When Clickbaits and Intriguing Headlines Are Good Enough to Catch Attention

Wazzup Pilipinas!

With the popularity of breaking news with click-bait headlines inciting us to give our immediate knee-jerk reactions even without reading the story in full, have we truly lost the interest to read news or stories that are well researched and written?

Many would often just react to the headline without getting all the facts laid out within the story. Some would read the comments and react to them instead. We've gone lazy to fully immersed ourselves to the actual story, and just rely on others' statements.

Newsmakers and content creators are also aware of this and some are taking advantage of the situation. You could even say the headlines are a trap to provoke our curiousity, and only after reading the entire article that you'll realize you've been duped to react unnecessarily.

A blogger friend has this to ask "Bakit ayaw magbasa ng mga tao ngayon? Dahil ba mahaba? Tamad? Hindi marunong magbasa? Sana may makasagot."

I told him na "Tamad na magbasa mga tao kaya IN mga vlogs ngayon...papanoorin mo na lang reaction about issues habang kumakain ng popcorn. hehehe"

He replied with "Which is wrong and nakakaiyak. Hindi sa ayaw ko ng mga vlogs and the likes but iba pa din ang reading at ang comprehension that came out from practice reading."

Karamihan ba talaga sa atin ay "ayaw intindihin dahil low attention span and some are non-readers?"  as what another Facebook friend replied to him.

She continues with stating some facts:

"The result of the PISA or Programme for International Student Assessment that the Phils joined last year ay nag-rank ang Phils in the bottom sa 3 core subjects - Math, Science and Reading. May study din isang student (Harvard I think) na many Pinoys are liking social media posts without understanding what they are liking and commenting based on headlines or article titles lang. Best way to observe this ay mga comments sa news. You will see yun train of thoughts ng mga commenters."

The friend then said "I know kaya nga nakakadismaya sa mga manunulat. May laman at pinaghirapan ang isinulat ngunit walang nagbabasa. Nakakadismaya din na makitang yung mga walang sense ang tinatangkilik"

Tempting nga to just follow the trend dahil nagiging useless to write good if noone is giving it more importance. If you just want the views, enough na maging catchy and intriguing ang mga headlines or title ng article mo even without any significant and well-researched content.

"True. Kaya lalong nakakalungkot. A craft is about to be lost and it will take x number of years bago ito marealize ng mga tao and the value of good writing.  Madaling i- corrode ang pinaghirapan ng mahabang panahon kaysa ipagpatuloy ito."

Another reaction was "Sa lifestyle today, everyone wants fast or instant. Making them tamad. What's even more bothering is people making comments with lack of knowledge about a subject."

How do you amend this? "through reading. Reading good materials not just flash stories?"

"Tobey Marcks right now a question runs to mind . . .who do we encourage first, the kids, the parents, the educators, who?"

Well, it has become a survival of the most "creative" in marketing our craft. We will be left behind if we don't play the game. It's now a choice to either join the fad, or be among the rare advocates of good writing.  I'm sure we could do both "good writing" and "creative marketing", but it takes more effort.

Do you prefer to stay relevant with the times or become forever forgotten because you kept your prestige intact?

Believe in Your Brand, Make Use of Your Bashers, Boost Your Presence

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sa totoo lang, if we won't treat our own, even stinky, shit as a worthy product
, who else will dare to even smell them. One way to do it is with the packaging. Parang food lang yan, wrap or plate them up with something colorful, creative or unique, add some flashy but affordable trinkets, decors, ornaments and whatever knick-knacks you can find, personalize it with a brand logo, product info or thank you card, add extra service that is rarely given by other competitors like some freebies, samahan mo ng endorsements ng mga influencers, take advantage of the free publicity your bashers create, and they would eat up all your shit.

I would have done the same, but something inside of me keeps twisting my arms to do otherwise. I maybe wrong in listening to that voice insidey head, but I have no regrets.

Mayabang, entitled, egocentric, with malicious intentions, wrongly-motivated, self-proclaimed, maingay with those iconic shout-outs, narcissist, hypocrite, kulang sa pansin, at kung ano-ano pa ang mga binabato sa akin noon, hanggang ngayon, dahil sa pagiging blogger.

Honestly, I wanted to get out of this profession,  but I call it an advocacy, though I'm just too opinionated to stay away....and with so much opportunities coming my way almost everyday, how could I resist?

Pasensiya na po. Mahinang nilalang. Marupok, minsang mapaglinlang, umaabuso, pabago-bagong paniniwala, nagmamatigas sa ilang prinsipyo, nagpapakatotoo, nakikipag plastikan, halos lahat pinapasukan at pinapakialaman.

But situations do change. Noon pilit akong pinapaalis na sa pagiging blogger, ngayon suportado na uli ako. Noon nawawalan ako ng gana sa mga nakikita kong pangyayari sa likod ng pagiging blogger, ngayon naisip ko na kung mawawala ako ay nariyan pa rin yung mga tunay na nakakasira sa ating bayan. Mga ipinagpalit ang prinsipyo para kumita lamang.

Napakarami rin namang walang katotohanan sa mga binibintang paratang sa akin. Pero mas madalas akong matuwa at matawa kapag may nakikidebate, panay ang bash at paninira, lahat ng galaw nakikita na parang may CCTV sa akin ay nakaumang 24 oras araw-araw. Tapos babanatan ka ng mga below the belt kapag wala ng logical na masabi in.his or her defense. In fact I miss those days when there's a long thread of people ganging up on me. Asan na ba ang mga bashers ko? Nagsawa na ba kayong punahin ako...hehehe....o baka naman nasa mga shadows lang kayo, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. Even to the point of reaching out to the PRs, events organizers, brands, and fellow bloggers. Ganoon sila ka threatened sa akin pero they disguise it as a concern for the welfare of the brand or the bligging community, so they could keep the opportunities to themselves.

