by admin | Mar 26, 2016 | Election 2016, Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By: Jerome Auza
The last few weeks has been very interesting in the campaigns of the presidential candidates for the May 9, 2016 elections. Particularly interesting is the fact that formal surveys and informal surveys have widely contrasting results.
In recent formal surveys, Poe is leading while in mock elections in different universities nationwide, as well as online surveys and even in “cup” surveys in a 24-hour convenience store show Duterte consistently in the lead. The cup survey is done using cups for drinks printed with the face and names of the different candidates. The Duterte cups always get out of stock.
The formal surveys are conducted in a scientific method and the selection of respondents are done randomly in order to come up with results that are reliable and statistically representing the whole population.
The mock elections and online surveys are non-scientific because for one, they can only cover a certain group of people. For example, university surveys would include only students. In online surveys, these include only those with Internet access. In other words, they may not really represent the sentiment of the whole population.
However, there is the fact that the informal methods are done with a much larger sample of the population. In statistics, if you take a large enough sample, the tendency of the sample data is to match the whole sample. The mock elections held in universities are done nationwide, with sample size of around 1000 each or more. If you take into account that this is nationwide and the university students are obviously the youth, then it may be safe to say that the youth vote will go to Duterte. Results are varying in percentage but Duterte almost always leads the mock election results.
Now looking at the online surveys, I would like to use the Rappler online survey for February 2016 because the number of respondents is around 100,000. Also, another reason for using Rappler is that they learned how to ensure that only valid votes are counted because in an earlier survey, they discovered that votes for Roxas surged on a specific period with the votes identified as coming from China and Russia. That obviously was an attempt to manipulate the results. So assuming Rappler’s data for the February survey is filtered of invalid votes and with the number of respondents at 100,000, then at 39%, Duterte’s lead is quite significant.
Again, because of the tendency of a large sample to represent the whole population, it may be safe to say that the Rappler survey represents the Filipinos with access to the Internet.
Two large segments of our voting population, the youth and voters with Internet access are voting for Duterte. Obviously, there is an overlap of these two segments but if you combine these two segments, they are a very large percentage of all the voters.
Curiously, the most recent formal survey now shows that Duterte is about to gain the lead. Will Duterte eventually show as the significant leader in voting preference in the formal surveys in the coming weeks?
I would review the survey data again in a few weeks time to see where the numbers are. I have two questions for now:
Will the volunteerism of the Duterte supporters prove to be a force to be reckoned with versus traditional political machineries? Will social media ads of Duterte voluntarily done by supporters beat the other candidates’ heavily funded TV ads?
It remains to be seen.
by admin | Mar 26, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
The organizers of Geeks on a Beach 4 offers early bird registration discounts of 40% until April 15, 2016. GOAB4 will be held in Bohol at one of the upscale resorts in Panglao, Bohol on August 25-26, 2016. The GOAB is an international conference and this is the 4th year it is being held. Previous venues were in Boracay and Mactan.
The tech community in Bohol had campaigned for the province as a venue and fortunately this year, Bohol already has the facilities to hold such conference. Boholanos who wish to join are encouraged to register early to take advantage of the generous discount. To register, please go to www.geeksonabeach.com.
The GOAB conference is unique because instead of a formal atmosphere, the participants may come in in comfortable outfit and discuss state-of-the-art technology in their flip-flops.
Big names have attended previous GOAB conferences. The likes of Dave McClure the founder of 500 Startups, Mr. Khailee Ng, Maria Ressa, powerhouse of social news. Bowei Gai. Earl Valencia. Minette Navarrete. Attendees are business people, investors, founders, designers, developers and more.
According to the GOAB website, “The challenges of today’s startups are ever changing and the frontiers are plenty and are up for the taking. Do not miss this opportunity to learn, share and pitch. GOAB is the conference that allows anyone to have a platform to share ideas big and small.”
The Bohol ICT council is encourage local government units to sponsor representatives from their respective municipalities to this unique conference. Local startups that would need some encouragement by the government should be sponsored. This year’s GOAB is a great opportunity to join without the associated travel cost had the venue been somewhere else.
by admin | Mar 19, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By: Zion Campo
Startup weekend is a 54-hour event that promotes the spirit of entrepreneurship, collaboration, and innovation in its affected community; and a few passionate Boholano techies are back to give Bohol it’s second event after 2014!
