Digitally Social

3 Reasons Your Business Needs A Facebook Fan Page

2009-12-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

More people can find out about your business because your Page gets indexed and is search able inside and outside of Facebook.
Because the number of Fans you can have is unlimited (whereas the Friend limit is 5,000).
Activity on your Page helps increase what I call “viral visibility” on Facebook. You can establish your brand even further.

Let me know if you need have any question.

Social Networkng in Plain English!

2009-11-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

Social networking websites help you see connections that are hidden in the real world. On second thought, These Social Networking sites makes these connection visible. I got this video by 'Lee LeFever' that explain how it works:

Go ahead and spread the word!

Elf Yourself

2009-11-15T06:03:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Facebook "Dislike" Feature

2009-11-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Facebook's "like" feature has been around since February, but they [Facebook] never provided its users the “dislike” feature to vote their opinions going the other way. French developer Thomas Moquet took matters into his own hands by creating a cute (albeit useless) Firefox extension that adds a dislike button to Facebook, letting users who have it installed mark things they don't like. In order to make the tool work, Moquet had to use his own servers, which keep track of every item that's disliked as well as who clicked it. Any other Facebook users who have the extension installed can then see who disliked it right next to the usual like list.

Click here to install the “Dislike” feature for facebook. Would you Like this post???

Permission Marketing

2009-11-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

The #1 question people ask me after reading

"Permission Marketing":

So, how do we get attention to ask for

permission in the first place?

This manifesto is the answer to that question. [Seth Godin]

2000 Idea Virus

Unclutterer

2009-11-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

I enjoy discovering the unexpected. Just today I learned that former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright wore pins and broaches when she met with foreign dignitaries to convey clever, hidden meanings. She wore jeweled wasps when she wanted the other person to feel a sting, a tiny missile when she met with a Russian foreign minister, a snake pin whenever she worked with Iraqi officials -- all sorts of things. I had no idea, and I find this sort of planning and subtlety to be fascinating. I even think it makes me respect her more.

This was said by 'Erin Rooney Doland' while giving an online interview to 'Danielle LaPorte' the writer of 'White Hot Truth'.

Erin Ronney Doland is the Editor-in-Chief of Unclutterer.com, a website providing daily articles on home and office organization.

I am going to buy her book "Unclutter Your Life in One Week" right now. What about you???

What is the Purple Cow?

2009-10-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Purple Cow is a strategy book written by Seth Godin. It doesn’t teach you exactly what to do but offers guidelines, examples and rough principles which make you realize what you should do to improve your business and make it remarkable.

Sometimes, books like this can be difficult to ‘use’. There’s a lot of ideas so what you really need to do is to extract the essence and apply it to a concrete problem.

All in all, the Purple Cow is a good read and if you do get it, enjoy the ideas and remember to put them into practice. A book like this waxes poetic on marketing ideologies but it’s useless if you don’t take that big step to create a Purple Cow.

For detail review please click here or head to the Purple Cow official website.

Greeting Cards

2009-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

I miss greeting cards. A greeting card delivered by a postman, with its lines of handwriting, loops and angles that give a reflection of personality and, perhaps, secrets tucked inside. Waiting for the postman to find a letter is old fashioned but many cherish still the opening cards, reading, and reading them again. There is a romance in writing and receiving greeting cards.

The messages printed on the greeting cards are poetic, passionate, persuasive and very comforting. The cards available in the market meet the requirements of all the conceivable situations in the human relationship. There are in endless varieties, designs, shapes and sizes from simple messages like ‘I wish you were here with me on this Christmas’ to such questions as I often wonder what made us fall in love and more?

With rather longer prelude, I have the pleasure to introduce christmascards.uk.com - the best site for personalised charity Christmas cards just in time for you to explore and may be get your Christmas cards for coming Christmas. Explore the neatly laid out site and see what they are offering and how. Better still, get your required cards for there; you can either chose from their fresh cards or you can also design your own.

Christmascards.uk.com is the best when it comes to Christmas greeting cards.

Women, Mothers, Families and Reform

2009-10-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

First Lady Michelle Obama is standing up for women and families in this newest video. Take a look:

Source

What Are You Passionate About?

2009-10-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Recently I was taking to a mentor and she reminded me of how much I miss helping others. Yes, I have a business that helps. Yes I donate each month to feeding programs, but I am ready to do something locally.

I'm combining my business and my heart in a fundraiser called Facials For Food.

Monique Alvarez
520-425-2858

Good Morning Pakistan

2009-10-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulation to Dr Shaista Wahidi on the first anniversary of her TV Show [Good Morning Pakistan]. This trendy interactive morning show gives a fresh, lively and energetic start to your mornings. The Show also provides a complete dose of entertainment, news, views, experience sharing, expert opinions and lot more in its segments. Good Morning Pakistan is broadcast 8am-12pm (UAE) on ARY Digital TV.

Good work Shaista, Double Thumbs Up!

Source

How Many SIMs You Got?

2009-10-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

Considering the current horrible situation of our country; it is advisable to know how many SIM’s are being issued against your CNIC. Applying the procedure given below will let you know the number of SIM’s issued against your CNIC and in case you intend to block any of the number acquired against your CNIC, it can be done so.Click HERE

Note: Please note that the CNIC # to be entered in the text message should be without en dashes (-).

By: Amir Akram

Social Media for Online Marketers

2009-10-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

Online marketers are expensively and dangerously wrong about their perception of social media. Various online marketers are considering the social media as an acquisition channel, whereas it’s a customer relationship channel. Stepping in to social media, needs you to build an online community first, than start building interaction, relationship, and trust between your online community members. Than, drive your RSS to get the attention of your tribe/community/group. It’s pretty sure, that they will take actions upon your recommendations.

TIP: [Read more about recommendation here]

This is one of the reason that online marketers quit too early rather trying too long on social media. As for as online ads are concern, let me tell you very frankly that they are so interrupting; you can’t build a brand with it. Even the future of email marketing is quite blurring. What I can see is the “RSS” which I believe, is the next big thing.

Ten Questions With 'Seth Godin'

2009-10-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Click Here to find a detail interview and answers.

Question: Other than hindsight, how does someone know when it’s time to quit?
Question: If I’m in the middle of a dip, how do I know if it’s worth gutting it out to get to the other side?
Question: Is there a place for the intrinsic value of learning a skill—for example, playing hockey or the violin—even though you know you won’t be the best in the world?
Question: What if the market is not established so there’s no way to know if it even exists and if it’s worth dedicating/rededicating to?
Question: How can a company quit a product and not give the incorrect signal that it’s quitting the market?
Question: What’s more powerful: a short-term pain or long-term gain?
Question: Do most companies quit too early or try too long?
Question: Should Microsoft quit the MP3 player market?
Question: Should Apple quit the personal computer market?
Question: Should America quit the Iraq War?

Tribes and Groups

2009-10-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

While reading 'Tribes' a book by Seth Godin, a thought just pop-up in my mind that, online groups at Google, Yahoo, Facebook can be more effective if they transform these groups in to a Tribe. As Seth describes: that a tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”. Because a tribe has a leader, a group does not. Group members strive to be a part of something bigger than then they think they are. They want to be part of a movement. So, again: what if groups are being transformed in to a tribe with the right leadership, a strong foundation and a common goal to achieve?

What do you say?

Google Knows Best OR Mother Knows Best?

2009-10-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

I think, Google knows best, than you think, they have your emails. Google got a wide array of trust measurements. Google knows much more about you than you think.

See Google owns...

• The #1 search portal-Google

• A leading email service-Gmail

• A leading customized home page-Google Sites

• A leading feed reader-Google Reader

• The leading feed management system-Feedburner

• The leading analytic product-Google Analytics

• The largest distributed ad network-Google AdWords and AdSense

• The most widely distributed traffic monitoring toolbar-Google Toolbar

• The largest video content hosting site-YouTube

Google collects data from millions of Google accounts every day. Google Knows you subscribes to which blog and site. How long you have subscribed for? How often you interact with that blog and site. What keywords you mostly google or search, and how regular you search. What email you send and receive, and how many people you have in your network.

In addition to the above, what if Google branch out another site with some code-guided instructions, that evaluates you on the basis of the information Google know about you. For example what if that site tells you:

1. What type of communication you do usually?

2. What type of friends are around you?

4. What type of sites you mostly visit?

5. What type of keywords you mostly search?

6. How many like-minded friends are there in your network?

7. How good is you communication?

8. And if you are a blogger, what type of content are you produce and how steady you produced.

What if Google gives its users an insights like this?

What do you say?

however as many of Us know Our Mother's always have known what was best for Us evertime too.

Our mothers where;

* The only one who cares without limits for Us.

* Our decipline the power hand that scowld Us when gone wrong.

* Full intructors on life lessons / tribulations.

* Provider of food & skills for Our Journey through exisitance.

and I can make this list beat the google list but the point is not who did more than the other or which one provides the most! The questions is who knows best..

and as far as the Inernet is concerded well We would all have to say that Google's is indeed Our Mother when thinking about the Online nature!

What I am tring to get at is that Google like Our Mothers has taken the task to watch over every single one of Us, either it be to help Us or to Spy on Us that would be up to You to decide on what this erge to know Our every online move made IS!

Written by:
Normal Flecha
Straight Talk
151 Year Old
Muhammad Yaqoob

Mapping the Global Muslim Population

2009-10-10T01:10:00.000-07:00

A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population.

TweetDeck - All in One

2009-10-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was in looking for a tool that can help updating my status at all social networks in a minute. I through that request on twitter and got a reply from the 'Maha Blogger' and a close friend of mine 'Mr. Shi'. He told me to go get the 'TweetDeck' and your problem will be sorted out. I started using TweetDeck and have loved it. Its a great app to keep track of all my friends from facebook, twitter, and myspace.

Here what I liked about TweetDeck:

It provides constant updating - unlike twitter.com which doesn't update unless you refresh the page or hit "home", tweetdeck updates every minute.

No need to go and check notifications – it automatically show you how many new updates there are from either the people you are following, replies, mentions, direct messages or one of your groups of searches.

You can even searches – any thing that is in your mind or just learning about a key word/phrase. If you want, you could add a search for your name and learn what people are saying.

It’s so easy to reply, direct message, retweet, like and comment to feeds - even easier than using twitter.com or facebook, or myspace. The options are right under the person's picture

Columns - You can set it up to be full screen or just one column wide. For me, the one column setup is cleaner and easier to manage, but if you have a bigger screen (or 2 monitors) you might want to allow for more columns. Whenever a member of a group posts a tweet it alerts you via the usual pop-up message, but defining which group has posted.

twitpic - it has a built-in twitpic button right there. You don't have to go to twitpic.com to upload a picture. It’s much convenient.

short URL - again, there is a spot to put in your URL and automatically have it shortened without going to a separate website. Another time saver

I recommend Tweetdeck for all those who use facebook, twitter and myspace throughout the day. If you are on a computer most of the day, it is easy to keep open and connected. If you don't already use it, I'd highly recommend you give TweetDeck a go.

Blogging for Bliss

2009-10-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Use numbers and bullets whenever you want to point-out or list something. REMEMBER: People don't read online, they merely scan [Seth Godin].
Give reference, link-back that gives authenticity to what you are saying.
Use a relevant picture that communicates large amounts of information.
Talk about latest and trending issues, not on dead or repeated issues.
Use keyword oriented wordings in a post that drives traffic from search engines.
Do request for a feedback, opinion, suggestion at the end of each post.

Feel free to add some more tips in the comments :D

What are you Whistling Right Now?

2009-10-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

What if Facebook, twitter, myspace allow its users to add an audio file to its status message that asks: What song are you whistling right now?and users record their songs while whistling.

What do you say?

STONEAGE Ad Prompts 'Sexual Harassment'

2009-10-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

[Lahore-Pakistan]

999 Business Ideas

2009-10-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

In Seth Godin's Six Month Alternative MBA programme all the nine participants were assigned a task to come up with 111 business ideas each. Here are all the 999 ideas (free for the taking) that have been produced.

Following are few of the 999 ideas that I am sharing here. I was thinking that, what if we write a post on each of the idea given below? And prepare it for further implementations? As they say: Ideas are a dime a dozen. The money is in the execution.

What do you say?

Whistle It.com: download audio of people whistling popular songs.
Food services where you can email them your mom's recipes and have them make it for you and deliver it during lunch time.
SIM card swap service
Presentation Consulting - Teach companies how to improve their presentations
Customer feedback software for mobile phones sold to marketers.
Web-based rent-a-CFO.
Application to sell to universities that allows students to access their transcripts online
OnlineConfessions.com. read other confessions and share the you own anonymously.
Hire voice actors to read popular blogs to create podcasts where they don't yet exist ("Best of the Blogosphere Podcast")
Church issued credit card with automatic 10% for religious tithing
Pencil sharpener type device to grind down dog toenails
A party planner for kids birthday parties, but with educational and fun activities.
Spring Shadows - program where kids can shadow business people for a short two weeks internship to see what they want to major in once they go to college and what they might want to do once they graduate
Web-based rapid prototyping service that allows amateur product designers to test their designs and have our RP machines "prints" their products in 3D.
Tattoo parlor for pets.

Significance of Social Media

2009-10-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Organizations are increasingly focusing on producing kick-ass content to attract and retain customers, rather than grabbing folks off the street at random. The recession is forcing revenue results out of social technologies-marketing must prove its worth to actually changing the bottom line. As we know that customer reviews are nothing new on popular eCommerce sites like eBay and Amazon, in most cases, consumers use the critiques from people they don't know. Now with connective technologies like Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect, and OpenID, consumers are now being able to see reviews, experiences, and critiques from people they actually know and trust.

Tech-Savvy consumers will not tolerate poor service. They'll flip out, very publicly, using social media that will grab more attentions of their network as its a small world.

One of Rare Job Portals

2009-10-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Rozee an online job portal is the only major employment website that is stabilizing, in Pakistan. While other job boards reported more declines even in the global recession. Rozee.pk stands out as the only one showing early signs of stabilization.

Rozee.pk is also one of rare job portals for Pakistan and some neighboring countries that are free for both job seekers and employers. They give more abilities to employers by providing them various tools for review, sorting, and management of applicants. Recently ROZEE.PK successfully launched a Campus Career Portal Initiative on 1st July 2008. A unique undertaking in the developing world, this program aims to connect industry with academia through an online platform. They have received exclusive government funding through the National ICT R&D Fund for this project. As a result, academic institutions like LUMS, University of Punjab, UETs and many others has opted to this innovative free of cost online portal. Under this project, students, alumni and staff of 85 qualified, HEC accredited Pakistani Institutions will be able to build their resumes online, view job postings by over 20,000 employers, apply and network with their peers and subscribe for a career placement newsletter. What else, check out the site here.

Exercise for Social Media Addicts

2009-10-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

If you are concerned about your health because you are spending too much time on social media sites like Facebook and Digg, here’s an exercise plan that may keep you fit.
Source

Why -To-How?

2009-10-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

We are witnessing that many organizations are now taking Web 2.0 very seriously moving from “why” to “how” they should implement these new strategies and tactics to their organization for more gain, better networking, and tight communities.

Social media realizes that throwing beautifully crafted sales messages doesn’t work any more, they are convinced to interact first.

Change to Mud Architecture

2009-10-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Concept of shifting to mud architecture is creating waves in Pakistan. It is heartening to know that a lot is happening to convert this concept in to a reality in the form of proposed Mud Village, Peerzada Festival Area, Lahore. Read the latest story at Light Within.

Feel The "CHANGE"

2009-10-01T01:55:00.000-07:00

Outsourcing Human Resources

2009-09-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Businesses can out source some of their functions in order to have more time to concentrate on core business activities, such as sales and services, instead of spending valuable time on complex, Human Resource issues and to reduce cost and at the same time benefit from expert professional in the field.

Those who are interested in Outsourcing Human Resources and Payroll Services must start at Red Mountain.

Payroll and Bookkeeping are tedious but important HR Functions that take a lot of time and resources. These are specialized jobs better done by those who are trained to do it. Qualified and dedicated experts at Red Mountain can better handle Payroll and Bookkeeping functions and free up your time for more important tasks. Explore the neatly laid out and uses’ friendly site and see what services Red Mountain is offering and how Red Mountain can become your local outsourced HR department.

Red Mountain is number one choice for Arizona Payroll Service and outsource bookkeeping or for those who need to outsourcing human resources work.

I suggest you approach Red Mountain and let them maintain Payroll and Bookkeeping Services and all those details of Payroll Services management and employee payroll administration while you concentrate on the core functions of your business.

Obama's Diplomatic Smileathon

2009-09-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's amazingly consistent smile from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

Shrines of Sufia

2009-09-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

Darbar Hazrat Shah Walayat is located in Mohella Ali Pura opposite to State Life Building, district Gujrat, Pakistan. Darabar Sain Remat is located at Chiryawala Sharif. Darabar of Mian Muhammad Bukhish a well know Punjabi Poet is located near Sarai Alamgir. Darbar Bab Jangu Shah is located at Malhu Khokhar Where annual Eid fairs are held which exhibits special Punjabi culture. Dr. Muhammad Sharif Kunjahi, a famous Ponjabi poet also belonged to Kunjah Distt Gujrat, Pakistan.

