The Social Network: the origins and the simple complications of Facebook

Legalities were mainly the issue but The Social Network tackled friendship in the most riveting way possible, telling us the story of how Facebook was created and what were the repercusions that came with its success.

It started with the current youngest billionaire in the world, Mark Zuckerberg, creating a website called the Facemash in which one can choose who's the more hotter girl in the website. He apparently, created it all in a span of hours while getting drunk and being broken-hearted. Talk about being a genius, if I even have an ounce of alcohol on my system, I wouldn't even know how to spell my name.  I only know the basics of coding, HTML/CSS/Javascript but I was pretty sure hacking a handful of websites to get its images and creating a website in a matter of hours is just incredible. And probably exhilarating as well, imagine 22,000 visitors in just two hours, almost bringing down the school network.

Of course, the Harvard authorities detected the culprit and Mark was given a 6-months academic probation. He appears to be quite a cocky kid, played by the equally compelling, Jesse Eisenberg, but he wears it quite well, his snide remarks and quick wit was just enough to put the network security authorities on their rightful, shameful places. The real Mark Zuckerberg seems like a laid-back guy. I've seen a few of his interviews and he even seems nervous most of the time but you can't deny the the computer programming prodigy's brilliance. Still, I'd say his character was quite exaggerated in the film.

                                Jesse Eisneberg                                                Mark Zuckerberg

Anyway, Mark Zuckerberg's notoriety has taken the interest of the twins, Cameron & Tyler Winkleross and their business parter, Divya Narendra, fellow yet senior students in Harvard. The three wanted to create Harvard Connection, the basics of what we experience now in Facebook. They approached Mark to help them finish the coding. Mark then talked to his best friend, Eduardo Saverin about a new social network website and the legal issues began.

The movie was given large slices of flashbacks, with Mark misleading the twins and the business partner about making some progress in the Harvard Connection while the truth was, he was concentrating long and hard on the most popular social media site today, Facebook. It was launched without the knowledge of the three creators of Harvard Connection and it infuriated them. Mark's bestfriend, Eduardo, funded the website, initially giving a thousand dollars to keep the site up and running and was informed late of the legal actions.

Facebook was already a big hit in the Harvard campus, making the bestfriends, Mark & Eduardo notorious around the campus. Yet Mark was still hung over his ex-girlfriend Erica, and found out she hasn't heard yet of Facebook which propelled him to expand to the other universities. Which led them to the Napster co-founder,  Sean Parker, played by the ever-curly & charming, Justin Timberlake. Parker was a smooth talker, making Eduardo a bit uncomfortable, especially about the former's history with drugs and the paranoia fits but Mark readily embraced Sean, connecting with him instantly.

When Sean was officially in the picture, setting up meetings with investors & bringing Mark to the coolest hang-outs, Eduardo was left behind, biting the dust. He might have given 19,000 dollars for expansion but it was worth nothing compared to a new set of investor's contribution of half a million dollars. To add insult to injury, when Facebook became a professional success, Eduardo's share in the company was diluted to 0.03%, which started the legal battle between the best friends.

I already knew that the movie mostly covered the legalities that involved the creation of the Facebook but the troubled friendship between the best friends, Mark & Eduardo was quite fascinating. It depicted Mark Zuckerberg as an asshole who didn't really care about the money but prioritized the state of being cool and being "in" and Eduardo Saverin, played by my future husband, I mean played by the sensitive-looking Andrew Garfield, as a cool-headed guy, who cared for the future of Facebook and was also genuinely concerned with his best friend's financial nonchalance. It might sound corny, but it was heartbreaking to see Mark getting a million users to connect with each other while he can't even manage to retain the only friend that he had.

The film ended with Mark adding his ex-girlfriend on Facebook and refreshing the page a couple of times, waiting to be accepted. The musical background along with the pathetic scene of the creator of Facebook, still waiting to be accepted plus the notes saying that the twins settled for 65 million dollars, Eduardo received an unknown settlement and was brought back as a co-founder again, Facebook's value and stating that Mark Zuckerber was the youngest billionaire in the world was a perfect way to end one of the most intriguing historical events in the social media industry. No deaths, no dramas, no gunshots, no major life-changing settings, no harshly depicted & highly exaggerated scenes of today.

