2009/02/28

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Hits Shelves in the US

Info from PR Newswire: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Hits Shelves in the United States

I am by no means a mobile phone fan, but it's always interesting to see what's going on in this rapid changing industry. I also checked some photos of this phone. It looks cool! (Photo from engadget) From the PR Newswire introduction and the photos, I believe the trend of the (existing and coming) mobiles includes the following parts: touch screen, high resolutions for photos and videos (films, Youtube clips, your own shootings, flicker), massive storages for songs in all major digital formats with good sound quality, built-in surround sound stereo, light, cool/sexy figure.

Nokia announced today that the highly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is now available in the United States. The latest in Nokia's XpressMusic range, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers an affordable music device with a touch screen interface to the mass market.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers all the music essentials including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory for up to 6000 tracks and support for all main digital music formats, and a 3.5mm jack. Built-in surround sound stereo speakers offer a powerful sound.... continue reading....


When will I have some extra money to buy something as cool as this sort to build up my first-hand understanding about it then....?

2009/02/27

這樣,那樣,都幸福

有人說ただいま~是幸福
有人說お早う!也是幸福
大雨滂沱有車來接,更是幸福
有碎碎念說早個十分鐘通知就能一路到家,這也幸福
有人關心飯吃了沒,聽到「還沒」眉頭就皺緊緊,一副了不得的樣子,是難得的幸福

想家,也想念以上綜合起來的奢華的幸福。
那種知道自己某程度上被捧在手心的 奢華的幸福

2009/02/24

Who Linked to Your Site? These Helped Find Out

I was revisiting one of the articles I collected earlier: How to maximize the power of Google search engine to help your search (info in Mandarin). And I ran one of the functions- "link:www.thesite.com"- to see if there are any sites that connects to mine (Daily Wendy). If so, who are those? (Maybe I can also figure out the "Why" at the same time). Luckily I also came across a very useful article listing all the free online software to check backlinks: "How To Check How Many Backlinks Your Site Has." So, here it goes, using "Daily Wendy" as an example to see how powerful and different are these tools.

1. Type in "link: wendysdreamland.blogspot.com" on Google search

2. Use SEO Pro's Link Checker
http://seopro.com.au/free-seo-tools/link-checker/
  • It shows that I have 2,713 backlinks (wow!) with a spreadsheet listing everything like this chart below
  • After putting the listings into a excel file and trying to figure out what is going on here, I discovered:
    a: >90% them are from Fili's World (Wow!)
    b: some from aggregation sites: feedburner, Sphere.com, technorati.com
    c: some by me: LinkedIn, Twitter, Plurk, postcrossing, blogger, slideshare, inside IMC
    d: a few by people I know well: ByteSurgery(Robin), Mom Goes Back (Eileen)
# BackLink Homepage PR PR Links count Anchor Anchor Type
1 http://www.filination.com/blog/ 0 4 231 ? ?
2 http://www.filination.com/blog/2007/03/25/chinese-baidu 0 3 396 ? ?
-search-engine-optimization-seo-in-china/
3 http://www.filination.com/blog/2006/09/02/is-the-chines 0 2 404 404 404
e-government-against-lonely-planet-on-the-taiwan-issue/


3. Use SubmitEdge's PageRank Checker Tool + Alexa Tool + Link Checker Tool http://www.submitedge.com/pr.html
PageRank         1
Alexa Rank    6,397,684
Listed in DMOZ     No
Backlinks from Google   16
Backlinks from Yahoo  2,974
Results from AltaVista  207
Results from All the Web 114

4. Use iWebTool's Backlink Checker
http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
  • No results found. I guess it did not track blogs
5. Use Smart PageRank's BackLink PageRank Check
http://www.smartpagerank.com/pagerank-backlinks.php
  • No results found. I guess it did not track blogs
6. Use Professional Link Building's Free Website Valuation http://www.professionallinkbuilding.com/websitevaluation.aspx
  • Page Ranking Analysis: Google PageRank: 1
  • Backlinks from Major Search Engines:
Google: 0
Yahoo: 3,173
MSN: 0
AllTheWeb: 1,170
AltaVista: 2,640
  • Total number of backlinks: 6,983
  • Alexa Traffic Ranking: 6,397,684
  • The Estimated Value of This Website Based on Available Metrics is: $122
  • Potential Revenue Streams From This Website:
Text Link Advertising: $0 monthly (terrible!)
Product Placement: $2 monthly (not much better)
Affiliate Marketing: $2 monthly (well...)
Independent Advertising: $0 monthly (so poor XD)

