ingridmak.net

Life,in general.

From How I Met Your Mother (awesomest show ever)

I guess no one can predict how our lives would turn out to be though I believe  we can decide what we want to be. Things won’t always run as how you’ve planned. We can hang on to our dreams or just let it go. If it’s meant for us, there’s always a way that will lead us to there. Else, just carry on with life and take the leap.

Afterall, the world is constantly changing and you won’t know what will knock on your door next.

Tags: How I Met Your Mother, life, quote

Blog A Trend: Forging Our Future Friendship

I forgot where I’ve heard this being questioned : ” Who on earth still receives mails in their mailbox from friends anyways ?”

I still do ! But that’s beside the point – it’s just so amazing to see the ‘revolution’ of friendship with the help of technology. I still remember writing letters and notes to keep in touch with friends, say 10 years back. It was a regular thing to do with my overseas friends and funny enough, I still keep most of them since I’m pretty sentimental. But with the introduction of emails, IM and mIRC in those days, writing and snail mails are long forgotten.

One thing that really allowed me to make more friends was those mIRC days in secondary school. Who can possibly forget the numerous nights you spent infront of the computer at various #, ‘fighting’ to become @op/+v  randomly having people asking you “a/s/l?” Surprisingly, I’ve met several friends on mIRC and we’re still friends even though mIRC is like, dinosaur era for us.

Not forgetting social networking sites like friendster and facebook ! Many ‘old friends’ are found when everyone starts using facebook and looking up for eachother via the internet. I’m happy to have found most of my friends back in primary school and of course those who are overseas, facebook really made everything more convenient for us to keep in touch.

Having friends overseas is a huge problem back then, because it takes weeks to exchange letters ! Now we can just skype or call directly from computer-to-landlines to keep in touch. I really survive on skype with my friends on exchange although my current dinosaur laptop doesn’t have a webcam *coughs* (haha). But it’s almost like we’re at the same place when we do get to ’see’ eachother…perhaps next time it’ll be a 3D-call ! Who knows, that might just be the new trend in years to come.

Moving on, now we have Foursquare which is a mobile app to ‘follow’ your friends when they are out. I don’t know if I want to let my friends know whether I’m a few blocks away from them or ’stalk’ me virtually. But I see the advantages for those who are around the area and wants to meet up for a short gathering. In fact, if you’re adventurous, you can probably meet new friends if they happen to be on Foursquare too ! Mobile is like the next important thing now, I definitely think we will be relying on the mobile platform to keep in touch – and not just via calls and smses.

It’s probably a good thing that we have so many various platforms to keep in touch with our friends and technology has indeed make things alot easier. However, I think having such ‘virtual relationships’ still can’t be compared to a ‘real friendship’. Worst of all, now we have robotic friends/pets that keep the next generation company. Will our future generation forget how to interact with a real human being and just maintain such virtual/digital relationships in the future ?

It’s rather sad to see couples or friends sitting at the same table with their faces plastered to their mobiles/laptops. As much as I appreciate the technology, I truly agree with this quote I’ve found off the net,

“True friendship isn’t about being there when it’s convenient; it’s about being there when it’s not.”

So spend time with your loved ones, not because it’s ‘convenient’ but because you love them and want to be with them. Technology can only help you that much, it takes your individual effort to keep in touch afterall !

Tags: 3D, blog a trend, email, facebook, foursquare, friendship, friendster, futureis, HP, hp mini, laptop, mirc, netbook, skype

Have a ROARing Valentine !

Happy (overrated) Valentine’s Day ! Oops, I forgot the year of Tiger (my year!) kinda took away the fun for all the hallmark greeting cards and big bouquets of roses most girls are expecting. Come on, Vday shouldn’t be just for this ONE day when you’re in love.

This day is just totally over-hyped ! What’s the point of being sweet for just one day and being ‘normal’ again for the rest of the year ? It should be spontaneous and just surprise your loved ones every other time you feel like it !

If you want to give me a Valentine’s Day present, give me a gift of love that will last my lifetime !

Not forgetting, Happy Chinese New Year ! I hope couples out there made the ‘right’ decision to spend the special day with family as well. ‘Luckily’ for the boyfriend, my family decides to escape from Singapore for CNY (since we don’t have relatives here) for a short Batam getaway (my first time too! Will blog about it when I’m back!) so he doesn’t have to face that dilemma. Hur.

Have yourselves a happy holiday nonetheless =)

Tags: batam, chinese new year, cny, cupid, getaway, hallmark greeting cards, Love, roses, singapore, valentine's day, vday, year of tiger

Good Enough Is Not Good Enough

A friend replied to my earlier tweet :

“Why go for good enough when you have a better option before you?”

