What to Sell Online

I signed up eBay recently. Since then I have been thinking:

What sort of things is suitable to be sold online?

(That is, not just on eBay, but all e-commerce sites.)

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As seen on eBay...

I am perplexed as to why people buy dresses online. Don’t you want to try them before making payment?

Anyway, I think one category of thing we can sell online is the hard-to-find items. As a shutterbug, I naturally think of such specialty photographic gears such as tilt-shift lens and light meter. Past issues of magazines also fall into this category. I have plenty of National Geographic magazines, the oldest of which was published in 1930s. Somehow, I am reluctant to part way with my collection.

A second category of merchandise great for online trading are things people don’t feel easy to buy in brick-and-mortar stores. These include condoms, and the “nipple cream” I mentioned in another post.

Finally, if you can price your merchandise at lower price compared to in brick-and-mortar stores, you can sell them online. One advantage of online trading is that you don’t need to pay for the rental or installment of a physical store. The drawback, however, is that postage doesn’t come cheap.

Have you bought anything online? Tell us your story!

Interesting Items on eBay

I signed up eBay recently. I wish to sell things on the online shopping site in future, but before that, I will make some purchase. Through buying on eBay, I will learn how people run their online business.

As I browsed through the items listed on eBay, I found some interesting stuffs. Here are two…

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Cherry Blossoms for Natural Pink (Nipples & Lips) 粉紅嫩

According to the seller, this is cherry blossom extract which restores alluring sheer pink lips and lightens darkened nipples. Further, there is a description in Chinese which goes like this:

胸前的黑乳頭就像兩粒“黑鈕扣”，讓它變得粉嫩，妳的另一半更加愛妳。。。

My translation: The black nipples on the chest are like two “black buttons”. Turn them pink, and your other half will love you more…

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Sole Cleaner Massage 礦石腳底清潔穴道按摩舒緩墊

Here are some descriptions of the item by the seller:

This unique foot massager features both soft and hard flexible bristles that clean and massage your feet whilst circulating blood stimulation. The sole cleaner is ideal for people for limited movement and makes cleaning your feet in the shower hassle free! This means no more bending down in shower to wash those dirty soles.

If your potbelly prevents you from bending down, you’ll find the sole cleaner useful!

High Tech Gathering

On Feb 13, 2011, my extended family celebrated my grandma’s birthday cum Chinese New Year gathering. We had a meal in a Chinese restaurant.

A cousin of mine had just purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab. She was busy snapping pictures with her over-sized camera during the lunch. (pic)

The wife of my other cousin took pictures of every dish and uploaded them to Facebook. We had to wait for her to finish before lifting our chopsticks.

The Chinese restaurant was equipped with karaoke system. Still another cousin, in an attempt to select a song, pressed her finger on the TV screen. Unfortunately, the TV screen was not touch-sensitive like her phone.

Such was a modern day, high tech gathering…

Malaysia’s Dumb Politicians Strike Again

The city of Kuala Lumpur orders that, started from next year, all restaurants in the city must provide Wifi service for their patrons. According to the mayor, this decree is in line with Information Technology vision for the nation’s capital.

That sounds like a great idea. Just imagine, I can walk into a kopitiam (Chinese traditional coffee shop), pull out my Motorola Xoom (a.k.a. iPad killer), and read Facebook updates. But wait a minute, kopitiams in KL have just increased the price of drinks in January, 2011. Will the operators use the Wifi order as another excuse to hike the price again? I can foresee that a cup of coffee will cost RM1.60 next year. In any case, kopitiams are not air-conditioned. When mercury rises to 33C, I doubt I want to spend more than an hour there.

Or, imagine that I am meeting my fellow bloggers for the first time in Dragon & Phoenix Chinese Restaurant. As soon as we are seated, Witch immediately snaps photos with her iPhone 5 and uploads them to Facebook; Panda Foong tweets with his Samsung Galaxy Tab; and Tekkaus tracks the latest English Premier League updates with his Blackberry Playbook. The so-called Bloggers’ meeting turns into Internet session…

There is a common problem among governments of Asia – they think they know what is best for the people and what is best for the businesses. The fact is, not all eateries in KL need Wifi service. Such service incurs additional operational cost, and ultimately it is the consumers who bear it.

