NEXT> by Ramla::: Know What's Coming

The End

2011-12-29T21:27:00.003+05:00

This blog was concluded some three years ago. Thank goodness its vision for a fairer, better, and more harmonized world is coming to be true. There is some more struggle to go, but we'll figure it out.

I never announced here that this blog has concluded. Well, it has. I might soon delete it. Until then, the visitors may want to know that I now reside at my website, ramlaakhtar.com.

Thank you, and good bye.

The Future of Business: A New Intent

2008-10-28T00:59:00.001+06:00

An event by Pakistan's first futurist consultancy NEXT> in association with transformation consultancy Schuitema.

Future of Business Event - by NEXT - Oct 28/08 - Karachi

Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Government Business development public

P.S. The NEXT> blog is getting a major update with more content and news. This is a test post.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

The GreenHouse Project, South Africa: a Holistic Intervention

2008-06-22T19:15:00.003+06:00

In the inner-city of Johannesburg, The GreenHouse Project is turning one urban park into a seedbed for sustainable communities. The program takes a holistic approach to the city's challenges, integrating green building and design, efficient and renewable energy, recycling, organic farming and nutrition.

Via: The Global Oneness Project

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Jareeda: Pakistan's Sustainability Magazine

2007-12-10T21:05:00.000+05:00

Jareeda first fell in my hands when, having finished my work for the day during an internship at IUCN, I decided to shuffle through the stuff on the office bookshelves.

I promptly took copies of several issues home - where I keep them close to my heart six years later. Because this magazine is so informative, so sincere, and yet so amazingly unknown. And because it features some of the rare-to-find research on Pakistan's environmental and sustainability issues.

At least back then, the thin magazine was being published in English and Urdu - and was available free. It has topical issues - the current one on the website is all about the wonderful Juniper tree.

Previous issues have explored mountains, water systems, national parks, and other matters of ecological concern.

I'll tell you what's beautiful about Jareeda:

The content is accessible to the general population: it's in Urdu (haven't checked if the English version is still printed), the language is jargon-free and easy, the writing isn't out to impress but to communicate.

There is plenty of coverage on medicinal herbs and other plants. With a global shift towards a lifestyle of health & sustainability, medicinal plants have made a comeback into the mainstream after a long, long winter of the synthetic era.
It's a significant trend for its possible impact on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industries of the world.
It's free. Or was, last I checked.
Jareeda's topics are contemporary - e.g. the Kashmir Earthquake '05 was promptly covered in the Fall 2005 quarterly issue. In Summer '07, eco-tourism gets a feature. This means the editors and reporters are well-grounded, doing continuous research, and really care. From an editorial point-of-view, this shows respect for the readers - which translates into a healthy, thought-provoking effect on the readers' end.
On the whole, each quarterly explores a subject from a 360 view. Remember STEEPLE (Society, Technology, Environment, Economics, Politics, Law, Ethics) analysis? Analyzing an environment from all these angles, especially to create a map for the future? I have taken a step to integrate external and internal analyses in the People-Centered Model of Business (PC-MoB). PC-MoB* goes beyond STEEPLE to include people's belief systems as the starting point of their roles & actions. Jareeda understands the subtlety. It's beyond the separation of the science of the environment and the people - a frustrating gap - and embraces the philosophy of social ecology. The content is well-rooted in the Pakistani culture, tradition, and thought - it often cites an article or two relating the people's belief system with ecological education - such as here.
There are plenty of photos!

Please get a subscription today (contact IUCN Pak); get one for your school/ university/ office library and for your hairdresser's shop - and pass Jareeda 's environmental consciousness on!

* Download PC-MoB (PDF; 540 K)

E-mail: nextbyramla/AT/g mail/DOT/com

How Stuff Consumes the Planet - Cheaply

2007-12-09T02:19:00.000+05:00

This is the 'golden' segment of the eye-opening, mind-expanding presentation Story of Stuff by one curious Annie Leonard. She wanted to understand the truth behind the materials economy. So she searched, and here is her knowledge, simplified.

Story of Stuff is to production/ consumption line (not cycle) what An Inconvenient Truth is to climate.

WATCH this video, SHARE it, and ACT UPON the message. Yes, I've shouted. From the NEXT> roof top.

Thank you!

Via: Truemors

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

To De-Serve? Or To Serve?

2007-09-01T00:19:00.000+05:00

Look! How happy people are when they serve!
Service creates both joy -
and opportunity!
Credit: Kifo @ Flickr

Institutional education teaches us that we can grow up to trade our talent for goods and status from the world. We "Deserve."

The products of the institutional world think too much of what they deserve from the world. As if the world will somehow open a warehouse's door and start handing out goods in return of Certificates of Deserving.

This singular notion is the root of much ill. Look again, the word "deserve" can be re-written as DE-SERVE.

Here's how the American Heritage Dictionary defines "De-":

de-
pref.
Do or make the opposite of; reverse: decriminalize.
Remove or remove from: delouse; deoxygenate.
Out of: deplane; defenestration.
Reduce; degrade: declass.

So DE-SERVE can mean:

Do the opposite of service. Do a dis-service.
Remove (the element/tools of) service. From something.
Not be of service.
Reduce, degrade (the idea of) service.

Now can we imagine the world out there opening to door to the big warehouse of resources to someone with this attitude?

No one cares what we deserve. Ask anyone but your loving ones, and they will tell you how much they themselves deserve - besides counting to you the many deserving kinds of people in the world: the poor, the down-trodden, the smarter, the faster, the hungrier - it goes on.

So if we approach life the "I Deserve" way - we may end up far behind in the line of six billion human souls - and then count the other beings on Earth.

SERVICE helps us jump ahead of the queue. 6,000,000,000+ souls are always looking for service, many of those in your web of life. Multiply that by the number of service each one of them needs. Add to that a few other billion things that need services.

The People-Centered Model of Business shows the cosmos that we can serve. Find or create your own space below:

Service is what creates opportunities. Service is why we do business. Service is what keeps us in action and demand even when Google makes us feel like a speck of sand in the desert.

Now - do you feel you still have space in the world to live and do something of meaning?

The New World of Power is Humbling – and Abundant

2007-08-24T09:10:00.000+05:00

Problem:
In a world of free ideas, why and how are we still needed?

Mastering the Problem:
Your unique reason of being today, and your "unique edge", is in the human element. Skills and technology and ideas - once the staple of competitive edge [a term outdated in a world of crazy collaborations] - come cheap(r). To just about anyone. For example, if we thought having a social network was still the latest path to billionaire glory, we haven’t yet known Ning.

The ability of a person to make unique connections, and sustain them through service is a truly human endowment. We are gifted with that capability, and a “web” that needs us. And there is work enough for everybody – the number of problems/opportunities is never exhausted. The abundant mind sees the reason of being in in working to solve problems/ create and fill opportunities.

As long as we serve, we are needed. As long as we are needed, we don’t need worry about an edge. When we serve with more courage and passion, we develop more numerous and stronger ties - and so gain "interestingness".

Benefits:
Which place of work would you rather leave:

a. one that demands (more) work for as few benefits as possible from you?
b. one that makes it a mission to create a space where you can express your talent while working on a win-all business model? Such as the remarkable The Hub?

It's a contest between the demander (a) and the server (b). Your answer is the answer of any sane person - you like those who serve you. You will be liked by sane people if your serve, at a quality.

So the benefits: Costs of broken ties saved. Lesser time spent making new relations and creating trust. New ideas and partnerships brought in by passionate partners. A happier life, lesser partner turnover, consumers in love, healthy sleep and a glowing skin.

Also read: Google Made Ideas Free. So Where's My Edge?

Image credits: Paper Men, by Brokenarts

Google Made Ideas Free. So Where's My Edge?

2007-08-24T09:00:00.000+05:00

Everybody knows it. From programmers finding code, to ex-lovers looking up dirt on jilters, to graduate students procuring thesis - Google has it all.

Google is the highway to 100-ideas-a-minute factories. So how on Google earth are we to have what is variably known as "competitive edge" or, in quaint business speak, "unique selling proposition"!?

In human speak, it means, to thousands of corporations and millions of free agents, "What worthwhile thing can I offer if ideas are free? When someone else has done it already? Or I look a fake doing it? Or someone can simply steal my idea?"

Over: the Edge?

I've been through this anxiety. It paralyzed me when undertaking a new enterprise. A mere curious googling of keywords of a "new" idea would reveal darn! I have arrived too late. And just as I can be "inspired" by those I Google - [no, honestly, I don't disrespect the concept, inspiration is a valid-legit thing] - well, so, anyone can also pick my idea and run with it. So what now?

Yet there is one answer. Like all things in life, the "answer" to this contemporary challenge is deviously simple.

You Are The Center of Your Web of Life - and There's Nothing Taking That Away!

This amateur sketch (excuse my MS Paint skills!) puts us as the center of the "elements" of our unique life - these elements being other people, organizations, resource, places... just about any "organism."

We are each thrown in a certain set of circumstances. These circumstances yield a singular "mix" for each one of us. From our own position, we will have the ability to connect to other elements.

This “lifeset” becomes a macro-organism that thrives on adaptability and change of its parts. It’s like any other living organism in that respect.

The key is to understand the golden principles of making this "web" work for us, which are:

What goes round, comes round.
Do to others as you would have them do to you... because of principle #1.
Integrity (thoughts, words, actions, message being one) and honesty reinforce the ties (the thin lines in the sketch) amongst the elements, and increase inter-reliance. You need other needs you need other needs you...
More ties = more power.
The connection is received by the other by way of SERVING them, not DEMANDING rights from them. One makes a connection by GIVING, not asking or taking. This web is created by Human Duties & Service, not Human Rights.

Blog updates: Comments re-enabled

2007-08-08T21:01:00.000+05:00

NEXTers>

Comments are re-enabled. Now you don't have to take the lengthy email route.

Enjoy!

NEXT> by Ramla @ TrendHunter.com

2007-07-16T13:38:00.000+05:00

NEXT> by Ramla is seeking collaborations with like-purpose websites and print publications. To test-launch the idea of syndication, NEXT> and its creator, yours truly Ramla, have been publishing a carefully curated list of trends at TrendHunter.com since February 2007.

I was wild with joy when Jeremy Gutsche, the visionary young owner of TrendHunter, made me a Senior Trend Hunter within two weeks - in acknowledgment of the quality of trends and the writing of content. I would give credit to the purpose that I dedicate NEXT> to: searching for a better possible future, envisioning a better tomorrow and creating solutions and strategies for it.

Here is a selection of my favorite trends:

1/LOHAS - Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability
What is LOHAS? According to LOHAS.COM: “LOHAS is an acronym for ‘Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability,’ a market segment focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice.”
[Read More...]

2/Capitalism 3.0 - Reinventing the Commons

Barnes proposes Capitalism 3.0 that protects the commons while preserving the many strengths of capitalism as we know it. His major innovation is the commons trust—a market-based entity with the power to limit use of scarce commons, charge rent, and pay dividends to everyone. [Read More...]

3/ Voluntourism - Volunteerism + Tourism
No longer do tourists have to just walk in and out of a very “interesting area” - they can actually VOLUNTOUR. The idea is to “combine travel and service” - says Voluntourism.org. [Read More...]

More next time!

Check the portfolio here. Some trends are available at the NEXT> by Ramla blog, most only on TrendHunter.com.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

NEXT> by Ramla is back!

2007-07-06T17:42:00.001+05:00

Dear readers:

I found out how well NEXT> by Ramla was anticipated by the readers when some promptly reported that it was "down" or "weird." While the blog was being reviewed by the Blogger Team, who were sorting the splogs (spamming blogs) from the blogs, it was taken over by a splogger.

Persistent requests for support as well as some pro-active tracking of the spammer dude helped to get the blog restored. Back again. Thanks to the beleaguered Blogger Team.

I am going to transfer the blog to a certain nextbyramla.com that is registered. Only looking for a designer who understands the needs of contemporary blog design.

Secondly, much has been going on in the background to take NEXT> by Ramla to the next level. More in the next post.

A special thanks to everyone who reported the breakdown and expressed their concerns. And thanks to all the readers who take interest in the blog and have encouraged me to take this further.

Call for Case Studies

2007-05-29T11:12:00.001+05:00

Version 2.0 of the PC-MoB: People-Centered Model of Business will incorporate case studies collected since the PC-MoB was first published. If you wish to participate, send in a 1000-1500 word, clearly-written summary of your people-centered enterprise/organization at nextbyramla. (It's a G-mail ID.) Mention the area of business and operations, and the application of your people-centric approach. Be bold, share the challenges, failures, successes, opportunities. A website for the business/ organization is required.

Send by June 10, 2007. Much thanks! Selected case studies will be published in subsequent versions of PC-MoB.

And don't forget to vote for PC-MoB, V 2.0 @ ChangeThis !

Vote for the People-Centered Model of Business @ ChangeThis.com!

2007-05-29T11:04:00.001+05:00

If you think Business must care about People…
…then do vote for: The People-Centered Model of Business, a change manifesto.

Vote here: http://www.changethis.com/proposals/982

Do you think business should be more responsible? More sensitive? Do you feel that marketers and businesspeople need to "get it" that they are servant leaders?

May be you do. But as an MBA I can tell you: there is little in the business education curriculum of most schools that inspires such thinking.

But we don't need to stay with the problem! We can see this as an opportunity - and CHANGE!

I have proposed a manifesto for changing the face of business education at ChangeThis.com! Please vote for the manifesto proposal. Your vote means my proposal will be turned into a manifesto and published at ChangeThis.com!

Please forward to your friends who care about (corporate) social responsibility and conscious capitalism.

P.S. on May 10, The Economist ran a story " Business Schools" - that reports that business schools are reclaiming falling enrollment by putting ethics and people first 1

So dear readers and change agents in your-own-right! Do your part in changing things! Help me publish this manifesto, and your effort will mean you have helped change minds!

++++
Preview Version 1.0
of the People-Centered Model of Business here:

http://nextbyramla.blogspot.com/2006/05/why-do-we-do-business.html

This was written specifically for Pakistani students. Updates in V 2.0 from a global perspective.

1984 - Apple's Icon-Shattering Ad Launch by Steve Jobs

2007-03-23T18:35:00.001+05:00

Just going through the archives of ad history when up popped this Steve Jobs speech from 1984 - the year Apple shattered the IBM legend with a single ad. Just watching this man's enthusiasm makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand up!

Enjoy!

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Using the Law of Attraction: 4 Steps to Preparedness

2007-03-23T18:33:00.001+05:00

This is the third in a series of posts about The Secret - 1 & 2 here.

What is The Secret/Law of Attraction?
Humans can create what they want.
More here

What is more important than The Secret?
"The End" - that is, what we want to do with the Law of Attraction. Which is only a method, though very powerful.
More here

Recap: Be Careful What You Wish For

a. To use the Law of Attraction, we have to want something. In fact, when we want something, the law of attraction automatically sets to work; whether we know or not.
b. Want the right thing. Because the law of attraction has consequences.
c. Prepare yourself to be the kind of person who wants the right thing, naturally...
d. ...So that when the not-so-secret law of attraction sets in motion, you can be sure that you get the thing you most wanted, and...
e. ...it was for the greater good.

Q: How Do I Prepare Myself?
A: Four Steps to Preparedness

I first called them the four steps to "enlightenment" for want of a more apt word. In this context, "preparedness" may be a better word.

To prepare yourself to be the person who naturally wants the right, good thing - and therefore sets the Law of Attraction to work for the better of all humankind (and so, yourself), these are the four steps, in this order:

Gain Awareness: To know that one knows nothing

Cleanse & Train Oneself: To prepare the heart’s intent, and to cleanse the self of desire

Seek Education: To gain what is known as “knowledge;” the pure understanding of the what, how, when, why, for/by whom, where in our circle of concern

Gain and Apply Wisdom: To judge between right and wrong; to make fair and right use of education so that education may attain what the heart knows our purpose is

Remember, learning is a continuous cycle.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Beyond The Secret: "THE END"

2007-03-23T18:05:00.000+05:00

This is the second in a series of posts about The Secret.

What is The Secret?
Humans can create what they want.

More Important than The Secret...
...is knowing what to do with it: "The End." The Secret is only a method. A means. A strategy. A "How?"

The End is the "What?"

Beyond The Secret: at The End of Individual Paths

I believe in what I call "the theory of individual paths." A revolutionary manifesto for humankind, the Qur'an says:

And to you have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which Allah has revealed, and follow not their desires away from the truth which hath come to you. For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had Allah willed Hu could have made you one community. But that Hu may try you by that which Hu has given you (Hu has made you as you are). So vie one with another in good works. To Allah you will all return, and Hu will then inform you of that wherein you differ.

A Pickthall translation, with my emphases and modifications of the pronouns, esp. "He" to "Hu" (005.048)

Each person has their own path. Yet at the end, these paths converge at the common good of all humanity. That's why, it's NOT OK if my littering habits choke up the community works drain. OR the smoke from my factory crosses borders into enemy territory, even. OR my fifth generation is left with the memories of an ancestor with a notorious history. OR my child suffering because I pay too little attention to the family while demanding my rights.

As ecologist Garrett Hardin said, "We cannot do merely one thing." (I love Hardin!)

So before doing something, and having tremendous powers like the law of attraction get to work for us, we have to know the best thing to do. To do that, we have to be prepared. The Secret/Law of Attraction comes afterwards.

"THE END" is primary. The Secret is secondary.
Humanity tends to get fascinated with cause and effect. We get tangled in the technology of things. What is important is not the technology or the means to do something, but that something itself.

The Secret is only a technology. A method. It doesn't tell what should one achieve.

Imagine the power ending up in the wrong hands. In fact, it very often has been the case.

Q. So. What Now?
There has to be a way forward. More, in the next blog post.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

The Secret Law of Attraction - only means, not end

2007-03-23T17:38:00.000+05:00

"The Secret."
"The Law of Attraction."
The knowledge of the ancients.
What all great people knew.

This one thought with its many names has been making the rounds for quite a few months now, since the release of the movie Law of Attraction.

Very simply put, here is the secret:

Humans can create what they want.

It's called a law of Attraction because once a human decides what they want, they start attracting the required resources and situations. The Wikipedia summary of the idea is more enlightening:

You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny.

