Dubai was one of the 175 cities around the world to organize the Twestival on 12 February 2009. Nearly 150 Tweeters gathered at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi’s fab Barasti Bar for the Dubai Twestival @DubaiTwestival.

Dubai PR agency Spot On @spotonpr estimates that out of the 1,500 Twitter users in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), over 500 are based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Currently, UAE has the fastest growing Twitter audience in the region with over 20% per month. Considering that Twitter was banned in UAE till August 2008, these numbers are quite impressive.

With not more than 15 active Tweeters based out from Oman, we couldn’t have a Twestival in Muscat, so I decided to join the Twestival crowd at Dubai. Even more exciting for me was the fact that I drove down from Muscat to Dubai and back (my first time ever) – a distance of 800km.

The ride was exciting and before I left I was like I need to take something special for the Twitterati in Dubai. I first thought about postcards that capture Oman’s beautiful imagery, but then I hit upon a better idea.

If you live in Oman, you would have definitely tasted ‘Chips Oman’ which is one of the most popular snacks in this country. It’s like staple food out here along with Mountain Dew. So I took bags of Chips Oman crisps across the border, because they stand for Oman (a chips brand named after a country is just yummy!). You might take a look at the Chips Oman page on Facebook as well.

Yes, so I made it to Barasti with bags of chips in hand. It was great meeting a lot of interesting tweeps at Dubai. There was a clear sense of camaraderie that goes with being a part of a small community. And it’s a community that will go stronger and get better over time.

I particularly enjoyed meeting @PKGulati, @Renroon, @divine_dee, @kangayayaroo, @umarpirzada, @ MaliZomg, @Lhjunkie, @mayG_UTP, @mnystedt, @DaddyBird, @skinnylatte, @esperanca, @DrBaher, @dxbluey @Carringtonm & many others. I didn’t get to say hello to a lot of people & I’m hoping to connect with more at the next outing.

I missed out on my Dubai Twestival Official Tee (actually left it on the couch & found it missing by the time I remembered) – that was a disappointment considering it would have made a lovely souvenir for my trip.

Many, many thanks to the organizers of the Dubai Twestival who made it all happen. It’s no small task to put up an event of this magnitude – and the outcome was simply splendid.

Another highlight of my Dubai trip was getting to meet David Koopmans from Melbourne @koopmans but that is fodder for another post! Tweet on, people…

News on Dubai Twestival (very extensively covered in local media):

• Khaleej Times
• The National-1
• The National-2
• Gulf News

Snaps from Dubai Twestival:

• ITP
• Time Out Dubai
• Ahlan Live
• Dr. Baher
• Silviu Bojica

Pics credit @bojicas

Little Einsteins Cake for Zoe, originally uploaded by Gracescakes.

Hope you have a wonderful year & the best of everything. And, looking forward to seeing you soon on Twitter
God bless you!

5 O’Clock, originally uploaded by surlygrrrl [ELBfoto].

When Steve Woodruff asked me to host the ‘Five in the Morning Series’ out of Oman, I had no hesitation to jump in the bandwagon.

Actually, running the series from here is a breeze. (Because 5am EST in the US is 2pm in Oman).

I’m going to use this opportunity to turn the spotlight on a couple of bloggers out of the Arabian Gulf region. They don’t educate us on social media per se, but they ‘live social media’ on their blogs by telling the world about the good, bad and ugly in their societies. No holds barred. Plus, isn’t it great to turn the mirror on a part of the world that is so less understood by the whole wide web of the world out there?

So without much ado, let’s get the show going.

Oman:
The Muscatis (Muscati and his spouse Um Faisal which means ‘mother of Faisal’) publish interesting ramblings, musings and outbursts from the land called ‘Oh-man!’ on their blog.

Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Jeans written by Ahmed Al-Omran aims to provide news, commentary, and personal views on political and social issues in Saudi Arabia, with a special focus on freedom of expression, human rights and women’s rights.

Bahrain:
Ammar aka Ammaro is a young blogger out of Bahrain who works in the financial services industry and keeps things kicking in the Pearl Island.

