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Dear Fellow Buddies

I just created a blogpost recently about the common traits that Singaporeans tend to display in where we go and do. We develop these traits due to the environment we live in and the deep cultural influence.

However these traits are unique to us but to foreigners it may seem funny or offensive to them sometimes. Anyway without further ado here are the top 5 common traits of Singaporeans. Do you agree with them?

To read the full posts (with nice infographics, please click here)

   

Kiasu is not a crime

From the day we are born, we are instil with the fear that we must emerge as a winner in whatever we do by our parents. From young, we are send to the best tuition centre to achieve perfect score in our exams even though it may mean taking on more debt for our parents. Even when we come out to work, we ensure that we are always ahead of our competition by working harder and faster.

This phenomenon is known as kiasu and what is that? Basically this is a behaviour whereby one needs to be first in everything due to fear of losing and it is one of the most common traits among Singaporeans.

Queuing is our favourite past time.

Singaporeans are known to develop a fondness for queuing. From the latest iphone model to the best hawker stall, do not be surprise that we can skip our sleeping and lunch time just to fulfil our desire by queuing for hours in a stretch. For example, look no further than the recently launch SG50 commemorative notes whereby queues started forming as early as 6 am in the early morning.

When we see a queue forming up, by nature we will join in the queue as well without the slightest idea what the queue is for. In our mind, a queue means something good must be brewing and we should not miss such an opportunity.

Complaining is in our DNA

Complaining is our national hobby and it is part of our DNA. We never cease to complain from the little details in our daily lives to major incidents that resolves around us. In fact, we feel we are entitled to complain since everyone feels he can offer the perfect solutions.

Nonetheless most of the complaint is just to let out the steam that had accumulated inside us for a while and in the end most of us will just get back to business as usual. However there are a few who will take action after that and turn such negative thoughts into a sort of drive to propel themselves to greater heights.

Comparison is never ending

Due to increasing social influence, we are pressurized to keep up with the Joneses and this problem is compounded by social media such as Facebook, Instagram etc. As a result, a lot had to take on mountain load of debts in order to feed their cravings for material wealth.

For example, when we meet another fellow Singaporean, the first thing one party will start asking the other is where is he working now and his job title. From there, one will more or less know the other’s earning power. Surprisingly, no one feels uncomfortable about it and in fact it acts as a form of motivation to move up the social ladder.

Singlish is our national language

As the culture of Singapore is a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Hindu and Eurasian, little surprise that our language is also a mishmash. Often Singaporeans will end their sentence with a “leh”, “lah” or “loh”. For example, “Please don’t be angry with me lah”, “Tell me leh” etc. To outsiders it may sounds strange but to us it sounds more affectionate.

Therefore to identify a Singaporean from afar, we just need to hear their conversation from afar and that will give their identities away. Again this is one of the most common traits of Singaporeans which we use for identification.

Conclusion

So there you have it the top 5 common traits of Singaporeans. These traits come to us naturally and it really helps when we are overseas making friends with fellow Singaporeans. To outsiders, it may seem funny or offensive sometimes, but if they try to understand our culture hard enough, I am sure they will develop a liking for these traits. So share with us your thoughts.

My Marketing Blog: http://goo.gl/iHC45Z

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sing...39380.html

Quite an interesting interview. It highlights a few factors: The "expected low price"" we expect of our local foods vis a vis Western/Jap cuisine, the reluctance of Singapore workers to enter this hawker profession as they can earn better in other areas of work, and the growing comfort of us

Dear Fellow Buddies

Has anyone participated in any Singapore tradeshows before?

For me, I find that the participation cost that a lot of organizers are charging is mind boggling. Therefore I decided to write an article on how you can maximize your ROI when participating in Singapore tradeshows. However I am still a newbie and I hope all the da-ge and da-jies here can share with me their opinions so I can further improve this article.

FYI, there is no selling gimmick or profit involved. As a true blue Singaporean, I just like to share my knowledge esp those who are interested to understand the Singapore tradeshows arena. 

Moderator: Please let me know if it is not ok to post the link here. I will remove it accordingly.

Participate in Singapore tradeshows 

Full article below:

Whenever I bring the topic of allocating some marketing budget to Singapore tradeshows, I tend to get that frowning look from the management. The question I get most of the time is why go for that? Why invest in a tactic that does not generate the ROI? To put it simply, are tradeshows really a waste of resources like what the management thinks?

Costs of Singapore tradeshows
Singapore tradeshows do not come cheap. A simple 15 sqm booth excluding the bells and whistles (think digital plasma screens) can easily costs SGD8000-11000 depending on the popularity, scale and category of the tradeshows. For example, a simple space + shell stand at CommunicAsia 2016 could set you back at SGD 11000+. For companies on a shoe string marketing budget, that is way beyond their affordability.

Singapore has built its reputation as international destination for property investment. Especially for South East Asia and other Asian coutnries, Singapore property is their most favorite investment asset class. 
Its stable economy, politic, currency and continuing development are some of the reasons why invest in Singapore. 
If you are a foreigner and interested to invest in Singapore property, you can read the guide in Can foreigners buy property in Singapore

See Microsoft demo HoloLens
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/20...p-grid-dom

Check out my portfolio.

http://dividendknight.blogspot.sg/

How to catch a spoofer 

http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-spoofing/

Singapore botches ex-leader's name on historic currency package


Singapore's central bank has apologised for misspelling the name of the city-state's first president on the packaging of a special currency issue marking the country's 50th year of independence.
The name of the late president Yusof Ishak was spelt "Yusok Ishak" on the cover folder containing the Sg$50 and Sg$10 commemorative notes, launched Thursday, much to the embarrassment of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
"This should never have happened, is not acceptable, and I take full responsibility," MAS managing director Ravi Menon said in a statement.
"I apologise on behalf of my colleagues who worked hard to prepare the notes and folders, but are deeply disappointed that we made this most unfortunate mistake. We will put this right."
Apart from the cover folder, the error also appeared in an enclosed booklet, although there were no mistakes on the dollar notes celebrating the anniversary.
Apart from Yusof's portrait, the special Sg$50 note also contains the image of the country's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March.
The MAS said it was printing stickers to fix the error and will make them available for those who have already bought the package to paste over the misspelled name.
Long queues of buyers formed outside banks when the collectible currency went on sale on Thursday.
Singapore, one of the world's wealthiest societies, marked its 50th independence day this month with fireworks, a massive military parade and a celebration of its rapid economic development.
The island became a republic on August 9, 1965, when it was ejected from the Malaysian federation following a stormy two-year union.

[Image: sg50.png]
Happy birthday and Congratulations.