MY OBSERVATION SUMMARY
  • I don't know why these tools reported with these many different results. Number of backlinks ranged from 2,000 to nearly 7,000. Which one is closer to reality?
  • Blogs might not be included in some of the backlink tracking services, which is controversial. Why should they be excluded?
  • Apparently most of the tools did not conquer the "language" issue. As a long time blogger and online community participant, my backlink should show much more data. (So many records should be from Mandarin Web sites, e.g. Wretch.com, 104.com.tw, citifamily.com.tw, etc)
  • All my blogs are connected and share so many blacklinks. All are public and searchable. Where are they in this blacklink search?
  • How about my Picasa photo albums (all public and searchable)?
  • I knew so many more other blogs or Web sites were connected to my site. Where did they go?
  • Monetize your site with the dollar value ($) is a great and clear idea. Made sense!
I will try to find another Web site to run the analysis again to compare my discoveries. Let's see if "blogs" are outcasted.....

$10,000 Scholarship Opportunity from THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION

Great scholarship information from one of my close friend! Please see if you're eligible for this and get the documents done ASAP!
...I was a scholarship recipient through THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION last year. Lagrant offers financial assistance and educational support to ethnic minorities who are U.S. citizens and students of marketing, advertising or public relations.

...I really encourage both undergrad and grad students to apply. It's $10,000 worth of free money for tuition, and only requires a transcript, a recommendation and a page worth of short responses. The deadline is officially Feb. 27th but they will accept applications up to one week after that date.... Graduate students who working/studying part-time are eligible to apply.

The award includes $10,000 and a free trip (airfare and hotel) to New York for the scholarship reception in June...... continue reading on her blog

2009/02/23

講你知

一起吃過的菜
一起送過的人
一同看過的節目
一同尋找的路
那些說過的話
那些困擾過的問題
那些慶祝過的事
那些茫然過的困境
那個多雪的夜
那碗沒吃成的粥
那句淡淡的鼓勵
那份濃濃的期待

已經忘記了言語可以怎麼表達某些情緒
或許甚麼也不說,也就甚麼都道盡了

あなたに会っては良かった
時間がみじかいでも良かった

張學友-她來聽我的演唱會


她來聽我的演唱會 在十七歲的初戀 第一次約會
男孩為了她徹夜排隊 半年的積蓄 買了門票一對
我唱得她心醉 我唱得她心碎 三年的感情 一封信就要收回
她記得月台汽笛聲聲在催 播我的歌陪著人們流淚 嘿 陪人們流淚

她來聽我的演唱會 在二十五歲戀愛 是風光明媚
男朋友背著她送人玫瑰 她不聽電話 夜夜聽歌不睡
我唱得她心醉 我唱得她心碎 成年人分手後都像無所謂
和朋友一起買醉卡拉OK 唱我的歌陪著畫面流淚 嘿 陪著流眼淚

我唱得她心醉 我唱得她心碎 在三十三歲真愛那麼珍貴
年輕的女孩求她讓一讓位 讓男人決定跟誰遠走高飛 嘿 誰在遠走高飛

我唱得她心醉 我唱得她心碎 她努力不讓自己看來很累
歲月在聽我們唱無怨無悔 在掌聲裡唱到自己流淚 嘿 唱到自己流淚

她來聽我的演唱會 在四十歲後聽歌的女人很美
小孩在問她為什麼流淚 身邊的男人 早已漸漸入睡
她靜靜聽著 我們的演唱會


大會報告,聽完,鬼打牆的聽完,哭了。

2009/02/22

Vote Yu Shan for New7Wonders!

