Localvibe joins philstar.com, Young STAR Online

philstar.com, the megaportal for the Filipino global community, recently partnered with Localvibe.com, Manila’s foremost online city lifestyle magazine. As the portal’s official city guide partner, Localvibe.com will provide philstar.com’s YS Online channel with up-to-date listings of restaurants, bars and clubs, events, movie and TV schedules, shops and services, as well as links to its editorial content.

Localvibe is part of the GetAsia.com network – a US-based Internet company that provides Asian Internet communities with customized news, lifestyle information and services, tailored to local preferences through city-specific information. GetAsia.com country manager Alex Reguyal and marketing director Bernice Arcenas sealed the partnership with philstar.com president Kevin Belmonte last Dec. 5, enabling the Filipino Global Community to access Localvibe content through philstar.com. "We are very excited about the partnership," Arcenas remarked, "particularly because it allows Localvibe to reach a market that it has not yet tapped — vast Filipino communities abroad.

Through our presence on philstar.com, a balikbayan, who wants to plan his vacation in Manila, will have access to all the information he needs on the latest happenings and places to be around town." Reguyal added, "philstar.comm is definitely a strong local partner, and we see tremendous synergies through the partnership. Together, we will be keeping Filipino communities informed not only of the latest news, but also of the most current leisure and lifestyle information back home."

Launched in January 1999, Localvibe.com quickly made a name for itself by creating the hippest buzz about Metro Manila, covering the happenings of people, places and events that defined the city as a dynamic metropolis. TIME Magazine cited praise for the website calling it "a lively, opinionated and affectionate overview of what’s on in Manila." Localvibe.com first provided up-to-the-minute city listings and first-hand experience articles via its website, but later expanded to deliver its information through SMS and WAP mobile technology. Under the GetAsia.com network, Localvibe.com’s sister websites include ClicktheCity.com and Legmanila.com.

Aside from Localvibe.com, other partners of philstar.com include RFM Corporation, PLDT, Viva, BidShot Auctions, Jobstreet, eYellowPages, DFNN, People Asia, NBC, Teen Philippines, Pulp Magazine and Odyssey Records.