This has long been rumored but we’ve finally gotten word that they’ve both signed off on the agreement yesterday.

Dennis Mendiola is the Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of Chikka:

Gio Bacareza is the Business Development Director of Chikka:

I’m still getting some more details and will update this post as I get them.

Chikka Asia, Inc. is a wireless application service provider, better known for creating the world’s first instant messenger to fully integrate mobile features via SMS, the “Chikka Messenger.” It has about 38 million registered users, including mobile subscribers from network operators worldwide and is interoperable with Google Talk .

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Efren leads the 10,000-strong Dynamic Teen Company — a group of volunteers that spent the last 12 years teaching basic reading and writing to 1,500 children in slum areas using its “kariton klasrum” (pushcarts with books, pencils and educational materials). Globe Telecom supported the event by bringing in dozens of computers and laptop connected via Globe Tattoo so more people are able to vote.

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Are there other PLDT myDSL subscribers getting their DVD installers in the mail too? I read that this is available if you subscribe to myDSL Plan 999, 1995 and 3000. This is streaming video so only makes sense for PLDT to offer it to high-bandwidth plans.

Available channels include PBO, CNBC, MTV, GO, Animax, CNN, GMA7, Cartoon Network and National Geographic (provided by Cignal TV). Anyway, I tried installing the application on my Windows 7 desktop but it kept on crashing. Will try this on an XP PC and see if it works.

Anyone else got this running on their system? How is it?

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“PayPal’s goal is to provide our members with a secure, fast and convenient way to pay and get paid online,” said Mario Shiliashki, General Manager of PayPal Southeast Asia and India. “The introduction of the Philippine Peso will make domestic ecommerce easier and more convenient for buyers and sellers in the Philippines and is well timed for the holiday season!”

Good news to a lot of merchants that make local transactions in peso. This skips the usual issue with US dollar exchange rates when sending or receiving payments.

Paypal still uses its own foreign exchange rate schedule which is a little lower than the going rate (my last check, it was around 2% difference). In a way, that standardizes the forex rates for Paypal transactions that the buyer and merchant can stick with.

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Let’s skip comparing our local 3G internet rates to the rates in other countries and look at some domestic parallels.

Let’s look at Netopia, the most popular internet cafe chains in the country, and see how much they charge for rentals. Members get a discounted rate of about Php30 while non-members pay Php45, right? (or is it higher)

Regular internet shops (the mom-and-pop’s type at the street corner) charges Php20 for gaming and Php25 for surfing.

Pay-for-access WiFi Zones provided by Airborne Access and Globe WiZ charges Php100 per hour.

If we compare 3G internet at Php20 per hour, it’s not that bad. Actually, if you compare it to the examples above, it’s the cheapest. So, why there’s still the perception that 3G is expensive?

• The WAP-era trauma. About half a decade ago, when WAP was first introduced, they cost an arm and a leg. I remember viewing my blog over WAP and posting a comment back then — those 3 page loads costs me Php100!
• Reliability. If you surf on a net cafe, you’re pretty much sure you’d get a good if not fast internet speed. Over 3G, it’s a hit and miss.
• Over-charging nightmares. Either your prepaid loads get drained up real fast or your postpaid bill is thru the roof — any one of these incidents could happen to you.
• Coverage. Even if you’re subscribed on 3G, there’s no telling if your area is covered only by GPRS or EDGE.

The only compelling reason why I think 3G is cheap for me is because of mobility. Maybe someday, we’ll have an alternative option with mobile WiMax.

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With already 21,000 Friendster Fans logging in, the event could be on its way to set the world record for the largest gathering of members from a social networking community.

Set to happen this August 15, 2009 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, the EB will include live bands by Rico Blanco, Callalily, 6 Cycle Mind, Imago, Pedicab, Paraluman.

See more info on the event page here.

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Yehey! Corp has slowing been veering away from the internet advertising model and gone into web development/web design, e-commerce (Kaban) and digital marketing, among others. Yehey’s biggest clients include San Miguel Corp., Isuzu, Ateneo De Manila and Procter and Gamble.

