Social networking will it impact your reputation?

Lately have been busy with Social Marketing. Sorry busy unable to blog more often as i wish to...

Have come across article about the office gossips via social networking eg. facebook, twitter, will really destroy an innocent person. Celebrity also have turn off the twitter account to control the situation...

With headhunters visiting social networking sites to check on candidates, it pays to safeguard your reputation on the internet. Your online reputation and profile is something you need to track vigilantly as it has the capacity to reach far and wide within and outside your organisation.

Many senior executives are still not clued in to this medium and underestimate the power of this channel - information on the internet moves faster and reaches a much larger audience.

JJ and Ian recent radio HitFM have interviewed a guy whom his wife have complaint that she is not happy and the friends all known about it before he does..this is crazy

Here are some aspects of your online reputation that you need to be aware of;

1) What search engines pick up

Google yourself regulary. Run searches on yourself as this will give you an opportunity to see what news about you is being tracked. Even if you cannot change it, you can prepare yourself for questions that may be asked.

2) Watch what you say

Monitor what you say, as it can come back to "bite" you. If you are making any comments online, make sure that it enhances your profile. Join groups and discussion threads that can add to your profile. The net community also shows up your personality and interests. Choose where you want to be seen and whom you want to be seen with.

Enhance your online identity by updating your profile to add your accomplishments and your expertise. In this way you come up in searches on areas that you want to be known for.

3)Join online communities

Not only can you become a part of different communities that support your career aspirations and interests, you can also have followers. Sites like Twitter do exactly that, and by choosing to follow someone prominent, you can boost your follower profile.

People also discuss what you do and how you do it online in their own blogs, chat room and social networking sites, so it pays to think about the repercussions of your action before doing something and its impact on

you and your organisation.

4) Track what others say

Headhunters pickup information on what others say about you. Sites like LinkedIn include recommendations to share what others think about youand their experience of you. It is easy to pick out the ones that have been "staged" versus the ones that are genuine.

Also take note of what your children are saying about you on their Facebook profiles and the pictures they are puttingup of you. Everytime you update your profile or your pictures, messages go out to your community to let them know that you have made some updates.

Review the photos that you get tagged to. There is no privacy these days and if you are out with friends partying, these photos sometimes can make their way into someone's facebook profile. You can of course ask them to untag it but this can only happen if you are constantly monitoring your profile.

Social networking sites have an impact on your reputation. Create a positive online presence as these sites are being trawled by headhunters and prospective employers.

5) Stay connected

You never know who is in touch with whom and it is quite amazing to see the web of relationships online. A quiet person at work may have a contact base of over 500 people online. Some of these people may include ex-employees who work with competitors. Information is no longer exclusive and the chances of it getting leaked out are very high.

Stay connected instead of shutting this medium out. In this way, you can at least keep track on what is going on out there. There are online tools that help you track your reputation and build your personal brand online.

many senior executives are not active in managing their online profile after adding the cursory data. Some even view it as something they need to avoid as it invades their privacy.

It is not possible to shut this channel out anymore. Embrace it and make it work for you.

Remember that active users of the internet are people who demand transparency and congruence in what people say and do.

Your online identity is not separate from your identity offline - the divide between the two are merging and your online identity should be seen as an extension of you.

Blogs Site Tips

Byondlicious highly recommend create more blogs. The following are the few blogger website that you can refer.

1) www.blogger.com
2) www.wordpress.com
3) www.weblog.com
4) www.weebly.com
5) www.sosblog.com
6) www.thoughts.com
7) choseit.com
8) www.webgarden.com
9) www.myblogsite.com

When we write postings for our daily blogs, it's always good to have some images to bring more live to the postings. It would be good to get out your camera and snap images/photos that relates to the topic that you are blogging about. Now with Camera Phones and small Point-and-Shoot cameras in the market, you could easily snap anything you want on the go.

But if you still do not have the right image to insert into your blog post, you can always download images from the internet. You can choose to purchase these images or download some free ones.

These are some sites that provides Free Downloads. (this is Free at time of posting, read about the TERM of USE. )
1) http://www.rgbstock.com/ -- this is a new site with photos/images added daily
2) http://www.photovaco.com
3) http://www.freepixels.com/
4) http://www.publicdomainpictures.net
5) http://www.free-stock-photos.co.uk
6) http://freefoto.ca/
7) http://www.themeheaders.com/ -- for header images
8) http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
9) http://picapp.com/
10) http://www.everystockphoto.com/ (search engine for free photos)

Paid images
1) http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php
2) http://valuestockphoto.com/
3) http://www.dreamstime.com/
4) http://www.photl.com/en/
5) http://www.sxc.hu/

Happy blogging!

Malaysia Property Bubbles Start

Malaysian Insider:  

Prices of residential property have surged by as much as 35 per cent in the past year despite a growing overhang in supply, far outpacing income growth and giving rise to concerns that the market is becoming unsustainable. 

