Facebook’s influence is getting stronger and stronger every minute. In mid Aug, reports have surface suggesting that the Supreme Court may allow lawyers to exchange documents on Facebook.  Noting the popularity and how widespread Facebook may be, the court “envisaged that social media has the potential to play a significant role in the civil litigation process” here.

Singapore’s proposal to use social media sites such as Facebook to exchange documents come after courts in the UK, Australia, New Zealand have allowed Facebook and Twitter to be used to deliver documents. In their consultation paper published  by the courts, they said that the use of social media “is a phenomenon that has become virtually impossible to ignore. Given that other jurisdictions have used social media effectively for substituted service of documents, there is no reason why we should not consider doing so.”

If Singapore goes ahead with the project, it will be the 4th country to do so.

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Finally, after 12 days, 3,500 athletes, 875 officials, $387 million and 20,000 volunteers later, the ‘not so successful’ Youth Olympics Games is coming to an end (Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Hey!). Over the last two weeks, there were numerous negative news flying around the blogsphere, Twittersphere and social networking sites. It got so bad that Anti-YOG Singaporeans created a Facebook Group to voice out their concerns.

This post will give a subjective review, based on what I understand from articles I have read and how the YOG PR team have handled the backlash from Singaporeans all over the internet.

How Did the Backlash Started

I believe the backlash really started because the committee blew the budget not twice but 3 times more than it was initially proposed. It got so bad that an upset citizen wrote to SSC (Singapore Sports Council) to voice her disapproval.  Do note that this shocking news was reported in Jul, one month ahead of the Games’ opening.

On Aug 11th, 3 days before the official opening of the Games, bad publicity struck again. This time it’s the ‘Dog Food Saga‘. Apparently the food catering division is ignorant about the fact that volunteers as young as 13 have the opportunity and the power to impact the Games negatively. With just one picture, it overshadowed the opening night and gave Singaporeans one more reason to feel ashamed about hosting the games.

Throughout the whole of 2 weeks, YOG is marred by bad publicity after bad publicity. From the ‘Mass Food Poisoning‘ that affect 26 volunteers to the  ‘YOG Bus Crash‘ to today’s most sensational news just before the closing ceremony – ‘The Arrest of a YOG  Critic‘. With so many bad publicity (while I was writing this, I learn that YOG Diving Final experience a 15 mins blackout), how can we comfortably say that the event is a ‘beyond expectation‘?

How Did the Social Media Team Respond

Well, to be honest, the social media team doesn’t seem to care about the ever growing backlash. Throughout the games, the Facebook page is all about positive updates, videos and pictures. No mention about the screw-ups on the various platforms and no signs of them trying to crub the critics. Are they not prepared about the backlash or are naive enough to think that as a Singapore citizen, we are certain to support YOG even though there are so many screw ups.

Is Their Social Media Campaign a Success as Well?

Besides the various platforms they spent huge among of money to create which fail miserably, the popular platforms such as Facebook and Twitter doesn’t fare much  better either. Their Facebook page has more than 70,000 ‘likes’ but the engagement is less than 0.5%. In other words, every time a  video or a  status updates goes up on Facebook, less than 350 fans interact with it. Their Twitter page is also a disaster with only 6,100 followers and little interaction.

The only social media success can be found in their Youtube channel with 5 million channel views, 255 comments and 4673 subscribers. In all due respect, I thought their social media campaign should have been much much better.

