Shopping Online at eBay

The internet has made it possible for people to do lot of things even in the comfort of their own home. One of them is online shopping. eBay is the world’s biggest internet site where people the world over can either buy or sell goods online. A person can shop for almost anything on eBay. Goods that can be purchased include vehicles, antiques, collectibles, clothing, watches, jewelries, electrical appliances among others.

Global merchants can have their goods listed on eBay which will be offered in auction or in “buy it now” category.  Online shoppers have to win the bidding first in an auction in order for him to buy the listed goods. The “buy it now” goods can be bought by a shopper without having to go through the bidding process.

Generally, it is more feasible to shop physically if the goods are available in the local malls or retail stores. Offline purchases are cheaper and faster and the buyer actually sees the goods before paying for them and bringing them home. But not all the goods one wants to buy are available locally, and more so if the items are rare, collectibles or whose production is already discontinued. A person may want to have again or replace those cherished things that are broken or long gone because he is ever delighted in using them or that they have sentimental value on him. A hobbyist or professional in many fields of endeavor such as sports, photography among others can spice up his activities by shopping online. At eBay he can select cheap, expensive, brand new, used, common and hard to find items that he wants to buy. He can even purchase replacement parts of his equipment or gears. “When it is in your mind, it is on eBay”, “whatever it is, you get it on eBay” are two of some of the slogans that aptly describe online shopping at eBay. However, goods whose uses are considered illegal or immoral are prohibited to be listed and sold at eBay. Pornographic materials, guns, drugs, drug paraphernalia among others are some of the prohibited items at eBay.

The operations of eBay are localized in thirty countries. One who wishes to do transaction at eBay should first register in its site and at PayPal. Payments on purchases are made via PayPal. Customers can pay through their credit or debit card. If a customer is a debit card holder he must see to it that his bank account balance is sufficient to cover the cost of his purchases. PayPal will automatically convert one currency into another in a situation where a customer from an eBay host country buys goods from another eBay host country. My favorite site is the US eBay because it offers wider selection of goods that are listed for outright sale or auction.

Just like physical shopping one must first check the goods he is to buy online before placing his purchase. The item should be without defect if it is brand new, or that it should meet his standard if it is used. Goods listed at eBay have pictures that can be enlarged for inspection by the buyer. In addition the seller has to describe his items and state its condition to include defects if there are any. A buyer too can communicate with the seller regarding the item/s he wants to buy. A buyer should also look at the rating of the seller and the comments made by those who have purchased his goods. A higher rating and favorable comments suggest that the seller is trustworthy and that the buyer can exactly get what he expects from the money he spends on his purchase.

Goods bought on eBay are sent through regular mail, express mail or courier service.  Arrival time of goods depends on the buyer’s and the seller’s countries of origin and the type of delivery services the former selects for the transport of his goods. Regular mail is the slowest and courier service is the fastest. Some sellers offer free shipping on their goods while others require the buyer to pay additional cost on shipping. Goods sent through the mail are picked up at the post office while courier service companies make door delivery. In some cases, items that are categorized as luxurious and bought outside of one’s country are assessed at customs bureau especially if it is sent through a courier service company. A buyer then has to pay more for the goods in terms of custom duties.

Can Facebook Help Candidates Win in the May 2013 Philippine Mid-term Election?

With less than a month for the May 13, 2013 Philippine mid-term election, local and national candidates are now in the homestretch of their campaign to win an elective office.

In this election, candidates spend huge amount of effort and money to carry out their activities that include shaking of hands, speaking before a crowd in a public stage and the pasting of posters in places where it is allowed to be done.                                   

The advent of the internet and the availability of social networking service site like Facebook and Twitter have made it possible for new comers and least known candidates to enhance their electoral campaign by the use of said internet sites. Candidates must however adhere to the terms and policies in using site such as Facebook since any violation can result to the banning of their account.                                                                                                                                                                      

A candidate who has an account in Facebook can make his political programs known to his friends and he can also create his own group or join other groups to maximize the number of persons he could interact with. An interesting post or topic can generate many “likes” or comments from friends and other users.

