Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina filed House Resolution No. 184 that aims to regulate the use of social networking sites on government offices.  Rep. Quimbo said that there is need to “impose regulations on the use of government internet facilities to access social networking sites in their respective offices.”  If this becomes a law, government agencies will be required to submit their respective cyber use regulations that will be part of each agency’s documents to be included during budget deliberations.
Rep. Quimbo recognized though the power of social networking sites especially for information dissemination but with a government that is facing a record-high budget deficit, the unabated use of these sites he said “adversely affects their productivity and the quality of service they provide.”  Further, the lawmaker said,

“The government stands to lose an estimated P103,158,000 every month for electricity expenses alone if all the estimated 900,000 government employees use government computers for at least two hours of unauthorized online social networking activities.”

It was already posted here before that the provincial government of Quezon has already ordered their employees not to use social networking site and surf the internet fearing that it will cause negative impacts on employee productivity.  Yet it was uncovered that the very reason of the “ban” was because the provincial government got too lazy on paying their electricity bills that already amounted to P20 million, and the ban on web use is just actually a ploy for cost-cutting measures.

Philippines ranks on top ten countries social networking sites users.

Do you agree that the use of social networking sites in government be highly regulated?

Image from Blog CDN

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Have you experienced being told to shut up on Twitter? No, this is not a direct message that is confined between the privacy of the two of you and to hell with everyone else if you both will do a fist fight or a word war.

Being told to shut up on the public timeline of Twitter and be told to twit twit twit this more worthy stuff than twitting crap?

Sounds nasty isn’t it? Yes it is.

Shut Up And Twit These Stuffs Instead

It happened two weeks ago while Typhoon Ondoy was wrecking havoc on Metro Manila and on many parts of Luzon. Yes, I was tweeting during that time braving the heavy rains and some flooding near our area. Good thing I have my own rubber boat.  What was I tweeting?

Obviously I was tweeting my posts and my thoughts and all, like “Oh my goodness, when will this heavy rain stop?” and “Crocs on the Loose” and “Darn, I am so tired”…etc.   And it is no accident for me to tweet socio-political issues and ideas nor was I just trying to piss off some very serious people out there while other Filipinos were drowning and wet and hungry and holding on to dear life. Was it like rubbing salt to bleeding wound?

Out of nowhere a stranger (a stranger in the most literal sense that made me ask myself why in the world have I followed this guy in the first place) twitted me saying: “Dude you should stop tweeting political stuffs. Tweets better used for info dissemination on typhoon right now. Seriously.”

Huwaaat??? Are you serious? Ok, I see it, you are.

I totally understand the predicament of this guy who tweeted me from somewhere. Maybe he was very very upset over what has happened with the flooding here and there and all the destruction in brought the metropolis.

But hey, you tweeted that on the public timeline. It was like it also rained on me so hard.

What to Do Someone Told You to Shut Up on Twitter

I tried to keep myself all calm and tried to re-read his message over and over again. Letter and words all in my brain. And after so many times of reading the message trying to confirm what I thought of, I still ended up thinking that he indeed crossed the border.

Here is how I handled the particular blogging issue:

1.   Tried to re-read the message if it was indeed offending, or that he said some truth, or I was just carried away by my excitement to get back at someone who tried to tell me to shut up and twit these kinds of stuffs instead.

2.  I asked another blogging buddy to examine the message if it was indeed offending. It is better sometimes to ask someone who is impartial to tell you of what he thinks on blogging issues. I just hope that blogging buddy I asked to assess the message was indeed impartial. *wink* And what makes this step more important is your BBFs (Blogging BestFriends) could also share some thoughts on how to easily handle these kinds of crazy stuffs.

3.  When your blogging buddy told you his opinion it is now up to you to decide if you are to launch your warheads right to the direction of that nasty guy or just let is pass by as if nothing happened. Will you defend yourself against the accusations of this man or cut off the cheap online relationship? Or was he worth keeping?

4. As for me, I felt offended for he has no right to tell me what to say and not to say; he has no right to twit that for the whole damn world to know; and he does not know nor even read what is the content and context of my posts.  He could have recommended on me to tweet those things that he wanted me to say on Twitter, that would have been all so fine but he choose to bully  me outright.  If I was not tweeting every second infos about the typhoon the, does that I mean I care less about the plight of our fellow Filipinos who were suffering the typhoon’s fury?

And it was the same thing that my BBF told me so I had to immediately cut short the shallow Twitter relationship. I immediately unfollowed the guy and cut off all relationships with him on other social networks. So that ended up our little online romance when he proposed to me to shut up. Hey, I am paid by speaking up.

It does not hurt anyway to unfollow people you do not really know and just makes your twitter counter bloated with uninteresting strangers. Unless this is a very close blogging buddy, I will certainly think twice of cutting off the Twitter relationship. I would rather trade barbs and show my punching power, for in the end it will just be a painful process of pruning and strengthening our friendship; than to totally cut off the friendship.

Blogging Issue Again?  And more?

Well, blogging is a place full of issues, intrigues and nasty people. But don’t get all too afraid. The great, talented, happy and helpful people outnumber those who cannot live up what their mommas taught them during their younger years.

When confronted with blogging issues? Be calm. (Yes Bros, I now learned this rare blogging virtue). And consult other blogging buddies especially those who could be called “pros”, “veterans” or “more experienced” for their wisdom if you are uncertain on how to handle such irritating issues. Then, decide.

But certainly, never stop from blogging. There will be more of this kind of issue as you go along on your blogging endeavor; but at that time, you are already  a “pro” by your own right.

