the(new)mediaslut

Ministers and civil servants of Singapore Inc. got an early Christmas present when it was announced that they will be receiving up to 21% pay hikes to keep inline with private sector remuneration.

The blogosphere, however, posted they feel the pinch of these pay hikes with Singapore’s inflation at the highest and their salary nowhere increasing in percentage as their civil servant counterparts.

Andrew Loh, of The Online Citizen, put forward the argument that the government should pay to keep good talent, but questions if such a precedent will backfire.

“If you want good people in government, you have to pay them salaries commensurate with the private sector,” wrote Andrew.

“This is what we have been told – by the prime minister, ministers, PAP MPs, the local media and some Singaporeans.

“…However, perhaps the government has not paid enough attention to an issue which such a formula will create. This is the perception that those in public service are money-grabbers.”

Andrew highlighted that this will discourage Singaporeans from serving the country.

With public demonstrations non-existence in Singapore, disgruntled Singaporeans have gone online to highlight their displeasure.

Reuben, for Plaktoz.com, highlighted the FaceBook “I’m pissed off that my prime minister’s getting S$3.million this year” group that as of print has 2,000 over members, mostly Singaporean.

Hady Mirza - Idol in Singapore, some say Asia too

Singapore Idol #2 winner, Hady Mirza won the Asian Idol contest last Saturday and his achievement was well congratulated by bloggers.
The low down of the Asian Idol event was that the “planning and execution of this regional competition sucks to the core” according to Johnathon for Bondevia.com.

The Vietnamese Idol and judge may have paired up for a rendition of “I Love Rock and Roll” but Johnathon described the pair was neither rocking nor rolling.

News that is fit for print isn’t fit for bloggers

SG bloggers showed trust in the local media by double checking it with BBC with regards to the report that “Singaporeans prefer social stability to freedom of press.”

Bernard Leong, for the Simple is the Reason of My Heart blog, compared the local report with that from BBC and concluded in a line that “our press has managed to report everything except telling us that Singapore is ranked the lowest in terms of media freedom among the 14 countries that was surveyed“.

Who would dare say Singapore media isn’t into creative writing?

The best response a taxi company can give to complains about the lack of taxis in Singapore’s Central Business District during peak hours is to increase surcharges and new meter prices to encourage taxis to appear in such areas.

Bloggers, however, responded that these increase in surcharges will only create new problems.

“Not only did the new hike do away with the staggered midnight charge - which brings back the disappearing taxis before midnight syndrome (DiTaBeM - yes, I’m inline with standards for creating difficult to remember acronyms) in most heartlands,” wrote Simply Jean.

“It now introduces another problem - the disappear taxis at the fringe of town syndrome (DiTaFriToS - doesn’t it just sound like some Mexican food?”

The Singapore Patriot calculated this new taxi prices will represent a 83% increase if he/she will “to take a cab from my mother-in-law’s place in Tiong Bahru to my home in Sembawang”.

With Comfort increasing their taxi fares, the rules of economics will in turn push more towards public transport. A good thing? Not so for the blogger at singaporelifetimes.blogspot.com.

“My main worry now is the additional pressure this will put on the bus and rail services,” wrote the blogger.

“More people will now choose to use the bus and subway. Already, I have noticed that the subway trains are bursting at the seams with a drastic increase in passenger volume.

“…I often thought what if there was a stampede? It could be fatal. With potentially more people taking this mode of transport, this can only become worse.”

Are the surcharges spoiling Singapore taxi drivers? Would removing the surcharges altogether help to improve the current taxi problem in the central business district? Bernard Leong suggested taxi companies do away with surcharges completely.

“Yes, the solution is simple - take away the surcharges during peak hours and force the taxi drivers to compete fairly,” wrote Leong.

“By doing that, you reduce the chances of bad behaviour and reward good behaviour.

“Unless the taxi companies and LTA decide to adopt some economic sensibility, otherwise two things will happen in the long run: one, more people will buy cars if they can afford it and stop using taxi cabs and two, getting a continuous stream of complaints every day.”

Public Relations firms caught engaging the public

DK, of On Net Decay, blogged about his mingling with Oglivy PR over champagne and strawberries.

It seems Oglivy PR isn’t shy about mixing new media and “old” media people together at an event.

(I don’t like calling old media old, I will term them as mainstream media.)

DK gave his new media perspective but one would have to wonder what those from old media would think of having new media there?

On the other hand, Fleishman Hillard told their client, Philips, to work on a Saturday morning as it was the best time to engage the new media.

It is interesting to note that when mainstream media gets invited to a press event, only the topic at hand gets reported.

New media, on the other hand, post photos and blog about their experiences from start to finish.

Also, don’t forget group photos!