Itching to be heard? Sound-off in our Forum!

The SBFCC Forum and Discussion Boards is now open!

And so you ask: What is it? The Chamber Forum is a great online place for you to share ideas, learn, and become up-to-date on matters about the Freeport. It is an excellent medium for interaction, discussion, and making friends with people who share your interests.

How do I get to it? Simply go to the Chamber's website and click on the Forum button. You can also go straight to it through this URL: http://subicchamber.org/DiscussionBoard (case-sensitive).

What's in it? It's designed to contain just about everything regarding the Subic Freeport including SBMA, the locators, residents, and matters and issues affecting all of us. Topics are generally categorized based from Chamber committees but new ones can be added easily as we go.

Do I need to pay? No, reading and posting messages are all free! At present, you don't even have to register to read the topics; you need to be registered to post messages, though. This is open to anybody - even for non-Chamber members, from people outside the Freeport, and even from overseas. Subic Chamber members, however, will have special privileges. Like what? Well, there are Boards that are accessible by members only. Members also get much higher priority when it comes to requests for information or answers to issues raised - the Chamber officers and staff work for you after all.

What benefit would I get from it when there are already a good number of blog sites about Subic? Like many sites about Subic, the Chamber also aggregates news, local and international, about the Freeport and posts these as new topics on a daily basis. New topics about current issues local to the Freeport, or just about anything can also be posted by registered users. What distinguishes this forum is that it is in real-time. You see something you do not agree with, you post a reply and it's there. The other party sees your reply, posts a rebuttal - it's there. By the same manner, if you have a question or wants to inquire about somebody else's products, just post it. You see somebody asking for information or inquiring about your business, you reply - you get a new customer or a thank you - done. No waiting. Your post becomes available for everybody to see a few seconds after you sent it. How cool is that?

Also, the forum is moderated by people who are very familiar with the Subic Freeport and are quite knowledgeable of SBMA and government rules and regulations. Although there are obvious exceptions, we are generally better-capable of getting the answers to your questions.

Another benefit is that you are allowed in your profile signature to create a link to your personal or company's website. This means you will have a back-link to your website every time you make a post; which further means that search engines like Google will boost the page ranking of your website during searches.

I am interested to know what's happening in the Freeport and even interested to know what other people have to say, but do not have time to browse through the forum; anything for me? Absolutely! We have what is called a Really Simple Syndication or RSS Feed. Go to the forum, register, and subscribe to our RSS feed. Every news item posted and new posts from members, at least those you have access rights, will be automatically sent to you every time you access your RSS. You get in the loop without going out of your loop!

I am interested but fearful of retribution; would I be identified? Fear not fellow member; you do not have to use your real name when registering; the Chamber Forum allows the use of pseudonyms or aliases. The use of pseudonyms usually creates more freedom of expression because of less accountability. However, anonymity often provides a platform for disruptive conversational behavior. The moderators of the Chamber will just have to work extra hard to check and possibly disallow or remove taboo posts.

So what are you waiting for, go ahead and register in OUR forum. Be an active member of the Subic Freeport community; contribute on a regular basis; try giving outstanding pieces of advice to fellow members while at the same time chastise those who are out of the straight and narrow. Let us add value to the place we all work, live, and love! As a result, we will be adding quality to our own lives as well.