It really isn’t a solution we thought of. A kind reader of Techmeme pointed out to us that Techmeme has a section dedicated to sponsored posts.

We believe that Ping.sg can create a similar platform for commercial blogs to reach out to its users.

Blogs that are commercial in nature could request to be on Ping.sg for a fee. Their entries will be distinguished from the other entries by having a different background color.

To ensure that Ping.sg does not get spammed with commercial entries, the agreement would be that the commercial blogs can only ping a certain number of entries per day. The agreement can further be extended to limit the number of entries per hour, per minute, per second.

To be fair to these sponsors, the blogs and their entries cannot be hidden by the users.

We believe that such a solution would help Ping.sg in the long run. To increase the value of being a commercial blog sponsoring Ping.sg, there should be a limit to the number of such blogs.

Also, a clear definition of what constitutes a commercial blog should be established. We at The New Socialite feel that some commercial blogs are already sneaking their way in.

We agree that Daphne might have been (a little) careless but we understood what she said. From our understanding, she wasn’t saying anything about an elite core group. However we understand how the words seemed that way. We could blame Daphne for not realizing the sensitivity of her role as the community manager.

Here is the question we have for all readers - when do you become a leader of a community? We aren’t sure but here at The New Socialite, we believe that DK is (was) a community leader over at Ping.sg.

We consider him a leader of the community because when he speaks, people listen. He has the ability to stoke the flames of readers’ emotions and rally them behind a cause.

He was given a platform and he could have spoke about how things could be better. He could have made things better. Instead we felt he just focused about how thing were bad and publicly expressed that he had given up on the community. From where we sit, it looked like he was inciting an exodus.

How easy love is lost in this age.

The irony is not lost on us (considering that we are a tabloid) when we wonder if DK could have exercised restraint before posting that blog post about Daphne’s post. He was in a position to address lots of issues behind the scenes.

Instead he clearing pointed out the line that Daphne questionably drew. He gave further form to something.

That’s the reason why we now have a crush on Cobalt Paladin. His comment below shows the kind of mettle we look for in a community leader.

Yet once everything was out there, DK should have been engaged more. We understand and appreciate his position - it always hurts to see something change from an original vision especially a vision we feel DK has contributed a lot to. This new age of Social Media we are so fond of highlighting is not just about speaking but also listening.

Banning him does not help the community in the long run. While we disagree regarding this issue, DK is a valuable community leader on Ping.sg and we have just lost him. Hopefully not for good.

I would also like to share my personal views about how I felt when I read Daphne’s entry regarding the “in” group. I do not wish to fight but just like to foster a constructive discussion regarding this matter. It is also not my wish to offend anyone. I apologise in advance if I had inadvertently done so in my following comment.

I’m sorry but that is really how I feel.

Based on a true story (and all the more terrifying because of it!), this made for cable movie begins as Michelle Brown (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) fills out an ordinary rental form. Looking on enviously is penniless Connie Volkos (Annabella Sciorra), who can’t understand why there are “haves” and “have-nots” in the world (but who has never put in the necessary work to become a “have”). When Michelle briefly lays down her credit card, it is stolen by Connie–who subsequently steals Michelle’s identity as well, toting up $50,000 in purchases in Michelle’s name. When Michelle tries to have Connie arrested, she finds herself at the mercy of the blind-deaf-dumb American credit system and is herself accused of theft! Desperate to win back her reputation (not to mention her own name!), Michelle pleads her cast before the US Senate in July of 2000, resulting–belatedly in her case–in the passage of bill HR 1731, with imposes stronger penalties for stealing one’s identity and puts in tighter safeguards against people being victimized by such thieves. Even so, the film underlines the sobering fact that what happened to Michelle happens to someone else at a rate of once every six minutes! Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story debuted November 1, 2004 on the Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

from here about the movie Identity Theft:

The Talented Mr Ripley
Single White Female
Identity Theft: The Michelle Brown Story

The winner is this gal named Arissa. She is the gold standard when it comes to being a socialite. She really seems to have everything.

Everyone else is a wannabe.

Firstly if you are so sure that your blog is better than those nominated, why was your blog not nominated?

Secondly if you think your blog is so much more deserving, then why not nominate yourself?

To the primer.

DO NOT CALL DISGRUNTLED PISSY BLOGGERS WHO DISS YOUR BLOG AS SOUR GRAPES.

Why?

Because these bloggers most probably want the recognition and awards too.

The meaning for the phrase ’sour grapes’ is the false denial of desire for something sought but not acquired; to denigrate and feign disdain for that which one could not attain.

