On January 16th 2010, the Malaysian Information Communication and Culture minister, Dr Rais Yatim stated the following, which was deemed as rather preposterous. This had the whole Internet up in arms against him, especially on the Twittersphere. Here’s an excerpt on what he said taken from The Star Online:

SEREMBAN: Malaysians, especially Muslims, must avoid being totally immersed in the internet culture, especially Facebook and Twitter, said Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

He added that facilities like internet could not be accepted wholly because it was a form of business introduced by the West and “Malaysians were just users.”

“We are not saying that they cannot use Facebook or Twitter but when using such facilities they must upkeep the values taught by Islam, Buddhism or Christianity to maintain our culture,” he told reporters after opening a Seminar on the 1Malaysia concept here on Saturday.

He added that Malaysians who used internet services on social networking sites should be careful with what they see and hear.

“We must be strong in our believes and culture because the identity and image of our country depends on us.

“They are just selling Facebook, Twitter, L-Band and various other services, even through space, as a product but we do not do such business. We accept all this in a state of cultural shock,” he said.

3 days after Malaysians started ranting to one another in every form, they took it onto Twitter in a big way, with the first playful tweets by @bongkerz and a hashtag he coined: #yorais. This kicked of a flurry of tweets that resulted in #yorais becoming a trending topic on Twitter (this is rather significant, as it shows that it’s one of the MOST talked about topics on the whole of Twitter, and that’s quite a big achievement, really!).

With some leftover time on my hands, I decided to choose some of these tweets I particularly liked and highlight them in this video below.

This video was crafted with the aid of “a lot of Keynote”, some Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Quicktime Pro, Macbook Pro, mp3 music and time. Surprise, surprise, you can use Keynote to do a LOT of text animation and movement in a fairly short time frame. It’s built for creating slides easily and moving text, and the best part is, you can export it into .mov format which is perfect for Final Cut Pro to pick up and build on.

Do let me know if you enjoyed it.

To many, public speaking is even worse than death or taxes! I however, am wired a little differently, perhaps thanks to a presentation subject I did while at university. I’ve even bought my own audio gear that travels with me when giving presentations – I’d rather not rely on the crappy mics that you sometimes are given, but be comfortable with my own Sennheiser G2 wireless pack and Countryman mic.

• It’s more difficult to process information presented both verbally & on #preso slides. Show less on slides, explain more.
• #Preso tip: If you write out yr speech, don’t read from it. Refer only when REALLY needed! Bullet points might help you.
• One reason why many a #preso is ineffective is because people do not step back & assess what really is important.
• Because most presentations are mediocre, it gives you a chance to be different & shine. Read @presentationzen – it’s good!
• #Preso tip: If your session is recorded, grab a copy, watch it and you’ll improve heaps for the next presentation.
• #Preso tip: DO NOT apologise before starting, unless you really made a mistake. Too often I hear, “Sorry, I’m nervous…”
• #Preso tip: To improve your presentation skills & slides, watch “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore: he’s truly a whiz!
• #Preso tip: Listen to your audience & respond accordingly. Gauge what topics interest them and expound on them.
• #Preso tip: Photographers, the rule of thirds applies to your slides too! Place your subjects along the same grid.
• #Preso tip: Show up early to make sure the projector & sound system speak the same lingo as your notebook.
• #Preso tip: Improve your presentations by watching free presentations by preso guru, Steve Jobs – http://bit.ly/mHdJc
• #Preso tip: PLEASE sprinkle some media to break the monotony of your presentation. A simple YouTube clip can do wonders!
• #Preso tip: Just in case Murphy comes by, bring a copy of yr presentation on a USB drive. Keynote users, bring a PPT ver.
• #Preso tip: Who says your company logo must be on every slide? Less is more! Don’t clutter slides with the unnecessary.
• #Preso tip: Preparing a detailed handout keeps you from feeling compelled to cram everything into your visuals.
• #Preso tip: Well designed slides have plenty of empty space. It helps draw attention to what’s truly important.

Here are some slides from a deck that I prepared from the most recent presentation. Some information has been changed, as it’s still P&C.