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The Day The Philippines Rocked Twitter Trends

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The day after Mother’s Day 2009 — May 11th, was a usual day at Twitter. Startrek discussions have not quite ended, and so are those about Mother’s Day. But 2100H, Manila time (GMT+8), while tweeting and looking at the trending topics (which I do half the time while I tweet), I found a pleasant surprise — “Philippines” is trending on Twitter! Now, I’m not really sure if this has happened before, since the implementation of the “Trending Topics” sidebar, but I sure am one happy patriotic and nationalistic Filipino twitterer to see my country make it to the top 10 “Trending Topics” on Twitter. I mean, considering how many seemingly endless and varied topics are discussed on Twitter everyday, for a topic to make it to the top 10 is remarkable. I don’t know exactly what triggered it, who started it or whether it was just incidental or anything, but one thing is for sure, Twitter sure “changes the conversation” and it’s so powerful that it can bring a lot of people together. It was delightful to suddenly see how Pinoys reacted and suddenly participated in the discussion and how everyone else from around the Twittersphere, all around the world started joining in to find out why “Philippines” is trending. Then came tweets about fun facts about the Philippines, our kababayans abroad suddenly tweeting how they miss the food, the people, the beaches. And how other nationalities tweet about good experiences they’ve had about their previous visit/s to the Philippines. It’s heart-warming. It evokes pride and nationalism. It evokes, above all things, the feeling of hope for this country we dearly love.

The 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections is happening a year from now. And I think, in this technology-driven era we live in, it would be in our best interest to use technology in a way that will be beneficial to our country. Social networks are no doubt the ruler of the web at this point. And Twitter leads the herd.

If you tweet, let us use tweeting to promote awareness and spread relevant, useful and timely information as it relates to the upcoming 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections. The internet is a powerful tool. How we use that power is up to us. Let’s use it to better ourselves and our nation.

For tweets about the upcoming elections, I recommend using the #philippines2010 hashtag. Let’s start a conversation. Who knows, maybe a single tweet can change the Philippine future. All it takes is one, two, three tweets. Mabuhay Twitter! Mabuhay Philippines! Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

If you’re still not on Twitter, where have you been all this time? :) Sign up for Twitter now! And, while you’re at it, you might want to follow me on Twitter, too. Tweet you soon!

P.S.
Further research showed me other possible reasons why “Philippines” made it to the “Trending Topics”:
1. Recent typhoon/s that wrecked Bicol and Pangasinan, leaving more or less 40 casualties.
2. David Archuleta and David Cook of American Idol are coming over here for a concert performance.
3. Eventual enthusiastic tweeting of Filipinos following the first two.
4. Just because. :)

7 responses to “The Day The Philippines Rocked Twitter Trends”

  1. fjordz Avatar
    fjordz

    that’s so cool! I wasnt able to notice that since Im always at Plurk though my Plurk and Twitter accounts are integrated.

    Like

    Reply
  2. Mikki Avatar
    Mikki

    Indeed a rather unusual occurrence! But it makes our life much brighter and more interesting!

    Like

    Reply
  3. Scottsdale dating Avatar
    Scottsdale dating

    Great insight! You did a good job on sharing your thoughts. Philippine voters should be more apprehensive on whom to vote.

    Like

    Reply
  4. Cindy Avatar
    Cindy

    It’s fascinating to think about how the twittering of the Philippines picked up so much buzz and evolved during that day. First people were just talking about it but then individuals such as yourself noticed it in the ranks and then those abroad began talking about home. It’s nice to see the power Twitter has to bring people together.

    Like

    Reply
  5. Steve Cross Avatar
    Steve Cross

    Great insight.Twitter accounts are integrated

    Like

    Reply
  6. RJ Marmol Avatar
    RJ Marmol

    thanks guys, always great to know your thoughts. :)

    Like

    Reply
  7. Paukenerguss Avatar
    Paukenerguss

    Thank you very much for this useful information.
    Please keep on blogging.
    I am looking forward to read your next great article.

    Best regards…

    Like

    Reply

Let me know what you think… :)

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● About Me
Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera Marmol aka RJ Marmol profile picture

I’m RJ Marmol — writer, musician, and independent creator based in Manila.

I write songs, essays, and books about the messy overlap between money, overwhelm, creativity, identity, and rebuilding. Much of my work circles around what happens when life stops feeling manageable — and how we try to think clearly, make decisions, and keep moving anyway.

I’m also the author of Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur, a nonfiction book published under Steady Hand Press. The paperback edition is listed under my full publishing name, Cecilia Regina Aquino Blanquera.

On the music side, I release work as HeyRJ. On the writing side, this site is where I gather my books, essays, notes, and whatever I’m building next.

Music

HeyRJ is my sonic soul project. I create raw, minimalist-style and deeply personal music interpretations that feel like a late-night conversation with your truest self.

By blending lo-fi acoustic textures with poetic honesty, my work explores love, loss, grief, healing, and the quiet in-betweens of life. Each song is a letter — a journal entry — a gentle companion for when the world feels too loud or too quiet.

While my catalogue began with intimate cover renditions, my work is increasingly being shaped by original writing, drawing from years of poems, lived questions, and emotional survival.

“Stuck Home Syndrome” released on March 20, 2026 is my first original 20-track album written during a period when time felt compressed and days began to blur into each other. The songs came from sitting with thoughts that had nowhere else to go — unfiltered, repetitive, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s a concept album that isn’t built around singles or polish. It’s closer to a continuous inner monologue, recorded with minimal production and very little ornamentation and meant to be listened to as one cohesive body of work. The goal wasn’t to resolve anything, only to document how it felt while it was happening.

On May 29, 2026 I released new original singles – “Rapturous”, “Uh Huh”, “Look At You”, “All That” and “Blew Print”. I continue to release both original and cover songs and intend to so for as long as I can so check back every once in a while — you might. just find something you’ll like.

For business inquiries relating to music, email me at: heyrjmusic[at]gmail[dot]com or my personal email at: rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com.

Books

Rebuilding Under Debt: Thinking Clearly When Everything Is a Blur

A nonfiction book about what debt does to the mind — and how to begin functioning again when financial stress has made everything feel blurred, urgent, and overwhelming.

Rather than treating debt only as a financial math problem, the book explores the emotional and cognitive realities of financial distress: shame, decision fatigue, avoidance, panic, relationship strain, and the difficulty of making sound decisions while mentally depleted.

Published under Steady Hand Press. It’s available worldwide in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon. Bookstores and libraries can also be order it wholesale via Ingram.

Contact

For book-related inquiries, media requests, bookstore questions, or discussion-group invitations, you can reach me through the contact page on this site or send me an email to rjmarmol[at]gmail[dot]com or hello[at]steadyhandpress.com

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