Colin Charles Agenda

This is a busy week for the MCMC. They’ve just announced that Mobile Number Portability (MNP), will now be a reality (a rather delayed reality. There is a FAQ available. Key things to note:

• Don’t terminate your mobile number before porting - only active numbers can be ported
• If you’re contractually bound (12 months, etc - such offers apparently can exist, with incentives to consumers) porting will be denied (unless you break your contract, I guess)
• Prepaid users beware - all existing credit doesn’t transfer over - so use it all up!
• A request to port, therefore, is notice to your current provider to terminate subscription
• Porting can take between 5-10 business days (utter bollocks, this kind of thing should take hours)
• You may get suspended international roaming during porting, so beware

Its about time. It will only cost a minuscule RM25 to change the provider. Customer service will clearly have to improve (this would be the sole reason I move off a network, IMHO)

A long time ago, Adam (017 - now owned by Maxis) used to offer “free calls” to 017 numbers, for users on a postpaid plan; plus they had the cheapest prepaid options. I was a heavy phone user in those days - it was a long time ago, during the Nokia 5110 days (so late 90s?).

Wonder how many new service offerings like this will crop up? Optus has free 20 minute calls to Optus customers (Yes Time, from 8pm-midnight), 3 has free 3-to-3 calls for 10 minutes anytime of the day, and so on. But knowing what service provider people are on, is key. This is the main reason I carried 2 SIM cards (and phones) in Melbourne.

Well, here’s to saying goodbye to 012/017 being Maxis, 013/019 being Celcom, and 016 being DiGi.

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I’m sitting here at a talk about the mobile industry now, and its all mostly focused on an overview of the mobile platform(s). Its basic (for me, but from the wide range of attendees, I think they got a lot out of it)… Location based services, APIs, Java, XHTML, all the joyous buzzwords. There’s plenty to do in the mobile industry, in terms of content creation in Malaysia (and Australia, fwiw). Lots of sites don’t have mobile specific sites, and scrolling, etc. is a pain.

Wild idea being thrown around in my head… Content creation isn’t complicated. At the last government event I attended, apparently, MOSTI has got lots of money to throw around. Some of the amusing things people got 5-figure funding for, included a guide to Malaysian beaches (not mobile related) available. Smells to me like a weekend hack for easy money.

Bandwidth is a problem… Metered bandwidth per kilobyte/megabyte isn’t something many in Malaysia think about (anyone in Australia knows the pain of this - but limitations make us present content better, IMHO). Its expensive. But I think this is a problem that will fix itself, as mobile data becomes more ubiquitous.

Then comes how to monetise this whole shindig. An interstitial does not work - they are annoying, they are a waste of bandwidth, and Mowser tried them and I believe removed them because they were largely a failure.

Mobile AdWords? Google doesn’t believe there is a market for this in Malaysia (or maybe anywhere else outside of the US). Its chicken-and-egg - till a market is built, Google won’t enter it, I’d guess.

Banners? The Star has it on their mobile site. They don’t have any public information as to how successful they’ve been. But this seems like the strongest option, currently - use an ad system powered by Slash, go out to advertisers and create unique tiny banners for them. However, this goes beyond the weekend hack idea… and that just becomes too much work.

Location based services tied into a mobile website. This could work… My social life is largely unplanned (professional life on the other hand is driven by calendars, that SMS me of appointments, even). Say I’m around the MidValley Shopping Mall, its 12:10am, and I decide I have time to kill. Access the site, it figures that there’s activity at MidValley at that time: bowling, The Dark Knight in Gold Class starting in 10 minutes, etc. Book a ticket through the site, get a commission? Banner ad for bowling, so its a “promoted” link/sponsored link, over the regular stuff (again, breaks the weekend hack rule).

If data is always on, coupled with your location, if you’re near a Burger King, it might blast you with ads saying “bring this coupon in, buy a meal, get a free ice cream”. Bluetooth based advertisers, beware - always on data+location will kick you in the nads.

OK, talk’s over, time to be social! Looks like we won’t have the Google talk after all… Thanks again to Daniel for organising this…

With my MacBook Air, I aim to have less tabs open… Its got something to do with having 2GB of RAM, maybe.

