Monday, April 21, 2014
Reflection from "One Egg Walk for Charity" Power Walk
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Mealku--a food sharing social platform
Today I came across this very interesting social sharing website. We’ve heard of accommodation sharing, car sharing, now it comes to food sharing. MealKu is based on a very new but fun concept—sharing home-made food. This is truly a c2c platform. Branded as “Homemade Meal Cooperative”, MealKu contains the following highlights I discovered from my brief browsing:
1.
Ku point: a very smart way of using points as a
CRM method. Point system is not new, but MealKu makes it more fun. Ku point has
the similar pronunciation as coupon, and cool point, a smart name isn’t it; members
build Ku points, spend Ku points, and can get cash back rewards with enough Ku
points; members can buy Ku directly with cash if they don’t have enough
time/effort to earn it; they can use Ku to go to events, do delivery, gifting,
and literally anything you can think of doing on this website.
2.
Various incentives: the most direct incentives
are cash backs. For example, members can get $30 when they earn a total of
100Ku or more in a month, or as much as $1000 when they earn a total of 1000Ku
or more in a month.
3.
KOLs: of course, KOLs are important especially for
a social website like MealKu. MealKu opening recruits community leaders by
offering incredible social and financial incentives to start their own MealKu
in their neighborhood.
4.
Target: at brief glance, it seems like MealKu
targets people who loves food/cooking, who have a little bit of free time, who cares of the food they eat, probably
age 28—50, lives in they city.
5.
Limitations and how to solve it: the geographic
limitation. The reason the MealKu support community leaders, is that food
sharing only works within certain distance, and obviously it works best within
a community. Essentially the users will be consists of users from different communities
of the city. Therefore community leaders as KOLs are very important in building
the awareness and driving action.
Essentially, this is an online
social sharing website which connects people online and brings the connections
offline, and creates an online—offline—online ecosystem. And the content is
FOOD. Talking about co-creation. This food sharing website has lots worth studying.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Why over eating, over drinking, and over dose...
I have been wanting to talk a bit about my thoughts and realization when I thought of this topic the other day.
I have tried to do a 3 weeks detox from alcohol (not that I'm alcoholic or drink too much previously) with the intention of changing my drinking habit a bit, the goal to see how I feel, knowing that alcohol essentially is not good for me. In the first week, it was very hard, and I believe for a lot of people as well, especially in a city like Shanghai where drinking is the primary social and entertainment activity. But after the second and third week, I am fine and I'm use to it, even my lifestyle has changed. There are occasions when I was very tempted or pressured to break the rule, but I set my intention before, during the action, it was hard at the moment, a period after I feel the positive results in different aspects, some of which may come much later.
With that example, I started to think on some other cases in life. And then I start to think why there are over eating, over drinking, or over dose in life. If a person is allergic to peanut, she/he would not touch any food that has peanut in it. Why? Because even though she like it, she will suffer immediately from the peanut intake. That effect is quick and there's almost no delay between the action and the consequences. However, if it's not something a person a allergic to, say chocolate for example, a person may not be so strict in terms of eating or overeating it, even though she/he knows that too much chocolate, or too much chocolate everyday makes a person fat, which consequently brings other effects such as high cholesterol or blood pressure. We all know that. But compare to the first case, the time between the action of eating the chocolate and the results is much longer, and we don't suffer immediately.
The great yoga master Iyengar said, in our individual lives, we struggle most with two sorts of action. The first is: Do something "nice" now and at some unspecified time in the future a "nasty" will emerge. The chocolate case for example. The second is: Do something now that it would be easier not to do and reap the benefit a bit later. This refers to actions like wake up early and run (even though it's hard to drag ourselves every morning), and we repeat the benefit to the very least, a healthy body. I think there is another action, which is an extension of the first, which is: Not do something that seems "nice" now and harvest the compound interests as the future unrolls. In the detox case for example, is realizing that too much alcohol is bad for our body, and not drink or not drink too much, and feel the benefit a bit later.
