Small steps for Social PR

Workers' Party "clarifies", People's Action Party is "misunderstood" - The war of words..

2012-01-21T12:22:00.000+08:00

Words used in communications frames the perception of the readers' reality. As such, words plays an important part in creating the right public relations between the subject and the reader. An example of this is highlighted in the choice of words used by our political parties in explaining mistakes or errors made in statement.

"WP clarifies Gerald Giam's remark in Parliament" shouts one of the headlines in The Straits Times today. This is reference to statement made by Mr Gerald Giam in Parliament recently on the debate on ministerial salary.

When PAP's Grace Fu tried to explain her Facebook status update on ministerial salary, the headlines shouts, "Public misunderstood my comments: Grace Fu".

Without going into dictionary definitions, one can clearly see how these two words "clarifies" and "misunderstood" immediately create a perception of how one frames the image of these two subject making that statement.

"Clarifies" creates the perception of "We made that statement and we have made a mistake in our explanation. Let us explain."

"Misunderstood" creates the perception of "We made that statement, but it you that do not understand what we wanted to say. Let us explain."

When one attend any marriage counselling or marriage preparation course, one of the most important lessons taught in communicating with your other half is not to start an argument or "nice" conversation with "You", instead to it with "I".

"You" creates the perception of one's index finger being pointed at you. A pointed index finger, according to body language experts is like an imaginary knife targeted at the recipient, thus is seen as a gesture of aggression.

When one starts a conversation with "I" or "We", it creates the perception of welcoming the recipient to your world so that the recipient can see the situation in the eyes of the speaker. "I" or "We" statements are often seen as a welcome gesture.

As such, when Workers' Party issue a release to clarify a statement, it is welcoming the readers to its environment to see how and why such a statement was made. "Clarify" is neither aggressive or defensive.

When the word "misunderstood" is made, it immediately creates an aggressive stand in putting the blame on the readers. When "attacked", the readers' instinct is to create a defensive wall to protect against such aggression, creating a war of words between the subject and the readers.

As Harold Bloom said "In fact, it is Shakespeare who gives us the map of the mind. It is Shakespeare who invents Freudian Psychology. Freud finds ways of translating it into supposedly analytical vocabulary (Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/vocabulary.html#ixzz1k3rGOOgy), words used the straw that tips a crisis in or against your favour.

PR trained MP Baey Yam Keng infected with foot-in-mouth disease

2012-01-20T00:19:00.000+08:00

'I believe people can accept that our political leaders should have the best medical care - either with increased coverage or even free of charge.

'We cannot choose when and whether to fall ill. It is in the interests of the country and Singaporeans that our prime minister and our ministers are given the necessary medical treatment and recover well and fast to continue serving the nation.'

~ MP Baey Yam Keng

It is very ironic that MP Baey Yam Keng, who is also the Managing Director of Hill & Knowlton (a MNC Public Relations agency), can make such 'high potential to be misunderstood" remark to the media to suggest that Singapore political leaders should get the best medical care for free so that can return to the serve the country earlier than sooner.

How about the rest of everyday Singaporeans? Shouldn't they also get the best medical care for free because they are the ones that keep Singapore moving? Are the average Singaporeans not important enough to Singapore to get the best medical care for free?

How about senior citizens? Didn't they give their best years to Singapore? Why are they not getting the best medical care for free? Are they less important than our political leaders?

How about that child suffering from a terminal disease? Shouldn't the child get the best medical care for free because the child is Singapore's future? Shouldn't the child be given the best medical care for free so the child can return to school so that the child can continue the dream of winning the Nobel Prize, sooner rather than later? What's make that child less important than our political leaders?

Shouldn't this child be given the best medical care for free so their parents can return to society faster to contribute to society? What makes the parents, average Singaporeans, less important than political leaders?

MP Baey Yam Keng's statement shows that our PAP MPs nowhere close from being the servant-leader that the PAP promise it made during the 2011 elections. Is MP Baey Yam Keng serving his leaders or serving his constituents, the average Singaporeans?

