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Dorothy Poon
Interview with Dorothy Poon
(Singaporean Blogger, Social Media Enthusiast and Freelance Designer)
About you
1. When did you first start blogging?
Somewhere during 2000 I think!
2. What made you join the local blogging scene?
I don’t think there really was the perception of the “local blogging scene” when I first started, that seems to have appeared only recently. So, maybe the question could be why did I start blogging? I used blogging as a tool for my online diary during the early years, and also as an update page for my fanpage with self created wallpapers of my favourite music artistes. Too lazy to go through all the html creation and uploading on server nonsense, and push-button publishing seemed heaven sent. So I just created an invisible frame on my webpage and ran my updates on a blog in it.
3. What do you usually write about, and why?
Right now, I’m on social media, communication, with a bit of design, management and anything that interests me around the world, really. I also house my illustrations over at http://doryandfillet.wordpress.com, so writing isn’t the only mode for me. :)
I guess the intrinsic reason is that I’m really interested and curious about a lot of things, and I like to pen my thoughts down on them. Great way to question issues and also to get comments from others!
4. Where do you get your inspiration for your choice of topics?
Interesting question. I guess from what I read, encounter in real life or whatever happens to come to mind, or maybe some topic that I feel strongly about.
5. Considering how politically conservative Singapore is, has this restricted you in any way?
I try not to diss local politicians? Haha. Kidding. Well, I’d say that this doesn’t really affect me because I’m not blogging on politics much!
Local Social Media
6. How has Singapore's blogosphere evolved ever since you've started blogging, till now?
I think the sense of community has grown tremendously. In the early days, there were lone bloggers all over and mostly blogging about casual topics, etc, and the blogging platforms didn’t even offer much in terms of privacy (all blogs were open).
Right now, there are communities mushrooming all over the place, and not just in blogs too. So there’s pretty much something for everyone, photographers, writers, food junkies, tech people...so on and so forth, in terms of blogs, Facebook groups or even forums.
And of course, the entrance of corporations and enterprises in recent times, for the business aspect of things.
7. How immersed do you think, is Singapore in the social media scene?
I think it’s still pretty young, compared to say, North America, but we’re definitely seeing quite a lot of people adopting the technology, though most of them are probably active only on a certain platform (e.g the Facebookers, Plurkers, Tweeters, Bloggers, etc....)
On another note, I really like the concept of blog shops and online shopping for that matter, especially during busy periods when I have no time to hit a physical store!
It’s nice to see groups forming with social media junkies like TDM, e27, Social Media People and shamless plug...Social Media Breakfast, but there’s still a lot more room to catch up though, when you look at what the thought leaders in social media are accomplishing beyond our shores. We have lots to learn!
Having said that, I think that there are also the few people who are developing Facebook apps and games, 100% Singaporean, and that’s really cool.
8. Is there any aspect of our local social media scene that strikes you as being something negative? How can it be changed?
I wish that more people knew how to craft a story, which makes for great casual reading. I suppose the general sentiment out there is also that netizens are not yet “mature” enough to be given the leeway to voice out whatever they wish online, so probably in time, people will learn how not to simply flame others in emotional rants online, and learn how to distinguish between irrationality and a sound critique.
There is a lot of self–censorship going on too, so this is probably a reflection of society in general. I would like to see more openess because that is when great discussions can happen. Everyone just needs to learn how to be responsible because of the sheer numbers that you can reach online, it is quite different to make a disparaging remark just on the street, and to post a blog on it. Things that happen online are not entirely “virtual” and unreal in the sense that real people get hurt, and there can be significant real psychological trauma from cyber crimes, cyber bullying and so on.
Are there politics in the local blogosphere? Probably! But not my cup of tea so I don’t want to get involved. This probably goes back to the first point about being responsible enough not to take the internet and the false sense of anonymity it gives a person to assume that this gives you the liberty to “speak” without thinking.
9. What future do you see for social media (and blogging) in Singapore?
Blogging wise, I guess it’s just a tool, so in essence, a subset of the entire picture? People who don’t want to type out an entire blog post will probably love the micro blogging platforms like Twitter and Plurk, and life streaming has been made so much easier with Facebook, Flickr and the likes. So it really depends on what kind of content a person wants to share- text, videos, photographs, links?
So onto the larger social media in Singapore thought....
On the consumer side of things, hopefully as the space matures, we will have more genuine insights, and opinions as content, rather than just re-sharing of what is already on the web, or personal how-my-day-was diary posts. There is nothing wrong with a chronicle of your life, as long as it is well written, a bite sized type of story, if you will. I don’t think random, poorly written diary blog posts really value add much to the scene, and PeoPle wHo TyPe LiKe ThIS ScaRe the H$Ll oUt oF Me.
For the corporate side, I think that more corporations will probably try and jump on the bandwagon, if only because their competitors are doing it and they don’t want to seem like laggards, or maybe the initiative is filtering down from their overseas counterparts. So what I’m thinking is that social media will no longer be some “gen Y” or “young person” thing, as people of all ages start to learn about this channel and adopt the tools and habits (think about whether you would “friend” your parents on Facebook?).
I really cringe when people talk about social media like it is the magic bullet and the answer to all their marketing or communication issues. It is not. Fundamentally, I think the issues do not change, and they are about how you can communicate with people, how you can persuade them, and how you get them to feel about your product/cause or whatever is pertinent to you. Irregardless of whether you are a consumer, corporation, government representative...
