considering that i haven't been on a plane ever since i came back to Singapore over two years ago, it seems rather apt that i've entitled this post as it is.
two years ago, at about this time, i finished my final semester in uni, got on a plane from perth and landed in Singapore. subsequently, i got on another plane and left for Hong Kong to do mission work with my then churchmates from Perth. we went around Hong Kong during the festive period doing street acts and performances in school, to tell the story about God's love for us all.
coincidentally, two years later at about the same time in December, i'll be leaving on a plane again, this time to East Timor. it'll be different from the urban sprawl of Hong Kong, and i don't really know what to expect this time. in some sense, i haven't had much time to think about what i'll be doing in East Timor. I've just gotten back from the office, and i need to pack, head to church and write a script for a short skit that we can perform for some community outreach that we're doing.
do. do. and do more.
that seems to be the mantra for this year.. not taking time to pause and reflect.
but i'm still leaving.. to what, i don't really know. and while it may seem blase.. a part of me is also filled with faith, that this was a deliberate act, and choice.. and to also get behind the reason for the season.
i did something rather unfamiliar today, i bought two magazines, Wired and Fast Company to be exact.
in an age where print mediums are going extinct as fast as dinosaurs, many are moving online, finding an 'afterlife' in the cloud, the net, the web.. whatever you want to call it.
"all print goes online" as akin to "all dogs go to heaven"
but i bought two magazines, on the strength of their cover story. take a look at these two cover stories for the month of December:
Wired: Saving Microsoft - Can Ray Ozzie fix the house that Bill Built? By Steven Levy
Fast Company: CISCO Gets Radical - How CEO John Chambers is turning the Tech Giant into a Socialist Enterprise. By Ellen McGirt
if online is the afterlife for print publications, why did they die? - falling circulation numbers - falling subscribers - they all lead to falling advertisement revenue and as a business, print cannot survive.
And yet i picked up these two magazines, and i'm going to make it a habit to read habitually from this medium for the following reasons:
1. the strength of their journalism - aggregated content, not just an opinion, but a valued piece of content from some of the best writers, best editors, who can spot trends, aggregate information and cut through the clutter. in other words, i value the opinion of the writer the same way i value my web heroes, so what else is there?
2. the reliability of the medium - as long as the publication stays in business, you can expect it in your news stands at the stipulated date each day / week / month. furthermore, i'm not reliant on connectivity, power.. if i see something worth reading, i pass the magazine to my friend (without needing to tag it on delicious, or any other "share this" option.)
3. the form factor of print - until the day we develop electronic paper, what i have in my hands is not something as cumbersome as a desktop, heavy as a laptop, but something light i can fit in my bag without needing to squint my eyes on an iPhone sized screen. it's portable enough to take anywhere, and i can still interact with it in a variety of non-digital ways.
- content also comes into play here. good, incisive writing that has been trained or designed to be read slowly and carefully. not the haphazard plageristic or schizophrenic writing style that plagues so many dime-a-dozen bloggers. in the speed it takes to beat someone else to news, we just don't take our time to carefully measure our words for maximum impact. it's a celebration of everything that made writing great to begin with! slow reading on a sunday afternoon with a book, newspaper or magazine just isn't the same if it were on a laptop (but you might argue that as my personal preference.)
4. only the best survive - i sure hope this is true. that good publications stay in print so long as collectively we deem them worthy to be read by the masses (though i will argue that sometimes the masses just aren't always right.) but so far, we've undeservingly lost some great publications, but there are plenty that are still in circulation.
- my contention is that we have so many newspapers, magazines, blogs, videos, microblogs and social networks.. that we've inflicted this tough competition of media channels on ourselves. human consumption and consumerism has bred so many magazines that should never have been published in the first place, and on a more amplified level, the number of online publications and blogs. Anyone can publish - i won't take that right away.. but i sure as hell am keeping my right of reading what i want.
my closing thoughts are these, learn to enjoy reading and making meaning of what you read. maybe print isn't for everyone. i don't know if my children will grow up without ever knowing what print is.. but i think there's a cultural price to all this.. to not take your time to read AND write. if we don't make meaning from these basic forms of media, will the quality of media suffer drastically? so what if you have the power of hyperlinks or multimedia if content suffers?
as a special feature, you can read the Wired cover story here, and if you do get your hands on the magazine, you can tell me if you find it any different -)
so i was at a retreat over the weekend. somewhere in the western part of singapore, Neo Tiew Road to be exact. if you need a reference point, it's where all the cemetaries are are further down.
but it was rather good.. i won't bore you per se with the lessons i've learnt whilst there, but not having jumped online for about 2 days.. i feel kind of 'lost' now that i'm back in the land of broadband.
now that i'm connected again.. it just feels rather unnerving that the 'rest' is over. it's like being online almost reminds me of work.. and i don't really like that.
AIDS has always been a bit of a taboo subject, after all, it is a disease often associated with drug abuse or casual unprotected sex, activities often going against the status quo of society.
But i think something needs changing, more light needs to be shed on what is ultimately more than just taboo or what we think we know. In countries like Africa, the disease has become an epidemic, due to lack of education on protected sex or the dangers of drug abuse. The disease is often passed on to children, and you know what? there is no cure yet.
and whether we contracted the disease due to our own negligence, or we were an innocent victim, do we all not have a right to treatment that can help such victims that has claimed so many lives? regardless your moral judgment (which so many of us tend to have.) this is more a cry out for compassion and love, values not bound by prejudices.
back in the 90's, AIDS was much more fearsome, people died within months. but advances in medicine can help HIV victims survive and be a part of society. and this is the sigma i'm talking about, sometimes perhaps we still cringe at the thought of someone with AIDS. vestiges of the stories we were told before as kids perhaps?
i'd like to highlight this video that World Community Grid (full disclosure: World Community Grid is a client of mine.) put on youtube on World Aids Day to share more about the stigmas and facts regarding AIDS, and how we can help in research projects like FightAIDS@Home and find a cure to this disease:
i hope you can join us. ridz has already started a team called "small changes" where you can join other Singaporeans in making a contribution to help the world.
it's been awhile since something arrested my thoughts, and jolted me to truly want to understand the state of the world we live in.
more than my thoughts on social media, corporate values and even introspective catharsis.. in my world, they pale in comparison to what's really going on in the world today.
as the business world continues to revolve on its own axis, and the gears of our economy start to slow down, the recent terror attacks in mumbai, india have gripped me with a sort of "what is going on in the world?"