Charlie Brown Café Fan Club Benefits beats UOB credit card discount 115 - 18

2012-01-19T09:56:00.002+08:00

Charlie Brown Café was already giving discounts to UOB cardholders but management felt they were competing with hundreds of other restaurants that also offer discounts to UOB credit card holders. The café was also willing to give fans a bigger discount because of the word of mouth marketing to friends when fans check-in. As such, UOB cardholders could purchase two main dishes and get a third dish free, whereas fans could purchase one dish and get the second one free.

How does it work?

Customers visit Charlie Brown Café and see posters enticing them with the benefit to join the Fan Club. Customers scan a QR code or enter the given URL to like the page and register their mobile phone number. Customers then tell the cashier their mobile number and the cashier enters it into the Taggo POS application. Once identified as a fan, the cashier will give the customer their Fan Club benefits.

What were the results?

In one month of the campaign, 115 fans of Charlie Brown Café checked in to enjoy their fan discount. In comparison, the UOB credit card promotion only attracted 18 cardholders. Each fan check-in generated over 3,000 impressions among friends on Facebook. This high-rate of impressions could potentially have a high impact on brand awareness for Charlie Brown Café.

Stories Published¹	Story Impressions²	Story Clicks³	New Fans
115	366,149	32	305

(1) The number of stories that were published on the fan's wall from Taggo. A story is published when the cashier check-in the fan at the counter. (2) The number of times your stories were shown to the fan's friends on Facebook, either in their News Feed or on the right of the page as an ad. (3) The number of times friends clicked on a story.

About Taggo

Taggo brings fan recognition to the point of sale. Check-in with your mobile number, or credit, debit or loyalty card to "like" a place or event and get exclusive fan benefits. Fans get bigger discounts because a check-in is created on Facebook. The more friends that check-in, the more benefits you can get.

Patents pending.

Email: info(at)taggo.me

Fan Clubs for your Facebook Page - Reward your Facebook fans at physical venues

2012-01-18T12:31:00.000+08:00

Learn how easy it is for your fans to sign up for your brand's Fan Club, based on your Facebook Page, to reward your fans at physical venues. Like this bookshop, Libreria Cossavella, in Italy.

Retailers in Singapore offering fan club benefits include Rock and Ash Singapore, Sticky Singapore at The Central, Charlie Brown Cafe, etc. More will be launched after the Chinese New Year holidays. The process of fans registering for the fan club is similar to the video.

Taggo brings fan recognition to the point of sale. Check-in with your mobile number, or credit, debit or loyalty card to "like" a place or event and get exclusive fan benefits. Fans get bigger discounts because a check-in is created on Facebook. The more friends that check-in, the more benefits you can get.

Patents pending.

Email: info(at)taggo.me

Is Minute Maid in Singapore safe?

2012-01-16T21:32:00.002+08:00

Malaysia Health Authorities are monitoring orange concentrate, especially from Brazil, as residue of Carbendazim, a fungicide, has been detected in Minute Maid and Simply Orange juices.

However, there is no mention of this problem from Singapore Health Authorities. The Coca Cola Singapore media room is also void of any news.

Wrote The Star Online,

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has announced that it is monitoring orange juice concentrate imported from Brazil.
This is a precautionary measure after receiving information that residue of Carbendazim, a fungicide, has been detected in Minute Maid and Simply Orange juices.
“According to data from the Food Safety Information System of Malaysia (FoSIM), no oranges from Brazil have been imported into Malaysia since 2010. However, in that same amount of time, as much as 2,775 metric tons of orange juice concentrate has been imported from Brazil,” said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin in a statement yesterday.

No Minute Maid for my son from now on...

How Taggo works in Italian

2012-01-16T11:33:00.000+08:00

Taggo with our Italian partner introduced fan club to Libreria Cossavella, a book shop chain Italy.

