How to Trend Twitter - the @ideaShare Way!

1. Get some 70 people or so into one room,
   
   
2. Hook 'em up with the Internet,
   
   
3. Ask each to log in to Twitter.com
   (after creating a new account for the first time, if new user), and
   
   
4. Start tweeting with #ideashare tag!

After some shameless act of self-promotion for twitter names owned/co-owned by facilitators i.e. @cerventus,@myentrepreneurs, @worldisastage, @pieartboy, @michaelteoh, @elevyn_official etc., the not-so-newbies and newbies altogether sent well over 200 tweets with #ideashare tag over the course of over two hours, by which "ideashare" was already trending clearly on Twitter.com and on tag cloud at sites like Twitscoop etc, as observed by below graph, sparking curiosity among twitizens:


There were negative side effects though: The room was so packed with people, that those in the room were suffering internet surfing slowness frustration syndrome (as 20-30 ppl cramping wirelessly the small pipe of 1.5Mbps temporary/dedicated DSL installation at any one time), and to make things worse, the aircond couldn't stand the heat emitted by after-lunch human crowd and broke down, sending the room into the state of microwave and fried most of these brainiacs turning them into crappy tweeters, irritating everyone else in the twitterverse including @kamal, @lukejsmith and @bytebot, among others!

Guess, most of the people in the room hasn't heard about @kevinrose's latest gift to the web 2.0 crowd: @wefollow, ie. http://wefollow.com/tag/ideashare - you don't need to blatantly self-promote your twitter name. Instead, just tag, and you're it!

Need more tag ideas? Try "penang" (or the state you're from, which you can change at a later time) and "malaysia" (we're all Malaysians right? and there's no rooms in twitterspace!)

I'm also surprise why the facilitators were showcasing twitterfall and twitpic websites, when tweetdeck clearly has all of those small gimmicks with growing features like group, search and twitpic. (note: twitpic.com was down at the time of demo!)

The first of the two-day event in conjunction with the MSC Innotech 2009 Interstate - Northern Region event was organized by Kuala Lumpur-based Ureka Labs, and financed by the Cyberjaya-based Technopreneur Development Division of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC), custodian for the MSC Malaysia government initiative.

More information is available at the event-centric/local networking site developed by folks at Eureka Labs, http://ideashare.my

Surprisingly(?), not many people, despite having a horde of 60+ participants at the venue yesterday, are following @netbash or @ideashare (ownership questionable), with just thirteen and four followers respectively as of 7 am on the next day.

And folks @ MDEC neither owns @mdec nor @tedd twitter names, which are both registered by others as early as nearly a year ago (30mar08 for "mdec") -- Should I reveal more brandjackable twitter names??


About Twitscoop:

Twitter was built to help thousands of people answer a very simple question: "What are you doing ?"

Twitscoop was built to help you stay on top of twitter's hot topics or discussions.

Through an automated algorithm, twitscoop crawls hundreds of tweets every minute and extracts the words which are mentionned more often than usual. The result is displayed in a Tag Cloud, using the following rule: the hotter, the bigger (no joke here).

Thanks to twitscoop and the continuously growing twitter user base, you will soon realise that "What are you doing ?" can have very different answers, from "I'm standing in a queue of 500 to buy Gta4", to "Was that just an Earthquake ?", through to "Hey, Microsoft just acquired Yahoo" (no this didn't actually happen yet).

As a result, twitscoop enables you to stay on top of things in a matter of seconds, often way before the news actually hits the mainstream information channels !

Jalur Sempit IPTA Malaysia

More than three years ago in 2005, I raised my concern to the then Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dato' Seri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis during the Global Technopreneurship Forum event in Penang on how intolerable the state of Internet connection in Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Status higher learning institutions including Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). Consider that when universities in the United States were enjoying 10-MBps or better connection to dorm (hostel) rooms as early as ten years earlier, Malaysian universities in 2005 were having 100Kbps or slower connection to hi-tech labs. In fact, my 50Kbps mobile GPRS connection was at times better than connection to these RM-million equipped computer labs. At the same time, home users were able to subscribe to 1-Mbps (best effort) from providers like TM Net Sdn Bhd.

I was responding on how he should not focus too much of his effort on (less practical) WiMaX roll-out to jungles and villages and might get distracted off the more urgent task (RESPONSIBILITY) at hand, i.e. empower some 600,000 higher learning students with what they critically need, usable BROADBAND! Yang Berhormat's immediate reaction (and very bold if I may add) was that I should not question the rights of Malaysian natives (Orang Asli etc.), but instead should tolerate the fact that those university students (me included, since I was completing my postgraduate program at a local university) can at least have some taste of Internet no matter how horrible it was.

