GenSan News Online Mag

Now that the summer vacation for the year has started, it’s again time for KCC Mall of GenSan‘s highly successful activity for kids which actually started last year.

This is their Summer Kids Art Workshop Season 2!

For four Saturdays this April 2011, kids ages 6 to 12 years may enroll and participate in basic art lessons like Basic Drawing, Landscape Painting, Still Life Painting and Clay Artwork.

Here are the instructions for parents who would like their kids to learn how to draw, paint and in the process interact and make new friends:

1. Just buy your art materials from KCC Department Store Schools and Office Supplies Section.
2. Fill up an Application Form from the Customer Service Section anytime from 9am to 7pm, Mondays to Fridays.
3. There’s a limit of 20 participants per session on a first come, first served basis.
4. Art classes start at 1am at the School and Office Supplies Section.
5. 3 weekly winners will be chosen each week and they will receive special Gifts from KCC.

So if you want your kids to be productive this summer, enroll them now! Who knows, they might just grow up into Manansalas or Picassos someday!

For more info on KCC’s Summer Kids Art Workshop, please call telephone #s (083) 554-5555.

If you are looking for a gastronomic adventure this Friday, why not treat your loved ones to East Asia Royale Hotel’s Royale Lounge‘s EAT ALL YOU CAN ala Espana?

Yes, GenSan’s biggest hotel is bringing back its EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN TREAT every Friday night! This time though, it has put a LATIN TWIST to it!

So try and taste the colorful flavors of Spain for any of the four Fridays of April at Royale Lounge for only P350.  This landmark GenSan Hotel will be serving well-loved Spanish dishes like Paella, Pasta with two kinds of sauce, three more courses plus soup and salad!

And while you’re savoring their Castillian offerings, you will be serenaded by acoustic Latin American music of course!

East Asia Royale Hotel‘s Eat-All-You-Can Spanish Buffet will start at 6pm, all Fridays of April only.  So make sure you call them at (083) 553-4120 local 8 to make your reservations.  Being the first hotel in GenSan to offer this fare, the city’s well-heeled will undoubtedly flock to it.  Promise!

¿A qué estás esperando? Llame ahora!

In Luzon, the merry month of May has always been associated with a festive event by Catholics honoring the Blessed Virgin called “Flores de Mayo” (Flowers of May).  As part of this celebration is the traditional holding of the Santacruzan which commemorates the search of the relics of the  Holy Cross by Queen Helena.

There is also a beauty pageant called Sagala which depicts the finding of the Holy Cross and features beautiful ladies representing prominent female personalities in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.

The festivity may sound alien to most of the people of Mindanao, but here in General Santos City, Robinsons Place GenSan is bringing the Santacruzan with their staging of their Sagalas 2011: The Search for GenSan’s Most Beautiful Sagalas!

Sagalas 2011 is basically a beauty competition which will pit GenSan’s loveliest in their very own gowns designed by their designer of choice.  Each candidate should also have her own male escort and an ark (arko) to boot.

Interested ladies have until April 16, 2011 to fill up and submit application forms.   On April 18, 2011, they will be screened by Robinsons’ set of judges.

A month after, on May 28, 2011, the candidates for Sagalas 2011: The Search for GenSan’s Most Beautiful Sagalas will finally be unveiled to the people of GenSan via a parade/procession around the mall, after which the winners will be crowned inside Robinsons’ Activity Center.

Now this is something that the generals should not miss if only to experience how the folks in Luzon have steadfastly upheld their religious traditions and customs through all these times.  We only have Robinsons Place GenSan to thank for for this rare chance.

Application Forms for Sagalas 2011: The Search for GenSan’s Most Beautiful Sagalas, are available right now at the Robinsons Admin Office.  For more info, you may visit them from 9am to 11:30am, Mondays to Saturdays.  Just look for Ms. Marie Imelda Espina.

Bariles is so ecstatic today!

He just found out that his labor of love, GenSantos.com is now ranked #43 in the 100 Most Popular Blogs of the Philippines 2010!

The 100 Most Popular Blogs of the Philippines 2010 was compiled by PinoyMoneyTalk which the blog author releases annually.

Check out the table below…..

PinoyMoneyTalk ranked these blogs’ popularity based on two key factors: TRAFFIC and ENGAGEMENT.

I.  TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC is measured by the # of unique visitors per month which means the average # of FIRST-TIME VISITORS of a blog.

For this alone, GenSantos.com got only 677 unique visitors since most of its readers are subscribers or returning visitors.  He will have to work hard on his SEO skills to improve this.

