Sending Your Name to MARS and what it all means...

On the 15th July, I registered and participated in NASA's rover space programme. NASA issued me with a certificate of participation, where my name will be carried to Mars on a microchip carried by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover.

I got so many emails and comments in my inbox asking me details about how my name was chosen and why is it going to Mars.

Some of you might be thinking what's the point of sending your name to Mars?

What's the whole purpose of sending your name?

Well there isn't-- it's just for the fun of it. But what NASA is really doing is that they are engaging and trying to raise the awareness for their space programmes with the public via social media. The mainstream media has proved to have slowed down in their broadcast with NASA's space projects and therefore they took the leap to join in the evolution of social media.

Their efforts have proved to be successful and they are now able to create a personality for their spacecrafts and for people to connect and communicate on a personal level with their astronauts and authorities from NASA.

In fact today NASA's is known for sending more tweets and engaging widely via social media than they do by launching rockets.

The way I look at it with regards to sending your name to mars is this;

1. You can't send a man to Mars as YET --so the next best option is to send your name which might give the end user the so called "experience" of going to Mars;

2. It also suggests that virtual teleportation (holographic beaming) is on it's way and it's very much certain where we will be able to beam ourselves virtually into space (as you have seen in Star Trek);

3. NASA is also raising the awareness of the people and are engaging with the public on a personal level; and

4. To send out real time information on the web to heighten the experience of the viewer and information on space travel and discovery.

These are the changes that digital media is bringing and we must embrace these changes and be prepraed to explore any one of these possibilities that may come in your way.

To keep track on NASA's social media collaborations click here or

If you wish to participate then click here to send your name to Mars!

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Cover it Live!

(Image: SpeedBump.com)

Here is an interesting story. I met up with a friend, Anil Netto, who is a writer and a web 2.0 political blogger. He travels a lot and has been covering political events all over the country.

What interests me about him is that he has been providing live feeds and information to his readers and those concerned about the latest development of the political landscape in the country. He believes in political justice and provides readers with uncensored news direct and straight from the source or events.

This is where the power of the internet and social media comes to the rescue. One of the 'tools' that Anil uses is Cover It Live! an online blogging tool that allows you to post comments and information directly to your readers. This tools provides readers live information as the events unfold from your perspective. It is not a chatting device, but caution must be taken as you do not want to lose focus as you might get caught up replying directly to the comments, which will then make it look as if you are having a 'chat' with your readers rather than providing a live feed and information as the events unfold.

(Anil working from his laptop covering the events live as they unfold via Cover It Live!)

As we know that the internet promotes the freedom of speech, but some countries including China and Malaysia tend to censor news in the mainstream and traditional media. They do this to prevent the citizens from knowing the truth and what is going on around them (in the political sense based on the corrupt practices of the government). It is indeed a sad case especially when the government of the day does so to their own citizens.

This is when people like Anil Netto among others come into the picture. They play an important role to help spread the message of justice through their blogs and findings. Their news are uncensored and is focused to the benefit of the community.

However, it isn't easy as it sounds. These political bloggers such as Anil Netto, and many others including Raja Petra Kamaruddin (an independent online news provider for the community) are constantly watched by the goverment.

To prove my point, I decided to follow Anil for 2 days to cover the 'Perak Controversy'-- respectively on the 7th and on the 8th of Feb. The 8th Feb, was also a day of for the Hindu Community who celebrate Thaipusam.

We did a live coverage on the 'Perak Controversy' a political crisis that the Silver State is facing and followed a few 'key people' who were able to provide us information on the political landscape as issues unfold.

On the 7th I was at the Perak Chief Ministers Home , where he gave a speech and it was filled with supporters and unidentified and plain clothers police offifers. I went up to Anil and had a conversation with him about the event, and Anil immediately pointed out to me that there was an officer hoovering around us with a watchful eye and ear over us. We then had to move on to a different location to prevent them from following us and listening to our conversations and findings.

