Dare to be the next big name online? Liza Soberano shares her thoughts and experiences in leading the digital jungle. Plus, she unfolds the newest tech built for today’s young leaders in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.
In 2006, TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year was you. Yes, you. This was their response to the astronomical rise in user-generated content populating the internet at that time. As platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia rose in popularity through social networking and content sharing, it was no surprise that the internet itself has changed—more so than the people who used it. The internet, in general, changed from being information-driven to something more social. This meant that there was a power shift from the companies hosting the sites to the people logged into them. Five years later, we now see how the internet operates: a collaborative medium to consume, create, and curate content.
Consume, create, and curate. These are the three fundamental tasks every online leader must keep in mind. Someone that has left her indelible mark in the fashion and entertainment industries as a leader in her own right is Liza Soberano. As a woman who has graced worldwide television screens and online feeds and amassed praise from numerous industry experts, she has been at the forefront of this generation’s style influence. I got to sit down with Liza herself to not only talk about her place in today’s digital jungle, but also chart the future of online trends, formulate the ideal online leader, and unfold the potential they can express given the right tech for the job.
Consume Responsibly: A Practice To Be Perfected
With over 16 million followers on Instagram alone, Liza Soberano might be the envy of everyone’s eyes. It’s basic social media economics: more followers equals more engagement. However, Liza treads cautiously. The more people consume your media, the more things can get out of hand really quickly. At the end of the day, these profiles still reflect a human being on the other side—someone who respects emotions and privacy. “I don’t post a lot on social media… and that’s just because I think I’ve given so much of my life to the public and I’ve learned throughout the years that no matter what I do, whether it be good or bad, everybody always has something to say. They do it to make papansin or they want to affect me somehow, and I just don’t want to give them that power anymore,” she admits.
RELATED READ: What’s In A Voice? The Talk Behind Liza Soberano’s ‘Trese’ Voice Acting
We consume social media daily, but little do we know that over time, it consumes us. This is the first step in your path towards being a respected online personality today: recognize the humans on the other side of the screen.
“At the end of the day, I’m still human. All celebrities are still humans, and we have emotions and feelings. Even if we say we don’t mind people bashing us, it gets to our heads, obviously.”
Liza Soberano on the harsh reality of social media today
Create Modern: Let’s Embrace Familiarity
Here comes the exciting part of online media: creation. And what better thing to create for the public than what’s trending today? Trends often dictate the beat of the internet, whether it’s this season’s hot topic or a new style never seen before. Others take time out of their day to survey the scene and predict the next big thing. Liza, however, prefers to follow her hunches. “I try to go with whatever my gut feeling says when it comes to fashion or with particular projects I take on, or even magazine shoots… I always try to make it relevant, to fit with the times,” she explains.
Even if Liza doesn’t actively strive to make things trend, she always finds a way to sport in-season fashion. Take her daytime ensemble she created, for example. Sharp blazers and trench coats are still wardrobe staples, despite recent work-from-home arrangements. Earth tones have been the rage this year, and will continue until the next due to the rise of normcore and environmental awareness.
At night, Liza comes in touch with her alter ego that’s a lot edgier. Her textured top with a leather blazer and skirt combo just screams attitude. Gem accents on her face are a new take for a strikingly beautiful twinkle in the night sky. And yes, mullets are also making a comeback with the rise of nostalgia.
These outfits are unique, yet also feel familiar at the same time. For Liza, this is the quintessential feeling that a modern-day trendsetter struggles to achieve in their content. “[Trendsetters] have to be unique, and that’s so hard because this world has been existing for so long now, and everybody creates something new every day.” Liza then makes a keen observation on a potential solution to this dilemma: modernizing nostalgia. “What I notice people do nowadays is that they take trends from back in the day, from the 90s, 80s, and 70s, and they make it more modern. They make it more 2021.”
The Future is Flip
Modernizing nostalgia may seem like an oxymoron, but that’s exactly what many of online leaders are doing nowadays. It’s most prevalent in music, with the likes of Olivia Rodrigo reminding us of our Paramore years, or BTS referencing Usher and Michael Jackson in “Butter.” Leading smartphone innovation, Samsung took cues from the prominence of flip phones a couple of decades ago. This has made one of their latest flagships, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, an instant hit with young adults.
“The reason why everyone is so intrigued with the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is because it has a hint of nostalgia with the flip. Back in the early 2000s, flip phones were the trending phones, and now they took that trend and made it 2021 by making it a foldable touchscreen phone. People just want the best of both worlds,” Liza explains. Trendy is right, especially with the array of colors that replaces the drab greys of yesteryear. Having the bright Lavander and the lush Green colors easily match with the modern wardrobe. The smartphone also comes in the soft Cream and stark Phantom Black to suit every personality. For Liza, these customization options give her the flexibility to pull off whatever look she dreams of—from today’s more visually expressive fits to the classics that still stand as fashion staples.
But more than just the aesthetics, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is also practical. “For other smartphones, they tend to be too big to fit in your pocket or too big to be holding around and walking around,” Liza points out. “For foldable phones, I feel like it makes them more practical because it’s smaller, it’s more compact, and yet you have the luxury of having it big and small at the same time,” she added.
Keeping this compact phone in your purse—or, let’s face it, your pockets—gives you access to all of its unique features that can upgrade your social media game. If you dabble in TikTok, the fastest-rising platform for discovery and short-form content, or want to share a few Instagram Reels, then the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is perfect for you. As Liza illustrates, “You can take pictures with it [on Flex Mode] and not have to hold it, like you have a built-in tripod. It’s going to be so much easier for you because all you need is your phone. You don’t have to bring around a light or tripod… You can simply lay it down, take a picture, and you’re done.”
Curating For You: Adapt or Perish
If you classify yourself as a content creator, then you’re in luck. A multitude of platforms caters to creative minds and conversationalists like you. “Content Creator” is even recognized as a profession these days. However, we’ve already entered the era of content curation. We can’t aimlessly consume and create anymore. To be a trendsetter, you must have your finger on the pulse of the internet at all times.
“You just have to be aware of what is trending nowadays, what is relevant… [Your content] doesn’t just have to be fun and games all the time. It can always have a more serious note, a more palaban note to it,” Liza expresses. The real danger, however, is that trends fade over time. The last thing you’d want to be is a flash in the online pan. To turn your ideas into a classic, make sure it’s unassuming.
“For a trend to be a staple, it has to suit everyone, it has to be diverse, it has to speak to different kinds of people to different ages and genders and beliefs and values, and it has to resonate with different people and not a specific group.”
Finally, to complete the trifecta of what it takes to be a trendsetter, follow the footsteps of technology. Online media treads alongside the gadgets we use, so it’s only apt that we keep ourselves on the bleeding edge at all times. Indeed, the smartphones we use help shape our potential, so it’s best to have one that’s highly capable and future-ready.
Liza concludes our chat with some insightful words on the relationship between smartphones and leadership: “[New smartphones] teach people different perspectives. With new tech coming out, people have to go with the times and adjust and adapt, and I believe the greatest leaders are adaptable. Samsung has been creating phones for so long, and after so many years, they’ve discovered what works for them and what doesn’t. [Similarly], you have to keep on trying out different technologies to find what fits you. Leaders have to be adaptable and ready for change, just like how technology does for them.”
Creative Direction and Cover story KRISTOFF SISON
Art, Fashion, and Beauty Direction EL PEREIRA
Styling PERRY TABORA
Makeup MICKEY SEE
Hair RENZ PANGILINAN
Production Design ADSET
Videography KIERAN PUNAY
Shoot Coordination by LOUIS ESGUERRA and MJ ALMERO
