Asia Uncut – what’s on this week

Be sure to catch the 4th episode this Friday 11.30pm SE Asia, 10pm Phillipines and 11pm Middle East on Star World, and if you cant make that, the repeat is on Sunday!

Global citizen and artist. Ketna Patel has lived in Africa, Asia and Europe and gains her artistic inspiration from the myriad of cultures she has

experienced. Her latest creations adorn the set of Asia Uncut.

Londoner Eddy Brimson is not just a comedian but a hypnotist, actor and successful board game creator. He does more than make you chuckle.

Famous for his book “In Lust We Trust”, writer Gerrie Lim talks about his Adventures in Adult Cinema, and what it means to be Asian.

During his 20 years in the NBA from 1969 to 1989, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points, the highest total of any player in league history. Watch him do his famous “skyhook shot” and a few other moves with Jon.

Six hunky Australians descend on the set of Asia Uncut and show us a few of their dance routines. Thunder from Down Under is a troupe of hard-bodied blokes who dance with abandon, the hottest export since Crocodile Dundee.

Singaporean singer JJ Lin who has hit the big time in Taiwan and

China, also known for breaking a Guinness record by signing

3,052 CDs in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Join us on http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=6ee4b91875597b7df01016736c871f28&gid=65662618367 and check out the previous episodes.

Viral Campaign – The Best Job In The World – keeps going Viral

From 34,000 Applicants…

Tourism Queensland has announced the 50 Short-listed Applicants for the Best Job in the World.  Amongst the candidates from over 22 countries are a charity fundraiser, dance instructor, physiotherapist, chef, radio DJ, scientist, actor, interpreters, adventurers, students, television journalists and photographers.

Vote for your favourite now to ensure they have a chance of becoming the Wild Card candidate to attend the interview event in May.

future of corporate social media

Blogout! ’09 Blogout! ’09 aims to help make sense of the social media landscape in Singapore. It is an event to celebrate bloggers’ independent voices, emergent forms of social, web technology and to create change for their organizations, communities and society. Corporate + Open Track Open Track Date: 6 & 7 March 2009 7 March 2009 Time: 10.30am to 5.30pm Venue: 8Q, Singapore Art Museum – 8 Queen Street, Singapore Fee: $90/per person (extended to 3 March 2009). Thereafter $120. Free, registration required Gather 4 people that are a confirmed attendee, and you will get the 5th ticket FREE! Hey, the 1st 50 to register & Pay are entitled a chance to win in the lucky draw. This promotion is not applicable for payment made on-site. Please contact Belinda Ong at +65 6220 6643 or email to belinda@firestarter.com.sg Register now! For detailed program: http://tdm.sg/events/blogout Why attend? There’s something for everyone at Blogout! this year. If you are an executive or business owner who wants to see how social media can work for your organization, you definitely do not want to miss Day 1 (Corporate Track) where we feature some of the best speakers and practitioners in the social media scene. Find out more here… Key Speakers Jon Yongfook Yongfook is an award-winning web producer, a blogger (of 10 years!), a proponent of permission-based marketing and a big believer in metrics-based approaches to solving online business problems. A programmer-designer-marketer living in Tokyo. He specialises in usability, platform development and online marketing. He’s the creator of open source lifestream software Sweetcron and the recipe sharing website Open Source Food (now known as Nibbledish), which was acquired by Tsavo Media in January 2009. He helps companies improve user experience, to increase conversions and revenue, assist companies reach new markets, and building online applications to solve a business or communication problem. Melvin Yuan Melvin is Director, Digital Strategies Group (Asia) at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. He’s a co-founder of Scoopasia.com and member of the Social Media Collective and The Digital Movement (Singapore). He is dedicated to helping PR practitioners understand the new world that we live in and to bridge the gap between the wired-world business objectives of today and the traditional PR methods that we’ve been used to. Joel Postman Joel Postman is senior partner and chief enterprise social business strategist for Intridea, a Washington, D.C. based developer of Web 2.0 applications including the popular microblogging platform Present.ly. His background includes a decade of Fortune 500 corporate communications leadership, four years as the speechwriter to the CEO of Sun Microsystems, and experience in print and broadcast news. He is the author of SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate, published December 2008. Joel lives with his family in the Santa Cruz Mountains. To the extent that he could be said to have grown up. He did so in the Silicon Valley, and first lived there before the discovery of silicon. He is also an experienced Zamboni driver. Register today! For detailed program: http://tdm.sg/events/blogout ———————————————————————— Proudly brought to you by: Supported by: Venue Partner: Official Blog Community: Prize Sponsors:

One-Person Business blog

You may be operating a one-person-business, but there are many resources and tools out there that aren’t just for the big guys anymore. Today we’re going to focus on the power behind press releases. Yes, that’s right; even small business’s can achieve phenomenal growth with the proper use of press releases.

