This article is the 3^rd of my #makemagiceveryday series, and unlike its first (my 6 tips on what it takes to be an entrepreneur) and second (how to select your ultimate Bond weapon) predecessors, this one will take you on a number of handy tips to help you save TIME and make MONEY. Interested? Read on…

BUT FIRST, a little bonus for you before that – Both Microsoft & Intel Malaysia are currently running a contest where users who purchase a brand new participating 2 in 1 PC can stand a chance to win RM500 shopping vouchers between 18th February to 3rd April! If you’re looking at a new machine for 2016, it’s a good time as any to use up this offer <3

Find out more by visiting http://www.makemagic.my/500promo!

1. SAVE TIME WITH AN EDGE

So you’ve heard that the Edge is finally here, inbuilt with Microsoft Windows 10. It is arguably one of the best upgrades you’ll find among other Microsoft native applications that came along with it, thanks to the amount of synergy it has with each other.

Can’t believe me, can you? Don’t worry, I started with a lot of skeptism too. That’s why ever since I came on board the campaign I basically forced myself to work with the Edge in order to give it a fair evaluation and to feel the difference. Good news? Nothing changed for me except for a little layout issues with uncompatible websites. Otherwise all major functions like internet banking, working with online softwares and most importantly, playing games on Kongregate worked as normal.

In fact, I realize that I could open more than 10 tabs and still not get that overpowering memory eating ability I get from Chrome! So that’s also a plus point.  So what’s the downside? To be honest I haven’t seen any really. I guess that’s a good start right? So here comes the additional time-saving feature…

Now this is one of the integration efforts that actually makes sense! With the Microsoft OneNote embedded into Edge, I can basically do this…

Then select my weapon…

Then make some important-sounding comments…

Save it on my OneNote made accessible on cloud anytime, everytime

Or send it to my colleagues who would understand all my instructions in super clear visual form, eliminating any room for mistakes!

Now how about that? Remember those days when you had to download screen capture apps, or to use the cumbersome snips tools? For me I had to use one of my browser’s widget to do the trick. Apple users out there can use shortcuts, but lack the instantaneous sharing feature. All in all, this trick has made me cut down my time spent on giving instructions etc to at least half!!! You can see why too, right? What do you think of this feature?

2. SIMULTANEOUS SHARING WITH MAIL

Okay, now bring yourself back to the image I shared above. See that Mail app? Honestly although I switched to Windows 10 a few months back, I never bothered to use native apps – in fact I didn’t even know Windows had an App Store equivalent called Windows Store (A+ for originality LULZ)

But hey, why not give it a spin right. So the ever curious me found out that the Mail app was really easy to use, and most importantly, it’s been integrated in more ways than I could count! Actions that used to take me 5-6 clicks have now been reduced to 2, thanks to the sweet combination of predictive next action steps and the new action sidebar popping up on the right side of the screen.

More importantly, I can load in all my e-mail accounts now that they no longer restrict themselves to just Outlook and Hotmail. So, I could really navigate anywhere, be able to share anything including files of all types and select my choice of e-mail to send it out with, important for someone like me who is part of one too many companies and organisations haha.

All in all, I kind of forgotten how it feels to operate a native app, as opposed to web-based experience like the Gmail. I’ve lost all confidence native apps that I forgot how much more powerful and speedy it is supposed to be, and yes, I did save a lot of time thanks to Mail App!

Try giving it a spin, it’s honestly pretty amazing <3

3. COLLABORATIVE APPROACH WITH ONENOTE

Ever had to work in a team? At some point, you have to, even as a freelancer! Why? Because then, your client is also part of your “team” as you work alongside each other in a campaign or contract right?

That’s where the OneNote comes to play. It’s a huge upgrade from what OneNote used to be, and coupled with the OneDrive, it has become the One.

LOL. Jokes aside.

Now remember how in Point 1 I could save whatever I want to say about the web at my OneNote? Here’s the next step: imagine that particular OneNote book is shared with multiple users. Wallah, instant information transaction reducing the chances of miscommunication to NIL!

