THE THOMASIAN social networking site www.uste.tv is no longer affiliated with the University after the Office for Alumni Relations and the website developer did not agree on financial matters.
The alumni office pulled out from uste.tv last November 24, more than nine months since the social-networking site was created to reach out to Thomasian alumni all over the world.
Alumni Relations Director Evelyn Songco said her office and the Master List Builders information technology outfit owned by Thomasian Joel Remandaban, the webmaster, parted ways after the company demanded sponsorship from the University.
Songco did not disclose any amount, but said the sponsorship would “cost a sum.”
“We did not want the Alumni Relations Office to serve as solicitor for sponsors to support uste.tv,” Songco said.
Remandaban, who was given the 2008 The Oustanding Thomasian Alumni or TOTAL Award for entrepreneurship and management, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Uste.tv was launched last February 17 as UST’s official networking site for its quadricentennial celebration. The website has 2,000 active users.
Songco said UST would come up with a new social networking site with the Santo Tomas e-Service Providers as webmaster.
She said Thomasians may still use uste.tv.
“Uste.tv can exist independent from the University. If the Thomasians wish to continue their participation on uste.tv, they can do so,” Songco said.
I’m not surprised that UST has disowned USTE.TV. The first time I went to that site, I smelled a rat. It seemed like the site was a huge ad for one man’s commercial business. In fact, I believe the entire site was a living example of that self same person’s business and how his system operates. I couldn’t use the site without his face and his seminars and webinars and ads being rammed down my throat.
And what sponsorship for the site? Getting a domain name costs around 10 dollars a year, and the entire site’s data is hosted on the NING platform with is FREE. What a SCAM.
Congratulations UST! I’m glad it’s not only me who smelled a GIANT RAT.