The Jalal Pur Jattan City is a step forward in time, with latest modern houses. Tomb of Hazrat Khawja Sana Ullah at Kula Chour and darbar Qazi Sahib are located in the nearby mohella. Darabar Hazrat Miran Syed Yahyaha Tirmazi is one of the oldest grave yard in the round about located in center of the village Raniwal syedan at the top of mud built hill, as well as one of the best examples of traditional mud built shrine. Many efforts had been made by followers to build it with concrete but every time failed. However, compound wall of Darbar is built entirely of bricks. Thousands of non Muslims accepted Islam with the efforts of Hazrat Miran Syed Yahyaha Tirmazi During the attempts of Mehmood Ghaznavi over India.

Googlle : 11th Anniversary

2009-09-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

"Congratulations to Google and its team on celebrating its 11th Anniversary."

Google is celebrating its 11th birthday today with another example of its famous Google 'doodles' - a special logo on its front page.

A Reluctant Poet

2009-09-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

It is never easy to write about someone whom you know very intimately, especially after his or her death. To pen down memories spread over years in a few hundred words is not the only problem you confront – with each word you write, a sense of loss encompasses you. The void created in your life because of the absence of that single individual somehow becomes the greatest reality of the world and life loses all its meaning, at least temporarily, for you.

Writing renowned poet and literary scholar Salahuddin Mahmood’s obituary, who died August 22 this year, I experienced this problem. He was the third leading literary figure whom we lost last month after Safdar Mir (Zino) and Taufiq Rafat. With his inherent goodness of heart and sophistication of manners, Salahuddin Mahmood had made a distinguished place for himself in the hearts of all his acquaintances. It would not be wrong to say that you just had to meet him to experience his cultured demeanour, which reminded one of his Aligarh upbringing, and become one of his admirers.

In fact, the Aligarh influence on his personality was the first thing you noticed either while conversing with him or reading his poetry. Born in 1934, Salahuddin Mahmood belonged to a very educated family. Muhammad Umaruddin, his father, was a philosopher of international renown. He also remained the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Muslim University, Aligarh. His mother was also a highly educated woman and was also taught by Bertrand Russell when she went to England for higher education on a scholarship.

Salahuddin Mahmood had hardly turned 15 before he had completed the voluminous epic of Talism-e-Hoshruba, thanks to his maternal grandfather, Professor Khalil Ahmad, who was among the most shining students of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Though he was an engineer by profession, his interest in literature and love for books grew so much with time that for the last many years he owned the best, biggest and most well-kept library in Lahore.

Before moving on to his literary achievements, I would like to share a few personal memories with the readers. He was one of the closest friends of my father and I got acquainted with him at a very early age. But, my real relationship started with him after I started taking interest in literature. Thereafter, followed a unique association in which, I feel, he was always at the giving end.

His first gift to me was a set of three books by Latin American writer Jorge Louis Borges. After this, followed seven volumes of Talism-e-Hoshruba and the occasion was nothing but publication of one of my articles which he found quite interesting for my age. At the same time, he started sending me a copy of all his latest writings, which were mostly poems. Later, after I started doing translations, he motivated me to translate a complete book and also arranged a publisher for me. To add to all this were numerous cards on occasions like Eids and New Year. I am sure I was not the only one for whom he had done so much; he would have surely extended such favours to many.

Salahuddin Mahmood was a poet. It is unfortunate that he never published a collection of his poems, except for a thin leaflet, Kashf-e-Qarz Alwajood, which includes ten ghazals. Probably, this is also the major reason that he did not get the recognition he deserved as a poet. The other reason was that he never aligned himself with any literary group as he considered them crutches. “I have never felt the need to present myself before people by using the crutches of a literary group,” he had said during an interview.

Salahuddin Mahmood started writing poetry at a fairly young age. One of his poems found a place in Saqi, leading Urdu literary magazine of those days edited by Shahid Ahmad Delhivi, when he was just 14. But, it was only after 1963 that he people started knowing him as a poet. It was for the simple reason that before this he confined his poetry to himself.

Salahuddin Mahmood was one of those few people who did not choose poetry; it was poetry which chose him. He believed that good poetry could not be written by intention as it was a matter of inspiration. “The moment of inspiration is like a flashing of lighting which can be preserved only by someone having pure sensations,” he used to say. As far as his own poetry was concerned, it was purely inspirational in essence and revolved around a mythical innocence which he aimed to preserve as he felt it was fast departing us. He tried to recreate the first impression of his senses which had the greatest influence on him. It could be said that through his poetry, he sought his childhood spent at Aligarh and tried to immortalise it.

Salahuddin Mahmood also remained associated with Savera, which was perhaps one of the best Urdu literary magazines, as Editor for almost ten years. He edited some memorable issues of Savera in which some of the best modern Urdu literature was published. He used to give paintings to short story writers asking them to write whatever came to their mind after watching them. Many of the stories written in response were the best by those writers. The paintings were published along with the stories and added to the beauty of the magazine.

He was also a translator par excellence and rendered the works of many important Western writers and poets like Herman Hesse and Jorge Louis Borges into Urdu. For the last 30 years, he was busy translating the Holy Quran into Urdu and had completed about 50 percent of it. Hopefully, somebody would take the initiative and complete this venture. To the surprise of many, despite all his learning, he was a deeply religious person. His travelogue of Haj, Khak-i-Hijaz kay Nigehbaan, which gained immense popularity among the religious circles, bears testimony to this.

Salahuddin Mahmood also contributed a lot to the Urdu prose. He can be rated among one of the best contemporary prose writers of the language and his essays on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman can be presented as a proof of this. Reading his prose is an unique experience as it has a poetic flavour. He was a genuine research scholar and Majmooah Rajinder Singh Bedi established him in this role.

The book of over 1,400 pages is a compilation of all the important works of Rajinder Singh Bedi. Every page of the book speaks of the devotion with which he undertook this gigantic task – it took him two years just to collect all the works of Bedi. It was followed by Majmooah Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai, a similar work on the author in four volumes (Novel, Short Story, Novelette, Daastaan/ Mazmoon/ Drama). These works are surely more than enough to keep his name living in the Urdu literature. These days, he was busy compiling a similar book on the works of famous short story writer Rafiq Hussain.

Salahuddin Mahmood’s loss to Urdu literature may not be noticed in all its implications at present, but time will surely prove how important his presence was. In fact, such sensitive human beings and thorough gentlemen are the essence of every society, and a loss in their number hints at the ensuing decay. The only way to preserve them is through their writings.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Take Action

2009-09-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Blog Action Day 2009 is coming up (October 15, 2009) and the theme this time is Climate Change. Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Join the movement.

International climate negotiations are occurring in Copenhagen this December, and this Blog Action day aims to to mobilize millions of people across the world for finding a sustainable solution to the climate crisis. On October 15, take time to blog about climate change and help raise awareness about the issue. Register your blog today. {With Thanks}

Related: Poverty - Blog Action Day 2008

This Happens to Every Blogger

2009-09-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

This happens to every blogger: They start a blog and wait for people that they will come and visit. A few people might show up their faces because they’re your friends or you invited them to visit, but mostly you’ll just be waiting. So what can you do? You might try what some blog scammers do: Go to blogs, and leave comments that basically indirectly say, “Visit my site,” and then hop away. Avoid short and irrelevant comments.

History Personified

2009-09-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

In 1938, the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs awarded 23-year-old Phillips Talbot a fellowship with a mandate: visit the Indian subcontinent and learn abut the intricacies of life there. Till 1950, he graphically recounted the build up to Indian and Pakistani independence, and the early experiences of the new states, in the form of several letters to the Institute. This experience also afforded him an opportunity to meet with almost all the great politicians of the time, from Gandhi to Jinnah and from Nehru to Liaquat Ali Khan. He stands out among his contemporary historians on account of the fact that his can be termed the most objective analysis of those turbulent days. A journalist to the core, soft-spoken and refined Talbot was the India correspondent of the Chicago Daily News in 1946. In this capacity too, he attended almost all the major events – even if they entailed travelling by foot or riding a bicycle – leading up to the Indian subcontinent’s partition. However, the most striking thing about his personality is his good memory. Even at 93, though he looks slightly younger than that, Talbot can recount at length events that took place almost seven decades ago. It would not be an overstatement to say that not only did he see the history being made, he personifies it. Talbot, who is currently the president emeritus of The Asia Society, USA, also served as US ambassador to Greece from 1965 to 1969. His books include South Asia in the World Today (edited); India and America: A study of Their Relations (co-authored with S I Poplai); India in the 1980s; and An American Witness to India’s Partition. In 2002, the Indian government awarded Talbot the Padma Shri. The News on Sunday got an opportunity to interview him during his recent visit to Lahore.

Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: In which US state were you born and from where did you get your education?
Phillips Talbot: I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1914. I grew up mainly in the Middle Western state of Wisconsin. I went to public schools in Wauwatosa, a suburb of that state’s largest city, Wisconsin. My father, a civil engineer, was a corporate executive who became the director of research of his manufacturing company. Our family lived comfortably till my last year of high school, when in the depth of the 1930s Great Depression my father’s job was eliminated when his company nearly collapsed. Getting to college in 1932 would have been an impossible dream but for an invitation by my grandfather, a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois, to live with him and enrol in that institution for graduation. My grandfather’s ideas and work ethics made a big impression on me.
MNA: Which subjects did you study at college?
PT: I studied political science and journalism, rather than my family’s traditional subject, engineering.
MNA: Why did you choose to study journalism?
PT: I got interested in journalism because of the freedom of expression it allowed, though I became the ‘black sheep’ of a family of engineers.
MNA: Did you get a job after your graduation?
PT: Getting a job in 1936 was not easy, as the country was experiencing the bottom of Great Depression. However, I was lucky enough to be employed as a local reporter by the Chicago Daily News, then that city’s leading afternoon paper.
MNA: How did you become a foreign correspondent then?
PT: After I started my career in journalism, my interest in the world beyond America’s shores grew, in part as I realised how much of the glamour in journalism rested in its foreign correspondents in London, Rome, Berlin or elsewhere. When I tried for such an assignment, my editors told me, accurately, that “I was too young and too green” to be considered. The lucky break came when Walter S Rogers, director of the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs, visited my newspaper and described the Institute’s desire to stake someone to India studies as part of its overall commitment to increase the pool of American knowledge of what we know call non-Western peoples.
MNA: Considering that you only 23 at that time, why were you chosen for that assignment?
PT: The Institute of Current World Affairs judged that, in view of the immense variety of Indian life, the fellow to be chosen for that assignment might well be a young journalist –in others words, a generalist accustomed to study and write on different dimensions of a broad topic. Another reason was that an expert was not required, as the purpose was only to present a picture of the Indian society at that time.
MNA: Were you interested in India too?
PT: Frankly, no. I grew interested not because the subject was India, about which I was ignorant and had no prior information, but because I believed this exposure in one country might set me on the road to becoming a foreign correspondent.
MNA: What was the perception of the US and the ordinary Americans about the Indian subcontinent at that time?
PT: The Americans, barring a few scholars and academics, knew nothing about the Indian subcontinent or its inhabitants till then. In fact, the British resisted the involvement of Americans, especially in the field of business, in their most valued colony, which was coloured red on the map as part of the British Empire. Another reason for this lack of knowledge was that no American had written an account of the Indian subcontinent till then and there was no major group of Indians living in the US at that time. The only Americans who had some exposure to the Indian subcontinent were Christian missionaries or, in exceptional cases, businesspeople. In comparison, China was much more accessible to the US and Americans at that time. The US media also covered only a few important political leaders like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, plus a few maharajas. The Institute of Current World Affairs was actually formed after no expert on India could be made available to then US president Woodrow Wilson to advise him during World War I. The overall ignorance of the Americans about the Indian subcontinent was also one of the main reasons for sending me to this part of the world.
MNA: So you were sent to India straight away?
PT: No, the Institute of Current World Affairs wisely decided that I needed some scholarly discipline on India before being plunged into that land. With American offerings available, I was shoe-horned into the one-year academic programme offered for Indian Civil Service (ICS) probationers at the London School of Oriental and African Studies.
MNA: How was that experience?
PT: In that year (1938-39), about half the probationers were British (all expecting full careers in India) and half Indian. During our year together, our small group had contacts with a wide variety of British and Indian officials, politicians, journalists and other people. A dividend of that year in London was that I had classmates whose assignments in the following years placed them in many of the Indian provinces that I visited.
MNA: What were your first impressions of the Indian subcontinent?
PT: I spent most of my time in the Indian subcontinent before the British left. When I first arrived in India, the Raj was very much firm and on top of things, especially after the 1935 Government of India Act. Most of the British ICS officers expected to spend their whole life here, as it was not in their remotest thinking that they would have to leave one day. As far as I am concerned, my main concern was to learn about India. I discussed this with a number of people and they suggested that I take one slice at a time. So, my first two years in India (1939-1941) were broadly divided between Muslim and Hindu settings. The Muslim experience included a term at the Aligarh Muslim University, which was India’s leading centre of Islamic academics and politics; followed by a community study in a rather isolated village in Kashmir. I also attended some major political meetings, including the All India Muslim League’s Lahore session where it formally adopted the goal of a separate country for Muslims. During my second year, I concentrated on Hindu settings, with stints at a Vedic Ashram in Lahore, Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan centre, the Konaikanal Ashram in south India and Gandhi’s ashram, Sevagra. I also did a couple of urban community studies in Lahore and Bombay (now Mumbai).
MNA: Did you anticipate that the British would leave India one day?
PT: No one anticipated that, as the politics functioned under the conditions set by the British. However, after the World War II, British bankruptcy became clear – India became a creditor to the Great Britain rather than a debtor. The British estimated that they needed 60,000 soldiers to subjugate India, but they did not have the enough human resources at that time. It was then British prime minister Clement Attlee, who came to power after pro-imperialism Sir Winston Churchill, on whom the reality dawned and who brought about a fundamental shift in the prevalent British thinking. Had it not been for Attlee, the decolonisation of the Indian subcontinent might have been a generation or two away. One must remember that the independence of India and Pakistan were one of the most crucial developments of the twentieth century. Though the centuries-old imperialist system was destined to end anyway, it was the independence of India and Pakistan that kick-started the process of decolonisation. The French, Spanish, Portuguese and the Belgians only followed suit the British as far as granting independence to their respective colonies is concerned. In short, this was the period of transition from imperialism to nationalism.
MNA: But why did the British leave the Indian subcontinent much earlier than they had announced?
PT: By the time Lord Mountbatten became the governor general of India, the law and order situation was already deteriorating. The forces of the British and the nationalists came at loggerheads. On the other hand, communal problems were on the rise. The situation became so worse that Hindu police could not control mobs of their community and the same was true for Muslims. This forced the British to leave earlier than announced.
MNA: How were the relations between Hindus and Muslims in the pre-partition days?
PT: In most of the places, they lived in complete harmony. However, there were occasional riots even in otherwise peaceful cities like Lahore.
MNA: Do you think that the creation of Pakistan was the right decision?
PT: No one foresaw that the partition would be so violent. To the contrary, Muhammad Ali Jinnah believed that the partition would reduce tensions between Muslims and Hindus. In fact, a number of proposals were floated in this regard. A prominent leader of All India Muslim League shared with me as many as eight different geographic plans for the new country. Similarly, another idea was to divide the Indian subcontinent along ethnic lines and have as many separate countries. The people of south India also wanted a separate country for them and even chose Dravidistan as its name. The people and leaders of Kerala also wanted it to be a separate country, as did the Nizam of Hyderabad.
MNA: Did you anticipate the separation of East Pakistan?
PT: Yes. Many important Indian leaders, including Muslims, believed that the idea of Pakistan was not feasible. They even argued that room should be left for Pakistan to rejoin India whenever it feels like doing so. However, the general impression was that the eastern wing of Pakistan will rejoin India in a matter of a few years, while the western wing might take longer.
MNA: Whom would you go for if given a choice – Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Patel or Bose?
PT: Gandhi was the conscience of the Indian National Congress, very different from other political leaders of the time. Nehru, on the other hand, was an idealist. He gave India the gift of 17 years of solid leadership, established institutions and built a foundation for his country. Jinnah could have done similar for Pakistan had he lived on longer. Coming to Patel, many people believed that he was the better choice as India’s prime minister than Nehru – he was the one who brought many princely states into India’s dominion. However, he was tough against Muslims as well as Pakistan. Bose, on the other hand, was a maverick, a real intellectual.
MNA: Do you believe in the theory of clash of civilisations?
PT: No, as it misses the point of conflicts we have observed. Religion is used as a point of identification by a political group only at times. Basically, all the conflicts are political in nature and they have nothing to do with either religion or culture.
MNA: Does this mean that the US should bring about a change in its ongoing policy?
PT: Why not? We have entered a new phase of world history. As a result of globalisation, new economic powers like China and India are restructuring global patterns. Therefore, even a great power like the US should adjust its policies to take into account the interests of the nations that are on the rise. There is no room for unilateralism, either by the US or any other country, in this era of globalisation.
MNA: Has Lahore changed since you last visited the city?
PT: A lot. The new construction is obvious. I was astonished to see the new airport, which is not only very modern but also very attractive. Also, the city seems to have expanded a lot. During this visit, I found myself more in unfamiliar places than the familiar ones.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Treasure Trove-Gujrat

2009-09-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Gujrat is a treasure trove of historical attractions and there is perhaps no better place to delve into the land’s past than at the Gujrat Akbari Fort, now occupied by Indian migrants 1947, housed top of the 400 year-old in Gujrat. Tomb of Shah Jehangir is also a historical place. Darbar Hazarar Syed Kabir Uddin Shahduala Dari Gunj Bakhsh is located close to Akbari Fort. Nishan-e-Haider tomb of Major Raja Aziz Bhatti is 30 Kilometer from Gujrat city on the north where army parade is held in every 6 September. He bravely fight in the 1965 Indo-Pak was and got shahdat by the enemy shell.