The days of new apps being built to help with collaboration started because there wasn’t enough juice coming from the OSes. With the OneNote/OneDrive/Edge combo, you can literally feel the transformation happen right in front of your eyes. Maintaining standard reports, sending changes done to the team, working with others who are miles away, or just sharing a little note of love for family members has become this easy…

This should help you create even more opportunities to take up jobs you’ve never dared before, afraid of lack of time and resources. It did the trick for me, my efficiency level has soared to greater heights ever since I found all this shortcuts, and there’s probably more yet to be uncovered haha!

Or it could be just because I love my Spectre so much to I feel motivated to work.

Yeah, that’s probably the real answer. *grin*

So what do you think of all the techhacks I’ve shared so far? I’m pretty sure this is the first time you’re reading about this because Windows 10 is really new, and most don’t find the need to explore what it can truly do. Coupled with the latest Intel 6^th generation processor which does the impossible like adding to the power & speed while increasing battery life, you can truly do wonders with technology to help you in your entrepreneurial world as well as your life.

At the very least, solving a lot of your current problems in the fastest speed will allow you time to learn more skills on your own. Coding and creating websites is fast becoming a need in this connected world, and the last I checked, a good web developer on hire can cost up to RM6,000 per month! There’s truly an economy to take advantage of when you’re techsavvy, and that’s what I tell myself everyday to keep me motivated

Yes, super motivated because my techhack has gotten me to be on the official Microsoft website <3

Well, feel free to share constructive comments about what I shared here and if you have any more tips and tricks you’d love to share, do comment. There’s always room for more magic  Check out http://makemagic.my to find out the best Microsoft x Intel combo you’ll want to get to prepare yourself for a great year of 2016!

The post #MakeMagicEveryDay Series – Save Time & Make Money with TechHacks appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

And I was reminded by Facebook on some old tweets which went something like this:

https://www.facebook.com/christock/posts/131775073549990

I mean, to remember the company’s birthdate is a must (much like how important your loved one’s birthday is to you) but to see it on Facebook’s memories.. Man, that was one heck of a journey!

Yes, I said I would do it. And I did it. And 5 years later…

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100466740816685&set=a.680881907265.197122.222400858&type=3&theater

Yes we’ve come a long way baby!

The directors and I went to collect the awards a week before knowing that it was probably too early to admit we’re one of the 10 leading social media agencies in Malaysia, but hey, we’ll certainly do our best to live up to the hype!

I mean, who’d knew that I’d be representing Dato’ Lee Chong Wei’s digital account, consulting to the God of Stand Up Comedy in Malaysia Harith Iskander, managing really prestigious brands and serving retainer clients for more than 3 years under the brand name of SocialGrooves.com.

Our belief of Connecting Businesses and Communities is truly making an impact, and our clients are beginning to appreciate our foresight especially in the game of stamina in terms of brand recognition and advocacy.

At the same time, who says we can’t reap the fruits we’ve sown over the past 5 years? A dream to own a yacht some day, can? *grin*

Anyhow, thanks to Top 10 Malaysia for the award, and thanks for connecting us with some of the most prestigious network in town.

I mean, it’s not often you get to meet with founders of super successful enterprises like Joe who runs Sangkaya

Anyway happy 5th anniversary to SocialGrooves.com, and may we continue to rise above to raise the industry level for the benefit of businesses and communities!

The post Milestone Achieved: SocialGrooves.com 5th Anniversary & Top 10 Malaysia’s Leading Social Media Agency 2015 appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

From my experience, as someone who is interested in both the social and digital business (as it relates to SocialGrooves) and how companies relate to the social media, I’ve culled through this topic and highlighted my experience with the use of TIME Business Internet and how it streamlined my company’s performance.

Well, we SocialGroovers, just took one giant step into the future. I had earlier announced that TIME Fibre Business Internet just got set up to SocialGrooves. TIME is the new ‘must-have’ in the current Asian telecommunication sector. Check the scoreboard, numbers don’t lie. It’s almost an unusual feat that TIME delivers such high-end performance.

