I opened my Twitter account last Friday morning and found that almost everyone in my feed is tweeting ‘#ItsMoreFuninthePhilippines’. Apparently, the Department of Tourism just launched it’s new tourism campaign – It’s more fun in the Philippines.

It's more fun in the Philippines!

My initial thought was that it’s too simple, and wordy. But then again, it works. The new slogan is quirky, understandable, and relatable. Instantly, the tag line became an Internet hit. You’ll find Filipinos in Facebook and Twitter sharing their own reasons why it’s more fun in the Philippines. You can find several amusing ones here, and here.

However, just a few hours after the launch, the campaign was caught in a copycat controversy. Someone unearthed the 1951 tourism ad of Switzerland bearing the line “It’s more fun in Switzerland”, and accusations of unoriginality and copying ensued.

As for me, I don’t really care if it was mere coincidence or an outright copy of the old ad. The slogan works. Besides, the phrase “it’s more fun” is too generic; it’s not surprising that it was already used before. Anyway, what really matters is that our target audience, the tourists, get the message – that when they visit the Philippines, they’ll have fun. The ultimate goal is to entice and convince tourists to choose the Philippines as their main destination of choice.

For all those who still have a problem with the DOT’s new campaign, I suggest you read this article, “Some Think #It’sMoreFuntoBash. I DISAGREE“. We really need to stop bashing this campaign, and start supporting it.

“Sure, you have all the right to bash this one and assert your own idea. You live in this country and, ultimately, you are a co-owner of whatever country brand our government rolls out.”

At the end of the day, we want the tourists to come to our country. So if you’re looking for several reasons to visit the Philippines, check out the 25 things that are more fun in the Philippines.

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

It seems impossible for one man to change the world. This generation, however, lived and experienced several chain of revolutions triggered by one resilient and creative visionary. It is quite an amazing feat for one man to drive change, and to ripple that change globally; Steve Jobs did. The reactions, and tributes from people all over the globe is a testament to how far and encompassing his influence has reached. He may have his detractors but it doesn’t change the fact that Steve Jobs built and left us a legacy.

I have been introduced to the world of Steve Jobs & Apple back in high school. I dreamt of owning one of those colorful iMac G3s but I couldn’t persuade my parents to get one. I finally got my first Apple product, the Powerbook G4, when I started university. The small powerful laptop had been my lifeline throughout my college life. Without Apple & Steve Jobs’ vision & leadership, that one constant thing in my college life wouldn’t have existed, and things may have turned out slightly different for me.

And for that simple yet significant thing, thank you, Steve Jobs.

PS: Two years ago, I bought my current 20-inch iMac, the long overdue upgrade from my then 5-year-old Powerbook G4. This blog post, “In Honor of Steve Jobs: Goodbye, Powerbook G4“, generally shares the same experience of what I’ve gone through with my own Powerbook G4. And yeah, it’s weird how we’ve come to be emotionally connected to specific gadgets.

Just a few minutes ago (around 6:45 PM), an earthquake struck the Metro Manila area. This is the second time I’ve felt an earthquake while inside a building. And to think we’re in an area near the Marikinia fault line. Gahd, the last thing I want is to be stuck in a building after an earthquake. It makes me wonder if this building is strong enough to handle a quake. Rar. The paranoia.

After an earthquake (Source: JYI)

It’s hard not to get paranoid when you’re living in today’s world. This generation is growing, learning and dealing with all kinds of threats. Depending on what genre you prefer, movies provide a good visual presentation – albeit exaggerated – on what these threats are. These dangers could be political, technological, psychological or even theological. Mix all that and throw in Mother Nature wrath, and you have one hell of a disaster movie.

Taking out the movie context, most of us are really just doing our best to get through the day. Everyday we hear news about robbery, assault and violence; then, there are accidents, fraud and mismanagement. Sometimes it’s about psychopaths, extremists or killer teens who have lost their way. And then, we have the super typhoons, floods, wild fire, earthquakes, tsunamis and all kinds of disaster. You could try to prepare yourself for all of these events but I don’t think you’ll ever be that prepared. I know I’m not.

What happened in Japan is just devastating. This is one country that I felt was prepared for any disaster that would hit them. But you could never really be that prepared despite all the precautions you take. And now, once again, we see the numbers; how many have died, how many are still missing, how many have survived to tell their tale.

With another disaster having taken place, it’s so easy for us to go into panic-paranoia mode. You either succumb to it or be rational about it. With all of the things going on around the world, it’s not that hard to just pinpoint everything to one thing. Thus, the 2012 belief lives on. End of the world or not, are we prepared for what’s to come?

1.11.11

It’s 1.11.11 or 11.1.11 depending if you’re following the dd.mm.yy or mm.dd.yy format. Anyhow, the start of the year has been slow. I’m pretty sure it’ll speed up again in a couple of days, especially with the upcoming Thailand trip. Also, I have several blog post ideas that I’m planning to write. I really need to set a personal deadline if I want to get anything written. But as of the moment, everything is still in need of organization and re-organization. Good luck to me!