What I want Social Media Breakfast: Singapore to be
May 26, 2008

On Saturday, 24 May, Daryl, Sheylara, Brad and I hosted the second Social Media Breakfast. I want to thank all who came, and my apologies for not being able to talk to all of you. If you were there but we didn’t manage to talk, feel free to connect with me online – all my contact details are on my blog sidebar.

Daryl posted about the successes and the failures of the event, and it got me thinking. When we first started this, it was more of a “make it up as we go along” kind of thing. We never really firmed up what we wanted from it.

So here’s my opinion on the topic. Disclaimer: this is just my personal opinion of why I wanted to start this. It doesn’t represent the whole group or community. So feel free to disagree.

To me, the Social Media Breakfast is a way to build real, deeper relationships. It’s about making friends (Friends with a capital F), not just about business contacts or networking per se. That’s why I like it with the informal format. I think there are lots of networking sessions out there where you can meet really intelligent people and have good discussions. They are all well and good, and there’s a place for all that.

But I want this to be more than that. I want it to be about building deeper, more personal friendships. I want it to be a place where you can meet and catch up with friends, and build personal relationships and just have fun together.

It’s very easy for us to get caught up with work and with the online social world – our blogs, Twitter, etc. But no matter how personal our blogs or tools like Twitter are, they can’t replicate or replace the personal connections made through real life interactions.

And that’s what I want the Social Media Breakfast to provide. A platform to bring the social back, as CC Chapman put it.

Yes, when you gather intelligent, passionate people (like all who were at the event) together, there are bound to be interesting discussions that get you thinking. But that isn’t what I want the main focus of it to be. I would like the main focus of the Social Media Breakfast to be the relationships built, not the discussions that took place.

Once again, though. That’s just my opinion, and I’m just one person. So from you guys, especially those who have been to one of the first two breakfasts, what do you want from Social Media Breakfast: Singapore?

Social Media Breakfast Singapore 2
May 6, 2008

Daryl, Sheylara and I are pleased to announce the second Social Media Breakfast in Singapore. Except this time, it’s more of a brunch.

It’s on May 24, at 11am, at Cafe Domus. Cost is $10 each (unless anyone wants to sponsor). Hope to see you there.

Also, we’re considering whether to have a more structured event, perhaps with presenters. What do you think?

The Story behind the Social Media Breakfast Singapore
Mar 27, 2008

I’m getting really excited about the Social Media Breakfast in Singapore. 40 people have already confirmed on Facebook that they’ll be going, with another 30+ who said “Maybe”. And not to mention the people who aren’t on Facebook, like myself.

For those of you who don’t know yet, here are the details:

  • Date: Saturday, March 29, 2008
  • Time: 9 – 12.30pm
  • Place: Frujch @ SMU (Basement 1, School of Information Systems)
  • Registration: Add your name at the Facebook Event. Registration isn’t necessary, though – you can show up even if you didn’t register.
  • Cost: $4 per person

Why did I want to bring the Social Media Breakfast to Singapore? To put it simply, to build a centralized community here. I’ve been blogging for almost a year now, and until recently, I never really knew any local bloggers. And it always irked me. I’ve seen the local communities overseas (when I went for Podcamp Boston 2), and always listened in envy when other podcasters and bloggers talked about being able to just call up someone else and go for dinner. A local, real life communities built around social media was something I really wanted.

I got to meet Daryl after an audio comment on Six Pixels of Separation. That was one of the first contact I had with any local blogger. Through him, I found Nabilah’s blog. It made me realize that I wasn’t alone, and that there was a strong social media community here in Singapore, like I always believed, but never found. That’s why I brought the idea of the Social Media Breakfast to Daryl, and thankfully, he liked the idea, and has helped me make it happen. The coolest part of all this? The breakfast will probably be the first time I’m meeting him in person.

So, what’s going to happen at Frujch on Saturday? There’ll be food, and it’ll basically be a time for socializing, meeting new people, and having conversations. That’s all there is to it. You don’t necessarily even have to talk about social media. It’s just about getting to know others, in order to help build a local community. To help lighten the atmosphere, and stir more conversations, we’re taking a page out of Jeff Pulver’s book, and using his “tagging kit” idea.

Here’s Daryl and Sheylara explaining the kit and introducing the location.

I think it’s going to be awesome, and I really can’t wait for it.

Thanks to Daryl, Nabilah and Sheylara for helping to organize it. Thanks to Jeff Pulver for the advice. Thanks to Bryan Person, Connie Bensen and all of you who have helped spread the word, through your blogs, twitter stream, or otherwise. Thanks also to all who have said they’re coming. None of this would have been possible without all of you.

Social Media Breakfast in Singapore, 29 March
Mar 18, 2008

Reading the conversations Jeff Pulver’s Social Media breakfasts have generated lately (such as this article in Fortune) inspired me to try doing it in Singapore. Daryl Tay was willing to take up the challenge of helping to organize it.

So, we’re planning to have a Social Media Breakfast in Singapore. It’s basically going to be a gathering of people who are interested in social media – business, social or otherwise. And you’re all invited!

It’s tentatively going to be on 29 March, and in the SMU area (which is quite central).

There are two simple rules to the event: Firstly, everyone is equal. And secondly, if you feel like you’re not able to gain/contribute effectively to a conversation, you are free to walk away from it and find a new one.

We’ll be doing using something like Jeff Pulver’s Social Media Networking toolkit. I’ll let him explain what that is.

More details will be available soon, and you can read Daryl’s post on it as well. I think Daryl has also created a Facebook event, so you can get details from there. [update: The Facebook event is up, so check it out here. And remember to invite all your friends!]

If any of you are from Singapore (or will happen to be in Singapore) and are interested in going, drop me a line and let me know. And if any of you are willing to sponsor or help in any way, all help is appreciated.

Hope to see you guys there!