PEP a cultural phenomenon two years after

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Entertainment Portal – better known as PEP among PEPsters – marks its second anniversary on Saturday with a claim to having become a cultural phenomenon. That means the site, in just a short time, has attracted an average of a million entertainment fans who log on every month. In fact, the site – which is the online counterpart of Yes! magazine – recorded its million-hit mark in December 2006, about two months before it was even formally launched. As with many other Web sites, PEP hooks many surfers because it allows them to interact not only with the PEP staff but also with fellow fans. And Pinoy showbiz fans do take their right to comment seriously. On Dec. 28 last year, for example, a single article made history for the site by generating 7,614 comments. Actually, there were more, but the PEP staff had to delete 993 comments – "for breaking ethical rules." The article? It's "First Read On PEP: Marian Rivera offended by Karylle’s smile," which was written by Dinno Erece. Marian Rivera, of course, is one of the hottest leading ladies of the moment, usually paired with fellow Kapuso star Dingdong Dantes, who was just recently named by E! as the world's third sexiest man. But if you are a PEPster you already know that, because that's the kind of stuff that has made the site very popular. Its writers and editors don't make up the stories, of course. They don't need to, because some celebrities can generate their own controversies. In February 2007, for example, another running story attracted 5,000,000 pageviews. And that's the much-publicized Kris Aquino-James Yap-Hope saga. Two words to refresh your memory: "Big Bird." The site is up-to-date enough that the Entertainment section of GMANews.TV uses some of its material. And in return PEP uses some of the network's showbiz video, including the popular "Chika Minute" segment of "24 Oras," the early evening weekday newscast of GMA Network. As part of its celebration – called "A Toast 2 PEP" – the site offers readers a chance to win a 6-month subscription to Yes! magazine. And all you have to do is log in and post a photo or video anniversary greeting. The promo runs from Feb. 19 to March 18. For the mechanics visit the PEP Web site here (www.pep.ph/peparazzi/greeting_promo), - Alex Magno, GMANews.TV