Guest User

reHASHplus

Sober IT truths from the island-state

by Michael Tan, Singapore

Subscribe to this blog

Big shoes to fill!

Jun 25, 2007 16:55

First of all I hate my mugshot!

Gin Lee, the big guy who sat in this Singapore Dispatch Seat, had to vacate it for professional reasons. He decided to get back into traditional journalism with the huge resources of a big media organization behind him, but so jealous of their journalists that he couldn't blog here anymore.

Let me tell you something upfront. Gin is a man with size 12 shoes. His shoes are impossible for me to fill. Those who read his blog will MISS him for sure. Every morning Gin will call me up, ask me whether I've read this or that, and I'd say... nope, I haven't. Not interested. No, I don't subscribe to any print media, they make me sick. No, I don't care about this or that statement, it's made by some moron. NO, I live in a world of inside stories and dollars and cents, I can't bear to read things said by some PR hack.

But Gin would persist. I would say OK, tell it to me in one line, I have all the time in the world for you, but sure as hell won't bother to read the papers, bud.

He would then give me a summary of what he's read, in ONE line, and I won't get it. Then he outlines the issues involved, and I get it. ONLY then can I give any meaningful input. Technical input, rather.

But you know what? I'm wrong. Most of the time, Gin's issues have meaning in the real world. Like breaking the story of M1 Broadband's capping of the "unlimited" plan one day before the Straits Times ran the story, the PS3 launch being one of the most unprepared press conferences ever (and now Ken is off!), and the magnificent expose on StarHub getting 75 percent of Q4 2006 Internet account sales, with Singaporeans greatly preferring notebook computers over LCD TVs...

And here I am plugged 24/7 into RSS feeds, forum postings and hive mind groups, and not making anything of it, merely a sponge without an outlet.

So you see, CNET Asia had a swell thing going with Gin Lee, and now they're putting their trust in some guy without a feel for real-world issues. I'm pretty oblivious about general interest things, with my feet firmly planted in terra virtua. How extreme is this affliction? Well, I got the shock of my life when my "controller" in CNET Asia, this lady named after a router brand, flatly refused to let me have a virtualized avatar to grace these pages, insisting on a real-life mugshot instead. No stylized and idealized images, no "matrix theme" images, no biomechanical hacks of my face to make it half-cyborg, half-Michael. Just a real-life mugshot.

After two weeks of going through my tens of thousands of digital images, the mugshot you see here is the best I have. The worst thing is, I ACTUALLY do look like that.

Before I go off topic, welcome to my first instalment. If my writing sucks, let me know. If you're not interested, CNET Asia'll know--the ratings for the Singapore dispatch will go through the floor to diabloland. But if I get the juices flowing, perhaps you'd like to share my "slightly" different world and mindscape.

Bye for now!

Report offensive

Talkback

ooginlee

View profile

Send mail

ooginlee says...
Actually Mike doesnt look like the mugshot. He just took too many pictures of his family and too few of himself.

And I'm sure Mike will do an even better job than I did, with his insider information and his passion for tech issues.

Jun 25, 2007 17:01

Comment

Report offensive

michaeltan

View profile

Send mail

michaeltan says...
I am beginning to like the picture of that quasimodo. It is such a geeky shot. Geeky is the new beautiful? You tell me, I'm discon from the real world.

Jun 25, 2007 18:27

Comment

Report offensive

About Michael Tan

Michael Tan is lucky enough not to have to choose between his job and his passion. He is the responsible for all aspects of developing new businesses and sourcing new productlines for a regional IT distribution company. He also oversees the company's legal affairs as General Counsel. In real life, he is a technology enthusiast, from both the fun and business viewpoint. The only choices he has to make are whether to play with his astro telescopes, his PC games, his Wii console, hit the track, tweak his car, or refine his biofilters, post his blogs, research for a new digicam, scour every forum to feed his habit further, play with his son… You can reach Michael at michaeltanyk@gmail.com ALL BLOGPOSTS ONLY REFLECT MICHAEL'S OPINIONS AND NOBODY ELSES'.