Xiaomi Celebrates Mi Fan Festival 2021

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Global technology leader Xiaomi has announced the start of its annual Mi Fan Festival (MFF). The 2021 festival will center on the theme “Explore the Possibilities”, and to cultivate the spirit of this message, Xiaomi will launch a wide array of online campaigns and invite Mi Fans to discuss and share their experiences of how Xiaomi's products have benefited their lives with their friends and families. The global shopping extravaganza will kick off on April 6 with special offers more than USD 147 millions* on official authorized channels. Xiaomi is collaborating with more than 70 online platforms and 300 offline partners** in 59 markets to bring the most innovative products at incredible prices to Mi Fans across the world.

Google and Qualcomm Technologies are also celebrating Xiaomi's founding day together through MFF 2021. The co-creation of posters for MFF 2021 use the unified visual symbol "&" as the key creative idea of the picture, symbolizing the close cooperation between Xiaomi and Google also between Xiaomi and Qualcomm Technologies. The posters also combine the "infinite" concept of the "Möbius ring" to convey that with Xiaomi, the companies strive to bring infinite possibilities to users' lives.

Xiaomi, Google and Qualcomm Technologies have always been the forerunners, setting trends for their respective industries with innovative software and hardware solutions. Xiaomi has been working closely with Google and Qualcomm Technologies to advance and accelerate the mass adoption of technological innovations. Xiaomi will continue joining hands with the two tech partners to explore new possibilities, as expressed by the theme of the MFF 2021, with an aim to make everyone's life smarter and enhance convenience in daily life.

“Xiaomi has always put Mi Fans and users at the core of everything we do. Mi Fan Festival (MFF) is an iconic representation of our Mi Fan culture. This year marks the 10th MFF, and the 11th year since Xiaomi's establishment. Every year, we celebrate this festival together with Mi Fans, users, and partners around the world to express our gratitude for their support -- which is one of our key drivers to continue exploring and innovating. With the announcement of Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition and the launch of a series of MFF activities, we hope to convey our brand proposition of providing innovation and smart lifestyles to everyone, and our commitment to always be there for our Mi Fans and users," said Xiaomi spokesperson.

Redmi Note 10 Pro Mi Fan Festival Special Edition

At this year's Mi Fan Festival, Xiaomi is launching Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition with the slogan "Explore Infinite Possibilities", which will serve as a unique MFF souvenir that Mi Fans can take home. The MFF special edition phone represents the adventurous spirit of Xiaomi and seeks to encourage Mi Fans to explore the infinite possibilities in life by connecting Smartphone x AIoT.

To echo the theme of infinity, Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition comes in a package with a cosmic-inspired design. The front of the box features an image of astronauts floating through galaxies, representing Xiaomi and Mi Fans exploring the infinite possibilities of life together.

The box also contains a Mi Fan Festival postcard featuring an image of Mi Bunny astronauts. The back of the postcard is a Mi Fan Festival theme sticker***, which can be stuck onto items such as mobile phones, computers and suitcases to add an extra touch of Xiaomi to users' lives.

The Gradient Bronze version of Redmi Note 10 Pro in a natural metallic luster color was selected for this year's Mi Fan Festival, and the exclusive Mi Fan Festival 2021 icon will be printed on the back.

As the special souvenir smartphone for this year's Mi Fan Festival, Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition will be sold in limited quantities worldwide.

Building a Better World Together with Mi Fans

From the day Xiaomi was founded, building real relationships with users and having them be a part of Xiaomi’s future has been at the core of the company's culture. From the very beginning, Mi Fans have been joining the Mi Community, offering suggestions and even contributing ideas and inventions to help drive the growth of Xiaomi. Mi Fan culture has always been an integral part of the Xiaomi brand.

To celebrate MFF 2021, Xiaomi Global Mi Community officially launched its theme song A Melody for Mi, which was co-created in an online Mi Community by Mi Fans from 15 countries. Around 1000 Mi Fans participated in this songwriting project. Contributions from 30 Mi Fans were selected and used to compose the music and lyrics. The song expresses Mi Fans' unceasing pursuit of a better life, centered on love, passion, innovation, vitality, and smarter life for everyone -- the very values that Xiaomi has been conveying to Mi Fans for over a decade. Today, Mi Fans are delivering the same message to the world. Together, united by the same vision, Mi Fans show resolute confidence and belief in building a better world.

The song A Melody for Mi has been set as an official ringtone and uploaded to Mi Theme Store where users from all over the world can download it. The song will also be applied to the customer service hotline on-hold music.

