Crazy About Stars

Reflections (Week 15)

2009-01-28T06:20:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 15)

Wiki is an open-editing system that allows anyone to edit the content quickly and easily.

Its the CNY week, and there is e-learning for EIR, whereby we worked as a group and collaborated our class Wiki on Email, Chat and Instant Messaging Ethics.

This was my first time using Wiki and I feel that it is meaningful because it is a collaborative way of pooling our resources together and sharing it with everyone. It is also fun as every part of the Wiki, from pictures to words, are contributed by different classmates to form a final "masterpiece".

Through this experience, i feel that i have a better understanding of how Wikipedia works as well.

So, would i use Wiki for research in my own diploma?

Definitely yes, because it consists of a diversity of views and knowledge collaborated by different people, and will serve to value-add to my understanding of my research. However, before i use it to substantiate my points in any project, i will be cautious and evaluate the information that i have obtained because the content might be misleading if anyone in the community has not been responsible in their contributions.

Reflections (Week 14)

2009-01-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 14)

Most of us would be familiar with Youtube, a video-sharing service that allows users to upload their videos online.

In the last EIR lesson, we had a group and class discussion relating to Youtube.

I feel that YouTube plays a major role in my life, in terms of entertainment. I use YouTube to watch interesting videos for entertainment purposes, and for taking a break from the stresses from schoolwork.

I feel that it is also an interactive community as it promotes discussion in the online community through comments on the different videos that are uploaded onto YouTube. Often, I enjoy reading the comments given by other users on the videos that I watch.

However, I feel that I can live even without YouTube, as it only serves as an entertainment purpose.

YouTube can be used for research purposes as there are many different types of videos available online and can be used to substantiate my points in any of my projects. For my research topic about the impact of foreign talent in Singapore, there are also a number of videos out there that reflects this issue, and I can use these videos to get a better understanding of my research topic.

Reflections (Week 12)

2009-01-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week12)

Travel, is definitely one of the best things we can do in life. If I had the chance, I would want to visit many different places all over the world. But, in terms of my dream holiday destination, it would definitely be Japan…

Since young, i have always been fascinated with the beautiful scenery and interesting culture of Japan. I feel that it is a wonderful country and i would like to experience for myself the way of life in Japan.

One of the multimedia websites that showcases Japan would be: http://www.jnto.go.jp/ (Japan National Tourism Organisation).

I have evaluated JNTO website using several criteria, namely purpose, coverage, accessbility, presentation & arrangement.

In terms of purpose, JNTO aims to promote travel to Japan through consumer awareness by introducing the history and culture of Japan, as well as the different attractions that are available in Japan.

The intended audience would include tourists who are interested in going overseas for a holiday.

Next, the most important criteria in evluating JNTO would be its coverage.

JNTO has a comprehensive coverage as it introduces the Japanese history and culture by providing interest reads about the traditional annual events in Japan, the different Japanese food, arts and crafts, seasonal attractions, etc. Not only that, it also has a photo gallery showcasing the pictures of Japan. Detailed information of every place in Japan is also given.

Thirdly, JNTO website is also highly accessible as there is high speed of access despite being an interactive website which uses flash as their main banner. Apart from that, the website is also available in at least 8 different languages, and users are able to choose their preferrred language.

Lastly, in terms of presentation and arrangement, JNTO website is aesthetically pleasing as there are colourful images of Japan displayed in its website. As mentioned earlier, JNTO uses flash to create an interactive banner as well, and this captures the attention of visitors to the website. There is also consistency in presentation and arrangement, which serves to make the website look well-organised. A sitemap and search facility is also available to facilitate the retrieval of information and this value-adds to the presentation and arrangement of JNTO.

Reflections (Week 11)

2008-12-31T05:08:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 11)

Have you ever participated in a discussion forum?

This week’s EIR lesson is an e-learning week, and we have to post our views on the given topic: "how Internet has enriched your academic and social life" in the OLE discussion forum.

I had a wonderful experience interacting with my fellow classmates through this forum through the sharing of views. From this experience, I’ve found out that many of my classmates actually do share the same views regarding the topic. Not only that, I was also able to express my own views and get replies from classmates in return.

