Tock’s Asides:
Sponsored it may be, but it’s definitely beneficial for friends overseas. It’s time to call back home brothers and sisters, your parents want to know that you DO care =)
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to you and your family!

Okay so some of you may know that I’m part of yet another community effort called the ParamKL at paramkl.com.my, which is meant to be your friendly PAsar RAMadhan assistant, right?

Well it’s almost over and after looking at all the food post, I really, REALLY cannot wait for Hari Raya Aidilfitri where there’ll be loads of open house by my fellow Muslim friends, and especially waiting for my bridegroom here who I was a ‘pengapit’ for to have one big feast ready!

Myself the pengapit, Wan Mohd Firdaus and wife Amelia, finally Alia Ishak my fellow 'pengapit' too!

But apart from the big feasts, the guys at iTalk Whoa is bringing you GREAT news too- LONGER TALK TIME!

Call, SMS, Video Call Home during this Hari Raya Aidilfitri with Special iTalkWhoa.com Promotion!

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is around the corner and it will be one of the biggest festive seasons of the year. Many will “balik kampong” / go back hometown to get together with family and friends. Lucky for you, though, you can contact your family wherever you are! In conjunction with Ramadhan and Aidilfitri, starting from 1^st September 2010 until 31^st October 2010, enjoy 20% ADDITIONAL talktime automatically credited into your account if you activate/reload your iTalk cardfrom 1^st September 2010 until 31^st October 2010.

For those who have relatives overseas like my fellow friends in the UK and studying in my alma mater university, Imperial College London, these 20% additional talktime means 20% additional of usage in iTalkWhoa.com, which means you are now able to speak longer with the countless of relatives and friends back home!

So save more with iTalkWhoa.com. Remember it is the cheapest way to chat and video call your friends and family online either locally or even internationally!

Wait, that’s not just about it!

There is more from iTalk, TM online contents can now been purchase using iTalk. Please visit website below:

• HyppTunes (www.hypptunes.com.my)
• E-Browse (www.ebrowse.com.my)
• B-SmartXpress (www.bluehyppo.com)
• Gamezone (www.hyppgames.com.my)
• MUTV online (www.hypp.tv/manutd)

For more about iTalk Whoa, check my previous posts:

TalkWhoa is all about ease of use- get credits via online purchase
iTalkWhoa! Launch unites all under Borneo Rainforest
iTalkWhoa! – Got such thing meh?

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to my blog readers and twitter visitors!

Tock’s Asides:
You should really get the Wraith, usually at RM189 but during the Warehouse Sales it’s gonna go for RM100, definitely worth going early (to queue) for!

UPDATE –

My latest collection of Crocs now include the world’s lightest pair of sneakers…

Really comfortable, suited for sports and leisure- simply the best!

OFFICIALLY MY FAV PAIR OF CROCS EVEN OVER THE MELBOURNE FLIP!
(but then again, the Melbourne Flip works better for sandy beaches and in-house slippers <3)

Want to own a pair of Crocs priced at RM30- RM100 ONLY?

Here’s your chance, watch on (and please don’t mind my part- nervous la)

From this point onwards, an unbashful attempt at blatant extraction from Feeqsays‘ blog post (cos he did it so well!)

Chris Tock: We certainly love Crocs, scroll to the bottom to see what I got

Hari Raya is just around the corner.

Recently, our cute crocodile shop launch Crocs Fall Holiday 2010 Collection which is you can get a lot of new design and of course I can buy it for my Hari Raya.

For me, Crocs is not only for a casual wear but it also can match with any other outfit. I just bought Crocband Sneaker worth RM309 which is I use it for my GYM session at Celebrity Fitness. <– I did as well!

Get the crocs latest update at:
Facebook fan page
Twitter
Website

Some of the Crocs Fall Holiday 2010 Collection:

Men:
Crocband Sneaker (RM309)
Devario (RM249)

Men:
Santa Cruz Argyle (RM229)
Santa Cruz Classic Plaid (RM229)
Crocband Leather (189)

Women:
Kaela (RM169)
Mccall Big (RM129)

Women:
Lily Holiday (RM189)
Casey (RM239)
.
.
.

Tomorrow is the 1st day of Crocs Warehouse Sales.
It’s your chance to grab a new pair of Crocs for your Hari Raya.

Lookie here, especially you shoppers out there, there’s a MEGA SALE going on… at all Crocs™ stores around you! To locate nearest stores, go to www.crocs.com.my for the store locator, or you could always buy them online (but you will miss out on the Mega Sales ya)

Fantastic discounts no? Get a pair for the whole family!

