Tigershow.org
special coverage of Singapore's most exciting dot-com

Tigershow.org Supports MAS Roadshow to Sell S'pore as Bondage Hub 
by Michael Bloombird

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is now leading a delegation to promote Singapore as a centre for the trading of bonds and securities.  And local internet company Tigershow.org is helping to sponsor the delegation. Said CEO Madam Lao Hiao, "It's only natural for us to get involved with the bond market.  After all, many of our clients are heavily into bondage." 

Best known for their webcam coverage of live tigers sitting in fish tanks, Tigershow.org has, over the past few months, embarked on an aggressive campaign to diversify its revenue channels, including opening LAN shops and bidding to take over Haw Par Villa.

"But you know, we have a natural affinity for trading in the bond market," said Madam Lao. "We already sell a lot of nipple clamps, straightjackets and ball splitters."

Tigershow is apparently forming a joint venture company with the MAS to do bond market promotion. Tentatively named MASochist, its avowed aim is to achieve maximum market penetration.

"We believe Tigershow has a lot of things in common with the MAS," said Madam Lao. "For instance, Singapore has a 'AAA' rating for creditworthiness, while we have a 'XXX' rating."

Said MAS spokesman Thye Mee Hup, "Initially, we had some reservations about getting involved with a relative unknown like Tigershow, especially when we saw some of their more, uh, flamboyant presentations. But we must say that with regard to the bond market, they've shown remarkable restraint, and we're pleased to be tied up... uh, I mean, tie up with them."

"We want to be totally supportive of the MAS," said Madam Lao. "We're entirely happy to follow whatever decisions they make.  We have no problems with a master and servant relationship."

© http://www.TalkingCock.com 2001. All rights reserved. 
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Whore Par Villa: Tigershow.org Bids For Failed Theme Park
by Pak Cham Kai

In an unprecedented move, Geylang-based internet company Tigershow.org has made a bid to take over the failed Haw Par Villa theme park.

After a round of disappointing proposals, including two tenders to change the famous, but embattled Chinese mythology theme park into a golf driving range, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) had intended to pull down all the rides and convert the park back into its original statues-only form.

However, it looks like the 63 year old heritage site might be saved - by a new economy upstart.

According to Tigershow CEO Madam Lao Hiao, "Haw Par Villa fits in perfectly with our branding strategy, and will provide many synergies."

Tigershow.org, who provides continuous webcam coverage of tigers sitting in fishtanks, in addition to premium paid interactive services, has been diversifying its operations over the past few months, venturing into, amongst other things, LAN shops. (See below)

"We both share the 'Tiger' brand," said Mdm Lao, referring to Haw Par Villa's old name, Tiger Balm Gardens. "And in fact, we distribute tiger balm to our best customers after especially intense sessions with our guest relations officers."

Tigershow intends to convert the park into a recreation club for the public, as well as its customers, members and customers' members. 

Chambers and exhibits will be adapted for various purposes. 

For instance, the infamous Chamber of Hell with its lurid dioramas of torture and mutilation, will house Tigershow's S & M Unit, which Mdm Lao insists stands for "Service and Management".

The STB is currently evaluating Tigershow's tender, the only one received to date.

"We need to experience first hand some of the services that Tigershow intends to provide," said a STB spokesman who did not wish to be identified. "Purely in the interests of impartiality, of course."

© http://www.TalkingCock.com 2000. All rights reserved. 
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In Line with Government Urging, Tigershow.org Upgrades Geylang Call Centre
by K. K. Cheow

Tigershow.org announced today that they would be upgrading their Geylang call centre. 

This was in line with Minister without Portfolio Lim Boon Heng's urging of companies to upgrade the skills of call centre staff to meet regional competition.

Tigershow has operated some of Singapore's oldest call centres, which have been in existence even before the advent of the Internet and e-commerce.

Tigershow CEO Madam Lau Hiao took a group of reporters on a tour of their newly revamped call centre at Geylang Lorong 69.

When someone said that perhaps Tigershow's call centres weren't quite the kind of call centre Minister Lim had in mind, Madam Lau was dismissive.

"Call centres are places people call to get service, correct?" She said huffily. "People call here all the time, and our girls all service them, what! Why cannot call ourselves 'call centre'?"

With that niggling detail disposed of, Madam Lau explained the rationale for the upgrading. "Gah'men is correct.  Because of regional competition, we must all improve. We now got fierce regional competition not only from Keong Saik Road, Petain Road and Desker Road, but also international competition from Batam, Bintan and Haadyai."

Madam Lau then unveiled their new customer relations centre, which consisted of what can only be described as a massive fish tank filled with scantily-clad women. 

"Here at our customer relations centre," she beamed. "The customer can easily choose who he wants to have relations with."

Looking at some of the archival photos on display, it had to be conceded that the renovations were a far cry from the old corridors, lit by fluorescent tubes with red cellophane draped over them.

