YET ANOTHER REASON why the proverbial digital divide should be a thing of the past is the presence of more and more services available to anyone with an Internet connection. (Of course, one reason why there’s still this digital divide is because not everyone can access the Internet yet. But this is another topic now…)

Recently I came across a website that tickled my fancy. I heard about it over 105.9 MixFM, and being always on the lookout for Davao-related websites, I surfed on over. DavaoSale.com. It’s a Web-based buy-and-sell service that’s available to virtually anyone who’s looking for second-hand or even brand new items. As a member of the site, you can post your products or services and receive notification if your ad gets a hit. Registration is free for most of the services; but for the ridiculously low price of P300 a year, members get premium services such as sticky ads and images hosting.

This Internet site is an alternative to physical shop space. As a registered member, you can tell the online public about what you can deliver. You can describe your company (or your backyard if that’s where you’re doing business from) to your heart’s content, and post as many products or services as you like.

I interviewed the founders of DavaoSale.com sometime ago, and it turns out they’re all young Dabawenyos who’ve found better ways to spend their online time. The site administrator, Mark Wendell dela Cruz, relates that, during their college days, they’d put up ChatX, one of the most popular chat zones in Davao. I guess that, early on, these young web warriors have long realized the power of community-building, and that the Internet is one powerful medium that can achieve this.

And DavaoSale.com is indeed turning out to be quite a community. Already the website has hundreds (probably thousands) of avid users, and gets 5,000 hits per day. And as if that weren’t impressive enough, DavaoSale.com also averages 300 to 500 posts per day. That means that these registered users are in fact actively participating in the various fora within the site.

The website is built around a web bulletin board (making use of phpBB2), and the site’s admin team have put up various fora for discussions, advertising, and actual selling. The majority of items up for grabs are computer-related stuff, according to Hermes Dionela Jr. But there are lots of other items as well, even second-hand cars. I found it funny when they told me that they even have a member who’s advertising fresh tilapia for delivery!

Wait a minute. Why the heck not??

When asked if the website is actually working as intended, Mark and his colleagues vigorously answered "Yes!" He even commented that he thinks some of the registered users are already making a business out of the website’s services. But they sounded really proud of that. Mark revealed that DavaoSale.com is their humble helping hand to Davao’s micro-entrepreneurs. Talk about genuine community service (and true long-term thinking, I might add).

I also found a member who proposes to be a middle man: he offers to do the product searching for you. With the site growing bigger each day, it would probably take a bit more time to find the item you want, so this guy advertises that he’ll do the job for you. Interesting development, don’t you think?

The whole movement towards online trading and Internet-based transactions is a positive trend. And DavaoSale.com, no matter how modest an endeavor, is contributing hugely to this. I’m truly proud of the efforts of the people behind DavaoSale.com.

Another wifi hotspot is up: Holiday Spa, the one on F. Torres Street. If you’re the type who can’t seem to stay offline, even while working out, then pack your laptop along with your boxing gloves or your swimsuit. There’s even a bonus that I find so very titillating: the food at the coffee shop is simply superb, and surprisingly inexpensive. And the wifi is free, by the way (and I hope it stays that way).

In my wifi column three weeks ago, I gave the wrong name for one of the establishments. It’s supposed to be Formula Pete’s Café & Ice Cream Bar. And I failed to mention that the Internet connectivity is provided in-house. Yes, it’s free!

And my search for more wifi hotspots in Davao continues…