Could have been a love story

Came across this little cute could have been love story on Youtube.

It shows a pair of friends communicating via the Facebook chat function, and while they are clearly into each other (to the viewer), they keep revising what they want to say, stripping off all sentimentality and emotion from their original expressions and paring them down to seemingly nonchalant and platonic responses, such as a simple cool.

While social media platoforms do make it easier for someone to access another person and communicate with each others, especially in real-time, the usual should-I say-this and what-will-he/she-think-of-me-if-I-say-this hang-ups still remain in (budding) relationships.

In a way, that’s quite reassuring and that’s what makes this such a cute little story. Could-have, should-have…well, it could have been a love story. Enjoy.

I’m sure you will smile when you watch it.

Egypt protests with new media

The world is reeling from the shockingly quick descent of Egypt into chaos and destruction as the country implodes with riots and violence, with many of the Egyptians calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

New media platforms in the likes of Facebook and Twitter have been added to the heady mix of volatile politics in the region. Often seen as tools for democratisation that give voice to the everyman, Facebook and Twitter were used by the Egyptians to stir up sentiments against Mubarak, and garner supporters to organise anti-government protest marches. This resulted in the government shutting down the Internet, adding much fuel to the already raging fire of hatred and discontentment.

To add to all this is Kenneth Cole’s infamous tweet: 

Millions are in uproar in #Cairo,” the tweet read. “Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC

Kenneth Cole angered many, who saw him capitalising and trivialising the Eyptian political crisis. Cole has since tweeted his apology. An obviously offended person actually put up the tweet on one of the store windows. Cole has tweeted that it was a prank and that he was not responsible for the inappropriate store display.

Looks like Kenneth Cole’s new media faux pax serves as important lessons in new media PR for all. On, what a twit, er, I mean, tweet.

We can continue to follow the unfolding situation in Egypt through tweets: http://twitter.com/#search?q=egypt%20protests and http://twitter.com/#search?q=egypt%20. Youtube is also full of videos showing angry protests in Cairo. The political struggle is also one played out in new media.

Is Social Media Making Students Dumb?

I just read this interesting article about how social media and cellphones could be making students dumb!

It cites some examples from a recent report about how growing up digital could be wiring young people up for distraction.

• 14-year-old girl sends and receives 27,000 text messages a month. The girl texts every spare moment she can. Yet believe it or not, sometimes she “forgets” to do her homework.
• David Reilly, a high school principal in California, moved the start of classes to 9 a.m. Reason: Too many students coming into school “bleary-eyed” from texting and surfing the Web all night.
• 17-year-old student spends hours every day playing video games and surfing social media sites. His teachers think he’s gifted. Yet he’s carrying a 2.3 grade point average. Instead of finishing the short novel “Cat’s Cradle” this past summer, he read Facebook.

Is technology and social media breeding a generation of restless students with short attention spans and abilities that at best can be for superficial analysis?

What do you think? Do share your views.

Farmville Death

Just a few months back, we were horrified about how a Korean couple ended up killing their real child when they spent too much time on their virtual child.

Now, there’s another game-related death of a child. We are once again horrified by how a mother’s obsession and addiction to the Facebook game, Farmville, has led to the death of a baby.

The 22-year old mother from Jacksonville was so incensed by her 3-month old baby’s cries while she was playing Farmville that she shook him hard a couple of times, which probably caused the baby’s head to hit against something and he died as a result. Who would think that an innocuous site like Farmville could have such a devastating and deadly impact!

According to Mashable/Social Media site,

FarmVille, named one of the “worst inventions” in recent decades by Time magazine, has more than 60 million members, most of whom access the game through Facebook. Some players have found it so addicting that they’ve lost their jobs and racked up debts north of S1000.

Someone once told me that her brother was so addicted to the game that he would set his alarm clock to wake him up to harvest his crops, and that could even be at 3am in the morning!

Well, I guess losing sleep over a game is one thing, but killing a life…that’s something else all together.

Stop letting such virtual games get in the way of REAL LIFE!

Twitter and Facebook Wedding

Talk about your life being an open (face)book and how you could be tweeting your life away…I came across this wedding video on Youtube where just after the couple have exchanged their vows and are married, they both whip out their mobile devices to update their status on their social networking sites!

I don’t know if that’s cute or sad…

One wonders what their friends will hear of next…what they did on their honeymoon, their first quarrel, what they feel about the in-laws, etc, etc…Talk about how one can be so intimately entwined with new media!

Facebook can save you from a jail term!

