Funniest gif (aka moving pictures) I've seen in awhile. Classic. I almost choked on my chips when I saw it. 

I'm fucking disgusted. Disgusted with how sick this world can be. And I'm so damn pissed!!!!! ARGH! 

I just can't seem to comprehend this, why is it that until today discrimination still persists. Has nothing changed over the years? Are we not getting more educated about everything that is going on in this world? Has globalization not brought cultures and people closer together? Apparently not. We are still as divided as before and still as uncivilized as the cavemen. 

Are you not aware of how sick discrimination really is? Perhaps I should include a couple of examples to remind you why discrimination is wrong.

Homophobia

1. Increase in the number of gay youths who kill themselves in America as a result of being teased and bullied for their sexual orientation.
2. Bashing of the homosexuals all over the world.  

Racism

Do I really need to remind you on the horrors of racisim? 

1. Armenian Genocide 
2. World War 2 Holocaust 
3. Rwanda Genocide
4. Imperialism and slavery trade 

Religious Discrimination

1. Never ending war between Christians and Muslims since ancient times    
2. Pastor Rony Tan teaching his followers to ridicule someone else's beliefs and religions. 

Sexism

1. Young girls forced into marriage in Yemen, as young as 10 years old
2. Inadequate dowry money results in the deaths of many women in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) 
3. Honor Killings against women in many parts of the world 
4. The persistence of patriarchal societies inhibits further progress in terms of human rights and gender equality for many women

There are many people in our world who have unfortunately suffered due to intolerance and discrimination. As one tiny person in this big big world, none of us may have the power to change people's perceptions BUT I think it's important that we do what we can to educate the people around us the importance of tolerance as well as the need to respect others for their differences. 

Stop hating on others for their differences. Stop judging others based on ridiculous stereotypes. Learn to embrace people and their cultures. Interact more with everyone outside your own social groups because only then you will realize that despite our differences, we are all really pretty much the same after all. :)

Discrimination of any sort is not cool. I hope one day we can all learn to love one another. No more racial hatred, no more religious disputes, no more gay bashing and lastly no more violence and disrespect towards women. 

I'll end off this post with words from Ellen DeGeneres as she speaks up about the surge in teenage suicides due to homophobia at American schools, (http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?autoplay=true&mediaKey=58f77b71-c461-4fa9-afa6-25cd78c02237&isShareURL=true)

"People's minds will change, and you should be alive to see it."

Another reason why World Cup is so darn entertaining. :) 

Diego Maradona being all quirky and adorable. 

Argentina's goal celebration was intruded by the camera. 

When players get way too violent. 

Footballers are great at acting too. 

(please click on the esp vs chi to view the gif pic properly)

Best goal celebration ever. haha.

Goalkeepers get bored too. 

Optical illusion? Really? Come on. 

A very bad case of butter fingers. 

Beckham being all upset and showing the world his bitch face. 

Environmental Science class 

Getting all emo during the last day of our Italian Class 

Eventful trip to KL that made me detest Malaysia

Me and my bf before we got together. 

Central Park. I miss NYC!

Last night in Orlando. 

The night my bf got dead drunk and I had to drag him home. 

Trying to be like Westlife in the background poster.

Me my bf and his lovely dog Billy!

Girls night out

Me with Stitch at Disney World and a whole bunch of other people. 

Yes. You got that right. There is an addition to the social media family... *drumroll* CHATROULETTE.

What is Chatroulette?

It is a website that allows users to be paired up with random strangers across the globe for webcam-based chat conversations. Users are not required to include a userid and throughout all your conversations on the website, you will always be anonymous. Well you can always give others your personal details if you want to. 

At any point of time if the STRANGER you are speaking to is not someone you fancy, you can always click on the NEXT button and the website will randomly pair you up with another individual. 

The website is the brainchild of a 17 year old Russian boy who was inspired by the skype chats that he had with his friends. Since its establishment in November 2009, the website has managed to garner a huge following EVERYWHERE. With up to 1.5 million users daily, Chatroulette is especially popular in America as well as in Europe. 

Is it any fun?

Sounds interesting isn't it. You get to interact with someone face to face from another part of the world. But yet at the same time, it can be very daunting, since you won't know what to expect. I decided to give ChatRoulette a shot and here are some of my thoughts about this service.

1. Be prepared to see dicks

No kidding. The ability to remain anonymous has encouraged all the perverts to showcase their private areas to the entire world. I have seen more dicks than I can possibly count. The entire time I was frantically trying to click on NEXT NEXT NEXT. A whole lot of sick perverts. 

2. Be prepared to be NEXTed

If you are someone who isn't confident or have any sort of self-esteem issues, I definitely do not recommend you to go on ChatRoulette. Simply because people on ChatRoulette are very superficial, and if you aren't as good looking as they would have anticipated, you would very well be NEXTed. Of course, you WILL have your fair share of NEXTing people too!!

3. If you are a female, be prepared to receive lots of requests from the males to flash your tits.

Yes. Sadly 3/4 of the male population on ChatRoulette don't have the intention to have a proper conversation with all the ladies. Their only agenda; to get the girls to strip. It's extremely annoying to be honest. Good thing you get to NEXT these idiots. 