Zamindar Degree College is the historical college of Gujrat founded by Nawab Sir Fazal Ali Khan of Vill Anala Gujrat. British Empire awarded him the title of “Sir” on account of his educational services in combined India after Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Ali Garh University in India. Mostly high-posted army and civil officers graduated from this prestigious college and practically took part in the development of Pakistan.

On the other hand Choudry Brotheran sons of Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi are playing a dynamic role on the horizon of Pakistan Politics. The establishment of UOG [University of Gujrat] is the remarkable achievement of Choudry Brotheran Government.

Service shoes industries and textile located in Gujrat is providing employment to thousands of home of their living for more than 50 years. This factory has played special role in removal of un-employment from the district. Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar [currently Defence Minister of Pakistan] is present CEO of this multinational company.

Shadiwal Power House is also a historical and industrial unit in district Gujrat. This power house was built by British Empire in 1930 on Jehlum Canal to provide electricity to the district and suburbs. At this time of energy crisis, powerhouse is meeting the energy needs of Gujrat efficiently. It is also a sight for visitor’s attraction.

Some of the oldest towns in district Gujrat are Lalamusa, Jalapur Jattan, Kunjah, Anala, Perosah, Shaidwal, Tanda Mota, Alamgarh, Hajiwala, Awan Sharif, Madina Syedan, Raniwal Sydan, Kulewal Sydan, Moin Uddin Pur Sydan, Nat, Dinga, Bahadar, Ladian, Boorch, Langrial, Gulyana, Deona, Kotla Bahowal Chechian, and Ghiryawala

City has many restaurants for its visitors like Faisal Hotel, Kanara at Chenab, Subhan at Gt Road, Lasania, Usmania, Skyways, Tulip at river Jhehlem. So when are you planning to visit?

An Editor’s Delight

2009-09-22T02:34:00.000-07:00

Every week, mostly on Fridays, I used to receive a call from Kaleem Omar informing that he has emailed his weekly column Newswatch. The words hardly varied: “Mustafa Sahib kaisay hain? Mazmoon bhijwa dia hai.” (How are you Mr Mustafa? I have sent the article).
Our association began about two years ago when I was entrusted with the responsibility of editing the Political Economy section of The News on Sunday. One of my first guidelines was not to mess with Mr Kaleem Omar’s language. Though a fan of his writings myself, I found this a bit too hard to swallow. After all, can there be a bigger affront to an editor’s vanity than not being allowed to edit what he or she publishes?
True to my habit, I started making a few changes here and there in his columns. However, I made these changes only after I was completely sure that they were imperative. Let me admit that many a time when I checked the dictionary I was proved wrong. It was not long before I received an email from Kaleem Sahib informing me that my addition of ‘the’ before World War II in his column was incorrect. I was somehow so sure of this that I would have bet anything on it. I was only assured I was wrong after I had checked the dictionary. After that, I never changed anything in his column without consulting the dictionary and that used to be very rare.
Kaleem Omar was very particular about whatever he sent for publication. Initially, he would call to make minor changes in his column that I would have made anyway. However, with time I was able to win his trust. Before he could ask me to make certain changes, mostly typos, in his column, I would tell him that I have already done the needful. Similarly, he always made sure that I had received his column. In fact, whatever he wrote mattered to him and he took it very seriously. There were hardly any other writers who were as averse to changes in whatever they wrote.
But Kaleem Omar was not only about good English; his knowledge of issues was immense. He excelled in writing in a witty and sarcastic tone, and the fact that he shared a lot of information on the way was an icing on the cake. I have personally learnt, as I am sure most of his readers would have, from each and every single column he wrote during these two years. And the topics of these columns ranged from politics to literature to economy. He was a prolific writer who also contributed to many other sections of The News. His columns on George W Bush and Ireland could be published separately as comic books. But he wrote serious articles and obituaries with the same ease. For example, his piece on Benazir Bhutto after her assassination moved one to tears.
More than anything, he was a humble soul. As our association grew stronger, he started congratulating me on any good article that I wrote. He was an articulate person who loved to talk and share information. The choice of topic for his column was his discretion, but whenever I requested him to write on a particular topic he was always forthcoming. In fact, he would narrate on the phone his whole thesis and what he would be writing. Figures and required information were always at his fingertips.
The knack for professionalism, which is so lacking in our society, won Kaleem Omar many admirers. I came to know about this when he fell ill and stopped sending his columns. After a lot of queries on why his column was not being printed, we had to publish a note informing the readers that his column would resume soon.
As soon as he got better, he started sending his column again. Last week, his last column on US President Barack Obama’s Cairo speech was printed on these pages after a gap of many weeks. We were glad that he had recuperated from illness.
This week, he had promised to write on Sindh’s reluctance to host IDP camps. Before I could call him this Thursday to inquire about his column, I got the news of his death from a colleague. These are insufficient words to fill up the space he graced for years through his illuminating words. One thing is for sure: the void left by his death would be hard to fill.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Before the Deadline

2009-09-21T02:43:00.000-07:00

The inevitable was fast approaching. As days passed, even the distant hope of Roman Ehsan’s recovery that some of us might have had faded into eternity. It was all too obvious that within days, if not hours, he would not be among us. All regular visitors to the Lahore Press Club (LPC) prayed for Roman in their hearts, but were hesitant to even discuss his condition with others – as if they had already submitted to the Divine will.
Roman Ehsan, who passed away on Feb 1 at the age of 43, leaving behind a wife, three daughters and a son, easily fell among the most popular of Lahore’s journalists. One rarely saw him disturbed or agitated; in fact, he would manage to make others smile even during the most testing of times. However, this was only one side of the picture. When the news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination reached the LPC, he vented out his emotions as if he had lost a close relative.
After doing his Graduation from Govt Islamia College Civil Lines in 1986, he joined daily Jang as an apprentice sub-editor the following year. When daily Musawat, a PPP spokesperson newspaper, re-opened after Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s death in a plane crash on August 17, 1988, he was among the first ones to join it.
Before the October 1990 general elections, Roman re-joined daily Jang as a sub-editor. Soon, he was transferred to the reporting section, where he got a chance to work with the likes of Anjum Rashid and Hamid Mir. For the next decade or so, he worked as a special correspondent for the newspaper with the PPP as his beat. In this capacity, he cultivated close relations with the party’s top leadership, but never sought any personal favours. After the launching of Geo TV, Roman was among the first ones to join the channel. In 2008, he joined Dunya TV as bureau chief, but luck did not allow him time to oversee the channel’s launch.
Roman Ehsan’s close friends remember him as an excellent team player. “He remained positive even in the most adverse of situations. When we started our careers, our salaries were barely enough to meet the expenses. During this period of adversity, he helped us develop the habit of sharing with and caring for others,” says Rana Farid, a close friend of Roman who now works as news editor with a leading Urdu daily.
Coupled with his gracious nature and pleasant behaviour, team spirit made Roman a popular figure among journalists of Lahore. No wonder, he was elected as president of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) in 1994. The same year, he was also elected as a member of the LPC’s governing body. However, designations hardly mattered for someone as well-liked and well-respected as Roman, who was known for adopting ideological stances on issues.
The scribe was witness to at least one such incident. When Bryan D Hunt, principal officer of the US Consulate, Lahore, assumed charge of his office about three years ago, he invited journalists to his place for discussion over hi-tea. Roman was the only one to dare disagree with the American official; he contested Hunt’s argument that all Pakistani political parties have rigged elections or have benefited from this practice. Having worked closely with PPP, his beat, Roman argued that the party had been the victim of rigging by the establishment in all general elections since 1988. It is important to remember that the PPP was in opposition at the time and most of the journalists present on the occasion hailed from then-Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi’s ‘chopper group’.
Roman had brain hemorrhage on Dec 28. Rana Farid tells TNS that he was unusually unhappy and angry a day before that – the occasion of Benazir Bhutto’s first death anniversary. Despite best of efforts to save him and the formation of many medical boards, his brain never showed any signs of recovery. His condition was so bad that many TV and radio channels aired the news of his death a week before he actually passed away. Throughout this period, the atmosphere of the LPC remained tense and gloomy, as everyone missed Roman’s company and prayed in vain for his health. In a way, the announcement of Roman’s death took his fellow journalists out of a state of shock, but only briefly!
By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

In Quest of the Ideal

2009-09-20T02:29:00.000-07:00

“Tu sonah, terray kam vi soneh, sonah jeenvay savera
Main kojay, meray kam vi kojay, koja jeenvay hanaira
Main koja, main koj lukavan, her koey koj lukavay
Tu sonah kuon luk luk baithain, aeh gal samaj na aaway.”

This quartet explains poet-cum-spiritualist Sultan Mahmood Ashufta’s theory of life in the most befitting manner. Both as a poet and spiritualist, he endeavours to create a relationship between the creator and the creation and explore exact nature of the Divinity. Thus to formulate a opinion about his personality separately as a poet and spiritualist is impossible.
He strikes a wonderful balance between the two: while his poetry, mystical and spiritualistic in essence, revolves around the image of an ideal which is achievable and attainable, as a spiritualist he suggests ways of getting closer to that ideal. He firmly believes that this pursuit is the sole reason behind the creation of this universe.
Sultan Mahmood Ashufta has a multi-dimensional personality. He is city’s best reputed spiritual-healer. He writes a column on spiritualism for a monthly magazine along with answering questions regarding spiritualism for a weekly magazine. As the leading Punjabi poet and critic, he has contributed a lot to the uplift and enrichment of the language.
Although his stint in the films was not a very long one, he is rated among the best ever Urdu and Punjabi story, song and dialogue writers of the silver screen. He has also written some excellent plays and songs for the television and radio. As if all this is not enough, he is also the leading homeopath of the city.
What helps him in adjusting in all these different roles is his theory of life. He sees no distinction between his different roles as he believes that all that is present on this earth is inter-related and goal of every human being, whether knowingly or unknowingly, is the quest of the Divine.
He maintains that everybody is a mystic in his own right as he strives for perfection in his field. “A scientist enjoys an edge over a spiritualist in this regard as the latter starts his pursuit as a believer while the former starts his quest as a non-believer,” he contends.
He is in fifty-fifth year of his life. Telling about his family background, he informs that he hailed from a poor family which migrated from India well before the partition. He has to go to Saudi Arabia at a very young age in order to earn a living for his family.
It is for this reason that his formal education ended after matriculation but his interest in reading more than covered up for this shortcoming. He is of the view that reading broadens one’s horizon and vision. “Even a book written by a person of ordinary intellect teaches you something as everybody’s experiences of life are different from that of the other.”
While residing in the Walled City, Sultan Mahmood Ashufta spent his evenings at a roadside hotel near Bhatti Gate along with Late Saeed Jaffari and Late Allahditta Sabir, leading Punjabi poets of the period. “Although all sorts of topics were discussed in these sittings, the atmosphere had a literary touch. People from all walks and stratums of life used to visit us.”
As the place was a very crowded one (because of its closeness to the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajveri), he got an excellent opportunity to observe different sorts of people and enhance his experiences of life. These experiences coupled with his stay abroad helped him in his later life both as a poet and spiritualist.
He was acclaimed as a Punjabi poet of immense talent after his poetry written during the 1965 war appeared on the scene. Critics of the calibre of Safdar Mir wrote extensively on him and introduced him to the people having no direct access to the Punjabi poetry.
Leading Urdu literary magazine Savera had a special section on his war poetry along with Safdar Mir’s article. The poems included Sucha Qalam (Faithful Pen), Savair di Azan (Prayer Call Of The Morning), Ik Buddah (An Old Man), Heer da Sajra Pyar (Fresh Amour Of The Heer) and Jang da Atharwan Din (Eighteenth Day Of The War). In September 1966, he came up with a poem Chhey Sitamber sey Chhey Sitamber tak (From Sixth September To Sixth September) which further established him in the role of a poet.
His stay in Saudi Arabia helped him in many ways as he spent eight years at a place having desert on one side and beach on the other. The two extremes matured him as a poet. In Saudi Arabia, he did a number of courses in Arabic and as a result, as Safdar Mir puts it, “his acquaintance with Arabic is just like as with Urdu and punjabi.”
He is candid enough to admit that he wrote film songs without inspiration and with the sole aim of making money out of them. But at the same time he claims that his poetry for films was also literary and he was never accused of copying or writing vulgar songs throughout his film career.
Although he has written a lot of prose in form of drama and criticism, he is yet to make his debut as a novelist and short story writer. “I think writing a novel or short story is no big deal for me, it is time restraints because of which I am unable to try my hands at them.”
Sultan Mahmood Ashufta held a long association with Ustad Damin and admires him both as a person and poet. “Ustad used to dominate mushairas,” he recalls, “and believed in one man show.” Other people who influenced his literature include great names like Safdar Mir, Khurshid Alam and Ghulam Ahmad pervaiz.
He is yet to publish a book of his poetry or articles on spiritualism and seems in no hurry to get them published although it is one of the major reasons he is still to be get the recognition he deserves. “I would rather like to spend the money on my children rather than wasting it on the publication of the book which will decorate only my drawing room.”
What distincts Sultan Mahmood Ashufta from his contemporaries is his knowledge of the Islamic cultural heritage which is depicted in his poetry in the full. On can say with complete confidence that he has single-handedly carried the poetic tradition of great Punjabi poets and promises to do a lot more.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Again: Why You Blog

2009-09-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

I am just not interesting to monetize my blog or the content I am producing here. I fantasized being a blogger. I dont do it for money, or for any other financial gain. I explore things by putting in to a discussion here. Thats what I blog for.

Defying Barriers [Aaliya Rasheed]

2009-09-18T02:20:00.000-07:00

Aaliya Rasheed, a 26-year old dhrupad singer, is an aspiring example of how even amateur singers can perfect their skills by learning with strict training and discipline. Blind since birth, Aaliya is blessed with a tuneful voice. She gratefully used this gift of God by starting to learn music at the age of six. Later, she received training in music at the Sangan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts (SIPA), Lahore, where Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan Sahib taught her. Appreciating her talent, SIPA’s founder, Barrister Raza Kazim, persuaded Aaliya Rasheed in 2001 to go to India for learning dhrupad – the oldest surviving style of medieval Indian classical music that has a rich devotional element. In India, she tool residence at the Dhrupad Institute of Bhopal, where she spent four years under the tutelage of the renowned Gundecha brothers. Since her return, Aaliya Rasheed has been performing at various concerts in Pakistan – such as the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) – and has also performed twice in India; including what she terms her “most memorable performance”, held in Mumbai in March 2008. She currently teaches at the Musicology Department of the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, besides imparting musical knowledge to schoolchildren. The News on Sunday interviewed her recently on the sidelines of a concert held at the University of Gujrat. Excerpts follow:

Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: Were you blind by birth and how far did you study?
Aaliya Rasheed: I was blind by birth. In fact, blindness runs in my family and one of my cousins is also blind. I came to Lahore at the age of six from Dubai and took admission in a blind school in Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore. I did my matriculation from here. Because my family was in Dubai and later in Gujranwala, I had to live in a hostel with my aunt and uncle visiting me on weekends. Later, I did my Intermediate privately.
MNA: At what age did you start learning music?