It was just a guy waiting to be accepted as a friend on Facebook. Sad but true.

TheNewLead Elevator Pitch

TheNewLead in a nutshell.

TheNewLead intro

View more presentations from Julie TNL.

Effective Delegation in 5 Steps

Delegating is probably one of the easiest yet the hardest task one can ever do when it comes to a work load. The idea is to lessen your work by giving it to a capable individual. Assuming you're their superior, the people doing the dirty work can't really complain. But what happens if you delegate work to your peers, to colleagues? Would you appreciate some extra work from someone who has the same level of expertise as you are or even lower? Would you be willing to share the load without worrying about the quality of their work?

Generally, the answer is no. But when you have no choice and work is just pouring in, here are some tricks on how to delegate as effectively & as efficiently as possible:

1. Determine what to delegate.You're handing out a part of your work and even though someone's doing it for you, at the end of the day, you're still responsible for it. So be clear & specific about the task at hand. Enumerate them and explain it as thoroughly as possible.

2. Choose on whom to delegate. Ask someone who can do the job the way you want it to be done. If not, ask someone who seems capable for the task. Give them the easy ones first then eventually, hand out the difficult tasks. Make sure that person's work load is not that heavy or he'll/she'll have to juggle her responsibilities and your delegated task will probably suffer.

3. Mind your tone. Using authoritative words with a bossy stance might not do the trick. Be as cordial and as amiable as possible and use encouraging, motivating words. They have to know that you trust them to do the right job and that you know they will never let you down. Fluff their egos a bit, tell them they're the best candidate for the task and no one else comes close.

4. Set a time limit. An easy task for you might be hard for others. Tell them straight-away your time-frame. List down the task and ask them how many days would it take for them to finish it. If it'll take a bit longer than you'd expect, figure out their other responsibilities and lay down each others priorities. That way, you both know what task to settle first and what can be done later on.


5. Always follow-up. Monitor the work progress. Ask for an update on a regular basis. But don't follow their work closely or they'll feel uncomfortable and a bit inept. If they seem to struggle on some parts of the task, ask them about it and give them some advice on how it should be done. Better yet, show them how to do it then leave them the rest.

Delegating might seem tricky but its a valuable skill especially for those in a managerial level. Knowing the right way to do it will make your work faster and will allow others to grow professionally.

Sing the 80's!

I've never sang before in front of an audience. Well if you don't count bellowing songs in front of relatives or respected bosses & colleagues while getting hammered, I'd say I've never sang in front of a legit audience before.

So now, here's our chance. The Ukelele Movement here in Singapore would be hosting its open mic event on 15mins Cafe @ LaSalle College of the Arts, Blk D #01-01, 1 McNally Street (behind Sim Lim Sq).

It's time to belt out songs from the 80's! I'm not sure if I'd want to wear the required outfit but I've already chosen my songs and no, you can't sing it, I call shotgun! Eternal dibs! But its not final yet because you have to learn to play the ukelele to be eligible to howl & shriek in front of anyone.

Anyway, here's the rest of the information:

Uke GOT TALENT III (We love 80s)

Time: Monday, November 1 · 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Location: 15mins Cafe @ LaSalle College of the Arts, Blk D #01-01, 1 McNally Street (behind Sim Lim Sq), Singapore

Join us for the next ukulele open mic by UM in Singapore!

The theme is 80s, an era full of life, great music and pop culture. So dig out your 80s gear and come in your 80s get-up.

If you're game to play at the open-mic, each band/solo will play 2 songs to fame. To register to play, email us your full name, mobile number, 2 song titles and its original artistes to ask@ukulelemovement.com. There'll be no repeat of songs, so regist...er early to "chope" (singlish for reserve) the songs you want to play.

Leggings, hairband, neon-coloured tops, acid-wash jeans, baggy Ts, leotards, bodysuits, skinny tie, legwarmers, Rayban wayfarers, blazers, shoulder pads, baggy pants, skinny pants, midriffs, sports bands, roller-skates (not blades), Boy George hats, mullets, punk spiky hair, reebok hightops, bandana, jumpsuits, stirrups, the rest is up to your imagination.

