Goodbye Dubai - Hello Singapore

This is my last week at Ketchum Raad Middle East. It was a great ride and I made many great friends and lasting professional contacts both from the client side, from partners and from the agency. We're headed to Singapore where I'll be starting my new job in June. Can't wait for this next adventure. 

Ketchum Kingdom Board Game - I must say that I've played and won this game. (This was originally designed for our Agency of the Year presentation for the MEPRA Awards)

R.I.P. Rattlesnake in Dubai

The Rattlesnake is gone!

The ultimate bar bill  from Dubai. 

Trillium Days

Just thought I would post some music here from the good old days of the late 1990's. That's when four young gentlemen from Ottawa, Canada came together to play many live rock n' roll shows and record a few tracks.

For a melancholic few hours, I recently uploaded much of the finished music that Trillium (the band I used to sing in) had made. Please feel free to listen, comment and because it is licensed under Creative Commons, you can also take it, remix it, and let it live all over again. (just give us some credit).

Loosing Track by iamjamieread

Styrofoam by iamjamieread

Track 7 - Untitled by iamjamieread

Track 4 - In This Machine by iamjamieread

You can check out the rest of our music from Trillium's '97 Self Titled Demo and from '98 full length 'Looks Easy from Here'.

Move, Learn, Eat... Live

I am writing this from New York, where I've been for more than a week now, so it might sound a little bit contradictory of me to say that I miss traveling. While I love New York and am really enjoying working and playing here, when I talk about traveling, I mean the kind of traveling where each day I am confronted with 360 degrees of options and experiences, where the question 'what next?' is both a riddle I am trying to solve and a challenge to the universe. NYC is great but it isn't mysterious to me. I understand and fit in quite well here.

When I say I miss traveling, I mean that I miss the feeling I used to get when I traversed Asia with no real direction. Each moment taught me something about the world and myself, filling my lungs, my stomach, my head and my heart with all the emotion and knowledge I could handle. Living in the Middle East has given much of that but I am growing comfortable with it now.

The following three videos were created by three guys in 44 days, across 11 countries, who then created these 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.

All I can say is that they made me miss traveling...


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Where do we go from here?

I know I'm a bit late to the game with my own thoughts on what's happening in the Middle East. Colleagues have already made their analysis of Social Media's role in the revolutions. It goes without saying that Social Media was a huge enabling factor that allowed the youth in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, now Syria and many more countries to voice their opinions, collect and share their plight with the world. Aside from the political changes that are sure to come to the region, I'm also interested in how digital communication technologies are going to evolve as the masses are now exposed to its power. Below are some thoughts I've recently shared with clients who have asked my opinion. I put them down here now to the community to debate, refute, whatever.

While each country has had different catalysts for their protests and revolutions, a common element has been social media and particularly three main characteristics of it:

- Spatiality, by how it facilitates groups to organize and form both in the Real World and virtually across borders – Many Arabs live outside of their countries, but through SM were able to be part of the revolutions

- Real-Time sharing of multimedia (particularly through mobile)

- How Social Media has created further intellectual disparity between generations and social classes. The old regimes vs. the youth. Those with access vs. the poor. 

What does this mean for the growth of social media in the region?

The last point is a fairly natural occurrence. As older generations cling to ideals and power obtained in their youth, new generations often will challenge this through self expression on new mediums. Think about Elvis and his funny little pelvic dance in the 60's. From here on in, older generations who chose or cannot understand social media will be left out of the conversation and won't be able to have much impact. However, the same is true for the unfortunate people who have little money and/or education. Social media has become more accessable and being adopted by more people outside the upper and middle class, however, this will cause further alienation of those people who cannot participate in the online revolution.

These recent political activities have built a lot of credibility for the medium in the eyes of the engaged youth. For most, the internet, social media and related digital communications was seen as something only enjoyed by middle class youth with good educations. Now it is beginning to be adopted by a larger population and has moved into the mainstream. 