Hello all my lovely friends! I need your help. Actually, my beloved country need your help! Please vote for YU SHAN as one of the New 7 Natural Wonders on this Web site: http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/asia/c/YuShan/. YU SHAN ranks 13 currently, which is quite dangerous. I've written down some brief introductions for you to help vote for it.

What you need to know:
  1. After you land on the page, please look for "Vote now for Yu Shan" on the down left and clicked
  2. After you filled in your email address, you can start to select your 7 wonders under Voting details for New7Wonders of Nature nominees
    Vote 1: Asia=>Yu Shan (CHINESE TAIPEI) (I know, I hate this hilarious way to call my country, too.....)
  3. Vote for other six yourself. If you have no clue, maybe you can consider help vote for Maldives (one of my Maldives friends requested me for supporting it):
    Asia=>Maldives, Archipelago (MALDIVES);
    You are also welcomed to vote for my home in Swiss:
    Europe=>Matterhorn (Alps), Mountain Peak (ITALY/SWITZERLAND)
  4. You will be requested to fill in your basic information: name, gender, country. Make sure to check the " " box and click "Submit" on the right below again. ALMOST! ONE LAST STEP!
  5. Go to the email box you used when register. You'll find an email with the title "Confirm your New7Wonders of Nature nominee votes" and please click the link in the email to confirm. GREAT! YOU ARE DONE! Thank you very much for the kind support! On behalf of my people, my country and YU SHAN (aka Mt. Jade), THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!

世界七大自然奇景,玉山需要你一票!

親愛的好朋友們,世界七大自然奇景票選來囉~我們可愛台灣寶島的玉山目前居然只在13名,這樣可以嗎?愛台灣的行動有很多種,這個一定要包含在內!請你速速通告樓上樓下左鄰右舍親朋好友同事朋友大家快快一起到這個網站去投玉山一票 http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/asia/c/YuShan/
為了避免大家有閱讀上的困難,我把英文網站中重要資訊跟大家說明一下:
  1. 到這頁以後請往下捲找Vote now for Yu Shan,點進去
  2. 下面這一頁填好自己的email以後就可以在Voting details for New7Wonders of Nature nominees這欄選投七個你心目中的世界自然奇景。
    Vote 1: 選Asia=>Yu Shan (CHINESE TAIPEI) (我知道,我也討厭這個稱呼.....)
  3. 其他六項大家可以自行定奪,我有一個馬爾地夫朋友要我順便幫他拉票:
    Asia=>Maldives, Archipelago (MALDIVES);
    你如果願意投我瑞士的家一票我也很歡迎:Europe=>Matterhorn (Alps), Mountain Peak (ITALY/SWITZERLAND)
  4. 選好七項按下右下角的Submit後如果畫面跳到要你填姓名、出生年的部分,就請大方的照填。First name=名字;Last name=姓氏;female女生/male男生;Country的話討厭的部分又來了:請選Chinese Taipei。把 " "旁邊的框框打勾,再把畫面向下捲再按一次Submit投出。快好了!再一小步!!!!
  5. 這時候系統會送一封確認信到你剛剛註冊的信箱,請到該信箱把收到標題為"Confirm your New7Wonders of Nature nominee votes"的信點開,按下信中的連結確認投票。是的!你的投票大功告成了!感謝你跟我一樣這麼愛台灣~~~

2009/02/21

Life This Previous Week- Tired, Packed, Delighted

Monday to Friday, I went downtown Chicago for three days and had one-on-one conversation with many kind and helpful people, and I attended TECH cocktail to meet so many energetic IT people and recruiters on one occasion. The long eL/Intercampus shuttle/Metra ride exhausted me, but I was so inspired and so full of joy in the process.

Natalie, IMC '06 working for Microsoft, met me in the AON Center (yes, the "eraser building") for lunch and shared her amazing story about how she benefited from networking to get her current position. From our talk, however, I was so convinced that her getting the position was way beyond just lucky. She got the bright personality and talent to nail her missions.

