Teen usage of Social Media - 2007 vs 2005 SOME 93% OF TEENS USE THE INTERNET in 2007 (compared to 87% in 2005), and more than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction – sharing creations, telling stories, and interacting with others. According to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 64% of online teens ages 12-17 (or 59% of all teens) have participated in one or more online content-creating activities, up from 57% of teens in a similar survey at end 2005. 39% of teens share online their artistic creations (e.g. artwork, photos, stories, or videos), up from 33% in 2005. 33% create or work on webpages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends, or school assignments, basically unchanged from 2005 (32%). 28% have created own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2005, with girls leading the charge. 27% maintain own personal webpage, up from 22% in 2005. 26% remix content found online into own creations, up from 19% in 2005. 47% (more girls) have uploaded photos where others can see them and 14% (more boys) have posted videos online; with many restrict access to the photos/videos in some way at least some of the time. Most receive some feedback on the content they post online. 55% have created a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace. In the midst of the digital media mix, the landline is still a lifeline for teen social life. Multi-channel teens layer each new communications opportunity on top of pre-existing channels. Email continues to lose its luster among teens as texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites facilitate more frequent contact with friends. (Photo: CC Joshua Davis.) Top 10 Emerging Markets to surpass Developed Markets IN 2008, the growth rates in Internet users among the top 10 emerging markets in the world (China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, and Saudi Arabia) will surpass those of the top 10 developed markets (U.S., Japan, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Canada, South Korea, and Australia), said Mary Meeker, a technology research analyst from Morgan Stanley at the recent Web 2.0 Summit 08. In particular, the growth in China is the most impressive, growing by 53% (an addition of 73,000 users) since 2007 and yet its penetration rate is only 16 percent. For the others: Brazil grew by 17% (7,400) with a penetration rate of 26%.  Pakistan grew by 46% (5,500) with a penetration rate of only 11%.  Columbia grew by 80% (5,395) with a penetration rate of 25%.  India grew by 7% (5,000) with a penetration rate of only 7%.  Iran grew by 28% (5,000) with a penetration rate of 32%.  Russia grew by 17% (4,311) with a penetration rate of 21%.  Germany grew by 10% (3,900) with a penetration rate of 52%. France grew by 12% (3,553) with a penetration rate of 55%. Vietnam grew by 22% (3,188) with a penetration rate of 21%. How to Survive and Thrive in Business 2.0? “EVERYTHING WE DO TODAY is now significantly impacted by 2.0 ideas. This applied to product development, marketing, customer service, operations, line of business, finance, communications, human resources, and just about everything else. How then do we start understanding the axes of opportunity and being applying to our organizations?” Over the next few weeks, Web 2.0 analyst Dion Hinchcliffe will be posting a series of articles that deeply explore a strategy for using the power of Web 2.0 ideas to move businesses into the 21st century. He’ll begin exploring each quadrant in this diagram (below, taken from Hinchcliffe’s blog), looking at how to use 2.0 to dramatically create growth, transform the customer relationship to drive revenue, drive operational costs down, improve productivity, safely restructure our business models, effect change, and leverage/harnessing innovation. 8 reasons to use Interviews and Case Studies FOUND A REALLY PRACTICAL MARKETING site maintained by Mr Mark Nagurski who had just posted a great comment on my post, “Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008“. Among the many useful tips is a post entitled “8 reasons why interviews will spice up your content”. The eight benefits cited are: Interviews can offer a different perspective. Interviews can demonstrate a practical implementation.  Interviews allow you borrow trust and reinforce your argument.  Interviews allow you to borrow brand recognition.  Interviews are a practical solution to your needs.  Interviews inspire you to think more too.  Interviews build contacts and make you smarter.  Interviews enhance the quality of content you deliver.    For more details, check out his blog. S$50K IDM grants now available from SiTF INDIVIDUALS AND YOUNG STARTUPS in the Interactive Digital Media (IDM) industry can soon apply for S$50,000 grants from the Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) to develop their ideas and projects towards commercialisation. The Media Development Authority (MDA) plans to support 100-150 projects yearly, announced Deputy CEO Michael Yap at the Singapore Digital Media Festival 2008 today. Lead SiTF members like MediaCorp Pte Ltd, Microsoft, SingTel and ST Electronics (Training & Simulation Systems) have already expressed their interest in project domains such as interactive media, mobile digital media, broadcast, IPTV and open source development etc. SiTF will continue to market this program to gain greater interest from more corporations who see opportunity to partner with start ups. Through support from the industry, the mentorship programme hopes to make available up to $10m worth of project funding and support over a period of five years. With SiTF, the IDMPO now has a network of 10 incubators to create support structures for the start-ups, including the platforms for regular pitching sessions and finding industry partners. Collectively, the incubators will nurture some 450 start-ups over the next few years. The existing incubators have facilitated the funding of some 90 projects to date, out of which 15 were completed. Thirty per cent of the completed projects have successfully received private investment. Over 85 percent shopped online worldwide “MORE THAN 85 PERCENT of the world’s online population (875 million) has used the Internet to make a purchase - increasing the market for online shopping by 40 percent in the past two years…” according to a Nielsen Global Online Survey reported early this year. How do these Internet users select their shopping sites? Nielsen’s statistics reveal some interesting facts. Over 30 percent actually bought on sites that they found through “General Surfing”, “Search Engines” and “Special offer I saw”: MORE KEY FINDINGS: “Globally, more than half of Internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month… Internet is no longer a niche technology - it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. Almost no aspect of life remains untouched by online media. As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isn’t surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to researching and buying products,” said Jonathan