Xiaomi maintains its image as one of the coolest companies in the minds of Mi Fans and users. For years, Xiaomi product users have been connected through a shared experience of interacting and living with all of these innovative products that have truly life-altering intelligent features. In the Xiaomi Global Mi Community, thousands of Mi Fans have already posted their stories describing how the Xiaomi brand and products have changed their lives.

A Mi Fan with the username "Crossfiree" shared her story about Mi Smart Home during a Mi Community activity. She has been using more than 30 Xiaomi ecosystem products at home, although she describes herself as a technophobe rather than a tech enthusiast. Mi Air Purifier helped improve the air quality in her home and eased her severe dust allergy, while Mi Band helped her whole family cultivate a healthier lifestyle. Another Mi Fan, Arun Abhimanyu, mentioned that Mi Motion Activated Night Light solved his grandmother's long-standing problem of finding the light switch in the dark when she woke up at night to use the restroom. This was just some of his experiences with Xiaomi products, and he explained that "these products have made my life easier in a way that I never could have imagined. That’s how Xiaomi wins users' trust."

History of MFF

The first MFF was held on April 6, 2012 in Mainland China when Xiaomi decided to launch an event to celebrate the two-year anniversary of its founding. Since Mi Fans played a significant role in the rapid growth of Xiaomi, the company invited Mi Fans to celebrate its birthday together by holding a big party for them. The party venue was set up like a club and guests celebrated while a DJ performed and interacted with them. 100,000 Xiaomi smartphones sold out in just 6 minutes and 5 seconds on that day. From then on, Xiaomi has held MFF every year to show its gratitude towards Mi Fans for their support.

Outside of Mainland China, MFF was first held in India and Indonesia in 2015, before being launched in European markets in 2018, when the first shopping carnival was held in Spain. This year will be the 10th annual MFF, and even more, global markets will be joining to celebrate the occasion.

For more information about MFF 2021, please refer to MFF2021 press kit.

Disclaimers:

*The amount is calculated based on the total available promotions, product discounts and discount vouchers during Mi Fan Festival 2021 on all official authorized channels worldwide and is subject to availability and activity time of different markets.

**The sales partners for Mi Fan Festival 2021 vary between different markets. Please refer to local information for sales availability.

***The Indonesian market version is designed with the Mi Fan Festival theme sticker on the back and without the Mi Bunny astronauts image on the front.

PayMaya expands its widest network of cashless touchpoints nationwide with The SM Store

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PayMaya is making it even more convenient for Filipinos to make the cashless shift as it expands its Add Money partnership with The SM Store, allowing PayMaya customers to easily transact and add funds to their accounts at close to 600 additional top-up locations nationwide.

On top of the service being available at The SM Store branches nationwide, PayMaya users can now add money to their PayMaya account at the Mall Information Booth, Servicio and bills payment counters located in SM Supermarket, SM Savemore, SM Hypermarket, and Waltermart touchpoints across the country.

These new Add Money channels are the latest addition to PayMaya’s extensive network of over 200,000 touchpoints nationwide – the widest in the country to date - where customers can add, transact, and send money for their day-to-day needs. 

“With cashless now being the default and preferred mode of payment for many Filipinos, giving them access to safe and accessible ways to add money to their accounts is very important. We are glad to expand on our partnership with SM Supermalls so that our customers can enjoy the cashless convenience," said Shailesh Baidwan, PayMaya President. 

Adding money at the SM branch near you is easy— all you have to do is follow these simple steps: 

1. On the PayMaya app’s home screen, select Add Money 
2. Tap the SM icon 
3. Enter the amount you want to add to your account (minimum P100 and maximum of P20,000) and select Continue 
4. You will get a 7-digit code. Go to the customer service counter at The SM Store or the Bills Payment counter at SM Supermarket, SM Savemore, or SM Hypermarket and present this code along with your payment to the cashier 
5. Wait for an SMS confirmation, and that’s it! You can now pay for your purchases using your PayMaya account.

After adding money to your PayMaya account, you can now enjoy safe, convenient, and rewarding contactless transactions at The SM Store or your favorite restaurants at SM Supermalls via PayMaya’s #BetterQR. You can also pay cashless for your groceries at SM Hypermarket and SM Supermarket using your PayMaya card.  

With all the benefits and rewards of going cashless waiting for you, it’s a great time to start using PayMaya! Just download the PayMaya app at https://official.paymaya.com/CAK1/425eb133 and register an account to find out what it’s like to go cashless with the fastest, safest, and most rewarding way to pay for anything online and in stores. Remember, don’t pay cash. PayMaya! 

