Pan Asian Challenge Comm215

If you are a Swede living in China and looking at the countries around you, how would you communicate across national, cultural, linguistic, and technological boundaries?

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European Country to Asia Country!
Definitely you will be facing various forms of Culture Shocks! To name a few,

·         Language Barrier

·         Religion

·         Social Etiquette and Customs

·         Personal & Public Hygiene

·         Transportation and Driving

·         Technology and Electronics

·         Currency and Banking

·         Shopping and Measurements

·         Food and Drinks

·         Smoking

·         Healthcare System

·         Personal Care

To better kick start, it’s always good to start buying books to learn about china or make full use of Google Search Engine, where you could find loads of information on China.

Communication is very vital in every stage of our life. Be in verbal, non verbal or even internet communication.

It is important to establish a good communication on the World Wide Web. Make full use of technology to help you know China better. (Forums, Tweeter, Blogs, SN Sites, Youtube, Websites)

·         Join forums and actively participate with discussion on china culture

·         Join social networking sites like QQ in China

·         Subscribe to China Blogs

·         Watch YouTube videos to learn “Do’s and Don’ts in China”

·         Follow people on Twitter (Decide who you want to follow in knowing China Better)

·         Get to know people who can help you know more about china. Engage with them; build a relationship with them thru use of Social Media Platforms.

It is important to establish a clear strong presence on yourself. Be real and be yourself. Don’t intimate as someone else. When you are real and genuine, and express your thoughts and view on the social media platforms.

Let technology help you and do not be in fear! Start learning what you need to know about China before you move over to China and realize it’s too late for the mistakes to be undone or be in regret.

Though English is not the common language spoken in China, try to pick up simple sentence and learn how to converse in Mandarin. Learn how to adapt into their culture. If you learn a “few tricks here and there”, it’s a Golden Egg towards clinching business deals that are worth millions.

Social etiquettes various drastically in China compared to other countries! For example,

·         Do expect long dinners requesting your presence at the last minute.

·         Don’t expect people to speak in English

·         In meals, it is a significant social courtesy for the lower ranking member of the two parties to toast his glass below that of the person’s he is toasting

·         it is not considered impolite to pick your teeth at the table with a toothpick after finishing a meal

·         You will commonly hear unsolicited and often unflattering assessments about yourself such as "You are a little too fat," "You look a little too old: you should shave off your beard" and "You should dress more warmly: it’s getting colder now." These types of ad hominem commentaries are actually not intended to be insulting or patronizing, but, rather, are proffered to indicate an interest in you as a person and in your well-being.

All these things can be done using the internet to search and learn on the web.

In every country you go, there will be bound to have various intercultural differences. Learn how to embrace it and learn their culture and language. People will have a deeper respect for you if you are well prepared in coming to their country knowing their culture and background. Technology should be one of the main driving forces for you to be easily adaptable and learning culture thru the use of internet, videos, forums, blogs, twittering…etc

Just like what the picture shows below, it takes time, effort and energy! Learn how to accept and embrace cultural differences.

I have enjoyed and learn so much about Digital Media across Asia. Adopting the various uses of social media tools to reach to the masses and learning how different country differs in term of social media perspective. Gives me new insights and deep thoughts on social penetrations in Asia countries and how strong a country can be when it comes to using social media platforms in developed countries. It is also very important to know how to handle crisis communication when use of social media is adopted by the company or organization. Having a strong presence with real genuine identity is vital for people to know that you are “Original”. Digital Media has widened and enlarged my knowledge of Social Media and how we can use such tools to penetrate into the World Wide Web to make your presence known! J

#nareshie #comm215

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/07/twitter-powered-robotic-popcorn-machine-media-snacker-deluxe/

Twitter-powered robotic popcorn machine: media snacker deluxe

YouTube

There are 3 words that never exist in my dictionary. Impossible, It cannot be done and I can’t do it!

I believe there’s always a way out in every circumstance you are put thru at. Being a man that holds strong values and principles in life, I strive towards doing giving my best in everything I set to do.

Having embarked on a fruitful journey of education from ITE to University, knowledge has been a powerful tool to me to gain and to impart to others! Learning has no boundaries and never stops J

Being Passion for the arts, culture, media and entertainment, I’m always engaged in productions, backstage, theatre, sound mixing, movie editing and events planning!

Much more than a lover for the arts, I never forget Sports! Actively participating in Running, Swimming, Cycling and Volleyball!

What’s More!! Constantly looking out for Challenges, spurs me on to face any obstacles, being moulded and shaped for character!

To Lead, To Listen, To Solve Problems – this is what defines ME who aspires to be a Corp Comm. executive in the IT Industry.

“Determination and Perseverance is in ME”

This is who I am, Naresh, 3rd Year Information Student from the Singapore Management University, Majoring Corporate Communications. Get connected with me @ http://facebook.com/nareshie or hear me at http://nareshie.posterous.com

360° Global Digital Influence Group Introduces New Social Media Measurement Model

NEW YORK, NY, July 15, 2009 – With two-thirds of the world’s Internet population now visiting a social network or blogging site, engagement through social media has become an important component of the marketing strategy for marketers. For this reason, Ogilvy PR’s leading global social media marketing group, 360° Digital Influence, today announced a new business objective-driven model that provides a measurement framework for social media effectiveness – Conversation Impact.

