Have you ever wondered why people get so emotional over a simple product such as an Ipod or Iphone? In theory, what makes a great product is the experience and emotional connection that is formed and shared between the user and the product. It’s this missing link which seperates great products from mediocre ones. For example, there is a reason why some people are so attached to the Mc Donalds brand, sure, they sell decent burgers and french fries. But think back again to when your were a child, every experience that is built around the McDonalds brand is a positive and good one. Going to Mc Donalds was a treat! As we progress in life, those memories formed from a very young age has and will influence throughout our lives. We trust the brand, we buy into it, it makes us feel happy. Same goes for products such as the I phone. you spend countless hours playing games, talking to your friends and creating your favorites list. You put your favourite music into it. You party and take photos with it. Precious memories are formed with it. therefor if you loose it, a part of you is also lost. the memories, the music, the photos, the contacts. It forms a love mark which is strong.

Have you ever wondered why people get so emotional over a simple product such as an Ipod or Iphone? In theory, what makes a great product is the experience and emotional connection that is formed and shared between the user and the product. It’s this missing link which seperates great products from mediocre ones.

For example, there is a reason why some people are so attached to the Mc Donalds brand, sure, they sell decent burgers and french fries. But think back again to when your were a child, every experience that is built around the McDonalds brand is a positive and good one. Going to Mc Donalds was a treat! As we progress in life, those memories formed from a very young age has and will influence throughout our lives. We trust the brand, we buy into it, it makes us feel happy.

Same goes for products such as the I phone. you spend countless hours playing games, talking to your friends and creating your favorites list. You put your favourite music into it. You party and take photos with it. Precious memories are formed with it. therefor if you loose it, a part of you is also lost. the memories, the music, the photos, the contacts. It forms a love mark which is strong.

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If space is the next frontier for mankind then China is the next frontier for the business world. You might be wondering what’s the big “HOO HA” about China and why so many western brands want to penetrate this market? Let’s get down to the numbers and what it all really means. China’s population is 1.3 Billion people. Let’s put this in comparison to the entire world. The entire population of the world - approx 6.3 Billion people. China’s numbers equate to some 20% of the entire population of the world.- enough said! If your brand can get exposed and get recognised by the Chinese population, your brand is more than likely to gain market and mind share of a huge number of people(Global market number stakes) which obviously rakes in the $$$. But besides all that, manufacturing costs are low in China, Western brands see the potential in this and take advantage of the low cost of manufacturing.  A huge number of consumer goods such as IT goods, home appliances are all manufactured in China to a great extent. Products being manufactured in China are fine by me but I guess the general concensus or stereotype of products that are made there is that they don’t really last that long.  The branding culture of the country hasn’t done any justice to change this stereotype. With the recent news of China making fake Apple stores and coming up with cheesey coffee outlets named Bucksstarr Coffee.  You can see why people still look up to western products and brands for quality assurance. The bad press about these brands will somehow be a mental “cookie” to people. More often than not people may percieve products made there lacking in certain aspects and are just mere imitations of the “real thing”. On the contrary to this general stereotype, a lot of great products are made in this fine country. Just take a look around in your home and your bound to discover them.

If space is the next frontier for mankind then China is the next frontier for the business world. You might be wondering what’s the big “HOO HA” about China and why so many western brands want to penetrate this market?

Let’s get down to the numbers and what it all really means. China’s population is 1.3 Billion people. Let’s put this in comparison to the entire world. The entire population of the world - approx 6.3 Billion people. China’s numbers equate to some 20% of the entire population of the world.- enough said!

If your brand can get exposed and get recognised by the Chinese population, your brand is more than likely to gain market and mind share of a huge number of people(Global market number stakes) which obviously rakes in the $$$.

But besides all that, manufacturing costs are low in China, Western brands see the potential in this and take advantage of the low cost of manufacturing.  A huge number of consumer goods such as IT goods, home appliances are all manufactured in China to a great extent.

Products being manufactured in China are fine by me but I guess the general concensus or stereotype of products that are made there is that they don’t really last that long.  The branding culture of the country hasn’t done any justice to change this stereotype.

With the recent news of China making fake Apple stores and coming up with cheesey coffee outlets named Bucksstarr Coffee.  You can see why people still look up to western products and brands for quality assurance. The bad press about these brands will somehow be a mental “cookie” to people. More often than not people may percieve products made there lacking in certain aspects and are just mere imitations of the “real thing”.

On the contrary to this general stereotype, a lot of great products are made in this fine country. Just take a look around in your home and your bound to discover them.

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One of the main reasons why Apple is the significant fore runner for IT products is soley because of the technology and its products have. Let’s face it, Apple always is the first to come up with technology that actually changes people’s lives. Apple changes how we work, read, make phone calls and take photos.  

They are not just merely technological products but are technological lifestyle products.  Their technology and products creates an impact in our lives and how we behave. 

Apple has also branded themsleves with the right market mind set. Owning an Apple product is always seen as the trendy. Having anything other than an Apple tablet or phone might seem almost uncool and unworthy. O

What can I say? Apple has the killer formula for success. Great looking products, life changing technology and products with good branding. 

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just got me the new iphone 4g and im loving it to bits. awesome phone. sleek and fun

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The future of books on the IPAD. Lets face it people new media is slowly but surely taking over the world! With the advent of the IPAD, books are becoming digitalized. The IPAD has enhanced and taken the entire book reading experience to a whole new level.  Book reading is now equipped with sound and animated graphics to fully enhance the entire reading experience taking the reader into the story.

