Looking Back on 2009
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At the start of the year, I wrote that this year would “definitely very much a defining period for me”, and that “[t]his is the time of my life where I have to step up, like never before.” It’s coming to the end of the year now, and I think it’s about time I look back and reflect on how things have gone. So, this is going to be a really personal post, feel free to skip it if you wish.
So, 2009. Where do I even begin? Honestly, it’s been one hell of a whirlwind year. I started off the year taking a hiatus from this blog, because having to be in the army was really affecting me and I didn’t feel like I was in the right emotional and mental state for maintaining this blog. And honestly, I don’t regret that decision.
I was in a really bad place at that time. I was bordering on depression (perhaps more than just “bordering”). My temper was at its all time worst, I was flaring up at everything and everyone, and my punching bag at home was being put to great use. I broke a couple of things in my room as well, flinging them against the wall in anger at various times. And to add to that, I was drinking a lot to take my mind off things and to get me by. In a nutshell, I was doing really badly.
In the midst of that, though, I do think I’ve grown. I’ve developed more resolve, to not accept things the way they are and to push for the change that I want. And things have definitely improved. I’m now a clerk in my unit, helping out with various projects such as my unit’s website on the army’s intranet. It’s definitely a job that’s more up my alley.
That happened around the middle of the year, and I started finding my feet in the army, now that I had a more suitable job scope. But I wasn’t quite ready to come back to this blog yet. The time away from the blog made me realize that I needed to prove myself. As I mentioned at that time, I didn’t want to come back to the blog until I thought I was able to back up what I was writing. I needed to prove, at least to myself, that I had some sort of value.
I struggled a lot with that. And truth be told, I still do. I still have a huge amount of self-doubt, as to whether I’ll really become the person I think I’m capable of being. Or whether I’ll end up a flop, who didn’t measure up to expectations. But worrying about it can only get you so far, and you never fully know until you try.
So, in about August, I finally got around to kickstarting a project of my own, DreamFledge. It’s going to be my biggest endeavour yet, and only time will tell how it’ll go. The site is being developed by Morgante Pell, with design help from Miriam Brafman. The original idea was mine, but a lot of people have played a part in shaping it. I’ll share more about that when I announce it’s launch. But basically, I’ve finally gotten around to trying to do something. And I’m happy about that.
About a month ago, I also started a new blog, Counting the Odds. It’s a personal experiment for me, sort of. I’m a firm believer in the idea that you can make a living doing what you love to do. But I think before I try to spread that message, I need to live it. So that’s what I’m trying to do with Counting the Odds. I’m trying a number of different things there, and seeing whether I can build a reputation around the niche of the mathematics of poker. And whether I can possibly monetize that in a year or two (outside of any income from the actual poker game itself).
In between all of that, I’m thinking of applying to college next year. Rather, I’m in the midst of applying. But I’m refusing to do a standard application, because, well, that’s just who I am (actually, no, I have my reasons, and I’ll share them in a future post soon).
That’s how my 2009 has been in a nutshell. Started out with me falling into a mild/moderate depression. After I got out of that, I fell into a strain of self doubt and questioning my ability and my worth. And finally, being able to get out of it and take action.
So, yes, it’s been a whirlwind of a year. I still have my struggles, and my friends will more than happily attest to that. But I do think I’ve manage to come out of it, and to come out on top (kind of). I’ve got two projects in their infancy, and I’m really looking forward to what 2010 brings and whether I can make those two projects successful.
What about you? How has 2009 been for you – and what does 2010 hold?
Photo by A_Gude
[?]Tags: 2010, dreamfledge, poker, projects, reflection
Privacy vs The Social Web
Dec 30, 2009 personal branding, Technology
A few days ago I asked what you are hiding. And suitably, I just came across this story about Eric Shmidt saying that “secrets are for filthy people”.
I know this is going to spark some huge disagreement, but I can’t say I completely disagree with him. But that’s besides the point. What I want to bring attention to is how everyone seems to be protesting vehemently and insisting on their privacy.
Yes, I do understand where they are coming from, but the fact of the matter is this. Privacy as we know it is a thing of the past, and that trend is not likely to stop. These people insisting on their privacy sound very much to me like Tiger Woods’ request last month for “some privacy” after his accident.
It may seem like a reasonable request, but like it or not, it was never going to happen. We all know how that turned out for him, and how he’s suffering from it now. The basic fact is, as a celebrity, people are always going to be “intrusive”, and having privacy is almost impossible. He can’t have it both ways – he can’t be in the limelight and make millions while he’s doing well, and ask to slink into the shadows when things don’t go his way.