The second incident, was during the Thaipusam event (8th Feb). We had a lead that there was going to a a candle light vigil by the Hindu devotess to promote fundamental human rights, freedom of speech and expression, which the government has denied over the many years since they have been in power. Under normal circumstances, such events are illegal without a police permit (and they could have been arrested by the police) and these individuals took the opportunity to use this event to do so. Within moments, I was informed that the Special Branch plan clothes police officers are around and were watching our moves.

(Behind me were many other photographers and journalist covering this event)

The goverment keeps a watchful eye to make sure that these people do not come in their way to provide information about their corrupt practices. As a results some of them (including Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Jeffrey Kitingan) have been detained under the Internal Security Act (some call this the mirror of Guantanamo Bay), which allows the arrest of a person or a preventive detention without trial for a period not exceeding 2 years.

One thing is for sure-- Change is a must and we must all learn to adapt to change. Such government controls of the media and free speech will only lead to their down fall. We have seen tremendous change in the politics of the United States and how social media has played its part. What about you? Are you ready to change and ready to adapt to what social media has to offer?

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Social Media and Health Care 2.0

What I find interesting these days is the health care industry-- an industry that is worth billions. It is an industry that never sleeps and it caters for our health care needs 24/7/365. We have seen lots of changes over the past decade in the development of science and technology and to this aspect, the health care industry has also kept up with it.

This growing change has led the health care industry to fuse and keep up with the need of creating an awareness and the spread of information about health care, medicine and body to individuals worldwide, through the use of the internet and social media today. Many Physicians and Bio-medics are working hard to create online projects that provide information on health care, medicine and the body that can benefit the world at large.

Here are some projects and reviews on the Online Health Care Industries:

MedPedia

MedPedia is a global project that provides information through their 'living encyclopedia', which consists of health, medicine and body. It is the 'Wikipedia' of Medicine and it is to be available freely to individuals around the world. MedPedia is calling for content and are currently working along with Physicians, Health Organizations, Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, and they are all working very hard behind the scenes by compiling a comprehensive medical resource that can soon help and provide information to millions around the world.

Practice Fusion

Practice Fusion is another project that provides health care information to doctors and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion claims to reduce cost and allows medical practitioners to provide high level of care to their patients as they are committed to contribute to the community and believe that there should be equality in the standards of healthcare between individuals no matter where they come from.

Health World Web

Health World Web is an online social network of patient community. On the site, members can ask questions, post a blog, add a doctor and share your healh care experiences that you have had. The site boasts to have more than 1.5 million doctors and dentists in a range of specialties. In fact, it is a good platform for individuals to share their health care experience and even share their doctors or hospital contact information with others who might need some care or advice.

The Doctors Channel

The Doctors Channel is an online web tv that enables doctors or individuals to watch, listen and learn from doctors alike. It is a free service for everyone and it allows doctors to share ideas with one another fast and easy with the latest news and information and the changing face of the health care industry. The site provides medical and non-medical information to individuals that is reviewed by their team of physicians, writers and doctors.

OR Live

OR Live is another social media project that provides live and on-demand online video streaming which focuses on new medical breakthroughs and procedures from world renown medical centers and hospitals. OR Live are one of the leaders in health care broadcasting, where they have developed more than 600 live and on-demand events with over 2000 hours of programming.

Patient UK

Patient UK is an online information source or patients. The site provides information on health care needs that are usually provided by general practitioners to their patients during their consultation. Patient UK, is currently a market leader and have their systems installed in more than 50% of the GP's Clinics in the UK. The site is aimed to provide good quality information to individuals about health care and disease and for health care and medical professionals outside the UK to obtain health care information from a UK source.

All of these sites do provide good resources in the health care industry. There have been many developments and progress in the health care industry. It keeps growing from day to day with the aim of providing good quality information by creating the awareness and providing free access and information to anyone at will.

However, you should not take this for granted. Although, the information provided in these sites are current or authoritative, you should not substitute such information for any professional face to face advice from a doctor. The content of such sites should be treated as informational purpose only.

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Social Networking: Old Game, New Tools

Social Networking and the Art of Building your networks has never been easier. Today, we have all the tools to help us build our networks online, quick and easy. It is still an old game with new tools, but we must choose the right tools to build our networks.

