A Niche Beta Site that Has Everything

First there was PinoyKubo dot com then Kabarangay and niche types of social networks for Filipino migrants that appear on cyberspace. PinoyKubo has chat and video, like Skype and an assortment of teeners, kids and folk who will say hello and hi plus a bit of some music. Kabarangay has better videos though and they seem to know how to give proper credit to whom it is due. Frankly, I am a PinoyKubo loyalist yet it was Kabarangay dot com who had enough sense to offer me and my "cause" a year free ad, and they even offered me a video ad, except that I had no video. Do say one is better than the other? NO. The simply cater to different "crowds". I do like the manner by which Kabarangay gives credit to people who have rather known credentials and causes.

I always wanted something like Hubpages where I can have my own blog page like this, and Kabarangay didn't have that. PinoyKubo has some blog space but NO ONE blogs and the template (though it still is intransition) isn't that inviting. On the other hand Kabarangay seems also in transition and maybe it's me, but the RIDDLE thing is silly. Kudos to BOTH however for the Karaoke idea.

Both have good beginnings and I am sure that if they will capture different types of Filipino crowds so I surmise that these two can never be REAL competitors. But what brings about these social network niche? I interviewed Jonathan Sowah of Astraqom (one of the leading ITT entrepreneurs from Canada) and he explained that the trend is inevitable. As people migrate from one country to another, more of these social netwoking niches will appear. After all, it seems that the world has become a REAL global village and it becomes almost a NEED for people to get "back home" even if that means virtually home. The touch on the mouse seems to be the same as the touch of the hand of someone you're missing.

However, there is Ipilipinas.com which is NOT a networking site.. well not REALLY, but it does seem distinctive and user friendly. You have a blog for instance, there is no need to transfer it, you simply LIST it there as a Philippine Blog and people get there and see it. For istance my Hubpages are listed. If you want the latest Philippine and Global news from the mainstream or Twitter, it also is there. Want to discuss the news you simply reply to the short "Twitter-like" reportage and you can get a conversation going, plus the short new reports do have pics. This is for the migrant crowd all over the world who want to know things QUICK reply fast and yet are able to share their OWN news or even personal stories.

Frankly, I like it. It cuts through the need to go through Twitter news, because it's all THERE and you can put a reply quick. For instance, after I finish this blog post I shall post it THERE so everyone will know I have a new blog pot here at Hubpages. It cut through the annoying "hi" and "hello" introduction or the "Facebookee" Blank an Blank are Now Friends and complements ALL your other blogs, Twitter, and yet, you can are given enough space to express yourself minus all these "networking rituals" that can be rather annoying. It's neat, short and classy -- yet you can get "personal" by commenting or trying to share your own "specialty" like Saint of the Day for instance. Or you may only wish for you and your family and friends to read your brief notes and see your pics, in which case, you can go on private so only those you want can read your posts.

Ipilipinas is also functional. If you want your own Family Ancestry account and you and your relatives wish to share mementos and old and new pics without much adieu, you can also do that there too. Ipilipinas is a Filipino site, but it may as well get global considering that anyone who knows English can commuicate what he/she feels about the news or about another person's experience. What about CHAT? No need really because you chat as you reply and there is also a private chat or private messaging. Last I saw there was a pic of Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos and Muammar Gaddafi when they were both younger and looked extremely good looking.

Jonathan Sowah seems have pegged it when he and his Filipino partners came up with the Ipilipinas.com idea because, well.. THERE is NOTHING like it. Sowah says that he is not afraid to invest in "new ideas" or of taking in suggestions from creative people who think outside the box. He passionately believes in "niche sites", "niche networkinmg", "good causes", "creative activity" and has had his costly "trial and errors" but this time, he has pegged it right. I believe Sowah will succeed because his parents were migrants, he understands the needs of migrants and has managed to touch base and keep good will with even mayors in Metro Manila, where 75% do have the internet and even "maids" or "helpers" own a mobile phone. He has said that the key is flexibility and the willingness to listen to ideas.

Ipilipinas.com, for instance, takes into account the FACT that the Philippine migrant is usually from the ages of 27-60, has a job, can speak English and most probably has a Facebook and a Twitter. Thus, if you are in Twitter or Facebook and you wish to know if your Twitter comment was picked by Ifilipinas, all you have to do is go there. If you want to lit your new blog, you alo go there and LIST it and share it with the rest. It's a way of adding traffic to your blog and to come up with discussions about it. In short, IPilipinas BUILDS on what people already happen to enjoy.

Take my case, I post articles about Philippine concerns at times here at Hubpages. Then I go over to Ipilipinas and "herald" my new blog post. The results have doubled my earnings here this month and I haven't even been blogging that often last month.

I guess it as come to a point when the new diaspora is the Filipino diaspora -- Filipinos are everywhere and as such, they do wish to meet and share whatever they have on the web. They've just found out that the best way to do it without hassel and annoyance is IPilipinas.com. So bloggers, If you want to lit your new blog, you alo go there and LIST it and share it with the rest.