And neither can we. We can’t say we want the benefits of micro-celebrity and the value of social interactions that come with the web, but refuse the intrusion of privacy that comes with it. It’s tough, but that’s the way it is.
So what can you do? You are left with one of two choices, in my opinion.
- Refuse anything that comes with branding yourself/getting known on the web, and get your privacy with it. This means minimal or no Facebook or social networking, no blogs, etc. You lose the huge opportunity the web gives you to stand out, but you gain your privacy. Some people are perfectly happy with this option, like my mother, and manage it quite well.
- Embrace the social web, and everything that comes with it. Make use of it to develop your personal brand and build connections. Try to be as authentic as you can, and with nothing to hide, of course. But be prepared that if you have secrets (and face it, we all do), they might easily come back to haunt you. And learn to manage that scenario accordingly.
I think it’s obvious that I’m in camp number 2. What about you? Are you ready to accept that you have little (or no) privacy, as a trade-off to the benefits of the social web? Or do you think there’s a middle ground?
Photo by stevendepolo
[?]Tags: micro-celebrity, personal brand, privacy, secrets, social web, tiger woods
Real Gifts, Virtual Addresses – A New Opportunity
Dec 29, 2009 Companies, ideas, Technology
Have you come across TigerBow yet? If you haven’t, you should check it out. I haven’t got the chance to use it yet, because it doesn’t accept my Singapore postal code (which has 6 digits vs America’s 5), and as such cannot authenticate my credit card. That said, I think it’s a great idea. Sending a gift to a virtual recipient.
I think this speaks greatly about the nature of relationships nowadays, and how they’re moving online, but that’s not what I want to highlight here. What I do want to highlight is the opportunity here for other companies. Imagine if Amazon implemented something like that. They already have an option to ship an object as a gift to someone else, why not allow the shopper to send the gift to a virtual recipient in the same process that TigerBow does? Shouldn’t take too long, and shouldn’t be too hard for them to implement.
Or what about other startups? Why hasn’t someone built a system like that, but allowing the user to choose any object from Amazon? In my mind, it could be as simple as a 3 page process. On the first page, let the user input his name, the recipients name, and the Amazon product url. On the second, let the user select a delivery method, and optional wrapping/card, etc. And the third page would be for checkout. The system then sends a message to the recipient, like Tigerbow does, and if the recipient wants to receive it, he inputs his mailing address. The system can then place an order on Amazon for the object, ship it to the startup’s office, where it can be wrapped and all, and then send it out to the recipient. If the startup’s office is in America, the shipping costs wouldn’t increase too much, I think (it’d just be one additional local shipment to America).
It’d take some manual effort, but I definitely think it’s feasible. What do you think? Anyone up for trying it?
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Tags: amazon, gifts, opportunity, startup, tigerbow, virtual recipient
What Are You Hiding?
Dec 27, 2009 personal branding
Barbara Safani on emurse wrote a post about “Five Quick Ways to Get Your Resume Tossed in the “No” Pile“.
What struck me the most about that list? Every item was about leaving out something. The most obvious allusion to that is when she says “the reality is that when the graduation date is missing, you are actually calling more attention to the very thing you are trying to hide.”
I think that’s a very important thing to remember. What we leave out, more often than not, is just as, if not more, important than what we put in. And people notice that. To be real, you have to take the risk of putting everything on the line – even things which may be potentially embarrassing.
Yes, there’s a fine line between managing your personal brand well, and covering up things which you don’t want people to know. The best solution? Neither, in my opinion. If you live your brand, if you live by your beliefs consistently and are who you say you are, you should have nothing to hide.
And that’s what we should all strive for, I think. Being completely authentic that we have nothing to hide.
Now, ask yourself – what are you hiding?
[?]Tags: authenticity, branding, reputation management, resume
The Problem with Twitter Trust Metrics
Dec 27, 2009 Technology
Charles Green from Trusted Advisor just wrote a post about measuring trust on Twitter.
I think it’s an interesting measurement, but there are issues with it. He mentions the biggest one, saying
The biggest problem comes not in the measurement, but in the subject matter. So it is with trust. In the TweetLevel tool, trust is largely a function of how many people cite you. That’s perfectly reasonable. People definitely hang on Perez Hilton’s words a lot more than on mine.
But it does beg a huge trust question: trust Perez Hilton to do what? To say what? To behave how? What is it that we trust about John Mayer–and is it the same thing as for which we’re trusting Oprah?
