Tag: Philippines

Manila, Philippines – Video-sharing app TikTok has recently launched a new fact-checking prompt for users’ content, and the feature is now available for Filipino users. 

The platform announced the new feature in February in an aim to counter inauthentic, misleading, or false content shared by users, which was first rolled out in Canada and the US, and to be integrated into TikTok platforms globally over the coming weeks. 

TikTok will now be checking if a certain content shared by a user is factual, and will be delivering necessary prompts and implementing appropriate actions to notify users accordingly. 

When a video has been reviewed but that its content cannot be conclusively validated, a prompt in form of a banner will appear in the video. If a viewer attempts to share the flagged video, they will see a prompt reminding them that the video has been flagged as unverified content.

Meanwhile, if it is finalized to be false content, the video will outrightly be removed from the platform. In the event that content is not able to be confirmed by the fact checks, the video will be ineligible for recommendation into the app users’ ‘For You’ feed, helping limit the spread of potentially misleading information. 

The platform said that the additional step requires for people to pause and consider their next move before choosing to ‘cancel’ or ‘share anyway,’ which is exactly what TikTok aims to do, to help users “be mindful about what they share.”

For the new feature, TikTok has partnered with fact-checkers at PolitiFact, Lead Stories, and SciVerify to help assess the accuracy of contents. It also shared that the feature has been initially tested with Irrational Labs, a behavioral science lab.

TikTok has previously launched a series of educational videos called ‘Be Informed’ which was created in partnership with the National Association of Media Literacy Education. TikTok said the new fact-checking feature is part of its ongoing work to advance media literacy.

SEA – In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), Twitter has announced its new #SheInspiresMe campaign across Southeast Asia, which aims to highlight women’s inspiring voices on the social media platform, featuring leaders in business to entrepreneurs, mothers, daughters, partners, and friends.

The #SheInspiresMe campaign has partnered with more than 40 creators from different countries in the SEA region, namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. 

The said creators will make a personal #SheInspiresMe video tweet in which they share about the women that inspire them, and why, and will be tagging three other people to spread the campaign across the platform. This series of videos will be tweeted from 8 to 19 March on Twitter. 

There will be 40 creators across the SEA region. Participants from Indonesia include Cheryl Tanzil (@CherylTanzil), Febriana Firdaus (@febrofirdaus), as well as Laily Fitry (@MahameruLee), among others. 

From the Philippines, Catriona Gray (@catrionaelisa), Dr. Gia Sison (@giasison), Inka Magnaye (@inkamagnaye), and Joyce Pring (@joycepring), and many more will also participate in the campaign.

Meanwhile, participants from Singapore include Cheryl Allison (@cherzinga), Preeti Nair (@plspreeti) as well as female communities and organizations like AWARE Singapore (@awarenews), among others.

And finally, joining the campaign from Thailand are Amanda Chalisa Obdam (@amanda_obdam), Danupha Kanateerakul (@millimdk), and 4EVE (@4eveOfficial), among others.

Users are also invited to join in Twitter’s #SheInspiresMe campaign by simply creating a video tweet of up to 2:20 minutes in length, sharing positive stories about inspiring women with the hashtag #SheInspiresMe. Participants should also tag three other app users and Twitter’s official accounts – @TwitterID, @TwitterPH, @TwitterSG, and @TwitterThailand.

Furthermore, Twitter has launched a special emoji to celebrate IWD, which will be available throughout the month of March. The emoji is actuated when people tweet with the hashtags #InternationalWomensDay, #WomensDay, #WeAreWomen, #ActForEqual, #IWD2021, #IWD, and #GenerationEquality.

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) is hosting a virtual match on March 8, where 15 registrants will have the chance to play against select members of the Philippine idol group MNL48 on the popular mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift.

PPGL is the largest multi-title esports league in the country, having hosted a total of five seasons since its initial match-off in 2019.

Through the upcoming event, the registrants will have a chance to virtually meet and compete with MNL48 members namely Cole Somera, Abby Trinidad, Sheki Arzaga, Gabb Skribikin, and Coleen Trinidad.

MNL48 is a Filipino idol group, originally established in 2018. Known to be a part of the larger J-pop genre scene based on its mother group AKB48. They have since released a total of six singles, including ‘Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie’, ‘High Tension’, and more recently ‘River’.

