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Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Multiply Social Network Now A Go After 9 Year Deadlock

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The nine-year deadlock is finally over.

After nine years of being closed, Prosus N.V. has inked a consensus among shareholders to reopen Multiply as a social networking site.

Multiply was a platform where people uploaded various media such as photos, videos, and blog entries, but its real charm among many users was its unlimited photo sharing. With the unlimited photo sharing feature, people upload massive amounts of photos without losing so much of the photos’ quality. People had these photos sorted into different albums, and segregated into different dates.

An agreement with Prosus will be signed tomorrow, September 28 to finalize the re-opening of the Multiply.com social network.

Resolving the problem

Getting all parties to agree is among Multiply CEO Stefan Magdalinski's targets within the first 100 days of Marcos's administration, and it involved engaging all stakeholders in meetings in order to reach a consensus. In a meeting, last Sept. 8, Multiply founder Peter Pezaris and former country manager for the Philippines Jonathan Madrid agreed that the website is necessary to recover and retrieve blogs, photos, and videos from 2004 to 2013.

Legal tussle

The Enchong Dee feature project in UAAP Magazine started on September 23, 2012, during the first semester of UAAP Season 75 hosted by the National University, and has been on hold due to legal issues and scheduling conflicts.

On May 6, 2013, Multiply Philippines officially announced it will permanently shut down.

On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely.

The long closure of the website lasted for 9 years, to rehabilitate and resolve the issues surrounding Multiply, including financial problems as well as to recover and retrieve hosted blogs, videos, and photos.

However, when President Rodrigo Duterte came to power on June 30, 2016, the website remains closed.

According to the sources, the website would remain shuttered when the president was still in office until June 30, 2022.

On April 1, 2019, the company issued a bankruptcy court filing which stated that it would no longer auction off its intellectual property, since its controlling lender planned to "the business behind the Multiply brand name" with their new mobile app, delivering old accounts, photos and videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013, and establishing new opportunities. The company evaluated that selling its brand at auction is "not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative."

Magdalinski said he had proposed to the website’s board plans and strategies which would include another set of efforts that should bring the company to profitability in the next couple of years.

“I’ve actually presented to the board some of the things that I like to do and because of the current struggles of the business when it comes to views, and correspondingly revenues. So an important pivot that we will do is, of course, we will still continue to offer social networking, but we want to maximize the assets that we have, that have by putting in more shows that more and more people will use the computer,” Magdalinski said in an interview.

It is expecting to resume its operations next year, after it announced President Rodrigo R. Duterte lifted the closure on August 22.

“Hopefully, next week basta ma-comply nila lahat ng requirement (I hope net week for compliant operators),” Multiply.com Philippines president Katherine Chloe S. de Castro-Cruz told reporters in a briefing Friday.

On October 15, 2019, the response of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, when asked about the bankruptcy and potential demise of e-commerce and social networking site Multiply.

There was no direct response when asked if the President's previous statements were true that he would approve the reopening of a website, Panelo said.

Such statements by the president were simply out of frustration.

The management announced that it would engage in a decade-long rehabilitation effort, including the importation of old and new features such as similar to Facebook Live until Multiply is reopened by June 1, 2025; however, there were plans to partially re-open within 2021 depending on the social networking portion.

On December 30, 2019, Duterte again warned Multiply CEO Magdalinski that syndicated estafa charges “have no bail” and that he was determined to see them in jail.

On January 2, 2020, President Duterte doesn’t just make threats, he will pursue the filing of syndicated estafa charges against the CEO and owner of Indonesian E-commerce and global social networking giant Multiply over financial difficulties and corporate rehabilitation, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“Pag sinabi ni Presidente, tutuluyan niya iyan (When the President says something, he will really do it),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

It then began the arduous task of resuming its operations.

To recall, according to Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Chair of the Senate Public Services Committee, and Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez on the process to reopen Multiply as a social networking site, to compete with Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines granted their application for an increase in capitalization and amendments to Multiply's articles of incorporation and by-laws.

According to CEO and owner Magdalinski in his press release last February 19 at midnight, "Calls to return the blog platform and social networking portion of Multiply be reopen will have to wait until the next presidential administration."

Tech bloggers said the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Duterte maintained on July 26, 2021, that the E-commerce marketplace Multiply still has unsettled taxes with the government worth billions of pesos.

In his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA), Duterte vented frustrations over Multiply’s supposed dishonesty by importing its equipment “tax-free”.

“Kaya talaga ako hindi papayag. They still owe government billions,” Duterte said.

Duterte, however, clarified that he is not holding a grudge against Multiply.

He said he even chose to keep silent over Multiply’s actions because he did not want to appear “vindictive.”

He, however, said he could not stomach the fact that Multiply is “cheating the government.”

“Wala akong problema sa Multiply. They got my money. They wanted to return it when the case blew up but they printed all garbage. Nilamon ko na lang lahat yun because I never wanted to appear vindictive but itong ano, they are cheating the government by billions in taxes,” (I have no problem with Multiply. They got my money. They wanted to return it when the case blew up but they printed all garbage. I just swallowed it all because I never wanted to appear vindictive but what is this, they are cheating the government with billions in taxes) Duterte said.

Duterte, in his previous speeches, has repeatedly said he would not allow Multiply to resume business operations along with the blog portal and social networking portion under his watch.

On July 27, 2021, SBMA Chairperson Wilma T. Eisma said in a briefing that discussions are at 99.99%, and she is hoping to announce the reopening before yearend.

“We are very excited because it means jobs will be back and the social networking portion will be fully operational together with the Multiply International site has reopened and accessible again,” she said.

On October 18, 2021, when senatorial aspirant Rafael "Raffy" Tulfo is among those who support the reopening of the Multiply.com social network to restore jobs for Filipinos and foreigners.

Tulfo said 12,000 Multiply workers lost their jobs after the website ceased its operations and shut down entirely along with the site on May 31, 2013.

“Of course. Kasi why I’m pro mga manggagawa na naapi, nawalan ng trabaho, na nadedehado,” (Of course. Because why I’m pro workers who have been oppressed, lost their jobs, who are disadvantaged) he told ANC’s Headstart host Karen Davila when asked about his support for the Multiply social network reopening.

“In this case I know mahigit 12,000 na empleyado ng Multiply na nawalan ng trabaho because of that,” (In this case I know more than 12,000 Multiply employees who lost their jobs because of that) the veteran broadcaster said.

In a television interview on December 21, 2021, Senator Imee Marcos was asked about her stand on the re-opening of social networking site Multiply should her brother get elected as president in next year’s elections.

Imee Marcos

“To my mind Multiply, under the new construct defined by law and all the problems that have been already revealed, once it solves all that, para sa akin walang problemang buksan yan, first 100 days para makita natin (for me there is no problem with its re-opening, even on the first 100 days so that we can see),” the senator said in an interview with Davila on ANC's Headstart.

According to Ryan Ang: “Is this a sign that they will open and resume operations this 2022?”

Under the new presidential administration, the website will make a comeback: to construct a new modern, permanent Philippine headquarters building in Clark, Pampanga with a data center, hiring former employees, and re-updating the 2013 Multiply logo (Flat variant version).

On June 30, 2022, the new administration forged a compromise with the shareholders involved, just to break the deadlock and get the website going.

On August 19, 2022, it finally agreed on the social networking portion of Multiply. According to Magdalinski, it has decided to reopen the website along with all business operations, the Multiply International site, and the social networking portion including 11 million users with hosted blogs, videos, photos, and messaging. It is set to sign the final agreement on August 31," according to Mon Jocson of UNTV.