Ever wonder what’s the fuss about social media? Why is it important to understand social media’s impact on how we communicate and share information? And the fact that, just like the internet and email, the social and technological changes brought about by social media are irreversible?

Look Who’s Back

For the second year running, the folks from Six Degrees are back to present Social Media World Forum Asia 2010 in Singapore. This year’s event promises to be bigger than last year’s and will present a host of speakers from many sides of the social media story.

Among the many distinguished speakers I look forward to hearing are:

Brian Solis : Acclaimed original thought leader on social media and writer of the new book ‘Engage’

Blake Chandlee : VP & Commercial Director at Facebook, EMEA

Thomas Crampton : Asia Pacific Director, 360 Digital Influence, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Shalabh Pandey: Leading digital marketing personality in Asia. Author and founder of Chasingthestorm

I Am Interested in

What I really am excited about is to hear how businesses are transforming their organisations through embracing ‘social media’ within their organisations. Or is it all merely outwardly PR- and marketing-focused? What are the initiatives taken by business leaders to empower their employees to engage in social media? Is it ‘See & No Touch’ approach? Have they built ‘social media-like’ infrastructures in their organisations to facilitate social conversations and learning? Are their employees allowed to be on ‘social media’ in the office?

After all, ‘social media’ is really all about ‘online conversations around bits of information and new learning’.

I look forward to meeting these folks in person with these ‘difficult questions’.

Derek Yeo : Head of Marketing, Tiger Airways

Pooja Arora : Brand Manager, P&G

Jeremy Khoo : Deputy Director, Marketing & Communication, NTUC Fairprice

Disclosure: A Groovyweb will be at the two-day forum as an official blogger, courtesy of Six Degrees. If you would like to follow the live coverage of the event, follow me on Twitter via @ismantanuri

Being the avid foodies that we are, the wife and I are always on the lookout for new food joints to satisfy our cravings. Our problem is, being Muslims, finding halal establishments in Singapore can be quite a challenge. The halal foodie depends heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations, googling the Web and physical ‘stumbleupons’ to discover new food places (sometimes food blogs such as ‘Yok Makan!’ offers great recommendation). But most times though, halal food places remains top of our Google search list.

Not for much longer though. The mobile web will save us all.

Introducing BuUuk: The Mobile Foodie App

Things have gotten easier since we discovered BuUuk for our Android phones (Nexus One FTW BTW). BuUuk is a restaurant guide utility application available for free on the iPhone App Store and also for phones running on Android (get it from Android Market on your phone or click this to dowload .apk file and install). Interestingly, BuUuk is a homegrown, Singapore-made product and has also been featured on CNN Go’s list of ‘11 Crucial iPhone Travel Apps’.

Key Features of BuUuk You Should Know

- BuUuk is a location-aware app. Wherever you are (local or overseas), BuUuk uses your GPS or AGPS location to provide you with Nearby food recommendations. This, I think, is a really cool feature, saves travel time obviously. BuUuk even tells me that I am ‘142m’ away from the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange’s McDonalds outlet (I am at my workdesk at home right now).

- BuUuk currently has a database of restaurants in 50 cities in Asia and Pacific and Middle East (including Seoul, Langkawi, Osaka, Vientiane, etc) Wherever you are, BuUuk will come to you with information.

- BuUuk has both ‘Featured’ (paid listings?) and user-added restaurant listings. You can also add a new discovery to the list. A great way to recommend your favourite chef to friends, family and all foodies out there.

- BuUuk has Best lists. Cuts decision-making time efficiently and more time to enjoy your food.

- BuUuk provides a restaurant page for the food place you are searching for. What’s great here? Cuisine info, contact number, address and directions (running on Google Maps engine). You won’t get lost for sure.

- You can also vote for your favourite foodie hangouts (or find out which joints you should avoid)

- It also looks like BuUuk has an active ‘mobile forum’ section called ‘Ask BuUuk’.