CEOs of Celcom, DiGi, Maxis, P1 and YTL are probably feeling uneasy with the Wifi order too. The mobile carriers have invested billions of ringgit in infrastructure, but must now compete with mamak stalls.

If restaurant operators believe that Wifi service will help them attract customers, they will certainly provide it. The governments should keep their hands off businesses. Let the market decide!

Friendship, Facebook-style

Last year, I joined a portrait photography event. At the end of the session, the model asked each of the photographers to add her as a friend on Facebook. I complied.

A few months later, I visited her Facebook page. She already had more than a thousand ‘friends’, and had reached the limit set by the social network. She opened a new account so that she could continue to add friends.

I bet, as a ‘friend’, I mean nothing to her…

(I think Facebook has since raised the limit of friends a member can have.)

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Probably because I uploaded some pictures of models to Facebook, a couple of young girls whom I never knew had wanted to befriend me. Should I confirm them as my friends?

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I posted a question on Facebook: “What is XXX?” I was hoping that someone could clear my doubt. In the end, nobody bothered to answer.

I came to this conclusion:

You can post whatever you like to Facebook – barring something deemed offensive such as nudity – but your friends are too busy to pay attention.

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Friend requests – I don’t know them wor…

Selling Books Online

As a shutterbug, I bought dozens of books on photography over the last few years. My book shelves exploded, so I decided to sell some of them online.

1st attempt – Internet forum

My first attempt to sell online was accomplished through a photography forum. I asked potential buyers to make payment to my bank account. I then mailed the books to them. I managed to sell a couple of books. However, some people preferred to do COD (cash on delivery). That is, they wanted to meet me, see the books, then make payment. I didn’t entertain their request. My experience told me that many people would be late for appointment. Not to mention the expenses on gasoline and parking.

2nd attempt – Facebook

Having sold several books on Internet forum, I turned my sight to Facebook. I posted information of the books on the social networking site. To reach wider audience, I asked my friends to post the link on their respective page. Unfortunately, my second attempt was a complete failure. No even a single person enquired.

I have no experience with eBay. Perhaps it’s time to give it a try. Can someone please share your story?

By the way, Poslaju is quite expensive. Are there cheaper alternatives?

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This is one of the book I managed to let go. With the picture of a hot girl on the cover, it was snapped up in no time...

The Future of 4G

[Another break from my Java series...]

WiMAX a.k.a. 4G technology is already in town. Should you go for it? Or should you wait for the competing platform called LTE (Long Term Evolution)?

Learn more about 4G in my other blog:

The Coming 4G War

Apple Empire

In the last few years, Apple iPhone has swept the world by storm. Malaysian bloggers Witch and FoongPC are both staunch supporters of the Apple product.

But are you aware that before iPhone, the Web was “free”? Apple makes it less free. Now, we have to buy apps to run on iPhone. Worst, we can’t buy directly from the developers, but must go through iTune. Apple gets 30% from all the sales.

And, unlike Bill, Steve has never been known as a philanthropist.

Android Phones – alternatives to iPhone

Apple iPhone is the must-have of every gadget lover. Or, as I put it in my earlier post, it is the LV of smart phone. Bloggers Foongpc and Witch both recommend it. Nonetheless, iPhone is not the only choice for potential smart phone buyers. As I stroll through KLCC last week, I saw a Maxis booth selling HTC Wildfire and HTC Desire, two of many flavors of Android-based phones.

For the uninitiated, Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. A number of phone makers make Android phones. They include HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. You may be surprised to learn that Android phones actually outsold iPhone in the second quarter of 2010. (Apple should pick up more sales in 3Q though, following its launch of iPhone 4 in June.) Singaporean blogger Leon is one Android phone user.