Carson, President, International, Nielsen Online. “… Among Internet users, the highest percentage shopping online is found in South Korea, where 99 percent of those with Internet access have used it to shop, followed by the UK (97%), Germany (97%), Japan (97%) with the U.S. eighth, at 94 percent. Additionally, in South Korea, 79 percent of these Internet users have shopped in the past month, followed by the UK (76%) and Switzerland (67%) with the U.S. at 57 percent. “Globally, the most popular and purchased items over the Internet are Books (41% purchased in the past three months), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (36%), Videos / DVDs / Games (24%), Airline Tickets (24%) and Electronic Equipment (23%).” Oct 17 update from reported by TODAYonline.com: “ABOUT SIX IN 10 PEOPLE in Singapore now use the Internet daily and weekly, according to the latest Nielsen Media Index 2008 out yesterday. A fifth of the population used the Internet to listen to music and play online games, while one in 10 said they participated in social networking sites, it added.” Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 MAJORITY OF CORPORATE and professional bloggers have seen a positive impact as a result of their blog, according to Technorati’s latest State of the Blogosphere report published on Sept 22. Half are better known in their industry, and one in four have used their blog as a resume enhancement. Fewer than one in ten have seen a negative impact from blogging and one in three have yet to see an impact. Impact of Blogging on Professional Life MORE KEY FINDINGS: The average annual blogger revenue is more than $6,000. However, this is skewed by the top 1% of bloggers who earn $200k+. Among active bloggers surveyed, the average income was $75,000 for those who had 100,000 or more unique visitors per month (some of whom had more than one million visitors each month). The median annual income for this group is significantly lower — $22,000. Bloggers with advertising invest an average of $1,800 annually in their blogs. U.S. bloggers earn an average of $5,000, though bloggers in Asia earn 50% more on average and European bloggers earn an average of 75% more than U.S. bloggers. Again, high revenue bloggers skew the mean revenue. The median revenue for U.S. bloggers is $200 annually (and the median annual investment is only $50). Blogging has also brought many unique opportunities to these bloggers that otherwise would not have been available. One in four have been invited to participate in an event as a result of their blog, one in five have contributed to a print publication as a result of their blog, and almost as many have found themselves on TV and/or on the radio. Have you been invited to any of the following as a result of your blog? An anthropological introduction to YouTube WHAT IMPACT DO YOUTUBE and other social media have on human behavior today? Check out this 55-min video presentation at the Library of Congress, June 23rd 2008, produced by Dr Michael Wesch and his anthropology students.  More info at MediatedCultures.net. VIDEO NOTES BY DR WESCH: 0:00 Introduction, YouTube’s Big Numbers 2:00 Numa Numa and the Celebration of Webcams 5:53 The Machine is Us/ing Us and the New Mediascape 12:16 Introducing our Research Team  12:56 Who is on YouTube? 13:25 What’s on Youtube? Charlie Bit My Finger, Soulja Boy, etc. 17:04 5% of vids are personal vlogs addressed to the YouTube community, Why? 17:30 YouTube in context. The loss of community and “networked individualism” (Wellman) 18:41 Cultural Inversion: individualism and community 19:15 Understanding new forms of community through Participant Observation 21:18 YouTube as a medium for community 23:00 Our first vlogs 25:00 The webcam: Everybody is watching where nobody is (”context collapse”) 26:05 Re-cognition and new forms of self-awareness (McLuhan) 27:58 The Anonymity of Watching YouTube: Haters and Lovers 29:53 Aesthetic Arrest 30:25 Connection without Constraint 32:35 Free Hugs: A hero for our mediated culture 34:02 YouTube Drama: Striving for popularity 34:55 An early star: emokid21ohio 36:55 YouTube’s Anthenticity Crisis: the story of LonelyGirl15 39:50 Reflections on Authenticity 41:54 Gaming the system / Exposing the System 43:37 Seriously Playful Participatory Media Culture (featuring Us by blimvisible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxHKg… 47:32 Networked Production: The Collab. MadV’s “The Message” and the message of YouTube 49:29 Poem: The Little Glass Dot, The Eyes of the World 51:15 Conclusion by bnessel1973 52:50 Dedication and Credits (Our Numa Numa dance) Keso’s understanding of Google Chrome GOOGLE’s NEW CHROME BROWSER, launched yesterday, promised to be faster, safer and smarter than other browsers. Key features include an Omnibox (where one can type in a website’s address or any search term), a Privacy mode (which ensures that traces of an Internet session are erased the moment one exits the browser) and Smart tabs (where tabs run on separate “processes, so if one website takes up too much resources or causes a software app to crash, that tab can be shut down individually). For some reason though, I didn’t manage to install or run Chrome on my desktop PC yesterday. Still wondering whether that has anything to do a coincidental Windows update on the PC just before that. Anyway, I’m intrigued by what Keso has written about Chrome, in particular: I think the real reason for Google to join the browsers bandwagon two years ago are this: Google needs control of a browser that has sufficient influence. It also needs to set up de facto standards through something that can be controlled and demonstrated. Therefore, what’s important about Chrome are these two things: A new JavaScript engine V8 and a “Webified” version of the desktop app Gears. Both are part of Google’s key strategy to expand browser functions to better support future Web apps. We often naively assume that Desktop battles are waged for the purpose of establishing Trojan horse pipelines. Actually, the smarter purpose of such battles is not for thievery or user base, but for the establishment of de facto standards that are advantageous to one’s future plans. For Google, this standard will enable its apps to run perfectly regardless of the platform or terminal that anyone may use. In order to better release its “cloud of accumulated energy”, Google needs a well-supported standard and a popular browser. Therefore, Google has chosen not to integrate many of its own products and services into Chrome. Some people complain that one can easily install Google Toolbar on IE, but not on Chrome. Actually, there’re many more things that one cannot do on Chrome: visit Gmail with one click, publish easily from Blogger, upload video to YouTube, and even customize the default search engine… Like Chrome, V8 and Gears are released as open-source projects. This will undoubtedly enhance their neutrality and therefore appeal to developers. It doesn’t matter how much market share Chrome will claim eventually. The key is whether it can provide the best demonstration of Gears and V8, thereby