Okay while the best bit has been shared, here’s WHY you should choose Crocs over rubber clogs *cough* or other shoewears!

Yes, not to be confused with rubber clogs you see in pasar malams et al,  the material boasts of technology not quite like any other!

For this month, I will share with you one of the latest design by Crocs, the Melbourne Flip!

Melbourne Flip... Love the grassy texture on the sides!

If you don’t consider it stylish I don’t know what is then! If you think Crocs is all about one design meant to last you years of comfort and toughness, fret not.

Yet another pair of Crocs but similar to original design

Truth is, Crocs isn’t just about ONE design of footwear. There are many contemporary designs around and YET still deliver the comfort and toughness as expected of all Crocs™ special material, the Croslite.

ANYWAY back to the Melbourne Flip…they also have up to three awesomely current colours to choose from: emerald green, sky blue or black!

Green, though it doesn't look it here

Navy Blue, and super sexy!

Pitch black, with black hairy sides!

Each of them costs RM189, and while it may be considered pricey for a pair of flip-flops, I cannot begin to describe the comfort of wearing these pair of Crocs anywhere you go- the beach, the coffee shops, walking down the streets, walking IN your house… it’ll naturally displace your current existing pair of flip flops, seriously.

In the end I thought the navy blue pair is just superbly sexy, so thank to the privilege of being an official Crocs™ blogger, I got myself a pair to show off

If you bump into me next, feel free to ask for a try- I’m nice enough like that haha. Just don’t envy my hairy pair of Melbourne Flips and steal them okay?

Can't get enough of Crocs?

As if it isn’t enough, buy your Crocs using a Citibank credit card along with the Mega Sales offer and you’ll get a FREE Crocs bag!

Speaking of which, here are the winners to the previous contest hosted here at Spinzer.uS!

Congratulations Jacquelyn (winning entry: http://spinzer.us/2010/08/social-media-crocs/#comment-6247)

Congratulations jayleo (winning entry: http://spinzer.us/2010/08/social-media-crocs/#comment-6268)

Congratulations Joshualaw (winning entry: http://spinzer.us/2010/08/social-media-crocs/#comment-6270)

Congratulations JoyceW (winning entry: http://spinzer.us/2010/08/social-media-crocs/#comment-6274)

I will e-mail all four of you to deliver your Crocs shoebag worth RM89 each

As for the rest, do follow Crocs Malaysia on both Twitter and Facebook, also do visit their website at http://www.crocs.com.my/ for more contests such as these

Ps i heard that MissyCheerio getting the McCall design
Also heard that FeeqSays getting the Crocband Flip design
Then heard that Rebecca Saw getting the Lady design
Finally, Marcky getting the Quicktrail design

Don’t know how true it is but do check out their blogs!

It was an amazing morning that day, in fact, one of the few morning I enjoyed waking up to, as I drove myself to Souled Out, Hartamas eager to test drive Honda‘s latest car, dubbed the Freed. Of course I was just as excited meeting Paul Tan again of PaulTan.org fame, the automotive blogger, a friend of mine I rarely get to meet! Yes, it was going to be a really awesome day indeed!

Yeap, it was thanks to Advertlets this time for the opportunity. Looks like its looking to be a real competitor to Nuffnang!

As you all know I own a Honda CRV and I’ve always admired their cars. If I have to put them into 3 words, I’d say the cars emphasizes on comfort, safety and stability! So it’s when I heard that the Freed was their all new model to come to town, I thought to myself, HEY, that’s an MPV model that I wouldn’t mind getting ONLY if the price is right, of course!

The Freed is an MPV, though take note that it's not a full-sized one. Still comfortable, nevertheless

After we were served breakfast and briefed by the host of Driven – a Malaysian-based motoring TV program – Harvinder Singh, on how to review a car as we drive it all the way to Putrajaya’s Lakeside and back,  we couldn’t even resist getting straight into the car and formed our team of 4.

Our team consists of 3 heavy weight adults and 1 lovely woman, quite a challenge really!

Our group – Number 8, the last car of the entourage – consisted of Wilson from PlacesAndFoods.com, Khairul the Lawyer of kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com, the beautiful Esther of YourEsty.com and yours truly. During the journey we were told to:

1. Take photographs of the features of the car

2. Use the Polaroid to capture moments we want remembered – THIS WAS NEAT!! We had so much fun

3. Take note of the handling, the jerks, the stability, the feel and the comfort while driving and also as a passenger.

On a side note, take a look at the picture above: yeap, the gearbox is located on the bottom dashboard and not as part of the steering wheel nor at the bottom. Coupled with the driver’s armrest, it becomes so easy to rest your hands upon it. Thumbs up!

