Anthon Berg’s The Generous Store: A lot of chocolate, for a lot of good deeds.

Just found an inspiring alternative payment model which revolves around one of my much loved topics… CHOCOOOOLATE!

For one day only, Anthon Berg opened a pop up shop and sold it’s chocolates by enabling customers to pay with a good deed, rather than cash, rightfully calling it ‘The Generous Store’.

“Conceived by ad agency Robert/Boison & Like-minded, the project featured a temporary outlet in Denmark – open for one day only – which labeled each of its products with a task the consumer must perform in order to ‘buy’ the chocolate. Designed to spread generosity, the tasks typically included a good deed to someone else, such as ‘Serve breakfast in bed to your loved one’ or ‘Help clean a friend’s house’. Cashiers were replaced by staff carrying iPads, where chocolate-buyers could log into their Facebook accounts and pledge to carry out the favor via a branded post on their wall. Anthon Berg was able to view the results of the promises when visitors to the store then posted pictures and comments on the company Facebook Page.”

Summary and article heard from Springwise.

This was a great campaign and branding exercise for the company to portray itself as generous and socially-minded.

For chocolate, I would do a lot of things… especially a lot of good deeds.
#GenerosityIsSweet !

Korean Girl Wears Makeup For 2 Years

Does your girlfriend wear a lot of makeup? Ask her to take a look at this.

I saw this on my friend Audrey‘s blog post and just had to share it.

The admittedly pretty girl you see above is Bae Dal-mi, a South Korean girl who had chosen to wear her makeup full-time, 24 hours a day for two years. Making a point to never be seen with her bare face, she pretty much just kept applying and retouching her makeup day after day.

20-year-old Bae Dal-mi stepped into the world of makeup when she was 14 and seemed to fall in love since that first application. In developing her skills on applying, she came to apply more and more so that her makeup was more like a mask. Though it was also a face that she liked and became dependent on enough that she didn’t ever want to see herself without it.

Despite being considered rather pretty, Bae also revealed that she was dissatisfied with her appearance and wanted cosmetic/plastic surgery on at least 10 areas of her face.

Even around family and at home, she became a bit obsessed with her makeup and chose to not remove it, even at night. “I wanted to look perfect at all times, I even slept with the makeup on,” she shares. Everywhere she goes, she makes sure to have a mirror handy as her most important item and also to use it to retouch her makeup, by applying layer after layer over her existing makeup.

In the last two years, Dal-mi has not used any makeup remover. This led her mother, so frustrated with her daughter’s makeup obsession, to contact a TV station to share her story and hopefully be able to convince her to finally remove her makeup mask.

During the show, she had a visit to the dermatologist and the group of doctors managed to get her to remove the two year’s worth of makeup on her skin. After a skin checkup, they actually revealed that her skin was two times older than her actual age…making it 40 years old and not something that a young adult should have. Not to mention the loads of small bumps that lay lurking underneath.

But it’s a side effect to the type of damage that can occur from keeping makeup on your skin for so long. Besides the early aging, it also brings about clogged pores.

With the help of the show’s makeup artists, they were able to transform her makeup routine to something that was a bit more natural and with as minimal makeup as possible. She was pleased enough to be satisfied with this new look that let her feel more like herself and fresh. She was even happy enough to remove her blond wig!
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#strangethingswomendo #crazyasiangirls
I bet you think us girls are crazy, but hey there are some men out there who don’t like to shower.

Story of My One True Love, Jesus – Twitter Style

This is the only man who deserves my love, and this is why I choose to follow him.

For the new age whiz kid who thinks the bible is old and boring, here is the story of the life, love, death and resurrection of my Lord Jesus – social media style.

Good Job Obama, Goodbye Osama

I got back from the US not long ago, and it couldn’t have been better timing since my first day there was an epic day of celebration – Good job Obama, goodbye Osama.

I’m sure all of you would have been well-informed of the documented attack by now, but if you were a little deluded the way I was, don’t feel silly. Here’s more details of the reality VS the imaginary below… It’s exactly as how I LOL-ed on my friend’s blog post.