In the local level, the political landscape is usually dominated by incumbent politicians. The unscrupulous ones are wont to keep their position as long as they can because with it comes power and more money. They are derisively called traditional politicians or “trapo” whose greed is hidden in the name of public service.                                                                                                                                                                           

In a society where most of the voters belong to the “D” and “E” classes or the poor and less educated, the results of the election are always swayed in favor of the incumbent and moneyed politicians. Some astute local executives subtly establish a system of political patronage where the poor looks up to them as “benefactor” but all the while exploiting them for their political advantage.  These politicians even go to the extent of buying votes to win an election. As a result, politicians are elected not because of their integrity or competence, but because of their cunning to win election by all means. This flawed political process gives rise to social maladies like the proliferation of political dynasties and corruption because politicians have to recoup what they spent in the election.

The internet with its social networking sites such as Facebook is a tool that can help minimize the excesses of some politicians during a particular period such as election. Users can share to his friends in Facebook a report from other media such as newspapers, and they can also post blogs, photos and videos related to an event. What is good about it is that the access of Facebook is for free.                                                                                                          

Through Facebook people can seek information regarding the qualification and track records of a candidate. A positive or negative report on him can generate favorable or unfavorable perceptions or reactions. Some of the hot topics during this period are on political dynasty and corruption. Some candidates consider the latter issue as a sort of “mudslinging”. However, in a country where corruption is believed to be pervasive, it is a very valid election issue. Candidates should be a fair game to the attack so that they can refute it or clear their name before the public with regards to negative reports or allegations.

Some candidates however downplay the importance of Facebook in influencing the decision of the voters. They say that most of the Facebook users come from the middle income and upper classes of the voting population. And those belonging to classes “D” and “E” who comprised the majority of the voters do not have access of the Internet and therefore have no Facebook account so that the use of the site will only have a minimal effect on the result of the May 13 election especially at the local level. The claim maybe correct since incumbent local candidates who are flooded with negative post and bad comments at Facebook seem to be still widely and warmly received by the people especially the poor.

Facebook alone will not make a candidate win because of the many other factors that are involved in winning an election. But Facebook will certainly be of help to a candidate at the national level because of its wide coverage. At the local level Facebook will also be of help but to

a lesser extent. Local candidates therefore should exert more time and effort to reach out to the poor to win their hearts and minds in this coming May 13, 2013 mid-term election.

Internet Dating Sites: Modern Tools to Find Romantic Love

In this day and age, the internet has greatly affected the way people live their lives. The internet has revolutionized the way people exchange communication, transact business and carry out other fields of endeavors. A person can communicate with another in real time, watch movie, listen to music, shop and sell goods online and do other things. He or she can also seek a relationship with another person through the use of laptop or desk top.

 Some of the most popular dating sites are Match.com, My Single Friend, E-harmony, Friend finder and Zoosk. Some dating sites offer subscription for free while others require payment for the opening of an account. Just like social networks such as Facebook and others, subscriber to dating sites are required to post their profile. Significant data that should be entered are names, gender, age, occupation, other information and picture.

With her or his profile on a dating site, a subscriber is a game to those people who are also seeking relationship from the internet. A message or a view of a profile can pave a way for more interactions between two parties with exchange of communication not limited to the site. They could also communicate through the text, telephone, video chat or other means which may lead to physical meeting and then to a romantic relationship. Marriage is the ultimate result of interactions and contact between members.                                                                                                            

Dating sites vary according to the services they provide to their subscribers. There are sites that are geared towards helping a subscriber find a spouse. Others cater to the need of those who seek for a short term (usually sexual) relationship. And there are still others which cater to the need of gay, lesbian or homosexual subscribers.                                                                      

A subscriber has a wide range of area to search for a potential partner. The area of his coverage is the globe, and he can search either locally or abroad. Relative to it, some western men have found Asian women to be their partner or spouse. Asian men on the other hand are more comfortable seeking relationship with local rather than foreign women.

There are however pitfalls in subscribing to a dating site. Generally, subscribers are not subjected to a background check before they are admitted membership. Some of them might have criminal records. Others might be spammers, identity thieves, sexual predators or into prostitution. Dating site members should be wary of these persons to avoid being victimized by them.

