In 2013, voters in the Philippines had the unprecedented power of information in the form of the Philippine Elections Page. Google helped collect and collate various sources of news and information online to assist voters in making educated and intelligent decisions. Engineer Dan Delima, a proponent of the effort, shares how he used his “twenty percent time” to make a positive difference.
Twenty Percent Time for Positive Change
2010 was a big year for automated voting; so much so that the Precinct Finder was created. Dan, a Filipino who has been a Google engineer for several years now, felt that there was a need for something like this in urban areas in the Philippines.
The Beginnings of the Philippine Elections Page
According to Dan, it wasn’t a very difficult undertaking since the two teams (one based in the USA, the other based in the Philippines) set agreed-upon timelines. The local team (based here in Manila) gave constant feedback, even after the 2013 elections were concluded. The volunteers who helped out the teams by mapping out the physical locations of the precincts were also invaluable to the project, and Dan reveals the Page owes a lot to their help.
Putting the Google Twenty Percent Time to Good Use
It’s no secret that Google encourages its employees to spend twenty percent of their respective work hours pursuing personal projects and hobbies. Creating the Philippines Elections Page was part of Dan’s twenty percent time, on top of being given permission by his direct manager.
As a Filipino citizen, using time and talent to give back to his homeland made perfect sense for Dan – and I’m sure many of us who were helped by the Philippines Election Page are thankful for this effort!
Challenges along the Way
For the team involved, and especially with Dan, distance was the biggest challenge. He used to be based in the Google office in Tokyo, Japan, and his family was based in the Philippines. He does say though that working on the Philippines Elections Page “was not that much different from work,” time-wise.
“We try our best to affect change… Making a difference.”
- Dan Delima, Google Engineer
After all is said and done, the 2013 Philippines Elections Page was a massive success. How so? It received visits from over 50 countries – and not just from countries with many Filipinos. This shows that the Page, a resource center for information and knowledge on Philippine politics, did more than was expected of it.
Interview via Google+ Hangouts. Connect with Dan and myself on Google+!
Featured image from Philstar.com’s archive, retrieved on July 16, 2013.