AR: I started taking a fancy to music since childhood and listened to all sorts of music. In my school, there was a half-hour music class daily. My teacher was Master Alexander Neelam, who taught me the basics of music. He taught me how to top play harmonium, keyboards and dholak. Due to his training and the fact that I needed to listen to anything only once to remember it, I won many prizes for the school. I also participated in many television programmes, such as Mela. As a matter of fact, I still listen to all sorts of music, but perform classical only.
MNA: When did you decide to follow a career in classical music?
AR: After I did my Matriculation, the school where I was studying offered me the job of music teacher. Subsequently, I started working at the school besides pursuing my studies privately. In August 1999, I got an offer from Sanjan Nagar and was fascinated by the opportunity to learn classical music. In fact, Sanjan Nagar’s founder Raza Kazim listened to my singing and advised me to learn classical music. He made me quit the morning job and offered me a stipend more than double my salary. Raza Kazim also convinced my mother, who had apprehensions about my learning music. I spent three to four hours in the mornings at Sanjan Nagar, listening to music and practicing, while I studied in the afternoons and evenings. Meanwhile, I listed to sitar for the first time and slept during the performance. During this period, I met PTV producer Farrukh Bashir and this paved the way for my television performances. Meanwhile, I attended the APMC for the first time in 1999. Farrukh Bashir predicted that I would be performing at the event the next year. His prediction proved to be true: I performed Mirza Ghalib’s ghazal at the APMC in 2000 and won the first prize in the amateurs’ category. This was mainly due to Shabbir Hussain Jhari, who was my teacher at that time.
MNA: From whom did you get your initial training in music?
AR: At Sanjan Nagar, my regular teachers included Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Sara Zaman and Shabbir Hussain Jhari. In addition, I also got a chance to attend workshops by Indian artistes. Moreover, I learnt indirectly from many legends who were recording at Sanjan Nagar like Fareeda Khannum. I also got a chance to perform a ghazal of Farida Ji on harmonics.
MNA: When and how did you get a break in your career?
AR: I had not dreamt in my wildest dreams that I would be able to learn music in India, but I got such an opportunity in 2001. Through Raza Kazim’s contacts, I was sent to India to learn dhrupad from Gundecha brothers. I was the first Pakistani woman to learn dhrupad in India and that is why I also feature in the documentary titled Khayal Darpan.
MNA: Would you like to tell us something about the experience of learning music in India?
AR: When I went to India, the relations between Pakistan and India were not at their best; the Kargil incident was still on the people’ minds. However, my teachers – the Gundecha brothers – treated me as a family member during my four-year stay in India. Though there were problems (for example, I was not allowed to eat meat because my teachers were Jains by religion), I have many happy memories of the visit. For example, before my return to Pakistan, all major newspapers and TV channels interviewed me. A performance, which was attended by the then-Pakistani ambassador to India among others, was also held in New Delhi. On my return to Pakistan, many concerts were held in Lahore and Karachi.
MNA: Would you like to tell us about your most memorable performance so far?
AR: I had a chance to visit India twice after my first visit there. My March 25, 2008, performance in Mumbai was perhaps the most memorable, because more than 750 people were there to listen to me at six in the morning. During my second visit to India, I performed at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Calcutta, Bhopal and Mumbai.
MNA: Who are your favourite musicians?
AR: My favourite musicians include Nazakat Ali Khan, Salamat Ali Khan, Roshan Ara Begum, Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Parveen Sultana, Bhimen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj and Zakir Hussain.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Digitally Social

2009-09-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Blogging is social enough in its nature. It is all about interaction and building communities. No?

But when there is a social blog, this is more than social. Ny Mafia readers know our the focus of Ny Mafia on Social Media. Now we are branching out; We are launching Digitally Social – a social blog – to discuss social media and its excessively growing application in society.

Social media has always been important in societies. More so in this age when everything (ok almost everything) is starts online. Please visit Digitally Social and we promise you to bring an overview of this fast growing and meaningful trend there. Stay with us.

Celebrity Deth Toll Raised

2009-09-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

One of the most iconic voices of the '60s Mary Travers (singer) (1936-2009) died at age 72 at a Danbury, Ct., hospital. She had battled leukemia for several years. Travers lived for many years in Redding, Conn. The 72-year-old Mary had been fighting leukemia since 2005 and eventually succumbed to the disease despite a bone marrow transplant. It is sad to see a true, long-lasting artist pass.

She survived by her fourth husband, two daughters, two grandchildren and a sister. Peter, Paul and Mary Perform 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'

Snapshot of "Facebook Lite"

2009-09-17T03:32:00.000-07:00

More than a Sindhi Nationalist

2009-09-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

I first met Abrar Kazi during a five-day consultation on Kalabagh Dam in Lahore, back in 1998. The way he argued the Sindh case on this occasion was impressive to say the least. In fact, he was so impressive that by that end of the event even participants from different parts of Pakistan had to agree that the dam, however important it may be for the country’s survival, should only be built after consensus among all the four provinces.
That was almost a decade ago. Since then, Abrar Kazi has expanded the scope of his study manifold and has come up with even more solid and convincing arguments – in research papers and articles, as well as from the platform of Sindh Democratic Party (SDP) – to prove his case against Kalabagh Dam. So say that he sounds reason in whatever he says would be an understatement of the highest order.
To add to this is his humble disposition. Abrar Kazi across as a thorough gentleman, who not only respects difference of opinion but also wants to build bridges cutting across all divides, especially ethnic. These factors have helped him earn a respectable name among his fellow Sindhis, but he also wants the people of Punjab to understand and accommodate the viewpoint of others provinces.
Not only is Abrar Kazi’s integrity unchallengeable; he also possesses a beautiful heart. Despite his tough stance on Kalabagh Dam and all his bitterness for the Punjabi-dominated establishment, when I told him that I wanted to interview him as I respected his views on Kalabagh Dam, I could see tears rolling down his eyes. The event was Tenth Sustainable Development Conference, hosted in the second week of December by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad. Excerpts of the interview taken on this occasion by The News on Sunday follow:

Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: Would you like to tell us something about your background?
Abrar Kazi: I was born on February 25, 1942, in the Garhi Yaseen ‘taluka’, which was a part of the Sukkur district at that time but is now a part of the Shikarpur district. My father was a civil servant and we were always on the move. Whenever he was posted to a new city, I had to take admission in a new school. I got my college education in Hyderabad, from where I did my BSc. After that, I studied aviation and got a job with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Later, I went to Jordan for about a decade in connection with a job. I finally returned to Pakistan and settled down in Hyderabad in late 1986.
MNA: How did you become an expert on water issues then?
AK: It is true that the water issue has never my area of formal education. Whatever expertise I have acquired is an outcome of extensive reading on this subject. Hyderabad was a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) when I settled down in the city back in 1986 and ethnic riots were at their peak. This situation inspired me to wage a struggle for the rights of my fellow Sindhis, by taking part in social and political activities. As water was and still is a major issue of the Sindhis, I dedicated myself to doing research on this subject.
MNA: Were you never a part of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD)?
AK: No. I came much later, in 1986, and was never formally associated with the MRD.
MNA: Can you share details of your published works on the water issue?
AK: Besides my book, entitled Kalabagh Dam: The Sindh Case, I have contributed numerous of articles on the water issue in Sindhi and English newspapers and journals. I also contributed a research paper for a Ford Foundation book, entitled ‘Haunting Shadows of Human Insecurity’, published in 2006. My article deals mainly with the water dispute between Pakistan and India, but also discusses the latter’s inter-provincial water disputes.
MNA: Is the application of international water laws different at different levels – for instance, between India and Pakistan, and between Punjab and Sindh? For example, when Pakistan becomes a lower riparian in water sharing with India, it objects to all the latter’s plans for not being consulted first, citing international water laws. However, when Sindh claims its rights as a lower riparian in its water disputes with Punjab, the same are ignored. Can you throw some light on this?
AK: The greatest water disputes have been settled by the United States Supreme Court, which has handed down some excellent judgments over the years in many cases pertaining to the water issue. Though these cases were fought between different states of the US, they related to the use of common rivers. Thus the parameters were set and the international law pertaining to the use of common rivers has evolved accordingly over the years. This law applies to common rivers, whether they are used by two countries or by two provinces or states within the same country. In short, the law does not make any distinction between the two. And this is the way it should be, both morally and legally. How these laws are applied – especially in a country like Pakistan, where even the Constitution is held in abeyance after every few years on one pretext or the other – is another thing. In simple words, Pakistan’s position in its water disputes with India is exactly the same as is of Sindh in its water disputes with Punjab. The laws are clear, but we have to do away with jugglery of words to implement them.
MNA: Can you tell us something more about the water laws?
AK: Basically, three are three major laws related to the water issue. One of them has been derived out of the British common law. It states that if a stream of flowing water is being used by people for personal use (not agricultural use), they have complete freedom to use it as much as they want. The second major law is that the upper riparian will always seek consent of the lower riparian before initiating any such project over the common rivers that may adversely affect the latter. This law ensures equitable distribution of water in future once the project has been completed. It has been derived from the Government of India Act, 1935, with relevant clauses in turn derived from the Canal and Drainage Act, 1871, which clearly states that consent of both the parties is required to initiate a new project over common rivers.
The third law, which is especially important in Pakistan’s context, states that the existing projects on a stream will always have preference in terms of allocation of water over the ones that are built later. Let me share the example of Sindh here! Sukkur Barrage was built in 1932, Kotri Barrage in 1954 and Guddu Barrage – which is located above Sukkur Barrage – in 1967. However, when water is released to Sindh, allocation of Sukkur Barrage should be met first though Guddu Barrage is located before it. Only after ensuring that the needs of Sukkur Barrage have been met, as it was the first one to be built, water should be released to Kotri Barrage. Similarly only after ensuring that the needs of Kotri Barrage have been met, water should be released to Guddu Barrage.
The reason for this is simple: the barrages which were built before others already had users when new barrages were constructed on the same stream of water. The logic is that existing users cannot be deprived of their right to water to accommodate new users. This is simple common sense, but it continues to generate a lot of controversy in Pakistan. A number of barrages in Punjab – Chashma, Jhelum, Taunsa to name a few – have been built after the ones in Sindh, but the dominant province allocates water to them without any regard for the older barrages and their users. All this is against the law.
MNA: Does Sindh itself follow this law?
AK: No. Even within Sindh, Guddu Barrage does not release water for the users of Sukkur Barrage without first ensuring that the needs of its own users have been met. In fact, the irrigation system in the province is a complete mess due to rampant corruption. Any release of water through canals should be advertised beforehand, so that the users can make the best use. But this is not the case in Sindh, as the irrigation department’s officials accept bribes to divert water to the land of the influential people.
MNA: Why is the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) so obsessed with Kalabagh Dam, despite global opposition to large dams?
AK: The reason why Wapda insists on Kalabagh Dam to the exclusion of everything else is simple and it is because of this reason that feasibility studies of new dams are not being conducted: no province other than Punjab accrues any economic benefits. Foreign investors were willing to explore coal in Thar, which would have generated an additional 1,000 megawatts of electricity for the country, but the project was shelved to deprive Sindh of its due revenue and of 300,000 jobs for its people. Despite availability of foreign investment, the Thar coal project was stopped by Mian Nawaz Sharif during his second tenure as prime minister, only in order to ensure that the excuse to build Kalabagh Dam remains. This is the biggest grievance of the people of Sindh. The decision to shelve this project was against the interests of all Pakistanis, not only of the people of Sindh alone. In short, Wapda nurtures a grudge against the Sindhis and does not want the centre of gravity to be shifted from Punjab to any other province.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Traditional Culture

2009-09-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

S A J Shirazi

The most important factors for the current development were laid in the early nineteenth century. The “rejection of thinking” and “acting as a community” — meant for the technology — resulted in enormous increase in the industrial production because the division of work led to higher productivity and new professions. It appeared, on the face of it, as a way to increase the standard of living and quality of life. Best example that can be cited is Taylorism as introduced in Ford automobile factories and other production units in the early industrial age.

Analysis of the society by political and economic thinkers led to development theories, which could not foresee the effects of these policies as evidenced today. The cardinal error by these theorists was the euro-centristic model — nobody took what was happening in other cultures into consideration.

In Smith’s economic system, the free market functioned globally, as long as global meant regional and maximum on a national level. In Marx’s political system the democracy functioned internationally, as long as the power base was centrally located. Similar concept is also found in ancient Greek city state models on a local basis. In all the cases, there appears to be consensus on one point that multiple behavioral models (Artenvielfalt) are not acceptable in these theories. But this is precisely the decisive error.

It is in this context that the present development situation can be analyzed. Today, the market factors are democratically functioning in society, which determines the general welfare of the people. Paradoxically, the market – in the traditional sense — neither takes into consideration the environment nor the traditional cultures that are present in rural areas. Production of goods leads to a certain uniformity because of cost reduction methods. Every effort must be undertaken, so that the production does not fall short of targets under any circumstances. The multi-national concerns attempt by adding more products to their production programs to offer a variety of models: since all parties participating in the market work in similar way, but the demand in the market is relatively fixed and not able to be increased arbitrarily, it is clear where the wastage of resources is taking place.

The winner is the one, who has the largest potential of human resources as long as these can be controlled politically. The intentions and the wishes of so-called democratic countries are understandable, if they exert all possible pressure on others to accept their form of governance. If this effort does not succeed, their system – let us call it western system — would collapse together with all parties involved in it.

There are incredible factors, which remain unconsidered by the members of the urban culture, they being the innovators and carriers of the enormous misunderstandings and the cardinal errors. These cultures have developed over a long period of time in inter-action with the climate and the environment. Each culture has its own set of rights and should be the subject of research to shed light on this enormous richness. Of course much of the matter has been lost due to the way of thinking and the actions undertaken up till now, but exactly this is the task before us; to track down these materials.

Misuse of environment and resources are hardly a subject of discussion in economic appraisals. Similarly, the richness of traditional cultures, which still exist at least in part in the rural areas, which are typically described as “under-developed” is not mentioned in these appraisals. There is no code or value allocated to them. The damages become visible only when the values are already destroyed. The extent of destroyed traditional cultures is quite evident in the number of museums, i.e. as soon as the traditional cultures began to be considered as moneymaking measures for the institutions, they received recognition as a valid market factor, but in effect became still unstable.

As the international flow of money is not directed towards local industry and national states, there is a trend towards uniformity through optimization and standardization. This uniformity can be concealed through various designs and requires increased consumption of goods. In order to increase the consumption, the consumers (all consumers of the world united!!) require financial means, which are actually not available to the majority of population.

A special sort of market is created at the place where traditional cultures are promoted. Members of the community have a chance to participate, if they consider it a possibility to maintain their basic requirements, i.e. a form of satisfaction of most basic material needs must remain intact.

Facebook Status Update: New Feature

2009-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that Facebook has added a new feature Tag your friends in Status updates. Its a cool feature, that allow people to know who and what you’re talking about in your status update.

My Identity is Short Story Writing

2009-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer although his achievements as a journalist and translator cannot be ignored either. He refuses to determine his status among the modern Urdu short story writers, but says candidly “I think I write very well.”
Born in Rampur (Uttar Pardesh), 62 years old Masood Ashar migrated to Pakistan in 1952. By the time he came to Lahore, where his elder brothers resided, he had done his Graduation. He had started taking fancy to literature since his childhood because of the literary environment available to him.
“I developed interest in literature because of great Urdu poet Shad Arifi who was a friend of my paternal uncle, Rasheed Ahmad Khan,” tells Masood Ashar. “Shad Arifi was a progressive poet and used to receive a lot of books and literary magazines which he kept in our home. During my holidays, I read some of them and this is how I had my first encounter with literature. Literary sittings held at our home also helped me in developing a taste for literature.”
Hence, foundation of his association with literature was laid much before coming to Lahore. In fact, his early short stories were published in leading Urdu literary magazines like Adb-i-Lateef and Adbi Duniya, an achievement not less than remarkable for a novice. He also wrote some poetry during this period.
After coming to Lahore he decided to adopt journalism as a profession. After having a brief stint in one or two minor newspapers he joined Imroz, the leading Urdu daily of those days. Starting as a sub-editor, he became the editor of Imroz (Multan) in 1959. Why did he decide to become a journalist? “When I entered journalism,” he explains, “unlike now a days it was considered to be a mission. Only people having a literary background used to come in this field. I was interested in the journalism because at that time it was the only forum through which one could express himself.”
He had an eventful career in journalism. As he was the editor of a newspaper supposed to toe government’s line, he faced many difficulties especially after the imposition of Martial Law in 1977. “I was transferred to Lahore in 1978 as General Zia wasn’t happy with me. In 1984, I was dismissed because I was among those who signed a resolution demanding restoration of the democracy. I remained unemployed for about four years before being reinstated by the PPP government in 1988. After spending almost four decades in the profession I finally said farewell to it after Imroz was closed down in 1990, but I don’t regret the decision as literature had always been my first preference,” he tells.
Masood Ashar always remained associated with literature in one way or other. As a journalist, he covered literary functions, wrote book reviews and a regular literary column Yeh Lahore hai. Meanwhile, he also remained in touch with the contemporary fiction written all over the world. He made a comeback as short story writer after almost a decade in 1964. When asked why he took so long, he replied: “I never had much time to write because of the nature of my job.”
Interestingly enough Masood Ashar has not written a novel as yet but he has a genuine excuse for this: “Short story is the medium through which I feel I can express myself in a better way. It was also the most popular genre of literature when I started writing. Other than this, novel demands hard work and a lot of time. I started writing a novel many times but couldn’t complete it because of time constraints. The general impression one gets after reading Urdu novels is that they are written in a hurry and that is why they fail to compete with the novels written in other languages.”
Although Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer, he is certainly better known as a translator. Not only has he translated some very good literature himself but has arranged publication of some excellent books through Mashal, an NGO where he is presently employed in the capacity of editor.
“Mashal prepares various programmes and gets them financed. Its basic aim is to create awareness among the masses. So far, it has published some 40 books on human rights, social sciences, women rights, philosophy, educational philosophy, health, environment and literature. All of them have been translations but we plan to publish original books also. We also plan to set up a mobile library in the near future,” he informs.
When asked whether he is satisfied with the standard of translations in Urdu, his immediate reply was: “Not at all. Our professional translators leave things which they don’t understand. I would call it literary dishonesty. Similarly, publishers also don’t care about the standard of translation. They should have there own editors like in other countries for re-checking of manuscripts. Our translators don’t work hard also because they are under-paid. Mashal has enriched the language by publishing good and precise translations of foreign literature.”
“But it doesn’t mean that there is a dearth of good translators in Urdu. To name a few are Sheikh Salahuddin, Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman, Intizar Hussain, Asif Farrukhi, Ikramullah and Ajmal Kamal. I would specially like to mention quarterly Aaj in this regard which has published some very good translations of Persian, Arabic and Latin American fiction,” he adds.
He agrees that a good English-Urdu dictionary is yet to be compiled: “The dictionary published by Maqtadra is very comprehensive but has a lot of mistakes. Then, it is devoid of a pronunciation key which is very necessary. I feel that there should also be a good Thesaurus in Urdu as writers often use wrong words in order to avoid repetition. A good Urdu-English dictionary is also very much needed. As such projects couldn’t be carried single-handedly, Maqtadra should take the responsibility and form a board comprising capable persons. The board should also regularly update these dictionaries as new words of other languages are making way in Urdu.”
Comparing Pakistani literature with that of other languages, he comments “situation of literature in Pakistan is not as deplorable as it seems. Keeping in view the taboos and restrictions in our society creating even this literature is an achievement. While writing one is afraid not to infuriate the government, clergy or even his family. Our author faces a lot of limitations. This is also a major reason why not many good novels are written in Urdu.”
He blames our educational system for the decreasing interest in literature. “Earlier, our educational system created an understanding of literature among the students. People used to discuss literature, a practice now confined to Tea House only. It is because of our educational debacle that Urdu hasn’t produced a genuine literati for at least last 20 years.”
When asked about what he considers to be the achievement of his life, he came up with the expected answer: “I have given some very good short stories to Urdu literature and that is why I want to be identified as a short story writer rather than a translator or a journalist. But my obsession to write a novel remains.”

by: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Twitter has decided to run Advertisements

2009-09-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone's darling microblogging site Twitter founded a way to generate some revenue. Twitter has decided to run advertisements.

