Sales, Social and Tech

It was meant as a cheeky tweet from Dutch airlines, KLM, but it ended up pissing almost the whole world. So what went? KLM tweeted "Aidos Amigos!" #NEDMEX" with reference to the lost by Mexico to Dutch. Sounds innocent, but the whole world found it be "racist". Wrote The Guardian , The Hollywood actor Gael García Bernal launched a foul-mouthed Twitter attack on KLM after the airline posted a tweet mocking Mexico and their defeat to Holland. The A-list star wrote: “I’m never flying your shitty airline again. F--- you big time,” after the Dutch airline posted a picture and an infographic of a sombrero, moustache and serape blanket under the heading “Adios Amigos!”. So why did KLM drew so much ire? 1. Be Humble In Victory and Gracious In Defeat  Most sportspeople would have learn that those who are humble in victory and gracious in defeat are the best sportspeople around. KLM, while trying to celebrate Dutch victory, sounded arrogant in bragging

(Update: I did try the app at Marina Square KFC. The counter didn't know what to do and had to look for the manager. The manager did know her stuff but was giving me the "why don't you pay with cash" look. Unlocking the smartphone, swiping the app and receiving payment probably took longer than paying with cash. When more start using Dash, merchant's concern would be if the payment process will lengthen the counter process. Coincidentally, a friend updated on Facebook that he tried using the Dash ap at Compass Point KFC, but neither the staff or manager were aware on how to accept Dash.) I downloaded the SingTel and Standard Chartered Bank app just after they announced it and I thought of reviewing it immediately.  Knowing how vendors have to work out the kinks of their apps, I decided to wait a few weeks before reviewing it. Now that it has been a few weeks, here are my thoughts. 1. Sign-up made easier The first time I saw the Dash app, the sign up button wasn

The Straits Times wrote of how the wife of the Indian cleaner, who was killed in an accident last year, squandered her $1 million dollars that came from insurance and donations in less than a year.  Some have criticized that Straits Times reported this story to remind Singaporeans that getting one's full CPF could lead one to spend all at once and leaving one broke from retirement till death.  I have to admit the CPF scheme is useful but the biggest problems are that the rules are too rigid and goalposts keep changing, that results in the people asking,"why?".  Like a broken recorder, the answer is always "it is for your retirement" and this has eroded the trust between the people and the current government. The story of the Indian lady is one I have heard many times duringy my six months in Koh Samui. Prior to being a tourist island, Koh Samui was more known to be the main exporter of coconuts. Thus, the inner land was considered more valuable than the land by

Took this shot using the ProCam2 app. It was only playing with the app that I found it allowed photos to be taken from iPhone at full 8MP in tiff. This allows me to take full advantage of the iPhone 5s.

The announcement that 1,200 SingPass were compromised and that quarter of them had their unauthorized password reset raised the question about cyber security. However, it seems from media reports that the blame is on end users. IDA should also take the responsiblity of the safety of our SingPass details. A FireEye spokesperson suggested that the breach was probably from a malware in a user's device and that it allowed the perpetrator to access 1,200 SingPass. This raises a strong probability that the communication between device and database server may be not as strong as thought. Furthermore, it could highlight that the database server is not as strongly encrypted as a full section was  accessed via a single malware. Media reports noted that IDA was receiving complains over the weekend from SingPass users receiving unauthorized password reset letters and CrimsonLogic only raised the matter with IDA on Monday evening. This resulted in the "hastily" arranged pres

Taxi drivers are the best thermometers to gauge the acceptance of new forms of monies, especially those cashless and digital forms. As such, my quote in The Straits Times today about the DASH app by Standard Chartered Bank and Singtel circled around my payment experience with taxi drivers. Credit cards, NETS and the EZ Link cards payments are currently the cashless payments acceptable in taxis yet they have not reach 10% of cash transacted each day. From this, it is quite easy to say that DASH will die a quick death, despite the big flashy launch. The main reason for this is that the benefits of cash still outweighs that of using digital payments like DASH. For the taxi driver, it is still better to have cash in hand. With that cash, the driver is able to use it to pay some of the immediate daily expenditure. Payment by non-cash medium means the taxi driver will have to wait a few days for the money to go to the driver will have to spend time to go to the bank to withdraw cash. For the

He may have his share of detractors but the supporters of Roy Ngern spoke with their money to help the blogger raised $70,000 for legal fees to defend himself from the upcoming defamation lawsuit by the PM of Singapore. From a social media and pro Internet user, Roy's success in crowdfunding his legal fees represent the true power of the long tail in the connected world. The long tail theory is often described the idea that if you can target the niche market online, the total market, which may be seen as small by the mass market, could actually be large enough to survive and profit from it.  Not that Roy will profit from it, but by collecting donations, with amounts ranging from $10 - $100 or more, from a niche market size of individuals who oppose the current leader of the ruling government part, is a perfect example of the long tail. The donation drive also highlighted that the perception of the defamation of the suit is not just against Roy, but the people who have donated to hi

I tried GrabTaxi to book a taxi from my place in the East to Changi Airport Terminal 1 but none of their taxi was available. One attempt was all it took on Comfort's App.  Of course I had to update this unexpected victory for Comfort on my social networks. However, it was GrabTaxi who replied to my tweet and acknowledged my subsequent feedback.  Comfort, shocked by their surprise win over GrabTaxi, remained silent. In today's social networked world, a simple acknowledgement online means a lot to the consumer. It is like a "thank you" of 0s and 1s. Though I may have not gotten a taxi via GrabTaxi, their Twitter gratitude will makes one to try them a few more times.