Ang daming nagsabi na inggit lang sila. At least effective daw na napapansin talaga ako. Negative publicity is still publicity at dagdag online presence. The views, the views, the views...It's all about the views. But I never really cared about the views, well not until I've learned you coukd really earn a considerable amount from the views. Lol.

But we've seen so many with a huge following and stats at viral or trending stages but their sites are filled with the usual chismis, showbiz, scandals, rehashed trending topics, controversial issues, etc.. Some were even accused of setting up their own scandalous acts, and we fell for them, thus making their content viral.

I keep repeating this similar statement over and over again because it continues to proliferate and thrive like unwanted weeds in my vegetable garden.

However, has anybody advised you that weeds can be used as part of our compost or fermented plant juice too. Just us how our bashers could also be as useful to our online presence.

Fighting Maroons look back at their historic UAAP 81 run

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Reveal interesting behind-the-scenes secrets and surprises

If there’s one good thing that has come out of this pandemic, it’s that friendship and family bonds have gotten stronger, despite or because of the physical absence.

A tightly-knit family and the best of friends because of their shared experience, the UP Fighting Maroons of University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81, held a long overdue reunion Friday, July 17 and hopped on a Zoom call for a virtual party.

Dubbed Zoomustahan with UAAP Season 81 UPMBT, the get-together was attended by Season 81 captain Paul Desiderio, that season’s MVP Bright Akhuetie, Jun Manzo, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Diego Dario, Jarrell Lim, Gelo Vito, Janjan Jaboneta, Will Gozum, Pio Longa, Jaydee Tungcab, JJ Española and head coach Bo Perasol. Season 80’s UP courtside reporter Agatha Uvero and Nowhere To Go But UP: How a Basketball Team Inspired a Nation author Naveen Ganglani hosted the e-vent that was aired on Facebook Live so UP fans and the public could join the reunion.

The giddy group recalled their favorite memories of the UP Men’s Basketball Team’s incredible run in 2018, exchanged updates on what they have been doing during the quarantine, revealed behind-the-scenes thoughts and conversations of Season 81 and uncorked a few secrets that still surprised many.

Team captain Paul Desiderio jokingly recounted how much of a challenge it was to lead his team that year, but how his fellow seniors – Diego Dario, Jarrell Lim and Gelo Vito – shared the load and made the job easier.

The boys recalled special moments – like that classic inbound pass from Juan GDL that Bright caught at the precise moment and laid up for the winning points while Paul Desiderio fought tooth and nail to get Papi Sarr out of his defensive position. That shot opened the gates for the Maroons’ first real ticket to the Finals as it erased the Adamson Falcons’ twice-to-beat advantage and put them at par with Adamson in a knock-out game for a Finals seat.

“That was a classic. There was no way to rehearse that the way it happened, even if it was a play that was designed by Coach Ronnie (Magsanoc) at practice. Nobody could have prepared for the way it was executed,” he said. “That’s why we still talk about it today.

But prior to that blistering Final Four run that began when the Maroons played a masterful game against La Salle that catapulted them into the Final Four for the first time in 21 years, the Maroons were floundering and being inconsistent. From heady conquests of some teams, they would succumb to teams they could easily beat. Most glaring was a Second Round game against UE where they were whipped by the Wartriors in the first half.

Jarrell Lim recalled the moment. “There was a game against UE where Coach Bo got really mad. We knew we could win that game easily, but we were playing badly. In the dugout, Coach Bo said something that really scared us. He said, “If we lose this game, I’m going to resign.” That was a wake-up call for us. That was the turning point. That was when we really talked to each other as teammates and we began to take things more seriously.” The Maroons saved the day with a decisive win over the Red Warriors in the second half. From that point onwards, they never looked back.

“Nag-usap kaming mga seniors, I think losing-record kami non. We said ‘We can’t let this happen kasi ito na ‘yong last year namin.’ Naisip namin to talk to the coaches, and we all got our acts together,” Diego Dario added.

Still there was talk that UP got to the finals because they were simply lucky. Coach Bo dismissed that impression without hesitation.

“Hindi ka naman mananalo nang magic lang, na walang galing. Even if you keep on fighting, , if you do not have the set of skills to match up with one other, ang hirap, hindi makakaya yon,” Perasol said. “There were a lot of times in UP history na puro laban lang. Hindi mo matatawaran ang laban ng mga taga-UP. But this bunch of guys, hindi sila puro lumaban lang. You have to consider the skill level of these guys.”

There was a lot of light-hearted ribbing and teasing among the reuniting Maroons, one of which was pointing out Bright Akhuetie’s incredible appetite for Crispy Pata, determining who had the biggest appetite at dinners and parties (Javi GDL, Will Gozum, and Pio Longa) and who was the most “makulit”. The band of brothers – who were obviously still very comfortable with each other -- was not beyond asking Will Gozum (who has since joined the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde) to go back to UP “habang may pandemic pa”. Later in the reunion, Season 82 teammate and Mythical Team member Kobe Paras and new recruit Malick Diouf also joined in the fun, conversing with their brothers rowdily and familiarly.

The UP Men’s Basketball Team (UPMBT) made history in UAAP Season 81 by breaking their 21-year Final Four drought and making it to the Finals for the first time after 32 years.

This is the second batch of Fighting Maroons to do a virtual get together during the quarantine period. Back in April, members of the 2014 UPMBT, the team which rejoiced at ending a 27-game losing streak that prompted a controversial bonfire celebration, also had a Zoom call hosted by Fighting Maroon stalwart and game announcer Mikee Reyes.

UP basketball fans had a chance to win prizes by answering trivia questions and joining a raffle that was part of the ZOOMustahan.