enabling them to become de facto standards. Some people say that the target of Chrome is neither IE nor Firefox but Windows. Considering the line of “cloud”, apps and browser, I basically agree with this judgement. BG Yeo on New Media and Politics From BEYOND SG, a blog shared with Harold Fock, Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs BG George Yeo wrote: I was reminded by Ephraim that today is the second anniversary of my first blog posting two years ago. It seemed such a long time ago. Blogging and Facebook have become a part of my routine now. They help me communicate with members of a younger generation whom I don’t often meet at house-to-house visits or neighbourood get-togethers. Writing blogs forces me to organise my thoughts into a few short paragraphs. The blogs also serve as a kind of diary. I am grateful to Ephraim and Harold for having me post on their sites. It saves me the trouble of having to maintain my own blogsite. Facebook is an interesting new phenomenon. The interactivity gives it a certain intimacy. For those who only read, FB must function also as a kind of reality TV. McKinsey: How businesses are using Web 2.0 - one year later ONLY 21 PERCENT OF the executives surveyed by McKinsey this year (2008) said they are satisfied overall with Web 2.0 tools, while 22 percent voiced clear dissatisfaction. By contrast, over half the executives surveyed by McKinsey last year (2007) said they were pleased with the results of their investments in Internet technologies over the past five years, while a mere 13 percent say they are disappointed with previous investments. The reason? McKinsey’s findings suggest that companies are coming to understand the difficulty of realizing some of Web 2.0’s benefits. “However, fundamental changes are beginning to take place among the satisfied companies… [They] are not only using more technologies but also leveraging them to change management practices and organizational structures. Some are taking steps to open their corporate “ecosystems” by encouraging customers to join them in developing products and by using new tools to tap distributed knowledge.” Mix of technologies used is changing: Blogs, RSS, wikis, and podcasts are becoming more common, perhaps because companies have a greater understanding of their value for business (Exhibit 1). More technologies are in use: Overall, the respondents say that their companies are using 3.4 technologies from an expanded list, versus 2.2 in 2007. Companies use Web 2.0 technologies more frequently for internal than for external purposes, and the rate of deployment remains high for almost all kinds of uses (Exhibit 2). Web services remains highest used: Respondents rate Web services (software that makes it easier to exchange information and conduct transactions) as the most important tool, with Europeans providing the highest marks. Companies in all regions perceive wikis and blogs as fairly important, and the use of both tools has increased over the past year. Satisfaction varies markedly by geography: The developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region had the largest percentage of respondents expressing the highest level of overall satisfaction with Web 2.0 tools, and Latin America had the lowest (Exhibit 4). The biggest ethical issues in Social Media today SOCIAL MEDIA CLUB posted a great recap on the feedback it received via its blog and Twitter account. Among the ethical issues in Social Media raised were: The digital reputation of people, especially those who have not opted in to the “Conversation” Firms who misrepresent themselves online, pretending to be a “user” (1) Gaming the SEO system to gain rank, (2) underhanded manipulation of product reviews and comments, (3) the accumulation of friends with the intention of monetizing them. Identity theft Protecting children who widely use social media in ways many parents don’t know how to protect. Dion Hinchcliffe’s Web 2.0 diagrams GLAD TO FIND THIS SET of diagrams put together by Dion Hinhcliffe, one of my favorite Web 2.0 analysts. If a picture says a thousand words, then 92+ diagrams say…. Writing Style for Print/TV vs Web ACCORDING TO USABILITY GURU Jakob Nielsen (Alertbox June 9, 2008), the differences between print/TV and Web can be summarized as lean-back vs lean-forward: Print/TV is a passive medium. While reading publications or watching TV, readers/viewers want to be entertained. They are in relaxation mode and vegging out; they don’t want to make choices. People expect you to construct their experience for them. Readers/viewers are willing to follow the author’s lead. The Web is an active medium. On the Web, users are engaged and want to go places and get things done. Users want to construct their own experience by piecing together content from multiple sources, emphasizing their desires in the current moment.  Therefore, the writing style for Print/TV vs Web is: Linear vs. non-linear. Author-driven vs. reader-driven. Storytelling vs. ruthless pursuit of actionable content. Anecdotal examples vs. comprehensive data. Sentences vs. fragments. Big-picture learning vs just-in-time learning. Going online in a f2f class - Help or Distraction? STUDENTS, DO YOU GO ONLINE while attending a face-to-face (f2f) class? Where do you surf and what do you use? So far, has going online helped or hindered you (the learner), other learners and/or the instructor? What happens when your phones have Internet access too? Most likely, your class is NOT going to be as exciting as this one (left), where the professor gamely laid on a bed of nails while someone else tried to break a cement block on him with a sledgehammer! In such a case, you are likely to be distracted by a backchannel. As Chris Lott put it, “…regardless of what a participant has at hand– a backchannel, a laptop, a cell phone, a book, or a set of Legos– they are not and never will direct 100% of their attention forward and they will find ways to create the attention cycles that characterize engagement. I was able to ignore… incompetent teachers just fine back when the only thing digital [we] had access to was a watch.” ON JUNE 9, ELLIOT MASIE posed a similar question to teachers and learning designers on LearningTown and received over 80 responses. It’s interesting to observe how Masie kicked off the etivity with a great “spark” (italicized emphases are mine): I will CONFESS to a life long multi-tasking style. I enjoy being on-line and will often access information, add to a class wiki and take some notes. And, during the less compelling moments I will check mail or IM other students. However, if I sense that this is problematic for the trainer/teacher, I will reduce my on-line visible footprint. And, when we have a discussion, I will close my laptop lid. Initially, some of the respondents expressed concerns of “how do we know where they are”, and that “It is distracting to the trainer and students sitting near you”. Then one respondent Ray Eisenberg turned the tide by quoting George Siemens (”ERN - Social Media, Theory and Practice, Backchannel, Laptops in Classrooms” May 