Below is the Italian version of how Taggo works. We will be launching the English tomorrow.

Journalism via jokes - Is mrbrown a journalist?

2012-01-13T23:37:00.000+08:00

(Update: mrbrown replied that he did interview a MP, Mr Baey Yam Keng, Post-65 Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC. Then again, Mr Baey day job is to speak to the media.)

The first part of the title above came from Jeff Jarvis' latest post. This will definitely ruffle the feathers of the journalists in mainstream media in Singapore, but the points raised by Jeff resonates the same effect mrbrown has on wild west of social media in Singapore. So is mrbrown a journalist?

After Jeff attended a "live" recording of John Steward, Jeff was determined to start a course on journalism via jokes.

Wrote Jeff,

Jon Stewart regularly demurs when we journalists try to drag him into our sad fraternity. Well, bullshit. His interview tonight with Republican Sen. Jim DeMint was journalism at its best....
...He’s in favor of government when it adds value and security to citizens’ lives. He does his homework. He knows his facts...
...There’s a larger lesson here about jokes as journalism. So next, I urge you to listen to Ethan Zuckerman’s lecture on cute cats and revolution on the wonderful CBC series Ideas. Ethan talks about humor as a means to get around censorship. I listened to his talk a day after hearing Richard Gingras, now head of Google News, talking at a symposium on entrepreneurial journalism organized by Dan Gillmor at Arizona State about how difficult it is for algorithms to recognize humor...

So far, mrbrown has not interviewed any SG politicians, but it seems like this is more of the case of politicians here worried of being made fun of, or rather the fear of being misunderstood. However, most recently, the mrbrown shows have been about him being a member of parliament addressing his constituents on Youtube.

In the Youtube video below, mrbrown lampoons a Singapore Minister (that of the parliament kind) on the recent proposed cuts affecting ministers.

This video itself showed that mrbrown has "done his homework" and he "knows his fact". Most importantly, the most important message that mrbrown looks to tell the SG government is it doesn't matter you get a pay cut, Singaporeans is "in favor of government when it adds value and security to citizens’ lives".

By now, if you are a SG journalist in one of the mainstream media reading this, you have set your mind to the fact that mrbrown is no journalist because he isn't interviewing anybody and he doesn't work for The Straits Times or Today.

Yet, the video resonates the sentiment felt by many Singaporeans that the ministers' pay are still too high, or that these minister are too highly perched on the ivory tower.

To be fair, the media here are running articles to give both side of the coin, but the real questions seem never asked the media. These questions may end up censored to give a sunny view of acceptance by the people.

Just Malcome X said "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing", humour is the medicine we need to laugh at the people who are doing the oppressing.

The Ultimate Camera for Camwhoring

2012-01-13T13:12:00.001+08:00

Can your Friends help you Google better?

2012-01-10T23:44:00.003+08:00

Facebook is about connecting to your friends. Google's counter strategy for Google+ is that your friends can give you better search results.

Will this social network strategy work?

Aussie article on Smart Homes plagiarised in ZDNet Holland

2012-01-09T13:30:00.001+08:00

The editor for Australia site Build.com.au has found his article "5 technologies that will revolutionise our homes" plagiarised on ZDNet Holland.

Darcy Wilson, the editor for Build.com.au, updated on his Faceebook profile today that ZDNet Holland has ripped his entire article into Belgian.

Wrote Darcy,

Just had one of my articles plagiarised (in Belgian) by ZDNet. Classy work, they even linked directly to our images and stripped out the CC attribution.

Darcy's article can be found at http://www.build.com.au/blog/5-technologies-will-revolutionise-our-homes while the plagirarised version on ZDNet Holland is at http://www.zdnet.be/news/134836/vijf-technologieen-die-je-huis-revolutioneren/.

Forum members on ZDNet Holland has also called out the site for plagiarising http://forum.zdnet.be/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32997.

