Sales, Social and Tech

(Update: BBO has replied saying that the decision to fire Lyn was because Lyn violated company policy of discussing clients on social networks and not influenced by SingTel. Read press release here .) A Facebook post is now being spread of how an agency staff complains about Singtel bad reception has lead to the sacking of one agency staff. Wrote Lyn Ng , I lost my job, thanks to SingTel. My friends will know that I have been making a lot of complaints on the SingTel Facebook page the past year. Over time, I have actually reduced my posts because I realised how futile it is. Yet, on one very busy work day, I received a call from my boss. She asked if I had posted on SingTel’s Facebook page before, and I said yes. Then she went on to say that I have listed the agency as my workplace and it is shown on my profile. I was surprised, because I don’t even recall updating my profile work location. I don’t bring work into Facebook, so that caught me off guard. Turns out she was r...

Students, past and present, have set up an online petition to show support for  Dr Cherian George, who was denied a tenure contract at the Nayang Technological University School of Mass Communication. It is being speculated that Dr Cherian George was denied the tenure because of his political views at  http://www.airconditionednation.com/. Wrote Nur Asyiqin , Cherian doesn't just teach - he motivates. Sharp, patient and entertaining, I've learned a lot from him during GO-FAR and FYP. He never secondguesses your ability, just encourages you, certain you can do better. That sort of faith is hard to find in professors these days. He believes in his students, and we believe in him too. #georgefortenure As of this blog post, the petition received 348 signatures. To support the petition, please share this link  http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/tenure-contract-for-dr-cherian-george

The Media Development Authority (MDA) Singapore for the past decade required local ISPs to insert Internet filters to prevent Singaporeans from surfing undesirable sites, mainly porn sites. A group of guys from  EDMW(‘Eat-Drink-Men-Women) forum at Hardwarezone.com created a simple Google Chrome extension that allows Singapore Internet Users to bypass these filters easily. Ironically, this extension is only activated when one hits upon the ISPs' web site which state that the site is being filtered as a value add service. Wrote e27.co . The guys at EDMW, which stands for ‘Eat-Drink-Men-Women’, a popular forum on Singapore’s Hardwarezone.com, spent their Chinese New Year holidays collecting red packets and creating a Chrome extension called  ‘Go Away MDA’ to bypass the filters set up to ban websites. All users have to do is install the extension linked on the website, log in and enable Incognito mode for the extension. The hobby project allows users to sur...

Singapore Telcos have been recently reported that they are looking to build their own apps to combat the loss of SMS revenue due to the popularity of messaging apps like WhatsApp, which offer free messaging via 3G connection. One of problems I predict that these telcos will encounter is that they would have to ensure interoperability and that their app becomes extremely popular. Would you use a Singtel, Starhub or even an M1 app if you could only message to only those on the network? Definitely not. My suggestion is for Telcos to look at enhancing the SMS experience by solving a simple problem which most smart phone users have today. We are on our laptop or desktop most of the time. One pet peeve that most of us have is the constant need to look at the phone when we hear notification sound alert of a new message or we look at the blinking LED lights on the smart phone. Even when we have no message, we still look at the phone to check if we receive one. I came across...

Alvin Lim, of Alvinology Blog, shared on his Facebook Page that Viven Lee, the sex blogger and partner with Alvin Tan Jye Yee , has trolled the SHINE Youth Festival, organised by the National Youth Council. The SHINE Youth Festival is described as "a platform for youths between the age of 15 and 35 to indulge in their passion. The initiative celebrates youths’ creativity and dynamism and encourages them to use SHINE Youth Festival as the stage to demonstrate their energy and grow their skills and talents."  Guess Vivian Lee decided literally that SHINE would be a great platform to launch her career in following the footsteps of Annabel Chong .  What is a Internet Troll  when you have Vivien? Read Alvinology's post here .

An estimated 3,000 attended the protest against the Population White Paper at Hong Lim Park on 16 February 2013. This was the largest non-political gathering since Singapore independence in 1965. This, itself, is a story worthy of the cover page. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post thought it was, but Singapore's Straits Times felt Girl Guides visiting Gardens by the Bay would be more deserving of the front page. Source: Occupy Singapore Facebook Page If The Straits Times, with the circulation of 300K plus, intent was to bury the news, 75% of Singapore's population having access to the Internet (Source: World Bank ), it would be difficult any of these 75% to avoid the stories and photos posted on social networks and news sites from overseas. One commented that The Straits Times had role to play in "Psychological Defense" and thus is defending the mind of Singaporeans. But doesn't too much of good news lead to complacency that all is well, when actua...

