Note that these might not even be the usual tech/ pr/ social media folks. At podcamp yesterday, I was inspired by Amelia’s and Preetam’s blogs even though they don’t blog about topics that I usually write about.

I shall start with the ones that I actually know the authors (and they are all Asians and none of them really write about the topics I usually cover). Here are the 3 for today -

1) Siew Kum Hong – He’s my colleague at Yahoo! (our senior legal counsel) and also Singapore’s Nominated Member of Parliament. Although I was never quite into politics but Kum Hong’s blog posts are often inspiring and spur discussions and thoughts from members of the public. At podcamp yesterday, someone mentioned that there are more and more MPs writing blogs and going onto facebook.

2) Pluit Solutions – Herryanto Siatono is probably not an unfamiliar name to many. He’s the founder of BookJetty and recently joined Yahoo! too. As an avid reader, I find Herry’s blog really informative.

3) Timothy Go - Tim is a fantastic friend and a great news anchor on Channel News Asia. We used to blog on Livejournal (he still does) and I moved to wordpress and set up this blog. Expect to find a wide variety of topics in his blog, from behind the scenes of his work to his travel adventure (yes, he travels more than i do) and follow up to some cool events (that he always get invited to the chi chi and glam stuff).

Have you read any interesting blogs recently?

So, the last couple of months, I have started buying audio books. It all started with me being really busy with work and traveling a lot. Reading a book on the plane gives me headache. I can’t really read when I am in a cab too. I used to read 2-3 hours per night but lately, I am so tired after work, the moment my head hits the bed, I go into dreamland. Audio books became the “solution!” I convert all the tracks to MP3 and save them onto my iPods. Easy! No need to drag a pile of books with me when I travel or go for holiday and no need to bring additional “reading gadget.” I can now pack 10 “books” or more with me everyday and listen to them while I am commuting or when I wait for hours at airports.

In my last post on Social Media books, a lot of those books are also available in audio cds. I did a quick check on Wikinomics and The Cluetrain Manifesto and they have the audio version!

What I also like about audio books is, it reminds me of childhood – when Mum and Dad used to read to us (my younger brother and I) before bed time. And then, they tend to stop half way into the story and insisted that we should be sleeping. I love having people read to me. Oh! I have an audio version of the NKJV Bible too. Being a church-goer and a fan of a female preacher, Joyce Meyer, I have been stocking up her audio books recently, as well as C.S Lewis’s.

Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t think audio books are really popular in Asia, specifically in Singapore (where I am based now). I can hardly find any audio books at the retail stores. The only few i found are from BORDERS and they are really expensive. The good thing is, iTunes has a really good selection and there is always the wonderful Amazon.

I am not saying I am giving up books (in print) or magazines (that are not available in cds), I am glad that I am enjoying the alternative to reading books!

Interesting read:-

Last year, New York Times reported on a budding author who recorded a short audiobook for her unfinished print. The audiobook climbed to the top of iTunes’ best-selling books after she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

I think all new books from now on should have the unabridged audio version!

That post is not exactly about books on social networking but more of online cataloging sites (such as Shelfari and the Library Thing) that allow users to catalog their books, connecting with other book lovers and share reviews/book lists.

I did a quick Google search on the keywords “social networking books” and true enough, that blog post came up third in the first page of results. I have received a couple of emails from a few folks who surfed in and asked if i could recommend any books on social networking/ social media. I replied two of them and then I got really busy and didn’t manage to get to the rest. So, I thought, I might as well list down a couple of books that I personally thought are pretty cool. Walter Lim recommended a few too (via Facebook).

Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the way businesses Talk with Customers - by Robert Scoble

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything – by Don Tapscott & Anthony D. Williams

The New Influencers: A Marketer’s guide to the new social media – by Paul Gillin

Now is Gone: a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs - by Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies - by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff

Join the Conversation: How to engage marketing -weary consumers … – by Joseph Jaffe

Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution - by Justin Kirby & Paul Marsde

I am sure there are alot of other good books out there. I am currently reading Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae that Walter gave quite a good review on.

The book that I am trying to get my hands on now is – Presentation Zen - by Garr Reynolds.

Book Description
FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI — Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making “slide presentations” in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

Both have some really interesting points about new media and new media marketing. Since I have not finished reading them, I shall reserve any comments for now. Both are definitely worth reading!Recently, I’ve observed that some PR folks have decided to completely ignore / not get involved with the new media, leaving them in the hands of the community managers. I am not saying that’s right or wrong, I am just considering what it means for us, as PR professionals, to only care about getting what our clients or companies want us to say to our ”target media”. Do we, at some point consider what our CONSUMERS are thinking, saying, commenting, wanting, needing from our company?