Apparently, the business model hasn’t really panned out for the team of about 90+ people at Yehey! and the current revenue isn’t anywhere near the earlier target of Php140 Million for 2009 {via GMANews}. They made Php71 Million in revenues last year.

Yehey! has also abandoned earlier plans of going public (first reported about the IPO last February 2007 as well as the comment from CEO Donald Lim).

At least one key executive has been “let go” and there’s big possibility more heads will roll. Unless the team can do some magic trick and hit the targets, Yehey’s biggest chance of survival is when it gets sold and infused with fresh capital.

Updates:

• In the first quarter of 2009, the firm reported a net loss of P7.4 million, from a net income of P2.4 million in the comparative period last year. In its 2008 annual filing, the firm reported a Php7 million net loss {Business Mirror}.
• In a July 7, 2009 story on Business Mirror, iVantage corporate secretary Bayani K. Tan said the company is “trying its best” to list by way of introduction in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). In the comments, Nix Nolledo says Yehey has since been listed already. That might have only happened in the last 3 weeks.
• Yehey had a net loss of Php10.9 million in 2006. Revenues in 2007 was Php23.3 million and tripled it to Php71 Million in 2008 {via GMANews} but was still in the red by Php7 Million. Yehey has adjusted 2009 initial revenue projections from Php140 million in January to just Php80 to Php90 Million by July.

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I’ve been hearing about several  negotiations for months now but held off writing about it until the transaction has been confirmed and completed. Details of the acquisition is yet unknown at the moment and it looks like the foreign owners/investors still want to keep it a secret.

Sulit is one of the most visited websites in the Philippines with an estimated 46.3 million pageviews and 7.3 million visitors a month and over 12 million indexed pages in Google with about 350,000 registered members.

This super-SEO’d classifieds ad site only launched in 2006 and surpassed global giant eBay.ph by October 2007 in terms of traffic.

Google Trends puts Sulit’s daily unique visitors at ~80,000 while Alexa ranks Sulit at #16 in the Philippines (and the only home-grown site in the top 20).

Nix Nolledo (of PEx, Havoc Digital, Starfish Mobile and Xurpass) confirms the purchase on his Twitter account:

Note: Sulit.com.ph is owned and operated by Netrepreneur Connections Enterprise, Inc. Will update this post once I get official word from the founders of Sulit.

Update: RJ of Sulit confirms the acquisition in this forum message:

Late last night, a topic was posted by one of our dear Sulitizens asking if Sulit.com.ph was indeed Sold. Eventually, the news came from a prominent Filipino blogger who got his confirmation from a Twitter account of a Filipino serial tech entrepreneur.

So what is the real deal behind this news?

It is no secret that Sulit.com.ph has a tremendous growth for the past 2 years and most of you know that Arianne (bigbucks) and I (being the founders) are doing our best to give a top notch service that we can offer our members and visitors. But eventually, there will be a limit on what we can physically provide and we believe that our users deserve more.

Therefore, our strong growth has led us to look for outside advice that will help us maximize our performance in critical business areas. We are also considering the strategic options that would allow us (the founders) to take the business to the next level and to maximize the benefits that our users, especially our members, receive. As entrepreneurs, we believe that we have to identify the areas that we are good at and we have to look for people and entities that have the skills and resources to complement ours.

In line with these developments, we will make further announcements if and when we believe it is appropriate to do so. But one thing for sure, we will still be the captains that will lead Sulit.com.ph, together with our users, to new heights for the foreseeable future. We have a lot of exciting plans for Sulit.com.ph and we will see to it that we are there when these plans are implemented. In short, we are here for the long haul.

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Here is a copy of a memo sent by Summit Media:

Good Day,

I would like to inform you that Summit Media will no longer pursue T3, both as online and print publisher for the Philippines starting May 2009 as we were unable to come to an agreement with our principals regarding this. We will discontinue our plans to grow both T3 magazine and T3 Online.

We remain committed to the tech industry as a publisher and we believe that the time is ripe to offer our readers a fresh alternative with a new website. That is why we will be launching Techie.com.ph this month. The site promises to give our advertisers a new and dynamic way to communicate and interact with their target market.