MNL48 fans took to Twitter to express excitement for the upcoming virtual match.

One fan said that it is noticeable that some of the more popular members were included in the lineup.

The virtual match also came days after MNL48 recently concluded its Third General Elections, in which voting power from the fans through buying merchandise determined the lineup of the group’s upcoming single.

The PPGL x MNL48 match is organized by the Philippine arm of esports organization Mineski and Philippine telco Globe, where the event will be also available on its newest service Globe Virtual Hangouts.

Manila, Philippines – Online search engine Google has released a new local Google Doodle in honor of the 142nd birthday of Rosa Sevilla de Alvero, a prominent figure and activist during the campaign in Philippines’ suffrage movement.

De Alvero is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in establishing suffrage rights to Filipinas during the American period. In her stance as an activist, she has led the ‘Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas’ (National League of Filipino Women) founded in 1916 to support her rallying cause for equal voting rights to women in the country.

Her work and social movement has resonated and been ratified by the Commonwealth government in 1937, paving the way for equal rights for women against their male counterparts.

Furthermore, De Alvero is also a journalist and educator, as she also sparked a national movement in making Tagalog the national language through a presentation of the first ‘balagtasan’ or a debate held in poetic verse, alongside with well-known Filipino-Tagalog poets.

At age 21, she also founded the ‘Instituto de Mujeres’ (‘Women’s Institute’) of Manila, one of the first schools for women in Filipino history, which is now known as the Rosa Sevilla Memorial School.

Google Doodles’ local release cross paths with the upcoming International Women’s Day celebration on March 8, as well as the slated 2022 national elections in the Philippines.

Some notable Google Doodles’ that have been Philippine-centric include the commemoration of the country’s Independence Day every June 12, the 92nd birthday of Filipino comedian Dolphy, and commemoration of the country’s well-known tourist attractions like Tubbataha Reef.

Manila, Philippines – Ride-hailing app in Southeast Asia Grab has partnered with internet service provider, Globe at Home, to offer another channel to customers in availing its prepaid internet services.

The team-up will enable users of Grab to choose and avail Globe at Home’s internet products on GrabMart, namely Globe at Home Prepaid, LTE-Advanced, and Xtreme Prepaid Wifi. The products can be shipped within a 10-kilometer radius and have them delivered directly to the customer. When customers make a minimum purchase of ₱900, they can also avail GrabMart’s unlimited free delivery promo, which runs until 31 March, with code UNLIFREEDEL upon checkout.

EJ dela Vega, head of deliveries for Grab Philippines, commented that being connected is more important now more than ever, saying that amid the shift to a work-from-home setup, a reliable internet connection enables productivity as well as to enjoy leisure time to stream movies and music. 

“It’s [also] a necessary instrument for online businesses to grow by reaching a wider audience. Most importantly, being connected allows us to buy groceries and other essentials in the comfort of our living rooms. The partnership between Grab and Globe at Home aims to give Filipinos the chance to enjoy affordable, and reliable internet connection when they need it,” said dela Vega.

Meanwhile, Vice President and Head of Broadband Business at Globe Darius Delgado said, “Globe’s home prepaid WiFi sets the bar for broadband not only because of its larger capacity, but more importantly for its affordability and accessibility. We decided to partner with Grab because of the shopping convenience it offers. Customers can order our budget-friendly internet solutions right in the comfort of their homes. All they have to do is browse through GrabMart and choose the package that suits their needs.”

Manila, Philippines – Xendit, the Indonesian-based fintech, has partnered with Philippine-based ‘buy now, pay later’ solutions BillEase in bringing cardless installment options in the Philippines through their new joint solution ‘PayLater’ that allows merchants to offer convenient, card-free installments where the majority of shoppers remain cardless or unbanked.

Xendit, which allows merchants to accept payments online, makes it easier for merchants to provide an affordable and transparent installment option at checkout through a single integration. This means Xendit’s merchants can now add BillEase as a payment option. By offering BillEase at checkout, merchants can give their customers the option to split the cost of their purchases into installments either monthly or bi-weekly with no hidden fees.

