eBay.ph Launches Kuponan Group Buying Site

eBay is popularly known for its buy and sell model where sellers advertise their items on the site, while buyers browse through it to get the best deals for gadgets, clothes and accessories, and other products. eBay is internationally known and is among the trusted e-commerce websites in the world.

eBay Philippines, on the other hand, expanded the business model by launching a group buying feature for the local buy and sell portal, called Kuponan or eBay Kuponan, where Kuponan is a collective Tagalog word for “coupons”. This is what the website offer – discounted online coupons for various businesses including hotels, restaurants, salons, derm clinics, bakeshops, and even travel agencies in the Philippines.

There are a lot of group buying sites that have emerged in the Philippines just for the past year alone. Does eBay Kuponan have what it takes to take a lead in the competition? Well, aside from the international name it carries, this group buying site powered by eBay offers a one-of-a-kind payment system. Unlike other websites in the industry, Kuponan does not require full payment for most of its deals, meaning you can only pay partially online and then just pay the remaining amount when you’re redeeming the coupon or the deal.

Nice? I think it is! Because, for example, if you plan to buy several coupons for a single deal, say a travel deal to Palawan, you are not obliged to pay right then and there the full amount of the deal times the number of coupons you are supposed to buy (which may be too much!). If the partial payment, for example, is just 20% of the total amount to be paid, then you can easily purchase several pieces of this coupon.

Another good thing about the site is the variety of deals it offers. It has deals for travel, health and beauty, food and drinks, and even technology. This deal really caught my interest and I’m definitely gonna purchase it!

 So, if you’re looking for great deals that are affordable and within your budget, you know where to look at, ok? ;)

The Privacy of Phones

Phones are really diverse nowadays. It has a vast range of capabilities like cameras, music players, speech and video recorders, internet access, emails, and short messaging system. The technology has made communication easier and real time, that there is no longer an excuse for any hand held phone owners to deny having to miss a message or an important event as long as the phone is within his reach. Phone manufacturers battle it out in producing new ideas and new concepts of utilizing the advance technology that they have possess during the past decade.

Aside from the great features and the unlimited access to various media, phones have been a subject of scrutiny during its walk to the path of technological advancement. Hundreds or even thousands of pictures are taken everyday for a very largely populated urban area. Quick sharing these various media made people hungry for things to be captured on film or in camera. I myself can never the deny the existence of spreading scandals involving nude celebrities, sexual acts by couples having fun with their phones, and pictures that amazes people of their unusual nature. Having the ability to share it with friends, people tend to breach the privacy to which we adhere to during our days of independence. To be publicly viewed naked is something that most of us can never think of during our life time. With the phones that we own right here and right now, people feel naked, and can even victimize innocent people who hardly know what happened. As we browse through the internet, we can view snapshots viewing their under wears as they publicly ride a train. The threat of having been exposed is a nightmare of every lady innocently taking a ride to wherever destination. 

We can recall Singapore law makers passing a bill prohibiting camera phone owners to take pictures without consent or without any sound signaling that they are taking pictures of something in public areas. Why can our government do the same privacy advocacies to prevent the theft of one’s privacy? Maybe privacy is not that important to us. Or maybe we are oblivious and still phones are wonders of technology that helps us in attaining ease in our everyday lives. 

By: Regine Anne Quimada

Security 101: Staying Safe Online

With today’s kids virtually growing up in front of computers, parents are often left behind. Since their children are more familiar about computers, many parents feel that they cannot protect them from the harmful aspects of this technology, which mostly come from the Internet, such as pedophiles, pornography, hate groups, etc.

But if you think the World Wide Web is one game you cannot play with your kids, think again. There are simple ways on ensuring your child’s safety online, even without being a computer expert.

For one, you can surf the net with your kids. Ask them to teach you the basics, such as chatting. Apart from being another opportunity to bond with them, you will be able to monitor whom your children are interacting with, as well as get to know their online friends.  

Just as you would do in any other privilege, set rules on using the computer. Decide on what time of the day they can use it, how long they can use it, and what sites they can visit. When they break the rules, be stern with your punishment so they’ll know you mean serious business. Make them aware of the dangers lurking in cyberspace.

You can also have a crash course on the various tools available to help you monitor your kids’ activities on the net. For example, you may learn how to setup a blocking or filtering software which will prevent your children from having access to websites with harmful contents. There are also programs which can block PopAds and Spams, most of which provide links to pornographic sites. You can even keep a log of all communication between your child and other people using some software.      

But since you cannot possibly be with your kid 24/7, you must give him reminders when being online. Inform him that the cardinal rule in being online is to never give out personal information including his full name,  address, school and contact numbers. Tell him that if he wants to divulge these pieces of information to a friend, he must seek your permission first.

Remind him to never send a picture of himself to anyone he’s chatting with online without first checking it with you. Make sure he knows that people online can easily hide their true selves, and may assume a different personality to gain his trust.

Ask him to tell you immediately if he reads anything or comes across any information in the net that makes him feel uncomfortable.

Last, but certainly not the least: Tell him never to meet any of his online pals in person, nor have them visit him without your permission. If you think it’s okay to meet someone he came across the net, accompany your child and make sure the meeting will take place in public.

By: Regine Anne Quimada