As more Filipinos go online and as more minds become open to the possibilities of the internet, the implication of Co-Creation in Philippine public life will be revolutionary. This is part of my work under the Bates 141 Young Change Agents Program and is a continuing personal advocacy. - Ian Francis Velasco

1. Implications of Co-creation in the Ph il ip pi n e s

2. Ian Francis Velasco

3. The Young Change Agents Challenge at Bates 141: www.bates141.com Select some of the brightest young people at Bates 141 and give them an open mic on the future of our industry.

8. www.bates141.com With a 15.4% internet penetration in a population of 90M, and with an active user base of only 3.7M, the full effects of the internet as a driver of co-creation still has to be felt. McCann Wave 3 Study of 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/83117738@N00/510560998 by funkmastermike

12. www.bates141.com And with dedicated writers and loyal readers spread in social network sites and blogs commenting on and discussing national issues, a new sphere of public opinion emerged . A sphere previously dominated by only a few people in the country’s strong media institutions.

13. www.bates141.com Prior to the rise of these social media, there were only four companies virtually controlling national news and serving the watchdog function of providing social commentary to the nation. Two broadcast companies controlling news on TV and Radio Two top dailies providing news on print and on the internet

14. www.bates141.com With power and influence, they stare down on sitting presidents and public officials and can themselves produce national politicians. They are kingmakers, trend-setters and social arbiters outside the court.

15. www.bates141.com And with the Filipino mind largely being fed by their content outside the academe and the church, these institutions faced no competition in the marketplace of ideas.

16. www.bates141.com What is real is what is on their news. What is heard is only what they published. What their opinion is what is socially accepted.

17. www.bates141.com But with the growth of the internet, social commentary found a new voice co-created by thousands of educated bloggers, forums participants and other social media writers.

18. www.bates141.com Through the massive building and sharing of ideas, perspectives and arguments, a new sphere of public opinion is being born…

19. www.bates141.com … and a new public conscience is rising from co-creation.

21. www.bates141.com Given that internet penetration is low, and more so the number of active users, Filipino netizens have not yet been given a concerted attention by mass brands. Instead, internet advertising is still niche advertising since the Philippine internet sphere is still a market of urban and more affluent consumers.

22. www.bates141.com Brand activities online just becomes limited to the targeting of high-value customers by lifestyle brands.

23. www.bates141.com Moreover, examples of co-creation by brands in the Philippines are still limited to low levels of value-creation.

24. www.bates141.com Consumer Participation by Pantene

25. www.bates141.com Mass Customization by Metrobank

26. www.bates141.com But outside of big established brands, social network sites have become an online market among consumers. Small sellers of apparel, for example, are actively using Multiply to sell their wares.

28. www.bates141.com Right now, apparel brands seem to be the category most benefiting from co-creation. The speed of the process from ideation to actual production leads to immediate consumption.

29. www.bates141.com Co-creation in the apparel category by Team Manila

30. www.bates141.com Another category where co-creation is highly possible because of this speed of process is the food industry . However, this has yet to be seen and maximized .

32. www.bates141.com Brand managers (and everyone in the upper level of the corporate ladder) can join social network sites themselves. Mesh with people and build opinions with them . Managers might even find a new POV for their brands. 3 5 4 2 1

33. www.bates141.com Brands can also co-create un-branded social network sites where people can join. This will serve as a neighborhood for influencers where they can collaborate among themselves and then eventually co-create with the brand. A network of sports fans by Adidas perhaps? 1 3 4 2 5

34. www.bates141.com Co-create with bloggers. They have a network of dedicated readers. Brands can co-create content with them that their audience can read. 5 4 3 2 1

35. www.bates141.com Learn from the young. Imbed a dedicated co-creation team within the company. 5 4 3 2 1

36. www.bates141.com Be willing to change . Co-creation is a change and change always starts in our heads. 4 2 1 5 3

37. www.bates141.com THAT was the Bates 141 Implications Template. But there are more possible implications of co-creation.

39. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

40. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games “ This strong sense of community online is also one of the reasons why IDC has predicted that the number of online gamers in the Philippines will reach 6.3 million by 2008. This represents a huge opportunity for online advertisers wishing to target the Filipino market: Advergaming. Advergames respond to the needs of younger, tech-savvy consumers who demand more interactivity and fun when introduced to online advertising campaigns.” - The Philippines: an online marketing snapshot Elizabeth Lloyed, iMedia

41. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games Advergaming can then become a venue for co-creation as brands can create cyber characters whom gamers can interact with , with or whithout their knowledge.

42. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games Youth engagement online gives brands more access to the youth. This can become venue for brands to engage the youth in conversation, which can lead towards co-creation.

43. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games And instead of putting them inside artificial environments such as FGD rooms to mine data, youth response to brand stimuli in cyberworld can possibly shed new insights .

44. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Public Opinion and Mass Action

45. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Public Opinion and Mass Action “ However, they are right only on one point: That the most vocal, most determined and most organized participants in the uprising were armed with cellphones and sent out a heretofore unimaginable number of text messages for about three days. These critics of People Power 2 were wrong everywhere else. For in the case of People Power 2, the message was crystal-clear, with solid basis and with urgency that challenged most Filipinos. It was either we stay put wherever we were or stand up in the forcible removal of a President who has violated the public’s trust and laws big time. Unfortunately for Estrada, the purveyors of this message were not only backed up by the truth. They were also tech-savvy. They used technological tools beyond printing presses, mimeograph machines, telephones and fax machines. Instead, the People Power 2 forces – organized or not – had more potent tools in their hands: cellphones and the Internet” Forward the message, answer the call for change TEXTING AND OTHER TOOLS OF A PEOPLE IN REVOLT By Anthony Ian “Tonyo” M. Cruz

46. A President being ousted by a spontaneous outburst of people wielding mobile phones as weapons is a testament to the power of collective action made possible through connection. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Public Opinion and Mass Action

47. And if a society can shift the political landscape by just sharing information on mobile, so can it move other factors affecting them. If provoked, this same power can be forced on a corporation that may be seen as excessively abusive. Oil companies beware. This is the power of co-creation if wielded against someone. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Public Opinion and Mass Action

48. And co-creation can equally put leaders on the top. In the last gubernatorial election in the province of Pampanga, it was not the money of the richest that delivered the most effective campaign. It was the efforts of ordinary folks, the farmers, market vendors and ordinary families that toppled a political dynasty. CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITIES: Public Opinion and Mass Action

49. CO-CREATION: A NEW CREATIVE CLASS RISES http://oliever.multiply.com/photos/album/284/Lomographics_Collaboration#4

50. CO-CREATION: A NEW CREATIVE CLASS RISES Co-creation, as long as allowed, will challenge members of the traditional creative elite such as those in ad agencies, design houses, magazines and closed artist circles.

51. CO-CREATION: A NEW CREATIVE CLASS RISES It will allow for a wider source of creative ideas, whether artistic or not, whether from professionals or amateurs, from any region or province and from person of any station in life. Creativity, previously a monopoly of few elitist groups, will be democratized . http://weewilldoodle.com/

52. CO-CREATION: A NEW CREATIVE CLASS RISES As such, limiting one’s self within set creative boundaries (hierarchy of creative authority or influence, set roles, creative rules) will only lead to stagnation and slow churn of ideas.

53. Co-creation in the Philippines: A fearless forecast

54. “ Filipino Internet users are more likely to be opinion leaders and early adopters compared to traditional media consumers. They are likely to be individualistic, trend conscious, willing to pay for quality products and are tech-enthusiasts.” - Yahoo-Nielsen Net Index 2008

55. As more minds become more open to the possibilities introduced by the Internet, more people, without leadership or structure of an organization, will create and co-create content, ideas, opinions and trends that will challenge the status quo.

56. Co-creation, a new democratizing and unifying force, will be the biggest threat to all current networks, beliefs, dynasties and bureaucracies that dictate public life in the Philippines and can usher in a new era where more people are heard and more ideas are ushered. But, if and only if it is realized.

58. http://www.flickr.com/photos/83117738@N00/510560998 by funkmastermike http://ph.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090326/tls-lifestyle-philippines-economy-it-aeafa1b.html http://technogra.ph/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/brian-gorrell-on-philippine-star.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2367/2115369124_a1db3b1244.jpg http://ecoutershirts.multiply.com/photos/album/14/Feed_Your_MIND. http://pimpmyshirtph.multiply.com/ http://francismclothing.multiply.com/ http://rawrshirts.multiply.com/ http://noytee.multiply.com/photos/album/7/Ayos_Tee http://rebootwear.multiply.com/photos/album/8/Shirt_Information http://animoism.multiply.com/ http://getblued.multiply.com http://azraelsmerryland.blogspot.com/ http://azngamerboi.multiply.com/photos/album/158/Camwhorage_-_Tie_Edition#4 http://www.ning.com/ http://www.teammanila.com/index2.html http://www.teammanilalifestyle.com/ Image sources Thank you. (Please don’t sue me)

59. http://sultank2k2.wordpress.com/2009/02/ http://www.ampota.com/2008/02/28/play-cabal-online-coming-soon-on-ph/?cp=all http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff128/yellowbytes/?action=view&current=ran_1.jpg http://www.hardwarezone.com/img/data/nnews/2008/10444/Image/domi2pr-freeplay.jpg http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/EDSA-Dos http://peoplepower2.bloggerskapihan.com/ http://manilaguy25.multiply.com/photos/album/175/Fashion_Design_Council_of_the_Philippines#25 http://weewilldoodle.com/ http://thecheshirecatshop.multiply.com/ http://oliever.multiply.com/photos/album/284/Lomographics_Collaboration#4 Image sources Thank you. (Please don’t sue me)

60. ianskurokuro.blogspot.com Ianhoyboy.multiply.com Bates141.com