There a few complications, though:

1. You've got to know what you really want, as opposed to what you think you want. So if you're telling your friend ok, I'll go with you to the beach whereas you really want to stay at home, don't be surprised if the plan doesn't work out at the last minute because "no one was ready." Admit it. Isn't that what you really wanted?
2. Don't be afraid to get what you want. Fear contradicts the want.
3. Once you know what you want, you've got to take that little trouble of doing something about what you want and...
4. Not stand in the way when the forces of creation get into motion. If you are giving birth to a chicken, and that's what you really, really want - allow the egg to hatch. Or.

Of course. Any Paulo Coelho fan knows this. So, what's the big deal?

Hype? Not Really.
First of all, there's the usual fluff about The Secret being discovered by the Western hemisphere of the world in a big way. As we know, the science-dominated Western thinking has been unappreciative of spirituality. Until very recently. So, those of us who are spiritually tuned (or assume they are) have to put up with the excitement of the discovery.

But is The Secret itself just hype because people have suddenly been getting hyper?

No.

Where is this Secret? Hint: You'll have to Look
I think it's one of the simplest things we should have seen, except it hides out like ibexes in this picture. You can't readily see it, until you look.

We are all creators.
Personally, to me this realization came a couple of months ago only as I was reading the Qur'anic verse about creation:

"Be!... and it becomes!" (036.082)

I realized that this is how all creation comes into being. The creator of anything large or small decides that it should be, and so it begins to happen. Finally, it does happen. Engineers with blueprints know it. Authors and writers with outlines know it. Anyone who makes a mental note knows it. Even passive folks know, at some level, that they let things happen to them.

We can all create. Ordinary humans are capable of it. And it is a knowledge of great potential.

Just like the atomic energy. Great potential. Sans the ethics.

And this is what leads us to the question:
Is knowing The Secret alone good enough?

My answer: No; The Secret is only secondary. The Secret is a mean, not an end.

What is important is what we want to DO with The Secret.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Karachi's green move: Ban on thin plastic bags. Longer live the Green Turtle!

2007-03-21T18:28:00.000+05:00

Longer live the Green Turtle of Karachi!

In a series of bans on thin, bio-hazardous plastics bags that is spreading across Asia, the City District Government Karachi's ban is the latest. In late February, the Karachi City Administrator Syed Mustufa Kamal urged town and union councils to create awareness amongst residents of the city before the government clamped down on businesses.

However, news these days are best received through word-of-mouth despite the large ads the government has been placing in national newspapers - I got this one on the right from the leading Urdu daily Jang. And so, it was our milkman who informed us that he will no longer be serving milk in infamous thin plastic bags. We have to get utensils.

Then yesterday, I went to the bakery to do my usual large shopping - and wasn't the only one who had to lap up her purchase like a baby... they told us to remember to brings bags from home.

My environmental-conscious mother is delighted - and I am glad, too, that our government has taken the ban seriously. In Pakistan, we tend to buy from small shops around the corner, and in the past two days, all shopkeepers denied us plastic bags. A medical store owner informed me that shops have been fined since March 15th, 2007, as promised in the ad above.

Not all plastic bags have been banned, only those less than 30-microns thick. These are not bio-degradable. Which means they don't "melt, evaporate, break down into other substances nor can be converted into other stuff." In ecology, everything must come from something, and then become something after being used, or we will be stuck with stuff. This is called an ecological cycle (and see carbon cycle too, here, another).

All natural things become something else upon birth and death. Humans, however, have created some stuff which gets stuck, because it does not break down ("degrade") into something useful. Such as, thin plastic. That's why governments across the world are taking swift action to ban this stuff. States as far apart as South Africa (2003) and India (selected states, 2005, etc.) have banned bad plastic.

Bio-stuck plastic has been killing the marine life of Karachi, especially the famous Green Turtles (WWF page here) who choke on bad plastic.

So. Get a cloth tote. DON'T rely on paper - because sometimes producing paper uses more energy than producing plastic. Save the planet, one shopping trip at a time!

Photo credit:
Top: Karachi City Government ad reproduced in good faith.
Bottom: By Hemanshu Kumar @ Flickr. May not be reproduced for commercial uses.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

NEXT> Update: To Green!

2007-03-19T21:25:00.001+05:00

Young. New. Joyous. Communicative. Fresh. Clean. Natural. Green.

Green is the new blue; that is, it's the color of the age. Green represents freshness, new-ness, hope, and the natural life around us. I also see a sense of giving and "equality" in this color as it symbolizes Nature - serving, giving, equal productive or destructive without prejudice.

Politically, Green is an important color in 2007: with a growing concern for ecological imbalances, and the need to manage the humanity's environmental behavior, Green has risen to become not just a color, but a concept that represents the attitude of a younger generation that cares.

NEXT> thinks that Green symbolizes all that is immediately ahead of us; the critical factors that will decide the fate of humankind. And NEXT> has a self-pledge to bring the best of the future to the present in a responsible fashion - to create hope, to advocate what really matters, to change beliefs and premises where they must. So, the look & feel of NEXT> by Ramla has been greened up! (Yes I know I am still a horrid designer, but Blogger just doesn't load in Pak and I'm having trouble accessing Blogger.)

The very busy photo on the top is from the Haramosh Valley in Pakistan where I trekked in search of wisdom and "fresh". It's a place that educated me about the origins of society and the nature of people. It also made me feel very strongly about the importance of respecting all people, our environment, and nurturing the development of society and self. And the whole experience was summed up in the shades of green that is the future. And now, it's my concept, my philosophy - one that I wish to share with all...

From NEXT> to a greener future!

The Importance of Being Blogger

2007-03-19T20:57:00.001+05:00

Adil Najam, Awab Alvi, Hakim, and Ramla (i.e. myself) - four Pakistani bloggers - four different blogs - three different time zones... all invited together - by Muntazir Solangi of Voice of America's Radio App ki Duniya to discuss -

1. What IS a blog?

2. It is a tool to express frustration - only? What is a blog NOT?

3. Can blogs truly be banned?

4. Do blogs report original stories - or merely repeat primary sources?

5. How have the four blogs covered the Chief Justice story?

6. What is the impact of blogs?

Here is an audio recording (MP3/ 10MB/ 59:59 min/ Urdu), hosted courtesy Adil Najam of Pakistaniat, with his review.

The bloggers agreed that in general - blogs start with a wish to "say something" - to express one's self and opinions - to have a share of voice.

Over time, blogs evolve into spaces, usually interactive.

Adil's group blog Pakistaniat, which became my favorite "Pakistani" space in blogosphere after PakPositive went on a prolonged pause, started when "friends started putting together storied about Pakistan on the blog."

Pakistaniat has rapidly filled a gap on the Internet for a contemporary Pakistani voice - and a space where many can interact from across the world on all things Pakistani.

On a lighter note, Adil has admitted being "inspired" by his fellow bloggers. Hmmm. I think I'll hire Hakim as my lawyer for whatever is left of my rights. :)

Awab's blog Teeth Maestro, which started as a semi-personal diary (of a sun-lighting dentist), soon evolved to become an expression of his thoughts as an avid patriot (hear him warming up). Awab also blogs on the popular Karachi Metblog. I have enjoyed his posts for being opinionated and well-researched. Several of his posts have been liberally lifted by mainstream media - an activity which is now being strictly monitored by Karachi Metbloggers.

Hakim is a recent blogger - and I wouldn't have guessed unless he declared - MicroPakistan comes across as being written by a group of old-hand lawyers. Hakim, a Pakistani student in UK, started blogging as a way of focusing on the small things that need to be put under the microscope.

The four bloggers were united in one way: the recent coverage of the Chief Justice story (here, here, here and here ). We discussed our political views with particular focus on the Citizen's White Band/ Ribbon Protest (here and here).

From various angles - social, technical, political - we agreed that the citizen's voice is important in the 21 century. It's impossible to suppress it because citizens now have the opinion and the technology. And that it will serve governments - Pakistani or other - to accept this fact.

Over all, this discussion achieved the purpose of validating blogging and bloggers in Pakistan - thereby empowering citizenship.

On Blogging, Blocking, and Blogging the CJ news - 4 Pakistani Bloggers speak their mind

2007-03-17T21:39:00.001+05:00

Log in to UrduVOA.com at Pakistan time 10:00 P.M. on Saturday, March 17, 2007. Check out Radio Aap Ki Duniya, and listen to radio online... you will catch four Pakistani bloggers talking about blogging and the Chief Justice suspension story. The bloggers are:

Adil Najam of Pakistaniat.com
Dr. Awab of Teeth Maestro
Hakim of MicroPakistan
and Ramla A. (me!) of NEXT> by Ramla

Muntazir Solangi of the Wasi Zafar interview fame is the host.

Citizens Rising - Disruption to come, and then glory

2007-03-16T16:59:00.000+05:00

The aftermath of the suspension of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is getting complicated. It's a free-for-all for the police, the government, the bar councils of the country, media, politicians and anyone's aunt.

Current situation:

1. Fighting on the streets of Islamabad; tear-gassing, shelling by police, and stone-pelting by people
2. Police attack on the Islamabad office of Geo News a couple of hours ago - prompting strong reaction from the Minister of Information, politicians, people, and of course the press
3. Exploitation of the situation by those who do nothing for Pakistan given a chance

It is TIME. It begins, as many say.

To me, it's not about one pillar of the state against another - the pillar being legislative, executive, judiciary, and media.

To me, it's about the Citizens vs. Everything Wrong with Pakistan. It's about the fact that the citizens of Pakistan have always been brushed aside by whoever had power - law, government, feudal lords, media, academia, the educated people, the wealthy, the resource-owners.

It's about have's and have-not's. And now, the people have a voice, and an emotional bank account in the red.

In the next few days, Pakistan will witness an un-stoppable rising of the unpolitical Citizens, rising only for Citizens' Fundamental Rights. Only time will show what will happen - we all have ideas which are better not expressed.

In a recent Q&A session after futurist Rohit Talwar's talk on Pakistan's Vision for the year 202o, I gave my opinion that within 30 years, Pakistan will be one of the few leading powers of the world. The conference was attended by business leaders and managers of Pakistan, and some expressed surprise at the idea.

I gave my anxious opinion only in private to those who prodded: my belief is that in thirty years, a new Pakistan, led by the youth of today, will have emerged on the map of earth. The IDEA of Pakistan will be stronger, and we will be on our way to great glory - which was always the fate of Pakistan. However, the anxiety was about the disruptive change that will have to occur before we reach that stage. Pakistan, as it is now, is not what the idea of Pakistan is. It is so far removed, that we will need to uproot ourselves from the current situation, and create a new world of our ideas.

My opinion is only of the doctor who sees a patient with advanced cancer, and must tell the truth. The recovery will require drastic therapy, followed by a lifestyle of rigorous health and responsibility.

I believe in Pakistan's future, though Pakistan's present is fraught with discord, and more will come. That is why, I wear a White Band, and not a black one to mark my feelings about the present.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

A Simpler Life: 100% time for the 20% meaningful

2007-03-15T09:41:00.000+05:00

Readers,

It's important in life to keep checking every now and then whether our actions are aligned with our priorities. I want to share with all an exercise undertaken to align my actions with objectives - and it may help you, too.

Making Time
I love new media. I believe in the power of the Internet as a tool of the people. Hence I center my work around the Internet, spending much time online on communities, educating, learning, interacting.

At the Vision 2020 conference in Karachi last month, futurist Rohit Talwar reminded that we have to create time for thinking by minimizing demands on our time.

Yesterday, prompted by a friend, I worked out an exercise on how I could make better use of my time online. To take immediate action, I made a simple list of my biggest energy-consuming activities online.

I listed 9 major items on one page of my diary, and on the opposite page, I wrote "solutions."

One of the 9 items was comments on my blogs.

Issues: Spam. Really cool comments buried on the comment page. Time needed to moderate comments. Serious discussions lost in comments. Anonymous comments with ulterior motives. Random comments. Etc.

Comments take much time monitoring and answering. Yet I often find little value in comments except that on some blogs, they create a space for user interaction - which is suitable to some blogs, not all.

I am philosophical. So here's how I see it: I am on the blog to say something - it's not a personal nor news-sharing blog, it's about certain views arrived at after thought and research. Those who agree with the views have nothing new to say. Those who don't agree have nothing I could benefit from - because my work is not an accident; I spend time researching and validating it.

Talk is easy. Internet talk is really easy. Which is why some are seriously considering putting a "price/quota" on talking via email etc.

The Law of the Vital Few...
...suggests that 80% of the consequences stem from 20% of the causes. True. 20% of the audience provide 80% of the meaningful feedback, and benefit from the blog. The main purpose of this blog is to share work with those who need it; and that's the audience I wish to serve without distraction. To these 20%, I want to give 100%.

Now. Those who really have something meaningful to add, can email. The effort to email is a "price" that shows this isn't easy talk; it means something to the writer of the email. I usually get the most interesting ideas, and even case studies to support NEXT>'s work, by email. (Thanks!)

So. Comments are going. Feedback and exchange of ideas are not: just mail!

The regular readers of NEXT> will now find the blog's energy more focused.

P.S. Try at home! :)

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim sides with Chief Justice Iftikhar

2007-03-13T15:30:00.001+05:00

In a surprising development, Justice (retd.) Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim appeared first on Geo TV and then AAJ TV to declare that he will NOT take up the Chief Justice Iftikhar suspension case on behalf of the government, as was being reported by some papers.

He said he was completely on the side of the Chief Justice and "Judiciary." He expressed his dismay at the situation in clear and strong words.
......

Note: Blogger login is down again. Blog can't be updated. I am trying via email.

The Pakistanis' White Band Protest

2007-03-12T20:52:00.000+05:00

Edit: to make post *sticky* I'm forwarding the date in time.

Last night, I decided to begin a private protest at the suspension of Justice Iftikhar from Office of Chief Justice of Pakistan, by wearing a white band. The idea was shared here, and blogger MB asked the important question:

Why not black [the traditional color of protest armbands], why white?

Why White Bands?
This is why, as shared on Karachi Metblogs:

I am wearing a white band because by God, no one will take my HOPE away from me. White is mourning, white is peace, white is hope, white is optimism (in my own ability - "my" meaning any band wearer), white is my belief that when we keep working at it - tomorrow will be better.
Actually, I have a feeling that it's "begun."

"Technically correct"? Tell that to the people!
The protest is not against the "technical" move. It is to represent a feeling of despair that we feel at the brusque suspension of Justice Iftikhar - with a possibility of his sacking - when he was giving important decisions largely in the favor of the people - the 98% of the Pakistan that is ignored.

Here is an allegory to explain the ground reality:

A boy sneaks into his home late one night after an outing. He father suspects a burglar, and clubs the boy on the head in the dark.

Point: It doesn't matter whether is was the family's son, or a burglar. What matters is what was perceived, based on which a (tragic) action was taken.

It doesn't matter how technically sound the suspension of the Chief Justice is. What matters is that across the country, the decision is viewed with suspicion and received with anger. And why not? When the Chief Justice made several decisions that were not going to sit well with the powers-that-be.

Demands of the White Bands Protest

So. As a common citizen, I protest. The demands of the protest are:

1. Tell us - the people of Pakistan - the truth about the Chief Justice.
2. Take people into confidence; the government must address the nation via TV, radio, print, Internet.
3. Give fair hearing to the Chief Justice.
4. Give credit to the fact he reduced the number of cases in hearing from 36,000 to 10,000.
5. Give credit that he took suo moto action not to have the pleasure of give pains to the lawyers and the police, but to give justice to the common citizen.
6. Give credit to Justice Iftikhar for taking tough decisions on such cases as the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills, the inquiry in to the Karachi Stock Exchange crash, and report on missing persons, among others.
7. Give credit to Justice Iftikhar for being civil-minded, and caring for such things as: murder of people during basant; rights and respect of women; commercialization of public spaces; prisoner rights; and dubious development projects, among others.
8. Stop taking the people of Pakistan for granted. We are a party - a very large and vocal party - to important decisions taken in Pakistan. Respect our opinions and sentiments. Do not aggrieve us by consistently shocking us with one autocratic decision after another.

Before the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan comes on March 13th, the harm done by the high-handedness of this shock decision must be minimized by taking people into confidence.

We respect the courts of Pakistan. Above that, we respect the people for whom the courts are made.

Photo: I begun protest by wearing a white arm band.
Related link: White bands for Justice

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Justice Iftikhar's "irksome" decisions

2007-03-10T21:00:00.000+05:00

While Naeem Bokhari twists in agony that the Honorable Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, currently suspended, was busy with matters such as Fundamental Rights which are unworthy of the Supreme Court in Naeem's opinion, Justice Iftikhar was also giving decisions on very high-profile matters.

Munaeem lists some key decisions here, which he believes "irked the government".

Latest on Naeem Bokhari:
Punjab Bar cancels his basic membership (urdu). Naeem prevented from entering the Bar province-wide.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

I Protest! The suspension of Justice Iftikhar from office...

2007-03-09T22:42:00.001+05:00

In losing Justice Iftikhar, possibly forever as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, we have lost the Chief Petty Matters Officer of Pakistan, Supreme Chief of Petty Matters of Citizens' Fundamental Rights.

AND I PROTEST.

I protest at the manner in which the last hope of justice to the people of Pakistan has been rounded up. I protest that we the people were not taken into confidence - before or even hours after the incidence. I protest that just when Pakistani citizens have turned desperately hopeless of any formal institution, the Institution of Justice has been breached again at the supreme level. I protest that the Prime Minister made the move to suspend the Chief Justice on a matter more related to his son, not him. I protest because though the knock-out is technical, the reason behind is more sinister. I protest, I protest, and I protest!

I will keep wearing a white band on my arm until this decision is explained to the people to our satisfaction, and we can have hope that the Judiciary is safe. I will keep wearing the band - a sign of my mourning as well my resolution to see a positive change, reflected by the color white - until Justice Iftikhar has a chance to explain himself to those who he cared most about: small, petty people.

Bring the "Media Circus" on!

---
Note: Post edited. Comment on Naeem Bokhari's letter moved here.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Naeem Bokhari's pains: what did the now-infamous lawyer really meant

2007-03-09T22:40:00.000+05:00

The suspension of Justice Iftikhar could not have come at a more suspicion-raising time. Elections are nigh, and the suspended Chief Justice shows a strong track record of speaking his mind. (Here and here.)

