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Privy Member Esther Nguyen, CEO of Pops.vn, recently uploaded 7000 Vietnamese songs to Itunes!
Friday, Nov 20, 2009 12:43PM / Members only
Vietnamese Music Now Available On iTunesSan Francisco, CA – July 23, 2009 – Trinh Cong Son, Pham Duy, Ngo Thuy Mien, Phu Quang, and many other popular Vietnamese composers’ music became available today on the Apple® iTunes® Store, according to POPS Worldwide Inc. Performers included in this first batch of Vietnamese CDs include singers like Dam Vinh Hung, Quang Dung, Hong Nhung, Ho Quynh Huong, Dan Truong, Le Hieu, Xuan Phu, as well as young, less well-known, but upcoming Vietnamese artists. These albums made their appearance for the first time on iTunes today, and individual songs or whole albums can be sampled, purchased and downloaded by iPod® and iPhone® users all over the world. According to POPS , this is the culmination of lengthy efforts to aggregate, license, digitize, and offer a rich library of music from Vietnam for the first time on a legitimate, secure, online platform. The company also revealed that while the first batch of available albums number around 500, the total number of individual songs scheduled to be posted on iTunes will be reach 20,000 in the near future. “We’ve always strived to deliver a high quality, rewarding listening experience to lovers of Vietnamese music everywhere”, stated Esther Nguyen, CEO of POPS Worldwide Inc.” We are gratified to have been able to reach a deal with Apple’s iTunes for us to finally bring this important part of our culture to everyone, not just Vietnamese, but also people who’ve developed a taste for our beautiful music”, she also said. For Vietnamese composers, artists, and music producers, the inclusion of their music into iTunes, the world’s most successful digital music delivery platform, represents an unprecedented exposure to listeners on a global scale. As has been the case with their mainstream counterparts, these artists are more and more grappling with the challenges of monetizing their art and product in the new digital age, and this announcement is a much welcome development. The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 10 million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films. With Apple’s legendary ease of use and seamless integration with iPod and iPhone, the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online. POPS Worldwide Inc. is an entertainment media company specializing in aggregating, licensing, and delivering music, video, and other rich media content from Vietnam to consumers all over the world, with offices in Vietnam and the U.S. The company currently operates the social network POPS.VN in Vietnam, and packages music and video for global content distributors such as wireless network operators and online music sites such as the Apple iTunes Store. 
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Aintincool.com Interview with Privy's Chin Han (2012, The Dark Night)
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 4:08PM / Members only
Hopefully everyone caught the movie "2012" this weekend where one of our Privy members had a nice role -- Singaporean actor Chin Han. Below is an interview with Chin Han at aintitcool.com:Mr. Beaks Chats With 2012's Chin Han (aka Lau From THE DARK KNIGHT)! Let's consider this a friendly counterpoint to Capone's awesome AICN Legends column, shall we? You may not know Chin Han by name yet, but I can pretty much guarantee that everyone who reads this site is familiar with his performance as Lau in Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT. And this weekend, a good many of you will see him as a heroic Tibetan monk in his next mega-Hollywood production, Roland Emmerich's 2012 aka TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION. As for "Who is Chin Han, and what's his deal with $200 million blockbusters?", that's what I'm hoping to remedy with the below interview. Chin Han's acting career began in his native Singapore, where he successfully navigated the always tricky transition from stage to film and television. But, according to Chin Han, the goal was always Hollywood. And when he finally made his move, he was quickly rewarded with a significant role in the second-highest-grossing film in the history of the medium. When Chin Han recounts the whirlwind auditioning process, which led to him being whisked off to Shepperton Studios, he sounds like he still can't believe it. It's a fun little success story, the kind every up-and-coming actor dreams about, but rarely achieves. Whether this tale continues to have an upward trajectory is up to Chin Han and the whims of Hollywood casting directors. Should he continue to make favorable impressions in massive blockbusters, I've a feeling we'll be seeing a good deal more of Chin Han - either as a character actor or a leading man. It's all wide open at this point. It's rare that you get the opportunity to interview an actor at the moment when they're about to make the leap, so I was more than happy to get on the phone with Chin Han a few weeks before the opening of 2012. My digital recorder, however, wasn't so sure, and decided to cut out at 12:09 of our twenty minute conversation. I had no idea this happened until I sat down to transcribe the interview, so I can't really reconstruct the rest of the discussion (which mostly addressed the myriad differences between Nolan and Emmerich). My apologies. So here's twelve minutes and nine seconds with the gracious and quite talented Mr. Chin Han. Mr. Beaks: You're at an interesting place in your career, in that you're building on the heat of THE DARK KNIGHT and, in a few weeks, have 2012 coming out. Looking forward, what kind of career would you like to have as an actor? Chin Han: The objective has always been the same. Even when I was a teenager starting out in Singapore doing theater and making $500 for a few weeks of work, you just always want to do good material. That hasn't changed. And if I could come to Hollywood and have access to the kinds of