To waste time, or not to waste time!

Techcrunch has released a post, Sunday December 14, on "...How Much Time Do You Waste On Twitter?" by Robin Wauters. I do not so much worry about it, my time is already wasted on blogging!

Roshan’s social irresponsibility

Alas! Whenever you turn on the TV (of course, if we had electricity, at all!), you are forced to watch commercial advertisements, which are forced into between the programs, without any sense. The advertisements which are supposed to be commercial which it doesn't look so very much, and also are considered being advertisement, but advertising what?! Totally saying, they are free of creativity and artistry. On the other hand not only lack of creativity outcries in these advertisements, but also they promote sometimes socially irresponsible scenes, I am wondered while watching them.

One of these incredible advertisements is of Roshan telecommunication. This company has been established in the very beginning of President Karzai's government, by the Telecom Development Company (TDCA) GSM license, commercially launched on July 27, 2003 and manifests itself as:

The word "Roshan" means "light" in both of the national Afghan languages, Dari and Pashto. The name Roshan was given by the people of Afghanistan as Roshan brings a promise of hope, development, and a brighter future for Afghanistan.

Roshan is the GSM cellular service provider in Afghanistan, with coverage in over 222 major cities and towns and over 2.6 million subscribers. The company is privately-held corporation which has been very much successful through providing relatively high-quality communication facilities.

Roshan has recently launched a service named “M-Paisa” as a way to transfer money anywhere in Afghanistan using mobile phone. As it says “It’s an innovative mobile payment solution ideal for people who don’t have a bank account”.

I do not have so much knowledge about telecom technology so I am not talking from a professional point-of-view or something. Only as a customer, I did not find this facility very much interesting.

But the issue I want to open that, in here, is the TV advertisement of the service which has a part (a sentence and a reaction) that does not look and sound very much responsible. The person who does not informed about the M-Paisa is going (Saray-i-Shahzada, maybe) to transfer money to his children who are students at Herat University. The man talks with a tune and a mode of voice which says incidentally, “Hey! What a damn work to do!” (Sending money for children for paying their tuition fees).

One of the obligations of any business is acting through socially responsible ways. At the time that all the people in Afghanistan, including businesses, need to promote education, I wonder why the marketing in-charges of Roshan could not find any other way to advertise their service other than this way.

Why do we love Google?

How much I love Google! This may be all about the revolution the company has brought to the Internet world. And, could be because of placing always the first-tenth in the rankings: the Fortune's 1st in "Best Companies to Work for"; the Fortune's 4th in "the Most Admired Companies"; the Forbes's1st in "America's 25 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies"; one of the 10 names on"BusinessWeek's list of the World's Most Influential Companies", etc. I love so much Google and make so many examples in the class of Google, that the teachers and others students have nicknamed me sometime "Google"! I love even this name!

Google first created on 4 September 1998, and through only 10 years now has more than 20,000 employees and 67 branches around the world. Even some big names in Silicon Valley as Microsoft and Yahoo afraid of such a teenager, who is nothing but innovation.

But how and why Google has reached this today's position? These all questions are answered by the "34-slide presentation on Google prepared by FaberNovel, a french consulting firm". The questions such as:
I am inviting you to take a look at this presentation and find reasons for your all wonders.

Update: The link to download the complete PDF version is in here.

Greetings and salutations in the global business

In any culture, among any people, of any race, color, language, religion, there is definitely a way to start communicating while two people reaching each other. And certainly, this is the right time whether or not to begin a successful afterward communication. This is also true in the business world. But, in this one, the task is much more important and complicated, especially when it got globally. There could be no difficulty starting communication with a person of your own family, town, language, country, etc. But imagine, how one businessman should start communication with a person belonged to thousands of miles away, then, to make a successful bargain with him/her?

Definitely, there are considerable differences between the ways people salute with each other, throughout the world—one shakes the hands, one bow, one kisses the hand, one kisses the face, one hugs, etc. what should WE do, before carrying out a transaction with a Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, whoever?

Humans, though, may have been originated from a single point they now have huge differences with each other. These all diversities are imperative, and also essential to build communication in the international arena.

The differences in them could have a million of reasons: weather, history, neighbors, and very much more. Differences always there are; even, despite of all endeavors to establish a global village and remove all cultural barriers to better communicate. Most of the time trying people to understand why they believe in something is an unfruitful task, as they themselves have never asked such questions before. For example, you all know that respecting family, patriarchs, religion, tribe, etc. are unhesitating. But have you ever asked yourself, WHY? Similarly, when you ask an American person, why he/she believes in freedom or individualism, you, most of the time, may not receive a proper feedback.

The scope of these diversities in culture also covers the ways people, around the world, salute with each other, i.e. “say hello”. For example, each country has its own common way of shaking hands. In the United States people shake hand very firmly, but in U.K. very softly. Most of the Asian countries consider hand-shaking very uncomfortable (not recently); on the other hand, Koreans are exception. The Japanese, for instance, though hand-shaking has become common among them, prefers bowing. Arabs hold each other.(1) In Afghanistan we also hold and touch the other person’s cheek with our cheek only once; in Iran, however, it is thrice! Muslim people while dealing with women do not often like shaking hands, but in Western societies that is a common thing.