Xendit merchants that offer BillEase can allow customers to pay for their purchases online in monthly installments and pay the app over a period of three, six, nine, or 12 months with monthly interest rates between 0 to 3.49%. Merchants can also choose to offer 0 percent annual percentage rate (APR). For example, a PHP 18,000 purchase would only cost PHP 2,500 over 6 months at 0% APR.

Furthermore, the partnership with BillEase allows merchants to connect to Xendit’s API and enable other BillEase’s payment services, namely, ‘Pay in Installments’ which enable customers to enjoy fully-financed purchases and spread payments over time at a zero-to-low interest rate, and ‘Pay with Down Payment’ where customers can pay 1/3 upfront and pay the rest in installments.

“Shoppers are increasingly looking for alternative ways to pay, and merchants who offer flexible payment options can rapidly improve their conversion rates and increase average order value. We’re excited to partner with Xendit to help Filipino merchants grow more by removing unnecessary challenges customers face at checkout, especially for those who are unable to use credit and debit cards,” said Georg Steiger, co-founder and CEO of First Digital Finance Corporation, the fintech behind BillEase.

Yang Yang Zhang, managing director of Xendit Philippines said their partnership aligns with their company’s mission to provide merchants with various payment options to allow their business to grow.

“Partnering with BillEase is crucial as the demand for installment solutions has grown in recent years, partly fueled by the pandemic. Additionally, merchants also see a huge demand from their consumers for this type of payment option. That’s why we’re excited to bring our PayLater solution to online retailers in the country,” Zhang stated.

Bohol, Philippines – IT service management company TaskUs is hosting a virtual concert to officially launch its site in the country’s province of Bohol, situated in Tagbilaran City. To bring much excitement to fans, it has partnered with popular millennial actor in the country, James Reid, where ten attendees will be given a chance to virtually meet the actor after the concert proper.

Titled ‘TaskUs Dibs: James Reid’,the digital event will be streamed via TaskUs’s social media accounts starting at 6 pm on February 26, 2021. Reid will be performing hit songs ‘I Know You Care’, ‘16B’, and ‘Fiend’. 

The new TaskUs site in Bohol is the ninth site of the company globally, and will begin to use TaskUs’ remote work model, Cirrus.

TaskUs-Bohol-New-Site
Snippets of the new site of TaskUs located in Tagbilaran City, Bohol (Photos from TaskUs)

“TaskUs has a reputation for offering unrivaled amenities and benefits to attract and retain outstanding front-line talent, and the upcoming site in Bohol will be no different. The site is poised to offer extraordinary recreation areas with vibrant color schemes, eye-catching architectural features, places for mindfulness and relaxation, collaborative spaces and fun zones stocked with gaming equipment and kiosks,” the company said in a press statement.

Singapore – Interactive video ads have shown higher preferences among ad viewers, especially to users in Southeast Asia, compared to standard video ads on mobile over-the-top (OTT) platforms, new survey from video advertising platform SpotX shows.

The study showed that interactive ads saw consistent uplift in post ad engagements by viewers. In the survey, the interactive version of a particular video ad saw a 29% uplift in their likelihood to visit the brand’s website, and 17% increase in their likelihood to click on the ad to learn more. 

These findings were supported by actual campaign performance. Across six mobile OTT campaigns in Southeast Asia, the interactive video ads delivered a 54% higher clickthrough rate (CTR) compared to the standard video ads. All campaigns exceeded industry CTR benchmarks.

Additionally, the likelihood to describe the ad as ‘engaging’ saw a 13% uplift among interactive video ads while an 8% uplift on viewers’ likelihood to say they liked the ad compared to standard video. 

On the other hand, data from another SpotX research shows that 86% of OTT viewers in Indonesia and 71% of OTT viewers in Philippines most frequently watch videos on their smartphone. Mobile OTT has earned a strong reputation delivering industry-leading KPIs like completed view rates, cost per completed view and viewability.

For Shrivardhan Sarda, senior director of demand facilitation for APAC at SpotX, the data shown reflects the concept among advertisers that creative ads do matter. 

“However, being more creative doesn’t have to be hard and what this research shows is that by making simple but impactful interactive additions to existing video ads can significantly increase effectiveness particularly on OTT which is monopolizing consumer attention”, Sarda stated. 