scrīpts and movies that I could be proud to be a part of, that's the direction I would like my career to go in. It's been a surreal two years. From the minute I was cast in THE DARK KNIGHT - which was in April 2007, to... what is it now? (Laughs) October 2009 - it's pretty much been a dream. I was shooting in London and Chicago for THE DARK KNIGHT, and after that I was up in British Columbia for 2012. Now I'm back in Hollywood, and I'm about to go to the premiere. It's been very surreal, but it's all that an actor could dream of. Obviously, it's not just the quality of the work; it's also the scale of these two movies. My first two movies in Hollywood are huge, $200 million movies. (Laughs) Beaks: That's quite a change from your theater background. Chin Han: It boggles the mind for me. Sometimes I'm sitting here in my apartment in Beverly HIlls - and I have a very nice, northward facing view of the hills. I'll be looking out at the sunset, and I can't quite believe I'm here. Beaks: It's always interesting how people find their way out here. When I left college, I went to New York City thinking I'd try to make it as a playwright. I always told people I'd never never "sell out" and move to L.A. to whore for the studios. Twelve years later, here I am in L.A. Seeing as how you started in theater, I'm wondering if you had any convictions like that. Chin Han: I didn't. I was never quite the angry artist - even though I did have fantasies of being a bohemian actor living in New York and facing those brutal winters in a trench coat with a cigarette dangling off my lip like some actor from a French movie in the 1960s. I loved the romance of Hollywood. From the movies I was exposed to as a young man - from Cary Grant and Grace Kelly classics to those really awesome movies from the '70s, like THE GODFATHER, JAWS and THE EXORCIST - there was always a sense that those are the movies I would like to be a part of. There was a larger-than-life aspect of Hollywood filmmaking that I always connected with and wanted to be a part of. Growing up in Singapore, which is just a small island on the tip of the Malaysian archipelago... we had just broken free from British rule in the '60s, and in the '70s Singapore was going through a phase of industrialization. There was a lot of construction. But for a young man with an active imagination, there was very little to do and very few places to go, so what I would do is read a lot and hide out in cinemas. That's where my imagination took me. I think that's one of the reasons I connected with all of the kinds of movies that were coming out of Hollywood at the time. It was a form of escape, really. Beaks: So you get out here and find yourself caught up in this whole DARK KNIGHT craziness. What was it that Christopher Nolan saw in you? And, once you were cast, did you have any idea what you were getting into? Chin Han: (Laughs) Um, no. Not quite. I remember the scrīpt being under such tight wraps. When I went in to audition, I just had two pages of dialogue, and all of the characters were jumbled and mixed up. There was no explanation about the characters or the story at all. There was very little you could surmise from the scrīpt. I mean, you kind of had an idea about the role you were playing, but you had no idea what the movie was about. So, as far as I was concerned when I went in for the audition, the character could've been a twenty-second-long cameo or as large as the character of Lau. I had no idea. But I knew I wanted to work with Chris Nolan, so I got on the plane. I was living in Singapore at the time, and got a call from my manager at that point; they told me they'd set up a meeting for me in Los Angeles, thinking I was in Los Angeles at that point, which I wasn't. (Laughs) So I called him back and said, "If I want to make this meeting, I have to get on a plane in three hours. Could they see me any other way? Could they see me later?" And you know how it is with these juggernaut movies: they break for nobody. (Laughs) So I had this four-hour window to make up my mind, and I made that decision in about ten minutes. I remember my family helping me to pack because I had just returned to Singapore. My bags weren't even unpacked, really; I had come to spend Christmas and Chinese New Year with my family. They weren't even sure what I was going in for, but they got me packed and on the plane. It was a twenty-hour flight back to Los Angeles. When I got in, I took a nap for about four hours, and there I was in the casting office of John Papsidera reading for THE DARK KNIGHT. But I had no idea about the scope of the movie until the first day I got on set. They sent a driver for me, which was the first time in my life I had ever experienced that; before that, I'd done some independent movies and television in Singapore. So they sent a driver for me, took me to the airport, flew me to London first class, drove me to the legendary Shepperton studios, where I was fitted by Lindy Hemming. Then I was driven down to the set. I don't know if you've been there, but it's just this gigantic hangar that used to house air balloons during World War II. So they brought me to my trailer and let me relax there for a little bit. Then one of the assistants comes up to me and says, "Chris Nolan is ready to see you." So I walk over to the set, and the first thing I see is Christian Bale doing a photo shoot in his Batman outfit, the Bat-Tumbler and the Bat-Pod. That was when I first realized what kind of movie I was in. (Laughs) Beaks: Did you have a complete scrīpt? Chin Han: I got a more complete scrīpt later. I got it in parts. And that, tragically, is that. Pretty frustrating, really. But I have a feeling there will be more interviews with Chin Han in the future. Go get assaulted by 2012 this weekend in the largest theater with the most obnoxiously powerful speakers available. And enjoy. Faithfully submitted, Mr. Beaks 
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Michael Tchong, a Privy member, recently published an article on "Social Engagement Marketing" on his website Ubertrends.com
Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 8:23AM / Members only
Social Engagement Marketing Posted on September 5, 2009 by Michael Tchong in Internet, Marketing, Media A major trend is sweeping through society. It began with Friendster, a social network that leapt to 1 million users after just six months, a feat that had company servers groaning under demand. Friendster’s overburdened social network quickly gave way to an even faster-growing phenom: music-oriented MySpace, which rose to 22 million accounts by the time the company was acquired in 2005 by News Corp. for $650 million. But even MySpace’s phenomenal growth was about to be eclipsed by yet another social network, Facebook, which in April 2005 had received $12.7 million from venture capital firm Accel. Today Facebook reports 250 million members worldwide, 50 million of whom joined in the last three months, while USA Today reports that MySpace “has nearly 130 million members.” The astonishing success of Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, and today’s media darling, Twitter, which currently attracts 45 million visitors each month, underscores the startling rise of social networks as a viable consumer medium. And each new social network also showed that certain consumer affinities can help propel that launch... Full article: http://www.ubertrends.com/social-engagement-marketing/ 
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Privy Featured Member: Calvin Chin of Qifang
Monday, Aug 17, 2009 7:42AM / Members only
If you happened to pick up the May 2009 issue of The Economist, you might have read about Shanghai-based P2P student loan company Qifang and its founder, Calvin Chin. We thought we would give Privy members a look at the man behind the business, so we had a chat with Calvin about everything from his career path to guanxi mythology to Shanghainese shengjianbao.1. What do you like about Privy or the promise Privy offers? More and more of the world's best and most interesting companies and culture (food, arts, etc...) are coming from the Pacific-either Asia or the U.S.-and from remixes from ideas and people that float across the Pacific. I love the idea of staying connected with my friends and business contacts that are at the leading edge of this trend that will dominate this century. I love the idea of finding new people in this community, and I love the idea of using this shared context to help me find the best places to go out, to eat and to stay. 2. Can you tell us a bit about Qifang and how you were inspired to start it? Qifang is a web service for Chinese students to find a way to pay for their education. Using a person-to-person lending and donation model, Chinese students use Qifang to connect to individuals, companies and organizations that can support their educational dreams. Qifang is also an online community for learning financial literacy and finding career development opportunities like internships, mentoring and jobs. We were proud to be recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer-the first company from China to win such recognition, joining notable visionary companies like Google, Wikipedia, and Mozilla. The idea for Qifang came from seeing how so many in China have to make tough choices about their lives and their careers based on their ability to pay for school; it also came from seeing what a big difference going to a great college has made in my own life. 3. Is it true you used to be a high school math teacher in Brooklyn? Can you tell us a bit about your journey since then and how you ended up starting a business in Shanghai? It might seem like I've come a long way, but each step hasn't ever seemed so far. It's funny, but looking back, I can really connect the dots. I've worked as a teacher, in the debt markets and in web startups. Now Qifang is a web company for education finance. Each time, I've just tried to find work that was challenging and interesting and where I'd like the people I worked with. Starting a company here in China actually hasn't been that difficult with the right friends who've been through it to give tips. That's why I love helping others do the same. 4. Was it difficult to transition from the U.S. to China (i.e. adjusting to the language, culture, business practices, etc.)? What were the best and worst parts about the change? There are definitely a lot of differences, but I think most of them are small, like what's a socially acceptable time to take a call on your mobile phone, etc... For the most part, I've found that the same rules about being open, honest and friendly have held true. People always talk about guanxi in China, but I've found that usually means the same kind of ideas of relationships and reputation that people in the US crave. I think if you come with the right attitude, oriented towards learning and trying to understand, people pick up on that. No one wants to deal with someone who is always thinking because that's how they did it back home that that is some sort of magic best practices that we just haven't learned here yet. Best part, meeting a ton of great people and having my horizons broadened. Worst, being far away from extended family, friends, and my built-up business networks. 5. Has it been a challenge to balance your family life with your professional life since Qifang started taking off more? My wife Angie has been an amazing partner. She's a huge supporter of our vision to give everyone a way to pay for their education and she's made the balance a lot easier to find than it should've been. I've also had to remind myself about life balance; being an early riser who is often up before the kids helps, and I try to take a break from work every night for dinner and putting the kids to bed, even if I'm back to work for a couple more hours afterwards. 6. Best spot for a business lunch in Shanghai? I usually keep things casual and make sure there's free wi-fi. A croque monsieur at Paul or a pasta at Wagas are perfect unless it's an out-of-town visitor who hasn't had shengjianbao-then it's Yang's Fry-Dumpling.. 
