When in trouble, contact Facebook first (duh!)
Juniper Foo | Mar 11, 2009
Here's a real-life anecdote that probably gets a thumbs up from Facebook fans. Singapore woman flies to remote city in China. Woman gets robbed of almost all her belongings. Numb from hunger and cold, woman begs and borrows 100 yuan (S$22) from a kindly policeman. What does she do? Well no, she doesn't call back home for help. Instead, she immediately makes for a cybercafe, logs into Facebook, and posts for help.
You'd also think that after three days of holing out in a hostel and checking her Facebook regularly for a response, she would think to pick up a phone to call home. Even our lovable extraterrestrial E.T. had the right idea. But no, the 27-year-old R. Yeow, a hobby photographer, waits it out. By Sunday night, desperate, she files a post: "Nothing. There's no response." So much for the 2,600 friends on her social-networking Facebook site.
Fortunately for her, this strange saga has a happy ending. A fellow Singaporean and photographer eventually spots her Facebook message on Monday. And suffice to say, Yeow is finally rescued. Though not before friend Willy Foo taps his Facebook, Twitter and Plurk networks, which trigger off a viral SOS that has people who see it calling consulates, police stations and even friends in China to try and track down Yeow's location.
I'm sure this little episode will spawn tons of forum posts among Asians, from extolling the merits of social-networking sites to questioning why Yeow's post took days to get a response. Where were those 2,600 Facebook buddies? But more so, have sites like Facebook made it impossible to think outside the social-networking box? Did Yeow turn to her Facebook rather than the phone with some warped idea to to generate user interest and Internet fame in her situation, rather than effect a quick rescue? What do you think?
Via Straits Times, March 11, 2009
Talkback
willyfoo says...
Hi Everyone,
I'm Willy Foo and someone alerted me to this article.. She is very real alright and many of the people involved in the 24hr ordeal knew of who she was.. I just removed links to her profile to protect her identity.
And the 2600 people was in my network, she had less and didn't have a consistent internet access to be able to get the help she needed.
It may seem wierd to you and so did my business partner at that time who just couldn't fathom how that she has 'contacted' the embassy (which at that time we assumed it was the Singapore Embassy) and was with the police and couldn't contact anybody.
It's true... the rural village in Kaiping wasn't very well connected.. the phones she got to couldn't do international calls and her phone was stolen as well.. so her phone numbers were all lost.
What made it more complicated was that the police in china made the process more difficult... they tried to setup a bank account for her friend to transfer money in.. but all of our china contacts and friend who knew about rural china has advised against that, all being quite sure that the money will not be able to reach her. When we called the police, they denied that they setup the account (just learnt about this too)... and refused to provide info on her.
Cheers,
Willy Foo
Mar 11, 2009 23:27
Hi Everyone,
I'm Willy Foo and someone alerted me to this article.. She is very real alright and many of the people involved in the 24hr ordeal knew of who she was.. I just removed links to her profile to protect her identity.
And the 2600 people was in my network, she had less and didn't have a consistent internet access to be able to get the help she needed.
It may seem wierd to you and so did my business partner at that time who just couldn't fathom how that she has 'contacted' the embassy (which at that time we assumed it was the Singapore Embassy) and was with the police and couldn't contact anybody.
It's true... the rural village in Kaiping wasn't very well connected.. the phones she got to couldn't do international calls and her phone was stolen as well.. so her phone numbers were all lost.
What made it more complicated was that the police in china made the process more difficult... they tried to setup a bank account for her friend to transfer money in.. but all of our china contacts and friend who knew about rural china has advised against that, all being quite sure that the money will not be able to reach her. When we called the police, they denied that they setup the account (just learnt about this too)... and refused to provide info on her.
Cheers,
Willy Foo
Mar 11, 2009 23:27
juniper says...
Hi Willy, based on the Straits Times Home page article, and on the fact that the Facebook phenomenon has resulted in crazy things, it's easy to infer a lot of things. Which is why I posed questions at the end, rather than make a statement based on what has been reported. So it's good that you've made it much clearer here on what happened.
Mar 12, 2009 11:01
Hi Willy, based on the Straits Times Home page article, and on the fact that the Facebook phenomenon has resulted in crazy things, it's easy to infer a lot of things. Which is why I posed questions at the end, rather than make a statement based on what has been reported. So it's good that you've made it much clearer here on what happened.
Mar 12, 2009 11:01
CYMONSPACE says...
I think some people just take things for granted, thinking that home is just a phone call away, forgetting that there are parts of the world that remains less connected. Passing insidious remarks with a huge tint of sarcasm.