So if a blogger disses you for being nominated, they are not being sour grapes unless they do not want the same recognition or awards which is not possible since they are spending so much effort to actually write a post dissing you.

However if a blogger says OMY’s awards are crap shit that they have no interest in, you may proceed to call them sour grapes.

If however, they say the blogger is crap shit and does not deserve the awards, then a phrase like ’sore loser’ is more appropriate.

The primer is completed. Flame away.

Here is why we dislike STOMP. It has increasingly become a place for self-righteous impotent people to vent their frustrations over their own helplessness by sullying the reputation of others. A lot of stomptards think that just by posting a picture of someone and words describing an incident, they have made the world a better place when all they have done is just used STOMP to score an ambiguous moral victory by justifying the petty grievances they have.

The first episode of the Blogger’s Sweets is here.

Notwithstanding what we think about the name, we do like this show. The always vivacious and enthusiastic Nadnut is a joy to watch. Jayden, her partner in crime, is a great co-host. Both these hosts are perfect foils for each other. Their chemistry needs no further distillation.

We especially heart the opening credits of the show. VERY PROFESSIONALLY DONE.

The guest blogger is super-duperchio.

We have been keeping track of the different video podcasts on food (i.e. Blogger’s Sweets, Small Girl Big Appetite, Lunch With Yebber)and have a few thoughts.

Why is it that only Small Girl Big Appetite by Podfire allows us to embed the videos?

We think this is worth considering. We are guessing that the team behind Lunch With Yebber and Blogger’s Sweets want us to go to their sites to watch the videos. In fact, for Lunch With Yebber, it seems that they are trying to get viewers to sign up before they can see past episodes. We know of a way to get pass that.

This is interesting from a business perspective because of the simple question - how to make money? Do you want to make money with the video podcast or make money around the video podcast? Forcing people to only be able to view videos on your site might help sell the ad space around the videos but it seems to us a mighty waste to reduce your video podcast as just another way to generate traffic and then sell the eyeballs.

Might developing a strategy to make money off the video podcasts itself work? If so, then part of that strategy would be to make sure your videos are easily distributable. Don’t just host your videos on Viddler. Put it everywhere!!! Like YouTube.

Yebber is an interesting case. We can see how the site is trying to use the video podcasts to promote their site’s community and reviews as well as get new members. However, we can’t help but think if the company is overextending by going into the content production business.

Originally, the company started out as a place to build a community passionate about sharing their opinions and aggregated those opinions. It was an aggregator and distributor of user-generated content.

Why move to the content production business? Why not also become a hub for video reviews while backing the top bloggers who are interesting in starting their own series of video podcasts?

One of the reasons cited for news companies allegedly dying in the States is that they are bloated. One of the solutions proposed was that the news companies separate their distribution and writing units. It seems interesting that one of our local success stories in this Web 2.0 phase seems to want to be more bloated.

Experienced entrepreneur Paddy Tan also dispenses sagely business advice to the different teams behind the Sweets.sg, Lunch With Yebber and Small Girl Big Appetite. Do read his valuable post.

Here is what happened. Her company has a certain service they are trying to get people to sign up for. They made it MANDATORY for each employee to contribute ten names to the sales department so that the representatives of that company can spam us with phonecalls to persuade us to try out their service.

Here is the kicker. The first time we are hearing of this service is when our friend sent us a SMS telling us how lucky we have been to be put on a list, without our permission much less, because she needed to with an apology for the potential inconvenience from the phonecalls.

We are sure this is the right way to do word-of-mouth marketing.

Yes. You read that right. The company created this program because someone up there thought that this would be an effective form of word-of-mouth marketing.

After all, friends influence each other and what other better way is there to get a service sold than getting all your employees to cough up the details of their friends who because being friends are most definitely going to be attracted to the service.

Don’t they know what the essence of word-of-mouth marketing is? Let’s give a few hints. It is about creating a work environment which is so freaking amazing that our friend enjoys her work there and feels respected and part of that is creating an environment where the friend does not feel compelled to peddle products and services to her friends just because she has to. She shares about how gloriously wonderful her company is and then we ask her what she does. Then she shares about what the company does and we start thinking that a company which treats the employees so well must definitely be one with great products and services which then leads us to try out the products and services.

This company fails. Fail. Fail. Fail.

What next? Asking your employees to spam their friends on Facebook about the company’s products and services?

This isn’t Social Media in use but we are putting this post under the category because we believe this is how a lot of people think Social Media should be used.

We are so freaking pissed!