keeping up with times, connecting

Social media give a whole new meaning to connecting to the masses. With one click on the status button, you instantly connected to your followers or the masses. This holds a very significant way of reaching the masses. In addition, almost all are on at least one social media sites. 

Just to mention some cool dudes that are use social media

on Facebook ...

our Prime Minister has Facebook which allows connecting to Singaporeans on a more personal level... and he's just like us he posts things that what you and I would post! a random owl! who gets that in their office? way cool! oh and he takes selfies with people too! 

.... and Twitter

Presiden Obama has a Twitter account which is managed by his team and himself (his tweets are signed of OB). Though it is not really personal, but it is more of what his visions or what he wants to do for the country. It's good because it reinforces, encourages and also shows what he wants to do. And also there's updates. I'm sure you have heard about the Oscar selfie and Ellen beating him in the number of retweets.. 

     here's his post...

and here's Ellen's!

watch the video to hear his comments about it! gosh, always love his witty replies! it's witty and packed with humour! witty humour!

Using social media to connect to the citizens, makes everything more personal. Nowadays, there's Facebook pages for everything including initiatives or groups that are government related or also citizen related. With this platforms, it is easy for citizen to view and be updated with the happenings because of the constant update posts and also photos!

Update:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=695519820510727

Here's a video from PM Lee sharing his experience on Social Media!

AUGMENTED REALITY

                                                   Just imagine in the near future..... 

We may have come across augmented reality but not know that it is called that. Augmented reality (AR) is a live, copy, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. The surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.

They used it for advertising purposes too! Some are in Singapore.

In the Marvel drama series, Agents of Shield, they also used it to film and add AWESOME effects.

Another awesome example is this glasses that uses this fabulous technology. 

Something similar to Google Glasses. 

Something my group mates and I presented but sadly have to rush through it due to time constraints, the Nintendo. Nintendo over the years created trendy games and also trendy game consoles. They brought gaming to the non-gamers and catered it to factors why they would shun away for games. Usually it's because of the game console buttons. But that aside, Nintendo 3DS has this function that makes use of Augmented Reality. And this is how you use this function! 

 I know, this makes you want to go out and get one now! so.... here's some augmented reality games for you to check it out that is available on your smartphones! 

😏just be sure of your surroundings before you play them! 

CYBER BULLYING

Last week my group and I presented on Cyber Crimes and I touched on Cyber Bullying. While researching on it, it just hit me how much real this is. Okay, maybe we may not experience the full brunt of it but we definitely may have heard or scroll past a post on tumblr about it.


Worst part?
THERE IS NOTHING MUCH THE AUTHORITIES CAN DO ABOUT IT UNTIL NOW. Yes, now, recently, a week ago, that the Singapore Government came up with a law (Harassment Law please notice the part that it is CYBER HARASSING) to deal with parts of cyber bullying.

But question is how much people (mainly teens and tweens) are educated about this? Moreover, about cyber-bullying itself. Or will there be a specific law to cater to this. Though there will be factors like "it may be just a phase for the perpetrator" or "the cyber bullies are spread across the world how are you going to act on it".

As cyber bullying has become a huge part of society, some filmmakers decided to make a film about it starring Emily Osment from Hannah Montana. Its called Cyber bullying and shows the emotions and consequences of Cyber Bullying. ** BRING OUT THE TISSUES PLEASE**

When a victim reads about the messages about him/her, definitely they would feel something negative. Therefore, killing their self-esteem/confidence and subsequently, making them abstain from any forms of social media and slowly withdraw socially. Because of their emotions, they may act with aggression and be moody. With all this distracting them, it affects them academically in school or how they behave in school. This picture below are the signs of a victim.

In some cases, cyber bullying takes on lives. Amanda Todd is one such example. She had several suicide attempts which failed and people further taunted her.
***REALLY PEOPLE???***
Later on, she created a video with flashcards telling her story which shortly after she took on her life.
Watch here to know her story.
But her parents took it well and created a website to create awareness
about this pressing issue.


To those who are facing this issue here's a song dedicated to you.


UPDATE:
I used reblog a lot of post on Tumblr... and this is one I came across years ago...

Read more about this girl here and her video here.

IF you know someone or is now faced with cyber bulling, please take action. You should

Stop- do not attempt to do anything. It is important to have a clear mind before you act.

Block- restrict or block communications with the cyberbully.

Keep- Keep evidence

Tell- inform someone.


...now what would you do?

XOXO,
Lou

tools of the internet

GOOGLE has EVERYTHING... EVERYTHING...

We use it for mail, maps, blogging and even to search for journal articles.

It is so common that we would just use 'google' as an adjective. Also, we are dependent on it daily. For example, work (email) or finding a place (google maps/earth). There so much about google that some tools we don't know about. The engineers work so hard to create internet tools to make our lives easier and also with their creativity more interesting and connected with each other.

