I've deleted a rant that I posted yesterday. It was a bad day, designed to test me, and I failed. Lesson learnt - don't use public blog forums to vent. Use private blog instead.
There is no point railing against the idiocies of corporate life in public, either suck it up and stay a part of it (and keep getting paid) or decide enough is enough, and head off to the beaches of Thailand to become a dive instructor.
Whether or not the latter option is becoming increasingly attractive, is also not a matter for this forum.
However, yesterday's fury-storm did achieve one small thing. It reminded me of the restorative qualities of a cup of tea.Tea rocks. It is both soothing and perking (is that a word? It should be.) It is terribly English (in my opinion) yet strangely appropriate for most cultures and settings around the world. It calms furies, and realigns the brain-planets, allowing for rational thought. It should be drip fed to world leaders 24/7.
End of sermon.
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Toasting with a glass half-full
So - a spot of positivity to take us in to the long weekend (hallelujiah...!)
Couple of things making me smile today - one that involves drinking, and one that doesn't. Let's start with the latter...
MEPRA - the Middle East PR Association - has recently been resurrected from zombie status by the indomitable Rebecca, who has been doing a sterling job rousing all of us in the industry out of a collective grumpy stupor. I'm a member for the first time in about 6yrs (I was a member when I first arrived, and quickly decided to save my cash), and am actually getting involved...
Yesterday saw the first Twitter workshop held by Spot On PR at the Hilton, and by all accounts it went down a storm. There were certainly interesting tweets about the event, with Dubai 92 DJ Catboy interacting with the participants thru Twitter in real time.
The next one is due to be held at the DME, on the trading floor (my gaff) on the 26th July, and seems to be coming together rather nicely. Rebecca sent the invite today at 10am and it was fully booked by 3pm. Not too shabby, especially as it's summer time and in theory everyone has fled the sandpit.
I'm looking forward to it, should be a good event. Will be good to see the SpotOn crowd in the flesh, rather than the Twitterverse, for a change!
In other news, a friend and meeja-type also recently decided that us birds in PR and the media don't get together nearly enough, and floated the idea of a networking event. She sent the invite to her network, and a good few of us were briefed to pass it on to our respected networks, and so far, she's had an excellent response.
It'll be good to have a chance to socialize with some of the people that you tend to just run in to at industry events, when one or the other usually has a particular agenda/manic client/deadline. It'll also be rather nice to meet some of the people who are currently just names in the ether. I'm looking forward to it.
Couple of things making me smile today - one that involves drinking, and one that doesn't. Let's start with the latter...
MEPRA - the Middle East PR Association - has recently been resurrected from zombie status by the indomitable Rebecca, who has been doing a sterling job rousing all of us in the industry out of a collective grumpy stupor. I'm a member for the first time in about 6yrs (I was a member when I first arrived, and quickly decided to save my cash), and am actually getting involved...
Yesterday saw the first Twitter workshop held by Spot On PR at the Hilton, and by all accounts it went down a storm. There were certainly interesting tweets about the event, with Dubai 92 DJ Catboy interacting with the participants thru Twitter in real time.
The next one is due to be held at the DME, on the trading floor (my gaff) on the 26th July, and seems to be coming together rather nicely. Rebecca sent the invite today at 10am and it was fully booked by 3pm. Not too shabby, especially as it's summer time and in theory everyone has fled the sandpit.
I'm looking forward to it, should be a good event. Will be good to see the SpotOn crowd in the flesh, rather than the Twitterverse, for a change!
In other news, a friend and meeja-type also recently decided that us birds in PR and the media don't get together nearly enough, and floated the idea of a networking event. She sent the invite to her network, and a good few of us were briefed to pass it on to our respected networks, and so far, she's had an excellent response.
