NOTES
9 April 2000
When two students in their twenties could transform a directory of their favorite Web sites into a company with a market value of close to $100 billion (Yahoo!), it's easy to tell that cyberspace is where today's gold rush is. Even with giant leading-edge companies such as Amazon.com still not making any profits, faith in the potential of e-commerce continues to fuel what is now turning out to be a dizzying rise in the technology market. In the Philippines, we're finally starting to see some serious "mining" on the "dot.com" front. These are exciting times for those who have positioned themselves on the Net and those who have the best ideas and business plans, because far more than in the bricks and mortar world of business, brain rules over brawn in cyberspace. Here are some highlights of the recent e-business "commotion" in the Philippines:Is the excitement about the future of e-business in the Philippines based on reality? Here are some available data:
These are trends to be excited about and, of course, the Philippine stock market can use a boost in capitalization especially with the bleeding caused by the BW scandal. Currently, it is worth around P1.8 trillion, still less than half of Yahoo's market value. According to Jose Salcedo, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives and once a leading stock market analyst, "The market is out of synch. There are few, if any, issues that are part of what you call the new economy or the Internet, information technology, convergence, broadband, e-commerce or e-business." With traditional companies such as PLDT still laggardly dominating the Philippine stock market, there is now a push for infotech stocks to get listed to fuel a market recovery.
Why am I writing about e-business? Well, after 3 years online and with our own Internet domain, I think PhilippineUpdate.com can now aim for a much bigger audience by broadening our scope and tapping into new resources. The business prospects are excellent and our record is pretty strong (despite measly resources):
- 1998 Philippine Webby Award--#1 People's Choice (Government/Politics Category)
- Yahoo's main link on Philippine politics (Yahoo Asia, Full Coverage, et cetera)
- Germany-based BizLinx.de's main link on Philippine politics (potential investors actually read us--that's why Erap often bashes the media for spreading "disinformation" on the Net)
- Rated 5 (on a scale of 5) by The Web Philippines
- Ken Ilio's Tribung Pinoy's Hall of Fame, Best of Cyber Pinoy's Sigay Award, Tanikalang Ginto Featured Site
- Kessler Freedman's Political Site of the Day
- Top 5 Filipino Sites (all categories), GlobalPinoy.com
- Top 10 Filipino Sites (all categories), E-Pinoy.com
- Referenced by other established media sites including the Christian Science Monitor's online edition
- From an average of 12 hits a day during our first few months in 1997, generated up to more than 10,000 hits in 1 day after we got our own domain name
So what's the plan? First, let me tell you what we want:
PhilippineUpdate.com: Mission/Vision
- To maintain a Web site that seamlessly delivers bottom-line news and views about the Philippines and Filipinos
- To follow the highest level of journalistic standards
- To apply the most appropriate technology to reach the widest audience possible and deliver content in the most efficient way
- To be an advocate of social causes without becoming partisan
- To use humor as a means to raise important societal issues and distinguish the site from run-of-the-mill online newspapers
- To build and nurture a solid team of professionals committed to meeting the information needs of the target market
PhilippineUpdate.com: Goals
- To keep our niche as the number one Web-based source of information on Philippine politics
- To expand coverage from politics to lifestyle, sports, entertainment, business, and other general topics
- To use a dedicated server and update the site once a day
- To form a select group of Web specialists, who will innovatively utilize the latest online technology toward a seamless delivery of information and the creation of a user-friendly site
- To subscribe to the best news networks for reliable information
- To hire a team of the best columnists to provide the most credible analysis of the news
- To deliver other services such as free e-mail, bulletin boards, chat rooms, research guidance, information retrieval, et cetera to users
- To create a "Solutions Page," a public repository of tried-and-true approaches to community and national problems (I once created a "Policy Forum" to serve a similar purpose, but it didn't fly. There is a need to be a little more proactive on this.)
- WE WILL BE the number one source of Philippine-related news and views on the Web
Before I jump into a business decision, I strongly encourage inputs from you, our most loyal visitors. As I've said in the past, we're around only because I see that people keep coming back, and most are generous with their encouraging feedback. Now it's time take stock of the situation and decide on where we want to go from here.
I specifically need comments on the following issues:
- Do you have skills or expertise (business savvy, marketing, graphic and Web design, writing, editing, et cetera) we can utilize to pursue the site's mission and vision? Please send a resume. Note that what's amazing about this day and age of the Internet is that members of a working team can be in different corners of the world and still produce the same, perhaps even better results. In other words, it doesn't matter whether you are in Geneva, Switzerland or in Barangay Balabag, Boracay--just tell me what you can do.
- Any thoughts on business partnerships? One of the more tempting options is to get absorbed by a giant site and not worry about marketing or logistics.
- Funding issues: To IPO or not to IPO. What about venture capitalists? Which ones are Erap cronies? I'll be putting together a business plan for a couple of investors who have been very actively seeking out start-ups; if you know of others, it will be good to have a range of options.
There. I'd appreciate a note:
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