Feb 24, 2009

Time: 25 Best Blogs 2009

What are the most influential, most-viewed, best-written, most-hot-topics-picked-up weblogs in the world? Here are what Time start naming it as, 25 Best Blogs 2009:
  1. Talking Points Memo (by Journalist Josh Marshall--politics)
  2. Huffington Post (by Arianna Huffington--politics)
  3. Lifehacker (Group blog--Technology)
  4. MeFi (Group blog--community weblog)
  5. Andrew Sullivan (by Andrew Sullivan--politics)
  6. ...
You go on!

I have been already following some of these weblogs, like Seth Godin's blog (sethgodin.com) which is on marketing, and I love it very much. I deal with its posts like gold!

Anyway, I am strongly suggesting you giving Time's blog ranking a look. You would not waste your time!

Feb 23, 2009

How much do you care about your opposite sex at university?

The years of everybody's life passed by university level of education, especially in the countries I have ever lived, are very important years, for a reason of reasons: being with the opposite sex.

In Afghanistan, passing whole of your life apart and far from girls, in the case you're a boy, and far from boys, if you are a girl, actually must be intolerable. But this that how we've been able to tolerate that, is a question worthy to ask, and so important to deliberate about. Thus, to some extent, universities of any kind, give us, boys and girls, such great, unique, invaluable privilege.

On BW B-School Forum Feb. 22, a discussion was raised by one (dipmyballsinit) of the members (thanks to him!) about "hottest girls". It has been more than a couple of months, I am meticulously following the discussions on B-School Forum, and admittedly, I must say that I have gained a lot. Especially, it helped me very much in easily entering and being admitted at American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), through useful advises and suggestions, being put forward, for example on my admission essay. Anyway, THIS topic to be discussed on B-School Forum is very much new and innovative and interesting, to me at least. Dipmyballsinit begins so:
All of this HSW stuff is getting old. Let's start a discussion we all care about. Which school has the best looking girls?
You know, this kinds of matters have been always important to me, because I believe that they are the things directly related to the real lives of young boys and girls. We can not omit them. We can not ignore them. We can not forget them. We can not reject them. We can not condemn them. Why? because THIS is life, real life. You are against that?

Making girlfriend and boyfriend are natural things, that is, building communication with the opposite sex, which is started by an honest curiosity of a teen trying to discover what's going on over there, on the opposite sex. No matter how deep we go into it; either only chatting, sending SMS, talking, walking, going, coming, as it is the type we mostly have in these countries and mainly we may not exceed those, or sometime going deeper, and sex, love (though this one can also take place with the previous one), marriage (and this one also), and... I don't know, you name it.

The discussion on B-School Forum goes with this that how much you weigh on choosing a specific B-School, considering the availability of your favorable opposite sex. He gives his own answer as, "...For me it's probably not at all, but I still think that it is important to discuss...", so do I.

At AUAF, the atmosphere is relatively open, comparing to Kardan Institute of Higher Education. In fact, one of the primary reasons of opening this weblog was at first, to talk about the relationships between girls and boys at Kardan, when I newly attended there. But, honestly, I didn't dare to start saying even a word about it! Kardan's faculty, administration, and students attitudes were so closed and conservative that even maybe, each of them individually would like to start such debates within Kardan, they do not dare. Even once, I tried that. I asked a question about girls and boys at psychology time, and the consequence: all the girls immediately left the class, and we had a long-lasting dispute between fellows!

Though, I am not still satisfied properly with this, but, I am wondering: what does cause us, or motivate us to be a bit open at AUAF? Does anything change coming over here? What is/are the stimulus?

Feb 21, 2009

Want to feel poverty?

One who's willing to feel the poverty in Afghanistan.

Why do we SO love Google?

Again, why do we love Google--I mean, Jeff Jervis, for example? Here it is then:
I spent the day yesterday at Google and environs—my first visit to Olympus—and came away with one word: smart. I guess I missed that rule in the book: Hire smart people, act smart, be smart. It’s simple and obvious, but I can’t help feel that that is what sets Google apart from other companies: an assumption of intelligence...
Give that a look, I enjoyed, guess you would too.

Feb 20, 2009

Gates' way of presentation

Bill Gates at TED opened a jar of mosquitoes and released them into the audience to show what malaria is! Read here to learn in detail about the way Bill Gates provides a presentation.

Feb 19, 2009

February 19

Today, I am 26. That's it!

Feb 18, 2009

Why is it needed to motivate emplyees to adopt customer-focused behaviors?

[...] why is it so difficult to instill customer-focused behaviors? Why do we even need to talk about motivation? It seems like people would be self-motivated. I believe one reason is because...

Feb 16, 2009

Elaha reout!

Elaha out! Aside from all I said before, how sad it is that our people can not understand the value of life out of and without their ridiculous, idiotic, nonsense, ethnic beliefs! Alas!

What I said, was all I believed and still so. But, that was what, I believed, not the Elaha's voters. So why Elaha could not get up?

Elaha, from the beginning, had not been made for these people. She sang what they do not like. What, they could not manifest their ethnicity by. That was why, Elaha, in her last stage and performance, sang a song which was against (I guess) her taste. She had to--she supposed so. But no result. I don't know...

How such pretty, talented, invaluable girls as Elaha could possibly survive among such people? Maybe, she shouldn't have been back to the process. Thus, she could save her prestige.

Feb 12, 2009

What is your style at learning?

We have been assigned with doing a some sort of process called "Learning Style Inventory", including few questions, through which, you can get what style you are at learning: "AUDITORY learner", "VISUAL learner", or "TACTILE learner".

