Thursday, April 03, 2008 Toral: Lifestreaming in RP By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
AS more Filipinos connect to the Internet, users post records of their daily activities, such as uploading photos, videos, blogging and social updates, among others. All of these activities are now referred to as “lifestreaming.”
Instead of just updating several accounts, there are now sites that allow you to aggregate all information you have scattered everywhere in one location, such as those that have built plugged-ins for Facebook.com, Friendfeed.com and Tumblr.com, among others.
The challenge in posting our personal information online is that it exposes so much of our habits that advertisers use to target desired customers. If we don’t want to be exposed to such risk, we can decide which information to be publicly shared or share it only with selected contacts.
For instance, if I’m not comfortable about talking about my family and children, I will not post their personal information and activities. Or if I do, I will not subject such information to sharing.
We have reached a point where we can be proud of our individuality, what we have, as well as our choices, whether they are popular or not. It is no longer about running after status symbols but more on stories of people around us. That is why today, there are more people who are known online compared to a handful celebrities, seven to 10 years ago.
To be known, we have to take the bold step and go out there, introduce ourselves and make our presence felt. Depending on how we will position ourselves, we may be able to capture the interest of our target audience, and even earn some respect in the long run.
I’ve been lifestreaming my life to friends, people I’ve met, and those within my community. I hardly reach out beyond these groups. However, releasing an international book made me realize that I need to go out of my shell and be bolder. This includes developing an international identity, such as getting a domain name that is not identifiable to a country, and reaching out to successful people in their fields.
I have used my blog, Facebook account and Twitter.com to meet new people that I never thought I’d e-mail to or ask for help from before. With these platforms, I was able to get access to their lifestream where I’m also learning. In rare instances, I interact with them as well. From time to time, I get a response, which makes the whole effort worth it.
Surrounding myself with these people has also made me re-consider my approach to lifestreaming, blogging and all. It pressures me to push it to the next level and be outstanding. Through it, I hope to attain the status I desire in the future.
Isn’t this what marketing is all about? To gain market acceptance, whether we have a product or service to offer, we have to go out there and prove ourselves worthy.