Among its community, Twitter itself is the only party that has not been able to monetize its 44.5 million monthly visitors effectively (traffic as of June 2009, according to comScore). Many users work with Twitter to promote their brands, publicize deals and engage customers. Some services, such as Magpie, even serve ads into a user's Twitter stream, delivering a revenue opportunity for both Magpie and the user -- but not Twitter.

The real winners with the terms of use change are Twitter's venture capital backers, which have been watching a company grow quickly without any revenue to match the wealth of eyeballs. On the company's official blog, founder Biz Stone writes , "[W]e leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open as we've said before."

The terms, which are subject to change, state that the "services may include advertisements, which may be targeted to the content or information on the services, queries made through the services, or other information." Additionally, "In consideration for Twitter granting you access to and use of the services, you agree that Twitter and its third-party providers and partners may place such advertising on the services."

Twitter announced some other changes to its terms which may look a bit dull at first but are actually quite important. Users continue to own all their tweets – digital gold, right? – but they give Twitter the right to "use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute" them. Why? Because, Stone says, "that's what we do." Users also authorize Twitter to make their content available via its application programmers interfaces, better known as APIs.

No decision has been made yet as to whether ads will run. Stone is concerned about alienating his users, and potential advertisers may be concerned about the risk of seeing their brands displayed alongside offensive – or competing – content.

The "flourishing" of the Twitter "ecosystem," as Stone puts it, may actually dilute the effectiveness of Twitter as an advertising platform. Alternative ways to access Twitter, which do not involve the website, compromise traffic results, minimizing the potential for advertisers. Serving ads into users' Twitter streams overcomes this problem but presents a host of others. In my experiences using Magpie, a third-part Twitter ad service, followers became confused by the promotions, thinking they were real tweets. One day, I had several friends ask me if I was planning a trip (I also contribute to travel blog Gadling) – because of a Magpie ad they saw in my stream.

Twitter is prudent to alter its terms of use and equally prudent not to take any immediate action. Right now, the company needs options, and this move provides them. Yet, potential does not translate to results. Twitter still has to figure out how to make the cash register ring.

Source

Almost Famous

2009-09-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

Have a look at this overview of Pakistan blogsphere at Light Within where I have an honorable mention.

AutoFollow Your Tweets

2009-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

If you wish to auto follow your tweets, please go through the below steps:

1.) SignUp for a new account at TweetLater

2.) Confirm the activation link at your email.

3.) Once validated, login to your TweetLater account.

4.) Add your twitter account details.

4.) Go to the Account setting section

5.) Choose to auto-follow the new followers, send welcome note, and schedule tweets etc.

You can also configure multiple twitter accounts.

Wish I was Here

2009-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Asma Naveed

Build Your Brand

2009-09-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

In this age of e-commerce, every concern needs to understand branding. Only then businesses, large or small, can delivers their message clearly, build credibility and have a loyal users base. Need for a strong marketing is growing day by day.

Branding Equation for Entrepreneurs is a complex process and involves researching, defining, building and managing brand, reaching out and delivering a clear message. Marketing is a specialized task best done by experts. Only experienced professionals can integrate marketing strategies with business objectives and build an image that ultimately will resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects.

Entrepreneur Branding Coach at JWBranding is a leading professional that offers Global Branding Services and great insight about branding. They help entrepreneurs to create a clear, compelling global presence online and in print. Led by renowned branding consultant John Williams, JWbranding specializes in developing power-packed brand identities that translate worldwide. Over 100,000 companies and organizations have relied on decades of know-how distilled from the JWbranding team — an approach so unique, it's patented.

Explore content rich Global Branding for Entrepreneurs site (read through some of John’s published articles) and you will know what all they can do for you. I picked up some great ideas while going through the articles. I suggest you try and let JWBranding build your brand.

Search Engine Optimization

2009-09-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

Powerful web presence has become vital for every business and even individuals. SEO Company – one of the Top SEO Companies has been a leader in providing Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing services.

Internet marketing has changed a great deal since I started a couple of years back (in 1997). Today, it is not possible to ignore power of the internet particularly for marketing.

Earlier, Advent of the Internet has changed the face of Internet marketing for ever. It has grown much more than having just a web presence. As every user starts from search engine in order to find needed products and services from all over the world, therefore, business are realizing the importance of search marketing. They are also realizing the importance of search engine optimization as they give measurable results. Web presence can be made loud and clear through search engine optimization (SEO); a professional job that can be best done by SEO Company.

Explore the site and see what they can do, carry out SEO Health Check, better still ask for SEO Analysis and make informed Internet marketing decision about your online concern. SEO Company site is information rich. I have picked up some great ideas while browsing through. I suggest, you visit them.

Jon Stromberg

2009-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

The corporate hospitality industry is one of the growing areas of human activities. Corporate hospitality is a specialized job that needs knowledge of almost all other fields like facility maintenance, direct operations, marketing, human resources, and management. Corporate hospitality is better managed by those who are experienced in the field.

Meet Jon Stromberg currently serving as CEO of North America for THG Sports. Jon began his career at THG Sports in sales, progressing through the ranks to become CEO in October 2008. He attended DePauw University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in economics and communications and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. See Jon Stromberg blog to know more about Jon Stromberg.

THG Sports is one of the leading provider of corporate hospitality programs at premier sporting events in the United States and abroad including the US Grand Prix, World Cup Soccer, Masters, US Open and the Final Four. As a marcus evans company, all aspects of THG Sports’ services promise a level of client focus and attention second to none. More information on Jon Stromberg available: THG Sports’ hospitality clients at the Montreal Men’s Tennis Finals this past weekend witnessed a thrilling final match in which Scotland’s Andy Murray bested Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro after three long sets that included two tie-breakers and 100-plus degree heat. THG Sports clients also enjoyed a special treat: Popular tennis coach, former star player and commentator Brad Gilbert offered an insightful look at the ins and outs of pro tennis during a Q and A session with THG Sports clients. His celebrity appearance was especially relevant, as Gilbert has coached tournament winner Murray, whose victory earns him the No. 2 world ranking behind Roger Federer.

With Jon Stromberg on the team, no wonders these companies are doing best in a very specialized job.

US Air Force Academy Joins Social Media

2009-09-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

"I was introduced to the idea of an official (Air Force Academy) Facebook Fan Page my first week at work. My reaction was, 'Of course -- naturally we should be on Facebook. Lots of businesses and colleges are on Facebook, so why aren't we already there?" The Academy will use Facebook and other social media sites to drive traffic toward its official public Web site. (Lieutenant Kirchoff).

The U.S. Air Force Academy officially entered the social media sphere Aug. 28 with the launch of Web pages on two popular social networking sites.

In order to offer the public a convenient way to see what's going on at the Academy, the public affairs office here has created a Fan Page on Facebook and an account on twitter.

President Obama Will Address Students on Sept-8

2009-09-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

US President Obama is going to give a speech on the importance of persisting and succeeding in school on Sept. 8, the first day of school for many children across America. The Department of Education is encouraging educators, students and parents to use this opportunity to help students get focused and begin the school year strong. The speech will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov at 1 p.m. EDT.

The Department of Education has also asked a group of U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellows to develop some suggested classroom activities around the speech to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives. The suggested classroom activities will be available on www.ed.gov.

Source: Bits Blog

Royal Protocol for Musharraf

2009-09-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

Royal protocol for Musharraf given by King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia during his visit to Riyadh has thrown his opponents into total confusion.

Source

PDF Software

2009-08-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

PDF (Portable Document Format) – a file format which was created by Adobe Systems Inc to enhance document exchange - is one of the most useful utility for those who work with words on computers. The PDF format has been widely used since the 1990's. Documents in PDF are independent from computer and display resolution and can be read on any operating system like Windows, Apple or Linux.

Thanks to PDFConverted.com that they offer users’ friendly products which make it easy to view, create and print PDF documents. Have a look at PDF software and see what it can do including convert pdf to word and word to pdf. The software allows users to create a PDF by using a virtual printer, allowing you to create PDF within minutes once you install our PDF virtual printer.

Explore the neatly laid out site and see what hey are offering. Better still download the software and make PDF use easy for you.

FEAR.LESS

2009-08-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Internet that leads users from one place to other. It is like moving in the unknown. And I like moving into the unknown.

Given my interests and quest to live fearlessly, I was lead to Fear.Less - a network of people who trying to live fearlessly and inspiring each other to take action against their fear. That is where I learned about 'Ishita Gupta' and followed her through her blog, Truth Ain’t Easy .

I started reading Ishita's posts in an effort to understand the persona who writes things like Fear.Less and Truth Ain’t Easy (what pithy titles. Why could I not think of them?).

Using her own words, “This blog (Truth Ain’t Easy ) contains my thoughts on truth. Life is school, and every moment is my teacher. I like it that way-in people, in news, in ideas. It keeps me on my toes. I’m doing big things in New York (that’s a reminder to myself that I’m here to do big things) in social media, marketing, writing, and blogging, and am learning tons about myself along the way. For me, truth isn’t relegated to one aspect of my life, it permeates into all things business, career, personal. Because living awake is important.” She is working with my personal favorite writer and marketing guru Seth Godin. That alone gives her one plus.

Check out her fear.less online magazine, coming out in the next month, which has many stories of overcoming fear from leaders in business and the arts. You're sure to leave inspired with tangible tools to overcome your fears!

Newly Rich

2009-08-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Given the growing activities like business improvements, real estate investments, stock investments or shifts in the economy and other economic activities all over the globe, one can see people with the quest for business adventure, growing exponentially. People, businesses and even countries are becoming Nouveau Riche.

What is Nouveau Riche? This is a “French for newly rich, or new money, refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his or her generation. This term is generally to emphasize that the individual was previously part of a lower socioeconomic rank, and that such wealth has provided the means for the acquisition of goods or luxuries that were previously unobtainable.”

Lately, I was lead to an excellent article titled Planet Startup that gives some inspiring examples of new ventures for determined American entrepreneurs. A few of these ventures discuss individuals who are now Nouveau Riche because of their entrepreneurial ideas.

Read through the article and learn about opportunities like providing broadband in Brazil, becoming a biodiesel producer in Argentina, creating an ad network for India's mobile content developers, launch an exclusive social network for Russian millionaires, opening an American-style restaurant in one of China's fast-growing cities, remodel homes for China's burgeoning middle class, flipping mining claims in Bolivia, export the planet's next great wines - from Greece or import fine wines to upscale restaurants - in India, export gourmet coffee from Rwanda, become a social entrepreneur in South Africa and many other opportunities.

This article not only points out to the new opportunities and shows the trend but also discusses some great ideas. It is a must read.

Spam Heaven-Facebook

2009-08-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Facebook has a lifecycle: it started as small core for early adopters, puff out as mainstream users get dragged in by users, and then see growth is tapping down as people get turned off by spam. That's what happens to Friendster and many other social networks. Facebook is now just a time sucking hangout or I’d say that it’s a new spam heaven. Almost every few hours I’ve been getting messages from my Facebook acquaintances with links to some phishing sites also these messages are not sophisticatedly crafted but randomly drafted. The more such messages, the less useful Facebook becomes as a communications portal.

Such a spam free zone is it, isn’t it?

Please don’t get me wrong as I’m not completely knocking all social networks. Most of the Facebook users are available on a variety of other social networks, I’d suggest them try the other networks to reach your target audience rather hanging on Facebook which has become a spammer’s community.

I am unable to understand that what does this “Poke” feature make sense? That’s really kidding to poke your colleague online. Sorry, my “friends,” take your Zombies and Pirates and Ninjas and Green Thumb Fake Anti-Global Warming Initiatives and Grateful Dead Bears and Hatching Eggs and mind-numbing empty “just for fun” diversions and go poke yourselves.

Mark Zukerburg needs to understand that these spam attacks are a clear and present danger for Facebook users.

Gold Coins

2009-08-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

GoldCoinsGain.com - an Aurum Advisors online resource to buy gold and bullion - is a great resource for those who are interested in anything gold. Have a look and see rich amount of gold information and resources.

As per my own interest, I liked the coins featured there. Have a look at $2.5 Liberty Quarter Eagle (pictured here) Designed by Christian Gobrecht in 1840, the Liberty Quarter eagle holds the distinction of keeping the same design for the longest time in American history: thirty-three years. The famous design of the Saint-Gaudens eagle is actually only a modification of the original by Gobrecht featured on this coin. The obverse features the bust of Miss Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed with "Liberty", facing to the the left. She is also surrounded by thirteen stars The reverse design features a bald eagle in flight clutching an olive branch and arrows. It has a shield emblazoned on its chest and is surrounded by "The United States Of America." This coin was graded Mint State 64.

Similarly, Gold South African Krugerrand is of a great historic interest. The Krugerrand's obverse, designed by O. Schultz, features the first President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger. Due to Kruger's relationship with Apartheid, these coins are the least expensive of all the major gold bullion coins. Kruger is surrounded by the name of his nation in Afrikaans and English, two of South Africa's eleven official languages: "Suid-Afrika • South Africa". A springbok (a South African antelope) prances across the reverse, as designed by C.L. Steynberg. This side also lists the date of issue and the amount and purity of the gold. Interestingly, the Krugerrand does not carry a face value, as it is primarily minted for trading outside South Africa.

I suggest you have a look at Gold Coins Gain before you buy gold coin or buy bullion.

Hedonism Delights

2009-08-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs vacation for leisure and or pleasure. Vacations have become a lifestyle and above all people need vacations to relax and unwind and to get away for hum drum.

When it comes to vacation, every time I need best and new places to go. As more and more people are travelling, and getting what you want may become difficult sometime. One f the best places to have an ideal vacation is Hedonism Resorts. Their adult vacation concept is very lucrative. Hedonism Resorts adult resorts are specialy suitable and make best settings for honeymoon and weddings.

Have a look at Hedonism Resorts and see what all they are offering and how. I liked their Hedonism II (now more Super-Inclusive than ever with an enticing menu of hedonistic amenities and services to suit all your pleasures. What is more, you can earn credit for Hedonistic Delights (for travel anytime in 2009 you'll earn up to $150 in Hedonistic Delights credits good for any of the delightfully hedonistic amenities and services (including Gardenview Au Natural (or higher) 5 - 6 Nights $100 Gardenview Au Natural (or higher) $150).

What else, I should be planning to have adult vacations there instead of writing this.

What Would Google Do?

2009-08-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Gossip and Google have a lot in common, not least omniscience. “There are some things that Man was never meant to know, but for everything else there’s Google.” [Marcus Warren]

If Google is so successful, shouldn't you be doing what they do? If you follow their philosophy, then you can be successful, too.

This book, by A-List blogger Jeff Jarvis, is a collection of Google fan-boy thoughts on how to do business in the internet age, using Google, and other high tech companies, as a model. The rules have changed. The old way of doing things no longer applies. We're entering a brave new world where the internet will bring about a tech-led utopia. [Peter Da Vanzo]

Here is the PowerPoint version of What Would Google Do?

WWGD? - The PowerPoint

View more presentations from jeffjarvis.

2009-08-27T10:42:00.002-07:00

Facebook [social network] is repeating the same mistake as done by Hotmail. According to Seth Godin, Hotmail didn’t build a permission asset. They should have given a choice of different newsletter in the registration form to its users.

“Today's visitors are blind to banners, mad at pop-ups, weary of ads and skeptical of contests and giveaways.

To learn more about permission marketing please click here. [http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/permission-mark.html] and if you are a publisher, blogger or site owner please and want to learn about AdSense please click here [http://ny-mafia.blogspot.com/search/search/?q=what+google+never].

2009-08-27T10:42:00.001-07:00

Facebook [social network] is repeating the same mistake as done by Hotmail []. According to Seth Godin, Hotmail didn’t build a permission asset. They should have given a choice of different newsletter in the registration form to its users.

“Today's visitors are blind to banners, mad at pop-ups, weary of ads and skeptical of contests and giveaways.

