens of other Social Networking sites are ruling the Web these days and attracting millions of users.

Here in the Philippines, though, these famous Social Networking sites are not the kings of the web.  The site that draws in thousands… no millions of Filipinos is Friendster.  In earlier years, Friendster was used by people all over the world, but these days, Friendster is dominated by Filipinos, and some other countries in Asia.

For me, to be honest, I am not much into Social Networking.  I have accounts on a few Social Networking sites, but don’t get too involved with them.  I do stay somewhat active in Frienster, though, because most people who follow my various websites and blogs are Friendster users, so I feel that keeping at least a bit active on Friendster is advantageous for me.

I even have a “Fan Club” on Frienster, which is called “Friends of Mindanao Bob.”  It is not too active, but I do make some announcements there, and I encourage you to join the group, if you wish to follow my various activities living here in the Philippines.

How about you?  Do you have Friendster?  If you have some connection to the Philippines (and if you read my site, you obviously do!), you really should have Frienster to learn more about, and make more friends in the Philippines.  You certainly can meet lots of Filipinos on Friendster, no doubt on that!

Want to be my friend on Friendster?  If so, go to my profile, and invite me to be your friend.  If you want to join my Fan Club, go have a look!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi Bob, Yes indeed, Friendster is very big in the Filipino community here in the UK and worldwide too. I don't actually know ANY filipino's in the UK who don't use friendster, and most who have internet access in the rp seem to use it too. In fact, via my better half's friendster account, I have re-made contact with varios filipino's who worked for me in the Middle East and who are now in various parts of the world as well as the philippines too of course.

    It's a great site, and I recommend it to all!

  2. Maayong Buntag Bob
    I have not tried friendster yet but my wife is addicted to friendster. My wife will meet people that have known her in the Philippines all the time 😀 . I had to hook up a wireless network in the house so she could stay connected to friendster all over the house with her laptop 😉 . Friendster has been a big help for my wife especially in the cold winters.

  3. Hi Jim Hannah – Yes, it's really something how many Filipinos use Friendster! Sometimes I think that even people who don't use the Internet have a Friendster account! 😆

  6. Hi brian – that is sort of where I am too. I don't get too deeply involved in the networking, but just maintain Friendster because it is so popular here.

  7. Hi
    I'm trying to find a small air carrier that goes from Davao to Dipalog. Cebu Pacific has no direct flights I would have to go to Manila and back down. I suspect if there is a direct flight it might be cheaper than the bus as it goes to Cagayan. Anyone know Of small carriers? Phone # please.

    Thanks

  8. Hi John H – There are no such flights, unless you charter an airplane to take you, but that would not be cost effective. If you are going over land, there are basically two routes – through Cagayan de Oro, or through Cotabato and the southern route. I have gone on each route. The southern route would be a lot less safe, so you might want to go ahead with the CdO trip.

  9. Bob
    Looks like we will need to put it off another week My eye surgery I had last week was only partially successful and am having it redone again this afternoon so it will be a week at least till I can travel.

    Are their none to Ozamis either?

  10. Hi John H – The only intra-Mindanao flights that I know of are 3 flights a week between Davao and Zomboanga City.

    Sorry to hear about your eye surgery!

  11. Bob… I use Linked In because it is mostly for business / professionals, and I have used it to generate sales leads and job leads.Friendster, in my opinion, seems to be mostly for dating, swapping photos, etc. On Linked In, there are around 2000 people in the Philippines, mostly expats and managers at companies here.

  12. Hi John Miele – Yep! As I recall, you and I are connected on Linked In, right? I don't use any of the social networking sites as much as I should, I think.

  13. Bob… Right, we are link on there. It is a very "business like" site. The contacts I have made there have proven very useful in my job.

  14. will speaking of friendster i've found my long lost friend but unfortunately she passed away the other day 24september at the age of 36 huhuhu. she's too young to go and she left 3 young kids.

  20. hi bob.. thanks to friendster, it was easier for me to find my high school classmates to call for a small reunion.. even found old classmates i havent seen for so many years..

  23. In the past I have always avoided involvement in any of those social networking websites due to all the controversy that surrounds " some " of them. Soon after I took an interest in websurfing Mindanao I found some active chats on IRC and many times people would ask me if I have " A Friendster " . Not having the slightest idea what that was I did a web search on it and began looking at it. After giving it a lot of consideration I semi-reluctantly set up a page there. I only use it to keep in touch with those in the Philippines who I have made the acquaintance of either on line, in person or both. I have not heard any of the typical controversies about Friendster as I have about some of the other mega-networking sites and I have found Friendster to be an enjoyable experience.