Online marketing and PR expert, Barbara Rozgonyi, founder of CoryWestMedia.com and publisher of WiredPRworks.com is a wealth of information, brilliant ideas, and resources for small and large companies alike. I’ve asked Barbara a few questions about how a one-person-business can benefit from press releases. I’ve learned a lot and I hope you will too!

Barbara, the most popular responses I get from clients when I suggest writing press releases are: “What would the press possibly want to know about me or my company?” and “I can’t write!” How would you address those concerns for a one-person-business owner?

Size doesn’t matter. Story does…..

read more via One-Person Business.

CommonSense Blogging – itsReal

Bloggers are uniting slowly but surely……A bloggers’ Association — the first in Singapore. I’m all for that !!! TDM’s BlogOut 09 is coming soon maybe the new association can join us ?

Alicia Wong http://www.todayonline.com/articles/297601.asp

BIT by bit, the blogging community in Singapore is getting more organised. Its latest move: A bloggers’ association — the first in Singapore.

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The non-profit association, which received the official nod on Friday, will be launched next month. It aims to raise the profile of bloggers and will promote, protect as well as educate its members, said founder and president Jayne Goh in an exclusive interview with Today.

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Even before its formal launch, the association has received emailed media invites to cover events, said Ms Goh. A passionate blogger herself, Ms Goh is also in talks with some Government ministries to allow the association’s members to cover the River Hongbao and some sporting events.

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Describing bloggers as “loose sand scattered all over,” Ms Goh wants the blogging community to have “grown-up conversations, blogging responsibility and creative growth”.

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“I find the state of our blogosphere in Singapore appalling,” said Ms Goh, “When discussions get heated, crude language, insults and other off-colour comments may be encountered … I want to change that,” she said.

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The Government is relaxing its restrictions and is willing to listen to reasonable feedback, she said, referring to the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally Speech last year.

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But how will the Association of Bloggers (Singapore) engage the Government now that authorities have made it clear engagement will only take place on the Government website, Reach?

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Agreeing with what Mr P N Balji — the director of the Asian Journalism Fellowship — wrote in his recent commentary in Today, Ms Goh said: “He’s right to say, ‘Why obsess with Government response?’ … We help ourselves, we help one another. We look for solutions. Singapore citizens don’t (always) have to go to the REACH website.”

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Besides Ms Goh, the association currently has nine other committee members.

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The chairman for the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society Cheong Yip Seng believes the association can help raise the quality of online discussion.

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“While you can find thoughtful content online, there is also a great deal of destructive cycnicism. If they can persuade the general public to support their cause, that would be a good start,” he said.

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MP and P65.sg blogger Lam Pin Min said: “It may be worth considering joining the association or even to contribute in the educational process.” But he cautioned that unless the good practice guidelines set up by the association are accepted by the “general blogger,” its efficacy may be “undermined”.

Read more: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/297601.asp

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The association can be reached at bloggers @singapore.com.

Give your blog a BOOST alphainventions.com

I came across this site yesterday and whilst the process is manual for now my 2 blogs which i tested had a marked increase in traffic – it’s bloggers reading others blogs visit http://www.alphainventions.com/ to try it out!

For one of my blogs it recorded it’s best ever day.

Merry Christmas -itsReal

Five social media trends to watch out for.. Repost – Public Relationships

Audiences have become smaller – and they have more choices in a fragmented media landscape. Today, our informed customers aren’t happy to blindly consume what mainstream media is feeding them. Instead they want:

Participation

Openness

Conversation

Community

Connectedness

Real time

To get this, they are turning to

Social networks LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Xiaonei, etc.

Microblogging Twitter, Jaiku, TaoTao, etc.

Digital content sharing sites YouTube, Flickr, Todou, etc.

Shared content creation networks Wikis, message boards and BBS like Qzone, etc.

