Cause worth believing in: 20,000 KM, 132 Days, 22 countries for a free Cancer clinic

Friends and Readers,

As an active member of civil society, at least of the one that works towards a progressive future, I am proud to share this official news about a man and his ongoing journey across 22 countries, covering 60,000 KM, to raise funds and awareness for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

It's one thing to have a purpose in life, then another to have the courage to execute it and see it through. Wissam, a man I am personally eager to meet, has not only shown the possibilities and will power 1 person can harness and exploit for a true cause, but he will touch us all in some way along his journey. I am pleased to support this cause in many ways, including financial support towards the clinic, rounding up troops to support his journey through Pakistan, sincere support of my fellow members at the Volkswagen Club of Pakistan (VWCOP), and press coverage for his rigorous, but most admirable trek.

I invite you to believe in and share his story, vision and dream with your friends and family to ensure Wissam sees the magnitude of well-wishers waiting to pat his back and give him the occasional and much needed push. This will be a difficult pursuit, but as we saw in the case of Moin Khan, the young biker from San Francisco (USA), if you put your mind to it, anything is possible. 

Share this news on your social networks (Facebook, twitter, etc.), talk about it to friends and family, ask your networks in the press to publish this news and create their own stories around this and please keep it devoid of any political or religious agenda so as to harness the authenticity of Wissam's endeavor. 

To follow the journey, use the 'Useful Links' after the release below.

Thank you.

@JJBaybee: Want to believe in a #Cause? Believe in: 20,000 KM, 132 Days, 22 countries on a bike 4 a free Cancer clinic in Palestine > @goodwilljourney

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE 

Palestinian biker embarks on ‘Goodwill Journey’ in support of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund

Courageous journey takes rider across 22 countries along the Silk Route from UAE to

Singapore in support of building the first free standing Pediatric Cancer Centre in Beit Jala, Palestine.

Dubai, UAE: Biker Wissam Al Jayyoussi Palestinian 37 years old IT entrepreneur from Dubai will embark on a journey which will see him riding a motorbike across Asia in a bid to support the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund Pediatric Cancer Centre in the West Bank. Al Jayyoussi will ride more than 60,000 kilometers across 22 countries in a`132 days solo trip, in what will be his most challenging endeavor.

Flagging off the journey in Dubai, Al Jayyoussi will ride across Asia carrying the PCRF’s message and garnering support for the cancer ward project. In what is also being called the Silk Route Journey, Al Jayyoussi will cross into Oman and ride his way through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Once there, the vividly green scenery of Eastern Asia will accompany him along the remainder of his thrilling journey through Mongolia, China, Nepal, and India, from where he will then head further Southeast into Bhutan, Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, to finally reach the hilly and sandy terrain of Singapore.

Al Jayyoussi, also the founder of the Goodwill Journey initiative is enthusiastic and excited about the grueling but meaningful quest, “It is a dangerous journey and I will ride through some of the most treacherous roads and terrain for a major part of the trip. It is a fulfilling experience to be able to support the PCRF and help raise awareness and funds required for the Pediatric Cancer Centre in the West Bank. I hope my journey is successful and people give freely to save the lives of little children who need our help the most.”

This is not the first time Al Jayyoussi has set out on a noble cause. He made his first trip in 2010, where he rode from Dubai across 36 countries in 60 days, finally arriving in London 40,000 kms later. His goal was to help raise funds for children with special needs in Gaza, and was in collaboration with ‘Hope and Play,’ a U.K.-based charity organization focused on helping the children of Palestine.

The trip expenses and requirements are being handled solely by Wissam to ensure that all cooperate sponsorships goes towards the Pediatric Cancer Center. Funds will be utilized to equip the cancer centre with medical equipment and critical supplies, as well as cater to the maintenance of the facility on an ongoing basis.

About PCRF 

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) is a registered non-political, non-profit organization established in 1991 by concerned and altruistic individuals in the United States to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youth in the Middle East.

Since its establishment, the philanthropic union has expanded beyond the borders of Palestine to help suffering children from other Middle Eastern nations, such as Iraq, solely based on their medical necessities. The PCRF aids in locating free medical care for children who are unable to get the necessary and specialized treatment in their homeland.

PCRF also helps to improve the quality of medical care in the Middle East by sending medical equipment and supplies to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Clearly, charity cannot be sufficient enough to guarantee the well being of an entire nation, so the organization has taken further steps to ensure children in need are attended to properly. With the health and longevity of a nation in mind, the PCRF has sent multinational medical personnel to the region to treat difficult cases and train medical personnel.

Media Contacts:

info@goodwilljourney.org

Useful links:

-       Goodwill Journey Official Web Site: http://www.goodwilljourney.org

-       PCRF Official Web Site: www.pcrf.net

-       Donation Web Site: www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/pcrf-uae/goodwilljourney

-       FaceBook Page: www.facebook.com/GoodwillJourney

-       Twitter: www.twitter.com/goodwilljourney

How the Islamabad Police helps me save...

This photo (taken today) is what's wrong with us

Sorry about the misleading title. Truth is that it doesn't. In fact, virtually any government run body that has any authority over basic facilities I need to live my day as an honest, hard working, upright citizen has managed to take what basic love and respect I have for this country and flush it down the toilet. I'm angry after my drive home fr and I'll tell you why.

I came back to Pakistan thinking I would get involved, do something productive with my time, education and life. I also though the system itself was tired of being bullied and needed fresh blood to take charge and take things in a new direction. Unfortunately, not only did the war on terror kill my ambition to be an involved citizen, it also developed so much negative publicity for Pakistan that anyone with half a decent blood cell in his/her body was stamped as a "Pakistani" - the kind with a green passport. Not their fault so we should stop calling the west and others ignorant. Instead, we need to stop, check ourselves for being the 'ignorant' ones. 