In our daily lives, I'm not encouraging people to suppress our pleasure from doing, the most important thing is when we choose to do/not do something ( run marathon, learn a language, not buy too much clothes and save money for example) understand the relationship between the action/inaction and the effect/consequences. Set intention and stick to our strong intention when the immediate gratification comes which we know would lead to the "nasty" effect at some point in the future. And be honest to ourselves.
I have tried to do a 3 weeks detox from alcohol (not that I'm alcoholic or drink too much previously) with the intention of changing my drinking habit a bit, the goal to see how I feel, knowing that alcohol essentially is not good for me. In the first week, it was very hard, and I believe for a lot of people as well, especially in a city like Shanghai where drinking is the primary social and entertainment activity. But after the second and third week, I am fine and I'm use to it, even my lifestyle has changed. There are occasions when I was very tempted or pressured to break the rule, but I set my intention before, during the action, it was hard at the moment, a period after I feel the positive results in different aspects, some of which may come much later.
With that example, I started to think on some other cases in life. And then I start to think why there are over eating, over drinking, or over dose in life. If a person is allergic to peanut, she/he would not touch any food that has peanut in it. Why? Because even though she like it, she will suffer immediately from the peanut intake. That effect is quick and there's almost no delay between the action and the consequences. However, if it's not something a person a allergic to, say chocolate for example, a person may not be so strict in terms of eating or overeating it, even though she/he knows that too much chocolate, or too much chocolate everyday makes a person fat, which consequently brings other effects such as high cholesterol or blood pressure. We all know that. But compare to the first case, the time between the action of eating the chocolate and the results is much longer, and we don't suffer immediately.
The great yoga master Iyengar said, in our individual lives, we struggle most with two sorts of action. The first is: Do something "nice" now and at some unspecified time in the future a "nasty" will emerge. The chocolate case for example. The second is: Do something now that it would be easier not to do and reap the benefit a bit later. This refers to actions like wake up early and run (even though it's hard to drag ourselves every morning), and we repeat the benefit to the very least, a healthy body. I think there is another action, which is an extension of the first, which is: Not do something that seems "nice" now and harvest the compound interests as the future unrolls. In the detox case for example, is realizing that too much alcohol is bad for our body, and not drink or not drink too much, and feel the benefit a bit later.
In our daily lives, I'm not encouraging people to suppress our pleasure from doing, the most important thing is when we choose to do/not do something ( run marathon, learn a language, not buy too much clothes and save money for example) understand the relationship between the action/inaction and the effect/consequences. Set intention and stick to our strong intention when the immediate gratification comes which we know would lead to the "nasty" effect at some point in the future. And be honest to ourselves.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Why do people like these hamsters?
Recently I spot more and more KIA Soul in Shanghai. The drivers are mainly young professionals, probly between age 25 to 32. The car's cute and sporty design is what draws my attention. One, is a very functional compact crossover; second, the car just fits perfectly with the person who drives it.
Then I did a bit research on this car and found out that this is the car that did the very famous, if not too annoying, Hamster campaign in 10' and years after. I remember when firstly saw the commercial I was a bit like "WTF". Like it or not, I definitely remembered the ad. Apparently this commercial was very successful--not only drives awareness but most importantly drives sales in the States, it works for its target audience--the millennials.
From further research, this car entered China in late 2009, and apparently the performance has failed to meet the expectations. Reason? Probly marketing plays a big part. However, though the U.S. commercial could be a bit offensive, I am curious to know why so many people like it? what is the culture elements in this that resonates its target audience? If you haven't seen the commercial, check it out below.
Then I did a bit research on this car and found out that this is the car that did the very famous, if not too annoying, Hamster campaign in 10' and years after. I remember when firstly saw the commercial I was a bit like "WTF". Like it or not, I definitely remembered the ad. Apparently this commercial was very successful--not only drives awareness but most importantly drives sales in the States, it works for its target audience--the millennials.