What I Have Learn From YOG Social Media Campaign

1. Never spread yourself too thin – I believe they spread themselves too thin with the development of various platforms. In fact, they have 6 platforms including their Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Way too many for a 12 days event.
2. Always be prepared for backlash – Like I said, I believe they are not prepared for such a backlash. Therefore, they aren’t sure how to handle  to all the criticism that is flying all over the web. Instead of responding to the backlash, they reacted with an arrest.
3. Your biggest critic can be your biggest advocate – The search and destroy approach (getting critics arrested) is only going to backfire. It’s like a bouncing ball, the harder you hit, the higher it bounce. Instead, they should connect to the critics and try to build trust with them.
4. Authenticity wins the day – On Facebook, someone challenge me when I said that the YOG committee should apologies for the numerous screw ups. Yes, you may lose your personal pride but you do gain lots of respect too. Online retailer Zappos made a complete screw up with their pricing and ended up losing $1.6 million. Guess what?  They own up, they apologies, they explain and they fix it. You can’t buy these type of PR, even with $387 million.
5. Treat your volunteers well – Next to the ‘I hate YOG because’ list is the fact that the volunteers aren’t treated well. First, they were not given ‘proper’ meals, second, 26 of them ended up with food poisoning. I guess the most decent thing is to treat your internal staff well because they are the ones who will advocate your cause and spread the good will online.

Conclusion

All in all, three  basic elements are lacking from this campaign. The lack of engagement with the public, the lack of preparation for crisis, and the lack of authenticity. In other words, it is just another PR stunt on the new media. What do you think?

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There are many concepts and theories when it comes to talking about branding a small business. Some experts will tell you that branding is “a process of how we market ourselves” while others define branding as “the art of becoming knowable, likeable and trustable.”

While there are certain truths in both these theories, they are just a part of the puzzle, not the entire piece. You see, when it comes to marketing a product or a service, the very best brands in the world would not subscribe to those definitions.

Instead, they would work on perfecting their product or service and then owning distribution. Yes, that’s right; they will find ways to win at the game of distribution.

Distribution itself is an art form. It’s a brand’s ability to move products or services by establishing channels or viable touch points that is easily accessible by their customers. Most ‘experts’ thought that branding is about telling others what your products is all about or to make sure that people know who or what you represent. However, it was through distribution that you truly build a brand.

Who cares if your marketing messages have all the best intent in the world if no one knows who you are or worse, your customers know who you are but could not reach you?

A great example of how brands are build through distribution is MacDonald’s. As soon they are able to create a repeatable wonderful experience when one comes to a MacDonald’s, they aggressively build outlets all over the country. In Fast Food Nation, author Eric Schlosser wrote about how ruthlessly they built them, often time across the street of each other (There are at least 4 MacDonald’s outlets in the stretch of Orchard Road alone).

Microsoft started out pretty much the same way. Instead of selling their Windows Operating Systems as an individual software, they build their brand by owning the distribution channels (They made all the PCs makers carry the Windows OS).

Building Your Brand Through Social Media

Today, it gets easier for any individual or small businesses to build a strong brand through the various social media platforms available. Platforms such as Slideshare, Scribd, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter allows us to distribute our message, reach out to people and connect or re-activate our existing customers.

So start working towards building a distribution network that dominates and in no time you will find that your brand is being talk about all over the web.

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One of the best thing about Slideshare is that you can learn alot about good presentation slides from experts around the world. While I was on my next “database building” process (a process where I look for information to keep myself updated and bookmarked them for future use), I found this slide by Michael Netzley. He was also the creator of Asia Social Media Landscape Wiki. Here are some interesting information (very current) regarding Singapore’s usage of social media which I believe you would enjoy knowing.

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Another poor decision made by the government have sparked off yet another controversy on the social media platforms. This time it’s the YOG catering division that screw up. The issue surfaced after one volunteer snapped a picture of the type of food they are being served and uploaded it Facebook.  According to the volunteer, the meals usually consist of a piece of meat, long beans, corns and white rice.

Food fit for a dog? (Food for YOG volunteers)

Since the picture was taken, debate have range on through forums and other social networking sites. Many believe that the volunteers are badly mistreated, especially so when there is such a big contrast between what the volunteers get to eat and what the YOG athletics and officials get to eat. I guess the decent thing that the YOG committee could do is to ensure they feed their own people well. Especially so when they aren’t paid and are sacrificing their time to make Singapore proud.