Joining a dating site is one’s personal choice. To put it bluntly, people who go there are looking romantic relationship. And those who do are presumed to be at the legal age and are supposed to know what they are getting themselves into. A romantic love is a personal matter between two persons which, especially in the west, can be either a heterosexual or homosexual relationship.                                                                                         

People should bear in mind that if they seek a romantic relationship through the internet, their act should not violate prior personal commitment that they had made with other people. It should not also break up what is a good and harmonious relationship with a partner especially the spouse. The internet should be used for one’s good. It should not be used as a tool to promote one's promiscuity or immoral conduct. By and large, an internet dating site can be an instrument to find one’s true love and happiness.

TRO on RA 10175: Upholding People's Freedom of Opinion and Expression in the Internet

The Philippine Supreme Court issues a Temporary Restraining Order on Republic Act 10175 suspending the implementation of the law for 120 days until some of the controversial issues are resolved. Relative to the TRO, a total of 15 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court. The petitioners stated that the law violated people’s constitutional rights on freedom of speech, equal protection of the law, right to privacy, illegal searches and seizures and double jeopardy.                                                                                                             

RA 10175 received protests and criticism from different sectors because of provisions giving power to the Secretary of Justice to block access to computer data even without a court order when there is prima facie evidence that the law is violated. Another controversial provision is the inclusion of libel which gives the offender one degree higher punishment than those who commit it through the traditional media. Libel is already covered by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.

Senator Edgardo Angara, the principal sponsor of the bill that becomes the law defended his position on the libel provision saying that online libel is given harsher penalty because of the speed of publication in the internet, and that online information covers a much larger area with just a click of a mouse than one that is published in the traditional media.  However, the probability is that outside the Philippines, except perhaps for the President of the Philippines and Manny Pacquiao and few others, the names of politicians who could be the subject of libelous posts might not ring a bell to other nationalities. People from other countries will most likely not click on posts they come across which contain names of people they do not know. Posts on Justin Bieber or on phenomena like flood, tsunami will by far get more views than those about wrongdoings by local Philippine politicians. Articles on local Philippine public officials that are in the internet will be most likely confined to viewers who are Filipinos or Filipinos living abroad.

In this contemporary time, people are living in a high tech world. They could transmit communications such as letters, news and videos in the internet that could reach the far corners of the world in real time.  For this reason, newspapers and other publications are disseminated both online and the traditional media. Even local newspapers which only a decade ago were available only in hard copies have now their online version.     

The internet is a molder of public opinion in this present day and age. The spread of the Arab Spring revolution was in a way facilitated by the users’ posts on Facebook and Twitter. In the Philippines, online newspaper commenters, bloggers and Facebook and Twitter users helped fan the negative sentiments against former chief Justice Renato Corona so that he became a very unpopular public figure during the height of his impeachment proceedings. It cannot be said though that the senators were influenced by public opinion when they rendered their guilty verdict on him.

President Aquino has for his slogan “matuwid na daan” or the straight path. And one of the advocacies of his government is to eliminate or minimize graft and corruption. The internet can be one of his effective platforms to convey his message or carry out his endeavors. Excesses and corruption committed by public officials can be dealt with by exposing them through the internet.

It is a good thing that the Supreme Court has issued a Temporary Restraining Order on the controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act which is enacted at a time when the international trend is to decriminalize libel. Although people should be held accountable for doing irresponsible acts online, their freedom of expression should be upheld. The showing of the controversial YouTube video “Innocence of Muslims” caused destruction of properties and lives of Americans including that of Ambassador  J. Christopher Stevens. However, the US government did not force YouTube to take the offensive video off the internet because of the people’s right to freedom of expression and opinion.

Legislators should heed the lawful and reasonable demand of the people especially if it involves the latter’s rights and freedoms that are provided for in the constitution. The lawmakers are after all the servants and representative of the people who should perform their duties according to the people’s will. The people, after all, have the final say on the elective officials’ retention in office or their dismissal from it.    

Related post:

Uproar over Philippine RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act)