4. If you are a male and hoping to meet some hot exotic chicks; be prepared to be disappointed. 

I'm sorry guys but there are more guys on ChatRoulette than there are girls. I believe the ratio is probably about 5:1. So be prepared to be NEXTed by your fellow male counterparts from another continent. 

5. You do get to meet some amazing people

If you are lucky, you will have a couple of meaningful conversations with a stranger from another country. It's pretty darn cool. I mean think about it, you get to talk to someone from far far away without even leaving your couch. 

I have met: 

a pretty girl from Brazil 

an animator from America

a student from France

a tattoo artist from Italy

a student from Australia 

a group of guys from Denmark who danced throughout our entire 10-minute conversation. LOL

Yes. There is hope for ChatRoulette after all. HAHA

I would still recommend you to give it a try. Who knows. Your experience on it may be better than mine. 

SEE YOU AT CHATROULETTE! :))

How to communicate efficiently with your desired stakeholders if you are “Lost In Translation” in a foreign land?

Always rely on web 2.0.

Step 1: Understand your stakeholders

It is crucial that you as the communicator understand where in Asia you truly are. Every country in Asia Pacific is unique and language specific. As such social media preferences and cultures play a huge role in shaping social media usage/influence in that particular country. It is thus ideal for communicators to correctly identify the prevalent social media tools that are well received in your desired Asia Pacific region.

Although Facebook may have a very large user base in numerous Asia Pacific regions (Australia, Singapore) but such a trend is not uniform throughout the region! For instance, China favours Ren Ren which is essentially a Facebook rip-off, while Mixi dominates in Japan.

Besides the need to identify the right social media platform; you need to understand how consumers in the different regions use these tools for as well. In the case of Twitter; it may work perfectly well for the American market BUT twitter still has a relatively lower adoption rate here in Asia Pacific. (Australia may be an exception) Besides, most Asian Pacific Twitter users do not use it extensively nor do they integrate it into their social media lives.

Censorship

You should also be aware that censorship is persistent in most Asia Pacific nations. It can and will affect your ability to communicate with your stakeholders efficiently. But that does not mean communication will be hampered. All you need to do is communicate within what is acceptable to each nation. You definitely do not need to break the law to reach out to your desired audience!

Main take away from Step 1:

Understanding your consumers is ultimately your most fundamental step to being successful in this Pan-Asian social media challenge.

Step 2: Purpose of communication

Next you need to be very much aware of what exactly do you want to communicate across the multiple markets. Is it…

·         To sell a product

·         To create awareness

·         To build rapport

With a clear set of objectives; you can then easily decide on the RIGHT social media tools to assist you in your tasks. Do take note that not every social media tool is effective in achieving your goals. Here are some examples to help you get started:

Twitter

·         Generate interest

·         Creates buzz

·         Re-direct consumers to other social media platforms

·         Socialize and build on customer relationships

Facebook

·         Congregating your consumers in 1 location

·         Facilitate discussions à generate positive word of mouth

·         Ease in the sharing of visual images with your consumers

·          A platform that works well with ALL other social media tools

 Crisis Management

Social media tools are also excellent for crisis management. Today, technology has made it possible to disseminate information rapidly. Fear not. Because social media tools are able to allow you, the communicators, to control the situation and to ensure that you create the first contact point with your stakeholders before the media does.

Step 3: Is social media ideal for every product/service?

Though web 2.0 has revolutionized the way we communicate; it does not mean that it serves to be the best way of communicating with your clients. What you need to know is that not every product /service needs to take on the social media route in order to succeed. 

No I’m serious. There are just some products/services out there that would not work well with social media. For these products; dabbling with social media may be well… futile.

Final words:

Use With Caution

Ris Low

Age: 19

Famous for

Boomz, shingz, bigini, RED.

 A DJ? YES. SHE IS. Can you believe it? I sure as hell can’t.

MY EARS WILL BLEED IF I HAVE TO HEAR HER ON RADIO!!!!! GOD DAMNIT 987!  

No I don’t get it. What is the deal with the hiring of Ris FREAKING Low as a DJ on an ENGLISH radio show? Is this a marketing ploy? I know yes, bad publicity is still publicity. Therefore having a controversial individual on the show could perhaps increase the listenership for 987 fm. But does 987 fm actually require a boost in listenership? Isn’t “The Shan and Rozz Show” a success already?

So why? Why hire Ris Low? Why give her the attention that she so desperately wants?

And I don’t know if you guys remember this, but 987fm previously fired DJ Chew Soowei (best known for her late night show titled “Pillowfight with Soo”) for her inadequate English language skills.

In her words from SooWei's official facebook page last July:

“The main reason as it was given to me for being taken off was that my English Language isn’t proficient enough and my hosting is and I quote “Just like I learnt it from the Outdoor emcees in Orchard Road”.

Let me get this straight. 987fm laid off a DJ who was not proficient enough in both her English language standards as well as her emceeing skills. BUT now, they have decided that it would do the radio station good to hire Ris Low; WHO IS “STEEL” trying to improve her English and definitely does not possess any DJ-ing skills whatsoever.

As a listener, I’m not pleased with this move. This is such a bad move and 987 fm has definitely lost all credibility.

Screw you 987fm/mediacorp radio. Screw you Ris Low.