SPOTTED | The Top 25 Websites in the Philippines and What These Might Say About the Average Filipino Netizen

I was already on my way home inside an elevator when I began to think, what are the most visited websites or sites in the Philippines? What do most of the Filipinos do online nowadays? For what reason do we Filipinos go online? Which websites experience receive high Filipino traffic?

In this post, I will talk about the most popular websites in the Philippines as of September 2015. My source here is Alexa which is a commercial web traffic data and analytics provider. I will also give my own prejudice in defining what the online Filipino community does at this point in time.

But first, let me give to you the list of the top 25 (most popular) websites in the Philippines.

So, what is in it for me reading this post? What is the importance of this ranking? What does this list tell us about the average Filipino netizen?

1. Facebook.com 
2. Google.com
3. Google.com.ph
4. Youtube.com
5. Yahoo.comm
6. Gmanetwork.com
7. Amazon.com
8. Blogspot.com
9. Twitter.com
10. Wikipedia.org
11. Inquirer.net
12. Lazada.com.ph
13. Olx.ph
14. Rappler.com
15. Linkedin.com
16. Instagram.com
17. Ask.com
18. Abscbnnews.com
19. Kat.cr
20. Wordpress.com
21. Diply.com
22. Onclickads.net
23. Blogger.com
24. Paypal.com
25. Pinterest.com

Here are some points to ponder on. These are just my generalizations on what Filipino do online.

FIRST: Filipino netizens love to network with other people.

Deeply rooted within our culture of Filipino hospitality, perhaps it's not that hard to say that Filipinos love to let others people know what they are doing or even speak out their minds in the online world since the Philippines was known to be the text messaging capital of the world - the behavior of which is often exploited by telecommunication companies like PLDT, Globe, Smart, TalknText, TM, and Sun Cellular. What evidence must be needed when this list is topped by Facebook, shown with the inclusion of  Twitter and LinkedIn. Perhaps, the extent of social networking far reaches the negative side of the spectrum as more and more Filipinos nowadays are being lured to pyramid scams which are often proliferated by fellow netizens in these social networks.

SECOND: Filipino netizens love to write and share.

A lot of Filipinos love to share just anything from things they know to things they don't know he he. Clearly, there are a lot of bloggers who have established their niches through their blogs either via Blogger (or Blogspot) and Wordpress. I mentioned "things they do not know" because a few bloggers just gain popularity because they post hearsays, rumors, and scandals just to get more traffic - at the expense of celebrities and other public figures. 

Don't forget Instagram which is like the online super photo album of Filipino netizens and Kat.cr which I think is a torrent site for anything pirated haha. Posts on Diply.com are also some of the most shared online in social media networks, hence, its position in the top 25 list.

THIRD: Filipino netizens love to search, learn, and pursue things that interest them.

What could clearly prove this point is the presence of not one, not two, but four search engines in the top 25 list of high traffic websites in the Philippines namely Google.com, Google.com.ph, Yahoo.com, and Ask.com. This clearly encompasses all types of search from whatever type of Filipino netizen to whatever subject one searches about. It's not only that, Filipinos online love to refer to Wikipedia (probably because it's oftentimes indexed high in search engine results) as their library. It should be noted though that this practice of relying on Wikipedia should be guided as Wikipedia is still unreliable especially when it comes to student reports and assignments. Better stick with .edu sites.

Let's also not forget Youtube.com and Pinterest.com which clearly are for those who want to engage in their passion and know more about just anything which are interesting.

FOURTH: Filipino netizens love to transact online.

This is very true. Filipinos want to buy, sell, pawn, trade, and get paid for their services/products
online. I always thought that OLX is the leading buy and sell platform but I was wrong. Amazon.com and Lazada.comph rank higher than Olx.ph. Another proof for this is the presence of many online buy and sell groups in Facebook. You don't believe? Just type in Buy and Sell on your search bar in Facebook. The presence of Paypal.com and Onclickads.net also support this statement.

FIFTH: Filipino netizens love news.

When it comes to daily news, I always go to Inquirer.net to read about the freshest scoop on business/finance and politics (both local and international). I also visit Rappler.com often because their site is visually pleasant and easily navigable, add to that the fact that they make their own wRap of the hottest issues for the day. But I was shocked to find out that GMA News topped them all - Inquirer, Rappler, and ABS-CBN News.

BONUS: Filipino netizens don't watch porn that much?

If the top 25 list is to serve as basis here, yes, it's true. But if we'd take a look at the top 50 ranking, haha, you'd definitely change your mind. One almost reached the top 25 list. Just search it up or visit alexa.com. :))

Google celebrates 14th birthday with doodle

I was very surprised, when I checked the Google homepage, to see a cute doodle marking Google's 14th birthday. At first, I was not able to read the G-O-O-G-L-E prints because I took a closer look at the brown partial images which somehow featured the search engine's name also. Then, it dawned on me that there were fourteen candles below it, signifying its 14 years of existence in the web.

Prior the transformation into cotton-candy, cloud-like Google birthday image, there was an animated chocolate cake. 

Actual birthdate

Google's actual birthday was September 7, the day the company was set up in 1998, but was then changed to September 27 to coincide with the revelation that Google once again got a record number of indexed pages.

Clicking the Google doodle leads you to Google's indexed search results amounting to 13.9 billion pages. 

Philippines: No. 4 in Southeast Asia as Origin of Internet Security Threats

(earlier reported in Inquirer.net)

A report scooped by Inquirer.net reveals that Philippines ranks 4th in SE Asia as source of internet security threats in the area. Also, it ranks 10th in the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) Region. The news portal continues, by saying that Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report Volume 15 puts Philippines behind Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, where zombies, bots and other malicious programs come from. In that same report, it was exposed that Philippines ranks 6th as origin of Web-based attacks.

The country also has a significant number of bot-infected computers. Symantec said bots were “covertly installed” on a computer that allowed hackers to remotely control one’s computer to commit cybercrimes like identity theft and data breaches.

The country is also one of the hosts of phishing URLs in APJ. In fact, Symantec said the country ranked second for phishing in Southeast Asia.

Phishing attempts to acquire someone’s information like passwords, usernames, and other information such as those found on credit cards. Symantec said that locally, the target of phishing was the financial sector, with 92 percent of its URLs being “spoofed” or copied.

How does the government address this concern?  Last year, a news site reported that websites of  Philippine commissions and agencies have been attacked and infiltrated by international cyber criminals. Moreover, leakage and theft of identities and accounts have been realized by nations across the globe. Will this be a threat to our national security? How can normal citizens help in fighting these unwanted events?

You may view the original article here.