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Last week was really an eventful week. I went for 2 Tweetups and also dropped by for GeekCamp.

KL Tweetup 1
This was held at Chilli’s restaurant at Mid Valley. The organizers managed to book a room so that we can have a private get together without disturbing other patrons. Yes, I think we can actually scare a lot of people away if we were to hold it outside..haha! Anyway, the theme of the meet was “Gadget Fest” where everyone brought a gadget and talk about it. I must say, there were some really interesting/nostalgic gadgets. Among them are world’s first MPEG camera, the Nokia “Matrix” phone, a portable battery pack, a gadget that swears at a touch of a button and the coolest gadget that left everyone going “wooooo”…the Amazon Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle reading device

Me at the KL Tweetup

KL Tweetup 2
This second Tweetup was on the very next day and it was held in TwentyOne Kitchen+Bar. This event was organized by @BrandConsultant, @LimyH and @CreativPromoter. Unlike the previous night, there wasn’t a theme to this meet. It was an entirely different group of people as none of them came for the previous night. The group is also somewhat different. The night before, the group of people I met were young and techie, on this night, the group consists of more serious business + marketing oriented people. Honestly, I enjoyed both events equally, but more knowledge gained from this night than the previous one.

from left: @CreativPromoter, @melvinchanwh, @demonick and @ZakirJaafar

not in pic: @BlogJunkie, @LimyH, @MarketingEds, @BrandConsultant, @PeterPek, @NileshBabu

GeekCamp
Well..the title says it all doesn’t it? GeekCamp is a un-conference that was held at my office where programmers and technical specialist come together to give technical presentations and demos. The talks mainly revolve around coding, programming frameworks, tip & tricks..etc. Initially, I didn’t plan to attend it as I thought the sessions were a wee bit too technical even for me. I dropped by for 2 sessions just to see what’s it all about and also to give support (for being the host).

a scene from GeekCamp

Believe it or not, these 3 events were all co-ordinated with the use of Twitter. It only goes to show that Twitter is not just a “simple status updater” as many non-users might have assumed. It shows that it can also bring people together to be able to share and learn. So, have you “tweeted” today?

Photo credits: @rohant and @NileshBabu

In case you didn’t noticed, I’ve been tweeting a lot lately about BarCamp over the past 2 days. I’ve also been asked by my friends (and followers) what exactly is BarCamp. BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees. When you come, be prepared to share with Barcampers. When you leave, be prepared to share it with the world.

This ISN’T a technology convention, although there are a lot of techies and tech talk sessions. It’s actually more about knowledge sharing. It can be ANYTHING on any topic if you think you have something interesting to share. It’s also a good place to widen your contacts and social circle. BarCamp is also an international movement, as there was also a number of fellow Barcampers from around the world there.

Well, this is my first time at a BarCamp event, but after these 2 days I’ve learned so much and met so many new people it made me want to go for more especially when they have it at Singapore and Bangkok. Now, I don’t have any pictures to show, because I was a bit lazy to carry my camera around, but I’m sure some pictures will surface somewhere on the net or on Facebook, so go search for it.

But what I can share with you are some things that I learned over at BarCamp:

1. There is a new term call “Devigners” which is basically a hybrid of a web developer + web designer.
2. There are lots of cool mobile applications out there. One that I found interesting is an application that allows you to turn your mobile phone into a WiFi access point. It’s might not be new, but it’s new to me…so I learned something new!
3. Ethics on blogging and the importance of Google page ranks on your blogs/website
4. Pecha Kucha is cool! It’s where someone is limited to present 20 slides, with each slide given a maximum of 20 seconds. Can be of any topic. Also dubbed “Lightning Round”
5. Kufi Squares!
6. April 25th is Poetry Slam at Hartamas @ Lepaq
7. Business and SEX share the same rules…seriously!
8. I know how to make Espresso, Mocha and other coffee drinks and thinks Starbucks and Coffee Bean ripped us off all these while
9. 10 deadly sins of advertising – Tip: Don’t use history as a part of advertising…it’s BORING!
10. How to pick up Japanese chicks. – Tip from a Japanese girl: If you want her to be your girlfriend, STOP being her friend…and “Daijobu?” means “Are you OK?” which is important to always ask a Japanese girl :P
11. Powerpoint Karaoke is sort of like a reverse Pecha Kucha. Slides are not prepared by you but by someone else.
12. MLM is MLM no matter how you mask it..as long as there are words like RECRUIT, JOIN and SELL! – Note to all, NEVER preach MLM at BarCamp! You’ll be thrown out!
13. Previewed the new Firefox 3.5 and its new features during a presentation by Gen Kanai from Mozilla
14. Stories of young entrepreneurs in Malaysia
15. How corporate brands like Lenovo use of social media such as Facebook & Twitter to enhance customer experience

As you can see, this is only a summary (or what I can remember off hand at least) of what I learned. I’m sure there are more. That along with the number of new friends I made makes it a really enjoyable and memorable 2 days.

