DirkTheCow on Twitter just linked to ThisIsHerd blog post on Vancouver film students who blog. 3rd largest country for blogging.Iran: A nation of bloggers from Mr.Aaron on Vimeo.It’s just a shame that they don’t mention that the President of Iran blogs President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran Blog It’s not that the video is wrong, it’s just that knowing the President of a country – especially Iran – blogs, adds something to the story. He even has comments turned on. Not the type we have in the West but presumably honest and valid in Middle Eastern culture: Dear and honorable president Continue Reading…

 

I’m not very cross with WOMMA but I do think it’s important to remind them occasionally – not enough to harass, just occasionally – that they are wrong in disallowing anyone who is not an agency to join: Connect to WOMMA; Join the WOMM Conversation There are tons of ways to get connected to WOMMA and our amazing community of word of mouth marketing experts, thinkers, and trendsetters. WOMMA is a hub for people who “get” word of mouth marketing, and we’d love to have you join us. Here are a few ways you can get connected: My comment (dunno Continue Reading…

 

From today in The Australian: Net activism rattles ArabsFacebook, a site that offers a platform for the advancement of causes, political or otherwise, is quickly turning into a hotbed of activism: a cause for alarm to many autocratic regimes in the Middle East that attempt to curtail its reach by blocking it.(and) In Syria, the Government banned Facebook after an anti-regime email spam campaign was channelled through the site last year. But savvy Syrians, assisted by cyber colleagues abroad, succeeded in breaking through the censorship. Indeed, last November, when Facebook was blocked, it had 28,000 registered Syrian members. Five months Continue Reading…

 

NewsFlash! From 24/7 Wall Street Social Networks Don’t Work For Advertisers: Web 2.0 Is A Bust (GOOG)(TWX)(NWS) Perhaps someone could have figured this out a year ago, Social networks like MySpace, owned by News Corp (NWS) and Facebook are poor targets for marketers. No wonder. A social network is a patch work of millions of largely unrelated people posting private and uninteresting things about themselves. Shut-ins who put up their own web presences on the networks are probably the only ones who look at those listings. Unlike web portals ala AOL, owned by Time Warner (TWX), where content is organized Continue Reading…

 

Sitting in my hotel room in Jeddah, trying to resist the lure of waffles with strawberries. Found this article in Gulf Business magazine: Behind the VeilTo the average observer in the West, women in the Middle East are a repressed gender, confined to their homes by the ‘conservative’ male. The truth is a bit different. There has been a dramatic shift in Arab attitudes over the past decade, with women in the Middle East now charging up the corporate ladder and finding success on their own terms. The article then goes on to talk about women entrepreneurs in the region, Continue Reading…

 

Journey to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – I fly out late tonight, Sydney time. Heigh ho, Heigh ho, it’s off to Jeddah I go. In December 2006, a major Middle East broadcaster had a writing competition. They invited young Arab women to write in and say why they mattered. As in “why do Arab women matter”. The prize was an internship at the company, working with their Arab Women’s channel and other media properties. Over 2000 women responded. HRH Princess Abta Al Saud attended the ceremony and 17,000 women signed up for an as yet unformed online community to support Continue Reading…

 

cartoon from fieldstone alliance I keep being sent newsletters (paper) about changing my life. My brain. My habits. How to become a Gentle Warrior (whatever that might be). If I can dress up as Athena, I might give it a go. And I get emails about changing my thoughts, through positive thinking and the power of commitment and focus. *is distracted by the nice pictures* I wonder what would happen if I sit here and visualise a chocolate bar? So I’ve decided. YES!! It’s time to change my life. But what to do? Move house (rent went up by $50 Continue Reading…

 

Are you going? Media 08 Australia’s Annual Report for Digital Professionals. Friday 7th March, 9.00am – 5.30pmJones Bay Wharf, Pyrmont, Sydney Australia’s leading digital media organisations, Fairfax Digital and X|Media|Lab, bring you a one-day executive briefing on all you need to know about digital media for the year 2008. “Media ’08″ brings together world leading experts from the UK, the US, India, China, Australia, the Middle East and Korea, to present on the most significant trends and innovations happening or about to happen across the spectrum of digital media: The Media and The Message; Generation Cellphone; Video and Interactivity; Platforms Continue Reading…

 

I first thought it said “waiting for something to bing” – as in email, facebook or twitter notifications. Hmmm actually social networking isn’t a waste of a companies time and money. But it’s a little hard to convince non-believers. Some random facts about my foray into social media, user generated content and online communities: and yes, I know most people keep their contacts and how -they-connected to themselves but we are talking about a new transparent era in communication, right? Twitter profile – has brought me quite a few leads. @kerryank on Twitter liked my tweets, found out more and Continue Reading…

 

Me, looking weirdly cross-eyed in Fez, Morocco. There are places in the world where we are tourists. And places where we are at home. And then there are places in between. In between places for me include Arab nations. I’ve always – since early teens – been attracted to the complexity and lure of the Middle East and North Africa. In the late ’90′s I was lucky enough to be able to take a year off and study Fuhsa (formal Arabic) at the Arabic Language Institute in Fez. There is nothing like living in a country, studying there, learning the Continue Reading…

 

NOTE: I just deleted a tonne of contacts on LinkedIn – if one of ‘em is you, yell at me. I probably did it by mistake. I was trying to get rid of nasty recruitment spammers. I’m down from over 100 to just 55. And more to delete…. I should really sit back and polish this whine, presenting it as some sort of pseudo- research-ethnographic – profound -unbiased report on the social network, LinkedIn. Sod that! It’s my blog and I wanna have a bitchfest. (Feel free to join me). Reasons why I hate LinkedIn: I paid for full membership. Continue Reading…

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