Some artistes with popular 80s hits:
Madonna, Michael Jackson, Queen, Boy George, Billy Joel, Wham, Sheena Easton, Paula Abdul, Phil Collins, Eurythmics, Bananarama, Diana Ross, Police, Culture Club, Scorpion, Rick Springfield, Air Supply, Hall & Oates, Men At Work, Lionel Richie, Bonnie Tyler, Toto, Debbie Gibson, Johnny Hates Jazz, Rick Astley, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Styx, Tears for Fears, Starship, Bon Jovi, Bangles, Tiffany, Belinda Carlisle, Kylie Minoque, Inxs, Def Leppard, Guns & Roses, Milli Vanilli, Bobby Brown, Bette Midler, Fine Young Cannibals, Simply Red... etc...gosh we're getting breathless here.

Have fun!

So channel whatever dead or plastic surgery-enhanced individuals from the 80's and lets sing the 80's! :D

Yammer - useful or not?

Ever heard about it? No, it's not a speech delivery, it's the way some professionals are interacting nowadays. Yammer is a facebook-ish tool that lets you connect with anyone within your company. You simply post status updates on your profile which automatically shows in your company feed. Assuming that you all have the same business email address, the same email domain,  just invite other employees to join in and voila, anyone from your company whether overseas or not, can create and join in on your conversation. If you want to address a particular message to a person, use @username or you can just simply say "to:person". You can also reply directly to their messages by simply typing in the reply field box. Think facebook and you'll easily understand the process.

You could also send files, images, links, create polls & events and even make an organization chart. 
Its really a radical way of communicating not only with in-house peers but also with your client, contractors, fans & followers of your brand/company. You just set up a community for people outside your network (company), invite them and you can instantly communicate with them by reading and answering their feeds.

You don't have to worry though about confidential posts being directed to a client or a contractor. Only those within your company can see your udpates. Client, contractors and other outsiders are meant for a community, an altogether different group from your own company.

Check this out:


Pretty interesting huh?

I haven't completely immersed myself in this tool but the idea is quite compelling & revolutionary, especially if you're a part of large company that wants to stay as tight and as open as possible. I'm not sure if they'll be able to steal some of the thunder from Facebook but this seems quite an amazing tool to communicate with anyone.

Unless of course, you count out emails.

Lead generation is a bitch and we live for it

Generating leads on your own can be quite a handful to handle, especially when you have no idea where to start. There are dozens of ways to fill in your database and start seeing valuable leads in your sheet but unless you have a budget for it, it can be quite a pain in the ass. Its an iterative process wherein leads are always on the move, careful updates & verifications are essential, adding new data should be constant, duplicate contacts should be reduced, incomplete data should be completed and a whole lot of work.

There are numerous ways of generating leads on your own.The most popular ones include the ff:

1. Phone calls - cold calling to be specific which can consume a lot of your time and most of the time, can lead to nowhere
2. Email - easiest but not the most effective way
3. Branding - would reach more audiences but can be quite expensive to retain
4. Public Relations - editorials, press release, news coverage, article placement, anything which may or may not, reach your target audience
5. Events - alluring but be prepared for some demanding, expensive preparation
6. Direct mail - economical yet irritating tactic for potential customers
7. Referrals - an enthusiastic, all-praising client + luck would be needed
8. Web & Online marketing - which we greatly approve of

Okay fine, subtlety is not my strongest suit and generating leads on your own is not everyone's cup of tea either. That's where TheNewLead comes in.

Assuming you haven't read the blog description yet, TheNewLead is an online business contact database, the largest one in Asia where 150,000+ contacts and 30,000+ companies are kept, along with 2,500+ updates every week. It stores thousands of contact information of decision makers (CEO, VP, CIO, Pres, etc), managers (IT, Sales, HR, Operations, Marketing, Administration, Finance, Management), directors and even those from the staff level. All you have to do is visit the website, select the criteria for your contacts and download the contacts. No more need to authenticate and verify each downloaded leads, each contact has been assured of its accuracy. We have a team of professionals constantly working to ensure that only accurate, verified and updated contacts are displayed in our database.

But I have to admit, there are some contacts that are always on the move and wouldn't stay still in one position, in one company for even a month. Here's where things get interesting and really, really helpful; when you've purchased that kind of target and you've learned that they just moved to a new company, they've changed their contact details and what you're seeing right now in our website, is the wrong contact information, just mark the data as an incorrect one and state your reason for doing so and we'd give your points back, provided that that is really a wrong contact info. Yes, we give full refunds and you can use those credits to buy another new contact! Hopefully that lead stays put and in place.