9/11 happened when i was sailing on a ship in the middle of the south china sea. to a certain extent, it never happened, although the ripples of such an act affected my way of life.
today, the death of a singaporean, Lo Hwei Yen, as a direct result of terrorist activity bursts the bubble, that singapore is safe.
even if singapore were safe, does that mean we put our heads in the sand and pretend that it doesn't affect us? i think i voice a rather singaporean condition of "minding my own business".
i'd like to offer a second opinion, that it is my business. when you hurt one of my countrymen, it could well have been one of my own family members, because they might have been the victim when a terrorist decides to attack.
the need for a cause, the terrorists have theirs, albeit misaligned. as dk intelligently mentions, neither should our cause.
what is this cause? that we should never forget, that we will rise above, that we can change the world around us. and why should we speak out against the evils of the world? because we all share the same planet, because we all co-exist, whether terrorist or not. no one is better than the other, no one should be oppressed or be trapped in fear like that.
we need a cause, to rouse us up from our slumber of "minding our own business". we need to care, we need to know, we need to get involved if we're ever going to make this world a better place, a place we would bring our children into, a place where we can love each other.
Lo Hwei Yen is perhaps the first of more Singaporean terror victims. things might get tougher, so will our fight, to live a life worth living, and a death without regrets.
you can leave message at Lo Hwei Yen's memorial here. LINK
but Shelly does make a very important crtique about the state of the way social media is being engaged in Singapore.
if you're wondering what this means to the PR practitioner, new social marketer, the digital advertiser, blogger or all-in-one communications extraordinaire, have a read and we can always discuss -)
Singapore's social media landscape background: agencies and corporations in Singapore probably started experimenting with blogger engagement in early 2006. i remember Fleishman Hillard's LG Blogger seeding programme quite well. Seed bloggers with LG Shine phones, no strings attached and invite them to write an honest review.
2007, i joined Ogilvy Singapore's Digital Influence practice, and promptly got started connecting and engaging with some of Singapore's bloggers. Other agencies and marketing managers also started their own engagement programmes, and blogger events became the 'standard' way of engaging bloggers.
engagement is one thing. what about community building? what about building the relationship between brand and blogger?
i guess these are the signs of Singapore's blogosphere maturing. as communications practitioners, we should be ready to meet the present and future needs of communications.
what are such future needs?
1. community building / involvement - whether you like it or not, the net has brought us closer together. some bloggers have chosen to maintain their privacy, let's respect that. but there is also a growing community of well.. communities. Ping.SG, Singapore Plurkers, fans of local bands, political advocates, social media enthusiasts, photography groups, driving enthusiasts, food reviewers, travel writers, philanthropic bloggers, technopreneurs.. etc.
is your BRAND getting involved? and as a blogger, what is your PASSION?
2. the cutting edge of communications - i'm never satisfied with doing what everyone else is doing. call it divine discontent. if you look right, i look left. and because i've always been critical of the media, i decided to study about it in university, and found myself working a job in the media industry.
- the net has given everyone a voice, but some voices are louder than others. but the net has also connected people, and made it easier to communicate, spread information, organise events, and where i find a lot of value, bringing people together.
- this means, i meet like-minded people who talk about social media, who see it as more than just events, and coverage, but the walking together of owning your own community. not that you're the leader, but you're a part of. in church, we talk about taking ownership of one's ministry, or responsibility. it's the same thing, taking ownership of your community, is to work to build, improve, and make each community you're a part of, the best that it can be.
- having said that, we have to be on the cutting edge, laying a good foundation that "social media" has helped empower her users, and not merely be a house of cards or dot.com bubble 2.0
3. Your audience matures - there's only so much longer before people become more media literate. my parent's generation didn't necessarily grow up with a television
- i grew up with the television, and to a certain extent, the Internet.
- there's a whole generation that is now growing up with mobile broadband Internet. if i think i'm so great with my suite of web2.0 tools, i cannot begin to imagine what we'll see in the future.
- as hardware improves, so will software, so will communications, so will how we make use of technology
- growing up in a mediated environment might naturally make us more cynical and skeptical of what the mass mediums put out. today's underground is tomorrow's mainstream. people may find it harder and harder to believe something they've read, watched or heard. they need to make their own truths, and to believe in something, means they have to publish it themselves.
- i forsee an explosion of content producers in less than five years, as today's 14 year olds develop tomorrow's new web platform.
- as a communicator, will you mature along with your audience?
we ask "why" because we do not know. "what if" because we live in the present. because of what happened in the past. we ask a lot of things, because we are only human. because we are only one person, because we have limitations. yet we ask. as if it were a very part of our instinct. we were born, to ask questions, to make meaning, to learn.
to have fear, to have doubt, to question the consequences of our actions. to be "weak" and "ignorant" by not knowing.
yet, it seems we have placed the mantle of "God", "omniscience", "exhaustive knowledge" as measurements of success. but we are only human. mortal. and we extinguish off the face of the earth. nobody cares, nobody should. life and death, the endless cycle. what's past is past, what we do today or tomorrow will never change that. what we do tomorrow, is not what we would have done today.
i'm happy. Gundam 00 Season 2, every character is finding more resolve, and by episode 7, Allelujah and Mary.. well.. -)))
I found the Monocle podcast and my iPhone is now pimped for awesome. Feed here
if you were wondering, Monocle is one of the most informative and exciting design publications in these modern times. So if you have an interest in the art, science and business of anything design related, feed your need!
Rolling Stones and The Who have also been added to my iPod. i guess i'm happy with the new "old" music.
oh! and a slew of extra blogging gigs. i'll be posting a regular column over at waking up to... and gonna title it "sporeradic saturdays (or sundays) as a spotlight on local music. my current joy, a vacant affair. loving their new material, and their album launch on 26 December. save the date!
also, my guest post at sisterhoodftw! SisterhoodFTW is a blog that sheds some light on Christian living for women. it's not some self-help guide (heaven forbid), but just some real opinions about the Christian faith in these modern times, and how we're all really struggling with the same themes of acknowledgment, atonement, love, guilt, struggle, mistakes and ultimately, how we make sense of our faith. my guest post was Man-day Mondays: Of Monsters and Men have a read!
listening to pedro the lion is like having coffee with a long lost friend. cheesy as that sounds.
it was a constant companion to my playlist back in uni.. though i didn't have a girlfriend, nor was i breaking up, nor going thru any emotional upheaval, there was something about the song 'options' that was both tragic and hopeful at the same time.
"... i could never divorce you it's always good to have options... but for now, i need you..."
the simplicity in songwriting, arrangement, accompaniment, melody.. they all somehow found a frail place in the universe, took root and somehow.. spread their tendrils into the corners of my heart.
