Informer103 is an online crime detective game played inspired by AETN’s Crime 360 TV series. Essentially, if you’re a keen and very eager detective-minded person you can complete the game with ease in 1-1.5 hours with clues and gameplay on the game site alone. If you prefer to take it slow, you can digest the each stage’s evidence over a night’s nightmares, together with additional clues (described in point 4 below) across the web. The game is split into 5 stages (days) of evidence and case investigation process.

Here’s how to play:

1. Sign up for free
First, sign up on http://Informer103.com by clicking the buttons at the bottom right of the page. After registration, login at the same site. (duh)

 
2. Day one: Examine clues, complete short tasks, add clues to evidence

You get your first set of clues (as above) from investigation day 1. To navigate, click each item to examine it, to zoom out, click the surrounding empty space.

Click to view each item. Some require you to run some tasks, like scanning the room with high tech police equipment, or bullet matching. After viewing each item and making your own notes, do remember to click the top right of the item, to “add as evidence” into your evidence folder.

 
2. Subsequent stages, different tasks, similar gameplay.
When you’re done studying and adding all the items for day 1, the subsequent sets of clues from the subsequent investigation days will appear. (You will see them as you zoom out). Do as per the first set of clues, examine, perform simple tasks, make your own notes, add to evidence, and progress along. There are a total of 6 stages/investigation days sets of clues. Here’s a cool vid of the room scanned in erm.. some high tech police scanning flash light.

 
3. Final stage: Who’s dunnit?

At the final stage, you’ll be given 2 stabs at (guessing) the killer. It’s pretty easy if you paid attention to the important clues, I got it right in one try! Do note that in order to access the final stage, you need the password. This password reveals a video which contains one last crucial bit of evidence. You can obtain the password by watching the AETN Crime 360 series every Monday at 10pm in Asia, or from 1 of these 3 Youtube Videos. 1 2 3. Good luck!

 
4. Other elements of the game
(Note that these additionals are not absolutely essential if you observe every detail on the game site, and spent your childhood watching detective movies and reading Nancy Drew and all her adventures all over the world. Which I really didn’t.)

So there’s the Informer103 Facebook page where users discuss clues, the Informer103 Youtube channel , Myspace, a mysterious user’s blog, and of course the Crime 360 TV show (which airs every Monday at 10pm in Asia).

 
Maybe I should be a social media detective, or the social media spokesperson of police homicide squads, live-tweeting interrogations and investigations…or maybe not. nevermind.

Anyway, it’s a simple and fun game for a boring Sunday night, or a few nights. Play it, write about it, I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

More info on the TV show and game here.

For many in China, Zaobao has been a source of foreign Asian news perspective, written in Chinese. This follows the very recent shutdown of Yeeyan.com, which translates widely read English articles for Chinese readership.

must be the Tiger ads on zaobao.
more details later..

Facebook has just gone under the GFW, presumably due to the ongoing riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Twitter and Danwei.org had also gone down over the past 2 days.

Also wondering if it’s time for me to take a break back in sg..

As usual, we start with (possibly) the most-bengster/matster-likeable pic (i could be wrong)

Anna goes brazilian waxing (Click for video)

hee hee..just joking..

Makeup before photo shoot

Anna looking glam

Nationality: Malaysian
Ethnicity: Malay
Date of Birth: 21 August 1986
Age: 22
Height: 175cm
Language Spoken: English and Malay
Interests/Hobbies: Sports, listening to music, reading magazine

For more photos, videos, and blogs, check out Anna’s profile on SUPERMODELME.TV

Be Anna’s fan on Facebook

Follow Anna on Twitter

I considered writing a serious essay about how Supermodels excite economies of happiness but after deep thought of 12 seconds I decided to just get to the point.

Here’s my current (competition) favourite on the show - Evelyn Lee-Ann Leckie:

This is the most ah-beng-likeable pic I could find

Slightly apprehensive about the Reverse Bungy @ Clarke Quay

Orchard Road Catwalk

Evelyn with fellow contestant friends

Nationality: Australian
Ethnicity: Australian/Chinese
Date of Birth: 3 September 1991
Age: 17
Height: 1.8m
Language Spoken: English
Interests/Hobbies: Dancing, music, shoes, learning French, music festivals and Thai food

For more photos, videos, and blogs, check out Evelyn’s profile on SUPERMODELME.TV

Be Evelyn’s fan on Facebook

Follow Evelyn on Twitter

Disclaimer: This blog is not turning into some other sites you see on the charts at http://ping.sg.
I will still have deep thoughts from time to time.