A recent chat with a PR friend made me ponder more as she pointed out that, ”UH! It’s so hard to CONTROL bloggers, sometimes, they get their facts all wrong and refused to hear us out..”

Another girlfriend commented, “Why pre-brief bloggers? Why even bother talking to XX business magazine? I just want to get this story out in 3 key dailies and i get my REACH! It’s just too much effort and trouble to talk to XX business magazine and YY trade media because their reach is so much lesser…” 

There are some truths in each comment but something tells me, we are moving backward rather than forward. I realised what happened to many PR people. We are extremely busy folks, sometimes we get so bogged down by work, we become very reactive and we just keep on doing doing doing the same things, hoping for different results. We forget about exploration, learning new tools, new communications strategies as we move on into a new technological era.

At times, we are so narrow-minded. We are given a set of “key communications statements” from our clients or our corporate communciations department and we follow them so strictly, we forgot that our consumers and the media are not stupid to believe a  set of statements that doesn’t make any sense to anyone else but us.

I realised I am trying to make several points here. I guess, what I am trying to think through is, as much as I believe and blogged quite extensively about how PR folks should always go back to basic and get our messaging/ foundation right before we move on to new media. On the other hand, there is frustration with PR people who are too afraid to move on and get too engrossed in trying to make sure that they have coverage in the 1 or 2 newspapers (that might have readership of 200,000) but is that enough?

Some XX company might have a full page coverage in The Sunday Times (Singapore’s most-read broadsheet) last week but I was on the plane, my boyfriend was sick and slept through the day and my brothers were out and not touched the papers. So, even though we might be the target audience of that XX company, we missed it.

So, explain to me… how is the excuse of targeting only 3 key media every time we have news announcements (because they have the most reach) ensure that most, if not all our target audience (consumers) read about our announcements? How is that making an influence? How is that moving the needle, making an impact for the business you are in?

My good friend and a fantastic blogger, Melvin Yuan recently stated in his blog post…

In the same way, PR professionals could never master the craft of Influence because our tools for the task were ineffective (think press releases, articles and events) and our measurement was flawed (think size of news coverage and the ad-dollar equivalent). Both never did translate to direct impact and measurable results that businesses really need.

But today we have the right tools (think blogs, micro-sites, e-mails, search engines etc.), the right knowledge (in search, digital storytelling and social media), and better ways to measure business (not communication) results (think click-throughs, readership and online decisions).

We have what it takes to communicate directly, track and measure results effectively, making Influence as much a science as it is an art.

Books?

Yes, a few books. Not for work but for reading on the flight.

I found out this morning from my good friend, the brilliant producer and news anchor for Channel News Asia, Timothy Go that this annoying habit is called In-Flight Information Deficiency. Tim wrote,

This is someone who, before and during a flight, has a fear of not having enough to read on board a flight, no matter how short or long.

Although I seldom read on board the plane, because I get motion sickness and the pills I take before the flight makes me drowsy and I fall asleep. BUT, I still worry that I do not have  enough things to do on the plane. The flight to Vegas is at least 16 hours and I am already panicking about which books to drag along.

But I think, my problem continues even after the flight. I constantly worry about, “What if I finish reading the books i brought along… and have nothing to do at the hotel?”

It gets worse if I am on holiday, to stop me from worrying, Jon will volunteer to bring more books in his luggage for me.

Ok! Time to go out now to buy luggage.

Here are some images that Jon and I took last couple of weeks:-

It is definitely a really cool, boutique-styled library that I will miss.

I was checking out the talented group – The Novelties that had a gig at the library@orchard two weeks ago. They are a group of friends, currently studying at the Singapore Management University (SMU). Cheryl, the cute lead singer could do a real good rendition of Cranberries and she commented that it is very sad that the library@orchard will be gone. The group was pleasantly surprised at the crowd that gathered to cheer them on during the performance at the library.

I had to include this interesting picture of this group of girls who gathered at the library not to study or read but they sat at a little corner, enjoying the performance and folding little paper cranes. I was intrigued!

When asked what the girls think about the closing of the library, they were all teary … (ok, I am joking). They all thought, “it was unfortunate that such a nice library has to go very soon.”

“It has a great set-up, especially a special center stage for nice and free performances. This library also stocked up great selection of books and has nice librarians!” they added.

