Lazy Thursday...

Hmm, perhaps it's because tomorrow's a holiday. I haven't been feeling that inspired. I know, it sucks. What does one do when inspiration seems to be lacking? Augh! I hate this feeling.

Close Encounter with Tigers...

After we were officially done with all of our work for the Ad Con, we went to the Zoobic Safari. Since we were Ad Con delegates, we got a 20% discount. Woohooo!
The best part was the close encounter with the tigers. We took a ride on these jeeps that had steel railings, and the tigers walked close to the jeep to say hi. One tiger even jumped on top of our jeep.

It was a good experience. But at the same time, I felt bad for the tigers who were locked up in cages that were small for them. When we visited one bunker tuned into a row of tiger cages, several of the tigers looked lonely because of their situation. There two who just kept on going in circles. It wasn't difficult to see that the poor creatures were restless.

Some of the other animals, particularly the ostriches, looked sick. Several of them had "bald spots." Their feathers weren't looking healthy either. Unless you see the central cord of a feather is healthy, then those birds were sick. The feathers aren't growing.

I know that this issue of keeping animals in a zoo is a big debate between animal rights activists and those who run businesses like the safari. I guess there could be some sort of compromise. Since the company is earning from the visitors, perhaps they can do something about ensuring that all the animals are healthy and in good condition. To do that, the safari has to have regular visitors.

So go and visit the Zoobic Safari. It's really worth the trip.

Google Guy Derek Callow at the Ad Con...

While I missed some of the sessions, I made sure that I got to attend the Friday afternoon sessions. Primarily, because the topics were related to my line of work and the company business, and I was sure I would be able to pick up several things. Our Marketing head was also one of the speakers that afternoon. He talked about mobile advertising.

One of my favorite speakers though was Google Southeast Asia's Derek Callow. I first listened to him during the SEO Conference last October, and I was sort of kicking myself for not approaching him then to congratulate him on his talk and to have my photo with him taken.

When I saw on the program that he was going to speak that afternoon and he was to speak before our boss, I couldn't be happier. It was perfect. I could listen to his speech. I can have my photo taken with him. And then I can go back to the forum hall to listen to and cover the speech of our boss. And that's what I did.

Most of my colleagues occupied several of the front row seats of the forum hall because we knew our boss was going to give a talk. But when they saw Derek Callow on stage, I heard several whispers of excitement. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who found Derek interesting. Great! I thought to myself, "Now I can ask one of them to go with me to take the photo."

My accomplice was Abbie from another department. She also attended the conference and she is also a fan of Mr. Callow. So it wasn't hard to convince her to go with me and wait for Mr. Callow outside the forum hall so we can get our photos taken.

When Derek said his parting words, Abbie and I immiediately headed out of the venue. We went to an "Authorized Personnel Only" area and patiently waited for Derek. After about ten minutes, we saw him walk towards our direction together with Google Philippines' people. When he was near already, I walked up to him and asked if we could have our photo taken with him. I first prodded Abbie to stand beside him but she said she was shy. So I ended up standing beside a slightly surprised Derek and had our photo taken. I even asked for a second shot. It was fantastic. I thought about asking for an autograph but I didn't want to scare the guy. What I should have done but didn't do though was give him a business card. Who knows? He might need an assistant or Google might need a Corporate Communications guy. Haha!

After getting our photos taken, I thanked Derek and shaked his hand. Then I walked back inside the forum hall and surprised my friends by showing them my photos with Derek Callow. They were all green with envy. Hahaha!

Getting that photo was one of my main highs from the Ad Con, I must say.

Oh, wait. Here are the main points of Derek's speech:

- Branding platforms are evolving and proliferating (eg.g outdoot -----> mobile)

- Consumers are the new brand managers

- Google Insights on Online Marketing
- Online platforms expose deep connections with consumers
- Leverage consumer behavior inyour brand
- Offline and Online ads should be integrated
- Marketing constantly embraces new platforms
- Creativity on the digital platform has only just begun.
- Leverage all of your accounts because you can.

Ad Congress Virgin No More...

Yup, yup. I'm no longer an Ad Congress virgin.

As I've said last week, I was lucky enough to be sent as a delegate to the recently concluded Ad Congress in Subic last week. The four-day event was held at the Subic Bay Convention Center. The venue was a really good one. The food was also great. The tons of freebies given to delegates was fantastic. Haha! And the event itself was filled with learning. Of course, I'm not sure if the previous Ad Cons were similar to this one. (I hope I get to attend the next one in 2009. Hehe!)

The VVIP (as in very, very important person) at the Ad Con was Neil Gaiman. Uhm, save for Coraline, 300 and Beowulf (the movie), I don't really know much about Gaiman's work. I knew about Sandman, but I haven't read it.