B-roll footage from David Bazan's upcoming "Alone at the Mic" DVD
i remember a time when blogging was familiar, and cathartic.
tonight.. im rediscovering some of that joy, but in a different light.
blogging used to mean, capturing the present, but tonight as i read entries of old, both friends and myself.. it brings a bit of joy, and accomplishment.. that we've all come a long way.. we've given up on some of our dreams.. we've faced setbacks.. but we've also made it this far.
some aspects of my life seem unfamiliar, some still ring true. it doesn't really matter because all we have is now.. and it's not like the past was always the correct path.
if we've deviated from what we were originally meant for, it's a sad thing.
but if we moved from things that were destroying us, it's a happy thing.
somewhere in between all of that.. the thing that pricks me the most is that i think i've been moving away from something i was originally meant for.
but what a great 2008 it's been. i started on the brink of adulthood with starting a job, i've been really blessed to keep it.. and do so many other great things like playing baybeats, recorded an EP, and still jamming with many more musicians.. and making new friends and meeting new people.
it's still a hard life, and figuring out who i am as an adult, but these little things, they make it easier, and perhaps even worth struggling for.
i have been away from the familiar blank pages of blogger, and it's not like i missed it entirely. hmmmm.. i don't know why this is the case.. one or two years ago i could never stop blogging, but now.. now it seems like the furthest thing on my mind. well, not exactly the furthest, but maybe it's got something to do with doing more things not related to blogging.
for starters, i'm playing fallout 3, and it's a massive massive game. it's an RPG (Role Playing Game) that is so extensive in terms of character development that between my friends and i, we've all had different experiences interacting with the non-playable characters of the game.
another big part of the game is it's supporting online universe. while it isn't multiplayer, there's a wealth of information like the Fallout wiki and viral site, prepare for the future.
i absolutely love this game, it's story and universe they've created.. currently i've set myself up as a good guy and known as "ranger of the wastes". i love the post apocalyptic steam punk elements in everything! from the vast wasteland, to intricate details like propaganda material in a future that looks like it was stuck in the 1940s.
la di da.. what else? i've been super busy jamming every sunday with kevin matthews who will be recording a 15th anniversary EP of The Watchmen. i count it as an honour to be playing alongside one of Singapore music's stalwart icons, and he's just an incredible human being as well. i learn so much in our conversations, and the wealth of experience Kevin has! omigosh, this guy's a walking encyclopedia and history book of all things pop culture AND singapore.
so that's it, two weeks without any updates and you get this brainfart. and that's discounting all the other things like multiple projects in the workplace and.. hrmmm.. i dunno..
We got a freakhog distinction for shooting this documentary back when we were film students in murdoch university in 2004.
the idea came out from nowhere, with some unconventional titles. "!" was chosen because you couldn't really say it, and yet.. as a punctuation mark, it means so much. After that, the content naturally flowed..
what were we comfortable with? what's uniquely singaporean? does it make us special?
i think this documentary shows how language is a cultural force so many of us take for granted. And in even more extremes, cussing and swearing are language tools we use to connect with each other!
i'm gonna try and maintain a weekly log at least, to remember the highlights that happened. it's increasingly difficult to maintain a daily log, and seeing some folk like uniquefrequency and vantan doing it inspired me to do the same. at least, it gives me the discipline to keep blogging, and maintain relationships. or whatever it is we do online these days.
4/11 (Sat) i attended Social Media Breakfast 4. it was organised by claudia, derrick, daryl, sheylara, shermeen and dorothy.. and i was commend everyone on a great job. i met many familiar faces, and many news ones as well. mainly PR and Marketing people. there's been a lot of buzz around social media breakfast, and great to see more people interested in what social media is all about, and how we can make this a great experience for everyone. i share my thoughts in the video below.
i was also rather blessed to attend 2008's Active Ager Awards where the Council for Third Age recognises senior citizens who embrace life, and lead fulfilling and healthy lives even in their senior years. did you know that some of them blog, climb mountains and are even rollerblading instructors? and they're all above sixty! Lordy!
5/10 (Sun)
i remember going to church, having practice with kevin matthews and recording a 'lil special something for pat law and her love. i think she does a better job explaining, so do check the link out if you wanna see what leeson's been up to. Link
7/10 (Tues) Finally met up with some uni friends and it was great catching up. think i should do it more often!
8/10 - 10/10 Working late in the office. a bit of a bummer.. but at least things got done.
11/10 catching up with Battlestar Galactica. I watched episodes one till seven of season four. wow. and now i'm blogging.
a thinking man is not sexy, in fact it's a curse, because we tend to think about all the evidence and possible outcomes that it paralyzes you.
and a man who doesn't act.. is really not much of a man at all.
it's good to have faith, but faith without works is dead. the good intention, the brilliant strategies, the things that make the world a better place, don't get implemented.
i don't know if one can stop the mind from racing too far ahead before the body can catch up. the mind is capable of so much more, that surpasses human and physical limitations. the mind, does not always live in the same reality as the physical body.
it is able to dream, imagine, prophecy and predict either the utopia or the apocalypse
but everything is meaningless if it does not come to pass.
Hey! I'm back with the second episode!! More goodness in the form of comic books, finished cookies and another awesome music recommendation: little dragon
Also, have yourselves a laugh with my BAD Jack Bauer jokes and never getting the framing right when i try to show you something..
This post has been brewing inside my head for about one or two weeks, and i thought, i might as well whack the initial thoughts out while they're still fresh, so here goes:
Beyond blogs, there's more to it right? i mean, afterall, it's only been the last two to three years that communications and marketing people are starting to take blogging more seriously. Already in Singapore, we see more and more bloggers being invited for press events, blog advertising is becoming more sophisticated, going beyond banner ads into more community centric events, or at the very least advertorials.
but make no mistake, we have not arrived, all this is just birth pangs and teething problems. blogging will continue to evolve, or the blogger will. and along with it, communication, marketing and advertising practices.
yongfook talks about the evolution of blogs into lifestreams. We interact with the internet so much, that lifestreams will basically aggregate our online experiences, a somewhat centralised point where people can be kept up to date about our activity on the net. kinda like leaving virtual breadcrumbs. all picked up by RSS readers of course.
friendfeed and sweetcron are the possible first manifestations of this future. you can check my friendfeed on my sidebar. everything also gets aggregated to my tumblog
So what do i mean by "Beyond Blogs"? Well, as the communications industry and corporate entities start paying more attention to bloggers, recognising us as part of the communications ecosystem, inviting us in their conversations, activities, press conferences, product reviews.. etc. we're already seeing how blogs and bloggers are evolving.
