Sui Generis

Community vs Association

Jan 21, 2009 blogging

Thanks for coming back. =). Glad to see you. If there's anything I can do for you, I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email, or leave a comment, introduce yourself. I'd love to connect with you. Or if you have your own blog, why not let me promote your work?

Ok I’m not really back yet. But I thought that this news is big enough for my to break my hiatus. So apparently, an official “Association of Bloggers (Singapore)” has been formed.

For the record, I have nothing against the individual bloggers who have started the Association. I respect them and applaud the effort.

But when it comes down to it, I think this is a horribly misguided attempt. I like the idea of trying to bring together the community of bloggers. But I don’t agree with this at all.

I think it’s pointless and unnecessary, bordering on egotistical. DK, one of the commitee members, blogged that “I feel that as more and more companies and government bodies start to engage the new media, there is a need for an official association to accredit bloggers”. I could not disagree more with him this time. There is absolutely no need for this. The whole fundamental point of blogging, in my opinion, is the openness, the fact that it’s the voice of the individual, the amateur. A blog does not need an “official association to accredit” it.

And to think that they can represent all the local bloggers? I’m sorry, I have to say that’s just plain egotistical. And there’s nothing much for me to add about the whole “legal entity” aspect of it.

It’s a nice attempt, and I know their hearts are in the right place. But this time, I have to say that plain and simple, I think this is ridiculous and unnecessary.

What we need is to build the community. Not establish an association.

Tags: association, blog, Blogosphere, community, singapore

On Hiatus

Jan 13, 2009 Announcements, Personal, blogging

There’s a part of me that really doesn’t want to do this, but I think it’s the best decision to make – for myself and for this blog, and you guys.

But yes, as the title of this post says, I’ll be going on a blogging hiatus for a while. How long, I’m not sure, but you can subscribe via RSS or via email to stay posted, and get informed when I come back. And if you want to talk to me, I can still be reached by email, and occasionally by IM (IM details in the sidebar)

I just feel that in my current condition, I don’t think I can provide proper value to all of you reading this blog. And rather than take up your time and attention, I’ll take a step back for now. I’ll be back though, when I get my own life and issues sorted out, and hopefully I’ll come back stronger than before. I hope you don’t forget me, and hope to see you around when I do come back.

But for now, that’s all folks. It’s been a great journey, and I hope you’ll join me again when I’m ready to continue it.

Tags: blog, hiatus

Personal Relevance

Jan 7, 2009 Marketing

I’ve been watching a lot of The OC, Season 3 lately. Yes, I know it’s not exactly the best show ever made, but I really like it.

Why? A number of reasons, but mainly because I feel I can relate to it. The story of the 4 kids, graduating from high school and going to college – and having to deal with all that comes with that transition, saying goodbye to friends, the uncertainty of the future, etc. That’s something I can relate to. Sure, it’s probably a lot more dramatized than anything I’ll ever live through in my personal life, but in general, it’s something that’s personally relevant to me.

Yes, objectively, it might not be the best show, nor the best season. It may not have the best visuals, or the best acting (as my friend puts it, the characters seem flat, etc). But it holds relevance to me, it’s something I feel I can relate to, and as such I like it a lot.

And the importance of that cannot be overemphasized, in my opinion. Personal relevance. No matter what your product is, personal relevance trumps general quality, in my opinion. That’s not to say that you create a crappy product. But once you’re past a certain treshold, once your product is “pretty good”, any increase in quality can be trumped by an increase in relevance.

The challenge is figuring out who you want to reach, and tailoring the story you’re telling – and no matter what you’re doing, you are always telling a story – to that audience. Not always easy to do, but there are great rewards in doing that.

How are you crafting your story so that your target audience can relate to it more?

Tags: OC, relevance, story, storytelling, target audience

Making Things Happen

Jan 3, 2009 Marketing, Random, blogging

Been reading a number of posts about 2009. And more than anything, it seems like 2009 is going to be the year for action. Yes, it’s something I touched on in my previous post, but that was a little long and rambling-ish, and so yeah.

Mitch Joel wrote about how “Results speak louder than words“. Valeria Maltoni says that “Actions speak louder than words“, and encourages us to “Teach. Lead. Learn. Love.”. Chris Brogan shared his goals for 2009, “to equip and build armies”, and “moving needles”.

