Sui Generis People in the world today, especially in Singapore, are too willing to settle for fitting in with the status quo and just doing what they are told to do. Here's my thoughts on society, education and life in general; and my views on being significant. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 0 2290

Articles from Sui Generis

Changing the World with Blogs 2007-11-07 10:28:00 I know the last few posts of my blog have been a lot about technology and all, but don't worry. This blog isn't going to become a technology blog.In October, DonorsChoose.org held a Blogger Challenge. It's basically a competition based on which blogs brought the most funds and donations to schools. With 100+ bloggers, it's nowhere near as big as Blog Action Day was, but it's still a great initaitive, I think. And Google reports that among the 100+ bloggers, $420,000 was raised, which will benefit more than 75,000 students.100+ bloggers, $420,000, 75,000+ students. In one month.That averages out to about $4,000 per blogger, benefiting about 7,000 students each. Who says blogging can't be useful?People can, and are, changing the world with their blogs.How can you make a difference with whatever you are doing?Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Why I'm Not On Facebook 2007-11-07 10:08:00 With Facebook announcing their new ad platform and Google's OpenSocial announcement last week, the social networking arena is getting a lot of press now. Because of that, and also because I was just at Podcamp last week, I think now's as good a time as any for me to explain why I'm not on Facebook.Firstly, something that is surprisingly not that well documented (based on my searches, at least). This is the biggest thing that's preventing me from joining Facebook. From their Terms and Conditions:When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perfor ...

Sui Generis Weekly #1 2007-11-07 05:23:00 Well, I announced last week that I would start a podcast soon, so here it is! You can subscribe from here. I'll integrate the subscription into my blog as soon as possible, once I figure out the best way to do it.Anyway, here's the first episode of Sui Generis Weekly (yes I know it's not the most creative name, but I couldn't come up with anything else. If you've got ideas, all suggestions are welcome). It's currently hosted on Podango because I'm having trouble uploading to Ourmedia (which is also why I didn't manage to get it up last night as I wanted).Covered in this podcast: - PodCamp Boston - Personal Branding Talk by Mitch Joel - Google OpenSocial - Android and the Open Handset AllianceIt's not the best quality and I know my voice isn't that good either, but I promise that over time, as I get more used to doing this, I'll get better.As mentioned in the podcast, all music was from Natalie Gelman, an awesome artist who's definitely worth checking out.Like my blog? Make ...

GPhone? Not quite 2007-11-05 11:29:00 Google has just released an announcement about their mobile plans. And no it's not a gPhone.I'll post my thoughts after more news gets in, and after I get the chance to read more about it. But just wanted to share my initial thoughts. Google seems to be pushing this concept of an open platform really hard. And I think it's great that they're doing that.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Think Different: At Home in The Universe 2007-11-05 06:07:00 While, I was away, I recently got tagged for two different "challenges". And as I thought about it, I thought I could combine the two into one post. This isn't me trying to slack off, but I do think that they can relate.Jean Browman wrote a really thought-provoking post, At Home In the Universe, and encouraged me to participate.He asks, "Does this picture resonate with you at all? For instance, have you ever felt you looked at things differently from other people…that a part of you was alone in the universe? If so, what was your reaction? Were you frightened… depressed… exhilarated… lonely? What did you do?"Well, I think most people reading this blog know that I value being able to "look at things differently from other people". But yes, on the other hand, it can be a daunting prospect. Sometimes, you do feel alone.After looking at the photo for a while, I started trying to think differently about it. If you read this blog, you should know, it's kind of a normal thing for me ...

Your Turn: Inspiring People 2007-11-03 14:31:00 After coming back from PodCamp, where I've met so many cool and awesome people, that's the thing that's been on my mind lately. People. And that's what I would love to hear from you about Who's the most inspiring people/person in your life? And/Or how can you inspire others?I'd love to hear your stories and thoughts on the topic, and I think it'd be a good reminder that each of us can make a difference.2 reminders. Firstly, I want to remind you once again that the topic is just a suggested conversation starter. If you've got anything else on your mind, feel free to share it. And I mean anything. Secondly, the comments system (Intense Debate) gives many features such as email subscription to comments and threaded comments, etc. which I think will help you join the conversation more. So I encourage you to make the most of them.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

OpenSocial: The TRUE Web 2.0? 2007-11-02 10:19:00 I actually intended to ease this blog slowly back into action over the weekend. But with the announcement of OpenSocial, that kind of threw off my plans. This is too big an event for me to pass up on. For those of you who don't see why I think this is so huge, I'll explain.As I explained earlier today, OpenSocial is a new platform, headed by Google. It will allow developers to create web applications using standard web languages. And those applications can make use of information from social networks (such as your friends and updates, for example). Those applications will also be able to run on a lot of different networks. MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn, Friendster, Orkut (obviously, being a Google product), Imeem, Hi5, Ning and a number of others have signed up. With a combined user base of over 200 million users. That's amazing reach and impact for developers.Those of you who aren't developers might be wondering, "So what?" Well, this is a huge development, in my opinion, that brings lo ...