this is where some of my fear and paranoia lie, especially as a communications practitioner. what sort of blogging culture are we breeding with our media activity? do we see the blog as a tool? or the blogger as the tool?
there's a stark difference in this. i value the blogger. i think the blogger and their ideas, conversations are what i'm interested in when we conduct media activity. the blog in that sense, should be the least of your concerns. there are so many ways BESIDES the blog to share information and have conversation, and yes.. these conversations are increasingly happening online.
and with communications practitioners constantly reaching out to bloggers, what culture are we perpetuating? i won't go into much specifics, but i hope it won't become a festering pool of product placement, fake shakey-cams passing off as "reality", or ungenuine reviews and reporting. what's the point in all that?
communication that matters, is when it's genuine, transparent and meaningful. but i think that's too much of an ideal, there will always be some corporate matters that stay corporate matters. Maybe if we all thought carefully of what our businesses are about, we would know how to communicate it to the media, to the people.
by starting on the this train of thought, the concept that goes "beyond blogs", is to perhaps envision a future where media and public life are asynchronus. where press events can become public events, afterall.. everyone has a media capture device these days. and we'll get our share of professional media, and personal media.
it's earstwhile to highlight this post by Chris Anderson, who champions the passionate amateur, as opposed to the bored journalist. LINK
he's a bit biased, but i agree with him. but i believe thie bored journalist happens when they've lost their lustre to write. we still have great journalism today, and some very memorable ones in the past. and good journalist deliver a value that sometimes even the most passionate amateur may not be able to deliver. perhaps a skill, a flair, a trained insight, the kind of thing that only professionalism can give you.
but i'm not discounting passionate amateurs, who go out of their way to find the information that makes the most sense to micro-audiences, and sometimes, very wide audiences... increasingly, this line is getting blurred.
different motivations for very different writers. in that sense, whether paying a blogger is something we want to discuss, i say that as more journalists find themselves blogging, and as more bloggers find themselves being credible, responsible and professional, there's a middleground where both meet to be writers/bloggers/content producers that get paid.
in the future, we HAVE to see more content producers, as audiences get increasingly fragmented, post modern, searching for different facets of the truth, that there will be a breed of digital natives that are credited, and regarded to present that truth, or at least a facet of it.
will it go beyond eyeballs and readership, subscription numbers? i don't know per se.. but i'm very interested in any conversation around that.
but the media network of the future will be far more interesting, more brazen, more truth seekers.. but it'll also be harder to tell the truth from lie, from signal vs. noise.. it could go either way. i don't know if i dare predict utopia.. i envision more happening, but whether or not it ends up as a good thing, depends on how we wield our tools now.
interesting now that i'm making time to blog, and learning to let the words flow again.. i don't feel as if i carry certain burdens.
blogging is definitely cathartic for me, especially when i'm not trying to prove anything. just pure, unbridled passion when it comes to putting words together.
sometimes you blog to communicate an idea or message. this is not one of those times.. it's just pure, unbridled hurling of language, broadcasting, publishing, remembering how to live
it's all a bit self indulging, i'll be the first to admit that. but this is more than just publishing, online reputation management, or whatever it is we blog for these days.
this is the self-indulgant side of the writer, not to whinge or unfairly criticise someone else to vindicate one's injustice.. this is the manic, fervent side of writing.. the part that doesn't really get filtered and you trust your instincts, skills and own character when you go straight from brain to screen.
this is how i started, and what i want to remember, to retain, or retrain that essence.. the character of the writer, the ideal of the auteur.. the paradox that in being so open with my thinking.. it's actually a barrier to other people.. because maybe only "i" truly understand what i'm typing.
being a good writer requires a certain kind of discipline and talent.. both of which i think can be cultivated. i see this excercise as developing that raw discipline and talent.. to start good habits, carve yourself a groove so that when you need to pull the skills out, you can. you don't have to wait for inspiration to hit you.. rather, you're always inspired.
the way your words flow, the pacing you use with punctuation, the tone based on what words you use and how your string them together.. language and writing is truly one of the conerstones of any culture, any clue that our humanity is more than cells, mitochondria, dna, hormones, chemical imbalances, subatomic particles.
the ghost in the shell.. as if it were from another world, keeping it all together..
My first solo vodcast appearance. I talk about who's influenced my vodcasting, why and i sneak in a great band i discovered recently: Black Mountain
Okay. first things first, this is a very big Work In Progress as i struggle to find out what works, and what doesn't. by that i mean, the mis-en-scene, content, length of the video, even my "errmmmms" and nervous pauses.
but that's the fun part! my first.. vodcast about my life? i welcome all comments, be honest but don't be a hater!
my first thoughts about vodcasting, is that it's rather unnatural and narcissistic, talking to yourself, and having a conversation with yourself. there are no other talking points to pick of!
It would also help if i had a specific thread or theme that i wanted to comment on. initially, i wanted it to be like an MTV host sharing videos and bands. it MIGHT evolve into that, but that means no to Youtubes 10min hosting, and using more Vimeo. Well, if you like my music programme, i might make it that -)
i am tired. not of anything (in particular). but more so physically. i really could leave the office now, but somehow, i just thought i'd come into my blog to tell you that.
i'm looking forward to my bus-ride back, packing in the ipod. already know i'm going to be listening to wintersleep, and continue reading rohit's Personality Not Included.
wished i'd find more time to read, but even when i go back home, there're a thousand and one ways in which i could chill out, that i'll never be able to chill out enough. it's like i have a whole warehouse of chillout, that i do not look forward to the next day of work because i didn't finish what i set out to do.
and that's when chilling out becomes another task to strike off the list.
i hate that.
it makes no sense, does it? that relaxing activities become another list of tasks. i have no idea how it spiralled into this.. so maybe i will just.. not think about it. turn it off like a tap.
well, i'm glad i wrote this here, i wouldn't do it if i got home because.. i'd be doing something else. i still haven't mustred the discipline to blog regularly.
I wanted to do more research about Lehman Brothers right after the declared bankruptcy, but i couldn't resist highlighting this when it came up 3rd in Google searches.
