I started this blog during my working life, after July, 2009 you may find my blog posts at http:lbms2u.blogspot.com

5/31/2008

Online Shopping's Facts & Figures

“The Internet is no longer a niche technology—it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. Almost no aspect of life remains untouched by online media. As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isn’t surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to researching and buying products,” said Linda Lim, Director, Online Research, The Nielsen Company, Malaysia.

This is based on their recent research, the facts and figures about Malaysian online shopping. If you are planning for Internet Marketing, you may take this as a reference.

   
1. Have you ever make a purchase over the internet?  
A. Yes 70%
B. No 30%
   
2. When was the last time you made apurchase over the internet?  
A. Less than a month ago 39%
B. 1 - 3 months ago 16%
C. 3 - 6 months ago 19%
D. More than 6 months ago 26%
   
3. Top method payment used by Malaysian to make their last purchase over the internet in the past 3 months  
A. Credit Card 75%
B. Money Transfer 38%
C. Cash on delivery (COD) 18%
D. Paypal 15%
E. Prepaid Card 11%
   
4. Top items purchased in the past 3 months  
A. Airline ticket reservation 55%
B. Tour/hotel reservation 41%
C. Computer hardware 22%
D. Books 21%
E. Event tickets 18%
F. Others 24%
   
5. What helps Malaysian decide the site to use for shopping online?  
A. Personal recommendation 53%
B. Search engine 37%
C. Special offering 34%
D. General surfing 30%
E. Same site I buy from regulary 24%
F. Online advertising 23%
G. Online recommendation site 21%
H. Shopping comparison website 16%
I. TV/Printer other advertising 15%
J. Same store I buy from online 12%
K. Others 7%
   

Sources: Nielsen News 14 April 2008

5/21/2008

Readcycle for Charity

Recycle the joy of reading. READcycle.

Donate your good condition OLD BOOKS such as children books, dictionaries, atlases and encyclopedia (no torn cover, pages or scribbling) to the underprivileged children and help build their literacy level.

This is another good program for your school holiday. Just bring along 10 English books to BookFest @ Malaysia 2008 and received a 1-year POPULAR Adult Card plus one Free ticket into the Exhibition.

BookFest @ Malaysia 2008 will be held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) Hall 1-5 from 24 May - 1 June 2008 time 10am - 10pm. Be there.

5/18/2008

The Secret Free Screenings

〈The Secret 秘密〉这部影片至今已销售200万套,书籍上市不到半年也卖了500万册。这影片探讨的"秘密"就是宇宙间的"吸引力发则",启发人们运用这个法则,相信心想事成,让生命更圆满。

免费观赏会是由巴生新镇佛光青年主办,详情如下:
日期:24/05/2008 星期六 20.15pm
地点:32A Jalan Tiara 5, Bandar Baru Klang, 41050 Klang.
电话:03-3344 2261 /
016-232 1420 / 012-233 0965

关于〈The Secret〉资料:Official Web Site, Wikipedia, Blog
书籍:台湾版(繁),中国版(简)

Trailer: 1st 20 mins


Riches Visualization Tool

5/12/2008

SPAM Free -Using Email Icon

Getting a lot of SPAM lately? Did it begin just after you published your email address in your website/blog or comments on other's blog? If that’s the case then there’s a way you can stop your inbox from getting spammed.

There are a number of techniques,

First is the usual geeky way. It involved publishing your email address like this: sample@hotmail [dot] com or sample [at] hotmail [dot] com or sumthing similar.

Or using a picture which contains your email address. It looks nice too! Just see the following examples.


They look cool, don’t they? You can easily generate these kinds of icons from this cool sites: 1. limcorp.net 2. nexodyne.com 3. needasig.dom 4. coolgenerator.com 5. mailonpix.com . You can use the email icon generator there for FREE. Enjoy!

Remember: Leaving ur email address publicly is an open invitation for spam. So be careful before youu leave Your email address here and there. Help fight spam!

5/11/2008

Buddhist-themed Movies Free Screening

Here it comes with another Free Screening!


The 2008 Wesak International Film Festival (WIFF) presents Buddhist themed and inspired cinema from several countries - full length movies, documentaries, animation and children's films.
The objective of the WIFF is to use the audio-visual media to create greater awareness of Buddhism among the general public.

The film festival is spread out over two weekends, beginning from Saturday, June 14 and closing on Sunday, June 22 2008 [Screening time]. It will be held at the Malaysia Tourism Centre, located in 109, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, a very accessible location near the Petronas Twin Towers.

