Archive for September, 2006|Monthly archive page
Dali Sculpture
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Dali Sculpture
Originally uploaded by backbeats.
A Salvador Dali sculpture outside Capital Towers.
No, i didn’t make a trip specially to capital towers just to take this.
So it was a pretty pleasant surprise to head to work one day just to see this outside. Nice.
Quite fitting though, how the sun is so bright…
The scorching heat melted the poor watch.
Boat Quay
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Boat Quay
Originally uploaded by backbeats.
Sitting at one of the corners of a restaurant on a saturday night catching the Arsenal match. I like how the night shot caused all the neon signboards to all look overexposed and super bright.
Tiger beer there tasted super crappy.
Good thing i didn’t drink anything from that jug. hah
The beer was cheap, but the food at that restaurant was a total rip-off. Super tourist trap.
$15 for a plate of fried rice, or basically anything! Madness.
Yeaaaaah
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Yeaaaaah
Originally uploaded by backbeats.
Like the description says, it was a saturday night. After we ate at Makaan Mumbai with our dia band funds. =)
Super kickass naan and butter chicken curry. Yum.
We all really enjoyed the food man.
And on our way to get some refreshing almond teh ping from the Mr Teh Tarik at China Square, we come across an old-uncle band playing chinese cover songs. Super cheesy sounding, but i guess whatever rocks your boat.
DK as usual did his trademark “Yeaaaahh”.
how much is too much?
Just can’t help but post yet another link i found today. This time, it’s a draft of a book to be released in the near future. Yet another marketing kinda book. I know, I’m getting to be a bit of a marketing geek, but it’s fun this way.
Draft chapters of the to-be-published “New Influencers” book
Interesting stuff.
Stuff that shoudln’t be ignored, as it is a phenomenon which is perhaps reaching its tipping point. So, for those who aren’t even aware of the extent of influence of blogs and forums, and even more so, for marketers who aren’t in the loop of these developments and are still stuck on the traditional marketing mindsets, sales mindsets, the 4Ps taken in its simplest and textbook-like form, and think starting a blog will solve all one’s marketing woes, well, good luck.
The world is changing way too fast, and consumers are moving faster than businesses.
Implications for businesses?
Mass market mindsets shifting to niche markets.
Market segmentation now takes on a whole new meaning.
Disconcerting and confusing?
I think it’s very exciting and interesting. =)
riffs, rants and RSS
Been surfing around the web quite a bit today.
Me bad, especially when i should be working.
But will get down to clearing up some work very soon!
Over the past week, I have been allowing the tech-geek side of me surface once again. Honestly, I have not been surfing the web that much for a period of time. Was for quite a while mainly surfing for cool youtube stuff, razorramonhardgay, music vids, new songs, new bands to check out, yadayada. But lately, the blogosphere has been very interesting. Especially upon the discovery of blogs like seth godin’s blog, malcolm gladwell’s blog, and a couple of others which I have promptly added to my “surfs” links on the sidebar.
Mr Brown’s blog has also been pretty interesting, just that I have never really followed his blog closely until lately.
Till very recently, riffs have only meant one thing to me, which is that of guitar licks or musical phrases. But from reading some of these aforementioned guys’ blogs, who are riffing on and on about web2.0, riffs have taken on a new life of its own.
According to dictionary.com, a riff is “A clever or inventive commentary or remark: “Those little riffs that had seemed to have such sparkle over drinks… look all too embarrassing in cold print” (John Richardson). “
So now when people are sharing new and wicked ideas, its riffing.
But it does make sense though.
Coz when musicians talk about riffs, it is basically talking about song ideas. Lines to make up a new song. And good guitar riffs are extremely powerful and sometimes timeless.
Think smoke on the water. Or Smells like teen spirit.
So it makes perfect sense to me to use the term “riffing” to mean exchange of ideas. Coz from these main idea seeds, spring up the bigger picture concepts which are then formed.
Now, when will drum-speak become used for idea-speak?
Perhaps when something hits me, when I suddenly get that inspiration to make some idea/word-associations using drum-speak, yeah.
Chops, Pocket, Paradiddles, Flams, Ruffs, Ghosting… Hmmm.
Here are some interesting articles I came across lately.
Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me.
And once again, it shows the inventiveness of the US.