Will it affect the commercial evolution of the internet in the Middle East?

• Mostly Social Media still remains a platform to share and voice political and/or personal opinions. Commercially, social media is still very young in this region. Only the last 6 months have we begun seeing online shopping and group buying in the Middle East, for example, but these are in the UAE and Lebanon, which have a much higher digital literacy rate. 

• Also, it’s been only recently that we’ve seen very hip, young brands engage directly with their customers and influencers. Brands in general are seen differently in this part of the world and there is not a lot of openness for direct engagement with large corporations. People are skeptical about the true intentions of companies and issues such as privacy are always a concern. 

• Lifestyle brands that target subculture for youth are starting to be more daring though and we will see this year a lot more interaction with brands through digital platforms in the Middle East. 

• Small businesses run by young entrepreneurs also do well, particularly because they understand how to approach SM in a way that doesn’t put people off. For large multinationals, there is an opportunity to provide expertise and resources to help rebuild these countries and social media is an effective way to reach out to the population.

What is next?

I predict a few things will happen before we see more commercialization of Social Media.

• First, young politically savvy youth will begin to vie for representation in the new governments. The most successful ones will take advantage of the recently expanded online population to drive public sentiment. 
• The ones who understand how to engage and use social media will be successful in building popularity. Similar to how Obama did, this will help grow adoption further in order for citizens to stay up to speed and participate in the changes to their political landscape.
• Because it has become more mainstream and understood by a larger majority of the population, when the political situation calms, social media will begin to become more of a commercial platform as people start to use it to research then buy through online channels.People will be recommending which TV to buy instead of which corrupt government official to overthrow. At least we can hope. 

What's your take? How will social media evolve in the Middle East from this point on? 

KPop is taking over the world

Over at In Yeon, I've been blogging a lot about KPop, also known as Korean Pop. There are a few reasons for this that I would like to explain. Not that I feel I need to explain, but I'm gonna explain it anyway.

Firstly, KPop is taking over the world... Seriously! I blogged about how every morning at 10am when I check Twitter, some kind of Korean pop band, actor or whatever is trending near the top. This is an indication of the appeal of Korean entertainment in the rest of Asia, especially South East Asia and its growing fan base pretty much everywhere else. It's even gotten to the point where sex scandals are becoming a regular thing.

Secondly, and related to the first reason, now that Rory and I are married and back to our routine lives, we don't have a lot of stuff to blog about. Aside from keeping our friends and family updated on our wedding plans, customs and pics, the blog also was a way to share the unique culture of Korea, current news and some of the quirky things that we feel make it great. So we decided to focus on this area a lot more and are beginning to look at interesting fashion trends, current events, food, culture and entertainment. Kpop is 99% of the entertainment industry so it makes sense that there will be a lot of posts on this.

Lastly, I kinda like some of the music. Maybe it is the cute little dances or the girls or what, but there are some catchy tunes. I don't love it but I've always been into watching bands and music trends and prided myself on identifying the next big thing. Trust me, Kpop is coming!

So that's it really. In case you thought our blog was taken over by a 15 year old Malaysian girl, I hope that this post explains things a bit.

In Korea, 'tis the season to make threats

So over at our other blog In Yeon, we have a post about Christmas in South Korea and its growing popularity as Christianity as well as consumer and pop cultures begin to bloom. Korea really is a nice place during Christmas. They do all the lights, the weather is chilly and often snowy. People exchange gifts and it still isn't overdone like in the West.

However, this year, there is a different purpose for the lights and cheer... Propaganda! South Korea have erected a giant Christmas tree at the border with North Korea, likely in a bid to piss them off following recent months of posturing related to the North's sinking of a battle ship and shelling of a South Korean island. 

I personally think it is funny that Christmas lights can inflict such damage to a regime's psyche.

Merry Christmas I guess.