- Here’s the great bit for the wife and I: BuUuk shows if a restaurant is Halal or not. There is also a Categories feature for us to check out all the Halal food joints in Singapore and travel out to these places. ( Other categories are Hawker, German, Filipino and even Dutch among many others.) Note to the Halal Foodie: Please do a quick Google search or ask around to find out if the place is indeed Halal. As a fair bit of the information on BuUuk are user/customer-generated, error in highlighting a place as ‘Halal’ might occur. As with all user-generated recommendations, do a little more search. Start with Google.

My verdict on BuUuk: It is a very promising mobile application with great potential as long as content are fresh and relevant to service users. I would also suggest an editor to audit the restaurant information submitted by users. Nothing biggie there where user-generated content is concerned.

The Age of the Halal Foodies has arrived, rejoice!

Follow BuUuk on Twitter

(Non-marketing folks, perhaps the following might bore you. You may leave if you wish to do so.)

Part II: Why Mobile Marketing Is Important for Business, Big and Small

Can you, the Singaporean food business owner, afford NOT to be on BuUuk?

Here’s an interesting statistic featured in Straits Times yesterday: 80% of ALL phones sold in Singapore in the last 6 months are smartphones.

These are mobile gadgets that allow anyone to access the web any where and everywhere. Consumers have now been freed from the shackles of their desktop to search for content and information wherever they want and whenever they need to. From a personal experience, I have hardly needed to lug my work laptop around or access the web on the desktop computer at home after receiving my Nexus One. The smartphone meets my informational and computing needs adequately.

Where Are Consumers Heading?

Consumers are going to reach out to the nearest businesses they can conveniently reach digitally and those who have taken the effort to market and create presence on the mobile web platform. Those who do will certainly acquire the edge and headstart over others. Consumers are also making specific and targeted search, (such as halal food) and, without online content to optimise search results, businesses might be on the losing end in the long run. With location services such as Foursquare and Gowalla proving extremely popular with the smartphone crowd these days, the consumer retail industry will need to transform itself quickly to cater to these new realities.

No Love for SMS Marketing

Okay, by default, I am going to ignore SMS marketing, be it traditional or interactive. I get irritated by them for interrupting me at the most inconvenient moments. My theory is, advertisers and networks are moving (or jumping in) on the mobile marketing space because traditional advertising has failed. Mobile is just another channel for advertisers to interrupt with noisy commercial messages. I have not seen something I appreciate for ages! (Having said that, markets, such as India or Indonesia, do work and possibly have a need for SMS marketing because of the lack of mobile web infrastructure and slower technologies. Still, no condoning for interruptive tactics from me!)

Mobile Content for Consumers: Utilisable, Reusable and Shareable

The future of mobile marketing should lie in reusable and consumer-utilisable content. Only by developing content can companies capitalise on effective branding (recall and engagement) and generate long-term customer retention. Like BuUuk. I am a fan. And I am sharing with all of you.

More thoughts and ideas on mobile marketing coming to this blog. Watch this space.

This post was inspired by my 3-day attendance at the Mobile Marketing Association Forum (Asia Pacific) 2010. The Mobile Marketing Association is a global non-profit organisation that is leading the growth and adoption of mobile marketing among businesses globally. I fancy what they are doing to keep it sane and do have a read of their Global Code of Conduct (PDF) for mobile marketers. We are in good hands.

Share your thoughts and comments below on BuUuk, mobile marketing and even better still, the best Halal food joints! Let me start, where to find authentic halal dim sum in Singapore? :P

Credits:

Food image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laruth/

BuUuk images: www.pcworld.com, iridianstudio.com

Nexus One image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mackarus

Here is something different on this blog. My experiences, thoughts and learning over the last week.

#BarCampSG4

Last Saturday (21 Nov), I attended BarCamp Singapore 4, organised by Preetam Rai and Kelvin Quee. Sponsored and held at IDA Singapore (also co-sponsored by Yahoo! SG and Hackerspace.SG), BarCamp was open to all. This being my first attendance at a BarCamp, I was not too sure what to expect although I had some ideas, having read some accounts on previous BarCamps.

What is BarCamp? Read on Wikipedia.