I know this is nothing but sometimes most cars forget the most basic useful functionalities, like this hook here

I was a passenger for most of the journey and only drove till the end. So while I was seated, I felt the seats were comfortable as with any Honda cars you’ve seen. One thing to note as well is that you have an empty space in between seats so that you can go from front to back without having to get out of the car!

Also noted was the use of petrol from Mont Kiara to our first stop in between there and Putrajaya – it came up to only 8.5km per litre for a 80kmh journey.

The car at side view, see how wide the open door spaces are!

After being seated for about 20 minutes, these are what I noted:

1. Driving through pot holes aren’t as jerky as other MPV cars I’ve used (can’t really compare with sedans can we?)

2. Cornering was solidly stable at decent speeds, while response was firm and quick (as a passenger)

3. Picking up at a slope with 3 heavyweight adults and one slim pretty girl (LOL) was amazingly powerful, even with the 1.5 litre engine :/

View from the back. Oh, yes, those doors are automated!

One of the only problems I encountered during the journey was the temperature of the car from the back. At first we had the air con set to the minimum to conserve petrol, but then we realised that there was no air slots at the back. We did enquire this to one of the Honda representatives and they said  that since it wasn’t a medium or full-sized MPV, that was not really needed. If we wanted to, they added, we can turn on the feet blower which DOES reach the back. In the end, it wasn’t really bad la, especially when we blasted it away after not being able to take it haha!

Looking good eh! Take note at the side mirror being placed nearer to driver's seat

The shape I guess is a little different from most MPVs especially at the front. We found out later that the safety ratingfor this car is 6 stars, with the front of the car being able to reduce the energy of collision should an accident happen. This really saves lives of others who may be involved even without their own doing ie carelessness of other drivers. Kudos to that Honda, safety first!

Blinkers on the large side mirrors

We soon arrived safely at Putrajaya, all 8 Honda Freed cars in a large convoy. It was really fun, especially with us communicating via walkie-talkies and even encountered the BMW convoys while on the way. Thrilling and exciting, I might add

Oh and during the journey I was tweeting live (follow me at @spinzer for more such updated!) and somebody did ask me to check the decibel measurements to show how silent the car is at idle, at 80km/h and at  110km/h. I have the results here with me:

Idle: 40dcb
80 km/h: 50dcb
110km/h: 70dcb

I guess that’s good enough eh, cause that’s Honda engine for you.

Harvinder Singh telling us to basically camwhore with anything and everything!

Finally we got to rest a little and allow our cameras to go lose. Some did some crazy stuff while others went and tested the Freed’s great turning capabilities!

Eric Yong wanted to take a picture of how the automated door senses blockage and immediately opens again without causing injuries

While I could have showed you awesome pictures in this blog, I’d rather invite you to visit my other fellow test drivers’ blog to view theirs. It’s awesome really!

Advertlets’ – http://www.advertlets.com/weblog/2010/08/02/389/
Paul Tan’s – http://paultan.org/2010/04/22/honda-freed-premium-compact-mpv-launched-rm112980/
Missy Cheerio’s – http://www.missycheerio.com/day-out-with-the-new-honda-freed/

And more to come!

The Honda Freed's backside... Nice to be free, eh?

Paul and Missy Cheerio! (I didn't put mine cause we looked so bad in my photo )

An inside look under the hood

Our group photo at Putrajaya, Lakeside!

Honda Freed car specifications. Which you all need to know.

4 Seater + Style
- Automatic Dual Sliding Doors with Remote Control for easy access
- Forward Tilting Hinge Front Door to avoid accidental knocks
- Easy Access and Low Tail Gate Opening for easy loading and easy access
- One Step Low Floor with Grip Assist for elderly and handicapped easy access

4 Seater + Technology
- High Rigidity Structure for better handling and stability on the road
- Suspension System with front McPherson Strut & rear H-Shape Torsion Beam
- Small Turning Radius of 5.2m
- Active Lock-Up System
- 5 speed AT and Drive by Wire

4 Seater + Space
- Walkthrough Cabin with a 200mm walkway for easy access
- Big Cargo Capacity
- 3rd Row Foldable Seats that folds up in 3 steps easily
- Flat Roof and Flat Floor creates more head room and cabin space