It'll be good to have a chance to socialize with some of the people that you tend to just run in to at industry events, when one or the other usually has a particular agenda/manic client/deadline. It'll also be rather nice to meet some of the people who are currently just names in the ether. I'm looking forward to it.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
The Cultural Band-Aid
Firstly - a disclosure up front. I'm an expat brat. What this basically means is, I grew up in Saudi Aramco, in a camp that looked eerily like the Truman Show village, where most people were American, and the ones that weren't, wanted to be. Yes, it was in Saudi Arabia, yes, we learnt Arabic at school - did we assimilate? Did we hell. The company nationalized in '85 (I was 9) and suddenly moved all of the Saudis off camp, giving them free loans to build their own houses. Our daily use of Arabic dwindled, and we trotted out stock phrases to chat in local shops on weekend excusions to Khobar, and then headed off to boarding school at the age of 11. So, I'm wide open to the accusation of hypocrite here, but I'm going to stick my flag in the sand anyway.
In my time here, one of the things that has irritated me the most is a phenomenon that (for the sake of argument) we'll call the cultural band-aid. Intelligent people, who are here to embrace new experiences and cultures, occasionally have a lapse in to the old "us & them" mentality. And it really annoys me.
I was reminded of this recently when I watched a video posted on a news site, demonstrating the appaling standards of driving in the UAE. It wasn't the driving that put my teeth on edge. It was the dialogue - where the "GASP"s should have been in speech bubbles, as well as the fact that they were out there to judge, but the verdict was in long before they got in the car.
In my opinion - if you don't like being flashed, get out of the outside lane. Simple. Whether or not you're doing 10k over the speed limit. But that's not the point.
The point is, I think that expats have a tendency to believe, in the very hidden core of their psyche, that the locals are fortunate to have us around. I include all expats in this generalization, so yes, everyone who isn't an Emirati.
So, as much as many of us "embrace" local culture, practice our stumbling arabic, observe local customs and try and befriend Emiratis, we have a tendency to revert back to our cultural groups for comfort, familiarity and reassurance, and gloss over the cracks with a handy cultural band-aid - the patronising us&them comments that many or most of us have made at some point.
Driving standards, maids, labour in general, queues, government officials/offices, the police, gender equality... the list is long. Don't like it, don't get it, don't want to think about it, stick a band-aid on it ... "they're dreadful, they don't understand, it's so 3rd world, tchah, tsk, grumble.." Magic. You feel better having "explained" the behaviour, and thus the blemish is covered, and we can continue "assimilating" the bits we like and approve of.
It's a dangerous game, and seems to be leading to a backlash, with Emiratis forming groups on networking sites such as Facebook hitting back at the expat hoardes.
Our time here is limited kids, make the bloody most of it.
In my time here, one of the things that has irritated me the most is a phenomenon that (for the sake of argument) we'll call the cultural band-aid. Intelligent people, who are here to embrace new experiences and cultures, occasionally have a lapse in to the old "us & them" mentality. And it really annoys me.
I was reminded of this recently when I watched a video posted on a news site, demonstrating the appaling standards of driving in the UAE. It wasn't the driving that put my teeth on edge. It was the dialogue - where the "GASP"s should have been in speech bubbles, as well as the fact that they were out there to judge, but the verdict was in long before they got in the car.
In my opinion - if you don't like being flashed, get out of the outside lane. Simple. Whether or not you're doing 10k over the speed limit. But that's not the point.
The point is, I think that expats have a tendency to believe, in the very hidden core of their psyche, that the locals are fortunate to have us around. I include all expats in this generalization, so yes, everyone who isn't an Emirati.
So, as much as many of us "embrace" local culture, practice our stumbling arabic, observe local customs and try and befriend Emiratis, we have a tendency to revert back to our cultural groups for comfort, familiarity and reassurance, and gloss over the cracks with a handy cultural band-aid - the patronising us&them comments that many or most of us have made at some point.
Driving standards, maids, labour in general, queues, government officials/offices, the police, gender equality... the list is long. Don't like it, don't get it, don't want to think about it, stick a band-aid on it ... "they're dreadful, they don't understand, it's so 3rd world, tchah, tsk, grumble.." Magic. You feel better having "explained" the behaviour, and thus the blemish is covered, and we can continue "assimilating" the bits we like and approve of.
It's a dangerous game, and seems to be leading to a backlash, with Emiratis forming groups on networking sites such as Facebook hitting back at the expat hoardes.
Our time here is limited kids, make the bloody most of it.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Get out your hatchets..
There are things that PR people are never meant to do, or at least, be seen to do. One of the most important, is to avoid ever whingeing about the media.
