Wendy Cheng is number 88 on Technorati top 100 and she's not happy about it. I met Wendy in Singapore where she grew up and lives. She is beautiful, infectiously funny and quite charming. She has been blogging at xiaxue.blogspot.com for 4 years which makes her one of the founders of Singapore's blogging community. A credential she shares with other voices including Mr. Brown, ChubbyHubby and MissIzzy.
Wendy's blog is about the things that interest her as a young woman in Singapore: boys, going out, make-up, the US Marine who allegedly raped a woman in the Phillipines, and "girly stuff." She has developed a big audience presumably of other young Singaporeans (I asked and she believes a lot of traffic comes from Singapore). Some criticize her for being superficial or flighty. To me, she is the best of what's out there - genuinely herself, and in a way that clearly others can identify with. She has had a few "scandals" in her time. her views on the US Marine (not guilty) pissed off a lot of people.
She is now represented by a publicist and knows how to do an interview (re-state the question in the answer). And Wendy parlayed the blog into a short-lived TV show, Girls out Loud, on Singapore TV that paired her up with Ros, a radio personality, in an epsiodic series that kinda feels like the Paris Hilton/Nichole Ritchie show which places them in different lifestyle scenarios. The show got canceled but you can still catch epsiodes on YouTube. (Part of having a good publicist is having them email guys like me and correcting my mistakes. The show was a short run show and was not cancelled.)
Here are a few favorites:
Girls Out Loud - Episode 4 Part 3
Girls Out Loud - Episode 2 Part 3
Girls Out Loud - Episode 3 Part 2
Girls Out Loud - Episode 3 Part 3
This one is my favorite as it pits Wendy up against another blogger, Miss Izzy, who I also got to meet. The tension is real. She also goes up against Mia. I actually love the idea of blogger vs. blogger 'cause it's so ridiculous.
I asked Wendy why she doesn't segue to a video blog, especially now that Singapore TV canceled the show (No one in Singapore has much respect for media in the country especially the TV network which doesn't seem to have a strong vision or commitment to programming). Wendy explained the work involved: she would have to get a camera, learn editting, etc...I had always expected that she had a production team around her, at least a posse, but she is extremely self-sufficient.
Is she a Paris Hilton without the pedigree? (I actually don't know if she is born into aristocracy but do not think so from what she said about making money). The answer for me is no. She may appear superficial but look a little closer and she is putting herself out there, offering a glimpse of the real Wendy with every post. She has a strong POV and is focused on building the Wendy brand.
If I were an entertainment, beauty or food and beverage brand catering to Singapore youth, i would frame a custom sponsorship of Wendy covering both her online and offline activity. She is very smart about that (aside from that Marines comment which caused some sponsors to withdraw Again, the publicists wanted me to clarify that Wendy did not lose sponsors. My words were carefully selected as Wendy told me that a couple of sponsors "paused" in their sponsorship. Let's hope that everyone understands that I am enthusiastic about Wendy's blog and that she is a powerhouse for the right sponsor).
What's next? She is determined to reclaim her position in Technorati as number 23. I think she can do it. Still, being the 88th most popular blogger out of 58 million isn't too shabby.
Im better than her
My blog is.
Posted by: Shopgirl | March 06, 2007 at 05:36 PM
www.siyansblog.blogspot.com
Posted by: Shopgirl | March 06, 2007 at 05:36 PM