Facebook should learn from Hotmail

2009-08-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Facebook [social network] is repeating the same mistake as done by Hotmail [story of hotmail]. According to Seth Godin, Hotmail didn’t build a permission asset. They should have given a choice of different newsletter in the registration form to its users.

“Today's visitors are blind to banners, mad at pop-ups, weary of ads and skeptical of contests and giveaways.

To learn more about permission marketing please click here Or if you are a publisher, blogger or site owner and want to learn about AdSense please click here.

I am a born romanticist

2009-08-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

“I am a born romanticist. Girls, trees, flowers and rains have always fascinated me,” claims 70-year old A Hameed adding with pride that “even before doing my matriculation, I thrice ran away from my home to explore nature’s beauty. I went to Rangoon, Colombo, Bengal, Madras and Bombay all alone without my parents’ consent. Memories of those days are still fresh in my mind and now I am living on them.”
It was not an easy job to profile a moody person like A Hameed. Being an introvert, it’s not very often that he agrees for an interview or a profile, but once he gets tuned up he even shares the account of his most vivid youthful romances with you. One feels that while relating them, he extracts a pleasure out of them. During our couple of hours long rendezvous in his study room, full of neatly arranged books on wide ranging subjects, I had a wonderful experience of peeping at the restless soul in him.
He was born to a Kashmiri family residing at Amritsar. He was named Abdul Hameed, but changed it to A Hameed in line with the tradition of those days. His mother wanted him to get education while his father had pinned his hopes on making him a wrestler, being one himself, allowing him to study only Persian. He wasn’t interested in both. Although admitted to school, A Hameed spent most of his time at Amritsar’s famous Company Bagh where he had his first encounter with nature. Meanwhile, he was taking regular lessons of Persian so that he can read out Sheikh Saadi’s Hikayat-i-Gulistan and Hikayat-i-Bostan to his father.
He took three extra years to do his matriculation, the end of formal education for him. It wasn’t due to his failure in exams but because once in eight standard and twice in ninth standard he ran away from his home. “I don’t remember what I used to do away from home. As I had no money, often I had to sleep hungry. People used to take pity on me and give me food and shelter,” he tells. “My English improved a lot while living in international cities like Colombo and Rangoon. I started reading romantic literature of the 19th century which has the greatest influence on my writings.”
Is literature his only love? The answer is no. “I try to extract nature’s beauty from all forms of art. A stroke of painter’s brush fills my heart with joy. I also take fancy to listening music especially Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindranath Tagore’s poems whole tunes are composed by himself) as it reminds me of the coconut trees, rivers, flowers and fragrances of Bengal. I listen spellbound to it.”
Comparing Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats, he comments that “Wordsworth is more close to nature but I like Shelley more as his poetry has more thought and he expressed feeling in a new style. On the other hand, Keats expressed human feelings and passion in a much better way although his poetry lacks thought.” Among novelists, Gorki and Chekov are his favourites.
“Rajindher Singh Bedi is the best Urdu short story writer in my view. He has Gorki’s affliction and Chekov’s realism, and can only be compared with Prem Chand. Personally, I like Krishan Chander the most and try to imitate him as he was also a great romanticist,” he confesses.
At the time of the Partition of the subcontinent, he was in Colombo. Soon after, he migrated with his family to Lahore where some of his relatives already resided. He wrote his first story Manzil Manzil in December 1947. “I used to write my diary, but had not written a story before. My friends Ahmad Rahi and Arif Abdul Matin, editors of Urdu literary magazine Adb-i-Lateef, convinced me that I can write one. Manzil Manzil, a true account of my romance with a girl from Lahore, was published in Adb-i-Lateef’s special issue of 1948.”
From then onward, writing became his only source of income. He wrote extensively for literary magazines like Savera, Naqoosh and Adb-i-Lateef. Within few years, he became a well-acclaimed author with many books to his credit. He also remained associated with the Progressive Movement. “Those were the golden days of my life. Lahore was the centre of culture and literary activities. In company of other literary giants of that era, I used to roam around all day. My final romance which ended successfully with my marriage in 1952 was also at its peak in those days,” he recalls passionately.
He attributes his success as a writer to the optimism in his works. “After the publication of my short story Aik Raat in Savera, its founder editor Chaudhry Nazir Ahmad told me that I gained popularity because people having fresh memories of clashes and riots find relief in my stories.” His first collection of short stories, Manzil Manzil, was followed by a novel Darbay. Next in line was a novelette Zard Gulab. Dhoop aur Shagoofay, another novel, followed pretty soon and further established him in the role of a novelist.
A Hameed wrote extensively during that period although he disowns most of it now. “I wrote all sorts of cheap romantic novels for fast and easy money. Now I regret that decision and consider it as the biggest mistake of my life,” he concedes. Since the 1970s, he has devoted most of his time to writing for children. More than 300 books of his popular Amber, Naag, Maria Series have already been published. He also wrote a series of adventurous novels popularly known as Commando Series. “It doesn’t mater whether it (Commando Series) has any literary importance or not, at least if offers something interesting to the readers. My literature for children not only carries a message, but also educates them,” he defends himself.
A Hameed writes his memoirs for an Urdu daily. The way he manages to recall and portray all the places and characters to perfection is remarkable. “God has gifted me with a wonderful memory. Whatever I plan to write comes before my eyes. Most of what I write is inspirational,” he claims.
A very humble reply came when asked about the achievement of his life: “My only achievement is that I have made an attempt to portray nature. I have tried to give a new dimension to it. Only time will determine my status among the romantics.” He dispels the impression that he is a narcissist: “I never rate my works very highly. People have created this false impression about me as I avoid meeting with them considering it a waste of time. Trees are my friends, every morning I spend some time in their company.”
“I know about my limitations. I know that how can I express myself in a better way. Why should I attempt at writing something of which I have no experience? Nor can I lie to my readers neither indulge in literary dishonesty,” came the sharp reply from A Hameed when asked hasn’t he restricted himself only to the account of his nostalgic experiences.
One may ask what is A Hameed? If I am to answer this question, I would say that he is a restless wandering soul. He wants to become a part of every particle of this universe. He loves every scene, every season and every manifestation of this universe. In his writings, this love shoots out like a spring flowing in mildly. His theme seems to be “to praise creation is to praise the creator.”

By Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

My Favorite High Fashion Eyeglasses

2009-08-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

My favorite high fashion eyeglasses are available at Zenioptical.com – global price and volume leader in very affordable (starting as low as $ 8 Rx eyeglasses) and yet high quality and stylish prescription eyeglasses. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Also read advice article titled How You Can Start Spending Smart and make smart purchasing decision whenever you need to buy eyeglasses.

2009-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Link:
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Link:
Link Text: How You Can Start Spending Smart

Link:
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My favorite high fashion eyeglasses are available at Zenioptical.com – global price and volume leader in very affordable (starting as low as $ 8 Rx eyeglasses) and yet high quality and stylish prescription eyeglasses. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Also read advice article titled How You Can Start Spending Smart and make smart purchasing decision whenever you need to buy eyeglasses.

Where to Buy Acai

2009-08-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Those who are trying to lose Wight must try SlimAcai – a combination that helps you losing weight by controlling your appetite. Have a look at Where to Buy Acai – Miracle Weight Loss – and learn all about Acai supplements and vitamins and also know where to buy Acai products. In addition to weight loss, Acai supplements have many wonderful natural effects, such as boosting your immune system and detoxifying your digestive system.

Many people are using Acai and taking advantages of this miracle fruit. Acai is considered a Super food, but it will not make you lose weight on its own, contrary to many claims. That is why Where to Buy Acai – Miracle Weight Loss blends Acai with Slimaluma. What is more, Where to Buy Acai – Miracle Weight Loss products are manufactured in the USA, under the highest quality system, consistent with good manufacturing practices.

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Explore information rich Where to Buy Acai – Miracle Weight Loss and learn more about Acai Berry, better still buy Acai and have an enriching health experience.

The Reformist

2009-08-24T01:45:00.000-07:00

Ziauddin Sardar, 57, is one of the leading contemporary Muslim intellectuals. He specialises in topics dealing with the future of Islam, as well as Islamic science and technology, and has published more than 40 books on related topics. What sets him apart from the rest is his command over the language, which he uses to such a good effect that he could be read as a fiction writer on the merit of his diction alone. For example, in his most widely-read book, entitled Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim, he calls Islamabad “an architectural eyesore”.
Sardar has an amazing ability to simplify some of the most complex debates on contemporary Islam. To a cursory reader, he might seem to be stuck amid ‘secularism’ and ‘fundamentalism’, but he is not; he just takes the followers of both to task for their various ideological misgivings. It is for this reason that while he unleashed a scathing criticism on Salman Rushdie after the publication of The Satanic Verses, he also opposed the Iranian fatwa against him.
Sardar’s basic contention is that each generation must “reinterpret the textual sources in the light of its own experience”. Though identifying himself as a moderate, he embraces a willingness to look at the scripture as a product of its time that must be periodically re-examined, lest it lose its relevance for those who love it. This is perhaps the greatest achievement of Sardar, who lives in London with his wife and three children, as both a writer and an intellectual. Excerpts of his recent interview with Mustafa Nazir follow:

Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: Do you agree that many of the problems Muslims are currently faced with have to do with the way Islam is interpreted?
Ziauddin Sardar: We can only have an interpretative relationship with a text, particularly when we regard that text to be eternal. We have been relying on age-old interpretation of the Quran, one that is frozen in history. The context of this interpretation is the context of the eighth and ninth century Muslim societies, when the great commentaries on the Quran were written and Islamic law was formulated. But if the interpretative context of the text is never our context, not our own time, then its interpretation can hardly have any real meaning or significance for us as we are now. Historic interpretations constantly drag us back to history, to frozen and ossified context of long ago; worse, to perceived and romanticised contexts that have not even existed in history. This is why while Muslims have a strong emotional attachment to Islam, Islam per se, as a worldview and system of ethics, has little or no direct relevance to their daily lives apart from the obvious concerns of rituals and worship. So, yes, I do think most of our problems, the problems faced by Muslim communities today, stem from the way Islam is interpreted.
MNA: Is there a fixed essence of Islam? If either case, can you please elaborate?
ZS: Yes and no. There are certain absolute values and conceptual categories such as tawheed, risalah, akhrah, adl that we find in the Quran but beyond that everything else is open to interpretation. The contours of Islam are well established; but what lies within these contours has to be discovered by generations to generations, epoch to epoch. There is a unity within a diversity of interpretations; and no one can claim that their interpretation is more correct than equally valid other interpretations.
One of the worst aspects of contemporary Muslim societies is the essentialising tendencies of some Muslims, the insistence of some people that they know the essence of true Islam and that their interpretation is the only true and correct one and everyone must submit to their interpretation. This is like saying that there is only one way to be a Muslim; all other way of being a Muslim are not only wrong but should be subjugated. This is a totalitarian tendency that can only lead to a totalitarian society. But this outlook is not entirely new to Islam. It has a long history going right back to the formative phase of Islam in the seventh century. It began with the Kharjites who emerged a few decades after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Kharjites were a puritan sect who believed that history had come to an end after the revelation to the Last Prophet. From now on, there could not be any debate or compromise on any question: the ‘decision is God’s alone’. They were prone to extremist proclamations, they denounced Hazrat Ali as well as Hazrat Usman, and pronounced everyone who did not agree with their point of view as infidel and outside the law. They also developed a rather narrow and fixed interpretation of what it means to be a Muslim. To be a Muslim, they argued, is to be in a perfect state of soul. Someone in that state cannot commit a sin and engage in any wrongdoing. Sin, therefore was a contradiction for a true Muslim – it nullified the believer and demonstrated that inwardly he was an apostate who had turned against Islam. Thus anyone who did any wrong from the particular perspective of the Kharjites was not really a Muslim. He could thus be put to death. Indeed, the Kharjites believed that all non-Kharjite Muslims were really apostates who were legitimate target for violence. Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other extremist groups are the direct contemporary equivalent of the Kharjites in our time.
There are three aspects of the neo-Kharjite thought that we need to appreciate. First, this tradition is ahistoric. It abhors history; and drains it of all humanity and human content. Islam as a religion, interpreted in the lives and thought of people called Muslims, is not something that unfolded in history with all its human strengths and weaknesses, but a utopia that exists outside time. Hence it has no notion of progress, moral development or human evolution. Second, this tradition is monolithic. It does not recognise, understand or appreciate a contrary view. Those who express an alternative opinion are seen as apostates, collaborators or worse. It also means that there is only one Islam: other interpretations that differ from the neo-Kharjite variety are outlawed. The plurality and diversity of Islam that has existed for the last 1500 years is expunged. Third, this tradition is aggressively self-righteous; and insists on imposing its notion of righteousness on others. It legitimises intolerance and violence by endlessly misquoting the Quran and Hadith. It sees other Muslims as a legitimate fodder for violence and terrorism.
MNA: Is there a need to reform the Shariah? Moreover, is it possible considering that there are so many sects and schools of thought within Islam?
ZS: Most Muslims consider the Shariah to be divine. But the only thing that can legitimately be described as divine in Islam is the Quran. The Shariah is a human construction; an attempt to understand the divine will in a particular context. It is juristic law based on the interpretation of the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah at a particular time in history. It was formulated during the Abbassid period and reflects the concerns, the morality and the social circumstances of the period. This is why the bulk of the Shariah actually consists of fiqh or jurisprudence, which is nothing more than legal opinion of classical jurists. The very term fiqh was not in vogue before the Abbasid period but when fiqh assumed its systematic legal form, it incorporated three vital aspects of Muslim society of the Abbasid period.
At that juncture, Muslim history was in its expansionist phase, and fiqh incorporated the logic of Muslim imperialism of that time. The fiqh rulings on apostasy, for example, derive not from the Quran but from this logic. Moreover, the world was simple and could easily be divided in black and white: hence, the division of the world into Daral Islam and Daral Harb. Furthermore, because the framers of law were not by this stage the managers of society, the law became merely theory that could not be modified – the framers of the law were unable to see where the faults lay and what aspect of the law needed fresh thinking and reformulation. Thus fiqh, as we know it today, evolved on the basis of a division between those who were governing and set themselves apart from society and those who were framing the law. When we describe the Shariah as divine, we actually provide divine sanctions for the rulings of bygone fiqh.
What this means in reality is that when Muslim countries apply or impose the Shariah, it simply reproduces the conditions of ninth century Arabia. Muslim societies acquire a medieval feel. We can see that in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Afghanistan under the Taliban. When narrow adherence to fiqh, to the dictates of this or that school of thought, whether it has any relevance to real world or not, becomes the norm, ossification sets in. The Shariah will solve all our problems becomes the common sentiment; and it becomes necessary for a group with vested interest in this notion of the Shariah to preserve its territory, the source of its power and prestige, at all costs. An outmoded body of law is thus equated with the Shariah, and criticism is shunned and outlawed by appealing to its divine nature.
I would argue that one of the most pressing needs of contemporary Muslim societies, bar none, is the reformulation of the Shariah. And this reformulation is already happening. In Morocco, for example, the personal aspects of the Shariah has been totally reformulated, and a new family law, called Moudouana, came onto the statue books on October 10, 2003. It is a product of decades of agitation by women, activists and progressive Muslim scholars. Most importantly, it was produced with the full cooperation of the religious scholars as well as active participation of women. The changes it introduced are noteworthy.
The traditional notion of the husband as head of the family has gone. The family has become the joint responsibility of both spouses. The degrading and debasing language previously used in reference to women has been replaced with gender-sensitive terminology. Women’s marriageable age has been raised from 15 to 18, bringing it on par with that of men. Women and men now have the right to contract their own marriage without the legal approval of a guardian. Women have the right to divorce; and a man’s right to unilateral divorce has been ditched. Verbal divorce has been outlawed. Men now require prior authorisation from a court before they can obtain a divorce. Moreover, husbands are required to pay all monies owed to the wife and children in full before a divorce can be registered. Polygamy has been all but abolished. Men can take second wives only with the full consent of the first wife and only if they can prove, in a court of law, that they can treat them both with absolute justice – an impossible condition.
Moreover, women can claim alimony and can be granted custody of their children even if they remarry. Indeed, a woman can even regain custody of her children if the courts initially ruled in favour of the husband but the husband failed to fulfil his responsibilities. There is also provision for the child to get suitable accommodation consistent with his or her living conditions prior to the parents’ divorce. This requirement is separate from the other alimony obligations, which conventionally consisted of a paltry lump sum. The new law also protects the child’s right to acknowledgement of paternity in cases where the marriage has not been officially registered or the child was born outside wedlock. The new law also requires that husbands and wives share the property acquired during marriage. Husbands and wives can have separate estates but the law makes it possible for the couple to agree, in a document other than the marriage contract, on how to manage and develop assets acquired during marriage.
The traditional tribal custom of favouring male heirs in the sharing of inherited land has also been dropped making it possible for grandchildren on the daughter’s side to inherit from their grandfather, just as the grandchildren on the son’s side. The new Shariah also assigns a key role to the judiciary. Public prosecutors must now be involved in every legal action involving family affairs. New family courts have been set up and a family mutual assistance fund has been established to ensure that the new code is effectively enforced. The reformulated Shariah enshrines the principle that minorities should be allowed to follow their own laws. So Moroccan Jews can be governed by the provisions of the Hebraic Moroccan Family Law. Where Morocco leads, I think, other Muslim countries will follow. Similar attempts are being made in Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.
MNA: You are against secularism and freedom of expression beyond a certain extent. Isn’t it a contradiction considering that you have yourself been the major beneficiary?
ZS: It is wrong to say that I am against freedom of expression. Indeed, as a Muslim I believe in total freedom of expression. But I do believe it should be exercised with responsibility and respect towards all others. Moreover, I am not against secularism – I believe that the state should be fair and just to all and neutral in matters of religion. But I am against secularism as an ideology – quite a different thing. As an organised philosophy, secularism has been privileged and has claimed the centre ground, because it has persuaded many of its superior ability to serve the real needs of society. Allegedly, it is the neutral, dispassionate and disinterested outlook which alone is capable of maintaining a peaceful conversation between all the competing voices, factions, interest groups, ideas and ideologies contending in the public space of an increasingly complex and heterogeneous society.
What fits secularism for a dominant role is its trademark: doubt, perpetual doubt that debunks, overturns and interrogates all grand narratives claiming to explain the human condition. The clear implication of secularism is that conviction, convincement of almost any kind, is the product of a closed, unreasoning and potentially irrational, not to say fanatical, mind and hence by implication bad and most certainly a limited and inferior outlook. I do not buy this. And I am against privileging all forms of ideologies. I also believe that religion has an important part to play in the public sphere – in shaping civic society, in debating issues of ethics and morality, in promoting social justice and in holding corrupt politicians and decision-makers accountable.
MNA: In your view, what could be the broad contours of an ideal Muslim society in the modern times?
ZS: Any society that claims to be Muslim must be based on two cardinal concepts of Islam: adl and ilm. It will be a society where social justice is clearly evident in all its manifestations from distribution of wealth to the care and support of the needy, the marginalised and those on the periphery. I will be a knowledge-based society where science and learning, arts and creativity, are openly thriving. It will also be a society where ijma (consensus) and shura (consultation) are highly valued – which to me means it would be a thriving democracy, where there is no place for authoritarianism of any kind. And it will be a society where criticism and self-criticism are the driving forces of progress. For me, this much seems pretty obvious.
MNA: How can Muslims contribute to peace in the modern day world?
ZS: Charity begins at home. By becoming peaceful societies themselves! How can we seek peace elsewhere when peace is so conspicuously absent from our own societies. To become peaceful, Muslim societies have to implement the concepts I have mentioned above.
MNA: Contrary to what you seem to believe and project in your writings, isn’t Sufism the only ray of hope in these dark times, especially if we take into account the Indian subcontinent’s history?
ZS: No. I do not believe that a single way of being Muslim can be a ray of light for all Muslims. As a human community, Muslims have all shades of opinions and views, numerous different ways of being, doing and knowing. I believe in diversity and different and diverse ways of being Muslim, according to the desires, visions and spiritual and material needs of a people. There is immense goodness in Sufism; but it is also an authoritarian system. The very fact that you submit to a Master or a Shaikh means it is hierarchal and patriarchal. Moreover, while mysticism has contributed to thought, philosophy and spirituality, it has never, in history, created a material civilisation. We can’t live by spirituality alone! I have no problem with those who chose the Sufi way. But others should be allowed to follow their own way.
MNA: Is The Satanic Verses really an outcome of secularism as you seem to believe? Salman Rushdie criticises the Iranian ‘revolution’ in his own style, while you do that in your own, especially in Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim. Then why such an opposition to Rushdie, especially if we take into account the fact that there are many books criticising Islam much more explicitly, ranging from Ibn Warraq’s Why I am not a Muslim to Robert Spencer’s Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam?
ZS: Yes, The Satanic Verses is a product of secularism based on perpetual doubt. I think doubt, as Al-Ghazaali pointed out, is essential for those who believe – it ensures you do not transcend the human and humane boundaries. But when doubt becomes all there is, then it becomes an oppressive, all-encompassing ideology. There are different ways to criticise. I criticise to reform and change Muslim behaviour and understanding of Islam. Rushdie criticises Islam to destroy it. The Satanic Verses has deliberately rewritten the seerah in a denigrating and abusive way to demonstrate that the life of the Prophet is only a myth; and like all myths it is dispensable. I cannot believe any believing Muslim would not object to this. But there are also other differences in our criticism. You can criticise Desperately Seeking Paradise any way you like: I may or may not accept your criticism, but I will not suggest that, because you are critical of my book, you are somehow an irrational barbarian.
The Rushdie affair had no place for reasoned Muslim opinion. It was structured on the assumption that those who question or criticise Rushdie’s right to say what he said are by definition barbarians. Thus, the only valid Muslim opinion was the extremist one; and only Muslim voices that could be heard were of those who supported the fatwa. This dynamic justified the perception that Islam represented, in Rushdie’s words, “the darkness of religion”. To add insult to injury, we were told that Muslims knew nothing about art, and even less about fiction. Ibn Warraq and Robert Spencer are islamophobes – their criticism is firmly aimed at representing it as a barbarian enterprise and promoting hatred of Muslims. They, like Rushdie, have another agenda: to promote the supremacy of America. They seek to project America as a loving and caring imperial power. There is a world of difference between them and me.