Madam Lau then said she completely agreed with SingTel president and chief executive BG Lee Hsien Yang, who said that 'by professionalising our call-centre competencies, Singapore will be able to earn a reputation as a call-centre hub.'

"So we've professionalised our call-centres," said Madam Lau. "Last time, we called the girls at the call centre 'call girls'. But now we want them to realise that they're professionals.  So we call them 'pros' instead."

As for earning a reputation as a call-centre hub, Madam Lau smiled. "Our pros all got reputation, one. And you see our customers? They all come here and 'hubba-hubba-hubba', so I think we can rightly call ourselves a hub."

So will Tigershow's pros be getting certification under the new call centre standards set by the government?

"Of course! Our girls are all certified - no VD, no HIV," said Madam Lau. "I'll personally invite the gah'men to come and satisfy themselves that our girls are all standard, one!

Tigershow.org Opens Singapore's First Real LAN Shop In Geylang
by K. K. Cheow

Local internet startup Tigershow.org has entered the competitive world of LAN shops - but with a difference.

"Other LAN shops offer only networked game systems and internet access," said Tigershow Chief Technical Officer Chee Hong Kan at a press conference yesterday. "Our new store in Geylang, which we are calling '2LAN', is the only one to also offer actual Lan."

Tigershow CEO and Human Resource Manager Madam Lau Hiao agreed. "We believe it is dishonest of all these game centres to call themselves LAN shops when none of them offer any Lan at all."

Mr. Chee then brandished a series of anatomically accurate marital aids.  "See, we have big Lan, small Lan, medium Lan, Lan with ticklers, Lan with heating element, Lan with vibrating knobs, Lan with pulse function, white Lan, black Lan, Lan with massage function and our prototype squirting Lan, which is still in beta phase. Fill it with warm tau huay chwee for a healthy, enriching experience."

"Also, if our clients want, we can arrange for them to, uh, network with real Lans," said Mr. Chee, adjusting his tie.

Mdm. Lau added, "We have done our research and apparently women are the ones who use the internet the most.  We therefore see a growing demand for Lan and we are positioning ourselves to ensure maximum penetration of this market."

As for the issue of competition, Mdm. Lau was dismissive.  "All these small LAN shops are literally cho bo lan.  How do these local area networks deliver interactivity just through screens, keyboards or game panels?  On the other hand, we offer solid joystick action!"

"Right," nodded Mr. Chee. "And our games are far more exciting than Counterstrike. Our multi-user games include 'Massage Parlour 2000', 'Blown Away', and 'Baldur's Gay'. We also have special games for solo Lan gamers like 'Spank The Monkey', 'Meatbeater' and even the new Star Wars franchise 'Hand Solo Feels The Force'."

When asked about how they will deal with the fact that LAN shops are mostly patronized by minors, Mdm. Lau replied, "Kids will have to be content to sticking with the virtual reality options. The actual reality options will be for adults only.  But we're hoping to get kids to graduate in due course."

"So remember our motto," said Mr. Chee, smiling. "Come and Play, and Come Playing."

Singaporean entrepreneurs are taking to the New Economy in a big way and the more daring ones who take the greatest risks reap the full rewards.

Today it was announced that a startup venture founded by a group of working women from Lorong 17, Geylang, has received $1M in seed funding from a local VC, Redlight Partners.

The new company is called Tigershow.org, and according to industry insiders, it has already received 1,000,000 unique visitors and is close to breaking even in its third month of operation.

The website is popular because it combines educational content with entertainment. It also delivers an environmental message about the preservation of tigers as a species. Visitors to the free site can access a whole range of information about tigers in the wild and in captivity.

Cleverly situated webcams placed around a tiger's cage capture all its actions during the course of a normal day at the Singapore Zoo. Other webcams are being planned.

The CEO and Human Resource Manager of Tigershow.org, Mdm "Mama-san" Lau Hiao, told us that the hobby of tiger watching was very popular with Asian males in the 18-45 age group. "Typically users come in groups to see the tiger in action. Using our proprietary streaming technology on a variety of host servers, we provide them with multiple webcams and points of view to allow them to enjoy the experience of seeing tigers doing their tricks."

She refused to elaborate on the types of tricks the tigers would perform.

Probing deeper into the web-site reveals a password protected section that is open to paying members only. We asked for a free membership, but Mama-san told us to politely fade off. "Sorry, but business is business. No Money No Honey. Everyone must pay."

Tigershow.org's special features are in this section which we could not enter. Paid up members get full access to Tigershow.org's customer service reps and can participate in more value-added activities. These value-added services are the key to how Tigershow.org intends to turn a profit in the increasingly difficult dot-com market. They have a full mix of revenue streams, beginning with advertising and sponsorship (Tiger beer banner ads were on the site and we also saw many customer service reps wearing Tiger beer swimsuits). Most users subscribe to the live web-cams, but in the end it is customer service that counts.