He halted the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills. He investigated what brokers stood to gain from the crash of Karachi Stock Exchange. And he had time for the "smaller" matter of loss of life from wanton kite-flying.

A man, therefore, of many enemies. One wonders how is the record of the "Prime" accusers of Justice Iftikhar?

From the track record of the high-handed decisions of the present government, I fear that this decision of suspension will turn into one of sacking. After all, Pakistan may need it, like we need our territory to be attacked by foreign forces, no-answers-given.

Justice Iftikhar listened to the poor. The unheard. Under him, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) took self-initiated actions against the wrong committed to the citizens.

And a certain lawyer Mr. Naeem Bokhari thinks that the Justice's suo moto actions were actually part of his brusque behavior. Naeem Bokhari's infamous letter is here, and it pretty much makes up the (media) case against the Justice.

Naeem Bokhari is pained about the involvement of the Supreme Court in cases involving Fundamental Rights - he gives the example of how the Supreme Court got involved in the recovery of a female. Bokhari says that this is "media circus" - apparently a case much below the status of the high & mighty Supreme Court.

"The proceedings before the Supreme Court can conveniently and easily be referred to the District and Sessions Judges," suggests Mr. Bokhari, in obvious pain that the SCP is concerned with trivial matters related to the citizens. Mr. Bokhari makes no mention of the Steel Mills case and gives the impression as if the Chief Justice did nothing but scream at judges, terrify the police (for being lousy, Mr. Bokhari forgets to mention), and worry about petty issues. Justice Iftikhar was "petty" enough to worry about the rights and respect of women, as in the case of Pak Intl. Airlines' female crew.

Wow! Would the citizens of Pakistan involve the Supreme Court if district and sessions courts gave them justice? Where is Mr. Bokhari living on - Planet Awayfromearth? Does he not know that it has come to the point where people are setting themselves on fire outside courts in search of (social) justice? And does he not remember that the police are no sheep; they are inhuman to the extent of stripping a man half-naked and beating him up for wanting justice?

---
Note: this post has been separated from the subsequent one, as Naeem's action is important to study on its own - being the de facto charge sheet against Justice Iftikhar.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Poll: What do you feel about the removal of Justice Iftikhar from office?

2007-03-09T19:43:00.000+05:00

I have created a poll on the story. It's in the right hand column.

Tell us what you think? Leave comments, if you have more on your mind.

Edit: old poll didn't work. Fixed with a new poll host.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Not news, but views: What we think about Justice Iftikhar, and his removal from office

2007-03-09T19:40:00.000+05:00

Now. The job of a blogger is not just to report events, but to speak what the heart and mind say.

Let me begin by quoting some of the work of Justice Iftikhar. A random search:

1/ CJ Iftikhar takes notice of intended commercialization of college space - Ayaz Amir

Converting my column regarding the intended commercialization of the open spaces of the Government College of Chakwal into a petition under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry, has caused notices to be issued to advocate-general Punjab and the administration of the college. DCO Chakwal has been asked for his comments. Hearing is set for this morning, Friday, before Bench Number One.

2/ IIBL depositors’ plea to CJ for justice

As the honorable Chief Justice who himself conducted enquiry of the scam, knows the plight of IIBL depositors and the brazen modus operandi of the incarcerated bankers. It is not secret that registrar Supreme Court itself deposited Rs. 493.498 million in IIBL in July 2002, which is the token of mistrust of SC upon IIBL management. It is learned through reliable sources that the families of Nadeem Anwar and Javed Qureshi have already left for Canada and they want to sneak through as and when they are out of jail through the clever appeal they made to CJ in an article that appeared in press on 19-07-06. [More...]

3/ Trafficking of girls

Islamabad police have confirmed to `The News’ that after directions from Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, they have made significant progress in the case and have already arrested four accused including a “madam” of this gang, who adopted unique methods to transport these girls after breaching the so-called sophisticated systems of Nadra and passport departments by getting their fake identity cards and machine readable passports. [More...]

4/ Fettered Inmates

A Supreme Court full bench on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the Lahore district and sessions judge’s report informing the court that he had constituted a committee to look into the condition of more than 100 under-trial prisoners who were being reportedly kept in fetters in small Kot Lakhpat Jail cells for weeks, and in some cases even for months. [More...]

5/ SC takes suo moto notice of New Murree Project

The story of a "development" project. [More...]

6/ Take note of the Police

"The Punjab police’s negative role is hurting the government’s credibility. Gangsters are playing with the lives of the people and police seem to be silent spectators despite possessing all resources and privileges to counter crime,” the chief justice observed while conducting the suo moto proceedings of a case regarding Punjab’s high crime rate and the presence of different gangs operating without checks." [More...]

Civil Society
These are the matters relating to civil society on which the Supreme Court of Pakistan, under then chief Justice Iftikhar Chuadhry, took mostly suo moto (self-started) action. In fact, Justice Iftikhar has become popular with the citizens for his involvement in the civil society.

The Shock
The news has shock many in the corridor of law in Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan. Justice Iftikhar also took brave actions in the cases of the thwarted privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills (here and here) and an inquiry into the Stock Exchange crash (here and here) - and in both cases the name of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was implicated.

A Prime Link in the Stories?
As leading Pakistani media reported, President Musharraf removed Just. Iftikhar on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. And this is the murkiest part of the story, since the Prime Minister has been implicated in the cases of Steel Mill privatization and the doctored crash of Karachi Stock Exchange.

High-Handed Move by Musharraf
Another high-handed move by Musharraf, without the need to take the nation into confidence. After the serial attacks of Americans on Pakistani soil as in the case of Bajor, the secretive killing of Bugti, and the abduction of Pakistani citizens, journalists and activists in which the agencies are reportedly involved - comes another controversial decision from the President. To top things, this is an unprecedented constitutional move highly reminiscent of some of the actions that ultimately led to the downfall of Nawaz Sharif.

The People
We have lost what was probably the last resort of any form of justice in Pakistan. What more can be said?

It begins...

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Not Sacked, but "Removed" - the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Developing Story

2007-03-09T17:27:00.000+05:00

There is confusion while it is widely believed that Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been "sacked" from his office of Chief Justice of Pakistan.

The media is hurrying to understand what the Constitution of Pakistan says on the matter. Meanwhile it is becoming clear that the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has not been "sacked," but "prevented from the office of CJ of PK."

Why? To prevent conflict of interest while investigation are underway on whether he misused authority.

The prime allegation, in the ironic lament of lawyer Naeem Bokhari is:

I am not perturbed that Dr. Arsalaan (your son) secured 16/100 in the English paper for the Civil Services Examination, that there is a case against him in some court in Baluchistan, that from the Health Department in Baluchistan he has shifted to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), that he has obtained training in the Police Academy, that he reportedly drives a BMW 7-Series car, that there is a complaint against him with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
My grievances and protests are different.

I am perturbed that the Supreme Court should issue a clarificatory statement on his behalf. I am perturbed that Justice (Retd.) Wajihuddin Ahmed should be constrained to advise you on television that “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others”. I am perturbed that the Chief Justice should summon Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman to his chambers on Dr. Arsalaan’s account.

I am appalled that you announce decisions in Court, while in the written judgment an opposite conclusion is recorded.

It is indeed tragic if true - for Justice Iftikhar has been shining as a beacon of hope to the civil society of Pakistan for his numerous suo-moto actions on the behalf of citizens.

One of suo-moto recent actions has been about "Missing Persons" - Pakistani citizens, particularly journalist and those involved with political action or activism, mysteriously disappeared.

This is indeed a disappointing news for the citizens of Pakistan who, until recently, had been relieved that at least there was one supreme institution in Pakistan with its ears open to the pleas of the common citizen.

Photo: Screen shot from Geo TV - Chief Justice (removed) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry explains his position in meeting with President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf on the morning of March 9, 2007. His explanations on the investigation of "misuse of authority" against him were unsatisfactory, and he has been "stopped from" acting as the Chief Justice.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Sacked or Removed? - The Chief Justice of Pakistan. What does the Constitution say?

2007-03-09T17:05:00.000+05:00

The "removed" (sacked? suspended?) Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry is presently in the Army House, reported by Geo TV.

Meanwhile, heads are being scratched over what the usually-wildly interpreted Constitution of Pakistan has to say on the matter.

Here is the related constitutional article, straight from the source:

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan : PART VII

Chapter 4: General Provisions Relating to The Judicature
Article 209

(1) There shall be a Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan, in this Chapter referred to as the Council.

(2) The Council shall consist of,
(a) the Chief Justice of Pakistan;
(b) the two next most senior Judges of the Supreme Court; and
(c) the two most senior Chief Justices of High Courts.

Explanation:- For the purpose of this clause, the inter se seniority of the Chief Justices of the High Courts shall be determined with reference to their dates of appointment as Chief Justice ^[231][otherwise than as acting Chief Justice], and in case the dates of such appointment are the same, with reference to their dates of appointment as Judges of any of the High Courts.

(3) If at any time the Council is inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a Judge who is a member of the Council, or a member of the Council is absent or is unable to act due to illness or any other cause, then
(a) if such member is a Judge of the Supreme Court, the Judge of the Supreme Court who is next in seniority below the Judges referred to in paragraph (b) of clause (2), and
(b) if such member is the Chief Justice of a High Court; the Chief Justice of another High Court who is next in seniority amongst the Chief Justices of the remaining High Courts, shall act as a member of the Council in his place.

(4) If, upon any matter inquired into by the Council, there is a difference of opinion amongst its members, the opinion of the majority shall prevail, and the report of the Council to the President shall be expressed in terms of the view of the majority.

(5) If, on information received from the Council or from any other source, the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court,
(a) may be incapable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity; or
(b) may have been guilty of misconduct, the President shall direct the Council to inquire into the matter.

(6) If, after inquiring into the matter, the Council reports to the President that it is of the opinion,
(a) that the Judge is incapable of performing the duties of his office or has been guilty of misconduct, and
(b) that he should be removed from office, the President may remove the Judge from office.

(7) A Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall not be removed from office except as provided by this Article.

(8) The Council shall issue a code of conduct to be observed by Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts.

Original Story: Breaking News: Pakistan President removes Chief Justice

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Breaking News: Pakistan President removes Chief Justice

2007-03-09T16:26:00.000+05:00

The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, suspended Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (@ Wikipedia) from the post of the Chief Justice of Pakistan for "misuse of authority."

A reference has been filed against Justice Iftikhar, who has been replaced by Justice Javed Iqbal as acting Chief Justice.

Reports are trickling in via media. It appears that Justice Iftikhar has been removed for helping his son gain positions of importance.

Justice (retired) Nasir Aslam Zahid is just speaking to Geo TV and expressing his view that this step is extraordinary. He believes that the President should have waited for the report of the Supreme Judicial Council on the inquiry about Justice Iftikhar.

Chief Justice (R) Sajjad Ali Shah says that according to the Constitution, Supreme Judicial Council inquires the cases of misuse of authority while the Chief Justice remains suspended.

Note: It appears that Justice Iftikhar has not been "sacked" as is the impression - but "removed" from acting as the functional Chief Justice while hearing against him proceeds in the Supreme Judicial Council... to avoid conflict of interest.

Lawyers have gathered around the building of the Supreme Court in protest. The doors of the court have been locked.

On acting Chief Justice: Justice Rana Bhagwan Das is out of country, and hence Just. Javed Iqbal has been put in the position of acting Chief Justice. According to Just. Sajjad Ali Shah, his religion is not the reason for the appointment of Just. Javed Iqbal - as Just. Bhagwan Das has previously taken the position.

Note: Removed? Is it "sacked?" Is it "suspended?" Details to come. According to CJ (R) Sajjad Ali, the language of the Constitution is archaic and befuddling. He is saying that a corrected, clearer version of the decision must be made.

Removed Chief Justice Iftikhar is known for taking suo-moto actions on complaints of common citizens, which has rendered him quite a hero in Pakistan.

Famous cases:
Supreme Court halts handover of Steel Mills
Stock Exchange Scam

More: Naeem Bokhari's letter to Justice Iftikhar - Offers interesting insights on the cases related to his son
E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

New Blogger login help

2007-02-28T13:57:00.000+05:00

Switched to New Blogger and can't log in? Well, exactly the situation that I found myself in for the past one week when some of the best stories inspired me in a long time!

Well, finally I am back. Here is how:

To log in, DON'T use www.blogger.com. Instead go to:

https://www2.blogger.com/login.g and log in with the Google ID that you used during the switch.

This tip came in when I finally turned to LinkedIn Answers for help. Amy Dullard, an advanced applications programmer at 1K Studios, gave this full tip:

Are you logging in here: https://www2.blogger.com/login.g with your Google ID? Or at the old blogger login? There is also info on having trouble with your Google login at: http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?answer=40548

Meanwhile, New Blogger has made the template editing stuff much easier. I am playing around with the template change that can now be done visually - through a WYSIWYG editor.

Zaadz.com: Conscious Capitalist Network

2007-02-08T11:43:00.000+05:00

Zaadz.com is a social network, but it's not socialist. Instead, its "conscious capitalist."

According to Zaadz, this is what their business is:
"We're in the process of building THE most inspired community of people in the world…social networking with a purpose, a community of seekers and conscious entrepreneurs circulating wisdom and inspiration and wealth and all that good stuff. We're passionate about inspiring and empowering people to bring their dreams to life, learning and growing and getting paid to do what they love, using their greatest gifts in the greatest service to the world. (And having fun in the process!)"

Zaadz means "seeds" in Dutch. Created by self-described "friendly philosopher" Brian Johnson, a starry-eyed UCLA grad, Zaadz is to spread the seeds of love. If you want to understand what this means, you will first have to know about the growing global trend towards spiritualism and the need of a new point-of-view to replace the old.

Zaadz offers own blogs, photo collections, "pods" (communities), tagging of books, teachers, inspirational people, and all those
folksonomic features now a staple of Web 2.0 social networks.

Why is Zaadz.com a phenomenon to watch?
I discovered this community through a cyber-pal's recommendation and joined in curiosity. While I still figure out what this site means to me, I am glad (in some ways) that it confirms to my feeling that there is a general global unrest with prevailing social/ political/ capitalist/ old world/ new world order ideas; and that the young want change. Zaadz.com to me is the proof, if nothing else.

For now, Zaadz seems to have an idea that is born in the right time, but a need to be more "tangible." It is also billed as uber-positivist by some.

Whether Zaadz delivers on its ideas or not is another question best answered by time; what is truly significant about it is the fact that not only it exists, but it represents the ambitions of thousands of its often young members from over 110 countries. Young and connected, the members of Zaadz (called "Zaadzsters") and other similar network represent a very real way of thinking people are developing all over the world.

Taking notes, anyone?

Conscious Capitalism: Dirty Business No More

2007-02-08T11:06:00.000+05:00

Muhammad Yunus, the Nobelist who created "micro finance," coined the term Conscious Capitalism. Patricia Aburdene saw it as a "moral transformation" and "today's greatest mega-trend" way back in fall 2005. Social networks such as Orkut have been abuzz with it. And now finally, Conscious Capitalism has arrived. It's here to stay. And it's changing the face of the way business is going to be done.

What is conscious capitalism?
According to BBC News E-cyclopedia , "Conscious capitalism stands for a more moral approach to what is often seen as the dirty business of business. Where once a company would bow only to the demands of its shareholders and customers, under the new order it must take on board its impact on everyone with a direct or indirect interest."

Ever heard the economic term "externalities?" This obscure term means costs that are traditionally external to business activity. Such as, pollution. Disturbance of personal lives of over-worked employees.

I've added the word "traditionally," otherwise, the traditional thinking never considered this cost the responsibility of business.

Conscious Capitalism factors these costs in. It makes businesses and executives responsible to more than financial stakeholders. The society itself is seen as a stakeholder. Which is why sometimes this term overlaps "socialism," which it is not.

As of Feb 2007, when this trend is going to press, a frantic search for a new business model that factors in the externalities is on. Micro-finance is one of the answers; but "conscious capitalism" intends to replace good old profitable business with a more responsible for-profit model.

Read More:
BBC News E-cyclopedia entry on Conscious Capitalism
Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, by Patricia Aburdene. @ AMAZON

Emerging Concept # 1: COMMUNITY

2007-01-27T20:54:00.000+05:00

What will be the buzz word (or phrase) of 2007?

This question by Steven Burda on a social network prompted me to launch the Concepts series.

My answer: Community.
2.0, YouTube, Flickr, glocalization - whatever. It's "community." I also suggest "Local" as an off-shoot concept of the above.

COMMUNITY
There are two broad applications of this concept: one in the virtual world of Internet, and one in the real world.

Communities 2.0 - the virtual world
The child of social networking sites meeting user-content driven (web 2.0) websites: communities.

Built around common interests, preferences, or themes, communities are virtual spaces that bring together like-minded folks. On social networking sites such as Orkut and user-content driven spaces like Flickr, users can quickly and easily create thematic communities that attract the interested.

Unlike the older days of the Web, these "2.0" (new Web) communities are self-regulating and flexible. Rules are minimal, and members are encouraged to familiarize themselves with them, and regulate their own behavior. Individuals moderate or own the communities; the success of their "leadership" depends directly upon their abilities and acceptance by the members. A badly regulated, dismal communities dies by attracting no members, who are free to "settle" into another space or create their own. Good leadership - determined by the leader's tolerance, inclusiveness, conflict resolution, and community marketing skills - leads to healthy, growing communities that attract both members and participation. Charisma works.

Communities are small localities and nations in their own right. This is why I suggest that the Internet is the blueprint for a truly human(e) government. (Internet - government of the people: Here and here.)

Because of their open nature and inclusiveness of opinion, communities offer real insights into social life. Thanks to technology, they are fast-paced, ever-evolving, and allow for quick spread of info. Communities also change their form quickly to suit a campaign or project.

This is why, truly savvy change leaders and marketers are taking note of the phenomenon. The Future of Communities is a blog branched out from the upcoming Community 2.0 Conference. It's all about communities and their growing power in the new world of Internet.

Community - local neighborhoods of the real life world
In RL, communities are making a big comeback.

Caring. Giving. Sharing. Giving back. Participating. Responsibility. Local - all these once discarded social concepts are back, and they are here to stay.