Laghari Appointed as Chairman Higher Education Commission-Islamabad

2009-08-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

Dr. Javaid R Laghari has been appointed as 'Chairman' of the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad. Prior to joining HEC, Dr. Javed R Lagahri was the president of SZABIST. His area of specialization is in energy and space technologies. He has published over 120 research papers.

Source: (DAWN)

An Optimist at Heart

2009-08-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Afrasiab Khattak is one of those rare species who believe in clinging to an ideology, come what may. Since the day he took a plunge into politics, the student uprising against Ayub Khan playing the catalyst, he has never budged from the principles he upheld. That is why among his peers, even die-hard adversaries, he has the reputation of indisputable integrity, which has earned him respect in a vocation which is infamous for pulling down the person on the other side of the fence. But remaining steadfast in a political world, where opportunism reigns supreme, has its own hazards, and Afrasiab has not been immune to those – almost 17 years in self-exile in Afghanistan, many years in gaol and a number of treason cases. He surely has enough to boast of!
Born to a middle class family in 1950, Afrasiab inherited interest in politics from his father, a supporter of Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s nationalist movement. His father’s library also played its part, making Afrasiab a die-hard nationalist at a pretty tender age. He had hardly crossed his teens when he joined Pukhtoon Students’ Organisation (PSO) – a nationalist, progressive party demanding an end to Ayub Khan’s dictatorial regime and abolition of One Unit. He pursued his interest in literature simultaneously, taking inspiration from his maternal grandfather, who was also a close friend of Allama Iqbal. “Dr Iqbal owed his interest in Pushto poetry to my grandfather and also wrote a poem, Mehrab Gul Afghan kay Afkar, on him,” informed Afrasiab.
After doing Masters in English Literature from Peshawar University (1971-73), Afrasiab studied law as he “”was not interested in doing a government job” and took more fancy to an independent profession. Meanwhile, he continued to take active part in politics. As a student leader of the Peshawar University, he enjoyed close terms with Dr Najeebullah, student leader of the Kabul University at that time who later became president of Afghanistan. PSO had merged into National Awami Party (NAP) after 1970 elections, when both its demands were met. Afrasiab, now in NAP, agitated against the Bhutto regime after it dissolved the Balochistan Government and the NWFP government resigned in protest.
“From here I started frequenting the gaol,” Afrasiab said in a sarcastic tone. When ban was imposed on NAP by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1975, he was among those 55 men who were charged with treason. After Zia-ul-Haq’s imposed Martial Law, he was released along with the others. “The Martial Law authorities wanted us to continue our campaign against Bhutto, but we declined their offer because our conflict with him was not a personal one,” Afrasiab informed. By that time, NAP had become National Democratic Party (NDP) with Sher Baz Mazari as its leader.
As NDP was in the favour of Martial Law, Afrasiab parted ways with it and formed National Progressive Party (NPP). “I was the General Secretary of this Leftist party, which strongly condemned the Martial Law regime. As a result, we had to face many hardships including imprisonment. I myself spent more than two years in gaol,” Afrasiab said. Later, he was acquitted but re-arrested only after a few days from Quetta. “I had addressed the High Court Bar and held a press conference. Summary military courts gave me two years in these two cases. I was released in June 1980,” he added. After spending some time in Pakistan, Afrasiab went into self-exile in Afghanistan.
But why did he chose to go into self-exile rather than continuing with his struggle for democracy within the country? “At that time, Zia-ul-Haq was making strategic relationships with the USA. Leftist politicians, who were against this policy, came under heavy fire from the Martial Law regime and plans were also made to eliminate them physically,” confided Afrasiab. “I came to know through some reliable sources that I was also in their hit list too. So, I left for Afghanistan thinking that my stay there would be temporary,” he continued. He was granted political asylum in Afghanistan as the revolutionary leadership there knew him personally. There, he devoted most of his time to academic pursuits like reading, writing, attending seminars, etc. Meanwhile, he also went to Berlin to do research on nationalist movements for a year.
Afrasiab also married in Afghanistan in September 1982. At present, he has two children – a son and a daughter. When Benazir Bhutto’s government came to power in 1988, she invited all those in self-exile back to the country. Availing this opportunity, he returned to Pakistan along with Ajmal Khattak and many others in January 1989. By that time, NDP and Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo’s Pakistan National Party (PNP) had merged into each other to form Awami National Party (ANP). Afrasiab joined it and was made a member of its central and provincial committee.
Afrasiab accepted the party’s decision to break alliance with PPP, but developed differences with its main leadership who wanted an alliance with Mian Nawaz Sharif’s Islami Jamhori Ittehad (IJI). “We opposed the alliance between ANP and IJI because it was unnatural and against our ideology,” he stressed. Consequently, Afrasiab left ANP to form Qaumi Inquilabi Party (QIP), biggest party of the Leftists in the country at that time which united the Left cadre of all the four provinces.
By 1990, Afzal Khan had also left ANP on the issue of IJI. Along with him and Lateef Afridi, Afrasiab formed Pukhtoonkhawa Qaumi Party (PQP), which went into electoral alliance with Pakistan Democratic Party (PDA) during the 1990 elections. He contested the elections from NA-10 (Karak), but lost it in a triangular fight. The same scenario was repeated in the 1993 elections, when he contested from the Pakistan Democratic Front (PDF) platform. During all these years, he remained an ally of the PPP in one way or the other (also a member of PDA’s central committee), as he could identify himself with the party’s ideology.
Afrasiab laments the fact that the PPP did deliver the goods as expected by the people. “While the party was in the opposition from 1990 to 1993, I tried to convince its leadership time and again that it should offer an alternate programme to transform the society. I talked of political and social democratization,” he said. “Unfortunately, nothing was done in this regard,” he regretted. When PPP came in power in 1993, Afrasiab publicly demanded that the party should do something to democratise and modernise the society. As no practical steps were taken to this end, Afrasiab “became quite disillusioned”.
Since then, Afrasiab is no more active in politics and gives more time to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). “I joined HRCP as soon as I returned from Afghanistan and became its Vice-Chairperson (provincial head for NWFP) in 1995,” he informed. When asked that keepings his Leftist inclination Isn’t it paradoxical that he is working for a NGO, a concept abhorrent to the Leftists initially? “No. A noble cause has no left or right. NGOs are a vital need of our society. I do not want to imply that they are a substitute for political parties – their activities are concentrated at micro-level and if the processes at the macro-level go in the opposite direction, they would also wipe out the work done on the micro-level,” he viewed.
Though Afrasiab is a practicing lawyer, he maintains that “his first love” is literature. He not only reads literature, but is also an Urdu poet of no ordinary merit himself. Talking of favourites, he said, “I like Faiz Ahmad Faiz the most among Urdu poets, while in Pushto I admire Ghani Khan and Rahmat Shah Sail.” Afrasiab also has a knack for languages. He is at home with Persian, thanks to his stay in Afghanistan. He also learnt a bit of German while studying in Berlin. Afrasiab is also interested in writing and has been regularly contributing a weekly column on social and economic issues for a local English newspaper since 1992. At present, he is working on a book on Afghanistan and Central Asia, for which he has “already accumulated all the relevant material”.
When asked about his favourite political leader, his immediate reply was Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo. All praise for the Baloch leader, he praised his political acumen in particular. Strangely enough, Afrasiab was not critical of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, despite the fact that he spent a good two years in gaol during his tenure. “I met ZAB before he came into power and was very impressed with his personality. I had high hopes that he would transform Pakistani society into a progressive and democratic one. But his personality was based on contradictions. While, on the one hand, he was impressed by the western political thought, on the other hand, because of his feudal background he had an authoritarian egoism, which later caused his downfall also. Anyway, ZAB’s style was populist and he knew how to communicate with the people. He was the master of galvanising the masses,” eulogised Afrasiab. “He was punished for his good deeds,” he lamented. Among international politicians, Afrasiab admires Gamal Abdel Nasser, Fidel Castro and Dr Najeebullah.
Commenting on the present situation in the country, the optimist he is, Afrasiab never once gave the impression that he has lost hope. Still, he minced no words to underline the need for a change. “I think there is a historic need for a new social and political change in Pakistan. Our landed gentry is being undermined economically, while the new elite has failed to find social recognition. The middle class is being squeezed both economically and politically, and should be brought in the mainstream politics to avert the crisis which faces us as a nation,” he opined. “To fill the political void, the enlightened middle class intelligentsia has to play a more positive role,” emphasised Afrasiab. Suggesting a solution, he concluded: “For a long-term solution, a liberal, progressive, democratic, broad-based party is the need of the hour.”

This article is written by Mr. Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

Link Building

2009-08-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Link Building is single most important exercise that can help bloggers and webmasters to increase search engine rankings. TextLinkBrokers provide a wide array of Link Building Services and are playing important role in link building across the web. Have a look TextLinkBrokers' Link Building Wiki - a central repository for all information related to link building - and see what they are offering there and how.

Link building encompasses everything a webmaster or a blogger does to build links to a website and or a blog in order to increase direct traffic and Search Engine Optimization. Link Building Wiki focuses on the Search Engine Optimization aspect of link building. While the goal of most search engine optimization campaigns is to build traffic, the goal of SEO based link building is higher rankings.

LinkBuildingWiki.com lists hundreds of link building articles, blog, and websites by experts to help novices get started with link building. I explored the wiki and picked some great ideas for myself. I have already bookmarked this page for my future reference. I suggest anyone who is interested in link building must have a look. What is more, you can also contribute to the link building wiki through email. They will add your contribution along with credit to you.

Facebook's Attitude

2009-08-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

What you do when you are living (with your friends) in Facebook and all of a sudden you get your account disabled with an email saying,

“Unfortunately, your account has been permanently disabled for violating Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. We will not be able to reactivate it for any reason, nor will we provide further explanation of your violation or the systems we have in place. This decision is absolutely final.”

You get baffled! I did. More so when (I think) I have not done any action that may be considered against Facebook TOS.

I have tried to figure out (and also have asked Facebook via email) about their ‘Statement of Rights and Responsibilities’ but no help. I deserve an explanation at least. Or reason for this ‘discriminatory attitude from a social network. No?

Can anyone suggest something?

Credit and Debt Consolidation

2009-08-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

Needs are growing in the fast paced life. Resultantly, need for cash is also growing and people get into debt. That is a tough situation and getting out of the debt is even tougher. Have a look at debt consolidation and improve your financial health. In the process, you may even have some ideas about Alternatives to Payday Loans Appear, How to Negotiate Debt Obligations with Creditors, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) - Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA), How to Create a Debt Consolidation Plan and much more. What is more, they offer free credit counseling services and educational material to everyone.

Explore the neatly laid out and information rich 3debtconsolidation.com – an informative website with vast amount of information related to all topics in debt consolidation. Their goal is to educate people about their debt and provide products and tips to help them get out of debt. See what they are offering and how. I liked advice, tips and insight on payday loan consolidation along with other useful resources. Learn about payday loan consolidation in case you are in need. They offer the best plan to get you out of the difficult situation. Besides these useful services, they also offer loans. Check them out and see how they can help you. Better still, ask for free credit consolidation consultation and go ahead with life.

Want To Be A Professional Blogger But Don’t Have The Readership To Draw Advertisers?

2009-08-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I was listening to this podcast, because an online buddy of mine was being interviewed about blogging and how it’s changing from being a fluffy online diary to being a source of content.

And one of the issues someone raised was how challenging it is to become a professional blogger because you have to have good content and a following and be able to attract advertisers.

And it struck me that the one possibility they didn’t talk about was blogging for others for a living.

Being a blogger for others allows you to do what you love (and probably do it from a location of your choice) and still get paid. It is hard work, and you do have to be very professional, but it can be very rewarding.

And it definitely allows you to grow your connections and expertise, which you can also use for your own projects.

So who can you blog for?

You can blog for large corporates that want to expand their online brand.

Or smaller companies that know that that they should use online media to promote their product and services but don’t have the personell to dedicate to the task. Or even if they do have the people, they are not skilled enough to be effective.

You can blog for small business owners and consultants who want to be out in the online space, but don’t have the time or inclination to blog.

Or you can blog for non-profits to promote a specific cause or project.

You can even blog for networks and content sites that pay per post.

You can look for paying gigs at the following sites:

Problogger

Freelance Writing Gigs

If you’re a writer, you can also approach companies that you already have a relationship with to find out if they would like to explore the blogging option.

