InstaFAME: Just call me ‘Beh’

MANILA, Philippines - Everyone calls her either “Beh” or “Zooey de Leon.”

But for TV personality and host Nikki Veron Cruz, the instant fame brought by her stint in the now mega-viral online video hit “Tales from the Friend Zone Zero” opposite comedian Ramon Bautista could not have signaled a more varied series of transformations.

The three-part video series, which depicts the story of how Spanky (Bautista) tried moving on after being “friendzoned” by Zooey de Leon or “Beh,” (Cruz) has already garnered an accumulated one million views on YouTube since it debuted in December.

“Friendzoning” is a relatively fresh term among the young that describes a situation when someone you love does not love you back, or only sees you as a friend.

Though already a widely known TV personality for being the host of a tech show on a local channel, Cruz said the sudden deluge of attention after the video went viral still goes well beyond her wildest imaginations.

“I never expected all of this. Five years ago, all I wanted was to be a teacher, to educate the next generation. But now this opportunity came up, and it helps me be more effective in the other things I do, or in the important messages I want to send,” Cruz explains.

Unthinkable

The Philippines has had its fair share of viral videos that had launched ordinary, everyday people into online fame and, sometimes, even to the global stage of stardom.

With a creative mind and high-speed broadband Internet at their disposal, even ordinary Internet users can get a shot of being famous and recognized by millions of people here and abroad.

“Having broadband Internet has transformed from being a luxury to a necessity. Over the years, many Filipinos have found that the Internet allows them to nourish relationships, gain new insights or, as in the case of viral videos, claim their 15 seconds of fame under the spotlight,” says Michele Curran, data and international services marketing head at Smart Communications Inc.

In Cruz’s case, her short stint at the now-viral online video earned her more than 18,000 likes on her Facebook page, up from just around 2,000 pre-Tales From The Friend Zone.

“Personally, that’s something pretty intense,” Cruz says, but at the same time admitting that thanks to the Internet, her renewed fame is allowing her to push for advocacies she would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise.

“If I want them to care more for the environment, make them more patriotic or even encourage them to have senseless fun, the Internet is now allowing me to do that,” she points out. “Broadband Internet makes the world a small and a big place at the same time.”

Most advanced

Such opportunities are opened by the ubiquity of high-speed broadband Internet in the Philippines, which is allowing more and more Filipinos to reach for their dreams, conquer new experiences and achieve what was once seemingly impossible.

Smart, through its subsidiary Smart Broadband Inc. (Smart Bro), has been at the forefront of bringing the most advanced broadband Internet access to more Filipinos with four times more fiber power than any other provider, delivered through 10,000 4G-capable (HSPA+ and LTE/LTE-A) sites scattered across the country.

“With fast, reliable and ‘nationwidest’ mobile broadband service, what was once unthinkable is possible online because tomorrow’s Internet is now here,” Curran says. “With broadband speeds of up to 42 Mbps, Smart Bro offers the country’s most advanced broadband network that enables subscribers to do more and live more online.”

Find out more about the Internet of tomorrow and how it’s within your reach by logging on to tomorrowishere.smart.com.ph.