There is a growing concern about the rise of "ethnic clash" in the world. I see it the other way. I think that for the first time in human history, the not-so-privileged ethnicities are respecting themselves and understanding that they are as equal as any other human. They are not condemned.

On the other hand, the privileged world, having enough of all resources possible, is looking for "meaning". On the one hand, their excessive resources are going to war. On the other hand, there are people who have taken it upon themselves to give back to the world: within their own community, and then globally - depending upon each individual's circle of influence. This is leading to the growing trend for nomadic lifestyle, often mixed with philanthropy or volunteer work.

This is the larger picture. On smaller levels, the "have's" - especially the youth - are giving back to their communities. The more experienced are realizing that they have to invest in the youth and in building neighborhoods. Only in this lies the safety of people, and any hope for restoring peace and minimizing crime.

Respect for one's own culture, the realization that we have to work together in neighborhoods and that we can't demand rights without performing duties, the sense of delight in serving, freedom with responsibility and a new respect for family and society's institutions (more open, more flexible, more inclusive) - are the highlights of this emerging concept.

Photo credits:
Top: Flickr user Cobalt123, Bestgraph, 2005
Bottom: Flickr user carf (Gregory J. Smith), Friendships - 1, 2005
E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Emerging Concepts + Advocated Concepts

2007-01-27T17:08:00.000+05:00

NEXT> will feature two series of blog posts on "Emerging Concepts" and "Advocated Concepts."

"Emerging Concepts"
"Emerging Concepts" are sustainable trends being observed around the globe which have already gained some degree of acceptance by global change agents; and are "visible" should one go looking.

"Advocated Concepts"
"Advocated Concepts" are concepts and change ideas championed by NEXT>. They may or may not be accepted or observable as yet; but once in action, they achieve the dearest ambition of good souls: Making the World Better. The simple criterion for advocating them is the "humanity" of the concept.

I hope that "Advocated Concepts" will replace some of the age-old inhuman beliefs upon which much of the current education and thinking of the modern human is based. It's time to think anew and afresh.

New Thinking
This new thinking is not just based on aspiration, but it is also a "lesson learned" from the many forms of experiments that the human race has carried out in all fields - form society & governance to technology, education, health care, and living.

Through this series, I envision what the world can be if we successfully weed out inhuman concepts from our psyche, and replace them with new thinking. And I share this vision with the readers of the blog so that you may be motivated; and come together with like-minded souls through NEXT>.

Claimer
In analyzing, predicting, and curating these concepts, I am exercising the freedom to predict with responsibility. By a self-imposed ethical policy, NEXT> will only predict or report findings that can help the world be a better place - rather than increasing anxiety which most of predictions do.

NEXT> will be helpful to those who want to make things better, and need to see the opportunity to do so.

You are invited!
I invite the readers to become part of the development of the series. Send in your stories and others' examples related to the new series. I will give you a heads-up by posting a summary of the Concepts in advance.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com
Photo credit: @ Davide Guglielmo, Light Bulb, 2004. Via stock.xchng

NEXT> The Principles - by Patrick Moore

2006-12-09T22:21:00.000+05:00

Each day, there is more evidence I find that suggests that the world's sensibility is changing in the face of the multiple crises that humanity faces. Finally, blame and responsibility can't be shifted or shipped & packed to the lesser/more privileged. It is time that individuals admit to individual responsibility - regardless of their time, region, situation.

This, I believe, is a strong movement that will shape the way global society develops in the next few years.

Consider a mainstream Yahoo! article postulating these "principles", described by Patrick Moore through his project, The Principles.

Surrender
Hope
Faith
Responsibility
Honesty
Reflection
Humility
Willingness
Forgiveness
Perseverance
Spiritual Seeking
Service

Apparantly, a list of taboo words - words that suggested a subservient state of mind. But now, a good body of research proves the healthand social benefits of these concepts which we thought had gone out of fashion, nay, out of the code of human society forever.

From Yahoo!: "The Principles" is a project of 12th STREET JAM. Patrick Moore is a co-founder, along with David Jensen, of 12th STREET JAM, a new media production company that uses technology to produce content that brings people together and allows them to create self-discovery communities.

"Rich kid" robber Junaid: But will we re-think crime, punishment, and society?

2006-11-15T15:03:00.000+05:00

News story: Rich 19-year-old Karachi kid, son of a billionaire, mill-owner - Junaid Abbas - arrested for 100+ robberies carried by him & his gang. Believes "crime is an art."

A Karachiite blogger comments:

If asked the reason for crime, the gut reaction is poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, etc. But proving all of those wrong, the scion of a wealthy industrialist was finally caught after embarking on an orgy of theft and looting. The reason? "Crime is an art". I'm just glad that Karachi has one less teenager drunk on his family's power to worry about.
From: Karachi Metroblog, Nov 2006 archives

The general consensus of the blog readers, and citizens otherwise, is: "Spoilt brat. Must be killed/ shot/ hanged/ severely punished." It is feared, almost "expected" actually, that his wealth will finally set him free.

My family was severely hit by an armed robbery a few years ago, when we lost most of our possessions. The incident prompted us to think about the nature and reasons of crime. What I am going to share now is not based on abstract ideas, but personal experience.

These are my comments on the blog post above, edited slightly:

Ahem.
1. IS BEING RICH AN ABSOLUTE PRIVILEGE?
The "privilege" of being rich exists only in our head. It seems to most of us, and admittedly to myself still, that being rich is some kind of ticket to elimination of all problems. To cut a very long theory short, I believe there is a "critical point" for material resources and the social status that comes with it. If one is below that critical point, they are really in need of help and their actions are driven by pathological problems. Hunger, disease, illiteracy, and no access to freedom of opinion are the hallmarks of being below that threshold. These are people who truly are exempt from the usual explanations and therefore, punishments. For them, the law must bend because they are the result of the society's neglect.
Above that threshold, a person may still be not very rich, or very rich... but they all have problems according to their own situation. They all equal in the eyes of law.
BUT WHAT I WANT TO SAY IS THIS: Just like we give no excuse to the rich for such desperate crime, we can give no excuse to the poor. Social scientists and workers and thinkers would, as Cy mentions, quickly see causes such as poverty and desperation as triggers of crime. But that's a no-brainer.
How about the rich? How about a kid who had no choice to be born in a rich household - just like no one chose to be born poor?

2. WHEN THE SOCIETY DOES NOTHING, IS IT NOT A PASSIVE CRIMINAL?
Ethics and corrections and the support of the society must be awarded to all its members. I feel very deeply that we are not, as a society, helping any of our members. And we readily award the "You are evil" decree to anyone.
Look at ourselves - mostly middle-class readers of this site [Karachi Metroblog]. Do we take any account of the gross negligence, social non-participation, and outright wrongs that we commit? Many of us regularly disrespect the law.
...[Crime is] a human trait, and little to do with the amount of money people have. To see this man's problem as only an issue of wealth is wrong. In fact, I believe his problem is just what is the problem of poor kids: TOO MANY RESOURCES, AND NOTHING TO DO. Rich people have money, poor people have time. And we all burn it.
No human society anywhere will progress unless ALL its members are actively involved in its development. How many of us, when we meet a rich person, invite them to do something productive or good, and not instead worry about "how can I get a car like theirs?"
3. COME. THINK. CHANGE.
I invite us all to pause and reflect for a few moments. The human society will keep on suffering if it doesn't realize the relative importance of all its constituents.
In simpler words: everyone - rich, poor, man, woman, artist, scientist, critic, designer, philosopher, businessperson, idle thinker, sweeper, beautician, policeman, doctor, teacher, religious scholar, child, youth, adult, disabled, sportsperson, insects, reptiles, plants, worms, sun, moon - HAVE THEIR OWN PART TO PLAY. We cannot survive without any of those. Which logically means that all and any of these are USEFUL.
4. STEP OUT OF THE BLAME GAME
It is strange how we spend the best of our time and energy blaming and ridiculing those who are not who we are. And even those who are like ourselves! It's like the foot blaming the nose for not walking, and the nose sulking at the knee for not sneezing out the germs.
Look again at all the above types of humans and things I have listed, and you can recall how each and everyone of these have been blamed for all ailments.
Men are bad. Women are bad. Children are stupid. Youth are careless. Artists are losers. Thinkers are useless. Businesspeople are wicked. Sweepers are lowly. Disabled are burdensome. Active people are aggressive. Religious scholars are mad. Reptiles are creepy. The sun is too hot. The winter is too cold. Poor people are criminals. Rich people are carefree...
Only "I" am right.
OPEN YOUR MINDS!
5. JUNAID'S FATE: GIVE CRIMINALS A CHANCE! TO REFORM, THAT IS.
BTW, I don't [advocate that] this man should be left off the hook. The crimes have been done. Junaid Abbas must face the consequences and I sincerely hope that his wealth does not change law's mind. That he has been caught and that someone dared report him, and the police held him are positive signs. Given the misery, fear, and poverty in which many of our law-enforcing police officers live themselves, this is a very courageous deed.
What I have written above is our "food for thought" in general and for future.
I also hope, for the good of the society, that given that this young man has indeed a lot of resources and obvious "talent" put to an ill use, that he is counselled. Unless he has killed someone, he is going to live. He should not carry on as a criminal, but a reformed man. He must be given that chance.
His mind may be sick, but those with healthy minds must seek healthy solutions.
Thank you for thinking.

Feedback: nextbyramla (aht) gmail

Edit: I realized on second thought that it was gratuitous to use the term "rich kid" without inverted commasin the title earlier. The derogatory term itself has to be re-thought. That's why, I now have it as a quote. Until a better concept is found...

To be is the answer!

2006-06-17T00:54:00.000+05:00

Having said that, there is a quote that has often inspired me:

Near the end of life, it's not what we have done that we regret, but that which we have not done.

Only one life to love!

2006-06-17T00:49:00.000+05:00

A job that I took up - a mere act of chance - demanded indirectly that I get involved in career counselling. Actually, it was a role that I got myself into as I counselled myself and felt basically distraught at the side of humanity that revealed itself to me during the many interviews I took and trainings I gave.

In two words: sad people.

I decided to travel a little back up the value chain and educate. There, too, I met sad people. Which was a bit shocking since I thought disillusionment only comes with job searches or unhappy careers.

There is a solution. It's very simple, yet cunningly elusive. It's called, "Do what you love."

Problem is, in the process of growing up, many of us have forgotten precisely that: what do we love?

I taught Entrepreneurship in a class last year. In one of the session where I brought up the subject of love - myself trying to understand my own love those days - I had an astounding experience. The students didn't remember what they loved as a child. A few gave a very forced out opinion. They loved music and friends. But mostly, they were all quiet. It was shocking. Why, at least, one must know what one loves?

My habit is to always examine myself in the light of advice that I (have to) give others. It's actually a rather painful experience sometimes when someone asks me a question, and I realize, before giving them an advice, that I myeslf am in need of that advice. Now I do generally give the advice and lately, I have picked up the habit of maintaining silence at the question for as long as I don't find a personal answer. That can stretch for months, and perhaps will explain to some the "absences." Back I come to the topic...

I finally got some advice for myself in the last one year. I can't yet say I can truly define myself in terms of what I love or who I am (the endless exploration!) - but I know what really dawned on me is something that misses the most practical and open-eyed of us. The following quote is from Tickle.com - which has a fairly neat battery of career-related (and love-related!) tests. It sums up one critical idea that can drive us to find meaning and love in life.

Are you delaying reality?
Many people take temporary or unsatisfying jobs to make money before pursuing their dream job. This is a reasonable strategy. But have you ever met people who are in the same job five or ten years down the road, even though it isn't what they really want to do? The challenge is that pursuing your dreams may require a sacrifice in lifestyle, time, or money. Unfortunately, too many people get used to a certain lifestyle and aren't willing to make the necessary changes. As a result it can be difficult to give up what a person is accustomed to, even if it's not ultimately fulfilling. It can also be tempting to some people to hold on to a dream and not pursue it in order to avoid failing. Remind yourself: There are no dress rehearsals in life. Everyday you don't work towards pursuing your goals is another day you're delaying the fulfillment of your dreams. Go for what you really want today; you don't want to look back on your life with regret.

What is creativity?

2006-06-13T14:39:00.000+05:00

What is creativity?

Idealog has a definition:

Creativity is making something new from two old things.

I endorse that we do not create something out of nothing. Another closer definition of creativity – my personal belief – is:

Creativity is seeing the connection between things, and putting those connections together in novel and useful ways.

I have made this definition up as an extraction of various thoughts. Leonardo da Vinci had a name for seeing the connection between things: connessione.

Notice the word “useful” in my definition. A creation is not creative if it's irrelevant, doesn't solve a problem or create an opportunity, or serve a purpose - whatever that purpose may be.

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

"Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust"

2006-06-09T22:02:00.000+05:00

Tom Peters quotes the obvious from The Speed of Trust – a book by Stephen M. R. Covey, son of the legendary Stephen Covey who wrote 7 Habits of the Highly Effective People. The quote is:

"Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust."
Stephen M. R. Covey

Anna Farmery broods:

I find Nothing is as fast as the speed of MIStrust!.....trust builds over time and I have never equated it with speed. Branding being a product or Brand You, depends on building trust over time. Now Mistrust can be instant and can spread like wild fire! It is a great quote but in what context?

Tom Peters laments that it is a “good point.”

Since I love finding context for truths, I don’t think I will give up on this one. Here is what I think solves the conundrum:

There is a (philosophical) context for "nothing is as fast as the speed of trust."

As I see it, there are 2 kinds of activities in the world: create something, or idle. Those who create something are the ones with a purpose. Those who idle have to follow the law: "there is no such thing as a vaccum." Over time, they also get a purpose: which is to take down or destroy or waste things. This is what is known as the "negative mindset" - the reactive mindset - the reactive group of people.

So we end up with basically two broad classes of people: the purpose-driven, action-oriented people, and those who do everything else. There are then two "worlds:" the reative, positive world where good, beneficial, interesting things are being created. And the other world, which is busy with everything else, often the sum of their activities being (self-)destructive.

In the first world, "nothing is as fast as the speed of trust." Because mistrust or lack of trust means that the creative process in that world is slowing down and time is being spent on getting things right rather than getting things done.

In the second world, things depend on whatever is influencing that world at any given time. Generally, mistrust would pervade. Mistrust can travel faster than the speed of light - but it is serving any purpose?

So what do you think? Does trust emerge a winner?

Internet: true human government, and how!

2006-06-07T00:26:00.000+05:00

When I asserted that the Internet is the global government of, by and for the people, I added:

To The Internet we listen, to The Internet we ask our questions, to The Internet we turn for convergence in our human divergence. (un-typo version)

Reader Temporal has a question:

You’re sure? Internet is only the medium…it is neither the message nor the messenger. What thrives here is the open and accessible communication between far-flung human beings.

My answer:

Exactly. What is government but a facilitator of the activities of humankind... a servant that administrates the complex function? That is why we say, "like people, like government." By itself, the government is nothing.

Whatever the book definition of the government may be, pragmatically, every government acts as if it is an exogenous agent. Governments are not representing the people – rather they are forming the minds of the people.

The Internet is truly the government of the people, by the people, for the people. It does not exist to rule. It does not exist to create absurd laws. It is a collaborative space. It is inclusive, responsive, self-organizing, and evolving. It is a powerful source towards which the modern human is turning to share and to listen.
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, everyone is invited. Those who manage or control collaborative spaces – say collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia – are people from all over the world themselves The Wikipeda administrators chosen by the people on a set of criteria of the people for the benefit of the people.

In fact, never before in the history of humankind has the democratic, the human-centric definition of government been seen in practice. Internet is not just any people’s government; Internet is the first truly human government.

NEXT> by Ramla is now shifting to a new home: nextbyramla.WORDPRESS.com. Keep hopping between the two, until I figure out Wordpress. If you post comments here, don’t worry, they’ll go over to their new home automatically.

New home: nextbyramla.wordpress.com

2006-06-07T00:20:00.000+05:00

NEXT> By Ramla is going to a new home: nextbyramla.wordpress.com. For a while, we’ll hop between both the homes – until everything is shifted out with the people.

So now. We can have tags, read more-ability, RSS feeds, geeky hotness, and very good looks. I’ve chosen a theme that reflects my love for green, humanity, and reality.

Lots of WordPress goodies! What else?

Internet: government of the people!

2006-06-02T18:17:00.000+05:00

If “government” means the “act of exercising authority,” then I must report that I believe my official government may not be my official government.

Wikipedia has this definition:

“A government (from the Greek Κυβερνήτης kubernites - steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder) is an organization that has the power to make and enforce laws for a certain territory. There are several definitions on what exactly constitutes a government. In its broadest sense, "govern" means the power to administrate, whether over an area of land, a set group of people, or an association.”

If this is really what government is – a body of influence, whose rules and laws I form, obey and own – my government is The Internet.

To The Internet we listen, to The Internet we ask our question, to The Internet we turn for converge in our human divergence. The Internet is the government of the commons, which has leveled social and class and racial and other barriers like no other power in the history of humankind.

I think for the first time in history, humans across the globe have created a government that is truly a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Needed: Future Ready Thinkers - are the schools ready?

2006-05-29T20:33:00.000+05:00

Image: Elisha Otis's Elevator Patent Drawing, 01/15/1861.

From my personal notebook

There are two persistent problems with education anywhere today:

What they teach at any school is backward-looking. The textbooks are old, based on even older material, based on even older events and analysis.

Most institutes do not teach a human child or adult to use their own mind. In fact, thinking with one’s own mind is believed to be a dangerous and reckless tendency viewed suspiciously. It is “liable to punishment.”

This is my dream for the overhaul of education: To rally schools (anywhere, all age groups, all social groups) around two things they must have in order to be compatible with the needs of life and the modern man:

FUTURE STUDIES
All schools must have a dedicated “future studies” course. This course must cover the study of, at least, changes in the STEEPLE factors in the next 5-10 years. STEEPLE is an amazing model for analysis of environment of life. It is simply an acronym for Society + Technology + Economy + Environment + Politics + Law + Ethics. It is a framework to study the environment in which we exist.

