But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a good reason to still share the news with those of you who don’t know about this!

“What is FRANK by OCBC?” you may be wondering. So I’m going to try to explain it the way I see it, and hopefully you guys will like the concept as much as I do!

To me…

FRANK is a ‘retail concept’ of a bank which comes in the form of a physical shop/bank. You step into a FRANK store and you’ll be surprised at how it does NOT look like a bank, but a regular store instead. It’s so fun, so non-threatening, so warm and so unlike a bank! It all ties in with OCBC’s new direction, of making banking accessible and friendly and easily-understood by its customers!

They’re really doing a great job at making saving and banking fun and accessible to youths, I must say!

FRANK is about being true (Frank, get it? Haha) to yourself (about how much money you have, how much money you owe, how much money you need to save).

Come on, face it. How many of us are really FRANK with ourselves about our monetary matters? In fact, I for one, hate looking at my bank balance until I absolutely have to! It depresses me. But NO LONGER! Cos now with OCBC, I get better control over my money, and I can save better! How? Read on!

So how do I get into this FRANK thing?

FRANK by OCBC has 2 main products – the FRANK Account and the FRANK Debit Card. Yes, both are interlinked. (Debit Card applicants must be above 16 years though!)

So let me share with you some of the awesome things about a FRANK Account:

• No initial deposit – WOOHOO!
• No monthly fees – WOOHOO!
• Cash withdrawals at any overseas ATMs that carry a Mastercard logo
• Practically no queues at the OCBC ATMs in Singapore cos there are over 1100 ATMs islandwide! (I always snigger and give condescending and patronizing looks to people who have to queue up to get their own money from their bank accounts, hahahaha)
• Banking on the go – online banking and mobile (application and mobile-optimized online banking website!)
• Attractive interest rates of 0.3% to 0.6% per annum (this is not an investment-based bank account, so that’s really what you get!)
• And the best part is that you can create “Savings Goals” every month, which will help you save more! For example you can set a “Boracay trip” goal, and aim to put $100 in every month automatically. You won’t be able to touch this money or withdraw unless it’s an emergency (you’ll have to go through several steps to withdraw from this section of your account). You can have more than 1 savings goal too! See? Saving can be fun!

But that’s not all!

Each FRANK account also has a FRANK Debit Card tied to it. What’s so awesome about this debit card?It’s a MasterCard and NETS card, 2-in-1! Discounts as an OCBC cardmember! AND! The designs – WOW. Over 130 card designs to choose from!

Here are some designs that I really liked!

Camera, Broadway, coffee mug stain and giraffe prints! <3

The gallery of card designs available, on display at FRANK Stores. The designer series is updated frequently, so you can change the design of your card without having to change your debit card number, as frequently as you want! Over 130 card designs to choose from! Each change comes with a fee, but you can get it free now! Read to the end to find out how! (Giveaway, yo!)

Another design that I thought was super adorable… Hello, Kitty!

So I bet you’re not wanting to rush down to the nearest FRANK Store to get your cards. There are currently 2 Frank Stores – at NTU and SMU – but fret not, you can sign up for FRANK accounts and debit cards at any of the 54 OCBC branches islandwide too.

OKAY! So I have some news for you guys.

Those of you who want to get a FRANK Account and Debit Card, I have 3x FRANK card design vouchers worth $20 each to give away!

(It costs $20 to make each card design yours, or to change your card design). Do note: If you don’t wanna get a special design now, you can still get the debit card with the basic design.

With these vouchers, you can choose any design as your debit card, or (if you already have a FRANK debit card) to change your card design to any of the 130 card designs, absolutely free.

If you want one, just leave a message below before 17 Nov 2011 at 2359 hrs. I will pick 3 readers randomly to get a voucher each. This will be mailed to you, so please ensure you leave behind a REAL email address so I can contact you for your postal address.

Also, great news for those of you who have graduated from school. They’re opening a new FRANK Store soon, at VivoCity! It will be the first one outside campus, and you can head there to check it out from next week onwards, I think! Keep a look out! I’ll be attending the launch event for the VivoCity Store next week, so… Stay tuned for more cool OCBC stuff. <3

Debit Cards not your thing?

