Engagement is crucial

The government of Singapore is doing many things well. Great transportation system, relatively good education system, great financial system. The political system is stable, and for 30 years, it has brought much progress.

Since the popularity of social media where people can share their opinions and feedback, many aired their views freely online.

With the government not willing to engage as shown in their actions on their YouTube channel, and Facebook page, it is very hard to win people over when you are not willing to hear them out.

Feedback is crucial, taking in the good, and fixing the failures, it is all in a days work to build trust and relationship. Obama was very good at using the crowd to create awareness, and luckily for the PAP, the opposition was not able to be as influential, however, there are a few sites which are very popular, no thanks to the government trying to Gazette it as a political website.

The online citizen is now an official political website and it has since drawn much crowds to its Facebook and Webpage. The conversations are genuine and people are allowed to share views about their likes and dislikes. Some of the posts do not hit the mark, and some do, and through feedbacks and comments, they are able to learn and carve out views which most of their viewers would like and share.

The current situation, the Internet is a big enemy. Nearly all posts about "PAP" online, whether it is on their official news site, on YouTube or on Facebook, you get to read about some very negative comments and after the heavy monitoring, a lot of the comments are deleted.

If this continues, I would think the opposition has a strong chance of getting angry votes.

Please do the right thing, enable comments and listen to our feedback. You need to engage!

-- Robin Low

Power of Social Media

Social Media can do a lot of things, it can empower those without voices, connect those in need, enable you to reach a wide audience without a big budget.

Recently, Carlos the founder of Relief 2.0, went on a mission to Japan, and I helped in the engagement and creating awareness of the situation, leveraging on social media.

Within a short period of 1 week, we are able to use social media to form a team to go to Japan, and raise funds. Through social media, I tell the story from the ground from the perspective of an independent unit with the goal to use local capacity, and empower the survivors to rebuild their businesses.

You can learn more about social media and use it for more than just a marketing tool.

There is a class on 7 & 8 April (Thur & Friday) 2011 at Aventis on "Social Media Marketing Professional Certification program"

Please join us, and understand how social media can help your cause or business.

-- Robin Low

Poem FTW!

I recently came across this article 'Jalan Besar facelift will happen if PAP MPs 'have the chance''

Sort of an outrage to force people to vote for PAP, but to my surprise, I came across this poem which is pure genius:

Recently, my white MP,
nok on my door, and very kek ki..
Say ‘I’ve worked so hard, so vote for me’,
‘Or rubbish won’t be cleared, in your vicinty’..

I said ‘Dear MP of my GRC’,
‘Dun remember u, so please pardon me’..
‘I only saw you on TV’,
‘Dozing off and jiak liao bee’..

Last GE I voted for thee,
2% up in GST..
Cut CPF and up utility,
Are still very clear in my memory..

5 years later, then you come to me,
Fresh from your slumber of ivory..
Say that only, you can help me,
Escape from a life of poverty..

Just take a drive on CTE,
Count the number, of all the gantries..
Or squeeze a ride on the MRT,
That has not been cleared for me

My life since the last GE,
Has been downhill though I voted PAP..
If I vote the same for your sleeping spree,
I can expect the same misery..

So! this time round, I vote for somebody,
Who will kachiao you, to productivity..
Forms fill wrong, no big deal to me,
If there’s someone to speak up for ah bee..

So dear MP of GRC,
If life no improve, vote u cho simi?

Who says Singaporeans are not creative?

-- Robin Low

Social Media -- Good for Entrepreneurs.

Social Media is a great way to engage your customers, getting a good feel of what the market wants, needs, and thinks about your brand. For an Entrepreneur in a startup, time must be spent smartly, however, it is also very important to engage with your customers. Besides creating awareness, Social Media can help in branding, product development, customer service and much more.

LinkedIn -- LinkedIn can be used to create awareness, finding B2B sales leads, and network with other professionals in the industry.

Facebook -- Facebook has more than 500 million users, and FB pages are getting better by the day, providing analytics, and allowing your fans a place to share and discuss about your products and services.

Twitter -- Twitter is a fast way to share information and get information. You can follow a lot of people at the same time and get lots of information as well.

Quora -- If you have some questions you need the answer of or answers to questions with your products or services, this is the place to be.

YouTube -- Sharing videos of your products and services, how to guide, etc -- fantastic way to create awareness and possibly go viral.

Flickr -- Sharing photos go a long way.

Blogging -- Your blogs containing keywords can drive traffic to your Facebook pages, YouTube account and homepage. It is asynchronous and can generate traffic even after years.

Foursquare/Gowalla -- If you have a restaurant or shop, you may be interested to increase the stakes of giving more rewards to the "Mayor" -- Make it fun and interesting.

Don't forget -- GroupOn

There are many other social media / social tools to look at. The social media sphere is filled with opportunities, however it may be different from your personal usage.

There are always short courses and tips which you have not learn, and keep an open mind. Read blogs and be in touch of the latest happenings, by following influencers on Twitter.

-- Robin Low

Social media arsenal, unleash your personal brand

Have you ever wondered how some people could get some much opportunities or move up so fast in Organizations? Do you know of friends who get job offers even without putting up any online resumes?

Networking is key for success. If you know more people, you get more opportunities. Have you every realized that even when you have lots of resumes on every job site online, you still cannot search for them on Google?

The Internet opens up so much more opportunities if you know how to use it. Social Media is a tool which you can use to brand yourself as a competent individual who is an expert in various fields. However, if you unaware about your digital footprint and do not take steps to limit bad information about yourself, it may impact your progress, and affect your career.

Just remember, you may have a lot of talents, but if nobody knows about it, how can they discover you and hire you?

Aventis School of Management is running a course on Unleash your Brand, and this course will unlock your expertise and let you understand the various social media tools to leverage upon to build your brand and get you more opportunities.

Don't be afraid, empower yourself with the knowledge to market your skills and talents. Engage!

-- Robin Low

Government & Social Media

For the past few years, The Singapore Government has been trying to get on social media. However, they do not welcome feedback and censor comments.

“The Singapore government, as a whole, is not averse to using new media. We’re not ruling out the opportunities it presents us. But we’re not completely sure how to use it yet.”

– Goh Yam Song, Deputy Director, Emergency Preparedness, Land Transport Authority, Singapore –

Even when more ministers are getting on social media, I still feel that they don't get it.

A Facebook user, Abdul Malik Ghazali, was arrested few weeks ago on charges related to incitement of violence due to comments he made on Facebook. The 27-year-old had urged other users on the social networking site to “burn” Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for community development, youth and sports.

Does he sound serious or frustrated?

On Facebook, even Singapore's Broadcast Media -- Mediacorp is on Facebook, but they do not invite any comments, and they only allow comments on the posts they make. Furthermore, active moderation is also seen.

I feel that if any nation, company or individuals is interested in Social Media, they need to be prepared to engage -- accept both positive and negative feedback, and willingly resolve the issues transparently.

With the coming elections, there are more ministers with blogs and Facebook pages, but the engagement is heavily moderated, and they types of posts does not seem genuine and engaging as well.

A good example is a Facebook Page -- Ang Mo Kio - Yio Chu Kang

It was originally started by the government, heavily moderated, and eventually nobody cared. It now serves as a page where people complain and nothing seems to be resolved.

I hope things change as social media can be a cheap and effective way to engage with the public, and together, we can shape the country together. The government should be inclusive and the public, empowered to share their ideas and comments freely.

-- Robin Low

Great Ads

You don't need much words for the best of Ads.

The pictures speak a thousand words...

Which one do you like best?

-- Robin Low