Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Monday, 29 September 2008
Changes
So for the past couple of weekends, we’ve taken to wandering around some of our old haunts up in the mountains of the Northern Emirates.
It’s strange how life can overtake you: there are places we used to go to a lot which we simply haven’t bothered with in the past few years and we’re now finding they’ve changed out of all recognition when we revisit them.
The Hatta Track, for instance, which is now 95% blacktop from just beyond the pools all the way down to Al Ain, including the Mahda/Al Ain track. Last weekend we went wandering from Hatta (where we stayed at that slightly eccentric but rarely less than brilliant chill-out weekend bolt-hole, the Hatta Fort Hotel) to Tawi Mileha (Fossil Rock to you, mate). We took what used to be the Munay/Siji track which is now blacktop all the way up through to its connection with the Dhaid/Masafi Road. It also, for a stretch, combines with the new Mileha road, which leads from the infamous National Paints roundabout in Sharjah right the way through to Khor Kalba on the East coast. We can, literally, remember when it all used to be sand. Now it’s quarries and crushers, heavy trucks and truck stops and weighbridges: new roads blasted through the mountains and snaking across the sandy plains.
The graded mountain tracks that criss-crossed and even ran up wadi beds have given way to tarmac and remote villages have been transformed into new municipality housing projects. Whole mountains have disappeared, too. They’re blowing up and crushing down so much rock from these areas, that the very shape and form of the Hajjar mountains is starting to change.
Every few kilometres through the mountains, there’s a broken crash barrier and a pile of rocks by the roadside. We found ourselves wondering how many of those drivers had managed to walk away and concluding, from the often precipitous landscape around us, that there were a lot of grieving families we weren’t hearing about.
We also took to wondering what the sheer scale of quarrying that we saw is going to do to the flow of water from those mountainsides. The rainwater flows down the natural funnels of the rocky landscape, channelled by the wadis to drain down through the natural filters of the rock and gravel wadi beds into the underground aquifers that provide the UAE’s scant natural water.
Those aquifers are already dangerously depleted and becoming saline in places.
Of course, flattening a few mountains won’t make any difference. But we’re looking at more than a few mountains. The scale of the operation is massive. Give it a few years of unplanned, unchecked exploitation and you’re going to be looking at some very unpredictable changes to the flow of the seasonal waters in those mountains: seasonal waters that can flow with unstoppable, punishing force. But also seasonal waters that feed the great desert wadis of Dhaid, Falaj Al Moalla and Mahda and sustain the many farms and date plantations that surround them.
It’s strange how life can overtake you: there are places we used to go to a lot which we simply haven’t bothered with in the past few years and we’re now finding they’ve changed out of all recognition when we revisit them.
The Hatta Track, for instance, which is now 95% blacktop from just beyond the pools all the way down to Al Ain, including the Mahda/Al Ain track. Last weekend we went wandering from Hatta (where we stayed at that slightly eccentric but rarely less than brilliant chill-out weekend bolt-hole, the Hatta Fort Hotel) to Tawi Mileha (Fossil Rock to you, mate). We took what used to be the Munay/Siji track which is now blacktop all the way up through to its connection with the Dhaid/Masafi Road. It also, for a stretch, combines with the new Mileha road, which leads from the infamous National Paints roundabout in Sharjah right the way through to Khor Kalba on the East coast. We can, literally, remember when it all used to be sand. Now it’s quarries and crushers, heavy trucks and truck stops and weighbridges: new roads blasted through the mountains and snaking across the sandy plains.
The graded mountain tracks that criss-crossed and even ran up wadi beds have given way to tarmac and remote villages have been transformed into new municipality housing projects. Whole mountains have disappeared, too. They’re blowing up and crushing down so much rock from these areas, that the very shape and form of the Hajjar mountains is starting to change.
Every few kilometres through the mountains, there’s a broken crash barrier and a pile of rocks by the roadside. We found ourselves wondering how many of those drivers had managed to walk away and concluding, from the often precipitous landscape around us, that there were a lot of grieving families we weren’t hearing about.
We also took to wondering what the sheer scale of quarrying that we saw is going to do to the flow of water from those mountainsides. The rainwater flows down the natural funnels of the rocky landscape, channelled by the wadis to drain down through the natural filters of the rock and gravel wadi beds into the underground aquifers that provide the UAE’s scant natural water.