After meeting Natalie, I met an old friend Cheryl around downtown NU medical school and loved the enjoyable catch-up with her. Hopefully I will get a job and she will get her PhD admission to Philadelphia or Seattle, so I can visit her there! Since the sun still shined, I stopped by Ivan's to pick up the presents Ann gave me and Nina. Without plan, I knew it might be inappropriate, but I still called Bee, who's also around that area, to see if I could go visit her and her lovely baby boy Anatole. He is such a big boy now!!!!! I loved him a lot when he smiled :) Guess what? He LOVES to smile!
From Post-NU Life- Anatole Baby~
Tuesday, I caught the early purple express to downtown as well to wait for the meeting with Pek Lee. She is such an energetic lady with her Kellogg EMBA and profound working experiences. She listened to my stories, provided me her generous suggestions, shared her observations about business in Asia, offered to share more contacts with me after our talk. Meeting her in Union Station for sure brightened up my day. Her strength and generosity allowed me to take a big smile with me for the rest of the day.
From Post-NU Life- Chicago Union Station
My postponed meeting with Marty on Wednesday was another hit. Never ever underestimate the power of connecting with your faculty! Marty's agency background made him a perfect person for me to consult with and to learn from when I am considering making contributions to the dynamic environment. Moreover, he was very efficient on keeping his promise- I connected with a lady called Annie in BBD Chicago that evening and set the appointment for next week already.

That day ended with a pleasant dinner with my Japanese girl friend, Rie in the Chemistry post-Doc program, in Panera Bread. She helped me learn more Japanese business culture and language. And..... if you followed me well, yes she helped review my self introduction in Japanese! Yay~

The next day I hit downtown to meet Amanda, IMC '07 working for Hyatt. Her resort marketing work sounds quite interesting and quite a perfect fit for her. Developing the kids program, golf program, spas made her work quite challenging, but at the same time full of learning. I told her I am also interested in combining my love in traveling with my work, so I would consider Expedia, Travelocity and hospitality industries such as hotel. She kindly analyze the current situation in the hotel part- with limited IMC practice. Amanda suggested me to check TravelZoo as well. To sum up, our meeting was another fruitful one for me.

I killed some time in a Cosi nearby before the TECH cocktail in the evening. And that's where I heard the song "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." Another thing that worth pointing out was an email I received from Medill. I was invited to be one of the representatives for a prospective IMC students' recruiting event. There are so many generations of alum and I have so many brilliant classmates- especially many American, but I was invited to be the person to share my experiences. That was.... unbelievably awesome!

Then, TECH cocktail at John Barleycorn Wrigleyville. Huge crowd of people. Many new startups trying to sell their ideas and to attract people's attention. Way more people working in the IT, programming, web design, social media industries and recruiters looking for talents packed there. I accidentally met some people again from Twestival last week, bomped into Howard from Chicago TAP and his colleague, Aping's summer advisor Joi, and many more cool people. The most excited one was Craig, the Founder and CTO of Where I've Been. I saw the sticker and went to ask him how come he can get one.
"Well, because I work for the company."
COOL! Can you believe that they only have seven staff? Can you imagine such a great product was initiated and operated by such a tiny group? Oh BTW his accecent reminded me of my lovely Switzerland days...... Exactly, Craig is British, currently working in an office a little bit outside of Chicago.

After many days of running everywhere, I decided to have a layback Friday: sorting out some resources and connections I got from the wonderful talks, submitting resumes, getting a phone conversation with online marketing expert Steven H. introduced by professor Jim Carey, and taking a rest. The best part of the day? Piano at night. I took Z with me because he wanted to learn to play the piano. As a lazy and non-professional teacher, I still tried my best to teach him how to play a simple song. Gradually I think he would get it. Besides that, sure did I play some songs for entertainment! It was not only for myself, but also for him and other "audiences" in the lobby area of McManus.

"You played beautifully."

"I know :) "

We finally headed home around 00:30, when it's all dark. I was certain that I went to bed with a sweet smile and had a sweet dream, because everything was quite wonderful in the past week. Hope it is always like this :)

iPhone Developers' Success Formula?