BarCamp is Crowdsourcing

Just like the concept of crowdsourcing in social media, most of the topics of the day were suggested by the attendees (pasted on IDA’s wall as shown on photo to the right), then voted by attendees and eventually presented by the attendees. Anyone was free to present on any topic they fancied (technology, social media, creative arts, culture and social sciences) and there were really off-the-wall submissions including ‘How to Present Difficult Concepts to Lesser Beings’ by Coleman Yee (which I thoroughly enjoyed) and one that I rued I missed: Adrianna Tan’s ‘How to Hack Your Own Travel Channel Life’ (thank God for Slideshare). All in all, I enjoyed the sessions I attended, the learning and the impromptu discussions.

Freedom to Choose and Listen

The magic of BarCamp. As the presentations are run simultaneously in a number of rooms over different timeslots (typically 1/2 hour each), you are free to choose which room to attend, what to listen to and whose ideas to ponder upon. You are also free to leave any room at any time (to join another if you wish) and the floor is always open for discussion or opinions.

And if you’re bored, there are always folks outside, milling about or deep in discussions with others and happy to let you chip in your own thoughts and views. The open atmosphere was indeed infectious.

BarCamp and Relevancy: Deconstructed

I love the relevancy of the occasion, the infusion and exchange of ideas, the challenging of ideas, the worldly learning and the congregation of thinking minds. I met and spoke to technologists of every kind (web, soft/hardware hackers, iPhone fanatics, etc), a Web Shaman, a Second Life machinima producer from Perth, two admirable blokes who flew in from Bangkok specifically for BarCamp, an inspiring and relevant educator and her shy students, two very kind souls running gladlyCast, a free(!) SG SMS-to-Twitter service, a recent Harvard grad passionately doing social good through the web (GIVE.sg), budding entrepreneurs, a managing director of a UK-based tailoring business with a factory in Johore Bahru (talk about a global operation!) and many more thinking personalities. This mish-mashed environment of inspiring people and of current and relevant learning made BarCampSG4 a truly memorable event for me.

Oh I forgot, and there’s Preetam, the dude with boundless energy and a noble heart. The heart of BarCampSG. (PS. May the iPhone find its deserving nemesis :)

#NCT

To be frank, this post is inspired by Alec Goh’s own post ‘The Point of It All’. Alec is a student of Singapore Polytechnic’s Media and Communication course. One of its lecturers, Ping, is the aforementioned ‘inspiring and relevant educator’. But why? Read this other post from Alec: ‘Twitter became my School Curriculum’. To me, that is the most relevant education in new media you can get these days. I doubt any school textbook in the market today has anything on Twitter and for any media educators to wait for a textbook revision a few quarters down the road, the opportunity to be ‘currently relevant’ to their students’ learning will be lost. Honestly, Ping, you gave your students a terrific headstart and a definite edge in their learning. It is true that Twitter has been derided by many folks as ‘frivolous’ but it does have beneficial real life applications that I believe in, such as real time learning.

But Alec said it best: ‘Twitter is knowledge’. Real time knowledge.

What is #NCT?

This is what I had gathered. NCT is ‘New Communication Technologies’, a module taught by Ping. I chanced upon the #nct Twitter hashtag one day and it has been on permanent search in my Seesmic Twitter app. I have learnt a hell lot from following #nct. I have enjoyed the conversations that had gone in there and learning from the NCT students. Young students have a great way of sharing knowledge with each other, they break it down to easily consumed bite-sized morsels. Coupled with their eagerness to share their newfound knowledge, this can get pretty enlightening. (Trust me, I went through a few years of adult learning. Working adults like to hog information and knowledge to themselves, in a misguided belief that this is ‘competitive advantage’. Bollocks, I say.)

Did I tell you I know what Continuous Partial Attention is? I learnt that from an #nct blog post: Maisara’s ‘Pay Attention to Attention’. Point proven.

For all jaded media professionals out there, don’t worry if you have missed the boat of relevant learning, it is never too late. #nct will help you understand what is relevant today.

