Tag: PR

Random Discourse – Bloggers, Blogging and Integrity

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There was a recent brouhaha regarding a ‘food blogger’ and a restaurant in Joo Chiat on Yahoo Singapore’s ‘Fit to Post’ section. As usual, in matters such as this everyone has a side to take, even though they don’t usually realised or admit they are taking sides.

I usually take sides as well… my own side that is.

As fellow blogger chillycraps said in a separate discussion, no one can actually say they know the truth other than those in the matter itself. From what I have gathered online, it is clear to me that both the restaurant and the blogger failed miserably in conflict resolution. It’s the word of the restaurant against that of the blogger and vice versa.

Since I mentioned the matter of conflict resolution, it means there is also a ‘public relations’ (PR) aspect in this matter. The fact that this conflict didn’t get resolved amicably do reflect badly on the PR person (or people) of the restaurant. The restaurant’s PR also seems to be out of touch with blogging scene when in their press statement it actually mentioned something about a blogger’s society / association, oblivious to the fact that the last time an association came around it went down with a bang. That said, I am in no position to determine whether the statement is sincere or otherwise, and I personally believe that there is no way to measure that so it’s high time for those who makes a fuss over that to get off their high horse and let the matter rest.

nadnut brought up the point of the PR’s failure. Knowing her to be a straight-talking person I know she has no other sinister objective or personal agenda in bringing this matter up. However, I am not quite sure about some of the people who readily agree and jump on the bandwagon. As I have mentioned, everybody takes sides in a matter – and it is usually their own. When someone appears to be on the same side, it simply means that part of the stand one has taken is in alignment with their agenda or personal objectives.

The reason I have such a Machiavellian view is that I have heard quite a bit of bad mouthing about the PR sector in general. While all of this is hearsay and I personally have not worked with any PR person (not to mention it will never happen since nothing on this blog will interest them), all that bad mouthing has caused me to be alarmed. It almost appear to me that beneath all that niceties, every PR person is manipulative and they all have a dark and sinister facet hidden from the public eye.

Anyway, it wouldn’t be objective if I only talk about the PR. So I’ll also talk about bloggers in general. While I am not accusing the blogger in this particular incident of anything, I have the general impression that some bloggers and in specific some of those so-called social media proponents have always act like they have a chip on their shoulders. It is my considered opinion that having bossed their way around in cyberspace long enough, they are so caught up by their own fame and false sense of invincibility to the point they take that into their real life. Thus, I really do not mind seeing some bloggers eat the humble pie just so they get a dose of reality.

On a side note, while I was browsing through some of the comments made by other bloggers on this matter, I read something a blog post making a point that ‘Blogging integrity’ is a false image that self-righteous (low traffic blogs) people is selling. It’s only saving grace was that it was not writtern by any of the ‘top bloggers’ in Singapore because if it was I wouldn’t have hesitated to start a whole new front in this to bring some traffic to these dead parts.

The premise that any person promoting blogging integrity is either jealous of the success of other bloggers or are just using that to promote themselves above the rest is utterly pathetic. It not only failed to address the matter of blogging integrity but it launches into an attack on not just the bloggers who promote it, but also their popularity! WHAT. THE. F@#$?!

It is crystal clear that this blogger is trying very hard to justify receiving the freebies and all the reviews on her blog. When she lashed out at those blogging about scandals as lacking in integrity, I was disappointed to see that she failed to touch on the fact that a blogger’s integrity is actually determined by the readers. After all, those who thinks I lacked integrity have already stopped reading my blog a long time ago and they would be completely indifferent to what I write!

Meanwhile, I have heard whispers of conspiracy claiming this to be an attempt by the traditional media to discredit the ‘new’ aka ‘social media’. It would be plausible if it was reported by one of the papers under the Singapore Press Holdings, but it is difficult to classify Yahoo as a form of traditional media completely since it has always been published electronically. That’s not mentioning that Yahoo Singapore seems to be embracing blogs and taking the ‘social media’ phenomenon in the local scene quite seriously. I sincerely do not know where this is coming from!