No, I am still not an iPhone user, but that did not stop me from learning more about how this revolutionary product and its related services change people's lives and change the way of doing business. Thanks to Gino, a friend I met in Chicago Taiwan American Professionals (TAP), I got the chance to read this interesting post. Indeed, since iPhone start to let users design apps to enrich the usability of its platform, so many cool functions have been developed and made people's life much more interesting and convenient. Another example was my earlier post on the 25 best iPhone apps for outdoor activities. Those geniuses who devoted to the process, thus, got a full pocket for themselves. Sometimes much more than they could ever dream of. (from the post below...any top iPhone app is making its company roughly $5,000 to $10,000 a day....)

Are there any magic? Any tips? Read on, Read the quote I marked. You will find that the success formula can never be simpler.

See: iPhone Developers Go From Rags to Riches on WIRED Blog Network for the post

The iPhone is a revolutionary handset. But it is also the key to a virtual gold mine -- the iTunes App Store, where independent developers can become multimillionaires in just a year.....

Decrem's recipe for success with Tap Tap is similar to Trism's: Paying attention to detail; keeping the app engaging and alive with various forms of gameplay; and relying on those two factors to spread popularity with an old-fashioned marketing method -- word of mouth. Similar to Trism, Tap Tap Revenge was also an app that initially emerged in the Jailbreak community, and it spawned a loyal following there before breaking out into the broader market with the launch of the App Store.... continue reading

[深思]韓良露:桃園機場賣餐飲 讓我覺得沒面子

【聯合報╱韓良露】 2009.02.20 03:17 am

...每次到日本旅行,回程時都會在東京成田或關西大阪機場消磨時光,而朋友群中有這種習慣的人還真不少,大家共同的心得都是,這兩個機場都很好玩,而最好玩之處是機場的餐館提供的飲食很多元,食物又很好吃,而最重要的一點,在機場消費的價格跟在市區幾乎一模一樣。....

東京、大阪機場,知道餐飲在機場設施中的重要性,巴黎戴高樂機場也不忘在機場中推出生蠔吧,賣香檳、鵝肝醬、紅白葡萄酒;但一向強調飲食是台灣重要的文創 產業以及文化觀光的重點事項,回頭看看我們的桃園國際機場在賣什麼東西?有任何台北、台灣平均飲食的水準嗎?賣的牛肉麵像沖泡的速食麵,還賣奇怪的拉麵、 三明治、可頌,有何特色?更別說還做得難吃。自助簡餐也做得很粗糙,這樣的機場飲食櫥窗,我們還奢談什麼飲食文化觀光?我們連門面都不顧了,還有多少裡子可言?

真是說到我心坎裡了!我還記得去年要再度回到美國唸書前,因為太早到機場,跟爸媽只好到機場裡隨意的找一處餐廳吃點東西,點餐之前就已經帶著壯烈成仁的心理準備了(抬頭看看價格,動動鼻子聞聞味道,Well....)然後很不幸的,我在機場吃了該次在台灣最最最糟糕的一餐,真是為我的歸鄉之旅劃下心酸的句點啊~

(順便補一下,上次從上海飛回美國的最後一餐也糟到透頂了,超級、超級、超級糟的!不過我真的不意外.....)

如果機場這個國家大門的餐飲業經營就讓旅人留下impressive的印象,最初和最後的印象想必真的都會加很多分,尤其對於台灣這樣的美食天堂來說,花小小努力為國家的長處在last minute再打一劑加強印象的強心針,早就應該要做啦!支持韓良露的懇切批評和建議!應該來發起連署吼叫給相關部會(交通部、觀光局、外交部....)聽到。

2009/02/20

Into "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"


Can't help it, I just hit replay and replay for so many times. This might not be the best version, but it appeased me. I wanted to light up a candle, tasted some wine, and then soaked into the flow of the music forever. And well, I will realize, I am still lonely, tonight.

Do me wrong, do me right,
Tell me lies but hold me tight,
Save your goodbyes for the morning light,
But don't let me be lonely tonight.

Say goodbye and say hello,
Sure enough good to see you, but it's time to go,
Don't say yes but please don't say no,
I don't want to be lonely tonight.