Fast forward 3+ years later, Malaysian broadband scenes still look hopeless, and WiMaX is practically nowhere to be found the country, except only recently starting from mostly Klang Valley (as usual, where many providers don't go further away, like Jaring's Broadband, TIME's Webbit etc.). Instead, people have come to realize that it's WiFi that most people need, including through recent better-late-than-never initiative (political campaign?) by the Penang State Government (although the actual implementation is still very much questionable - where is it??). Considering that Maxis & Celcom are among world's most ridiculous broadband providers offering hi-speed download of total data at just 3GB and 5GB per month respectively (enough for just ONE full day of active use, or just SEVEN days of 8-hour/day web surfing), compared to upcoming DiGi's & P1's at 50GB and more, most people would still have to rely to WiFis at Mamak outlets (private or government-supported via KTAK) at the cost of RM1/hour (electricity at most outlets) or less (just 'teh tarik' etc, and get their stomach bloated with sweetened milk and sugar causing 'kencing manis'). For some who don't mind 'behaving' while surfing, they can make use of hi-speed wifi at most KTAK myBroadband-powered libraries.

At the age of Web 3.0 (starting March 2009), when millions in developed countries of US, UK, Japan, Korea, Singapore etc. are enjoying up to 60MBps average broadband, millions of Malaysians especially those 100,000s of university students in campuses around the country are still crawling at speed well of under 1Mbps and frequent disconnections...

If you don't believe me, see the following rant (do disregard association with a Hitler portrayal - just for laughs!), creative production by a Malaysian Multimedia University (MMU) student - if MMU that's located at the epicenter of MSC, Cyberjaya is in trouble, don't dream elsewhere!:




ENGLISH TRANSLATION/SUBTITLES:

Military official (looking distressed): This week, electricity supply has been interrupted twice (especially) at nights. Today, water supply is also experiencing interruption. The number of students who aren't taking morning showers are increasing.

Hitler: That's OK (looking unimpressed). What's important... has the internet problem been resolved?

Military official : Regarding that... (looking fearful). Internet...
Military official 2: Internet connectivity still experiencing troubles, and the speed... worse than usual.

Hitler (angered and disappointed, putting down his eyeglasses): Those who are staying... outside the hostels (off campus), please... leave the room now.... (MOST LEFT THE ROOM EXCEPT THREE SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIALS and two scared bodyguards)

What's all these!! Can't internet issue be resolved already? We've suffering for so long, and with the Internet speed continue to worsen and worsen! I totally did not expect this! (woman sobbing outside the room, being consoled by another woman). Why is Internet problem not resolved to date? (SHOUTING) Today, I was forced to use the Internet service that's obviously slower than my neighbor's turtle!

Military official (at fast pace): Sir, this internet (slowness) issue has been reported to CITS.

Hitler: I've send that (same) report way earlier! In fact, I've sent thousands of emails!!

MO: But (Sir), at least Internet can still be used for surfing.

Hitler: What surfing, if the Internet waves look slower like there's no wind! (THROWN PENCIL TO THE MAP ON DESK). It's disguisting, you know! All these while, I was able to enjoy playing online games, joining outside servers, mass-massacring people in Counter Strike! Look what happens now, ping results are extremely high! Even worse, when I was enjoying my Internet game, it keeps disconnecting! All my dream to become number one was gone... just like that! If I can do anything my heart desire, I'd strangle my roomate, and murder him! All the while, I was so proudful with Internet in MMU (Malaysian Multimedia University, a MSC-status institution/campus), which was different from home Internet... Now, it's like a long sweet dream, crashed! Disguisting! Not just that, I could die trying to download movies via torrent from outside! They keep blocking that download, and it's insanely slow! And don't get me started with Rapidshare... It takes over a dozen days just to download a single part! How can I be patient with such a a thing?

Woman Outside (CONSOLING ANOTHER WOMAN): It's ok. C'mon... we both stay off campus (outside the hostels), right?

Hitler: This is a very critical problem! Looks like I won't be able to play that Team Fortress 2 game that I've just purchased... It's been very unfortunate! Internet... slowness... If this continues, maybe it's time for me to leave the hostel, and reside in Cyberia (a nearby off-campus condominium). It's been an unfortunate day... (LOOKING DOWN)

I wonder what the KTAK ministers and staff are doing nowadays? Why are they not as vocal as former KTAK minister Tun Dr. Lim Kheng Yaik, against these incompetent national telcos?

