Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog

Photo by  madebytess

Who enjoys watching The Apprentice?  Donald Trump’s line at the end of the show, “you’re fired!” is simply classic.  Of course, nobody would want to be the receiving end of that line, hehehe.  On the contrary, what we all want to hear is “you’re hired!”  If you’re looking for a job right now or have always wanted to be part of Yahoo! Philippines, here’s your chance to hear those 2 words because we have 2 job openings and you just might be the person we’re looking for.  Here are the details:

Position: Partner Account Manager
Location: Philippines

Job Responsibilities

• Cultivate and foster relationships with Yahoo!’s resellers and top advertisers.
• Develop and implement strategies to expand clients’ accounts across Yahoo! ad product portfolio.
• Provide quarterly sales projections on a weekly basis.
• Knowledge and understanding of all internal systems to effectively responding to and proactively reaching out on specialized client requests and up-selling opportunities.
• Handling and diffusing conflicts that arise with clients and accounts.
• Contribute to the creation and ongoing improvement of internal business processes and team processes, including but not limited to heading up special projects, meetings and team events.
• Ensure full compliance with Yahoo! ad sales standards, policies and best practices.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• 3 or more years total individual sales experience; advertising sales experience preferred.
• Proven history of successfully attaining or exceeding aggressive goals.
• Ability to work towards common goals in a multi-country sales environment; experience in MNCs preferred.
• Professional demeanor.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication (written and verbal) skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• A bachelor’s degree in business or a related field.
• Outstanding computer skills including solid knowledge of spreadsheets (Excel), PowerPoint, word processing (MS Word) and CRM systems.
• Basic statistical analysis.
• Able to handle multiple priorities and manage time effectively.
• Ability to work well within a team environment as well as individually.
• Able to reach out and build relationships with other teams across the organization.

Preferable Job Qualifications

• Passion for marketing and the Internet.
• Experience in off-line advertising/media, online advertising/media, channel marketing, strategic marketing and/or consulting is strongly preferred.
• Results driven, ambitious individual.
• Willingness to go above and beyond the job description and evolve over time.
• Intuitive/creative thinker. Comfortable operating in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment quickly and easily.
• Extremely proactive. Problem identifier and solver.

Interested applicants, email your cover letter and resume to job_opportunities [at] yahoo.com.ph.

Position: Yahoo! Messenger – Product Support Specialist

In this position you will use your strong technical background and excellent interpersonal skills to implement small and large-scale projects to make Yahoo! Messenger the #1 leading IM on the web.

The candidate must have the right balance between design capabilities and technical knowledge. As the product support specialist, you will specifically be working on IMVs, Plug-ins, Audibles and Avatars. You should be a Yahoo! Messenger addict who is very engaged and familiar with the features of Messenger.

Job Responsibilities:

• Work closely with user experience designers, product managers, and other engineers in a development environment that is highly collaborative.
• Exercise innovation in support of UI design and heuristics through your expertise in server and client side web development to enhance the overall user experience.
• Responsible for developing production-level code as well as proof-of-concepts and prototypes.

Minimum Job Qualifications:

• Strong command of Javascript, CSS, HTML, Flash ActionScript, W3C DOM methods and properties.
• Well versed in code optimization and software design principles, and have a passion and demonstrated experience in UI design and development.
• Excellent collaborative interpersonal communication and team interaction skills.

Preferable Job Qualifications:

• Proven expertise across a broad spectrum of Web 2.0 technologies: DHTML, Ajax/JavaScript, XML, JSON & web services API.
• Interest in latest trends and emerging technologies on the web.
• Familiarity with YUI.

Interested applicants, email your cover letter and resume to sg-prod-recruit-request [at] yahoo-inc.com.

Don’t forget to indicate the position you’re applying for in the subject of the email.  And feel free to spread this around to anyone you know who might be interested or qualifies for the role.  Hopefully, one of you gets hired soon!

