Innity Ad Network

If you are an avid blogger or a website owner from the Asean region (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam) who is looking for an additional income stream, then I’d reckon you consider placing Innity ads on your site.

Innity was started in 1999 and has now become one of the most recognisable online advertising agencies in this region. According to its website, Innity is “an online premium performance advertising network reaching over 2.1 billion impressions to more than 29 million unique visitors.”

Now, that’s something. Besides having a high reputation, Innity also pays rather handsomely. At least that’s how it is for me because having displayed ads ranging from Adsense, Nuffnang, Clicksor and Advertlets, Innity brings back returns far higher than the aforementioned ad agencies.

How can I be an Innity publisher?

However, to be chosen as a publisher for Innity ads, you must first live up to its high expectations. Sites must have 30, 000 page views per month, 6000 unique visitors per month, have quality and frequently updated content, genuine (not fraudulent) traffic and cannot link or display adult and profane content among others. If you think your site fits the bill, you can apply @ Here

The Ad Formats

One thing that sets Innity apart from its competitors is that it offers many ad formats. In addition to the basic formats such as rectangle, leaderboard and skyscraper ads, Innity has full page, balloon, in-text and bottoms-up ad formats among others. This means that depending on how much space you can spare on your site, there will always be certain ad formats that can be displayed.

Earning from the Ads

There are three ways in which you can earn, namely via Cost per Click (CPC), Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM) and also Cost per Engagement (CPE). The CPC and CPM earning model is used extensively throughout all ad networks, where you get paid for every unique click for the former and for every thousand impressions for the latter. The CPE model is distinct as it pays for every ad that is engaged by your site visitors.

The Benefit of Signing Up With Innity

Innity associates its ads with top-class advertisers and this is something that you must capitalise on. Say, for instance, someone visits your site and sees advertisements that are displayed featuring renown brands such as Nokia, Samsung and Dell, that person will have a good first impression of your site.

Over the long run, with more people visiting your site, the credibility of your site will also increase and people will return to your site. The best part is that if you feel that there are certain ads that will depreciate the value of your site, you can instantly reject the ads from being displayed.

Are you already displaying Innity ads on your site? Or have you heard of Innity ads from your friends? Feel free to share your thoughts regarding the Innity ad network by leaving a comment below.

The State of Racial Integration in Schools

Ever come across these situations in your schooling life whereby all the Malay students would be huddled in one corner, the Chinese ones mixing amongst themselves and the Indians chilling out with those from their own race?

I’d be hunching my bet on a yes. These situations are prevalent in most schools to varying degrees in our country, with a student from a particular race feeling rather ‘secure’ by mixing with those from his or her own race, and therefore a minimal amount of communication is made with the ‘non-s’.

However, is this the way to go? Is this how we Malaysians who hail from a racially diverse country should behave? Where on Earth has racial integration gone to?

Before I go on, let me clarify though that not all Malaysian students, or even adults for that matter, fall into this bracket. But a good percentage of folks do indeed tend to stick to their ‘own’ kind. This, sad to say, paints a bad image of what a Malaysian should stand for.

Speaking from my personal point of view, I have come across the situations mentioned above. I mean, its ‘normal’ isn’t it, or so it seems. But the good thing for me is that I don’t even get the chance to hang out with those who share the same race as me in school. Well, that is particularly because I am a Sikh, and how often do you come across a Sikh, if at all, in your school?

In that sense, I have been brought up to mingle around with others. You could say I have had no other choice, but even then, I still feel that if there are to be a good many Sikhs in my school, I won’t be clinging on to them.

From what I have observed, generally, the Chinese students who hail from Chinese medium schools during their primary days are less susceptible to mingling around with Malays or Indians as compared to the Chinese students originating from government schools.

Anyway, that aside, I feel that as responsible Malaysians, we who know that it is important to interact with everyone notwithstanding their racial tag should take the first step to mix around. When we start, hopefully others will follow suit. Hopefully, they would then get enlightened.