31, 2008): “When I don’t have a laptop at a conference, I learn differently, not more. I learn what the speaker is saying, rather than the resources she is citing. When I have a computer, I don’t play solitaire … I use the opportunity to find related resources, follow up on information presented, and generally enlarge the sphere of what would often be a single-perspective presentation. I’m sympathetic with the concerns of laptop mis-use. Yet I wonder if the problem isn’t partly with our lack of modeling proper technology use. Perhaps we ought to utilize these tools for academic purposes, rather than continuing lecture models and seeing laptops as add ons to learning rather than a key contributor. “ Eisenberg then added, “I agree with Siemens. In a standard lecture, sage-on-the-stage format, there are probably going to be issues. If you bring the internet to center stage then I think that we will be able, as architects have long been successful in doing, convert a problem into a feature.” Personally, some time last year, I’ve observed the same professor teach the same lesson to two classes of students in two different settings. One class was in a tutorial room while the other class was in a computer lab. The attention the students in the tutorial room gave the professor was much more. As a result, the professor’s level of confidence and energy in the tutorial room was correspondingly higher, and he managed to speak much more fluently and crack a few more jokes in the tutorial room than in the computer lab. As for myself as a participant, I’ve often gone online while attending lectures and seminars. I’ve noticed that I’m able to add notes online and check out related resources quickly. However, I would often miss a few words here and there. If the speaker is a boring one, most of what he said would have escaped me. If you are 12-17 years old… YOU’RE PROBABLY LEADING Singapore’s transition to a fully wired and mobile nation… if you are a teenager. According to a survey by PEW Internet & American Life Project in 2005 (the numbers must be significantly higher today): 87% (21 million) of U.S. teens aged 12-17 use the internet (online teens), up from 73% (17 m ) in 2000. By contrast, 66% of adults use the internet, up from 56% in 2000. 45% of U.S. teens have cell phones and 33% are texting. Of the 21 million online teens: 89% send or read email. 84% get information on movies, TV shows, music groups, or sports stars 81% play games online (52% growth since 2000), compared to 32% adults. 76% seek information on current events (38% growth since 2000), similar to adults. 75% send or receive instant messages (IM), compared to 42% adults. Of these, half use IM daily and have included a link to an interesting article or site in an IM; 45% have sent photos or documents; and 31% have sent music or video files. 57% seek information on schools they might attend, compared to 45% adults. 55% seek information on politics and the presidential campaign. 51% go online every day, up from 42% in 2000. Half lives in a home with a broadband connection. 43% have purchased online (71% growth since 2000), compared to 67% adults. 31% seek health information (47% growth since 2000). 30% seek job information, compared to 44% adults. 26% seek religious or spiritual information. Older girls are power communicators and information seekers. Asked about communication modes, teens consistently choose instant messaging (IM) over email and viewed email as medium for talking to “old people,” institutions, or sending complex instructions to large groups. However, 51% usually choose the landline telephone when they want to talk with friends. Face-to-face time still beats phone and screen time. (Photo: CC Joshua Davis.) Techniques & Plugins to encourage comments “In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.“ - Jakob Nielsen FOR SOME TIME I’VE BEEN WONDERING: What’re the best ways to encourage comments on one’s blog? And not just any comments, but those that promote meaningful exchange of insights and experiences. I’ve found 10 techniques and 10 plugins through a Google search. Could you add a tip or two here please? According to usability guru Jakob Nielsen, one needs to: Make it easier to contribute. The lower the overhead, the more people will jump through the hoop. Make participation a side effect. For example, Amazon’s “people who bought this book, bought these other books” recommendations are a side effect of people buying books. Edit, don’t create. Let users build their contributions by modifying existing templates rather than creating complete entities from scratch. Reward — but don’t over-reward — participants. Although money is always good, you can also give contributors preferential treatment (such as discounts or advance notice of new stuff), or even just put gold stars on their profiles. Promote quality contributors. …give extra prominence to good contributions and to contributions from people who’ve proven their value, as indicated by their reputation ranking. According to problogger Darren Rowse, one could use these techniques: Invite Comments...new readers that are unfamiliar with blogging don’t always know about comments or how to use them. Ask Questions. I find that when I include questions in my headings… you set a question in their mind from the first moments of your post. Be Open Ended. While you don’t want to purposely leave too many things unsaid there is an art to writing open ended posts that leaves room for your readers to be experts also. Interact with comments left. If you’re not willing to use your own comments section why would your readers? Set Boundaries. I noticed that shortly after I set the rules for my comments section (with a comments policy) that my comment numbers jumped up a little… and that comment threads generally stay constructive as a result. Be humble. I find that readers respond very well to posts that show your own weaknesses, failings and the gaps in your own knowledge rather than those posts where you come across as knowing everything there is to know on a topic. Be gracious. There are times where you as the blogger will get something wrong in your posts… spelling or grammar… crux of your argument or some other aspect of your blogging… a graceful approach to comments where you admit where you are wrong and others is right can bring out the lurkers and make them feel a little safer in leaving comments. Be controversial? …it doesn’t always work (and I personally avoid it as much as I can these days) - but there’s nothing like controversy to get people commenting on your blog. ‘Reward’ Comments. There are many ways… that range from simply including a ‘good comment’ remark through to highlighting them in other posts that you write. Make it Easy to Comment. …there is one situation where I rarely leave a comment - even if the post deserves it - blogs that require me to login before making a comment. Keep your comments section as simple and as easy to use as possible. According to Caroline Middlebrook, we could use some of these WordPress Plugins (comments in [] brackets are mine): DoFollow