TADAH! FRANK Credit Cards are coming soon! (actually they’ve launched, you just have to go to the bank to request for an application form, or email frankbyocbc@ocbc.com for a digital copy)

In my next post, I’ll be sharing (raving) about the OCBC online banking site and mobile banking app. Both of which in my opinion are THE BEST in Singapore! As I tweeted last week…

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BTW, I just want to give a shout out to the senior bank executives from OCBC who came up to me during the FRANK store launch event to speak with me about a previous issue that I wrote about, on their bank services. I was surprised to know that they had read it, taken the feedback seriously, and was really glad to hear their reassurances that their backend operations are being improved. I just have to say that despite my previous grievances, OCBC still remains my bank of choice, not just because all the rest suck, but because they have proven to me that they are worth staying with.

Many of you must have read at least one book by Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell, whose books The Tipping Point, Outliers and Blink have all made it to the Number 1 spot on the New York Times best-sellers list.

This August, I’m privileged to be invited by the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) for their 30th SIM Annual Management Lecture (AML), where Malcolm Gladwell will be speaking in two keynote presentations:

1. The Human Capitalization Challenge
2. The Entrepreneurial Profile

I’ve read two of Gladwell’s books, and I’m definitely excited to hear him speak in person.

His books are logical; you will find yourself nodding in agreement while turning the pages, and yet they are also set against conventional wisdom; making you think twice about topics ranging from social psychology to marketing, politics to self-help, and also decision-making strategies.

Having studied Human Resources in my diploma course, I am aware that many companies these days have a problem not just in talent acquisition and talent retention, but also talent capitalization. In the first keynote, Gladwell will share his thoughts and learnings about how to best ‘exploit’ the available human capital in an organization, to ensure highest efficiency at the workplace. This is relevant not only to HR managers, but also all persons within a managerial-level position, business owners, as well as supervisory-level staff.

The second keynote should be of interest to current business owners and potential entrepreneurs. Gladwell will be profiling the ‘entrepreneur type’, so I’m definitely interested to see if I fall into that ‘type’. I’ve never thought of myself as a risk-taker; yet Gladwell opines that entrepreneurs are operationally risk-averse. Regardless, this session is bound to shed some light on how we can encourage innovation and entrepreneurism at our workplace.

If you’re interested in these talks, check out the SIM-AML Facebook page, where you can find out how you can buy a ticket to this full day seminar event, as well as how you can WIN a complimentary event pass worth up to S$1337.50 (inclusive of GST and buffet lunch).

SIM Annual Management Lecture 30th Anniversary
Event details:
26 August 2011 (Friday)
9am to 4pm
Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

This post is sponsored by SIM Annual Management Lecture.

If you’re a fan of TEDx, you’ll definitely like this series of talks brought to you by the NUS Office of Alumni Relations.

Every month, U@live brings 1 speaker from the NUS community (students, faculty, alumni) to the central stage to speak for 10 minutes. This forum is meant to inspire young people to believe in the causes they are inspired about, to take action, and in turn, inspire others.

I know what you’re thinking: Do I need to be an NUS Community member to participate and/or attend? Nope! Anyone is welcome to participate and/or attend!

Visit the U@livewebsite to find out more about the event, or read on!

This July, U@live presents Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in an event bound to create headlines and make YOU think about the world beyond Singapore and our role in it.

“Do Asians believe in the rise of Asia?”, Prof. Kishore asks. Do you think the decline of western dominance comes at a time when Asia is ready to take on the western world, to provide the type of leadership that the world needs? Are we ready for this shift of global power to the east?

Do Asians believe in the rise of Asia? – Prof. Kishore Mahbubani

Come join us on 27 July 2011, 7:30pm onwards at the NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni House.

Here’s how you can take part:

Join the Google Moderator page to ask questions:

You can also login with your Twitter, Facebook, Windows Live, Google Account, Yahoo ID, or Open ID to interact with the speaker and ask questions through the U@live website:

I’ll be attending the event at NUS. Hope to see you there!

If you would like to nominate a speaker from the NUS Community because he/she has inspired you, contact U@live!

Watch this short video to find out more about U@live:

Introduction Video – U@live by NUS

I still clearly remember how we first met.

Some time in January this year, I was complaining on Twitter that London hotels and even budget accommodation were so exorbitantly priced, and that the ones within my budget were dingy, dodgy and disgustingly flea-ridden (according to tripadvisor reviews).

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I received a Tweet from you, asking me to consider the various apartments available on your website for rent.