Another feature that we have that seriously kicks ole' lead generation method's butt is the one-for-one exchange platform. Just submit a list of your unused YET accurate contacts and we'd give you points which you can use to buy another new set of contacts. How's that for a contact barter exchange? It's a useful tool to increase leads in our database as well as for members to gain points/contacts without having to resort to monetary means. But just be mindful of submitting inaccurate, outdated contacts because once we've verified that you contacts are inaccurate ones, you'd be given a point deduction which means less points for you to use, less contacts to purchase.

Lead generation is hard work but if you choose to do the most practical way of handling it, it can be such a breeze. Just to summarize we provide:

1. Contacts on a silver platter - select & download quality leads
2. Full refund for outdated data - which isn't our fault, leads are always moving
3. One-for-one exchange platform - submit your unused yet accurate data to earn points, to buy a new set of contacts


Remember, TheNewLead is our name and lead generation is our game.

Contact tendered resignation- retain or edit data?

Contact database updates & verification might seem like an easy work but to handle thousands & thousands of business contacts on a daily basis is a lot more work than one would think. That's why we have a Task Bank in our current website, wherein registered members can help out cleaning our data. We've also improved that to be a more user-friendly feature for the new website (we're currently working on) so new & old users alike can easily understand the contact checking & verifying process. Of course our internal team still has to verify those data but it makes the job easier, faster.

However, disputes over purchased, updated data cannot be avoided. Imagine this scenario:

1. Joe submitted the following contact information:
    Sheila Pih
    IT Manager
    Company Pte Ltd
    sheila@company.com
    6584219561
    Bedok, Singapore

2. Lea selected and purchased Joe's contact.

3. Lea emailed Joe's contact, Sheila Pih.

5. Lea called Sheila's company to follow-up and learned that Sheila has already tendered her resignation a week ago.

6. Lea reported a contact dispute to our website, saying that contact has already tendered her resignation.

7. Joe learned of the dispute and answered that while Sheila is still tendering her resignation, it doesn't follow that her contact information are inaccurate. She is still an IT manager, she's still using that email address
and she is still connected with Company Pte Ltd.

So if the contact information is proven to be current & accurate but one's aware that it will change in a few weeks time, would you still retain that in the database?

The answer would be no. Frankly speaking, since data verification takes a lot of time to do, it would be quite a waste of time to retain data that would still need to be updated in a few weeks or so. Why not update it right there & then and just file a report saying that the contact has already tendered resignation and would need to change information?

Makes sense doesn't it?

How to lift ones spirit

Shopping of course! :D

Charles & Keith Warehouse sale

Event Details
Event : Charles & Keith Warehouse Sale Oct 2010
Location: 21, Tai Seng Street, Charles & Keith Building, S(534166)
Date : 21 – 24 Oct 2010
Time : 10.00AM – 8.00PM (Till 5.00PM on 24 Oct)
Admission: Free

Terms & Conditions For The Warehouse Sale:

• Only Cash, Credit Card* or NETS* payment is accepted.
• All items sold are non-exchangeable and non-refundable and While Stocks Last.
• Not valid with the Charles & Keith Privilege Card, discount coupons, vouchers and/or other promotions.
• Daily items may vary.
• Should there be any dispute, the Management’s decision is final and binding.
• The Management reserves the rights to amend its Terms & Conditions without prior notice.
• *Minimum S$20 for Credit Card & NETS payment.

Happy hunting everyone!:D

Get past a gatekeeper

Ever heard an already irate colleague berating someone on the phone? I have, a dozen or more times. I've asked this colleague regarding it and most of the time, her answer would be related to a gatekeeper, whose unwilling to transfer the call to a person my colleague intends to talk to.

What exactly are "gatekeepers"? There are those individuals who mostly screen the calls of their superiors, the decision makers. Gatekeepers mainly control the flow of the information by preventing the sellers to directly communicate with the buyers. Some gatekeepers are advised to do so while most are just concerned about interrupting their bosses with seemingly unimportant phone calls.