Amazing!

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Interesting study on China and how its people adapted to the beijing 2008 Olympics 

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Ok I had this random cultural discussion with some people last night with regards to China and the reason why mainland chinese people behave in such ways.  Just for the record this is in no way stereotyping the entire nation of the People’s republic of china in anyway whatsoever. I have been to Shanghai about 5 years ago and the most evident thing that occurred to me was the behavior of some of the people in this very fine city. Now shanghai is a bustling modern city juxtaposed against some historical chinese architecture. As fast paced and modern Shanghai is, some of the people within the city still behaved somewhat primitively.  Children still took a crap on the streets where there was a plant and people did not seem to have a sense of what a queue is.  I was at the local Mc Donald’s shop in the heart of Shanghai, I was usually accustomed to organized queues like the ones we usually have at Mc Donald’s outlets in Singapore.   But to my surprise and dismay, I actually discovered that there was no such thing as a queue in Shanghai’s Mc Donald’s .  Everyone rushed to be in the front- almost in a mosh pit like manner! This made me ponder on what could have caused this behavior amongst it’s very fine citizens. There were definitely some social implications to this. Now, as we may know it China has had a long historical past. It was the jewel of the east and Shanghai was and still is the Pearl of the Orient.   The Chinese were the first ones to invent social etiquette in eating by using the chopsticks instead of chopping up food with a big old knife and fork. What has happened since this refinement? The answer is- Communism! We somehow tend to forget that China has only recently come out of its communist past.  Infact to be exact china is still somewhat communist in certain aspects.  Up until 1989 when the Tianamen square protests happened, then only did China had some sense of Freedom. It is because that the nation was suppressed to almost complete equality that the chinese people has no sense of social class at all. Everyone was the same and this had a detrimental effect on the sociological and psychological aspect of its people.   Most countries have social classes and it is because of this class system that people behave in certain ways.  For example, social classes or graces  make people too embaressed to rush to the front of a Mc Donald’s counter.  So the next time you see someone rushing to the front of the queue, analyse and ponder what actually made them do that, perhaps its their social class, perhaps they are just hungry *shrugs*

Ok I had this random cultural discussion with some people last night with regards to China and the reason why mainland chinese people behave in such ways.  Just for the record this is in no way stereotyping the entire nation of the People’s republic of china in anyway whatsoever.

I have been to Shanghai about 5 years ago and the most evident thing that occurred to me was the behavior of some of the people in this very fine city. Now shanghai is a bustling modern city juxtaposed against some historical chinese architecture.

As fast paced and modern Shanghai is, some of the people within the city still behaved somewhat primitively.  Children still took a crap on the streets where there was a plant and people did not seem to have a sense of what a queue is.  I was at the local Mc Donald’s shop in the heart of Shanghai, I was usually accustomed to organized queues like the ones we usually have at Mc Donald’s outlets in Singapore.  

But to my surprise and dismay, I actually discovered that there was no such thing as a queue in Shanghai’s Mc Donald’s .  Everyone rushed to be in the front- almost in a mosh pit like manner!

This made me ponder on what could have caused this behavior amongst it’s very fine citizens. There were definitely some social implications to this. Now, as we may know it China has had a long historical past. It was the jewel of the east and Shanghai was and still is the Pearl of the Orient.  

The Chinese were the first ones to invent social etiquette in eating by using the chopsticks instead of chopping up food with a big old knife and fork. What has happened since this refinement?

The answer is- Communism! We somehow tend to forget that China has only recently come out of its communist past.  Infact to be exact china is still somewhat communist in certain aspects.  Up until 1989 when the Tianamen square protests happened, then only did China had some sense of Freedom.

It is because that the nation was suppressed to almost complete equality that the chinese people has no sense of social class at all. Everyone was the same and this had a detrimental effect on the sociological and psychological aspect of its people.  

Most countries have social classes and it is because of this class system that people behave in certain ways.  For example, social classes or graces  make people too embaressed to rush to the front of a Mc Donald’s counter.

 So the next time you see someone rushing to the front of the queue, analyse and ponder what actually made them do that, perhaps its their social class, perhaps they are just hungry *shrugs*

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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

ONE REPUBLIC!- Goodbye Apathy

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Awesome song, Owl city - on the wing!

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30th April 2010, Stereophonics Concert, Fort Canning! As always Fort Canning is one of the premiere venues for rock concerts. 

It has been 2 years since The Stereophonics last made their successful concert performance here in Singapore in April 2008.

This time around, they performed to an approximate crowd of 2000+ people. 

Formed in Wales in 1996, the band has sold over 9 million records and just released their seventh studio album titled “Keep Calm and Carry On” (Universal Music). The album features the memorable new single ‘Could You Be The One.’ Written by Kelly Jones and produced by Kelly with Jim Abbiss (Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys).

The band sounded great. Kelly’s vocals were spot on and sounded studio like. They played songs from the new album as well as old favourites such as “Maybe  Tomorrow” and “Have a  nice day”. 

The concert progressed smoothly until someone in the crowd suddenly threw a slipper at Kelly’s face.  Kelly, the lead singer of The Stereophnics suddenly stopped the bands performance and walked off the stage. 

The crowd was was appauled by the behavior of not Kelly but of the person who threw the slipper.  In no time, secruity identified and arrested the “thrower”.

After a few minutes, the band came back on stage and wrapped up the night with an awesome version of “Dakota”.

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