Photo by Tiago Celestino

It has been more than 40 years since the world first heard the unique and catchy tunes of the Beatles and yet until today, we all continue to smile, cry, laugh, and twist to the various hits of the Fab Four.  There is no doubt that the quartet of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr changed the world with their music.  They were the music stars of our parents’ time and yet their influence continues to span even today’s generation.  Beatlemania obviously lives on.

Tomorrow, everyone gets a chance to celebrate this because July 10, 2008 will be the first ever Beatles Day celebration.  Here in Answers, Beatlemania is alive and well.  I checked Answers asked about the Beatles and it goes without saying that so many people are asking the community about their Beatles favorites – fave Beatles song (asked by mattski, jayjay and Kimberly T, just to name a few), fave Beatles vocalist, fave Beatles album, fave Beatles movie, fave Beatles quote, even your fave Beatles glitch or funny moment!

SkaterGirl9696 asked a very interesting question about the Beatles, she wanted to know why they were originally called the Quarrymen.  Thanks to Gunny for explaining that they were originally called the Quarrymen because most of the band members had attended Quarry Bank Grammar School.  (Imagine if they didn’t change their name, we’ll be having Quarrymania instead, hehehe.)  Another interesting question came from Smiley24 who asked what happened to the Beatles in the Philippines.  Yup, the Fab Four actually step foot here in our country on July of 1966 and as the_escapologist explained, they inadvertently snubbed then First Lady Imelda Marcos which resulted to some not-so-good experiences (thankfully, the Beatles forgave our country after that incident).

As you celebrate Beatles Day tomorrow with the world, please feel free to post more questions about the Beatles that you may have here in Answers, after all, it was the Fab Four who once said in their song, “there will be an answer, let it be.”

Hi everyone, the upcoming Yahoo! Philippines Answers Community Meet Up is all set and ready!  If you haven’t confirmed yet, there’s still time so do it now.  Here are the final details of the event:

Who: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Users (or YAPpers in short)
What: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Community Meet Up!
When: July 18, 2008, 7:00pm
Where: Circle Café Bar and Centerstage, 136-138 Jupiter Place Building, Jupiter Street, Bel- Air, Makati City

YAPpers who wish to attend, please email me the following (at jonasdelosreyes [at] ymail.com):
1. Full name:
2. Yahoo! Answers ID:
3. Mobile number:

The deadline for confirmation is this Friday, July 11, 2008.  To those who have confirmed already, thanks so much again and please feel free to spread the word to your fellow Answers users.  Just a little trivia for all of you, Circle Café is actually co-owned by local stars Karylle and Dingdong Dantes.  These celebrity entrepreneurs started Circle Café at Timog Ave. corner Tomas Morato but I’m guessing business is good because they decided to open a new branch in Jupiter St., Makati (that’s our venue!).

I can’t guarantee if Karylle or Dingdong will be there in our event (hehehe) but expect us and your fellow YAPpers to be present so don’t forget to bring your appetite, your curiosity and your smiles as we all look forward to the YAPpers Meet Up next week!

Photo by Nitro101

Last Sunday was another historic day for the Philippines and all Filipinos everywhere.  Before the eyes of millions of people around the world, our “Pambansang Kamao” Manny “the Pac-Man” Pacquiao brought glory and honor to every Filipino by knocking out boxer David Diaz of the US in nine rounds in Las Vegas, Nevada to take the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight title and becoming the only Asian to win four world boxing titles in different divisions.

I’m sure every Pinoy was rooting and praying for Manny to win.  I asked the community a few days before the fight who they think will win the match.  Of course, I know Pinoys would root for the Pac-Man (although there were some who thought Diaz would win, tsk, tsk, tsk) but wanted to find an answer that would give a fair analysis of the match.  Yangyang gave the best answer citing speed as the crucial factor and Manny’s advantage.  True enough, in the post-fight interview, Diaz said, “It was his speed, it was all his speed. He boxed much more than I thought he would.”

