By Maria Alanna D. Cargullo
See full album: Social Media Summit

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) held its 3rd Social Media Summit on July 15 at AFP Theater, Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City to discuss various issues on AFP social media account.

With the theme “Change.Move.Achieve: Moving Forward through Social Media,” AFP Media and Civil Affairs Group together with Civil Relations Service, organized the event with the aim of exploring social media for a better communication and public service.

As the first speaker, Bank of the Philippine Island Brand Manager Noel Jeffrey Gonzales talked about Big Data Analytics and gave backgrounds on the importance of big data and social media benchmarks. He said that more Filipinos are having more access in social media because of mobile devices.

On the other hand, Military Information Support Team Captain Chris Hayes focused on “Social Media and Countering Violent Extremism.” He said that the internet creates more opportunities to become radicalized because internet users can adopt to different ideologies.

He also said that it is important to know the process of radicalization to understand how it will affect the behavior of internet users. However, he admitted that it is difficult to resolve the problems on violent extremism. “It will require a massive knowledge. We can’t control people on social media especially the supporters,” he said.

Also, INQUIRER.net editor John Nery discussed about “Going Viral: Lessons for Creating Stories with Impact.” Nery said that it is important to consider the audience in creating a story. “A viral story is measured not only on its peak but it is measured also in the base,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-In-Charge Chief of Staff Police Senior Superintendent (PSSUPT) Remigio Sedanto gave a background on their social media campaign and discussed their different platforms. Also, Sedanto said that they are doing all the things they can do in social media to serve the public.

Moreover, Social Media Director of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 Presidential Campaign Jose Gabriel Laviña talked about the different strategies of President Duterte in promoting himself. He said that they considered their target audience in their promotion of Duterte as a candidate.

“We choose Facebook as a tool to promote because the language of it is related to the Filipinos which is very emotional,” he said.

Further, Dentsu Digit Managing Director Carlo Ople discussed digital era and gave background on different technologies today. He said that using technologies is a good sign of development, but he also said that it is also a challenge.

“The challenge for an organization, company, or individual during digital [era] is the resistance to change. We need to unlearn a lot of things and we need to learn new knowledge,” he said.

He also gave his advice to the millennials by saying, “While you don’t have [too much] responsibility, build your dreams.”

AFP Chief of Staff General Ricardo R. Visaya ended the event by delivering his speech regarding the social media of AFP. Visaya said that internet users must be responsible in using social media.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-In-Charge Chief of Staff Police Senior Superintendent (PSSUPT) Remigio Sedanto gave a background on their social media campaign and discussed their different platforms.

Also, Sedanto said that they are doing all the things they can do in social media to serve the public. Moreover, Social Media Director of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 Presidential Campaign Jose Gabriel Laviña talked about the different strategies of President Duterte in promoting himself. He said that they considered their target audience in their promotion of Duterte as a candidate.

“We choose Facebook as a tool to promote because the language of it is related to the Filipinos which is very emotional,” he said.

Further, Dentsu Digit Managing Director Carlo Ople discussed digital era and gave background on different technologies today. He said that using technologies is a good sign of development, but he also said that it is also a challenge.

“The challenge for an organization, company, or individual during digital [era] is the resistance to change. We need to unlearn a lot of things and we need to learn new knowledge,” he said. He also gave his advice to the millennials by saying, “While you don’t have [too much] responsibility, build your dreams.”

AFP Chief of Staff General Ricardo R. Visaya ended the event by delivering his speech regarding the social media of AFP. Visaya said that internet users must be responsible in using social media.