MANILA, Philippines ? Now, here?s something to Twitter about.

If your creative ink cartridge has run dry in this seething summer heat, you might consider signing up with The InkSquad (www.theinksquad.com), a new local website that can turn you into the Philippines? Next Big T-shirt Designer.

Launched in November 2008, the online graphic design community allows any regular Juan or Juana of artistic inclination to sketch a T-shirt design (using Illustrator, Photoshop or Flash), upload it on the site, and?if their design gets a thumbs up and an affirmative number of votes from its 133-strong member base?it will be printed and made available for purchase.

The ?oohs? and ?aahs? don?t stop there. The creator?s name will not only get indelibly inked on the tag of their T-shirts, they?ll also bring home an artistic compensation of P3,000 for every winning design, plus five percent royalties of the total sales. But unlimited bragging rights seem to be the greatest reward.

Last February, squad members voted for their first T-shirt to be printed (or ?Inked,? in their colloquial jargon). The winning design, titled ?Sneaker Lines? by freelance artist Quincy Gonzales, has two pop-artsy sneakers flirting with each other through a funny thought bubble.

?My design wouldn?t have won without the comments and critiques of the InkSquad members,? says Gonzales, who is also part of other art-centric networks such as California-based DeviantArt.com. ?I was able to see my artwork in a different light and enhance it based on the feedback.?

The creative camaraderie in the community is infectious. ?They really go out of their way to support and inspire each other, whether by commenting, voting, designing or buying,? shares 26-year-old web entrepreneur Ramon Tayag, one of the founders of InkSquad. ?The site becomes a bridge that bypasses all road blocks for those who have always wanted their designs out in public, but never had the ways and means to publicize themselves.?

In this age of user-generated content and interactive media, it?s great to see that the young creators of The InkSquad are rallying for a new form of people power?this time through a revolutionary web-based medium that promotes democracy in design.