4 Seater + Observation
- Tilt Steering for different driver’s needs
- Multi Layer Meter Cluster display all necessary information
- Double DIN Stereo System with radio, MP3, CD Player + USB and AUX for iPod and other digital media players
- Foot Parking Brake

4 Seater + Safety
- JNCAP (Japan New Car Assessment Program) Rating at the highest of 6 Stars
- Dual Front SRS Airbags
- ABS: Anti-lock Braking System
- EBD: Electronic Brakeforce Distribution
- BA: Brake Assist
- Fuel Lid Auto Lock Safety System prevents the sliding door from opening fully when the fuel lid is open
- Shift Hold Control + Grade Logic Control
- G-Force Control (G-CON) Technology

4 Seater + Utilities
- Backrest Hook
- Glove Box
- Glove Box Card Holder
- Front Seat Back Pocket
- Illuminated Centre Tray
- Large Door Pockets
- Cup Holders – Total of 7!

4 Seater + Accessories (Optional Items)
- Tail Gate Spoiler
- Fog Lights
- Door Visors
- Cargo Tray
- Child Seat
- GPS Navigation

For more information, visit Honda Malaysia at http://www.honda.com.my or visit their Honda Freed site at http://www.honda.com.my/freed/overview/

Our final group picture with the Honda team - Made possible thanks to Honda Malaysia and Advertlets

So what do you think of the Honda Freed “premium compact MPV” after all that? They were my honest views on it, and while I do not profess to be a professional car reviewer, at least I can say as a lifestyle guy, the MPV is a practical approach especially if I have a family with me, especially with the price tag on it. What is it you ask?

RM112,980

That’s right.

This should summarize it all

Thanks for reading my first ever car review. Do ask me any further questions in the comments below

Now we all know that all companies try their best to find the most effective way to communicate with their existing and prospective buyers, and I’m sure that the vice-versa is true as well; most people do want to find out more information about their favourite brand without having to face spammy stuff which can get pretty annoying. Who’s with me here?

The official Crocs Bloggers!

Crocs Malaysia, my preferred footwear for all occasions and also whom I am an official blogger for (the earlier first, latter second :p) is constantly trying to find an answer to that too. I thought it might be great that we source the answers from friends and family then, at least we will be able to identify two things at the end of the day:

1. If Crocs Malaysia were to send out a communiqué (for example, like a loyalty programme thingie) which method would you prefer: Facebook, Website, Direct e-mailing, SMS or Twitter? (notice I left out non-social media methods like TV ads and door to door flyers- they are out of fashion imho!)

2. If YOU were interested in a brand, SAY LA, Crocs (which I know a lot of you do ) and want to find out more about it, say by giving YOUR contact information out, which would you be most comfortable to give out from the list above? I know it’s definitely not your address, like I said, we all don’t like spam do we?

At the end of the day, it’s about finding the right balance between the way how Crocs Malaysia sends out the information (of course they do as they have monthly promotions plus announcements of clearance sales!) and the way how YOU would best receive it- and it all boils down to a method of communication we can all compromise with

Added to that, the best few replies to question 1 and 2 will receive an exclusive premium by Crocs worth RM89 each- a super handy shoe bag! If you haven’t won any from previous contests in my fellow official Crocs blogger’s site,  then try your luck here- trust me it’s way easier since I’ve probably the least visitors among all of them

By the way, do follow Crocs Malaysia on both Twitter and Facebook, also do visit their website at http://www.crocs.com.my/ to find out existing communications method.

So give me your answers to points 1 and 2, now!

Related links (all of them contain great blog posts, not to be missed!):
Crocs Calls – MissyCheerio
All about Crocs – FeeqSays
What would you like to hear and see from Crocs in terms of Product, Promotions and Events?? – Rebecca Saw
Crocs Trailbreak: Not Entirely Pretty But Kicks Ass – Marcky

Once in a while I’d need to chill down after a hectic season or two, and most of the time I’d love hanging out with this bunch of people whom I love very much, especially Ren (who’s in the UK btw!) who hosted a little housewarming party for us

Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that there were girls in bikini in the pool la. no no not at all lol!

Wenpink was there too, who’s now an air stewardess okay! Don’t pray pray

Guys, this is Ren. Flanked by two hot babes. Yeh, that’ the pimp daddy yo!

I said it once, I’ll say it again: REN IS DA PIMP DADDYYYYY!!

Of course his Royal Shortness aka David Cheong was here too, showing off his big tool. I kid you not.

Wah.

Ren took a dive in the swimming pool, and soon after…

Sherry followed suit. What, related mah these pictures. You think I randomly put one meh?!

