Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog

One of the things I enjoyed watching in TV before was TechTV, a 24-hour cable based channel which featured shows about computers, technology and the Internet (obviously, I’m a geek, hehehe). This now defunct channel used to have a very popular show called Call for Help, which offered technical advice and tips to users with computer and other tech-related problems. In a way, it was like Answers on TV.

One of Call for Help’s lead host before was Chris Pirillo, a well known technology personality well known for founding and maintaining Lockergnome, a technical support forum and Gnomedex, an annual technical conference. He currently live streams from his home-office and creates online videos daily from talking about software, computers, iPhone apps, and other technology-related events.

Last week, Chris featured in his site a top ten list on ways to get good answers from Yahoo! Answers shared to him by an Answers user nicknamed ScottyG. The list is very informative and helpful that I decided to share it to everyone in the community as well.

• It may sound strange, but do not make the title too descriptive. If the title is too descriptive, many people will not even open the question to take a look at it. Almost all of my most answered questions have titles which are not overly descriptive.
• Spelling goes a long way. It is much easier to read a correctly spelled question than one with spelling and grammatical errors.
• Do not include huge chunks of conversation in your question. Keep it informative but informal.
• I recommend using bullet points and a summary of the question. This is an easy-to-read format.
• Look for answers with good ’sources’. Remember, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone so it is not always true.
• Do not use the ‘add details’ option to have a chat with answerers. Many questions end up with a flood of added details.
• Don’t put ‘a quick 10 points’ in the question or title. If you do this, you will get a lot of short, rushed comments rather than longer, detailed answers.
• Do not post the same post many times in a short period of time. The Yahoo community WILL ignore your question if you do this!
• Do not put ‘title says it all’ in the question. Questions can seem quite ambiguous on the Internet, so further details will be needed.
• As soon as you have the answer, pick the best answer straight away. If you are a courteous user, your questions will be answered much faster.

I hope everyone gets to see and read this list. What do you think of this list? I’m guessing there are more than 10 ways to get really good answers from the community. If you have any tips in mind that wasn’t mentioned above, feel free to share it to us by leaving a comment. Again, I’m sure we’ll all benefit from this knowledge-sharing activity.

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Photo by Amsk

One of the challenges we all face everyday is the daily commute.  Commuting is defined as the process of traveling between one’s place of residence and regular place of work or school.  This means whether we drive a car or take public transport like the MRT, LRT, bus, jeep, tricycle, or pedicab, commuting is an unavoidable aspect of our day-to-day activities.  For me, I take the bus to work and the journey takes about an hour, thankfully it’s just one ride.  What I do during that one hour is take a nap.  I guess I’ve become an expert already in taking naps in bus rides because when I was in college, I take the bus to school and the ride takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes (I live in Parañaque and school is up north!).  During that time, I would usually take a nap (unless there’s an exam, in that case I would be cramming a review, hehehe).

If you observe the people around you while you’re commuting, we all have different habits while we wait for our stop.  Some people have their earphones plugged and listening to music, others will carry a newspaper or a book and just read, some will either be texting with their cellphones or play with their PSPs or other gaming devices.  What about you?  What do you usually do when commuting to work or school?

Speaking of commuting, I noticed that one of the many questions people ask in Answers is directions, like what’s the best way to commute to a specific place.  This is really cool because I have personally benefited numerous times from people who know of a better way teaching me how to get to a place (usually it’s from my dad, hehehe).  You’ll see questions like how to commute to Ermita, Manila, how to get to the World Trade Center if you’re coming from SM North Edsa, or what ride to take to get to Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, or how to get to Festival Supermall in Alabang, how to commute to the Department of Foreign Affairs from Laguna, or how to go to Enchanted Kingdom if coming from Manila.  The list goes on and on.

So many questions and so many places, it’s a good thing there’s someone in the community who knows and is willing to help.  And even if I’m not the person asking, I’m actually glad I read the answers because who knows when I’ll need to go to one of these places.  When that happens, I’ll be thanking Answers in the future for showing me the way, literally.

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Photo by debaird

All eyes will be on Beijing, China this August 8, 2008 when the XXIX Summer Olympic Games opens and for the next 16 days, we will be spectators to the best of the best athletes from around the globe who will compete in various sports events in the spirit of peace and unity.