Another person I spoke with was a French gentleman who requested not to mention his name or include his photo. He stays near Orchard Road and is a big fan of the library. He has the following comments, “This is a really stylishly designed and 95% of the time, I can find the books I came to look for. It is definitely sad that it’ll be gone. Where & when is the new library opening?”

The library will re-open in 2010 in two re-incarnations – as library@*scape, a youth community space and as library@orchard at a redeveloped site along Orchard Road, according to the official press release.

So, there! I guess, this is Bye bye library@orchard.

Jon and my “final words” — “It is a shame to see you go. We wish we had known you better…”

Here are three books that I am reading now and they have been great so far. For those who are clearing leaves or thinking of bringing a book to your holiday trip, here are my picks:-

(Since I am going away for a one-week beach holiday next week and have plenty of time to read while sitting by the sea. I am most happy to hear any recommendation to interesting books, so drop me a note if you have any in mind).

(left): Notice the library tag on the book? I just picked it up from the library@Orchard (the one that is going to be closed down next week). Written by Peter Shankman, (the CEO of Geek Factory), the book has a rather long title, “Can We Do That?! :Outrageous PR Stunts That Work – and Why Your Company Needs Them”

Everytime I hear clients say “come up with some stunts!” I cringed. I wrote about my thoughts in a previous post “PR, back to basics”. However, I am all for a great idea that get communications messages across to the right target audience. Shankman has a great writing style and he even included a section on “Peter’s top six rules for allowing yourself to be creative and come up with off-the-wall ideas.” It reminded me of days when I was doing creatives and design work – when we were encouraged to do something different each day (ie: change our seats so that we see different things from our work station) to help the mind think differently! Shankman included a picture of himself at the Portland zoo, in order to be / think like a child and get some new ideas. I thought that was pretty cool for a busy CEO to do.

(middle): Carly Fiorina – Tough Choices, A Memoir – I must say, I just bought this book today and the last couple of hours was stuck flipping this book. I picked it up, partly because I’ve always loved biographies and the other reason was because Businessweek wrote “…Women will find this particularly interesting.”

Just in case you are living in some La La land and have never heard of Fiorina – She was recruited to be CEO of Hewlett Packard – the first female CEO of Fortune 20 company. Read more

I love the part (am at Chapter 6 now) that she wrote, “….don’t think about the next job; focus on doing the very best you can with the job you have. Learn everything you can from everyone you can. Focus on the possibilities of each job, not the limitations. Look for the people who will take a chance on you.”

(right): Some people might call this a self-help book, some call it a Christian/ religious book. It is one of my recent favourite books. “The Search for Satisfaction, looking for something new under the sun.” is inspiring.

Excerpts from the book:

…. No generation in history has witnessed the explosion of knowledge and technology we experience today….

…. Yet knowledge, information, awareness, and our sense of “connectedness” have not issued a glorious age of peace.

It brings me back to thinking of all the connectivity we raved about – the social networking, the new media, the endless amount of information we have to read online, process them each day with the hope to turn them into some satisfactory results. To me, those attempts usually ended up with hours in front of the computer, letting time slipped away and not getting much out of it.

In less than two weeks, the library@orchard will ceased operations, the books will be re-distributed to other libraries and the space that the library currently occupies will be rented out to other tenants. Taking a quick look at the other tenants beside and around the library, the space will probably be used for more beauty spas, salons or some fashion boutiques.

My trip to the library yesterday to fulfill my “job” as the citizen reporter turned out to be educational and at the same time, leaving me with some frustration and sadness.

Jillian Lim, the librarian is extremely helpful and I love talking to people who love books. I was told that despite the library’s aim to target the youth and promote a great reading culture amongst this target group (thus the reason why this library was set up in the midst of Orchard Road), the youths did not seem to pop by as expected. Instead, I see more adults (quite a lot of aunties), some foreigners and even tourists walking around.

My question to Jillian was, why on earth is the library tucked remotely on the top floor of Ngee Ann City – a mall that is currently known to house luxury brands such as the Gucci, Chanel and Tiffany? I was then told that several years ago, around the time that the library was set up, that particular location was a big hit with young people and had tenants that sell products targeting the youths. I didn’t get a chance to talk to the mall’s landlord but based on Brennan’s post about the closing of the library, I gathered that the landlord thinks the big space that the library is occupying now is more profitable and makes more sense to SELL to the youths rather than encouraging a reading lifestyle. Kind of sad, isn’t it?

