Joey Concepcion Recognized as One of the Outstanding Filipinos

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Hailed as this year’s outstanding Filipino, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion was recognized in his sterling contribution in the advancement of the micro, small and medium enterprises in the Philippines and elevates the entrepreneurship spirit through programs of prosperity for all.

Concepcion was among the four eminent personalities in the country that was awarded in the The Outstanding Filipino Awards (TOFIL) held in Quezon City last December 5.

Among the awardees were Fr. Benigno P. Beltran for Community and Humanitarian Service; Congressman Raul V. Del Mar for Public Service; and Dr. Hilly Ann Maria Roa-Quiaoit for Environmental Conservation.

Conceived in 1988, TOFIL Award is an annual event and an honor given by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines to distinguished Filipino men and women, 41 years of age and over, whose exemplary achievements are worthy of emulation.

Embodying this year’s theme, “Leaving a Legacy for a Better Philippines,” the awardees substantiate Filipinos’ valuable contributions that resulted to upliftment of the lives of many and led to the enhancement of the country. Through this, they transfigure symbol of excellence in community service and later on humanize the institutions belief that "service to humanity is the best work of life."

Why Real Estate Brokers Should Master Online Real Estate Marketing

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In the busy and fast-paced world of real estate, marketing is always a valuable tool. However, marketing today looks a lot different than that of just a few years ago. As businesses turn increasingly digital, it has never been a more important time for professionals immersed in real estate to ride the digital wave and apply new and updated skills and technologies to their own practices.

For real estate brokers, their roles as marketers are one of the key parts of their work. It is up to brokers to make sure they are constantly marketing not just client properties, but the community, their services, and themselves. But how does one achieve this in the digital age? The answer lies in adapting--learning, re-skilling, and utilizing available resources to stay competitive in the ever-changing market. For brokers, this means exploring and mastering online real estate marketing.

Why and how should real estate brokers adapt to digital marketing? For an innovation with the power to increase your business exponentially, it’s important to know what is at stake:

1. The world is moving to the Internet.

In a world where even the smallest processes of daily life,  such as buying food or groceries, have become automated and digitized, it is not surprising that most people would opt to go online for a decision as big and important as buying a home. For the typical property-seeker, it is much easier to have hundreds of options at their fingertips rather than pursuing more traditional means of looking for homes. Real estate brokers must acknowledge this and thus position themselves in a way that they’re visible, up-to-date, and approachable online. Primarily, most real estate searches begin online--today, this is where real estate professionals need to be. Start with a digital marketing strategy or plan, and work your way forward. Market your listings online. Build a website.

2. Presence and engagement will keep you on top of the competition.

Establishing an online presence opens you up not only to new customers but also keeps already existing customers engaged. Networking on social media, for example, is a technique which allows brokers to keep in touch with buyers and also have the potential to strike up new leads. Brokers will stay in line with their duty towards customer needs and satisfaction and also generate potential sales. Through the digitalization of nearly everything, customers still need the human touch when it comes to transactions. As brokers, this is where you must come in to ensure customers still get a personal experience. Engagement is the way to accomplish this.

3. In a sea of voices, you must establish your own.

The face of marketing has truly evolved--today, customers value experience-based advertising rather than archaic one-size-fits-all cold pitches. With the Internet at their disposal, people now do much more research on their own before talking to real estate professionals.

This makes branding a significant part of marketing your business. The brand is vital to keep you afloat in the market, especially with several competitors surely taking advantage of digital tools to empower their businesses. Content marketing is a great way to get your brand’s vision across, at the same time giving potential customers the experience-based insight they would want to consume before thinking about going into a transaction with you, which they wouldn’t otherwise get through more traditional marketing tactics. Reviews, blog posts, articles--digital storytelling is the truly authentic way to connect with property-seekers.

4. Utilize tools to turn leads into sales.

Tech is changing our world faster than we can grasp, but as more technology becomes available, individuals and businesses must utilize as many forms and channels as they can to grow. For real estate, for example, it becomes easier to target potential customers with several online tools such as SEO. With analytics tools, it becomes likewise easier for you to measure your marketing effectively. To increase presence, even more, you can go mobile. Apps make it much easier for property-seekers to search for potential homes.

If you are a real estate professional looking to grow your business further with digital marketing, training sessions with Lamudi Academy are open and available to both Lamudi subscribers and non-subscribers. Lamudi’s very own training program is geared to help real estate brokers master the world of online real estate marketing was launched just this year.

A comprehensive training package of six courses on topics such as top online lead generation channels; the power of online real estate marketing platforms, such as Lamudi; converting online leads into sales; improving online marketing strategies; digital trends in real estate; and understanding the market. No other training program will equip real estate brokers with such comprehensive skill set and knowledge necessary to stay ahead in the digital age.

To learn more about Lamudi Academy, visit the website.

First Pinoy App Nominated as Global Finalist to the NASA Space Apps Challenge

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Among the 2,729 teams in 200 locations all over the world who participated in the NASA Space Apps Challenge, an app made by Filipino innovators was nominated first time by NASA scientists and experts to become a finalist at the global level. Altogether, they will join the top 25 in competing for the six winners of the biggest hackathon in the universe.

