Update on H1N1 : An Epidemic of Stupidity
Everyone is blogging about the whole H1N1 saga of how a fellow SMU student who was “so dumb knowing that US has high infection,yet still decided to travel there.” (antiwisefc, The Straits Times online forum) and being a “troublemaker…should sue her for bringing in the virus!” (deritz, Stomp) It is indeed amusing to see the maturity level of our local news readers who target only on the victims and not the issue itself. I don’t want to be classified as “netizen” because of these people who make such comments. Trust me, I have seen worse on many blogs and other forums – is there a need to start a flame-war ? She did not ask for it.
“The affected student has requested that we not reveal her identity. We request all members of SMU to respect her request and her privacy.” – SMU President’s message on H1N1
I’m sure she is innocent and did not ask for the instant fame for bringing the virus in, who would have wanted to ? It is almost a fact that the virus will bound to land in Singapore any time soon – just a matter of time. Why these personal attacks ? Will it make you feel any better if she dies or be haunted for life because of this ? I don’t think she deserves these treatments. Neither did any of her friends or whichever H1N1 victims out there. Give them a break. Stop hunting them down for more “personal” information. It’s really none of your business of anyone else’s to know who the friend is or who the boyfriend is or what do other SMU students think about this. We want NEWS not GOSSIPS.
As much as I dislike school, I think SMU handled the situation pretty well. Onecentsworth (The Straits Time online forum) commented that “A common sense decision to cancel the trip by the school management would have prevented all the unnecessary consequences now, isn’t it?” A little too late for being the “Smart Alec” isn’t it? In the first place, if we were all to act paranoid and behave that way – why didn’t you blame the people for going overseas for their holiday trips, why not stop people from consuming rice since there is a high possibility for them choking to death…no? Let’s just say if the school did cancel the trip, do you think H1N1 will not happen in Singapore ?
It was appalling to see our local newspapers (namely The New Paper) ‘s articles on the matter. Maybe Ms Joanna Hor and Ms Geraldine Yeo, the newsroom interns did not quite understood the code of professional conduct for journalists. Not forgetting Ng Wan Ching, Veena Bharwani too. Take a look and be ashamed of yourselves. Are you sure you want a future career in journalism ? If so, I do think the future of newspapers is bleak.
Singapore National Union of Journalists’
Code of Professional Conduct
- Every member shall maintain good quality of workmanship and high standard of conduct.
- No member shall do anything that will bring discredit on himself/herself, his/her union, his/her newspaper or other news media or his/her profession.
- Every member shall defend the principles of freedom in the honest collection and dissemination of news and the right of fair comment and criticism.
- Every member shall realise his/her personal responsibility for everything he/she prepares for his/her newspaper or other news media.
- Every member shall report and interpret the news with scrupulous honesty.
- Every member shall use only honest methods to obtain news, pictures and documents.
- No member shall accept any form of bribe whether for publication or suppression nor permit personal interest to influence his/her sense of justice.
- Every member shall respect all necessary confidence regarding sources of information and private documents.
- Every member shall keep in mind the dangers in the laws of libel, contempt of court and copyright.
- Every member shall observe at all times the fraternity of their profession and shall never take unfair advantage of a fellow member.
How do you feel to have your names stamped all over the blog for something that you “never intended” to happen ? Terrible isn’t it ? Did you stop and put yourselves in the victims shoes before publishing the article or make those comments? Dear interns, not only did you published their names but you just had to mention the poor Sars patient after 6 years of some peace in her life. Great job on the research done !
I don’t think there’s anything for us to do right now but just pray that the victims will recover soon and the spread of virus will be under controlled. All i can say is that, I don’t think local newspapers are worth reading anymore if this is what journalism is to them. Oh, and I got all my news updates via Twitter since the official newspapers were down when everyone decided to find out what’s happening. FYI, netizens to me are the ones who broadcast information and news updates in a responsible and mature manner instead of “flame first H1N1 victim”.