A technology is invented, it spreads, a thousand flowers bloom, and then someone finds a way to own it. Pretty much what we, at SocialGrooves are looking at. Those in the know make a beeline for the fact that companies running on social and digital grounds need network connections to meet critical needs. You wouldn’t even have to be a good shot to think alike.

In a new office, I brainstormed the need for a much-needed makeover. Nearly everybody that time was on a basic broadband operating at 15Mbit/s on average, but with the growing demand we were approaching with the shoot in the size of files and videos we were streaming, we needed superfast broadband at a minimum of 30 Mbit/s; precisely why we turned to TIME.

Today’s small businesses rely on internet speed more than ever. Ever since we installed TIME, the experience has been, what we’d say in Bahasa Malaysia ‘menarik’. Just recently, TIME made a migration to a new plan. Backed by the highest speed, TIME has become an industry-recognized provider. How fortunate we were to be working with TIME, perfect timing to catch the new plans. Right up, the before/after plan we are currently on:

• 100MB file? Done and dusted in seconds
• Uploading a 2GB video to dropbox, no problem-O one minute also can gau tim
• Business calls on Skype without the lag and frozen screens. Previously unheard of.
• Having multiple workstations seamlessly connected with no interruptions? A value every business will appreciate.

You know what this meant for us? We could get that cherished streamed video up to our clientele, and it never felt so good. Our large and heavy files are no longer a lag we have to withstand. We can work super effectively. Not to mention, this means we won’t live in a “not-spot” where we are nipped out from the global grand future that will arise from this important caveat.

And yet, while we pay lip service to the idea of businesses putting their clients first, few companies truly put it into practice. TIME, on the other hand, has built their primary focus to accommodate the needs of multiple type end-users. Here’s how:

For companies just getting on their feet, the TIME Fibre Business Internet Basic, is just on time to save you on budget! At the same time, there is TIME Fibre Business Internet Plus for companies that have established a stronghold over the years in business. Learn the fundamentals on www.time.com.my

Well, as soon as I got us signed up for TIME, what hit home was the realization of the goodies we got as extra <3. Thank you TIME. Don’t we love our free voice calls! Your upload and download rates get a surge for you to hop onto, isn’t that just great?

Looking into the digital future, companies need to know it is not just about thinking big, it is about the steps to go from small to big. Businesses now live or die based on their understanding of exponentials. Connectivity takes a big role in a matter such as this. If you don’t want to be the next Kodak or Blockbuster or conversely, if you want to be the next Amazon or Google, you need deep immersion in the wonderful world of TIME’s

Fibre Business Internet. Get the jump on and share the ride. We at SocialGrooves are excited to hear how it turns out for you !

The post TIME: A Breath Of New Life into Businesses appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

And guess what, as soon as we signed up for TIME, they decided to revise their plan to give even HIGHER speed and connectivity at an even lower cost. Talk about a stroke of good luck lol. So without even thinking I dumped the rest and got ourselves subscribed to TIME Fibre Business Internet, and see how it compares with the others I’ve tried including Maxis & TM Unifi which I use both back at home and at the old office.

Their plans are even quite flexible with two kinds of packages to suit your business needs.

I would recommend the TIME Fibre Business Internet Basic for businesses in the start up life like my office who need a reliable speedy internet provider to get the basics and a little bit more done!

Check out the difference in the before and after plans!

Now my friends who are running larger entities, how bout trying the TIME Fibre Business Internet Plus package which packs a lot of extra OOOMPH!

The increased speeds, lowered costs and additional business tools means businesses can even be more effective and save more costs! This also suggests that TIME has every intention in mind to put their customers first!