A special attraction on opening night on June 14 will be a performance by Ravenna Michalsen, a US artist, who will perform her own Buddhist musical compositions. [Listen to her SONG] Interspersed among the films during the festival will also be performances by local Buddhist musical groups.

MOVIE SYNOPSIS

5/10/2008

Green Rangers wanted

YOU are wanted!


THE public can now get involved in environmental preservation with the Green Ranger Wannabe campaign.


The Selangor environment department launched the programme to recruit people who are interested to volunteer in environmental activities organised by the state or other NGOs.


“We want lay people, young and old, to help in the fight to protect the environment. We would contact them when we need volunteers for events.” Selangor tourism, consumer affairs and environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said.

She said everyone could contribute to saving the environment with small measures like separating garbage and recycling.


Those who are interested in becoming Green Rangers can email bukitlanjan2008@gmail.com or salkiah@doe.gov.my.

Source: The Star

5/09/2008

Internet Marketing in 5 Lessons

Why do you need an Internet marketing strategy? There are scores of compelling reasons.


For one, the Internet saves you money. The efficiencies of managing member interactions on line far outweigh the initial investment in technology and ongoing maintenance. For another, your competitors are doing it—so you don't want to fall behind. Perhaps most compelling of all: Your members expect you to make their lives easier by serving them on line.

But the Web can be daunting. Member expectations are high. New applications come out daily. Whizzy features abound. Legacy systems remain a millstone. It's hard to keep up, never mind marshal the resources needed for continuous innovation.

So let's step back and look at a simple way credit union marketers can carve out an effective Internet marketing strategy for themselves, without investing a lot of time and money in tools, or agencies, or fancy consultants. In fact, most of this you can do on the back of a cocktail napkin.

Developing a reasonable, effective Internet strategy involves five easy lessons.

Lesson One: Marketing Basics. Ask yourself: Am I doing everything I can to understand my members' needs and expectations, and satisfy those needs, every day?

OK, that's not an Internet strategy, to be sure. But it does make an important point: No Internet strategy can work if the basics are not in place. First you must excel at marketing, and then worry about great Internet marketing.

When an exciting new tool comes along, it's very easy to get excited about its cool features, and forget about marketing basics. So, first, look at your members and their needs, and deliver extremely well against those needs.

Lesson Two: Go-to-Market Strategy. Credit union marketers already have pretty good strategies in place. They know their members, their buying preferences, and how to sell to them and service them. So lay out that process, step by step.

Lesson Three: Automation. Do this with the best processes, using the Web wherever it fits, wherever it adds value.

This is pretty simple. But it works. Here's an example. Let's say a credit union goes through the following stages in its marketing process. I'll list beside each stage several examples of excellent Internet techniques that make the process cheaper or faster or more satisfying to members.

* Research customer needs: Try switching to online focus groups, or simple customer surveys on your Web site.

* Communicate, run campaigns: Use e-mail, put an offer on your Web site, or shift some of your seminars to the Web, especially those involving current members.

* Fulfill campaign inquiries: Make your collateral material available for Web download, and deliver it via e-mail. That way, collateral material can be not only updated instantly, but also customized to the individual respondent's interests. Prospects can be qualified by e-mail or by Web-based surveys.

* Transact: Migrate your teller function on line. Customers can check balances, manage their accounts, or pay their bills 24/7.

* Manage relationships: Use ongoing communications, via e-mail or Web site, to keep those relationships nurtured and growing.

* Gain referrals: Viral marketing offers within your e-mail messages will encourage your happy members to introduce you to their friends and colleagues. A referral request box can also be part of your Web site.

Lesson Four: Re-engineer Sub-optimal Processes. When reviewing your go-to-market process, you surely found some areas of weakness where a change is indicated. A bad process should not be automated. Instead, review and refine it. I'm not saying this will be easy, politically or practically, but take advantage. This is an opportunity to add value across the board.

Lesson Five: Brainstorming. Pull together a team, put them off site for a day or so, and ask them to Think Great Thoughts. There are plenty of great Internet applications emerging that are new and different, and do not necessarily fit into your current go-to-market process. This team's mission is to identify them.

The team should be made up of creative marketing types, the most tech-savvy ones you have, plus an equal representation from IT, plus some sales people. Together, these folks should come up with some new ideas that will make your members feel way beyond satisfied, to the point of being excited. Some of the great new ideas the Internet has allowed are instant messaging and low-cost auctions. New ideas are there, for the taking, to apply to serving your members.