Figures provided by the National Property Information Centre (Napic) show that average prices for homes in Malaysia rose a whopping 19 per cent to RM273,000 in the first half of this year, from RM220,000 in the same period last year. For Kuala Lumpur, the increase has been even more dramatic, rising an eye-watering 35 per cent to more than RM700,000 in the first half of the year, up from RM523,000 last year.

The market, however, may be starting to lose its appetite for properties due to the high prices.

Napic’s Property Overhang reports show that unsold properties in Malaysia rose to 22.6 per cent of new launches in the second quarter of this year, from 19.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year. For Kuala Lumpur, unsold properties rose to 16.1 per cent from 15.8 per cent, while for Selangor it rose to 14.6 per cent from 12.4 per cent.

Checks on developments completed this year also show that vacancy rates remain at 50 per cent or higher.

The Edge business weekly reported recently that the government is mulling capping mortgages to 80 per cent of value in a bid to keep the market from overheating although MCA has come out strongly against the move. This comes as Singapore introduced a series of measures to reign in investors and speculators, such as a 70 per cent mortgage cap for buyers with more than one property and launching 36,000 public housing units this year and next.

While Napic does not have a housing affordability index, a rough calculation shows that the average price of RM273,000 is about 5.6 times that of an average annual household income of RM48,000. The average price of a KL home is now a steep 13 times that of the average urban household income of RM54,000 and a possible sign that the market is headed for a bubble.

The sharp increase in prices is said to be at least partly due to speculative demand as investors snap up multiple properties in the hope that prices will keep on spiraling upward — despite low occupancy rates that could affect rental yields.

Some real estate agents and developers have privately expressed worries that the market is already too speculative and the price escalation is not sustainable.

“I am all for sustainable price growth but the current market is too speculative,” one developer told The Malaysian Insider. “Most of the units are taken up by employees of the developer hoping to sell for a profit when the development is completed.”

Many developments completed in the past year such as Ameera in SS2 Petaling Jaya, Cova Suites in Kota Damansara and Challis Damansara in Sunway Damansara are experiencing only about 30-50 per cent occupancy rates, according to real estate agents. A check on new high-end condo Zehn in Pantai where sellers are asking for RM2.2 million per unit revealed the building to be almost completely dark at night.

Rental yields are starting to slide given that supply far outstrips demand.

A typical unit at Ameera is on the market for RM750,000. Given a 90 per cent margin of financing (MOF) over a 20 year tenure, the monthly loan repayment for a unit there works out to be about RM4,855. Rental rates at Ameera, however, are only about RM3,000 for a partly furnished unit. 

A stand-off could be developing where buyers are now balking even as sellers are trying to hold out for higher prices.

Housing and local government minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said that the high savings rate in Malaysia meant that there appears to be no shortage of takers despite the prices. He added that there will be a limit although he was unclear as to how far prices will continue to rise.

“We have to continuously tell developers not to push the boundaries,” he said when contacted by The Malaysian Insider. “There is bound to be a maximum.”

Chor said that the government is building some 76,000 low cost units that cost about RM42,000 each in the next three years, but it is unable to tell private developers how much to build to boost supply of middle class housing in the market.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) president Datuk Michael Yam said that the issue of rising property prices was partly due to an imbalance of supply and demand as more migrants move to land scarce Kuala Lumpur as well as higher cost of raw materials.

“Even if 50,000 new housing units are needed in KL, that is still a huge number to build,” he said at a recent Rehda media briefing.

One developer, however, privately expressed concern that the market had become too speculative and the dramatic increase in housing prices may become unsustainable. 

Property speculation remains rife despite a supply overhang

“I am all for sustainable price growth but the current market is too speculative,” one developer told The Malaysian Insider. “Most of the units are taken up by employees of the developer hoping to sell for a profit when the development is completed.” 

There are signs that the government is concerned that a real estate bubble is forming as investors pour money into property in the hope that prices will keep spiralling upwards.

The Edge business weekly had reported over the weekend that the government is exploring the possibility of increasing mortgage caps to 80 per cent of loan-to-value ratio in a bid to keep the market from overheating. This comes as Singapore introduced a series of measures yesterday to reign in investors and speculators, such as a 70 per cent mortgage cap for investors with more than one property and launching 36,000 public housing units this year and next.

Such a move, however, may only serve to hurt first-time homebuyers who will have to struggle to come up with the down payment whereas richer investors are unlikely to face such difficulties.

My Views: Yes, the property prices in KL and Penang are frothy, well, not just frothy but very frothy. The ones still bullish are usually those who still have one or two properties in their hands, looking to offload.

Almost every single valuation matrix would put property prices in KL and Penang in the overvalued category. The basis for housing - live in ownership or rental. For live in ownership, its affordability ratio. For rental, its effective yield relative to prevailing interest rates. On both accounts, affordability is out of reach and rental yields are falling rapidly.