In my class, there are 20-odd Chinese students, some 10 Malays and the rest Indians. Every day, I make it a point to have a chat with as many of them, and the racial factor doesn’t come in. Interestingly, something that I have observed in any given class since day one is that an Indian would tend to sit next to an Indian, a Malay next to a Malay and so on.

One common excuse that I hear for the lack of racial interaction from some students is the language barrier. Some Chinese students cannot speak fluent English or Malay, while some Malays cannot speak good English. But hey, this is a lame reason because the language barrier shouldn’t be there. It is a self-created mess.

The glaring benefit of racial interaction is that we get to know other cultures, their beliefs and their way of life. It would be quite shameful for a Malaysian to not know the festivals celebrated by say, an Indian Hindu. Not only that, but we would learn to adapt to different environments too, and this would especially come in handy during our working life.

My parents have also placed ample of emphasis on racial integration. Two years back, I was studying in a private school which did not have a good racial representation, and part of the reason for me switching to a government school was to get an even exposure to students of different races.

Actually, it is not that there isn’t any racial unity in Malaysia at present amongst students. There is abundant of it actually. Just that there isn’t much racial interaction and integration amongst one another I would say.

Hopefully, after reading this piece, you would communicate with those from the other races if you haven’t been doing that all this while. I am trying to sound optimistic here OK. And make sure you make that a promise!

What's your take on racial integration in schools in Malaysia? Is it at a deplorable condition currently, or otherwise? Feel free to air your thoughts by dropping a comment.

Government or Private Universities?

Government or private? Many SPM leavers find themselves in this uncompromising situation. Actually, this is not a problem in Malaysia only. It happens all round the world. School graduates don’t know whether to go to a government university, or a private one, to further their education.

Well, I don’t understand what the fuss’s all about. Depending on the situation you are in, where many factors come into play such as admission costs among others, either one would make a good choice.

Firstly, it matters not the amount you pay to get enrolled into a university – what matters is your desire and willpower to go home with that much more knowledge. Therefore, what’s the point paying hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of Ringgit, to get into a private university when at the end of the day, all you do is monkey around and come graduation day, you are missing in action.

In that case, it would be better to become an accomplished engineer by going to a government university since you don’t have to burn so much money off your parent’s income. The environment, which is usually stifled by hardship, will make you want to work that extra bit harder to achieve your dreams.

Moreover, degrees obtained from government universities mean every much and value every bit as those obtained from private universities. In terms of professors and teaching staff though, government universities used to have a better share of these experienced heads, but the tables have been turning no thanks to the allure of money.

Prominent government universities in this country, such as Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia have produced a generation of Malaysians that are not only intellectual, but also a source of pride of the nation. They are the movers of our country now.

Likewise, numerous private universities such as HELP University College, SEGI University College, Monash University and University of Nottingham have had a good track record and have produced great thinkers of our times too.

However, private universities become the only option in certain circumstances such as when a certain course isn't available in a government university. Take my case as an example. I am very interested in Motorsport Technology, but this course is only offered in The Otomotif College, so no chance of me going to a government university there.

Well, the debate as to which university is better goes on and on, with no definitive answer to the question. All that I have to say is that though there are some striking differences between government and private universities, the end-products are pretty much the same - we all want to get those degrees!

Since I cannot come up with one definite answer, do you have any idea as to which is better: government or private? Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

The Tackle

Azman waved his arms in enthusiasm, signalling for the ball to be passed to him since he had ample of free space to have a decent go at goal.

At that time, I was in possesion of the ball so I sent a through-ball to him that split the opposition’s defence and paved the way for him to score a goal from a well-taken shot five yards away from the goalmouth.

We celebrated the goal with utter jubilation. The scoreboard read: Malaysia 1-0 Brazil. How’s that for a start?

Thereafter, there was a frenzy of action at either side of the field. The Brazilian team squandered numerous gilt-edged chances, while we Malaysians were riding our luck.

