Blogscapes

In earlier posts, I’d talked about how politicians have been jumping on the new media wagon and exploiting it to get a feel of the ground and further their popularity.  For instance, there was a Facebook standoff between Hillary, Obama and McCain some months back.

The politicians in neighbouring Malaysia have also realised the impact of new media, and the ruling party has taken an about turn on its view on new media. From disregarding it, they are now encouraging party members to keep blogs. Of course, by now, everyone has probably heard of and/or read Mahathir’s blog.

In Singapore, our local politicians have also started to use new media to reach out to the public. First there was George Yeo who was the face of PAP’s new media user, who blogged about his experiences. Now, more and more of the PAP’s members have started to adopt new media as part of their communications strategy. Teo Ser Luck is on Facebook and Vivian Balakhrishnan keeps his own blog.

According to the Today article, PAP MP Lam Pin Min (Ang Mio Kio GRC) said that, “The power of the Internet as a political tool must not be underestimated as demonstrated by the experience of the recent elections in our neighbouring countries. The party understands this and takes the feedback from netizens very seriously.”

Of course, new media shouldn’t just be used for the sake of using it. To be meaningful, it should serve as a platform for open discussion and feedback, and not a channel for propaganda.

Well, do share your thoughts about what you hope to see being used and done in new media by our local politicians.

A group of Singapore bloggers hold public forum on Internet freedom and regulation.

They want, amidst others, “a guarantee of freedom to use the Internet to discuss political issues and promote political views”. Hm…wishful thinking?

Last year, I wrote a post about racist bloggers in Singapore.

You’d think that after that episode, bloggers would be more careful about what  they blog about. I mean, come on, it would be pretty naive to still hang on to the notion that blogs are for your own eyes only, and that  they have no real consequences beyond the virtual world.

But, just yesterday, another Singaporean blogger has been arrested for putting up a racist blog. The 24 year-old goes by the onscreen moniker, Fragrance Prince.

When I tried to access the Fragrance Prince blog, I was given the message that the blog is only for invited readers. Looks like he’s wised up a little.

Anyway, some other bloggers managed to get hold of his so-called apology on his blog before he restricted access to it, and according to them, this is what Fragrance Prince said,

Quoted from http://fragranceprince.blogspot.com

Sincere Apologies
Dear Readers,

I would like to express my sincere apologies for any misinterpretation to my blog entry.

I regret having mentioned this entry in my blog which I didn’t expect it to turn out to be like this, I should have been more mindful.

Once again, I am sincerely apologetic for the recent events that had happen.

Your’s sincerely,
Franco

Well, apology or no apology, Fragrance Prince’s words have certainly caused a stink on the blogosphere and beyond.

Everyone seems to have a blog these days.

Celebrities and politicians know that it’s one way to keep in touch with the public and let their views be heard.

Malaysia’s ex-PM has just started Dr Mahathir’s blog. In his blog preface, he writes, this site is dedicated to publishing my writings as and when I am able to pen my thoughts and opinion.

Interested parties, including the Press, are welcomed to reproduce or quote materials published here with the condition that they are credited to chedet.com.

Comments and feedbacks accompanied by names or pseudonyms are welcomed. Anonymous postings and those containing profanities and obscenities will be rejected.
- Che Det

He used Che Det, which is his nickname from before. Dr M mentions that  he would like to ”allow a healthy debate and to gauge points of view which differ from [his] own”. I guess he’s not content with just letting his daughter’s views be expressed on Marina’s blog, but wants in on letting the people know what’s on his mind as well.

Well, in a way, Dr M’s blog is the latest in a series of blogs Malaysian politician’s both current and past are racing to set up.

Well, if local opposition politician from WP, Low Thia Khiang had a blog, then perhaps he could give us his side of the story, as to why he responded with deafening silence to PM Lee’s question in Parliament recently on the Mas Salamat issue.

The blogosphere is thriving! This is especially so with the number of China’s Internet users hitting new highs. Even in the rurul areas of China,  the numbers surged 127.7% in 2007.

In fact, China has become the fastest-growing Internet population with 221 million online users. This makes it a tie with the number of users in the US. The number has exploded despite the Chinese government’s efforts to curb access to materials they deem as offensive or pornographic. Remember the cute policeman and policewoman policing the Internet and screens of the Chinese online users? Perhaps, it is because of the imposed curbs and censorship that has caused the surge in online use.

This growing number of Internet users is seen as a cause of concern for Chinese officials who feel that users would turn to the Internet for their subversive activities and discussions.

Or perhaps they need not worry so much as many Chinese have turned to the Internet to rally support amongst the Chinese against the pro-Tibet acitivists during the Olympic Torch Relay through the various countries.

Perhaps, the Chinese government would like to take a leaf from the Malaysian government in its about turn in moving from ignoring and criticising the Internet to embracing it. It’s now calling all its members to write blogs and use new media to connect with the electorate and general public. It’s learnt its mistake of not using new media, thus leaving a void for other online discussions to take place without it.

In Singapore, blogs, websites and other new media abound to supplement and complement the news in mainstream media and serve as alternative forms of engagement. 

I do believe that using new media would in a way help to engage with younger voters and members of the public, but new media in itself would not do much - you would still need good, quality content, and online conversations that would be open to all, and of course, an open mind.

I’m listening to MiG Ayesa of WWRY fame on Power 98 FM right now. He’s having an interview and singing unplugged on the show!

