Blood Cockles

you warm the cockles of my heart

November 21, 2008

Thoughts on building a community site

One of the tough decisions I face when deciding to create a community site is to decide whether to build it on top of existing social network platforms like Facebook and Friendster or create my own branded social network using platforms like Ning.
 
Each approach has it pro and cons and hopefully in this entry I can share with you some of my thoughts.
 
Building on existing social networks 
Using existing networks like Facebook, Friendster, etc has a few advantages. It is easy and fast to setup your own community site. It takes less than 10 minutes to create your own business page in Facebook. A big group of existing users also means that it is easier for people to join your community.
 
However customization options are usually limited, making it difficult to achieve the same look and feel that is consistent with your brand image. Available features is also limited to your chosen platform. In most cases, the data are also kept within the platform and it would not be an easy task trying to export information of community users out of the platform. 
 
Building your own branded social network
Platforms like Ning, allows you to build your own social network and provides a high degree of customization. This provides a lot of flexibility when it comes to designing the look and feel that is consistent with the brand image. Other benefits includes customizing the features on the site, access control, etc. 
 
The most useful thing to me is the ability to customize the user profile questions to make it specific to your community. For example if you are creating a community for gadgets lovers, your profile questions might ask your members the type of gadgets that they own. This information can then be exported for use in creating a more targeted and relevant eDM campaign or used in further analysis to gain insights about your community members.
 
The key challenge to creating your own branded social network is that you will need more effort to get people to join your community. Why would anyone bother to take the time to create a new account just to be in your community and that is assuming that they even knew about it in the first place. Customizing the site to your desired look and feel could also take up substantial time and effort.   
 
I guess that covers most of my thoughts on the 2 different approaches from the technical perspective. I have started using the Ning platform a year back mainly due to certain features set that I need. Now it has become less relevant as existing social networks become more stable and mature. I am beginning to love the new Facebook pages. The question now is how should I go about doing it. Should I use it to direct traffic to my existing site on Ning or should I try to get the existing members to move to the Facebook page? 
 
Before deciding on that, the key question that I need to ask myself is "What do I plan to do with the community?".
 
Will share my learning on subsequent entries. At the meantime, do let me know what are your thoughts on this.

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November 14, 2008

Meals that I miss from HCM

I had been really busy in the last few weeks with Internships and lot of project work due. I was planning to go for one of those simple pleasures with Eve considering that tonight I just clear a project off my list. But mum prepared a good meal hence I decided to head home instead.

Nevertheless, I know I must definitely plan for another session soon. I am beginning to hear those blood cockles calling out for me.

"Open me, taste my flesh, dip me in the balacan chilli. I know you want me..."

You know it is bad the moment you start halluncinating. For now I just have to keep the desire under control with these pictures.

               

I can vivdly remember that every night, rain or moonlight, we headed out for these shellfishes, accompanied by bottles of Saigon beer. They were really shoik, not forgetting to mention the fact that each plate of these delicious flesh costs only $3 a plate and the beer at only $1.50 per bottle.

These are definitely my most missed meals from the visit to Ho Chih Minh and I am sure those shellfishes miss me too...

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November 07, 2008

Women feel safe with men who smoke


A very creative ad shared by a classmate which sparked off an interesting discussion on it. My personal opinion is that though the ad is impactful, I doubt it is really effective. It left an impression on me because of the clever way it communicates the message instead of the message itself. 


Nevertheless, it is a very refreshing approach for an anti-smoking ad. What are your thoughts?

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November 06, 2008

A tribute to Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton had passed away. This was a sad new to me. I love his books since young. After watching the movie Jurassic Park in my younger days, I went and bought the book. From then on, I am hooked to his great storytelling. I had since read almost all of his books. Most of his books are based on the theme of science and technology and they are really good. His great talent lies in his ability in weaving science together with an addictive dose of superb storytelling.

I love his works and remember the books that he wrote, yet I never knew how he look like or how old was he. As I grew older, I bought his books for my younger cousins and at the same time looking forward to his new titles. It was assume that he will always be there, writing more great books year after year. I may not have known him personally but his demise will definitely be missed.

In the life of great authors, perhaps the best tribute to them is remembering the great works that they had left behind. Thanks for being a part of my life.

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November 05, 2008

The power of unity

Yes, Barack Obama has become the president of the United States! I
seems like my earlier doubts were unfounded. Not only was it a
victory, it was a landslide. The Americans, together with the rest of
the world celebrated this historic moment. Even the world financial
markets took a break and joined in the celebration with their own
rallies.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

-Sen. Barack Obama (Full transcript)

It is touching to see the unity of the United States at this historic
moment. Martin Luther King, Jr. too would be proud. It is the moment of
truth for me. As a Singaporean, I have always thought that I live in a pretty democratic
society. This campaign shows what it really means to have true
democracy.

In moment of crisis, true leaders stood up. Perhaps it was no longer
important to know who had the better plan or the better policy. What
matters the most in tough times is having the one leader who can
inspire, lead and unite the people. For America, It is no doubt that
President Barack Obama is the one.