The recent Population White Paper generated massive online discussions and most tilted towards furor towards the speed of the Singapore Parliament accepting it within a week of debate. Many Singaporeans who have added their comments on the Population White Paper, whether it was through the online medium or letters to the press, would have felt that their voices were not heard. This has also shown that Singaporeans are ready to speak their mind and voice out their opinions to contribute to nation building, is it time for Singapore to look at ways to have the public's voice as part of the parliamentary process in accepting future White Papers? Tan Kin Lian, one of the candidates in the last Presidential Elections, shared how Sweden engaged its citizen in the discussions of their White Papers. Wrote Mr Tan on his Facebook Page , "My Swedish friend told me that a white paper in Sweden is handled in the following way: 1. They government sets the terms of refe...

A fire broke out at the Newton MRT on Wednesday, just as Singaporeans were reporting back to work. However, the online frenzy wasn't about the fire but about this Instagram photo below. (Image from NewNation Facebook Page ) In case of fire, what do you do? Take out your mobile camera, take an image and post it on Instagram or run for your life to the nearest exit. Many online said this Instagramer was silly to have done the later as the Instagramer valued photographing against her life. Let's give this Instagramer the benefit of doubt. Maybe the Instagramer judged that at the moment, while the smoke was getting thicker, there was no present danger which allowed this Instagramer to take the photo. Is it worth taking this photo? The answer would be best answered by the Instagramer, but to me, I would say yes it was worth it. A picture is worth a thousand words. If the mainstream media were to have reported this, without this photo, it would have been just another fir...

If you are travelling down the LDP highway in KL, you might come across this F&N billboard with a big QR code. I wonder why would the marcoms team would put a QR code on the billboard. Let's assume that a QR code can be scanned from one's mobile phone at such a distance. Is this QR code targeted at the drivers so that they will slow down, take out their mobile phone and try to scan the QR code on this extremely busy highway? I wonder how many traffic violations there are in the statement alone. Is the QR code targeted at the back sit passengers? By the time I saw this ad for the first time travelling on this highway, I took out my mobile and the car zipped past the billboard.  I was able to take the photo on the second journey down this highway because I anticiapted it. Or is the QR just there to show that the agency or company is just in with the times to put up a QR code to show off? If this was the goal, then it  made the agency or company look bad because this sho...

Blackbox Research Infographics on the issues that swayed the Punggol East voters in the recently by-election. While the survey hints of the "by-election" effect, there are also other factors which swayed the 10% swing vote for a Wokers' Party victory. Source: Yahoo.com 59% surveyed highlighted that having an Opposition MP in Parliament wasn't a disadvantage and it was found that out of this 59%, 73% were under 40.  This highlights the possibility of the "by-election" effect that the PAP attributed their lost to Workers' Party. 17% surveyed felt that the PAP government wasn't listening to them and out of this 21% were under 40. Those above 40 were more likely attribute "cost of living" as a reason for their voting choice. This is extremely significant as it shows clearly that the younger generation wants a government that listens to them and the older generation wants a solution to the current rising cost of inflation. I bel...

(Thanks to Daphne Maia for posting this on her Instagram which inspired this post.) So you are tasked to do a Facebook campaign with lots of advertising budget to buy media space. What do you do? Definitely not how Woh Hup Food does it. Source: From Daphne Maia Instagram. Woh Hup Food had the budget to print rail hangers and to hang it on MRT trains. This would cost such a substantial sum of money. Unfortunately, the mechanics of the campaign wasn't well thought through that it has lead to problems for both customers and, I believe, for Woh Hup Food marketing team too.  First of all, this Facebook campaign highlights the lack of understanding of Facebook and how Facebook works on mobile devices.  Running such a campaign runs a foul of Facebook guidelines on promotions. From Facebook . iii.    You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, ...

With the Chinese New Year around the corner and the Malaysia election approaching, Teresa Kok,  Malaysian Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party, has launched two Chinese New Year (CNY) videos to wish Malaysians a Happy CNY and approach the new year with a new attitude of "Dare to try, Dare to Change". Dare to Try - From Teresa Kok's Facebook Page . Dare to Change - From Teresa Kok's  Facebook Page . The two videos are filled with political innuendos to highlight to Malaysians why it is time to try and change for new "things" this coming Chinese New Year. Will these videos make an impact on the upcoming Malaysian elections?

I wanted to write more during the Punggol East by-elections but dengue slowed me down to being extremely unproductive.  Congratulations to the Workers' Party for winning the by-elections by a 10% margin, an opposition win which many thought would either be a close fight or one that Workers' Party was to lose because of the multi-cornered fight.  Yet, this story is on the post elections. Photo from h ttp://undertheangsanatree.blogspot.sg/2013/02/white-clouds-clearing-for-blue-skies.html vs Photo from Omy.sg Never mind that the Singapore mainstream media has made PAP candidate's Dr Koh Poh Koon a folder of gif animated jokes for waving to an almost empty audience No, this story is about the approach that the two political parties have taken to symbolise their status.  The topless bus symbolise the future that is Singapore. Yet, this future put an unimaginable distance between the leaders and its people. How close can you be with th...