Thern Da screwed - NTUC withdraws seafood brand from shelves

2012-01-08T15:52:00.002+08:00

Thern Da Seafood recently enraged the Singapore Facebook community when the administrator posted a status updated targeted at the attempts made by local divers to save sharks from ending up on dinner tables. The tables, however, have turned against the seafood brand.

On November 17, the administrator for Thern Da Seafood posted an update to say "Screw the divers! Shark's fin & Mola Mola will be launched at NTUC Fairprice outlets during CNY 2012. Exact data for launching will be out soon".

This update did not sit well with the Singapore Facebook community who condemned the said brand for being insensitive to how sharks are being killed for their shark fin. Some even called for the boycott of NTUC Fairprice - Singapore's largest supermarket chain.

NTUC Fairprice has since responded to the posting and has ordered the removal of Thern Da Seafood products off their shelves.

Wrote Asiaone,

In another surprise move, FairPrice is also withdrawing from its shelves all products from one seafood supplier – Thern Da Seafood – after one of its employees made insensitive comments about divers who were against shark finning.

... many customers are upset by the insensitive post.

“We do not condone such insensitive remarks.”

Mr Seah explained that as a standing instruction, all FairPrice’s suppliers are required to clear their joint promotional materials and messages with the retailer before implementation.

Thern Da had not done so in this instance.

NTUC Fairprice has also announced that they will "no longer be extending new commitments for shark’s fin products".

Singapore Facebook Community 3 - Thern Da Seafood 0.

Challenger to end 24 hours operations at Funan

2012-01-06T23:17:00.002+08:00

Challenger took up the challenge in March 2011 to operate for 24 hours at Funan. Some described it as an alternative to Mustafa.

In an edm received today, Challenger @ Funan will return to normal hours operation on Jan 15, ending their 24 hours endeavour after 10 months.

Challenger @ Funan will operate from 10am to 10pm.

Now there is one less place for geeks to go to do their midnight shopping.. Wait, geeks do midnight shopping?

Asia's safest, Singapore's best hacked!

2012-01-05T21:13:00.000+08:00

Singapore's reputation for being the best in the financial sector has come under fire again with reports that unauthorised withdrawals were made from DBS and POSB account holders.

This comes in the heels of the story that eNets, an online payment provider, went offline for 11 hours because its domain was not renewed in time.

A Facebook user has scanned her POSB bank book to show show the unauthorised withdrawal of funds.

Image from Facebook

Wrote the Facebook User,

POSB Withdrawal Fraud!
Just came back from the bank to realise that my account has been hacked into. There has been 4 transactions made from overseas ATM machines with withdrawals up to $2000 over a 2 day period!! & my ATM card is here with me in my wallet!
The POSb branch Manager has confirmed that there has been more then one of such cases reported since yesterday!
& I have no internet banking nor paypal accounts!
Am pending the investigations now..
Please check your accounts or update your bankbook my dear friends!

Wrote Straits Times,

About $200,000 of unauthorised withdrawals have been made from DBS and POSB accounts, as DBS investigates what could be its largest case of fraud to date.
The bank said at 8pm that 200 customers have reported unauthorised withdrawals made from their ATM or debit cards, with the average amount withdrawn at about $1000 per account.

Update: NEA and Town Council $20/hr cleaning services still leave mess at Chinatown Food Center

2012-01-05T12:14:00.001+08:00

Despite agreeing to pay for $20/hr cleaning services at Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, photos have appeared showing the mess has piled up instead of being cleared.

Photo was taken at around early morning of 04 January 2011.

It is an eyesore to Singapore's clean and green tagline.

eNets loses 99.99% reliability score on 1st day of New Year

2012-01-05T09:08:00.002+08:00

Most IT vendor will tell you that they have up to 99.99% reliability. This means that for an entire year, the system will be down 0.01% of the time, or 52.44 mins for the entire year of 2012 as it is a leap year.

eNets, however, lost that 99.99% reliability score on the first day of 2012 along by being down for 11 hours. This means eNets has a reliability score of 99.87% for the year 2012.

eNets went down because the company forgot to renew the domain, eNets.sg, on time. eNets failure meant that many websites, especially those for government sites, were not able to pay with eNets online payment system.

mrbrown, a popular Singapore blogger, noted that eNets did renew their domain but only for one year.