Go away then, damn you,
Go on and do as you please,
You ain't gonna see me gettin' down on my knees.
I'm undecided, and your hearts been divided,
You've been turning my world upside down.

Do me wrong, do me right (right now baby),
Go on and tell me lies but hold me tight.
Save your goodbyes for the morning light (morning light),
But don't let me be lonely tonight.
I don't want to be lonely tonight.
No, no, I don't want to be lonely tonight.

I don't want to be lonely tonight.

2009/02/18

iPhone Users! Here're 25 Great Outdoor Activity Apps!

Detail descriptions and photos are found on the adventure life at HERE.

Not even a year ago, there were those who questioned the hoopla over the iPhone. And here we are now, secure in the knowledge that Apple's micro-Mac isn't just a radical new phone, it's a revolution in computing, communication, entertainment, and connectivity. ~by steve casimiro
I was impressed to see this entry- thanks to kind share from Robin. If you are a crazy lover of all outdoor activities: skiing, hiking, astronomy, biking, jogging, etc and you happen to be an iPhone user, you will find these applications wonderful. (Hey! My scouting friends who got iPhone!! Yes, am calling you~) Want some directions in the wild? Desire to keep track of your mileage? Forget how to call the stars you are staring at? Eager to know if it'll be a sunny day for hiking?

Go to the site to preview those apps. You can directly click on the title of individual ones to be directed to the iTune store to start your purchase. Have fun!

2009/02/17

Face Detection Feature of Digital Camera Displayed This Creatively!

I thought this advertising is brilliant enough to emphasize the face detection feature of this Panasonic LUMIX. After checking the introduction provided by THESE BRILLIANT PEOPLE(外星人看廣告) and viewed the photos down below by Nikon, I was totally won over by Nikon COOLPIX S60.
Yes, it is smart to have face detection for the baby in the belly, but........
To "reveal" the hidden threat thanks to face detection looks much cooler, and.....To identify this kind of "faces" are.... beyond description!

Hope you enjoy all these as I do!

2009/02/14

Snowy Happy Valentine's Day~

從室友Nina(CN)手中接過他們公司一不小心多給她的一塊情人節餅乾,喜孜孜的,我將她放入盤中拍了張漂亮的照片以茲紀念;

誤打誤撞的,參加了Jiunwen(SG)在朋友家辦的birthday party,吃了一桌Ling(CN)親手下廚的好菜、Whole Foods買來又漂亮又好吃的Fruit Tard蛋糕,喝了梅酒、白酒,生平第一次學打麻將也意外的贏了一局;
From 090213-Happy Birthday Jiunwen!
很晚才到達約定要去的International Party,最熟的Martin(DE)/Briana(TW)已經充滿倦意/睡意的離去,還好還有會特別跑來歡迎我的Derm(CA)、問我要為我調甚麼酒的Duda(BR),還有「我真的沒有看錯那個人真的是Medill Career Service staff」的Caitlin(US)!

生日宴還在進行的當時我就已經發現了窗外飄落的白色固狀物;步出Ling家時街道上的車已經彷彿被雪覆上一層薄脆的雪毯;從Derm家出來Ling, Jiunwen, Sung(KR)和我四個女生肆無忌憚的走在覆了一層薄雪的街道正中央,天色粉橘,四周除了我們的說話聲一片寂靜。當下,我有一種想要在雪地就這麼跳起舞來的衝動。我稍稍脫了點隊試圖用相機記錄下這個特別的瞬間,然後不幸的就在這個空檔,寂寞竄進了心頭,忽然真的很想,被哪個深深愛著的人摟著、疼著,輕輕的聽他說一句其實沒有太大實質意義的「情人節快樂」。

到底有幾個年頭我真的聽過他說情人節快樂呢?認真數算結果:一個。屬於最初的記憶,最原始的感動。那份情人節禮物我永遠忘不了,雖然她是跟著充滿歉意的、幾乎被遺忘的生日禮物一起出現的,可是相信嗎?在我數不清楚多少次的飄洋過海中,她始終是我絕對隨身的行李。過去是,現在也是,一直、一直這樣無聲的陪伴著我呢....

Do you ever know?

