Looking back, 2006 was a generally good year for me and I’m grateful for it. I hope we can all continue to improve ourselves and grow stronger – be it at work or with family and friends.
Looking back fondly at 2006
Geek-wise, 2006 was a good year for Web 2.0 – though I feel it’s happening mostly in the West, and Singapore has yet to fully catch on to the spirit of things. At least Google Maps made it to Singapore, finally. Politically, in the US, the Democrats capitalised on anti-Bush sentiments by winning the majorities in the House and Senate. This may signal a different approach on foreign and economic policy in 2007. The year ended on a grim note with the hanging of Saddam Hussein, which probably won’t do much to end all the fighting anyway.
In late 2006, I underwent health screening and received a bill of good health – no diabetes or high blood pressure, low in bad cholesterol and high in good cholesterol. I braved a super ‘flu bug without antibiotics, am still coughing periodically but hopefully I will recover on my own without the need for extra medication. After purchasing my Nike+ kit, shoes and a new red Nano, I started exercising again and walked/ran over 5km last Sunday.
Media interest in 2006 was beyond my expectations, with several interviews in print, web and radio featuring my blog, myself, the Gahmenbloggers, a foray into Second Life and work-related projects. The reporters who interviewed me were most polite and professional and in some cases we ended up SMS’ing and emailing each other with more ideas, which is a great way to work together. Also, the publicity got me back in touch with other friends who wanted to know more about my faith. So, thank you, God for putting me here and giving me these opportunities.
My second interview with Radio Singapore International was broadcast last Friday evening. I was part of a group interview in the setting up of a new blog for my agency. It’s called the Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) blog and it is a CCA where students take the lead in proposing new activities and events to promote a healthy lifestyle.
I’m thankful to my group of Gahmenbloggers and the support and frank advice we have rendered to each other – may we keep the spirit alive in 2007 and beyond. I joined Yesterday, the Museum Roundtable Blog, and took part in my first music mashup with the Rambling Librarian.
I’d also like to thank management for being open-minded and supportive of all these new initiatives, trusting me to step forward and, in the words of a Canadian-Indian comedian, “Do the right thing”. I’m reading Stephen M.R. Covey’s book, The Speed of Trust and realise there was a lot of that going around. And based on IDEO’s 10 Faces of Innovation, there was a lot of ‘cross-pollination’ with certain colleagues too and I hope this will continue, along with other aspects of innovation.
Forthcoming engagements
On 17 January 2007, Web Standards aficionados in Singapore will take part in the very first Web Standards Meetup. This has been initiated by my WebSG partner-in-crime, Lucian and you bet I’ll be giving it my full support. Again, this is something worthwhile that is taking some time to catch on in Singapore, probably because it isn’t taught in school and people think they can still get by with making things look good only in Internet Explorer.
On 26 January 2007, I will be giving a talk to the Hewlett-Packard Alumni, over at Raffles Girls’ School. If you are attending this, drop me a note or leave a comment if there’s anything in particular on new media trends that you want to hear about.
In early March 2007, I will attend the South-By-Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference in Austin, Texas. Of course, considering that bestselling authors, experts in blogging, podcasting, AJAX, microformats etc will be there, I’ll be taking notes.
In June 2007 you can catch me and my new fusion jazz band, the Moon Jumpers, in concert (venue and exact date to be confirmed). The band is made up of talented individuals, but we need to practice more together, to gel as a band.
And for other iPod users who believe in paying for music and movies, like me – fingers crossed for a Singapore iTunes online store in 2007!
Comments
Hey babes,
Happy new year. Come visit again…yesterday was fun! We can chill on the roof or in the attic once I make it a little more cosy and less dusty.
Happy New Year Van!
Vanessa, Glad to see our book has reached Singapore. We love Singapore. Hope you like the book. Business Week Magazine in the USA picked The Speed of Trust as one of the top 10 Career Books of 2006. Keep making waves. Greg
Oh, and I’m looking forward to the iTunes apple store too. I bought a lot of music while in the US. And I’m actually still using my US credit card to buy music once in a while, but the dough in the US bank is running low so I must stop. Hope the iTunes store gets here sooner than soon!
Dear Greg,
Thanks for dropping by! I really like the book. It is a timely reminder of the importance of trust in the world today.
You may like to know that the book is getting good product placement here in Singapore. It’s not just on the usual shelves but on the display/featured books area. In fact that’s how I first noticed the book.
All the best to Stephen and the team! Do let us know if Stephen ever visits Singapore to give a talk or anything.