The event is action-packed and full of pressure so the organizing team have taken it upon themselves to create sub-events preparing interested participants for the main event to come this April.
At its 1st pre-event entitled Practice Your Pitch!, a few hopefuls attended to hone their idea presentation skills. It was a workshop event that encouraged interaction and confidence among ideators and business-minded folk that wanted to impact their communities through action and vision! Facilitated by Startup Weekend Bohol 2’s Lead Organizer and Co-Organizer, Ms. Ashley Uy, and Ms. Lai Biliran, participants of the Pre-Event learned the fastest way to make a lasting and memorable presentation at Startup Weekend’s first night: a critical skill for those who want to pitch!
At the 2nd pre-event entitled Step Up Stand Out!, a whooping 24 participants attended the informative session about how to stand out from the rest of the crowd when you’re looking for a job. The event was organized by Startup Weekend Bohol 2’s Co-Organizers, Jane Alcantara, Charles Barrete, Jay Paul Aying with guest speaker Thomas Ridenour of TarShare.
All this preparation would not have been possible without our sponsors: PLDT SME Nation, Auza.net, Gwion, Savenearn, Alturas Group of Companies, LiveLingua, PrintBit, Geeks On A Beach , BIPC and our co-presentors TechTalks.ph Bohol, and FabLab Bohol.
If you would still like to support Startup Weekend Bohol 2, contact us at bohol@startupweekend.org for further details. For those interested in participating at the event, you can avail of tickets at www.swb2.eventbrite.com!
by admin | Mar 12, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By: Zion Campo
Last Saturday, March 12, BICTC held another tech initiative to help the Boholano community grow into a vibrant ecosystem.
Writeshop, a writing workshop where Boholanos can get advice on how to create a basic business/startup proposal by community members that have done it before was spearheaded by local volunteers.
The attendees were taught how to be concise and memorable in their proposal. The participants were also encouraged to join the 4th Ideaspace Competition.
Speakers around Bohol were invited to mentor the participants. Mark Phillips, cofounder of Gwion (a local tech startup) along with her wife, Jo Phillips talked about business proposals. Mark, who has 19 years of Technology and Finance industry experience has designed and developed architectures for leading investment and Retail Banks across the world. He is also developing a new concept for the Financial Services industry using leading products and innovative technologies.
While Vierna Ligan, DTI’s Planning Officer of the Department of Trade and Industry – Bohol walked the contestants through Ideaspace’s Application Form.
DTI-Bohol has supported efforts in the province on uplifting innovation and startup mentality through DTI’s implemented projects such as Makerfest, BHLi2i and the Fablab Bohol.
BICTC Chairman Ms. Lai Biliran also presented a little bit of what Bohol ICT Council has been working on and the local tech community in Bohol.
Resource person Mark Phillips, cofounder of Gwion, a local startup, pose with the participants to the Writeshop event.
by admin | Mar 12, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By:Zion Campo
This coming April, Bohol will have its second Startup Weekend and another big step into promoting Bohol as a prime competitive innovation hub.
The tech community is slowly and surely starting to grow into its own and with the influx of attendees, sponsors and mentors for this coming Startup Weekend Bohol 2, it just proves that us Boholanos are committed to change.
But what exactly is Startup Weekend Bohol all about?
In a gist, Startup Weekend Bohol is a 54-hour event that promotes the spirit of entrepreneurship, collaboration, and innovation in its affected community. But behind the fancy schmancy words, there’s a whole lot of hustle that needs to be done. After all, you’re starting a business in just 3 days!
We’ll outline a little bit about what happens during the event in this article, so here goes:
The Fire Pitch
After the registration, the Startup Weekend attendees are all given the chance to take center stage! The fire pitch round begins. Everyone in the area will be asked to pitch their idea. If you don’t want to pitch, then that’s totally fine but for those who do, they only have a minute to describe what their startup idea is all about.
It’s quick, it’s somewhat nerve wracking but it’s totally worth it.
Once the last of the fire pitches are done, the elimination round begins.
You’re Idea Isn’t Worthless, People Just Don’t Understand It
The elimination round is probably the most brutal phase in Startup Weekend Bohol. You come to Startup Weekend Bohol thinking that your idea is different, world changing, something people will all love but when the votes prove otherwise, that utter depressing feeling sinks in seeing that there isn’t one vote, one single vote on your startup idea.