 
What exactly is their appeal? Good original content? Good commentary on latest issues?
From my limited observation of their entries on the home pages, Stanley seems to have substantial guest content on his blog, that could be a draw. Xavier also has an apparent focus on latest technologies. The rest is up to intepretation. I would advise any critics to second-think engaging them in reactionary public debate. Social Media often works in a way that big boys have more to lose.

Also, it is noteworthy that both teens make it a point to highlight their youth on their Twitter profiles. Refer to above image, again.

Why is this so? Is this a remarkable draw?
Yes, actually it is quite remarkable; It is worthy of a visitor passing a remark about it:

“Hey look at this amazing kiddo teen blogger! If I didn’t see his About page, I would’ve thought he’s as old as John Chow! Ha-ha ha..”

 
It is quite an achievement for these teens to be involved and apparently successfully involved in Social Media at the prime of their sweet sixteens.

On one hand however, I would think that successful Social Media presence and influence requires a certain degree of Public Relations, and People Relations maturity and sensitivity, which should not yet have appeared in their school curriculumn.

On the other hand, The relative lack of worldly experience could be their springboard to creative realms beyond the mind of the seasoned professional who knows and abides by the Do’s and Dont’s.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” - Shunryu Suzuki, Japanese Zen Priest.

Stanley is also the author of a book, eMillions: Behind-The-Scenes Stories of 14 Successful Internet Millionaires. I regret that I’m not inspired enough to purchase the book to appreciate the teen blogger’s creative inputs. Must be all the recent negative people around me.

These teens bloggers have taken big strides into the Social Media arena, with substantial visitor traffic and Twitter followers. What will be interesting to see in time, is if they can engage the professionals and veterans in meaningful discourse, providing insight and feedback on issues from their unique perspective, and that the professionals and veterans would give them due credit when they deserve it.

btw, when Junde was 15,
He made his first website with Microsoft Publisher 97 (Academic copy), and then later went on to do a series of sites on www.geocities.com/junde2, which he no longer updates because he lost the account and Geocities did not bother to entertain the kiddo who wrote in to complain in kiddo language.

Guangzhouer: Southern China Commentary

It’s here! Guangzhouer, the Southern China answer to Shanghaiist albeit with humble beginnings.

It’s and effort by me and Jay Sun (ABC-of-sorts expat in GZ), to present things modestly through the prism of our Ameri-Singa-Sino-Southern perspective, and in the process share informative and entertaining nougats of Guangzhou life. We are lazy people, if someone else had already done it, we wouldn’t be sitting here typing this in the plural personal pronoun. As for how we plan to evolve … laissez-faire! How else would a Southerner do it?

We would like to invite all to our blog, and feel free to leave on and off-topic comments. We are also looking for guest writers, food reviewers, people who wish to be featured/interviewed. This is our little gesture of further self-promotion and also giving something back to the wonderful communities in GZ.

Visit Guangzhouer: Southern China Commentary now

I spent $30 on 3 iStockphotos, put together the little picture above, and got

I think that makes me the Most Retweeted Singaporean Web Consultant in China for a single message.
 
A Simple 3-step lesson here:

1. Stay tuned to hot news, and respond fast!
2. Think of alternative/lighthearted ways to present the message/views.
3. Be visible to influential tweeters. Make sure they catch it. Post when you see they’re online and tweeting

 
Ok, so What about the Crab? and Bird?
Here’s the background:

The Bird - It’s the Twitter mascot.

The Crab - It’s actually a River Crab, though this one managed to climb atop the tree.
In China, whenever a website is been blocked, or comment/essay deleted, Chinese netizens comment that it has been “harmonized” (和谐 pronounced he xie). The River Crab’s literal Chinese translation, 河蟹 (he xie) bears the same pronunciation as 和谐 (harmonization). Hence the River Crabs are a non-sensitive alternative in online Chinese discourse.

I must also admit that I didn’t not draw the image by hand. I simply bought 3 images worth $30 on iStockphotos, then pieced them together on Photoshop. It was a little painful at first, to fork out $30 on these little illustrations. But from the response I got, I think it money well spent.

I consider this my first viral media success (although GZFreeze was also a minor success). Hope there’s more to come!