@Schu_Shop and @Myth_boutique Workshop

Hello Fierces!!

I got great news. 

For those who aim to be the next Anna Wintour or Nina Garcia, here's a chance just for you.

SCHU and MYTH will be having  a FREE “Weekend Workshop” on September 29, 2012 (Saturday) from 3PM to 6PM  at the SCHU Factory Outlet at Residencia 8888, Pearl Drive corner Amethyst St., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. 

The event will be an intimate seminar with a maximum of 30 attendees. The workshop will be about Fashion PR and Fashion Writing by Mr. Tedrick Yau, PR & Events Manager of One Mega Group and Ms. Sarah Santiago, Features Editor of MEGA Magazine. 

And guess what Fierces, SCHU and MYTH is allowing  ME (yup yours truly) to take one reader of our dear blog to the workshop this coming Saturday. 

Here's how to join:

 Follow: @schu_shop and @myth_boutique

 Tweet:  "I want to attend @schu_shop and @myth_boutique's FREE Weekend Workshop on Sept. 29 at the #SchuFactoryOutlet  tagging me @alexavillano

And..... aside from the free workshop, participants will be given loot bags and raffle off Schu and Myth gift certificates.
I will choose the winner by WEDNESDAY.

So What are you waiting for? Start tagging away!!

Alexa

The Social Good Summit: Responsible Online Users

Good day fierces!

Again, I sincerely apologize if I don't update the blog as often as I can due to work commitments but will do my best once my schedule permits.

So from journalism class, let's switch to usage of social media. I was fortunate to be one of the lucky 550 participants in the recent Social Good Summit last Sept. 22 at the Asian Institute of Management. Sponsored by @tweetupMNL and @rapplerdotcom together with Mashable, the event saw the gathering of various speakers in the government, entertainment and local citizens who are changing the landscape of social media in the country. The summit was divided into two sessions: morning and afternoon and I attended the afternoon session. Speakers included Tourism Sec. Mon Jimenez, Communications Sec. Ricky Carandang, Smart's Mon Isberto, FOI advocate and lawyer Chris Lao, TV host, magazine editor and columnist Bianca Gonzalez and Rappler's Maria Ressa. Master of Ceremonies were Tim Tap and prof. Chay Hofilena.

Each speaker talked about the importance of social media. Jimenez, who was credited for the slogan It's More Fun in the Philippines said that social media has helped the tourism industry because of the campaign's viral marketing. He even said that from the previous years, more tourists are now coming to the country and that the department is working double time to meet the demand.

Carandang, one of the heads of Malacanang's media bureau said that through social media, the government is now in tune with the people's needs. He showed a presentation of the gov't newsletter The Gazette and the evolution of the other department's use of twitter and facebook accounts.

Tourism Sec. Mon Jimenez and Com sec. Ricky Carandang answers questions from the audience. Hosts were Tim Yap and Prof. Chay Hofilena.

Smart, one of the country's leading telecommunication companies was not only a sponsor of the event but also talked about the importance of the cellphone industry in the country. Isberto said that social media has definitely changed the landscape of the telecommunication industry as more social media users rely on celphones as their means of communicating with one another.

Chris Lao, Bianca Gonzalez and Maria Ressa.

The famous line "I was not informed," made him the talked of the cyberworld last year but Chris Lao showed his courage infront of a room of people to talk about his experience as a victim of cyberbullying. Lao, now a lawyer told the audience that while he can laugh about it now, he is still in the process of healing and confessed that at one point, he wanted to leave the country. He has since become a staunch advocate of the Freedom of Information Bill still pending in Congress, appeared in a commercial and is now happily married with a child.

For someone used to the media spotlight, Bianca Gonzalez is also a victim of cyberbullying. She told the audience about her experience when one person claimed and tweeted she knew her way back in La Salle Zobel and began maligning her on twitter. When she confronted the person online, the girl made a 360 degrees turn and began praising her instead. The story was even documented by Pep.ph. In the end, Bianca gave the audience 10 rules to remember in the use of social media which should always be remembered.

One of the most popular journalists in the country, Maria Ressa was the final speaker of the event. As former head for ABS-CBN and credited for the citizen journalism program of the station, Maria formed Rappler and is set to launch her book From Bin Laden to Facebook in October. Her presentation showed he evolution of social  media power especially in the Middle East which has been in the news for the past year. In fact, she even told the audience that social media has outnumbered porn as the number one hobby online.

Tonyo Cruz of @tweetupMnL

A question and answer portion of each session was also done and unfortunately, I was not able to ask my questions to due to time restriction but nevertheless had a good time. Tonyo Cruz of tweetupMNL closed the event with his remarks and hopes that the country will continue to show that the Philippines is indeed the number one social media capital of the world.

Indeed, the summit has been one of the best experiences so far. Looking forward to another one soon.

In the end, it up to us about being a responsible social media user. Always learn that with the freedom comes the proper use and responsible for actions.

A rare opportunity. Yours truly with Rappler's Maria Ressa.

Holding one of the moods of Rappler's Mood Meter.

Alexa

Fullybooked and SOFA Capsule series of talks, Coursera classes

I know I own alot of updates but please bear with me since I'm in the process of closing pages of DiabetEASE magazine. Will make the necessary updates when my schedule permits me.