Well, sometimes, when facing adversities and hardships, people can indeed be creative! Take the Oscar-awarded Slumdog Millionaire film for instance. Plus, I can absolutely, personally attest to this statement!

Olympics 2008, starting with ICT in Kuala Lumpur

Phew! Time flew really fast, and it's already mid-may: time for international events again now that it's closing in to summer season for northern hemisphere -- the few months when folks from North America and European countries just love to travel for fun (college lads!) and casual business networking... (corporate and SMB guys)

And it starts with a BANG here in Malaysia, heating up with news feeds on prime time TV and prints, and the so-called new media, ie. blogs too... And this photo adds to the fresh sighting:



NEWSFLASH: Over 3000 delegates from all over the world will congregate in Kuala Lumpur this week for during the 16th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2008)... And the exposition booths are expecting some 50,000 visitors!

And I get to be one of them, as usual... ;)

This is to confirm that we have received your registration details on WCIT 2008 Online Registration
18/05/2008
Account Information
Username : NASIR.SOBRI
Salutation : Mr.
First Name : NASIR
Middle Name :
Last Name / Surname : SOBRI
Name On Badge : Nasir Sobri

I'll let the newsprints offer you some previews:

View

BTW, the big crowd at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) will not be just for WCIT forums. There are thirteen WCIT-related events too. For instance, the United Nations GAID Annual Meeting & Global Forum on 19 & 20 MAY 2008 -- quite a sequel to the GK3 event last December 2007 (also at the same venue):


OK, time to start driving to KL, some 300-km away... More updates to follow!

Rails are the new Gems!

It's been a while for me to have a long offshore trip, having had only short ones to Singapore, Padang and Bangkok during the past couple years. But last night, a full 14 hours starting at 6am (MYT) in Balik Pulau (Penang, Malaysia) took me to Shibuya-ku ("fashion shopping town" of Tokyo, Japan) for Web 2.0 conference and expo -- as mentioned in my previous post: the first big arrival in Asia by the "Web 2.0-man " himself, Tim O'Reilly. (Psst. the MDEC guys with me are pushing to bring these guys to Malaysia next, soon!)

This morning, we had three sessions so far starting with Tim interviewing Joi, and later IBM and Sun showcasing their commitments for the Web 2.0 community of civilians (business people) and developers (now techies sound like military people!)
...

(to be continued after going to MIDA and shopping ;0)

[CONTINUED: 19nov07]:

When the first morning of Web 2.0 at the Cerulean Tower Hotel Banquet Hall concluded, we International delegates get shun off the entire 2nd half-day of the conference due to the fact that the were no interpretation made available for both verbal and textual versions of the remaining sessions of the day after the first three keynotes. And we paid full price about RM3,000 per person! (not including travel and lodging expenses for another ~RM4500 per person). [Hmm, like my friend Rico put it in our group Web20Japan blog, "Note to self: Learn Japanese!"]

And to make things worse, all three morning keynotes were so boring that the speakers including O'Reilly could not get any excitement from the floors in the form of feedbacks or questions. Or maybe I was right about the "ninja codes" (see previous post) -- Asians especially Japanese people seem very secretive about their stuff, telling only on need-to-know basis, and only when they can show the real things (Unlike Westerners that market like crazy and raise more money than they could use -- like the Twitter guys (whom its co-founder I met when he was catching up with Joi Ito later the first night) before they even come up with any real products). Or maybe these smarties in suits were just shy for not being able to communicate well in English (I bet they were much more active in Japanese-only sessions just like the courteous hotel and event organizing workers who greet us all the time with long phrases -- which I understood nothing...)

And I wasn't alone who felt this -- later that night after we were done with shopping (and window-jakuning) at the Akihabara electric town, all my colleagues expressed their even worse opinions of the first day of Web 2.0 Japan.