For all the lies we have told generations of Pakistanis coming in from every corner of what used to be the most celebrated country in the region. Remember PIA in the 50s and 60s? How about Hockey, squash and hell yes even Cricket (a game I have since began to despise). Don't forget the ski resorts up north. My dad told me he learnt how to ski in Malam Jabba back when he was defending Pakistan with Pride. Now, I hang my head in shame - defending my pride, period. We have done this and by we I mean the last few dozens of generations. All the corrupt leaders and cronies advising those leaders. From the PMs to the Presidents, all the way down to the munshies who run your paperwork between the courts in every city. Everyone became corrupt. 

Question I had been wondering all this time was, WHY? It occurred to me not to long ago. In fact, while I was driving home just now from work (yes, at 8PM), I remembered not to take the usual route because just yesterday I found that the last intersection before my final leg was blocked off by the Islamabad Police (I'm assuming they are responsible since they want to be the big boys of everything on the road with all the check posts - another story, another time). Obviously, they aren't on twitter and they don't have a Facebook fan page so there won't be a 'timely update' when they block off another intersection and make you drive an extra couple of kilometers before having to make another awkward u-turn to get to where you would have already been had they not been such punters with road planning and other such job-like responsibilities. There's no way for them to tell me what they are up to so I can plan my route, my day, my fuel consumption better. Instead, they prefer not to help, so I end up spending more money on fuel finding a way out like a rat in a maze. They are but one of many tentacles the Government of this country will not fix or take responsibility for because it's easier that way. Can't say the next guy will do much better because the system won't allow for change - which is something I have learnt the general populous is averse to.

The kids in my apartment building; oh what a special breed of human beings. Half animal, half homosapien. Somehow, I feel their parents forgot to raise them because I've found (and this is a fact) that my two domesticated cats are far better behaved and considerate of others in communal environments than these annoying, obnoxious, noisy at all the wrong time kids. So, I ask you all to stop asking me to have kids because this is what I live around and I don't want my kids living in a place full of this. It's everywhere by the way...all up to when you disembark the plane at Dubai International Airport, where everyone follows the rules and falls single file into a disciplined line.

Today, I went to Shifa (the highly lucrative business that pretends to be a hospital). We had an appointment with a doctor, whose assistants pestered us to hell yesterday with multiple calls confirming our appointment for today. I thought these guys are uber efficient, they really want to make sure things happen like clock-work. Can't hate them for that. We got there 5 minutes before time and sat down after informing our arrival. We waited....and waited....and waited...until finally 59 minutes later (and a few angry visits to the nurses counter), we were called in. I refrained from expressing my feelings to the good Doctor, but screw that! Not even an acknowledgement of the delay or an apology? Our time is precious too! I pay you to serve me so at least respect me and the time I took out to choose you over the many others in the city!

This rule should apply across the board to all those who don't respect one another. The government is there to serve the people of this country. Our taxes keep them there, but they also make them fat on nihari, power, free fuel and electricity, not to mention all the other benefits they get out of keeping us lost with load-shedding. How is it that they get to have fun, while we pay for it and they don't? Who put them in charge and where's the sense in that?

Common sense dictates...wait, my father-in-law said it right..."there's no such thing as common sense". It took me a while to get my head around that, but now I get it. He's smart as hell. Physicist with a Phd he completed in french...and he's Pakistani! Gone are the days we were celebrated. Here are the days we are fighting the good fight to regain what we believe was ours to begin with. 

How greedy can you be to ignore that your country is falling apart like a 60 year old car that has been bandaged to hell. My 40+ year old Volkswagen beetle is in better shape than the dysfunctional system we all survive every day! 

I am sick. I am tired. I am fed up. Could this be the reason my 4 years in college built me up to be proud of being Pakistani? What happened to the old me? I wonder if I've also become part of the system that is slowly corroding away with no one to notice me. I miss the days when I could drive to and from the diplomatic enclave (or the new world as I now call it) using the French gate (aptly named since the French Embassy is at that corner). Until recently (while I still had a good reason to go there), I needed to bribe the local police SSP and his staff to get a card allowing me legal entry into the place where I once owned a home! Imagine that. I pay another countryman who otherwise won't let me go home. And the best part...he can ask for 1 amount and then another, much higher amount when you go to pay. He asked for Rs. 20k and I ended up settling at Rs. 3k (per card that is, for each family member).

My advice, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Motivate another Imran Khan to come up and show the rest how we can be the best of the best, again. How we can live with honor without destroying the moral fiber of our society and still respect India and other countries so our energy is efficiently spent in plans of real progress. Create healthy competition, make entrepreneurship a career to consider and give some flexibility to the hard working kind so they can have a reason to enjoy working and living simultaneously.

The sickness that is eating away at our very souls is becoming a part of our daily life and even with fuel prices at Rs. 100 a liter (US $1.1), and our nominal GDP per capita (which seems far from accurate) at US $1,254 (reported by the CIA world fact book), our country is not going to shit, it's swimming in it. We are below Laos and above Kyrgyzstan. We have successfully managed to scrounge, steal, burn and wastefully spend to our heart's desire, while the hard working kind keep working hard to continue living a dignified life in the vicious cycle that is a difficult life...that is until they too resort to corruption because it's an easy buck, or two. Also because it will help feed the family 3 square meals a day. Honestly? Is that even a good enough reason to be corrupt and wasteful? It would seem so when you are hungry because the rich fatsos are getting richer and fatter, creating a middle class out of the upper-middle class and a lower/have not class out of the middle and lower-middle class.