Huge News: MySpace joins OpenSocial 2007-11-01 21:32:00 This is really huge.Those of you who aren't tech geeks like me might not know of this. Google is spearheading a platform named OpenSocial, to challenge Facebook. Essentially it is the same thing as Facebook's developer platform, except that the applications are developed using standard languages like HTML and Javascript (as opposed to Facebook's proprietary languages) and can be run in any network which supports OpenSocial (as opposed to just running on Facebook).The official announcement was made today (over the night in Singapore). Google have got the support of networks such as Friendster, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ning, Hi5. And application makers such as Slide, RockYou, iLike and Flixster.The latest, and biggest, news (a few hours ago): MySpace has joined OpenSocial. I think this is a really huge announcement. MySpace, the biggest network, has teamed up with Google on this. I really hope it will be a success.What does this mean? Developers only need to create one application, for use ev ...

Back from Boston 2007-11-01 05:31:00 After a week and a half or so, I'm finally back! Hope you guys didn't miss me too much.PodCamp Boston 2 was awesome! It was great to meet other bloggers and podcasters. I really enjoyed Mitch Joel's session about Personal Branding. For notes about the session, you can check out these two blog posts, by Connie Crossby and Christina Greene. And I highly recommend you do. It's an amazing talk, on a great topic.The other session that was really good was Kabren Levinson's. It was great to meet another teen into this field, and just to get into the discussion of how to spread this to the teenage generation. Will be waiting for him to do a post on it, and I'll definitely feature it when he does. He's doing great stuff for a 17 year old, and I wish him all the best.Basically, the best part about PodCamp for me was just the connections, meeting new people and all. The interactions and community. After all, that's what this is all about, isn't it? Not only the blog, but in life in gener ...

Updates from Boston 2007-10-27 15:08:00 Thought I'd do a quick update, just to let you guys know I'm still alive.Been in America this past week, and will be until 1 November, so that's why there hasn't been updates. And there won't be many updates until I get back as well. In the meantime, for updates on what I'm doing, you can follow me on Twitter. It's been really awesome!More news after I get back. Remember to check back on 1 November.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Your Turn: Culture 2007-10-20 06:23:00 This blog is as much about you as it is about me. And I'm no expert in a lot of this. So from now on, I'll be doing a new feature every weekend, "Your Turn". It's something that's been done on some other blogs, and something I gave a try last week. Every Saturday, I'll post a topic, or a conversation starter. And well, I would like you to make the comments section into your blog for the day. You don't necessarily have to follow the topic I posed. Just feel free to express yourself.So from now on, every weekend, it will be Your Turn. Your turn to share your thoughts. And besides, it will give me a bit of time off, which will hopefully help me write better posts on the weekdays.Today's topic: Culture. What is culture to you? How important is culture? Should it be permanent, or evolve with time? If the latter, how can we go about changing or improving the culture we're in?Remember, the comment section is YOURS. So if you want to write about other things, feel free to. The topic is ...

New Template: My Choices 2007-10-20 04:39:00 Most of you may have noticed, a couple of weeks ago, I changed the template of this blog. Just thought I'd take the time to explain my choices behind the template and widgets.I'll start of with the main template. I just find it quite interesting, and unique. I like the play of colors, it's bright and striking, but still professional and clean.Now, the widgets. The orange section is more focused on community. "About Me" is pretty obvious. I think for you guys to know more about me. I might change it into a more complete page soon (after I get back from Boston, probably).The "Contact Me" and "Reach My Mobile" sections are there to make it easy for you to connect with me. I believe it's useful because a blog is all about community. And for that same reason, I have the "My Communities" section. A list of places where I'm on, where you can find more about me, and reach me. And it's also as much about you, the readers, which is the reason behind the MyBlogLog widget."Help Spread My Blo ...

Paul Bennett: Design is in the Details 2007-10-19 11:08:00 Part of what this blog is all about is encouraging you to think about the things around you in new ways. It's about encouraging you to take note of things around you that you normally wouldn't take note of. The small things that we don't notice can often have a big impact. And Paul Bennett explains it brilliantly (and with cool examples) in his TED talk.As he mentioned at the start of his talk, it applies to individuals as well. You might just be one person. You might be "small" in the larger scheme of things, just an individual among a huge community, one out of 7 billion people in the world. But you too can be big. You can make a difference.Small is the new big.How do you take notice of the small, to make a big impact?Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ... Design

Are you crazy? 2007-10-19 11:04:00 The crazy ones are the ones who change the world. Are you crazy? I would love to be (and I hope I'm on the right track).Thanks to The Thinking Blog for pointing out the video.Update: Just saw another take on the same thing (same audio and message, different visuals). You can watch it here.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

I'm on Twitter 2007-10-19 09:47:00 Not sure if you have noticed (I know a number of you read through RSS, so I don't blame you if you don't), I've recently joined Twitter. My latest tweets are on the blue sidebar on the left.I'll be using it to post various short thoughts or ideas. Or links which I don't have much to add to, but I think are interesting reads.If you guys are on Twitter, you can follow me. Or let me know, because I'd be interested in following you. It's always nice to know what my readers are up to, and what gets you thinking.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...