I wanted to write this post since 2 weeks now but hell I am a super lazy person

The other day I was invited as a blogger to come and witness the N9 launch in Sheraton Karachi by Mr. Henri Mattila, Solution Marketing Manager, Nokia MEA.

N9 the pricing set for N9 is  PKR. 52,000/- with 16GB and is now available in White color. The good part about colors is that now you don’t have to worry that much about scratches because even after the scratch the color will remain same as there is no paint job this time

Some of the key features for N9:

MeeGo OS v1.2 Harmattan – Linux based
Gorila Glass -  Anti-glare polarizer they say this glass is used in fighter copters
Weight only 135 gm
BuiltIN NFC now this was really cool, touch other device which is NFC enabled and there you go its paired and Henri said its also cross platform enable meaning doesn’t matter if other device is not Nokia the nfc technology will still work

Over all, its a good phone and I think one should buy. Pictures and Press Release below:

If you’re wealthy in Pakistan, there’s no better place to be. The perks rich people have here out-rival those of most other countries, unless you’re really kinda’ a big deal. But there’s a hierarchy system in place which is based on money, connections and gender which determines how many perks you will have living here, or how many handicaps you’ll have to learn to live with. Being a girl is a handicap more often than not, for a large fraction of the population, whether they realize it or not.

A few days ago, this blog by a Pakistani girl who thinks feminism is oppressive caused a tizz across the social networks. Apparently, said girl is quite offended at the many suggestions she’s received over the years that girls not only should, but must enter the workforce for their own well-being. (Here’s a complete and effective rebuttal to her argument.) Sure, no one can force you to work. But is it really such a terrible thing that people insist that you definitely better off if you do?

The blogger, Paras, is an advocate of “adequate” rights for women but thinks the “current feminists talk more than that”, which is a problem. What are “adequate” rights? The right to not get killed? Or not have your face melted off by acid? Or not have your nose cut off or your head shaved by a paranoid husband who questions your every move? Yeesh. I even did a post a while back about Pakistanis who are so used to settling for less than they deserve that they don’t even realize what they’re missing.

She says, “According to some of my feminist friends, women who are educated “must” work, rather than they “should” work. My question is: what favor are you doing to the woman (specifically) and a human in general by brain washing her to work rather than letting her take care of her house and bring up her children?”

Alrighty, Paras. Here’s what happens when you go directly from depending on your father to depending on your husband for food, shelter and clothing. He could turn out to be an angry turtle like the guy depicted in Humsafar. If he’s a TOTAL tool, he could even kick you out of the house and onto the street just ’cause he feels like it. Or he could go and marry again, with or without informing you. And then you’ll be expected to live out your life without complaint because that’s what good girls do. So keep your “adequate” rights and I’ll demand mine in full.

Angry Turtle

When you are a political party hoping to attract a large following, Social Media is perhaps the best way to achieve this. After all, it’s so easy. All you have to do is equip a few willing youngsters with computers, a twitter account and basic knowledge of the English language and you’re all set to take over the Pakistani Social Media world by storm.

Or so you think.

What if you begin to attract all the wrong kinds of followers?

What if those followers are abusive, ignorant and downright stupid?

What if you’re valuable supporters begin threatening and abusing anyone and everyone who says anything remotely critical to your party?

What if a large majority of these followers have no idea “how” you will bring “change” when asked?

What if these loyal supporters lack the capacity for a logical argument?

What if people start to hate your party not so much because of who you are but because of how your supporters treat them?

What if your ratings with the actual voter bank begin to fall?

Scary,eh?

That is exactly what has happened to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). If you ask any Pakistani on Twitter (those with no political loyalties) what the most annoying phenomenon on social networks is right now, an overwhelming majority will answer “Abusive and ignorant PTI supporters.”

With 129,976 (and growing) followers on Twitters, 193,624 likes on Facebook, PTI is perhaps the country’s largest political party in Social Media Land. Heck, they even have their own line of branded revolutionary T-Shirts.

Of course they still haven’t beaten Pervez Musharraf who towers over them with 435,513 likes on his Facebook page. But that’s another story for another time.

PTI is, undoubtedly, one of the best examples of a Pakistani political party dominating Social Media so completely. There has been no other party with such success when it comes to engaging people on SM platforms.

However, PTI is also an example of how NOT to do SM in Pakistan.

With so much power, comes great responsibility. PTI’s young supporters, its most important and powerful tool, are backfiring. I’ve witnessed threats and abuse from PTI trolls to people on my Twitter timeline; rude and disgusting comments on Facebook pages; personal and sexual attacks on YouTube; all this from PTI supporters who claim their “hero” is faultless and thus consider it almost blasphemous to criticize him.