What’s amazing with the Internet is that you don’t need the radio to listen to radio anymore. You just have to go to the Power 98 website  and click to listen live.

What’s more, even if you missed it, I’m pretty sure you can download the podcast to listen to it, or even if you didn’t miss it, fans of MiG will be able to download the podcast and listen to it again and again.

Yeah, the power of new media!

And MiG also plugged the use of new media for aspiring artistes. And he is one who knows the power of new media.

Singapore has just announced its new video rating system that’s meant to help gamers, and especially the parents of young gamers, to make more informed choices about the type of games to play.

According to the Straits Times article, “Titles that contain possible objectionable content will come with stickers to warn buyers. Those that have realistic violence, drug use, nudity and frequent use of coarse language will be rated M18, for a mature audience that is 18 and older. Games that have moderate level of violence, portrayal of implied sexual activity, nudity without details, coarse language and depiction of drugs will be rated ‘Age Advisory’ and restricted to those 16 and older.”

Other than that, games that are deemed for general play do not have stickers, such as the Mario Bros games. 

Of course, the new game rating has drawn mixed views, just like when the new film rating system was implemented many years back.

Some wonder if the licensing needed for the game rating will cause game prices to rise. Some also find that groups of gamers made up for a range of ages would also be affected, as it’s been known that there are parents out there who game with their kids.

There are others who welcome it, and feel that the rating gives some idea as to the suitability of the game.

Then, of course, there are others who feel that the enforcement of the rating system needs to be worked out as there could be loopholes, such as someone older buying the game for someone younger.

Actually, if you think about it, the same arguments apply to all other age-defined policies, such as film rating, consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

And what can be done about online games? Could there be any regulation for them?

In an earlier post, I talked about the controversial game, Ms Bimbo. Hm..I wonder what rating Singapore would give it, and if it’s even possible to implement such rating on online games.

What do you think?

I caught the matinee performance of  We Will Rock You  last Saturday at the Singapore Esplanade Theatre, and had a really good time! Yes, the music was loud! The place really rocked and Mig Ayesa really rocked as the lead protaganist, Galileo Figaro.

I recall watching Mig on the reality TV show about INXS looking for a lead singer, and remembered that he had a really good voice and great presence on that show. Thus, it was a real treat to see him in person.

I must admit, though, that initially I wasn’t too taken with his portrayal of a geeky young boy, I mean he’s no 18 year old!  But when he sang, he really sang and he really rocked the house! Even on a Saturday afternoon! Mig was able to reflect the different layers and nuances of his character and that was matched by his ability to flex his voice and manipulate the wonderful sounds he created. No wonder the audience gave a standing ovation. Of course the rest of the cast were great  too.

I guess you can say that I’m a Mig fan now. Wanting to find out more about Mig, I decided to check the Internet. Guess what, instead of official Mig sites or We Will Rock You sites, I found many blogs devoted wholly to him! One of them was called Mig Ayesa, Rock Star Extraordinaire and is a great gateway to other Mig sites. I shall not replicate the links here but it has a pretty extensive blogroll to many other Mig sites, including Mig’s Myspace site. You get to read his blog (well, I’d like to believe that it’s him and not his publicist) and also write to him!

And you know what, I’ve now got Mig on my MySpace network (well, it’s the extended network, but hey, it’s still my network)! And there’s also the Mig music site where you can go to listen to his latest tracks as well as watch his music videos. You can also read about Mig’s experience in Singapore. There’s also Mig’s Youtube channel and you can subscribe to his videos. Mig is also on another community channel, Gather.com.

You know what, this guy is a whiz at using new media!

New media really works as a great marketing tool too. Not that we mind as we get to read and hear more about Mig and his music! Rock on, Mig! 

Congrats to Singapore for winning the bid to host the Youth Olypics 2010!

I got this from http://prspeak.wordpress.com/, that new media will feature significantly in the Youth Olympics.  

And why not? New Media resonates with the young, and is a good way to reach out to the youths. It’s exciting to see how new media will be used for the Youth Olympics. 

In previous posts, I’ve talked about different people achieving fame (or infamy), via new media, and the most common method of doing this is to put videos of themselves or their work on Youtube.

We’ve heard about actors and singers getting ‘discovered’ on Youtube, and writers being talent-spotted on their blogs.

One recent case is that of NUS undergrad Donovan Lee. The former NJC student was so disappointed that his 4As and 2 S papers were not enough to get him into an Ivy League, that he decided to record videos of himself in a series called Gaussian Math and post them on Youtube.

In his series of videos, he takes viewers through complex Mathematical concepts such as Vector Integral Calculus and Kepler’s Laws in a direct and engaging way. He’s hoping that the videos can add to his repertoir and achievements and help him get into a top school, very much like how writing a book, or making a documentary would help (and hey, we live in an age of new media, right, so why not Youtube your way to success?)

Interestingly, the videos are recorded in his bedroom in Bishan and he uses a whiteboard as a teaching aid. Donovan has acquired a fan base that stretches overseas.

Curious, I decided to take a look at some of the videos. Watching his video, you can see how his videos have been getting so many hits each day. The undergrad speaks clearly and in an engaging way and seems pretty personable. Educational and entertaining, not a bad combination to have. Well, even if he doesn’t get his spot in a top school, it’s likely that he’ll get a spot in showbiz as a presenter! Afterall, he’s already a guest speaker in his alma mater.