Being informed about all these is going to certainly arise the necessity that if one would like to start business internationally should understand these problems and make himself/herself ready to deal with them. When I worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it most of the time deals with foreigners, so sometime it happens to open introduction and speaking with a woman, and sometime a lady. The instruction we were told to follow was, bowing slightly, and rising her hand at the same time, but not too much, and kissing it. Though, it may not acceptable for you reading this, but it is sometime imperative. You never must forget this that, this is YOU who is willing to build a communication, and certainly a successful one, with the other person. Therefore, you have to observe this point.

Another example for my argument could be Taliban. You may all be informed about the competition between Unocal and Bridas for the Afghanistan Pipeline. Bridas representatives met Taliban for first time, in August 1995. The assumption I am certain about it, is, they were already equipped with their adviser’s advises on how to face and greet with Talibs. But, what do YOU think?


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(1) R. M. Hodgetss, F. Luthans, and J. P. Doh, International Management (Culture, Strategy, and Behavior), Six Edition, p. 94.

The time to have one!

Yesterday, after I posted the "Let's blog", some nice friends of mine responded and expressed their willingness to opening a Web log. OK, this is a great pleasure to me! Here, I have prepared a short simple instruction on "How to open a Web log", including a few easy steps to follow. You can see it beneath the post. You need to just click on the arrow on the right to follow the instruction. I have also provided that both in PDF and PowerPoint formats to meet the mass-customization principle! To download the instruction just click here (for PDF) and here (for PowerPoint). Hope you enjoy that.

How to Open a Web Log

Let's blog!

Hey fellows! As you know, I am a blog-worm! Of course, I don't think this is a bad habit or something, but rather I believe it could be very useful. One of its advantages could be building a blogging community among ourselves. The possible benefits, I believe, are unimaginable. In addition to this, we also would have a great opportunity to establish relationship with other students in famous universities, in particular, business school, all over the world, and take the advantage to use their knowledge and I don't know, whatever you may obtain.

Here are two of them I have found, through my discoveries (!) that I would like you to consider.

• Standford Social Innovation Review
• Standford Technology Ventures Program

Update: Hey dudes! I must apologize for the introduction I made today morning for Standford Social Innovation Review, as you can see above. I had subscribed to that Web log through Google Reader, but a few minutes ago, when I wanted to open a post and read it, surprisingly observed that is restricted to only payer subscribers! That's too bad! But no problem, there could be lot of such similar Web logs you will find through the Internet. Sorry for any inconvenience from my side.

What is YOUR capacity?

How much capacity do you think you have in learning? Learning is not an easy task--not something new to say, but its difficulty rather than its time and efforts taken and made to learn, is more about a mind which can be the most open, to learn, to face, to hear, to look, to say, and to challenge the unacceptability of new things in this way. That's why I am saying it's not an easy task. You put whole of your life, your time, your energy, your money, to learn; but after all, as you never are ready and willing to face something that is in contrary to your own beliefs, so you fail to all these. so easy! Because, first of all other things, you put your beliefs ahead, and then you look for things and as you already have the answer (!) you judge.

A few days ago, we had a somewhat conflict in the class in the Psychology course. Oh, please don't get me wrong! I am not talking about the question of mine on the "hotness of male or female", which is itself could be a case to study as psychological point of view, but rather, I am talking about the afterward argument between me and Mr. Rahul. He's a nice man, and I like his manner, but that day, his way of arguing was not at all acceptable. He was arguing that, yeah, females are in essence like this and male like that. Up to here, I had no problem, of course, with the method of arguing, not with the message, which I am completely against it. But, he started saying that God has created such and such! I don't know how he could argue like this. That was not a religion class and he was not a religion teacher to talk for us about this that what the God has created or not. If he was religion teacher, I would have no problem with his thesis (!), but he is a psychology teacher, and I do not consider him as so credible to discuss such things for me.

But, the most painful part of the story--as it always has been-- is that when I was willing to open the story and elaborate that what all these had been and what I had meant, with so much sorrow, I observed that the fellows have so firmly closed their mind, that even, they did not want to open it, even for a few seconds!

This one too!

Jerry to resign.

Among those favoring Usmani

I have been always among those in favor of Mr. Usmani. I am not writing this to flatter him, but only to express what I feel. At least, because he has been always very kind to me and of course, to all of the students. I have never seen him being asked a question and then, getting angrey; what, the other teachers seem do not like; at least not all but most.

I have even seen a few imaging I am challenging them while asking a very simple question. And what, they do, in reaction, are different: some get angry very clearly and tell me, "Are you telling me this?", the others raise a joke to make the class environment very funny and to create this conception that I am joking...

But not Mr. Usmani. Even if he is joking, it is because of making the class joyful, but not encouraging.

Kardan's shy bloggers!

Today, after coming back of a few-day holiday, about the same, I was just digging into the Internet and especially Blogger, through the blogger list of Afghanistan. I found a few weblogs, some worthy to mention, some not, but since these bloggers, active or inactive (!) are all from Kardan, it is a great pleasure to me to talk about them.

A few months ago, I was informed about the activity of a blogger called "Kardan Morning Folio". I was very surprised, then. Now I am more! I found other people from Kardan blogging. It's really getting interesting for me to dig and to find such shy bloggers! and show them to others.

Here they are:

• Azad
• Idriss Enayat (like this one)
  
• Well come to my weblog (or something like that!)
• I.T Professionals
  
• Afghanistan towards development (with no post yet!)