Social Networking sites are blooming and are gaining momentum online. There are so many of them and you will need to pick the right one for your niche. These sites have brought down the boundaries and geographical locations as to how people may communicate and interact with one another. Making friends and building your social or online networks is just at the click of the button, where you can request someone to be your 'friend' and whether you have anything in common with them.

You should never underestimate the power of these social networking websites, as they can really boost your credibility and your presence internationally. At the click of the button, you are making new contacts and friends online and these 'friends', may sometimes invite you to events and functions, where you can meet them face to face and further build your network. You may be invited to conferences, parties, and even weddings and these are some of the events that you should consider attending, if you wish to build your network and meet new people.

But, then again, online social networking is nothing compared to the good old way of meeting people and making friends face to face, as there is more interaction and you get to see how the person is able to relate to you physically. You are able to build better rapport with the person face to face than meeting them online. I am not saying that online networking is bad, but rather, it is a starting point for making friends and building your list and at the same time you are breaking the local barriers and boundaries and interacting with people on a global scale.

As a result of my 'online social profile' and network, I have been invited and attended many events that has enabled me to build my contacts on a global scale. I would suggest that if you haven't got an 'online social profile' perhaps you might want to consider creating one. You may create a profile that suits your needs and niche. You will never know how your 'social profile' may benefit you in the long run. What have you got to loose anyway? Only friends to make!

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New Look, New Beginning and Let's Educate

It's been sometime since I posted anything here. I decided to
give the blog a new look, feel and deleted all the previous content.

Well it has been a busy period for me and I have been travelling
a lot lately and haven't had much time for myself. But, along the
way I have experienced a lot more, by observing the people,
businesses and organizations around me.

It really mystifies me at times. Last year in 2007, a close friend
of mine applied for his post graduate degree at a public university
and they told him that he was "under qualified" to pursue the
programme that he wanted to do. He then, applied to another
private university and gained entry and since, he has now completed
his Masters Degree.

I have always had the intention to pursue my Masters/Phd
as part of my professional development, and lately I decided to do so.
I made an application in January 2008, to the same public university
that my friend applied to, and I was declined the offer to carry out my
postgraduate degree on the basis that "I didn't have the
qualifications/experience to do so," and I was shocked.

I had all the relevant qualifications and experience for the research that I proposed and they had the cheek to say that to me. However, while waiting for their reply, I applied to another Private University and I submitted my research proposal to them. Guess what, they accepted it! And it took them only 3 weeks to decide and get back to me, compared to the former that took them 6 months.

It's gets better now... Since the completion of his first Masters Degree, my friend, intends to pursue a second Masters Degree. We spoke about it and decided to write back to the same public university that declined him earlier on. This time, they said that he is "overqualified" and that he should do his Doctoral Degree, rather than a second Masters Degree. When I heard this, I started to laugh.

My friend, told me that he would prefer to do a second Masters Degree rather than a Doctoral (this was based on his personal preference), and I agreed to his argument. He then applied to another private university and gained entry for his second Masters Degree.

Now the point is this: I am just curious about the manner that some of these institutions make and what are their decisions based on (or could it be that just that particular "one" public university was just to choosy). I find that they (Public Universities) are just losing out on all the potential candidates and income that they could get from these candidates. At the same time they are also depriving individuals who wish to further their education and career plans.

Why? What is wrong with the system? I always believe that to EARN more you must LEARN more, and I am a keen learner and I always read and learn about anything that interests me. The world that we live in is no longer what it is some 10-15 years ago. Times have changed and it has become far more competitive than before. The cost of living is rising and we must do more so that we can sustain and live a better quality of life. It is time that we all educate ourselves and eradicate poverty and the mindset of mediocrity.

People are being more aggressive and are those who take action, that will usually reap the results. These individuals should be good decision makers and not just people who will screw things up (like those in the public university referred to earlier on), as these decisions can leave a lasting impact and impression of what people will thing about you and your organization.

I just can't wait to see how the future will be in time to come, but it will all depend on the things that we do today, which will be the effect of tomorrow.

Don't you think we should all do our bit today for a better tomorrow?

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