 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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November 02, 2008

Will Obama be the One?

This is getting exciting. It is only 2 days away from the US presidential election. I am glad it is coming to an end. No doubt it is highly entertaining, but campaigning for 2 years with millions of dollars spent on it, just seems ridiculous to me.

McCain and Obama, who will be the one?

It is tough to say who is really the best candidate for the job considering that there are so many issues at hand. In my opinion, the economy is already in deep shit and I don't think either one of them can significantly make any difference at this point of time.

With that said, given a choice, my vote goes to Obama. He just seems so much more credible and believable compared to McCain. Lets not forget that McCain is already 71 years old. The news coming from Wall Street can be hard on the heart. God forbids but should anything happen to McCain, Palin will be the president! I know she is hot and good in diplomatic relationships considering the fact that she can see Russia from the windows of her Alaska home.

But if history is of any relevance, it is not hard to relate economic progress with the Democrats and wars with the Republicans. Obama seems a safer choice. Pardon the pun.

So far Obama seems to have a lead in the current polls yet I can't help but feel that he might not be the one. Geert Hofstede research on cultural dimensions could be applicable in this case. US is one country that has Individualism as the highest, indicating a society with a likely more individualistic attitude that looks out for themselves and their close family members.

On the surface, collectivism might took over as everyone echoes support for change. Yet when it comes to making that vote as individuals, a different set of considerations might come into play. Would individual perception to the color of the skin matters more than the collective good? When it comes to issues of race, it is like the strong underwater currents that drown the swimmer. It is just not possible to tell from the surface.

Change has been the message of this campaign and rightfully so considering the current financial crisis . Are the Americans ready for change? Before we even come to that, perhaps the question at hand will be whether the Americans are ready for their first black president.

 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

- Benjamin Franklin

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October 30, 2008

Savings gone in a flash

My wife and I adopt a long term approach when it comes to our investment in stocks. Another reason was also due to the lack of time to actively monitor the movement of the stock prices. With the recent financial crisis, I did expect an impact on my investments but was totally shocked at the extent of it. Based on the current value, more than 15k of investment was wipe off. I was expecting a 20% drop not 50%! Terribly heartbroken that our hard earned savings were wiped out just like that.
 
I do not think that the worse is over yet. This crisis has revealed many critical flaws in the financial system and all the efforts so far are just trying to create an illusion of optimism so as to cushion the fall. Significant changes to the global financial system has to happen before there is any real hope of recovery. Other than occasional spikes in the prices, I don't think the bottom is in sight yet. The impact of defaults in credit card payments has not even come into the picture yet.
 
Saying that the US economy is in a mess is an understatement. No doubt it is a rich country, its debt right now is totally ridiculous. Based on its current debt and its population, each citizen share of the debt is $35K. How the hell are they ever going to pay that?
 
The Bush administration chalk up extra $4 trillion in debt in less than 8 years and I can't help but wonder how many future generations of Americans will it take just to even reduce the debt.
 
What a crazy world we are living in.

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October 24, 2008

You wouldn't start a night like this

It is great to drink and get high but if it gets to the state of puking all over yourselves, that isn't cool. I am not sure if teens in Singapore have this problem but I sure do see a lot of young folks puking along the pubs behind Boat Quay. Sometime you get to see these young Ah Lians which look really pretty and sexy, that is till you see them lying on the floor with puke all over themselves.

The UK Home Office did great campaign on the unglam side of binge drinking.






Great message that drives home the point. 
You wouldn't start a night like this. Why end it this way?

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October 23, 2008

Life's simple pleasures

Life is full of ups and downs. Looking at the current situation, it seems like there are only downs, with no bottom in sight. Thankfully for me, there are simple pleasures in life that keeps me going. A simple meal of half cooked blood cockles, sambal kang kong and a bottle of Tiger beer at Newton Food Center is the best therapy for me.


To make things better, my wife is one of those rare female species that actually knows how to enjoy cockles, making her an ideal companion for these therapeutic sessions. Well I am not sure if the above combination is really healthy but it sure warms the cockles of my heart! 

How about you? What are your life's simple pleasures?

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October 22, 2008

A really disappointing day

Today was a terribly disappointing day for me.

It has been a desire for me to go back to doing software product management once I graduate from school. I was interviewing for a position as a product manager in one company that I really like to start my new career in. After 6 interviews over 4 sessions in the past few months, today I got the official notification that I was not selected.

The funny thing was that my mum seems to have this strange forecasting ability. This morning she suddenly said to me, "Are you stress about getting the job? It is alright, don't think too much about it."

Later in the day, I got the result through email. The disappointment is really unbearable. It is something that I really wanted. It feels so near yet so elusive. I keep having the thoughts that i should have work harder but then again I am also not sure what else I could have done that might result in a different outcome.

Thankfully I got really great support and encouragement from my mum, my wife and some of my friends which really makes a difference.

The best thing to do now is to try and sleep off my disappointment. After all, tomorrow awaits.

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