His reply ?

“@iammyy cos life is simple like that. good enough is really enough.”

Let me clarify something, I don’t disagree with his statement that sometimes (or rather, most of the time) – good enough is really enough.

However, let us all remember that just good enough does not equate to

• Low quality – this is not an excuse to produce low quality work
• Poor effort – it’s about efficiency and not having a ‘heck care’ attitude

I believe that you don’t begin planning with a ‘good enough’ mindset but instead, set realistic benchmarks and identify those unrealistic ones so that you will know when ‘good enough is enough’. What sets it apart is “tried-my-best-good-enough job” and “half-assed work”.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes if that’s what stopping you, it’s just part of the growth and process. Nothing is flawless in my opinion, so embrace your mistakes and learn.

Don’t be mistaken. I’m not a perfectionist.

If I strive for perfection, I don’t think I’ll get any blog posts out anyways ! (HAHA)

Tags: attitude, benchmarks, good enough, half-assed work, iammyy, just barely good enough, low quality, mindset, mistakes, perfection, perfectionist, poor effort, process, tweet, twitter

Overheard On The Bus : Money Over Love ?

Earlier this week, I overheard this bunch of secondary school boys chatting among themselves on the bus.

The conversation as followed :

Boy A : 我长大以后，我要有多多的钱咯！(When I grow up, I want to be really rich!)

Boy B : 我要 chio bu 老婆！(I want a pretty wife!)

Boy A : 不用啦，有钱 then 你要几个老婆都可以咯 (No need, you can have as many wives as you want if you have the money.)

Boy C : 可以买 meh ? (Can I buy them?)

Boy A : 你有钱 then 她们就会来咯！(If you have money then they’ll come to you)

I’m appalled to hear such comments from the boys, especially when they are just secondary school boys (say 13-16 years old?) With that kind of mindset, I really doubt the ‘bright future’ of our society. So are you trying to say that with money, you can ‘buy’ girls ? Is money really everything ?

Another point worth mentioning is – why are girls being viewed this way ? Is it the way we behave or stereotypes of how most girls simply just dream to marry into a rich family and be ‘Tai Tai’s ?

‘When you’re in charge of money, you’re in charge of your life’. Money is certainly important and most parents would agree that you should marry someone who shares similar social class background. Rather than ‘gold-digging’, I’ll advice girls to be financially independent and pursue love instead.

At the same time, don”t be duped by romantic unrealistic dreams and regret later on in life. Smart individuals earn their own money and find your own happy love story ending at the same time…and gain that respect from the opposite gender.

Would you choose to marry ‘Money’ over ‘Love’ ?

Tags: boys, bus, gold-digging, independent, Love, marriage, money, overheard, relationship, secondary school, society, stereotypes, tai tai

Speak and Listen to your consumers !

More and more businesses are getting on social networking platforms, especially Twitter. I’ve come across many (in fact, way too many) company accounts that are either pretty much inactive or can be classified as ’spammers’. Sure, 140 characters is good enough for business advertisements, quick and cost-effective. What’s more ? It’s free ! But doing it the wrong way can actually backfire your plans and destroy all potential relationships you may gain.

From personal experiences, I think it is important for business to bear in mind a few tips before starting to reach out to your crowd on social networking sites, IMHO :

1) Know your audience, listen to their needs !

Recently there was this email spam from a certain property agency that pissed most tweeples off. As for me, I think it’s quite silly to email me (of all people!) who have yet to pay off my university debt to check out the new apartments in town. Seriously, do some research and  know who are your target audience ! Obviously I don’t need a condo yet?!

I think it’s a good and important thing that companies are starting to ‘listen’ online to their consumer’s needs too ! I tweeted about looking for a short term rental apartment in Hong Kong just yesterday and I got a reply from @Ascott_Ltd recommending their serviced residences. Perfect example of listening to what your customers need and responding to what they are looking for, without sounding too pushy.

2) Don’t just be yet-another-brand, be personal !

It’s no longer about how ‘BIG’ your brand is but consumers need to be ‘entertained’. It’s nice to know there are ‘real people’ behind the online presence too. We like to see behind-the-scenes after a movie is out, so same goes for brands online. We’re not talking to bots afterall !

I personally like @standingsushi even thought I have yet to try their food. Mainly because I read about them on their blog and I really liked how they bring their concept across. And when I mentioned to my bestie that I want to visit @standingsushi someday, I immediately received a personal message to welcome my future visit. It certainly makes me want to go down and check it out personally (real soon!).

3) It’s about profit BUT more about relationship !