I guess the last thing you want to do is invest in online corporate reputation management when you file for bankruptcy.
if there is a hell for people who tell jokes in bad taste, i fear i may end up there.
but from the bottem of my heart, my condolences go out to you if you have lost your job. it's not an easy time, and i don't want to make fun at any of you.
if traditional media enabled us to connect, by informing us about the world around us and gave us a common stage to have the same knowledge. then social media has enabled us to participate by allowing to publish anything, from text to multimedia.
participation requires connection, it is a step up from merely being in the same room, you need to say something in order to be heard.
that's the main difference i see between the media we used to have, and the media we currently have. and so, you need a new media strategy, not because you want to exist in the mindshare of the public, but because you want to participate with them in their conversations.
i first pushed "publish" more than five years ago. it was the thirty-first of january 2003 (i checked). i was still in the army then, and i had no idea that i'd see myself this far down the future.
call it a bit of a retrospect, but so much has changed since then (i was 21 when i started the blog) and i just turned 26 two days ago. add the time between finishing national service, 3.5 years studying in murdoch, perth and almost a year and a half in an agency, i'd say things have pretty much evolved from when i was just a wee lad in my early twenties.
for starters, coming full circle, i started this blog as an extension of myself, then i got embroiled in turning this into a professional mouthpiece, but now, i'm inclined to return to my roots. That this blog is me. it's gonna be a meepok blog as uniquefrequency describe diarist style blogs. why is this important to me? well.. i do my professional blogging elsewhere, namely the open room and i'd like to keep this space my little broadcast to the interwebs. a space where i can remember, and converse without corporate strings tugging.
i think this is essential to maintaining some sort of personality and identity to my craft as a blogger (if i can even call it that). futurebureau explained it nicely when he IMed me this morning, saying that'd he'd blog to benefit a user's online experience. for me, that's partly where i'd like to take my blog to, and also.. to help you see the world through my eyes. not that i have anything better to offer, but that's why i started reading blogs in the first place, to see things through your eyes.
i refer to this video from ghost in the shell: stand alone complex. tachikomas are wondering why we humans still use words to communicate with each other. why indeed? for starters, as sophisticated as language is, it really is rather primitive, only in terms of how it can be transferred. if what the tachikomas say is true, then if you and me formed a data link, you would instantly know how i was thinking, feeling, tasting, seeing.. my five senses would be uploaded to you straight away. but still, here we are on blogs, evolving as blogs are, larger data packets, more multimedia, audio, visuals.. but we're still limited by what we can do, or what our abilities are.
you can watch the video now:
but that's exactly what keeps us human perhaps. that even in a data link, i'm still me and you're still you. even if i experienced in all five senses what you experienced, i cannot put it into the context of you. in other words, i can't transfer my soul to you and vice versa. as human beings, dare we say we are more than experiences, cells and subatomic particles?
i know i majored in mass communications back in uni, but it's this other side of our non-professional selves that i'm interested in. what do we share with each other that makes us human? i do think that one of the reasons that we share, whether online or not, is to elicit a response for something or someone else. to validate our existence, that proves we are not just a figment of imagination, not just a passing of time in the vast cosmos.
and we do that by sharing things. social media has made it easier, it's been used effectively by entities and people to better understand where we're all coming from. i don't know if it's the fulfilment of the dialogue, but i believe we've only taken a step forward in terms of communicating, or finding new ways to communicate. we can now have threaded conversations and everyone can crowdsource and be part of a discussion. we are no longer bound by geography, language (language bots), audio visual aids and etc. the gift of the internet is unbridled communication tools. but the beauty and mystery of conversation and dialogue, still lies with the human. who moves like a reed in the wind, fluid, taking the story wherever he goes. to those who will listen.
According to Facebook's Superlatives application, my friends think that i am most likely to...
1. get arrested for streaking 2. end up in prison 3. achieve nirvana 4. live happily ever after 5. save the environment from global warming 6. have the best personality 7. have the best pick up lines 8. become famous 9. see the good in (almost) everyone
however, they do not think that i am most likely to...
1. succeed 2. have the best laugh 3. sing in the shower 4. say something perfectly innocent and sound dirty 5. have every facebook application 6. love puppies 7. need therapy 8. take entirely too long to get ready to go out
mmmmmmmmm... pretty insightful, hahaha.. guess i'm one of those 'nice guys' who finish last.
Back to moblogging on a regular phone that surfs WAP. Remarkably simple and backwards compatible which is what i'm all about even though i'm a technology freak. How do we empower the every voice? Technology that benefits mankind should be as simple as possible, but have maximum results. Only then will it become ubiquitous. Service that is ubiquitous, then new markets are created, and then hopefully providers will start selling us what we need, then it involves to what we want.. And then everything gets saturated and then something new comes along.
it's creeping somewhere in the dark corners of my heart, this discontentment that life is more than material posessions, packed out crowds and the emotional tingling of fancy and fleeting companionship
no, this is the void, the blatent scream for a love that does not fail, does not disappointment, and gives life. offers rest to the weary, puts a new song in your heart, makes you fall in love over and over again
love is a powerful thing, it's more than an emotion, it's more than a state of being, it's more than i love you's and wedding rings.
love is a sacrifice that you will be heartbroken, that the more you love, the more it might cost you, and yet... love exists
it's september. eight months since the start of the year, and we're starting the ninth month from now on.
it was gestation, the seeds that were sown at the start of the year are now in their last month before birth. is this what it's like? to have life growing inside of you?
If you've heard of Baybeats, good for you! It's the region's largest indie rock festival, and my band's playing there tonight!
Where: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (Nokia Arena) When: Tonight! 29 August 2008, 8pm Why: You and Leeson, we make HAPPY FUN TIME! Web: www.leesonband.com
I've been playing in this band for about four years now, and I'm just really stoked that we're getting a chance to play at Baybeats this year! We're playing a killer set of all originals which you can sample at our myspace, www.myspace.com/leesonsg. It's really easy poppy music, and you can download music there. If not, you can also buy our EP at our show tonight at only $2!!!
It's called Speed Dating:
Here are some pictures from our soundcheck yesterday:
View of the stage
My side of the stage
Kickass drum platform to show the drummer
Some stage banter, telling everyone to come for Baybeats!!
If i looked down, this is what i'd see.. also the most awesome bass pedals in the world!
