We are a nation of consumers
If we really wanted to be remarkable in our lives, we would choose to take an alternate, less-trodden, hard path away from this cycle.
If we really wanted to be remarkable in our lives, we would choose to take an alternate, less-trodden, hard path away from this cycle.
" />If we really wanted to be remarkable in our lives, we would choose to take an alternate, less-trodden, hard path away from this cycle.
When a 19th century romantic French writer by the name of Victor Hugo said “Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come” he obviously could not envision Pakistani bureaucracy. Not only can it reduce an idea to nothing more than its meager skeletal remains squirming in its own vile, it too often does.
Come 2004, the IT bubble is about to burst in a military run, democratic, American influenced politically independent subcontinent country by the name of Pakistan. It is here in our story that along comes an idea. It is a simple idea yet revolutionary in every way, the idea to prepare this country for the…
Read more →The past whole week I was really excited about going to the exhibition on 5th and 6th at expo center Lahore since the theme read “home expo and super car expo”. I was counting on seeing some innovative home solutions, fancy cars and a lot of appliances for both. As I entered the arena, an ear piercing heavy bike engine race greeted me. Oh wow nice, we have bikes here too… and lots of them, but let’s see if we have the actual products that are expected.
First cars!! Honda Launched its new City Aspire at the event. This attracted a lot of young crowd who wanted to check it…
Read more →NOTE: This is a sponsored post
Football. The most popular sport in the world. That may be hard to believe, we being a die-hard cricket nation, but there are many amongst us who get their blood pumping whenever our favorite team kicks some balls (pun intended). There’s excitement in the air, and the airwaves for that matter, when Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are about to have a face-off on the field. Manchester United or Chelsea? The answer could incite either jeers or cheers, depending on who you’re surrounded by. It feels like you belong to an exclusive club really, not to mention how convenient it is to…
Read more →There are two main things that are currently causing out growth in ICT to stall. One is the lack of original ideas, so most of the entrepreneurs either copy what is already around internationally or locally (same ideas of online shopping, online bidding) we still have not hit the jackpot with someone creating some thing like instagram or drawsomething and being acquired by one of the big names.
The second issue always lamented by entrepreneurs is lack of any funding sources in Pakistan. Over the years we have seen efforts being made to create funds which would help but what ended happening that most of these funds either did…
Read more →We all know about the 7 layers of the OSI model. This is the framework by which computer networks are defined. Starting with the physical layer, going through the transport layer and finally culminating in the application layer where end user applications reside. I believe that this should be redefined to include and additional layer – the Social Layer. From the current vantage point, the Social Layer lies right above the Application layer – hence it is served by the Application layer.
The 90s witnessed a boom in what is now referred to as web 1.0. This consisted of static applications hosted over the web. Static applications meant that…
Read more →Pakistani IT industry has been progressing rapidly over the last few years. It is heartening to see that the industry players are innovating and working in different areas to establish their expertise.
Recently, TenPearls, one of the leading IT companies of Pakistan, launched “Carumba!”, a 3D car racing game for iPhone and iPad. Carumba! has been designed and developed by TenPearls’ innovation labs. Launched as a free game, Carumba! allows users to earn coins during the race, and redeem them to unlock other cars and tracks or to get additional nitro boosts. It has also been integrated with Apple’s Game Center.
The game has received very good response from…
Read more →‘Rethinking Pakistan’ [and my expression goes LOL and I will explain why] was the theme of the conference which took place at margalla hills Islamabad on March 31st 2011 organized by TEDx, lets just summarize here what TEDx is; before we further dig into the “theme” and happenings of this conference.
TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) and ’x’ denotes the independently organized events under the TED umbrella, mission is “Ideas worth spreading” and this events basically brings together individuals, communities and organizations with the opportunity to excite dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level (geographically). The programs combine live presenters, performers and pre-recorded talks from some of the most brilliant…
Read more →ICT R&D Fund aims to provide graduating students a chance to really make their final projects counts. I have always felt that students in their final year some times product excellent products which due to lack of any infrastructure and proper guidance plus funding just go in the Universities Libraries.
Seems ICT R & D fund is giving these students a chance to take their projects to the next level by acquiring funding, if you are a final year student doing a project all you need is to get this form filled and submitted through your head of department .
Last date for submission for forms is 31st…
I wanted to discuss the Thiel Fellowship and sort of run the idea among our readership to figure out if it was justified or not. Bay Area hedge fund manager Peter Thiel started a Fellowship program in his name about a year ago trying to capitalize not on start ups, but the smart kids who may actually come up with the next billion dollar idea.
Let there be no mistake. Innovation solves problems. Bankers, lawyers and hot shot executives are good for only one thing: managing an existing infrastructure. It is the innovators who turn existing ideas on to their heads and enable breakthroughs. Considering the point above, it…
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11:27 am
Great find Osama. I think we should take an alternate path away from this cycle even if we DON’T care about how remarkable we are, as this lifestyle is an insult to our intelligence
I stopped watching TV totally 6 years ago for the very reason. The internet is good enough for information, and DVDs are all you need for the same kind of entertainment that TV gives you – minus the ads.
These days, I’m trying to teach my son about how McDonalds was fooling my generation by giving them toys with Happy Meal (TM) and making their experience at their play place a happy one, so that when they grow up, they’ll head to McDs with their kids because they used to have a happy time there when THEY were kids and so on. This is standard stuff Marketing 101 stuff, but it is still painful to see this consumer culture thrust upon us like that.
My son now grasps the idea that ads are made to fool and force us into buying stuff so that the manufacturers can make profit – for a 5 year old. We need to undo all that brainwashing, and make sure it is not passed on to the next generations.
11:45 am
“Fool and force us?” C’mon…. stereotyping ALL people and corporations into being evil consumers is a bit ignorant in my opinion. I hardly think getting a toy with a Happy Meal should be outlawed immediately. Marketing can be used for evil, but it can be used for good aspects as well. Most importantly, YOU are the one that needs to make the CHOICE when you see an ad. The ad doesn’t make the choice for you.
2:20 pm
I never said that ALL people and corporations are evil consumers… its the corporations that are evil and the people/consumers that are the victims of that evil
Of course I have to stereotype and exaggerate in order to get the point through to a 5 year old! That’s the only way! Isn’t that the way Cartoon Network ads have brainwashed them to think? …that ALL kids who eat a certain chewing gum can fly/turn into super-heros etc. etc.?
I never said a Happy Meal should be OUTLAWED, but when all a kid knows is that a happy meal gets them a toy, that is what he’ll NAG me for, and then, I can either buy him one and make him … happy … or I can NOT buy it for him and instead, try to explain it to him why I’m making that CHOICE. Guess what’s easier to do? Guess what is part of the curriculum in most marketing courses?
Yes, the ad doesn’t make the choice for me – because I don’t let it influence my decisions… but can I stop the neurons inside the brain of my child from making countless unnecessary circuits when he is exposed to a zillion ads per day?
If I had the choice, would I deliberately show him a few hundred ads per day so that he may make “informed decisions” about things he does not need but WANTS to purchase?
This is precisely what kids are being exposed to… training them as the next generation of consumers.
Sure, like guns, marketing can be used for both evil and good.
http://www.newdream.org/kids/facts.php
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1701833
2:21 pm
Wait, wait, wait, you mean the gum that I chew doesn’t make me into a super hero??? Tell me it isn’t so!!!
In all seriousness, I apologize if my comments were viewed as an attack, as I didn’t mean it that way. You definitely bring up some great points–thank you!