Sheylara And I Present: Social Media Breakfast Video

Sheylara and I met up just yesterday to squeeze out this video to serve as a trailer for Social Media Breakfast: Singapore happening on Saturday (full disclosure: she did most of the work and deserves most of the credit). Check it out:

I’ve been asked a few times what exactly the Social Media Breakfast is for. To me, it’s mainly for networking and meeting like-minded people who are into the social media space. That said, I think it’s perfectly fine if anyone feels that the main purpose is for fun or socialising or anything like that.

The other question is whether discussion has to be about social media, and I think the answer is no. I think it’s great to talk about the last movie you watched, or what you usually have for breakfast, or if you are a Twitter-addict. Anything goes. I suspect the true magic and connections will materialise after the event, when these relationships are allowed to grow both online and offline, as CC Chapman alludes to from his SXSW experience.

The ultimate goal of Social Media Breakfast? To me, as a believer of Mitch Joel’s belief of building communities and Joseph Jaffe’s belief of creating and joining conversations, the ultimate goal would be to really build up the social media community in Singapore, regardless of individual usages, be it personal, work, school or play.

If you’re interested in attending the event, the Facebook event page can be found here. Breakfast is $4 a person, but you will receive the personal tagging kit free!

If you need to speak to anyone to clarify anything, there’s me, Derrick or Sheylara online, or on Twitter at @uniquefrequency, @derrickkwa, @sheylara. See you on Saturday!

Wikis, Google Docs & ooVoo

Social Media class discussed wikis today. Not just Wikipedia, but wikis in general. What’s a wiki? Here’s the definition from (where else) Wikipedia:

A wiki is software that allows users to easily create, edit, and link pages together. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites.

That’s a little hard to understand, but let’s put it this way: You and anyone you choose to invite, can put whatever information you want on a page, as well as edit it. And you immediately think: Why aren’t we using that in our projects more often? Wouldn’t it cut out the hassle of email?

The thing about wikis is, with most new technologies, everyone has to know how to use it. I don’t mean know how to bold or underline text, I mean to really use it and gain the synergies that it offers. That’s where the tough part comes in. Will we be spending more time editing our wikis, or focusing on what really matters, the sharing of ideas, information and knowledge?

I know it’s hard. A few friends of mine used to have our meeting agendas on Google Docs, but gave up after awhile because we weren’t using it efficiently enough to get rid of email. As with all technology advancements, the new offering must offer significant benefits over the old, otherwise the switching cost is just too high.

Which brings me to ooVoo, a webcam-chat programme that allows up to 6 people to converse at once. Good for short meetings right? Would you use them? I personally would, but I’m not sure whether productivity would be higher or lower than if we had meetings face to face.

On a separate, curious note: does anyone know what happens if 2 people try to edit the exact same portion of a wiki at the same time and both save their changes?

A Starbucks Blog?

John Moore over at Brand Autopsy tells us why Starbucks Must Blog. And I’m inclined to agree with him, but I think besides the very real business concerns, there is a bigger why:

Clearly, Starbucks was ahead of the curve with tapping into satisfying the consumer need of a Third Place—a place besides home and work where people could form community. But consumers have evolved from needing a Third Place to needing a Third Space. This Third Space includes social media spaces like blogs, vlogs, podcasts, Twitter, and many more. These are spaces where meaningful online communities are forming.

I’ve had my share of unpleasant experiences at Starbucks, and I admit if I send in an email, I get an apologetic reply (and a free cup of coffee). But sometimes I really want to send an email back saying “Do you really think just that free cup of coffee is going to gain back that loyalty from me?”

Starbucks’s unwillingness to engage the public and blogosphere is unfortunate, but not surprising (Apple’s Social Media Hell, anyone?). Just two days ago I was talking about social media and blogging to an older professional, and blogs were instantly dismissed (perhaps due in part to the state of local blogging here in Singapore).

To quote John Johansen’s comment: It’s going to be an uphill battle for the foreseeable future

How sad that I’m writing this while having breakfast at a Starbucks.