Usually those still bullish will cite factors out of these two basis ~ most popular being foreign buying, followed by relative valuations compared to similar properties in other Asian cities.

Foreign buying, is basically speculation when they cannot even rent it out for a 2% rental yield. Foreign buying for capital appreciation is hocus pocus because locals will not take the foreign investors out ~ you bought at RM1,500psf, it will not be a local to buy from you at RM2,000psf. What you need is another more deluded foreign investor to pay you RM2,000psf.

Foreign buyers are mostly leaving finished units and houses empty. Don't believe me, go check out houses and apartments costing more than RM2m and RM1m respectively. If you can get 50% occupancy, call me and tell me where!!!

Relative valuations argument is even stupider, if you are a qualified accountant in Malaysia, after working 5 years you may get RM8,000 a month ... does that mean you will get RM8,000 a month in HK, Singapore?? Of course not, you may get HK$35,000 and S$7,500 a month. So, how does the relative property valuations argument stand up??? Properties, like any asset is just a reflection of the earning capacity of their residents .... unless you tell me that the bulk of Malaysian properties are taken up and lived in by foreigners!!??

But property bubbles do not get pricked so easily. When low interest rates is prevailing and other sectors of the economy are so weak, central banks cannot just raise rates to dampen property speculation as the broader economy will get hurt.

As unpopular as it may sounds, the measures will have to be property sector specific. I will support the following: anyone buying their second, third , etc properties should only be allowed a maximum of 70% loan from any financial institutions.

Heathy Tips - Heart

Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees .
The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.

Q: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:

1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Q: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Q: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person
gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Q: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Q: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?

Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Q: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints

Q: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient

Q: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Q: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age
(I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Q: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Q: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Q: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Q: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Q: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad .

Q: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.

Q: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Q: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Q: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, sedentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Q: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Q: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?

Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Q: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?

Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Q: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Q: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Q: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Q: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Q: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Q: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Q: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Q: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?

Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Q: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Q: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Q: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Q: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?

Ans : No.

Q: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to
reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Q: Does aspirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Q: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45. (Present Global census show that the Percentage of heart disease in women has increased than in men )

Q: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup if you are past the age of 30 (once in six months recommended)

Property - Setia Eco City

Introduction of Setia Eco City, Kuala Lumpur

SP Setia in JV with DBKL on mega project near Mid Valley
by Siow Chen Ming, 27 Mar 2008 4:21 PM
THEEDGEDAILY

KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd is set to finalise a joint venture (JV) agreement with Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to develop high-rise residential cum commercial project on a 20-acre (8.1ha) plot located opposite the Mid Valley City.

Speaking to reporters at Invest Malaysia 2008 yesterday, SP Setia’s managing director Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the company secured an approval from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) seven years ago for the project.

Although it had subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) a few years ago with the DBKL, a privatisation agreement is still pending.

“We expect to finalise a deal with DBKL soon and launch the project next year,” said Liew. However, he declined to reveal the value of the project.

Squatters residing on the land were relocated to nearby apartments recently, indicating that the project is making progress.

The JV between SP Setia and DBKL will be similar to previous deals such as the one between IGB Group Bhd and DBKL for the now completed Mid Valley City project. Under such deals, DBKL would provide land while developers such as SP Setia or IGB carry out the development work and invest in the infrastructure.

Heading the country’s largest property developer, Liew said he was positive on the recent changes taking place in the country’s political landscape.

“I think the changes are good for the country, even though some of my friends have lost (in the election). It is good to have competition (in the political landscape) and because things will get better,” said Liew.

For instance, in Penang where SP Setia has major on-going property projects, he felt there should not be any problems as the new Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has called for more openness and transparency, which has always been the group’s practice.

Having gone through the 1998 financial crisis, Liew was also unfazed about a potential slow down in the domestic economic growth that may affect property sales.

He said the group’s exposure in the property sector was well spread out, covering different regions with different products for several market segments. With certain adjustments of the project’s portfolio, the group can capture the market segments where demand is still strong.

Also, SP Setia’s property development projects in Vietnam was picking up steam and this would reduce the group’s dependence on the Malaysian market.

“Our target is that by 2012, contribution in terms of turnover and earnings from our overseas projects will be higher than Malaysia,” said Liew.

SP Setia is on track to meet sales target of RM1.8 billion for the current financial year ending Oct 31, 2008. This figure is within reach as sales have already reached RM646 million for the first four months of FY2008 compared to RM290 million in the same period last year.

SP Setia planned to launch five projects in FY2008 with total gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion. The group has a remaining landbank of 4,783 acres (including in Vietnam) which are sufficient for its volume of development works over the next 10-12 years, with estimated total GDV of about RM30 billion.