Online discussion is definitely different from traditional face-to-face class discussions. By discussing online, I am not able to see my classmates face-to-face, but I am able to get a better understanding of their views towards the topic. This is because when having face-to-face discussion, there is no “record” of the discussion and I might not remember what my classmates have said. In contrast, online discussion requires us to type our views out, so as to communicate our views to everyone. There is somewhat a “record” of the discussion as I can refer to their posts on the discussion whenever the need arises. Online discussion has certainly brought a new dimension to the traditional form of class discussions.

I feel that this e-learning activity is indeed meaningful as it has provided with a wonderful experience on online discussions has also sparked my interest in online discussion forums. With this positive experience, I will definitely participate more in discussion forums that are available on the internet.

Reflections (Week 7)

2008-12-27T04:41:00.001-08:00

Reflections (Week 7)

Have you ever heard of TalkingCock.com?

Its Singapore's most powerful satirical humour website!

In the last EIR lesson, i was introduced to this website so as to use it as a basis for evaluation.

To evaluate TalkingCock.com, several criteria are used, such as purpose, coverage, currency, accessibility, presentation and arrangement of the website.

Purpose was chosen as criteria because I feel that purpose is a fundamental criterion that should be used in evaluating all websites. A website cannot exist without a purpose and a purpose defines the objectives for the existence of the website, such as talkingcock.com.

Next, coverage was used as criteria because every website has a scope of areas that it covers and I feel that this is essential in evaluating talkingcock.com.

Then, currency was also used as criteria as I feel that it is also an important criterion to use when evaluating website. It can tell us whether the information on talkingcock.com consists of up-do-date information or old archives.

Accessibility was used as criteria because the speed of accessibility exists in every website. For certain websites, it takes a long time to access them, while for others, you can access them in the shortest time possible. Thus, it is important to evaluate talkingcock.com based on accessibility.

Lastly, presentation and arrangement of talkingcock.com was used as criteria because every website has a certain arrangement of their navigations and content and this criteria evaluates whether the website is well-organised or not. As such, this is also a significant criterion because when websites are well-organised, it is easier to read the content available.

In terms of purpose, it was stated at talkingcock.com that their main aim is to “celebrate all the nonsensical parts of Singaporean life”, thus they make fun of people in a completely democratic way.

As such, it can be seen that their aim is to provide humor to readers so that they can perhaps take a break from the stresses in life and have a good laugh from reading their stories.

Their intended audience would be for Singaporeans in general, and those living in Singapore because most of the stories are based on Singapore and Singlish is also used in the website. This indicates that the website has a strongly Singaporean context, which might not be understood by people from other countries.

In terms of coverage, they cover news in different aspects such as local news, politics, business, sports, the arts, news in brief and community news. The news comes with them a sense of humor targeting on different issues.

In terms of currency, it contains up-to-date news as the news articles in the website is updated at least twice a week, and in the main page of the website, there are updates everyday or every two days.

In terms of accessibility, the website is easy to access as I did not take much time to access the website, despite the website having large images. No additional requirements are needed to access the website.

The presentation and arrangement of the website goes like this:

As you can see, there is a top horizontal menu, and side columns on both sides of the website. The navigation icons are quite well-displayed as it allows for clear reading of the navigation icons.

Overall, it is quite organized. I feel that the website presentation is also quite consistent. A search facility is also available for users to search for information in the website. However, there is no site map available that might facilitate the retrieval of information from the website.

The website would definitely be sustainable in the long term due to its clear purpose, and the frequency of its updates. Since it is updated frequently, the website would most likely be sustainable and will continue to provide interesting reads for audiences.

Then, the next activity that was done in class was the role plays.

In this role play, we were all divided into groups and had to assume one of the roles such as the Singapore's Prime Minister, a Singaporean, or a foreigner working/studying in Singapore and share how we would react upon seeing talkingcock.com.

My group took on the role of a typical Singaporean and we classify Singaporeans into three types, because we feel that the reactions of Singaporeans would differ depending on whether they support the government, or not.

In this website, it might be clearly stated that everything is just fiction and meant for humor purposes, but if I were a Singaporean who supports the government, I might feel that the website is an insult to the government and do not like this website, because in the website, the government is being called “Gahmen”, and it sounds like “garment”.

