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.

It’s been a while since I watched a locally produced reality show, because many of them simply do not appeal to me, what with the more prominent reality shows in recent years being that of scantily-clad bimbos, and of a seductress getting hunky men to fight over her, etc. It may be good entertainment, but it definitely holds no value if you are looking for real content.

Then came along ‘The Rookie’. This internet-popularized reality show shown online is actually a Nokia campaign aimed at promoting the Nokia E72 executive phone. This handset is definitely a sleek-looking, high performance mobile phone, that will appeal to a range of audience, from business owners, to yuppies, to social-networking fans, to gadget-loving youths! The Nokia E72 comes in 4 classy colours: Zodium black, Metal grey, Topaz brown, and White.

Fashioned in a similar way to Donald Trump’s ‘The Apprentice’,  this show, hosted by Bobby Tonelli, caught my eye because of the set of challenges that the Rookies had to complete. The challenges put to test their business acumen, strategic planning skills, creative talents, interpersonal relationships and team play. The 12 contestants, grouped into Team Alpha and Team Bravo, had to work together to complete the challenges, while also trying to shine as individuals. Perfect setting for organizational politics? YES!

While I’m not saying that  ‘The Rookie’ or Nokia promoted politics within work teams, I thought that this was a pretty good portrayal of what real work life is all about. The contestants, some of whom were undergraduates or even fresh grads (and the show’s viewers alike) were spared no disillusionments, nor were they dished sugar-coated scenarios of what working in an organization might be like.

Many-a-time while watching the show, I found myself agreeing or disagreeing with what contestants did, and thinking about what could’ve been done better, or what I would do instead – now did someone say engaging and intellectual? One thing that I’m surprised with, however, is that none of these contestants were actively participating in online conversations, despite the many who were talking about them on Twitter, using the #rookiesg hashtag. But that’s probably just the social media consultant in me speaking.

With tight budgets, looming deadlines, difficult ‘client’ demands, and clashing ambitions, the contestants each tried to impress the judges, and also garner votes of confidence from the audience, who had chances to interact with the show by predicting the eventual winner of this reality show. Audiences who predicted the right winner would stand to win themselves a set of the drool-worthy Nokia E72, which was also used by all the contestants in their communications during the show.

Now tell me you don’t already feel empowered by just looking at this phone! With the Nokia Messaging instant messaging feature and its business communications solutions, it takes only 3 simple steps to sync up as many as 10 email accounts (it supports Google Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, MS Exchange mail servers and even Lotus Notes!) so that you can always be connected via email. A dream come true for all workaholics who like to travel light without notebooks! Also awesome for social networking lovers like me, cos the Nokia E72 allows you to download apps that support your social needs, such as Skype, Snaptu, Gravity, Facebook, and many many more!

Voted Editor’s Choice for Best Lifestyle Mobile Phone by HWM and HardwareZone.com, and also CNET Asia’s Reader’s Choice, the  Nokia E72 is definitely a strong contestant in the arena of business mobile phones.

Oops, pardon my inner geek for gushing about this phone - ‘The Rookie’ has concluded its final episode, and has crowned the winner at the finale held at Zouk last Saturday. 6 finalists appeared at the finale, with 4 eventual winners crowned and awarded highly-coveted internships at major brands and companies like Nokia, Microsoft, Standard Chartered and Zouk.

Find out who the four are, and follow the drama, the adrenaline highs, the challenges, the business ideas, the politics, and the kanchiong-ness at ‘The Rookie’ . There are also clips from ‘Behind the scenes’ online, at the website, so don’t miss out on what everyone’s been talking about!

[This advertorial entry was written in support of Nokia's The Rookie Campaign, and may contain statements that are of the author's own opinions, which neither reflect that of Nokia and its partner companies for this show, nor that of her own employer or its clients.]

Photo courtesy: http://airworm23.blogspot.com

If you’re curious about what it is like to watch Singapore’s basketball pride in action, in a stadium full of enthusiastic fans, while enjoying cold beer courtesy of Brewerkz, here’s your chance to find out!

This week, I’m giving away TEN pairs of tickets to the upcoming game where the Singapore Slingers meet Barangay Ginebra Kings in what is set to be the most explosive game of the season!

We played against Ginebra last season, and boy, was it a physical match! And now, they’re back with a vengeance! It’s going to be interesting to see how our new Slingers team deals with their play, and hopefully, defeat Ginebra again!

But the Slingers need your support, your cheers, your applause! Tickets are already on sale now, but since we know nothing beats FREE tickets and FREE beer, the Slingers Management and Brewerkz Management have kindly agreed to sponsor this giveaway!

Date: Wednesday, 30 Sept 2009
Tip-off time: 2000 hrs
Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium

To win one of the 10 pairs of tickets for the game and join me for the match, all you have to do is to post a comment on this blog entry, and complete the following sentence:

I want to watch the Slingers in action because: _____________. (You can write a sentence or an essay, I’ll read them all!)

Do leave your valid email address so I can contact you for ticketing details!

All 10 winners will be informed by Monday, 28 Sept 2009!

Wait! That’s not the end of it yet!

Anyone who blogs (you can even start up a new blog to participate in this), can stand to win a Dinner for 4 at Brewerkz!

All you have to do is to attend the game, either by winning tickets through this contest or buying them from SISTIC, and blog about the game! After you’re done with your blog entry, submit your link here. Best entry as selected by judging panel wins! All bloggers who participate will also be given 4 tickets (for yourself and to give away on your blog entry) for any chosen game on the Slingers’ game schedule after 7 October. So please blog about the tickets that you’re gonna give away too!

Terms and Conditions: You have to insert the logos of Singapore Slingers and Brewerkz in your entry, with hyperlinks to the Slingers and Brewerkz websites.

Closing date for submission of blog entries: 7 Oct 2009, 2359 hrs.

Judging panel will consist:

1. A representative from Singapore Slingers management
2. A representative from Brewerkz management
3. A representative from FLY Entertainment
4. A representative from Ping.sg management, the Community meta-blog for Singapore bloggers

Judges’ decisions are final. If you need any clarification, please use the comment form below, or email me at contact [at] daphnemaia [dot] sg!

First, hurry, comment below with the completed sentence and win one of the 10 pairs of free tickets!