Those aquifers are already dangerously depleted and becoming saline in places.
Of course, flattening a few mountains won’t make any difference. But we’re looking at more than a few mountains. The scale of the operation is massive. Give it a few years of unplanned, unchecked exploitation and you’re going to be looking at some very unpredictable changes to the flow of the seasonal waters in those mountains: seasonal waters that can flow with unstoppable, punishing force. But also seasonal waters that feed the great desert wadis of Dhaid, Falaj Al Moalla and Mahda and sustain the many farms and date plantations that surround them.
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Saturday, 27 September 2008
Meme
Alright, alright. Here you go...
A disease caught from Jayne with a why...
I don't know how to score out text so you'll have to put up with a * instead.
1. Venison
Lovely. Especially in the pub at Corfe with a blue vinney cheese sauce.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
At Key West, the Californian cocktail joint that used to be at the Bustan Rotana. It was far too successful and enjoyable a place so they closed it and turned into a skanky TGI Friday’s.
6. Black pudding
Topped with apple and pine nuts. Must post the recipe over at The Fat Expat one of the days.
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
Ghanoush? Yanks! Gannoug or ghanouj in Khaleeji!
11. Calamari
Oddly enough, the Irish Village calamari isn't bad...
12. Pho
Yum
* 13. PB&J (peanut butter & jelly) sandwich
Have not, will not. This is just wrong.
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
It’s a cheese, Keefie. And it’s smelly.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
My dad always made shockingly bad elderflower wine. One year it fermented in the bottle and turned into amazingly good elderflower champagne.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
(Non-hybrid toms)
22. Fresh wild berries
Only an American could consider eating something that hadn't been tinned, frozen, preserved or mixed with artificial ingredients as unusual!
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
I once put them into a duck soup made from the bones of a particularly fiery bebek batutu I'd cooked. A thankfully rare occasion - a total dinner party disaster. Guests clutching at throats and everything. I try not to remember it.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
Don’t like ‘em.
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
HMHB and I were actually nibbling ‘em at the Fairmont Cigar Bar the other night at The Fat Expat Birthday before the evening kicked off and the exotic dancers appeared.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
* 35. Root beer float
I’ve done root beer and it was gross. Ice cream on it? Are you MAD?
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
Before I gave up cigars, aye. Thankfully haven’t given up cognac!
37. Clotted cream tea
Ooh matron!
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
* 42. Whole insects
Can’t really see the appeal...
43. Phaal
Fal or phall to you mate. Hotter than vindaloo and a mad thing to eat.
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
Nope. Not really tempted, either, despite a mad foodie’s curiosity.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
To my eternal shame, it’s a yes.
50. Sea urchin
Yes.And jelly fish. Both once only experiences, I’m afraid...
51. Prickly pear
Discovered this, cactus fruit, in Jordan. Nice.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
Blush
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
A major favourite.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
Obviously. The last one I had was the excellent Chalky’s Ale, brewed to commemorate Rich Stein’s dog!
59. Poutine
Chips, cheese and gravy? Too North American for me...
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
See poutine
62. Sweetbreads
Borrocks
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
I first had it as a Durian Dunkin’ Donut in Bali, believe it or not! The actual fruit tastes pretty good if you can get past the smell! Carrefour sells it...
66. Frogs’ legs
A friend used to have ‘em flown in from Beirut. Lovely!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
* 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
Pig anus. Probably not.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
Never come across it.
75. Roadkill
Not knowingly, at least...
76. Baijiu
* 77. Hostess Fruit Pie
You must be mad.
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
Strangely enough, no
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
Does gravadlax count?
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
No. Probably would, but it's never appeared on a menu in my hands...
* 101. Deep-fried Mars Bar
I don’t think I could, Keefie!
A disease caught from Jayne with a why...
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
I don't know how to score out text so you'll have to put up with a * instead.
1. Venison
Lovely. Especially in the pub at Corfe with a blue vinney cheese sauce.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
At Key West, the Californian cocktail joint that used to be at the Bustan Rotana. It was far too successful and enjoyable a place so they closed it and turned into a skanky TGI Friday’s.
6. Black pudding
Topped with apple and pine nuts. Must post the recipe over at The Fat Expat one of the days.