I believe yeow would have tried means and ways to get help, besides tapping on the net. I think it is very presumptuous of the writer of this aritcle to think that she actually post it on facebook only, and checks her facebook only.
The writer of this article seems to have doubt on Ms Yeow's intellectual capability to even think about calling home. BUT, i have serious doubt about the writer's intellectual capability to even think about this. Who wouldn't want to use a phone if they can? Like Mr Willy Foo explained, there was a problem with the connection.
Don't pass irresponsible remarks if you are not fully aware of the situation. Irresponsible comments like this mislead audiences.
Juniper, is it? Next time you find yourself in such situation, you will be thankful to yeow.
Mar 11, 2009 23:50
I think some people just take things for granted, thinking that home is just a phone call away, forgetting that there are parts of the world that remains less connected. Passing insidious remarks with a huge tint of sarcasm.
I believe yeow would have tried means and ways to get help, besides tapping on the net. I think it is very presumptuous of the writer of this aritcle to think that she actually post it on facebook only, and checks her facebook only.
The writer of this article seems to have doubt on Ms Yeow's intellectual capability to even think about calling home. BUT, i have serious doubt about the writer's intellectual capability to even think about this. Who wouldn't want to use a phone if they can? Like Mr Willy Foo explained, there was a problem with the connection.
Don't pass irresponsible remarks if you are not fully aware of the situation. Irresponsible comments like this mislead audiences.
Juniper, is it? Next time you find yourself in such situation, you will be thankful to yeow.
Mar 11, 2009 23:50
aiping says...
She is a personal friend of mine and I am particularly disturbed to note how it was insinuated that she did what she did out of stupidity.
There were a lot of assumptions in this article which were not verified and unjustifiably biased against my friend. Let me get some facts straight here.
1. She did not use the RMB100 she borrowed to access the internet. She was using a prepaid card given to her by the police when she reported the loss of her bag. She borrowed the RMB100 two days after she lost her bag, to buy food, since she hasn't eaten for 2 days.
2. She does not have 2,600 friends on her friend list, it was on Willy's friend list.
3. The phones there are not able to make calls even to Guangzhou City, not to mention international calls. She contacted the embassy by emailing them. ET was lucky he found a phone that works for him.
4. When she posted the note saying there was "no response", she was referring to a lack of response from the embassy and not from her friends and I'm not sure how that is connected to the number of friends on her Facebook list.
5. The police were hardly kind. She had to follow them all night till morning patrolling the streets to look for the people who stole her bag on the Friday it happened. The two policemen in charge of her case were not on duty over the weekend and they left her hanging when she went back on Saturday, telling her to return to the police station on Monday, since the ones on duty over the weekend did not handle the case. They did not offer much to a lady who was stranded with nothing after being robbed. She had to borrow the RMB100 and ask for a prepaid internet card (which she was asked to pay for later). They didn't care if she had managed to contact her embassy or if she had food.
I think even ET wouldn't think of such an idea to "generate user interest and internet fame", and to even think ANYONE would get themselves into such a situation and try to milk it for fame is plain ol' cynicism. I think the warped one here is the one who actually even thought of it as a possibility.
Mar 12, 2009 00:14
She is a personal friend of mine and I am particularly disturbed to note how it was insinuated that she did what she did out of stupidity.
There were a lot of assumptions in this article which were not verified and unjustifiably biased against my friend. Let me get some facts straight here.
1. She did not use the RMB100 she borrowed to access the internet. She was using a prepaid card given to her by the police when she reported the loss of her bag. She borrowed the RMB100 two days after she lost her bag, to buy food, since she hasn't eaten for 2 days.
2. She does not have 2,600 friends on her friend list, it was on Willy's friend list.
3. The phones there are not able to make calls even to Guangzhou City, not to mention international calls. She contacted the embassy by emailing them. ET was lucky he found a phone that works for him.
4. When she posted the note saying there was "no response", she was referring to a lack of response from the embassy and not from her friends and I'm not sure how that is connected to the number of friends on her Facebook list.
5. The police were hardly kind. She had to follow them all night till morning patrolling the streets to look for the people who stole her bag on the Friday it happened. The two policemen in charge of her case were not on duty over the weekend and they left her hanging when she went back on Saturday, telling her to return to the police station on Monday, since the ones on duty over the weekend did not handle the case. They did not offer much to a lady who was stranded with nothing after being robbed. She had to borrow the RMB100 and ask for a prepaid internet card (which she was asked to pay for later). They didn't care if she had managed to contact her embassy or if she had food.