Meeting the #nct

BarCamp was a great opportunity to meet with the young folks from NCT. Although I did not have the opportunity to chat with all of them, I was fortunate to get acquainted in the first person with the likes of Hairunizam, Eve, Khan and one other guy whose name I’ve missed (enlighten me please?) Funnily, these folks do not know who Victor Khoo and Charlee are. That made me feel a little ancient. But what they lack in nostalgia, they sure made it up with youthful enthusiasm. I am glad they enjoyed BarCamp, everyone quipped that the learning through the presentations made it all so worthwhile. I love the open-mindedness.

By the way, I would like to congratulate the Year 3s on having completed their course. I wish you guys fun and relevant learning in your internships, it will be a blast!

The Point of It All

Let’s bring it back a little. I would like to ask you again to read Alec’s ‘The Point of It All’. Alec, for someone so young, captured it concisely. The world is changing around us. Media is changing, the way we communicate in person and online is changing. When the generation that includes Alec, Hairunizam, Eve and Khan comes through and rules the world, are we old fogeys ready to embrace and be sufficiently equipped to partake in the new world order?

At BarCamp, I told the group that is Hairunizam, Even, Khan and the unknown guy, that they are in a very promising generation. Social media and openess is changing business and society and they are right smack in the middle of this revolution, learning about it and pondering about it. They will be the pioneering youths that their future employers look to to change how business is done and how messages get told. And seriously, I want them to succeed.

Because the old fogeys need to wake up. The new kids are coming.

End Words

Staying relevant has never been this important in the history of the world, undoubtedly.

I leave you now with words from Alec that inspired me and I hope others around me.

‘(Following Ms Kwa’s words) I hope and want to be brave enough to be the first batch to venture the new frontiers despite all the threats and uncertainties. The world changes every second and so would I adapt. Speed, courage, awareness, creativity,  openness and social-networking are the notes taken.

The point of it all?

Anticipate change and adapt new relevancy constantly.

- Alec Goh ‘The Point of It All’

Photo Credits

• BarCampSG4 photos courtesy of Meng Wong
• NCT photo courtesy of Alec Goh

Updated 13/11: This post also appears as a guest blog post on Penn Olson.

I was recently reading an early chapter of Al and Laura Ries’ ‘The Origin of Brands’ and was struck by this concept:

The world’s best and long-lasting brands were typically created by a divergence from an existing product category and that these brands continue to survive not because of their ‘share of market’ but for being first in the mind of consumers.

Consider these examples of divergence and its disregard for market size of the day:

• What was the size of the cola market the day Coca Cola was launched?
• What was the market size of Mac users when Apple launched their Apple I system?
• How about the size of the personal computer market the day Microsoft launched their MS-DOS platform?
• And when McDonald first introduced the fast-food hamburger to the American public, what was the size of the fast-food market?

The answer to these questions: Zero.

However, these brands have proven they have what it takes to survive and prosper all these years. So, why is this possible?

The Importance of Mind Share

Because, as Al and Laura Ries stated it, the battle for customers is not in winning a large share of the market (although that is helpful) but rather through the creation of the market by winning over consumers’ minds.

So then, why are many marketers today still obsessed with ‘capturing’ every scrap and morsel of the pie that is ‘the market’ when winning minds has been proven an effective and sustainable business model? I personally believe this is the effect of overly revenue-driven organisations who are ready to sacrifice long-term sustainability for short-term profit gains. I digressed a little.

Please allow me now to theorise and tie Al’s and Laura’s ‘share of mind’ concept to the hottest topic in business and communication these days: social media.

Share of Mind and Its Relevance Today

Statistically, Apple’s iPhone does not command a whimper of market share in the mobile phone category. As of October 2009, the iPhone is estimated to own only 2.5% of the world’s mobile phone market. Surprising? No. It is after all the sole product in Apple’s mobile phone inventory.

But why has the iPhone become so iconic for a product so young (only 2 years old as we speak)?

Was it the first smartphone? No. Nokia’s Communicator first appeared in 1996.

The first touchscreen phone? That honour belongs to LG’s Prada phone in January 2007.

