George Yeo
A meeting with bloggers
A breakthrough of sorts: The first Singapore minister to meet up with bloggers writes about the experience.
Jan 8, 2007

BlogTV Experience
January 04, 2007
1. Last night's recording of BlogTV's 'Big Boys Blogging' was fun. The Flying Dutchman ('call me FD, everyone does') and Xue Ling ('pse call me Ling') were great hosts, putting me at ease. Since we were at Brewerkz, I ordered a light beer. Gayle recommended 'golden ale'. She had hardly completed her sentence before someone asked if she was old enough to drink. Gayle and Bernard had appeared on BlogTV before and were very comfortable on the bar stools. I am not used to having my feet hanging in mid-air and took a while getting into a comfy position. But, once the conversation started, time just flew by. Eprhaim was supposed to put in a cameo appearance on 3G phone but it became only a voice conversation because the 3G connection did not come through.

2. The entire microbrewery was converted into a studio. I did not expect such a big crew - three camera teams, sound equipment, cables everywhere, individuals looking very serious behind control panels. One helpful lady passed me an oil-absorbing face wipe everytime she noticed a sheen on my balding forehead. From time to time, someone barked out instructions: silence please, please remove your watch, ten-nine-eight-... When I was Minister for Information, I visited Caldecott Hill quite often and got to know some of the TV people. But this is a new generation.

3. FD asked Gayle if she read my blogs. Not after the first one or two, she replied, deadpan. Why? 'Oh, I didn't find them interesting.' Boy, my ego was so bruised I couldn't sleep all night. But I gave what I thought was a clever reply, my teenage kids didn't read my blogs either, except when I asked them to. Ditto my wife. Bernard asked why I did not blog about the GST increase, blog regulations and other things. I protested that I did. It turned out that Bernard only read my postings on BeyondSG, not Ephraim's blogsite. Why? Because the 'serious stuff' is on Harold's blogsite and they also appear on the Intelligent Singaporean aggregator site. That was a compliment to me, Bernard suggested. So, if you think you are clever, better click on the Intelligent Singaporean from time to time. My grassroots leaders don't read my postings on BeyondSG much. Too cheem, they say. They much prefer what I write about on Ephraim's site. I better put this posting on both sites as they seem to attract different readers.

4. I must say that I felt younger after the session, provoking and being provoked. Without that altercation, there is no communication. The new media has its own grammar and vocabulary. I have been criticized for numbering the paragraphs in my postings. It is not supposed to be cool. But, hey, I've been numbering my paragraphs since SAF staff procedures day. I'm not going to change now. But one must learn new tricks. For months, I thought LOL which my kids often included in their emails to me meant 'lots of love'. Parental hopes run eternal. It was only recently that they told me it meant 'laughing out loud'. I better re-read the old emails.

5. After the recording ended, I was relieved that some snacks had been prepared. I can't drink too much beer on an empty stomach. The sandwiches and pizza were above average. We carried on a lively conversation. Gayle promised not to blog about some of the things I said. It was a pleasant evening (and an educational one for me) for which I thank FD, Ling, Gayle, Bernard and the Mediacorp crew.
George Yeo

Comments
Minister,
I think your candour on your blog is quite refreshing and I'm glad you still blog regularly despite the rather muted responses to your posts.
I enjoy reading about your interactions with foreign leaders and observations of the politics of different countries (maybe it's because I'm an ex-MFA FSO).
In particular, I found your post about the Sunni-Shiite divide some time back quite insightful, and made reference to it in a review of Singapore's new media in 2006 that I wrote for The Online Citizen.
Best regards,
Gerald

Dear Minister Yeo,
It’s quite refreshing to see a person speak. Keep it up. Singapore can still be redeemed.

http://beyondsg.typepad.com/beyondsg/2007/01/blogtv_experien.html

Note broadcast chat times:
Catch the CNA programme on: -
Tues, 9 Jan 2007, 8.30 pm
Wed, 10 Jan 2007, 10.30am
Thurs, 11 Jan 2007, 1.30pm
Fri, 12 Jan 2007, 5.30pm
Jan 8, 2007