Tag: pandemic

Earth Day 2020: Digital strikes, online climate conference

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 16, 2020
1 Comment on Earth Day 2020: Digital strikes, online climate conference

Earth Day on April 22 will be even more special this year. It is the 50th anniversary of the day millions of people demanded action for our planet. Moreover, we are also fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. An ongoing crisis that has exposed the weaknesses of a broken system that prioritizes profit over people and the planet.

With physical distancing and lockdowns of cities and countries now part of the new normal, Earth Day is going digital. Millions of participants around the world will mobilize on digital platforms. The shared hashtags #EarthDay2020 and #EARTHRISE will allow users to easily track the global conversation. Various organizations, including Fridays For Future and Strike With Us, will launch digital strikes. Meanwhile, the social network We Don’t Have Time is organizing the world’s biggest online climate conference on April 20-25, with 100 speakers from five continents and a live stream on the event site.

Image credit: We Don’t Have Time

“We are delighted to be working together with We Don’t Have Time on this conference spotlighting the amazing solutions and inordinate opportunities to fast forward a climate safe future. The Corona Virus has dramatically changed the way all of us will be marking Earth Day 2020. Together, and with hundreds of millions of people around the globe we are making it clear to leaders that people everywhere are behind ambitious action and the answers to the climate crisis are here and ready to be deployed,” Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, said in a press statement.

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Tags climate change, climate conference, climate crisis, climate justice, coronavirus, covid-19, digital strike, digital strikes, Earth Day, Earth Day 2020, Earth Day Network, EARTHSTRIKE, Greta Thunberg, Jamie Margolin, Kathleen Rogers, novel coronavirus, online climate conference, pandemic

Technology

Financial access amid pandemic via handheld ATMs

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 15, 2020
No Comments on Financial access amid pandemic via handheld ATMs

Every Filipino should enjoy financial access even if they live in far-flung areas, according to ENCASH President Mike Mapa.

With the government-imposed enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) now on its fifth week, financial access has become even more crucial for households. To address this pressing need, fintech company ENCASH has lent its SuperPOS handheld ATMs to rural banks, cooperatives, and town halls to ensure easy access to cash. This has become particularly helpful for the ongoing distribution of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) releases.

Launched in 2006, ENCASH is the first independent ATM deployer in the Philippines. It supplies ATM terminals, transaction switching systems, mobile POS, and the recently rolled out SuperPOS. This is a handheld ATM that has both cash in and cash out functions.

The ECQ has led to an influx of transactions across over 1,200 of ENCASH’s sites. ENCASH is making sure that these sites will remain operational. It has also committed to rush settlements as much as possible and closely monitor the cash balances of their deployed ATMs. “We are lucky to be working with partners who share in the same vision and are employing extra measures in light of the current crisis,” Mike Mapa, president of ENCASH, said in a press statement.

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Gaming Technology

Gamers FTW: #PlayApartTogether with Lenovo Legion

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 13, 2020
2 Comments on Gamers FTW: #PlayApartTogether with Lenovo Legion

A portrait of the actress as a gamer. Lenovo Philippines brand ambassador Megan Young. Image credit: Megan Young Facebook page

Long Live The Legion! OK, wait, that’s a different Legion, but avid gamers in the Philippines will be happy to hear good news from Lenovo Legion.

First up, Miss World 2013 and Lenovo Philippines brand ambassador Megan Young has launched the Lenovo Legion #PlayApartTogether Giveaway on her Facebook page.

In another exciting development for gamers, Lenovo Legion has announced that its next-generation Lenovo Legion 7i and Lenovo Legion 5i gaming laptops will feature NVIDIA and Intel’s latest technologies.

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Technology

Influencer marketing: Will influencers still matter?

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 7, 2020
1 Comment on Influencer marketing: Will influencers still matter?

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our way of life, businesses have been slashing their marketing budgets. In the face of uncertainty, what will happen to influencer marketing?

We have seen celebrity culture crash and burn, and the same thing is happening to social media influencers.

For years, people have asked this question: how influential are influencers, really? The coronavirus may be showing us the answer.

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Tags coronavirus, covid-19, digital marketing, influencer, influencer marketing, influencers, novel coronavirus, pandemic, social media, social media influencer, social media influencers

Technology

Small business customers of Zoho to enjoy waived fees

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 6, 2020
1 Comment on Small business customers of Zoho to enjoy waived fees

Digital technologies will help small business owners overcome the COVID-19 crisis and become more competitive, said Zoho Corporation VP and GM for Asia Pacific Gibu Mathew.

With the coronavirus pandemic disrupting the global economy, small business owners are under even more pressure. Now, more than ever, they are struggling to keep their companies afloat. To help its small business customers, Zoho Corporation is introducing its Small Business Emergency Subscription Assistance Program (ESAP).

Zoho, which has more than 50 million users in over 180 countries, offers a comprehensive suite of business software applications. How will ESAP work? This will be available for up to 20,000 qualified paying customers with 25 employees or less. Zoho will waive the cost of every single application they currently use, for up to three months.

“SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) form a core part of the nation’s economy. Given their limited resources, SMBs are said to be the first ones to be affected by the current global crisis. This will be a test of resilience for most of the SMBs, particularly in Asia. The extent of the impact will largely depend on their flexibility and capacity to adapt to technological alternatives,” Zoho VP and GM for Asia Pacific Gibu Mathew told Digital Life Asia via email.

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Science Technology

Rapid pass system to facilitate frontliner mobility in PH

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 3, 2020
6 Comments on Rapid pass system to facilitate frontliner mobility in PH

Checkpoint personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police test the RapidPassPH app during the April 2 field testing at the Marcos Highway-Marikina checkpoint.

Time is precious in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To avoid long queues for frontliners passing through checkpoints, the Philippines will launch a rapid pass system on April 6.

The new RapidPassPH system will enable contact-free verification of frontliners via QR codes. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) worked with a global community of Filipino tech experts to launch this system. This was in response to a request from the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“We at the IATF looked for a solution to solve the queuing problems at the checkpoints,” Cabinet Secretary and IATF spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a virtual press conference held this afternoon.

RapidPass Kickoff
Posted by Rapidpassph on Friday, 3 April 2020

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Tags coronavirus, covid-19, enhanced community quarantine, novel coronavirus, pandemic, quarantine, rapid pass system, RapidPassPH, science, technology

A Life Less Analog Technology

Embracing digital in the age of COVID-19

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date April 2, 2020
1 Comment on Embracing digital in the age of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered many illusions and exposed the weaknesses of human society. It has also destroyed all our excuses for not embracing digital.

Our world has changed. And in the weeks since governments implemented physical distancing and lockdowns, millions have learned to adapt to a new digital lifestyle.

Some of us have been working from home for years. Well, from anywhere, actually, in my case. So we may not realize just how disruptive this has been for many people. I’ve been advocating and trying to live a digital lifestyle since the late 90s. Nicholas Negroponte’s “Being Digital“, which was published in 1995, made a big impact on me when I read it. And yet even I’m amazed by how quickly society ended up embracing digital when it was forced to do so.

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Gaming

Game companies, WHO unveil #PlayApartTogether

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date March 30, 2020
1 Comment on Game companies, WHO unveil #PlayApartTogether

Pocket Gems is one of the game companies supporting the #PlayApartTogether campaign. Image credit: Pocket Gems via Business Wire

Time for gamers to become real-life heroes. Game companies have joined forces with the World Health Organization to launch the #PlayApartTogether campaign. By disseminating WHO’s health guidelines to their vast network of players, they hope to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re at a crucial moment in defining outcomes of this pandemic. Games industry companies have a global audience - we encourage all to #PlayApartTogether. More physical distancing + other measures will help to flatten the curve + save lives,” WHO Ambassador for Global Strategy Ray Chambers tweeted.

Through games, the #PlayApartTogether campaign will promote preventive measures such as physical distancing, hand hygiene, and respiratory etiquette.

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Tags #PlayApartTogether, computer games, coronavirus, covid-19, game companies, game industry, games, gaming industry, mobile games, novel coronavirus, pandemic, video games, WHO, World Health Organization

Science Technology

Coronavirus denial and the new normal

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date March 27, 2020
4 Comments on Coronavirus denial and the new normal

Photo credit: Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com

Many of us are still in denial about the coronavirus pandemic. And this coronavirus denial is the deadlier disease.

The world has changed. This is the new normal. This isn’t something that will blow over in a few weeks or months. This is actually the World War III that nations never planned for, because we were so complacent despite previous outbreaks.

Yes, we should remain hopeful, live one day at a time, and encourage and help each other so that we can overcome this crisis. But we can only fix a problem if we stop denying that it exists. It’s better to face the bitter truth than to tell ourselves comforting lies.

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Tags coronavirus, coronavirus denial, covid-19, denial, novel coronavirus, pandemic, quarantine, social distancing

A Life Less Analog Science Technology

How to practice mindfulness amid the coronavirus crisis

Post author By Joey Alarilla
Post date March 26, 2020
2 Comments on How to practice mindfulness amid the coronavirus crisis

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to take better care of our mental health. Now, more than ever, we need to learn how to practice mindfulness.

Thankfully, online community Mindful Manila is helping people deal with the stress of living in this urban jungle. Coping with anxiety has become even important in the age of social distancing and the enhanced community quarantine.

“I love the idea of being able to gather like-minded people and kindred spirits in a single space, even if it’s online. And now we’re proving that we can converge, converse, and connect even if we’re physically miles apart,” Niña Terol, the creator of Mindful Manila, shared via email.

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Tags anxiety, Cathy Babao, coronavirus, covid-19, Facebook event, how to practice mindfulness, live chat, live stream, mental health, Mindful Manila, Mindful Monday, mindfulness, Nina Terol, novel coronavirus, online communities, pandemic, Robert Buenaventura