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MANILA, Philippines - They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but is it worth a thousand connections?
Smart Communications thinks so. It recently launched an art exhibit at Shangri-La Plaza called “Internet for All.” The images — taken by top local photographers Jo Ann Bitagcol, Jake Versoza and Apple Tapan — show how the Internet affects lives throughout the Philippines.
Bitagcol, Versoza and Tapan were dispatched to places as far-flung as Naga, Camarines Sur; Gingoog, Misamis Oriental; Barobo, Surigao del Sur; Baguio; Coron, Palawan; Malapascua, Cebu; Tagbilaran, Bohol, Polillo, Quezon; San Miguel and Bulacan to get a glimpse of Internet use in people’s lives.
As explained by Ramon Isberto, Smart Public Affairs head, it’s part of Smart’s advocacy, Internet For All. “The advocacy is more than just getting people and communities to connect to the Web. We want to dramatize how more Filipinos from all walks of life are discovering the benefits of Internet,” he said. “And what could be more dramatic than a great shot?”
A “Wanted: Agents” sign on an office door in Baguio paved the way for Cristina Gaoiran to be a Smart Bro reseller. (Photo by Apple Tapan) Bitagcol was sent to Misamis Oriental to grab images of Smart’s effort to set up computers, webcams and WiFi to allow patients to consult doctors via web conferencing there; she captured students at work on Smart’s Project Rain Gauge in San Miguel National High School in Bulacan, where they record and upload daily rainfall information for PAGASA, among other stories.
Tapan focused her lens on a wind-powered cellular site set up by Smart in Malapascua, Cebu; she looked at ways Sun.Star Daily in Cebu uses the Internet to collect and report news for 12 major cities there so that Cebuanos, Ilocanos, Ilonggos, Warays and other locals who have left their birthplaces can keep abreast of news “back home,”; and she went to Naga, Camarines Sur to see the web-based Infoboard where volunteers post texted and emailed information so the public can be among the first to respond locally to needs of emergency assistance.
In isolated Polillo Island, Quezon, Internet cafés have sprung up, bringing the world closer than ever. (Photo by Jake Versosa) Versoza meanwhile headed to Surigao del Sur, to see how high school kids in Barobo share their community’s local culture and traditions to the world through the Internet, even winning top prize in Smart’s online Doon Po sa Amin Learning Challenge in 2010; and he looked at another tourism effort in NCR called couchsurfing.com which allows foreigners to get a better online look at what a visit to the Philippines would be like rather than old-fashioned brochures.
Guests at the exhibit also got to try different ways to access the Internet at the “experience zone” with hands-on use of Smart Bro Plug-It, the Smart Bro Pocket Wifi, and the Smart microSIM.
During his welcome remarks, Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea pointed out “The Internet is the new cellular. The Internet should be for all. Through this project, we hope to show different scenarios of how people are embracing the Internet because of the positive impact it can make on lives and communities.”
Shooters: Jake Versoza, Jo An Bitagcol and Apple Tan were tapped by Smart to shoot the photo essays. Photo by BOY SANTOS Does the exhibit work as art? They’re certainly great shots, and great stories, though even Isberto acknowledges that “many of these things are processes, they’re not events.” He adds: “We’re just trying to find a different way to tell the story. Sometimes these stories don’t lend themselves to conventional storytelling.” At best, Smart hoped to capture “images to help convey the message, or the emotions that people experience” using the Internet.
He sees the Internet For All project actually reaching its goal in three to five years, and points out that cell phones — once thought of as the logical “mobile computer” for the masses — will probably given up that role increasingly to tablet devices for a fuller, richer Internet experience. “The important thing is to make Internet accessible, and make the services relevant and meaningful.” He cites the way Filipinos have become such avid social network users, not just for frivolous fun, but because the reality of relatives abroad makes social websites a necessary link to family. “These are life-changing services and experiences for people,” he says.
True, when you see connectivity being used to measure local rainfall, or to stream videos of native dancers online so that Fil-Am kids can learn and perform these dances that might otherwise disappear, it puts a different stamp on the time-killing function that the Net often provides us. Maybe a picture is worth a thousand connections after all.