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
Ghanoush? Yanks! Gannoug or ghanouj in Khaleeji!
11. Calamari
Oddly enough, the Irish Village calamari isn't bad...
12. Pho
Yum
* 13. PB&J (peanut butter & jelly) sandwich
Have not, will not. This is just wrong.
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
It’s a cheese, Keefie. And it’s smelly.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
My dad always made shockingly bad elderflower wine. One year it fermented in the bottle and turned into amazingly good elderflower champagne.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
(Non-hybrid toms)
22. Fresh wild berries
Only an American could consider eating something that hadn't been tinned, frozen, preserved or mixed with artificial ingredients as unusual!
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
I once put them into a duck soup made from the bones of a particularly fiery bebek batutu I'd cooked. A thankfully rare occasion - a total dinner party disaster. Guests clutching at throats and everything. I try not to remember it.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
Don’t like ‘em.
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
HMHB and I were actually nibbling ‘em at the Fairmont Cigar Bar the other night at The Fat Expat Birthday before the evening kicked off and the exotic dancers appeared.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
* 35. Root beer float
I’ve done root beer and it was gross. Ice cream on it? Are you MAD?
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
Before I gave up cigars, aye. Thankfully haven’t given up cognac!
37. Clotted cream tea
Ooh matron!
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
* 42. Whole insects
Can’t really see the appeal...
43. Phaal
Fal or phall to you mate. Hotter than vindaloo and a mad thing to eat.
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
Nope. Not really tempted, either, despite a mad foodie’s curiosity.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
To my eternal shame, it’s a yes.
50. Sea urchin
Yes.And jelly fish. Both once only experiences, I’m afraid...
51. Prickly pear
Discovered this, cactus fruit, in Jordan. Nice.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
Blush
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
A major favourite.
58. Beer above 8% ABV
Obviously. The last one I had was the excellent Chalky’s Ale, brewed to commemorate Rich Stein’s dog!
59. Poutine
Chips, cheese and gravy? Too North American for me...
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
See poutine
62. Sweetbreads
Borrocks
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
I first had it as a Durian Dunkin’ Donut in Bali, believe it or not! The actual fruit tastes pretty good if you can get past the smell! Carrefour sells it...
66. Frogs’ legs
A friend used to have ‘em flown in from Beirut. Lovely!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
* 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
Pig anus. Probably not.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
Never come across it.
75. Roadkill
Not knowingly, at least...
76. Baijiu
* 77. Hostess Fruit Pie
You must be mad.
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
Strangely enough, no
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
Does gravadlax count?
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
No. Probably would, but it's never appeared on a menu in my hands...
* 101. Deep-fried Mars Bar
I don’t think I could, Keefie!
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Friday, 26 September 2008
Got this in the mail. Thought I'd share it. If the originator wants to claim responsibility, please do just email me...
Dear Excellent Friend:
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion USD. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
I am working with Mr. Phil Gramm, lobbyist for UBS, who (God willing) will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a former U.S. congressional leader and the architect of the PALIN / McCain Financial Doctrine, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. As such, you can be assured that this transaction is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.
Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.
Yours Faithfully,
Henry Paulson
Minister of Treasury
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Excellent Friend:
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion USD. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
I am working with Mr. Phil Gramm, lobbyist for UBS, who (God willing) will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a former U.S. congressional leader and the architect of the PALIN / McCain Financial Doctrine, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. As such, you can be assured that this transaction is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.
Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov
Yours Faithfully,
Henry Paulson
Minister of Treasury
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
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Thursday, 25 September 2008
Share
Share and share alike...
The Dubai Municipality crackdown on sharing accommodation is set to start, sparking widespread alarm and panic in many of the various communities that make up Dubai. And I can't quite make out why.
The initiative has been pretty clearly outlined: Dubai Municipality has long made it plain that it takes a dim view of sub-partitioning rented property. Presumably in response to a recent spate of tragic fire incidents, it has been publicising a crackdown and clearly wants to stop people partitioning villas and apartments in order to sub-let or share with other families/people. So if you've got a three bed villa with six living spaces created in it, then they're going to vacate the premises and issue fines.
It's not about sharing accommodation in the normal sense, where for instance four people share a four-bed villa. That's pretty clear from reporting, including this Gulf News report today.