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Privy Featured Member: Sara Mibo Sohn
Saturday, Aug 8, 2009 7:39AM / Members only
Privy's Teddy Zee spent some time chatting with one of our members, Sara Sohn, after she sang the National Anthem at the Dodger game this past week...Sara Mibo Sohn -- singer, TV host, philanthropist. Check, check, and check. Born in Spain to Korean missionary parents, Sara is a woman of three languages and even more talents. Privy got to hear straight from Sara about her unique background, her faith and philanthropy, and her stint in Korean girl group S. Blush, whose debut single, "It's My Life," reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard charts in the Hot Dance Club Play category in 2007. 1. You're difficult to pin down, since you've lived in so many places. Tells us where you've been and where you consider home? I was born in Madrid, Spain and moved to Guatemala City when I was seven years old. The transition had its awkward moments; I would say "que coche tan lindo," which means "what a beautiful car" in Spain but in Guatemala means "cute pig." After graduating from UCLA I lived in Seoul for three years, and I've lived in Los Angeles for six years since then. I really love traveling! Recently, I went to Haiti, and last year I visited Petra, Cairo, Agra, and Tokyo. My fav so far are the pink-stone mountains in Petra! On Facebook, I belong to the Guatemala network; it really is my hometown...but home is where the heart is, and right now it's in LA. I love LA because when I feel homesick, I can bust out my Spanish with random Latinos on the street and it's all good. Plus at El Taurino I get free guacamole for it. 2. It's so funny to hear fluent Spanish, in addition to English and Korean, coming out of someone who looks like you. In what language do you dream? Remembering dreams is tricky. I think I do most of my dreaming in English, but I write my journal in Spanish. It's comforting and more personal - I've been doing it since middle school. I love languages and just picked up French this year for a trip to Haiti. 3. Everyone thinks being a part of a girl group is so glamorous. Tell us the truth about your experience and training in Korea? The truth is being part of a girl group can be glamorous but only if you are willing to sacrifice it all. Being a member of S. Blush was a learning experience - how clich é! LOL. Despite the hardships, the girls made it all worthwhile - we are still very close. 4. Is it difficult to balance your "faith" with your pursuits in entertainment? Tell us about the Compassion Tour? Faith is just one of the many elements that complete me. It isn't difficult to balance my faith as I pursue my goals in entertainment; on the contrary, my beliefs make me a more loving and open-minded person For the past two years, I have been involved with Compassion International, a non-profit organization that provides one-on-one sponsorship to children in developing countries. I just went to Haiti with a group of 30 Compassion Band members, and we were shocked at the level of poverty. The food crisis has kids eating "clay cookies," and most women sit on the street begging or selling home trinkets. Haiti is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, and I saw a family of nine living in a house the size of most laundry rooms in mid-size homes, with no clean water or electricity. Currently, Compassion International is sponsoring about 64,000 kids in Haiti, providing education, skills, and hope. Compassion Band was formed by Korean actor Cha Im Pyo to raise awareness and funds for the organization. We perform mostly in Seoul throughout the year, and we just got back from an LA-DC tour. 5. You've anchored a news program and done live interviews from the field and on the red carpet. Tell us the challenges of both and which do you prefer? I love love covering red carpet and doing one-on-one interviews because I get to meet people personally and have a good time with them. At the last red carpet I did, I met actor Aaron Yoo, and we had a very serious discussion about our favorite Mexican telenovela! 6. Since LA is your home now, give us the scoop about some of the best night spots in your 'hood? A couple of the hottest new clubs in LA are ECCO and My House. ECCO is a boutique night club with some eco-friendly features. It's basically a lounge with a small dance floor. I love the fun décor and great DJs at My House! 
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- Stephen Christopher Liu is a social entrepreneur and media executive...
- Occupation: Film/TV Producer , Magazine Editor , Dining critic
- Gender: Male
- Total visits: 8,905