Apart from that, this is another quote from one of the website’s news:

"Let’s face it,” said Mr. Low Lee Kong, a spokesman for the Minister Mentor’s Office. “Most people accept that MM Lee is a political genius, but he doesn’t have the most approachable image. People look at him, and they think, what a sourpuss. Some more, over the whole SIA thing, a lot of people think he’s damn kiam."

This quote might be hilarious, but it might be insulting in the minds of Singaporeans who support the government.

Then, the second type of Singaporean, those who do not exactly support the government, would probably find the website humorous and interesting and enjoy going to it on a daily basis since it is pretty hilarious as everyone in the news is being made fun of.

Lastly, the third type of Singaporean is those who are neutral about the government. They might probably find the website useless and consists of articles that are not exactly worth reading since it might not appeal to them, and might not even be interesting to them.

Perhaps they would feel that it is better to visit other websites daily instead of talkingcock.com since it is pretty nonsensical.

Overall, I feel that the role play was fun as it promotes us to put ourselves in others’ shoes and think about how we would feel towards the website.

This promotes our critical thinking skills.

Not only that, it is also interesting as it sparked off a mini debate in class about the different reactions of each role upon seeing the website.

As such, the role play is interactive as everyone presents their different perspectives and points of view and promotes interaction among everyone.

I look forward to more role plays in class. :)

Reflections (Week 6)

2008-11-27T00:15:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 6)

How much do you know about the invisible web (databases)?

Invisible web (databases) consists of information and resources that are "hidden" in the World Wide Web. In another words, these information and resources cannot be found using general search engines due to certain limitations. These resources include articles, abstracts and citations, etc.

An example of an invisible web (database) would be: Complete Planet.

My experience with using databases was a wonderful one.

Databases are more authoritative. Informative details such as the place in which the resource comes from, author, citation, year, abstract of the resource and subject, are provided in the search results. This helps to make the resources more reliable and useful as the full details about the resource are available, compared to search engines, meta search engines or subject directories, which give less details.

The search results are mostly scholarly literature and is thus informative. It provides me with alot of information that definitely does add value to my research. In the text, keywords of my search will also be highlighted. This makes it easier to read and identify whether the resource is relevant to my topic.

Apart from that, i have also learnt something new when using TP's databases to research for resources during EIR lesson.

Using TP's databases, the full-text of articles are given for certain articles. However, for those in which the text is not available, it provides a link to TP's library catalogue such that i would be able to know the location i can get the resource from.

In conclusion, I feel that databases are indeed useful in research purposes, especially since it is detailed and informative, which makes the resources highly reliable as well. Also, resources from databases are also valuable as they cannot be found using search engines, meta search engines or subject directories. Thus, it is effective to use databases for research purposes.

However, I feel that I cannot consider the use of databases to be more effective compared to search engines, meta search or subject directories, because in order to make the most out of the search facilities available on the Internet, databases cannot be used alone. If I were to use only databases for researching resources relating to my topic, I will not be able to benefit as my research will be an ineffective one consisting of resources only from databases alone.

Databases have to be used in combination with search engines, meta search engines and subject directories. This will then lead to a variety of resources from the different search facilities and hence make my research a fruitful one.

Hence, after learning about another new search facility – databases, I would definitely put this to good use by applying it to my Diploma.

I am really glad that I have learnt about databases, because a number of my subjects require me to find news articles and analyse the news articles, such as having to find two news articles for my Microeconomics Portfolio and conducting an economic analysis on the articles.

It is definitely not easy to find the relevant articles just by using search engines.

With databases, I am confident that I will be able to retrieve relevant articles and the articles will also be reliable since databases are authoritative.

Reflections (Week 4 & 5)

2008-11-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 4 & 5)

Search facilities have become an indispensable tool in our daily lives.

Without search facilities, it would be inconvenient to do our research and to gather information in the shortest time possible.

In EIR, i have learnt about three types of search facilities, such as search engines, meta search engines and subject directories.

Out of these three search facilities, search engines are most commonly used.

Search engines are user friendly and we can construct our search terms by using boolean operators so that the results will be more relevant.