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government. Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.   

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide. Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 33,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services. To know more about PayMaya's products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Rising Pop Star Jack Newsome Releases 'Arms'

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Like most people, 24-year-old singer/songwriter Jack Newsome spent a large part of the world’s pandemic figuring things out. The New Jersey native lived in an air of uncertainty in his new home of Studio City, CA, trying to understand what was happening around him.

“'Arms' was the first song I wrote with my new partner-in-crime Cambo. We started the song on Zoom and finished it at his studio. I wore my mask there and only took it off to lay the vocal in the booth. We’re living in really lonely times, so the lyric speaks for itself,” Jack told Popwrapped.

On the accompanying music video, he adds: “The concept of being alone worked out really well for the video to “Arms”; we didn’t need any actors or extras. My creative director Louis Browne is a genius and found this gorgeous movie set in the desert. The concept was super vague which scared me at first. I like having everything planned to a T, but I think keeping it loose was the perfect move for the song and the vibe.”

A former Berklee College of Music student, Jack moved to LA to pursue his music career a couple of years prior and shortly thereafter grabbed the attention of reality songwriting competition series Songland. Jack was a part of the first season, working with singer/songwriter/producer Shane McAnally as his episode’s mentor turned mentor in real life. As a finalist for his episode, Jack and Shane cut “Lying (Next To You)” which cracked the one million mark on streaming platforms. A publishing deal from McAnally’s SMACKSongs and record deal with 12Tone Music followed, and since then his rise has been steady with sync placements in the Rocket League video game, CBS’s Love Island, and credits with multiple well-known recording artists.

To start 2021, Jack delivers his own impactful anthem “The Year The World Stood Still,” a song about the realization that sometimes hitting pause is vital. Much more than a song of the moment, the track carries into the concept of what happens even after this is all over and life goes back to “normal”. Produced by Jack and co-producer Cambo (Doja Cat, Bea Miller), the track is inspirational but also poignant, while bringing together all of the elements of a solid Pop song. It’s something Jack Newsome knows how to do quite well. But above all, his goal is to make music that speaks to different generations who can all understand the same sentiment.

"soft, dreamy but utterly fantastic pop release"

EQ Music Blog

"If Newsome keeps up this pop brilliance with strong melodies and thoughtful lyrics, we’re in for much brighter days"

Arjan Writes

Stay Home and Stock Up on Your Essentials at the Shopee 4.4 Mega Shopping Sale

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 This April 4, shop online and enjoy free shipping, cashback deals, and discounts up to 90% off on essential goods and more

During these times when we should limit non-essential trips outside our homes, we need to turn to more convenient ways to stock up on everything we need. Online shopping, which is safer and easier, can help us keep our trips to a minimum and avoid the long queues and waiting times at supermarkets and drugstores.

Nowadays, you can quickly find everything you need online. At Shopee, for instance, you can buy a wide range of necessities and tick all items off your shopping list, including food and groceries, home care products, and work-from-home essentials.

Aside from the variety of products and risk-free shopping, you can also enjoy lots of perks when you shop for your essentials on Shopee. Shopee’s 4.4 Mega Shopping Sale offers discounts up to 90% off, free shipping, and cashback deals. 

Shop these essentials for yourself and your loved ones this April 4: 

Stay virus-free with hygiene must-haves

Always keep a supply of masks, disinfectants, and antibacterial products at home to ensure you and your loved ones are protected from the recent surge in COVID19 cases. Wear a Cleanwell KF94 Mask every time you go out. It features a high-efficiency ultra-static HEFA filter and a comfy, breathable structure. Upon getting home, immediately take a shower using Safeguard Body Wash, which removes 99.9% of germs and slows down their regrowth. Don’t forget to disinfect your car as well. Lysol Disinfecting Spray kills over 100 illness-causing germs, including cold and flu viruses.

Keep your kitchen well-stocked with your staples

Make sure your home is well-stocked with canned goods and other pantry essentials in case of emergencies. Get the day off to a great start with Milo Choco Malt’s yummy combo of malt, cocoa, and milk. Each glass provides essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium. For an easy but nourishing meal, stock up on the preservative- and cholesterol-free Century Tuna Flakes in Oil which contains Omega 3 DHA to boost heart and brain health.

Have all your basic baby care needs on hand

If you’re a new parent, ensure that you have all the products that support your child’s health and comfort. Try incorporating J&J Milk Bath Oats into your baby’s bath routine. This body wash is formulated with milk proteins and oat extracts to gently cleanse, soothe, and moisturize your child’s skin.  Keep your newborn dry and comfy throughout the day with Huggies Dry Diapers, which rapidly absorbs wetness and provides gentle protection for delicate skin.