Connection

Well one thing for sure, although it’s only been 3 months since I’ve enjoyed TIME, I’ve seen a reduction in the times I had to restart the modem. Yes although there’s still some hiccups but usually it happens at peak hours and a simple restart would work, unlike the countless days I had no Internet when I was at the old office… My colleagues can attest to it haha. So far so good in the sense we didn’t need to call them up to do anything

Speed

When it first started we were like WHOA!! Speed ten times more than what we had was unheard of, and our speedtest (of course we used a non biased tool, not TIME’s own one) went through the roof but on downloads and uploads! In fact now they’ve raised the speed to 70% times more – it makes us at Socialgrooves the happiest people alive, even without making use of our boosted time  Do you know what’s that? I’ll share it in my next point…

Boost

One of my favorite feature none others can compare to is the BOOST feature! I mean, suddenly we’re able to download a 100MB file (trust me in our digital industry, this is pretty common lol) in a matter of seconds! Streaming YouTube videos we produced for clients, sending proposals over 50MBs wasn’t an issue for us anymore, only on our clients or partners side haha. Yes, we’re pretty proud of our boost function and our friends come to visit us for this too 

So yeah these are the top three areas in which I feel TIME has trumped their competitors. It makes it easier for us to work with online tools more than ever before, working with websites (oh did I share that TIME’s subscription comes with bonus business tools from Exabyte and free calls as well? You can check them out at their website www.time.com.my) and basically producing quality content with the peace of mind that comes with uninterrupted connection and speed

So what are you waiting for? Ok on a serious note just let me know, cos as far as I know even the installation was super efficient with the guys coming over to make sure our line is great, installing without disturbing us and making sure all is good. If I’m not wrong they even gave us extra lines in case we want to extend. Pretty cool guys? Gotta commend them Let me know if your experience was otherwise, interested to know!

 #TIMEFibreBusinessInternet

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https://www.facebook.com/NewManMagazine/photos/a.825383357484974.1073741845.105442709479046/825383787484931/

I’ve always believed that by helping others achieve their mission in life, you’ll be rewarded by experience no money can buy.

I didn’t expect that the reward to come back to me by way of being nominated as one of the Top 5 Creative Pioneer Awards in 2014 last year under the Entrepreneurship category.

Although I didn’t win the title, it went rightfully to Melvin Tong and Kelvin Tong founders of Extreme Supercars, the twins who have inspired so many others by showing that nothing can stop you from pursuing success!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100448940643375&set=a.726317628715.209075.222400858&type=3&theater

Shared quite a lengthy story of my latest updates to contribute towards the various industries I’m part of, a continuation of my last interview with the Star Rage. I want to dedicate this moment to my parents, my 3 beautiful sisters, my colleagues in EYE Project and SocialGrooves.com and of course the Global Shapers KL folks among many others! Thank you SO much!

The post Eye of the Tiger appears at the Creative Pioneer Awards 2014 appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

[flickr id=”10135912494″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”][flickr id=”10136129163″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

And since it doesn’t make sense for just my social media company Socialgrooves.com to go by ourselves (having just 3 people in it), we went ahead and invited our Malaysian Youtubers as a way to say THANKS for all they’ve done for us, those videos that has become part and parcel of our joy, sadness, laughter and miracles. We’ve also extended it to @bboyrice who is somewhat always hanging around our Youtube heroes, who opened the doors for us!

Check out our group picture thanks to @BBoyrice! I have known this blogger for such a long time, and his skills with his camera isn’t to play around with. Check out his page! Very happy to have him with us PS – can you identify your favourite Youtuber? Who’s missing?

Immediately we were given our printed pass to make sure no bouncers will boot us out haha. Our host was @Zeffri, head honcho in the communications department, who was kind enough to take an afternoon off to host us for lunch.

Of course we couldn’t go around taking photos of the main office itself, but we were able to explore fully their lounge and makan area, and yes, they have ice creams, snacks, drinks (even coconuts) and even a spread of dishes that goes by their daily theme (ours was Indian!) as per what was shown of the Google office in “the Internship“!! And they called it, get this, Gerai Gugel LOL!

