It actually does mean a lot of change for corporations and brands that use Facebook heavily, as the interface changes radically,  the way your apps are laid out and how the user interaction will be, amongst others.

Save time, and check out the awesome infographic that Integricity, a full-service interactive agency produced.

View it in its full glory here.

I was curious to see what it would look like and how it would affect us. Clicking on Preview, brought me to the all-too-familiar Timeline view that I’ve been resisting for my personal profile thus far.

Since we have no choice, I would highly recommend that all administrators of Pages be prepared and start configuring your Page accordingly before 30 March 2012.

Off to get a Cover image now…

Bersih 2.0 is a movement for the people, by the people to fight for reform of the Malaysian electoral process. It is independent of political parties and it strives for fairness.

On the media front, it was amazing to see hundreds of thousands, if not millions of tweets, Facebook posts and forum engagements generated around the event to rally for a cause – a cause that transcends race, religion and status in life. It just goes to prove that a notable cause will rally together people, and they will use whatever medium necessary to support it.

Though I was not able to be at the protest in person, I was able to follow along via my mobile phone and notebook. It was true to life and I loved every moment, being able to be in the centre of action, though I unfortunately wasn’t. It was much better than the World Cup, Olympics or Royal Wedding. Combined.

It’s amazing to see the power of social media added to the on-ground activities and how it was able to mobilize the thousands of people. The mobile Internet has empowered the masses. It’s proof how much we need our mobile telcos. We could see reports live, or slightly delayed, appearing on the Internet in the form of text updates, photos, videos and even streaming! Totally amazing.

As a tribute to the Bersih 2.0 efforts, here are some photos collected over the course of the day. None are mine, and I’ve tried to give credit as best as I can, but I may have missed a few credit. I offer my apologies in advance. Fact is, the photos were flying everywhere, embedded on various sites.

PHOTOS BY

ahmadhusni, Bandar Kuala Lumpur, BBC, beritaharian, cyberred, danielkong, dansemacabre
evilickle, fahmi_fadzil, freemalaysiatoday, j_rubis, jasurin, johnhansoei, KeadilanDaily
kenhong, khalids, kyspeaks, limbenji, bilviva, curicuriwangmsia, pratamad, kkling, liingpeh
ngkaychin, ryudiculous, plgan, premesh, RAKYAT MARHAEN, randyhew, theonlinecitizen
zhenyanglee, skidolma, ygren, terence7, wordsmanifest, alfredhean, behlihyi

MUSIC

The Weather Is Changing by Fred Winterbottom

Oh well… the battle was fun while it lasted, though it didn’t carry on for too long. Upon arriving in Beijing, China, I was presented with an Internet connection in my hotel that totally blocked YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot and many other sites (I wrote about it here). Sure I had heard about the issues before arriving in China, and I was determined to get around them.

The solution that several sites stated was to sign up for a VPN service BEFORE entering China. I realised that many of the VPN sites were already securely blocked by their awesomely-amazing-annoying-firewall. Anyhow, while doing my R&D on circumventing the firewall, I stumbled across 2 sites that were decent and reasonably priced too.

Enter Astrill and Vpntraffic.

Armed with a snazzy, professional website, they promise to deliver, and deliver they do. I signed up for a 7-day trial account (you need to register for an account, then activate via SMS and request for the trial) to test it out, and it surely worked well. They offer a choice of IP addresses from USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands, Australia, Portugal and Ireland.

Importantly, they support many platforms – I was surfing Facebook on my iPhone and MacBook Pro with ease. Of course, they support PCs and Android devices too. Using a Mac, I had to install their software which would then initiate the VPN connection with their servers. Simple and easy setup, even for non-techies.

Sorry, I didn’t test the PC connection, but I did test the iPhone. When connected, it would show me a VPN icon in the top bar.

Everything seemed to work well, and I’m impressed. I highly recommend you test it out for yourself with their 7-day trial (no credit card required), then sign up.

Cost: USD23.36 for 3 months

While I admit I did not sign up for this service, nor trial it out, their promise is impressive and so is the price! Reviews scattered all over the Internet rave about the ability to get online and access Hulu, Facebook, YouTube from China, and it must be good.

You get to choose an IP address from 11 countries, namely USA, Australia, UK, Canada, Spain, Russia, Italy, India, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.

As for operating systems, they support Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian!

Overall, I’d say their website is horrible, but their brand promise and price are good. Who can ask for more, when they merely charge USD5 PER MONTH! If you’re only in China for a short period, sign up for their 3 day package at a mere USD0.99. The packages get even cheaper if you sign up long term.

And with that, I conclude the battle has been won. Internet freedom is restored, but only if you know how to, and only if you’re willing to pay a little. It’s a small cost for freedom.