All said, I really hope that this matter will soon blow over. To many nondescript bloggers out there, blogging is nothing more than a hobby, if not an online / public diary to put down some of their thoughts. Many would talk about the blogger community but many nondescript bloggers really don’t give a flying hoot about what other bloggers are writing. In general, a large part of the social media scene has gone unnoticed while the PR sector creates a whole pantheon of celebrity bloggers. A lot of hype is then generated around them which in my opinion is nothing more but a traditional media strategy (which I believe some self proclaimed guru would disagree with me).

I’ll leave it for the readers to decide on which form of social media has more credibility or integrity. For e.g. between the spontaneous blog posts of a first time young mother about her baby and her opinion of different brand of diapers and blog posts coming from celebrity mother-bloggers invited by a PR-firm to the launch of a new diaper product, the choice is really yours on whose posts to take seriously.

Recommended Reads:
Blog@Ridz.sg – Thinking out loud: I am Singaporean. So what?
My Queenstown – Alexandra Hospital Part 3/3: Civilian Hospital
Times Of My Life – Holland Water – Hor Lan Shui

Commentary – A Former PR in China’s Parade

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1st October 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and it was celebrated with massive parade before Tian-anmen, Beijing. This 4-week old video on Youtube about patriotic Chinese girls of the post-80 generation training for the parade would have been nothing more than that, had it not featured a girl name Zhang Yuanyuan [张元元] who has lived 5 years in Singapore and also a former Permanent Resident (PR).

For some odd reasons this was reported today on the evening tabloid Shin Ming Daily [新明日报] and some of our Members of Parliament (MPs) were interviewed. I can’t for any reason fathom why it warranted that! If this was an attempt by Shin Ming’s editors to inspire national cohesion and patriotism, consider it an epic failure. There are better ways to do that without the need to focus our attention from our troubles on some hapless soul like Zhang, a citizen of China. It is not as if Li Jiawei or Gong Li, who are both Singapore Citizens, participated in the parade and made remarks on being patriotic to China. (Personally speaking, I believe if my grandfather is still alive today, this might have brought some tears to his eyes. After all, it is an unfulfilled dream for him to return to China.)

I believe some of my fellow citizens have something unflattering or unkind to say to (or about) her, but I must remind them that this girl has not said anything critical of our country while she expressed her patriotism to her motherland. Now contrast that with PRs like a Amit Nagpal and Sweta Agarwal, who expected us to treat them like kings and accord them the same rights as our fellow citizens! On top of which, they wanted the best of both worlds – the highly paid job Singapore can offer them and the safety of a foreign passport.

To be frank, Zhang Yuanyuan even deserved some respect when compared with the shameless duo above. There is no reason to be angry with someone who against all counsel, gave up a better and higher paid job here but return home in July last year. While it might have been Chinese propaganda, the article on Shin Ming went further to describe she gave up a S$4000 monthly job here for one that is paid several times less. This is what I would called having a backbone.

At the same time, I cannot say the same for certain foreign bloggers who are studying or working here. One of these bloggers has on several occasions openly remarked that Singapore is not her first choice place to be. Another was even better! She had expressed her loathing of her Indonesian passport (and thus her wish to be a Singapore Citizen) because of the difficulty to obtain a visa to travel elsewhere, and yet criticised our country’s police and judiciary system over the suicide of David Widjaja. Frankly, Singaporeans should be more concerned with such vipers in our brood, than with a former PR who had gone home to pursue her dreams and express her patriotism.

As a true blue Singaporean, born here and raised here (and speaks Singlish proudly), I do not forget I am also a descendant of immigrants from Southern China. As such, for those who leave behind the land of their birth and come to Singapore to participate in our nation building, I am proud to have you a fellow Singaporean. It is not easy to put behind a life you have known and seek out a new one. But for those who are no more than an economic parasite taking advantage of the good pay and employment opportunities Singapore offers, and at the same time believe we are inferior or that you are more talented, expect no hospitality from us when you attempt to lord over us.

You are free to leave anytime. Just don’t come back, ever.

Recommended Reads:
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An Open Letter to Mr Amit Nagpal

6 comments

I haven’t been reading the Stooge Times Forum since Aug 15 last year, if I am not wrong, because the quality of letters is really disappointing. But the following forum letter was brought to my attention recently:

Home and Singapore, from a PR’s viewpoint
July 25, 2008

I REFER to the lively Forum discussion about home ownership in Singapore. As a new Singapore permanent resident (PR) from India, let me respond this way.