Manny has accomplished so much in the boxing ring many are saying he’s probably the best boxer in the world today.  Well23 has an open question right now (you might want to share your thoughts) asking that question and many are saying he is the best right now.  Christian Anderson on the other hand asked what else can Manny do to become the best boxer in the world and Mrraraavis thinks Manny should beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. first (who is retired now) because many consider him to be the best.  Maybe that’s why Leander thought of asking the community if a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight still a possibility, and Prince thinks so, saying it will be a very interesting match of super offense versus super defense.

We don’t know yet what’s next for Manny (GaNdA T. R Viii is suggesting that we make him our torchbearer in the upcoming Olympics) but one thing’s for sure, Manny has won not just his fights in the boxing ring but the hearts of every Pinoy and every boxing fan around the world.  To our “Pambansang Kamao,” congrats Manny, saludo kami sayo!

 Photo by HAEROLD PHOTOGRAPHX

Let’s do this YAPpers!  Many thanks to everyone that left a comment and shared their thoughts regarding the possibility of a meet up of the Pinoy community here in Yahoo! Answers!  Because of your feedback, we’re making this a reality.  Let’s have a Pinoy Answers Community Meet Up next month!  Here are the details:

Who: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Users
What: Yahoo! Philippines Answers Community Meet Up!
When: July 18, 2008, 7:30pm
Where: Makati City (specific place to be announced later)

Anyone who wants to attend, just email me the following:

1. Full name:
2. Yahoo! Answers ID:
3. Mobile number:

You can email me at jonasdelosreyes@ymail.com.  Feel free to leave a comment as well if there’s anything else you want to share to me and the community (like venue suggestion maybe, if you’re willing to assist in organizing this, etc.)

Btw, I think YAPpers as a name for Pinoys in Yahoo! Answers is so cool!  Thanks for informing me about it Japs!  And thanks to all the YAPpers!  Hope to see all of you soon!

Photo by lumaxart

Actually, it’s a question that every Pinoy here in Answers should answer.  Is it time for us to have a community meet up or not?  I’m just starting to meet all of you online but I’m sure it will be more exciting if we have an offline event, a meet up of the Pinoy Community in Yahoo! Answers!

Of course, this question raises a string of related questions.  When do we schedule the meet up?  I’m thinking July, but is it too soon or just right?  How about August?  We can have dinner in a restaurant, which leads to the next important question.  Where can we have our meet up?  I’m thinking in a restaurant in Makati City?  If not maybe Ortigas or Quezon City?  Any particular restaurant you have in mind?  Of course, I also want to have a meet up in Cebu (lived there for three years!), and definitely in Davao (can’t forget my Dabawenyo friends, hehehe), definitely in succeeding meet ups.

So share me your thoughts on this as we organize our first Pinoy Answers Community Meet Up.  I’ll make sure to book the place for the event, ensure there’s food and drinks for everyone, prepare an exciting and un-boring program, and bring lots of Yahoo! giveaways to give away!  Hope to see everyone soon!

UPDATE: There’s a big chance I’ll be in the Philippines this July 17 and 18 (a Thursday and a Friday), maybe we can set the Meet Up on the 18th of July, a Friday evening maybe?

 Photo by jay.tong

In case any of you haven’t heard of this yet, Yahoo! is serving 2 new email addresses just for you!  Aside from being able to use the “@yahoo.com” address, users can now sign up for a “@ymail.com” and “@rocketmail.com” as Yahoo! email address options.

Yahoo! Mail is the most popular web-based email in the world and according with approximately 266 million users.  Adding new domains not only contributes to its growth but also gives users a chance at better email choices.  Free email addresses are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, which means users who sign up now have a better chance of getting your name in your email.

For more info, check out this link now (http://mail.promotions.yahoo.com/newdomains/ph/) and sign up for a new Yahoo! email account!  I just did and made sure I got my name as my email.