The Olympic spirit, as symbolized by the Olympic flame, is shining brighter than ever, and it can be felt even here in Answers.  Many people have been asking Olympics-related questions and one of the things I’m sure Pinoys want to know is will we have a delegation in the 2008 Summer Olympics.  Dennis asked this to the community 3 months ago and Japs gave him the best answer – yes, although at that time, the finally tally wasn’t finished yet.  We know now that 15 athletes from our country will be participating in the Games.

Rain asked the question why the Olympic Torch didn’t pass by the Philippines considering the event takes place in Asia and Charles explained that the route of the torch followed the “Silk Road” which symbolized China’s ancient links to the rest of the world, and apparently the Philippines is not part of it.  Devillish Gurl wanted to know who will broadcast the Olympic Games in our country and Kasia was able to answer that – the broadcast rights of the 2008 Olympics was awarded to Solar Entertainment, beating the state-run NBN TV Network.

Narciso_vigo2000 asked the Pinoy community if we think this will be the year we get our 1st Olympic gold medal and Michael N said our chances of winning one are as good as ever, and most likely we’ll get it in boxing.  Let’s all hope and pray that our athletes bring home the gold this year, if not, than any medal will still be commendable.  Their participation alone in the Olympic Games makes them winners.  This is what the Olympic Games is all about, and we can clearly see this in the Olympic Creed:

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

To get the latest news on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, make sure to drop by our special Olympics section in Yahoo! Philippines News.

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We have been listening to your feedback and have been working hard this summer to keep improving Answers.  Check out these new stuff in Answers that I’m sure will make asking and answering a better experience for all of us.  One of the updates that was just implemented and you may have noticed already is that we changed the Ask and Answer pages to incorporate tips to help you get the most out of Answers.

Now, when you ask or answer a question, you will see a yellow speech bubble giving you some tips:

If there is any spelling mistake (I’m sure this happens to all of us, we all type too fast sometimes), you will be warned and, with help of the Spell Checker, be able to correct all mistakes.

Ignore, Change and click Done when ready.  This will make your questions and answers look better (and by that I mean readable, hehehe).

We will also warn you if your caps lock is on… you know, in the Internet world, writing in capitals is often perceived as shouting and regarded as bad netiquette.

For the experts amongst you who feel as though you don’t need any help, don’t worry because if you think the tips will just annoy you they can easily be closed.  You only need to click on the “x” on the top right of the speech bubble and they are gone.

These are just a few of the tips we have for you.  So what do you think?  Check it out now and go see for yourself!  Don’t forget to leave a comment and share to me and everyone else your thoughts on these updates.

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Photo by betelgeux

Are you ready for this?  I found out recently in the news that a total solar eclipse will take place tomorrow, August 1 and seen mostly in remote places like the northeastern side of Canada, the tip of Greenland, parts of Russia, China and Mongolia.

I’m sure the first question that comes to mind is, “will it be visible in the Philippines?”  Well, Yanka asked the same question to the community a few months ago and Yaybob gave the best answer: at most it will be partially seen, maybe not at all.  The sources cited are http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OHfigures/OH2008-Fig03.pdf and http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/TSE2008/TSE2008iau/TSE2008-fig08.GIF (just check the links and see for yourself).

If you’re wondering what conditions must exist for a solar eclipse to occur, Kristina L had the same question posted to the community and alexis gave a very clear answer: the moon should be between the sun and the earth in the same plane as the earth, and for a total eclipse of the sun to occur, the umbra (darkest part of the shadow) of the moon should fall on the earth.  On the other hand, elie101_forever asked how often does a solar eclipse occurs.  Curiosity answered her saying a total eclipse of the sun is only visible from any given spot on earth every 360 years.

The most asked questions about solar eclipses actually dwell on its effect on our eyes.  I know I entitled this “Hey look at the sun” but not without protection!  Cletus2tall asked if it’s true that our brains get fried if we stare at a solar eclipse and Renaissance Kid clarified that the danger is in looking directly at the sun and that it won’t fry our brains, just our retinas.  QuestionMan asked why it’s dangerous to watch a solar eclipse and Krynne explained comprehensively how solar radiation can damage our eyes.  Fernando M asked if we can go blind by watching a solar eclipse and Crystal told him that yes we can, blindness and permanent damage as well.