Manila, Philippines – Podcast Network Asia (PNA), a Philippine-based media and technology company, has recently concluded its seed funding round, valued at around US$750k.

The funding round has seen participation from Lisa Gokongwei, president of Summit Publications, multi-focus venture capital firm Foxmont Capital, and Jakarta-based VC firm Venturra Discovery, as well as Filipino live-streaming platform Kumu.

Commenting on her participation, Gokongwei said, “I think podcasting is still in the early stages of growth in the country, and that PNA has put a stake in the ground ahead with a scalable business model. The team knows the industry well and they are quite passionate.”

Funds collected from the investment round will be used to expand the company’s presence in the Southeast Asia region, particularly in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Since its establishment in August 2019, PNA has helped podcast creators have access to production support and monetization opportunities. Over the course of the pandemic, PNA has since grown its roster to 93 shows. With four Spotify-exclusive shows, PNA is also home to the top podcasts in the Philippines, including ‘Boiling Waters’, ‘Eve’s Drop’, ‘Kool Pals’, and ‘Walwal Sesh’.

For Ron Baetiong, CEO and co-founder of Podcast Network Asia, podcasting is already entering its ‘golden age’, as statistics from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and consulting firm PwC, podcast advertising has grown exponentially along with the increase of podcast shows which is estimated to be at 1M. From 2015 to 2020, podcast ad revenue grew exponentially from US$69M to US$659M and is forecasted to reach a value of US$1B in 2021.

“We are very excited with what this investment allows us to do – with the Philippines as the sixth fastest-growing country in terms of listenership plus our own listenership, which already stands at 10M; we can scale up and continue the momentum we’ve built in the Philippine podcasting industry and replicate it across the region,” Baetiong said.

PNA will also leverage its data analytics and ad marketplace platform Podmetrics.co, which allows monetization opportunities to the global podcast market. With the new funding, PNA hopes to grow its client network, which currently has 415 podcasts signed to Podmetrics. 

As the client numbers of Podmetrics Marketplace, a feature within the Podmetrics.co platform, is slated to grow, users will now be able to take advantage of viewing total podcast analytics, applying to affiliate marketing campaigns, brand collaboration for episode sponsorships, and viewing campaign impressions, conversions, and other podcast metrics.

“Podcasting is still in its nascent stage in Southeast Asia. When we look at top-charting podcasts, [a] majority of them launched within the past year. The industry has strong momentum, as audio streaming platforms are doubling down on this segment. We believe we can empower creators to improve and commercialize their content through data analytics and production support,” said Raditya Pramanay, partner at Venturra Discovery

Manila, Philippines – E-commerce platform Shopee is set to launch #TatakPinoy (Filipino branded) Virtual Trade Fair, a virtual fair aiming to promote Filipino brands and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

The three-day event which is slated for February 19- 21, is in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and sets the stage for shoppers to discover and purchase local delicacies and pasalubong items from Regions XII and IV-A. They can also anticipate products from Filipina-owned businesses, as Shopee and United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) team up to empower local female entrepreneurs.

Amid the lockdown, Shopee helped physical businesses to transition to digital through its Seller Masterclasses and has previously partnered with DTI, USAID, and local government units in the country for initiatives that helped Filipino entrepreneurs gain a basic understanding of e-commerce and digital marketing. 

DTI’s Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion said in a statement, “The Department of Trade and Industry – Bureau of Domestic Trade Promotion is proud to be a partner for #TatakPinoy on Shopee. This initiative will connect thousands of consumers to more than a hundred MSMEs on one platform. We invite Filipinos from all over the country to patronize and take pride in products that are certified #TatakPinoy from the National Trade Fair Pop-up Store and Go Lokal! Shopee Mall.”

Meanwhile, Martin Yu, Shopee Philippines’ director, commented, “Local brands from microbusinesses to SMEs can all contribute to the Philippine economy’s growth. Considering that most local businesses still can’t promote their products outside of online platforms due to the pandemic, Shopee also wants to create the opportunity to showcase the best Filipino brands.”

During the event, exclusive discounts of up to 10% off on supporting Filipino brands such as Colourette, Vice Cosmetics, and Human Nature will be offered to shoppers.