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America caught and shot Osama bin Laden in a rundown, decrepit compound, lacking any direct contact with the outside world.

But in 2001, the Times of London (and the Pentagon) thought he was living in a comic villain’s super fortress, a kind of bunker that would make even Lex Luthor blush.

What was described in this mystical underground oasis:

“… Ventilation system to allow people to breathe and to carry on. An arms and ammunition depot. And you can see here the exits leading into it and the entrances large enough to drive trucks and cars and even tanks. And its own hydroelectric power to help keep lights on, even computer systems and telephone systems.”

That’s some imagination and it was taken pretty damn seriously too, but sadly he was found in a crappy house that resembled many Hotel 81s.

Re-blogged from my friend MIZ at The Daily Lash

Article: Learn a lesson or 10 from Japan

My mom sent me this today, to share with me what I should learn from Japan’s recent disaster. It really touched me – maybe you will learn something from this too.

This letter, written by Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman, to a friend in Vietnam, was posted on New America Media on March 19. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit, and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan’s crisis at the Fukushima nuclear
power plant.

This letter was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of “East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres.” It has been condensed and published by Shanghai Daily. The pictures have been added in by me for illustration.

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Brother,
How are you and your family? These last few days, everything was in chaos. When I close my eyes, I see dead bodies. When I open my eyes, I also see dead bodies.

Each one of us must work 20 hours a day, yet I wish there were 48 hours in the day, so that we could continue helping and rescuing folks.

We are without water and electricity, and food rations are near zero. We barely manage to move refugees before there are new orders to move them elsewhere.

I am currently in Fukushima, about 25 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. I have so much to tell you that if I could write it all down, it would surely turn into a novel about human relationships and behaviors during times of crisis.

People here remain calm – their sense of dignity and proper behavior are very good – so things aren’t as bad as they could be. But given another week, I can’t guarantee that things won’t get to a point where we can no longer provide proper protection and order.

They are humans after all, and when hunger and thirst override dignity, well, they will do whatever they have to do. The government is trying to provide supplies by air, bringing in food and medicine, but it’s like dropping a little salt into the ocean.

Brother, there was a really moving incident. It involves a little Japanese boy who taught an adult like me a lesson on how to behave like a human being.

Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line. I was worried that by the time his turn came there wouldn’t be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school. The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father’s car away.

I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn’t make it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.

The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him. That’s when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. “When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food. So here’s my portion. I already ate. Why don’t you eat it?”

The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn’t. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line ended and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed.

I was shocked. I asked him why he didn’t eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: “Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they will distribute the food equally.”

When I heard that I turned away so that people wouldn’t see me cry.

A society that can produce a 9-year-old who understands the concept of sacrifice for the greater good must be a great society, a great people.

Well, a few lines to send you and your family my warm wishes. The hours of my shift have begun again.

- Ha Minh Thanh

************ WHAT ARE THE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM JAPAN? ***********

1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.

3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.

4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.

5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.

6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.

8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.

9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.

10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly!

There are only 10 things listed here, but I think we have a lot more to learn from Japan.
As published on ShanghaiDaily.com

***Details to Help Japan here***

Help Japan?

Everyone in Singapore is talking about Japan. I see them reading, facebooking, twittering, blogging… everything is about Japan.

But I wonder how many Singaporeans are actually doing something for Japan?
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A Self Defence soldier smiles as he holds a four-month-old baby who survived the recent tsunami with her family at Ishinomaki city in Miyagi prefecture on March 14, 2011.

Japan Self-Defense Forces officers search for victims in Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan, after an earthquake and tsunami struck the area, March 14, 2011.

Japanese rescue team members transport a body in the town of Watari in Miyagi prefecture on March 14, 2011, three days after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated the coast of eastern Japan.

Containers are strewn about in the port of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture three days after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated the coast of eastern Japan.

Oil leaks from ships swept by a tsunami in Fudai Village, Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan, after an earthquake struck the area March 14, 2011.

Vehicles sit on three-storey buildings on March 14, 2011, illustrating the devastating effects of the March 11 tsunami that hit the town of Onagawa in Miyagi prefecture.