STOP IT DAMN IT! I AM TIRED OF THINKING ABOUT HOW ANGRY I AM ABOUT BEING IN PAKISTAN! I AM TIRED OF WAITING FOR SUPERMAN TO COME DOWN AND SAVE US! I AM TIRED OF THE LAST GENERATION TELLING ME IT'S MY TIME TO TAKE CONTROL AFTER THEY TOTALLY DESTROYED ANY CHANCE FOR US TO PROGRESS AS A FINANCIALLY, POLITICALLY AND MORALLY STRONG COUNTRY!

Just stop, please. Let me live a peaceful life while I still can. Even if I don't want to stay, no one else will take me. Get those politicians and wannabe superstars out of their high cars and government paid security detail out of their cars and teach a lesson for stealing from us.

All this while I defend the company I love working for.

Why I must have been a Sony in a previous life

I am not too certain about the whole re-incarnation concept. For similes, parables and approximations for what we may be, were and are, re-incarnation makes for some serious content. 

It has certainly always felt like there is some primordial and instinctive carry forward of life’s eternal continuum. To me at-least, there is some ‘cache’ memory, carried forward in the ‘life force’, that may never ever get deleted. 

So, and as a tribute to Sony, the ‘witty kitty’* who alluded to these words, and to the general (and convoluted) kinks associated with my brain; I present what my most likely previous life must have been.

Without any shadow of a doubt, I must have been a Sony VCR in a previous life. It doesn't just explain a few of my present attributes, it explains everything.

Consider the life of Sony’s finest. Built with care, technique and most importantly strong science, the previous me must have started life as a hit. Figures, I too was a pink cheeked, darling little hit when I was so fortuitously born to two loving parents and one sister who tried to slap me when I had crossed my 7^th hour of life on earth.

Perfect beginning for VCR and baby. Sony took care to install hardware of durability, near obstinate rigidity and a complete refusal for compliance to the idiocy of novice users. I can relate, I had to be handled with care, and silent, just as a VCR is silent unless probed, I too would retain inherent lack of user-friendly attributes.

Moreover, attempts to fiddle with the ‘head’ and ‘drum’ of my mind (both karma-esque hang-overs from the VCR days) only led to more obstinate refusals to compliance, and eventually some small errors.

These errors of the early users may have been covered by Sony’s product warranties; this is alas not the case for my present being.

Now consider the VCR that I was. Consider the massive amount of debt that technology owes to Sony in general. I was a front-runner, a pioneering product and had brought cinema to homes. In so doing, I had exposed myself to hours (maybe running up to years) of tape. Images, stories, imaginary worlds, ridiculous plots, some obnoxious characters, some charming women, the lot. Imagine what this constant and relentless exposure to drama, humor, absurdity and action does to the VCR’s ‘head’ (as the tape reading device within it is called). 

The images and thoughts that run in my head today are also along the same vein. They are constant, my visual escapades in my own head run into the hours, not minutes, over the course of a day.

I get vivid reels of stories, some vehement reactions to recorded material, and an unenviable amount of ‘agida’ from my head. My previous life, that of the dutiful VCR (knowing my luck, it must have been used by some 80s yuppie; the horror!) accounts for this gift. It is a gift to have the ability to re-create worlds in your own mind, forever a source of entertainment. It leads to amazing levels of flexibility for the other components. Interpersonal interaction is limited. The interface is not user-friendly. 

And why should it be, I mean, Sony made me (we’re back to me the VCR again), and it did it with years of engineering excellence. There were no flaws.

As my reward for having first (to the best of our knowledge) appeared as a VCR (and that too a Sony VCR) I was re-incarnated as a human. A new head but with the same old habits. A new frame, but with Sony trademark finishing and durability already built into it.

If we were pressed, we could enquire with the new ‘maker’ if a warranty applied, and if so, how long its validity holds.

However we are hardly pressed. Sony, me or the ‘maker’ are not going anywhere, anytime soon.   

*Dedicated to Sophie, my adopted cousin, and a truly witty little kitty. The inference to felines is wholly an inside joke, intended entirely for her consumption.

Shahbaz Ali-Khan

31^st March, 2012

Challenge Policy enterprises face (part 2)

(part 2 of 3)


Industrial leadership – Policy stakeholders

Local entrepreneurs have been, by and large, embracing of change. They have thrived during periods of economic and policy consistency, and have maintained a constant level of production capacity within Pakistan.

A network of policy entrepreneurs will need to provide a more organized platform to established industrialists and financiers within Pakistan.

We may summarize their immediate requirements;

• Credit measures by the banks to increase credit-off take and enhance the credit portfolio of the major banks. Special momentum in 2012 should be to drive greater credit demand in SME (small and medium enterprises) and agriculture.
• Promotion of barriers, protectionism and other protective measures as a response to the global economic crisis
• Consistent policy advocacy for finance, trade and commerce policies
• Growth in capital markets and entry of funds from expatriated accounts (local sources of capital)
• Access to global markets to be facilitated by international policy

Capital inflows by them during good times and outflows during bad regimes have always determined the short-term prospects of capital markets. These in turn determine much of the capital gains made. Our high nets worth individuals are liquid, as a matter of cultural and general preference. Money moves in and out fast.

SMEs, local companies, have been adaptive, welcoming of freer markets, and have shown remarkable astuteness in surviving a bleak outlook. This ‘self-exploiting' class of labor has had remarkable success (given our context).