Both Foongpc and Witch noted that the apps of iPhone as one of its major selling points. Android phones also enjoy a wide range of apps – not as many as iPhone, but should satisfy a casual user like me.

So, if I were to get a smart phone now, which one should I pick? iPhone is certainly tempting. But if everyone else is flocking to iPhone, I may want to buck the trend…

Two Android phones sold in Malaysia – HTC Desire & Samsung Galaxy S

Ban or No Ban

My company recently instituted partial ban of Internet access at workplace by blocking sites which were deemed ‘unproductive’. These included Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Photobucket, online games sites and P2P (peer-to-peer) sites.

Banning of Internet access at workplace is hardly new. Employees abusing company resources is a known fact. But is banning Internet access, or blocking of certain sites, a solution?

For a start, YouTube may not be as unproductive as some may think. Many product demonstrations are now on the popular video sharing site. Facebook, with the ubiquitous ‘Like’ button, is a great marketing tool. (Imagine that if you ‘like’ a product, all your 1,288 friends will be notified.) These sites, when put to good use, can be extremely beneficial to all businesses. And I don’t think it is wise for the management to tell us:

OK, now we have advertised on Facebook. We will lift the ban for one hour. All of you please go to ‘like’ our products.

The fact that my employer is in IT industry further complicates the matter. Just the other day, a co-worker of mine was doing a ‘stress test’ through the means of YouTube video-download and P2P movie-download.

Internet ban at workplace also has unwanted impacts in human resource development. Why, do you think, is Google so creative? This is because the Internet search giant gives considerable freedom to its staff.

So, should employers block access to those seemingly unproductive web sites? There are no hard-and-fast rules, but this is my suggestion to the management:

If you want your staff to be efficient, ban is an option.

If you want your staff to be creative, then do not ban.

P/S I may get a smart phone to circumvent the ban.

How to be Famous on Facebook

I came across this news feed on Facebook…

My MBA course mate, Patricia, was tagged in a photo. But I look at the picture, it shows a dress. Where is she???

My ex-colleague, Sarah, is tagged in another photo. Again I don’t see her anywhere in the picture…

So, if you upload your pictures to Facebook and want to capture attention of other people, here is a sure-fire formula: Tag as many of your friends as possible. Not only will your friends be notified, but your friends’ friends will also get the news. Before long, you will be a very (in)famous person on Facebook.

Mailing List

Is your e-mail Inbox flooded with mailing list messages? Mine is. Every week I receive about a dozen e-mails from Buddhist groups I join. I have applied filters based on senders, but this is not very effective as senders sometimes change their e-mail addresses.

Recently, I learned another method to filter mailing list messages, using Gmail’s ‘plus addressing’ feature. This is how it works:

Assuming that your Gmail address is supermario@gmail.com, and you have joined a Nintendo group. You can generate another e-mail address, say supermario+Nintendo@gmail.com, and give it to the group you join. Now you can set up filter to automatically archive or label the messages addressed to supermario+Nintendo.

But seriously, mailing list is sooooooo 2005. Today groups and organizations can provide updates to their members through Internet forums, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps the only time when e-mail is still necessary is for sending attachments other than pictures and video clips.

Updating through social networking sites has some added advantages. First, the messages in forums and blogs can be easily searched using Google or tags. Second, rather than passive recipients of information, the members can drop comments and participate in discussion. (The second point is also true for Facebook.) Last but not least, every time an e-mail is forwarded, its format changes, e.g. character ‘>’ is inserted to the beginning of each line. There is no such problem with ‘new media’.

Mailing list is still required, much as we still surf Net with PC in the age of smart phone. However, I would like to see its role shrinking.

Popular Malaysian Search

When I enter ‘s’ in Google, the search engine suggests a few combinations of keywords, one of which is seks melayu (Malay sex).

Malaysians are conservative people. This is the country where National Geographic Magazine is censored for showing African tribeswomen in their traditional costumes i.e. topless. (March 2010 issue) In the past, young lovers have been fined for holding hands in public place.