Aside from generating leads, the next relevant step in reaching out to those decision makers would be getting past a gatekeeper. So what exactly do you do when a secretary, an assistant, an operator or a receptionist puts on their gatekeeper hat again? Here a few tricks I've learned from my colleague:


1. Create an original spiel.
That means tailoring your script to whom you're targeting. You could research opening scripts but edit them to sound more like YOU and would sound like they're really directed to that person you want to talk to. Sound original, show some personality but remain professional. It would horrible if your spiel would be like "Yo, yo, yo, lemme talk to my homie, shawty."


2. Practice your opening spiel.
It doesn't necessarily mean that you'd be saying the same lines over and over again but when you've already mastered your own opening script, talking to an actual gatekeeper would be easier. Especially if the gatekeeper sounds scary and is having that "time of the month."


3. Be polite.
You're the one asking for a favor so it follows that you're the one whose suppose to be as amiable and as professional as possible. Be courteous and be mindful of how your voice sounds and your spiel delivery. No one wants to talk to someone who sounds drunk and keeps on hollering, "Pass the phone to the manager, lah!"

4. Be quick & confident.
Do not ever let the gatekeeper hear even a syllable of hesitation in your voice (long pauses, fillers such as "um.., aahh..). A slow & faltering delivery would suggest an uncertain call and that would probably mean you'll just waste a buyer's time. You've certainly wasted a gatekeepers time, that's for sure.

5. Sound like a VIP.
Anyone who acts and sounds like a VIP (Very Important Person) are given more leeway and attention. So think and talk like you own the whole Singapore and you want to talk to someone renting a space in Woodlands.

6. Flatter them.
Make them aware that they are important in a business decision and if not for them, why,  you wouldn't be able to contact the manager at all! Create rapport, be friendly yet professional. Creating rapport doesn't entail you saying "Hey sweet lips, you have the sexiest voice I've ever heard." Don't ever, ever use that line or anything remotely similar to it.

7. Learn then call again.
If the gatekeeper is quite stubborn, it would be pretty hard to talk to the decision-maker. Learning the basics, such as the full name of the gatekeeper, the schedule of the decision maker, etc would certainly help so just keep on calling and eventually you'll be able to know those infos. Then you can use those to call again and give out a more convincing, effective spiel.

Treat gatekeepers just as you'd like to be treated. Don't ever falter in reaching out to those decision makers. And most of all, be confident, believe in your product and believe in yourself. Just like my colleague, she's on that level where she can scold a gatekeeper already. Don't try that yet, try the basics first.

Hello B2B world!

Finally, we have a blog!

For formality's sake, let me just give a little intro about our company. TheNewLead Pte Ltd is an online business contact database that holds thousands of contact information from decision-makers, managerial to staff level, here in Asia. We basically cater to sales & marketing professionals, recruiters, business-owners, anyone who has something to offer and well, hates generating leads.

That's right folks, we basically offer quality leads. Fast & Easy. You just go to the website, www.thenewlead.com, select your desired contacts then download them. That's it! Of course you have to register & pay for the contacts but unless you're willing to waste hours trying to update, validate, verify hundreds, thousands of your old contacts, I'd say we're the next best thing to lead generation.

We have a team of professionals constantly working on keeping the contact database updated, consolidating, verifying contacts and ensuring only accurate data are displayed in our website, www.thenewlead.com. If however, you've purchased a contact that's outdated (gasp!!)  & inaccurate (what?!! who uploaded that?!!), we'll just give you a refund, easy. Of course we'll check first if you really are telling the truth about that contact.

So before I sound a tad boring and a bit like a sales letter, let me just tell you that finally, we have a blog! Yes! You might think that starting a business blog this way might seem a bit off not to mention waaaayy informal. Well that's actually what we're gunning for, a bit of fun, spice & flair to contrast the serious, formal side of a business contact database site. So expect livelier blog entries from yours truly, (I'm Julie by the way, community engagement executive at your service) but not only do I aim to provide entertaining articles but also helpful ones as well.

And oh we're completely revamping our website, www.thenewlead.com! Yes, we are aware of your comments about the design & the usability of the website that's why we've done something about it. Just keep those comments coming folks, post away your suggestions, your comments, your insightful & silly views on business, work, entertainment in our forum, www.thenewlead.activeboard.com.

Post away! :D