Besides this, there are also other companies that create internet tools or applications. One example is the company Apple. They created iTunes and Apple Application Store. With this stores, you can download application that help you create things, communicate better or even have entertainment on the go. They are either free or you have to pay. One such application you can use to create things is iMovie which you can create movies on your iPad, iPhone or Macbook. 

Not very good at it (like me)? Google it or search a tutorial on Youtube. Foolproof videos. 

I did one. First ever in my life. And this is the outcome.

p/s: there's something wrong with the uploading... trying on different platforms.... ahhh....

hopefully youtube accepts it! LINK >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve7M4tkDaJY&feature=youtu.be

For first time users, creating videos can be a nightmare. Being unfamiliar with the buttons and functions that are in the application can easily make one feel confused and frustrated.

But you need not only use this application. There are many more that you can use even on your smartphones. They allow you to edit the filters, add words or make photo collages. 

learning of the future

During the H1N1 epidemic, I was still in high school. I remember clearly having days that we did not have school but instead have e-learning to do. We had our own account that we log in on a school portal to watch videos or have tasks to do. 

Then, I was thinking what about the not-well-do fellow classmates. They may not have internets or maybe even a set of computer. Therefore, I did not see it a reliable source of learning those years ago.

Now, e-learning is very much a part of us. We, as students, are very used to logging into a portal to access learning or the tasks we have to do. For example, UBLEARNS. With that, we are able to see the lessons or assignments that are due. And also, we have the option of taking on online modules. That means we don't have geographical or even manpower limitations to learn the things that interests us.

With technology being so advanced like having fast internet connections as compared to years ago or having different platforms that many users can access at a time, future classrooms can be anything anyone can dream of. 

Imagine a classroom that is made of different rooms just by logging on with a webcam wherever you are. In other words, classrooms on the go. This can be beneficial for any epidemics or any crisis. This allows unrestricted learning.

Also, say, a society that is poor. Children can still access education by having a school with a projector and a computer. The teacher need not be physically there and yet deliver the content needed.

This gives EVERY child an opportunity to learn. It is just a matter if there is any one willing to invest. But this may just only be in the future....

As an average person, we are involved in two types of E-Commerce. 

• B2C (Business to Consumer)

In Business to Consumer, Businesses interacts with people by selling products online. People just click to add into their shopping cart and another click for payment. Usually payment is through Paypal. One of the earliest user is Amazon.

Nowadays, many businesses expand to this type of business. One good example is online supermarkets to meet the needs of busy people. Also locally, young entrepreneurs also use this to set up businesses like online blogshops.

(p/s: I know <<< this is a little tinsy windy bit small to read. Click on the picture to read the cool facts!)

  

• C2C (Consumer to Consumer)

C2C gives DIY people a chance to sell their products. In etsy, people have the chance to sell the things that are handmade or custom ordered.

BUT...

Either way, you need to get people to know about your products! These are the steps that are usually practiced. Miss either steps, all your efforts may be wasted. 

With technology being so advanced, it becomes part of our daily lives as it is integrated into our smart phones. 

Personally, as a consumer most of the time, I do a lot of shopping. And with them being so accessible on the mobile phone, I am frequently purchasing something. E-Commerce is something I would say a lot of businesses or now even people who do something as a hobby and sells it off can benefit from. 

I like to see it as though it can be detrimental to our pockets sometimes it is helping the economy.

DAYRE

Some may have heard of DAYRE. 

It's popular with bloggers like XIAXUE

 and FOURFEETNINE

DAYRE is a hybrid of Instagram and any blogging site. And no it is not pronounced as DAY-RE...it's  DAIRY. Having the layout like Instagram where you filter/post your photo and have comments below. Also, you can have the option of following people. 

It is a mixture of FACEBOOK, TWITTER, FOURSQUARE and INSTAGRAM where you can check in, add stickers, post pictures and blog all in one.

It is blogging in bit size. This easily appeals to those who like blogging short posts or don't have a lot of time. Catch? There's a word limit for both photo post and blog posts. On the other end, some may find the word limit a hassle as they may go over it sometimes. It's that same irritating feeling you get when you go over the word limit on Twitter. 

This is built specially for blogging on smartphones...so you also can blog it from your smartphones! It is available on iOS and Google Play!

Like many blogs you would like to personalise it and make it unique, for Dayre, you can make your URL unique and edit your cover picture. 

To date, Dayre is popular in Singapore, Malaysia and also the UK. I have not tried Dayre but have heard that it is similar to Tumblr where you post a picture and write a post. So I think those who have Tumblr can find it easy to use. But there's also a step by step guide so that it makes it a user-friendly.

There's much improvements Dayre can make but for now, it holds as an application that is easy blogging on the go!

Personally, with this, it will take away those moments where you sit down have a nice cup of coffee and pen/type your thoughts out. That peaceful moments when you reflect on things. And make blogging quick and less in dept... 

signing off to reblog more pictures of food on tumblr!

and oh HAPPY XOXO DAY!

lou