An example of a search engine would be: Google.com.

The benefits of using search engines is that it allows me to gain access to various categories of resources, for example, among the search results there will be forums, blogs, news sites, etc.

This is definitely useful as i will be able to benefit from the diversity of views regarding my topic that i can gather by accessing these resources. This not only helps to gives me a balanced view regarding my topic, it also helps to train me to think from different perspectives by understanding the different points of views made by different people.

Apart from that, i will also be able to benefit from the large database that search engines has. A large database increases the likelihood of getting relevant results.

The next search facility would be meta search engines.

Meta search engines are also known as multisearch engines as searches can be conducted at the same time on a number of search engines.

An example of a meta search engine would be: Mamma.com

The benefits of using meta search engines is that it indexes the resources comprehensively, thus, the results might be more relevant and useful.

Also, since search terms are transmitted to several search engines at the same time, it provides quick access to the resources of different search engines by typing through the search box and this brings me the convenience of not having to go into the individual search engines to search for resources relating to my topic. This also allows me to compare results from different search engines at once.

Another search facility that i have learnt would be the subject directory.

Subject directories consist of resources that are human-compiled and are arranged in a hierarchical way.

As such, resources are well-organised in a way that users can select and browse different categories of resources and access the links in the particular category that is relevant.

An example of a subject directory would be : Yahoo! Directory.

The benefits of using a subject directory is that it is human-compiled, the resources are more relevant and precise since humans are able to analyze the relevance and important of the resource before including it in the categories. This helps to filter out irrelevant information from the resources.

Not only that, since the topics are well-organised from general areas to more specific areas, it allows for effective browsing as well.

In general, different search facilities bring about different benefits as they are useful in their own way.

However, the use of search facilities to search for resources related to my topic definitely did help in bringing me convenience as i do not have to go to the library to research for resources.

Besides that, i can also get resources in the fastest time possible by using search facilities and this helps to saves time.

Apart from the different search facilities, i have also learnt how to use site feeds in blogs.

Site feeds are also known as web feeds, and it consists of frequently updated content published by a certain website. It is commonly used for news and blogs and it allows users to track updates on the website.

I feel that site feeds are useful as i can view updated content of websites through site feeds. This helps to reduce the time and effort to check a particular website for the latest updates.

Besides that, it is also easier to view updates through site feeds because there will not be any website layout when viewing through the site feed. This makes things easier because certain websites have messy website layouts and it makes the content of the website difficult to read.

So, would i use site feeds in the future?

Definitely yes. Site feeds provides me with so much convenience, it would be a waste if i do not apply what i have learnt. :)

Reflections (Week 3)

2008-11-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

Reflections (Week 3)

Have you noticed that in recent years, there are more and more foreign talents in Singapore?

Indeed, with the government's efforts to attract foreign talents to Singapore, an increasing number of foreign talents have been coming to Singapore, and this issue is one of the most popular topics in Singapore. The views and opinions that different people has pertaining to this issue is never-ending.

Perhaps some of us dislike the idea of having foreign talents in Singapore, as we prefer to have more local talents, while some of us feels that having foreign talents in Singapore is beneficial to the society, as they can exchange ideas with us and that's where we can learn.

Hence, i have chosen this topic for my research: -

Discuss the impact of the influx of foreign talents into Singapore.

During EIR lesson in week 2, my learning journey began as i did practical activity 1 of EIR, in which i have to classify the resources that i have found pertaining to my topic into categories such as discussion forum, blog, WWW site and electronic journal/magazine/news. At the same time, i had to identify the purposes of the resources. The purposes of websites are as mentioned in my previous blog post, such as personal, information, advocacy, business/marketing, news and entertainment.

Then, for EIR lesson during week 3, i have learnt how to create a suitable search strategy for researching the internet.

Researching might seem easy, but it is definitely not easy when you type in the wrong search terms. When you use the wrong search terms, the end result will be a huge list of useless results. Thus, it is extremely important to plan a search strategy and find the right keywords before conducting the search.

In order to translate my research into an effective search query, i had to identify keywords and its variations that are relevant to my topic. This was something new as i usually do not use variation of keywords - perhaps that's the reason why i don't always get my desired results all the time.