End of story.
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good read(s) :
Daryl and his views on Why Singaporean Press Are Like Vultures
DK ‘s Shame on you TNP! Shame on you!
Dorothy’s Communication Thoughts Case #1: Crisis Comms & Mainstream Media
#sgtweetup- All Twisted Up ?
I had an interview earlier on this afternoon and my interviewer was asking where I’m heading to after the interview.
I told him about #sgtweetup, like how it is supposedly the first/official meet-up for Singapore Twitters. He chuckled and mentioned that he went for the “official” one last week (which one ? That’s one !?!) but anyways, I have to agree with him that there are just way too many people claiming that their event is the “first”/”official”/”exclusive” – which is the real thing ? And does it really matter ?
I personally don’t really give a damn about it, I’m here for the content/meeting more (new/old) friends - not so much about being “in the scene” or “active” in the community. Let’s just say I’m more of a passive user of the social media platforms. (HAHA)
Back to the topic – I was half expecting a bunch of geeky people, whipping out their gadgets and twittering away while being in the same room (Sorry, anything related to technology is just being stereotyped as “geeks”/”nerds” with no life ! HAHA) To my surprise, Geek Terminal was filled with people – mostly high on alcohol and laughing away in small cliques, nothing like what I’ve imagined. We were actually following #sgtweetup while on the way there and the word “models” popped out from nowhere. So what is the relationship between “models” and a sg twitter event ?
Apparently, the “hidden agenda” behind this event (not very hidden afterall) was to introduce the girls from supermodelme.tv ! Since we were late, the main “show” was already over and people were just mingling around while the models had to break into the small cliques in order to introduce themselves, giving away their “name cards” which has their Twitter ID and the show’s Facebook group+website address on it. I mean, I’m fine with checking out the show+girls and I’m quite sure the guys in the room were not complaining either. But is there a need to keep this as a “surprise” ? It certainly was not a pleasant one for most of the attendees, as you can see from the -ve feedback on twitter.
To keep things short and simple, here’s my own opinions about the event :
1) It is #sgtweetup, right ? I was expecting more than just a “hi-bye-here are the models” session. Where’s the social media/Twitter element ! But yea, it sure did create a buzz on Twitter.
2) They are models for a reason – they don’t tweet. You don’t go up to a person at #sgtweetup and asked if they are on twitter or not *roll eyes*. And I noticed they do not approach the girls first – but the guys instead ! Way to go, very clever and *duh* ! (HAHA, I’m NOT acting jealous here)
3) It was a “neither here nor there” event. I am ok if it’s like a “sponsored” event by supermodelme.tv and the models are introduced as part of the marketing campaign but it was not stated ? In the end it felt like a nightout with random people with bad alcohol breath, happy hours after work huh ? I won’t mind if it is like how plurk outings are being organized – purely chill-out sessions.
4) Kudos to the organizers who planned this – but it could have been (much) better ? Not easy to plan an event I must say, but next time – clearer agenda needed please. Felt alil “cheated” in a way as a participant.
I really pity the girls who are being bombarded with negative feedback because of this “surprise” twist to the event – they are definitely the innocent victims here. BUT I don’t think I’ll follow them because this is just part of the marketing stunt for the show and to be honest, I’m not exactly blown away by this tactic/the girls.
Sure, it was a “successful” event because of the attendance but I’m not impressed (by the quality and motive).
P.S : Happy to put some faces to the names I’ve been following/followed ! If you were there tonight…”Hi,I’m @iammyy on twitter/plurk aka Ingrid” 
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Links :
Daryl – Singapore’s “First Ever” Tweetup (#sgtweetup) : Shill Or Social ?
(and he added in why the “surprise” may not be a “surprise” like what @sgbrands tried to explain to me after reading my entry)
Claudia with some event pictures and Ian with his views on the event too !