2009/02/13

Rip-off Company/position- The Lionheart Group

I found the king of all the rip-offs~ Check THIS LIST of complains... I was contacted and asked to fill some forms. The first question after contact info confused me already:
I would prefer to:
Make an income from my personal sales efforts
Build a sales team and earn overrides
A combination of both

Again, I HATE this kind of company. Please NEVER, EVER come to bother me please!!!!!

Report: The Lionheart Group

Category: Insurance Agencies

The Lionheart Group Scam job interview ripoff Dallas Texas

The Lionheart Group
3010 LBJ Frwy
Dallas, Texas, 75234
U.S.A.

Submitted: 12/11/2006

Thank goodness I didn't fall for this scam. I have an 'interview' there tomorrow. I knew something was wrong - I've never heard of them, and they have no phone number. That's why I did some research. A big 'Thank you' to the internet and to those of you who warned the rest of us. I'll be a 'no show' for the scammers!

Fred
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.

2009/02/12

Twitter to brands: Tweet and it will cost you - iMedia Connection

From iMedia Connection

I doubt if this will work.... When the free service becomes something you have to pay for, there's always a big challenge. Also, I do not believe that there are no other services that could replace Twitter with equivalent high quality and wide-spread influence. Say, Plurk is a similar mini-blog service that's becoming more and more popular. Additionally, how can Twitter clearly distinguish the "personal use" and the so-called "commercial use" and to decide on charging or not accordingly?
It was only a matter of time before Twitter formally announced plans to begin charging for commercial accounts. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has confirmed that the heavily-funded startup will begin charging companies for commercial use of the service, MarketingVOX reports.

....The difficulty for Twitter, of course, will be in determining what qualifies as commercial use and what's simply intended for self promotion.
....continue reading...

2009/02/11

LG Uses This Commercial to Promote Washing Machine


Source: 外星人看廣告 again (I've told you it's a very interesting blog to follow!!!!)

This is used in London, and I personally liked its idea to use the steam to wash away all the dirty parts of the city and to imply/demonstrate the power of the steam used by its washing machine.

At the same time, I thought of another cute CM used by LG some years ago in Taiwan. It used a cute Korean girl and grabbed many audience' attention. I remembered that CM was very popular and was highly discussed. This following one is the shorter version, but the one I remembered is far cuter beyond this.

The lesson (Insight): Maybe British people care more about their city while Taiwanese/Asian people care more about their family? (Completely random guessing....)

2009/02/09

Take Control

外在的很多事情,都失去控制了。

頭髮默默的長到了被朋友一語道破才發現的程度,一個又一個成果豐碩卻又塞滿不確定性的networking行程,修了又修的resume,千萬不能忘記的這個那個follow-up,再怎麼忙都要記得三不五時要陪媽媽講講話關心一下弟弟回應爸爸的信嚷嚷著要看皮皮,身邊的人這個新傷那個舊痛我於是要記得放下自己比下有餘的status安撫一下,冰箱裡面買來放到快要忘記或者一不小心已經壞掉的食物和永遠忘了補買的那個食材或佐料,髮際不知何時冒出的一個又一個頑皮惱人的青春痘,還有另外那八百件待辦事項......

每天醒來的時候我還是會記得告訴自己「今天一定會有新收穫新進展」,不過似乎很多這些新鮮事和新突破更大程度的只存在於我的想像中,要繼續用意志力才能撐著我不怕死的向前走下去。這種路別人也走過的,真的!再怎麼失去控制也只能這樣一步一步試看看,是吧?

Groove Better: 陳姍妮@TheWall 迷你群演唱會

Groove Better: [記錄]陳姍妮@TheWall 迷你群演唱會 20090207
甚麼是努力追夢,夢想就會一步一步接近成真的例證?這個就是啦!!!看到汪六在音樂上下的努力越來越有成績越來越受到各方肯定,聽到越來越多四面八方的耳語說著他這樣棒那樣好這樣令人崇拜那樣令人激賞,讓我這個朋友都會忍不住想炫耀「ㄟㄟ他是我朋友他是我朋友喔!他真的很棒吧!」

讓我繼續做你的小fans吧大哥 :)

2009/02/08

Pipi Knows The Way To Enjoy Life

From Pipi

From Pipi

From Pipi
Mommy shared these with me:
"Pipi enjoyed the time appreciating cherry blossom and birds chapping on his furry 'seat' for so long this morning! Isn't he beautiful?"

