Pals Ogie Diaz, Mama Loi, and Dyosa Pockoh have been inseparable for several years now. Together the funny trio takes vlogging to the next level as they host the popular online program "Showbiz Update" on YouTube.
Sharing a light moment at Coffee Project in Morato, Quezon City recently, the three showbiz personalities revealed their success and realizations in their exciting journey to social media.
"Basta engaging ang content mo you will succeed," said Ogie, a veteran entertainment journalist, when asked about his success on digital media. "Pero hindi araw-araw Pasko," in reference to the erratic number of page views. (As long as your content is engaging you will succeed. But not every day is Christmas.)
Mama Loi seconded the statement of Ogie. "Wala talagang formula kung ano ang tatangkilikin ng mga tao. Either maiinis sayo ang tao or matutuwa sila sa ginawa mo." (There really isn't a formula for what people will enjoy. Either people will be annoyed with you or they will be happy with what you did.)
"Showbiz Update" is the trio's vlog. But aside from that, each one of them has his own successful online show. Celebrity news used to be a part of Ogie's vlog but later, he decided to make it a separate show now called "Showbiz Update." On Nov. 19, the trio will receive the 2022 Most Influential Online Program in Entertainment Award at the 21st Gawad America in Hollywood, California.
"Sanay na kami sa vlogging. Ang mahirap lang kasi marami na tayo. Araw-araw nanganganak ang bilang ng YouTubers. So ang nahihirapan kami paano pagagandahin at ano yung hindi pa nila napapanood. Kahit na sabihin mo na hindi ka nakikipag compete, malalaman mo yun sa bilang ng views mo eh. (We are used to vlogging. The only difficulty is because there are many of us. The number of YouTubers is born every day. So what we struggle with is how to make it better and what they haven't seen yet. Even if you say that you are not competing, you will know that's in the number of your views.)
“Pag-mababa ang reaction is kasi ang dami na natin eh. Pagmataas naman, o hindi na hindi nila nakuha yun? At the end of the day, ang importante is huwag kang bibitaw. Una, mahalin mo na yang vlogging na yan. Ikaw ang gagawa ng bilang ng subscribers, pag hininto mo yan, matutulog ang bilang ng subscribers. Mahihirapan ka ng bumalik. Kailangan mo talagang gumawa ng eksena at maging viral engaging uli ang content mo,” said Ogie. (When the reaction is low, it’s because there are too many of us. When it’s high, don’t they get it? At the end of the day, the important thing is not to give up. First, you need to embrace vlogging. You will create the number of subscribers, if you stop that, the number of subscribers will go to sleep. You will have a hard time coming back. You really need to make a scene and make your content virally engaging again.)
"Noon pagtumigil ka, andyan pa rin sila. Pero ngayon kapag tumigil ka, may bagong susulpot," he also said. (When you stop, they are still there. But now when you stop, something new will appear.)
Mama Loi likened YouTube to showbiz in terms of luck and success when it comes to the number of views and followers.
"Parang showbiz ang YouTube. May mga artistang hindi naman magaling umarte pero millions ang fans at maraming endorsement. Meron naman magaling umarte pero wala namang followers. Ganun din sa YouTube may mga swerte. Sabi ko nga naghilamos lang yung isang netizen ang dami ng views. Tapos yung mga masipag tulad namin na ginawa na lahat pero hindi pa rin umabot ng milyon ang views. Kung wala naman sayo ang swerte, kailangan mo naman magsipag para umangat ka rin," Mama Loi added. (YouTube is like showbiz. There are artists who are not good actors but they have millions of fans and many endorsements. There are good actors but no followers. The same is true on YouTube. There are lucky people. I said that one netizen only washed his face and the number of views reached millions. Then there are those who are hardworking like us who have done everything but the views still haven't reached a million. If you don't have luck, you have to work hard to rise.)
Ogie said that he gets fresh ideas for his vlogs from some online shows that he follows.