First, Singapore is the only country with such a high percentage of home owners. Trust me, your home will never be repossessed because of a sub-prime-like crisis.

In New Delhi, where I came from, government housing is a luxury. Once in two years, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) releases land and builds basic, two- and three-bedroom homes.

A lottery decides who gets to own the flats. Snaking queues, with hundreds of required documents, no salary or income cap and no cap on the number of flats applied for are a few of the scheme’s characteristics. The balloting is fraught with irregularities. Most successful applicants sell the flats almost immediately in the open market for a huge premium.

My parents in India still live in a rented apartment because they have not been successful in getting a DDA flat and cannot afford expensive private housing. These things happen in India because it does not have a system like the Housing and Development Board’s.

Second, I am 33 years old and live here with my wife and two children. I consider myself well educated, worldly wise and useful to my employers.

What am I doing in Singapore, leaving my parents, family, friends and comfort zone back home? Why did I strive to become a Singapore PR, and perhaps a citizen in future? I did it because Singapore is safe, dynamic, modern and conducive to a decent livelihood. Most important, the Government promotes harmonious living and equality for all. Many Singaporeans take these virtues for granted. I don’t blame them because they probably don’t know what it is like elsewhere, including a country like India which may have the world’s fastest growing economy, but is fraught with corruption and an unsafe environment and does not have what Singapore has.

So it pains me when I read letters which say that PRs like me should not be treated well enough. I know we cannot be given the same rights as citizens, but why demand no rights at all?

Now, this is my country too. There is no turning back. So why can’t I buy a flat directly from the HDB? And although I came as a permanent settler, why treat me like an enemy?

Amit Nagpal

Apparently this letter has upset a lot of my fellow citizens on the Hardwarezone (HWZ) forum and it has created quite a storm. Here’s my reply:

My only question to Mr Amit Nagpal is this: What is stopping you from taking up a Singapore Citizenship? As a foreign talent, do you not make a healthy amount to qualify? If it was a matter of insufficient income, I apologise for the mercenary nature of our government gahmen. Even some Singaporeans at times felt they are somewhat neglected and ignored if they are not making enough money.

If not, would you mind share with us what’s stopping you? A lack of sense of belonging, perhaps? You should voice up so our gahmen can look into setting up campaigns – they are damned good at that – to mobilise all of us citizens to assist PRs (Permanent Residents) in integrating into our society and also to explain to you the importance of some policies which might deter you: e.g. National Service for your kids, giving up your original citizenship, and why you can’t withdraw your CPF anymore until a certain age once you become a citizen.

Whatever the case is, I encourage you to renounce your current nationality so you can enjoy the same perks * cough * as the rest of us. In fact, I would be greatly impressed if you would insist in doing 2 years of National Service too even at your age. I am quite sure the Home Team or the SAF can find some use of your talent which our country so sorely lacks.

Anyway, buying a HDB flat is really not a right, but a privilege. If I remembered correctly, if you and your spouse earns a combined income of more than SGD 8000, you also cannot buy anything smaller than an E-Flat. This is part of the policy by our gahmen to ensure affordable housing * cough * is always first made available to the serfs Singaporeans who otherwise do not earn enough money to purchase private housing.

Surely, by now you can already understand why some of my fellow Singaporeans are indignant and hostile to the idea of giving PRs the same privilege as far as HDB flats are concerned? I am quite sure that you, being well educated, worldly wise and useful to your employers would understand that by the simple economic principle of supply and demand, we do fear that even at a discount ‘subsidised’, prices will rise even further if PRs are accorded the same privileges. Above which, the simple concept of citizens first wouldn’t be difficult to grasp for a person of your calibre, right?

While these reasons certainly cannot justify some of the less than dignified and repulsive remarks some of my fellow citizens have made, and I most certainly regret them, I hope by now the source and nature of their anger towards this apparently simple and innocent question is clear to you.

And please do also read another reply to you, as I am not quite as articulate in bringing some of the points forward as my fellow citizen has.