Hope to see you there, and come say hi! -))) Peace and Rocks! \m/
i'm still awake. not that it matters, i'm on leave tomorrow. or rather, i'm on leave today. i'm content. playing a big show tomorrow, having people around me that matter, i am not in debt, slightly hungry but i'm already dreaming of kaya toast for brekkie and a good lunch.
it's not that i've arrived, but the joy that all your hard work these past twenty six years have somewhat paid off.
it's been ten years since we formed the band, four years since we formed Leeson and we're finally playing baybeats. it's an achievement four years in the making, and then what next? i don't know.. it feels great to be here already, let me savour this for a bit more -)
the future can scare and delight all at the same time, what lies in store? yet we give in to our fear most of the time instead of living each day as a gift. all we have is now, rings true then, rings true now, probably rings true tomorrow. i'll be glad if i wake up tomorrow, please don't let it rain
I'm just doing my rounds around the web, and came across sheylara's latest foray as a gaming blogger. i'm glad for her and proud of her that's she's worked (and blogged) hard to be given the title as an Xbox Xpert. (if you must know, i do approach her for some PlayStation stories as well. - and she's been ever so kind)
here's the thing i don't understand though, she has a successful blog, and blogs about gaming on her blog many times, in some sense, that's sort of what you go to www.sheylara.com for. so why go through all the hassle create a brand new Xbox blog and in some sense, fragment both Sheylara and XBox's media channels?
i understand that xperts.com is meant to be a help channel for Xbox n00bs to ask Sheylara for help, but all i see on that blog are game reviews and contest details. No real help-line there.
so far, i'm guessing they're only doing this for brand enhancement, perhaps adding organic relevancy to searches.. but those are rather long term goals. in the short term, all i see is further fragmentation of the gaming channel to convey messages.
here are some key points.
1. I agree that having a page dedicated to help newbies is important, i think it serves as education and breaks down barriers to entry. just look at get satisfaction - however -
2. i don't know if this blog (or even using a blog as a channel) is the most effective way to communicate the message. here's what i mean, blogs tend to spark conversation, but the newbie needs information. shouldn't the proposed new media channel be somewhere along the lines of direct communication or customer service?
3. i'm also concerned about continued fragmentation of new media channels to a point where there is no longer a critical mass that makes social content.. well, social at all! (ie. if you're a digital strategists, blogs aren't your only answer, or the only product you can sell to clients who need a communications solution)
4. lastly, i think they've identified the need. i don't think they've met it by starting a blog, would a forum have better sufficed?
5. -update- i stand corrected, there are dedicated help channels, but feedback from XBOXers tend to come from comments. i think threaded conversations ala forum archtecture better serves the purpose of getting up-to-date help.
overall, i guess i was hoping for better use of a blog. as it stands now, i think Sheylara is more popular than the Xpert blog, it'd be interesting to see if one supercedes the other.
it is my distinct pleasure to announce that you'll soon be able to take a piece of Leeson home with you!
After two internet-only releases available on our Myspace, we will now be selling a 3-song EP entitled 'Speed Dating' at our live shows! this EP will feature two crowd favourites, 'Absolute Beginners' and 'Some Girls' and also a brand new single, 'Mr & Mrs' that we recorded with the very brilliant Kamal from Sound Advice
i think we've only played 'Mr & Mrs' twice, but people are already starting to like it, and we hope to do a lot more with it.
everything's in it's early stages, but i'm really psyched for baybeats which we're playing next Friday @ The Esplanade and that there'll be more opportunities to share our music with everyone -)
Thanks for all your support thus far! I hope you like the music.
i'm out! out of reservist and back to work in about 7 hours time.
what a massive three weeks it's been, literally unplugging myself from Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, Blogging and the like.
and you know what? it was good. there's more to life than social media.
i think i got lost somewhere along the way after being hired to do public relations around social media. i think i had overburdened myself somewhere along the way with trying to do too many things at once, trying to add a large number of tools at my disposal so that i could reach out to influencers.
but they're just tools. at heart, it's not the constant state of being 'plugged in' that keeps me in touch with the bloggers i've met. nope, rather it's the friendships and interactions with them that make this part of the job worthwhile. i've gotten to know more people, and it's not just inviting bloggers and journalists to make up numbers, but getting to know them, what their interests are, and what their publication's interests are.
i'm also not saying that that it's because of relationships that i do more job, i think as professionals, it's important to do a professional job that is somewhat devoid of pulling favours from your contacts, but letting your outreach and events speak for themselves. that way, no one's keeping score, and no one should need to feel awkward in a social media situation -)
being away from media has also started me thinking about a lot of other things, namely the balance between work, life, hobbies and spiritual health. i've come back to the corporate world, hopefully with more zeal, excitement and perspective. the things that are important to me, and the things i can let go off.
Local Singaporean band, Leeson (www.leesonband.com) have been making music since 2004, releasing a critically acclaimed EP 'Hero Music' in 2005 and have continued to wow audiences with grittingly fun pop music playing in venues such as the Esplanade, Stasis and Home Club.
By early 2008, they shifted gears by releasing their first single 'Absolute Beginners' on their myspace (www.myspace.com/leesonsg). This was the first inkling of new material by the band and was praised as wonderfully poppy by fans and would-be passer-bys.
After more than four months, Leeson releases its latest single "Some Girls"
Already hailed by fans as 'swirling melodies and choppy rhythms with a life of their own' and having evident 'britpop jauntiness', Leeson sets itself apart from her counterparts by writing songs that will only seem to cast the warm sunshine on your carefree face. Yes, all is right with the world when you're bopping along to music like this.
Upcoming Gigs Leeson will be playing the very splendid Baybeats indie music festival! Catch us on te 29th August from 8pm at the brand new Nokia Arena! Join us and other stalwarts in local and indie music! (www.baybeats.com.sg for more details)
Going for reservist is like getting shingles. They are both 2nd stages of a dreaded disease (in the case of shingles, it's chicken pox). Nobody tells you that at the end of your Full Time National Service Liability, you still have to complete 3 low-key in camp trainings and 7 high-key in camp trainings.
i'm currently in the middle of a high key ICT, and i've just spent 6 days out in the field with no electricity, telecommunications, basic amenities or sanitation. the only thing i had to accompany me through idle moments were a book by Loren Cunningham and my journal.
i guess being away from modern life's creature comforts made me painfully aware about how dependent we are on today's modern conveniences.
not that there's anything wrong with clean, running water, or electricity at the flick of a switch or even a toilet that flushes. but we have set these as the standards of the basic necessities of life in an sprawling urban city or developing sector of town.
without them, we complain, jeer, start thinking about the better life.. i don't know, but life without modern convenience seemed like such a horrible scenario that i wondered how anyone could live without it.
but you know what? people do live like this everyday. i don't know if it's up to me to say if what they're experiencing is acceptable or not, but it did make me think of something else.
sometimes people worry if they'll even have the most basic of these necessities, but i worry so much more about privileges, rights and other luxuries, while others worry about tomorrow, i have long term financial concerns.
and also, not that we should any problem, regardless of social status, but i think we can all learn something from a lesson of the things that really matter, perhaps the things that could make our community a better place.
oh man, i know im not making much sense, but being away from so much has actually made me re-think and re-look a lot of the things i've currently been doing. it wasn't a life changing moment, but it was a welcome juncture in an otherwise on-going life that was losing direction.