A man comforts a woman as she cries in front of her damaged home in the town of Watari in Miyagi prefecture on March 14, 2011 three days after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated the coast of eastern Japan.

All photos and news updates have been re-posted from http://news.nationalpost.com

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Can you really read the news, look at the pictures, and watch the videos of the Japan earthquake & tsunami, and go about your daily tasks?

YOU can do something. YOU can actually help Japan.

But before you do – please exercise street sense and beware of groups/organizations/scams exploiting this massive disaster for marketing strategy/collecting money/collecting Facebook database/their own benefit.

It makes me sick!!!!

It really upset me to think about people being misled by false information or useless Facebook groups, but I felt a lot better seeing that some of my friends have been circulating donation details. Right on. I will share them here:

1) Best to go direct to: JAPAN RED CROSS
Website here

2) Most convenient to go to: SINGAPORE RED CROSS
Website here

I think you can walk in @ 15 Penang Lane to make a donation, opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 9.30am-9pm,
Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays 9.30am – 6pm.

OR, you may donate via SMS to 75772.
For every sms, S$50 will be donated to the “Japan Disaster 2011” fund.

More information on support and donations for quake and tsunami victims on the Singapore-Japan embassy website here

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To be honest, I feel very broke after coming back from my Taiwan holiday.

But I have also been very blessed – if I sit here comfortably in far away Singapore, live like nothing’s changed, go for some party and don’t so much as try to do something for Japan, I would feel like such a waste of a human being.

I hope you guys do whatever you can, too.

However much you donate, you can make a difference!

A small difference… But still a difference!

And my Facebook Fascination continues into 2011

Catching up on some industry news – this is part of what feeds my daily Microsoft Outlook inbox and my growing curiosity with social media today.

Facebook to challenge Google dominance

Notable quotes from the article:

“I refer to Facebook as the second internet, maybe more valuable than the first because we’re all interconnected on it,” Kerner told AFP.

“Social media is an increasingly important part of how you reach people and it’s a growing part of every marketer’s budget,” he said.

“The idea is you do not want to fight Facebook, you want to embrace Facebook and leverage Facebook because this is where people are going to spend increasing amounts of time,” he said.

For some internet watchers like Kerner, Facebook is constructing a parallel network built around the interactions of its more than 500 million members.

GOOGLE VS FACEBOOK

“They’ve become competitive in some areas, but it’s not that Facebook has grown at Google’s expense or that Facebook is growing and Google is shrinking,” said Danny Sullivan, editor of technology blog SearchEngineLand.com.

“Google is not going away,” agreed Kerner. “Google, in fact, I think is going to benefit from the emergence of social media.

“Because what it’s doing is it’s driving people to spend more time online and when you’re spending more time online, you end up doing more searches,” he said.

“Where they’ve really been encroaching on each other more is in the display space,” Sullivan said. “Facebook has a lot of people who buy display advertising. Google wants to sell more display advertising.”
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How is Google going to compete with Facebook?
“New Social Network On The Block – Google ME”

Up until now, Google has had a hard time breaking into the social media landscape. They have had various attempts over the years, and although they have acquired a couple of the big players in the industry (Blogger and Youtube), they have yet to produce a successful social media platform of their own. However, there has been a lot of speculation recently that they will soon reveal “Google Me” as a social media experience to rival Facebook. Both Digg founder Kevin Rose and former Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo have stated that this project is in the works. If successful, this would be huge – the two biggest presences on the web going head to head.

And the timing couldn’t be more perfect for Google. If you remember a few years ago, Myspace was the popular social media place to be. But when people started to complain, saying that it was too crowded and dangerous for teenagers, Facebook stepped up and took advantage of those aspects, effectively creating a platform that incorporated all the good things that Myspace had while leaving out the bad. In a short period of time, Facebook became number one in the industry. And now Google has that same opportunity. Facebook has begun to decline, and general complaints about lack of privacy and that same danger concern have surfaced. If Google capitalizes on these points and creates a newer, better version of social media, they can begin to capture Facebook’s lost market.

*Excerpt from Google Me News, click here or here