We should institutionalize a pro-active role of these agents into policy.

Network model for policy entrepreneurs

With the spread and scope of think tanks around the world (and similar policy based institutes) into the more rigorous domain of real-time collaboration (as provided by the new Knowledge paradigm), it becomes imperative for objectivity to be measured against a global audience. International movements towards a convergence of common goals have been most successful for scientific cooperation and specific areas (such as agreement, on principle, on the aims of climate policies); less apparent is the success of networked institutes in advocating for commonality in regional/global peace and economic security, all of which are politically charged imperatives.

A platform for policy advocacy, seen as neutral, would emanate from an international sponsor whose political and economic stance can be projected to be neutral as well. It is proposed that a network of political thought leadership be created, either as a community or as a think tank, to provide impetus to common policy enterprise goals.

Such a network will need to forge partnerships and alliances with parallel organs around the world. Thus, the core operational model of the think tank (or policy enterprise) will have connectivity with international organizations whose long-term goals best reflect:

1.   Economic parity within a regional/global context; leading to a greater sense of security for the community of nations

2.  Economic opportunity through open markets; leading to a vast network of research and innovation collaboration within the overall network – creating the way for market let growth with a strong emphasis on international trade

3.  Technological cooperation via academic centers; utilizing the vast opportunities that exist within the global R&D ‘eco-system’

4.   Technology led development; optimizing the global technological footprint to ameliorate and enhance capacity of the developing world

2012 onwards, the role of emerging markets will be a vital one, as they will attract an ascending level of investment; many of the world’s current emerging markets may well account for global GDP growth in the decade to come. It therefore becomes imperative that the policy specialists have an active network feeding into the world’s financial markets.

This network model should ideally see us (Pakistani policy entrepreneurs) connect with key partners, and will allow it to retain an objective, holistic and inclusive approach.  

The challenge policy enterprise faces

(Part 1 of 3) 


Policy enterprise, sources of policy research and ‘policy entrepreneurship’, has a challenge in 2012. It will need to adopt a multi-faceted approach and be cognizant of prospective policy measures that may aide, or at-least nullify, some of Pakistan’s most pressing problems.

Over 3 concise parts, I will attempt to outline the various areas that holistic policy makers need to target. Starting with a brief analysis of main considerations, I have attempted to share the political and economic demands of long-term capital as well as provide an introduction to sources of policy enterprise.

An inference is made for the political economy to derive agriculture based advantages, and of the role prospective international partners may play.

For the first part, in brief, I will summarize the current political situation as it appears to some policy analysts:

1. Limitations of the current Government;
   1. Policy uncertainty: No clear line of sight on key issues such as US military cooperation, funding crisis emanating from circular debt (energy outfall), Industrial policies to promote ICT trade, production, credit off-take, basic materials production, capital investments
   2. Political uncertainty: The current Government’s ability to retain a controlling majority is failing against a back-drop of internal funds short-fall, lack of cohesion within the Party, tenure security for key members and recent events involving the Army and the Supreme Court. The Government seems to be faced with a measured and controlled response to reduce its credibility with internal loyalists
2. PTI’s Punjab Agenda:
   1. Capitalize on lack of central leadership: Given the historic and steep decline of Pakistan’s economy since 2007, many feel that the main political parties are faced with a lack of credible stewardship. Following in the fall-out of the Musharaf years, the sudden and dynamic shift towards the PPP was followed, in small measure due to the global economic crisis of 2008, by a lack of central control previously seen within the PPP and the PML. The inability of the PML to retain its representation within the Parliament provides the PTI with in-roads and an ability to project itself more visibly than in its entire history. The inability of the PPP to retain strong political alliances in central Punjab and, vitally, the Karachi port, provide the PTI with a fluid political environment in which to begin providing prospects of political unity and leadership.
   2. Targeted towards PML: On its surface, it would be correct to opine that the PTI sees Lahore and some key Punjabi seats as prospective targets. The PTI has maintained a strong, PML focused rhetoric campaign over the past 6 months, choosing to marginalize the PML’s historic strong-hold in key constituencies. It would be in the long-term interests of the PTI to gain political credence for Parliament by building (at long last) political precedence via Punjab. It is not in-imaginable that a scenario where Imran Khan is able to successfully erode Nawaz Sharif’s home constituency advantage, than the PTI would be well primed for the next General Election.
3. COAS reluctance to enter politics:
   1. Preference for a ‘democratic’ solution: The current political stance of the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) seems one of apparent neutrality. It can be deduced, especially given the Army’s continued independence, the Army would be reluctant partners for any change agents of real influence. They would not, it appears, be currently disposed to have an active role within Pakistan’s political main-stream. Despite it remaining an institution with little oversight from the political system, the Army may be willing to let ‘natural’ political forces and an increasingly un-sustainable economic situation dictate political change.
   2. Focus on military operations: The current military leadership has shown an unwillingness to be committal on political matters, and has shown a relative level of policy consistency towards its military agenda. Cooperation with the US has decidedly been a contentious relationship. The recent failure of the US Military establishment to diffuse the political fall-out for Pakistan’s military apparatus at a global level has led to an obvious thawing of policy parity between the US and the COAS. It may also be opined that a focus on completion of its operations in Afghanistan and FATA (along with marginal gains in Swat, and its willingness to close the Shamsi Airbase) has allowed the Army to focus and provide for a certain policy and personnel consistency.

In part 2 I shall cover The Industrial Chain: Policy drivers & in Part 3 Policy Entrepreneurs – Context of Pakistan as well as the role of China's back-ward integration of its energy supply with Pakistan. 