Because in our minds (and certainly in mine too, an iPhone non-lover), the iPhone is foremost in thought when ‘smartphones’ or ‘touchscreen phones’ are mentioned or discussed. Does not that translate into a complete dominance of the consuming mind? Even if I’ll end up never buying an iPhone in my entire life, I will still talk about it and get into conversations about it, would I not? (Can’t remember talking about the Prada phone ever!) By sheer branding genius and the accompanying buzz from its fanatical community of users, Apple has placed the iPhone right on the desktop of our mind, always visible, always conversation-worthy.

So Mind Share is Important, Now What?

For digital natives like me (and million others coming through in the next generational wave), we are gradually getting better at being ‘untouched’ by traditional advertising. We ignore advertising because we can Google it. We search for product information through our friends or within our circle of influence. And with social media channels, we can ask a brand directly for an opinion.

Let me repeat that: ‘we can ask a brand directly for an opinion’. Ponder on that for a moment and recall the last time a brand responded to you directly. You can? Via Twitter? A comment on your blog? Now place that brand in its category, say Starhub, a telco player in Singapore (who has @starhubcares on Twitter), or a brand new pasta restaurant that has responded to your gushes or criticisms of its dinner spread.

Social Media Creates Deeper Mind Share

Don’t these brands seem much more human to you? Much more approachable? Most certainly left an impression, right? And that I say is a fine mind share win! Social media simply helps to deepen these brand-to-customer connections. We, humans, are most likely to favour and navigate towards people or things we are familiar with or have a positive experience with. And thus, it is very likely that our next purchase decisions will be heavily influenced by these recall tendencies.

Here are some of my own personal experiences with Singaporean brands whom I have interacted with on social media channels and who have advertently been gifted a corner of my mind to call their own.

What Competitor?

Rochor Beancurd House has both Facebook and Twitter presence. The man behind these social media profiles is its director, Jason Koh, who maintains regular daily updates and interaction with tweeples. Always ready to respond and comment on issues of the day, I have had my fair share of tweet discussions with Jason, both casual and business.

Now, in my mind at this very present moment, Rochor Beancurd House is THE beancurd establishment in Singapore. Jason has done enough to fill this virtual category as I perceive it and, until a beancurd competitor comes along and starts dabbling in social media and interacting with me, Rochor Beancurd is top spot in this space. A brand name convenient enough in my mind to name-drop when needed.

There Is Always Room for Two, But Get There Soon

When I think of Japanese food, these 2 brands come to mind, Sakae Sushi and Standing Sushi Bar. As part of research, I have been observing Sakae Sushi lately as they engage bloggers in their ‘Sakae Monthly Bloggers Affair’ campaign. Although a little ‘laggy’ with their social media audience, Sakae Sushi nonetheless has a comprehensive approach to connecting with their customers. I was already a foodie fan of theirs but now I am a bigger fan because I know they are sincere in reaching out.

On the boutique end, Standing Sushi Bar is the perfect case study for ‘Social Media for Small Businesses’. Although Howard Lo, the main man and proprietor, said in a blog post ‘I don’t care about that’ in reference to social media marketing, it is really hard to believe. The various use of social media tools for his business is eye-catching and definitely worth emulating for small businesses trying to establish a niche and regular clientele. Here are some Standing Sushi Bar activities that I have observed in the social media space:

• Crowd sourcing to seek opinions on a new in-house menu via Twitter
• Taking enquiries, reservations and even hiring search via Twitter
• Blogging and sharing the Standing Sushi experience
• Coupon promotions and content sharing via Facebook

No other Singaporean Japanese food seller has come under my radar. However, the truth is I am always ready to eat at both Sakae Sushi and Standing Sushi Bar, so there is always room for two in the mind. But before every one else gets on social media, it is always good to stake territorial mind share claims early before it gets too crowded. Then we have to think of the next ‘fad’ in marketing communication :)

Personality First, First in Mind

The Garden Slug must be one of the friendliest Singapore brands on Twitter! Always happy to join in conversations and to make you feel at home on Twitter. For the record, I have not been there and I am not even sure who is behind the Twitter account. But The Garden Slug’s sincere brand personality shines through! It makes me want to have dinner there and to know the person/persons running the brand. That much of my mind has been won over and isn’t this a genuine mind share win through social media?