Boost your productivity with work-from-home essentials

Upgrading your work-from-home setup? Enjoy lag-free video calls and uninterrupted work with Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi, which also comes with free 10GB worth of data. Accessorize your rig with Logitech Wireless Keyboard & Mouse. With this combo, you can finally ditch tangled cords and work wherever you want. For your charging needs, invest in a Xiaomi Power Strip. Aside from organizing cables, it also protects your gadgets by automatically cutting off the power supply once the electric current exceeds the limit of 10A max. 

Shop for your essentials safely from your home while enjoying big discounts at the Shopee 4.4 Mega Shopping Sale. Don’t forget to tune in to All out Sundays on GMA 7 and Shopee Live on April 4, 1:00 PM for a chance to win ₱200,000. For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/m/4-4.

Want more? Top up at least ₱300 on ShopeePay this April 3 for a chance to win ₱20,000. For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/m/shopee-pay.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Women for women

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Successful women are unselfishly sharing their stories of empowerment for other women to rise above their own challenges.

 

Four women in fact recounted breaking gender norms and defying the odds during a recent webinar offered by Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. entitled “When Life Gives You Lemons”.

 

The event was spearheaded by its We Women program segment in partnership with the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) in celebration of Women’s Month this March.

 

“Let’s not forget that we women carry half of the world, our lives matter, and our lives make a difference. We are women, we are more loving, more thoughtful, and more caring. A lot of women are abused, it may not be physical it can be mental or emotional, so this women’s forum is critical as we share our experiences as women,” Yvonne S. Yuchengco, We women chief program ambassador, said.

 

Rebecca Bustamante, president of Chalre Associates Executive Search, shared her transformative experience from being a domestic helper to emerging as president of a renowned company.

 

From her humble beginnings in Pangasinan, Bustamante became the breadwinner of her family at an early age, supporting 10 siblings and her mother being ill with a terminal disease.

 

She worked as a domestic helper at 19 in Singapore while struggled to get an education to fuel her dreams of lifting her family out of poverty.

Bustamante absorbed all criticisms and discrimination through the course of her life but used this as motivation to prove them all wrong. She migrated to Canada and there started her own family.

 

In the same webinar was Virginia V. Calago, a victim of abuse at an early age. She struggled with her mother leaving them at an early age, her father abused her and ended up with the local social services.

 

She had her tragic experiences in foster homes, but with prayer and the focus to make her goals come true, Calago emerged even stronger.

 

She wears her battle scars with pride and honor imparting that whatever life throws at you, you always have a choice. And she encouraged everyone to stay strong and choose to be brave and face each challenge head on.

 

Trials are not limited to experiences in life but also can be lurking in established businesses. Indira Bagatsing, managing director of Kahariam Farms, shared the impact of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid19) in their organic farming business.

 

From letting some employees go to adapting to the changes needed to sustain the business, Kahariam Farms continued to produce organic fruits and vegetables for the Filipino public despite the odds. Bagatsing pointed out that the support of everyone from her family and all of them working together made all the difference and helped the business push through.

 

In terms of women's representation in the workforce, data from a survey conducted by Deloitte Southeast Asia (Deloitte SEA) and shared by Anna Marie Pabellon during the webinar, revealed that women continue to be underrepresented in terms of the technology workforce with women representation declining at successive levels.

 

Pabellon pointed to a “leaky pipeline” in the education system, wherein only a few women earn a technology-related degree.

 

For working women in the information technology (IT) field, 50 percent was pointed out to be more likely to say they have experienced discrimination in the workplace.

 

Meanwhile, 20 percent of women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sector said that their gender has made it more challenging to succeed at work.

 

Pabellon overcame these boundaries as she herself has defied gender norms being a partner of Deloitte SEA as the first woman country risk advisory services leader. She maintains that women are great at what they do and should pursue their dreams despite what other people say.

 

Apart from the empowering webinar, Malayan Insurance also mounted its #ChooseToChallenge campaign, a social media effort wherein both women and men are encouraged to support their chosen challenge whether it be on violence against women, economic status, inorganic farming methods, or the role of work from home (WFH) women, among others.

 

Malayan Insurance will also be hosting an online event focusing on Kwentong Kababaihan and Great Women Mentors as well as its Chill Convo sessions for this month, staying true to its goal of highlighting what women do for society.

 

Malayan Insurance is a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.