Photos from our Korean wedding ceremony

I've finally posted the pictures and given some details about the many ceremonies involved in our traditional Korean wedding over at our blog In Yeon. I really wish I could go back to that moment. It was such a great experience. Thanks to everyone who was able to be there. For those of you who couldn't be there, maybe this post will help you feel like you were :)

Let me know if you have any comments or questions at all.

WAR.... What is it good for?

Sometimes I hate that I come from Canada. We don't know war or hardship or have such a strong sense of patriotism that we get all fiery when someone speaks ill of our Prime Minister. People don't even know our Prime Minister.

That's why I have a hard time understanding the emotions that my wife Rory feels when she heard about North Korea firing on a South Korean island off their Western shore. Every move by the army, politicians, global leaders has been met with a terrible anticipation that this might be the moment Koreans have been expecting for 50 years. This might be the continuation of the Korean War (because the war never officially ended).

I love my country but I don't know how I would react if Alaska shelled Yellow Knife and two soldiers died. It would be unexpected and sad but soldiers die, it's in the job description. I don't know. Anyway, I would see it as an isolated incident as it isn't a situation that's been brewing for generations.

I feel bad for my Korean family who don't know what will happen next. I pray they are well and that this mess ends and that North Korea gets their shit together and we can go back to trying to fix the Palestinian-Israeli-Iranian-Syrian mess, which, naturally seems more complicated.

See my blogpost on the Korean mess on www.roryandjamie.com.

itlnatianle letarissiye daiey

cnsid ring mi naem es jmai READ, wntied te de sundine fer leterussy deaye. THIS as miye balog psot!

Sadly, that is exactly what the world looks like for the 776 million people who can't read - over 90% of whom are in Asia and Africa and 2/3 of whom are female.

September 8th is International Literacy Day, a day recognized worldwide and officially supported by UNESCO and the United Nations.

Literacy has the power to lift families out of poverty in one generation and change the fate of entire communities, particularly in the developing world. Let's make this International Literacy Day really mean something and help more people learn to read.

Today, September 8, Room to Read and Twitter will be circulating a tweet that has been made "illiterate" - symbolizing how every sentence looks to so many people. Share the tweet with your followers and through the tweet, they'll be directed back to Twitter's Hope 140 website (Hope140.org) where they will be able to learn more about what they can do to help.

Go spread words!

How does culture affect genetics

I'm Canadian of European descent. My wife is Korean. And according to a new groundbreaking study, the 'difference between European American and Korean customs is so powerful that it shapes the expression of biology: A genetic profile linked to empathy and sociability yields two very different behavioral outcomes, depending on the culture.'

The study was published Aug. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and it deals primarily with one specific gene that is known for its relationship to the human characteristic of social bonding. Wired has a good breakdown of what the study is all about.

Particularly interesting to me is that the study compares Korea's culture of privacy to the more open societies of North America, where people talk about their problems all the time to anyone that pretends to listen. European Americans with this gene trait were more likely to seek help from friends and family when they were in emotional turmoil. The same gene trait, when found in Koreans, did the opposite. People were less likely to seek help but instead kept their emotions to themselves. Except Korean Americans had similar reactions to European Americans.

The scientists now believe that this gene causes people to be more attuned to their cultural surroundings.

But I don't make that association. From early on in our relationship, my wife has made a clear distinction between Korean's born and raised in Korea and Koreans born and raised abroad, even if they are 100% from Korean ancestry. She, and most of her society, don't consider foreign-born Koreans as 'true Koreans' not because of their biology but because of the way they act, the way they think.

For me, this shows that blood and biology are irrelevant and that culture and the psycho-graphic nature of societies is what makes one's disposition to be more open to their current society. Genes that are expressed more or less in the same way can't be concluded to be the only influence on human behavior. There are reasons why Koreans don't share their private problems with others that go back through thousands of years of war and hardship, customs and formality. And though we are becoming more open in the West about our emotions and talking about our feelings, there are still aspects of our culture that are quite closed. I'm thinking about the Catholic church communities I used to belong to where we were so careful not to be judged. 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the importance of this study and I would welcome any thoughts. I just don't buy it.