In case you’re wondering, woden_ahllevhinne asked when was the last time a solar eclipse occurred in our country and Anne Marie shared that it was June 11, 2002, a sunrise eclipse in fact.  If you’re asking when will be the next, 301kodak asked that and again Anne Marie answered, the next partial eclipse of the sun in the Philippines will take place on January 29, 2009 while the next total solar eclipse will be 34 years later, on April 20, 2042.

Don’t’ feel bad if the eclipse won’t be visible in the Philippines because technology now can enable us to see it.  How?  NASA is making it viewable online!  Make sure you check this website (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2008/TSE2008.html) on the day of the eclipse and share to the community what you think of this rare natural phenomenon.

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Photo by Amsk

To everyone who attended the Yahoo! Philippines Answers Community Meet Up last July 18, thank you so much for the exciting, enlightening, and fun evening!  To those who signified that they will come but for some reason wasn’t able to, we truly missed you!  To everyone that wasn’t able to come because they just couldn’t, it’s okay, we understand, and don’t worry, there are other opportunities to come.

Photo by Amsk

More than 30 people showed up at last week’s meet up and it’s interesting to see how varied the Answers community is.  There were new users to high level users (a number of Level 6 and someone high in the leaderboard), college students and working professionals, people who have just met for the first time and users who know each other already both online and offline (they’re the original YAPpers).  It was also a delight to see the reactions of people when they introduced their Answers ID (which is our only identity of them online plus their avatar) and the corresponding “ahhh, ikaw pala yan”, hehehe!

 Photo by Amsk

The program started with some welcome remarks from yours truly and the other Yahoos that attended the event (thanks so much to Amos, Mitch, Jojo, Cris, Charlie and Jeremy!) followed by dinner (loved the pizza and the barbecue!).  After that we had a game called Answers Bingo which involved everyone going around asking questions and signatures from each other (congrats to Paul for finishing first!).  We also had the Wish List wherein we asked community members to share one feature that is not yet in Answers that they wish to have.  Thanks so much for all the ideas and feedback you shared, we will definitely go through the list and consider it when we plan for more features for Answers.  A couple of YAPpers also took the time to share their experiences in Answers, what they loved about it, how they met online and eventually offline afterwards, what they as a group have accomplished (the YAPpers held a Christmas party for street kids last year), and what they look forward to after that evening’s meet up.

Photo by Amsk

We all had a great time that evening and again, thanks so much to everyone who helped make it possible!  I certainly hope this will be the start of many more to come!  Actually I don’t have to say it because a day after the Friday meet up, some of the YAPpers had a mini meet up in Tagaytay.  How I wish I could have been there (had to go back home) but that just shows how it’s really up to the community if they want more meet ups to come.  So where will we have it next?  Cebu?  Davao?  You decide. 

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Batman returns to the big screen and this time toppling not only his most feared nemesis the Joker, but even Spider-Man as well.  “The Dark Knight” set a one-day box office record with US$66.4 million on opening day and also took in a record US$155.34 million in its first weekend, surpassing the previous best of US$151.1 million for “Spider-Man 3” in May 2007.

In “The Dark Knight,” actor Christian Bale brings to life Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, who’s fighting against the fearful Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll see Batman in a dilemma to cross the thin line between good and evil like never before…

As “The Dark Knight” invades theaters everywhere, he also makes an appearance here in Yahoo! Answers!  The Answers Team in UK & Ireland brings this rare opportunity to us by asking the Answers community what the perfect question is for Christian Bale!  The best question will be put to Mr. Bale by Yahoo!, on your behalf, and recorded on video.

So, what do you want to ask Christian?

Although the contest ends today, if you have a question in mind for the best Batman ever (IMHO), then post it as a comment on this blog and let’s see what the Pinoy Answers Community has in mind for Mr. Christian Bale.

If you still can’t get enough of the “The Dark Knight” fever and want more info on the Batman movies, visit the “Dark Knight” Film Feature on Yahoo! Movies.  Just click the link and, as the Joker would always say, “let’s put a smile on that face!”

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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!

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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.”

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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!

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