As Singapore is sort of still playing catch-up with the concept of branding and marketing, and most people in singapore still equate marketing with sales, the ingenious marketers in the US have moved onto branding, permission marketing, viral marketing, blog marketing, etc etc etc.
And i really have to get the hang of RSS.
Gotta sit my lazy butt down, scour for good RSS readers, and learn more about this new thing that is changing the face of the web.
I think in a few years, it will change the way everyone reads the news.
icky mornings
The train (or MRT rather) ride to work in the mornings can be quite irritating. Especially when the train driver apparently doesn’t realise that the cabin is about stuffed full with people, and does nothing to the aircon thermostat.
I mean, come on, you have a good airconditioning system installed throughout the train, and you barely turn it on, such that I feel a breath of fresh/more-cooling air blow on me the moment I step out of the train doors.
And by that time, I already feel sticky and have bits of my shirt sticking to my back no thanks to the stuffy and warm train cabin.
If only these mrt drivers would blast the aircons, especially in the mornings!!
The close to 9am time is when the sun is out, blasting irritating heat waves on us, and the air is humid as well, making everyone uncomfortable.
And especially for people like me whose body temperature is most comfortable in colder temperatures like maybe 26degrees… It would make the morning rush hours so much more tolerable with a cold freezing cabin.
It would also inadvertedly squeeze more people onto each train.
Stuffy cabin with aircon which feels like its malfunctioning…
People want more space, want to stand under a nice blast of cold air.
Thus they won’t want to squeeze. Who likes rubbing backs with others who have sweaty backs? I don’t think anyone would want to squeeze into a cabin like that.
But…
With a cold freezing cabin.
Oooohh.
Everyone’s gonna want to be closer to others.
Body heat would then be highly desired to keep oneself warm.
People would probably not mind squeezing, coz its not stuffy anymore.
And then, morning train rush hours won’t be so icky.
At least all the working people can get to work without their shirts sticking to their backs. And it really is quite tak glam to go to work with a shirt that is basically sticking to your back. Ergh.
Blast the aircons!
Gotham city
Gotham city, originally uploaded by backbeats.
This was taken on one of those gloomy afternoons in office, where the weather was just totally dark and depressing.
Looks quite like a scene of Gotham city taken right out of a batman movie.
shoot yourself in the foot
I don’t know what is up with the world nowadays,
especially things in this sunny little island of our’s.
Has anyone read these articles about the IMF/World bank thing in singapore?
Funny how all these issues were given no mention at all in the ST.
But that’s just to be expected yes?
It’s almost something like the suicide stats in Singapore,
where 1 person on average commits suicide in Singapore everyday.
Still a happy sunny island where everyone’s happy? hmm.
And apparently, this statistic was made known to the public by…
Guess who?
The opposition parties during election.
There. Shows how the opposition is effective in providing a check.
A balance that is oh so crucial.
But not something the ppl in power want.
Ahh well.
So, a happy, sunny, utopian island?
Well, that’s definitely the picture that every government wants to paint. Which government would not want to paint a idealistic/utopian picture of their own country?
But the harsh fact of life is that no country will every be perfect.
We can screw up small or big,
but we’ll always screw up, somehow or other.
What’s it with asian countries and the desperate need to “save face”?
Back to the whole IMF world bank thing.
After reading those articles…
Doesn’t it just reek of heavyhandedness again?
As always.
Something we know, but to which we’ll just reply:
What to do? It’s like that. What can we do?
And there is a lot of truth to that,
because,
what can we do?
For fear of being arrested or deported or sued…
It’s safer to keep quiet.
And like most of those in my generation,
we were all brought up and told to shut-up.
To keep quiet.
Even when we know we’re right,
we still always need to keep quiet,
and let the adults have the final say.
Coz, after all,
they are always right anyway yeah? =p
Right.
Now, we’re really going to be known as a very stoic place.
Full of legalities, fines, bans, etc etc.
Oh.
And they were talking about branding singapore?
A unified consistent brand?
Fun? Lively? Paris of southeast asia?
Nightlife, nice place to work and to play?
A place for the creatives and entrepreneurial?
But there they go banning people who want to be heard
people who have a voice
people with ideals
people who want to challenge the status quo
and peacefully at that
at the most there will be some discomfort and inconvenience
small price to pay,
considering the greater good of the world.
And, the creative people, the entrepreneurs, the ones with ideas…
those are the ones who are never satisfied with the status quo.
Who are always challenging the norms and the “common wisdom”.