Wedding Studio Photos

Since running our wedding blog, I've been really bad to update this one. I don't know if anyone's noticed but in my heart there is sadness...

But one thing that lifts my spirit is the thought that we have finally received our studio photos that we did before the wedding. Please check them out and tell us which ones you like best. In the mean time, I will try to do some more blogging over on this side.

Seoul Mystery Food

Want to know what I'm eating? Check out our latest post on Korean street food over at Rory and my wedding blog, In Yeon.

Famous Koreans marrying on the same day as us!

 

So it turns out that Jang Dong Gun & Ko So Young, two of Korea's most famous actors are getting married. This is big news for their fans and for most Asians around the world who know who these two people are. I personally don't know them and have never even heard of them. However, they have decided to get married on the same date as us so we are now mortal enemies (just kidding). Read about it over on our wedding blog, In Yeon. 

Top 5 things that Jang Dong Gun & Ko So Young have in common with Jamie and Rory:

1) The female in the relationship is Korean

2) We are getting married on the same day in the same city in the same area

3) They are marrying in the hotel where my dad is staying

4) They are a good looking couple ;)

5) They are an extremely, super, rediculously good looking couple!

Feel free to make your own comparisons or debunk some in our Top 5 list. 

Korean Wedding Planning

 

New post on In Yeon - our wedding blog about our recent trip to Korea and some of the wedding planning details. I found it very interesting since I don't know anything about traditional Korean wedding or about wedding planning in general. 

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today is the Korean Lunar New Year so we posted about it over on our wedding blog. It is the year of the white tiger, which only comes around every 60 years. This is extremely good luck and we are so happy that we will be married this year. Feel free to post a comment about what good luck you expect in 2010.

http://www.roryandjamie.com/happy-korean-lunar-new-year/

Search Party: When Google Goes Social!

There is a lot of anticipation for Google's announcement tomorrow of some sort of social media service. Techmeme's money is on a Twitter-Killer type application that will integrate with the GChat interface, as eplained by The Business Insider. The Wall Street Journal pitts them against Facebook. And a good post at Scobleizer explains why Google could outdo all social networks, even the obscure ethnocentric ones that have a lot of innovative features.

But do we really need more? To be honest, I would be happier with some sort of social media integration into the Google search results. The world of search is shifting to the live-stream but isn't there also value in the reverse by allowing people to comment and share search results? Already we have social ranking and comment systems in Google search (see pic) and of course Digg, Stumbleupon and similar but could we not take it a bit further? What if comments made on the post/article could also be expanded into the Google search? I'm sure there are a million other great examples of how search can be improved by social media elements. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

I personally don't need another social network. I have my big, public soap box platforms and a few niche hobbyist ones as well. Any more and I will start to explode. Whatever Google comes out with tomorrow, I will be interested and will try and hopefully it will integrate well with stuff I'm already doing. Maybe it will stick and add value to my life. I just don't think it will be killing Twitter or Facebook anytime soon.

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Meet the parents (Korean version)

Rory and I were recently in Korea to meet her parents, eat lots of strange foods and plan for our wedding in May. It was a great trip and we will be sharing the details over at our wedding blog. We've also uploaded all our photos. Check them out!

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Our New Wedding Blog: In Yeon

In Yeon 인연, means 'fated' or 'destined' in Korean and that's why we've chosen it as the name of our newly designed blog: www.roryandjamie.com. We've moved all of our content over from our Wordpress blog and are in the process of automatically redirecting traffic from that site to our new one.

Please check it out and let us know what you think. There is a new photos section where we will be putting pics from our trips and events. Also, we've updated the hotel information section for those of you who plan to come in May.