It’s around this round where the best ideas get chosen and the ones that people can’t connect to get lost in the sea of just ideas. But even though if your idea isn’t picked, there’s still a chance that it gets to the next around if you have enough people rallying to support your idea despite the number of votes it gets.
And for those ideas that didn’t get a chance to go into the next round, don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world for you. Your idea might not have been just understood by people or maybe, just maybe, it really isn’t a great idea as much as you think it is.
After the elimination round, it’s time to find your team.
People Pitching
After you’ve pitched your idea, now it’s time to pitch people to help you with your idea.
Thinking about an idea is easy, finding people to help you execute your idea is hard, very hard.
This is where most people fail, a good idea can only come a long way without a good team. You need to find a well rounded team, a designer, a hustler, and a developer. That’s probably the three core people your team needs to have if you want to win Startup Weekend Bohol or to start any business at all. We encourage you to work with other people, not with your friends. It will be a good learning experience when it comes to hiring people for your startup.
The Weekend
Now this is where all the hustling and thinking happens.
After you’ve formed a team, it is now time to sit, deliberate and execute. There is a whole lot of things that happen during a Startup Weekend (the first night is already crazy).
You think about the market, the possible prototype, the business model, the design, how would you sell it, if your idea truly is needed by people. All these things you need to work on in a short span of time.
Validating your idea is probably the number one thing you should do. Go out and talk to customers. Come back and and work on the feedback you’ve gathered. The ones that typically win Startup Weekend are the ones that have gone out, received feedback and improved their idea.
So, don’t hesitate to get down and dirty with your customers. Ask questions. Dig deeper. Because at the end of the day, your product is useless if people won’t actually buy it.
Prototypes and Practice Pitches
Do I need a prototype?
Well, a good working prototype does add something, it shows that this team can execute! But a good pitch without a prototype can still stand on its own.
Working prototypes prove that your team knows how to get things done, how to turn ideas into real things people can actually use. So you might want to consider that too!
Don’t forget to practice your pitch though! Pitching is the art of selling your idea and if you aren’t able to properly sell your idea to your judges, how will you be able to sell your idea to your customers. So, practice practice practice.
No need to memorize every single detail. Just make sure you have a good flow of things. Make your pitch clear!
The Final Showdown
It’s finally here!
The 54 hour weekend is final over!
The Final Pitching Showdown is where all your hard work will be showcased. The sweat and stress of working on a startup is finally over.
Remember, nobody goes home a loser.
Joining Startup Weekend Bohol is already a big win for you. Not everybody takes the risk of going out there and getting stuff done. According to Henry David Thoreau, most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.
What Thoreau said is true. We all want to change the world, but only few actually do something to change it.
Let Startup Weekend Bohol be one of your stepping stones to changing the world, or maybe, just something for you to enjoy. There’s a lot of good people to make friends with, and it is truly an experience.
So, what to expect during Startup Weekend Bohol?
Talented people and inspiring world changers, a fun exciting environment, and a great dose of infectious entrepreneurial spirit.
Startup Weekend Bohol is on April 15-17.
If you would still like to support Startup Weekend Bohol 2, contact us at bohol@startupweekend.org for further details. For those interested in participating at the event, buy your tickets at www.swb2.eventbrite.com!
See you there!
by admin | Mar 5, 2016 | Local News / Bohol Balita, Tech Talk
By Zion Campo
I remember somebody once said that Boholanos are average people but with above average talents.
And I’m pretty sure it’s true and the students from Holy Name University are just few of those people who exhibit these above average talents.
Last March 3, students from Holy Name University engineering department held an event in BQ Mall where they showcased their projects.
These innovations range from a mobile application that searches for the shortest path from a user’s location to a hotel or gasoline station within Tagbilaran City to a computer vision technology that is capable of collecting vehicle count, density and processing results of traffic congestion.
There’s also a Dora the Explorer-inspired hackpack prototype that alarms whenever someone attempts to steal something from your bag.
These are just few of the awesome things Boholanos are able to create. And this coming Startup Weekend we’re looking for these kind of people to develop their simple ideas to world changing world class startups!
You don’t have to be techie, all you need is the guts to go out there and do something.
If you want to join Startup Weekend Bohol 2, you can purchase a ticket at www.swb2.eventbrite.com. Early bird rate ends this March 7!!!