The day will come when The Great China Firewall will crumble. I’m sure of it. Till then, viva VPNs.

And so… I have arrived in China, and have already been warmly welcomed by The Great China Firewall.

Facebook, nope. Twitter, nope. Gmail, nope. Blogspot, nope. And many other websites – all NOPE!

Only Foursquare and LinkedIn work, among a few other international social media websites. It’s no wonder the local Facebook / Twitter clones known as Weibo and RenRen are thriving.

I’ve declared war on it and will endeavour to get around it. When I do, I’ll share more on the methods you can employ to restore PROPER Internet access when visiting China. As it is, many VPN sites that offer services around the firewall have been blocked. Let’s see how I go after a day here.

THIS IS WAR!

Here’s what I’m greeted with for many, many websites I try to access.

However, we oftentimes witness brands / companies disrespect people online, just because they leave negative comments. It is seemingly too easy to merely hit the delete link and remove the pain. Now that would be the quickest are surest way to stir up a hornets nest! Just today, I witnessed what happened during an event by Energizer that was taken online and not managed well.

A seemingly pleasant and interesting night race was organized, but unfortunately, the event was not well managed for numerous reasons that I will not mention. Hundreds of participants were dissatisfied and immediately flocked to Facebook after the race. I presume many were seeking for answers and wanting to vent their frustration, only to get no respite from the organizers or the company.

Photo from tianchad.com. Used with permission.

It caused a massive stir, and comment upon comment compounded the feelings of hate.

And then… comments on the official Energizer Night Race Facebook page started disappearing. This drove the social media world insane. They proceeded to start up an alternate page that was free from bias – Boycott Energizer Night Race!

Thus began a truly PR nightmare. The comments got more defamatory and innovation was fueled via some posts as shown below.

Posted by: Kukimonstar Superstar

Posted by: Daryl Wong Wei Kong

There are quite a few social media response lessons that can be learnt from this case study, and I feel Energizer would do well to take note of them to avoid future disasters.

1. Organizers and the brand should respond quickly with an official apology and statement. Be honest – do not cover it up with excuses.

2. Put in effort to show you care – a video of the CEO or an important representative addressing the issue would be excellent. Upload it onto the official Facebook page.

3. Time is of the essence. Do not wait till the “next business day” to respond. You need to jump right in and start responding.

4. Make things right. Do something by make promises and make sure it happens – quickly.

5. Never, never, EVER delete comments that are left by participants. If you do not engage and answer, they will double their anger and aim it right back at you. Deleting comments is probably the one thing that adds the salt to open wounds, as seen below.

Ultimately, the people in the social media space just want to be heard. They want to feel that their opinions count. Show that you listen and care, then watch and see how things can quickly change. Implement and work on the criticism hurled at you – it’s ultimately for your benefit. Thankfully, the social media space has a relatively short-term memory and people move on quickly to the next big thing.

Two other interesting blog posts on the race are found here:

http://www.placesandfoods.com/2011/04/energizer-night-race-2011-worst-race-ever.html

http://www.tianchad.com/2011/04/worst-energizer-night-race-2011-ever-no.html

Should companies really take into consideration all the comments and rants that are hurled at it? Or should they just press on, knowing that resistance to change is always prevalent at any layer of society?

Some irate customers who felt passionate about the Starbucks brand even threatened to cancel their gold card privileges and stop buying their products – and all because of a new logo? More often than not, it takes a bit of time for changes to permeate through the layers and finally be deemed as acceptable. Also, another observation with regards to social media is that humans are quick to use it as a means to vent negativity, but seldom will they use it to add feathers to any caps.

My personal take is to take this conflict as an opportunity to continue impressing customers with the product and unveil new plans that surround the logo. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz states, “Starbucks will continue to offer the highest-quality coffee, but we will offer other products as well”. Then, do it and do it well, Howard! I am sure your fans will eventually be subdued and will continue to consume your coffee and buy your new range of products.

How about the much talked about Gap logo that was quickly retracted? The lash-back was cutting and spread like wildfire over the Internet and soon after, Gap announced that it would revert to the original logo. Should they have persevered, and ignored the initial fluff from consumers online?

I feel companies wanting to undertake a rebranding exercise, whether for logos, websites or products, should consult with brand experts, show the end-results to a focus group made up of people from various walks of life, refine what is necessary, then hold their heads up high and launch. As I mentioned, there will definitely be at least two-sides to every change and we should not scurry about worrying unnecessarily to please everybody, and end up pleasing nobody. The use of the social media medium just makes voices seem louder, than they would have been otherwise.

Live long and prosper, Starbucks – you have created a space for work to be done at for many, many people across many, many nations.