Anyhow, Jon and I walked around the library with our notebooks, camera and recorders to try to capture any interesting things we can pick up. Jon, being a foreigner thinks Singapore really has world-class standard libraries and the library@orchard is definitely very cool and we should all count our blessings. But do Singaporeans really remember to count them? I am afraid, (based on the chats I had with some people), the answer is No.

I grabbed hold of some young people (age between 17 to 23) and asked the same questions at the library yesterday, “Do you know that the library is closing down end of this month? What are your thoughts abt that?”

80% of them went, “REALLY? Don’t know about the closing and ok lor… can go to other places or other libraries wat…”

Further probing from me, “Do you come to this library often? and do you think this space is better off used for other purposes like shopping or food places?”

70% of them said along the line of, “No. I usually come here to wait for my friends/watch some performances if there are, rest my feet after shopping since it’s free here. And oh! quite a good idea to turn it to more happening shops also lah. There is always Kinokuniya upstairs to get books.”

Gggrrrr… the quotes I got didn’t fit what I had planned to write in my original plan to post something, headlined “How sad we are to let you go..”

And now I am sad…

(However, all hope’s not lost. I managed to speak with others who have constructive and some great things to say about our lovely boutique, lifestyle-concept library@orchard. While I download the images and prepare for the next post, people who are reading this, do pay your final visits to the library@orchard, drop the library or this post some of your thoughts. Those who have images/ videos to share, visit http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/orchard/ for more information.

The library is also holding a closing party on 30 November. Those who are free that evening, do come for the event. Registration details can be found at the library’s blog).

My next blog post of the library will also highlight one of the performances by The Novelties held at the library on 17 November 2007, and a short chat with the performers. I also found a group of young girls gathering near the entrance of the library – not studying, not reading books but folding 1000 paper cranes.

So, watch this space for part 3 of the closing of library@orchard!!

I have not been writing much lately (the last post was written 31st October) although I’ve been replying people who dropped their comments. I’ve been trying to finish up various events in my current company, take a break and start my new job! Thank you all my dear friends and blog readers who sent me emails, IMs, messages on Facebook to check on me. Well, the blog is still here and I am still writing!

In the midst of all the madness at work, I signed up as Citizen Reporter with the National Library Board to write ANYTHING about the library@Orchard that is scheduled to close down end of this month. Ivan Chew , the rambling librarian alerted me to the library’s initiative to encourage bloggers as well as library- goers to contribute our thoughts and document any pictures/ videos as we move into the final weeks of the library.

I love books, I am addicted to buying books (my mum called me the book shopaholic). I love reading and I am about to request for a new room to store just my books in the new house. However, while many of the citizen reporters wrote about how they love the library@orchard and how they would miss it, I have to admit that, given my mad working schedule, I seldom have the luxury of time to browse and spend time at the library.

I used to spend most of my weekends (and even birthdays) at the libraries. Favourite libraries were the ones at Bedok, Marine Parade, Geylang East and the old National Library. The stylishly designed library@orchard is positioned as the first niche public library in Singapore with a lifestyle concept and focused on providing collections and services targeted at young adults between age 18-35.

I am dutifully visiting the library@Orchard this weekend to capture any interesting things I can find there! Jonathan is going with me and I know he’s going to be stuck at the graphic novel/ comics section while I attempt to bug the librarians and whoever I can speak with to find out more.

Watch this space in the next 2 weeks for more updates about the library@Orchard!

Meantime, while waiting for my next post, check out what other bloggers wrote about the library:-

• Kenneth’s really funny post about Five types of People who will miss the library
• Jean is doing a great job as the citizen reporter, check out her interviews with the library-goers
• Joel wrote a long, honest post about the library@orchard

On a side note, I think it’s a nice (Library 2.0) initiative to invite various local bloggers and book lovers to document the last moments of the library@orchard.

Please don’t send me many emails, IM messages or Facebook notes to ask about “insider news” about the company. Champagnes, whiskies, dark Goldiva chocolates are very welcomed though.

Today, I received a big gift box from my one of my dearest friends, Kevin who is currently still stuck in US with his phD program. The content of my gift: a huge book, Revolutionary Wealth, a real cool design magazine, GOOD (anniversary issue), a Sci-Fi series – The Triangle, a nice but very noisy musical card (it says, “you gotta sing the song that’s in your heart… and my song goes Yahooooooooo!!!!!) and a hilarious Elmo (it’s hilarious because it laughs funny when you press the tummy). Alright, no champagnes and chocolates but the thoughts count alot! Thank you, Kevin!