I’m a sucker for technology.

I always have been.

It might explain my background in technology PR, and my fondness for gadgets of all kinds, as well as my stint (brief, though it was) as the editor of the Singapore edition of an international computer and video game magazine.

I’m not even going to list the number of gadgets and devices that I have, and use on a daily basis. (Probably more than you.)

The latest object of my techno-desire is the Apple iPad, launched in Singapore last Friday, and sold out in Singapore the very same day by all accounts. I’ve visited Apple’s online store a number of times, and have gotten close to the checkout a number of times. I could own an iPad in about thirteen working days, the website says, and I’d like to take Apple at their word. But I had reservations as well, because, well, who needs an overgrown iPod Touch?

(I do, because my 1st gen Touch is very old, and very slow, and really I need one. Really.)

In any case, the kind folks at Digital Life asked via their Facebook fan page whether anyone would be interested in a demo of the new Apple iPad, and I was quick to respond. It pays to be first off the mark – I was invited, with a mere handful of other guests to Singapore Press Holdings where I got a chance to touch, play with and learn more about the gorgeous tablet device.

I have no words for how much I want an iPad right now.

From a distance, the device seems deceptively simple, but until you’ve seen it in action, until you’ve seen people talk passionately about how it’s changed the experience of computing for them, it’s hard to comprehend how much of a game-changer the iPad might turn out be.

The sharing session was chaired by Grace Chng, the Editor of Digital Life, and she had a couple of iPad power users to show us the ropes, Charlotte Ong and Julian Wong. Charlotte runs a successful web company, and gleefully showed off the more fun side of the iPad, while Julian (who lectures at Republic Polytechnic) not only showed off the device’s more serious side, he also showed us examples of how different and revolutionary the iPad actually is.

The session was more like a conversation – no one there was pushing a product to sell – so it was really just a gathering of enthusiasts (all right, geeks) talking about what we might use the iPad for, and looking at the plethora of applications that make the platform something really different.

The iPad itself is a handsome beast – aesthetically very pleasing, a little bit on the heavy side, but very easy to hold. The touch-screen interface is intuitive, the graphics are beautiful, and all in all, the entire thing is very well thought out. It’s not going to be a replacement for a desktop or notebook, but it makes consuming media, particularly on the ‘net, a much more pleasant experience. I suspect that my iPad will be a suitable adjunct for the devices that I already own, and I will largely use it for reading RSS feeds and interacting on social networks. And the iPad is also surprisingly productive, using the iWorks office suite and an external keyboard. But even without, it is an outstanding demonstration of how wondrous  and easy-to-use a computer really can be.

Because that’s what it is – the iPad is a computer minus some of the complexity, and with a lot of the rough edges shaved off. It starts instantly, works quickly (I never noticed any lag) and it makes everything just that much easier to use. With the incredible number of apps available for free or very low prices in the iTunes App Store, the iPad boasts a level of utility and function that’s difficult to match.

I’m glad that I had the chance to go for the demo session, and got to see how amazing the iPad can be. The three presenters used their devices in very different ways – looking at the stars, watching high-definition video, and even (at one point) projecting a video onto a wall with a portable pico projector. All in all, it was an enchanting hour-and-a-half, and I understand now why the three presenters loved their iPads so much.

That passion was contagious, I’m afraid – so now I’m trying to figure out how to squeeze the price of one out of the corners of my budget.

Following an eventful two months, my internship at Rice Communications is quickly coming to an end in a few weeks time. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this internship has been a life-changing experience, but it has been a positive and beneficial learning experience for me.

I began my internship sometime in early June – a hectic time for Rice – as the team was busy preparing for CommunicAsia 2010. At a time when I was still putting faces to names, I found myself struggling to also familiarise myself with the background information of different clients and projects. Immense workload and tight deadlines seemed to set the tone for the rest of the week but fortunately the team was kind enough to make me feel at home and orientate me. The team is always there to lend a helping hand and is very supportive when any help is needed. The occasional chatter, jokes and jolly laughter in the office kept my spirits and energy at the highest level, and they will probably be my fondest memories of my time here.

Weekly meetings and team lunches are also a common practice here at Rice. These sessions provide a perfect (and legitimate) way for the team to get out of the office, reconnect and spend some quality time together. They are also a great way for new additions, like me, to become familiar with the rest of the team.

My second week of internship saw me helping to translate for two Chinese journalists during an interview session with a client spokesperson. It was a nerve-wracking experience and I remembered myself thinking hard to come up with the most appropriate translation in the shortest possible time frame. Fortunately, the feedback has been positive and barring a few occasional awkward moments, I really enjoyed the translation session and the rapport I struck up with the journalists.