This unique tool is designed to help marketers evaluate the impact of social media with comparability across different types of advertising and communications. The model was introduced to the measurement community at The Advertising Foundation’s “Audience Measurement 4.0 Symposium” in June 2009 in New York.

“Word of mouth (WOM) has been generally recognized as one of the most effective drivers for purchase and opinion,” said John Bell, Global Managing Director of Ogilvy PR’s 360° Digital Influence. “With online word of mouth growing so rapidly through social media it has become critical for marketers and communicators to have a solid measurement model to guide them strategically. This type of simple, cross-channel comparative framework is critical to answering media allocation questions, communication choices, and knowing which social media efforts are really having an impact.”

Created by Ogilvy PR’s 360° Digital Influence Group, Conversation Impact measures the impact of WOM on influencers and consumers that drive brand positioning and preference in social based on traditional attitudinal marketing objectives – Awareness, Preference and Action. This comprehensive model simplifies and standardizes measurement in a way that is readily recognizable to marketers, while accommodating new data and measure of word of mouth marketing.

Where to now?

A ticklish week for Barack Obama

Jan 25th 2010
From Economist.com

AFP

THE president’s annual state-of-the-union speech, despite the fuss and standing ovations in Congress, is often a forgettable laundry list of priorities. But Barack Obama’s first proper go at the address to Congress on Wednesday January 27th as mandated by the constitution (his inaugural speech last year did not count as a state-of-the-union talk) will be watched with unusual interest, and not only because he is a far better speaker than his predecessor, George Bush. After the recent stinging loss of a Massachusetts Senate seat to the Republicans, the president’s domestic agenda is imperilled. He needs to present a clear idea of what he plans to do next.

Health care is still foremost in many minds despite the arguments surrounding Mr Obama’s continuing efforts to rein in America’s bankers. The Massachusetts vote means that Republicans, now with 41 of 100 seats, have denied the Democrats a super-majority and so can use a filibuster to talk out almost any bill. Scott Brown, the new senator for Massachusetts, has promised to do just that. How the Democrats respond will matter greatly, both for the prospects of the bill and the performance of the two main political parties at mid-term elections in November year. Some Democrats want to push the Senate version of the health bill through the House of Representatives without amendment, which would mean not putting it back through the Senate. But that would appear to ignore the voters’ wishes in Massachusetts, risking a big voter backlash later in the year.

Mr Obama has instead hinted that he would like to build support for a bill “around those elements of the package that people agree on.” But if this means only the populist bits, this looks like bad policy. For example, both Democratic bills would make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to customers because of a pre-existing condition. This would make premiums more expensive, by putting more unhealthy people in the system, as Mr Obama himself has conceded. It is not clear what other elements the president believes could be agreed on.

A bolder option Mr Obama might pursue is to make the bill bigger not smaller. Last year, he talked of bringing America’s famously plaintiff-friendly medical malpractice litigation under control. This helped to win the support of the American Medical Association. But none of this proposal made it into either the House or Senate bill. Offering this, the thing the Republicans say they want most out of health-care reform, could put Republicans on the spot. If they obstruct the bill, they would look like they have no interest but bringing Mr Obama down. But adding tort reform could lose Democrats, who are closer to trial lawyers.

Mr Obama may instead want to move away from health care and to talk instead about the economy overall. One reason for the punishment in Massachusetts might have been voter anger that politicians are paying too little attention to joblessness and the recession. Mr Obama has claimed that the same anger that brought Mr Brown’s victory in Massachusetts carried Mr Obama himself to office. But the president can pose as an outsider only for so long. He needs to develop some of the empathy that Bill Clinton famously showed when he adopted and made famous the phrase “I feel your pain”. Mr Obama might try: “I feel your anger.”

This could mean even more of Mr Obama’s bank-bashing populism. His latest plans, unveiled on Thursday, will restrict the size and range of activities of American banks. They come a week after he announced plans to make the banks pay back, through special taxes, the bail-out money they received during the financial crisis. The latest rules to curb America’s banks were inspired by the thinking of Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman and Obama adviser. If this has made Ben Bernanke, current Fed boss, a little nervous, the wavering last last week of some Senate Democrats over backing his confirmation for a second term will not have improved his composure. Mr Obama’s team spent the weekend shoring up support for Mr Bernanke.

Other domestic agenda-items, such as cap-and-trade legislation on greenhouse gases, will be wrapped up in the language of energy security, job-creation and boosting American competitiveness, rather than by talking about the climate changing, about which voters appear relatively unconcerned.

Most attention will be on domestic issues, but in foreign policy, too, the president has daunting challenges. He has won Republican support (and Democratic grousing) for his decision to boost troop numbers temporarily in Afghanistan. His vice-president, Joe Biden, has been deployed to hold hands in Iraq, where a de-Baathification commission has banned a large number of Sunni Arabs from the forthcoming elections, stoking fears of renewed sectarian war. And Iran remains a conundrum, with Mr Obama still committed to offering negotiations over nuclear matters, while gradually stepping up criticism of the regime’s violent handling of opposition protests. It would not surprise to hear Mr Obama offer his most ringing condemnation of Iran yet.