I am not so much sure about the outcome, which was Visual Learner for me, and has implied some recommendation for that:
If your are a VISUAL learner, then by all means be sure that you look at all study materials. Use charts, maps, filmstrips, notes and flashcards. Practice visualizing or picturing words/concepts in your head. Write out everything for frequent and quick visual review.
It looks like soothsaying! I don't believe in that. It couldn't be so much easy and simple. Okay, you try yourself!

Feb 11, 2009

What could be meant by "Afghanization"?

“Afghanisation”: a rather unfortunate neologism by Christian Bleuer.

The point is not this whether how much I believe that or not, but, it discusses a point, worthy to consider.

Feb 10, 2009

I don't want to become a "millionaire"!

In Afghanistan, whenever you turn on the TV to watch maybe something interesting, you definitely face with an ad, of a bank, a GSM provider, a... I don't know, you name it, which says about a sort of lottery or something like that. I just wonder that what kinds of industries they are in--banking, communication... or, lottery industry?

I want to just ask these businesses that, wouldn't it better to go and a bit work on your products, instead of "making the people, 'millionaire'"?! People are not seeking becoming millionaire by using your products, they just want to satisfy their needs. And, if you're not the one satisfying those needs, why don't you just find a way to become the one? Thus, you wont definitely need even to advertise for your products--that is, "Word of Mouth", which is much stronger.

Feb 8, 2009

Elaha--No! Not anymore!

A few days ago, a friend of mine called me up and talked about the Afghan Star, the Tolo TV contest show, and said, that the directors of the program have thought of a way to turn back some of the guys who had been shot out, including and specially, Elaha Sorour. Apparently (actually according to what the friend of mine said), the numbers of votes being given to the stars have been considerably decreased, so the Tolo's directors have had to care of it and thought of a solution for that. That is, we can again vote, in particular for Elaha. Also some of Elaha's fans has launched a Web site in her name to supper her, including the videos of her performances.

But wait a sec! We must ask ourselves, "Why?". Why should we have another opportunity to give vote and support our favorites? Why must this round be different from the previous rounds? What about those coming up yet? Haven't they been got up, up to here, by the votes of the people?

Personally, I am happy that Elaha can fight again for what she has the talent and the capacity, but, I am not happy about this new process, totally, and the opportunity provided, since this is not the right way, and the way of right. This is CHEATING!

From the beginning of the process, Tolo TV has established a procedure, that is, the stars are promoted to higher stage by the votes of the people which are given via SMS. We, including the voters and the stars, have accepted this rule. However, technically, or musically, whether this procedure is wrong or right, we have accepted that. Then, what has happened now, to violate this rule?

All of this process is fun, up to here. Thus, we can vote, we can support our favorite singers, we can spend our mobile credits to see that our favorite singer has won. But, I am not to be taken advantage; I do NOT allow Tolo TV, nor any GSM provider in Afghanistan, use me like a tool. I wrote about Elaha (here and here) and expressed my sadness when she could not get higher than 8th, all, because I believed that she could be given more than that; something she had the right. I believed that she fought for change, an ethical and moral change, but this, definitely not moral, nor ethical.

All the guys, taking part in this contest, are of youths, who hard are more than 25 years old. This process must not only a scene to challenge the capacities and capabilities of these young boys and girls, but also must be a lesson, by our adults, of ethics, morale, effort, equality, and integrity, for them. But alas, we can observe that our adults show us how to cheat!

I am completely AGAINST this new process.

Feb 5, 2009

Which one is the first: the egg or the hen?


Marketing is not the same as advertising. Advertising is a tiny slice of what marketing is today, and in fact, it's pretty clear that the marketing has to come before the product, not after.
Which comes first, the product or the marketing? Nice, short post by Seth Godin. Give a look!

Feb 4, 2009

LinkedIn down!

Last night, I attended the Orientation at AUAF. A few people addressed including [the names removed], and a few others, I hadn't met them before.

I don't know whether this was due to my eastern attitude or what, all during the addresses, I was feeling that the manner of lecturers was a bit ungracious. I don't know. Maybe it was a problem of my hearing!

I completed all my preliminary administrative works, including ID card, email account, etc.To check the functionality of my AUAF email, I went to the library which is much more bigger than the one of Kardan, and much more equipped (thanks to AUAF, then). I wanted also to check my LinkedIn account, but it didn't work. I thought it could be because of a problem of the computer or the internet connection of AUAF, due to my relatively internet illitracy! But, today I read on TechCrunch, and also, on the LinkedIn's blog itself, that yeah, it was in fact a problem of LinkedIn. Okay, I didn't care that, and I do not.

Feb 3, 2009

You're the one who's putting a nail into her shoes in a marathon?

Last night, I just heard on a TV ad (but, I did not give a look at it!) that a SIM card of Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC), a GSM provider in Afghanistan, charges only 2 afghanis per min while making a call with another AWCC's SIM card, and 4 afghanis with all others. The normal charges for making a call in Afghanistan, almost common for all GSM providers, is 5 afghanis per min.

I am pretty sure this is not the good way of marketing. AWCC is willing to build an advantage for itself, by lowering the prices, but why does it also, by itself, put some limits on this advantage?! It is like that, in a marathon, while nobody has any shoes to run, but you have one, and this is a great advantage for you, but you're putting a nail in your shoes!

Feb 2, 2009

Orientation Week

Okay, the first session at AUAF, whatever the impression was, passed. What about the Orientation? What would it be like? Any idea?