Reading the news between the lines

I was never a big fan of reading the newspapers when I was young. It just seemed so dry to read about politics, disasters, crime and I never seemed to see how all these could relate to my life. I was happy just going from day to day, and thought I had more than enough to worry about with upcoming school tests and within my own small circle of friends.

I only started reading newspapers in university as it became a compulsory course assignment to do so everyday. Our lecturer would usually start the class asking us what are the big issues that we see in the papers every morning. He made us read between the lines and see things that were not said, things that we have easily taken for granted if we treat whatever we read or see in the news at face value. Needless to say, the lecturer was an expat with his own particular points of view on Singapore. :)

Now I find myself enjoying it when I catch up with the news. Particularly local news. The recent buzz about election has gotten me pretty excited in a way. For once in my life, I get to play an active (albeit tiny) role to shape the world I live in. I remember when I was a kid, I didn't understand why my father would vote for an opposition party candidate. I mean, aren't things good as it is? Today, I look at it as an opportunity to voice a change that I would like to see around me. I mean, what is the point of sitting around cups of coffee with friends, complaining about things getting expensive, the difficulty of getting a place to stay and build a family, worrying about the challenges of life ahead for my kids, if I'm not going to do anything about it. If there's a slight chance that something can change, why should I let it go? Even if the results are not going make an immediate impact on me, or if the proposed alternative may not be the ideal solution.... I think a contest of different voices and opinions will still work in everyone's favor. It sounds like a better situation than to be a blindly obedient sheep like the ones in Animal Farm. That said, I do acknowledge that many of my friends are just content with the way things are... at least, there is no need for any major adjustment, nor do they anticipate or fear how change may rock their boat.

I'm looking forward to the day actually. In the meantime, I'm enjoying reading the news, and comparing it with the reality I face day to day, and seeing things that are between the lines. :)

It's easy to say... but act on it too!

Maybe I'm just being difficult... but I get really peeved when I get requests from people who have no clue what they are asking. And this, I refer to people who think they know what they want (and therefore they request for it) but they have no idea how to get it done or what is required to get it done... and worse, doesn't take responsibility for their own role in getting it done.

A simple example is a question like "I need to market product X and reach out to potential customers through a website. Please help to do up a website for product X."

Seem like a pretty straightforward request, right? Wrong. Because when one probes further with basic questions like:
- What is product X?
- How is product X different from other competitors' products?
- How does product X fit in with the rest of the company's product?
- How should it be positioned to the customer?
- What are the benefits of using product X?
- What are the specifications for product X?
- How soon will product X be ready?

... the person who made the request had no clue. And I get especially peeved when that person happens to be directly involved in the development, marketing and positioning of product X. If that person, whose role is to drive product X, is not doing his / her job to act on his / her responsibilities and find out or even have some clue about these questions, how can he/she expect others to be able to support his work?

In other words, it is always very easy to say things and express what you want in words.... but you need to act on it and make sure you do your part too. If you did not, don't blame others...