*Click here to view a video snippet from @TheBackpackr

Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. [sourced from Wikipedia]

Is Earth Hour is just a publicity stunt? I certainly do think so..we’re all a bunch of hypocrites! (myself included).

While I totally agree about the “creating an awareness” and “starting something is better than nothing” angle, but lets be honest, there are a lot of advertisers and people that are cashing in and making this look like another "Valentine’s Day" event. While it’s not wrong to be cashing in while there is an opportunity, I believe people SHOULD make Earth Hour every week or part of their every day lives that matter.

Let me give you an example: i-City MSC is collaborating with WWF Malaysia to sell official T-shirts in various locations around Klang Valley. Each T-shirt is available at RM30 per piece, and all net proceed from this sale will be donated to WWF. Question…Why does it only take an event of this magnitude to be able to draw attention or donations from the public? I’m not saying WWF Malaysia are not doing anything in terms of promoting awareness or donations which I’m sure they are, but WWF Malaysia did not even have a climate change programme before this. Why didn’t they have this before this whole Earth Hour thing started? But I suppose it could be a good thing and at least they have started something, which I hope will have continuity with a cause. Everyone should know WHY they are turning off their lights this Saturday at 8:30PM and not just because everyone else is doing it. It’s certainly more important to get that message across.

The Challenge:
My challenge (or idea rather) is to anyone, but mainly to large corporations because they have a greater impact and influential power. How about large corporate franchises such as Starbucks or McDonald’s start a "Light’s Out Thursday" (I suggested Wednesday, but someone said Wednesday was ladies night =.=) where they turn off all their lights for one whole hour every Thursday at their offices and outlets. Corporations such as Starbucks & McDonald’s are big enough companies to create an impact, just imagine the number of their combined outlets in Malaysia alone doing that at the same time…how much energy would that save…and if it’s done every week?…that’s not only creating awareness..that’s creating a statement all together. By then, if they want to have promotions/events to draw in crowds, that’s fine..because by then, that would already be doing it with a cause…think about it!

Disclaimer: The author of this article is merely speaking his mind and does not intend to make personal attacks on any mentioned organizations or companies.

Last Sunday, I was at the 1st International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Putrajaya. I never intended to go for this as I got quite a last minute call from Janice saying to meet at her place if I wanted to go. Ok, I was initially supposed to go for my routine swim and workout..but heck..I thought I could do that any other day right? (just an excuse for not exercising :p). So off we went to Putrajaya on a blistering hot afternoon.

The gang – Evie, Karen & Janice

Karen & I and our Honey Stars snack

Now, have you heard of Zorbing or the Human Hamster Ball? It’s this giant transparent looking sphere contraption that looks like a hamster ball and it gets rolled down a hill while you’re in it….sounds fun? Not quite in Putrajaya. While the spheres are rather small (looks like they only cater for children), they don’t exactly roll down a hill either. Instead, someone is pushing/rolling you on FLAT land while you’re inside. Don’t sound that fun anymore does it? Anyway the kids love it, and the adults?….well…they have their own fun in the sphere ON WATER! Click for larger view..

Zorbing? I don’t think so..

Here is how you “zorb” on water..

Anyway, this guy is hilarious. You should see the number of attempts he tries to make just to get the sphere forward.

For me, it’s my first time seeing a hot air balloon up close. Yes, I’ve never been on one before, so I’m a bit “jakun” in that sense. We managed to catch the setting up of the balloons and how they took off later.

Here you will see a variety of balloons designs. My personal favorite is the pink elephant…It just look so cute and dumb looking! LOL!

flying pink elephant!!

Seeing all these balloons made me want to ride in one. Apparently, there were some early contest winners that had the opportunity to do so…*envy envy!* Oh well, I guess I’ll wait for my time. I would love to ride one in a country such as New Zealand. That would simply be breathtaking isn’t it?

Click here for more pictures

Last Tuesday, New Zealand Natural celebrated their 5th year in Malaysia. Now with 12 outlets in total, it seems they only can become bigger in years to come. Being their interactive agency, we were invited to attend their anniversary celebration held at the Waterfront of Desa Parkcity. There was a jazz band, celebrities, good food…and of course UNLIMITED ICE CREAM!

There were games and prizes to be won as well. Integricity seemed to "clean house" when it came to the question and answer sessions (we should right? Since we did their stuff). Either that or no one really wanted to participate. There was also a treasure hunt to find hidden ice cream cups, a "guess the flavor" competition, as well as a New Zealand Haka war dance competition.

There was quite a turn out considering it was a work day..

The jazz band

Terence being fed ice-cream by a celebrity in "Guess the flavor" contest. Can you spot the ninja? hehe..

Warren & Alex does the Haka war dance

"…to 5 great years!" - Yao Han, Kevin & Paul

The cake

NZN’s latest Christmas Sundae creation

CONGRATS NEW ZEALAND NATURAL!!

Just looking at the pictures above, you can tell we had a good time. Who knew that having 3 scoops of ice-cream and finger food could last me till dinner time. =)