"Kailangan maging aware ka sa mga nagaganap sa paligid mo. Dapat huwag ka lang nakafocus sa sariling channel mo. Tapos yung views na nakita mo sa kabila na napakataas, mai-inspire ka gumawa ng episode na ganun din pero with a twist. Ganun! So araw araw is a learning process. Pero lagi kong sinasabi sa mga students ko sa workshop never stop learning. Stop when you're dead!" Ogie also said. (You have to be aware of what's happening around you. You shouldn't just focus on your own channel. Then the views you saw on the other side which are very high, will inspire you to make an episode like that but with a twist. That's it! So every day is a learning process. But I always tell my students in the workshop never stop learning.)
Preparing the news items for "Showbiz Update" is one of the challenging parts of the vlog. And the group said they are really surprised that the number of celebrity vloggers is increasing.
“May following na talaga ang mga sumikat sa digital media. May mga names na narinig mo lang once pero ang dami-dami na palang followers. Doon lang namin nalalaman sa comment section. Magtatanong sila ano na nangyari kay ganito. Kami naman sino yun? Pagtingin namin ang dami pala nilang followers. Ang laki ng fan base,” he also said. (Those who become famous in digital media really have a following. There are names you’ve only heard of once but already have a lot of followers. We only know about it in the comment section. They will ask what happened to this person. Who is it? When we look at the number of their followers, they have a big fan base.)
But what disappoints them is the fact that many parts of their online shows have been illegally used in TikTok.
"Wala na kaming magagawa roon kasi hindi na namin makontrol. So pag may maglabas, aawatin namin yun. Tapos lalabas uli yung isa, meron pa uli. Hanggang dumami na ang gumamit. Iniisip na lang namin na hindi naman siguro kami dudukutin ng mga ito kung hindi kami makakatulong sa kanila. Kung wala ka namang kwenta, hindi ka naman dadamputin. Ganun din sa bashing. Kung hindi mo sila naapektuhan hindi ka naman nila iba-bash," said Ogie. (We can't do anything there because we can't control it anymore. So when something comes out, we'll stop it. Then another one comes out again, there's another one. Until the number of users increases. We're just thinking that maybe they won't bite us. if we can't help them. If you're worthless, they won't accept you. It's the same with bashing. If you don't affect them, they won't bash you.)
Dyosa shared the difficulty in making videos for TikToK. "Effort talaga ang pag TikTok. Ginaya ko nuon si Heart Evangelista at nagpalit palit ako ng damit. Intended for one minute lang yun pero inabot ako ng ilang oras to prepare. Mga 10 outfits yata ang ginamit ko ruon." (TikTok was really an effort. I imitated Heart Evangelista and changed clothes. It was only intended for one minute but it took me a few hours to prepare. I think I used about 10 outfits.)
Fresh from their recent successful roadshow in Australia, the group is headed for another series of shows in the US soon. "Hindi naman malaking venue ang shows namin. Pang 500 capacity lang naman." (Our shows are not big venues. They only have a capacity of 500.)
Asked about their dream interviews, Ogie said that he wished to interview the King of Talk Boy Abunda. "Si Tito Boy I'm sure pagbibigyan naman kami nun. We share our knowledge rin sa vlogging kaya grateful din si Karen Davila, Tita Aster Amoyo." (Tito Boy I'm sure will give us that. We also share our knowledge in vlogging so Karen Davila, Tita Aster Amoyo are also grateful.)
Mama Loi said: "Tatlo lang sinasabi ko si Karen (Davila), Tito Boy (Abunda) and Vice (Ganda). Sa personal blog ko yun. Si Miss Karen nakapag-lunch na kami." (I'm only saying three, Karen (Davila), Tito Boy (Abunda) and Vice (Ganda). That's on my personal blog. Miss Karen and I already had lunch.)
Dyosa commented: "Ako naman kasi yung personal blog ko hindi interview. Puro gate-crashing lang ako." "For my personal blog, it's not an interview. I'm just gate-crashing.)
But Ogie revealed his strict rule during one-on-one interviews: companions or managers of celebrities are not allowed to listen to the interview being recorded for the vlog to avoid distractions.