My initial thought was: “Pssh. Property agents!” – But after checking out your Twitter profile page, I was surprised to find that you were not a property agent!

And so I clicked.

And there I was, transported into a world full of amazing properties available for rent as holiday homes, in over 250 cities around the world!

My first impression of you was instantly dispelled, and I was immediately drawn to the exhilarating possibility of finding an accommodation in London that was affordable, clean, and homely!

How Roomorama.com worked just blew my mind – it was a platform that helped match hosts (people who have rooms or apartments to rent), and guests (who are looking places to rent).

It’s kinda like a hotel booking site, except I get to stay at apartments in non-touristy neighbourhoods rather than in hotels. Like this one, Doughty Street in Bloomsbury, London:

I found that Roomorama.com answered all my needs as a traveller! I usually prefer to stay with locals, interact with them, instead of staying at hotels.

I found that hosts on your website usually offer free use of the apartment’s kitchenette where I could cook meals if I found eating out too expensive, boring, cumbersome, etc. Many hosts also offered wi-fi internet, washing machines, etc. That’s brilliant! Although I don’t cook, at least I can microwave. Hehe!

After searching searching through a pretty impressive list of hosts and their homes, I finally settled on getting a room in the Bloomsbury area in London.

Still within Zone 1 of London, this apartment was, as the host promised, within a short walking distance to the Russell Square Underground Tube station. Perfect!

Plus, the host (Jeffrey) was really really friendly when we corresponded through Roomorama.com‘s private message! His rates were listed at £42 a night, for 2 persons! Seriously, how do you beat such prices with hotels? We ended up paying £70 a night for 3 persons (we asked him for the extra sofa single bed for my sister) including a small Roomorama.com admin fee. Very reasonable prices, indeed!

So thank you, Roomorama.com for bringing to us such an awesome service, and definitely, for answering to my frustrated call of help that fateful day in January. Without you, my London trip and stay in May 2011 wouldn’t have been as wonderful, as homely, and as amazing.

Much love from,

A super Roomorama.com fan
(who has booked yet another Roomorama.com listed property in London for the trip next month!)

Read about my latest Roomorama stay in Kensington, London, in July 2011! Nothing short of fantastic.

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To my readers, here’s what you should do if you see a room or apartment on Roomorama.com that you like.

Roomorama.com Booking Instructions

1. Click on “Inquire Now”.

2. A pop-up will appear, as below. Select your dates, and drop the host a message, asking if he would accept your booking. (Be nice, this is not a hotel booking, and hosts can reject dubious characters – after all, they are inviting you into their homes!) Feel free to ask any questions you may have about the apartment/room that you want to book.

3. Wait for a response from your host. If he accepts your inquiry, you will be notified that you can make a booking. The dashboard below is what you will see when you log in to your account.

4. Once accepted, you can make the booking, and pay. What happens is that you’ll pay the total booking amount to Roomorama.com, who will hold the funds for you till you check in to the apartment. This is to prevent errant hosts from running away with your money! So you see, it’s completely safe with Roomorama.com!

5. After you have made the payment, you will receive a “Secret Code” by email. Do not give this code to the host yet. Store it somewhere safe, and after you have arrived at your apartment and have inspected that everything is in order, do pass the code to the host, so he/she can get claim payment from Roomorama.com.

The Roomorama.com fee we paid was only a total £24 for 3 persons, 3 nights. So convenient and reasonably priced!

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Perhaps you’re now wondering: Okay, the booking process seems simple enough. How was the actual stay itself?

A review of my stay

We arrived in London on 17 May, and after some delays at the airport, we got to Jeffrey’s apartment safely. Armed with a 3G data-enabled SIM card and Google Maps, we found that the apartment was a mere 12 minute walk from the Russell Square Tube station. Jeffrey was already at the apartment, waiting for us, when we rang on his doorbell.

It was a little unfortunate that we had been shopping so much all over Europe prior to arriving in London, and we had really huge heavy luggage. Unfortunate because most London apartments, town houses and budget hotels don’t have elevators! HAHA!

Anyway, we managed to get our luggage up into the apartment, and I must say Jeffrey and his house mate Chris keep a cozy, neat and clean home.

We settled in quickly enough, with Jeffrey showing us around the apartment, the stuff we could use (like the washing machine, Wi-fi, kitchen, glasses, food we could help ourselves to, etc.) during our stay. Jeffrey also had a whole stack of maps, guide books, and even Oyster Cards for us to use as we made our way around London! That was really a nice gesture on his part.

