Archive for December, 2006
27 Dec, 2006
Taiwan Earthquake Disrupts Internet Access
If you reside in Asia and are having problems with your Internet connection, chances are good that it’s due to the recent earthquakes in Taiwan.
According to this report from Bloomberg (Japan), the earthquakes have disrupted Internet access all across Asia:
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. Southeast Asia’s largest telephone company, and Hong Kong’s PCCW Ltd. said Internet service in Asia slowed down after three earthquakes hit southern Taiwan yesterday.
What you can do
I’m currently on Singnet Broadband (in Singapore), and am finding Yahoo! to be one of the few sites that I still have good access to. It is probably the best source of news at the moment.
The localised version of Google (http://google.com.sg in my case) appears to work as well, but only intermittently. Google News works fine, but the links (since they’re mostly based in the US) don’t always work.
For now, just stick to local or localised sites, which have servers based in or around your country. Hopefully the Internet will be back to normal soon.
26 Dec, 2006
Meet Your Maker
I was just going through random “friendster” sites when I came across a profile of a girl that had under the “Who I want to meet” heading, “God”.
This led me to wonder if she ever got confused when a baddie in a Hollywood movie held a gun up to the hero’s head and said, “prepare to meet your maker”.
Would she — if in the hero’s place — say, “I’d love to”?
24 Dec, 2006
Merry Christmas!
It’s Christmas again! Saying that last Christmas feels like it was like just yesterday may have been cliched to death, but that’s just the way I feel. Last Christmas certainly doesn’t feel that long ago. Has a year really passed?
I’m sitting here, looking at one of my presents from last Christmas (a vibrating massager thingy), given to me by my sis; it looks still looks brand new, like it could have been just given yesterday. I have to admit that I haven’t used it as much as I should have (it being expensive and all). I remember using it lots in the beginning, but as the novelty wore off, I used it less and less, and eventually I stopped using it altogether.
UnChristmas?
This year is one of the most unChristmasy of recent years. My family would normally put up a small Christmas tree, completely with lights, underneath which we place our gifts. This year though, the tree never went up, and we prepared no gifts either. This fact hadn’t really hit me until this afternoon, when I realised that “tomorrow’s Christmas!”
I do find it quite a pity. I love exchanging wrapped gifts and being surprised by its contents. It’s also nice to see the expression on the faces of people you love when you give them something, watch them unwrap it, and see them pretend to be excited as they exclaim, “wow!” or something to that effect.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to you all, and may you have a blessed new year ahead too.
– Donn
UPDATE [25 Dec 20006]
Christmas is just about over, and I what I have found about this Christmas is that almost everybody I know seems to be out of the Christmas spirit.
I think that the rains leading up to this occasion might have dampened spirits quite a bit, and people are generally feeling down and gloomy.
Or perhaps Nietzsche was right in proclaiming, God is Dead.
But then again, on the third day He rose again.
Two sides to every story. Ho ho ho.
24 Dec, 2006
Where to Now?
I’d attained my goals, forgotten to set new ones.
Now everyday I’m like a ship in the wind, going where the wind blows,
Wondering,
“Where to now?”
18 Dec, 2006
Why MyMall.Sg Will Not Work
mymall.sg has been making its rounds on Singapore TV lately, and this entry is just to say: it doesn’t work.
What is mymall.sg?
It is a new marketing platform based on a combination of two mediums: television (TV) and the web.
A splash screen showing a “keyword” will appear at the end of a TV advertisement affiliated with mymall.sg. A voice-over will announce to you to “go to mymall.sg now” and “type in the keyword”, so that you can “find the best bargains”.
Sounds simple enough. Now, how could this not work? Let us count the ways…
The Keyword Problem
First of all, there’s a problem inherent in having their site usable only if a visitor has a “keyword”. People who don’t have this keyword will not be able to use the site at all.
They’re expecting people to (a) write down the keyword; (b) memorise the keyword; or (c) have a computer at hand so they can immediately type in the keyword.
Most consumers, especially those who watch TV, are lazy. Lazy people generally don’t do (a) or (b), they won’t write down or memorise the keyword. They’re most likely do (c), use the computer and watch TV at the same time. Here’s a rhetorical question for you: how many adults do you know simultaneously use the computer and watch TV?
The adults I know who watch TV are just hoping for a way to just tune out of the work day; they don’t want to think at all about anything, they just want to sit down, relax: to stone in front of the TV. And you expect them to memorise or write down a “keyword” that is not guaranteed to be useful?
So, if we stick with (c), we’re looking at the younger people, who are the most likely to simultaneously use the computer and watch TV (despite protests from parents for them to “do one thing at a time.”)
Small Market
That’s a pretty small market to conquer if you ask me.
Add to that that mymall.sg advertisements happen only every once in a while, and we’re looking at a few hundred people, probably tens, out of tens of thousands of viewers, tops. In other words, a potential response-rate of say, 0.1 - 1%.
Target demographic found, let’s see what they’re selling
Now that we have found that there are tens to hundreds of teenagers and young adults who might visit mymall.sg and actually type in a keyword, let’s see what deals these people have.
I have seen only one advertisement so far, that of OG.
OG is a departmental store, selling generally clothes and household items. It appeals to women in their late twenties, early thirties, up to, say, early fifties. This was probably not OG’s best choice of marketing channels. Thumbs down
I asked my 14-year-old brother, who watches way more TV than me. He told me he has seen a few more: Harvey Norman, Sony Walkman, and Royal Umbrella Rice.
Harvey Norman is an electronic store. From personal experience their main customers are young adults, twenties to thirties, buying electronics like TVs, computers, washing machines and the like. Again, like OG, these people are too old for this marketing channel. It must be said, though, that they do appeal to the younger crowd in their carrying of smaller and cheaper gadgets like shavers, MP3 players and mobile phones. Thumbs undecided.
Sony Walkman needs no introduction. They probably hit the sweet spot with this marketing channel. Target demographic: tech-savvy, multi-tasking students and young adults with some cash and a high propensity to spend it. Thumbs up.
Royal Umbrella is a brand of white rice. All I can say is, “WTF?” I mean… WTF? This is so totally wrong that I don’t know where to begin. Wrong demographic, wrong product. “Wow! Who would have thought? The greatest, wildest bargains on white rice, now online!” Thumbs down, down, DOWN.
And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, mymall.sg will not work.
Update: 11th July 2007
Much as I had predicted at the start of the year, MyMall.Sg has disappeared. This concept was doomed for failure from the start. There just wasn’t enough motivation for people to use it. How was the concept sold to its target consumers? Who were its target consumers?