Here are some of the wonderful selection of desserts they have… cooked by a proper chef no less. They really do take care of their employees well huh? So jealous… One day we hope to have an office that looks like  this too

Even Country Head of Google Malaysia Sajith Sivanandan made time to come over abd talk to us… well more specifically, to the Youtubers haha. A lot of discussion went on, including how Google Malaysia can help to make a thriving economy for our Youtubers so that they can continue to do what they do and make a living out of them. I think that would be fantastic wouldn’t you? We need more creative content creators here in Malaysia, and I’m glad Google Malaysia is looking to play a huge role in making it happen.

We then started a tour around the office at KL Sentral area. It was gorgeous, looking out to KL from above here. And I love how they let in a lot of sun to light up the place, our natural resources…

They even have a games room, where you can find classic arcade systems and chess board that sits on the ceiling, LOL! Funny thing is we didn’t see anyone hanging about this area… Guess they are all working too hard? Haha.

In any case from here on, we are not supposed to take pictures to show you, but we went inside the office space and oogled at the beautiful layout, which is VERY open to allow engagement of any kind… This flat structure reminded me of how AirAsia’s offices are like too, and it’s great because you can meet whoever you want, even the Country Head himself, should you want to. This will encourage honest feedback, cultivate the idea of everyone going on the same journey as friends rather than bosses and followers, and I guess the “flat” structure is the very reason why Google is where they are today, so why not have it here too, huh?

Oh by the way, they have a car that’s split halfway and made into a sofa lol. I’ll leave it up to your imagination to picture it!

As we went out and checked out more of their unique rooms (you should have seen their BOARD ROOM, it’s super futuristic and contains sound-proofing element, which I think is so that they can watch movies there with an awesome sound system haha) we realised that no matter how global Google is, they do take care to localise the elements here to remind us of where we are, which is Malaysia. I really like that. The way they name their rooms, and even played a joke on one of their staff, who missed the polling day during the 13th General Elections so they modified one of them to become a Polling Station. LOL, really funny guys

Unfortunately I cannot show you a photo of those rooms too, so you’ll have to watch instead how Ming Yue, one quarter of The Ming Thing showcase his Yo-Yo skills to the Googlers in the office haha. Sajith brough everyone out to watch his amazing talent!

Just to give you a look at how the reception area looks, while Ming Yue continues to do stuff that made them Googlers go “ooh” and “aah”. If you could have seen Sajith’s face, his mouth was literally hanging open LOL!

[flickr id=”10135911604″ thumbnail=”original” overlay=”true” size=”original” group=”” align=”none”]

And that’s the Country Head himself giving it a go! Will we see a Youtube video of him trying to play the Yo-Yo? Maybe, maybe not! haha.

So yeah, we were all given a goodie bag containing a Google merchandise to remind us that we were here, and that was about it! After that there were a lot of camwhoring moments as we took pictures with the iconic Google Search board, and this one contains none other than the infamous DISAPPEARING ACT MAGICIAN Dan Khoo and BBoyRice! Haha

Then there’s always someone trying to get lucky XD

Our two @JinnyBoyTV personalities couldn’t make it that day, so they went a day later and probably chowed down all tho
se free meals at the counter haha, ala Bill of The Internship style haha.

In any case, it was really great hanging out at their office and I suspect there’ll be more to come. On behalf of @Socialgrooves.com, we would like to thank Google Malaysia for giving us this opportunity to visit their amazing office.

 And this is us again with the Youtubers… the GRIM FILM folks ie Sinclair and Hasssan (Jared was out of town), The Ming Thing (Ming Han, Ming Yue, Bryan Lim and Raffi), Dan Khoo, Guany Guan and Jeremy Choy, and of course Googlers Zeffri and Sajith. My utmost respect  to them all for being awesome at what they do

Me and my favourite search engine, Google. The end!

 ps- I know that wasn’t much of a tour, but there’s a reason why you have to visit the office for yourself hehe. Who wants to go the next round?

The post Ever wondered how the Google Headquarters in Malaysia (@googlemsia) looks like? appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

But first, let’s provide you with a little fanservice… by the beautiful Asean ladies (who are also @AirAsia’s Flight Attendants!) who are wearing unique Asean outfits!