The winning app seeking to communicate scientific data to fishermen even without Internet connection was made by IT professionals Revbrain G. Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, and Julius Czar Torreda from team iNON, which stands for "It's now or never." Named ISDApp, from the Tagalog word "isda" meaning fish, it sends useful information to fishermen such as real-time weather, sunrise and sunset, wind speed, and cloud coverage to plan their fishing activities in catching more fish using the NASA GLOBE Observer app, a data collection from citizen scientists around the world used in concert with NASA satellite data to identify or communicate information, and educating the public about planet Earth. Fishermen will receive SMS notifications from the Amazon Web Services gateway while local government officials would manage their details using a smartphone app connected to the cloud. NASA scientists and experts consider this fisherfolk app made by Pinoys as one of the solutions "with the most potential to improve life on Earth or in the universe," therefore nominated as global finalist for Galactic Impact.

The fishermen app won in the local level on Friday-Sunday, October 19-21, 2018 at De La Salle University, Malate, Manila, Philippines, in collaboration with the Embassy of the United States of America to the Philippines and PLDT. US Embassy deputy chief of mission John C. Law, PLDT Enterprise Core Business Research and Development head Leandro T. Santos, DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development deputy executive director Engr. Raul C. Sabularse, Department of Information and Communications Technology senior planning officer Yvette M. Cabrera, and Animo Labs executive director Federico C. Gonzalez served as jurors at the local level.

An emergency checklist kit app designed for disaster preparedness also won at the local level developed by students Jeorge Loui P. Delfin, Bluen Ginez, Samuel Jose, Rainier G. Narboneta, and Eugenio Emmanuel A. Araullo. Other projects and solutions developed during the hackathon are games using images from the Hubble Space Telescope, augmented reality mobile app to tell a story of the changes in the Arctic and Antarctic ice, artificial intelligence app helping scientists confirm the habitability of exoplanets, and story-based game using NASA Earth imagery. They joined together with teams of coders, scientists, developers, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, thinkers, entrepreneurs, and everyone around the globe working together in a 48-hour sprint to develop solutions to some of the most pressing challenges on Earth and in space, using NASA resources and data.

A day-long data bootcamp was held to learn new concepts, strategies and skills from keynote speakers, panelists, and mentors. Michael Carroll from Urban Engine in Huntsville, AL and NASA Earth Science Division senior advisor Dr. Patricia Jacobberger introduced Space Apps through a virtual talk while NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, orbiting aboard the International Space Station welcomed everyone to the event. US Embassy science fellow Dr. Anondo Mukherjee and US Fulbright fellow Sarah Marie Hartman gave an online lecture about the Earth's environment. DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute acting director Dr. Joel Joseph S. Marciano, Jr. and PHL-Microsat program leader Dr. Marc Caesar R. Talampas discussed microsatellite development and advanced technologies in the Philippines.

Several mentors coming from different backgrounds such as YSEALI alumni Ryan Madrid and Malcolm Flores, De La Salle University professors Jordan Aiko P. Deja and Neil Patrick A. Del Gallego, PHL-Microsat engineers Ariston N. Gonzalez, Lorenzo Sabug, Jr., Benjamin Joseph D. Jiao, and Carlo D. Pastoral, Amazon Web Services developers John Luis Garcia, Dennis Magsajo, and Randy Bardaje, Animo Labs incubatee and MachiBox CEO Simon Gregory Mabanta, VR Philippines lead Cristopher David, Mobility IT 4 Youth lead Art Polo Gabriel III, nuclear physicist Dr. Jasmine Albelda, and entrepreneur Ibba Bernardo guided participants in creating their winning apps and solutions to solve problems on Earth and space. Department of Information and Communications Technology undersecretary Monchito B. Ibrahim gave an inspiring message to the participants. IdeaSpace and Animo Labs looked upon promising projects and solutions that might have a business potential.

During the hackathon period, teams are expected to find solutions to themed challenges put forth by NASA. They work together with the rest of the world on hackathon weekend to devise creative and innovative solutions to these challenges. Projects do not have to be apps and anyone does not need to become a computer programmer to participate. Participants collaborate to build anything — from open-source software, hardware, data visualizations, and citizen science platforms, to videos, art, and other communications solutions — aimed at addressing global challenges. The overarching theme of the 2018 challenges is "Earth and Space," underscoring the connections between major challenges, and the potential solutions to them, both on Earth and in space. The 2018 mainstage Space Apps event was hosted by Urban Engine in the US Space and Rocket Center at Huntsville, AL, also known as "The Rocket City."

Since its inception in 2012, the International Space Apps Challenge has become the world’s largest global hackathon, engaging thousands of global citizens to collaborate in building innovative solutions to complex challenges using NASA’s open data. Hackathons are technology development marathons that draw on the talents and initiative of bright-minded people. Space Apps inspires local innovation communities to convene, cooperate, and create.

The 2018 hackathon was organized by Matt T. Keener, Jeanie M. Duwan, Randolf D. Mariano, and Xavier E. Lara from the American Spaces Philippines of the US Embassy and Kai Shan L. Fernandez, Christine M. Abrigo, Donna Lyn G. Labangon,  Kevin Anthony Y. Kaw, and Dr. Rafael A. Cabredo from De La Salle University. Another hackathon was organized at Makati-Bonifacio Global City by Womensphere. In the past years, Tzar C. Umang brought Space Apps in Dagupan, Pangasinan on 2016 while Art Polo Gabriel III, Wilson Censon, and Tito Mari Francis Escaño organized one in PLDT InnoLab in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde also hosted Space Apps on 2017 by Dr. Edward M. Moises, Norman Lee, and Catherine Valdellon-Mojado.

Lead organizer Michael Lance M. Domagas is very thankful that NASA scientists and experts recognized the skills and talents of Filipinos in building projects and open-source solutions that address real-world problems, on Earth and in space, and hoping that Filipinos would win the competition.

Please use the hashtags: #SpaceApps #SpaceAppsPH