Like Fan, I was given only 30 minutes to complete my presentation entitled, “Interactive Tools & Toys to Engage Your Audience“. I began with an interesting look at the current statistics of the digital landscape, so that I could illustrate how important the digital component is in businesses. Then I proceeded to touch on social media buzztopics like Facebook and Twitter.

Other tools that I spoke about were SEO, online payment, e-newsletters, video and flash games. Some asked for the slides, and I am providing them here.

After the presentations, DiGi brought on stage a trio who performed a skit. I must say, it was well done, and it showcased 2 salesmen trying to sell a massage chair. One was equipped with traditional brochures, and the other, with modern day tools. It’s obvious who triumphed, but the underlying message was how important it is to have data at our fingertips.

The evening ended with a tour of the DiGi headquarters, fondly known as D’House. As I had visited their premise before, I declined the tour and opted to speak to some of the participants who had questions. It was really great getting to know these varied individuals who represent many different industries.

Here are some awesome photos of their office, taken by a blogger known as Soulie.

For those who wanted a copy or link of the video on statistics that I showed, it’s from here.

Someone once compared a pastor of a church with a blogger. He estimated that a pastor needs 20-30 staff to help run a church that spreads its message to a congregation of 2,000 people, once a week. In comparison, an average blogger can reach an audience of 500 people per day. Most times, this represents the efforts of only one blogger, without any staff. How’s that for reach vs efforts?

Over the last month, I was contacted by the PR teams of YTL and Maxis to cover the Yes4G launch and review the new HTC HD7 Windows phone. With little effort, these corporate giants are able to leverage on the strength of bloggers and their respective networks to their advantage.

Maxis places a lot of emphasis on their reviewers programme and aptly calls it Maxis10. They select 10 key influentials, allow them to review cutting edge soon-to-be-released phones and let them keep the phones, subject to several conditions. Oftentimes, this selected group spend hours upon hours crafting blog posts, videos, photos and social media postings, thereby increasing visibility and anticipation for the devices.

Here’s the Maxis10 section on their official Facebook page – right now, they’re looking for reviewers for the HTC Desire Z.

Here’s a few of the Maxis10 squad who were selected to review the HTC HD7 phone (photo by Maxis).

From left: Alex TheBackpackr (ME!), Nicole Msxeroz Chua, Saimatkong Tian Leong, Effi Obefiend Saharudin

As technology becomes more readily available and the population of Internet users increases, the user group gets more diversified. Different users use the Internet for different reasons, and they have varying browsing requirements. The Maxis communications team performed extensive research and found that Malaysian Internet users generally fall into one of seven categories which they name: Blogger, Traveller, Smart Shopper, Explorer, Online Buddies, Gamer and Entertainment Enthusiast.

Each of these user groups has different characteristics and more often that not, the Internet population will fall within one of these types. Based on these characteristics, Maxis launched  a wide variety of plans to suit these needs (tailored, cost-efficient-only pay for what you need).

As an extension to their campaign, fun interviews were conducted with online personalities which represent the seven key Malaysian Internet users. Being heavily involved in social media and running a digital agency, I was featured in one of their interviews, representing The Explorer.

The talented and beautiful Fiona Oon interviewed me and we had a great time in front of camera. Sure we had several takes, but it worked well.

Here’s a behind the scenes shot of the both of us at the Integricity HQ bar area.

Aside from the videos, Maxis, Integricity and Mindshare collaborated on developing an interactive social game built for Facebook, called Maxis Mission: Possible. Mindshare is the agency overseeing the strategy for Maxis, while Integricity provided the expertise to strategize and develop the Facebook application.

Once again, the seven characters come into play. You pick one, and explore maps for hidden items. It’s an interesting concept as you encounter enemies and bonus items that can give you a speed boost.

Prizes are pretty cool (unfortunately, I’m not allowed to win them since I’m supposedly a friendly party) as you can win a holiday for 2 to the Gold Coast AND RM5,000, an iPhone, Blackberry and more cash prizes. If you do win anything, you HAVE to share the goodies with me, seeing as I pointed you in their direction, huh? Just kidding…

When asked about why Facebook was chosen as a platform for this campaign, Matthew Willsher, CMO of Maxis, said, “The extension to Facebook is a natural move as there are now more than 5.2 million Malaysians on it. We are continuously exploring other engagement opportunities on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.” [quote from: marketing-interactive.com]

My take on this campaign is that Maxis is really going all out to secure ground using social media and I am very excited to see the wide adoption of Facebook in their campaigns. This will hopefully serve as a stepping stone for the entire industry to show them how powerful it is to invest and harness sites that are already a phenomenal success.