"The rule does not apply to one person-per-room accommodation, as per building regulations"
A lot of people have been really spooked by the rumour mill going into warp drive on this one. It seems pretty clear that they're worrying needlessly. Unless you know something that I don't...
PS: It could be that a lot of the confusion has been caused by some pretty woeful communications work from DM. SeaBee makes some good comments here!
The Dubai Municipality crackdown on sharing accommodation is set to start, sparking widespread alarm and panic in many of the various communities that make up Dubai. And I can't quite make out why.
The initiative has been pretty clearly outlined: Dubai Municipality has long made it plain that it takes a dim view of sub-partitioning rented property. Presumably in response to a recent spate of tragic fire incidents, it has been publicising a crackdown and clearly wants to stop people partitioning villas and apartments in order to sub-let or share with other families/people. So if you've got a three bed villa with six living spaces created in it, then they're going to vacate the premises and issue fines.
It's not about sharing accommodation in the normal sense, where for instance four people share a four-bed villa. That's pretty clear from reporting, including this Gulf News report today.
"The rule does not apply to one person-per-room accommodation, as per building regulations"
A lot of people have been really spooked by the rumour mill going into warp drive on this one. It seems pretty clear that they're worrying needlessly. Unless you know something that I don't...
PS: It could be that a lot of the confusion has been caused by some pretty woeful communications work from DM. SeaBee makes some good comments here!
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Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Snake
Lovely story in today's The National: a keen sailor in Ras Al Khaimah (yes, yes, it rhymes) discovered a highly poisonous saw-scaled viper in a storeroom. He obviously hadn't been to the Sharjah Natural History museum, where these highly poisonous snakes are on display. Because he tried to chuck it into a bucket as he believed there were no poisonous snakes in the UAE.
WTF? The UAE has several poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions and fish species. Why on earth would you make that assumption???
Having been bitten, Mr Reg Furlong found it hard to get appropriate treatment. This is not the bit that amused me, of course - apparently he was quite ill as a result of the bite and I am geniunely sorry for him. It must be unpleasant/painful.
No, what got my giggle gland going was the fact that the police finally killed the snake (which Mr Furlong's wife had brought along for identification) using a fire extinguisher. To quote The National story:
"Mrs Furlong brought the snake with her to the hospital, trapped in a covered bucket, so it could be identified. A spokesman for Civil Defence said officers killed it with a fire extinguisher."
How in the name of all that is holy do you kill a small, agile and highly poisonous snake with a fire extinguisher? Can you IMAGINE the scenes? It makes me break out laughing even to start thinking about the absolute chaos that must have broken out!
WTF? The UAE has several poisonous snakes, spiders, scorpions and fish species. Why on earth would you make that assumption???
Having been bitten, Mr Reg Furlong found it hard to get appropriate treatment. This is not the bit that amused me, of course - apparently he was quite ill as a result of the bite and I am geniunely sorry for him. It must be unpleasant/painful.
No, what got my giggle gland going was the fact that the police finally killed the snake (which Mr Furlong's wife had brought along for identification) using a fire extinguisher. To quote The National story:
"Mrs Furlong brought the snake with her to the hospital, trapped in a covered bucket, so it could be identified. A spokesman for Civil Defence said officers killed it with a fire extinguisher."
How in the name of all that is holy do you kill a small, agile and highly poisonous snake with a fire extinguisher? Can you IMAGINE the scenes? It makes me break out laughing even to start thinking about the absolute chaos that must have broken out!
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Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Faced
A certain media organisation in Dubai has blocked its staff from using Facebook during working hours.
This is interesting.
I have spent quite a lot of time evangelising 'social media' and the proper use of these increasingly important tools in a professional context. If you want, incidentally, to learn more about social media and leading edge innovation in web-based technologies, do subscribe to partner in crime Carrington's Insane Web 2.0 Bonkers Twitter Feed.
Banning Facebook means that the journalists and researchers working for that organisation are just a little bit more disempowered than their peers. My colleagues use Facebook extensively as a social tool, but also as a business tool. Much as their relationships with media, analysts, consultants and clients often extend into social relationships (we work with people we like, right? We do business over lunch, drinks or shisha, right?), the boundary between work and social has never been more fuzzy. For instance, we had a suhour event last night where people stayed way into the early hours (PRs and journalists alike) because they wanted to. Because they wanted to catch up, share information, gossip, put the world to rights and all the rest of it.