Wrote mrbrown,

One year?! Are you guys planning to be around in the epayments business next year? Are domain names so expensive that you can only afford a one-year renewal (which you might forget to renew again)?
If an epayments company cannot keep track of a simple thing like a domain name, I shudder to trust them with the integrity of my online payments.

As more Singaporeans become more IT proficient, they depend on online payment systems, like eNets, to operate 24/7.

A online payment down because of expired domain can cause longer delays as ISP DNS servers in the world takes up to 24 hours to propagate.

Runaway cleaning contractor leaves NEA and Chinatown hawkers with new year mess

2012-01-03T18:10:00.000+08:00

2012 didn't start well for the National Environment Agency and the hawkers at the Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre.

According to tweeting hawker. Daniel Goh, hawkers at the popular Food Centre at Smith Street was told that the cleaning contractor, selected by the Hawkers' committee, has run away with the money paid to them. Cleaners employed by the contractor were also not paid by the contractor.

Most of the hawkers who attended the meeting, however, couldn't agree with the temporary cleaning arrangement as it is an add on to existing cost.

Temporary cleaning services asking for $20 per worker per hour? They're likely to make more than the hawkers then.
— Daniel Goh (@danielgoh) January 3, 2012

Unfortunately, at the end of the meeting, the hawkers reluctantly agreed to pay for the temporary cleaning services.

@longadin Because if tables are not cleaned and cleared, we'd be fined by NEA. We'd still end up paying.
— Daniel Goh (@danielgoh) January 3, 2012

How to get more data from your mobile data plan?

2012-01-01T15:54:00.000+08:00

I am on the 12GB monthly mobile data plan and I seldom get pass 4Gig per month. But if you are looking to get more data from your monthly usage, I found the Onavo app that lets you do just that.

The Onavo app is the mobile data tracker app which allows you to track the size of data that you use to visit a website or when you are using an app.

For iPhone users, it helps to compress your data so you utilise a smaller data size from your data plan.

From the session details above, it shows that the app helps to save data usage especially for apps and the web.

I was testing out the McDelivery SG app and the Onavo app was able to save up to 71% of data used. Maybe McDelivery should look their app to reduce data usuage.

The Onavo app doesn't save much on video/audio though.

This screenshot came with only 1 hour of usage so it would great to see how much savings can occur in a month.

Remember 2011 the Google way

2011-12-31T11:02:00.001+08:00

Siri tells kid in UK to "Shut the F*** up"

2011-12-30T23:23:00.001+08:00

This is the sort of prank you can play with Apple's Siri on the iPhone.

The Telegraph UK wrote

Charlie Le Quesne was trying out the iPhone 4S at a Tesco store in Coventry when it told him: "Shut the f*** up, you ugly t***.

The boy had been using the phone's Siri system – which answers spoken questions – and had asked it: "How many people are there in the world?

It seems someone used the ugly seven words as a name and that innocent question pop the name up.

Tesco has send the bad-mouthed iPhone back to Apple for to wash the mouth piece with a little soap.

Taggo Insights Report - Launch of Rock and Ash Fan Club

2011-12-29T13:01:00.000+08:00

For more information on setting up a fan club, please email aaron(at)taggo.me.

Rock and Ash was looking for a way to provide instant rewards for fans of their handmade burgers. They also wanted to increase their Facebook fan base from walk in customers. With Taggo, Rock and Ash was able to launch a fan club based on their existing Facebook Page within one hour and at minimum cost.

Poster informing customers/fan of benefits of joining Fan Club

How does it work?