From further research, this car entered China in late 2009, and apparently the performance has failed to meet the expectations. Reason? Probly marketing plays a big part. However, though the U.S. commercial could be a bit offensive, I am curious to know why so many people like it? what is the culture elements in this that resonates its target audience? If you haven't seen the commercial, check it out below.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Why I don't see Road Rage in India.
I have been wondering about one observation I had when I was in India. Pretty much all streets in India has the least traffic order you can image--the streets are throng of drivers, pedestrians, animals, and all living things possible trying to cross each other and only narrowly avoiding each other. You hear horns and traffic engines, but you rarely hear people yell or shout at each other, like people do in China and most other places. I always wonder why.
Today I find my answer, or at least one answer, from the book of yogi IYENGAR. "In the West, people take everything very personally and there is even now something called Road Rage where drivers attack and even shoot at each other....In Pune and most of India...Drivers honk their horns constantly at each other to alert each other that they are there and to vie for position, but we take if far less personally. We know that it is the roads and millions of people trying to live their lives and get to where they are going....Every Indian is not a yogi, but our culture reminds us that sometimes life is impersonal. We all are subject to impersonal forces--like traffic."
I see. Isn't that the same with other things as well. I/We got so annoyed when people bump you or stay close to you in the subway, we got so upset when pedestrians do not follow traffic lights, we are probably most angry when motorcycles or cars pass you fast that they almost cause danger to your safety. We continue to reminate the office we received long after. Yes, they don't obey rules. But think about it, they cut us off is not because they have no respect to us, they are just people trying to living their lives and going somewhere. They may not have the same standards as we do, but we can not control them. When think of these, we think of ourselves first, that we are subject to these impersonal life forces, control, direct and work with the anger.
Today I find my answer, or at least one answer, from the book of yogi IYENGAR. "In the West, people take everything very personally and there is even now something called Road Rage where drivers attack and even shoot at each other....In Pune and most of India...Drivers honk their horns constantly at each other to alert each other that they are there and to vie for position, but we take if far less personally. We know that it is the roads and millions of people trying to live their lives and get to where they are going....Every Indian is not a yogi, but our culture reminds us that sometimes life is impersonal. We all are subject to impersonal forces--like traffic."
I see. Isn't that the same with other things as well. I/We got so annoyed when people bump you or stay close to you in the subway, we got so upset when pedestrians do not follow traffic lights, we are probably most angry when motorcycles or cars pass you fast that they almost cause danger to your safety. We continue to reminate the office we received long after. Yes, they don't obey rules. But think about it, they cut us off is not because they have no respect to us, they are just people trying to living their lives and going somewhere. They may not have the same standards as we do, but we can not control them. When think of these, we think of ourselves first, that we are subject to these impersonal life forces, control, direct and work with the anger.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Yoga Note: It Is More About Doing Each Pose Right
It is less about reaching the ideal level at the current moment, it is more about doing each pose right. When you work your strength, energy, focus right, your body is like a symphony and work it out naturally by itself, and you will reach there naturally, whether it is standing head to knee, toe stand pose, or triangle pose. For example, when I was practicing Standing Bow Pulling Pose, here's the process that I gradually made mental notes on over time that helps improve this pose better and better. Lock my standing knee--put my left arm 45 degrees forward to the mirror while level my hips squarely forward--focus my eyes on one spot--roll forward until my abdomen is parallel to the floor--kick right leg higher and stretch left arm forward. You see the importance here: lock the knee, level hip forward, abdomen parallel, forward and higher, and focus. With this coordination comes with a graceful "standing bow pulling".
During this journey, I also see many people, including me, are aggressive about "getting there" while neglecting the right way of doing each pose. I can see and feel other's anxiety when they practice--I have been there. After two years bikrams journey, I am able to be more concentrated on the moment of each pose. And I know, everyone needs to improve on their own terms, yoga is a journey.