Impact potential of micro-finance

The impact value of credit finance – the case of agriculture

The possibilities raised by the advent of true (and regulated) mobile banking and micro-banking technologies raises almost exponential possibilities for small and medium sized land-holdings.

Agri-finance, long the purview of extortionate middle-men providing small and sometimes even mid-sized farm land owners (or for that matter dairy and poultry farmers) credit at rates which cripple their ability for financial (and therefore social) growth.

The solution, presented here in simple and clear terms, is for banks to play a more active role in this credit mechanism, and for there to be a strong mobile (micro) banking back-bone available for agriculture credit.

The solution’s elegance lies in the simplicity of the action required by the banks themselves; move in with funds and extend a large credit facility to the middle lender. This allows for the lender, currently charging upwards of 20%, to reduce his rates. Since the facility presents the lender an opportunity to leverage his financial debt structure, this will also allow him to compete better and reduce his rate substantially. With the advent of mobile banking, the banks will have an advantage in minimal investment into on-site infrastructure, and minimal ‘branch’ involvement.

For the banks, exposure in this manner to agriculture can be potentially very profitable. Due diligence, collection and recovery is passed on to the lender.

For the farmer, use of mobile technology in its simplest form will allow for transparency, ability to check rates (in the same manner he checks his phone balance) and the ability to provision for his operational costs. He will gain by retaining more profit for himself and re-investment becomes a more viable possibility. With a large level of credit coverage at the middle-man stage, he will have the ability to get competing rates (as lenders will be able to discount heavily, leveraged by funds from banks) and therefore rates much lower than those currently prevailing in the market.

None of the above is original thinking on the author’s part. It is merely a re-iteration of schemes and strategies that policy makers and financial ‘engineers’ want implemented. Should mobile banking, with its inherent ability to have depth of coverage for banks within agri-markets, become reality in the real sense, a real and possible ‘boom’ in agriculture credit finance and output may potentially be witnessed.

Social Media Metrics Between Worlds

I've been wondering about various social media metrics, more specifically fan growth and how they impact our public image - then a thought popped in saying "well, like currency, wouldn't the value of a fan vary from region to region, country to country?" I say yes, absolutely! I don't believe anyone else has confirmed or written about this already, but there needs to be a measurement criteria that differentiates what one fan in the US is worth vs. what a fan elsewhere, say in Pakistan, is worth.

I'm not talking about a $ value, but a unique value proportional to their social media saaviness, the exposure they have and how generally aware people in the region are. This may correlate directly with how successful a fan page for a brand will be in different countries. 

It's a simple thought - like a ratio. For example, if we took an example and said a US fan is to a Pakistani fan in ratio terms, I would say 100:1. That means, for every Pakistani fan on a brand's Facebook page, there are 100 fans on a US brand page (which can also be considered relatively global).

Facebook fan pages for Lady Gaga and Atif Aslam (Mar 10, 2012)

This is not an exact science, I'll figure the math out further on, or with someones help. However, 40 million coke fans from around the world, most of them based in the United States, that means a fan page in Pakistan with 400,000 fans (say Ufone) shows that correlation works, based on one of the most popular brand page in the US (and the world for that matter) compared with one of the most popular brand pages in Pakistan. 

However, when you take a music artist with the global popularity of, say 40 million fans, and another with 3.5 million (Lady Gaga vs. Atif Aslam - both of global fame, one more than the other), you have a significant variance in the ratio, which goes from 100:1 to 14:1.

What, then factors into how you can measure the worth of a fan? Is it just the combination of elements mentioned above? Can we say:

A fan's own social awareness + How active a brand is + fan page growth (per sec/min/hour/day)
DIVIDED BY

Regional social media awareness + brand fan page engagement

If you've read thus far, you know I am NOT a math guy at all. However, it suddenly occurs that math factors in as a critical component to assessing the factors for this formula. Not only is there a need to understand how you can quantify the factors, you also need to know where to create the values from.

The fundamental problem with this theory is that because of an unsettled and continuous shift in social media growth and activity in each region, quantifying it depends on some basics like internet penetration, computer or laptop penetration, restrictions or limitations to content access (UAE and Qatar don't allow pornography or torrents - which make up a bulk of bandwidth consumption), and lastly one's own interest in being online and social. Relatively ambiguous and near difficult to quantify, no?

About being online and social, if you read my last post, I gave the example of my wife, who is online (website and all), but not social. She had a Facebook account, but then decided to toss it with the whole privacy debacle that started. She's one of those netizen's who believes in the preservation of one's identity, personal attributes and overall way of life. We've become so entrenched in sharing our daily dose of activity with the world, we've forgotten the people who might be sitting on the sidelines, just watching us as we make fun of others, ourselves and everything else that isn't covered. From my fake-bald picture to your last taco roll, our philosophy remains "leave no stone un-turned".

So, if the formula is entirely dependent upon those variables (and how), then could this be an unquantifiable calculation? How then do I assess whether my brands 69,000 fans are equal or not equal to my industry peers in the US? Or could it be that my engagement levels (and their frequency) determine my brand's visibility and general awareness? If not, then perhaps whether there is even sufficient connectivity at the individual level for the awareness to spread?

Considering how viral content goes also factors in as a variant because it has a lot to do with how quickly information spreads between eyeball to eyeball. We all know about Obama, but how many know about Zardari? We all know about Lady Gaga, but how many know about Atif Aslam?

We'll save the twitter argument later, since their growth is only just beginning and we see no sign of 500 million twitterati slowing in their adoption.

To be concluded another time...for now, share your thoughts and consider the approach.

