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AOTW [36] : Maddi Jane

While everyone is going crazy over Justin Bieber, I think Maddi Jane is one lovely kid who has the voice and total cuteness !  11 years old, I was busy playing stupid games with my friends and this adorable little girl here is already making a success in her career ! In fact, she was invited to The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently too !

Loved her cover of The Script’s ‘Breakeven’, which happens to be one of the songs that was on repeat in my playlist for the past months.

Moving on…as much as I think it’s quite weird for kids like Justin Bieber and Maddi Jane to be singing songs that’s about relationships and heartbreaks,  I really wonder if they actually ‘feel’ what they’re singing about but I guess kids hit puberty pretty fast these days. Here’s her latest with yet another on-repeat songs of mine, enjoy !

Impossible by Shontelle

I remember years ago
Someone told me I should take
Caution when it comes to love
I did, I did
And you were strong and I was not
My illusion, my mistake
I was careless, I forgot
I did
And now when all is done
There is nothing to say
You have gone and so effortlessly
You have won
You can go ahead tell them

Tell them all I know now
Shout it from the roof top
Write it on the sky love
All we had is gone now
Tell them I was happy
And my heart is broken
All my scars are open
Tell them what I hoped would be
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible

Falling out of love is hard
Falling for betrayal is worst
Broken trust and broken hearts
I know, I know
Thinking all you need is there
Building faith on love is worst
Empty promises will wear
I know (i know)
And know when all is gone
There is nothing to say
And if you’re done with embarrassing me
On your own you can go ahead tell them

Tell them all I know now
Shout it from the roof top
Write it on the sky love
All we had is gone now
Tell them I was happy
And my heart is broken
All my scars are open
Tell them what I hoped would be
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible

Ooh impossible (yeah yeah)

I remember years ago
Someone told me I should take
Caution when it comes to love
I did

Tell them all I know now
Shout it from the roof top
Write it on the sky love
All we had is gone now
Tell them I was happy (i was happy)
And my heart is broken
All my scars are open
Tell them what I hoped would be
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible
Impossible, impossible

I remember years ago
Someone told me I should take
Caution when it comes to love
I did

P.S : Thanks to my dearest junior, kr,  for the intro !

Tags: aotw, breakeven, heartbreaks, impossible, justin bieber, Maddi Jane, relationships, shontelle, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the script

AOTW [35] : Angels And Airwaves

Usually I’ll try to feature youtube/myspace artists but couldn’t find anyone who covered this song by Angels and Airwaves, so here’s the original artist with one of my favourite song from their 2007 I-Empire album. Catchy beat and of course the ever-catchy line of saying “everything’s magic”. Honestly, I prefer the acoustic version featured below.

What I like about Angels and Airwaves (apart from the fact that it’s lead by Blink 182′s Tom DeLonge) is that their music is inspiring and you can always feel the message behind each song.  Their songs somehow grow on you after a few playbacks. Looking forward to see their film ‘Love‘, pretty sure the soundtrack will be awesome !

So down with depressing songs that remind you of the past or dwelling in relationships problems, here’s one to remind you that you still have a purpose in life, give life your best shot, live to the fullest and don’t be afraid to fall in love again.

Angels and Airwaves – Everything’s Magic

And do you ever feel like you’re alone?

And do you ever wish you’d be unknown?

I could say that i have i could say that i have

And do you ever feel things here aren’t right?

And do you ever feel the time slip by?

I can say that i have and i can say that i have

So hear this please

And watch as your heart speeds up endlessly

And look for the stars as the sun goes down

Each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

Everything everything’s magic

Just sit back and hold on but hold on tight

Prepare for the best and the fastest ride

And reach out your hand and i’ll make you mine

Everything everything’s magic

And do you ever lay awake at night?

And do you ever told yourself don’t try

Don’t try to let yourself down don’t try to let yourself down

And do you ever see yourself in love?

And do you ever take a chance my love?

Because you know that i will because you know that i will

So hear this please

And watch as your heart speeds up endlessly

And look for the stars as the sun goes down

Each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

Everything everything’s magic

Just sit back and hold on but hold on tight

Prepare for the best and the fastest ride

And reach out your hand and i’ll make you mine

Everything everything’s magic everything everything’s magic

So hear this please

And watch as your heart speeds up endlessly

And look for the stars as the sun goes down

Each breath that you take has a thunderous sound

Everything everything’s magic

Just sit back and hold on but hold on tight

Prepare for the best and the fastest ride

And reach out your hand and i’ll make you mine

Everything everything’s magic

Tags: acoustic, angels and airwaves, aotw, blink182, everything's magic, Film, i-empire, life, living to the fullest, Love, myspace, purpose in life, relationships, soundtrack, tom Delonge, youtube

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.

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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