Even so, I got to pick up several notes to keep in mind from his talk. His topic focused was about imagination. Gaiman underscored the importance of imagination and creativity not just for writers, but for every person on this planet.

He said that it was important to constantly ask, "What if it doesn't have to be like this?" To do this, "someone had to imagine." He also mentioned that escape is good, whether it's through traveling or some other activity, because it allows a person to gain new skills and perspectives.

Gaiman said, "The best part is the return because the place you get back to isn't the place you've left." The reason? Because of all the new learnings.

Several weeks ago, I attended the "Why Not? Forum." The forum gets people to start asking, "Why not?" in an effort to get them to take some action. Gaiman's recommended question was, "What if?" or "Wouldn't it be interesting if...?"

Gaiman said that it is important to look at things you've seen for a thousand times and then looking at it for the first time, to see something new. He also added the importance of dreaming big. "Think huge. Walk towards what you want to do. Walk towards the mountain, and keep the hugeness of all the things that one wants to do."

Naturally, Gaiman's speech was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

Thank you, Neil Gaiman, for all these inspiring words.

Neil Gaiman Poetry...

Too tired to post entries about the Ad Congress, although it was a really, really good experience. So for now, let me post the poem which Neil Gaiman beautifully read during his talk last Thursday.


The Day the Saucers Came

That day, the saucers landed. Hundreds of them, golden,
Silent, coming down from the sky like great snowflakes,
And the people of Earth stood and stared as they descended,
Waiting, dry-mouthed to find what waited inside for us
And none of us knowing if we would be here tomorrow
But you didn't notice it because

That day, the day the saucers came, by some coincidence,
Was the day that the graves gave up their dead
And the zombies pushed up through soft earth
or erupted, shambling and dull-eyed, unstoppable,
Came towards us, the living, and we screamed and ran,
But you did not notice this because

On the saucer day, which was the zombie day, it was
Ragnarok also, and the television screens showed us
A ship built of dead-man's nails, a serpent, a wolf,
All bigger than the mind could hold, and the cameraman could
Not get far enough away, and then the Gods came out
But you did not see them coming because

On the saucer-zombie-battling gods day the floodgates broke
And each of us was engulfed by genies and sprites
Offering us wishes and wonders and eternities
And charm and cleverness and true brave hearts and pots of gold
While giants feefofummed across the land, and killer bees,
But you had no idea of any of this because

That day, the saucer day the zombie day
The Ragnarok and fairies day, the day the great winds came
And snows, and the cities turned to crystal, the day
All plants died, plastics dissolved, the day the
Computers turned, the screens telling us we would obey, the day
Angels, drunk and muddled, stumbled from the bars,
And all the bells of London were sounded, the day
Animals spoke to us in Assyrian, the Yeti day,
The fluttering capes and arrival of the Time Machine day,
You didn't notice any of this because

you were sitting in your room, not doing anything
not even reading, not really, just
looking at your telephone,
wondering if I was going to call.

Nice, eh? Will post about the Ad Con tomorrow. I'm now off to the mall to relax. Maybe I'll go see a movie, Beowulf perhaps.

Derek Callow is about to speak...

Yep, yep. Waiting for Derek Callow to go onstage for his talk. Got to listen to this guy during the SEO Conference last October, and he's interesting. He seems a bit serious, but every now and then, small doses of humor are injected in his talk. Alright, I know this talk would be good. I wonder if I can have a photo with him taken. Hehehe!

Waiting for Neil Gaiman...

So here we are at the Subic Bay Convention Center. Uhm, we're at the main convention hall. Right now, we're waiting for Neil Gaiman to go onstage for his talk. Apparently, there are a lot who are also looking forward to Gaiman's talk because we're now seated far away from the stage. Hehe. Okay, the lights just dimmed so I guess Mr. Gaiman is about to begin.

Excited for This...

I was informed at the last minute that I could take the slot of a colleague for the Ad Congress. My colleague had to stay behind because of a much more urgent task. The good thing is she's not so psyched to go to the Ad Con in Subic, so I don't feel that guilty. I'm really excited to go because this is my first time to attend the Ad Con, and I'm looking forward to all the sessions. Woohoo! Plus, Neil Gaiman will be speaking at the conference too.

Subic, here I come.

One More Chance...

I watched the newest cheesy movie from Star Cinema last night - One More Chance. Watched with colleagues Tey, Rhyz and Reena at Greenbelt 1. I thought it was good. I think this is the third "John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo" love team movie that I watched. (The other two were "Now that I Have You" and "Close to You"). Hehe! I think the two young actors are among the best in the local film industry at the moment. Of course, the major reason why I watched the film was because I knew it's going to be really mushy. Haha! If that's a sin, shoot me now. Hahaha!

Another Monday...

Just another normal Monday. Paperwork, paperwork, more paperwork. Haha! I love.