Author: coolerinsights

Celebrating the Bunny Year @ Chinatown

February 4, 2011 3 comments

Chinatown on CNY Eve - 2011

One of my family’s favourite tradition every Chinese New Year Eve is to squeeze in with the masses at the Chinatown Night Market. Located along Trengganu, Sago, Smith , Pagoda and Temple Streets, the annual nocturnal bazaar is a celebration of sight, sound, scent, touch and tastes, mingled with hordes of humanity. Organised by the Chinatown Business Association with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board from 14 Jan to 6 Mar, the open air stalls offer all manner of calorific goodies, decor, toys, clothes, souvenirs, and of course, food glorious food.

After reunion dinner at my parent’s place, my wife and I decided to join the festive fray and mill with the crowd. Our aims were to grab some last minute bargain items (since this was usually the last night for people to fill their larders and wardrobes), catch some festive spirit, and just check out what’s popular in the retail scene. The cool night air after many days of non-stop rain made for a pleasant night out.


Funny (& Fearsome) Facts on the Bunny

February 1, 2011 Blog no comments


Courtesy of Leong, Cheng Chit

As we hunker down to celebrate Chinese New Year and usher in the year of the metal rabbit, I thought it’d be interesting to compile a list of useless trivia about this long-eared cuddly beast.

According to the Chinese Horoscope, the coming 2011 year of the metal rabbit is one that is sophisticated and intuitive with gracious manners and sensitivity. A rabbit year is usually more quiet and peaceful, especially coming after the normally more torrid year of the Tiger in 2010.


A Pain Removal Solution

January 26, 2011 Blog 1 comment


Remove Our Pain and We’ll Reward You For it (source)

It often puzzles me why companies and businesses don’t focus on the obvious pain points of their customers. Why do they not listen to the repeated complaints and criticisms that have emerged both online and offline by their regular customers?

Examples of commonly felt “pain” points include the following:


Chief Culture Officer – A Book Review

January 24, 2011 Blog no comments

On a recent visit to the public library at Bukit Merah (I love them for their wide selection), I managed to locate a copy of Chief Culture Officer by cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken.

With the tagline “How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation”, McCracken proposed that a new professional – the Chief Culture Officer or CCO – is needed to keep corporations on the pulse of consumer cultures. While certain organisations has the fortune of having a CEO who is also a CCO, relying purely on the gut feel of executive tastemakers alone may be dangerous and un-strategic for organisations keen to differentiate themselves.


Understanding Government 2.0

January 16, 2011 Blog 1 comment


A view of what Government 2.0 could be (courtesy of ZD Net)

What does Government 2.0 mean? Does it merely entail government agencies embracing the use of multiple social technologies and community platforms? Is it reflective of a more open, engaging and inclusive approach to governance? Or does it epitomise the beginning of active citizenry in all public affairs?

As I’ll be moderating a Gov 2.0 session on ‘Connection’ next week at Govcamp, I thought I should dig in deeper into this topic. For a start, here’s a definition of what Government 2.0 means according to Gartner


From Wet Markets to Web Markets

January 15, 2011 Blog 3 comments

As my wife and I were having our breakfast and purchasing fresh groceries recently at the Redhill Market, I spotted this interesting signboard from a fish monger in the market. Apparently Pan’s Fish offers fresh fish for sale (the kind you can cook) on its website and you can actually order them via e-commerce.

I believe they must be one of the first wet market stalls to be so proactive in encouraging online ordering. The cool thing is that if you can’t make it during the unearthly wet market opening hours, you can always get your catch of ikan kurau, salmon, mackerel, prawns and more online, 24 by 7.

Now all they need is a blog, a Facebook fan page, and a Twitter account….