But apparently something just can’t be suppressed.

PC Fair, Booth Babes & Others

Sex sells. In conjunction to the PC Fair held in Kuala Lumpur on April 16-18, many exhibitors hired young girls to promote their products. Call them expo girls, booth babes or whatever, these pretty promoters had made the PC Fair more than just about technology.

Sony showing 3D technology in the PC Fair

Three promoters for Kaspersky Lab

A rechargeable battery dealer had gone one step further in exploiting the sexual appeal of young promoters. Not only it had hired three pretty girls to attract customers, but it also organized a photo contest. Anyone who purchased any item from its booth was entitled to photograph the girls and participate in the contest. The dealer has listed down the rules of the contest as follow:

1. To enroll for the Grand Prize – buy any item from our booth

2. Take photos of our models posing with our E8GE products!

3. Log on to facebook.com/e8gefb

4. Upload your best photo of our models by 11:59pm 30 April 2010

5. Get your friends to “like” your photo until 11:59pm 9 May 2010

6. The top 62 photos with the highest number of “likes” win!

Now, if a photographer asks his friends to ‘like’ his photo, he is indirectly doing a marketing job for the products. (I’m assuming all participants are males.) What a brilliant idea! Unfortunately, I had less than 50 friends on Facebook. There was no way I could win the grand prize (a total of 2, with the remaining consolations).

One of the models for this contest was Rhea Lim, whom I photographed last year. I was surprised that she still recognized me. I bought four rechargeable batteries and a charger from the booth, but was nonetheless not interested in joining the contest.

This photo contest reminds me of another online contest held several years ago – The New Seven Wonders of the World. Even when the competition was going on, I already could predict the final results. China had the largest number of Internet users in the world, and they were fiercely patriotic. They were called to support their own national treasure, and anyone who failed to do that would be condemned as traitor. As expected, the Great Wall got the most votes in this meaningless competition.

Smart Phone

Do you use a smart phone?

As a person who still hasn’t own a smart phone, I must be… oh, so 2006!

Smart phone is all the rage these days. It’s the must have for every gadget lover. Even if we prefer to surf Net with PC, it is still good to own a smart phone so that we don’t look like dinosaurs. Apple iPhone is the most acclaimed of all phones in this category. It is to smart phone what LV is to handbag.

The phenomenal growth of smart phones in the last few years surprised me. Not so long ago, I thought few people would like to surf Net with mobile phones, because of their small screens and small keyboards. The introduction of iPhone in January 2007 was the turning point. Today, we can read e-mail and do facebooking on smart phone. In fact, some applications, such as music download, Twitter and car navigation system, are probably better suited to smart phones than to PC.

The rising popularity of smart phones has a huge impact on the Internet-related industry too. Just two years ago, I thought WiMAX would have better potential than 3G. (For that reason I almost wanted to buy the stocks of Green Packet, which operated a WiMAX service.) Today I am not so certain. Remember that iPhone only works on GSM and 3G.

If you do use smart phone to surf Net, I would like to do a simple survey. Please answer a few questions. Many thanks in advance.

1. What applications do you use? (e.g. e-mail, Twitter)
2. Do you spend more time surfing Net with smart phone or with PC/Mac?
3. What are the advantages of surfing Net with smart phone?
4. What are the disadvantages of surfing Net with smart phone?

No Free Reading

I like to read news online – even though I still buy newspaper. Some of my favorite news portals are BBC Online, Singapore-based Channel News Asia, and Malaysia’s The Star. However, in a few years, I may need to fork out some money in order to read the news on these sites.

Media heavyweights are mulling over plans to charge for news online. Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal online has already required its readers to pay a subscription fee. New York Times may follow suit in 2011. This may signal the beginning of the end of free online news.

The news media has good reason to charge for news online. They can’t make enough money from online ads, or so we are told. Will readers be willing to pay for full access to the news portals? This is certainly possible. After all, music fans have already been downloading MP3 music for a fee.

One possible impact of the news by subscription is that Web search may become less relevant. Google will give us results which we can’t read. How will the search giant respond?