plugin: [I've stopped using this because this attracts visitors who drop in just to add some inane comments and a plug for their sites.] Top Commentator plugin: [I'm using this. Useful.] CommentLuv plugin: [I've installed and activated this. But it's not working on my blog. Probably incompatible with some existing plugins.] Most Commented Posts plugin: [Maybe I'll use this too.] Recent Comments plugin: [I'm using this. Useful.] Subscribe to Comments plugin: [I'm using this. Useful.] Threaded Comments plugin: [Hey! How many plugins does one need to use?] Gravatars plugin: [ditto] Custom Smileys plugin: [ditto] Edit Comments plugin: [ditto] Truth not found in TV broadcast? “Study history, not the media. The truth is not to be found in a television broadcast.” - Chris D. Nebe, director-producer-screenwriter of the “Mysterious China” documentary series which showcases the epic cultural heritage of China FRANKLY, I DON’T KNOW what to make out of the Tibetan protests. I’ve not spent significant time researching on the issues involved. However, from what I know and remember of Chinese history, I feel quite strongly that Chris Nebe (as a foreigner with insider knowledge and experience of China) is speaking the truth about Tibet in the video here: Nebe’s post in YouTube: The West is trying to demonize China. Why? To ensure an upper-handed position economically, politically, and socially. Too many harbor strong opinions about Tibet, yet know nothing more than the few slogans offered by the mass-media outlets. The media screams: “They killed innocent monks!” - but those “innocent” monks and other young hooligans killed innocent Chinese before a single shot was fired on them. “The Chinese are oppressive” - do you consider freeing over 95% of Tibetans from slavery, building a state of the art infrastructure, and a new economy oppressive? “The Chinese suppress Tibetan Buddhism” - then why have the Chinese spent a fortune restoring ancient monasteries and places of religious significance? China doesn’t SPIN NEWS like we do. Their silence is too often mistaken as admission of guilt. Don’t be another uninformed drone. Do everyone a favor and learn truths before forming opinions. Here’s to Peace & Harmony! The 2008 Beijing Olympics deserve support! Tibetan protest: Strike with hatred & journey to dark side completes SAD NEWS INDEED: At the recent olympic torch relay in Paris, pro-Tibetan protesters attacked a wheelchair-bound girl (an ex-paralympian fencer) who carried the olympic torch, with a blind boy pushing the wheelchair from behind. The good news: They didn’t succeed. Thanks to YouTube, I can see what happened: Reminds me of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”, where Emperor Palpatine said to Luke Skywalker: “The alliance… will die. As will your friends. Good, I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!” Top posts in Ping.sg & Tomorrow.sg - one year later HAVE THE TOP 20 POSTS CHANGED in Tomorrow.sg and Ping.sg this year, when compared with those of last year? Are “sex”, “money” and “controversies” still top reads? . As of today, the Top 20 (most read) posts in Ping.sg (2008) are (tags appended in the list below are my comments): v1.80 is Here: More Community Features | 81 pongs, 408 reads | by uzyn at Ping.sg Blog - community Going into Ping.sg is now so stressful (see picture) | 79 pongs, 248 reads | by simplyjean at Simply Jean - curiosity My Cousin Saw Mas Selamat! | 78 pongs, 399 reads | by jussaemon at The Original Juice - curiosity, piggybacking (post is not there anymore) Xiaxue gets flamed on high-profile USA blog | 76 pongs, 222 reads | by sheylara at Sheylara.com - curiosity, piggybacking Sex blogging can ruin your offline reputation | 75 pongs, 554 reads | by themediaslut at the(new)mediaslut - sex, advice 15yrs old girl had sex for 300 times.. | 74 pongs, 466 reads | by ylva 2 at missYLva =D - sex EDISON CHEN SEX PHOTOS: Another 200 are leaked online, with possibly more to come | 73 pongs, 1666 reads | by publiceducator on February 10, 2008 at Public Education - sex Tammy NYP - Sex Scandal That Would Not Die. | 73 pongs, 597 reads | by ahpek at Malaysian Blogger - sex Last blog entry | 73 pongs, 274 reads | by dk99 at Decay On Net - curiosity [Living in Sin] Maia Lee is Fucked | 72 pongs, 274 reads | by nocturne at fruit of the poisonous tree - sex Going to Geylang with DK… and he went too far! | 67 pongs, 462 reads | by simplyjean at Simply Jean - “sex”, curiosity How to Pong Cheat Properly? | 67 pongs, 314 reads | by hendribudi at A Better Title - humor, curiosity Something FISHY outside LT10, NUS. POLICE TAKING PICS. | 67 pongs, 309 reads | by estee at Geek Goddess - curiosity Edison Chen sex photo scandals - latest blowjob photo leaked! | 66 pongs, 3683 reads | by jialat at Jialat dot Com - sex My new girlfriend | 66 pongs, 358 reads | by adamzhang at AdamZhang.com - sex appeal UPDATES on POLICE outside NUS LT10 | 66 pongs, 254 reads | by estee at Geek Goddess - curiosity Very awkward Ping.sg gathering? | 65 pongs, 193 reads | by simplyjean at Simply Jean - community Top 10 Singapore Babes in 2007 | 63 pongs, 899 reads | by chioeves at ChioBlog - sex appeal Straits Times boo boo | pongs, 588 reads | by simplyjean at Simply Jean - curiosity, controversy cute ntu girl: “oh my god” | 63 pongs, 448 reads | by chillycraps at department of crappy engineering - sex appeal . ON THE OTHER HAND, the Top 20 posts in Tomorrow.sg (2008) are (tags appended in the list below are my comments): Oppositions to be blamed for Mas Selamat’s escape | 6721 reads | by Lucky Tan - piggybacking (current issue of interest), controversy, politics, sarcasm Local Comedian, MC King (???) is dead! | 5531 reads | by Alvinology - piggybacking, minor celebrity, death Singapore JI terrorist leader escape = Black magic? | 3841 reads | by Slutty - piggybacking, controversy, safety Singaporean girl sells her used lingerie on her website | 2944 reads | by IZ Reloaded - sex Maid Abuse of 2 month old baby in Singapore! | 2856 reads | at YouTube - controversy Possible Appearances of JI Fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari | 1559 reads | by AEN - piggybacking, controversy, curiosity I won a battle against Nokia | 1550 reads | by xiaoyun - controversy, individual against organization Ah Meng died this morning | 1535 reads | by Alvinology - piggybacking My Last Post as an NSF… | 1412 reads | by farter - farewell, NS MC King (???)’s Funeral Video | 1362 reads | by Alvinology - piggybacking, death, video Singapore team wins Amazing Race Asia 2 | 1205 reads | at AXN Asia’s Amazing Race site - Singapore vs the world, news (community) Chinese New Year exodus exposes Singapore generation gap | 1155 reads | at Reuters - Singapore vs the world, news (community) size 8 - 10 = fat | 1124 reads | by sg_ljers at ST Life Forums - beauty, friendship, community (dumped for being fat) Taiwanese poking fun at Singaporean English | 1010 reads | by Xiong - Singapore vs Taiwan, news (community) Singapore’s Better Kept Secret – A North Korean Embassy | 994 reads | by Oikono Quan Yi Feng slapped husband in public? | 