Yebber
Maybe I like somewhat ditsy looking girls, but if you’ve never seen Lunch with Yebber I highly recommend it. Good food within Singapore is the aim. Only complaint? I have to watch it in-browser, and not on my iPod. I find it interesting that Yebber is aiming to pay people in “Yebber dollars” for reviews. Its definitely a motivator….

At the e27 Unconference, it was asked if Wikipedia was started in Singapore, would it have been that successful? I think if the Wikipedia equivalent that is Mahalo, was started in Asia, and there was monetary gain, it will be very successful.

PDF Import in OpenOffice.org
First up, you know that OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta 2 is out now, right? In that case, take a gander at the Sun PDF Import Extension. Its limited: no PDF form support, no editing say in Writer (it just works in Draw and Impress), but its a good start.

Charlene Li leaves Forrester
Its an interesting reason:

I was once asked what was the best career advice I ever received — and it was to plan for job obsolescence every 18 months, because research showed that people typically master a job in that time period and fall into a routine.

I’ve yet to post a review of Groundswell, but in short, its an excellent book.

Religious Social Networking
ZoeCity is a network for Christan folk. The idea behind it is sensible (shared values, etc. - get in the mind of an evangelical person, its “interesting”), and I know what database they’re powered by, and I’m hoping there’s traction for them to hit scalability issues so it’ll be an interesting story to talk about :)

Shinsei embraces open courseware too
Shinsei Bank is releasing their banking methods (normally a closely guarded secret), as open courseware. Of course, it will be licensed under the Creative Commons. They’re on YouTube, so don’t hesitate to watch their video about them announcing the release of their IT methods. Hat tip, Joi Ito.

So, it seems that with effect from July 1 2008, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has decided that those that don’t settle their credit card bills in full, will not be granted the 20 interest free days on new purchases. So, 18% starts the the day you make a purchase!

So for those making minimum payments, watch out. This move, will bring you deeper into debt! Yet another thing you can thank the Badawi government for, as more and more Malaysians are putting their fuel on credit.

Statistics show that one-third of the 2.7 million credit card holders in Malaysia settle their bills in full, every month. I wonder what the demographic of this is like, though.

All in all, I’m glad I started out with the practice of using a credit card as a replacement for cash, and settling the bills in full, on a monthly basis. Maybe, this move will make the idea of a debit card, a little more friendly?

Tough(er) times ahead for Malaysians, I’m sure… You think RM2.70/L is bad? Wait till it goes up (crude oil prices are at an all time high now).

Will this move, by Bank Negara, have an effect on you?

In what I call a great advertising scheme, Leora Zellman, a blogger, photographer, brand evangelist, etc. is offering her sexy body as ad space.

Her body will cost you on an hourly basis, she’s mostly logo focused, but will also wear schwag, like t-shirts and caps. Buy her back, butt, or chest, they all have varying prices. If athletes do it, why not us regular Joe’s, right?

Well, its not like we all don’t do this. I wear t-shirts with penguins, dolphins, and various other bits all the time. In fact, I haven’t bought a t-shirt in over nine years.

Will this work? Maybe. At a geek conference, every other geek is probably wearing stuff with logos on them. Might be useful for new products? I’ve never actually looked at a t-shirt and thought to myself, “Hmm, I need to check that URL/product out”. Maybe other’s have?

Reminds me of the time Leah Culver sold advertising space on her laptop. Also, on another tangent, Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur spoke about Amanda Congdon using her body to promote her content, Leo basically saying it wasn’t smart. Check out net@night episode 51 for more.

Well Leo, most of the popular blogs in Malaysia, are “photo blogs”, of people “camwhoring”, i.e. showing themselves off in places. Is it sustainable? Maybe not. But will it bring popularity and money in the short term? Probably yes. Some even go on to getting fame ;)

Anyways, enough ranting on this. Best wishes Leora, and to all the other “camwhores” out there.

This is an interesting way to motivate your employees: pay new employees to quit.

Zappos sells shoes online. Their new employee hiring process? Spend a month getting trained, and immersed on the company’s culture, strategy and its obsession with customers, and at the end of it all, ask if people want to quit, plus give them a $1,000 bonus to do so. Why?