3-D and 2-D virtual networks Second Life, HiPiHi

Collaborative publishing platforms blogs, podcasts, etc.

via Public Relationships: Five social media trends to watch out for

Review: *Personality not included – Rohit Bhargava Part 2 – itsReal

To be quite honest… my last book that I read with anticpation was David Meerman Scotts’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR – since then the hectic reality of Singapore business life made me believe that there is no time to read, how wrong am I. The opportunities to increase and support my belief in social media, web 2.0 & Blogging where driven home after I read David’s book – i would joke with people, have you seen my BIBLE.

Now come’s along Rohit’s *personality not included, it has sat on my spare couch since I went to the evening at Ogilvy’s office in Singapore – the embossed colourful chickens on the front cover trying to tempt me to take a peak. Even the forward by Guy Kawasaki, not enough to break the NOISE from my daily client servicing, to learn something new.

*personality not included, is doing just that, I am learning new things based on real situations. So much so that I am reading the book in cafes, taxis & buses. I have this awesome Accenture Promotional gift which is a highlighter one end and tiny post-it note styled tabs at the other, I am highlighting, Tabbing all i find interesting and “it makes alot of sense” points in Rohit’s book. I am reading it slow- re-reading if I did not get it the first time, I am involved in the book, making sure I understand it completely.

I would urge any blogger that wants to take their new found role in the internet seriously to pick up a copy, I hope to be a more “aspirational” blogger as a result of Rohit’s book…

More to come….

So far, getting Great !

Yaro Starak – a really useful nice guy – itsReal

Recently I had the opportunity to relax on a 5 hour BusRide from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore and the seats were big enough (only 16 seats on a mercedez bus) for me to take out my mac and read thru Yaro’s 52 page eBook Blog Profits Blueprint you can download from here – http://becomeablogger.com/ – and whilst I have been blogging for sometime for myself and for clients i found the eBook really enjoyable and easy to read. He writes so FRIENDLY you can’t but ignore the fact the he is sincere in his endeavour to help others but he is also an expert blogger willing to share his knowledge.

I am now subscribing to his emails and received his latest one were Jason Katzenback buzzed him on Skype pitching his new blog tool that he wanted Yaro to promote. The tool I think is an awesome idea and i am going to check it out you can too here: Kahuna. Once again you can see Yaro is a decent guy and wrote in an easy format liking the product he is recommending to us.

I have been meaning to let you know about Yaro since I returned from Malaysia but not enough time, however in this case I am able to add value to what Yaro’s email and what the Kahuna product offers.

My blogging mainly revolves around Virtual Worlds and Social Media – alot of the happenings in this space occur in the US market, now growing also out of europe as is the case with my client Twinity.

Virtual Worlds being a niche market in early adopter mode there is a problem of getting the news to this part of the world Asia, so i see myself as a middleman – bringing content to an audience that wants to know. I agree original content is the dream of every blogger but being able to also share others content to a willing and eager audience that wants to be educated is important too.

Thanks for sharing Yaro !

Check out Yaro’s other websites if you want to know a really nice useful blogger expert – APLINK

Blog Tips Newsletter at – entrepreneurs-journey.com, or blogtrafficking.com

Circos Helps Consumers Search for the Good Life -itsReal

Circos Helps Consumers Search for the Good Life

Concierge-like search engine connects consumers with premium lifestyle experiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep, 2008 – Today Circos relaunched its search engine Circos.com, helping consumers find personalized, premium lifestyle experiences online. By tapping into the collective knowledge of people across the Internet, Circos condenses user-generated content into meaningful tips about hotels, restaurants, and other relevant brands. The updated site is live at http://www.circos.com.

There are millions of insights and shared experiences distributed across the Web in individual communities, blogs, and forums, but it’s nearly impossible for a high-end consumer to locate the right insights and tips for their personal needs. Conventional Internet search relies on site statistics and popularity, leaving many answers buried under layers of irrelevant Web pages or worse, overlooked altogether……

……The new Circos.com features multiple ways to find the perfect hotel or restaurant. A concierge-like guided search experience at http://www.circos.com/guided_search/ walks you through your search with a simple three-step process. Circos’ “search by personality”

feature connects you with the previous experiences of others just like you. This means self-professed hipsters find the edgiest urban hotel, while high-end diva foodies are shown exclusive restaurants with the most attentive staff and service.  APLINK Note: WOW…

MORE….

Circos Helps Consumers Search for the Good Life.