Lead Management Software

2009-08-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Advent of the Internet has changed the ways people work (and live). Web integration and automation tools have made the business processes like marketing and reaching out, making them efficient and easier.

Thanks to AIMcrm – an on-demand web-based software application to manage the handling of sales leads. AIMcrm is essentially a CRM particularly focused on handling leads with an ability to sell (lead aggregation business). AIMcrm has already proven itself to be useful in different industries. AIMcrm can configure your system to streamline business process, finely tuning the software to meet the specific needs. AIMcrm understand the value of having the system tailored to your business, which is why we do just that for every client.

Explore the site and see how flexible, powerful, and easy to use sales lead management and CRM software can take your leads management to the next level. The software saves time and money by automating as much of your leads management as you can. AIMcrm makes lead management easy by automated actions that trigger different possible conditions. CRM software helps in Lead Aggregation and Reselling, Mortgage and Loan Origination, Insurance (Health, Life, and Property/Casualty), Addiction Treatment and Drug Rehab and College, Trade Schools, and Higher Education.

CRM Software is more suitable for concerns looking for generating leads and automatically selling them to clients. AIMcrm has a lot to offer to any savvy business. I recommend you try them for efficient lead management.

What is Social Media? Definitions

2009-08-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

There is no single agreed definition of the terms Social Media also known as Web 2.0, but there is widespread agreement they apply to a set of characteristics in the context of the internet and applications served over it. At its simplest, Social Media is the combination of channels, platforms, communities, content1 and tools that power the phenomenon of peer to peer communication or ‘word of mouth’. Social media is a set of tool, not a destination.

Skyrocketed development in the field of social web are pushing us towards the predominance of cloud computing, collaborative exchange, and social networking over the use of technology as just storage, multitasking, and faster ways of carrying on business as usual. These rapid changes stimulate new ways of collecting data development messages, and sharing information. Notions of expertise, control, hierarchy, acquisition of knowledge, locality, identity, privacy etc. are all in flux as social media is adopted by populations worldwide. Social media has transformed the way people consume information, and that will continue to happen. News spreads faster, trends gather pace, people connect and information is available – to all - on an unprecedented level.

“Right now, the largest single group of users on the Internet today is in Asia. Half a billion Asian users. And that’s only 14% penetration. So when they get to 70% penetration which is where we are in the US and some parts of Europe, we’re talking about a couple of billion people. That’s a very, very big customer base. It’s a very diverse customer base but the internet can reach all of them once we get to that penetration level. So this is a really exciting place to be. (Vinton Cerf, Vice President & Chief Internet Evangelist, Google Inc.)”

“Humans are social beings, they like to share things, talk together and technology lets them do it on an unprecedented level. (Ken Mandel, Regional Managing Director, Yahoo! South East Asia)”

Government agencies such as British Government and Australian Federal Police are relying heavily on social media to inform public. The response is amazing; people are considering social media as an additional channel to reach out.

A wide range of social software has become readily available to young generation. There is increasing interest in possibilities of using social software for students.

Facebook Contact Backup

2009-08-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

People are looking at online services like Facebook and Google and realizing it’s wise to back up the information we put in. Just as backing up family photos stored on your home PC to a separate disk is a good idea, so is backing up family photos stored on the internet to a separate disk.

To know about the detail method of Backing up contacts from Facebook I found this link very suitable. Please Click Here to get your Facebook contacts.

Jardine Performance Products

2009-08-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Those who are looking for complete lines of exhaust systems, handle bars, wheels, headers and various other things at one place must have a look at Jardine Performance Products and see what they are offering and how. They manufacture and offer best quality AVT, Carbon Fiber Full System, Motorcycle Exhaust, Cruiser, Gear and Off Roads and Street.

Given my own interest, I looked at Cruiser section. Designed for a more laid-back and relaxing ride cruiser motorcycles are a mid-size bike with plenty of power and options to upgrade exhaust systems and other areas with performance part accessories. Jardine offer a terrific selection of cruiser exhausts including full systems, slip-ons, slash cut and straight cut drag pipes and half systems in addition to many great accessories including backrests, carburetor covers and oil filter relocation kits to fine tune many brand name cruiser bikes including Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki.

Browse Jardine complete line of full system exhausts including straight cut and slash cut drag pipes and turn down exhausts specially designed for cruiser type motorcycles. You can find high quality, peak performance Jardine exhaust systems in several commercial grade materials including stainless steel, chrome plated, aluminum, carbon fiber and even titanium for a solid fit and a dependable motorcycle part accessory. In addition to cruiser exhausts Jardine carry a full selection of cruiser performance accessory parts to custom design your bike.

Have a look at Jardine Performance Products and see what they are offering for you.

Happy Independence Day to Every Pakistani

2009-08-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day to one and all :D

High Five to Zenni Optical

2009-08-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

When users saw Zenni Optical on TV!!! and read about it in High Five to Zenni Optical, the loyal users of Zenni Optical products {like stylish prescription glasses, frames with single vision lens, sunsensor (potochromic) lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens and more} said “I was right when I bought Great Eyeglasses For Less.” I suggest all users of prescription eyeglasses start their quest for Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni. They are the best and the cheapest, as low as $ 8 Rx eyeglasses.

Blogging is Not Poetry

2009-08-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

As I said in my earlier post that blogging is continuously growing in every culture, race, discipline and society. Politicians, celebrities, brands, individuals, students, schools, universities, Government, NGOs everyone seem to have a blog now.

Blogging is not poetry any more. You may be having a cat blog or boss blog (as Seth Godin writes in his eBook); still you have to work hard to run them. Some of the bloggers have taken upon them to change the world by blogging. They determine and then research global issues and address them in a positive manner to help people around. Research is essential for economic growth, imperative to educational excellence and intrinsic to the development of community. Research is pivotal to national and regional growth as the means to diversify the nation’s economy, enhance educational offerings and develop areas that affect the community, such as health, education and environment.

The blogger under reference shall not write about personal things but identify and write on such issues (like international issues, democratic problems, education, men and women issues, economy, current trending technology and human behaviors and the like) to help and improve the quality of life. This hopefully, will on the one hand broaden our approach and outlook by viewing existing social issues from different angles and on the other hand contribute towards grooming of future policy planners and executives.

By organizing research before blog posts shall not only produce a corps of social media scientists but also develop among them policy planners and better executives. Today’s blogger may undertake research on behalf of civil society organization and or private sector so as to assist them in the core areas for their institution work. By incorporating research in to their daily blog posts will setup an archive for international data-base in order to provide data sets for researchers and students in higher classes (post-graduate, M.Phil, PhD). Thus the search engines will become an online institution or class rooms for online users as currently the search engine results are not as resourceful as it need to be. What you think?

Pakistan Twitter Landscape

2009-08-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Twitter landscape seem to be very innovative; oozing out with individualism and diversity. During my hunt, I have seen users announcing launch or a product and some whining ‘wish you were here with me.’

There are still some impediments, the most obvious being access to technologies, lack of purpose to reach out to the world and matters of ego and social background. What all one is willing to open to others? Tweets exchanges and email conversations with local Twitter users bloggers revealed some more reservations: People are afraid to speak up. Masteries of language, technical, or compositional skills are another set of barriers for those who do not have them. Muhammad Yaqoob, a famous Social Media advocate and a Twitter users says, "Though these days Twitter is as easy as signing in for email account and operating it yet those who are gifted with writing skills are often Web novice and those who are skilful Internet users have nothing much to say."

Read at Light Within

WildBlue Deals

2009-08-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Living in the information age, people need access to the Internet everywhere. Satellite Internet is one of the best sources where other conventional ways of getting access to the Internet are not available.

Have a look at the WildBlue – high speed Internet service providers - that provide a high-speed Internet satellite service for homes and small offices. WildBlue's technology and the power of satellites, WildBlue reaches customers in even the most remote locations across the contiguous U.S., and delivers connection speeds up to 50 times faster than dial-up. Compared WildBlue to Dial-Up at free satellite internet. That's why more dial-up users are already switching to Wild Blue satellite Internet. WildBlue high-speed Internet is backed by two powerful satellites that delivers supper fast Internet service and Satellite TV to your home and or business. No cable and telephone lines are required.

If you already have not, I suggest you switch to WildBlue and start having fast internet experience. With WildBlue you will surf faster, stay connected longer and download more than ever before. What is more, WildBlue is offering lowest prices and free standard installation. Explore satalite internet in Indiana and see what WildBlue is offering and how. Also see what their satisfied customers are saying about them. Better still have a look at networking online, order WildBlue Internet online or call them (1-866-510-1344) to find out more.

Disclosure Policy

2009-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

This blog is a collaborative blog written by a group of individuals. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

Power Test Dynamometers

2009-08-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

Power Test Dynamometers is a reputed leader in Engine Dynamometers, Chassis Dynamometers, Transmission Dynamometers Data Acquisition and Controls their and Accessories Power Test dedicated staff of experienced professionals (including machinists, fabricators, electronic technicians, assemblers, designers, engineers, software developers, administrative, and customer service staff engaged in complete in-house manufacturing can address to all the needs of any customer, from facility planning for new machines, to customization and retrofitting of existing systems.

Have a look at Power Test and see what they are offering and how. The Engine dynos are designed for testing a wide range of equipment with one unit. The Engine Dynamometer is designed, manufactured, sold and supported by an experienced group of engineering, manufacturing, sales and customer service personnel. The engine dynamometers are the solution for your engine testing needs of today as well for years to come. Different types of engine dynamometers may be purchased from Power Test including, water brake, AC regenerative and eddy current models.

Similarly, Power Test transmission stands 450-Series Automatic Transmission Service Evaluation Center are high power loading for valid tests and clear results. Their eddy current absorber EC-Series Eddy Current Dyno are air-cooled and are designed to fit into most most existing chassis pits that come with above ground installation kit.

Information and resource rich site is neatly laid out and users friendly. Try them.

MAPs

2009-08-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

A map is a visual representation of an area. A Map represents any space, real or imagined, without regard to context or scale. There are lot of maps such as Mind-Map (used to represent words, ideas, tasks, etc.), Concept-Map (that show diagrams of relationships among concepts), Topic-Maps (designed as a standard for the representation and interchange of knowledge) etc. Maps always seem to help us find our ways. Maps help us to discover.

Here I find an interesting below Map that identifies the most popular social networks in the different countries worldwide. The colors are the house colors from the respective networks.
I expect it may be useful to you.

Another Version of the a Social Network Map.

Choice

2009-08-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Whenever you have to choose, don’t ever let your situation, conditions, position or habits rule your choices. Be a master of yourself and use your will power to choose. Get rid off your fears and remove all the barriers that you foresee.

Toxic Chinese Drywall

2009-08-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Reports are that some 20 million square feet of Chinese drywall has entered the U.S. after 2001 and it could affect more than 65,000 American homes. Complaints can range from harmful sulfur gases, damages to material and some health problem like nosebleeds, allergies, rashes and headaches. The long-term effects of contaminated Chinese drywall are not yet known. In addition to several instigations, the U.S. had turned to China as a source for drywall after 2000 when the housing boom created domestic shortfalls in supply.

At individual level, people need to better understand the issue and determine how they might be affected by Chinese drywall in your home. Facts and solutions for the Chinese Drywall Problem is one of the best places to start. Explore the information rich site and learn more about the problem and or your legal rights in this regards. “Under Florida law, a consumer who has bought a home that contains toxic Chinese drywall has the right to bring a claim and/or lawsuit based on various legal theories against any company that manufactured, distributed, supplied and or used toxic drywall. This includes the builder of the home who used toxic drywall during the construction process,“ read the website. Explore the site and make an informed decision whether you need Chinese drywall attorney to make a Chinese drywall lawsuit?

Start a Blog, Monetize and Don’t Wait

2009-08-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

S A J Shirazi

One can’t move much without coming across claims like making money online, how it is easy and how everyone can do it. After having experienced with some of the more obvious ways to skim the milk from new models of income by blogging, the best I can say is; Making money online is easy, and yes anyone can make. money. All it takes is a little hard work. There is no short cut to it. And that is how it is.

Yes, many people are successfully making money. If they can why can’t I, someone may ask. So let us see who are making money by blogging. I find they are geeks, nerds, techies with good knowledge of computers (html and coding) or are heavily staffed organizations. They have over saturated the niches for computers, gadgets, photography, graphic designs and the like. You need to compete with them? If not, then find out what you like and are good at. The most surprising thing is that some people want to make money by blogging but they have not decided what to blog about. I would suggest if you have nothing unique (ok fairly unique) to tell and add value then don’t start. And those who do, may make their first $100 with Google Adsense within than nine months. The beginning has always been like that.

Second, those who have flair for writing can make good money with high Google PR blogs by writing reviews of products and services on their blog. Here some blogger would find it difficult to write about subject like mesothelioma lawyers, consolidate loans, refinancing mortgage, tax attorney, ameriquest mortgage, mortgage refinance or about an all inclusive holiday package to a place they have not even heard about. Start learning.

So what are the options? You can start a blog, put in your best and do so consistently over a period of time, six months to a year, the money shoul follow and will follow. There is no other way. (Also posted here)

Geeks' Recommendations For the Best Web Hosts

2009-08-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

Term Geek reminds so much to me. Usage of the term Geek has changed to positive sense now. Geek now refers to keen and expert users of personal computers and the Internet, in an upbeat sense. Besides others (businesses and individuals) geeks now proudly like to present themselves online for which they need best, trusted and uninterrupted web host. In this age when web hosting is essential for every concerns and even individuals, it is vital to host online assets with hosts recommended by geeks.

Thanks to Web Hosting Geeks that they offer best of the web hosts anywhere. Their list Green Web Hosting — Top Eco-friendly Web Hosts presents green web hosts who use alternative / renewable energy, plant trees, recycling waste and purchase RECs to power their datacenters. Chose your host from them and in addition to having trusted web hosting you will be playing your role in saving the environment of this planet.

Similarly, those who are running a resource-intensive ecommerce web site or require extra security for their web projects – dedicated server is the solution. Geek Web Hosting Dedicated Server Hosting — Best 10 Dedicated Servers lists the most reliable dedicated web hosting providers ranked by webmasters from around the world. Explore the site and see what all they are recommending. There are sufficient accompanying details to give an idea of what one may be buying. Web Hosting Geeks is neatly laid out site and users’ friendly site. What they recommends matters a lot.

A Reasonable Proxy

2009-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

In past few years, variety of communication tools such as mobile phone, PDA’s (Person Digital Assistants), digital audio players-iPOD, iPhones, have been evolved as commodity items in general public lives. Parallel to this, there has been rapid development of the dynamic, interactive capacity of the web. Social media enabled users to share, tweet, assemble, disseminate, rate, comment, tag, and favorite information in all mediums. Such as text, image, sound, video, and create contents. Examples are Wikipedia (online encyclopedia) January 2001, LinkedIn (professional networking) May 2003, MySpace (social networking) August 2003, del.icio.us (social bookmarking) September 2003, Facebook (social networking) January 2004, Flickr (Image and Video Hosting) February 2004, YouTube (video sharing) February 2005, Twitter (micro-blogging) July 2006, Xing (business social networking) November 2006.

These participatory media sites and tools are designed so friendly, that doesn't require currency of skills, but essential knowledge, indeed. Users, particularly generation ‘Y’ tending to be in the front line, for integrating new devices, are shaping their lives, behaviors, attitudes, learning and approaches in line with the features of these advanced technologies. They are feeling overwhelmed and ‘digitally-social’.

This digitalized learning tool can also facilitate those learners whom are unable to take part of a classroom community, for some or even all, of the time-particularly part-time, distance and increasingly, work-based-social media may be a reasonable proxy. Due to its wider influence in our lives it’s hard to ignore Web 2.0 as an integral part of curriculum in the area of computing and media.

Twitter's New Homepage

2009-07-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Check Out Twitter's New Homepage.

Fun With Airgun

2009-07-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

Those who are looking for variety of pellet guns, air rifles, bb pistol, air pistols, bb guns and bb gun accessories, as well as a great selection of airsoft guns, blank guns, and paintball must start at Airgun Depot. Their air guns are top quality and are perfect for target practice, plinking, hunting and games. Airgun Depot is also the place to shop for all your airsoft accessories including scopes, optics and mounts, as well as gas, batteries, chargers and magazines. Airgun Depot also sell safety glasses, tactical gear, targets and traps and a lot more products are being added.

Have a look at the neatly laid out and users friendly site and see see what all Airgun Depot is offering and how.

Not Addicted to Twitter Yet

2009-07-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

You are additied to Twitter when:

1. You know what at least 3 people you don't know had for breakfast.

2. You're obsessed with how many followers you have or don't have and possess a master plan for getting your numbers up.

3. You search popular news sites just to link information that makes you look smart.

4. You spend more than 2 minutes planning out the cleverness of each tweet and give yourself a hi-5 when you figure out new ways to shrink words.

5. You've got regular Twitter, tweet deck, and twitter mobile for complete uninterrupted professional tweeting.

6. You get in frequent back and forth Twitter arguments over senseless topics that you actually don't care about. This starts to enter your real life.

7. Twitter is your home page.

8. You paid the Wi-Fi fee on Virgin America so you could get extra cool points by tweeting at 36,000 feet. It's the new 5 mile high club.

9. You've already tweeted about this post.

10. You've tweeted at least 3 times before getting to #10.