We chatted for a bit, and he shared with us that he’s an American expat artist and a social worker (actually I had read that on his Roomorama profile page already, hehe). Anyway, he was really a lovely host!

I have no photos of his apartment, unfortunately, because I was too excited. But I can say that all his photos are accurate representations of his place, except he moved the furniture in the room around a bit.

All in all, it was a great stay, and we totally appreciated the fact that it was so accessible, and just minutes away by Tube from 2 of our favourite places in London – Covent Garden and Leicester Square / West End!

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A video about Roomorama.com

You might also want to check out their blog for featured properties, promotions, and new cities that have been added to their listings!

If you like this post, please click on my Facebook like button below, and also Tweet it!

Important Update: As at 20 June 2011, the contest mechanics have been updated. Just follow the steps below!

Some of you who follow me on Twitter and Facebook must have seen my updates about the Hotmail / Windows Live “Save Social Energy” Campaign that I was involved in some time in April.

Hotmail generously sent me to Kuala Lumpur to watch Bruno Mars live in concert. I travelled luxuriously by SIA to KL, and stayed at Traders Hotel in the city centre while I was there! Read more here!

This time, Hotmail is bringing all of you yet another awesome treat!

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS™!

As you probably already know, the highly anticipated finale to the Harry Potter series comes on 15 July 2011. But why wait till then? You could be among the first in the world to watch it at the World Premiere on 7 July, IN LONDON!

Friends who know me well will know that I am definitely a tremendously big fan of the series! Are you, too? If so, read on to know what you can win!

1 winner from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand can each win:

• A ticket to attend the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – PART 2 in London
• Return flight tickets to London
• 3D2N accommodation in London

Working with Warner Bros to bring you this amazing Grand Prize, Hotmail has designed a special quest that uses its Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail platforms to help you complete the challenge, to win this exciting trip!

The World Premiere that will be held on 7 July at Leicester Square (possibly one of my favourite areas in London, as this is at West End!) will (of course) include a red carpet event that will take place beforehand at Trafalgar Square. It will be attended by all the stars of the movie, as well as JK Rowling herself!

That’s Emma Watson (aka Hermione) at the 2010 World Premiere in London for Part 1 of the 7th movie.

Photo credit: SocialiteLife.com

I’m just brimming with excitement at the thought of all these! So imagine my excitement when Microsoft first contacted me to be part of this campaign!

Can’t wait any longer? Read the 8 steps below to find out how you can be part of all this action!

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5 steps to win a trip to London to attend the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 :

1. Go to iwanthotmail.com/harrypotter

2. Fill in your details, accept the T&C, and ‘Enter the Contest Now’.

3. Check your Windows Live Mail or Hotmail inbox for the next step to take in your Harry Potter quest! If you don’t seee the email, check your spam folder.

4. Your first task will be to watch a video. This is actually the movie trailer! You’ll have to answer a question, so do watch out. *hint hint: answer is at 0:34*

After watching the video, you will be given 2 questions:

a. In the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 movie trailer, what do Harry, Ron and Hermione use to escape from Gringotts?

b. Most Creative answer wins: Who is your favourite Harry Potter Character, and why? (20 words or less)

5. Send your answers to the specified email address, and you may be the lucky one to join me in London for the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2!

Contest ends: 11:59PM (GMT +8) on 20 June 2011. That’s a week from now! Don’t miss it!

There’ll be more prizes to win (from my blog itself), so stay tuned! But first, you probably have something more important to do now.

The first step of your journey begins here:

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This promotion is brought to you by:

by Microsoft

Note: Winners will be selected by contest judges from Microsoft, and I have no influence in the judges’ decision.

Full Disclosure: My trip to London, UK to attend the World Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 is fully sponsored by Hotmail.

As of now, all the tickets for the concert are are sold out.  But the good news is, Hotmail has one pair of tickets left to give away as a Thank You to its fans and users. What has Bruno Mars got to do with Hotmail? Read on to find out, and when you’re done, sign up for what looks like the best opportunity to get your hands on an all expenses paid trip to watch Bruno Mars live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Ever felt like being online gives you an information overload? Sometimes, I feel that way. And being online 18 hrs a day sometimes also means that I almost never switch off.

Friends have asked me: Isn’t it distracting for you to be “online” so much at work, on the various social media platforms?