During the first half-hour or so, our most outstanding player was surely our goalkeeper, Alfred Tan. The lanky six-footed bloke was the saviour of the national team as he saved quite a few magnificent shots taken by the Brazilian strikers from point-blank ranges.

As the match headed towards half-time, I began to feel tired. Fatigue crept in and I wasn’t able to perform at my best. This was not the case for me only as it was the same for most of the other players too. Therefore, it was no surprise that I drew a sigh of relief upon hearing the half-time whistle being blown by the referee.

Both teams drew first-blood as soon as the second-half got underway. I for one missed an open goal, and with that a chance to put the Malaysian team two-up against one of the most glamorous footballing nations in the world.

I took that miss very hard on myself. I struggled to keep my emotions in check, and my focus on the match was wavering after that. Worse still, Malaysia were by now on the back foot as Brazil kept on plundering on our goalmouth time and again in search for the inevitable equaliser.

In addition to that, the tension was unbearable at the stadium. The fans of both teams were jeering the opposition players whenever they got hold of the ball. And amid this tense period of time –some sixty-five minutes into the game – I lost my head and made the most reckless of tackles.

A Brazilian player was controlling the possession of the ball when all of a sudden, due to the frustration that was creeping into me, I tackled him. It was a heavy lunge that floored the player, and he was agonising in deep pain.

Inside my heart, I cried “Noooo!” But it was too late. I hoped the clock could be turned a minute. I hoped that this was all an illusion. However, the reality was that this was no illusion. I walked off towards the stands solemnly, my head looking down to the ground, as I was anticipating a direct red-card to be shown by the referee.

Incredibly though, to my, as well as to almost everyone’s disbelief, the referee blew his whistle, signalling me to make my way back to the field. And as I walked back, he flashed a yellow card at me. Only a yellow card, can you believe that!

I accepted that as a chance to redeem myself, as well as some lost pride. But the player whom I had tackled earlier was evidently imbued in pain, and this had an adverse impact on me. I just couldn’t get that scene out of my head. Luckily though, the player got back onto the field after some extensive treatment on the sidelines.

As the clock ticked away, and as Malaysia headed for a historic win against the six-time world champions, disaster round two struck for me.

Instead of clearing away a dangerous in-swinging cross for a corner, I rammed the ball into the roof of my own net. I sensed my world falling apart. I collapsed to the ground, with my head in my hands.

Now, due to my misgivings, the match was dragged into extra-time. But since I felt that I was not in the right frame of mind to continue playing, I made a plea to the gaffer to substitute me. His reply though was a harsh one. “No way! Get your arse up on the pitch now and do your country proud, you idiot!”

Unable to muster the strength to go against the gaffer, I headed back onto the pitch for extra-time. As I made my way there, I caught a stare from the player whom I had tackled earlier. He had a sinister smile on his face. This sent a cold chill down my spine. I sensed vengeance; a personal vendetta against me.

I brushed my fear aside and recollected myself. I looked up on the heavens on the starry night, but I had a strange feeling that luck was not to be with me that night. Before I knew it, the referee blew the whistle for the start of the first-half of extra-time.

The first few minutes were tentative, with no team willing to expose themselves to a counter-attack from the opposition. Just then, out of the blue, I got the inspiration to do something great.

I collected a pass from my teammate at around the middle of the park and dribbled past an onrushing Brazilian defender, turned round another and was about to take on a third when my feet crumbled to the ground.

I crashed down just like how the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11 2001. I held my feet, my pain terribly unbearable. I saw the face of the player who tackled me – it was the same guy whom I had tackled earlier.

My vision was blurring. And when I did get up again, I realised that I was at the hospital. “Mr. Singh, you have a broken right leg. Well, I am afraid to say this, but there will be no more football for you,” said the doctor.

*This is a fictional essay.