It’s not about the latest tools, it’s about the conversation and people. :)
(Singaporean Blogger, Social Media Enthusiast and Freelance Designer)
Read Dorothy's blog at www.dorothypoon.com
Check out her illustrations at http://doryandfillet.wordpress.com!
Check out her illustrations at http://doryandfillet.wordpress.com!
About you
1. When did you first start blogging?
Somewhere during 2000 I think!
2. What made you join the local blogging scene?
I don’t think there really was the perception of the “local blogging scene” when I first started, that seems to have appeared only recently. So, maybe the question could be why did I start blogging? I used blogging as a tool for my online diary during the early years, and also as an update page for my fanpage with self created wallpapers of my favourite music artistes. Too lazy to go through all the html creation and uploading on server nonsense, and push-button publishing seemed heaven sent. So I just created an invisible frame on my webpage and ran my updates on a blog in it.
3. What do you usually write about, and why?
Right now, I’m on social media, communication, with a bit of design, management and anything that interests me around the world, really. I also house my illustrations over at http://doryandfillet.wordpress.com, so writing isn’t the only mode for me. :)
I guess the intrinsic reason is that I’m really interested and curious about a lot of things, and I like to pen my thoughts down on them. Great way to question issues and also to get comments from others!
4. Where do you get your inspiration for your choice of topics?
Interesting question. I guess from what I read, encounter in real life or whatever happens to come to mind, or maybe some topic that I feel strongly about.
5. Considering how politically conservative Singapore is, has this restricted you in any way?
I try not to diss local politicians? Haha. Kidding. Well, I’d say that this doesn’t really affect me because I’m not blogging on politics much!
Local Social Media
6. How has Singapore's blogosphere evolved ever since you've started blogging, till now?
I think the sense of community has grown tremendously. In the early days, there were lone bloggers all over and mostly blogging about casual topics, etc, and the blogging platforms didn’t even offer much in terms of privacy (all blogs were open).
Right now, there are communities mushrooming all over the place, and not just in blogs too. So there’s pretty much something for everyone, photographers, writers, food junkies, tech people...so on and so forth, in terms of blogs, Facebook groups or even forums.
And of course, the entrance of corporations and enterprises in recent times, for the business aspect of things.
7. How immersed do you think, is Singapore in the social media scene?
I think it’s still pretty young, compared to say, North America, but we’re definitely seeing quite a lot of people adopting the technology, though most of them are probably active only on a certain platform (e.g the Facebookers, Plurkers, Tweeters, Bloggers, etc....)
On another note, I really like the concept of blog shops and online shopping for that matter, especially during busy periods when I have no time to hit a physical store!
It’s nice to see groups forming with social media junkies like TDM, e27, Social Media People and shamless plug...Social Media Breakfast, but there’s still a lot more room to catch up though, when you look at what the thought leaders in social media are accomplishing beyond our shores. We have lots to learn!
Having said that, I think that there are also the few people who are developing Facebook apps and games, 100% Singaporean, and that’s really cool.
8. Is there any aspect of our local social media scene that strikes you as being something negative? How can it be changed?
I wish that more people knew how to craft a story, which makes for great casual reading. I suppose the general sentiment out there is also that netizens are not yet “mature” enough to be given the leeway to voice out whatever they wish online, so probably in time, people will learn how not to simply flame others in emotional rants online, and learn how to distinguish between irrationality and a sound critique.
There is a lot of self–censorship going on too, so this is probably a reflection of society in general. I would like to see more openess because that is when great discussions can happen. Everyone just needs to learn how to be responsible because of the sheer numbers that you can reach online, it is quite different to make a disparaging remark just on the street, and to post a blog on it. Things that happen online are not entirely “virtual” and unreal in the sense that real people get hurt, and there can be significant real psychological trauma from cyber crimes, cyber bullying and so on.
Are there politics in the local blogosphere? Probably! But not my cup of tea so I don’t want to get involved. This probably goes back to the first point about being responsible enough not to take the internet and the false sense of anonymity it gives a person to assume that this gives you the liberty to “speak” without thinking.
9. What future do you see for social media (and blogging) in Singapore?
Blogging wise, I guess it’s just a tool, so in essence, a subset of the entire picture? People who don’t want to type out an entire blog post will probably love the micro blogging platforms like Twitter and Plurk, and life streaming has been made so much easier with Facebook, Flickr and the likes. So it really depends on what kind of content a person wants to share- text, videos, photographs, links?
So onto the larger social media in Singapore thought....
On the consumer side of things, hopefully as the space matures, we will have more genuine insights, and opinions as content, rather than just re-sharing of what is already on the web, or personal how-my-day-was diary posts. There is nothing wrong with a chronicle of your life, as long as it is well written, a bite sized type of story, if you will. I don’t think random, poorly written diary blog posts really value add much to the scene, and PeoPle wHo TyPe LiKe ThIS ScaRe the H$Ll oUt oF Me.
For the corporate side, I think that more corporations will probably try and jump on the bandwagon, if only because their competitors are doing it and they don’t want to seem like laggards, or maybe the initiative is filtering down from their overseas counterparts. So what I’m thinking is that social media will no longer be some “gen Y” or “young person” thing, as people of all ages start to learn about this channel and adopt the tools and habits (think about whether you would “friend” your parents on Facebook?).
I really cringe when people talk about social media like it is the magic bullet and the answer to all their marketing or communication issues. It is not. Fundamentally, I think the issues do not change, and they are about how you can communicate with people, how you can persuade them, and how you get them to feel about your product/cause or whatever is pertinent to you. Irregardless of whether you are a consumer, corporation, government representative...
It’s not about the latest tools, it’s about the conversation and people. :)
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