Hi everyone, please take note of this important announcement.  The Answers engineers are scheduled to perform regular maintenance on Thursday, June 19 at 2pm.  We expect the work to last for an hour so Answers will be temporarily inaccessible during this period.

Sorry for any inconvenience.  I’ll keep you posted if there are any changes to the schedule.  In the meantime, if you are looking for something else to do during this time (aside from reading my previous posts in this blog, hehehe), why not check out some of our other sites and services, such as:

• Flickr (now with video!)
• Yahoo! Pinoy Connect (Find new ways to stay closer to your family and friends, wherever they are.)
• Yahoo! oneSearch for mobile (Discover this cool mobile service and try it now!)

….or maybe you can check out what’s the latest in the news.  Thanks for bearing with us!

Photo by hellochris

Thank you to everyone who gave an answer to the question I posted last Independence Day.  It was a simple and yet profound question that all Pinoys should ask themselves – “what is the one thing that makes you proud to be a Filipino?”  And I’m so happy to say that 118 of you took time to answer it!

I really had a great time reading all the answers and one thing I noticed which made me realize something, I only asked for one thing that makes us proud to be Pinoys and yet a lot of you gave more than one answer.  It’s not that you didn’t follow instructions, but I believe it’s more because there was really more than just one reason for us to be proud of who we are!  We really should learn to always count our blessings.

Speaking of blessings, I would like to congratulate Sparkspill for getting the best answer (since it was for Independence Day, I decided to be democratic and let everyone vote for it).  I didn’t announce this before but I’m feeling extra generous lately so for giving the best answer, I’m sending Sparkspill some Yahoo! gifts as prize for his answer!  Congrats Sparkspill, make sure you reply to my email and I’ll send the stuff right away.

To everyone else, don’t you worry because this won’t be the last time this happens.  I’ll be giving away prizes every now and then and will keep you informed about it.  Again, thank you so much for all your answers.  So let’s all continue to be active in asking and answering questions posted by our fellow Pinoys.  The successful Independence Day feature only goes to show that the Pinoy community is really growing in number and in activity here in Yahoo! Answers.  Which makes me think, is it time to have a Pinoy community meet up soon?  Hmm, what do you all think?

Photo by shioshvili

I was catching up on news about all things Superman (obviously I’m a Superman fan) and just read an article from Newsarama.com which published their Top 10 list of Best Comic Book Dads in honor of Father’s Day.  Their number one pick is Jonathan Kent, the fictional dad of Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent.  According to the article, Pa Kent’s “gentle nature, constant optimism, and wisdom make him the only choice for #1 on our list of the Best Dads.”

I wonder what you remember most about your dad?  My dad is a humble, hard working family man who is best known by everyone around him as optimistic and jovial.  If not for him, I won’t be where I am right now.  I remember it was my dad who got me into computers as a very young kid because he knew this was the future, even though he only learned how to use one a few years ago when his company gave them laptops as mandatory tools of their trade.  It was like sowing and reaping because eventually I was the one who taught him how to use his computer, use the various desktop publication tools and even surf the web and send email.

I’m talking about my dad because last Sunday, June 15, is Father’s Day and even though the event doesn’t have as much hype as Mother’s Day, it’s equally important and should be celebrated as well.  One of our community members, korah, asked Answers for some ideas on what to give her dad on Father’s Day and Kawaii gave the best answer - men’s cologne or tie.  Obviously it’s not very hard to please our dads. :)  Zahra however had a different dilemma since her dad doesn’t like the typical Father’s day stuff people give.  Good thing JessicaMarie suggested that she can take his dad out to lunch or dinner.

Again, nothing beats spending time with our dads as a gift.  I hope celebrating Father’s Day only served to remind us that we should never fail to show our love and thanksgiving to our dads for all things super that they have done and continue to do for us.  To all the tatays here in the Pinoy Answers Community, Happy Father’s Day!