Ultimate Stalker Syndrome - Ode to Social Memoirs

Is it true, they say, that human's cannot live in isolation? Could it be that it is truly our nature to flock together like birds of a feather? If that's the case, then it explains a lot about the enormous growth social media has experienced in the last few years - especially with the jump in internet penetration worldwide.

However, the top of mind question beckons me to wonder if we are actually using social media as a means to an end...the grand end that is. Before you read on, know that this post is going to uncover some deathly insights that I possess and feel you should be abreast of, lest the Mayan's were right.

Social networking has becoming a fast evolving bacteria or living organism, that’s growing with your content for sustenance. In essence, a reflection of you, but the Spiderman and Venom kind of reflection. Remember, Venom still had a human side, which allowed him to differ from Carnage because he was able to feel pity and human emotion. He was the crossroad between Spiderman and Carnage – the ultimate devourer of everything, including its own reflection.

Are we going to go on like this every day, without looking at the bigger picture; the space outside of the cell walls, to see what’s up and how the weather is turning out for the rest us?

Death is the only inevitable thing we know. Sorry to sound morbid, but it’s actually more factual than your human emotions give you credit for. It’s your Achilles heel, a crutch you’re born with and the fact that you cannot beat it is somehow demoralizing. So, we try and compensate with alternative means of ‘getting through it all’. Let’s face it, we are all afraid of it in one way or another, even if it’s with degrees of separation; we need to do the most we can in this life because, hey, I haven’t seen any postcards from either hell or heaven. Frankly, because I think people are free to believe what they will, while abiding by the common overlapping laws of all your major religions and faiths:

1.       Don’t steal

2.       Don’t kill

3.       Don’t sleep with your neighbors daughter, mother, wife, father, son, dog, whatever

4.       Don’t lie

5.       Don’t hoard

6.       Don’t overeat

7.       Give generously

8.       Live humbly

9.       Basically, try and be an all-round nice guy or girl or +1+

I think that it’s sort of like what I call the ‘Howard Stern Effect’. I hope no one else owns rights to that term because when you hear it, you’ll be pretty impressed too. If you’ve watched private parts, a movie that is Howard’s biography – up to before he became a space cadet with Syrius Satellite Radio (no offence guys – great work taking it up a notch), you’ll know where I’m heading. The movie leads to one simple question that explains it all, yet, still a question: “Why are his ratings going up?” The answer,  simple. You take a group of people who are exposed, learned, traveled, well cared for, etc., you get a bunch of people who are driven by curiosity. But, when you take another group that is conservative, doesn’t go out after 9, stays close to the neighborhood, teach their kids the good word of the Lord, are not good friends with change, and generally avoid any contact with sunlight or people, you get a bunch of people who are driven by curiosity. The only difference between the two (yes there is one) is that they are looking into the same peephole from opposite sides – both curious to find out more by either looking for it or hiding from it. Even to hide, you need to know what it is you’re hiding from, thus the need to seek out, even while hiding. Ironic. It’s because, everyone is curious to know what he’s going to do next.

Borrowed from Jay Dolan

Sounds a lot like my Spiderman carnage bullshit a few minutes ago, right? It is and the funny thing – totally unplanned. I mean talk about trailing thoughts that end up at the same place they start – only to have made a point while doing so.

We are going to die, and before doing so, need to ensure that we leave a mark on this world, this life of ours and the people we befriend, love, hate or just want to keep close by – simply because we don’t know when it’s going to happen. Funny – another synchronized effort by yours truly to make a point – we need to leave behind a legacy, a will, a saying or an action that will help the world remember us when we are gone.

I think that it’s actually sad, because we end up missing a lot of the basic point – social media is just another way for you and me to interact, communicate and essentially be comfortable around one another’s presence because it’s easier, no complications, no commitments and most importantly, it’s freaking free! Everyone loves free stuff, I know I do! But then when it’s free, how can we give it so much value? It’s like putting a price tag on air, except air has value because you need it. Nicotine – another great example of addiction and how it’s pretty bad for your health. I say this while smoking to my lung’s demise. It’s sad, I know…now get over it.

My wife is practical. I love my wife, she is awesome. She cooks me the most amazing meals, she works a full time job, she is a world-class artist and yet she makes all this time to take care of me. I don’t force her, heck I can’t. She’s stubborn as a mule, but that’s what I love most. She is unwavering and pretty much independent in decision making. This makes her among the most powerful humans alive; someone who is so in control of their destiny has mastered the art of living.

It’s our nirvana and here you all are trying so hard to find it. It’s right there dude; look around, inside, outside, over here. You’re living the dream baby, so wake up and, like the lady said, go smell the roses. Take a minute for yourself, and without needing to see how you’ll do. No one’s really keeping score and you probably would forget too, if you realized how insignificant it really is in the larger scheme of things.

She isn’t on social media. I mean, she was, still even has some presence, but could care two shits about what’s happening there, when she’s all the way here. She figured that since social media is exactly that thing cave men did before language was really born, and just oooh oooh aaah aaah’d their way to evolution. She only needs to focus on what she wants and that’s quite ample to be satiated by. How simplistic indeed. I need my social media like a fat kid needs a diet! Wait, that doesn’t make sense. It’s like a double negative. I meant skinny…never mind. The point is that I can’t get enough of my asynchronous personality on Facebook or twitter or Google plus or Orkut. Did I miss any of the big kahunas out? Probably, who cares – point is I’m uber connected. Go to my about.me page and you’ll see how much of an eager social beaver I am. This is my job, it pays my bills and I actually kind of love it. I smoke too, which means I have two addictions I think are good for me, but the question is…are they?