"Kapag nag-i-interview ako ngayon ayoko ng may mga manager or alalay sa paligiid. Kasi yung artista nakatingin sa kanila imbes na sa akin. Nawawala kami doon sa flow. So kailangan ko siyang i-direct sa flow or topic na gusto ko. Kung gusto nilang manood, doon sila sa area na hindi sila nakikita ng subject. Ayoko rin ng mga may gumagalaw galaw kasi distracted ako. Imbes na paiyak na, paatras uli," Ogie said. (When I do an interview now, I don't want managers or assistants around. Because the artist is looking at them instead of me. We get lost in the flow. So I have to direct him to the flow or topic that I want. If they want to watch, they are in the area where the subject can't see them. I also don't want people who move because I'm distracted. They were supposed to cry but they don't cry anymore.)
On dealing with bashers, Ogie said that he only make comments on his personal blog. "Pag personal page namin, puwede kami mag comment. Minsan nag-DM ako. Sinabi niya huwag kang makapunta punta rito sa Europe papahiyain kita. Aakyatin daw niya ako sa stage. Sabi ko wow ha! Masabi lang na nasa Europe. Yung nilait ako na ma-rape daw mga anak ko. Na-screen capture ko yung tatay kasama yung anak niya. Sinabi ko sa kanya yung wini-wish mo sa akin hindi ko ito iwi-wish sa pamilya mo. Sabi ko kawawa naman kasi mga anak mo wala silang kamakay-malay na ganito pala ang tatay nila. Gusto mo ba nai-message ko sila na ganito ang tatay nila? Nagsorry siya."
(When we have a personal page, we can comment. Once I sent a DM. He said don’t come here to Europe, I will embarrass you. He said he was going to bring me up on stage. I said wow! You can just say I’m in Europe. The netizen wished that my children will be raped. I screen captured the father with his son. I told him what you wish for me, I will not wish it on your family. I said your children are poor, they had no idea that their father was like this. Do you want me to message them that their father is like this? He apologized.)
Ogie, a talent manager himself, also said that talent management has evolved as networks now consider the social media platforms of celebrities before they were signed for endorsements or invited for guest appearances.
"Yung mga talent namin dine-develop muna namin na maging influencer so that eventually pwede silang maging artista. Importante yun kasi nowadays. Aalamin ng talent center kung ilang ang social media platform mo. Ilan ang followers mo sa Youtube, Instagram, Twitter. Para na rin siyang credentials. Kunyari yung isa chaka, tapos five million yung kanyang Facebook, pag-aartistahin yun. Kasi pwedeng sabihin sa kanya ipost mo naman yung guesting mo rito," he said. (We first develop our talents to become influencers so that eventually they can become actors. That's important nowadays. The talent center will find out how many social media platforms you have. How many followers you have on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter. It's like credentials. If a person is not a star material, then his Facebook account has five million followers, that guy will be signed up. Because you can tell him to post your guestings.)
Dyosa commented: "Sa branding required na makita 'yung social media accounts n'ya kung kumusta ba siya sa Facebook or TikTok. Nangyari na sa akin 'yun. Hinihingi analytics. Then sasabihin nila okay na si Dyosa. Minsan nade-decline at sasabihin hindi siya active sa ganito. So mapipilitan ka ngayon pataasin yun." (In branding, it is required to check the social media accounts to see how you're doing on Facebook or TikTok. That has happened to me. They ask for analytics. Then they say Dyosa is okay. Sometimes I get declined and they say I am not active (on social media). So now you will be forced to increase your views or followers.)
Mama Loi added: "Tinitignan siya ngayon before and after. Bago ka kunin, titignan nila kung ilan ang views or followers mo. They will check kung ilang impressions or views nung post na ginawa mo. So pag maganda ang views, kukunin ka uli. Pag walang views, hindi ka na nila kukunin." (They will look at your social media accounts before and after. Before hiring you, they will check how many views or followers you have. They will check how many impressions or views the post you made. So if the views are good, you will be hired again. If you don't have views, they won't hire you.)