Side note:
Benefits of the standing bow pulling: this pose helps develop concentration, patience, and determination. Physically, it firms the abdominal wall and upper thighs, and tightens upper arms, hips, and buttocks. It increases the size and elasticity of the rib cage and the lungs and improves the flexibility and strength of the lower spine and of most of the body's muscles.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Work for brain or work for stomach
One thing I like about being in Shanghai is I am constantly inspired by people who want to do something of their own. These people are general called "entrepreneurs". With the different industries they are in, different things they do, as well as the different background they have, I see one thing in common--these people have passion, and of course treat what they do to be more than a surviving tool.
Today it suddenly dawned on me about the right perception on our jobs. I use the word job here because it generally refers to our day-to-day, 9-5 paid job, the one most people do and get "salary" from. Let's be practical here, for a well-paid young professional in say advertising industry, if you want to rely on your job to pay your mortgage, buy a house, buy a car, travel around the world, it's a long fulfillment. Sadly most people are in this situation, including me. However, even though we can not change the current situation, I want to ask the question: exactly what is our job, and how should we perceive our job?
Yes, it is bleak to think that most people don't earn as much as they think to be enough from their jobs, but it is even more bleak to think that the primary function of their jobs is to feed the stomach, and that should never, ever be the determining factor for a person when choosing his/her job. Sounds idealistic? If you think it that way, you will think your current job--whether you like it or not, whether you are growing from it or not--is your only thing to make you survive that you can hold onto. While for most people that maybe true, but the perception itself will make a person highly insecure about his/her situation and who they are.
I've heard many people complain that they don't like their jobs, don't like their bosses, don't like what they do, feel like they are not growing with the company anymore. Well, if you have thoughts like that, think this fundamental question: what do you think your job is and should be? Remember, your job is more than something that feed your stomach, and you should never count on your job to make your rich. You job should be something that enrich your brain, and bring you professional growth. If you think it that way, first of all every challenges that happen in your job you see it as an opportunity for you to grow, you will think more in terms of "how do I change the situation", instead of "my job sucks, I hate it". Second, if you tried and there are really no hope at changing at all, having the right perception changes your way of looking at your current options within or without your organization, making it more clear and simple when you make your next move, especially when you ask the question "I don't know what kind of job do I want to do next..."
Therefore I think next time when people have the same complaints, if they can hold on to the right perception on jobs and make decisions with those in mind even though they are hard decisions to make, I think they make big difference.
Today it suddenly dawned on me about the right perception on our jobs. I use the word job here because it generally refers to our day-to-day, 9-5 paid job, the one most people do and get "salary" from. Let's be practical here, for a well-paid young professional in say advertising industry, if you want to rely on your job to pay your mortgage, buy a house, buy a car, travel around the world, it's a long fulfillment. Sadly most people are in this situation, including me. However, even though we can not change the current situation, I want to ask the question: exactly what is our job, and how should we perceive our job?
Yes, it is bleak to think that most people don't earn as much as they think to be enough from their jobs, but it is even more bleak to think that the primary function of their jobs is to feed the stomach, and that should never, ever be the determining factor for a person when choosing his/her job. Sounds idealistic? If you think it that way, you will think your current job--whether you like it or not, whether you are growing from it or not--is your only thing to make you survive that you can hold onto. While for most people that maybe true, but the perception itself will make a person highly insecure about his/her situation and who they are.
I've heard many people complain that they don't like their jobs, don't like their bosses, don't like what they do, feel like they are not growing with the company anymore. Well, if you have thoughts like that, think this fundamental question: what do you think your job is and should be? Remember, your job is more than something that feed your stomach, and you should never count on your job to make your rich. You job should be something that enrich your brain, and bring you professional growth. If you think it that way, first of all every challenges that happen in your job you see it as an opportunity for you to grow, you will think more in terms of "how do I change the situation", instead of "my job sucks, I hate it". Second, if you tried and there are really no hope at changing at all, having the right perception changes your way of looking at your current options within or without your organization, making it more clear and simple when you make your next move, especially when you ask the question "I don't know what kind of job do I want to do next..."
Therefore I think next time when people have the same complaints, if they can hold on to the right perception on jobs and make decisions with those in mind even though they are hard decisions to make, I think they make big difference.
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