That is not all that won me over. Go ahead and read The Garden Slug’s blog. Unpretentious and chock-full of social content, a delight and a respite from all-too-typical, stiff-backed corporate portals and blogs. In particular, I am smittened by this line on their Careers’ page ‘We are an indie startup and we do things a little differently at times’. Refreshing!

So at any time when I am in Telok Kurau and looking for a meal or some Ugly Salmon Cakes, I am pretty sure which ‘indie startup’ will come first to mind.

Be a Pioneer and Seek Minds

Penn Olson is not a retail or consumer brand, but nonetheless, a Singaporean brand worth mentioning. Founded in july 2009 by two students from Singapore Management University, Penn Olson.

I was recently reading an early chapter of Al and Laura Ries’ ‘The Origin of Brands’ and was struck by this concept:

The world’s best and long-lasting brands were typically created by a divergence from an existing product category and that these brands continue to survive not because of their ‘share of market’ but for being first in the mind of consumers.

Consider these examples of divergence and its disregard for market size of the day:

• What was the size of the cola market the day Coca Cola was launched?
• What was the market size of Mac users when Apple launched their Apple I system?
• How about the size of the personal computer market the day Microsoft launched their MS-DOS platform?
• And when McDonald first introduced the fast-food hamburger to the American public, what was the size of the fast-food market?

The answer to these questions: Zero.

However, these brands have proven they have what it takes to survive and prosper all these years. So, why is this possible?

The Importance of Mind Share

Because, as Al and Laura Ries stated it, the battle for customers is not in winning a large share of the market (although that is helpful) but rather through the creation of the market by winning over consumers’ minds.

So then, why are many marketers today still obsessed with ‘capturing’ every scrap and morsel of the pie that is ‘the market’ when winning minds has been proven an effective and sustainable business model? I personally believe this is the effect of overly revenue-driven organisations who are ready to sacrifice long-term sustainability for short-term profit gains. I digressed a little.

Please allow me now to theorise and tie Al’s and Laura’s ‘share of mind’ concept to the hottest topic in business and communication these days: social media.

Share of Mind and Its Relevance Today

Statistically, Apple’s iPhone does not command a whimper of market share in the mobile phone category. As of October 2009, the iPhone is estimated to own only 2.5% of the world’s mobile phone market. Surprising? No. It is after all the sole product in Apple’s mobile phone inventory.

But why has the iPhone become so iconic for a product so young (only 2 years old as we speak)?

Was it the first smartphone? No. Nokia’s Communicator first appeared in 1996.

The first touchscreen phone? That honour belongs to LG’s Prada phone in January 2007.

Because in our minds (and certainly in mine too, an iPhone non-lover), the iPhone is foremost in thought when ‘smartphones’ or ‘touchscreen phones’ are mentioned or discussed. Does not that translate into a complete dominance of the consuming mind? Even if I’ll end up never buying an iPhone in my entire life, I will still talk about it and get into conversations about it, would I not? (Can’t remember talking about the Prada phone ever!) By sheer branding genius and the accompanying buzz from its fanatical community of users, Apple has placed the iPhone right on the desktop of our mind, always visible, always conversation-worthy.

So Mind Share is Important, Now What?

For digital natives like me (and million others coming through in the next generational wave), we are gradually getting better at being ‘untouched’ by traditional advertising. We ignore advertising because we can Google it. We search for product information through our friends or within our circle of influence. And with social media channels, we can ask a brand directly for an opinion.

Let me repeat that: ‘we can ask a brand directly for an opinion’. Ponder on that for a moment and recall the last time a brand responded to you directly. You can? Via Twitter? A comment on your blog? Now place that brand in its category, say Starhub, a telco player in Singapore (who has @starhubcares on Twitter), or a brand new pasta restaurant that has responded to your gushes or criticisms of its dinner spread.

Socia