Kwento Kwentuhan

What’s Your Social Media App of Choice?

Liza of “A Maui Blog”

Did you know that the Philippines has been tagged as the “Social Networking Capital of the World”? A study released by Universal McCann entitled Power to the People declared so.

What is your “app” platform of choice when it comes to social media? The field of uses and application vary widely. Facebook and Instagram remain the popular choice among Filipinos.

Are you on Facebook? Do you have an Instagram account? Chances are, most of you are on Facebook and have an Instagram account. Some are more active than others, nevertheless, many of us are participating and engaging on social media daily in our lives, in the Philippines and abroad.

Why do you think Filipinos are known for social media and social networking? Here’s why I think we are:

We Filipinos are social and relational. We put a high value on relationships. We take care of our family and we enjoy having friends. We are known for our close-knit relationships among family and friends. Social interactions are a basic part of our daily life in the Philippines as well as abroad (wherever we are). So when there are family events and occasions, we take photos and share them.

In addition, social media is used as a “tool for communication” with family and friends far away. It’s nice to talk to families abroad via Facetime instead of just hearing their voice via phone calls. It is also cheaper to use social media than to pay a regular long distance phone call.

On my left is “Madame Donut,” owner of Donut Dynamite and avid user of Social Media—partly attributing to her wild success as an entrepreneur ‘goddess’ extraordinaire.

According to an article written by DataSpring, “Facebook is still the go-to social networking platform. Part of its success can be attributed to the efforts of mobile operators providing ways to access the app via mobile without incurring any charges, albeit with limited functions. Pair this up with a wide range of cheap smartphones available in the country and you’ve got yourself more potential users from a wider socio-economic demographic. This would explain the high mobile traffic with 93% of Facebook users accessing via mobile. This play at inclusivity has done Facebook a lot of good in conquering the Philippine market.”

Instagram is fast becoming the favorite app. Don’t we just love seeing Filipino Food photos on Instagram? The other day I posted a photo of halo-halo I was eating at Tante’s Island Cuisine and it got hundreds of likes! In the comments, I was asked “where can we buy that?”

We can go on and on talking about Filipinos in social media but I thought it would be good to end our kwentu-kwentuhan this month by sharing who some of the Fil-Ams here on Maui who are on Instagram. It would be good to follow them and get connected too: @chefwonder (the famous chef Sheldon Simeon of @lineagemaui) @tantesislandcuisinemaui (yummy food posts!) @themadamedonut (the owner of famous @donutdynamite) @alfredo.evangelista (Attorney/President of Law Offices of Alfredo Evangelista, LLC) and @amauiblog (yours truly). Are you in Instagram too and your profile is public? Let us know what your handle is and we will follow you!

Liza Pierce of A Maui Blog is an Interactive Media Strategist in Hawai‘i. She started blogging in 2006 and she loves talking story online and spreading aloha around the world. She’s been living on Maui since 1994 and considers Maui her home. A wife, a mother, a friend…and so much more. She loves Jesus; Maui Sunsets Catcher; Crazy About Rainbow; End Alzheimer’s Advocate. Her life is full and exciting here on the island of Maui.
Liza is currently the Interactive Media Strategist with Wailea Realty Corp.