Mdm Lau reiterated her commitment to quality. "As HR Manager, I only pick the best girls to service our customers. They must be experienced because, frankly, a lot of our customers are first-time users and they never even read a manual."

Mr. Chee Koh Peck, senior partner at Redlight Partners, reaffirmed his belief that TigerShow.org would mark a paradigm shift in the highly competitive online entertainment market. "We believe in seeding worthy ventures like this."

However, Mr.Chin Hao Lian, an industry expert on animal performances, scoffed at TigerShow's chances and pointed to their lack of a business model.

"Business model? Of course we have a business model," retorted CFO "Mimi" Hiao. "Her name is Betty, and she went to Carrie Model school. She is also responsible for half our business."

Allegations that Betty spent a lot of time at Redlight Partners' office drew a blank stare from Mr.Chee. "Betty and I are just good friends. She was helping with due diligence and she showed me many different market positionings that I did not know existed. I learnt a lot from her," he responded, looking at her appreciatively.

Mr. Ho Say Leow, a regular subscriber, was very enthusiastic about the service. "My brother recently ORD and all my friends bought him a subscription to Tigershow.org. During the performance, I captured the video and put it into MPEG. Now if my brother try to ji seow with me, I can always show his girlfriend." Asked about his interest in tigers he professed ignorance, but added that Service Rep #69 was his favourite.

Although Tigershow.org is well on its way to success, Mdm Lau is not taking any chances. "In this technology business, we have to take precautions. We always worry about bugs and viruses. We have to make sure our employees do not download these from our users, otherwise our productivity is affected. And for us, productivity is critical to growth."

Managing rapid growth is the company's key challenge. It aims to penetrate other regional markets using a franchise strategy but it has to dominate the local market first. According to Mdm Lau, "Actually, what we are trying to do is to encourage customer stickiness. One of our issues is to tap into existing customers who go to our competitors in Thailand. I believe that our value proposition is better than theirs, and with our unique one-to-one transaction model as well as using the Internet and streaming technology for community access, we are able to provide full customer satisfaction."

The company plans an IPO early next year.

Mobile Virgin Calling Service Introduced: 
Tigershow expands into new service offerings

Tigershow.org, which recently received a large amount of seed funding, (see previous report above) has issued a press release, announcing its latest strategic thrust with SingTel/Virgin's new wireless unit Virgin Mobile.

Called Mobile Virgin, it allows a user to use pagers, handphones and wireless PDAs to access its highly popular service.

"Now, clients who wish to connect to our customer service reps can call Mobile Virgin to set up an appointment." said Mdm Lao, Chairperson of Tigershow.org.

In a floor show to inaugurate the new product, a Lion Dance with Tiger costumes was performed. At the end of the dance, to everybody's surprise, a well-known figure came out of the Tiger's rear. It was none other than the original founder of Tigershow herself, Mdm "Rosie" Tua Kah Chng. She explained that the performance was to have included other exotic animals such as pythons, and could have made everybody stand up, but she was not able to get a MITA public entertainment licensing unit permit at the last minute.

"Mobile Virgin offers great convenience to the customer," explained Mrs Chin Ai Lui, CFO at Redlight Ventures. "They can now request for service reps to actually go to the user's place. In the past it was inconvenient for the user to come, as Tigershow's brick-and-mortar facility was often booked up in advance."

WAP-enabled cellphone users are able to access a broader range of services such as storing user preferences, automated billing and additional information on the business models used by Mobile Virgin. This last feature is extremely profitable for Tigershow, as its proprietary interface allows the display of full-motion video in colour. "It opens up new income streams for us. Previously we did not like people who look-and-see but who do not pay. Now, especially shy customers who prefer to see-no-touch are paying us for the service," said Mdm Tua.

Tigershow also announced that it was in talks with Golf personality Tiger Woods to provide golfing advice on their website. Mdm Lao joked, "He's also a tiger right? I'm sure our customers would enjoy watching Tiger as he drives for a birdie. If we can sign this deal, this will be a hole-in-one." 

The reason was that Tigershow discovered that many high-end users of Mobile Virgin include prominent members of Golf Clubs in Singapore. "There is nothing better than to relax at the 19th hole after a hard game of golf," enthused Mr.Chee Hong Kwee, with a sly grin. "Sorry, ah, I had to change from my golf clothes," he apologised as he zipped up his pants. 

We noticed a bulge in his pockets but it turned out to be the new WAP handphone/PDA that he bought to access Mobile Virgin. The interview with him was held just outside the exercise and changing room of the Island Country Club, where a lot of moaning and groaning could be heard. When asked about this, Mr.Chee replied, "Golf is a very strenuous game. This is why we tell our wives we are often shagged when we go home." As we were concluding the interview, his wife came into the lobby with an angry look on her face. Mr.Chee dropped his balls as well as his golf clubs and hurriedly went out through a different exit.

© http://www.TalkingCock.com 2000.  All rights reserved. 
(If you're circulating this story by email to your friends, please include this attribution. It's only polite, leh!)