Then, after identifying the keywords and its variations, boolean operators are used so as to narrow down my search and this indeed helps in getting more specific and relevant search results. Boolean operators include AND, which means that all the words have to be included in the search. It also includes OR, which can be used to link keywords and its variations, such that if the results do not have the actual keyword, then the variation can take its place. Another boolean operator include AND NOT, which is to exclude undesirable words and make the search more specific.

As such, my search query are as follows:

(impact OR effect) AND (influx OR inflow) AND (foreign talent* OR foreign expat* OR foreign worker*) AND (singapore)

With that, my evaluation of the two search engines (Google and Google Scholar) began.

And indeed, i was impressed by Google's search functions and features, as i realised that Google actually offers so many different search functions, such as offering users the flexibility of choosing results from “the web” or just “Pages from Singapore” alone. Besides that, there is also the advanced search, which can be used so as to define my search even more precisely to get desired results. The advanced search also offers a series of features, such as letting users specifying the language, the type of file format of results, the region to retrieve the resources, and much much more!

After evaluating Google's search facility, the next activity was to participate in a forum by posting a new discussion topic/question relating to my research topic, and i posted it in the Young NTUC forum.

http://www.youngntuc.com.sg/youngntuc/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2498&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

I felt that posting this was a brand new experience as i have never posted topics like this in forums before. Everytime i post in the forums, the topics are usually random, and for the purpose of casual conversation. As such, i was pretty anxious as i posted this topic, especially since i do not knowing how others will react or respond to my question.

However, i feel that participating in the forum for the purpose of my research is indeed helpful, because only in the forums, i can then get a diversity of views towards the issue on the influx of foreign talent. For example, if i were to research just from blogs itself, the blogs usually expresses the views of the blog owner towards the issue, and that is only from one person's perspective. A forum, on the other hand, provides the perspectives of many different people. To research on this topic effectively, it is definitely best to get varied views so as to reflect the viewpoints of different people.

Next, a citation must definitely be done so as to give proper acknowledgement to the owners for the resources used. If citations are not used, it would then be plagiarism, which is the act of taking or using another person's work and not acknowledging it. This also brings us to the part on integrity. As such, citation is an important feature in a research work.

Then, a bibliography refers to a list of citation. Apart from acknowledging the source of information, a bibliography also serves to offer readers more options for further reading as they might be interested in my topic and would like to find out more about it. They can then do so by going to the links that are included in my bibliography. Not only that, a bibliography can also be a representation of the research that i have done.

As such, i have learnt alot from Week 3's EIR lesson, such as evaluating search facilities, constructing effective search queries, posting useful questions in discussion forums, as well as creating citations and bibliography and i definitely look forward to the next EIR lesson.

E-Shopping Spree

2008-10-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

E-Shopping Spree

Have you ever thought about what you would like to buy if you have $500?

Credits to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrikmarek/2266914738/ for the photo

Everyone have their own wishlist and different people will use this $500 to buy different things.

As for me, perhaps my wishlist is similar to what a typical girl would want - apparels, bags, accessories, and much much more!

Firstly, I would like to purchase the following apparels -

http://www.vintage-bombshell-celeb.blogspot.com/

Blue Dress - $15

This dress looks perfect for simply any outing as it looks elegant and pretty, and does not give others the impression of being overdressed.

http://www.vintage-bombshell-celeb.blogspot.com/

Silver/Black Evening Dress - $15

Whether its for prom night, or for attending wedding dinners, this dress looks like the perfect match for such occasions. Not only that, it also looks comfortable to wear due to its silky texture.

http://threethumbsshoppers.blogspot.com/

Graffiti Hoodie - $18

I would really like to buy this hoodie as the design is messy, but nice. Furthermore, it can shield me from the cold whenever the weather is bad.

http://threethumbsshoppers.blogspot.com/

Stars and Pins Hoodie - $18

This hoodie has a really great design, especially since i love how the way the hoodie is decorated with stars. I am obsessed with things that has designs of stars and perhaps that is also part of the reason for wanting to buy this stars hoodie.