For me, I now use different social dashboards to manage different things. One of the latest dashboard I now use is the Windows Live Dashboard! If you haven’t tried it out, you should. Just log in with your MSN/Windows Passport, and you’ll be able to access your dashboard.

From this dashboard, you can link up your Hotmail account, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook, LinkedIn,  Twitter and more, so you see all the activities going on on a single page! It’s really pretty cool. Here are the services you can use:

So if you haven’t recently logged on to Hotmail, you definitely should. You can post a single status update to all your social networks (depending on your settings, which are totally customizable). You can actually even reply to Windows Live chat buddies, Facebook friends, and more, from this new dashboard.

So it’s definitely great for people who login from different computers. You don’t have to install different types of software or social media client – this is web-based, and you always see the same screen, no matter whether you log in from San Francisco, or Singapore, or Melbourne, or London!

So what does this have to do with having an information overload?

Whenever you socialize or consume information online, you’re effectively using what we call ‘social energy’. With the various platforms and social media tools we use on a daily basis, you will realize that you’re wasting a lot of social energy, and causing communication inefficiency!

It’s like that movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You“:

“I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and then he emailed me to my home account, and the whole thing just got out of control, and I miss the days when you had one phone number and one answering machine, and that one answering machine had one casette tape, and that one casette tape either had a message from a guy or it didn’t, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.”

Yes, it’s exhausting. So why not put everything on one single dashboard, and manage your communication more effectively?

This way, you can be more organized, productive and efficient, both at work and in your personal social life.

If y0u find yourself often feeling like everything is just too much for you to handle, Hotmail and the new Windows Live dashboard in your new Hotmail can also help cut down on the stress level in your life.

Doesn’t that sound great? It’s like taking a vacation from your online life, but not really leaving it at all. A win-win situation where you are still connected, yet you can cut down on the clutter and 5 million different voices shouting at you from 20 different social media platforms!

And… Even more good news coming your way!

To further help you relax and enjoy this new found freedom, Hotmail is going to send you on an all expenses paid trip to Kuala Lumpur in April, to watch Bruno Mars live in concert!

Contest closes on Monday, 31 March 2011, so HURRY check it out, if you wanna catch Bruno Mars Live In Concert!

And oh, don’t forget to watch this short clip about Bruno Mars.

Psst. I’m also going on the trip, thanks to the cool folks at Hotmail. So come join me! We get to hang out in KL as a treat from Hotmail, eat awesome Malaysian food, and watch this awesome performer LIVE in concert! HERE. REMEMBER. CLICK. HERE.

This awesome promo is brought to you by Hotmail. To find out more about saving social energy, CLICK:

Full Disclosure: My trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend the Bruno Mars concert is fully sponsored by Hotmail.

*This list is constantly being updated when I find new deal-of-the-day sites, so do bookmark this page and check back for more great deals!

Some of my links have been updated to my referral links. Please use this to sign up, if you like this list. It doesn’t cost you, and it gives me some spending dollars on these sites. =)

List of LIVE sites:

• VoucherWOW.com
• Plus.BigDeal.sg (update: as of Sept ’11, acquired by NTUC Plus)
• Deal.com.sg
• LiveOffCoupon.com
• Tip-It (Do not patronize. They offer sharks fin deals. We must stop sharks fin consumption!)
• StreetDeal.sg
• SGdeal.sg
• ShiokDeal.com
• MyDiscountClub.com.sg
• CozyCot DailySpree
• SuperDeals.insing.com
• Hungrydeals.sg (by HungryGoWhere)
• Reebonz City ¹
• UrbanJourney.com ²
• City Nomads Singapore
• AllDealsAsia.com (Aggregator)
• Groupon.sg (formerly Beeconomic.com)
• JuzToday.com
• Outlet.com.sg
• GrabMe
• DailyDeal @ GreatDeals.com.sg
• Groupon2u (Aggregator) (game over)
• TakeMeToGreatDeals.com
• FoodPon.SG
• DealCreation.com
• Voucherlicious.com (Do not patronize. They offer sharks fin deals. We must stop sharks fin consumption!)
• GorgeousDeal.sg
• TreatsOfTheDay.com
• JigoCity Singapore
• iLoveDeals.SG (Aggregator)
• perks.mocca.com
• SGpetdeals.com (interesting, offers deals for pets!)
• GobblerDeals.com
• GreenDealSG.com (eco-friendly products and services)
• Wego.com Fastdeals (Travel deals)
• TwentyOneDeals.com (Aggregator)
• Dealzilla.sg (Aggregator)
• MadAboutDeal.sg
• BigHooha.sg (thanks, DaintyFlair!)
• Coupark.com (Aggregator) (thanks, Feliz!)
• Swoop.com.sg
• Adsite.sg
• Buyza.com
• WhereGotOffer.sg
• SweetHoneyDeals.com
• JobsCentral Learning Deals
• SGcardeal.com.sg
• Da Tao Tuan (aggregator)
• AtCrazy.com
• www.bestbuys.com.sg