Kuwait:
Two forty eight am (The B-sides) is a blog by Mark and Nat, a married Lebanese couple who are living in Kuwait. Mark works in Advertising while Nat works in TV. Both keep Kuwait on the blogging radar.

United Arab Emirates:
The blog Dubai Media Observer offers a critical view of the media industry in the UAE. If you were looking for a blog that serves you a bit of intrigue, dollops of adventure and lots of controversy, I’d lead you to Secret Dubai Diary. To top it all, Life in Dubai is a great blog written by an Australian expat with thoughts and comments on how it is to live in a city of superlatives.

Big hat-tip to Amjad for leading me to some of these blogs. Thank you Steve for this great opportunity to have a go at ‘Five in the Morning’.

Subscribe: Arun Rajagopal’s blog / Steve Woodruff’s StickyFigure blog
Follow us on Twitter: Arun Rajagopal / Steve Woodruff

Muscat Festival 2009-10, originally uploaded by arunmct.

In March 2007, an enterprising guy from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA set out to see the world. Not before selling his thriving business and home, putting his belongings into storage and spending some time with his folks before getting on the road.

For over 2 years, Gary Arndt has been traveling and blogging around the world armed with his laptop, camera and iPhone. On last count, he has visited over 50 countries. A few weeks ago, Gary was in Oman and I had the pleasure of hanging out with him.

As someone with a deep interest in travel, I found Gary’s accounts of his journeys highly fascinating and very insightful.

A visit to his travel blog Everything-Everywhere.com is more than a descriptive account of the places and people a nomadic traveler encounters. It’s a perceptive mirror of history, cultures, societies, quirky foibles, extraordinary experiences and the captivating minutiae of life across the globe.

Gary is not on a mission to change the world with his travels. There is no cause to support or an agenda to push. There’s no poring over a guidebook and attempting to recreate an experience. Off-the beaten path is more like it.

He does not make detailed plans before visiting a destination. He does not know when he will get back home. He is not perturbed that his cash will run out. He will probably not know which city will be next on his itinerary. He digs World Heritage Sites a lot. He enjoys meeting people in the places he travels to. He has been to those teeny-weeny islands in the Pacific that are probably unknown to many.

Gary plans to write a book on his travels. It will be beyond a travelogue that recounts ‘I went here. I saw this. I did that’. A chapter in the book will be on monarchs that will offer a fascinating perspective of rulers around the world. One could be on the history of Marshall Islands. Speaking engagements are also in the pipeline. His amazing collection of travel photographs could fetch him moolah.

Here are a couple of interesting thoughts that Gary left behind.

He believes that a year of international travel is as good as four years of a university education.

He says that a recession is the best time to travel around the world. Why would you want to work harder to make a living when all the economic forces are against you? You would rather go on a ‘sleep mode’ and then on a ‘refresh drive’ around the world.

He believes that the skills you learn from traveling stand in good stead when it comes to work or life.

He says that ‘cleanliness’ and ‘quality of highways’ are the best indicators of how developed a nation can be. He rates Muscat if not the best, among the best cities in the world.

He chronicled the saga of the Musandam Ferry on his blog. (Here’s another account on Muscati’s blog). Gary ran from pillar to post trying to find information on the ferry. His experience on how essential information on a service that is meant for tourists is not easily available to them should be an eye-opener for decision-makers who want to attract tourists to Oman. Change is on its way. The National Ferry Company has just launched a website with the info. Hat tip to Sangeetha at the Digital Oman blog.

His ride from Nizwa to Muscat is a fascinating testimonial of the outstanding hospitality shown by the people of this country. If you are a foreigner wary of the Middle East, Gary’s experience will be a pleasant eye-opener.

If it were not for him, I would not have visited the ongoing Muscat Festival at Rose Garden, Qurum. It took the company of a tourist for me to go and experience the magic that is happening in my own backyard.

The Muscat Festival was a great opportunity for me to observe firsthand the amazing heritage and culture of this country, something I thought I already knew because I have lived here for 16 odd years. How wrong I was. A blog post on it is in the works.

People like him are the best brand ambassadors Oman can ever ask for. A few months from now, he might sit in a remote corner of the world and regale the locals there of how his arrival in Oman coincided with the country’s famous Gulf Cup victory. Hundreds of readers of his blog will learn about the Musandam Ferry fiasco. His book might feature an anecdote on his Nizwa ride and sharing lamb meat sticks with a stranger’ experience.

