Letter from the Editor: Off centre, on trend

Orange is the new black.

By now you, our dear followers, would have noticed not just a revamp of our website, but a new AsiaOne logo.

After nearly three years, the familiar yellow-and-black design has been replaced by an orange logo, signifying not only a zestier, bolder flavour, but a maturing of the brand, cementing our position as one of Singapore's leading digital media.

After all, AsiaOne is 25 years young in 2020, being among the region's earliest entrants to the online space.

We have come to be known for an off-centre voice on the news of the day, bringing you what you want to know, instead of what you should know, while continuing to be anchored in solid journalistic standards, backed by an arsenal of best-in-class content partners.

This evolution has accelerated in the past two years, since media conglomerate mm2 Asia became a majority shareholder of AsiaOne.

We have refreshed the newsroom, hiring a mix of young, driven writers and experienced, versatile editors from a variety of backgrounds.

Marked by a lighthearted, personal voice, we have expanded our repertoire of News, Entertainment and Lifestyle to include Video, Digital Culture and Money.

If you have noticed a lot more videos from us, that is because we have set up a full video team comprising producers, videographers, editors, animators and hosts, because we believe storytelling in the digital age is not just through words.

In one year, the vertical has racked up 7.9 million views for its videos — you told us you loved our interviews with a Brazilian waxer and a sugar baby, plus that time we put Jack Neo and Mark Lee in a car.

On top of technology and gaming, the revamped Digital Culture desk now covers the entire world... wide web. This means camping on the internet listening to what netizens are talking about and predicting what netizens will talk about, such as the time we made a KFC-rice recipe viral, and the time we exposed a Telegram group circulating pictures of schoolgirls on the MRT.

We have also decided to follow the Money with our newest vertical. Through collaborations with popular personal-finance blogs, we strive to simplify investing, offering investment tips to the man on the street.

Or maybe you just want to know the salary needed to afford the home of your dreams.

For long-time fans of our News, Entertainment and Lifestyle sections, we have doubled down and expanded the menu.

Some of you are current-affairs junkies, we know, and you can still come to us to read about the thousands of Wuhan people who left for Singapore and other cities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

But our reporters are also busy chasing offbeat, social stories at home and across Asia, such as the Singapore Airlines stewardess who publicly rebutted a passenger, and the man who humiliated his cheating bride at their wedding.

Be it food, health, travel, fashion or beauty, our Lifestyle correspondents don't just tell you, they try it for you, so you can better decide whether you want to.

Thinking of splurging on a branded handbag? Considering the keto diet? Read us first.

Or need help hacking your life? Many of you jumped on our story about how to make your own face mask when it was out of stock.

And showbusiness has been getting increasing spotlight on the AsiaOne stage in the last year, because we know you love to see celebrities doing entertaining things.

Like when a certain 1990s actress popped up on Instagram. Like how Sharon Au kept her fame from her French colleagues. Like the mystery around Jayesslee's Janice.

Sometimes, these entertainers delight us too in music, movies and television. That's when we help you decide whether to binge-watch something.

Accompanying our new logo is a redesigned website and user interface (UI). Canvassing extensive feedback from you, our visitors, on how you want AsiaOne to look like and pooling the team's collective experience in UI best practices, our new look is cleaner and more readable, as tested on desktop and mobile.

You will now see more stories on our homepage, because we know users want minimal clicks to maximum content. But don't worry about clutter — we have learnt the art of KonMari and optimised our photos to be more pleasing to the eyes.

When a person turns 25, they could be fresh out of school or in their first job. They could be working hard to save up or thinking about marriage. They would be digitally savvy.

We like to think we are that, navigating life with you.

Toast to our old friends and a warm welcome to our new fans.

The writer is the Head of Content for AsiaOne.

tp@asiaone.com