¹  : Contributed by Esther of OurTravelations.com
²  : Contributed by Anjali

New sites of the week:

• Bought a deal and decided not to use it? Sell it at Recoupon! (Thanks Shen Heng!)
• (Do you have any others to suggest? Comment below!)

Up coming:

• DealSociety
• MealDeal.com
• eZoopon (death before launch)
• BuyStation.sg
• SocioDeal.com.sg
• Skinpon.com
• PowerfulDeal.com

List of previously active sites that don’t seem to offer deals anymore:

• DailyDealsHunter.com (Aggregator)
• DealsinAsia.com (Aggregator)
• SingaporeDeals.net
• Good2GreatDeals
• Singadeal.com
• SGdealzone.com
• VioletVoucher.sg

It’s no wonder these sites are so popular, as they offer discounted coupons for restaurants, spa services, dessert parlours, cafes, hotel and holiday accommodation, cruise holidays, movie tickets, haircuts, fitness classes, and much more! And very possibly the winning strategy to this is that these sites are social, and rely on the power of social media and word-of-mouth to sell. Win-win situation for the merchants and the consumers, I say. While some say it may not be ideal for a brand to participate in such promotions (though I still think it depends on how it is executed), I think this is good news for consumers like us who love to experience new things! I’m really excited about the launch of HungryDeals.sg tomorrow! Their first deal is definitely going to be awesome, as it’s going to be from our favourite microbrewery, Brewerkz! In addition, I’m already loving their look, from the screenshots that they’ve released via SGEntrepreneurs:

I just hope these sites go mobile soon (and I’m not just talking about iPhone / Android apps, but mobile-optimized websites), and integrate with PayPal mobile, so I can shop on the go, from my mobile phone! I definitely agree with Daniel Goh, who presented at The Next Big Thing a few weekends ago, when he shared that group buying has really taken off this past year, and that there’ll be more to it in 2011 in terms of mash-ups. So perhaps HungryDeals.sg really ought to look into the ‘location based’ idea, eh? See Daniel’s presentation here:

Update 1: Google is said to be bidding on Groupon.com – Now maybe I should’ve gone ahead with the ideas I had some months ago. Perhaps in 2 years time, Google will buy me out? Teehee.

Update 2: Groupon.com is going to set up shop in Singapore, with an acquisition of local company Beeconomic.

Update 3: Groupon.com rejects Google’s $6billion offer!

Last night, thanks to Sony Pictures Singapore and Qais Consulting, I was privileged to be one of the first seventy (or less) members of the public in Singapore to attend an exclusive preview where we were treated to a screening of the highly anticipated fall movie “The Social Network“ (also commonly referred to as “that Facebook movie”), which is loosely based on a novel “The Accidental Billionaires“, featuring young billionaires.

Except I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg’s success was accidental. The man is brilliant, and you have to give him credit for building a website platform like Facebook. Read the many articles online about Facebook and Zucks, and you will see that the development of Facebook was in no way an un-calculated move, nor an accident.

The movie, directed by David Fincher, was simply brilliant. It offered an insight (albeit some dramatized), to who Mark Zuckerberg was, and is. Zucks has told the media that he has no plans to watch the movie (in fact, he did not turn up for the screening of the movie that was organized for all staff members of Facebook Inc.) earlier this month.

He may not like that he was portrayed as a “backstabbing, conniving, and insensitive” (The New Yorker: 2010) or an egotistical and greedy (Mashable: 2010) individual, in the movie. But beyond that, I believe it does correctly portray Zucks as a socially awkward geek, a brilliant individual, who is complex and closed to outsiders (i.e. anyone but himself). I don’t believe there are many people in this world who may understand Zucks himself, nor predict his next move. And that, in itself, is brilliance.