Though, I still sensed some treasures from the first day, and by knowing ahead on what the second day would bring us, particularly from Opera and Twitter, I was the most upbeat for the next day's content, brushing aside possibly another off-side trips like the one we had to MIDA Japan on the first afternoon... After all, I felt the trip to Tokyo itself without any of the Web 2.0 sessions was already a huge eyes-opening experience, and let me me tell you my version/story on trains and rails:

Having had great experience with American highways for ten years, I returned to Malaysia in 2002, and I must say how impressed I was immediately with Kuala Lumpur's latest and modern transportation infrastructure in the forms of its Light-Rail-Transit (LRT) trains, KTM commuter train and KLIA-KL Sentral ERL which I thought were more or less comparable to those in Detroit, Chicago and New York (I didn't had much experience with those though since it was much easier to cruise around with US$20/day rented pickup trucks bracing long and straight toll-less highways). And KL Sentral's integrated transit for four train lines look efficient enough. Or so I thought...

Boy, how wrong I was: Tokyo on the other hand seem ten years ahead, in terms of its transportation efficiencies to accommodate its ~13-million highly active inhabitants (including gentlemen in their 50s and 60s who still lurk at video game hangouts!!): Tokyo metropolitan (one of the 47 prefectures in Japan -- comparable to a state/federal territory in Malaysia, e.g. Kuala Lumpur "metro") has at least 12 subway lines (I counted 17 lines on its metro guide map though) connecting most if not all of its 23 wards and 26 cities, and there seem to be at least 20 KL Sentrals of transits (with three or more connecting lines) in Tokyo prefecture alone -- How I wish I had more time to try many more trains than the two JR lines (Yamanote and Hibiya) we took for getting to Shinjuku (for dining), Kamiyacho (for business) and Akihabara (for electronics) during the two very expensive day-stay in Tokyo.

On the Web 2.0 side, Rails seem to be able to gain dominance in development world (just like how trains beat buses and taxis in Tokyo as the preferred mean of transportation) now that Robert Brewin has hinted in his first-day keynote on how Sun Microsystems itself has more confidence in Ruby on Rails (nicked "Rails" instead of "Ruby") than their own "beans"! -- So confident that Sun now supports Rails with grants to developers, hardware to hosts and support in its wide range of development tools.

As a web host, I've constantly heard of Rails, and do offer it in my hosting packages, but it's time to check out Rails from now on for my on-going Web 2.0 projects. Back to business.... (later)


Nasir was lost in Haraju-ku but is now on clear path in Penang (after a 4-hour trip with Vios from KLIA due to missing his AirAsia afternoon flight -- COST: KLIA->LCCT by Avis driver: RM20, wasted AirAsia ticket: RM100, car - RM277, PETROL: RM69, TOLL: RM 53 = close to RM500 from KL to Penang => ARGH, TRAVELLING IN MALAYSIA IS KILLING US MICROPRENEURS!! ) . Wait, there's a Mastercard version: Being able to meet friends at Shah Alam on the way back, and later cruise at 170km/h trailing a speedy Benz (I'm not sure whether it does bear a special "Datuk" tag or not): PRICELESS!


p/s: What else would I get from Akihabara for my little niece back in Sepang: a full set of bullet train (with three cars that moves really fast using just a single AA battery) complete with its rails and an inhabited station (with a couple of little people):


(this blues and a Nemo waterproof swatch were enough to make her all friendly with me again -- she normally runs away from males including from my two elder brothers)

Nanojobs?

Hmm...

Read on what pantipicon team wrote on the evolution of jobs from one to many, from big to tiny...

On the personal side, I am very excited this week:-

1. I'm going to Tokyo for the first time along with a couple of gentlemen from the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) of Malaysia and another Penang-based colleague. I have previously stopped over at Narita airport twice during en-route to USA, but this time, I'm going see more of Japan first-hand, not just through the portrayals in movies or the influx of everything Japan - cars, Sony, electronics, techno etc. and that chic tune from Gwen - Harajuku... Hmm, I didn't know a stay in a modest hotel there is going to cost us RM1,000+ per night! (that's about 1-2 months of car loan payment and the three nights stay can already buy me a new smashing notebook computer!)

2. It's the first time, the O'Reilly's Web 2.0 going to arrive big time in Asia having created the explosive buzzes in the States and just recently last week in Berlin. This Asia version will be shorter and cost less than the US or Germany counterparts, but I'm particularly even more enthusiastic to learn Web 2.0, Asian-style. After all, we've been too bombarded with Western version of Web 2.0 all these while with Friendster (US-originated that somehow find more than 80% of its audience from Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, the Philipines, Indonesia and Singapore), Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google etc., I don't think I'd be learning much if I had gone to San Francisco instead. -- I can always look the American versions up in Wikipedia, YouTube and Slideshare, while the Asian ones, they remain secrets like the Ninja codes! (I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about this time ;-))

Well, if iPhone didn't do much wonders in Asia (yet), let's see if Web 2.0 is and will...