In a world with a thousand option it’s not hard to get distracted.

You can’t walk or run your course looking sideways at how others are running, or looking back letting the past ruin your present or future.

Focus is essential for achieving your dream. This is discipline.

Without focus the dream won’t materialise.

Staying focussed and undistracted is more about what you don’t do! Say NO to the things that distract you from your goal.

Tattoos have become a mark of the 21st century. According to the August 4, 2008, issue of U.S. News & World Report, more than one quarter of those under the age of 30 adorn their skin with at least one. No longer is tattoo something reserved only for gang members, convicts, delinquents or social outcasts. In fact, many of the preachers’ kids of the largest churches in Australia, America and Europe have them on their bodies. And these PKs are by no means rebellious or unspiritual. Most of them are doing excellent jobs leading youth, music and creative ministries. Some are even deliberately using their tattoos as a bridge to connect with the unchurched in outreach efforts. However, for most people, a tattoo is simply a means of stylistic expression. Many middle-aged women may not tattoo patterns and designs, but they go to their aestheticians to tattoo their eyebrows, eyeliners and lip colors.

So, is tattooing a sin? Are Christians allowed to have them?
Those who argue against it often quote Leviticus 19:28, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.” The word for “tattoo” in its original Hebrew is qa-aqa, which appears only this one time in the entire Scripture. Proper hermeneutic requires us to read any Bible passage with the actual context in mind. Practically all Bible commentaries agree that the context of Leviticus 19 is God prohibiting the Israelites from adopting the religious practices of the pagan nations surrounding them. Adam Clarke’s Commentary of the Old Testament says that the pagans were carrying “marks on the body in honor of the object of their worship … for superstitious purposes … in honor of different idols.” Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible says that the practice “had religious significance among Israel’s pagan neighbors.” But what if there is no religious, superstitious or idolatrous implication? Is a believer allowed to tattoo then?
Technically, if one takes the view that Leviticus 19 prohibits tattooing for all people in all circumstances, then for consistency’s sake, one must also abide by all the letters of the law here. That includes no shaving around the sides of the head, and the mandatory keeping of beards for all men (v27), which is a near impossibility for any serving in the military today. Then we shouldn’t wear clothes made of different fabrics (v19). Should we then also continue with slavery and the keeping of mistresses, both accepted practices during the ancient days of Leviticus (v20)? Should we continue the Old Testament dietary restrictions like no eating of pork, shrimp, crab or shellfish? What about headscarves for women? Do we need to enforce that on all Christian women today? Most of us will agree that the answers to all the above are an emphatic no.

Now, is God abhorrent to tattoos? God says in Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands. Your walls are continually before Me.” The word “inscribe” in Hebrew means “to engrave.” The scholars of The Living Bible simply translate that as “I have tattooed your name upon my palm.” When John saw a vision of God’s chosen 144,000, they were “sealed” and “written” with the Father’s name on their foreheads (Rev. 7:3; 14:1).Those words in the original Greek means to “mark,” “stamp” and “engrave.” The book of Revelation also talks about false worshipers receiving the mark of the beast, which were called stigmata among the Greeks. To this Paul refers when he says, “I bear in my body the marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). Whether the prophet Isaiah and the apostles John and Paul are speaking metaphorically or otherwise, one thing is for sure, body markings are not always repugnant to God. As such, we must be careful not to classify them as evil or sinful in a broad, general stroke.

Theologians, like Tom Beaudoin, have done studies of youths who pierce or tattoo their bodies. They discovered that youths do that when they have profound experiential encounters. Things that impact them deeply, like when they fall in love, are heartbroken, graduate, start a new job, achieve something they are proud of, or lose a loved one through death. To the youths and young adults of the 21st century, tattooing (and body piercing) is often not something vain or rebellious, but more like a rite of passage. It is their way of expressing the spiritual in the physical, even at the expense of experiencing some pain.

For most people, tattoo today is simply a means of personal and stylistic expression, much like clothing, makeup, hairstyle, body-toning and fashion accessorizing. There is nothing religious, superstitious and rebellious to the wearer; it is simply for aesthetic value.
Because tattooing is designed to last forever, and removal is painful and expensive, you should enter into only after much consideration. Ask yourself the following:

Am I at a legally acceptable age to get a tattoo?
If I live with my parents, would they support my decision?
Would I still want this tattoo when I get older?
Am I really comfortable having it even if people may “unfairly judge” me?

If my tattoo is visible to others, is it appropriate for my line of work?
Ultimately, tattooing is a personal choice that, more often than not, reflects neither a rebellious nature nor a religious inclination. It is clearly written in the Bible that God looks beyond the surface and sees the heart of a person. We must be careful not to judge a believer with tattoos for loving God less than the one without?

Taken from Pastor Kong Blog