On to you now guys. Have you experienced being told not to tweet what you are tweeting on the public timeline of Twitter and look tweet for some more worthy stuffs? How did you or would you handle such incidents and blogging issues?

Image by EmptyField

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Since late last week, Elmot has been cut off from the Twitterworld. And it has been a calvary for me. Actually I am not really been blocked from using Twitter because of sending some nasty tweets against the administrator for being such a genius, or because of tweeting that George W. Bush is the very reason why we are on a global economic downturn; for the little luck I have is that I could still access it, except from our office computers.

My tweeting may have sent very strong signals to our network administrator that I am having symptoms of passionate loving with Twitter, and so whenever I type twitter.com on my url, a new page automatically opens up to piss me off by bluntly saying: Site is Blocked by Network Administrator. Reason: social networking site.

Darn, this is an apocalypse.

It tried some simple experiment and at the same time have some fun.

I opened some sexy site and voila, hot chicks roasted under the summer sun. Seems like I brought the sun inside my cubicle; boiling hot at 100 degrees Celsius. While Twitter is blocked for being a social networking site, —–.com is not blocked despite displaying chicks wearing nothing but belts and hair clips. The experiment worked out, and proved one thing: you should not socialize online, but you can watch some hot mommas doing a pole dance.

Maybe blocking Twitter impedes my work and many of those in our community including students, but if I may argue, I am spending even longer hours to check on my emails from Yahoo than tweeting. Sounds angry? Nope, just being reasonable. Well, I could still tweet home or even on internet cafes.

I find it funny when Jan and Jeremae told me to drop off my goal of finishing my Master’s degree for it simply distracts my sheer love of tweeting. If tweeting could only give me some big glistening cash I would. LOL! Hey guys I am not addicted to it yet, right Jan? LOL!

But for me tweeting is just but part of the game of life; expanding your horizon, learning more meeting more people. This is the phenomenon called globalization. Boundless horizon, limitless opportunities and unending expansion of thoughts. I am not tweeting to gain traffic, for in all of those who experimented on it, search engines are still the top sources of traffic. And so the answer for it is simply to use SEO techniques. I am tweeting to gain friends and not only confine myself to the solitary space of where I am; learn more through what others see, hear and say.

To make a balance look at the growing phenomenon of tweeting, one may also fall prey to addiction which by all means unhealthy. So I made a list not only for me to introspect and check my level of sanity but also as helpful tips for everyone.

Here is my list of signs when you are already getting addicted to Twitter. And to all those who are guilty, kindly raise your hands and say tweet, tweet. LOL

1. You always check your twitter account every second, every minute and tweets even your blinking and breathing to all your followers. Wow seems like a demi-god? Ahahha…

2. You are already having a hard time as to what blog post to make for you are so consumed by tweeting, but most of the time you end up writing a post about your tweeter or your tweets.

3. You connected twitter to your mobile and even when you are praying your mantra on your toilet, you are tweeting your friends of what you are doing. Yuck!

4. You are always overzealous to receive the replies from your sent messages via twitter and gets suicidal when they don’t reply.

5. When some of your followers who you do not even know or have not even tweeted some Hi or Hello’s unfollowed you, you mourn for more than a week.

6. You jump for joy when you receive a message from your followers or from those you follow and dances like a robin.

7. You are tweeting even in your dreams and wakes up to tweet the same things you dreamt of.

8. You are chirping when you sleep instead of snoring. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet.

9. You get afraid of cats.

10. You go up the 5th floor of your office building and tend to believe you can fly. Its a bird, its a plane, its TwitterMan!

I am certainly not addicted to Twitter. I just have some passionate loving with it. How about you guys, any number from the list that you have experienced? Tweet, tweet, tweet.

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Indeed, Twitter has become one of the fastest global phenomenon spreading in the blogosphere unceasingly. I am even wondering, is twitter on steroids? Twitter has certainly made the lives of bloggers and those enthused with online networking with friends easier if not more enjoyable. With Twitter, you can follow the latest happenings about your favorite sites or blogs and those who are behind it every minute, every hour through somewhat like a short messaging system. And it applies vice-versa.

I am also on Twitter (Elmot), I am using it too. And my verdict is that it is simply amazing. No second thoughts when I signed up for it.

But every coin tossed in the air will always give gamblers two sides to choose from. Though Twitter has reaped up praises for all those users who are into it, there also users who become so comfortable of tweeting anything and everything. They have become irresponsible users and that little bird that used to gently tweet haunted them back like hungry vultures. Here are some of those unlucky fellows.

During this hard times when all economies cringe at the spiraling down of wealth and millions losses their jobs, a lucky job applicant tweeted this courtesy of bhc3:

Cisco just offered a job! NOw I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.

What a nuthead. This message caught the attention of Tim Levand, a channel partner advocate of Cisco. And his response to this tweet?

Who is the hiring manager? I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.

And his little bird came back bitten by a vulture. I guess this guy, ended up falling in line in some soup kitchen station.

Another guy, a PR Man also tweeted this one about Memphis posted over at Shankman:

Anything more to say on this one? Only that, his tweet came back to haunt him.

The morale of these stories: Tweet responsibly. Use the web responsibly. If there is one greatest morsel of wisdom for us to always keep on our pockets is that we will reap what we sow. Roy said it right on one of his comments on my blog post, that Your are what you write.

Maybe this time, we should be more vigilant of those being posted on twitter, for it maybe its already something about us. Hmmm…

Ever encountered incidents like these on the web? Do think that Twitter has to do something to avoid this kinds of incidents, or are these things totally beyond their control and solely depends of indvidual sense of responsibility? Be heard.

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