
I started doing this roundup a year ago without much of an explanation, so here goes: When I did social media promotions during FFC season (organizing everything else was hard, but the planning & scheduling of posts for every single day was particularly draining), I made it a point to find Filipino designy & techie work to feature. And link blogging like Swiss Miss, Kottke, & Daring Fireball is something I’ve been wanting to do because it’s such a freeing format—for the author to not need to be ~thought leadership 24/7~, and for the reader to do more web surfing (do people even say that anymore?).
So this is a mix of that: I’m doing the link roundup thing, but specifically scoped to Filipino features. Which is hard sometimes, considering this country is way too dependent on link-hostile environments like Facebook and Instagram.
To see the previous ones, visit the tag! Think of it as my self-hosted Substack, if you’re into that thing.
“Bagsakan” (“drop”) comes from the bonafide bop by Parokya ni Edgar, Francis Magalona, and Gloc-9. An extremely versatile term and especially relevant in this edition.
Added @twitter handles so you can go follow these awesome people.
Lezgo!
- The Punishing of the Philippines by Chia Amisola (@hotemogf) is not only rare, powerful tech writing, but also a creative, interactive experience.
- Make Space for Maintenance by Bianca Aguilar (@biancamikaila) is also a gem, shining a light on unprestigious, abused areas we don’t think of when we say “tech industry”.
- If you need receipts, Hacktibista (@hacktibista) has them.
- Institute for Critical Commuting is “an ongoing research on Manila’s public transportation system as a site of violence and trauma.”
- It’s hard to keep up with so many new Filipino fonts (typefaces, I know, but I like alliteration) these days so here’s just one, with a cyber slant: “Kawingan by John David Maza is a bitmap serif typeface that takes inspiration from obscure Filipino tech terms. In computer terminology, kawingan is the Filipino word for “hyperlink.” With the digital nature of pixels and the classic flavor of serifs, it seeks to devise a link between modern technology and the Filipino heritage.”
- I’m starting to look like a stan of theirs by how much I mention them, but I’m really fascinated by the concept behind this new P-Pop group, Alamat, and all the cultural references they imbue. They’re even self-writing songs that combine several Philippine languages (just a fraction of our 180+ languages not dialects, but impressive nonetheless).
- #FightDisinfo is a newsletter from the Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation, updated every Friday by Jonathan de Santos (@desamting).
- I mentioned Brutalist Pilipinas before, and there’s actually a Modernist architecture feed too.
- Oro Design Conference went online and completely free this year, so you can watch their talks there.
- Workspaces by inbytes.dev (@inbytesdev) features Filipino developers’ work setups at home. They also have a Meet the Developer series and list events of interest.
- “Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha batay sa pangangailangan”: a community pantry started by Ana Patricia Non on Maginhawa St., QC has inspired everyone into donating and starting their own (a real-life bagsakan), and even got a beautiful sign upgrade (brownie points if you can identify the Pinoy typefaces used). It’s rapidly reached more than a hundred locations across the country (mapped here), been co-opted by politicians, evolved to go around on a bike & to support pets, and then the original was forced to suspend amidst red-tagging. All in less than a week.
- Parting art: cleaners!
i’m back from the dead to make bunot the floor 😭😭 #artph pic.twitter.com/rhi6KeJB6B
— 💛🏳️🌈°plop°🏳️🌈💛 #DefendUP #OUSTDUTERTENOW (@brown003nib) February 6, 2021
Want more content like this? Browse the Bagsakan tag.