I'm sorry, on this occasion, I just can't.
Before I start, I'd like to note that I have worked with very talented and insightful people from all sorts of cultures, and managed to communicate a company's story (with the help of bilingual colleagues) in many languages. It's one of the things I love about living abroad.
But too often, we hear yet another rant from regional journalists on the dire state of regional PR. By and large, I think they have a lot of valid points. There is too much release-spam being issued on a daily basis, there are too many clueless execs following up with pointless phone calls, I agree, I agree, I agree.
However, I would ask these journalists to take two minutes at the next pointless press conference that you attend (I promise, the spokespeople will be at least 30mins late, you have plenty of time) to look around and observe the activity of the average lesser-spotted-Dxb-journo.
Many of these people walk in, say "Where's the press release" and walk out again. Many interrupt your spokesperson to say "What does your business do?" Questions, if there are any, are rarely informed.
I have come to terms with all of these idiosyncrasies, and accepted this as my lot. Fine. I'll even accept the accusation that the PRs should have briefed these people better (though I'd argue that most of the time, we've tried, and given them as much info as possibly can.)
But the hatchet job, no, that pisses me off. Just as it is common courtesy for PR people to give journalists a story in good time to research, write, edit and file, it is common courtesy for journalists writing a story on a company to give the company a chance to comment. And if you don't, don't expect me to come running back and with exclusives and interviews - I've got enough of a battle on my hands trying to educate my execs on why they shouldn't go to your boss.
And breathe...
I'm sorry, on this occasion, I just can't.
Before I start, I'd like to note that I have worked with very talented and insightful people from all sorts of cultures, and managed to communicate a company's story (with the help of bilingual colleagues) in many languages. It's one of the things I love about living abroad.
But too often, we hear yet another rant from regional journalists on the dire state of regional PR. By and large, I think they have a lot of valid points. There is too much release-spam being issued on a daily basis, there are too many clueless execs following up with pointless phone calls, I agree, I agree, I agree.
However, I would ask these journalists to take two minutes at the next pointless press conference that you attend (I promise, the spokespeople will be at least 30mins late, you have plenty of time) to look around and observe the activity of the average lesser-spotted-Dxb-journo.
Many of these people walk in, say "Where's the press release" and walk out again. Many interrupt your spokesperson to say "What does your business do?" Questions, if there are any, are rarely informed.
I have come to terms with all of these idiosyncrasies, and accepted this as my lot. Fine. I'll even accept the accusation that the PRs should have briefed these people better (though I'd argue that most of the time, we've tried, and given them as much info as possibly can.)
But the hatchet job, no, that pisses me off. Just as it is common courtesy for PR people to give journalists a story in good time to research, write, edit and file, it is common courtesy for journalists writing a story on a company to give the company a chance to comment. And if you don't, don't expect me to come running back and with exclusives and interviews - I've got enough of a battle on my hands trying to educate my execs on why they shouldn't go to your boss.
And breathe...
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
... and then there was one...
So Dubai-Inc creeps towards becoming a world dominating entity. In fact, one news report claimed that the upcoming "merger" of Dubai Holding's real estate entities in to Emaar (they're being swallowed, come on, they sacked all their staff months ago) would create the largest corporation on earth.
Well, we have the biggest building, why not shoot high...
The news caused Emaar stocks to plummet, ostensibly because of the lack of data around the actual value of the assets being incorporated. It's a fair comment, as there is precious little information on any of them, as they're all private companies.
As the dust starts to settle in the sandpit and the bare bones of the restructure start to become visible, one just wonders whether anyone really knows what it's going to look like when it's done. I used to have faith that they did. I'm not so convinced anymore.
Well, we have the biggest building, why not shoot high...
The news caused Emaar stocks to plummet, ostensibly because of the lack of data around the actual value of the assets being incorporated. It's a fair comment, as there is precious little information on any of them, as they're all private companies.
As the dust starts to settle in the sandpit and the bare bones of the restructure start to become visible, one just wonders whether anyone really knows what it's going to look like when it's done. I used to have faith that they did. I'm not so convinced anymore.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Gulf News in ParisHiltonworship shocker
And so the debate over mainstream media coverage of the recent events in Iran wages on. In a slightly more lighthearted vein, Gulf News managed to put three of the most unrelated news stories next to each other yesterday.
