Tag: tonyo cruz

Facts matter in the Philippines, but only the facts that favour its elite

November 29, 2017November 29, 2017 benign0 5 Comments

The irony in the clique of “social media influencers” who hosted an event dubbed a forum on “Truth, Trust, and Democracy in the Age of Selfies, Trolls and Bots” just flies over people’s pointed heads. The event was organised “by the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation (JNBF), Rappler, and other stakeholder groups”. This is not…

Media, Politics, Society

Filipinos can overcome ‘fake news’ by developing more CURIOSITY #FactsMatterPH

November 28, 2017 benign0 11 Comments

Indeed, Filipinos need to be reminded that “facts matter”. That’s because Filipinos were not raised at home nor trained in school to build factual bases for what they believe in. In most cases, Filipino kids are told what to think rather than taught how to think. It is challenging too considering that Philippine society is…

Culture, Media

Senator Miriam Santiago: ‘social media superstar’ or just another ampaw politician?

March 15, 2014 benign0 14 Comments

Of all people. Senator Miriam Santiago was the last person in the world I would’ve expected to request that Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III be “given leeway in making his decisions.” “I will be very careful in criticizing a president because I have close, first hand observation of how difficult it is to…

Politics, Society

Filipino pride in the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ invoked in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 benign0 33 Comments

Filipinos never pass up an opportunity to exhibit their renowned ethnocentrism. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy which devastated much of the eastern seaboard of the United States, there have been many heartening reports of how the level of preparedness and swift action of the US government to mitigate the foreseen effects of the storm…

Culture, Society

Facebook exec: Let kids play more video games

August 3, 2011August 3, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

It’s a surreal WTF moment. In a gathering of Silicon Valley “technorati” in Palo Alto, California yesterday to “dole out advice” on “job creation,” Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg emphasised the need for “better education” to “foster growth, competitiveness, innovation, and job creation.” Sounds good so far. But then she lets out these doozies: Sandberg talked…

Education, Media, Society, Tech Talk

CHED and Twitter users: why ‘Tweeps’ should stop playing God

August 2, 2011 benign0 8 Comments

I’ve seen two “reports” about the whole false brouhaha being raised about the reluctance of the Philippines’ Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to start using “social media” to broadcast information that supposedly is relevant to its “constituency”. Self-described “social media practitioner” Tonyo Cruz went as far as calling the CHED a “village idiot” for not…

Tech Talk