At Rice, I have had the opportunity to meet up with clients and sit in on client meetings. It’s been a great experience being able to talk to the clients and provide input and suggestions to them. I must say, it is a lot of responsibility resting on my shoulders, but that is what makes it real!

All in all, the responsibilities and trust given to me during my time here made me really feel like I made a difference to the team, something not always the case in other places. I learned an immense amount, but also was able to contribute what I have studied but have  never before been able to apply in the real world.

Sometimes it’s nice to get off the grid for a bit, especially if you get to see a sunset like this one. I’m not really one for nature and scenery (give me a bustling city anytime) but even I admit that I like it – that, and the time away.

A change of scene is nice, and that’s exactly what happened when the team at Rice Communications headed off to the Berjaya Tioman Resort for an off-site retreat. We left on Saturday morning, from Seletar Airport, after some drama including our van driver getting us lost along the way. Pulau Tioman is a thirty minute flight in a small plane away from Singapore, and aside from a slight delay due to unusually heavy rain, the trip was quick, and painless.

Any hiccups along the way were forgotten as soon as we saw the Berjaya Tioman Resort. “Very nice” doesn’t do it justice, and while it wasn’t brand new or anything like that, it was really very pleasant. The resort itself is fairly large, dotted with chalets laid out along the length of the beach, with pathways in between. By the looks of it, each chalet had two rooms on the ground floor, and two more on the floor above. That was the arrangements of the chalets that we stayed in, anyway. Nearly all the chalets are close to the beach, which is one of the attractions of coming to Pulau Tioman. My room was on the second floor, and included a little sitting area, and the usual hotel room basics, plus there was a little verandah outside perfect for chilling out and enjoying the breeze. Best of all, my room was right next to the beach, and its main window looked directly out to sea – what a view to wake up to in the morning!

Of course, this wasn’t just a holiday. We effectively brought the office with us (the people, anyway). The time away gave us a chance to hang out and socialise and relate to one another in different ways than usual, and I think that’s brought us all closer together. There certainly was a lot of laughter and silliness during the entire trip.

We got serious on Sunday, after a buffet breakfast, and spent most of the day in session. That involved looking at what we’ve done so far as a company, and talking about where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there. There was also some sharing around some of our successes in the last six months, so that we could all learn from them. I’ve never worked in a company where I had so much input into the way the company is run, and that’s a refreshing change.

Of course, we also managed to sneak in a little bit of leisure time including splashing around in the sea while peering down through the clear water at schools of fish, playing Pictionary (which is always fun), and going on the sunset cruise where I took this photo.

The boat left the jetty (if you look at this map, it’s the lower of the two jetties near Renggis Island) and basically took us up along the coast to Salang Village, before heading out towards Tulai Island for a bit, chasing the sun, and then swinging back around in a big loop across the open ocean back again. I also took the opportunity to take some candid shots of my Rice Comms team-mates – the photos are up in an album on my Facebook page.

So that’s why we haven’t been online, or posted anything for a little bit. We got back to Singapore yesterday, at three in the afternoon, and were back in the office by about 4pm. Life goes on, but now we’re refreshed and ready to do our jobs better, more effectively and with more focus and direction.

Adapted from the original at Living in SIN.

I am on a journey: a journey through PR. It’s a smorgasbord of incidents, achievements, failures and emotions, a picture so vivid that it’s humbling to imagine but almost impossible to paint. The journey has been enriching. It’s sensible to listen to your mind, but following your heart pays off as well — that’s what I did when I moved to Singapore … to Rice.

However, experiencing and exploring PR in India was a great lesson.

India is considered a high-context society, where non-verbal cues, social and physical contexts and existing relationships between communicating participants may ascribe much of the meaning.

A successful PR professional is generally at the centre of a large network of kin relations. Thus, when the need arises, many people are able to move along the intricate channels of consanguinity and affinity to establish personal contact with influential persons. Interestingly this network of kin can be extended artificially. Key influencers are often invited to family occasions or become marriage witnesses or even made into godparents. These relationships are constantly manipulated to bring individuals in touch with decision makers. That is the reality of Relations that are very Public.

However, we are all individuals similar to others in many ways and yet very different to each other. It is these differences that make us who we are and determine our evolution as individuals and professionals. Hence, every PR professional finds his own unique way of approaching the profession.

The new age professional outlook and digital outreach is shaping the way the communications industry is surging ahead and India is no different. PR 2.0 is a harmonious mix of traditional media outreach and social media engagement. The web is blurring a lot of cultural boundaries but is also creating its own culture. The media are changing, platforms are transforming, technology is evolving and so is the communications industry. But every change has to have its cultural context to be relevant. Be it the fluid culture of the web or the dynamic mix in reality, the PR industry still thrives on the human connection.