978 reads | by Alvinology - local celebrity, controversy Rich foreigner complains ERP is still too low | 962 reads | at ST Forum, flagged by Pavin Limanont - community, money Comfort Cab - Yishun to Tanjong Pagar = $40.60!!!!!!! | 951 reads | by my secret garden - community, money Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 | 932 reads | by One - Singapore, toys, comics Blatant discrimination in advertisements in SG | 921 reads | by Ridzwan - community, controversy, money . Note: Like last year, finding the Top 20 posts for 2008 in Tomorrow.sg took some effort because: Unlike Ping.sg, Tomorrow.sg has an archive but not a Top Posts for the Year (or Month, Week, Day) page. Only five 2008 posts are displayed under the Popular section on the main page. It’s curious how three posts with low reads (not any of the above 20 top posts) are displayed: namely, “First Lungless Frog” (39 reads), “scammers pick on the wrong person” (238 reads), and “NUS Hostel Problem” (315 reads). Two 2007 posts (”Comparison between Singapore’s and Malaysia’s Ministers”, “Singapore Escort Ads on Yellow Pages”), one 2006 post (”Swingers swap sex partners in prudish Singapore”) and two 2005 posts (”Singapore Sex Scene”, “Taking upskirt photos - and tio caught!”) are still displayed under the Popular section on the main page. If honesty matters, the Popular section should be renamed Featured instead. Related Articles: Top Posts in Ping.sg & Tomorrow.sg (2007) Alexa Ranks Ping.sg Above Tomorrow.sg (2007) Uzyn, The Next Kevin Rose? Will social media change Singaporean politics? WILL SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISTS CHANGE the face of politics in Singapore in one or two years’ time? Will the US Elections voting patterns correlate closely with the subscription, viewership and interaction patterns on YouChoose 08 (on YouTube) and other social media such as Facebook? Last month (March 25), in a report entitled My Biggest Mistake, TodayOnline reported that Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi admitted making the biggest mistake in thinking that the Internet was not important. The PM’s ruling coalition suffered its worst results ever in March 8 polls that left five states and a third of parliamentary seats in opposition hands. Among them was 67-year-old opposition Democratic Action Party chairman Lim Kit Siang who won a parliamentary seat in Ipoh Timor. He ran three blogs, which were meticulously updated with multiple posts every day. Long-time blogger Jeff Ooi, 52, also won as a DAP candidate in Penang. Like many other opposition leaders, they were able to reach out to young urban and educated people, many who were voting for the first time. Mr Ooi added that Web users are not limited by age. “We attract many citizens above 45 years old and these are the people who are more interested in politics and the oppositions’ viewpoint.” In March last year, PR, market & biz dev coordinator Jonathan Dunn reported: YouTube has launched a channel that will broadcast videos submitted by ‘08 U.S. Presidential nominees. The goal is for the channel to act as an information hub for the hopefuls and, one supposes, offer a way to counter unauthorized, potentially damaging, videos that may be posted by other users…. So far Rudy Giuliani, Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney and Joe Biden are on board. The videos seem to be a mix of carefully scripted campaign stops and the usual ‘on the trail/vote for me’ rhetoric. A click on the candidate’s videos on the channel home page (or on the candidate’s names above) takes you to a profile page for each candidate where other videos and info are hosted. A few months later, in June, CBC News Today host Nancy Wilson interviewed broadcaster, researcher, and Internet evangelist Jesse Hirsh regarding the role and influence of social media on the 2008 US Presidential Election, e.g. “Why would candidates want to figure prominently on Facebook?”, intimacy on social media, dirty campaign tricks, blogging vs mainstream media, level playing field, etc.   By now, only three presidential candidates are featured on YouChoose 08: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and John McCain for the Republicans. Will the US Elections voting patterns correlate closely with the subscription, viewership and interaction patterns on YouChoose 08 (on YouTube) and other social media such as Facebook? Related Articles: YouTube: US “presidents”, UK queen & now Jap PM Time’s “25 Sites We Can’t Live Without” in 2007 WHAT ARE THE 25 SITES WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IN 2007? According to Time magazine, they are (in alphabetical order): Amazon.com - a great place to shop for virtually anything (Zappos.com) BBC.co.uk - World news, sports, radio, articles and audio in 33 languages (PBS.org) CitySearch.com - find the right restuarants, bars, nightclubs, hotels and spas in dozens of cities, with editors’ picks and user reviews, and a Yellow Pages directory Craigslist.org - free classified ads in every category organized by locale Del.icio.us - popular social bookmarking system which can be tagged and searched by keywords Digg.com - leader in social news, where users determine what’s important and interesting by “digging” it and posting a comment. Ebay.com - online auction powerhouse ESPN.com - everything a sports fanatic needs. Facebook.com - popular social network not yet corrupted by marketers and fake friends, dozens of third-party apps FastCheck.org - independent, nonpartisan effort to check speeches, TV ads, news releases and other public statements for accuracy, and provide clarification and context Flickr.com - over half a billion images, superbly designed sharing platform and social network for photo enthusiasts (Shutterfly.com) Google.com - world’s leading Web search engine, wide range of useful Web tools and services (e.g. gmail, Picasa, Maps) HowStuffWorks.com - Easy-to-read explanations of how things work. Users can upload supplementary photos and video. IMDB.com - The Internet Movie Database with an extensive directory of films and TV shows of the past, present and future, plus dialogue, trivia and favorite flicks of film buffs (RottenTomatoes.com) YouTube.com - monster video-sharing hub Kayak.com - Trip planner. Search engine scours hundreds of travel sites to find the best airfares. (TripAdvisor.com) NationalGeographic.com - great content (about animals, world adventures, environment, sciences, space) and educational stuff. (MyWonderfulWorld.com) Netflix.com - Digital movie downloads Technorati.com - search engine for blogs and other social media (photos, video and music) posted on online sharing sites. Tag cloud lists hot topics of the day. (BlogStorm.co.uk) TMZ.com - best for celebrity and entertainment news USA.gov - The official Web portal for the U.S. government, with links to every agency involved in federal business, plus reports, guides, reference material and other resources TelevisionWithoutPity.com - Bitingly funny recaps of dozens of popular TV shows, plus forums for further discussion. WebMD.com - portal packed with