2.  ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT on the other hand, is measured by the following metrics:

(1) Pageviews per User – the average number of blogsite pages viewed by a site visitor;

(2) Time on Site – how long, in minutes, the average visitor stays on the blogsite;

(3) Bounce Rate – the percentage of visits that consists of only a single blog pageview.

Measured on these factors, GenSantos.com figured prominently within the TOP 10 Blogs nationwide based on Engagement.

Top 10 Blogs in 2010 with Highest Pageviews per User

1. Istorya.net – 13.40 pages per user
2. Timog.com – 12.90
3. MotorcyclePhilippines.com – 7.00
4. Sesantos.com.ph – 6.80
5. GenSantos.com – 6.60
6. ForeclosurePhilippines.com – 6.50
7. PinoyMoneyTalk.com – 5.90
8. Nierva.com – 5.60
9. MelvinBlog.com – 4.80
10. FinanceManila.net – 4.50

Explanation: This means that the visitors of GenSantos.com read a high average of 6-7 pages within the blog each visit. Whoa!!!   According to PinoyMoneyTalk, “Higher Pageviews per User means a site visitor is browsing through several pages on the site, a sign that the blog is useful to the visitor.”

Top 10 Blogs in 2010 with Longest User Time on Site

1. Istorya.net – 14.93 minutes per user
2. ForeclosurePhilippines.com – 14.78
3. Sesantos.com.ph – 12.58
4. GenSantos.com – 12.26
5. Timog.com – 10.95
6. MotorcyclePhilippines.com – 10.76
7. Nierva.com – 7.37
8. MelvinBlog.com – 6.82
9. PhilBoxing.com – 5.82
10. Bloggista.com – 5.78

Explanation: This means that at #4, the readers of Bariles’ blog stays on for a total of 12.26 minutes on the site before proceeding on to other websites!!!  That’s the 4th longest time in the Philippines!!!  Here is PinoyMoneyTalks take on this:  Longer Time on Site means longer interaction period between the site and the user, which could lead to ad conversion or user loyalty.

Top 10 Blogs in 2010 with Lowest Bounce Rate

1. Lynxjuan.com – 24.7% of visits consisting of only one pageview
2. Istorya.net – 25.1%
3. Timog.com – 35.0%
4. MelvinBlog.com – 35.6%
5. ForeclosurePhilippines.com – 36.3%
6. GenSantos.com – 36.8%
7. AvalonStar.com/blog – 37.2%
8. AvalonStar.com/blog – 37.2%
9. MotorcyclePhilippines.com – 42.5%
10. FinanceManila.net – 42.6%

Explanation: At #6,  only 36.8% of this blog’s readers read one page (mostly the entry or main page) and move away afterwards;  the rest of the 63.2% stay on to read other pages in GenSantos.com!!!  What does PinoyMoneyTalk say about Bounce Rate?  Lower Bounce Rate suggests that the landing page (entry page) was effective and was not a disappointment to the user.

So with GenSantos.com Unique Traffic stats plus its Engagement figures, Soccsksargen’s multi-awarded blog is the 43rd Most Popular Blog in the Philippines for 2010!!!

Yey!  A big thanks to all our readers and subscribers!!!!  And thank you to PinoyMoneyTalk for his annual list!

Disclaimer: The figures above are estimates provided by Compete.com and Alexa.com. Actual site data may vary.

This morning, Bariles witnessed the turning over of a four-classroom school building to Dadiangas North Elementary School by Representative Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. of the 1st District of South Cotabato.

The turnover was witnessed by Councilor Ed Leyson, representing City Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio, Dadiangas North Elementary School Principal Teresita Alavar, Barangay Dadiangas North Captain Honorio Lorica, officers of the DPWH, school teachers, officers of their PTA and members of the media.

The school building is worth P8 million and has four classrooms.  Each room has its own private toilet and a wide green blackboard.

Later this afternoon, another school building with the same four classrooms was also formally turned over to Lanton Elementary School in Barangay Apopong,

The two school buildings is funded by Congressman Jun Acharon’s Countryside Development Fund.

For those who love wearing and collecting STATEMENT SHIRTS, here’s good news for you!

All the Jollibee branches in GenSan, namely the ones in Pioneer Avenue, RD Plaza, National Highway, Gaisano Mall, KCC Mall and Robinsons Place have started selling Special Limited Edition I AM PINOY shirts!

What makes these shirts very special is the fact that they have been designed by RHETT EALA, the man behind the now iconic Philippine Map on the Collezionne Collection.

The shirts can be YOURS for only P199 combined with a Jollibee Value Meal.  They are available in FREE SIZES.

If you like the way they look on the models on the poster above (teen hearthrob Sam Concepcion & International Taekwando Champion Janice Lagman) , then why not go to your nearest Jollibee outlet right now… while they are still available.

NOW NA!!!