Seth Godin recently shared about the problems which companies face when they try to be both authentic and slick at the same time. He created a nice looking chart (see above) and warned us about being caught in the dead zone which is between the twin peaks above.
According to Seth,
Check out this National Day video done in celebration of the achievements of the everyday Singaporean. Done by Spin Network and commissioned by the National Heritage Board, it has a nice and cheerful ditty which makes you wanna tap your feet and sway along to the rhythm.
Oh and while you are at it, do also have a look at this one, which is produced by the same company. It is actually a corporate video for the National Heritage Board, done in a rather unconventional manner as far as corporate videos go.
Hope you enjoy them!
After eight days out in the field, your mind does tend to slow down quite a bit. Yes, I was called back for In Camp Training (ICT) over much of last week and just came back to office today.
Personally, I didn’t mind going back to my reservist camp. It gave me a chance to reflect, ponder and deliberate on the vicissitudes of life from a different vantage point. It also allowed me to switch off mentally and to breathe a little more deeply and slowly.
Naturally, ICTs come with opportunities to flex those muscles which have been lying idle for too long due to disuse. One could also play philosopher, economist, politician and psychologist with one’s fellow camp mates during those dull and lengthy hours of waiting. You will be surprised at the quality of the discourses that we had after a few hours out in lush tropical vegetation!
Being away from technology (no laptops or camera phones allowed) helped me rediscover the joys of reading and having person to person conversations. There is a certain charm in going back to a simpler form of existence, when the only things which mattered were food, rest, and moving from point A to point B in the quickest possible manner. IPPT was also kinda fun for me as it gave me the chance to measure my fitness levels and the outcome of my fitness fanaticism.
Well, all good things (ok some good things – the heat is killing in our tropical sun and I do miss the buzz of being in the office) do come to an end and it is back to reality for me.
ACM is the proud venue host of Social Media Breakfast III
Social media is what it is because people simply love to socialise. And boy did I get a major dose of that yesterday morning at Social Media Breakfast 3 (SMB3), courtesy of Daryl Tay, Claudia, and Derrick.
Transparency in marketing taken to new heights! (courtesy of laffy4k)
The subject of ethics in marketing has been broached numerous times, and one of its key issues relate to disclosure and openness. Or more specifically what colouring agent E224 in your breakfast cereal really means.
In the age of social media, information has become abundantly available for free.
My family and I love nature and the outdoors, and most of our weekends are often spent either at a garden or park. A few weeks back, we decided to check out the Changi Point Boardwalk at the recommendation of my wife’s colleague. It was a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Made up of four sections, the Changi Boardwalk hugs the Eastern outline of Singapore, and allows one to experience the rustic and quiet charm of one of Singapore’s oldest beaches. Adorned with heritage trees, it meanders through holiday bungalows and chalets. Here’s a photolog of our recent trip at one of its sections.
There is something which I always suspected about offline versus online Word Of Mouth (WOM) marketing. And that is that nothing beats the real thing.
While reading my favourite blog about WOM, which is the Church of the Customer, I came across these interesting statistics through its links. They hail from the US, the world’s most wired nation:
“Around 3.5 billion word of mouth conversations take place in the U.S. on a daily basis, of which just 7% take place online via instant/test messaging, chat rooms, email and blogs. The remainder take place offline either face to face (75%) or on the telephone (17%).”
Like my son Ethan, his birthday tree has been growing and growing in the last 8 months or so since we first planted it in December 2007. If you recall, this was part of the Plant a Tree programme by NParks, with each tree planted costing $200 that goes into the Garden City Fund.
We were pleasantly surprised to see the little sapling bearing large and lush leaves that are dark green in colour, a sign of health as it pushes its way through in its green and sunlit world. Naturally, we couldn’t resist taking a few shots of it as it is also a member of our family – the green, silent and woody kind!
I moderated and chaired two sessions on new media yesterday at the Civil Service College. Held as part of their Senior Executive Development Programme together with the National Institute of Public Administration (Malaysia), it featured public service attendees from both sides of the causeway. Joining me for the second session were Arun Mahizhnan of the Institute of Policy Studies and Chua Mui Hoong of the Straits Times.
Several interesting points were raised during the discussion, and they include the following:
Do you know who Randy Pausch was? Well, he did something extraordinary, and the whole world grieved recently at his passing.
Despite suffering from a terminal pancreatic cancer, he chose to leave an indelible legacy to his three young kids (and inadvertently the world) when he chose to live life to the fullest despite dying. In doing so, he inspired millions and created a revolution through a simple heartfelt message. His Last Lecture video (below) was viewed by millions, and showed the power of social media networks in spreading a message of goodwill and humanity.
A university professor at Carnegie Mellon University specialising in virtual reality and human computer interaction, Randy made history when he delivered his last lecture – both figuratively and literally – to a capacity crowd. In it, he spoke about achieving one’s childhood dreams, and the simple lessons in life that one should take whatever one’s circumstances. The presentation was especially memorable because Randy did it with a wicked sense of wit and humour, without once feeling sorry for himself despite having only months to live.