Food fit for a King. (YOG athletics and officials)

What We Can Learn From This Saga

• You don’t need a celebrity or a PR expert to create hype and influence the public’s opinion. Anyone can easily do it now with a camera, internet access and a Facebook account. In this case, all is needed is a reason and a picture to show to the world.
• Understand where you stand in the minds of the people. Studies have shown that 90% of the population isn’t interested in YOG. That statistics alone tells you they are waiting for something to happen and they can start criticizing and discredit the organizing efforts.
• The positive ‘vibes’ should start within. We all want good publicity, and on good days, social media can help you get great publicity overnight. In the case of YOG, they have started on the wrong foot. They started by ‘forcing students’ to volunteer and now, feed them with the type of meals they won’t want to eat. If there is no positive  vibes within the volunteers, how can they influence the rest of the nation to support YOG?

In my previous post, I  highlighted YOG’s efforts in creating various social media platforms to engage the participants and the public. However, no social media platforms is going to be enough if the fundamentals of being social is not met.

For those who are unhappy about Singapore hosting the YOG, you can now join the Facebook Group to voice your concern as well.

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YouTube have become one of the most successful social media platform in the world. Based entirely on user generated content, they are now the second most used search engine directly behind Google. Started in 2005, this giant website continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Recently, Flowtown complied some interesting facts about them through infographic. Some of the stats include the demographics, most popular channel/videos among other things. So here it is, the current state of YouTube.

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Social media have provided more and more freedom for people to upload content and share it with the rest of the world. In view of that, the government have revealed some of it’s master plan to connect the citizens through the world wide web.

Head of Civil Service and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr Peter Ho gave a keynote speech at the iGov Global Forum in June and provide us with a preview of how the government intend to collaborate, co-create and  connect to the people with the use of existing social media tools and platform.

Below is an excerpt of the transcript of that keynote. Hope you can learn something out of it.

Preview of the next Singapore e-Government Masterplan

Set against this backdrop of change and uncertainty, the Ministry of Finance and IDA’s Government CIO Office have started to develop the masterplan for the next phase of e-Government. The Singapore e-Government journey started some 30 years ago. The early years of computerisation laid the foundation that has enabled us to stay ahead of the curve. We were able to realise the benefits of e-Government when the Internet came on the scene.

Now, practically all public services are delivered electronically. So the question on everyone’s mind is, “What’s next?” We are heading for a sea change – a change that will be powered by the social networking technologies that are already pervasive today. This will lead to a quantum leap in the way that the public sector serves and interacts with its stakeholders.

Singapore’s next e-Government masterplan will facilitate and enable this major shift from a “Gov-to-You” mindset to a “Gov-With-You” mindset – to fuel innovation and to encourage co-creation. The vision for the next masterplan is of a collaborative government that co-creates and connects with the people. To achieve this vision, the new masterplan will focus on three strategic thrusts.

Thrust 1: Co-creating for Higher Value

Firstly, the public sector will work together with the private and people sectors to co-create for higher value. Today’s public services are pre-dominantly delivered in one direction – from government to the customer. Although there are processes for public consultation and feedback from the ground, for the most part, public services are largely conceptualised and developed within and by the public sector. However, this mindset of “Government knows best” is irrelevant in today’s world where citizens and businesses can easily access much of the information that governments used to monopolise and control in the past.

In his 1980 book, “The Third Wave”, the noted futurologist Alvin Toffler (who also authored the book “Future Shock”) coined the term “prosumer”. He predicted that the role of producers and consumers would blur and merge. Indeed, today’s consumers and citizens are much more sophisticated than in the past. They are no longer satisfied to passively accept generic products and services. They know better and they demand better – and they want to have a say in how things are done. This is the reality that public sector agencies will have to come to terms with. To this end, they will have to tap into the wisdom of crowds, into the knowledge and capabilities that reside in the private and people sectors. Together they will co-develop and deliver effective services to meet the customers’ needs.