Ecology as a Basis to Understand the System of Life
A note: I’d rather replace the word “environment” in the framework with the more apt “ecology.” In any institute of future studies… ecological studies, to me, is a must. I imagine that each school gives compulsory education to students of all levels about ecology and the dynamics of life. So that we may finally develop human children into sensitive beings with a personal responsibility for the biosphere. I also imagine that a school’s negligence in teaching ecological studies is “liable to punishment” by law…. Hmmm. I can sense the theme of my next campaign…

STEEPLE-S, with Spirituality
Another idea is to add spirituality as a separate factor in the analysis model. It’s a possibility I want to dedicate more thought to.

Own Vision, Own Future
In the future studies course, students will not only learn from futurists, but mostly form their own extrapolative pictures of the future. After all those who imagine the future shape it. There will be no forced conclusion – it’s not history but future so all cannot agree – instead broad areas of future concerns will give the universal framework within which to excite imagination and generate solutions.

THINKING
All schools must have a course dedicated to thinking. World’s leading thinker Edward de Bono is the main champion of that cause, and not without reason. If people are not taught how to think, we are being taught how not to think. If we are not thinking ourselves, who is thinking for us? And how, pray, are they superior in some way so as to take upon their shoulder a head that can think for others?

Why Won't Schools Let Us Think?
The educational practice of not letting people is rooted deep in the bias that some people are genetically or socially superior. These are the ones with the "right" to teach the rst what to think and what to do.

To bypass this utterly stupid bias, humans of all classes and races have tried to devise theories that would fit their own race and social system. So sometimes it’s the rich and the white that rule supreme. For a while then, being socially equal was in fashion – and now we are feeling that the racial favorability in tilting on the Asian side.

Whoever is the leading force locally or globally at any given time, it does not mean they are divinely superior in any way. This is proven by the history of humankind where one group of people has displaced another. There is no universal superiority except the superiority of Man over all kinds of life – and all humans can think for themselves.

It’s time that the education system of humanity aligns itself with this reality – so poignantly clear in the age of the Internet where all people are like all other people.

Think to Change
Thinking will help the children learn how to deal with change and devise new strategies for ever new situations. It is the tool one needs to be equipped with to deal with the chaos of life.

....

Misfit and the System

2006-05-24T18:10:00.000+05:00

Speaking of misfits…

It’s indeed not the people who are misfits. It’s the system that misfits the humans and their needs. As my inspiring friend Shoaib Khalil reminded me once in my search for the truth about my situation: “Rules are made for people. People are not made for rules.”

How to Choose the Right Career? - The Designer, The Executive, the Judge*

2006-05-24T17:59:00.000+05:00

“Why do so many people who fail in school succeed in life, and vice versa?,” asked Sternberg.

The four worst years of my life were spent in one of the (supposedly) best universities of Pakistan. A begrudging student, I managed to remain in the top tier of class – and always wondered why I felt I was underscoring my own potential? The best MBA school – a dream for many – so why was I unhappy?

Admittedly, my end of university years would only have been through some unpleasant accident (my fantasies involve ill-treating The System in several unsavory ways) had it not been that I wriggled my way and charmed the teachers into allowing me to undertake “unusual assignments.” So I focused on service management in the Product Management class (service = wedding consultant) and toted weapons and missiles as a dramatized sales person in the Personal Selling class presentation. Yes, I wore a leather jacket, and jeans, and did the whole James Bond thing.

But I never really understood my own behavior and the whole misfit thing until I read this article by Robert J. Sternberg on Fathom.com.

This article, How to Choose the Right Career?, shows that people are basically of three types:

the legislative – the designers, the creative, the dreamers

the executive – the action-oriented, the quick, the result-oriented, the practical

and the judicial – the critics, the judges

The education system is designed solely around the behavior and the needs of the executive – these are people who do not question the system. They fit in, and they perform. The System, sadly, is biased against the creative and the critical – who are deemed rebellious or simply eccentric.

…
We all know of the variety of humiliations that such gifted children face, because as a child, many of us had a creative and a critical part in us that was “educated out.”

It was around four years ago that I read this article. I understood that as a person concerned with the question of design and criticism, I was on both the unattended ends of the educational spectrum. No wonder I felt “the gap.”

Sternberg’s theory opened a whole door of educational theory and the reality of the beautiful diversity life on my mind. It asks us to embrace the inherent diversity of existence, and respect the human nature – which as much if not more varied than the nature of flora and fauna.

I owe, in part, the development of the People-Centered Model of Business to this theory, which allowed me to respect myself as a “different” individual, and respect other misfits.

* Updated/ Tweaked

Blurb-blurb-blurb! (Sounds like it too!)

2006-05-23T16:00:00.000+05:00

I get a near panic attack when confronted with business or academic lingo. And this is coming from a long-time fan of bombastic vocabulary so it must mean something.

Consider this case: I have developed a new research interest: alternative education. While researching books on the subject, I found these two blurbs:

“A comprehensive book with nearly 90 proven instructional strategies for all students, especially those who are at risk of academic failure. Features specific teacher-tested methods for increasing achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, and oral communication. Explore several ways to involve students actively in lessons; use thematic, interdisciplinary curriculums; and accommodate students' individual learning styles. Included are nearly 20 teaching strategies for culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students.”

“This text presents practicing teachers and teacher trainees with a wide variety of well-developed, research-based models of teaching, from which to select for particular purposes and for assembling into high quality curriculum. New features in the seventh edition include stronger coverage of constructivism, meta-cognition, and the proximal principle; the addition of the Picture Word Inductive Model; incorporation of 150 new research references; new scenarios, research, and applications; and new descriptions of multi-model curricula and studies of their effects.”

Given that I am interested in human-friendly education that does not chuck the creative and the rebellious out of the system and favors the madly academic, can you suggest, based on the blurbs, which book?

New! Subscribe to get fresh posts via e-mail!

2006-05-21T11:24:00.000+05:00

So that you don’t miss out on the latest post on NEXT> by Ramla, now you can receive it in email. Simply go here (http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=61733), put in your email address, and bingo! You’re all set to receive new posts to the blog (this website) in your inbox! Or, put it in the little box in the right column of the blog where it says, “Subscribe me!” You can always opt out, of course.

This makes sure you never miss another post, and also does away with the BotherSpot that BlogSpot has been since its errant, partial blocking in Pakistan. Subscribe now!

Madrissah Calls – 3: Eager to Change

2006-05-17T00:14:00.000+05:00

My gracious hosts and I had already exchanged some ideas about modern educational theories over the phone. I brought up the needs for an open-minded educational reform.

I particularly emphasize experiential education to the point that I resent it not being a part of the education of Pakistani children. Also, in response to the People-Centered Model of Business, I had been notified by Abhinibesh of India of a child-centric education system. It had got me thinking about the many ways in which the PC MOB can be applied.

I found the madrissah admin very open and progressive to the ideas. They want change. They just don’t know how, and who will help them? There was a quick go-ahead to the ideas that I presented. I like working this way. But I know this is beginner’s luck. My major challenge will be to bring fundamental changes not just in the curriculum, but in the educational philosophy. Curriculum is tactical. Educational philosophy is strategic. They have so far agreed with all things I said, and we are going to look at creating an overall map of education that their enterprise will impart.

During the course of the visit, I visited the female madrissah which honestly locked my heart in a way that I had to come home and lie down to feel better. It’s after a long time anyway that I have visited any school, and I just realized how I completely disagree with the educational philosophy in most places. Educational is completely book-oriented and mono-directional. Feed more and more info into the brain, and reproduce through the mouth and the hand at astonishing speed and accuracy = summary of all education.

This was at least a madrissah. I have been in madly stringent and anti-human mainstream schools that were high on fees and absurd rules, and low on really changing human children for better. This is why, I told my open-minded hosts, we will be walking a thin line balancing the social, political, religious aspects of this school. In addition to that, I invited them to consider alternative educational theories that will present a real-life solution to real-life problems. The age of the copy & paste solution is over. We need new solutions. Using the People-Centered Model of Business, in addition to exciting education theories for the 21st century, I hope to develop an educational roadmap that will change the way of education in madrissahs for good.

Note: Madrissah is term popularly used to refer to an Islamic school. In Urdu, it just means, “school.” In this series of blogs, it refers to a major Islamic school that I visited.

Madrissah Calls – 2: Suspension of Judgment. A Time for Facts.

2006-05-17T00:10:00.000+05:00

The important part in seeing something that you are not familiar with – and wish to get familiar with – is to suspend judgment. I had been given a rather realistic idea of what I should expect, but even then it took me years back in time in a way that I felt uncomfortable. Still, I suspended judgment, and took a factual, realistic view of the situation with the trust that I am going to work with people who want to change. When you have work to do and people to lead, you can’t afford to wish. Who could you wish to but yourself?

I realized how far my image of education has developed and how deeply have I come to not-like the way education is in the world today. Not just Islamic, but modern education. If the Islamic education primarily prepares Man for the Mosque, the modern education anywhere in the world prepares the Child for the Factory. I had trouble thinking that I would likely be putting the two together: Mosque + Factory.

We have to have a modified Urdu idiom for this: mullah ki daur factory tak. The Mullah sees not beyond the factory. That replaces the age-old idiom: The Mullah goes not beyond the Mosque.

Note: Madrissah is term popularly used to refer to an Islamic school. In Urdu, it just means, “school.” In this series of blogs, it refers to a major Islamic school that I visited.

Madrissah Calls – 1: PC MOB – a Madrissah Responds to the Paper

2006-05-17T00:07:00.000+05:00

Today I had one of the strangest experiences in a long time. It clearly showed me how much have I changed, how far have I come.

One really bizarre wish came true: I was invited to visit an Islamic madrissah by its owners/ administrators. I had told the universe that I wish to take my work in consultancy further, and that I wished to visit a major Islamic school. Both wishes came bundled (it’s happened before when “Wisdom!” + “God, how about a fresh set of shinier teeth?” came back as “wisdom tooth” – it ached!).

I got an SOS from what is more than a madrissah, but I wish to protect their identity. The owners had read my paper on the People-Centered Model of Business. And they are interested in a progressive curriculum design for their schools. Among other things.

Gladly I went this morning. Curious. Calm. Very sure. I already knew in many ways what they will be looking for. I know I have some answers, and need to search newer solutions. With this knowledge, I sat writing my diary in the backseat as the madrissah driver raced on the very long roads. I wrote about Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and his search for the Truth. How he thought that the stars, the moon, and the sun were his God, and realized each time that none of them were if they all eventually set. How he kept looking for God and said after these observations, “My God is the one who created them all, for they all set, and He does not!”

I noted in my diary how that story has been inspiring me lately to 1/ not be deceived by false gods, and 2/ to keep persisting when my heart doesn’t feel right with anything.

Note: Madrissah is term popularly used to refer to an Islamic school. In Urdu, it just means, “school.” In this series of blogs, it refers to a major Islamic school that I visited.

Why Do We Do Business?

2006-05-06T22:59:00.000+05:00

What comes first when a person passionate about an idea wants to build a business around it: the idea, or money?

In a class where I was teaching entrepreneurship, we came across this question again and again. What really is entrepreneurship and why do people start businesses? Since the class was an academic route to entrepreneurship, I also had to figure in another angle: why would my students want to start businesses, given that they weren't "naturally" doing it?

I feel that in order to work out any idea, you need a vision. Vision is seeing a context for the idea (or an idea in the context). That makes an idea relevant to its use. Having an idea in itself may be quite worthless. You can get three ideas per second just searching the Net. I call these "ideas from the outer space."

The beauty lies in the vision of the person driving an idea. They can read the past, present, and future - find the gaps - and fill them in. Or they can see things that never were, and say, "why not?"

There is no text book on what does or should the vision hold. Life is amazingly dynamic, and every instance there is a new world, new circumstances. There will always be work to do for humans and not calendars and computers around for simply this one reason: only a human can deal with the amazing chaos of life. So there is a new vision for each time and its unique circumstances.

In this era, the global society is rapidly becoming aware of long-forgotten Responsibility/Response-ability. Responsibility to ourselves, our families, our communities, our environment. This is one wave that will just not turn back without changing the landscape. Nay, this isn't just a wave. It's the Tsunami of Change.

These new times demand a radical re-thinking of why we do business. To my mind, the days of the gold-diggers and king-makers are over. Not their reign, but their kind of mindset. The new generation of people is generally not dreaming on individual level - they feel responsible for change around them. At the very least, we know we can't keep escaping.

In these times, entrepreneurs won't think old-style: to madly pursue an idea and grow rich at any cost. The modern entrepreneur is doing a balancing act.

And for those entrepreneurs who are looking for a new kind of vision, a new thinking, a new mindset, a balance - I present the PC MOB: the People-Centered Model of Business. This model says, "We do business for the people." What? How? Why? The paper (PDF; 540K) answers the questions.

It's a first draft, and I can already see a ton of things to add and change. I'm excited. Get it here (PDF; 540K), read it, distribute it, link to this blog entry. Share with friends, use the ideas and send me your comments. Agree. Disagree. Let's talk!

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Ooh!

2006-05-06T22:37:00.000+05:00

OK. Small news. Big ooh-factor! I noticed that NEXT> byRamla has been listed in Tom Peters' blog roll. Go to the site. Check the blog roll on the left.

In the world of change agents and "seriously cool people," Tom Peters is one of my top heroes - right there along with Stephen Covey, Edward do Bono, and Steve Jobs. To have NEXT> noticed by Tom or Co. is a sweet little thing.

More so, because it's always been a dream of mine to put a Muslim, Pakistani name somewhere on the map of positive change agents. Ooh-la-la!

I love tiny experiences and little gifts!

E-mail: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Brands seek "alternative" cure

2006-03-24T01:04:00.000+05:00

For many brands, the search for the alternative to the TV ad continues, while some may have found answers of their own. Read more to find out…

The study of the decline of the 30-second TV commercial – that goes by the cutesy nick “the 30” – has been the cause of concern to advertisers in developed advertising and media industries for some time. If the good old ad doesn’t work, what does?

For some time, the industry has been looking to alternatives such as “branded entertainment.” Brands are looking to engage consumers in new ways. And in this quest for the Holy Grail of New Ways of Consumer Engagement, the phenomena called “branded entertainment” seems to be having a lot of promise.

In my opinion, branded entertainment, which has become the fashionable catchphrase in even underdeveloped markets such as that of Pakistan for no reason but fashion & following, is the dot.com of the ad & media industries: it is not quite understood, it is pursued in search of delivering results, and it is built around concept as flaky as the dot.com era was built around.

There is often little understanding that branded entertainment and/or possible alternatives to the 30 are not the answer to a quest for making ads more creative, they are based on economic needs of societies that are saturated with products, media, and ideas. And just as a dot.com does not make an average brick & mortar business a Google-like success, jazzy alternatives to the 30 do not solve “the problem.”

And so, for those like BMW who understand the perils of considering branded entertainment a cure-all, the search for the alternative to the TV ad continues. There are some lucky ones, though, who have found much needed new rules for consumer engagement – at least for now.

You are young/ You are old

2006-02-18T04:27:00.000+05:00

It cannot be said when and if linguists will deliver on this, but at least there is a smaller but perhaps no less important bridge built by Dr. Tannen to gap the mother-daughter divide. Built in part with memories of her personal experience, her book in an insight in to a classical conflict (I see 6, you 9 – no puns!) in an everyday household situation.

Personally, my second thought is that I don’t know if this kind of curative approach to language and relationship does achieve anything useful for everyday life. As in, does one need academic knowledge or a “study” of linguistics to solve everyday life issues?

I think in a situation with a pure point-of-view conflict, nothing works best than praise, openness to listen to another, and validating their situation. Change can follow. Change is a process, no matter how fast.

Yet these are techniques remain conflict-specific. And I sense there is a bit of reactivity (I prefer “reactiveness”) to applying techniques to appease someone. But it comes down to this: the only one who we can truly motivate to be “active” is ourselves.

Will Robert Langdons of linguistics save the world?

2006-02-11T05:36:00.000+05:00

I believe that in coming times, it will be linguists, and especially experts on semantics and syntax – in this order – who will change the world for better. As the world conflict increases because of misunderstandings of language, and the purpose behind language, linguists will be spurred into action. They will examine human language more closely; and during this study they will discover amazing similarity of patterns, tones, and themes in the language of humans.

Not only will pure language (?) reveal interesting relations among world languages, but the themes in global stories and folklore will also appear to have amazing commonalities.

This knowledge will travel down from the academic world to the general public. For the first time, the population of the world will be surprised – and shocked – that they all may have been saying the same thing, differently.

Which way to Hellfire? Gehinom, and Jahannum

For me, the realization was accidental. Thanks to the company of learned family, educators and friends, I have known for a long time about the etymology (origins) of many Urdu words, and have had some idea about the derivation of the language Urdu itself. But I had no idea of similar concepts…sounding alike…in Urdu and… Hebrew!

While reading up on Jewish eschatology (beliefs about the end of world), I saw the term “Hibbut ha-kever, the pains of the grave.” I like new languages, so I said the word out loud. It sounded familiar. Urdu readers who try this out will not miss. Soon, they will hear something that sounds like, “haibat e-qabar.” Meaning? “The horror/s of the grave.” Then there’s Gehinom (“purgatory” in Hebrew) and Jahannum (“hellfire” in Urdu). With slight difference, the concepts largely refer to the same things. Eureka! *

Robert Langdon: an Intercultural De-mystifier

No, I do not think Dan Brown is a literary genius, only a phenomenon. Both The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons were “putdownable” half way down. But I like character Robert Langdon’s career interests: he is a (religious) symbologist connecting the dots and revealing the hidden links between religious symbols and their history. The most important contribution of the Code, indeed, might be to spark an interest in (religious) art history.

Just as Robert traces links between symbols and weaves a thread across cultures and thus beliefs, the linguists of the near (near, I hope) future will present for the people of the world links between their words, and concepts and constructs. A little help from philosophers, of course, will be needed.

The Talk of Civilizations

While there has been much work on conflict resolution and language already, the issue is making that knowledge a part of the social construct of the societies around the globe. Besides, knowledge alone is often worth not much in itself, but its application is.

Knowledge is like fire; it is the application that makes the difference. Which is why the use of knowledge by the untrained or ill-willed can make knowledge useless or dangerous.

The knowledge is out there, mostly already worked out by the left-brained. With the rise of the creative class and the right-brained, there is higher hope that the connections between bits of knowledge will be made to lead to a wider understanding approaching the universal.