Techie.com.ph will be packed with engaging and interactive features. Original content will be updated daily to keep the magazine’s devotees satisfied and at the same time attract the growing number of netizens who don’t rely on print media for their information fix.

The launch of www.techie.com.ph is in line with Summit Media’s goal of providing advertisers a marketing solution that allows them to communicate to a wider, yet more targeted, audience. We are moving to this new platform because we believe that the consumers’ needs and habits have changed. Summit Media is committed to knowing what its target market wants and more importantly, how to talk to them and engage them, regardless of the medium.

To the fiercely loyal T3 readers who might be wondering if the website will be up to par with the magazine they love so much, fear not. Former T3 editor-in-chief Vince Sales will be heading the team to ensure that www.techie.com.ph gives visitors a glitch-free experience.

Again I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting T3 magazine and am looking forward to working with you once more with www.techie.com.ph!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Neil Palabrica
Former Team Publisher – T3 Magazine

Digital Publisher – Summit Digital

I’ve sent out more questions and will update this post when I get the answers.

T3 had a circulation of around 20,000 – 25,000 per month before it closed. Wasn’t able to get how much Summit Media was paying for the license to use the T3 brand. The new site, Techie.com.ph, will be composed of 4 former T3 writers/editors — Elijah, Vince, Alora, and David.

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Who can’t ignore them? They’re spending a lot on Google Adwords, signing up with local blog ad networks and sponsoring tech-related events left and right.

In an already-crowded market dominated by eBay.ph and Sulit, does AyosDito have what it takes to cut a significant piece of the classifieds arena?

While there’s still room for more, Ayos Dito seems like it’s doing the Manila Craigslist style and couples it with a huge marketing budget. We saw the same thing with Auction.PH before.

Here’s my checklist:

• SEO-optimized site? Check.
• PPC and display advertising campaigns? Check.
• Content creation campaign? Check.
• Community building and user retention? Un-checked.
• Link building campaign? Un-checked.
• Brand recognition? Coming soon(?).

There was an article that states Ayos Dito was getting somewhere in the north of 15,000 visitors per day. Since I don’t see their site in the SERPs, I’ll assume 90% of that traffic comes from PCC and display ads. A conservative cost of Php5 per visitor brings a daily spending of over Php50,000. Now, that’s a lot of money. They need to be visible in the SERPs fast or that ad budget could dry up real soon.

What do you think — can Ayos Dito make it?

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If Alexa is any indicator, BPIExpressOnline is a popular destination with a rank of 19,817 and peaking at 20,000 uniques a day per Google Trends. Our poll this week asks if people really use the online services of their banks. Here are some of the options:

• Yes, I regularly use online banking services of my bank.
• No, I have savings account but don’t do online banking.
• I want to but don’t know how.
• I don’t have a bank account so i don’t need one.

I have something 7 accounts on 5 different banks and only use online banking in half of them to pay utility bills, credit cards and receive Paypal fund transfers. I liked BPI and BDO while Metrobank’s site is still IE-only even after a revamp.

Please proceed to the poll section on the right and submit your answers (or lave a comment and let us know which banking service you liked the most).

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Nothing wrong with it really. A lot of forums and websites require people to sign up before allowing them to enter and see what’s inside. AkoMismo is also giving away a branded dog tag for members.

This is not uncoommon. Other sites also offer free stuff when you sign up. I used to moderate a forum back in 2001 that pays members a certain amount for every post they make.

One has to admit it’s a clever online marketing gimmick. What put the campaign under scrutiny was the socio-political angle and the secrecy of the organizers behind it.

I don’t think AkoMismo.org site is really that anonymous. Here are some public information about the site:

Domain Registrant: akomismo.org

Tribal DDB
McKinley, Taguig City
Philippines
tribalddbph@gmail.com
Created March 16, 2009

IP WhoIs: 125.5.116.82
INFOCOM Technologies Inc
3/F PLDT Tower I
6799 Ayala Avenue, Makati City
*****@vitro.epldt.net

Well, at least we know who owns the domain and the ad agency is Tribal DDB (they do digital marketing worldwide) and the server is hosted at the PLDT Vitro data center.

