Reach

The REACH forum is a platform for civil and open discussions among contributors, on issues of national and public interests. It is an local online feedback forum where people can submit their say and comments.

Public discussion among citizens is more open minded where members of this forum posts comments about a certain topic.

 They have different categories of topics where you can pick and choose. For example, about Youth or Education or healthcare. A moderator would post a topic and many are free to leave comments or feedbacks. But all these are controlled by the moderator as he or she must keep track with the audience or citizens. 

Govt, Please Do Something for the Wayward Youths living on the Fringe ... Those Ah Bengs/ Lians, Hooligans, Gangsters...

Pictures like these are shown to represent the topic and many would then post comments regarding to this. 

The moderator would have to keep track of the comments and make sure all are heard before making any conclusions.

Reflect

With all the different social networks and electronic devices, do we actually communicate with people? Singapore is a fast paced country and everyone seems to be so preoccupied everyday. The following article will remind us to stop and enjoy the simplest things in life. 

My mom is a working single-mum and I am also busy with school and work myself. I hardly see her because by the time I am back home, she is fast asleep and when she leaves home for work, I will be asleep. Sometimes I personally wonder what are we all rushing for, rushing to? Are we living the life we want?

When was the last time you actually communicated with your parents?

Editing Beauty

Ever thought of improving your appearance? This product will most likely make your dreams come true.

Fotoshop by Adobé (Adobe)

 This video is a spoof of real software called Photoshop; using the same concept shown on Maybelline commercial video. The idea is to showcase the power of Photoshop and how you could use it to modify your images. For example, it allows you to change the colour and the size of a person. It shows that by using Photoshop, one could easily lie about their appearance and even their race.

What I realise is that this video has fulfilled most of the AIDA model.

Firstly, this video has managed to catch my Attention within the first 10 second because of the magical effect it could produce and it looks professional and real unlike those that are made by students.

Secondly, it has sparked my Interest by showing more functions the product can provide and left me wanting more.

Thirdly, after looking at all the benefits and realizing that it could not be real, the Desire for the product kept me hoping that it will be available in future.

Lastly, Action, knowing that this product is not real; there is actually no place that I could get it.

Although this commercial has only managed to fulfil 3 main criteria due to the fact that it is actually produced to make fun of a product and not to sell it. I believe that if this product is real, I would actually get into action and buy it.

So does this video give you the similar idea?

The Patch -UP

Have you heard of the royal story of Prince William and Kate?

They broke up in 2007 after 5 years of dating but got back together again after some time. This reminds me of how we still communicate with our ex-boyfriends or girlfriends after a break-up.

Usually we will look at ourselves with self-pity and blame ourselves for it, that is the looking-glass self effect.

This term refers to people shaping themselves based on other people's perception, which leads the people to reinforce other people's perspectives on themselves. 

People shape themselves based on what other people perceive and confirm other people's opinion on themselves. The term "looking glass self" was first used by Cooley in his work, Human Nature and the Social Order in 1902.
Instead, we should ponder on our mistakes and improve ourselves to a more positive person. 
Usually a relationship ends because of many factors, role relations, paradoxes and spirals. 
Both people must complement each other such that the relationship balance and works out.

From what we learned in class,  5 steps to retreat from initmacy.
1. Differentiating- Arguments where its from a selfish point of view
2. Circumscribing- Restricting communication
3. Stagnating-Long periods of silence
4. Avoiding-Physical/Emotional separation
5. Terminating- It's Over!

Some effective ways to get our conversations clear to our partner is to own your message, avoid apologizing, make the messages specific and do not criticize the other party. 


Hope you will get some pointers on how to work out a inter-personal relationship!

KONY 2012

KONY 2012

KONY 2012 Video Link: http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony-4.html


This is an insightful and powerful video with a strong idea and cause. I initially thought the video was not worth 30 minutes of my time but after the first 10minutes i thought otherwise.  The video addressees many elements of communication in all forms, including social media like twitter, Facebook, and using these mediums and platforms to spread causes and ideas by 'sharing'. The power of the video comes from the acknowledgement and the fact that this organization 'Invisible children Inc" has international world recognition, support and backing from governmental bodies.This video exemplifies the power and influence that Facebook and social media sites have in our generation today. The connectivity of the world transcends boundaries with individuals holding the power of the click.

The issue in focus here is on Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda who's cause is to maintain power and nothing else. Many crimes and heinous acts have been committed by Kony and his army. Kony kidnaps young children, and gives them weapons to mutilate and kill for his own pleasure. He often commands and forces children he capture to kill their own parents. Female children he captures are used as sex slaves while males are forced to fight for the LRA. This tragedy and extreme situation has been happening in Uganda for the past 20 years. This video aims to bring awareness to the world, and by means of social networking sites, to gain popularity. The video aims for Joseph kony to be a household name to spread the awareness of his evil-doings around the globe. This video shows the extent of his acts, and also the extent of the world's ignorance and how uninformed we are of his existence and his crimes.

The video is very inspiring as it features how one man with an idea managed to influenced so many others, rally support internationally, formed a group with similar ideas and beliefs and lobbied government backing in support of his cause. This video shows us the journey of the creator of the video and how he reached the stage his cause is at today. This video is powerful and engaging and i did not feel bored or lose my attention while watching the video. I feel videos like this have such a tremendous effect and influence on viewers.

I personally feel that Joseph Kony should be put to justice and that we should act now. The Children and youth in Uganda need to be saved and they need to be set free. I feel we should all set aside our time to watch this video and remember that whether we live or not should not be determined by where we live.

Same Gestures, Different Meanings..

Gestures, or movements of the head, hands, arms, and legs can be used to convey specific messages that have linguistic translations. These gestures can be very useful in the workplace because they are a quick way to convey thoughts and feelings without needing to speak or write. Additionally, many such gestures are generally widely understood, although they may carry different meanings in other cultures. For instance, although the "ok" sign that is made through touch of the thumb and forefinger with the remaining fingers extended is seen as a positive gesture in the U.S., in some other cultures, this is seen as a vulgar gesture. Here in Singapore, we share similar hand gestures with the same meanings as the ones used in the US.
This video shows 7 widely used hand gestures, which differ in meaning when used in different parts of the globe. So people, the next time you go travelling, be sure to use the correct hand gestures; or, you might get yourself into trouble!

Will UB mine?

How did you spend your valentine's day? Had a romantic dinner and received roses? I hope everyone got to spend valentine's with their loved ones. I want to share with you guys this picture above because at the 1st glance, it seems to be a rather boring and lengthy essay but there actually has a hidden message. If you were to read the first word of each sentence, you will see a poem. It is a promise to a loved one and it is very touching.

In chapter 6, we learn about interpersonal communication. And this picture is an example of self-disclosure; sharing information with someone voluntarily. I think that the author may be afraid of confessing to the reader, thus he/she encoded it into the essay. Some disclosure can be inappropriate and risky because it have an effect on others. Because self-disclosure should be gradual and reciprocal, the author could be waiting to see if the intended reader got his/her message and what kind of response the reader would give.

I hope everyone liked this photo and this could be a great idea for a valentine's day gift for your loved one next year! :)