Can you guys guess which girl is from which country? Haha. By the way, more photos can be found on my Facebook Page.

In any case, it started out really as a conversation between me and @kathyjah, who works at AirAsia asean. I strictly believe that there are more people to learn from outside of Malaysia, the exposure is something we need to broaden our minds. At Young Corporate Malaysians (@YCMS) and @UKEC’s #MSLS, we are finding that some of the speakers were on repeat and soon, we’d run out of people to learn from.

Then a thought came to me: why not go Asean? Learning about patterns you never knew existed in different markets, potential for your biz to go cross country where the market potential still exists, trading unique founding skills that could be useful for your own endeavors – all this could be done with further collaboration between the 10 countries. Besides, we’re so near each other. Really.

That’s when I thought, hey, @Socialgrooves could work out a CSR initiative to grow a community of Aseans who are Asean-aware and with strength of numbers, we could very well be a pressure group of sorts to demand the best for the people. Governments and their politics can sometimes interfere with their populist approach, so it is really up to us, the people of Asean, to be in this together.

That’s how @Aseanita was born! The idea was agreed by both ourselves & AirAsia asean, and with volunteering efforts from people like @lorrainesiew and @akiraceo, we ran a month long campaign that got surprising response from the Asean community (hereby referred to as Aseans) themselves. We even work together with an existing ASEAN Community who has a whopping 56k community on their Facebook page, and that’s saying something! Though our numbers may be a stark difference, we believe that by creating a personality like Aseanita as your average Asean girl who explores the notion of ASEAN, it may relate well to people who aren’t familiar with the term – and that’s a start to begin with

Anyway so I was invited to be at the launch of @AirAsia’s asean office in Jakarta, and that’s a really huge thing cause @TonyFernandes basically flew media people from all over the Asean region to come over and pay homage to the quirky office. At the same time, he also had this huge meeting with all (almost!) of AirAsia’s CEOs on the same morning, which is what you see above!

That, my friends, is like a Roundtable of sorts of all the important people in the lowcost aviation industry, where most of them are already public listed, and must have quite a high networth okay! (yea, like the one I did on Obama and the Knight of the WWW)

So since I was there, like any other thick-faced blogger, might as well camwhore with ALL of them, kan?
Starting with Tony Fernandes himself, Group CEO of AirAsia, of course! This man here is a giant, only second to the great Sir Richard Branson. He’s an inspiration to many, and believe me, working with him makes you believe that you can do ANYTHING!

Oh and for the record, this is what he said about Aseanita… ^_____^

QUOTE – Tan Sri @TonyFernandes

Then of course you have the most recent CEO of AirAsia Malaysia, @AireenOmar. For Tony to trust her in managing Malaysia’s operations, she must be no normal person!

Next up is V. Logan, who was at that point the Country Manager for AirAsia Singapore until Tony told him two minutes before his speech that he’s been promoted to the CEO of AirAsia Singapore. Congratulations, LOL!

Ah, the host of the day, Pak Dharmadi, CEO (President Director, they call it) of AirAsia Indonesia. Humble and down to earth, this is the one guy I’d like to invite over to Malaysia to give a talk at YCM and SEC. Boleh sih?

What would we be without  Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of AirAsia Thailand. Certainly no cheap Krabi & Bangkok trips

Familiar man? Yeap, the popular @AzranOsmanRani, CEO of AirAsia X. Why X ah you ask? I also don’t know how to answer… *cues X-files music*

Oh and finally, my gateway to Japan himself, Kazuyuki Iwakata, CEO of AirAsia Japan that was recently launched. Congratulations to him, hope you can fly me to Japan where I’ve always dreamt to be, because of my love with the Japan culture and food ^___________________^

Okay so that was all of the bigwigs combined! While I was doing that, poor Katherine has to work so hard. Sometimes I’m amazed how she got this far… and yet, act like a complete klutz sometimes ._.

