Posts Tagged ‘John Ericson Reyes’

New York City is a place to be enraged, especially because of the shoe-box shared space situation. Most of us do not cook or bake so we find use for the utilities given to us—storage. Polos go on the top rack of the oven, while ties and accessories go on the bottom rack of the oven. Cupboards are used for shoes and drawers are for socks and underwear. We create space because we want more things, we need more things.

No wonder people gave birth to the internet. Virtual space for realistic things. Imagine if the internet were as tangible as our clothes and shoes. Imagine that all the information available online can be seen and be felt. At this day and age, we need as much space as we can possibly have and all corners must be exhausted by information garnered in the online world. Offline space is expensive, but online space is priceless and here’s how the internet and social media is changing their services to meet our demanding needs for it.

“You Don’t Give Me Enough Space!!!”

I’m pretty sure you all have heard this before. Yes, it’s that line we all use, true and untrue, to get rid of someone for a short-while, or possibly, for good. Apparently, this speech is also used against the innocent internet services, especially on free e-mail providers. When one provider offers more space with more benefits, we tend to dispatch the not-so-mighty one who had served us good and say hello to the more polished and more fitting e-mail provider (with the benefit of giving us all the space we want and all the satisfaction we need). The truth is, even the claimed-to-be the most spacious e-mail provider is not as spacious as they say. Recently, Mike Monteiro has reached the bottom of the Gmail cave and the once thought impossible is now way too visibly possible.

So, what are the options now that free services have limits? Here in New York City, some of us, I know I do, rents storages that come with a price. In terms of the online world, extra space and features are available if one’s willing to pay extra bucks. Yahoo! offers Premium Service that gives extra space, live customer service care, security, and extra e-mail filters.

A Party of 5,000+ Friends

So now you got rid of the person you’re seeing because he or she doesn’t give you enough space, now what about your friends? Not as demanding Justin Bieber and not as talked about as Angelina Jolie, yet, you have thousands of friends on Facebook. Usually, one’s Facebook account will stop receiving friend requests after reaching its limit of 5,000 people. So, where does someone get more space for the ever-so-demanding friends? There are two options to choose from: creating a fan page AND creating a second profile.  At this point, I think a person who has more than 5,000 friends should hire Facebook as his personal event planner and scheduler and, more or less, his own Publicist. But, really? 5,000 friends? It is one thing to have more space in an address book, but it’s another to have more space to be real.

A Hundred-Forty Character Line. Space Much?

So you want more things to squeeze into your NY shoe-box apartment, but how? Let me introduce to you a product called, Spacebag. At the same time, you don’t want to hear your blabbering boyfriend blabber an hour long blabberlovathon, so you’d much rather have him tweet his sorrows. But how much information can one squeeze in a tweet? It seems that this 140 character tweet is enough to supply information by cutting down words, proper grammar, spelling, and URL. In fact, one can embed picture links on a tweet. And since humans are so obsessed with having more space possible, there is a URL shortener called “bit.” This service is a better bullet eater than PacMan. But let me warn you, when you drink and eat, there is no app that bites one’s stomach in order to create space for more incoming satisfaction.

Content now that you have more closet space and more tweet space? With the obsession of the social media generation to find space offline and online, has this era gone out of control? In the search of finding and creating room for information, with countless hours sitting and Google-ing through infinity, have we given up space to be humans? It seems that if there were a machine that would be able to transform us into virtual beings, we can probably fit pocket-sized lovers and take them out whenever we want them.

So go outside and play. I’m sure the internet can’t fit fresh air onto your computer. You’ve reached the end of internet anyway.

As far as I know, 10 years ago, when there weren’t any social media shenanigans happening, it was bad enough that a boyfriend or a girlfriend had asked friends of their lovers where their lovers were. Stalk-ish? Yes. Romantic? Not really.

10 years later, with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, blogs, and a lot more, it has become a very easy access for people to get information about other people whom they want to get to know… personally. Nowadays, it’s “normal” to get info about someone online, which brings me to question: What drives people to advertise themselves in the virtual world?

Look at me! I’m fabulous!

A decade ago, I was living a disconnected life from the wide-webbed-world. To attract attention, one had to be superbly stunning and one-of-a-kind-looking just like Hollywood Stars (and Hollywood Falling Stars). But what about the “regular” people? How can they get the same self-esteem booster for a much lower price and less work? There must be a way.

Minus the overly-priced make-up products and taking the time learning how to wink, there is only one thing someone needs in order to garner the attention of the world: the internet. With all types of social media platforms that we have today, it only takes one click to let the whole world knows what we look like, what our interests are, what we are doing, and where we are. And the best part is, most of these social media platforms are FREE! 

How much is too much?