So everything is just contradicting with everything else.
It’s just sad.
seriously.
Few words that come straight into my mind.
disappointing
just a joke
wayaaang show
dodgy!!
authoritarian
“yesss, sirrrrr…” *followed with a sigh of resignation*
here we go again..
ARRRGGGHHH
another “spy who shioked me” moment
When, oh when, will things change?
stumbling blogs
Just bought a new book yesterday, Seth Godin’s Small is the new Big.
Haven’t had time to read it yet. Actually, I have a bunch of books I previously bought, all sitting in my bookshelf, screaming for attention, begging to be picked up and read.
what’s up with me and procrastination
but i know it’s not just me
Do check out Seth Godin’s blog which is one of my “reads” links.
For anyone interested in marketing and branding,
it’s a must read.
This is one interesting piece taken from Seth’s blog.
Particularly of interest to job-seekers. =)
==========================
The end of the job interview
Let’s assert that there are two kinds of jobs you need to fill:
The first kind of job is a cog job. A job where you need someone to perform a measurable task and to follow instructions. This can range from stuffing envelopes to performing blood tests. It’s a profitable task if the person is productive, and you need to find a reliable, skilled person to do what you need.
The second kind of job requires insight and creativity. This job relies on someone doing something you could never imagine in advance, producing outcomes better than you had hoped for. This might include a sales job, or someone rearranging the factory floor to increase productivity. It could also include a skilled craftsperson or even a particularly skilled receptionist.
If you’re hiring for the first kind of job, exactly why are you sitting a nervous candidate down in your office and asking her to put on some sort of demonstration in her ability to interact with strangers under pressure? Why do you care what his suit looks like or whether or not he can look you in the eye?
Years ago, in order to keep the ethnic balance at Harvard the way some trustees felt was correct, the school created interviews and essays as a not-so-subtle way to weed out the undesirables. This spread to just about every college in the country, and persists to this day, even though it’s a largely discredited way to determine anything. Your company is probably doing exactly the same thing. If someone can do the cog job, what other information are you looking for? Why?
And if you’re hiring for the second kind of job, the question becomes even more interesting. Would you marry someone based on a one hour interview in a singles bar? And how does repeating the forced awkwardness of an interview across your entire team help you choose which people are going to do
the extraordinary work you’re banking on?
I’ve been to thousands of job interviews (thankfully as an interviewer mostly) and I have come to the conclusion that the entire effort is a waste of time.
At least half the interview finds the interviewer giving an unplanned and not very good overview of what the applicant should expect from this job. Unlike most of the marketing communications the organization does, this spiel is unvetted, unnatural and unmeasured. No one has ever sat down and said, “when we say X, is it likely the applicant understands what we mean? Are we putting our best foot forward? Does it make it more likely that the right people will want to work here, for the right reasons?” [tell the truth, do you test your job interview spiel the same way you test your web results or even your direct mail?]
The other half is dedicated to figuring out whether the applicant is good at job interviews or not.
I should have learned this lesson in 1981, when my partner and I (and three of our managers) hired Susan, who was perhaps the best interviewer I have ever met. And one of the worst employees we ever hired. Too bad we didn’t have a division that sold interviews.
Let me be clear about what I’m recommending: the next time someone asks you to “sit in” on an interview, just say no. Don’t do it. Don’t waste your time or theirs.
So, what should you do instead?
Glad you asked!
First, none of this will work if you’re not offering a great job at a great company for fair pay. These techniques will not succeed if you are the employer of last resort. Assuming that’s not the case, how about his:
Every applicant gets a guided tour of your story. Maybe from a website or lens or DVD. Maybe from one person in your organization who is really good at this. It might mean a plant tour or watching an interview with the CEO. It might involve spending an hour sitting in one of your stores or following one of your doctors around on her rounds. But it’s a measurable event, something you can evaluate after the process is over. If you’re hiring more than a few people a week, clearly it’s worth having a full-time person to do this task and do it well.
There are no one-on-one-sit-in-my-office-and-let’s-talk interviews. Boom, you just saved 7 hours per interview. Instead, spend those seven hours actually doing the work. Put the person on a team and have a brainstorming session, or design a widget or make some espressos together. If you want to hire a copywriter, do some copywriting. Send back some edits and see how they’re received.
