For the details and more comic book-related content, visit Comic Book Culture on Yahoo! Meme.

Image provided by Archie Comics.

New year. New decade. New job.

I love blogging for CNET Asia, and I’ve always considered it a privilege to be part of this blog network. Seems like it was only yesterday when I was part of the first batch of CNET Asia bloggers when this network debuted back in 2006. This, however, will be my last post for Babelmachine, as I embark on a new online adventure as the social media editor of Yahoo! Philippines.

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Back in October, I blogged about Filipino couple Michael Paul and Jennifer, who were hoping to reach the finals of the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition, in which contestants would use blogs and social networks to chronicle their adventures in Thailand.

I’m happy to share that they made it to the finals, vying with four other couples for the top prize. They’re now asking for the help of fellow Filipino Internet users to check out their blog, vote for them, and help spread the word.

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Here’s an excerpt.

I stumbled upon this brilliant presentation by David Gillespie, thanks to Misty Belardo’s tweet, and I just wanted to share it with you and give my own views about it.

Be warned, though, it has 263 slides, but it’s worth going through the whole presentation and digesting all this food for thought.

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Then follow Level Up!’s social media coverage of RWC 2009.

Here’s an excerpt from my Level Up! blog post.

To get updates on the RWC 2009 results, become a fan of the official Level Up! Page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/levelupinc

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Good luck to Team Philippines!

Attesting to how social media can be effectively tapped for the tourism industry, the Ultimate Thailand Explorers competition sees Internet-savvy travelers vying for the chance to explore five of the country’s top holiday destinations: Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui.

Making it to the semifinals for Koh Samui are Filipino newlyweds Michael Paul and Jennifer of Zamboanga City, Philippines. You can vote for Michael Paul and Jennifer here after registering at the Ultimate Thailand Explorers site.

By voting, you won’t just be helping your favorite team, but you’ll also get the chance to be one of two lucky voters who will each receive $2,500 price packages.

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Here’s an excerpt.

Once more attesting to the fact that social media can be used for socially relevant causes, Yahoo! Philippines has tapped Flickr to create an online photo database of missing persons.

This initiative aims to help families find their loved ones who are still missing as a result of the floods spawned by the typhoons that recently devastated the Philippines, Ondoy (international codename: Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma).

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“Facebook is like so yesterday. There’s now Twitter!”

Pardon the shameless plug, but my goal is to share our own experience in using social networks and multimedia to generate buzz and deliver information on the highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game that our company is bringing to the Philippines this February, Rohan Online.

I think the important thing for companies to remember in this digital age is that apart from traditional channels such as mainstream media, the Web has empowered us with powerful and relatively inexpensive tools for directly reaching out to our audience and engaging them in a conversation. These tools, such as social networks, are not meant to replace but rather complement the role that traditional media plays in our overall communication strategy. In the face of the global economic slowdown, however, companies will have to become even more creative in taking advantage of the free tools that are available online instead of just relying on above-the-line promotion.

How about you, how are you using social media?