...the Selfie Capital of the World

Makati, Pasig are 'Selfie Capital of the World' according to TIME study

By TJ DIMACALI

GMA News

March 11, 2014

 

 

TIME Magazine on March 11 (PHL time) released the results of an in-depth study of thousands of Instagram photos from around the world, showing that Makati City and Pasig City combined have the most people who take selfies per capita —the Selfie Capital of the World:

^{_{Source: TIME Magazine}}

Cebu City also made the cut, ranking 9th in TIME's global rankings:

^{_{Source: TIME Magazine}}

TIME's Chris Wilson said that the researchers used Instagram's API to download data on five separate 24-hour periods, scouring the globe for all photos tagged "selfie" with geographic coordinates.

"For every city in the world of at least 250,000 residents, we then counted the number of selfies taken within 5 miles and divided by the population of that city," Wilson explained.

According to the study, the top ten 'selfie' cities worldwide are:
 

1. Makati City and Pasig City, Philippines: 258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

2. Manhattan, NY, USA: 202 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

3. Miami, Fla., USA: 155 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

4. Anaheim and Santa Ana, Calif., USA: 147 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

5. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: 141 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

6. Tel Aviv, Israel: 139 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

7. Manchester, England: 114 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

8. Milan, Italy: 108 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

9. Cebu City, Philippines: 99 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

10. George Town, Malaysia: 95 selfie-takers per 100,000 people

Wilson was cautious to outline the limitations of the study, and the researchers' careful attempts to address these limits. He pointed out that not all photos are unique selfies, and some supposed "selfies" aren't selfies at all.

 

 

"Not all photos tagged as 'selfie' are in fact selfies. Informal tests found that the vast majority of the photos were of a single person. We also made several attempts to find international versions of the word 'selfie,' but none of the suggested translations showed up in any appreciable volume," Wilson said.
 

"While the metric of 'people who take selfies per capita' is far from a perfect measure, it was far and away the most comprehensive means of comparing the 459 world cities that turned up at least 25 individual users in the database," he concluded. — GMA News

 

...the PH e-vehicles

By Monico D. Mekaniko

Yahoo! Loqal

18 June 2012

Electric vehicles are expected to become widely used as public utility vehicles in the coming years as the government works with private manufacturers, assemblers and developers to ensure widespread adaption and sustainability.

As a result of recent developments in electric vehicle usage for public transport, companies involved in assembly and distribution of such vehicles have recently formed an organization called the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP). Its members include vehicle enthusiasts, electric vehicle assemblers and energy consultants.

Part of the group’s activities this year is holding the 2nd Electric Vehicle Summit at the Meralco Compound in Pasig City. It will be attended by e-vehicle experts from Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Car manufacturers such as Toyota and Mitsubishi, both of which have already introduced commercial e-vehicles, are also expected to be present.

According to EVAP President Rommel Juan, the event is the culmination of several years of work from different companies and government agencies that have been working to bring the e-vehicle to the Philippines.

He said that e-vehicles would thrive well in the Philippines especially for public transport as the riding public would find riding in these vehicles more comfortable as these do not emit smoke.

In addition, the cost of running an e-vehicle, especially the e-jeepney model, is getting cheaper with parts and service support becoming more available. So far, all of the cities that have launched e-vehicles, including e-jeeps and e-trikes, have so far reported success.

Among the cities that have launched e-vehicles for public transport are Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Los Banos in Laguna, Cebu City, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Batangas, Palawan, Boracay and Ilocos.

There are an estimated 400 e-vehicles now in the Philippines, most of which are for public transport.

Citing reports from other members of EVAP, Juan also noted that private institutions have also adapted e-vehicles. For instance, Victory Liner brought the country’s first electricity-powered bus, with plans to invest around P250 million for a production plant to make more buses.

In addition, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is looking at the possibility of using a four-wheeled version of electric motorcycles (called quadricycles) to shuttle people to and from their Pasig City headquarters.

Juan noted that the success of e-vehicle adoption in the Philippines is pegged on the strong support of both the private sector and the government. In particular, the government must also mandate the establishment of an infrastructure network to ensure that e-vehicle usage would thrive.

Imagine that, e-vehicles instead of noisy, pollution-making jeepneys on the road!

Till next time, this is Monico D. Mekaniko, Va-va-vroom!

...running for a cause

'Run for Pasig' certified world's largest race

abs-cbnNEWS.com

12/27/2010

Run for Pasig River finishers near the Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Photo by Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines  – It's certified.
The prestigious Guinness World Records has officially declared the "10.10.10 A Run for the Pasig River" as the largest footrace event in the world.

The race, held last October 10, saw 116, 086 runners crossing the finish line with the aim of helping clean up the polluted Pasig River.

It has now overtaken the record by San Francisco’s "Bay to Breakers" race in 1988.

It also broke the official Philippine record of most number of runners in a foot race.

The race, which was organized by the ABS-CBN Foundation, had 3 race divisions - the 3k, 5k and 10k.

Local celebrities and national figures, including ABS-CBN honcho Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III, ABS-CBN Foundation head Gina Lopez, Manny Pacquiao, and Piolo Pascual had joined the event.

Days before the race, Gina Lopez said she was confident the said run will break records.

She said participation in the race "will send the message that Filipinos care, and that united we can make a difference, and united, we can break world records. We all care about cleaning the river, so everybody should make things happen because this is the pulse of the nation.” – With reports from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News