Why I took time off from the Internet

What an exciting week we had so far on social media.

First, there was the Great Instagram Purge which saw millions of fake/spam accounts get removed.

Not only were Hollywood celebrities affected, local prominent personalities and bloggers also saw a dip in their followers. Clients who engaged bloggers got worried. Fan figures were questioned. “Inflation” became the new hot keyword.

Just when you thought this was nothing bad, local t̶a̶l̶e̶n̶t̶ blogger XiaXue decides to break Singapore’s internet pages with her own version of Wiki leaks - Exposing Gushcloud’s business dealings of inflated figures, blogger ethics and statistics to get more clients. Last HSB checked, Gushcloud had release an official statement to settle the issue amicably, but Xiaxue retaliated with more warring. World War Bloggers just begun, and from the looks of it, is set to continue for a while more.

Suddenly, nothing on the internet seemed true (Not that it was fully to begin with, but that’s another topic altogether). Makes you wonder what’s real and what’s not any more.

However, this may perhaps be the best gift for Christmas 2014 – get up, off your techie devices, step out of your c̶a̶v̶e̶ bedroom, take some time off the internet and get some time under the sun.

Go ahead, embrace what will always be real – the irreplaceable warmth and love from your family, relatives and friends. You can still make your 2014 count and end it with a bang, not just for another virtual thumbs up. Happy New Year to our dear HSB fans! ((:

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10 Reasons Why You Should Not Feel Under Happy in Singapore

1)      We have clean drinking water

Is this conversation between a Singaporean and a tour guide familiar to you?

Singaporean  - "Can I drink the water from the tap?"

Tour guide     - "Cannot. I recommend you buy bottled mineral water and make sure it’s properly sealed."

Singaporean  - "Oh, why ah? In Singapore we can leh."

Image Source - knowledge.allianz

2)      We have electricity supply

We complain about not having enough power points to charge our latest iPhone, iPad, Kindle and 3DS all at the same time. Meanwhile in other parts of the world……

3)      We don’t have kids or families living in a slumps

We complain that our house is too small, not near MRT, the house is too big, we need 2 wireless routers. Meanwhile, again, in other parts of the world …

4)      We don’t have epidemic

We have easy access to healthcare so we don’t die of common cold or Lau Sai

5)      We have Peace

So peaceful, we use our bomb shelter as a store room and never think that we will use it for the purpose for which it was built for.

6)      We are relatively pollution free

Granted that once a year, we get haze from neighbouring countries, but many of us can afford to buy an air purifier. For those who can’t, the govt will take care of them by giving them food, medicine and N95 masks.

7)      We have racial harmony

We can sit at a coffeeshop with our Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian friends to lim kopi and eat kaya toast together without any awkwardness. 

8)      We have quality education

We complain that it’s stressful but other countries want to copy us. We must have done something right, right?

Image source - Straits Times

9)      Famine is not a term we are familiar with

Another familiar conversation ...

Friend A - What do you want to eat?

Friend B – Donch know….Chin Chye la

Friend A – Chin Chye is very difficult leh. You must choose one. You want French, Chinese, japanese, Vietnamese or ang mo? Want to go food court, hawker or restaurant?”

We have too many choices.

10)      We are a safe country

Have you heard this joke?

A man wearing Rolek, walked out of his Mercedez. A robber came along and chopped off his hand. The man screamed “Help!!!! My Rolek!”

Donch worry. This won’t happen in Singapore