Outfield was still tough though, i did not enjoy being unwashed, eating bland rations and not having any contact with the outside world for six days and nights.
was sitting at pool deck of my estate, and i was looking at this fly on the table. flying around from point A to point B, and i thought how cool it would be if us humans could be granted the same privilege.
but then it started walking, and it wouldn't travel very far. but we could, with our bipedal biological design, we were designed to walk vast and great distances.
and there was a purpose to everything, the way it was designed, to do certain things, and perhaps certain things alone.
Your sense of humor is off-the-cuff and kind of gross. Is it is also sinister, cynical, and vaguely threatening to the purer folks of this world. You probably get off on that. You would cut a greasy fart, then blame it on your mom, and then just shrug when someone pointed out that she's dead.
Yours is hands-down the most outrageous sense of humor; you like things trangressive and hardcore. It's highly likely (a) you have no limits (b) you have no scruples and (c) you have no job. Ironically, it's your type of humor that can make the biggest bucks in show business.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Howard Stern - Adam Sandler - Roseanne Barr
okay, so what makes a piece of content shareable? almost everyday, i reach out to influencers, but is my content influencing? or even spreadable?
marketers like to call ideas that spread, the viral effect. it's like a disease, and then it becomes an epidemic. scary init?
but it still doesn't address that magick that makes you wanna go tell someone else, or in this case, infect.
let's look at the disease analogy more closely. in fact, let's look at it imagining it to be a sexually transmited disease like say.. syphyllis. (or genital warts)
so you suddenly find yourself with gential warts, you have an itch that needs scratching, and you don't sign yourself into rehab, in fact, what you still want to do, is sleep around regardless of the consequence.
okay, i exaggerate, but what i want to drive at, is this desire to fulfil your own needs, and in the process, you spread your disease. (unknowingly perhaps?) and your infected victims unknowingly spread it to someone else.
see, the idea is not genital warts (no one would sleep with you if you had them. note: make sure your ideas are not genital warts), the idea is desire.
you're sharing the desireability of your idea, that could be:
1. making someone else laugh 2. helping someone solve a problem 3. making someone more money 4. lifehacking someone else's processes 5. making myself / someone else extremely popular
we all have an itch that needs scratching, and that's what makes us want to spread it.
Trivia: how many times i've said "genital warts" in this post - 5
so sue me if i'm borrowing nadnut's awesome star power to draw some more attention to my blog. but this was rather cute and i had to share it:
nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: actually i think most men are scared of me nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: weird brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: hahaha, srsly? nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: yeap nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: hahahaha, this is a potentially trapping question brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: if i say you're not.. you might think i dont give you enough credit brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: if i say you are.. then you might so im spineless and can't stand up for myself nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol this isnt a trapping question nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: im just wondering some men are scared of me nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: aside from squeezing manboobs, i think im rather harmless nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: even more harmless than your bananas
hevaens no! nadnut, you are absolutely adorable -)))
nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: but seriously, do i seem fierce brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: nono.. heaven's no brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: you're adorable nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: o.O nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: that's new nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: hahaha brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: i have a wide vocabulary brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: and i try to choose my words carefully nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: damnit nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: adorable is like cute = ugly but adorable nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: eck nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: AHA! brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: but in the equation brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: cute = ugly + adorable brian. firing solutions to the main batteries. says: adorable = cute - ugly nadnut™ [save some trees! have a blog!] says: lol
You see it everywhere these days, many mobile devices are moving toward touch interfaces, from the Apple iPhones, HTC Touches and Samsung (I can't remember).
Design-wise, i think this is a good thing. handheld devices and touch technology go hand-in-hand, because i think it's intuitive. check out this video of firefox mobile for the iPhone if you need any more evidence that touch is more than just a fancy marketing gimmick, but it changes the way you interact with your tools:
So imagine my eyes-widening when uniquefrequency and melvin invited me to their HP TouchSmart Blogger event. Now, this is interesting, i've always been organising Open Room events for bloggers, now it was a chance to finally be a blogger. And a tech event no less!
this is what we all came to see:
I hope I'll be honest and objective here. I do like the HP Touch Smart, i think HP have gone a long way to design a desktop that is intuitive to use, is a speaking point in any home or as a living room feature. this is a very sexy lifestyle product.
it runs on a special version of Windows Vista, so the aero interface goes very well with the physical black aesthetics, and it has the main entertainment features in play, coverflow for your music and videos, 22" HD screen to enjoy your digital photo albums, all at the touch of your fingertips. it literally causes you to rethink the way you approach a personal computer, especially when you're brought up using a mouse or keyboard. HP have included these peripherals, but i think if you want the true experience, you'd be touching. *ahem*
but i think beyond that, it's a regular PC with some touch technology (which in itself interesting, i learn there are cameras all over the screen that track the movement of your fingers - it aint pressure sensitive though.)
for something that looks like an apple imac (which starts at 24"), sustainable graphic cards, wireless mouse and keyboard, and in itself a space saver, yet offers enough power to edit videos and images without much hassle, the HP TouchSmart has found itself a worthy competitor.
But you can't touch an iMac, and i think that is enough of a unique proposition that might sway your decision. Could this be the first step toward new desktop based products that will be more intuitive to use, not just in terms of aesthetics and usability, but the backend programming that makes using such touch-focused products easier rather than more difficult?
as i maintain, i'm a big fan of the aesthetics, i'd get it if i had money to burn, but it ain't no desktop replacement. not at this point at least.
Apart from that, it was nice to see how other agencies approach blogger engagement. my personal experience was that I was well attended to, met up with old and new friends, and it was social, not some marketing babble schpwel. if any, it was kept to a bare minimum.
if I can refer any client executives to the way the HP reps conducted themselves in blogger-produced vodcasts, check this example out from the fine folks at the Geek Goddess Show:
intelligible, simple, clear and articulate. and use of visual aids! anything to help us understand your product or service better -)
of course the food was stellar, and the beer was *muackz*
i'll leave you now with some pictures because i'm too lazy to fit them contextually into this post:
Bloggers are not an unruly bunch! they listen to what you have to say!
"seems to me there's somethin' you don't know about men, an' that's we can't help this shit.
i mean, i dunno if it's genetic, or if it's to do with what we get taught, of if it's just 'cause it's expected of us -- but it's what we DO, ok?