The tall gang came. Damn tall they all. Damn kao kao lo.

Steph wuz here too!

And the fatty too. Oops.

We had lots of fun esp when Jessica came too. Thought I should share this moment again, though it’s been quite a long time edi )

Ren, can we have another one pretty please????

This is plea for help by Madeleine Kuan.

Her house in Cheras was broken into by thieves on Monday 5 July 2010. They have taken some valuables like laptop, Nintendo DS console and MOST IMPORTANTLY, puppy Tiffy. She is devastated and trying all means to look for her. They might sell her to pet shops for money, so please keep a look out for her and contact me or her at her twitter account should you see or hear of someone selling or buying a puppy that fits puppy Tiffy’s description:

• 4 month old light brown
• female chihuhua-pinscher mix
• She answers to the name Tiffy
• Special trait: black tail and incredibly oversized ears.

PLEASE HELP SHARE THIS POST  TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!

More pics:

Owner: Madeleine Kuan

H/P: +6016 – 6603 937

Recently Crocs Malaysia participated in the Social Media Club KL event to show their case studies which includes informing the social media world about us bloggers being official ambassadors, w00t! Kinda exciting to see their plans for social media, along with 4 other promiment brands such as P1, Canon, BFM and MyEG (of which I haven’t told you my AWESOME experience with them yet!)

The pointers made were exciting, and here’s the gist of it with a little bit of Bytebot‘s summary and my comments:

They invest heavily in Facebook – they have the regular Crocs Malaysia page, as well as a Crocs Ideas page (Crocsideas.force.my). They have over 14,652 fans that like their page. Content is largely what’s coming out in the stores, and what’s to become available before it hits the stores. It is a tool to reach out to all Crocs fans on what to expect, somewhat like a sneak peek which I see it’s a benefit to all fans out there.

There’s some Twitter engagement (@crocsmalaysia), but it does not seem as popular as Facebook (other speakers had similar comments). Its usage being similar to Crocs Facebook fanpage- to inform fans on Crocs related promos & products and to also have a 2 way conversation between the brand and the consumer to further understand what consumers want and expect from the brand. Simply put, it is an avenue for Crocs to “listen” to customer’s feedbacks as it is a key assessment in terms of marketing.

They’re doing blogger engagement. For the year 2010, they’ve picked five:FeeqSays, Rebecca Saw, Marcky.my, MissyCheerio, and Christopher Tock. These bloggers are known as their “official bloggers”.

While the arrangement isn’t made clear with the official bloggers, it is made clear that the official bloggers get free Crocs, in exchange for writing about how Crocs have influence on the daily life of the blogger. Bloggers are basically selling stories, pushing experiences, where their Crocs get involved. I don’t know if there’s a minimum post count/amount of engagement required, or its something you do in passing (which is why I said the arrangement isn’t clear). I do however think that with the proper metrics, story telling and sharing experiences, totally rocks.

To engage with their readers, these official bloggers also get to run competitions on a weekly basis, and the rewards are free Crocs and premiums for winners. Good, it gets more Crocs out there, especially to the non-believers

The only one issue that happened to have sparked the audience interest was when Crocs was asked how the official bloggers were chosen- to which I know for a fact that they were great reasons for each of them, including mua, as explained during the Crocs official launching of site event!

The simple point of it all is that Crocs wants to reach out to all segment of market (undeniably race is one of the main key points in segmentizing demographics in Marketing 101 and many marketers in Malaysia would agree with this as seen in Bytebot’s blog comments), and their strategy was to find out how to tackle the issue at hand, hence having Feeq as a representative of the Malay blogger community! And she wasn’t wrong about it: since then, Feeq has done a lot of outstanding projects to help with it, for example, creating a video of responses between fake and original crocs at his university (recommended to watch!)

Selling fake crocs is a serious offence, the guys at Kakibranded was forced to put this up at their site for a year. Say NO to fake stuff!

All in all I think this goes to show that however hard it is to admit, we still need to have race baced marketing strategies because of our multicultural country. Doesn’t it make it more unique, and challenging, compared to other countries? Yes it does, and to be honest, it’s not much of an issue to start with at least among marketeers. In the end I suppose it’s the wrong choice of words that sparked it all…

In the end everyone was here to get the Swarm Badge on FourSquare, innit!?

Apart from that, though, the event I thought was a great success! SMCKL events happened every month, so feel free to join in, and as for Crocs Malaysia, I’m very excited to find out what’ in store for us for the next 6 months. Of which, we’ll definitely have something for you by the end of this month, so stay tuned