After attending a staff seminar this evening, I walked along Boat Quay area and came across this unusual phenomenon at the base of OCBC building.
I liked the way the mirror image of the skyscrapers were captured in this dark pool. As I walked along, I gingerly strode on these granite planks…
As a regular commuter on public buses and a marketer, I tend to notice the many different ways in which companies advertise their products and services. Increasingly, more and more purveyors of outdoor and out-of-home media are selling advertising spaces in practically every which way you turn.
Including beside the handles of buses, as you can see in the shot I took above. This ad is by AXS, and it offered to reward a subscriber every week with $10,000 of cold hard cash in return for using their services. Ordinarily I would only think about AXS when I have to pay a parking fine or my household bills, none of which are particularly pleasurable affairs.
Will this ad work? Well, it was literally right in my face that day. In terms of visuals and copy, this is probably as hard sell as it gets.
Personally, I thought that it was a little dangerous. Folks (especially the elderly) who needed to reach for the handles may end up pulling down one of these instead (and crash down to the floor). Hardly a way to build consumer goodwill, even if you have a chance to win $10,000.
Are you an avid photoblogger? Have an interest in Singapore’s unique and fascinating heritage? Why not satisfy both passions and have a chance to bring home a brand new Nikon camera!
Take part in NHB’s first photoblogging contest and participate in Explore Singapore! Simply follow these easy steps:
1) Attend an Explore Singapore! event. Take lots of pictures.
2) Blog about it on your blog (remember to post the pictures!)
3) Visit the Explore Singapore! Heritage In Pictures webpage. Register your blog post URL there.
4) If approved, your blog post will be posted on the contest listings page.
5) Check back regularly to see if your entry is up. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.
6) Get your friends to check out your entry by putting this Brag Badge on your blog.
Celebrity photographer Dominic Khoo of www.whatisthesight.com will select the winners, who will receive an exclusive National Heritage Board winners’ certificate to be placed on their blogs.
Registration is open from 10 November 2007 to 31 December 2007 so hurry! Oh and do tell all your friends about it too.
Spotted this comic book at Times the Bookshop in Funan quite recently. This isn’t just any run-of-the-mill graphic novel revolving around the oh so popular Warcraft franchise. Instead, it actually helps to build and develop your vocabulary, with an array of important words and phrases all targeted at those taking their SAT/ ACT exams.
In other words, reading comic books can now help you prepare for university!
Published by Kaplan, Inc, a specialist in education, the books contained some heavyweight words like “sanctimonious” and “exculpate”. According to Bloomberg, this publication is part of the effort to get more US High School students to brush up on their reading skills.
Now this is what I call a Purple Cow – an edutainment product with a difference which scores in more ways than one.
Courtesy of ChurchoftheCustomer.com
Got tipped off about this from Ian McKee at a recent lunch talk, and also found it on one of my favourite marketing blogs Church of the Customer. Apparently, a new study by Nielsen has revealed that Word Of Mouth (WOM) is yet again the number one motivating factor behind customer purchases. This isn’t surprising considering that most of us would much rather trust a friend or family member than an oh-so-slick and smooth advertisement.
What’s especially interesting is this chart below:
Melvin, Preetam, Ian and I shared our views yesterday afternoon on a panel speaking session on business blogging recently by the Institute of Public Relations Singapore (IPRS). After some time away from social media gatherings, it was quite refreshing to share my thoughts and experiences in corporate blogging once again. The lunch talk was held at Geek Terminal, which seem to be the de facto venue for all things 2.0-ish.
The session got off pretty well and I enjoyed the animated exchanges between the panellists and the floor. Some of the key lessons which I shared were as follows:
In this last of my series of posts on Melbourne, we ventured into the forested highlands of the Blue Dandenongs, which is located close to the picturesque Yarra Valley wine areas. Breathtaking scenery awaited us at practically every corner which we turned. This, coupled with the pure and invigorating mountain air, made the drive to the hilly region totally worth it.
There is something about trees, mountains, rivers and wide open spaces which attracts me. Living in a space-constrained environment here in sunny Singapore, we relish the opportunity to run wild and free across acres and acres of lush countryside. I certainly made a mental note that this will not be the last time in which we will visit Australia.
Our first stop was at the Mount Dandenong Arboretum. An arboretum is a botanical garden containing primarily woody plants and trees.
Giant Ferris Wheel and Melbourne Skyline from Yarra River
After my week-long hiatus, I have decided to pick up the pen (or keyboard) once again and to start blogging. Let me continue from where I last left off on our Melbourne trip. This time, our photographic adventures centre around the scenic and lovely Yarra River.
Just a short walk from our hotel, the Yarra River is a scenic spot for sporting fun and social activity in Melbourne. The Yarra River was very important to Aboriginal people, and its name is thought to derive from Aboriginal words meaning “ever flowing”. To us, it offered a nice respite from the buzz of the city like Melbourne’s many parks, and has some of the most splendid views of the city. In fact, it is one of the favourite spots of avid photographers hoping to catch a representative shot of the city.
Yes, I am finally back from my blogging hiatus over the past 2 weeks or so. Thanks for your well-wishes and continued encouragement.
One of the reasons why I could bounce back to my feet is the result of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments which helped restore my health. You will be surprised at the efficacy of TCM herbal remedies which date back thousands of years. Unlike Western medication which tend to treat the symptoms, TCM looks at treating both the symptoms and the cause of ill health. It embraces a holistic approach and philosophy encompassing lifestyle changes, diet, and stress management in order to achieve true healing.
Of course, TCM isn’t that cheap compared to visiting your regular GP. A typical session complete with medication may cost anything from $60 to $100 or more. Plus, they can’t issue Medical Certificates (MCs). You also have to wait for a long time and make appointments to visit popular “sinsehs”, and this includes hunting them down in obscure corners of the island!
Often, traditional remedies can do a lot more to fortify one’s well being than the synthetic drugs and high potency antibiotics favoured in modern medicine. However, they do take a longer period of healing compared to the “wham, bam” approach favoured by state-of-the-art pharmaceuticals.
Of course, not everything can be healed through traditional approaches. For serious illnesses and emergencies, one should definitely consult a specialist or even make an appointment at the A&E units of hospitals. However, do consider them next time if you have a long-suffering running nose or a dizzy spell. I did and it certainly made a difference to me!
When a bug hits you, it hits you bad.
I never thought that I would be afflicted with such a severe form of influenza until the darn microbes attacked me on Thursday (18 Oct) with high fever (39 deg C) that never seem to completely disappear. As I type out this post, my body temperature is hovering at about 37.4 C or thereabouts, while my nose is blocked and my body aches. Luckily, the gas in the tummy is slightly better although there is a quirky feeling in my abdominal region. The GP I visit regularly tells me that it is probably gastric flu.
I really hate being this sick and unwell. The last time I had a major illness in 2005, I was stricken with acute appendicitis and hospitalised. I still recall how bad I felt then, with bouts of nausea and vomitting followed by diarrhea haunting me throughout my stay in the hospital. I couldn’t eat for days and lost 11 pounds then.
Hope to get well soon.