information about health and related issues. Wikipedia.org - the people’s encyclopedia, with millions of articles written in hundreds of languages. It’s free, and anyone can edit. Yahoo.com - number two in Web search. Also with basket of goodies (Flickr, Del.icio.us, Bix). Love is Stronger than Death (In memory of JPII) “…for love is stronger than death, passion fiercer than the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.” — Song of Songs, 8:6-7 THESE DAYS, THE WORDS “Love is stronger than Death” keep coming to mind. Four reasons: (1) Two very moving movies recently, (2) Our bible group is currently studying the Acts of the Apostles, (3) Four days of prayers and meditations during Holy Week retreat (March 19-23), and (4) Today is the third death aniversary of Pope John Paul II (also known as Karol Wojtyla before he became pope). One of the two movies is famous: “The Passion of Christ”. The other is not well-known but its message is just as touching and powerful. It is “Karol, a man who became Pope”, showing in many concrete ways how love can conquer hatred, violence and even death. Here’re two 10-minute video clips and the English transcripts (click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below) for some of its most moving moments: Karol, a man who became pope - Part 1 of 5 Karol, a man who became pope - Part 2 of 5 All, have a happy and blessed Easter! JPII, unum corde et anima una!   PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT for Part 1 of 5: Note: The original dialog is in Polish. The subtitles are in badly translated English. I’ve edited them a little. Words in brackets are the replaced subtitles. @6:45 - 8:06 min of video Karol: Why don’t I know how to answer her? Why do men force other men (similar) to live in absolute pain and without hope? How can we answer that? How many million of monsters inhabit this earth, Tomasz? Why are the innocent the ones who pay? How many people have to be born only to fall into an abyss (”be boundless”)? Fr Tomasz Zaleski: I can only tell you that I have looked at that Nazi in the eyes. The evil I saw was so absolute, so incomprehensibile, obscene, that I’ve felt the desire to kill him. And I am a priest! I’ve felt deeply guilty. We don’t need to hate as they do. Love… only love can prevent men from falling in the abyss. @9:06 min of video Girl 1: You are late. Karol: I’m sorry. Girl 2: We have decided to enlist in the armed groups. Everyone. Man 1: Not I. You fight with weapons, I want to fight with the word. We have the theater and the theater has to continue. Girl 1: And where? For which spectators? Man 1: It will keep on living in secret (clandestine) in our houses, in the cellars. We needs to save the word. Girl 2: Poland is prey of terror and chaos, and you talk about the theater? How do you manage not to be ashamed? Girl 3: There is no alternative. We need to take up fire-arms. Another voice: Correct! Man 1: The word is stronger than bullets! Man 2: Show it with a gun aimed at the head! Girl 1: What do you think, Karol? Men: We have decided! Armed resistence! Girl 1: Karol! Karol: Stop, wait! I understand and respect those who want to take up [aim] arms. The Nazis are exterminating our people. They also want to exterminate the culture, to cancel the Polish language. The only way to have still a future is to save our past. He who wants to choose the way of the arms, I think, it’s correct that he does it. But he [Man 1] is right, we need to keep our culture alive. We will make theater too, and we will do it secretly (clandestine). Remember: the theater is the conscience of life. Man 3: You’ll have your theater and we’ll have our arms. Karol: Ok, let’s fight the same battle… same hope and same enemy. [Embraces man 3] Man 3: Let’s go! [All embraces one another, saying] Unum corde et anima una!   FULL TRANSCRIPT for Part 2 of 5: [Scene: Gunshot rings out. Woman screams. A man pulls Karol into a room.] Man: Where do you think you’re going? Where do you run? Do you want to be killed like a dog in the middle of the road? Karol: Who are you? Man: Ian Tiranoski and who are you? Karol: Ian, you will burn your fingers… Ian: A match is ignited and it’s extinguished. It’s not the flame of a match that burns inside me. [Lights a candle.] You have not told me yet what your name is. Karol: Karol. I have to go. I am looking for a friend, a priest, for a mass. Ian: A corpse mass? Karol: Yes. Ian: We’ll win with love, not with fire. Karol: Can you say that with the Nazis just outside your door? Ian: Nazism will end, evil will devour itself, but… Karol: But… if love doesn’t triumph, Nazism will return even with another name. Do you mean that? Ian: Exactly! [Gives Karol a book] St John of the Cross, you’ll be surprised by it. It’ll become your preferred reading. Pick it up. Karol: Thanks. [New Scene: Karol talking to a priest in a church.] Karol: I want to look for the same reasons that you have, of hope and of faith, I want to close myself up in a monastery… Fr Tomasz: Karol, in such times the people need to have priests nearby and not confined in a monastery. Karol: I have thought a lot about what I want to leave, and I keep thinking about the importance of the choice that I am about to make. I wonder if it’s because I want to hide myself, or because I feel me in a guilt for all the pain that I see, or if there is something deeper… God is calling me. Fr Tomasz: John has written in his Gospel that Jesus said: “You have not chosen me but I have chosen you”. The door is open, Karol. Now it depends only on you. [New Scene: Fr Tomasz and Karol get out of a car.] Fr Tomasz: Let’s go. [The two enter a building and meets a Cardinal.] Karol: I have seen all the horror around us, and I have been drawn with strength toward a good, the priesthood. In the name of every human being, of his dignity… to know myself through the knowledge of God, to live God in the depths, I want to become priest… Cardinal: In the darkness of this evil, we have to give testimony that the divine sense of life is more important than life itself. Karol: I am here for this. Cardinal: The Nazis have closed our seminary, you are risking your life. Therefore your mother must not even know that you study here. You’ll lead your usual life, but you’ll study and meditate secretly with us every time it’s possible for you. [New Scene: Soldiers marching forward.] Commander: Arm! [ Soldiers ready rifles to shoot. Fr Tomasz standing near the wall, talking to a German captain who has earlier saved Karol's life against the wishes of a Nazi leader.] Come back, father! Come back, father! German captain: Thanks, Father, to have helped me to die. I’m safe now. I can’t see the Germany of my childhood, those white houses along the river… Commander: Father, come back! German captain: Go away, father. He has ordered you to walk away from me. Fr Tomasz: Brother! German captain: Go away, I beg you. Don’t get yourself killed. Fr Tomasz: A new day will come when your children will see on the river those same white houses. Commander: Aim! [ Soldiers raised rifles.] Fr Tomasz: [Embraces the captain] God bless