Be a ‘friend’ rather than an annoying salesman. You need to build a relationship based on trust, sincerity and constant interaction. Sure, not everyone can buy your products all the time but hey, no harm retweeting or spreading the message to others who can possibly do so if I like you. Don’t just follow everyone and expects to be followed back instantly. It’s not about the numbers either.

I like @thegardenslug alot as you can see from my tweets if you’ve been following. I started off not knowing what they have to offer but I don’t feel that their main objectives of being online is to force people to visit them but  instead, to build a relationship with their customers. That’s definitely a (Popsicle) brownie point for me and when I visited them, I knew it won’t be the last time I’m going over because The Garden Slug won my heart with their friendliness and awesome food.

4) Don’t act like a naggy old fart. Stop repeating the same messages!

This is spamming. Quality over quantity. 987123415623 tweets about the same product isn’t going to get you sales. We get your message but we may not like it. In fact, count yourself lucky if you still have 1 follower at the end of the day.

5) Reach out – help – contribute !

Sometimes it’s not just about your brand. No one really cares about you on twitter since it’s such a huge community unless you reach out to them individually. Introduce yourself at the right time – don’t be too money-minded aka not too eager to sell your product/services. Promote others or retweet their messages is a good way to start, it’s not just about you afterall. It’s all about the charm and making people genuinely interested in you. Share interesting relevant links or include pictures or videos in your messages. People will follow you if they enjoy reading your tweets.

6) Customer is always number 1. (not entirely true but that’s the saying)

(Almost) Real-time customer service is probably the best thing that one can get from social networking sites. I like how @Starhubcares try to answer to everyone’s enquries and drop direct messages to assist you when you are getting pissed holding on to the phone for half an hour listening to that awful waiting tone. Sometimes it just takes a tiny effort to pacify your angsty customers and we like it when you are willing to listen to our feedback and improve. It’s a 2 way communication afterall.

—

Of course I’m no expert and I may be wrong but at least that’s how I feel as a consumer. Any good case studies or examples that you can think of ? Or any other tips you can think of to share ? Open to discussion =)

Tags: 2 way communication, advertisments, apartments, ascott_ltd, behind the scene, case studies, companies, consumers, customer service, experience, Food, Hong Kong, listen, message, networking, online presence, personal, platforms, relationships, social media, spam, speak, standingsushi, starhubcares, target audience, the garden slug, tips, tweeples, twitter, university

It’s Time For Me To Start Thinking ‘The Unthinkable’

Nobody can predict the future, that’s for sure. With 1.5 more years to my graduation, thinking about my future career plans now is like thinking the ‘unthinkable’ with the ever changing world. But that brings me to my point that “the world is full of possibilities” and I intend to consider them all.

There is one thing I took away from my 3 years in Temasek Design School and that is ‘Passion’. It is important to be passionate about your (future) profession instead of dragging your feet to work every morning with a grumpy face. From recent Wall Street Journal,  “Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs “, it is questionable to whether the data has anything based on ‘Job Satisfaction’ to call it ‘good jobs’. (Researcher Bias?)

As an aspiring Experiential Marketer/Wedding Planner (which I personally think that it puts my Interactive Media Design Diploma and Social Sciences Degree into a perfect match), it may not be as glamorous as others would imagined it to be but I find the job rewarding when I get satisfied feedback and smiling faces throughout the event.

Passion driven, communication and interaction with people, brainstorming for creative ideas  and pulling off an event as a team at the end of the day, I think each event is a challenge that pushes my limit further each time. Nobody will teach you what to do when you’re at your job, from my internship experiences, I think it is up to an individual to live and love your job – whatever your ‘chosen path’ might be.

The world is indeed full of possibilities, I’m thankful to be able to attend events as a ‘blogger’, an experiential marketing internship at IRIS as well as networking with many others via social media platforms. I hope to reach out to more like-minded people or potential employers who share the same passion – being part of that special moment in someone’s life and creating a memorable experience for them (and myself).

I’m always looking for more new learning experiences so contact me at ingridmak (at) gmail (dot) com , leave a comment or drop me a tweet at @iammyy !

Tags: blogger, brainstorming, communication, diploma, doing the math to find the good jobs, Events, experiential marketer, interaction, interactive media design, internship, iris, job satisfaction, networking, passion, profession, researcher bias, social media platforms, social sciences, temasek design school, wall street journal, wedding planner, world is full of possibilities

I tweet.I blog.I tell my story.

Social network being a very potent force in communication, I think the only way to continue being anoymous is not to get involved in the first place. With all the various platforms, it was certainly overwhelming when I first started. However, being on these social media platforms really allowed me to engage in (almost) real-time learning opportunities and a chance for networking. Not a single bit of regret !