Next, does the brand 'Victoria Secret' ring a bell to you? Well, its a really popular brand and yes, i love the bags from this brand as all the bags looks really glamourous and stylish.

http://vsfan.blogspot.com/

Victoria Secret Bag Set - $95

This gold bag is classy, and it can be used for dinners and events.

http://vsfan.blogspot.com/

Victoria Secret Gold Supermodel Tote - $80

This is another gold bag from Victoria Secret. It is lovely as the bag is well-designed and it is perfect for shopping purposes.

Then, apart from getting apparels and bags, there is always the need to get nice accessories as well!

Hence, i will get one of these, most likely the belt in black -

http://missoli-via.blogspot.com/

Starry belt - $10.90

This belt will complement outfits that i wear, especially when i am wearing tees. Also, this belt is attractive as it is shiny and has designs of stars on the metallic part of it.

Lastly, after buying all these items, its time to pamper myself with great music! And great music comes from a stylish earpiece, with good sound system.

http://www.especiallyhers.blogspot.com/

Diamond Heart Ear Piece - $25

This ear piece is really cute as it is heart-shaped and is studded with jewels - definitely unlike the typical ear piece you see in stores all the time.

With that, i am satisfied with all the items i have bought, with $223.10 left for me to save up in the piggy bank.

But no, that is not the end yet.

For this shopping spree, i have visited various shopping websites, and all of them have a similar purpose.

In my last EIR lesson, i have learnt about the different purposes of internet resources, such as personal, information, advocacy, business/marketing, news and entertainment. An individual activity was also done relating to this topic to reinforce our understanding, as well as to let us apply what we have learnt.

In this case, the purpose of the shopping sites is in terms of business/marketing. This is because these sites were constructed to promote their own products.

To recap on what i have learnt, i will give an example for each of the different purposes.

Personal sites are created by individuals for different reasons. They might have created those sites so as to provide information about themselves or on certain topics. An example would be: http://nicolechen.net/

Information sites provides factual information, for example: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/

Advocacy sites are created to promote causes or influence public opinion, for example: http://www.stopanimalabuse.blogspot.com/

News sites are usually created by newspaper broadcast companies and provide information on events that are currently happening in the world, take for example: http://www.asiaone.com/A1Home/A1Home.html

Lastly, entertainment sites, just like what the word 'entertainment' suggest, it is to provide enjoyment, so it will provide games, jokes, or even fan information. An example would be: http://www.jokes.com/

As such, evaluating the purposes of internet resources is important as it enables us to understand the type of website it is.

Two exciting websites

2008-10-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Two exciting websites

What kind of websites appeal to you most? Shopping sites? Or gaming sites?

Well, different people have different tastes, and that goes the same for websites.

Different websites appeal to different people. Take for example, girls will probably love shopping sites where they can shop for clothes, accessories, bags, and many other items. On the other hand, guys who are into online games like Cabalsea, Maple Story, etc, might find gaming sites exciting as it can offer information on their favourite games.

As for me, i particularly like two websites, one of them is an online portal, with links to many different shopping websites, or blogshops, while the second website is a blog by a Singaporean teenager who is currently studying in Republic Polytechnic.

This is the first website that i like - Blogshopr.

http://www.blogshopr.com/

With the advancement in technology in society, almost everything is going virtual. Shopping is no exception. This is an online portal that provides a whole collection of links to shopping sites. It is indeed a virtual version of a shopping mall, with links to many different online shops.

However, there is one problem that we might face when doing online shopping - not knowing which website to go to. This is simply because there are too many shopping sites out there, each of them selling a variety of items. We might want to buy clothes, but from which website should we buy from?

And that's the best part of this website - it solves this problem that most of us face. In this website, the shopping sites are organised neatly into categories. If we would like to buy items for our pets, we can look under the 'For Pets' section. Similarly, if we would like to buy footwear, we can simply look under the 'Footwear' section. This brings us so much convenience and it also saves us time.

Then, recently, there has been a trend in this online shopping world whereby Singaporeans like to purchase items from Japan, Taiwan, Hongkong and Korea but it is impossible for us to do so if we only want to purchase one or two items, and that is where 'sprees' play a part. The purpose of sprees is to collate orders from different consumers and purchase them in bulk from overseas and this website also offer links to websites that offer sprees. Again, it brings convenience to us.