Customers visit Rock and Ash Singapore at Marina Square Link and see posters enticing them with a 20% discount to join the Rock and Ash Fan Club. Customers scan a QR code or enter the given URL (http://taggo.me/RockandashSG) to like the page and register their mobile phone number.

Customers then tell the cashier their mobile number and the cashier enters it into the Taggo POS application. Once identified as a fan, the cashier will give the customer the 20% discount.

What were the results?

Rock and Ash new fans

Rock and Ash acquired 205 new fans in just one month of the launch of the fan club. In comparison, it took them six months to acquire this same number of new fans previously. Each check-in generated over 1, 600 advertising impressions among friends on Facebook. This high-rate of impressions could potentially have a high impact on brand awareness for Rock and Ash.

Stories Published¹	Story Impressions²	Story Clicks³	New Fans
259	422,629	71	205

Other Fan Clubs launched include Charlie Brown Cafe and Sticky Singapore.

For more information on setting up a fan club, please email aaron(at)taggo.me.

When a mynah bird sneezes, Singaporeans will catch more than a cold

2011-12-29T01:42:00.000+08:00

The recent news that neither the National Environment Agency (NEA) nor the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is responsible for the culling of mynah birds is quite a worrying sign in Singapore's preparedness for another possible and probable bird flu epidemic.

In Feb 2009, a dead Crested Myna found in Tung Ping Chau, Hong Kong, was confirmed to be H5N1 positive after a series of laboratory tests.

If mynah birds, in Singapore, were found to carry the bird flu or an even deadlier form of the H1N1 virus, are we to stay calm and wait for the official news release to inform the remaining surviving Singaporeans that a committee of inquiry will be set up to decide which department is responsible for the culling of the mynah birds?

Wrote Ng Puay Leng, Channel NewsAsia,

Crows come under the purview of the National Environment Agency (NEA) while the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) handles complaints of nuisance with pigeons.

But it gets a little complicated when it comes to mynahs.

Stall holders said the number of mynahs in their coffee shop has more than doubled in the past two years.

And when they approached the NEA and AVA, both agencies said they are not in charge of handling the birds.

Both the NEA and AVA confirmed this with Channel NewsAsia.

I am simply amazed that Ng Puay Leng did not ask the two authorities who will be in charge if the bird flu virus was found in the mynah birds patronising the coffee shops.

But if Singaporeans decided to take the culling of mynah birds into their own hands, the everythingalsocomplain.com blog has found that you are you’re legally exempted from penalty when you kill or trap the common mynah bird.

But I do caution you to take bio-hazardous approved equipment in handling the culled mynahs and not with your bare hands.

PUB and Liat Towers "ponding" over brown water

2011-12-28T12:10:00.001+08:00

(Update: In an article at Today, PUB highlighted that the rain on Dec 23 "caused some parts of Stamford Canal to be full" and "At Liat Towers, rainwater that drained off from the roof and the back area of the building overflowed into the basement area from an internal drain, as the water could not be discharged into the canal, which was full". Read article here.

The recent "ponding" at Liat Towers in Orchard Road has turned into a finger pointing match between the building's management and Public Utilities Board. However, a Facebook user spotted the colour of the "ponding" which immediately resolves all blame to one party.

Wrote The Straits Times,

A spokesman for the management of the shopping and office block, speaking to The Straits Times following a meeting with PUB, pinned the blame on an over-full Stamford Canal.

PUB, on the other hand, is adamant that the build-up of water came from the heavy rain and the building not pumping out the water fast enough.

A Facebook user, however, spotted that water is brown colour which could only mean one thing.

Wrote the Facebook user,

Just look at the pictures. It's muddy brown water. If it's ponding water, it shouldn't be brown. Means that water came from the drains. It's backflow from the flooded canals.

One has to wonder if the blame will now be on Starbucks for turning the "ponding" brown because of their coffee beans.