No more or less, in fact, than we do on Facebook.
Last year we found ourselves needing to conduct a flash survey to get the picture on broadband adoption in the region. The guys sent out surveys to their Facebook contacts, result: 100 regional answers back that afternoon and a reasonable 'snapshot' sample of the situation we wanted to evaluate. A couple of weeks ago a journalist we wanted to contact wasn't in town and wasn't roaming on his mobile - but he was on Facebook. Result: we got through, had the conversation and did business. There are a large number of examples like this: Facebook is an extension of our 'analogue' social relationships in an age where social relationships are being complicated by the availability of new tools.
Consider this. You tell John that Peter is your good friend. 'Wow,' says John. 'That's lucky, because I really need to speak to him! Do you have his mobile number?'
And you don't. What's John's first inference about your friendship? Likely that you've been telling porkies and that you're not really good friends wiht Peter at all. You'd have a friend's mobile, right? Of course you would: although the tool itself has nothing to do with the depth or success of a relationship, it is a tool that we all use as part of the broad communications toolset we have today. It's almost inconceivable that you wouldn't be calling or texting friends - and the same is likely true of business contacts.
Facebook is not actually that interesting. It's just another communication tool. In any business where relationships are important, for instance in PR or in journalism, Facebook is an extension of our communications toolset - it adds another dimension to our ability to communicate effectively. And that is particuarly true if we are taking a role in a community of people that are using that tool themselves.
Banning Facebook in the workplace as policy is not only myopic and doomed to failure, it is disempowering. Better to encourage the use of Facebook and other, similar, networking tools in a working context to support better, smarter communications for your people. Banning it is, as Ammouni tells us, 'hiding behind your finger'.
This is interesting.
I have spent quite a lot of time evangelising 'social media' and the proper use of these increasingly important tools in a professional context. If you want, incidentally, to learn more about social media and leading edge innovation in web-based technologies, do subscribe to partner in crime Carrington's Insane Web 2.0 Bonkers Twitter Feed.
Banning Facebook means that the journalists and researchers working for that organisation are just a little bit more disempowered than their peers. My colleagues use Facebook extensively as a social tool, but also as a business tool. Much as their relationships with media, analysts, consultants and clients often extend into social relationships (we work with people we like, right? We do business over lunch, drinks or shisha, right?), the boundary between work and social has never been more fuzzy. For instance, we had a suhour event last night where people stayed way into the early hours (PRs and journalists alike) because they wanted to. Because they wanted to catch up, share information, gossip, put the world to rights and all the rest of it.
No more or less, in fact, than we do on Facebook.
Last year we found ourselves needing to conduct a flash survey to get the picture on broadband adoption in the region. The guys sent out surveys to their Facebook contacts, result: 100 regional answers back that afternoon and a reasonable 'snapshot' sample of the situation we wanted to evaluate. A couple of weeks ago a journalist we wanted to contact wasn't in town and wasn't roaming on his mobile - but he was on Facebook. Result: we got through, had the conversation and did business. There are a large number of examples like this: Facebook is an extension of our 'analogue' social relationships in an age where social relationships are being complicated by the availability of new tools.
Consider this. You tell John that Peter is your good friend. 'Wow,' says John. 'That's lucky, because I really need to speak to him! Do you have his mobile number?'
And you don't. What's John's first inference about your friendship? Likely that you've been telling porkies and that you're not really good friends wiht Peter at all. You'd have a friend's mobile, right? Of course you would: although the tool itself has nothing to do with the depth or success of a relationship, it is a tool that we all use as part of the broad communications toolset we have today. It's almost inconceivable that you wouldn't be calling or texting friends - and the same is likely true of business contacts.
Facebook is not actually that interesting. It's just another communication tool. In any business where relationships are important, for instance in PR or in journalism, Facebook is an extension of our communications toolset - it adds another dimension to our ability to communicate effectively. And that is particuarly true if we are taking a role in a community of people that are using that tool themselves.
Banning Facebook in the workplace as policy is not only myopic and doomed to failure, it is disempowering. Better to encourage the use of Facebook and other, similar, networking tools in a working context to support better, smarter communications for your people. Banning it is, as Ammouni tells us, 'hiding behind your finger'.