Anyway, this was my experience at the launch- 10 gorgeous flags representing the countries of Asean, which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in alphabetical order. Do you know how I remembered? I had to watch the Olympics walk and wait for each of the country to pass and take a screenshot of it for Aseanita’s Olympics album. Anything for #teamAsean!

There was also lots of goodie bags. All for the media & some bloggers from all over the region. What else to expect from an Airline company that focuses on Asean, huh? *gilap kasut*

The customary ribbon cutting. Cheesy, but gets the work done for the media.

I like this picture of Kat doing last minute editing. She looks so cool and pwettyyyy

And this picture where she’s side by side with Tony. With all the press taking pictures… of him, or her?

Some 100 key media people from the 10 countries. Talk about OTT huh?

Ah back to the original picture above, except this was taken at a very nice angle. Not easy to do this okay, had to act like one of those professional media guys! Anyway, just some excerpt below of what Tony said about Aseanita…

 “This campaign is an affirmation of AirAsia’s commitment to Asean.  It is the first major initiative undertaken by our new regional base in Jakarta. One of our major goals it to help promote and project  the Asean  image and brand.  Asean is our home, we have invested our resources here and we intend to grow here.  We will always give the support needed to strengthen the region,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia.

Further to that, he said this about Asean as a whole too

“AirAsia asean would prepare the group for the implementation of the Asean Open Skies policy and the Asean Economic Community.”

“AirAsia asean will help ensure that our voice, our concerns and our appeals are heard much more clearly in the corridors of power with ASEAN. One of the reasons for locating the office in Jakarta is to help us engage more closely with the Asean Secretariat, which is headquartered here,”

By focusing on regional growth, AirAsia expands its market base to 600 million people and brings Asean closer – within four-hour flight radii – to mega populations in neighboring giants China and India as well as in Japan and Korea. The Asean region, Northeast Asia and South Asia have a combined population of 3 billion people, or 43% of the world’s population.

AirAsia’s commitment to Asean goes beyond its network of destinations. It has provided employment to 10,000 individuals from across Asean and flown more than 140 million guests since its launch as a low-cost airline in 2001. It has championed the region in various projects, including in sports and youth development, on the global stage. Last month, AirAsia asean debuted Aseanita, a female Asean caricature, online to promote the region via popular social media channels and serve as a guide to the region. Aseanita has so far garnered more than 2,700 likes on Facebook (facebook.com/Aseanita), where she engages an average of 500 fans daily. Aseanita also encourages discussions regarding Asean on Twitter (@Aseanita), where she has close to 250 followers.

If anything, my vision for Asean is pretty much aligned to his, therefore it makes total sense to continue our CSR campaign together in hope to gather more volunteers who will act on behalf of Aseanita to attend ASEAN-related events and share them with the community, along with any opportunities to participate or collaborate. That is the aim in totality! 

 Ah but it’s time to go home, since it’s a working day and all. Another super cool experience is that I get to fly back with Tony and Azran, and you can imagine the stir they created in the aircraft haha. One day, though, I really hope to fly young leaders together with him, to experience what I did, and to learn from him as well. Don’t know if it will happen, but I can dream, can’t I? 

And that was the end of it! All in all the great people at AirAsia asean including Katherine, Raman and team took great care of me and I had such a great time in Jakarta and being in the office, seeing how these people work and learning from them. I owe it to my team at @Socialgrooves as well as volunteers for without them, Aseanita wouldn’t have happened. In fact, all the fantastic coverage wouldn’t have happened, even on the Wall Street Journal (Indonesian version) too, oh boy…