Free food tastes way better than paid food, well, at least for me, because of the satisfying indulgence of not paying for something that elevates the pleasure of my palate (and grumbling stomach). In the same vein, free subscriptions of social media induce people to sign-up and, viola! they are now included to the list of socialite wannabes. The question, how much is too much, pertains to how much information one wants the world to know. Does the world need to know what you had for lunch and what you think I should have for lunch? Does this generation really have ADD, Attention Demanding Disorder?

Jeepers Creepers

So we’re all famous in our own ways, in our own little virtual social groups and the number of fans is just increasing incredibly. Virtual “fame” has been achieved, so now what? Chances are, this fame has become Hollywood’s upcoming hit movie: He’s Just Really Into You. From a Facebook profile to a blog-site, it’s very easy to stalk someone without being physically present, but visibly online, 24/7. Personally, there is nothing bad about publishing one’s self online. It’s fun and it is becoming a part of contemporary American culture. However, just remember when you tweet more than a bird, don’t be surprised if you find yourself covered with cranberry sauce for someone’s dinner.

All in all, it’s not bad to be a part of this social media generation. Just be careful on what you put out there. Also, be mindful on the type of social media platform you use. If you don’t want people to know exactly where you are, then do not use FourSquare. If you don’t want people to know what’s on your mind, don’t tweet about it. If you don’t want people to know what you look like, use a doppelganger.

Now, let me get out of here as I have to go to the city hall and file a restraining order.

Inspired by my experience last night on the launching event of Alikewise.com (an online dating website that matches people by the books that they read), I couldn’t help but wonder how convenient it is, nowadays, to find a date… anywhere! Has pop-culture made online dating too pop? I decided to “experiment” and go undercover to find out what it is about online dating that attracts millions of people worldwide.

Dating on the Fast Track

During the event, I got on the “Speed Dating Couch,” where I got to sit and talk to random people, telling them things about myself: what I like, what I do, and some “blahs.” Suddenly, I realized that within the span of ten years, looking for someone to date has actually become way too easy.

Cupid Goes Online!

Ten years ago, probably even more, people were buzzing about blind-dates, how intriguing it was, how fun it was, and how terrible it was. Then came speed-dating events at local bars and hotels, which was shortly followed by online dating. When people started creating MySpace profiles, they didn’t know if it were “a place for friends,” or an innovative start-up dating website. Soon after, online-dating websites such as match.com, eharmony.com, chemistry.com, and many more started popping on every corner of the world-wide-web.

Later that night, the founder of Alikewise.com was persuading me to have an online account with them, not only to up the number of members, but for me to also, “get someone to date!” he says.

Doing the (Dating) Math

I pondered my concerns on online-dating. For one, there are risks involved in meeting someone online, but I was also curious about how rapidly the population of people turning to the internet to find someone to go out with was growing. Study shows that “In the first half of 2003, consumers spent over $214 million for online-dating services. This number is 76% higher than the same time last year.” And this was back in 2003! Imagine how much people have already spent, both time and money, on dating websites seven years later. Online-dating websites have become multi-million dollar businesses that attract all types of people all over the world. And, since online-dating has become the new “it” thing, different online-dating websites are now even more tailored to cater to specific interests or preferences: Alikewise.com for book lovers, Tastebuds.com for music lovers, Christiansingles.com for, well, Christians, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

There’s an App for that!

With the influx of online dating sites, people can actually vent and share not-so-stellar experiences—as seen on BadOnlineDates.com. With this, I guess it is most definitely true that “There’s an app for that!”

Interestingly, there’s an app for online-mobile dating too! StreetSpark is considerably the FourSquare of online-dating. This is a mobile app that lets one find people nearby who share the same interests and are compatible with his or her external social networking behavior.

Here’s how it works:

I guess it has become too tiring for some to browse through thousands of profiles online and have decided to take it on the go.

I’m sure most of you have seen Lady GaGa’s Telephone video. You’ll notice that one of the key advertising companies includes PlentyOfFish.com This is, yet, another dating website now being included in a music video! Lady GaGa=Pop-Culture, hence, Pop-Culture=Online-Dating.

All’s Well that Ends Not So Well

With online-dating, comes real-world counterparts and consequences. Have you ever heard of online-break-up? Yes, apparently, this has become as convenient and mainstream as looking for someone online. Read and absorb, my dear friends: “Almost 25% of respondents found out their own relationship was over by seeing it on Facebook first.” And I thought Carrie Bradshaw’s Post-It break-up was bad! In some cases, Mark Zuckerberg finds out first that someone’s been dumped even before the who got dumped finds out.

Granted that through online-dating, people can find others instantaneously for prospective relationships. There’s a 50% chance that online-dating will turn out bad and the other half will turn out good. But, after all, doesn’t this system work the same way as meeting someone at a bar and then meet-up for a first date? Bottom line is, online-dating is worth giving a shot. It’s available for everybody, but it’s not really for everybody.

Now, excuse me while I fill out this form. Hrmmmm. About Me…