Collectively, government agencies are custodians of vast databases of information that can be tapped on to create useful services. ACRA, which is the Singapore government agency that regulates companies and businesses, has a long and successful track record in opening up business data to private sector to provide value-added information services. One of their more recent innovations is BizFinx, under which ACRA makes use of standard xBRL data formats to collaborate with private sector companies to provide business analytics services.

Another example is the Land Transport Authority which collaborated with Google to combine live traffic feeds and public transportation data with Google Maps to provide an integrated service for commuters and motorists for travel planning.

These are examples of co-creation and innovative PPP models. There is scope to do much more. There is potential to open up common applications. An example is SingPass, the single authentication for government e-services. SingPass has been extended to private sector transactions as well for the benefit of consumers. DP Credit Bureau uses SingPass to verify the identity of the person requesting for an online personal credit report. This is a non-government service by a private sector company.

Under the next e-government masterplan, the idea of government-as-a-platform will be further advanced to enable more data – both spatial and textual data – to be shared. Programmes, schemes and even contests will be held to encourage the use of such public data to create innovative services to bring greater value to citizens and businesses.

Thrust 2: Connecting for Active Participation

Besides seeking to co-create in service delivery, a collaborative government actively seeks to connect with its citizens and involve them in shaping public policies. This is our second thrust – Connecting for Active Participation.

Social networking tools such as blogs, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter are excellent channels for mass collaboration and reaching out to large segments of the population quickly and efficiently. Singapore government agencies are beginning to use such social networking tools to extend their reach to connect with citizens – in spite of uncertainties, unknowns and even risks involved. Even some of our government ministers are discussing their respective ministry’s plans and thinking through blogs.

But as we push the envelope to exploit technology, we must also look out for the pitfalls. At the end of the day, technology is just an enabling tool that can equally be exploited for either the good or the bad. For instance, while the Internet provides an excellent platform for disseminating information and getting feedback from the ground, public officers need to develop the instinct to separate the “noise” from genuine feedback. There is also the danger of succumbing to pressure from the vocal minority and doing what is popular as opposed to what is right for the country.

We also need to be mindful of the new digital divide separating the digital natives and the digital migrants. There may be segments of the population that may not be able to, or prefer not to use, such new media for engaging the government. So we should exploit the new media in such as way that no one is left out or left behind.

Thrust 3: Catalyzing WOG Transformation

While the first two thrusts are focused on the people and private sectors, the third thrust is focused on the public sector itself. It is aimed at catalyzing transformation within the whole-of-government. The public sector must itself lead by example. It must be immersed in the same enabling technologies and culture.

In tandem with the rollout of the Next Generation National Broadband Network, the IDA will design the next generation ICT infrastructure for the whole-of-government. This infrastructure will facilitate mass collaboration, shared systems, services and processes under a Whole-of-Government Enterprise Architecture.

Cloud computing is a concept that is not new to us. For many years, we have operated our own private government cloud providing common ICT infrastructure, applications and services. We will continue to explore and leverage cloud computing and energy-efficient technologies.

Beyond the underlying ICT infrastructure, we will drive innovative applications that will bring about new and enhanced capabilities within the public sector. One focus area will be the use of business analytics to help public sector agencies make sense of the information that they have so as to enhance efficiency and effectiveness as well as deliver new services to the public.

While technology evolves at Internet speed, policy changes tend to lag behind. As a result, organisations and the people’s capacity to embrace and effect change also lag behind. But we are moving into a new era of mass collaboration. There is no turning back – the public sector must keep pace and change with the times. This is quite a big shift in our approach – public sector agencies and officers need to reflect and think about what this means and how it translates into the way they work and interact within agencies, across agencies and with the public.

