Islam & Pakistan! Technology & Me!
blogging
Going out on your own as an Entrepreneur
31 month ago
Glen Bickenstaff, a seasoned entrepreneur, wrote these beautiful (and completely relatable) lines at Inc.com:
Someone once asked me what it was like going out on my own as an entrepreneur. I told them it was like jumping out of an airplane with all the materials needed to build a parachute. An entrepreneur must be willing to take a risk.
Blogs playing to the tune of PR agencies
2It has been almost five years now since I began blogging and I can say that it wasn’t until about 2 years back that people came to some sort of realization as to really how important were blogs becoming in spreading information and news in Pakistan.
Naturally, the sniff reached marketeers and PR people and blogs were given their due share of importance. Blogging, which was a part time hobby for us, started getting professional. Some of us really did become professional with me myself going on to launch an IT and Telecom blog called Telecomistan.com.
Unfortunately now, due to the lack of professionalism and exposure to these PR agencies and marketeers, many bloggers and blogs got influenced by fancy ‘Blogger meetups’ with free ‘give-aways’ conducted by Multi-nationals, PR agencies and the new ‘Social Media Marketing’ agencies that suddenly popped up onto the scene.
Today, many blogs stand influenced by PR agencies and marketeers, playing to the tune of them without realizing that they become biased in their approach and lose their credibility. These PR agencies keep in constant touch with you, their officers and executives call you often, you feel privileged to be invited to these fancy ‘meet-ups’, so and so-forth. And then, one fine evening, you gets calls from them asking you for favors on a personal note, asking you to blog something or the other. This is where the strength of your personality needs to play in. This is where you need to show professionalism as a blogger. You must resist the temptation to fall into unnecessary traps.
While sometimes, these PR agencies also provide you with insight that you can investigate and publish, this information may also sometimes get malicious. One recent story was broken by Mr. Jamil Arif who exposed an anti-Telenor post sent to him via email from a ‘reader’ which had been generated on a Microsoft Word document licensed to “SHAMROCK communication”, a Mobilink PR agency.
Because of the immaturity of a few new entrants and some tabloid blogs who earn on the very basis of brewing controversies, people start accusing the entire blogosphere of being ‘Sold-out’ to PR agencies and other elements. To blame everyone just like that is not only unfair, it is also unethical.
It all comes down to maintaining the right Balance between your own thought, the industry and the information you are receiving from the various sources you have. People will sometimes praise you, some quarters will ridicule you, but it is important to keeps your own facts straight and emphasis must be given to investigating stories on your own before you go on to publish them.
In the long run, even for the Blogosphere, it is unhealthy to be playing to the tune of PR agencies and marketeers. For their own benefit and customers, they will bring your blog down.
Khamoshi Ka Boycott – Rebranding or Cashing in?
6
Telenor launched its youth package, DJuice, a few years back with a catchy tag-line “Its fun to be young!”. On Saturday, I happened to have had the opportunity of attending the launch ceremony of the DJuice “Khamoshi Ka Boycott” campaign, aimed at refreshing the brand image. The event had an awe-inspiring set up and entrance decoration held at the Pearl Continental hotel in Karachi.
As a keen observer of how Telecom companies handle their brand images, I must say I am impressed with this re-launch. Telenor aims at working on and educating the masses through its campaign on small issues that usually are every day hurdles in the progress of our society in general. Unlike the name and what one would immediately think of, Telenor here is proposing individual improvement and self-discipline rather than an Inqilaab or revolution. (more…)
And the crisis deepens in my motherland
11 year ago
With every sunset passes a day that deepens the many problems that engulf my country, each new sun-rise brings with it its own challenges and hardships. This is a country where the elite continue to enjoy the bounties of life, earned through means that are not even taxable, yet, the ordinary man is all set to be crippled under a new wave of tax impositions and price hikes with the introduction of the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST).
Our government and forces seem to be in a never ending battle with insurgents and Islamic fascists who continue to target innocent civilians at mosques, markets and work places with suicide missions and gun-fire.
Everything aside, they say, at least we have democracy! What use is such democracy where men, women and children die of hunger and helplessness, are tore to pieces in bomb attacks and what not. For now, even this so called ‘democracy’ is all set to be ran over by none other than our ‘democrats’ as a fragile coalition in parliament fights for its survival. Maulana Diesel (read JUI-F) has already quit the government and its three ministers are out, one having been fired. This is a country where not even the annual pilgrimage of Hajj was left un-plundered.
The PPP and the MQM are at loggerheads over Karachi matters. If the MQM quits the coalition at this critical juncture, the government in the center is all set to come down hard to an absolute collapse. There has been no governance any way for the past 2 years. It appears as if mid-term elections will finally become a possibility, but I am afraid of its fall-out and all that could potentially happen given how badly we’re effected by terror.
Electricity and power, economy, finance, railways, infrastructure, floods, corruption, US Pressure, IMF promises to be met. What do I write about? There is so much to say. There is so much to write about. The crisis deepens. With every passing day. May Allah help us all.
Why the Silence?
01 year ago
Let me apologize for not coming up with my news, reviews, opinions and insights into matters of public importance recently. This quick post is just to let you know I’m here and that I will be soon be back in action.
The truth is, there has been so much going on that it is, frankly, an effort to select a topic to write about. I wish to write about almost everything. That coupled with a severe shortage of time due to professional commitments has deprived my precious readers of my views analyses.
With prayers of the safety and well being of all of you.
Pakistan Zindabad.
Ammar Faheem
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