In Singapore what struck me the most is the organised way of life. Everything here has a pattern and so does our profession. It is still early days for me in exploring the industry and its cultural dynamics. However, PR here has a façade of global professionalism but I somehow feel a very strong undercurrent of local socio-cultural perspectives. At the end of the day this business of managing reputation and building brands depend on how we connect to the Public.  And that brings us back to the same old concept of building relationships.

How much ever we strategise, somehow in PR the bottom-line stands: whatever you need, if you don’t know somebody who can provide it, you know somebody, who knows somebody who can!

This is my first blog post at Rice Communications in my 1.25 yrs with the company. If our Rice Roll moderator allows it, I thought I’d start a series with stories about my ‘unique’ employment situation. You see I’m the only consultant in my firm who works out of home… and my home’s in a different country… a 5 hr plane ride away from SG to be specific.

For business and other reasons that I don’t think I should get into, I have been working out of New Delhi, India for quite some time. Now the work-from-home deal is not so unique in itself with everything happening online these days. What makes my situation a little different is that I’m not exactly a part-time consultant. This is a full-time gig where I liaise closely with the SG office, have a few bosses and a team (all based in SG) that I work with on a daily basis and have a fixed set of clients. My work day starts at 9 AM and ends anytime after 6 PM when I’m done for the day. Yet, I’ve never met some of my co-workers – people that I speak to and work with on a daily basis.

I’m a full-time employee but I only get to meet members of the team on company off-sites… or when boss lady comes down to Delhi to give me a promotion

It would’ve probably been okay if my firm had a work-from-home culture and that’s what everyone was doing. But to be the only one not going in to work and seeing the people I work with everyday; to be the only one not being able to go to the next table or next room to say my piece about everyday issues; to be the only one to participate in team meetings via a speakerphone; to be the only one introduced to new hires and new clients via Skype or email not only instils a new respect for technology but also brings with it a new set of both perks and challenges.

The perks are pretty obvious. I get to work in my PJs. I don’t have to spend hours on a train or in a cab everyday just to get to work and get home from work. I have mom around to make me some yummy meals in the middle of my work day. I can blast any kind of music I want and don’t have to bother with the early morning and end-of-day small talk with people. I have a lot more options when it comes to how I spend my 15 minute breaks during the day that I’m not going to elaborate on because this IS a company blog. I also have ready access to three sixth floor balconies and a rooftop to contemplate jumping off of when nothing’s going right… or you know… just to get some air.

Plus living in Delhi has its perks. I don’t have to blow my entire salary on international phone calls to friends and family. AND we actually have seasons here! When it rains after the scorching summer you can’t help but dance around and winter has always been my favourite season. And did I mention the food? Well it deserves another mention. It’s absolutely wonderful to not be restricted to chicken n rice when I end up at a food court. Indian style is how I like it.

But as with everything else in life, it’s not all hunky dory. When I first started to work this way, both my team and I had to make several adjustments and it took a lot of getting used to. It was a challenge to prove to every member of the team that I’m actually putting in as much effort as I can and not just lazing around all day gorging on home-made cookies. There was a time I couldn’t get to the first meal of my day before 5 PM. The time difference isn’t too much but when you log on to work 2.5 hrs after everyone else, you automatically get thrown right into the middle of things. By the time you wrap up the pending items, you have fresh deadlines for the day and when you’re new you definitely don’t want to piss anyone off by telling them “listen, I just caught up with this so I’m gonna go grab a bite and then help you with the rest.” It becomes especially difficult when you’ve never even met your boss.

Initially, it was a challenge to get help from team members. I’ve discovered that nagging people in person is much more effective than nagging them on a chat window. You spend so much time trying to type the perfect message to remind them to send you something from the server without coming off as rude or impatient and then it turns out they are away from their desk or just not checking messages. It gets tough to get their attention and be taken seriously.

This one time, my boss wanted something very urgently and she pinged me on Skype. Little did she know that I was on a pee break. By the time I got back, let’s just say the chat window was a sight to see. Lots of angry emoticons. I quickly explained myself and helped with whatever I could. We both got a good laugh out of that though and strangely enough it went a long way in driving home the reality of the situation and helped us better understand where we’re at.

Another strange thing for the first couple of months was that whenever I would get a phone call, someone in the office would pick that exact same time to ping me on Skype about something super urgent. I’ve read a lot about people claiming to be good at multi-tasking but if you have a journalist on the phone and a panicked co-worker on Skype, you WILL lose some hair in the process.

Over time, I’ve become more confident and learned to deal with everything. My methods may not always have the desired results or go down too well with my team but they help me get by and that’s really all I need. I’ve got lots more little tips and stories to tell but I think I’ve exceeded the word limit for this blog entry already. I’ll be back with more in a few weeks