Politics Pt.3

The opposition party seems to be banking a lot on Social Media and at least right now, it seems to have paid off for NSP's female candidate Nicole Seah. Here she wisely acknowledges the power of the medium without forgetting the people on the ground.

15,000 likes. Now she's just got to convert those into votes.

The Future of the Internet is Written in Chinese

Sorry, I meant the future of the world is written in Chinese. China now has more than 440 million internet users, and its penetration rate is still low compared to the West. Already, Chinese is the second most used language on the internet and if The New Web is right, might take over English at the top spot in less than five years.

And you'd think a country without Youtube and Facebook would be at least a step behind the rest of the social media revolution. The world's greatest copying machine will port all the best ideas over in its trademark unapologetic fashion.

No Youtube? Try Youku.

No Facebook? Try KaiXin.

If Google decides to drop, try Baidu.

Better start brushing up on the hanyu pinyin.

Politics Pt.2

Updating on the previous post, I found that the Ng Eng Hen in the video below was so much more charismatic and engaging than the one in the introductory video. His pronounciation is clear, he is energetic, and humorous.

So really, our politicians can be colourful. It is possibly the tight contraints of the party's video template that dulls the colours. Maybe they should start loosening up a little and let a little colour and excitement shine through.

Politics

So the government decides that social media's impact cannot be denied anymore, and this year's candidates are open to campaign on social media. Although I anticipated a flurry of political activity flooding my news feeds, all I got instead was a video template and talking heads.

One would think that after Obama's immensely successful internet campaign, our politicians would realise just how powerful it can be. But recent activity from the politicians hardly inspire us to share their messages through social media, much less get out and vote. Maybe they'd do better to take a leaf out of Obama's playbook.

However, to be fair the campaigns are still young and there is much room for activities in the days to come. Ministers are now on Facebook, they are taking pictures of their walkabouts and posting them on their profiles. Like I mentioned in my social media post however, they're using it in a very straight forward manner and one can't help but beg for a little creativity in the approach.

Let's hope things get more exciting in the days to come.

Kickstart the World

Fancy watching a documentary about the World Yoyo Championships? Or hearing a hiphop emcee rap over Balkan Brass? Or maybe you want to convert your ipod into a watch? On Kickstarter, otherwise obscure projects like these get a chance at life by combining the concepts of retail and donations.

On the website, artists, film makers, product designers, and general creators upload a video explaining their project and how much they need. In return for funds, creators offer something in return. This could be anything from a name in the credits, to a silkscreened poster to the freakin robot itself.

The amazing thing here is Kickstarter offers a way for artists and funders to meet, not in the middle but at both ends. Creators have a relatively easy way to reach an audience out there that might be interested in funding their work. Funders in return, get something in return for their money. If in the end the money raised is not enough to fund the project, all money is returned and no one gets hurt.

While the site is created with the intention of funding art projects, commercial entities have realized it is also a good way to do business. For example more than 6,000 people have funded the making of a Fat Pencil for your iPhone.

The sit also allows creators to gauge interest before investing time into it. So if you have a cool idea and are not sure if it'll fly, make a video, get on there and let's get it Kickstarted.

Book Burning

I'm surprised that in this day and age, kids still carry textbooks to school. Really. At one time, Polytechnics required a bulky laptop for each student. Now, we have far more manageable devices in netbooks and readers like the iPad.

The digital medium allows for so many benefits, it's befuddling why it isn't the norm. Instead of having to know which of the many textbooks they need for the day, students bring one device. Lesser cases of not having the textbook and having to share. Trees don't have to die. Did I mention multimedia capabilities and information updates? Digital files need no paper and ink and will be cheaper. In the long term, considering the hundreds that will be spent on textbooks, one device with cheaper e-books will be more cost effective.

I suspect a large reason kids still have to lug 400 page tomes to school is the education industry having some obligation to keep its allies in the print and book industry alive. Here's a message to those in the dying industry. It's gonna go. You either profit in the new medium, or someone else is going to.

Someone like E. O. Wilson, who is trying to create a biology textbook called Life on Earth. Wired shows us the first chapter.

His organisation plans to sell University level textbooks at 10 percent of the cost of its printed counterparts. The best part? Kindergarten through 12th Grade editions will be free. How's that for cost effectiveness?

Citizen Journalism

Someone asked me recently. With citizen journalism and social media around, will we see the end of journalists? Truth is, the news business has been on the decline. Across the board, newspapers have reported decreasing readership and ad sales for a while now.

The audience have shifted to the internet and newspapers are having a hard time finding a business model there that works. In addition, to this, journalists are dealt another blow. The regular citizen now has the ability to take photos and film breaking footage even before journalists have arrived on location.

I'll say this. Imagine it really happens and newspapers fold and journalists are no more. We get our news everyday from the opinions and perspectives on social media. In this picture, those who verify their data, speak ethically, and write clearly will simply be the new journalists. Because really journalism is a process of writing accurately, briefly, and clearly.

Squished with everyone else, these people might not be known as journalists anymore but the form and art of journalism, will survive. Squished with everyone else, the journalist who writes ethically will only be valued even more, for he, like the newspaper he used to write for, speaks the truth.

Because in a world where everyone has a soapbox to scream from, those who speak the truth will be heard best.