The character study of Mark Zuckerberg (played by the aptly casted Jesse Eisenberg) is only one part of the movie. The rest of it tells of how Facebook came about (some of it may have been exaggerated), the development of the social networking site, the people involved, and the lawsuits that arose. I also must say that Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker (founder of Napster) was a surprisingly good choice, and the part about the Winklevoss brothers (or the Winklevi, hehe) really made Zucks look like the prototypical millenial rockstar and badass geek. I loved it!

I loved the flashback scenes between the two legal discussion meetings and the scenes back in Harvard (which weren’t shot in Harvard, by the way) (Wikipedia), the geek scenes with all the hacking and coding (*hyperventilates*), the snarky/cocky answers (what an awesome script, kudos to Aaron Sorkin!), and yes, most definitely the intense opening scene where Zucks and his girlfriend Erica have a heated argument that ends with her breaking up with good ol’ Zucks and telling him,

“Listen. You’re going to be successful and rich. But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because you’re a tech geek. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole.”

EPIC! (Intense scene portrayed below)

The reality, though, is that Erica Albright might just be a fictional character (nobody really knows for sure, as far as I can tell from a Google search, although some sites say that her real identity is NYU alumni member Erica Bern-Cohen), and dear socially awkward Zucks in real life, is in a very stable relationship with American-born Chinese Priscilla Chan, whom he has been dating since 2003, even before Facebook was born.

In the face of the release of this movie, Zucks has been followed around by paparazzi, and an article which contained pictures of Zucks and Pris was widely circulated on the internet (and a lot on Facebook itself).

Now Zucks is a billionaire (the youngest in the world, in fact) and he can have any girl he wants. He may not be extremely dashing, but his geek and his brain turn many women on, I’m sure. Priscilla is no head-turner, and in fact, the pictures in the article showed her to be a frumpy, pudgy, plain-faced girl with little sense of fashion. I must admit that my initial thought upon seeing the photos were “this must be true love”. And yes it was mean, but hey, like I said, Zucks is a billionaire with girls falling all over him, I’ll  bet.

But moving on, after reading The New Yorker’s article “The Face of Facebook” (which is an awesome supplement to the movie, by the way), you find that Zucks and Priscilla have a pretty stable relationship that’s lasted longer than any of mine so far, to be sure. And she’s probably stuck by him through thick and thin (well, from rags to riches) from pre-Facebook till now. And just last month, Zucks updated on his Facebook that “Priscilla Chan is moving in this weekend.” Must be pretty serious! It’s kind of heartening to know that relationships can and do last even if you suddenly find yourself the CEO of a company valued at US$25 billion. I also like how in the movie, Zucks still dressed in his usual slacker hoodie even after Facebook achieved milestone successes. So typically geeky!

About Facebook privacy:

In the last 1-2 years since Facebook literally became a global phenomenon, the company has been under a lot of fire for simply being in line with Zucks’ vision of Facebook and the internet: open. But I see where Zucks is heading (an article I wrote back in May 2010 which sparked a bit of a discussion in the comments section). I have heard and read arguments against my own, saying that Facebook needs to respect people’s privacy beyond just what their friends can see but what Facebook and its partners can access from their profiles through apps and default settings, but I still believe that the internet should be open.

On the issue of Facebook privacy issues, Mark Zuckerberg says:

“We realize that people will probably criticize us for this for a long time, but we just believe that this is the right thing to do.”

And I feel that it is the people (the users), who need to be in control of themselves, their own sharing, their actions that may cause backlash on the internet, etc.

Anyway, it’s an argument that will go on and on and on, even though Zucks and Facebook have undertaken to deal with the privacy issue in coming months. But as the movie’s tagline says:

“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”

This hasn’t turned out to be much of a review, has it, with my rambling about Zucks, his life, his character, bits and bobs about the movie, about Facebook and its direction, etc.? But here’s the final conclusion:

You should watch “The Social Network”:

• If you’re a Facebook user
• If you’re a Social Media geek
• If you’re a geek
• If you’re an entrepreneur
• If you’re a movie buff

Actually, I think everyone should just watch it.

In the boyfriend‘s words: “It’s a major geek bitchfest.” If nothing else, the scandal is worth the watch. And hey, everybody loves a scandal!