The recount story. Important bit of news. I'd suggest that the deaths of 7 overnight, the beatings and burnings at the University, and a bit of analysis on overall situation might have been more worthy of the front page, rather than a rather badly written summary of the official statements issued by the Iranian regime.
Ok so, it's not a great story, but it is important world news worthy of top headline status, which it has got. Iran is right next door. And this is the Gulf News. And this country is full, full, full of Iranians, who are rightly rather upset and concerned about the events in their country.So what do they put next to it? Paris fucking Hilton. The sub-head reads "Hollywood glamour burst from the doors of an aircraft at Dubai Airport as Paris Hilton touched down in the UAE - and Gulf News was there to capture the moment."
Gulf News was also there to "capture a moment" when the Iranians went out on the streets of Dubai to protest. That picture was buried in the back somewhere and I had to dig to find it on the web. There wasn't any mention of the protests on the streets outside the Iranian embassy in Dubai.
In contrast, there are big fat stories pondering "What Paris will do in Dubai?", "Paris' first comment on landing in Dubai" {when can i see the desert} "Competition - win Paris' handbag"And to top it all off, the other story that made the front page..... "British women told to keep their tops on abroad." Right. Because all of us Brits have been flaunting our bosoms around Dubai like a fleet of Carry on up the Sheikh Zayed Road nymphettes.
I despair.
The light at the end of the tunnel for me tho, was a little snippet in dear old Gulf News reporting that Dr Al Fahim has been replaced as CEO of Hydra. I can't help but wonder if that might be related to the fact that the New York Times wrote a rather scathing article recently, noting that the University where Dr Fahim (as he insists on being addressed) doesn't actually offer the doctorate program in real estate that he apparently completed. Never has. Good plan that - make up a doctorate, create a TV show that is a complete rip off of "The Apprentice" and you've styled yourself as Donald Trump, sell a shed-load of real estate then forget to build the actual houses, buy a football team, and expect everyone to sit back and laud you with praise and reward.
The words - You're fired.... must be ringing in his ears...
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Poor lil Senator...
Another lovely Twitter moment.
This evening I find myself in the Emirates lounge, waiting to board the 245am flight to Gatwick landing at 720am. I've read a mag, downed a Canadian Club/Soda, played on facebook, and then turned to Twitter. To find the Twitterverse delighting in "handing the ass back" to a Republican senator from Michigan who'd decided to draw a parallel between the persecution that Iranian protestors are experiencing this week, and the drubbing that the Republicans received in Congress over something or other.
I didn't believe the initial tweet and replied to a contact. He sent me a link and it's true - this idiot actually thought that was a fair comparison. The mind boggles.
A sample of the (rather amusing) responses includes:
TPIP: hey @nancypelosi can you please tear gas @petehoekstra and beat him repeatedly with batons so he has something real to whine about? about 1 hour ago
•TahirDuckett: @petehoekstra ran through the sprinklers this morning, claimed solidarity with victims of Hurricane Katrina about 1 hour ago
• d_knox: d_knox @petehoekstra, i broke a glass today. now i know what the kristallnacht must have felt like
• _DeadBattery: All I'm saying is - imagine, time last year, someone told you that @JohnMcCain and @PeteHoekstra would be all buddy-buddy with Iranians. about 1 hour ago
• jdb: @petehoekstra I had to pay sales tax on some potato chips today... Now I know what our Founding Fathers went through. about 1 hour ago
• Mitch42: Uh No.: @petehoekstra (R - MI): "Iranian twitter activity similar to... last year when Rs were shut down in the House." #analogyfail about 1 hour ago
• ktcowen: RT @curtsmith responses to Rep.@petehoekstra comparing freedom fighters in Iran with Republicans are hilarious: http://bit.ly/Yumry (expand) about 1 hour ago
•Jdb: RT GOP Rep @petehoekstra: Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House. about 1 hour ago
• Cut_here: @petehoekstra I burned my finger this morning on a hot plate, now I know how Joan of Arc felt.. about 1 hour ago
• TahirDuckett: @petehoekstra and @johnculberson, those poor Congressmen have so much in common with disenfranchised Iranians dying for democracy. Pathetic. about 1 hour ago
•Trusloth: @petehoekstra Got a $0.25 library fine. Reminded me of debtors' prison #GOPFail about 1 hour ago
• Amysco: @petehoekstra Yep, you're just like the Iranians! I must've missed Nancy Pelosi and her army beating you with clubs... about 1 hour ago
That's just a sample. It amused me hugely. It illustrates so many of the key key key elements of any successful comms strategy - it doesn't really matter about the medium - if your message is flawed, you're buggered. Ok, so that may not be how I phrase it in training sessions, but essentially it boils down to one thing. The immediacy of the media today means that anyone in a position of responsibility immediately needs to be aware that anything they say, anywhere, will form and shape the dialogue around their particular sphere. Thus they must learn from comms pros, or work with comms pros, to decide what that message is. It's not rocket science. But it amuses me hugely that a half-brained republican senator from michigan stepped up so willingly as the sacrificial lamb to the cause. Alhumdillilah.