Now, I haven't even approached the whole opportunity the Internet provides in other areas of the business. Just think, if your back office is more efficient, and your HR benefits administration is humming on the Web, then more resources may be freed up for great marketing investments. Go figure it out. And have fun.

By RUTH P.STEVENS, one of the World’s Most Influential People in B-to-B Marketing. MORE articles.

5/08/2008

Smart Consumer Video Clips

     
 

We are all Smart Consumer, here are some video clips from Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations. By watching it, you maybe become even smarter...

Bijak berbelanja
Kualiti ProdukCetak Rompak
Buatan TempatanTarikh LuputMini Sitcom

5/07/2008

Grow with Green at Petrosains

What have you plan for this school holiday?

You may consider this, visit Petrosains! From 6 May to 30 June 2008, Petrosains 'Grow with Green' campaign will presented through their interactive science shows and activities to educate visitor how to take little steps to make a big difference in giving life back to the environment.

Location and contact details:
Petronas Twin Towers, Level 4 Suria KLCC, 50088 Kuala Lumpur
Info/booking: 03-2331 8181, Email: infopetrosains@petronas.com.my

Have a meaningful and fruitful school holiday!

5/06/2008

Search Engine Tricks

Most of us use a search engine on a daily basis but conduct a search the same way every time. There are a lot of search tricks, though, that are available in most of the major search engines, and these can be not only fun to use but also very helpful at times. Read on to learn more.

Q: How can I exclude specific terms from a search result?

A: Most search engines recognise the plus (+) and minus (-) signs as operators that allow you to narrow search results. When you use the plus sign directly in front of a word, you're telling the search engine that search results must include that word. If you use the minus sign directly in front of a word, you're telling the search engine that results returned should not include that word.

As an example, let's say you want to search for pages that include 'bill clinton' in them but not 'hillary.' Using the plus and minus operators, the search phrase would like this: +bill clinton -hillary. Note that there must not be a space in-between the plus or minus sign and the term to which it is attached. [Sample at Google]

Also, if the search term that must be included in search results contains spaces, as in 'bill clinton' above, put quotation marks around the term. Quotation marks, when used with or without the plus or minus signs, tell a search engine that the exact phrase must be included in results that are returned.

Q: A friend told me I should leave out words like 'and' and 'or' when I conduct searches. Why is that?

A: Your friend is probably thinking that the search engines will confuse these words with what are called Boolean 'operators,' which are specific words that you can use to help refine your queries in search engines and thereby return more relevant matches. But there's little chance of that happening these days. Some search engines do not recognise Boolean operators, and those that do require that you use call capital letters to designate them.

Boolean operators recognized by most search engines are AND, OR, and NOT. Using Boolean operators is really quite simple. Type AND between two or more terms to link them together and narrow a search. With AND, only pages that have each and every one of your key words will be listed. Type in OR between search terms to find any documents that include either of the terms. Type in NOT to exclude a term from a search, as in 'Hemingway NOT Ernest.' Boolean operators must be typed in upper-case letters; this is how they are distinguished from. Boolean operators work with most but not all popular search engines. [Sample at Google]

Q: How can I find a list of pages that belong to a specific Web site?

A: One way is to log on to the Web site and see whether there's a site map listed. Some sites provide one.

If not, though, you can use several tricks to search for pages within a particular domain, or Web site. First, you can use the 'site' command in most search engines to get a listing of pages that are indexed by the search engine you use.

Here's how. Log on to Google, Yahoo, or MSN, and in the search field, type the word 'site,' without quotation marks, followed by a colon (:) and the Web address of the site itself. If you want to find all of the pages on Microsoft.com, for example, you would type site:www.microsoft.com. Then press Enter or Search, and the search engine will return all of the pages of that site that are indexed. [Sample at Google]

Q: Is there any easy way for me to search for sites that are similar to a specific Web site?

A: Yes. You can use the prefix 'related,' followed by a colon (:) and then the site in question. Do not include spaces before or after the colon.

The 'related' limiter is, in fact, a seldom-used but terrific way to locate Web sites are similar to those that you enjoy the most. It's a far better way than trying to hunt down similar sites with a more general search term. If, for example, you're addicted to the site YouTube.com, you can go to Google or another search engine and type 'related:youtube.com' and press Enter. What you'll get are a list of sites that the search engine has categorized in the same way that it has categorised the site you include after the colon. [Sample at Google]

Q & A by Jay Dougherty