Send to Kindle
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Taxis
So Sarah's been trying to find a taxi service in Sharjah that has taxis and a service. This is not easy. She stumbled across this site, which contains a number of pleas from lost voices out there on the Internet. They rather strike a chord for anyone who has to use the Sharjah (and, increasingly, Dubai) taxi services...
"Are there any Taxi's in Sharjah? They are either not visible or they refuse to take you to where you want to go because of the traffic problem in Sharjah. If the distance is too near, they lock their car's doors because it will mean that their income won't be enough. What is the purpose of the Taxi service then?"
"The driver behaved as if he is not aware of any roads. He asked us to get down from the taxi and walk to find out the hospital. I told him that I will pay you any amount that is shown on meter. Since he could not speak English or Hindi/Urudhu or any alngauge legibaly it was very painful to listen his abuses."
"i gave 50dirhams and he gave 20dirhams change, i thought at first that he was just mistaken that 10dirhams into 20dirhams so i said : my friend, this is only 20dirhams i need 10 dirhams more but the taxi driver said NO it's like this because i will go back to sharjah and then i said how can be like this everyday i came by taxi with the same fare but they never charge me more, then he really doesn't like to give my 10dirhams change then i said ok then if u dont want just stay here and i will call the police when he know that i'm very serious finally he ok shut up and he give me the 10 dirhams change. i'm making this complain because i don't want other people to be victimize of this greedy taxi driver."
"I'm not sure whether anybody will read it or it can make any impact, but still I write it just to satisfy myself from the insult I felt when I tried to talk to your customer service no."
I wonder how indicative this is of consumer opinion in general? I rather think it is... no?
"Are there any Taxi's in Sharjah? They are either not visible or they refuse to take you to where you want to go because of the traffic problem in Sharjah. If the distance is too near, they lock their car's doors because it will mean that their income won't be enough. What is the purpose of the Taxi service then?"
"The driver behaved as if he is not aware of any roads. He asked us to get down from the taxi and walk to find out the hospital. I told him that I will pay you any amount that is shown on meter. Since he could not speak English or Hindi/Urudhu or any alngauge legibaly it was very painful to listen his abuses."
"i gave 50dirhams and he gave 20dirhams change, i thought at first that he was just mistaken that 10dirhams into 20dirhams so i said : my friend, this is only 20dirhams i need 10 dirhams more but the taxi driver said NO it's like this because i will go back to sharjah and then i said how can be like this everyday i came by taxi with the same fare but they never charge me more, then he really doesn't like to give my 10dirhams change then i said ok then if u dont want just stay here and i will call the police when he know that i'm very serious finally he ok shut up and he give me the 10 dirhams change. i'm making this complain because i don't want other people to be victimize of this greedy taxi driver."
"I'm not sure whether anybody will read it or it can make any impact, but still I write it just to satisfy myself from the insult I felt when I tried to talk to your customer service no."
I wonder how indicative this is of consumer opinion in general? I rather think it is... no?
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Saturday, 20 September 2008
Stobart
Eddie Stobart is something of a legend on the motorways of Britain. A haulage company that started in the far Northern wastes of Cumbria, Stobart's distinctive lorries introduced a number of revolutions in road transport. Stobart's drivers were responsible for the upkeep of the company's highly distinctive lorries and were also responsible for being ambassadors for the Stobart brand, 'knights of the road' if you like. They wore ties (and faced disciplinary action if they didn't) and always responded with a honk if you waved at them. The tractors all had female names. From a northern business, Stobart became national, a common sight on the rainy motorways of the UK.
The distinctive livery on the Stobart trucks always made them something of an event for kids on motorway journeys. And Sarah was no exception: seeing a Stobart lorry always gave rise to a delighted cry of 'Stobart'!
On our way back from a most enjoyable day stooging around what remains of the Hatta tracks and pools (the Oleander waterfall is unspoilt, thank God) with friends, we were completely blown away to be crossing the wadi plain of Wilayat Madha and find, coming the other way, an Eddie Stobart lorry. It was so utterly, completely incongruous in that desertscape that we had to pull over and share the laugh with the other car...
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Wednesday, 17 September 2008
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