If the person is really great, hire them. For a weekend. Pay them to spend another 20 hours pushing their way through something. Get them involved with the people they’ll actually be working with and find out how it goes. Not just the outcomes, but the process. Does their behavior and insight change the game for the better? If they want to be in sales, go on a sales call with them. Not a trial run, but a real one. If they want to be a rabbi, have them give a sermon or visit a hospital.
Yes, people change after you hire them. They always do. But do they change more after an unrealistic office interview or after you’ve actually watched them get in the cage and tame a lion?
=================================
Taken from Seth Godin’s blog
do you hear what i hear
Before I get on to my main post,
just thought of posting a little reply to previous comments.
Thanks for the comments, and yes, i do read them. =)
Anon: Erm, yes, thanks, very funny.
Don’t know who you are, but i’m guessing u’re one of my friends,
trying to play yet another prank on me.
Can’t be bothered guessing who you are, but, hur hur hur.
Marcus: Hey dude! Haven’t talked to you or seen you in ages.
Hope to catch up with you soon!
Tania: Heyyy. Glad u’re still hanging in there!
Take care, and don’t worry… I’ll still be right here when u’re free.
Don’t drive yourself too nuts studying and all yea?
And on to the music stuff. =)
Was out with the dia guys, sal, and sansamp on saturday.
Went to check out this hidden audio playground at The Adelphi.
It’s a small shop tucked at one of the corners at the top level,
and looks just like some hardware repair shop.
The owner is a very very nice guy,
with a vast knowledge of audio stuff.
He also does harddisk recovery, and that was his initial business.
Awesome service, and it’s almost like a chillout place for audio enthusiasts.
You can test almost any pair of high-end earphones there.
The Shures (E2C, E3C etc.), The Westone UM1 and UM2, Ultimate Ears, Sennheisers, Beyer Dynamic, Etymotic…
shiok man.
Dream come true for anyone who’s into high-end headphones/earphones.
I got to test out 2 of the Grados (one of which really stands out for vocals-based stuff, and the other of which is more general purpose, and would suit rock stuff better.)
Got to finally test out the Westone UM1 and UM2.
Wow.
They would give my pair of B&O A8s a tough fight man.
The UM1 costs about $200+ less than the UM2, so it’s a good buy.
But I’m quite happy with my B&O A8s for now,
unless i have more moolah and get the iPod Nano. heh
Then i would seriously consider getting a pair of those UM1s.
But they seriously sound verrrrryyyy good.
The UM2s, spectacular.
Sound clarify, depth, presence, everything’s there.
Strong bass too.
U can feel the kick drum in your hear. literally. haha
I would highly recommend that place if you want to get a pair of really good headphones. And if your ears are fussier, it’s definitely a good idea to get a pair of solid earphones. So, for those iPod owners, who rip their songs at higher qualities…
Please do the music justice and invest in a pair of quality earphones.
It’s like buying a good car and putting on crappy rims and tyres.
That’s my analogy to getting a good MP3 player with good songs..
And using the the apple stock earphones. Heh
But some people, well, I don’t know what they are hearing.
There are seriously cases where people try out high end earphones,
such as the Shures or the B&Os or the Westones,
and then conclude that the iPod stock ones sounds as good.
Well, i guess it all boils down to one’s ear.
I, unfortunately, have pretty fussy ears.
And need to hear the nuances in the music that I listen to.
For my ears, i definitely hear a huuuugeee difference when I plug in the apple stock earphones and when i plug in the B&O A8s. It’s like a music revelation. =)
So, after all that talk, here’s the name of that shop.
You’ll probably step out of that shop learning 1 or 2 new things about headphones, sound and music. And the shop owner sure does enjoy his music too. CD which we used to compare the sound differences – Jeff Buckley’s Grace.
Now i so have to get that album.
The shop is called Jaben Network.
1 Coleman Street, #04-16
The Adelphi, Singapore
Tel: 6337-0809
Oh, and for you drummers out there,
he also carries the etymotic earplugs.
Highly recommended for the performing and jamming drummer.
I’ve been using them for a long time, and it is definitely a worthwhile investment to protect your hearing. These musician’s earplugs very effectively reduces the decibel levels entering your ear, while not trimming out any of the frequencies.
So basically all the noise levels are brought down evenly.
Excellent for jamming and drummers, so that you can hear everything clearly,
and all more softly at that.
Enough music talk for tonight.
Gotta sleep… Back to work in a few hours.