Yours Literally

The most heart-breaking (at first) and heart-warming (later) realization will be that much we each took for “literal” was actually symbolic or analogical. The folklore of the world has been hiding layers of meanings. Most recently, Harry Potter fans, critics, and “analysts” have dedicated sites and written books to discover the layers of meanings in the series. Know what the horrific Dementors personify? I like the one that says they personify Depression. They suck energy out when they’re around, and a dose of chocolate helps after they paid a visit. I tested this one on many die-hard Potter fans. None knew.

Interestingly, we may be missing similar meanings in ancient, older, and foreign texts and taking them too literally.

Grapes or Angoor?

Or we may realize that in many instances, it was merely a difference in our language, which is a form of concepts, that we differed over in substance. A Sufi story saw that a long time ago. In the story, men of various nationalities fought over what they will buy for food. The Pakistani wanted, “angoor.” The Englishmen insisted upon buying “grapes.” The German wanted “trauben.” And the Spaniard demanded, “uvas,” instead.

I have modernized the nationalities, but the story remains the same. For how long will it? We don’t know. For the sake of humanity, it’s hopefully a short period before realization dawns.

* Most references are from Wikipedia, as of February 11, 2006. Wikipedia will provide an excellent starting point for more research on the topic. In itself, Wikipedia is a melting pot – a phenomenon of multi-cultural and multi-linguistic interaction, and the many differences that arise naturally.

- This article has just been edited because I couldn't read it myself. Hey, I do feel language must get simpler! I promise no more late-night writing. I channel some old spirit when I write late night. Happy reading!

Image credits: Logoi for the Chinese alphabet; and andrea_j for the letter A. Alphabet "Alif" is a painting by Ali Omer Ermes.

Maker, not taker

2006-01-28T02:00:00.000+05:00

There is a reason why I stopped blogging on NEXT> all of a sudden. I asked myself: who am I truly – a future-reader, or a future-maker?

It occurred to me that there are only two kinds of persons in action: makers, and takers. A reader or observer of future is just a glorified role for a taker of a future created by others. If future is what I am interested in, I would rather be the one to create the future than the one to take in the name of reading and anticipating it.

This ends my very long uncertainty of what this blog really is going to be about. It is going to be – nothing. There is no such thing as a going to be but only a being right now which, over the course of time, looks like in the past it was something that was going to be.

If, though, we stand in the past, we can never be sure of what is going to be. The only certainty of future is the future itself.

But the beauty is, if we do the present, we create the future. I do not wish to stand by on the banks of Time and watch it flow by. If I believe in the worth of experience – which I passionately do – I will want to dwell in Time. Make the present, and let the future become from it.

Chances, surprises, and serendipitous experiences are welcome. After all, they say, there is no such thing as a co-incidence.

Jaag Pakistan's Bloggers Meet-up

2005-10-22T11:09:00.000+05:00

JAAG PAKISTAN is a financial support group for NGO's working on ground in the disaster area.
- To raise funds for reconstruction phase..- To raise funds for immediate direct relief for various allied NGO's working in the disaster areas.- To train volunteers to send to the affected areas for emergency relief and works.
JAAG PAKISTAN will be an open forum for all to contribute towards the relief effort. A collective platform where all organizations work together.
JAAG PAKISTAN is a transparent fund raising effort and its activities can be monitored throughout on our website.
JAAG PAKISTAN will be a continuous effort to be replicated across Pakistan and the Karachi chapter as the initiator will forward its format to like minded people across Pakistan.
JAAG PAKISTAN Karachi, has selected Hill Park as the central venue for its activities in Karachi , for its high visual prominence and accessibility.
JAAG PAKISTAN will come alive whenever there is a calamity in Pakistan.
Jaag Pakistan is also planning to have a blog meetup on their first event, which is Farid Raziuddin Qawwal - Live at Hill Park, 9pm October 22nd 2005.

HelpPakistan.Net Flyers

2005-10-16T08:53:00.000+05:00

"Choose to Give"

"Hope"

I am rather proud of these flyers for HelpPakistan.Net and our fund GIVEPakistan! Please copy, paste, print, distribute. Click to enlarge.

GIVE to the GivePakistan fund! As little as $5!

What do you think of the concept & design? (Hint: Say only encouraging things. We need all the love!)

E-mail: helpPakistan.net@gmail.com

GivePakistan!

2005-10-13T00:07:00.000+05:00

MAY 7, 2006: THIS FUND IS NOW CLOSED. BLOG POST PRESERVED FOR ARCHIVES & REFERENCE.

There are thousands of people under the rubble. Mothers crying to save the bodies of their dead children from being eaten by dogs. Tons of donated goods waiting to be moved, when transport is bought. Thousands of volunteers working without stopping to eat or drink.

We can no longer say: These people SHOULD/ MUST be helped.

Say: I CAN help them.

Help Now. Donate at ANY charity of your choice. If you know or trust me, donate here to GIVEPakistan! We are organizing a ground-based relief effort. You can help. Donate. Just a little S 5, 10, or 15. It's less than worth a good cup of coffee, but it can save someone's life NOW.

Don't wait. ACT.

Note: the money from this charity will be routed to me. More details at http://helppakistan.net.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD! COPY THIS BUTTON ON YOUR BLOG & LINK TO THE FUND!

GIVEPakistan! Fund Launched

2005-10-10T07:24:00.000+05:00

MAY 7, 2006: THIS FUND IS NOW CLOSED. BLOG POST PRESERVED FOR ARCHIVES & REFERENCE.

2400 hr and beyond? Found Faraz. Tell him and Auf, eventually un-ignored, about "doing something for the relief effort." Meanwhile swapped coupla e-mails with Teeth Maestro. He has set up PayPal. Better! I am invited to co-blog. Swiftly accepted, logged in, blogged.

Realized we need something more.
+ I love wiki.
+ Oh, where did I read up about a people-to-people fund set-up? On my fav trend spotting website!
+ I wanted to write about that since the longest time!
+ Searched my favorite trend spotting website... rush of blood.
> Found www.fundable.org. Yeah!
> Asked Auf for help.
> Faraz gets intereted.
> I'm setting up http://helppakistan.wikispaces.org/
> Ask Auf to check out Fundable.
> Auf, sign up!
> Faraz shown the wikispace.
> Faraz offers to set up a .org.
> Wow. I love that!
> I am shooting off a few more mails.
+ My computer's been on for 7 days. Lotsa windows. I can't close them! Copying URLs to check out again. Gotta close to save bandwidth and avoid distraction.
+ Copying URL's, talking to Auf. Ali Khan is online. I'm asking if a concert can raise funds. He's asking where to put his money. I tell him about The Fund. He's impatiently waiting.
+ Faraz is impatiently waiting. I am now designing "the world's make-shiftiest logo" for Help Pakistan.
+ Faraz has bought a helppakistan.net. Org and Com are gone. Okay. We are waiting for hte FWD to work.
+ I'm telling Auf to set a large amount to raise. $ 10,000.
+ Auf is making a flyer for distribution in his university.
> Shall we use helppakistan.net in the flyer? Site still not forwarding to wikispace. I am a little nervous.
> Then I ask Auf to say Bismillah and no worries. We are sure we'll do it. $5/head. 2000 people. $ 10,000 to raise. 14 days. Okay!
> Auf leaves for Iftaar (USa). Faraz surprises me with a lovely logo. By now, he's made several versions. I've taken down my ghastly version. Sadly, it's still on the Fund Page.
> HelpPakistan wikispace launched at 0311 hr.
> I'm adding pages, shooting e-mails, worrying about the fund. Relying on Allah.

Sehri Break.

Oct.10.05, 0600 hr: A while back, sms'd Kibs for marketing advice. Told mom about website, she started glowing. I think she's also happy to hear about Auf.
After Fajr: Ran upstairs. Faraz has MSN-transfered another logo. Very neat! Auf is finally setting up fund. And oh, before the Sehri, HelpPakistan.net finally landed on the wikispace.
+ I am advertisign on Orkut.com.
+ AUf has set up the fund. They aren't accepting the large fundraise demand. Okay, we're lowering to $5k (excuse, I just told Auf to try $1k - and then see how it works?). We're starting with this, and mailing Fundable on the side.

THE GIVEPAKISTAN! FUND HAS BEEN LAUNCHED!
Auf will collect a check, and we'll transfer the money to Pak.
We will think of handling the money and other stuff meanwhile.
I updated a team page that's missing and I am ticked.
We are arranging groups of reliable folks.
Let's see what happens.

In a few hours, we've done so much. But it's so little! Someone's still under the rubble waiting for us to come help.
Help. Save a life. Donate. Something, anything.
Spread the word about the largest people-to-people collaborative on this effort: HelpPakistan.net: a site where you can write, edit, share... help!

I'll keep ya all posted. Keep the world posted through the website!

HelpPakistan.net launched!

2005-10-10T06:33:00.000+05:00

HelpPakistan.Net has been launched. It is a people-to-people disaster relief site. Also launched the GIVEPakistan! fund at Fundable.org. If we don't raise $ 5,000 in 14 days, we lose all the funds. Privately, our target is to raise funds in 48 hours. GIVE now!

The past few hours have been very busy. If I recall correctly, they went something like this.

Oct.9.05 - 1901 hr: just thought of Ameena Khan out of the blue. The next second, she sms's:

earth-quake victims 55,000 + dead bodies. we need kafans (most important), blankets, tents, medical supplies:

amoxil 500mg

flagyl 400mg

cotton rolls

bandages

dettol

polyfax

children's fever & cough syrups

first-aid kits

syringes

distilled water

medicine for heart & diabetic patients

drips (dextrose and normal saline)

1956 hr: I've just found Dr. Awab/ Teeth Maestro's Help Pakistan blog. Great ida to collect onoline funds. Little problem: Google doesn't allow link-clicking to generate revenue. I shoot a little e-mail to the good doctor noting this, and racing my mind for a solution. On the side, I am writing to a marketing e-group to consider NOT putting the ad jingles in the midst of a grim transmission. The Ufone "aaj hamara, kal bhi hamara" (my fav ad, otherwise) seems hopelessly out of place.

1957 hr: Set off for taraweeh prayer four homes away. I've made a list of things Ameena asked for to share with other ladies. We will raise and donate together.

2003 hr: I start taraweeh. Wondering if I can speak up. I will. This is what I enjoy most: to help; to solve critical problems.

2137 hr: Taraweehis over. We are discussing fund and goods collection with a Jamaat lady in presence. I offer to share a list of items we should all find at home. They can stock at my place tomorrow, and then we'll take the goods over to the nearest but reliable collection point. We discuss many things: who is collecting what kind of aid? We will find not jst used clothes, edhi-style, but utensils and other stuff - needed to make a new home! The ladies seem to trust me. Good. I promise to research what kind of things can we donate and share them by today.

By 2200 hr: I'm back home. Thinking like crazy what to do next. Convinced my parents, sitting awe-struck by TV, to clean up the home and DONATE!

2200 hr - 2300 hr: Working in the kitchen. Making mental lists of people to contact. Stuff to collect. Torches. Batteries. Where did I hear about this before? Some Katria list? Backpackers' guide? Boy scout thing? We need lists!

A little past 2315 hr: Running upstairs. Need to work and research!

2345 something hr: Found brother Auf online. Ignored. After thought. I am unblocking everyone. Yes. Shame on me. I have everyone blocked on the list but me and my bro. :|

Continued...

9 rock-stars of finance @ Yahoo!

2005-10-07T17:13:00.000+05:00

Just found this at Yahoo!: 9 business and finance columnists - the "Rock stars of Finance" as Yahoo! calls them - are writing on Trends, Retirement, Money & Happiness, Common Sense investing, and more. Even Daniel Pink is there! Check out The Trend Desk. This looks promising.

These columns are one in the line of many new initiatives that Yahoo! is taking to re-launch itself as a hip, global news agency + portal. I feel Yahoo! is now looking more like a lifestyle than just a portal that looked like a bazaar carrying all things e-. Being a "lifestyle" will give Yahoo! products an integrity. They will also gel in well with the consumer's need for having saner media that streamlines their needs for news, entertainment, communication all in one.

MSN and Google should start worrying. Google in particular - for it seeming to be a constant work-in-progress (everything is beta!). Perhaps Google needs to stop getting fascinated by its own awesome technology (there IS something eerie about sensing and ranking) and get down to providing reliable solutions for the users. The Gmail downtime has come to the point that I have to forward my mail to Yahoo!

Anyway. More on the emerging portal and search tech wars later. I am back to reading at Yahoo! Finance. Let's see what Pink has to say in Green is Good.

Re-positioning NEXT>

2005-10-05T21:53:00.000+05:00

Two days ago, the description of what NEXT> is about (up there at the foot of the header) was a long-winding statement that tried to be all-inclusive. In effect, it restricted my thoughts by listing a few things NEXT> would be about.

I took a dose of some Seth Godin advice: if you can't state your position in 8 words or less, you don't have a position.

So here it is:

NEXT> by Ramla is about the emerging global society.

That's the core position. The tagline remains: Know What's Coming!

It gives me one freedom that I was itching for: not just chronicle the future and trends, but have the room to shape trends (more important, esp. for original thinking). This is a smaller line, but its nakedness gives me the freedom to clothe the blog in many ways.

For the curious, here is the old position statement:

"NEXT> by Ramla is about a future that becomes past faster than we know it. So how do we anticipate, and make use of rapid change? Where, essentially, is the world going to? Or is an essence even there? NEXT> by Ramla predicts, anticipates, and celebrates a future that is not centrally controlled. That is going to BE. And fast! This requires new thinking skills and high perception to survive and prevail. In a rapidly changing world, this may be all that matters."

What do you think?

F1 Pit Crew: Excellence in Action!

2005-09-05T21:54:00.000+05:00

“Every Second Counts” is an article about McLaren Mercedes pit crews that taught me about excellence in teamwork. The article appeared in 2000 in Team McLaren’s (fan group) magazine Racing Line.

At that time (and now once again after a long dry winning spell) McLaren was known for its short pit stops that were under 7 seconds. For the uninitiated, the pit stop is when a car in F1 racing stops for fuel and tune up. F1 winners often win by less than a second’s margin, so a “pit stop strategy” is crucial to minimize the stop time, and have as few stops as possible while not compromising on the safety/drive-ability of the car.

The Pit Crew
A pit stop crew is made up of 21-23 members typically for every team (Ferrari, McLaren, Toyota, etc.). Each member controls their part of the job and their task is not just to minimize the time, but to close their work before deadline and not get in anyone else’s way. They are trained in what they do as at action time, no one is overseeing what they do at that moment. The beauty is in the coordination. The pit stop has to be designed in a way that the driver facilitates his team in facilitating him. If he is even centimeters off the stop mark, his team loses seconds in adjusting position – which eventually means that the driver loses. In a pit stop, everyone is the master of their own game – they are the expert of the part of the task they deal with. The lollipop man*, the jacks, the fuel-men, the type men – each person is the expert in their task.

Just meditate on the pictures above (I found better Ferrari pictures). These are two different pictures, but it’s hard to tell the difference. This is how well-trained the teams are. What’s in between the lines of the Racing Line article above is the understanding among the team members. If they were spending their times poking into others’ affairs, the pit stop would be better off in a normal gas station. My lessons:

The driver may be the hero-leader, but when it comes to expertise on individual matters, he follows experts on the matter – such as the lead engineer. The final decision, however, is of the driver.
A leader doesn’t have to individually handle all aspects of the work. That’d be poor leadership.
If a leader’s people win, he wins. It also means he has to make room for them to win. Their loss would be his loss. And their victory is his victory. So no snatching the personal glory of team members! (Oh-so-common in business boardrooms.)
An agile team is required to deliver the offer fast and first to the market. Just as an agile pit crew sends a car back on the track faster.
If excellence is created in each part of the value chain, the final product is superior.
...But, it’s about the car, stupid! “Excellence in value chain” can’t be misunderstood to collect the best hodgepodge of parts. You can’t fit a jet’s tires to an F1 car no matter how much more excellent they are! Likewise a team can’t be made of disconnected stars (e.g. the Pakistani cricket team – a notorious collection of starts who don’t see eye-to-eye), or the components of a process can’t be unequal. There’s got to be a “balance” – assembly line style! This is especially relevant to employers who collect goodie-bags of talented people but not a team – what’s more tragic than a Stars’ War?
Excellence is by intelligent design (and practice, and training). It is not a "magic moment" - a random chance.
F1 engineering is very, very sexy. Why can’t we have service stations like that in normal life??

* “Huh, who’s a lollipop man? Are they vending candies in the pit lane??” Want to know who’s who in a pit crew? See this fabulous article.

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

A moment of silence...

2005-09-01T02:02:00.000+05:00

- SILENCE -

An exciting day in Blogosphere - a sad day in the world sphere. In the memory of the 800+ Iraqis killed in a stampede and the many in USA devastated by hurricane Katrina.

The photos and links are from CNN.

Special note/ode: The photo above is by a "citizen journalist."

May Allah bless them. And us.

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

3108 - Blog Day 2005

2005-08-31T21:01:00.000+05:00

Nir Ofir thought up of 3108/BlogDay so that the bloggers break the routine of reciprocal gratification. You know, Google ranks pages based on their rank, which is based on how many other pages link to them. The more pages link to PageX, the more important PageX looks to Google and gets higher on the Google results. Blogosphere was beginning to earn a little suspicious reputation for this "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" linking.

Ofir suggests an end to this by asking bloggers to step out of their clans and explore the wide, diverse blogosphere. On 3108 (August 31 - it reads like the word "blog" when written as 3108), all participating bloggers link to five new blogs that are different from their usual interests and points of view. And as for participating: everyone's invited!