Seeing a trend? I certainly am. I think this is the year where these things -social media, etc – are really going to start maturing. We (myself included, for sure) need to really start executing, and not just talking about all of these ideas. And not just executing, but executing with concrete, measurable results.

We need to start leading, and making things happen.

What can you make happen in 2009?

Tags: 2009, action, execute, leading, measurable, New Year, social media, statistics

2009: The Road Ahead

Jan 2, 2009 Personal

Photo by ladislavSo, it’s 2009. And I said I’d be back, so here I am. First off, I’d like to thank you for being around, for being such a support over the last two years. You’ve been an amazing community, and I’m really thankful for all the support that all of you have given me. And now, 2009 is here.

I honestly don’t know what to make of it.  I don’t know whether I’m ready for the new year. A new year, to me, is a time for looking forward. It’s a new time, a blank slate, a time to step forward and make something happen. But looking forward, I’m just really unsure about a lot of things.

As of a couple of weeks or so ago, I’m now 18. And to be honest, I feel quite unaccomplished. I look at some of kids my age, the likes of Kabren Levinson and Jessica Mah (among others), and I feel just quite unaccomplished. There’s no other word for it. I’ve got huge respect for these people, these young people who are doing amazing things. This is not meant as a gripe against them, not by any means. I have huge respect for them and they’ve been great friends, really encouraging and helpful and really nice to be around and talk to. The world needs more people like them, definitely.

I just wonder whether I have the capability to be one of those people. Yes, I have this blog, and all of you have been brilliant, the conversations have been great. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything. But it feels like I haven’t actually done anything. And I guess that, in my mind, at least, now that I’m 18, it’s time for me to step up. It’s time for me to step up and show who I am and what I can do.

The army isn’t really helping either. It’s killing me inside, emotionally and mentally. It’s not that it’s tough training or anything, far from it. I just feel like 2 years of my life are being completely wasted. And I need something to do – I need a project to work on, someone to work with, something – I just need to know that I’m making some sort of meaning with my life. I need something to live for, because honestly, my life at the moment feels very meaningless, like I’m just going through the motions. And I hate that.

This is definitely a transitional phase, and so much has been happening. I’ve been looking at colleges over the past month or so and it’s really made me have to come to grips with the reality that life as I know it is going to change. My friends are going to be leaving, to different colleges and schools all around the world. I myself will be leaving in a couple of years. And yes, I’m looking forward to leaving, but there’s an uncertainty that comes with that.

But that’s part of life, I guess. Fear and uncertainty are always going to be there. It’s something all of us have to deal with, and I don’t think anyone actually fully gets rid of the fear. My biggest fear? That my life won’t work out. There are times I wonder – what if I’m just not good enough to make it. I know I’m taking a lot of risks. And there are times I wonder whether I lack the ability to really pull it off. I fear that my story would be like the story Peter Cincotti tells in his song “Another Falling Star” (full lyrics here). That’s my biggest fear.

I don’t regret the risks I’ve taken, the path that I’ve chosen. If I had to choose again, I would make the same choices, and walk the same path. I believe in the path that I’ve chosen, I still do. There’s just fear about what lies ahead. But that’s what defines us, isn’t it? The fear is never going to be gone. It’s just a question of whether we can pull ourselves above it, and rise above it to fulfil our potential. It’s not about getting rid of the fear, it’s about acting in spite of it.

And for me, that’s what 2009 is going to be about. There’s so much uncertainty, and it’s definitely very much a defining period for me, I think. How I deal with the army stuff (because honestly, I feel like I’m on the verge of a mental/emotional breakdown from it), whether I can find/create the opportunities to do something meaningful (in the evenings/weekends when I’m not in the army camp, so that I won’t feel like my 2 years are being completely wasted), deciding on the path for my future (issues of college, etc). The year ahead is really going to be one of the most defining years for me as an individual.

This is the time of my life where I have to step up, like never before. It’s time for me to prove that I can do something significant, that I can be someone. It’s time for me to show what I’m really about.

I just hope I have the strength and courage to do it.

*I’m sorry for the rambling post, just needed the platform to get it off my chest, I guess. If you’ve actually read through the whole thing, thank you, I really appreciate it.

Tags: 2009, fear, New Year, reflection, uncertainty