Moms, internet communities, iPhone a new best friend

Dedicated to the moms of the Generation-C (C for Community!)

Thank god this is still Sunday so I can write more freely, sidetrack from mobile, community, learning topic.

Getting ready for Silicon Valley mom life style

A very good friend who has been a colleague at Sun in Hong Kong, who becomes even closer friend post Sun days, has decided to move back to California in June to settle in Palo Alto. First I wish her well and (email) introduce a cleaning lady contact to her so she can get some help since she will be without her maids and chauffeur in Shanghai and join the Silicon Valley soccer mom club doing much drivings for her 11 year old's to be very busy schedule; hence hers!
Next, I wish to take care of the family dining need. In a recessionary environment and not want to compromise the quality of dining, Osteria, my favorite Italian restaurant at very reasonable price, comes immediate to mind. If you ever visit Palo Alto, you MUST give this a try. Reservation is a must as there is little chance to get a table for walk ins.

iPhone, Silicon Valley mom's new best friend

Gmail and google maps on the iPhone are completely indispensable to me who has absolutely no sense of direction. Google maps on the iPhone is quite smart, knows my home address after I use it once, guess accurately in high percentage the places I want to go but don't really know the name or where it is? If I plan ahead, I will do Google maps and direction on the internet from home and send the direction to my gmail before I leave the house. When I am driving, I open up my gmail and whoa la! the driving direction is right there. Of course I will add the phone number to the gmail I sent myself so I can do one touch of the phone number in email and it rings the place of where I am going. Be sure to use the hands free headphone when use iPhone in the car! It is the law or you will get a ticket and fined!


No more tears! Move announcement: June 10, from Kitty's physical to online network

When I left Hong Kong in 1980s for my university education in US, the airport scene was teary! I felt both excited of my new life, and yet sad to leave my family, friends and my love. The internet community has changed all that. Emails has kept many of us in touch despite of distance, change in job, change in city as each of our lives take us to a separate path. In my own circle, the 30 something, 40 something crowds are increasingly joining social network sites like Facebook, MySpace, etc. I think the important thing is how we choose to use the social network and be mindful of what type of information you input and upload to them. For me, I am glad to use both email and social network sites to not only keep in touch with friends, but also continue to grow the friendship which these sites have made possible. Another benefit of participating in social networks is people generally post positive happenings. I am happy to learn about William's Coldplay concert experience, saw the incredible photos he took of his model car projects, and Napoleon's twit of yesterday's hiking give such positive stimulation to the otherwise idle mind.

Conscientious use of social networks

Use your social network site for positive expression. There are too much 'fear' generated by the media today. Eric Schmidt in Charlie Rose's interview has another nice quote. Schmidt says, "know where the NO button is". There is too much information out there. It can overwhelm even the most intelligent person.

Weekend blog: Badminton Social

No work on the weekend

Honoring the weekend being free, I think the blog on Saturday and Sunday should be free from constraint of the normal topics. Today, I'll share with you a nice story of a Hong Kong young entrepreneur.

The value of face to face social community, the fun stuff

Tonight I attended a badminton social organized by the parents of the Tutoring Center where my husband, Paul, works. During breaks, I met the owner of the Tutoring Center. He is a young man in his mid twenties. In the past few years, he was studying in the University of Polytechnics Hong Kong full time while running his own business past two years, the tutoring center. His center though small but business thrive and expanding. He just graduated with a major in Marketing. He hires extremely high quality teachers and I learned tonight some of the students live very far away from the center.

Hong Kong parents place high value in teacher quality, no surprise!

I asked one of the parent why travel so far. She said good teachers are important and worth the travel.

Seizing the moment to learn from our university Marketing graduate

I shared with this young business owner the DIY M.U. project and where we are in terms of content research, survey status, sponsorship status, etc.. He gets it quick probably with advantage of his business experience and design business involvement besides being a Marketing student. Later, it darns on me that I am looking at one of the perfect Marketing student that can help with understanding HK's education system's preparation for our future Marketing professional. He is thrilled to hear about Web Wednesday HK. He does not seem to involve much with the Multi Media Lab in the Polytechnics. I know the founder of an Australian mobile internet startup, Mostyle, who had worked in this Multi Media Lab a few years ago. I hope to meet up with these labs and learn more about their program.