Blog Posts by Ewen Boey

Martin helped out at Spizza on one of his tasks in Singapore. (Photo: Martin Pasquier)

Can one survive in a different country on social media alone? The answer would be "yes", albeit with some difficulty according to Martin Pasquier, who spent a week in Singapore with just a smartphone, 10 items in his backpack and no cash.

The 28-year-old Frenchman was in Singapore in February on the social experiment, "Can man live on social media alone?" as part of Social Media Week, wherein he linked up with locals via Facebook and Twitter in order to get help with accommodation, food and transport. Singaporean Daphne Chui participated in the same experiment, depending on Londoners to help her get around England's capital city.

Even though Pasquier confessed that the experiment was very successful due to the warmth and generosity of Singaporeans, he was was cautious on whether another person in a real-life situation could easily get by in a foreign land with just the help of social media. After all, the Frenchman did have a one week head-start in getting help through publicity on

Yaw Shin Leong has remained silent ever since his expulsion from the Workers' Party. (Yahoo! photo)

Disgraced former Workers' Party (WP) member Yaw Shin Leong has maintained his silence over his expulsion from the party, and has remained uncontactable according to party chief Low Thia Khiang, reported The Sunday Times (ST).

Low, a long-time Hougang MP who left the ward to contest for Aljunied GRC in last year's election, told reporters that he had no idea where his former protege was, and that no contact has been made between Yaw and the party, wrote the same paper.

35-year-old Yaw has until this Friday to appeal against the decision to remove him from the party. The vacant Hougang seat will be decided either after an appeal is made, or after the deadline passes.

According to a Straits Times report last week, Yaw allegedly left Singapore on Wednesday before he was ousted from the party, and is reportedly planning to move overseas to a country not in Southeast Asia.

ST added that Low did not want to talk about other opposition party members who were interested in the Hougang seat as

A teen has been arrested over a blog hoax saying that an NSF had died of a gunshot wound. (Yahoo! photo)

A teen has been arrested after he posted a fake blog post on a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) serviceman who was apparently killed by a stray bullet.

In a Straits Times (ST) report, a police spokesperson said that the incident did not happen, and a 19-year-old blogger has been arrested for "transmitting a false or fabricated message".

On 27 January, a post emerged on a blog called Temasek Revealed that claimed a 19-year-old SAF serviceman had been killed after taking a stray bullet to his right eye in Sembawang, wrote the paper.

It added that there was also another blog post on the same website from the brother of the deceased, detailing the injury.

The posts eventually went viral on social networking site, Facebook (on the Temasek Review page). It also spread like wildfire over other blogs, forums and other social networking sites.

ST wrote that Mindef put an alert on its Facebook page the next day, confirming the hoax. The post has since been removed on Temasek Revealed.

Workers’ Party (WP) decision to expel member of parliament Yaw Shin Leong from the party has left a gaping hole in the Hougang constituency.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has declared he “will consider carefully” whether to hold a by-election. He reportedly said there’s no fixed time within which he must call a by-election, adding that “there are many other issues on the national agenda right now”.

Meanwhile other opposition members are reported to be eyeing the vacant single member constituency seat.

The New Paper has reported that former Singapore Democratic Party’s Tan Jee Say may be interested while the National Solidatarity Party may also be weighing its options.

Under the Constitution, the government shall call a by-election when an MP in a single-member constituency vacates his office, dies or resigns.

So how will you vote in the event of a by-election in Hougang?

Daphne Chui is about to find out just how far one can survive in a foreign country with no cash and just a small backpack and smartphone.
 
As part of a social media experiment for Social Media Week, she has been sent to London (10-16 Feb) where she will have to survive  on the goodwill of total strangers she comes into contact with on Facebook and Twitter.
 
During her one-week stay, Chui, who's in her 20s, will have to complete a “task list” that she will only receive once she has arrived on London. All she knows is that it will involve helping out various charitable causes in English capital.
 
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore before her departure earlier this week, she said, “"I won't be given any food, accommodation or money. I'm also not allow to accept any money from people, so I'll really have to seek help and interact with people I meet over social media.”
 
"In other words, while people will be giving me things, I will be reciprocating it by helping others in return."
 
Chui, who works as

A recent study has revealed that social media is actually more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol.

In Singapore, Facebook and Twitter are now a daily staple for many with more than 2.5 million Facebook users and over a million twitter users in Singapore.

For the first time, social media fans will have a week to call their own as Social Media Week (SMW) hits Singapore next week (13 – 17 February). The five-day event, in which meet-ups and activities will be held all across Singapore,  will interest  social media veterans, marketers or people who are general Facebook or Twitter junkies.

Originally starting in New York in February 2009, Social Media Week has since spread to 21 cities in just under three years.

In Singapore, the aim of the event is simply to get people from all walks of life and industries to meet up and share their experiences about social media. Among the events planned are a food debate, a documentary on Twitter, tips on becoming a social media star and even a face-off

S-League's new deputy CEO Johan Gouttefangeas is revealed to be a bankrupt in France. (Yahoo! photo)

Local football fans are up in arms after the news that the S-League's new deputy CEO,  Johan Gouttefangeas, is in fact a bankrupt.

Some Yahoo! users expressed their displeasure at his appointment on Facebook, and said the Football Association of Singapore should not have hired a candidate with a questionable financial background for such a key post.

Facebook user Peter Tan questioned on Yahoo Singapore's Facebook wall, "If he can't take care of his finances, can he take care of S-League (which has its own finance problems)? Surely there are other potential candidates?"

Another user, Khiat Seet, said, "Bankrupt of not, the FAS should have done a proper background check before hiring Mr Gouttefangeas -- it's all a matter of good HR policy."

"A bankrupt can't hold directorship, can't have bank account, can't own any assets, and he's a key man in our league?" added Yantyaisyah Razak.

However, some were more open to the idea of the Frenchman's appointment as S-League's deputy CEO.