Definitely a failure, singlefilipino.com was started with the best of intentions by Alex, who I mentioned has a new website pending. I merely set it up and administered the server. I can’t fault him for failing with this one because neither he nor I was aware of the issues surrounding it.
Taking Pictures
The whole website centered around pictures of men and women in the Philippines. A very short description along with contact details were posted along with the photos.
Alex didn’t have problems getting pictures and information from people he knew, even casually. The problems started when he attempted to reach people he didn’t know at all.
There is a certain mentality that Filipinos have and it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female. They trust no one when it comes to their personal information and likenesses online. It’s kind of silly, if you ask me, because the very same people who refuse to cooperate with people standing in front of them will post the exact same information on Facebook themselves.
Anyway, the website is a failure because it takes way too much time and effort to add even one person to make it worthwhile.
The Philippines
I’ll soon be working with Alex on the new website, which will be a lot less personal and full of much more information about the Philippines itself.
As a taxi driver in the tourist area of Subic Bay, Alex is going to have ample opportunities to photograph people, places and things that should interest anyone looking for information about this part of the world.
We’re going to start locally (Olongapo City, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga) and spread out from here. I may end up taking trips to other islands in a year or so and not just because of this website. I plan to visit the city where my wife was born (Tacloban City, Leyte) and places I’ve never been before. I’ve lived in the Philippines for six years and I haven’t done much traveling at all.