P.S. — About the privacy concern with the alleged Smart/PLDT’s data-mining of personal information, didn’t thousands of people already freely gave those details to Red Mobile/Smart in exchange for a free SIM before?

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There will be no more sign-ups starting today and towards the end of this year, all existing accounts will be shut down as well. Active users are advised to download and save their data from their accounts.

Yahoo is offering its professional web hosting services to those who still want to continue and move their sites (its the paid service though). For others, they will still be free hosting service to move to like Blogger or WordPress. I guess Yahoo is just saving up some money in this tough times and it looks like Geocities could be burning some serious cash.

I think I had my very first website back in the 90s on Geocities (or was it Angelfire?). In the days before blogging was known to man, having a Geocities account was the “in thing” then.

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Canon will be selling a number of items in their eShop which includes digital cameras and lenses, printers, inks, videocams and scanners.

While there are a lot of stores in Metro Manila that carries their products, Canon promises that the eShop will feature the rare and hard to find items (including the popular EOS Crumpler Strap) you won’t normally find in the stores.

At the moment, there are very few items available on the store and most of the catalog pages are basically empty.

My issue though is that Canon is padding an additional charge on top of the shipping costs. I don’t get what that “Convenience Charge” is all about. For example, if you order the Crumpler Strap which costs Php1,200, you will also be charged Php200 for shipping and Php97 for “convenience”. Now that’s a bummer.

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First up is browser usage and it’s surprising that according to their data Firefox has become the leading browser and the chart indicates it crossed the line sometime in August 2008 (Firefox 3 Download Day was in June).

Not sure why Windows Media Player is included in the browser but that could have been counted under IE too. Then again, a webpage is launched whenever you fire up Windows Media Player.

As for Search Engine Usage, Google took the bigger share of the pie at 63% while Yahoo! is at 34% (Microsoft took 2% and Ask 1%). No surprise there but if you compare that to the worldwide stats, Google is way ahead at 90% against Yahoo’s 5.75%.

Lastly, Mobile OS — SymbianOS still dominates the space with an average usage of 72% followed by the iPhone OS at 15%.

The graph shows a trend that share of Symbian OS is still growing compared to iPhone OS (that’s thousands of iPhone users against millions of Nokia owners in the country).

* Stats are based on aggregate data collected by StatCounter on a sample exceeding 4 billion pageviews per month collected from across the StatCounter network of more than 3 million websites. Stats are updated and made available every 4 hours, however are subject to quality assurance testing and revision for 7 days from publication.

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The site Inquirer.net will not be closing down, contrary to earlier rumors but will be consolidated with the operations of the print publication. Although the Inquirer.net team has not yet moved offices, the status of this consolidation is still “on hold”.

Several key people have already resigned from the team, including Editor-in-Chief JV Rufino and VP & Executive Editor Leo Magno, a couple of weeks ago.

Apparently, the online advertising business model that Inquirer has been swimming on in the last decade didn’t really pan out. While operations grew and content creation expanded to web videos and a blog network, the ad money wasn’t enough to sustain the business. Some part-time bloggers in the Inquirer Blog Network were also asked to stop writing a few weeks back.

Inquirer.net used to be Inq7.net which is a joint venture between PDI and GMA 7 until the latter bolted off of the partnership to put up its own website, GMA-News.tv. Inquirer.net is the top online destination in the Philippines and this development could have a huge impact in the online publishing industry in the Philippines.

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The PAPT provides consulting services to the Business Software Alliance in the Philippines:

BSA consultant Bienvenido Marquez III said in an interview that end-users should also be liable for piracy, even if downloads are for personal use.

The growing usage and decreasing cost of broadband Internet services in the Philippines are now allowing people to download larger files, such as software and movies, into their hard drives.

It will be hard to trace or track people on P2P networks and torrent sites but I reckon the BSA will follow the same strategy that the RIAA and the MPAA in the United States are doing — picking out a handful and making examples of them.

The report adds that Congressman Rufus Rodriguez and Senator Edgardo Angara have already proposed amendments to the current Intellectual Property Rights Code.

I hope though that those amendments will also include provisions to help individual publishers (bloggers, webmaster, web designers, photographers) from having their online content being ripped off.

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