Concluding Remarks

Public officers and agencies need to be agile and innovative in this complex and fast-changing operating environment. They must be able to deal with uncertainty; to sense and respond; and to be prepared to take calculated risks. To this end, the Singapore Government has been investing in human capital development as well as organisation development.

This is not unique to Singapore and I venture to say that many other governments and public sector administrations are grappling with similar issues. Forums such as this iGov Global Forum create opportunities for us to discuss, share experience and to co-create.

On that note, I wish you all a good day ahead with many interesting and fruitful discussions.

Thanks you.

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There is going to be a BIG event coming up this September. If you are a social media enthusiast, you will know that Social Media World Forum Asia is coming up next month.  Organized by the Bristol based event company Six Degrees, this two days conference and exhibitions to be held in Suntec Convention Center on the 22-23 September will consist of all things social  media.

This year’s agenda will cover topics such as social media trends in Asia (China, Singapore and Indonesia), latest platforms that may impact brand building, monitoring and community building. The event will also seek to examine the latest Asian social media influencers. Major brands such as Tiger Airways, P&G, Toy R Us, BMW, Dell and Master Card will be sharing their latest social media marketing campaign as well as the role that social media play in their organization.

One of the key attraction of this conference is world re-known keynote speaker and author Brian Solis. Brian is the author of ‘Engage‘ as well as ‘Putting the Public Back in Public Relation‘. He will be speaking on the first day of the event titled: ‘Marketing to an Audience With an Audience’. You can find a list of all the other speakers here.

You can register the event here. Do it quick or the early bird price will be gone by 22nd Aug.

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A study conducted by Pew Internet and the American Life Project with 895 respondents, mostly technology stakeholders or experts revealed that social media is not just a fad for today’s youth. More than two-third of those surveyed agreed that Gen Y will continue to use social media as they are growing up, having a job and even starting a family of their own.

67% agreeed that by 2020, the members of Generation Y will continue to be ambient broadcasters and take advantage of social, economic, and political opportunities. Even as they mature, have families, and take on more significant responsibilities, their enthusiasm for widespread information sharing will carry forward.

So what does this study means to business owners? Well, businesses need to take a good look at their social media marketing strategies and see if they are missing out on this huge potential target audience. (Did you know: Half of Youtube viewers are under the age of 20?)

Here are some of the questions you might want to answers to:

• Does your company have a Gen Y employee in your social media marketing team?
• Do you have know where your Gen Y customers come from?
• Are your sales message adapted to include Gen Y needs?
• Are you conducting surveys to find out more about how Gen Y feel about business, career or lifestyle?
• Are you reading blogs that cater to the Gen Y so as to know them better?

Though you may not be targeting the Gen Y at the moment. I hope this post gives you a reason why you need to do so in order to be ready for the future.

If you are interested in the full report, you can download it here

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There are alot of best practices tips out there that is worth reading again and again. Though some mistakes can be overlooked, but when it boils down to business rivalries, it may blow out of poportion. MOL, the company that owns Frienster proves once again why big businesses still have difficulties understand how the social media works.

In a bizarre move, MOL CEO Mr. Ganesh posted an unwelcoming message on a rival OffGamers Facebook page commenting on a particular product. On the comment he wrote: “buy from MOL better…”. What follow thereafter was not a repulsive response from offGamers’s staff but from OffGamers’s patrons. The initial comment spark off war of words that generate 120 comments.

The following screenshots indicate that no matter how ‘BIG’ your company may seem, it doesn’t really matter to the customers. They are more likely to work with smaller businesses with integrity and openness.

I have to give it to OffGamers because throughout the whole episode, they have not loose their cool. They responded courteously to the insults and leave the defending to the fans. If they have not yet gain any respect with their fans, I believe they already have through this scenario.

No matter what excuses you have, gatecrashing your competitior’s Facebook Page is not the best idea. Not only is it lousy and unethical, it also give a very bad image about your own company. I am  sure to use this as a case study for my workshop. In the mean time, you can read the entire drama unfolding here.

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