Apart from all these, we can also participate in the monthly lucky draws that this website has to offer, to win cash vouchers to use at participating online shops. This definitely spices up the fun of shopping online and is another reason why this website is really interesting.

As such, whenever you feel tired of going to shopping malls in Singapore, try shopping online! This website shall be your first 'destination'!

Next, this is the second website that i like - Andystorm's blog.

http://youthinkicarewhatyousay.blogspot.com/

He's not just an ordinary blogger.

True enough, most bloggers blog about things happening in their daily lives, and that goes the same for him. But his posts are always different, he is able to spice up his blog entries all the time and make them so much more interesting compared to a typical blogger. This is what that makes his blog stands out from the rest.

Blogging is not just about ranting about daily lives, but it is how you reflect upon your daily happenings at the end of the day. Bloggers who are able to post interesting blog reflections are the ones who become popular, as they will attract loyal blog readers. Take for example, the most famous Xiaxue and Dawn Yang.
And Andy is an example of the male version of Xiaxue.

Have you ever tried out an Ice-cream buffet in Singapore?
Apart from the usual blog reflections on daily happenings, Andy will also post advertorials for online shopping sites, interesting restaurants and places that he go to. In one of his blog entries, he introduces readers to the Ice-Cream buffet at Marina Square.

Not only that, Andy is also an example of how blogging can be much more than just daily reflections, by joining blog competitions! He actively participates in blog competitions and has won prizes such as movie tickets.

As such, Andy's blog is indeed worth reading! Take a look at it, and you will know the difference compared to other blogs.

The Prologue

2008-10-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Prologue

Hi everyone!

To start off my first blog entry, here's an introduction about myself.

I am Jasmine, currently studying in TP's Business Studies Grouping (Business/Logistics & Operations Management/Marketing), and web designing is my passion.

So, why did i choose to take a business course instead of design? This question was asked by many of my friends when i told them i have decided to study business at TP, after the release of the O'Level results.

Actually, much as i would like to get into design course, especially Visual Communications - since it has a combination of all my interests, i felt that it is best that i study Business, as i would be able to be exposed to things which i have not learnt before. At the same time, i felt that it would be more relevant to my future career as i would like to work in a company in the Marketing department, instead of specialising in web design.

Thus, i would only continue to do web designing as part of my hobby.

However, i have never regretted my choice as i realised that business subjects can be really enjoyable as well. Subjects like Organisational Behaviour teaches us how to manage human relationships and work well with people, while economics lets us be aware of how prices of goods and services in the economy can be affected by many different factors, and the ways to reduce the impact of certain factors.

Then, one of my subjects last semester, Computer Systems and Applications, was also interesting as it teaches us to apply IT into business. Through this subject, i learnt about the e-commerce system, search engines and computer hardware, and at the same time, for our project, we had to create a website for an organisation and apply techniques learnt in softwares such as Macromedia Dreamweaver.

And this brings me back to my current CDS, EIR, which stands for 'Effective Internet Research'. The reason i chose to take this CDS is because i felt that IT is something that is definitely relevant in our everyday lives. It would also be useful in my future career as well, since everything is computerised nowadays. As such, in order to effectively make use of the benefits of technology, understanding IT and being able to critically evaluate information resources on the internet is definitely important. Hence, i am sure that i will gain valuable knowledge through this subject.

Next, i would like to talk about my family.

My family consists of 3 members, just me and my parents, since i am the only child at home. Sometimes, i have to admit, it is indeed lonely and boring as i do not have any siblings at all, but i am definitely happy and contented to have a loving family.

Apart from that, i currently have a baby pet rabbit which is just 2 months old.

My cute baby rabbit is lovable as it enjoys licking my hands. However, there are also times whereby it can be really naughty, such as tearing newspapers into shreds. The newspapers were placed in the cage as it will be easier to change its litter, but when i wake up in the morning, everything looks disastrous in the cage - as if an earthquake had taken place at night.

And here is a photo of my pet rabbit:

Lastly, before i end this short introduction about myself, here are two screenshots of my personal blog and blogshop respectively, designed using graphic programs.

http://www.stylegenz.com/starletblog

http://www.stylegenz.com/