Ask yourself – how much of yourself are you willing to give to yourself to see more of yourself? And what marathon mission would you have accomplished in ending up the same as me 100 years from now? First thing is that you need to avoid comparing this like with everyone in history was important for us to get to where we are now. I completely agree! However, I also think that in this ‘time space continuum, we are actually just floating from one convenience, happenstance or action to another, while trying to make sense of it all.

We keep asking that question, how the hell did we really happen? Darwin? Big Bang? Space rejects from another planet? Or maybe it was a giant fart in space that reacted with all the darkness molecules. No not the big bang.

Don’t ask the question, answer it with your actions and stop worrying so much about the future or your fate. I sincerely believe that whatever happens, happens. Whether we can control it or not is all relative and personal. Since you can’t control it, you talk about it online and document your entire life saga in an immaterial, yet infinite moleskin notebook. I never kept a diary, but then my wife doesn’t smoke either, so there must be a correlation in there somewhere.

The only thing certain in life is change. Embrace it. Don’t hunt it or shy from it. 

Going truly digital: existence within the social network (Part 1)

We went digital from analog for a reason. Binary is clear, crisp, elegant. It is numerical ingenuity of the highest (the highest) order for man (or woman) the inventor. In numbers, rather through numbers, the storage, access and usage of data is possibly at its optimal. Time will tell if binary code remains the defining language of modern times, none the less we thank Turing and his ‘progeny’ for this marvel.

When man went digital, and by this I mean that point in time when men began to use 1s and 0s to encode their information (as opposed to relying on wave mediums, wave imprints aka analog), we also went all out with the idea that machines can reflect the nature of man. The pioneers not only went ape over a new technology, they espoused the development of a new idea: If the thoughts of man (his verses, his mathematics, his prose and his recipes) could be captured via a continuum of digital networks, than surely one day man himself may be expressed as purely digital. This idea, let us for simplicity call it the quest for artificial intelligence, took genuine cue from the essence of the computing machine; infinite computational capacity. Theoretically, machines that can read the digital language can multiply their ability (or rate) of data processing infinitely. The only apparent limitation would be size and scale. Physically not feasible, but theoretically and mathematically possible.

So, we have a fundamental question of humanity posed to us today: fast forward a couple of decades and what does consciousness mean? What does it mean to be human, most importantly, can a digital map of human consciousness be blended onto social media and ‘liberate’ us? Is it, as some argue, the logical conclusion of the ‘social network’ (meaning the entirety of social media existence of all users) to also be the next ‘neural’ network?

There are two reasons why this, the cross-road of the digital age, is going to alter our future; For one thing, the core tenants of freedom and equality for all will be found on social media, nowhere else. Second, by mapping the human condition digitally, there are certain essential qualities of humanity we (potentially) stand to lose.

On the internet, people are physically separated and therefore protected from their audience. Any censor can only censor the medium, the web allows for relative anonymity (expect for that poor odd soul who chooses to publicly do the forbidden, and us usually reprimanded for it) and within this, it provides the potential for unlimited freedom of expression. Once we begin conceptualizing a ‘neural’ network, we must provide it the same aspects of freedom. The ‘wall’ is a powerful tool. It allows for people to express their identity in an evolved manner; where once they were limited to physically sharing memories, objects of affection or trinkets of material joy, they can now do so at potentially infinite rates virtually. If we are to ‘live’ the wall, what will be its parameters? Will people still feel as free? Will they not begin to identify their virtual selves as their one and only true selves? What, therefore, will define what being ‘human’ is?

Which brings us to our next query; Is our humanity (or our ‘humaneness’) locked within our bodies? Can the mind, once freed of its physical shell, be subject to a digital version capable of the same level of consciousness? We know that we may map the brain. What we do not yet know is if once mapped, it can retain the ‘emergence’ of consciousness.

I could talk about the algorithmic nature of the binary computer, how it limits the core function of the machine to exactly that, a machine. However this post is written with no presumptions. Which is the same as saying every possibility is assumed to be possible. If our social contact is a digital one, expressed only as a stream of data, than our social existence, the basic humanity of our lives will need to undergo a severe evolutionary step. It will be more than just a paradigm shift; it will be a massively incremental ‘biological’ re-organization. Within it, we must know if we will carry forward the essence of humanity with us.

Today we are using the digital age’s finest creation: the social network. It has provided us the first true glimmer of what a digital existence may mean, and where ultimate sources of human freedom may lie. It has not, however, yet provided us with a clear sense of true socialization at a global scale. Not yet. Though we may feel the hint, the slight brush of some sort of destiny, there are many questions to be answered. Google may not have all of them.

(To be, one day, continued)

How to be furious and in love at the same time

Disclaimer: Before reading this, read Mehreen Kasana's post, followed by this video (because that's the order I followed and it made me puke the words below).

I was just an angry guy before. Now I'm furious at Maya Khan (correction added later - sorry for any confusion) and (figuratively) in love with Mehreen Kasana.

I read Mehreen's article about Maya Khan and suddenly felt this urge to write about a surge of feelings that rushed into my head, by way of my heart. It was love, not in the typical - May Khan will hunt you down for it - kind of love, but the over-inflated infatuation that comes from being overwhelmed by something so crystal clear, you couldn't have known it existed before you finally discovered it. That happened for me today, right as I sat cuddling my amazing wife (not in a park unfortunately), but that's an 'ass-piration' for another day.