Of course he's beautiful! Of course he is! I MISS HIM A LOT!!!!!!! I miss my beautiful cat back home....

2009/02/07

Use LinkedIn to Help Find a Job

Please refer to the post below for the great suggestions:

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

From How to Change the World by Guy Kawasaki
  • Get the word out.
  • Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues.
  • Find out where people with your backgrounds are working.
  • Find out where people at a company came from.
  • Find out where people from a company go next.
  • Check if a company is still hiring.
  • Get to the hiring manager.
  • Get to the right HR person.
  • Find out the secret job requirements.
  • Find startups to join.
  • Build your network before you need it.

2009/02/04

How Fun Is My Birthday in 2009?

This year I got the most multi-national birthday dinner with friends from the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, S. Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and China. I also received birthday wishes from Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, UK, Slovenia, Malaysia and India. I am sure that I am blessed!

Also available at Picasa

2009/02/03

Open to Birthday Wishes~開放生日留言啦~

Leave me a birthday message now! Be creative! Show your originality! GO!
快留言快留言快留言快話蝦快話蝦快話蝦~
徵求創意第一名啦~~~~

Cause Marketing and Social Responsibility - Kellogg Marketing Conference

Cause Marketing and Social Responsibility - Kellogg Marketing Conference

This is shared by one of the panelist: Rajan Dev, president of Hot Studio Inc. in San Francisco. I met him at the 2009 Kellogg Marketing Conference and got to know more about how to make cause marketing work. Rajan shared his perspectives based on the experiences in the marketing agency side. His business started to involve with so many cause marketing projects since it kicked off and gained reputation in the industry. Anyone who's interested in the concept of cause marketing or corporate social responsibilities(CSR) should take a look at it, and you will find it valuable. One part of the examples is included below:

During the course of the conversation, Kathy suggested a framework, which other members of the panel built upon for assessing whether cause marketing might be appropriate for a brand or product. The key components were:

1. Brand Alignment

2. Valued by the Community

3. Does it excite employees?

4. Longevity

5. Transparency and Progress

2009/02/02

10 Characteristics of Super Bowl Commercial


Some Mandarin introduction is available HERE. Enjoy!

First Present- Bruce Springsteen

Just got it today, after the Super Bowl game. The poster and the "Rolling Stone" magazine was handed quietly, but the silence said it all. I was moved, because I did not expect anything. At the same time, though, I kind of knew that you probably won't show up on Tuesday.

Bruce's performance at Super Bowl wouldn't mean anything to me if you did not introduce him and his music to me some time ago. Super Bowl, as well, might not be so attractive to me if there were not you and the lovely group of friends. Frankly I would say, you opened up some windows for me to explore- about music, about sports, about people, and about life. I sincerely appreciated those, and deeply I knew that the best gift you've given me was far more priceless than just a poster and a magazine.

Yes, we were born to run. We were, we are and we will be working on a dream. How lucky I am to have you on my way to pursue my dream! Cheers!

In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway american dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
Its a death trap, its a suicide rap
We gotta get out while were young
`cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims
And strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
Well run till we drop, baby well never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
`cause baby Im just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild, girl I want to know if love is real

Beyond the palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss

The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybodys out on the run tonight but theres no place left to hide
Together Wendy we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl I dont know when were gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go and well walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us baby we were born to run

Wendy's Current Home

Yes, this is the 4th home I have after I came to the US for study.

This is quite a temporary place to stay, so you may find that I do not have too much furniture with me. But it's cozy, it's quite enough for me. Really :)
To companies who possess, or are passionate about obtaining and maintaining global reputation, Wendy is the diligent and professional digital marketer who is experienced in digital marketing, is always energetic about solving challenges in the new media field to help the business grow, and can optimize her contributions by utilizing her multilingual and multicultural background.