you. [Nazi leader gets out of car and waves to commander.] Commander: Fire! [German captain dies. Nazi leader points gun at Fr Tomasz.] Nazi leader: Who has killed him? You or me? You have killed him, Polish priest. And now, I’m going to kill you. Fr Tomasz: [Controlling anger and grief] May God forgive you! Nazi leader: According to my god, the world must be governed by honor. Fr Tomasz: The world must be governed by love! Nazi leader: [Walks away and tells commander] Kill him. Commander: Aim! [Fr Tomasz pulls his priestly stole down from his neck and kisses it.] Commander: Fire! [Fr Tomasz dies.] [New Scene: Karol walking along a road, turns sharply around and sees the name of Fr Tomasz on a list of executed people. Weeps bitterly.] [New Scene: Student priests studying in church. An explosion.] A student [running and shouting]: They have exploded the bridge of Demlikj! the Russians are near! The Germans are going away, Poland is free! Thanks be to God. [The students embraced one another happily.] Poland is free! [Karol smiles and prays with relief.] [New Scene: Ordination of Karol Wojtyla as priest. In a church, Karol (face flat) lying on the floor. Cardinal in front of him. Choir singing and praying.] Karol: Come, Creative Spirit, I’ll be on the floor where others walk to arrive where you drive their footsteps. [New Scene: Grim-looking man walking towards Russian leader.] Russian leader: Welcome. Julian Cordec, correct? They have told me of you a thing that I judge impossible for a Polish. Julian Cordec: That I don’t hate the Russians? My best years have been at the university of Moscow. Russian leader: They say that you are not Catholic. What is it, a joke? An excuse (expedient) to have a career with us? Julian Cordec: The joke for the socialist revolution would be to let the Catholics act unmolested, don’t you think? Russian leader: Is there a reason why this should become your desk? Julian Cordec: [Hands a file to the leader.] The list of the Polish clergy. The Nazis have eliminated one third of the priests, but they are still many, too many. I won’t let them act, think, or breathe. One day, they won’t even have the time to dream about their God. [Russian leader raises cup and toasts Julian Cordec.] [INTRO SCENE for the next part of the movie: In a church. Karol turns around and camera zooms in to show a closeup of his face.] [Voiceover] I am a young face carved on the rocks of the Tatrs. May a grain field grow from my youth, mature in the hopes and the pain so that our joy may glorify You… great mystery. Uzyn, the next “Kevin Rose”? WILL PING.SG FOUNDER Uzyn Chua become the next “Kevin Rose” (Digg.com founder) in Asia? When I gave a talk on Web 2.0 & Its Business Impacts at COM1, NUS last month, I cited various real-life examples of how the blogosphere “chatter” could affect a company’s corporate image positively or negatively. Also discussed briefly the people (how they get younger and younger!) and the milestones behind successful Web 2.0 apps such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc. This slideshow provides a quick overview, featuring famous Web entrepreneurs such as Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Kevin Rose (Digg), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)… and Ping.sg celebrity Uzyn Chua (slide 19) :   Related Articles: Top Posts in Ping.sg & Tomorrow.sg Reveal That… Alexa Ranks Ping.sg Above Tomorrow.sg! Live Coverage of Flea Mart On Ping.sg A video guide to the Ping.sg celebration - by an absentee … Web 2.0 talk at CISAA, NUS GAVE A TALK ON WEB 2.0 & Its Business Impacts for the Computer & Information Science Alumni Association at COM1, NUS last month. Cited various real-life examples of how the blogosphere “chatter” could affect a company’s corporate image positively or negatively. Also discussed briefly the people (how they get younger and younger!) and the milestones behind successful Web 2.0 apps such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc. This slideshow provides a quick overview. Also features a Ping.sg celebrity towards the end (slide 19). Note: The slideshow is now featured on a similar post with a different title and intro. A Chinese YouTube movie A HEARTWARMING MOVIE on the volunteers of the upcoming Olympics 2008 in Beijing, China — thanks to Kevin Liu! The English translation is rather funny though. :-p By the way, the interface of the YouKu.com site looks very like YouTube.com! In the spirit of Web 2.0 and open-source, let’s hope YouTube (or rather Google) would let things be. Wifi, Wifi, Everywhere LOOKING FOR WIFI HOTSPOTS IN SINGAPORE? Do you know that there’s three quick and easy ways? 1. If you have online access: Search online in the Wireless@SG - Coverage Areas section of the Infocomm123.sg portal. 2. If you are online AND looking for WiFi spots in a specific area: Search online in the Wireless.map.gov.sg site. 3. If you do NOT have online access: Download and install the Infocomm123.sg Wireless@SG WiFi Finder on your PC or mobile phone beforehand. Just follow the on-screen instructions. Top 10 Application Design Mistakes LATEST ALERT from usability guru Jakob Nielsen: A list of 10 usability violations that are both particularly egregious (conspicuously bad or offensive) and often seen in a wide variety of applications: Non-Standard GUI Controls 1.a. Looking Like a GUI Control Without Being One Inconsistency No Perceived Affordance 3.a. Tiny Click Targets No Feedback 4.a. Out to Lunch Without a Progress Indicator Bad Error Messages Asking for the Same Info Twice No Default Values Dumping Users into the App Not Indicating How Info Will Be Used System-Centric Feature   Useful note: “Application usability is enhanced when users know how to operate the UI and it guides them through the workflow. Violating common guidelines prevents both… Usually, applications fail because they (a) solve the wrong problem, (b) have the wrong features for the right problem, or (c) make the right features too complicated for users to understand.” Public Speaking rant and tips DO YOU HATE PUBLIC SPEAKING? Whether your answer is “Yes” or “No”, I think you would enjoy this cute video as much as I do. HERE ARE SOME PRACTICAL TIPS from a very interesting girl called June (a.k.a. princessgx on YouTube): YouTube: US “presidents”, UK queen & now Jap PM IF YOU ARE ANYBODY OF IMPORTANCE, looks like it’s high-time you set up a channel in YouTube. As Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins has written recently on Mashable: First, the American presidential candidates, then (reportedly) the outgoing Australian Prime Minister. Then the Queen of British Empire. Now the Japanese Prime Minister. It seems now anyone who is anyone is posting videos to YouTube. Here are some of the most viewed videos: New Year’s Greetings Yasuo Fukuda_1.1.2008 (【メッセージ】福田康夫総裁新春メッセージ_2008.1.1): 14,505 views so far The Christmas Broadcast, 2007 on The Royal Channel (added in Dec 2007): 842,481 views “I Got a Crush…On Obama” By Obama Girl (added on June 13, 2007) : 4,950,736 views Related Article: Insight: Will social media change Singaporean politics?