Before I go on and on and on about my love for Mehreen Kasana and her innate ability (presumptuous, I know but hey, I'm in lurve) to write something so effective, so spot-on, so precise, I'm left with one thought - she must have written it while sitting in a park, gawking at Maya Khan as she too sat in a park with a monkey (not a funny way of calling a man or woman she was with, but a real monkey like chimps, apes, baboons).

Maya Khan, with the flip of a switch in a single bound, you have achieved the fame of George 'Dubya' Bush, who was best known for his creative work in the Middle East. Yes, I have matched you with the same man who believed so much in the power of abstinence that after launching the awareness campaign for no sex before marriage, you asked the folks over at the 'internet' to delete any evidence that he was ever with another woman before he married Laura Bush.

So many people I know are asking about you, talking about you and almost 'crushing' on you for your bravery in the Park that fine morning at an absurd time when I barely find reason to be awake. I believe that defaming you at this point would be pointless because clearly you're better at it than I am. And what's to say that my unqualified professional skills can ever be at par with your dramatic sense of ruining the pleasant morning those 4 couples were having before you wobbled along. 

I read on my twitter timeline that someone recognized you as a hot VJ from back in your hey day. Is that true? If it is, can you do a Veena Malik like photo-shoot so I can print out life-size posters and plaster them on my walls? Yes, it may create conflict with my wife, but she's cool so I'm sure living out of a box outside my apartment, while I try to regain her love and still retain your hotness on my walls will be worth it. Unfortunately, since I have seen what you now look like, it's going to be a tough one. 

If I've been even slightly amusing so far, then I apologize. When a young man falls in lurve, it's hard to articulate with a sense of clarity and so my jumbled brain is just trying to spit things out as easily and clearly as possible, without losing the context of this post. 

So everyone knows how hot you are

Maya Khan, I want to meet you in a park, with Mehreen Kasana (whom I lurve), and rip you a new one. I will do so with your best interest at heart because, after all, you have gone to prove what kind of kinky thoughts you have early in the morning so that your "chaapa" show is able to achieve viewership for things that 'Pakistan' is best known not to allow or permit or encourage. I think that the whole world is wrong and we have got the formula down to the tee. Everyday in Pakistan is opposite day and you have done well to prove me right. 

Confused? Let me clarify. When the holiday season comes around (pretty much all year round) with Christmas, Eid, Hannukah and the likes, it's a time for celebration. However, with the celebration comes discounts in shopping. Eid does not celebrate that kind of holiday. When the holiday season comes around in Pakistan, everything doubles, triples in price. What's the sense in that? Well, for someone with a good sense of business acumen, that means you sell less to fewer people at a higher price. Basic economics really, but I'm not here to share my academic meandering. It's to focus in on the point that you have managed to take a simple concept of a park - loved by most around the world as a place to frolic, meet, play, eat, share, laugh, cry, garden, kill, rob, abuse, rape and now Love (last one's on you and in that order). 

Parks are places where kids swing and parents watch. Parks are places where dogs chase frisbees and grown college kids smoke pot or drink beer (but any kind of alcohol will do). Parks are places where we can meet and rip you a new one, but only if Mehreen is there because I really want to see her do it while I provide viewers a live feed to your cheeks going red from pain, sadness, remorse and eventually happiness for having been ripped a new one. 

Parks are places where nature flourishes, even in the shape of something natural like love. Parks are places where we find a lost puppy or diamond ring. Parks are places where you find people doing things you feel obligated to expose on live public television.

Parks are places where I expect to walk with my lovely wife one day - but not today, because today you have made my image of parks a very dark and dreary place. Almost like the weather in London most of the year, but that's not important either because you're too smart to understand the metaphor. 

Parks are places where my kids will eventually end up losing their virginity to a bong, while their significant other holds them tight for dear life because Maya Khan may be lurking around in the corners waiting to "chaapa" maro on them - geographical limitations not need be considered. This applies to any park in any city/town/village in the world. Yes, your omnipresence is felt well and I shudder to think that my kids will encounter you before Mehreen and I do because I really want to change the course of your destiny, even if I have to steal the famous Delorean time machine from Doc and Marty to arrive 15 minutes before you do.

Sorry if my thoughts become scattered, my wife keeps giving me domestic chores to do and that can throw a fella off his game. 

Some may feel that I have been somewhat inappropriate in my post - the context being loosely relevant, but I will let you be the 'moral' judge, because after all you're famous and on tv so you can't be wrong about the dates in the parks. 

I think I've had a change of heart....I think I'm now torn between you and Mehreen because, while she makes a compelling and well articulated argument about how inhuman and uncivil you are, I cannot feel but a sense of admiration for your bravery. Without adorning your beautiful face with what some may call a 'religious beard' - most commonly found in madrassas, terrorist camps and local overzealous mosques - you have shown us what a hypocrite can really look like if they wear a ton of make up, designer sunglasses, a fat suit and (it's not real is it cause apparently you were hot and presumably still should be - I mean, people don't change), while being followed by a group of BFF's because they love your sense of civic responsibility to hunt down and expose society for what it has become - a breeding ground for love and eventually marriage and children and a long, happy life together - in the shape of a park.

I close my banter with some endless words from someone who narrated Howard Stern's biography in film "The fans want to listen because they wanted to hear what he was going to say next. The critics wanted to listen in because they wanted to hear what he was going to say next." You are my Howard Stern and don't you change that! Ever!

So, Maya Khan, can I please please please meet you in a park? We won't call it a date.

Your (least) biggest admirer,

The author of ¿Kiya Bola | What Say?

P.S. The worst thing about all this...I had never even heard of you until today and I already can't wait to rip you a new one. Peace!