'cause to help a girl when she's in trouble, or stop her gettin' into trouble, is just the right goddamned thing to do.." - jesse custer, preacher #17
it's just the right, goddamned thing to do.
i don't know why this post link here is bothering me so much, or i think it's more the comments from anonymous pass-bys that irks me more. link here
Before we go any deeper into this, please read these links to get some context to what's going on.
the girl's account a local tabloid's report asiaone's news story and countless other people who have spoken for and against this girl for either leading the guy on (accepting a $48,000 'gift'), putting herself in an awkward situation (sharing a bed together) and inviting trouble.
Yes. Yes. and Yes.
but still, what gives the guy ANY RIGHT to snuggle up next to her in the dead of the night, start stroking her back with his fingers, and when she was too terrified to do anything, whip out his big dick (it must be big if his brain was there and not in his cranium) and stroke it at her buttocks?
No seriously, what gives him the right to assume the stage has been set, the gift ($48,000 mind you) has been given, the circumstances were ideal (what? he thought she planned the 'one bed' dilemma?) when there is no clear sign of consent?
i'll admit, i think sex is a special enough act that you remain faithful to your partner to, even before you are married. but that's just me, and even for people who don't share the same view and are more versed in this act of sleeping with anyone they wish, isn't there some sort of 'teasing' or acknowledgment that they want to have sex with you?
i hardly think a dead log not making a noise to your stroking fingers is communication that screams out 'YES! TAKE ME NOW!'
i think i've made my point, who was clearly, more in the wrong for assuming too much.
the final thing that irks me, are all these anonymous people who leave comments behind saying that she had brought it upon herself, saying money had changed hands, justifying this course of action. well if it does, it clearly shows how you treat women, they're nothing more than things that can be bought.
women are humans just like us. i think it sorta shows what kind of person you are. the selfish type who looks out only for his/herself, or you respect your peers, regardless of where they come from, and their well-being is of concern to you.
it's funny how such anonymous commenter's can say such things, and although www.jean.sg has chosen to remain anonymous, at least she has a source blog and is contactable via email and willing to go public. how many of these other unverified commenters are willing to be spotlighted by public opinion, and actually broadcast what they really want they say and put it on record, while taking full responsibility for the words they use.
not many i can imagine.
big empty words. forever resigned to anonymity lacking any credibility.
my identity on this blog is public and transparent for a reason. i'm taking responsibility for anything and everything i say here, and i cannot speak for anyone but myself.
in closing, the blame that we heap on www.jean.sg will come full circle. if we are unwilling to give her quarter and benefit of the doubt for such a hideous action, when it happens to one of your loved ones, or to yourself and you are powerless to do anything about it, we have only wrought the hurt upon ourselves, because we allowed and justified such a thing to happen in the first place.
why am i speaking out about this? i'll share two of my favorite quotes, because it's pushed my buttons and these quotes belly my own principles as a man, and mortal.
'cause to help a girl when she's in trouble, or stop her gettin' into trouble, is just the right goddamned thing to do.." - jesse custer, preacher #17
once a man has seen, he can never turn his back on it. never pretend it doesn't exist. no matter who orders him to look the other way. we do not do this thing because it is permitted. we do it because we have to. we do it because we are compelled." - rorschach, watchmen issue vi
without much fanfare, production values and a brand new blackbook, i present brian morgan productions a first look at music you should be listening to and all the other cool DIY things you could be doing.
who we are: brian leery, bassist & inquisitive social media practitioner and morgan c. hoax, indie music guru, photographer & brains behind the skinny fists
why we started vodcasting: we're both recently mac-enabled. i wanted to show how easy it was to begin vodcasting. for content, we both love music a little too much, and we hope that through the use of video, we can share the cool things you ought to be listening to and what's out there in the world of music + intertubes
it's been awhile since i last stepped into my blog. it's scary, knowing that it's there and i should type in it ever so often. but really, sometimes i'm human and i don't really know what i want to say.
but oh well, we all have to grow up sometime right?
by now, some of the more active new media movers in Singapore have tried out the latest web application, Plurk.
what exactly is Plurk? well, if you aren't even using Twitter, this post might not make much sense to you.
Twitterers jumped onto Plurk when Twitter kept having outages that really made following conversations a hassle. While Twitter and me have not parted ways, i am sort of having a friend with benefits, if that is my relationship with Plurk.
So let me share step by step, what's working out for me and Plurk, before i add a wishlist of what would perhaps, make it even more plurking awesome.
1. Plurk iz pretty the timeline user-interface (UI) takes a bit of getting used to. but once you do, following conversations and taking part in them is insanely easy.
2. Plurk makes it easy to participate in conversations of interest see a post that you like? click on the drop down option, and plurk a response instantaneously! it reminds me of the way people post replies to threads on forums. in fact, it's like "threaded conversations" if i may quote @uniquefrequency or @yuhui. i cannot remember. in one of my more popular plurks i got 43 responses, although more than half came from @uniquefrequency and myself, it proved the ease in starting a conversation on any topic, and anyone can join in.
here's an example of that Plurk's permalink. the fantastic thing, is that you can now join in that conversation by just registering yourself and continuing that conversation!
3. RSS Feeds this was rather overlooked. or didn't appear in any of my current conversations. but i've started subscribing to various Plurkers on my GReader, if i see anything that interests me, i can click on that link in my RSS Reader that takes me straight to a Plurk's Permalink, and i can take part in the conversation without needing to go thru the hassle of checking my timelines.
it's a bit of a hassle, but this will help manage updates if and when Plurk becomes too busy for its own good.
you can also try subscribing to Plurk responses, but i think that's overkill.
[Note: you can only subscribe to public plurks, plurkers that are private will not produce a feed. My feed is in this link if you wanna follow me: link]
wishlist 1. SMS integration like Twitter. but that might not be necessary if WIFI becomes ubiquitous for mobile internet devices, or if you have a good 3G data plan. i hear good things about their mobile site.
2. convulated timeline will have to be addressed sooner or later.
3. easier UI to keep track of conversations that are happening. as someone suggested, plurks with responses should perhaps be aggregated to a sidebar for you to comment on. by doing so, this might render the RSS+GReader method unnecessary and require a shorter learning curve to using Plurk.
4. more 3rd party apps or blog widgets to make Plurk more integrated to a lifestream.
closing thoughts Plurk and Twitter are different animals. Plurk has made it great to start and follow up on conversations. but it doesn't have the ubiquity of Twitter that truly excels on an SMS platform. you probably won't see someone using Plurk to plurk a cry for help when he/she gets arrested in Egypt. SO don't throw away Twitter yet! Twitter might be quiet for awhile as more of us play with Plurk, but i think Twitter will be back with a vengence WHEN it sorts out its backend engineering.
if you'd like to see it for yourself, take part in the conversation and join my Plurk network here: link!