Who would think that being on Facebook can save you from a jail sentence!

That thought definitely did not cross 19 year old, Rodney Bradford’s mind when he posted a question to his girlfriend about his breakfast on his profile.

That timing proved to be the time when a robbery he was suspected of as being the criminal, was staged, and the investigators were able to trace the post to be from his father’s keyboard, which indicated that he was nowhere near the crime scne.

So, in a way, Facebook saved him from a jail term, and the facebook alibi  saved him!

By the same token, I wonder if someone who posted on his profile or blog that he was drink driving or using his handphone while driving or, worse, that he had committed some great crime, would be charged for his ‘online confession’?

New Media at the PAP Conference 2009

In a move to show that it’s embracing the use of new media, there was new media tools galore at the recent People’s Action Party (PAP) Conference 2009.

A team of young PAP bloggers were on hand to capture and update posts on the fly on the PAP website as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and netizens could also send Twitter updates and comments. At the same time, partcipants at the event could sms their comments and questions, making the whole atmosphere seem very Web 2.0 – the age of participation and engagement.

According to an article by CNA, “this is the first time new media tools have been given such a prominent spot at the PAP Convention. It is part of a broader effort to update and refresh the party image, reach out to the wider public, and hopefully bring in new members”. Young PAP has a Facebook page to reach out to the young too.

I believe this could be seen as a sincere attempt by the party to use new media to engage its members as well as the larger public. This could be a response to comments made about lip service and all.

The party also screened his political video, in a move to signal that yes, political videos are acceptable. In fact, the government has announced that political videos would be allowed for the next GE.

This is one of the videos – on Unsung Heroes:

Also, in a move to also reflect the age of participation in the live event, (not just in virtual worlds) the party invited ordinary members to make speeches and reach out to their fellow member.

We look forward to seeing how new media will be used to enhance the political climate in Singapore!

New Media TIME

Some people must be wondering why they should continue with their subscription to Time magazine, or any other print publication when you can get informed and connected in so many other ways!

There is an online TIME where you can get TIME on Facebook; Twitter. Not only that, TIME is also available in the form of mobile updates; RSS and widgets and online newsletters. And then there’s TIME on Youtube and podcasts!

Here’s a Youtube reporting on test-driving the new Beatles rock band!

Traditional print media is increasingly supplemented by new media. That seems the way to go, as publications embark on new media ways to connect with their ‘digital native’ audiences.

Will I soon be ending my subscription to the print version? No, I don’t think so. At least not yet.

George Yeo on Facebook

I’ve written previously about how politicians are using new media to reach out and stay connected with the public. Local politician Mr George Yeo has been one of the ‘pioneers’ amongst his politican peers to use new media. He started with his blogging and then progressed to having a Facebook page which he updates pretty regularly. So now, you can go on and poke George Yeo. He go so popular that he exceeded the 5000-friends limit and has since started a new public facebook page to accommodate the ever-increasing number of friends and suuporters.

It seems that his use of new media has helped to make him more approachable. Just the other day, a student who was facing some Visa problems for her trip to the US emailed him, and he was able to help her sort out her mess. No doubt, this will help boost his popularity even further and will no doubt prompt others to turn to him for help. Already, many supporters are sending him messages and leaving him encouraging notes on his facebook page!

It certainly looks like Mr George Yeo has found success with new media!

New Media Faith

 I wrote previously about the Pope being on Youtube. Not surprising, many religious organisations have gone online and are using new media to reach out to the faithful!

I think it’s great that we can now listen to sermons online via podcasts, or even view services  online.  Many churches in Singapore have also started posting videos on Youtube, so that members of the congregation who missed the service or who want to watch or listen to it again can do so.

You can read or even view others’ testimonies online, or post your own at http://www.newcreation.org.sg/testimonies/testimonies.htm.  You can even watch Miracle TV on Lighthouse Evangelism and view a youtube video on the Book of Revelation . And if you want to donate to the church, you can also do that online at http://www.covenantvision.org/index.php?option=com_donation&Itemid=88.

There are online bookstores where you can purchase books, CDs and more.

Some may say that  such online faith is only a substitute. Listening to a podcast or watching a Youtube video is not the same as going to church. But such online resources can be of great help. Church services could be on only once or twice a week, but online, you can get your faith messages at all times of the week! Church Facebook groups also help to connect  members of a congregation.

New media is making it convenient to have faith and build up faith. I think that’s a good thing, as long as it doesn’t become a convenient faith.

What do you think?