Nexus One Google Phone

The hottest tech news in the beginning of 2010 must be the launch of Nexus One smart phone by Google on January 5.

On January 7, I searched the Web for this new gadget. I could see the ‘latest results’ coming in every few minutes.

Nexus One runs on Google’s own Android operating system (OS). This is not the first Android phone, but it generates far more attention than its predecessor. This is by no means that Nexus One is better than those marketed by Motorola or HTC. Rather, Google’s strong brand makes all the difference.

Before the launch of the Google phone, people were asking, “Will it be the iPhone killer?” Now the product is out. Most reviewers think that Nexus One, while very good, still can’t dethrone Apple iPhone.

One advantage iPhone has over the Android phones is that the former has far more applications – more than 100,000 versus about 20,000. However, I suspect Android OS already has some of the most commonly-used apps. As far as average users are concerned, the difference hardly matters. Now, with Google coming into picture, the gap should narrow.

Expect Steve Jobs to respond aggressively.

Are you considering a Nexus One or iPhone?

MOL Global buys Friendster

source

The purchase of Friendster by Malaysia-based MOL Global is a hot topic in this country.

MOL Global is controlled by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan. Tan is a shrewd businessman who made headlines many years ago for winning a libel suit. His Berjaya Group conglomerate has interests in property, gaming, leisure and finance industries. However, not all of his ventures were successful. His pay TV business, MiTV, has failed to challenge the incumbent Astro.

As we know, Friendster is the granddaddy of social networking sites. In the last couple of year, however, it has been eclipsed by MySpace and Facebook. Can MOL Global revive Friendster?

Now, if all your friends are on Facebook, do you still bother to join Friendster? (Or, if you joined Friendster ages ago, do you still bother to log in?) Social networking sites are such services that ‘the more people using them, the more useful they become’. If Friendster were to ‘dethrone’ Facebook – to quote a phrase by Tekkaus – it can’t just imitate the latter. It has to be different.

According to report, 90 percent of Friendster’s traffic comes from Asia. One thing the social networking site can do is to offer location-specific services. Perhaps it can organize gatherings for its members. Perhaps it can do match-making.

On the other hand, Facebook’s strength may turn out to be its weakness. It’s too ‘general purpose’. Facebook’s early members were college students. Today even uncles and aunties have jumped on the bandwagon. It has lost its ‘exclusiveness’, and cool factor.

If you login to Facebook, you get all sorts of updates, requests and invitations. You’ll read, for example, that Tom has got a new friend whom you never know; Dick is tagged in a photo; and Jerry is playing an online game. Can we have a social networking site which really helps us to connect with our friends, without all the bells and whistles?

Friendster may be able to capitalize on Facebook’s weaknesses. In any case, it is an uphill struggle. Good luck, Tan Sri.

Note:

Tan Sri is a title.

Causes on Facebook II

In one of my posts written last January, I mentioned that there were many ‘causes’ which Facebook members could join. I doubted their impact, though.

Recently, I came across a funny ‘cause’ on that social networking site:

Foundation for the protection of Swedish underwear models

I have no idea what this foundation does. It has got more than half a million members. Money donated - $313! What a joke.

Rather than raising fund on Facebook, I would suggest that the foundation bring a few of these models to Malaysia to perform on stage. More money can be raised. (Closed event, of course. This is a Muslim-majority nation.) I believe Malaysian shutterbugs would also like to photograph these models in lingerie.

Twitter for Business

Chef Choi with his truck (source: Time.com)

What can you do with Twitter, other than announcing to your followers what movies you watch and where you have your dinner?

American chef Roy Choi has found an ingenious use of the micro-blogging site. He sells Korean BBQ taco from his mobile kiosk – a truck. (Taco is originally a type of Mexican food, but Choi has added Korean touch to it.) He announces his whereabouts via Twitter alerts. (The End of California? Dream On!, Time Magazine, November 2, 2009 issue)

That’s a creative use of technology, isn’t it?