I’ll probably be re-watching it when the movie is released in cinemas all across Singapore come 28 October 201o, with friends who are just as huge fans as I am of Facebook, and we’ll have another round of discussions then!

Other interesting articles:

• [Mashable] “The Social Network”: Mashable’s Complete Movie Review
• [Mashable] How Has “The Social Network” Changed Facebook’s Brand Perception?
• [ReadWriteWeb] Did You Love or Hate “The Social Network”? Don’t Worry – It’s Generational

[All images in this post have been provided by Sony Pictures]

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All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. I’m standing here outside your door, I hate to remind you but you need to prepare!

SMWF Asia is happening in 12 hours – have you prepared yourselves?

Attending a conference is a big deal to me. I like to get the most out of my time spent at a conference, and the amount of money spent for the conference fees, if any. So here’s how you can prepare the way I do:

1. Look at the conference agenda and workshop agenda and decide which ones you want to attend
2. Check out post-conference networking events, such as the Facebook-sponsored Helipad Party, and this community-organized TweetUp
3. Set up hashtag monitoring columns on your Twitter client (I use Tweetdeck) – The 2 hashtags for SMWF Asia are: #SMWF and #SMWFQ
4. Prepare namecards for networking and introductions to conference attendees – you may also consider bringing Pokens or digital namecards if possible
5. Add yourself to lists of attendees that you can network with via Twitter such as this one. Check out the list of attendees and link up with them on Twitter before the conference.
6. Check out this [Google Spreadsheet] list of conference and workshop speakers’ Twitter handles or follow the Twitter List I’ve created
7. Connect with conference participants, speakers, and exhibitors via Twitter and other social networks, if you are interested

Here’s how you can connect with me:

Other must-bring items:

1. Laptop + Charger
2. Namecards and Poken
3. Mobile phone
4. Conference pass confirmation email
5. Jacket (conference venues can be freezing, at times!)

BTW. If you have an iPhone, there’s an SMWF iPhone app!

Happy conferencing! See you at SMWF Asia 2010!

[Image source: TheSituationist]

Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s image of women

“Advertising tells us who we are and who we should be.” Ads sell concepts that appeal to our senses, so much that we compare our lives to ads, and hope to live up to the standards of those in ads.

An example: I’ve shared this article on Facebook and Twitter before:

5 reasons to skip the diamond engagement ring

I quote from the article:

You’re ready. You have the entire scene planned out in your head, every detail plotted and mapped until it’s perfect. At the climax of this mini-drama, he will bend on one knee and present to you a beautiful diamond ring — or, if you’re the one proposing, you will watch as her expression changes from surprise to utter delight when she sees the ring. And that’s when you’ll know: Yes, you’re getting married.

Or so the diamond industry would like you to believe. The sole purpose of this appealing fantasy is to drum up sales. Once you look past the mythos of the diamond engagement ring, you’ll see that it’s not much more than a shiny rock.

Advertising sells ideals, and we are all suckers for believing that that is how things should be. Why must we conform and let these ‘ideals’ rule our lives?

Back to the video I shared, the speaker says:

[Advertisers] surround us with images of ideal female beauty. So we all learn how important it is for women to be beautiful, and exactly what it takes. Women learn from a very early age that we must spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and above all, money, striving to achieve this ideal, and feeling ashamed and guilty when we fail. And failure is inevitable. Because the ideal is based on absolute flawlessness. … It also influences how men feel about the real women they are with.

But there is a bigger problem.

She also speaks of how the shape of women’s bodies are increasingly used not only in display ads, but also to create objects (objectification of women’s bodies), like this, this, this, this and this. And while it does not directly cause violence, it does portray women as things and objects, and turning a human being into a ‘thing’ is almost always the first step to our justifying violence against that person – we see that person as less than human, and violence becomes inevitable.

So there we have it. Sexism in ads degrade women and make women feel like lesser beings than they really are, by telling them they are not an image of the ideal beauty portrayed in ads, and they may also incite violence against women.

These are only points covered in the first third of the video – Watch the rest. She is a very eloquent speaker; sarcastic, quick witted, and humorous. I very much doubt this will change the way the world’s major organizations advertise in the media, but there are things we can do to stop our daughters from thinking that they need to be a spitting image of the ideal beauty, as portrayed in advertisements, in order to be considered beautiful.

And maybe this will change your idea about who you should be and how you should live your lives too.