• On Tribun Kaltim, Indonesia – AirAsia Perkenalkan Aseanita
• On MyFew.net – Airasia Asean Officially Launched In Jakarta
• On Kishori Lal – AirAsia asean is throwing its support to Aseanita
• On TravelBuck.net, Indonesia – Aseanita, Menjadikan ASEAN Menjadi Satu Keluarga
• On TribunJogja.com – AirAsia Kenalkan Figur Aseanita
• On EGlobalTravelMedia.com.au, Australia – Reaffirming AirAsia asean’s commitment to Asean
• On Newswit.com, Thailand – http://www.newswit.com/.life/2012-07-17/fa80efc9b6df04b96ddb753b01d11d9a/
• On blogs:
  PlacesandFoods.com – Aseanita for Asean 45th Anniversary
  AzizLaikar – http://azizlaikar.blogspot.com/2012/08/aseanita.html
  HasrulHassan.com – Giveaway Share, Dream and Fly | Percuma 2 Tiket Air Asian Untuk Destinasi Asian Setiap Hari!
  CheeChingy.com – Happy 45th ASEAN Day!!
• More Indonesian press release news links:
  http://www.tribunnews.com/2012/07/16/komitmen-airasia-asean-terhadap-asean
  http://www.investor.co.id/infrastructure/airasia-luncurkan-aseanita-kampanyekan-asean-community/40597
  http://beritasurabaya.net/i
  ndex_sub.php?category=7&id=6957&tags=Komitmen-AirAsia-Asean-Lewat-Aseanita
  http://www.medanbisnisdaily.com/news/read/2012/07/16/106330/komitmen_airasia_asean_terhadap_asean/#.UAPxr_WJS4I

WHY ASEAN?

Imagine that your voice can impact the lives of not just your fellow citizens, but 600 million people.

This is the strength of Asean. A 600m strong, wealthy community with a GDP of USD2.1trn that is becoming increasingly well-connected through mobile internet and the low cost carrier revolution in air travel. With Asean, you can share your passion, creativity, and ideas with a much bigger and diverse community. Those who influence are those who can inspire others.

Asean has come this far in 45 years, from 5 countries to 10. Asean Day is an occasion to celebrate the success of our visionary Founders who sought to forge a new future with Asean. They inspired a legacy of peace and socio-economic co-operation in Asean. This legacy lives on and continues to grow, 45 years on.

The time has come to realize the futures of our communities are inextricably linked to one another, interwoven in a tapestry of shared dreams and destinies. The time has come to realize that we are not just people of 1 country, but 1 region. We are Asean.

The post Launching of AirAsia asean in Jakarta + My Vision for ASEAN appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

One of the highlights I have this year, is to be featured on Bernama TV‘s The Breakfast Club (Astro 502)- my first longest LIVE appearance on TV where I discussed about social media at large, about how my silly blog got popular, how I got involved in social media activism and even managed to slot in about how the opportunity for youths have come to Malaysia (in the form of EYE Project). This would not have happened if I did not stumble into @Syafique of the Motivation.my fame, which would not have happened if myHarapan did not invite me (it was a pitch to our Prime Minister @NajibRazak himself, too), and that would not have happened if @RoslanBZ did not have faith in me.

Below is the recording on Bernama TV’s YouTube channel – do excuse my excessive repeating and nervousness, was already doing my best!

There’s a lot more to share regarding the progress that has happened since the first twtup of the year (#1111TwtUp) at @JayaOne, to experiencing @TeachForMsia’s first crowning of 2011 Fellows, to some dramatic make ups and break ups, to meeting legends such as Professor Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank fame, seeing both @UKEC & @YCMS to the height of its progress and of course being best man to Wan Mohd Firdaus, le partner in crime, and many, many more wonderful and exciting moments!

But that will have to wait because I’ll be heading to @JayaOne to countdown to the mysterious year of 2012 – however, I feel that this coming year will be a legendary year, especially for the youths of Malaysia, because for once – their passion and efforts will be recognized and respected by the people of power, and thus, Malaysia’s progress into a high-income nation by 2020 will soon come to be true – thanks to the integrated efforts of both the young and the old!

Finally, the crystal clear vision I had since I was 20 years old was coming to materialize… and it is all thanks to the the support of some of the most fantastic people I’ve met over the years. Let’s greet 2012 with lots of bangs and blasts together!

The post 2011 – The Year of Youth and Passion, The Road to Development #Remembering2011 appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.