If that's not too controversial a sign off...?
This evening I find myself in the Emirates lounge, waiting to board the 245am flight to Gatwick landing at 720am. I've read a mag, downed a Canadian Club/Soda, played on facebook, and then turned to Twitter. To find the Twitterverse delighting in "handing the ass back" to a Republican senator from Michigan who'd decided to draw a parallel between the persecution that Iranian protestors are experiencing this week, and the drubbing that the Republicans received in Congress over something or other.
I didn't believe the initial tweet and replied to a contact. He sent me a link and it's true - this idiot actually thought that was a fair comparison. The mind boggles.
A sample of the (rather amusing) responses includes:
TPIP: hey @nancypelosi can you please tear gas @petehoekstra and beat him repeatedly with batons so he has something real to whine about? about 1 hour ago
•TahirDuckett: @petehoekstra ran through the sprinklers this morning, claimed solidarity with victims of Hurricane Katrina about 1 hour ago
• d_knox: d_knox @petehoekstra, i broke a glass today. now i know what the kristallnacht must have felt like
• _DeadBattery: All I'm saying is - imagine, time last year, someone told you that @JohnMcCain and @PeteHoekstra would be all buddy-buddy with Iranians. about 1 hour ago
• jdb: @petehoekstra I had to pay sales tax on some potato chips today... Now I know what our Founding Fathers went through. about 1 hour ago
• Mitch42: Uh No.: @petehoekstra (R - MI): "Iranian twitter activity similar to... last year when Rs were shut down in the House." #analogyfail about 1 hour ago
• ktcowen: RT @curtsmith responses to Rep.@petehoekstra comparing freedom fighters in Iran with Republicans are hilarious: http://bit.ly/Yumry (expand) about 1 hour ago
•Jdb: RT GOP Rep @petehoekstra: Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House. about 1 hour ago
• Cut_here: @petehoekstra I burned my finger this morning on a hot plate, now I know how Joan of Arc felt.. about 1 hour ago
• TahirDuckett: @petehoekstra and @johnculberson, those poor Congressmen have so much in common with disenfranchised Iranians dying for democracy. Pathetic. about 1 hour ago
•Trusloth: @petehoekstra Got a $0.25 library fine. Reminded me of debtors' prison #GOPFail about 1 hour ago
• Amysco: @petehoekstra Yep, you're just like the Iranians! I must've missed Nancy Pelosi and her army beating you with clubs... about 1 hour ago
That's just a sample. It amused me hugely. It illustrates so many of the key key key elements of any successful comms strategy - it doesn't really matter about the medium - if your message is flawed, you're buggered. Ok, so that may not be how I phrase it in training sessions, but essentially it boils down to one thing. The immediacy of the media today means that anyone in a position of responsibility immediately needs to be aware that anything they say, anywhere, will form and shape the dialogue around their particular sphere. Thus they must learn from comms pros, or work with comms pros, to decide what that message is. It's not rocket science. But it amuses me hugely that a half-brained republican senator from michigan stepped up so willingly as the sacrificial lamb to the cause. Alhumdillilah.
If that's not too controversial a sign off...?
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