Serendipity! The amazing variety of life revealed in one lovely accident! It took me to many blogs that I discovered in the past couple of days - these are the best five:

1. Order and Anarchy - by Syed Sibghatullah - tags: politics, society. An insightful blog about Pakistani politics, the local elections, the state of the society. It almost reads like an op-ed in a national daily. Has a clean, uncluttered look.
2. Closet Therapy - by Closet Therapy - tags: fashion, lifestyle, shopping. A colorful, spunky blog with product reviews, "lust" lists, and just plain fashion and shopping writeups.
3. Science Blog - by Ben Sullivan and "a team of science editors, writers, and enthusiasts" - tags: science. This is a meta-blog with "node" blogs sticking out in true scientific fashion. Topics range from brain & behavior to media and security & defense. Aha! Perhaps I should satisfy my passion for physics here and get writing on theories of time!
4. Shifting Light (Postcard from Provence) - by Jullian-Merrow Smith - tags: art, painting, nature, France. Am I proud of the gems I've discovered! I once chanced upon this site a long time ago, and today, I'll take Ofir advice and discover something beyond my usual sphere. With a different design, this blog features a painting a day from the blogger/painter's studio. You can also receive a painting a day in your inbox through an opt-in newsletter. My artsy gift for you!
5. Bakpakchik - by (tada!) bakpakchik - tags: personal. I discovered this one through a comment left on NEXT>. I found her storyboard blogging very amusing and unusual (though not unseen).

This is my truly random blog pick-basket. Am I delighted or what! :) BlogDay zindabad!

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Madam, you're an idiot

2005-08-06T16:11:00.000+05:00

Wha...!? Whoa! Bhai saab! You think I'm an idiot!?
These are the kinds of thoughts that flashed through my mind - and face, I'm sure - as I found myself being duped by the sellers on a shopping trip.

I was shopping at this overpriced market in Karachi (it's close to home) to buy some essentials for a pilgrimage tour. It had been some time since I had been out shopping on my own, and I had to devise a way to get a bargain. Pretending to be a dumb customer is a strategy I employ to negotiate - it kind of alarms the seller: "could-be irritating girl, right ahead!" Usually, they give me a bargain just to get me out of the shop.

But this isn't something that really works. (I'm just checking different strategies.) In fact, I don't even have to try to act dumb - I walked in to several shops that seemed to be waiting for customers (in a minute we'll know why) - and the shopkeepers had this "in walks my prey" written all over. My thin veneer of the naive-university-girl-out-for-shopping quickly wore out as I tried to control my temper - and amusement.

At the cosmetics shop, I was presented with a thick-grained blush-on in a wornout plastic pack. It was from "UK." Now a quality blush (or eyeshadow, or even chocolate!) is fine-grained. You can't even feel the powder if you rub it between your fingers. I asked them if "UK" was in a bara [unregulated markets, often full of smuggled or counterfeit goods] in Peshawar? They gave me that "silly lady asking too many questions - why don't you just buy the damned thing and leave!" look. They lost the sales, and even in my confidence in what appeared to be perfectly legit Etude cosmetics.

Other Stories [more of the same]:

Repeat: Cotton-buds pack declaring it's a 100-bud pack, with only about 50 cotton buds. When I noted, the price was slashed from Rs. 25 to Rs. 20. Thank you!

Repeat: The salesgirl, pitching another small-time item: "And this is for.... [turns to the shopowner] How much should I say?" He doesn't look up and says: "Make it 50." I: "Er, this sticker says it's Rs. 30.50." Salesgirl: [Pause, blink.] "We also have to make profit." I: "Ok, make Rs. 5 profit." Salesgirl to shopowner: "Khalid bhai?? ['Brother Khalid...']" Khalid Bhai, doesn't look up but for a frustrated glance: "Ok, ok. [[Stupid customer!]]" Salesgirl: "Ok, 35." I: "Ok, 35." My heart: "30.50 has profit included." I, to heart: "Shut up, sir. I'm in a hurry here, but my only solace is to blog it!"

Repeat: I: [On being presented with a cheap-shot "Italian" blush pack when I asked for Etude, of which the shop bears huge posters. The printing on the box was coming off.] "This is not Italian." Khalid Bhai: "Madam, you said it so abruptly. Don't do this... [Pause] This is Italian." I: [blink, blink] "Let me say it politely, This is not Italian." Khalid Bhai [removes all cosmetics from the counter, sullen] "Ok."

What makes these people think they'll get business if they try to fool the now-extremely savvy customers? Their large shops with 0-2 customers at one time bore testimony to their anachronistic selling techniques.
P.S. Retailing needs an overhaul. At least, all items should have a price tag, at least the branded ones.
P.P.S. Pakistani firms need to focus on branding big time. They are losing sales by the unethical selling practices of the retailers who are pocketing the unreasonable amounts of profits.

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Break!

2005-07-27T15:58:00.000+05:00

Hi readers. I am on a little break here, involved with a few creative assignments. Actually, working on so many topics at one time, I've got my own tiny Internet in my head! I'll be back in about a week, perhaps earlier. While I'm gone, why not check out a few interesting FREE reads?

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki - a manifesto I recommended to my students of entrepreneurship. Pretty interesting. It emphasises the prototyping approach to get going. I've decided to include prototyping as a compulsory part of my next "hands-on" entrepreneurship class.
How to be Creative by Hugh MacLeod - dispelling a fat load of myths about creativity. A shocking, provocative, but real-life welcome to the world of creativity in advertising. Warning: Real Life, dead ahead!
Start Talking Ideas - Want to Make Your Mark on the world? Want to do something? Check this site out if you have an idea that you want to bring to life.

I am off for now. Just a little something else: How woulld you like to be the designer for a branded line of t-shirts, given the chance?

Just think wishful, no economics, no real-life. It's a wish survey. Leave a comment or mail.

Oh yes, anonymous comments are allowed once again. And the site's licensed under a Creative Commons Deed now. More later. Salam for now!

Really missing me? Here's the email: nextbyramla AT gmail DOT com
P.S. As a way of giving more time to things that really matter (me, my family, my faith), I am practicing spending fewer time online, especially on emails. I'm scheduling weekly time for email responses. It may be slower, but it also much better and thoughtful!

Small is the new big

2005-07-22T22:45:00.000+05:00

Can a small firm pose serious threat to a large one? A reader disagreed with the idea that Nestlé Pakistan could face competition from Cottage Foods - a small, unknown new entrant. What Cottage Foods eventually does is something I am not privy to. But I sure think that even in Pakistan, which by no means is a very developed economy/nation, consumerism basics in the urban centers are similar to the basics the world over. And so are the opportunities.

Whatever the scale or type of an economy, certain things about human psyche always hold true, which is why small and medium enterpises thrive side-by-side with the large giants. And one day, they can grow in to major challenges. The stories of the local Pakistani food and beverage companies such as Haleeb and Tapal with their runaway success testify this. They didn't start out as big as Unilever or Nestlé, but today, they are a force to reckon with.

Besides, Pakistan has a highly associative culture. So the cornerstone / small, huggable company has a chance to be a preferred product provider. In fact, with the rising consumerism in Pakistan that brings with it a dissociative culture, the best form of a company would be a middle-of-the-path enterprise with the elegance of a large corporation (on delivery of promise and branding) and warm lovability of a corner dhaba.

Tom Peters think a small corporation stands a big chance in its niche. Here's his list of "musts" for the "little guy." Or gal. Underdog Marketing by TEC International suggests this:

Define the market
Differentiate until your drop &
Dominate your segment

Of course, Pakistan is not a place where a copy&paste strategy will work as is. But the basic principles of organized marketing will apply to most markets. At any rate, it doesn't hurt to be loved by the customer!

The thinking tummy

2005-07-20T02:38:00.000+05:00

Instinct. Gut feel. Something that all business schools don't teach, but should. The Trump University newsletter [vol 8/ Go With Your Gut] says:

We all have instincts. The important thing is to know how to use them. You may have superb academic credentials, but if you don’t use your instincts you might have a hard time getting to and staying at the top. Knowing how to use your instincts is one of those gray areas that remain... [Read more...]

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Cut it short and just KISS!

2005-07-20T01:47:00.000+05:00

Heard of the KISS principle of oral communication? No, don't pout and poise the lips just yet, it's a short-hand for Keep It Short and Simple. Personally, I prefer the more cheeky version: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I bumped into Your Elevator Pitch by chance, and it turned out to be a great resource for my Entrepreneurship class! The idea is neat: Can you summarize and pitch your business idea clearly, and communicate in the time that it takes to make an elevator ride? If not, you may need to understand your own business before presenting it.

The site intro says:

An "elevator pitch" is a quick and concise way to communicate who you are, what you're trying to do and why you do it better. It's much more than a mission statement, it's understanding your business in a way that gets people excited and thinking.

I used the idea in the class today: I asked the students who are making group business plans to give an elevator pitch about their offer. The idea was, if the elevator pitch sounds okay, we have something solid on hand. I have made the elevator pitch the starting point of the class biz plans.

What happened next? The correlation between a good pitch and a plausible business idea was clear. Pitches that raised the most comments, "It's vague!" "What are you trying to say?" didn't have a sound business idea. The idea's bubble burst as questions pointed in.

One pitch about a telecom product created quite a buzz. The idea raised questions about the legality and technical aspects of the product. There was incredulous suspicion in the air, and some of the people, me included, just didn't get the idea until we played 20 questions. As questions and discussions pounded in, it was clear that the biz plan and the marketing plan will have to focus on the product part and educate the consumer about the tech part first.

One Pakistani telco comapny, GoCDMA, could learn from this. The product hasn't worked, and the marketers complain that the customer doesn't get it. Ahan!

For more help on elevator pitches, see sister site: Only 30 Floors

Email: nextbyramla AT gmail.com

Burning to find answers?

2005-07-15T13:39:00.000+05:00

Burning Questions is a premier global business gathering where... leading executives and management thought leaders... explore the latest research and emerging best practices that will give... practical insights for steering [an] organization toward a more productive and profitable future.

Burning Questions is where forward looking business people discuss, debate, and ultimately set the strategic agenda for the months and years ahead. {Read More...}

Can Pottermania be potted up?

2005-07-14T21:47:00.000+05:00

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in the wizarding saga, goes on sale worldwide at 0001 BST [British Standard Time] on Saturday. UK book chain Waterstone's says it is expecting about 300,000 to queue at its stores for the late night opening on Friday. {Read More}

Meanwhile, doubts prevail about the magic of Harry - has he been overcommercialized? In the latest MarketingProfs.com newsletter, Ann Handley declared that the Pottermania was limited to the spell of the story itself. The merchandise didn't have the magic of the word. There are others who wonder if the Harry Potter charm itself is wearing off? The BBC lets the public wonder.

That said, the core Potter brand (ah, them lovely books!) shows limited signs of wearing off. Publishers expect 2 million books to vanish in a day.

From the blogosphere: The Leaky Cauldron, the most popular Harry Potter blog on Google search list, is maintaining a countdown clock accurate up-to-the-second and some excellent news about the upcoming release.

Is Harry Potter just a brand with a craze following (it just seems to be a must-have book series) or is it a lovemark, adored for the spell it creates?

London blasts and the blogosphere

2005-07-14T15:00:00.000+05:00

What's terrorism? How should the new world deal with it? Quite an argument going on here (Tompeters.com) on the London blasts.

There was another dimension to the blasts: the power of the individual as a media source. The BBC and Guardian received images caught by viewers on cell phones and digital cameras. The blogosphere was full of personal accounts of survivors. Blogs instantly reported the news (courtesy tp wire service). The BBC invited a survivor blogging about her ordeal, survival and coping - and she's keeping a survivor's diary at the BBC News website.

The world of news has changed for good with blogging, T-mobiles/t-zones, and the high level of interactivity between the newsmakers, reporters, and the public.

What will the role of the journalist be in the new world of media, when we can get the news straight from the source??

Nestle PK has competition in health food...

2005-07-13T17:00:00.000+05:00

Just spotted a new line of milk food products by Cottage Foods. While I reached for the Nestle fruit yogurt (my substitute for ice cream) in a grocery shop fridge, I found the Cottage Foods Low-fat/ regular yogurts lined up right next to Neslte.

The type-face and the design is good-looking - not the typical Pakistani. (Seems to be a direct life from some American/European style design template). The line of products (cheese, pasteurized milk, yogurt, raita) nods to the growing trend of health foods.

I am glad to see a local health food brand come up. This will give Nestle Pakistan a run for their money.

Re: the website. I don't understand why the customers have to register for delivery through email. This still isn't how B2C business is done in Pakistan. There should be a 0900 number for home delivery registration and a toll-free 0800 for customer quesries and feedback. Cool interface, but I could do without the ultra-rapid scrolling on info pages.

Whole World Thinking - the third way

2005-07-10T17:02:00.000+05:00

Left hemisphere of the brain ll Western hemisphere of Earth;

Right hemisphere of the brain ll Eastern hemisphere of Earth;

hence

Whole-Brain Thinking ll Whole-World Thinking!!

It occured to me while I was thinking about the balanced, whole brain thinking, and this discussion on tompeters.com has prompted me to finally blog this idea:

I was teaching Right Brain thinking and mind maps to my students of entrepreneurship when I had an epiphany: the optimal thinking and intelligence is WHOLE BRAIN THINKING. If you look at the WORLD, and its two hemispeheres are macrocosmic enlargements of our brains - the left/ Western hemisphere is logical, precise, analytical, individualistic, masculine. The right/ Eastern hemisphere is holistic, intuitive, interdependent, creative, feminine.

The optimal thinking is the whole brain thinking. The optimal Way is the WHOLE WORLD WAY. The one that balances the yin and the yang. The East and the West. Our Way and Their Way. It takes the best of both and creates a common ground. And it accomodates both of "the others." It's very much like a male-female interaction taking place to create a family. Both are different. By co-depending and understanding, a man and a woman create a harmonious relationship while still remaining themselves. Think Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.

I am also working on a manifesto, The Religious Corporate Leader. And that is perhaps what really inspired the Whole World Thinking idea. For this manifesto, I have used not just religious theories, but also the knowledge of chaos theory, lessons from The Art of War, Seven Habits, theories of Leonardo da Vinci, current business literature and what not. That it all effortlessly blended in together made me wonder if there is really a way in which apparantly distinct and conflicting knowledge can be brought together? Is there a way in which the whole world can think together to produce a better, third way of thinking, just as the two sides of the brain can think as a whole to arrive at optimal solutions?

Wannado City

2005-07-07T13:01:00.000+05:00

The blurb says: At Wannado City, kids can be whatever they want to be – right now. From paleontologist to news reporter, to everything in between, kids try out tons of grown-up jobs in the first indoor city just their size. They can operate on a patient, cook up a pizza or even solve a crime.

This is amazing. Be what you wanna be! DO what you wanna do! The ultimate realistic-fantasy of all human beings: get a taste of what it's like to do what you want to do with real objects and playmates.

Kids play out their fantasies in style by role-playing with imaginery objects and imaginary settings (and in my kiddie days, there were sometimes massive disputes on setting the scene and even assigning gender roles). But in Wannado City, brainchild of Mexican-born entrepreneur Luis Javier Laresgoiti, kids roleplay in real-life settings and carry out virtually real tasks. He got the idea for this experiential park when he watched his own daughter play with his telephone.

This park is not only experiential, which is the big idea of today's business world, but Luis also has the colorful designation of Chief Creative Officer. Certainly the kind of designations that should get a seat in the Board of Directors of today's organizations. Use them, or lose them! [And if they "should not" get a seat, they "will" get a seat.]

The next thing I'd like to see is a Wannado Park for adults! Or a kiddie-style amusement park for the adults. For a loooong time, the kids' play pens in McDonald's have been making me think of this. No more boring old gardens (ala the Karachi Safari Park) for adult amusement! I WANNA DO some thing! :)

And now... Trump University!

2005-05-24T15:59:00.000+05:00

I registered with the Trump University today, which I had accidentally discovered yesterday. I want to take the entrepreneurship course there. Trump University is using the Learning by Doing method, which is what I am also practicing in the entrepreneurship course I am teaching at a university. Rather than make them read backward-looking textbooks, I want the students to choose their assignments and investigate the future opportunities in their own region.

There are a few things one can learn at the Trump University.

How do you rate on nine success factors on the Trump Success Profile? What do you need to know before buying or selling real estate? Who are the "bottom of the pyramid" and why are they a hot market?

Most of this is old for me, but I am interested in learning how they execute the entrepreneurship course, and I may learn a thing or two. At any rate, it's not bad to learn a little from The Donald. I already found my weak areas on the Trump Success Profile, and though the test is pretty simplistic, it's a good way of red-marking the areas of improvement.

Trump's reality show, "The Apprentice," is already my hot favorite TV show. What I enjoy most is how you can always tell which candidate is going to get fired - and how they could have saved themselves were they able to see themselves objectively. Eerie. There's a reason why people see SUCCESS/FAILURE written on your forehead. And how it's upto you to pull that label off!

Already got a home on Mars in 2076? Tell the MIT'ians...

2005-05-07T00:25:00.000+05:00

Time travel has fascinated many of us, and I am not exception. But why hadn't it crossed our mind to invite a future traveler in time back to our home, right now? Amal Dorai of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) thought of just that.

He's invited any one from the future to a Time Traveler Convention - if they have a cure for cancer, a home on Mars, or anything to prove they really are back from the future!

Location: MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) East Campus Courtyard (42:21:36.025 degrees north, 71:05:16.332 degrees west)
Date: Saturday, May 07, 2005
Time: 10 P.M. sharp for the time travelers

I can't wait to hear about any guest who turns up!

Flexibility Key to Retaining Women (HBS Working Knowledge)

2005-05-05T14:35:00.000+05:00

I recently negotiated a work-from-home arrangement at my job. This was how I could balance my life and work - and avoid the hectic and tiring commuting routine of Karachi. And this would give me time to focus on things that I love, such as writing this blog!

This, I realized through conversations with friends and through research on the Net, is a common issue with today's economic-participative females. I was surprised to see McKinsey's Quarterly talk about work-life balance, and now here is a Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article. This will help many an organization reconsider their flexibility for females (and for that matter even men in workforce who need more quality time at home).

Happy reading!

In the workplace, employers need to take into account women who take a temporary "off-ramp" from their careers. Here is how to keep them connected to your company. An excerpt from Harvard Business Review.

Oops! + Coming up NEXT>

2004-11-21T21:09:00.000+05:00

Dear readers: The God of blogging must be preventing me from writing NEXT>
I have been losing the last few posts that answered many of the quetions sent my way.

Let me make a mental note here: I HAVE to give you blogs on:

- Basic Instinct [Aha! No funny eye-gymnastics!]
- The Importance of Being in Context - Consumer Context Planning (tm)
- Seth Saab vs. the MBA
- Broadcast Industry: Where to?