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That speaks for itself, I think. Nothing more to add there.
My biggest worry, however, is the possible effects this measurement may have. As much as I see the value of measuring something, a measurement like this brings a lot of false promises. Most importantly, trust is a very personal thing. What matters is how much each individual trusts you, it’s not a question of broad statistics, in my opinion.
The issue of a trust metric like that is this. Once you put a number to something, people tend to strive for higher numbers. It’s the nature of human competitiveness, kind of. And I fear that the more we put a number to trust, the more people will try to game the system just to get higher numbers, making more retweetable tweets, etc. And that could easily lead to even less personal interaction.
TweetLevel measures how often you’re cited, and that’s certainly valuable. But we need to not confuse this too much with trust. Yes, it’s probably a reflection that people trust what you say, and think you have valuable input. But do they really trust you? And I think that’s the main question. You can be having personal conversations on Twitter, things that others don’t retweet. Your trust metric won’t go up, but because your conversations are personal, the person on the receiving end gets to build a relationship with you more and gets to trust you. Is this any worse than being retweeted often? I’d say not.
A while ago, Chris Brogan wrote this:
I’d go to Savvy Auntie because Melanie Notkin will give me advice that would help me buy for kids, where Amazon’s just too big to feel helpful in that regard.
I’d go to Wine Library because Gary Vaynerchuk will take the fear factor out of buying something I’m not educated about.
I’d go to Glynne’s Soaps because I appreciate Gayle and Jennifer’s efforts via social media, so it’s like buying from a friend.
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And I think that’s more important. What you do with the “trust” that you have. It’s all well and good having high numbers, with people retweeting you all the time.
But you need to remember to ask two things. Firstly, what are they retweeting? And secondly, how are you relating to those who are retweeting you? It’s not all just about retweets. There’s also huge value (perhaps more) in a personal relation, that cannot be captured from that.
[?]Tags: authenticity, measurements, relationships, trust
3 Stories, and 2 Lessons
Dec 24, 2009 Marketing, personal branding
First, let’s go back to 2007, before I even started blogging. I had been reading Seth Godin’s blog and was really inspired by his writings. I emailed him a couple of random thoughts (as a completely unknown 16 year old). And he replied, giving me encouragement and saying that my thoughts weren’t all bad. That encouragement was what spurred me on to this blog, and one of the reasons why I admire him so much.
When I first started blogging, I reached out to Chris Brogan, asking him for advice and suggestions on how to improve my blog. He not only replied and gave me good advice, he even made a post about my blog, giving me my first boost of subscribers. Since then, he’s continued to be really helpful in everything.
Just last week, I finally got a hold of Trey Lockerbie‘s EP. How did I get it? I emailed him asking him for it, basically saying that I wanted his EP, but it’s only available on the iTunes music store which is inaccessible from Singapore. Long story short, he left a copy of the CD at the hotel’s front desk last week when he stopped by Singapore for a show. I’ve always really loved Trey’s music since I first heard him a couple of years ago, but this brought my appreciation (and fanhood) of him to a whole new level.
What am I getting at? Firstly, from an individual’s perspective. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Your heroes are not always really that out of reach. More often than not, they’re happy to hear from you. Even business owners have said that what matters most to them is “customers who appreciate what we do.” Reach out, ask for what you need, and you never know, you might just get it.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, for brands (both personal and corporate). How open are you to your customers? How approachable are you? Do you communicate with your customers, are you willing to help them when they reach out to you? Because you should. That little bit of approachability goes a long way.
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Tags: approachability, brands, chris brogan, courage, personal brand, seth godin, trey lockerbie
I’m Back
Dec 23, 2009 Announcements, Personal
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on here, and a lot has happened. I’d really like to thank all those who have kept their subscriptions and stayed on here, your support means a lot to me. And, as the title says, I’m back! I’ll be posting a bit less frequently (about 3 times a week instead of the daily posts I used to make), but I am back. Hopefully that’s good news to you.
So, what have I been up to? Lately (and for the next few months), my efforts have been focused on two main projects – my new blog, Counting the Odds, and my startup which is planned to launch next year, DreamFledge. I’ve also been working on my college application. You’ll definitely hear about all those things in the future.
I’m still in the army, and it still kind of sucks, but I’ve more or less settled down here. I spend my time as a clerk, doing some administrative work, but also doing some macros and all to help my unit’s productivity. So that’s been a positive out of it.
What’s next for me? I really don’t know. A lot depends on how the two aforementioned projects work out. But I assure you, if you stick around, you’ll be one of the first to know.
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