I think even ET wouldn't think of such an idea to "generate user interest and internet fame", and to even think ANYONE would get themselves into such a situation and try to milk it for fame is plain ol' cynicism. I think the warped one here is the one who actually even thought of it as a possibility.
Mar 12, 2009 00:14
VivianT says...
I suppose what I hope to share is, more often than not, we're quick to make judgement or jump to conclusions based on our own perceptions, especially if we're only an outsider to a given situation.
But the truth is, just because we cannot agree/comprehend something within our own scope of experience, doesn't mean it cannot take place in reality.
At the end of the day, a little more objectivity, tolerance and acceptance wouldn't hurt. And I say this as a reminder to myself as well - it doesn't hurt to be less microscopic and individualistic. After all, open minds and open hearts help to make this world a friendlier and more humane place. In this case, a life has been saved, regardless of the means to make it happen!
Lastly, I'd like to add that I'm no avid Facebook user myself (well, at least not yet); but I've seen, beyond its broad definition as a social networking platform, the power of it to move businesses, champion worthy causes and now, save lives! That in itself, is definitely a milestone worth rejoicing :)
Mar 12, 2009 02:22
I suppose what I hope to share is, more often than not, we're quick to make judgement or jump to conclusions based on our own perceptions, especially if we're only an outsider to a given situation.
But the truth is, just because we cannot agree/comprehend something within our own scope of experience, doesn't mean it cannot take place in reality.
At the end of the day, a little more objectivity, tolerance and acceptance wouldn't hurt. And I say this as a reminder to myself as well - it doesn't hurt to be less microscopic and individualistic. After all, open minds and open hearts help to make this world a friendlier and more humane place. In this case, a life has been saved, regardless of the means to make it happen!
Lastly, I'd like to add that I'm no avid Facebook user myself (well, at least not yet); but I've seen, beyond its broad definition as a social networking platform, the power of it to move businesses, champion worthy causes and now, save lives! That in itself, is definitely a milestone worth rejoicing :)
Mar 12, 2009 02:22
rogersoh says...
It is good to ask question to find out more details. But in my option to pass judgment based on limited information that you have read from the news is unfair to the person involved.
Mar 12, 2009 03:35
It is good to ask question to find out more details. But in my option to pass judgment based on limited information that you have read from the news is unfair to the person involved.
Mar 12, 2009 03:35
willyfoo says...
I've attempted to reconstruct the full story at willyfoo.com...
I hope this helps to answer some of the questions about the incident.
Mar 12, 2009 12:09
I've attempted to reconstruct the full story at willyfoo.com...
I hope this helps to answer some of the questions about the incident.
Mar 12, 2009 12:09
toffee says...
Just to put things in perspective.
China has at least a billion people, and this chinese lady was stranded at a rural location with no cash, card, phone (connectivity), passport (identity), food nor extra clothing. She needed time to find out the address of where she was situated. But she had no means to call out even if she knew where she was. Most people would panic if they were in her shoes for a number of days. Time runs out very fast in such situations. And vultures pounce on such preys equally quickly.
Facebook is well-known as a social networking tool. Any stranded person who posts for help on Facebook would presumably have tried all other conventional methods of seeking help. She was desperate.
She was the NEEDLE in that mountainous haystack. And having the same ethnic race makes finding her even more difficult.
I think it is plausible to imagine that within the week, she could have been the next statistic in the list of missing persons.
Mar 12, 2009 23:26
Just to put things in perspective.
China has at least a billion people, and this chinese lady was stranded at a rural location with no cash, card, phone (connectivity), passport (identity), food nor extra clothing. She needed time to find out the address of where she was situated. But she had no means to call out even if she knew where she was. Most people would panic if they were in her shoes for a number of days. Time runs out very fast in such situations. And vultures pounce on such preys equally quickly.
Facebook is well-known as a social networking tool. Any stranded person who posts for help on Facebook would presumably have tried all other conventional methods of seeking help. She was desperate.
She was the NEEDLE in that mountainous haystack. And having the same ethnic race makes finding her even more difficult.
I think it is plausible to imagine that within the week, she could have been the next statistic in the list of missing persons.
Mar 12, 2009 23:26
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KianMing
This either means
1) this whole thing is a hoax and Yeow never existed
2) Yeow is really doing a social experiment and not in any real danger
3) Yeow cannot remember her home number because she stored it on her mobile which was robbed. ** She remembers her facebook login though because she didn't use the autologin in FF or IE...
We live in some crazy times....
Mar 11, 2009 16:19