Bravo,Christian Lacroix the Costumier !
Ping, the boyfriend and I headed over to the National Museum of Singapore to check out the Christian Lacroix the Costumier exhibition. The museum was rather empty, probably due to the H1N1 outbreak or the fact that the museum closes at 6pm. We got our complimentary tickets at around 5.30pm (on the dot for last entry) and we had the whole exhibition hall to ourselves ! 
I was really looking forward to immerse myself in this whole charming French fashion history – the amazing costumes and sketches by the genius designer Christian Lacroix (which the boyfriend laughed and called me a “Fake French” because I have no idea how to pronounce his last name properly. haha) The exhibition was alot smaller than I imagined it would be but the decor sets the mood and I have to admit (randomly) that I really liked the chairs in that display hall. I wish I have one of those at home ! If I’m not wrong, the museum decorated the display to look as though you’re in a theatre blackbox with the red lighting and moving mannequins.
Design wise, you will definitely be impressed by the details and depth of his work. His sketches were stunning to begin with and I love his dramatic use of color and fabric. In case you have no idea, he first began with ready-to-wear designs to the displays you see in National Museum which are his works for operas, theatre and dance. For example, you will probably know “Carmen” and Shakespeare’s “Othello”. I think it is quite a rare opportunity for Singaporeans to be in touch with this aspect of the Arts since Opera is not a very “hip” thing in town.
It was quite spectacular if you enjoy fashion or you’re someone like me, who thinks “anything French is awesome” (HAHA). I had fun at the hands-on area where the museum provided paper (of really good quality, to my surprise) for sketches and paper dolls for dress-up games. There are 4 wooden dolls for you to place fabric over and create your own masterpieces as well ! The boyfriend and I had a go at it and there’s a reason why we’re both from a management university ! (hur)
So what do you think ? Who do you think have a better sense of fashion (HAHA) ! If you think you can do a better job, go down to the gallery and snap a picture of your magnificent costume for me to see ! 
This gotta be one of the biggest fashion event of the year, so don’t miss it ! The ticket is priced at $8 but you get to enter FREE if you’re wearing RED from 9-10th May ! 
Design Ignites Change : Greater Than 60
Worldstudio launched a new project “Design Ignites Change” which is a self-guided mentoring programme for high school/college students to produce creative works that address to the theme of fostering positive social change. (Click on the screencap to find them on Facebook)
Since they are teaming up with Adobe Youth Voices, I think it will be a really good breakthrough learning experience for the students using interactive media tools. 1) It allows students to showcase their talent on a open platform. 2) The projects are meaningful and more visible and beneficial. 3) There are more public/professional’s input. 4) The works are recognized based on the designer’s ideas and not client’s. 5) Potential job opportunities open up for these students.
Although “Design Ignites Change” is not a local project, we do have something similar here in Singapore. >60 Design Centre (read as Greater Than 60) is probably the first local design project that promotes positive social change. It targets the ageing population here in Singapore and encourages young designers (mainly those who are pursuing their diplomas in Temasek Design School,TDS) to provide design ideas and solutions to meet the needs. It is also the Singapore’s National Design Centre for Ageing. (click here to view facebook group – When Silver Turns to Gold)
I participated in one of the project ” A Generation of Ideas” while I was still in TDS, we submitted 3 design proposals each which address the needs of the elderly and we students generated 824 designs altogether. Of course, only 101 ideas were featured in the book (sadly not mine,haha) . Let me know if any of you are interested to take a look ! 
Being a TDS graduate and current Social Sciences student, I think such projects should gain more publicity and support from the public. Afterall, these projects are beneficial to the society and most of them are non-profit making. It is not easy to make a living in the creative industry, not to mention in Singapore. But I feel that to be a good designer, it doesn’t require alot of award-winning ideas but sometimes all it takes to make a difference, is to value-add your designs and contribute back to the society. It applies to everyone – money and value, which would you choose ?