Power Soccer: An Online Football Game

If you are the hard-core footballer who’d tend to spend more time playing football off the pitch than on it, chances are that you would fall in love with ‘Power Soccer’, a 3-D browser-based massive multiplayer online game.

Created in 2005, Power Soccer boasts millions of real-time players from every corner of the world. I started playing this game a couple of years ago, and was practically forced to stop playing it over a year ago after getting banned, for reasons unknown to me. At that time, I was riding high in the game – I was ranked eleventh best in the world and top in Asia and Australia!

You must be wondering: Why would millions of people out there want to play this game when there are better football games available such as ‘FIFA Online 2’?

Well, the answer to that question lies in the fact that ‘Power Soccer’ is more than just a football game; it is an online community. You’d come across loads of amazing and good-natured gamers, and you could make friends with them.

That aside, the technicality of the game itself isn’t complicated at all, and the game interface is also user-friendly.

Basically, gamers take control of a team and as they play more matches, they level up and are able to increase their player’s attributes. At the same time, by winning matches, gamers are able to increase their rank points, which influences their overall rank in the game.

Sometimes, gamers become over-excited and too eager to win. That would lead them to resort to ungodly tactics such as cheating, but don’t worry, there are administrators who keep an eye round the clock so be rest assured that those who cheat would be banned from the game.

After having been away from the game for over a year, I decided to make another account and play some games. Obviously, I had lost my touch but I was amazed by the amount of progress the game designers had made in that period to increase the gaming experience. It seems to be more realistic now.

There are a number of game modes. For starters, there are training matches available, after which official matches would be the order of the day. Then, there is the cup mode as well as league mode. There is also a ‘game day’ feature, where Premier League battles are played out by gamers. Lastly, a ‘career mode’ feature was recently added to the fold.

Well, if you happen to bore yourself out by playing too many matches, you could hang out in the chatroom where you can interact with other the gamers. There are also the forums, where you can drop by to seek clarification regarding some matters, or just share some ideas with the other gamers.

In addition to that, if you are the sort who can afford to fork out some money, then you could purchase the game membership which has certain perks such as free league tickets and bonuses when levelling up. Besides that, there are add-on features such as coaches, and also different hairstyles and goal gestures that serve to increase the gaming experience, but I feel that these are nonessential.

However, just like any other game, ‘Power Soccer’ has its fair share of flaws. Apart from occasional cases of cheating, latency also exists. This causes the game to lag, and it can sometimes frustrate gamers to no end.

I bet you can’t resist to get your hands on this game now, can you? So, what are you waiting for? Go log on to www.powerchallenge.com and knock yourselves out playing the game. Don’t come blaming me though if you mother starts scolding you off the computer!

An Overview on Short Forms

Asap... gtg... idk... wth... brb... Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Short forms! It’s all the rage amongst us teens these days. We use short forms while chatting on MSN, Facebooking, sending SMSes, and to a certain extent, some of us have even taken to using short forms in our school essays, much to the dismay of our teachers.

Believe it or not, short forms have been created to serve a purpose. Though its origins cannot be pinpointed, but it is a creative and innovative creation in all its rights nonetheless.

Something long like “missing in action” can be shortened to “MIA”. Just imagine – doing this repetitively over the long run can save a whole lot of time.

Though this ‘short form’ phenomenon initially originated from mostly teens, but elderly folks have caught on it too. Not only that, but advertising companies have resorted to using short forms in their advertising campaigns in a bid to be more appealing to teens and youths.

Interestingly, teens have resorted to using short forms for constructive purposes, such as taking down notes of their lessons or creating mind maps in a manner that is highly efficient.

However, just like any other creation, short forms have their fair share of downsides. Official documents, emails and letters have been mocked with the usage of short forms. Worse still, teens have started to use it nonchalantly in their exams.

To me, so long we can draw a line as to when we should and shouldn’t use short forms, then it’s obviously okay to use them.

*A revised version of this article has been published in Niexter dated 1 April 2010.