• Shows one’s commitment level to the company
• This way you’ll keep the most motivated employees around
• Some people may have signed up for the job, and after a month’s training realise, that its not for them… Its an easy exit path
• Keep employees engaged

Zappos only loses about 10% of their new employees this way. And they’re all the better. The leaving bonus started at $100, moved up to $500, and now its $1,000 (they will increase this as the company expands). They are large - 1,600 employees and growing.

From what I gather, they have a very connected culture… Their CEO has a blog, most of their employees are on Twitter, and they really are obsessed with customers - read I Heart Zappos. This is Customer Relationship Management 2.0!

Definitely a thing or two to learn from the way Zappos operates. From a business perspective, it just goes to show that while it might have made sense to sell books online (Amazon), it also definitely makes sense to sell personal items like shoes (Zappos) and designer clothing (Net-a-porter) online too. Items that one might think are too personal to buy at the click of a button…

Ever since re-entering the world of the iPod’s by getting my iPod Touch, I’ve been listening to podcasts again. One of the ones I listen to regularly, is Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code (the DSC).

Of late, it seems like he’s been talking a lot about something he calls the “Prostate Cancer Prevention Quota”. He’s quoting old (from 2003) research, that says regular masturbation cuts the risk of prostate cancer. The study, conducted in Melbourne, Australia, has not seen anything new in the last five years. But thats digressing.

Question I have is: do podcasts start trends, just like regular commercial radio?

Commercial radio is subject to a code of conduct. There are topics that may be taboo. These obviously vary from region-to-region. Podcasters don’t have to follow through, naturally.

I’m impressed with the number of folk calling in, leaving voice messages for Adam, to tell him where they stand on their weekly quota. This almost reminds me of the previous “trend”, which helps “condition” you to think of Senseo, every time he burped.

With Senseo, it was great advertising. With the cancer prevention quota, I have no idea what the benefit is, besides maybe actually wanting to improve men’s health.

Did Adam start a masturbating trend? Watching an episode of House the other night, House ordered a prostitute to his apartment. Did this increase the number of outcall’s that night, amongst television watchers?

It would be interesting to find out… statistics that seem interesting.

What made Marie Digby? I’ve heard about her on the radio from time to time, while I do the unnatural act of driving somewhere. Now, I’ve been invited to an event, where the tagline says that she’s “a star born from YouTube”. I had to dig further.

Decided to watch the famous video. Its just her, sitting with her guitar, performing an acoustic version of Rihana’s Umbrella. Nothing fancy. I’m told she sat in front of her MacBook to make the “hit”.

Grassroots marketing? Bands try much harder, and still feel the pain of becoming somewhat famous. What makes her different? Beauty (she’s of Japanese-American heritage)? Sultry look?

I wonder what her tipping point was. She’s had it easy, when you think about it. The Internet has popularised so many good things, and even if you rewind back say fifteen years ago, there is no way an artist would have made it easily, via grassroots events/stunts.

Aren’t you glad you’re part of the free software revolution? If not for Linux (SuSE), Python, MySQL, and lots and lots of disk, you will not be seeing Marie Digby, now will you? And naturally, if not for the ease-of-use of her Apple laptop, and how they’ve become commodity hardware (15 years ago, there were for “graphics professionals” and were sordidly expensive). Times do change.

Maybe I’ll go to the event… if I’m not too jet-lagged (imagine, planning a month in advance to be jet-lagged)…

Technorati Tags: marie digby, music, youtube, trends, rihana, umbrella, macbook, apple, open source, free software revolution, tipping point

Today I tried to register for LugRadio Live USA 2008, seeing that I will be in San Franciso this Friday. Apparently, their payment provider doesn’t like my IP address (or ISP).

Yes, I could login to a foreign VPN (servers in Sweden for my employer), or I could tunnel via SSH and use a SOCKS proxy to the various machines I have access to around the world. But I think that’s just too much effort, for silly Nochex. Welcome to the globalised 21st century.

Instead I’ve emailed Jono Bacon. I hope that suffices as a pre-registration. I can fork out the ten bucks in cash ;)

Technorati Tags: nochex, silly, ISP, ip, transactions, lugradio, lugradio live usa, ecommerce