There are times when my parents would ask who on earth will read my blog or follow my tweets. I asked myself the same questions and came to a conclusion. In this sea of information, people (including myself when it comes to choosing who to follow) are looking for 3 main things within the content :

Entertainment

People likes to be entertained – be it youtube videos, music, comics, funny sites that can help to keep their days easier to get by. I certainly hope and prefers to fall under this category, to be a provider of entertainment value. That probably explains why I really enjoy looking for my AOTW features and sharing them with the rest of the world. Getting positive feedback and exchanging words with the various (wonderful) artists really kept me going.

Information and Opinions

I love to follow people who can provide me with great articles that feed me with facts and trivia. I think I’m quite an information junkie, I like having data and interesting insight to keep my mind active. Twitter/Plurk, in specific, is like a social community which allows users to interact and seek for assistance when you need to do some problem-solving. It is much quicker to sift through responses and source for what you exactly need. For example, I tweet and ask my followers to recommend a dining place instead of searching all over google for various reviews. Not forgetting, that’s how I usually get my latest soccer match updates via twitter too ! (Go #MUFC!)

Personal Touch

I have read in a couple of articles that recommended online presence should be professional aka ‘no-nonsense’. I beg to differ, I think my online presence should also give people a sense that they actually know me. It is all the ‘insignificant things’ that defines me to how others view me as. Maybe it is not important to anyone whether ‘I really love Glee’ and thinks ‘Johnny Depp is the most gorgeous man on earth’ or ‘prefers my steak to be medium rare’ – But I think being myself is what draws people to listen or draws them to my ’social circle’ because they either can identify with you or like you for being you !

At the end of the day, with each virtual update, I am sharing my life story with someone else – almost like an 140 character autobiography each time. Therfore, I take it like a step in developing a relationship or a connection with my readers/followers.  Hopefully to widen my social circle with like-minded people who shares my interest or opens up the door to other exciting opportunities in the future.

Tags: anoymous, aotw, artists, autobiography, blog, comics, communication, community, content, data, entertainment, feedbacks, Glee, information, information junkie, ingsight, johnny depp, MUFC, Music, online presence, opinions, personal touch, plurk, problem-solving, professional, relationship, soccer, social circle, social circles, social media, social network, twitter, videos, youtube

Proof-reading is important

“HE’S an old Singapore hand, who spent four years here as the founding dead of Insead’s Asia campus from 1999 to 2002.“

Nicely done. I’m not sure how happy our new president, Prof De Meyer will be when he hears that he’s the ‘founding dead’ but I certainly had a good laugh at this. Another reason why I stopped reading Straits Times ? They need to do proof-reading,big time.

It’ll be a big mistake if you listened to your teachers who once told you that  “You’ll learn good English by reading the newspaper more”. I’m sure it will, just probably not the local ones.

[Update : Of course it has been edited already.]

Tags: local press, new president, prof de meyer, proof-reading, singapore, smu, ST online, Straits Times

Being Happy in 2010

Earlier last week, Brian from Happyesque asked what would make me happy in 2010. Without much thinking, I gave the following answer. (Because if I keep on thinking, I’ll end up with a LONG list or telling Brian stuff like “If I can only have one wish, I wish all my wishes will come true” kind of nonsense..Haha!)

“Spending more time with the loved ones, getting a great internship that I can learn something from!”

As cliche as it sounds, I guess I’ve learnt that nothing is more precious than spending quality time with the family ever since my mom had her operations. With school (and work) taking up most of our time, we barely have time to care for the people we love, not to mention spending time with them.  Half the time I wish I can quit school so as to spend more time with my parents who are…well, honestly getting older and needs me around to help out at home.

At the same time, there are many friends whom we are ‘well-connected’ to via the internet but slowly losing the ‘human touch’. It’s a good thing that technology allows us to keep in touch easily but I think many would agree that it is different to hang out and just chat about anything under the sun as compared to throwing pillows at eachother on facebook or @-replying on twitter. Spending time with friends (be it doing anything ‘objective’ is something that I miss dearly too.

I had a great internship experience with Iris in 2009 and hopefully this year, I’ll land myself with another exciting internship (hopefully an overseas one) with equally awesome learning opportunities. That’ll keep me happy over the holiday I guess

Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that makes you happy.

So what would make you happy in 2010 ? Read more from fellow tweeters and bloggers here !

Tags: 2010, bloggers, cliche, facebook, happy, happyesque, internship, iris, overseas, spending time with loved ones, technology, tweeters, twitter