Originally scheduled last August 15, the Creative talk by Amina Aranaz-Alunan pushed last August 25 at Fullybooked Bonifacio High Street. Amina is a familiar face as she is not only a model but also one of the co-founders of the School of Fashion and the Arts or known as SOFA. Married to Rafa Alunan, she is a mother of three children and is also the creative director of Aranaz bags which was started by her mother.

In Amina's talks, she shared that creativity is everywhere. She was able to practice her skills further after she became a fashion assistant for Chalk magazine and then left for Instituto Marangoni in Italy to study. After coming back, she established SOFA and became actively involved in Aranaz bags, which is one of the most popular brands carried by fashionistas in Manila.

One of the most interesting topics she told the audience is about using mood boards. A mood board is a collage that you can use as an inspiration for your collection or even for writing. I recalled having a class with Jim Paredes about using mood boards ( it was called a future board in the session) and I believe it really comes in handy because it will help you in decluttering what you want to do with your fashion collection or
 even the story you want to write about.

SOFA founder Amina Aranaz-Alunan shares he insights in creativity  last Aug 25 at Fullybooked Bonifacio High Street.

Also, SOFA had two other capsule sessions: interior design and online journalism. Yesterday, I attended the online journalism class and I have to say I definitely enjoyed it. The speaker was Carla Perlas, editor of One Mega's Celebrity Living and former associate editor of Mega Magazine.

Carla tackled blogging since it's the newest form of journalism that's happening. One of the key points she told us in the class that blogging is a SERVICE. While blogging is a form of expression whether it be personal or for media, she told us that we are still rendering service, informing our readers.

SOFA fashion journalist teacher and Celebrity Living EIC Carla Perlas shares her tips on online journalism and blogging.

She also discussed the issue of print editors and bloggers, which has become a controversial topic in the industry. She even shared a story that while she and her former boss were in a fashion event, they were asked if only two or three people from their staff can go since bloggers also had seats. Her story just shows how powerful the bloggers are nowadays. They are the new breed of ROCKSTARS, the people who command respect because of their readers.

As a journalist and a staff writer for DiabetEASE, I know that bloggers have power in readership. But I also believe that for you to be a good blogger, you have to be taught the proper techniques of writing. This is what I believe that bloggers lack. Popularity is one thing but informing is another. It's just about writing what's happening but you also have to be aware of the situation. Read books, magazines and online journals that are credible. Also, you have to find your writing style or voice because it will define who you are.

The online journalism class also gave me the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers. We even exchanged blog sites so we can check it ourselves. I also met Nikki, a fellow student who was nice enough to sit down with me and discuss topics such as writing and even issues that we believe are very important in writing and blogging. She was a PT graduate and I asked questions about the health industry since I am working for a health magazine. 

Aside from the SOFA and Fullybooked classes, I also enrolled myself in Coursera, an online group which has various subjects taught by professors from international universities. For this month, I will be taking classes on World History since 1300 and Roman and Greek Mythology. I believe that despite being a professional, learning should never stop. I really can't wait for it.

So Fierces I encourage you to never stop learning. Believe me, you'll be surprise that while you may know something, there are still things yet to be learn.

Love,
Alexa

Beauty Junkie moment: Snoe Beauty Products and Watsons

I must be the world's frustrated beauty junkie right now!

At the height of my 30th birthday, I found myself at the Watsons store so many times for the past few days looking at every bath, body and face product and testing them and asking questions from the sales representatives. So aside from the shoes I bought from Primadonna and the lunches I had with my friends, I treated myself to some beauty shopping at Watsons and scooping out their olive oil base shampoos and conditioners and newly released cream body washes. Since they have the campaign Switch and Save, I ended buying three products and since it was buy 1 take 1, I ended with six products on my way home. Not bad!!

My Watsons buy. Currently using the purple body wash.

A good friend and Fierce upcoming stylist Fifi Abboud recently shared a new discovery called Snoe Argan Oil based Heroes Conditioner on his blog (xoxofiras.tumblr.com). From Fifi's blog, he shared that the conditioner worked so well and smelled so nice. Being the curious and frustrated beauty junkie I am, I decided to try it myself and in three words- I LOVE IT!!! My hair feels soft and relaxed and it even smell so good.

My first purchase from Snoe Beauty-Hair Heroes (Argan oil base conditioner) and Magic Apple s-rub.

Went to the Cosmetics expo at Megamall last Saturday and bought the pore minimizer and slimming gel. Comes in a cute shopping bag too!!

I also bought Snoe beauty's S-rub, a dry lotion that promises to exfoliate dry skin. I tried it before the conditioner and it worked well although I recommend to exfoliate with a paddle scrub to really exfoliate the dry skin. I also bought their Pore Minimizer set and Slimming Gel. I have yet to try the Pore Minimizer but has been rubbing some of the slimming gel twice a day to test for myself how it will shrink my stomach. Exercise and a healthy lifestyle is still a must though so I really have to work on this.

So if you want to try the products go ahead. Run to our nearest Watsons store for the Switch and Save and  checkout Snoe Beauty at their website http://www.snoebeauty.com for more information.