Reasoning and logic have no place in the world of these blind supporters and most people just end up hating the party more than the ignorant supporters.

What went wrong?

So what exactly happened? How did this whole social thing get out of control?

A tweet from PTI account about abuse

Social Media is not just a few kids with a Twitter and Facebook account. Handled incorrectly and without a plan, Social Media can be your greatest enemy. You cannot jump into Social Media expecting that things will automatically streamline themselves and endow you with Lady Gaga-like powers. From the beginning of PTI’s SM campaign, there is no sign of any strategy or plan. First mistake.

Because there is no SM strategy, there is also no code of conduct for its campaigners and supporters. People are free to say what they like and to whom they like. Second mistake.

There has been no public reprimand from the party leader despite increasing concerns over PTI supporters’ behaviour. The leader is, in most cases, the person supporters follow through both verbal and non-verbal communication. When a leader uses rude language and takes cheap shots at opposing individuals, is it any surprise that the supporters will follow? Third mistake.

Perhaps, my friend Anthony Permal puts it best, “ Far from even having a knee-jerk reaction to any issues on SM, PTI instead defers to let trolls and supporters further exacerbate the situation, waiting for its demi-god IK to make a statement or make a decision.”

The fourth and last mistake was handing over the SM management over to biased and unqualified people. In the Pakistani context, the mind of an average politically motivated person cannot take criticism. Endowing such a person with the power to control your SM campaign is actually a dumb thing to do. Again, I’ll quote Anthony since I think he said it better,

“The person responsible or in charge of your SM campaign internally (PTI member) NEEDS to be a person who has considerable experience in consumer marketing and /or PR management. If you want to win this war, hire the most experienced soldiers, right?”

There is still time for PTI to mend what has been broken by poor decisions and unplanned campaigns. Otherwise, the party’s most powerful support might just become the reason for its downfall.

Disclaimer: This is in no way a political post. It is meant to be a short case study of wrong Social Media use in politics.

I hope you guys are into Twitter and other social networks these days. If you are, you might already be aware of the face that Twitter received a major update today for both Android and iPhone and it brought significant changes to the application. The iPhone version has been brought up to the version 4.0 [...]

In little over a week since officially entering Mexico’s 2012 Presidential contest, the campaign of the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) Enrique Peña Nieto already finds itself in full damage control following an embarrassing performance by the candidate during the presentation of his new book and disparaging comments made by the candidate’s teenage daughter.

While speaking at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, Peña Nieto was asked to name three books that have shaped or informed his life. The Presidential candidate began by citing the Bible (while qualifying that he hasn’t read all of it “just parts”) and then proceeded to name partial titles of other books and mistaking the names of their authors. The three minute-long fumble (and accompanying stream of laughter from the crowd) would not of been as remarkable had it not been for the governor’s carefully guarded public image and reputation for being a polished and articulate politician.

The gaffe risks adding to perceptions that the candidate lacks depth and is simply the product of the country’s old guard and media duopoly (longtime supporters of Peña Nieto’s candidacy). Peña Nieto’s floundering also became an instant source for comedy on social networks, with twitter users offering book recommendations for the candidate under the hashtag #LibreriaPeñaNieto.

Further damage to Peña Nieto’s candidacy was added by his daughter, Paulina Peña Nieto Pretelini, who came to her father’s defense by re-tweeting a message from her boyfriend:

“Greetings to all of the idiots that form part of the proletariat and only criticize those they envy”

The tweet prompted an immediate closing of the adolescent’s twitter account and a public apology by her father (delivered via social networks of course). Apology withstanding, the damage by the young woman’s tweet had already been made. The classist overtones of the tweet revived feelings of elitism associated with the party (and people) who held Mexico’s presidency for an uninterrupted 71 years, and highlighted the country’s longstanding class divisions.

Peña Nieto’s long-held advantage in public opinion polls represents the PRI’s best shot at recapturing the office that it lost in the 2000 Presidential elections. The party’s popularity is an astonishing accomplishment for a group once synonymous with the corruption and authoritarianism of Mexico’s one-party rule. Peña Nieto’s fresh image and celebrity lifestyle (he is married to former soap-star Angelica Rivera) has for the most part succeeded in rebranding his party as one of youth, idealism, and competence. The elitism that Paulina Peña Nieto’s tweet projected is exactly the type of depiction that the party has worked to disassociate itself with.

While the candidate still holds a comfortable advantage over all likely opponents, his recent mistakes demonstrate Peña Nieto’s vulnerability to unscripted events and spaces not curated by the country’s media barons. Errors aside, Peña Nieto is sure to recover from this week’s mistakes and likely to maintain his lead in national polls.