See picture of "ponding" at http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20111228/liattower-article-stomp.jpg

SMRT "advise" blogging train driver to stop commenting on SMRT matters

2011-12-27T13:35:00.001+08:00

A blogging MRT train driver, who have gone by the name of Gintai, has been given a letter "advise" by his employers, SMRT, to stop commenting on company matters.

Wrote http://gintai.wordpress.com/,

When I told my No: 1 at TNM Crew station that I started a blog some time ago, he asked me if I could make money out of it? What’s the point of wasting my time writing blog posts? I retorted that at least I would have left something behind if I were gone tomorrow whereas he would have left nothing without any legacy. He smirked and snickered at my remark.

Alas! HR got wind of it. In no uncertain terms, I was “advised” to refrain from commenting on company matters. A letter of “advice” will be issued to me. My hands are now tied. No more blogging on my job or SMRT related matters.

I do not wish to break my rice bowl.

I hope the above will clarify my status quo. Henceforth, I shall still continue with blogging but on other interests or subjects leaving out my job aspect to avoid infringing company’s policy and incur the wrath of those gods up there.

Gintai has been given insights into train operations. An example of his recent post at http://gintai.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/smrt-train-officer/ shared insights about being a SMRT train driver.

Gintai's blog also saw increased readership to the blog with the recent train breakdowns and a MP misquoted statement on language proficiency or rather the lack of it because of race.

SMRT's action in giving a letter of "advise" to Gintai would gather more backlash from the online community. Most of these netizens will soon start to clamour how SMRT's actions including limiting freedom of speech and expression of the Internet space.

Instead, SMRT should have taken this opportunity to work with this blogging community to reach out to the online community to spread information about the transport company. For example, they should have approach this driving blogger to find out drivers can be encouraged to take the initiative to help passengers during emergencies.

Thomas Friedman wrote in his recent column that in the age of social media "the role of the leader now is to get the best of what is coming up from below and then meld it with a vision from above". This is something SMRT should take into heavy consideration moving forward.

You won't get stuck in a queue for a Samsung phone, but...

2011-12-25T13:14:00.000+08:00

Samsung recently mocked those who were stuck in a long queue for the iPhones, but the last laugh is on Samsung Galaxy S phone and tab users.

It seems Samsung Galaxy S phone and tab users will be stuck with the 2.2 Gingerbread or 2.3 Froyo Android version for many years to come, even when Google is set to launch the Ice-Cream Sandwich version anytime soon.

Wrote Business Insider,

"Samsung won't be rolling out an update to Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's latest mobile operating system, for the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab tablet because the devices don't have enough memory to run both ICS and Samsung's custom TouchWiz skin."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-says-no-ice-cream-sandwich-upgrade-for-galaxy-s-and-galaxy-tab-owners-2011-12#ixzz1hWK5EJDx

Karma is a real bitch.

Advice to PAP MPs - Drop the Pink Elephants when apologising!

2011-12-25T12:41:00.000+08:00

The year 2011 seems to be the year of apologies for PAP Members of Parliament in Singapore. However, in the process of apologising and defending their fellow MPs, the PAP government created so many pink elephants that keeps reminding people of the mistake.

Take for example Minister Shanmugam's interview with the media yesterday where he defended Mr Seng Han Tong by saying that "Mr Seng Han Tong is not a racist".

The problem with the "not" is that it actually focus on the word "racist". This is an example of an unnecessary negative.

Even if the person reading this sentence in the papers live in the Stone Age with no access to the Internet, the person will wonder why Minister Shanmugam had to emphasis that Mr Seng Han Tong is not a racist.

Minister Shanmugam also gave The Online Citizen the limelight by highlighting the social-political blog for wrongly quoting Mr Seng Han Tong.

In the apology, both Mr Seng Han Tong and Minister Shanmugan should have gone a step further by highlighting how the Public Transport Council is taking steps to ensure that SMRT train drivers can take the initiative to help passengers without the fear of reprisal from upper management, or that all train drivers will be given paid time off to go for English conversation lessons.

You can get the book "Drop the Pink Elephants" from Amazon.