Look forward to be blogging from Japan -- I hope the Wi-Fi there won't cost me arms and legs! And if web2expo buzz more hypes than real biz, I'll try to come up with my own Lost in (Shibuya-ku) Translation stories off the three nights there.

Hajimemashite... Konichiwa!

Happy International Day of UN Peacekeepers

On the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, 29 May, we celebrate the work of UNV volunteers as civilian peacekeepers for the past 15 years. These highly skilled and motivated professionals ensure the smooth operation of UN peacekeeping missions and create an enabling environment for sustainable development. (United Nations Volunteers, 2007)

Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is "a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace." Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Helmets because of their light blue helmets) can include soldiers, civilian police officers, and other civilian personnel. (Wikipedia, 2007)




Press Release:

International Day of UN Peacekeepers to be marked on 29 May. Demand for Blue Helmets at an all-time high

21 May 2007

United Nations -- The fifth annual International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers will be marked on 29 May at the Organization’s Headquarters in New York, as well as on peacekeeping missions and UN offices around the world.

This year’s commemorative ceremonies come at a time when the services of UN peacekeepers are in greater demand than ever. There are currently more than 100,000 peacekeepers from 115 countries serving in 18 operations on four continents, with additional deployments on the horizon.

“We hope this occasion will serve as a reminder of the invaluable work of our blue helmets who each day risk their lives trying to bring peace to conflict-torn societies,” said Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. “It should also underscore the importance of strengthening UN peacekeeping, with its solid record of promoting a return to stability, to foster even greater gains in the future, for the sake of the innocent victims whose lives have been ravaged by war.”

At United Nations Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will oversee a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the more than 100 peacekeeping personnel who lost their lives – whether through attacks, illnesses or accidents – in 2006 in the service of peace. Mr. Ban, who took office in January, has proposed an ambitious reform and restructuring plan for the UN’s peacekeeping department aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Organisation to meet growing demands, and has already visited several peacekeeping missions in Africa and the Middle East.

Also as part of the commemoration ceremonies, on 30 May, Dag Hammarskjold medals will be awarded posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives last year serving in UN peacekeeping operations. The medals will be received by representatives of the respective Permanent Missions to be forwarded on to the next of kin. In a separate ceremony, Under Secretary-General Guehenno will award peacekeeping medals to the military and police officers currently serving in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at Headquarters.

While the Dag Hammarskjold medals pay tribute to the sacrifice of those who died, the greatest monument to their contribution is a set of United Nations peacekeeping successes in 2006. These included helping the Democratic Republic of the Congo hold its first elections in 40 years; helping solidify peace and ensure justice in West Africa by transferring indicted war criminal and former Liberian President Charles Taylor to face charges for crimes committed in Sierra Leone; helping implement a major peace agreement in southern Sudan; and supporting elections and helping to establish the rule of law in Haiti by working with the national police to curb gang violence.

The year also saw a major European reengagement in UN peacekeeping as countries from the continent stepped forward to bolster the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, including by providing the UN’s first major naval force, to support a ceasefire in southern Lebanon following last summer’s conflict between Israel and Hizbollah.

In 2006, the UN undertook a series of efforts to increase the number of women serving in peacekeeping operations, including setting the stage for this year’s deployment of the first-ever all-female peacekeeping contingent: India’s formed police unit – with more than 100 female officers – now stationed in Liberia.

Of the more than 100 countries that provide uniformed peacekeepers to the United Nations, the largest contributors remain Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, which together provide more than 40 per cent of all blue berets. The cost of financing peacekeeping operations – more than $5 billion per annum -- is borne mainly by the European Union countries, Japan and the United States.

UN Peacekeepers Day was established in 2002 by a the General Assembly resolution designating 29 May – the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine – to pay tribute to all men and women who have served and continue to serve in United Nations peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage, and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

UN peacekeeping, built on almost 60 years of experience in the field, is widely acknowledged to be an indispensable tool for the international community in tackling the difficult issues of inter-State and, increasingly, intra-State conflicts. UN peacekeeping’s legitimacy and universality are unique, derived from its character as a collective security effort undertaken on behalf of a global organization comprising 192 Member States.

For further information contact:

• Douglas Coffman, DPI, (212) 963-4481, coffmand@un.org
• Nick Birnback, DPKO, (917) 367-5044, birnback@un.org

SOURCE: UN.org, International Day for UN Peacekeepers. 2007


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