Also, can anyone help me find a great looking (PURPLE-colored!) blog template? I'd love to give you a better look. It's about time NEXT> kicks some designer a**!

Dude, where's your b-equity?

2004-11-14T03:17:00.000+05:00

1/ Not Using Your Brand's Full Value?

It's insane how many brand managers just don't turn their brand's equity into maximum profits. It's a COMPLETE, DEAD - WEIGHT - LOSS to the economy. The areas not served by these brands are their domains. They remain unserved, creating gaps in the market.

Underdeveloped economies like those of Pakistan particularly suffer from this.

2/ Leverage the Brand Equity!

What, exactly, is leveraging brand equity? The very simple definition, to me, would be to use the core product in a 100 different ways. Bring about variations in:

price
points of sales
add-ons
packaging
applications and uses
markets served
times served
a million other things! [Imagination wanted!]

and sell to all the different markets. When you variate, you create a new market. And this age is about creating exciting new markets rapidly. If you don't you are grossly underusing your brand.

I think the Nestlé coffee dispenser is cool: it's got everything from 8 types of coffee, to hot chocolate milk and hot water for tea drinkers. I think Google (the love of my marketing life!) is the prime example. Google uses its PageRank and search technology to create new products everyday: from Froogle, to AdWords, AdSense, and what not. (Google labs are sahksy!)

3/ Wanted: Crazy Lateral Thinkers

Clearly, we need more than folks whose expertise does not range beyond creating ads and "360-degree/ integrated marketing plans." We need product developers. Designers. Category developers.

We need brash, crazy, genius marketers. Smart, self-assured people who can look at the core need they are satisfying (not even the product, unless it's something as godly as PageRank), and ask: Where do I want to go today? And get there.

Needed: Smart Retailing

2004-11-10T01:04:00.000+05:00

RETAILING will be the next big employment sector in the marketing industry of Pakistan, or the world over. There are lost efficiencies and profits in this sector, and in industries which could use retailing as an option. It's a loss both ways.

For instance, the retailers need to optimize stores for space and display; i.e. have better merchandising. "Experiential marketing" and merchandising are untapped areas. Without any significant investment the retailers can enhance the shopping experience, and ultimately the sales volume, with merchandising and display that attracts maximum shopper dollars. The methods for this are known, but not applied. Meanwhile, utilizing new theories such as experiential marketing that plays on the senses of touch, sound, smell, taste, and vision will help transform dull and ordinary stores in to ones that customers love! (And this is why I harp on "3 for a great marketer/ brand manager.")
Second, there need to be economies in purchasing (and distribution, but that merits a separate discussion). I once heard about an IT based solution to the same, can anyone point us there again? To be exact, re-ordering, bulk purchasing, and bundling can use some economic sense. AND AN E-SOLUTION. One "industry" which can definitely need this is the meat & groceries industry. Perhaps there is no better application of retailing than in sabzi mandis (vegetable & fruit markets) and meat markets and shops.
We need more NICHE stores. And hyper marts. But niche stores more than anything else.
AND we need solutions for shop (front) display. And catalog marketing. And store management. And store context plan!
And we need extensive research - available on an industry level, not just to certain companies - about consumer shopping behavior, sales patterns, display preferences, color and ambience preferences, etc. I come back to human behavior: how many stores are particular about the music they’re playing? Or NOT playing? And how well does it go with their merchandise?
The typical Pakistani store still has slow- or no-moving stock staling right in front of shoppers' eyes. What that says about the attitude of the sellers and a lack of any retailing suavity is obvious. To get rid of this trash should be the first thing-to-do for most retailers.

Even Wharton is paying attention. The Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at Wharton School of Business brings together "world class researchers, educators, students, and the global leaders of today’s retail industry."

Do you agree that retailing is neglected and has a major potential for growth? Do you disagree? Comment below, or drop a note at nextbyramla@gmail.com.

Marketing Begins Now - Part 2

2004-11-07T23:05:00.000+05:00

Let me preempt the criticism about "stating the obvious" in Marketing Begins Now.

"Product"
Of course!

"Find a gap and fill it"
Of God's-sake course, Ramla!

"Right Context."... Are you saying of course?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Your answer goes here.)

"Google."... Are you saying of course?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Your answer goes here.)

The greatest of products today were not obvious to those who took the need for them for granted. This is exactly what is meant by knowing what people really, really need or want (their information to get sorted). And giving them the best offer (Google and its related products), at the right price, on the right time, and within the right context.

And what is context? Keep watching this blog b/c a book's worth of volume can be filled on the critical importance of context. Watch out, especially, for "Consumer Context Planning."

Send your comments to: nextbyramla@gmail.com

3 for a Great Marketer/ Brand Manager - Part 2.2

2004-11-07T22:16:00.000+05:00

Know that this is a changed world. These are some facts you must know to understand consumers and avoid ugly surprises:

This is the infamous Age of Anxiety. People don't have time. People don't know who they are, what got them here, and where will they be tomorrow.
The world is fragmented and divided in as many ways as there are hair on all cats on Earth.
People have too many choices. Technology is making choices cheap. And attractive. You are one of the many choices. Be the only one. And the top one.
Today's Average Person is standing near the End of History as s/he knows it. That makes life priorities very different. S/He doesn't give your brand a damn. Unless you really, really are doing something for her/him. Everyday.
Media is distorting your consumer's psychological profile. Consider the average young woman who is getting beauty and sex tips from Cosmo, fashion inspiration from India, and clothes from China. She has a melting pot of values and choices, and very little dependability on her own civilisation (home civilisation - what is that animal anyway?). How do you market to her? What are the taglines for your latest campaign?

Consider the very funny case of Pakistanis too. They watch Indian movies and use
that lingo in their daily conversation (stuff like, Bolay toh?!) but repel when KFC used a tagline from Munna Bhai MBBS, the wildly popular tragi-comedy from India.

So, the question is:

Where will you be if you didn't have a superior knowledge of consumer psyche?

3 for a Great Marketer/ Brand Manager - Part 2

2004-11-07T21:39:00.000+05:00

Superior knowledge of human behavior has always been critical, but it's a matter of life or a quick death in a world where consumers have:

individualistic beliefs
fragmented lifestyles
highly defined and variable choice
little to lose if they switch
short memories
no regrets for botching relationships with brands

If the brand managers of today want to succeed in chaotic times, they have to depend on the principles of order and stability. "Good Old Stuff" is reliable. It's secure. And it shows a method to madness.

It's a backward chain: when you are opening a door of uncertainty, use a certain key.

Knowledge of human behavior (HB) gives a method to the madness of consumer behavior. It opens the door to knowing the consumer. That opens the door to their attitudes and beliefs. That opens the door to knowing their lifestyle, values, habits. That opens the door to them: who are they, what are they doing, and how the hell can you get them to buy your proposition rather than anyone else's?

Marketers who don't get HB right are dead. They can't get in to the minds of the consumers. They don't know what drives them. Why are the holding their job anyway?

To-do list

2004-11-06T15:52:00.000+05:00

This will be my list of to-dos for everyday management and marketing.

1. Use common sense.
2. Do the obviously right thing, because a simple look at the world reveals no one is going the obvious right thing.
3. Be empathetic. Really think hard about what empathy means... and now understand
that you have to empathize everyday, and keep up to pace with the drastically changing life of the consumers.
4. Embrace change.. by initiating it. Humbug book stuff, but hardly ever done!
5. Focus on the basics... cut out the s***. If people want good price, they won't eat or drink your image.
6. Ask THESE questions: what, where, why, when, how, by whom, for whom?

Easy stuff na? Easy to overlook any day....

And Marketing Ends NEXT>

2004-11-06T15:10:00.000+05:00

BrandClique is a tiny group of some of Pakistan's very dynamic young marketers. I proposed to my companions, Adil C. of Henkel Arabia in particular, there: "Marketing as we know it will be dead."

Why? How?? This is a dramatic statement!

But I stand by it. This is the reason why, as given to the group:

I'll tell you why I think marketing as we know it will be dead. Very simple - marketing is no longer going to be about what the corporation thinks. From the days of what the seth saab ["Mr Owner"] or the Jewish entrepreneur wanted, we have come to the days of what's happening at the consumer's end, and how (s)he "calls" a brand experience.

The word "call" is from the IT terminology, as in, call a result... call a query. Here it means creating an experience.

If my study of technology and consumer behavior is correct, and I wouldn't think otherwise, then the creation of the brand and its context have rapidly shifted to the consumer's end. The consumer has a complex choice of media and how (s)he attends to it. How easy do you think it is for a marketer to predict whether I am watching a 30-second spot on TV, or immersed in sending and receiving SMS's on my cell?

Each day, it's just getting worse, as there is an asynchronous movement in media, technology, and manufacturers. Simply put, by the time a marketer decides to send out an email campaign, the world is onto SMS. When the manufacturer/advertiser wakes up to SMS, the consumer's onto MMS. By the time we reach there... the consumer is tired, wants a life, and is enjoying out with the family. What do we do? Where do we catch them? And this is the simplest of the question. I'll tell you a little later what are the questions....

Marketers are dead if they don't see things from consumers' perspectives. This problem is global, and the giant is only awakening. My word for it. I'll give you an example. A friend in an agency came up with a product name for a drink:"SAX." It was drawn on the imagery of jazz music, and supposed to elicit classic feelings. The product name ia a sexual pun. It sounded great as the name for a novel, may be. Or an opera. I asked him, tell me, do you think a man or a lady, or a family at a table would say, give me SAX? He said, er, no. Why didn't I think of that?

I state the obvious, but something tells me it's always been about the obvious... Yet in real life, it was never so obvious. I'll cut it short for now with this: marketing as we do it will be dead because we have to adjust to painful levels of speed, quality, and pricing. We also have to take an extremely different perspective. Basically it's just good old marketing, but the technological change factor is so high, it's changing the shape of things. Think of it like an element (hydrogen, carbon) under extreme conditions. It is the same, but it is not the same. Carbon as graphite will be dead. Carbon as diamond will remain.

Marketing Begins Now.

2004-11-06T14:29:00.000+05:00

In my first job interview after MBA at a strategic marketing agency (Bulls Eye), I was asked the meaning of marketing.

My answer was: find a gap and fill it! Marketing at the core remains about:

knowing what people really need...
and gathering the best resources to fulfill the need...
with the best possible offer...
and then communicating the offer to the right people, at the right time, in the right context

The marketing theory may have evolved the world over, but there are markets where some products are simply missing. For instance, credit schemes including car and home financing, and personal loan schemes have been having a blast in Pakistan. 4 years ago in a banking & finance seminar at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), I remember a fellow graduate student Hisham Ghouri raising the point. While the students huddled to prepare their questions, and speakers droned on about issues in the industry, my colleague puzzled over this:

In Pakistan, a person struggles the better part of their life after education to get a car, a home, and a decent lifestyle. In developed nations, young professionals have access to these facilities shortly after graduation, and can spend the rest of their life focusing on professional achievements (and debt payments! But that's not the point now.)

That day, it was a question that stumped most speakers. Today, these products are rolling in dough, given the high demand gap they are satisfying. Regardless of the risks involved with a credit economy, this is what people needed: a lifestyle. Plus there are other products focused on convenience, such as electronic account management and direct utility bill payments. Why would they not do well?

Marketing begins with knowing what people really need. And giving them that.

nextbyramla@gmail.com

Views on The Religious Corporate Leader

2004-11-04T13:13:00.000+05:00

Taking a liberal permission from my Orkut friends, here are some of the comments, and my responses:

“Ramla,I find this approach quite fascinating. In the past, Muslim scientists and thinkers were ahead of the rest of the world. I guess since management is a relatively new discipline, there has not been much thought put into its connection with Islam. Yet.
I heard that Faiez Seyyal has also written management books from an Islamic perspective. I haven't read his books yet but am trying to get my hands on them. If you have read his books, what do you think of them? And are your approaches similar?”
Sabaa Ali 11/2/2004

“Dear Saba:
I haven’t read Faiez Seyal, but it’s going on top of my books wish list now.
Your point is exactly mine: why separate religion from life? Business, like every other field of life, needs a guiding philosophy, and a 'way.' And when people use Islam or any other system of faith to define their lives, why won’t they make it a part of their corporate life?
I think the gap exists because of an 'applied religious philosophy for business/ management' approach. Interestingly, many of the corporate leaders already follow it in their personal way, but the teachings are not shared as frequently and as scientifically as, say, Adam Smith’s economic theory.
I want to be one of those to bridge the gap.”
-Ramla A.

“I like it. I voted. You may want to get in touch with the CEO of the Aga Khan University Hospital. He speaks very eloquently on public forums on how Islam can be applied in everyday corporate life, be it business, commercial or personal dealings. He’s worth listening to.”
Jalal Curmally 11/2/2004

“Thanks, Jazak-Allah! I have heard the CEO of Aga Khan, in fact some of what he said inspired me to write this manifesto.
My stance is different from his only in that I am more business-inclined... and make a direct link between the corporate world and Islam. This is a subtle but significant difference. I would take the approach of redefining business studies and biz mgmt in the light of religious philosophy, just as we study it today in the light of Taylor's or Mayo's or Smith's philosophy... Do tell me what you think.”
-Ramla A.

The Religious Corporate Leader
Click to view.
Update: The proposal was removed after being accepted. It generated the highest number of votes.

Important: Your Comments

2004-11-04T11:39:00.000+05:00

Hi readers!

AoA.

NEXT> by Ramla has generated some positive and interesting response, especially from friends at Orkut. Also, the proposal “The Religious Corporate Leader” I have posted at ChangeThis.com has generated quite some interest and wonder. I encourage the readers to post their comments and notes HERE at the end of the blog, and get to know what others are thinking and contributing. This way, your ideas can be helpful to non-orkut members too.

Keep the comments and ideas coming. Thanks!

What lies NEXT> in the future of business?
Read http://nextbyramla.blogspot.com

3 for a Great Marketer/ Brand Manager

2004-11-01T22:54:00.001+05:00

Marketers and brand managers, listen up! In the modern world of marketing, you gain a superior edge if you have these three assets:

Superior and sophisticated knowledge of human behavior
Empathy
Ability to apply the knowledge of one field to another to create interesting results (sometimes known as intra-disciplinary learning)

This is simple to the point that it might elicit a "duh!" from you. But the simplest of things are the hardest to stick by. And they are just the right things to do.

Step on a landmine

2004-10-28T13:13:00.000+05:00

This is "The Landmine Test of Priorities," created after being inspired by a friend (Thanks, Sahar!).

After you have read the article below, do this: Imagine that you have stepped on a landmine. If you remove your foot, you die. If you don't, the landmine will automatically blow in a minute. Now time yourself for ONE MINUTE, and no more than just that, and put down a list of your priorities. In your mind, or on paper.

Let your mind be free of constraints when you take this exercise. Remember, you are on a landmine, and there is no past or future!

After one minute, you are BLOWN. Look at your list of priorities now. What matters most to you?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEP ON A LANDMINE
It's so easy to lose sense of what matters most. It's so hard to know, at times, what we really want. This thing that's called "setting priorities" in more formal words can be pretty tough.

But I've found a way to solve this issue. Simple: I Imagine that I have a foot on a land mine. Then I make a list of what really, really matters.

In the movie Behind Enemy Lines there is a scene where a soldier steps over a landmine and realizes it that very second. He stares at it with horror and disbelief. In the next few moments, he begs his companion to help him and is cruelly refused. (Of course, hardly anything could be done.) He eventually shoots himself to spare himself the agony of waiting for death alone in that silent, big jungle where the landmine was hidden.

A moment's observation can be worth a lifetime of learning. Life is pretty much like this jungle full of secret possibilities and hidden dangers, especially these days when we can't tell where the landmine of death is planted. This death itself can come in the form of actual physical death - or end of relationships, careers, buildings, and people around us. The death of anything that matters.

Death is a moment of truth. I wondered about the soldier who may have had a few minutes to think about his life. In the movie, he was a "bad guy" soldier - if he were good, at least like the central character in American Beauty, we could get a little insight in his last few thoughts.

Anyhow. Whenever I have a decision of importance to make, from keeping a friendship to switching career, I put a mental foot on an imaginary landmine. It quickly tells me what I really, really want and won't regret having done or achieved were I to go in the next few moments.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What did you think? Have you taken the Landmine Test yet? In the comments area below, you may post your own Landmine List of Priorities, and share with others. Try now!

The Religious Corporate Leader

2004-10-28T11:52:00.000+05:00

Since the beginning of time, "faith" or "religion" has been employed by Man to make sense of chaos - to bring the Unknown in to the realm of Understanding. This is still the prevalent practice in many societies - but strengely enough, the big bad world of business seems to be insulated from all this. Religion for corporate leaders? Hard to believe!

But this may change.

Can the corporate leader today be religious, and make sense of chaos? How can a system of faith create a manifesto for corporate Leadership? Can religion and business be reconciled? Why were some of the greatest men of faith involved with business?

On www.changethis.com I have proposed a manifesto that answers these questions. If you vote for the manifesto here by clicking the "Yes, write this manifesto" button, you can get to learn how religion may influence corporate leaders of today.

For a related blog entry, read this.

New day, new business

2004-10-17T23:19:00.000+05:00

When a business has outgrown the potential of its original big idea, throw it out. Do something new. Get another original big idea.
It hurts common business sense - but it is good business sense for the new economy.

Women have had a way with this kind of a strategy that embraces change. Each new fashion cycle, they'd clean up the closet, and take out the old clothes. In charitable societies, these clothes go to the lesser privileged. Sometimes they go to friends and relatives who aren't ahead on the curve of style. Everyone's better off in the deal.

The ladies no longer have to carry an old fashion image. They've utilized the "returns" of each old dress - it's given them basic cover, and it's earned them admiration when it was the right fashionable thing. Now the otherwise "left behind" people can catch up with the reasonably contemporary (sometimes adding a frill here and there to come to par with the latest) - while the fashionable ladies move ahead to adopt the latest on the ramp.

When your business is getting older, and there's a new curve to ride on to, shed off the old. Divest, split, give away. Let the rest of the world catch up and grow. Get a move on!

NEXT> by Ramla::: Know What's Coming

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Ooh!

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3108 - Blog Day 2005

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