I wish Gary happy travels. Do follow his journeys on his blog. If his experiences motivate you to see more of the world yourself or make you look out more from your little shell, I’d say go for it.

Gary was profiled by ‘The Week’ during his visit to Oman. Read the story by Sujit Kumar.

Yesterday, national brand mark of the Sultanate of Oman was unveiled. This logo is an initiative from the Oman Brand Management Unit (OBMU).

Firstly, why is the need for Oman to go into national branding?

It’s important to project a favorable image of the country, especially after understanding how the country is presently viewed within its borders and overseas. There’s a heightened interest about Oman globally, considering its unique tourism appeal and its relative resilience in the current economic situation.

In the words of His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, who heads OBMU:

“We’re a relatively small country and generally little known.”

“Now is the time to identify what unique qualities Oman has to offer and balance this with what consumers actually want from us.

“Understand our compelling truth and look at what we have — natural resources, beauty, minerals, culture, infrastructure, education, technology — and then match these deliverables to what is really wanted from a global audience.

Here’s an explanation of the logo mark on Times of Oman.

From what I have seen of the Oman Air corporate rebranding exercise last year, I know that whenever a new logo is unveiled, you have two sides of opinion. Some like it. Some don’t.

A lot of local people do not get that the logo mark is calligraphy that reads ‘OMAN’. (I just did a small dipstick survey). People get it when I tell them it is calligraphy and ask them to read for a word. The hues are very refreshing. However, it’s only when you read the rationale that you understand the mighty burdens resting on the humble logo. Some have said the colors are similar to those in the logos of Oman Oil Marketing Co., Nawras and Renaissance Services in Oman. Read some comments in Sangeetha Sridhar’s post in the Digital Oman blog.

My point is: there’s no going back to the drawing board. From now on, it’s about how effectively you get the message across different touch points about what Oman means as an international brand.

This is the current OMAN logo that is used by the country’s Ministry of Tourism, mostly used for promoting destination Oman. It’s likely the new ‘Brand Oman’ logo will take its place. How do both the logos compare?

Also, the new Brand Oman logo will not only be used to promote the tourism aspect of Oman, but also the national, international, commercial, industrial, economic, cultural, sports facets of the nation. I expect this logo to be present on any banner to do with Oman with a national or international purview… from summits, events, activities, campaigns, tournaments, festivals… you get the big picture.

It’s very disheartening that the Brand Oman website is not up and running. Please note that it’s www.brandoman.om and NOT www.brandoman.com.

In this age of social media, there’s no better medium that digital to reach out your message in a more compelling and conversational manner. I will recommend a URL that does not have ‘brand’ in it. To an end user, the word brand does not mean anything i.e. convey a positive, impressionable attitude. It’s more about ‘OMAN’ than the ‘BRAND’.

Try this: www.brandoman.om vs. www.amazingoman.om or just www.oman.om

Assuming you haven’t visited the website, which URL gives you a better image of the country?

A new print campaign has appeared in the local newspapers unveiling the logo with a message ‘Our universities are our legacy’. It’s too early to comment before knowing how it will unfold.

The challenge in the coming days is how interestingly OBMU will tell the story of Oman to the world. How various communication activities pertaining to Oman that happen across diverse touch points will be synergized to convey a single message, both locally and internationally? How will you bring in the voices of the amazing mix of people that make up this country?

All the best, ‘Brand Oman’!

Unleashed Small Business Marketing Photo, originally uploaded by storyspinn.

A couple of days ago, good friend Mack Collier celebrated his birthday. An acclaimed social media consultant, trainer and speaker, Mack is the man behind ‘The Viral Garden’, an influential marketing/social media blog.

His blog features a weekly ranking of the Top 25 Marketing & Social Media Blogs and also a useful Company Blog Checkup series. His motto is “Don’t focus on the tools, focus on the connections that the tools help facilitate.”

‘The Viral Garden’ is a must-read if you are a social media newbie or a brand looking to carve a space in social media or an accomplished marketer looking for voices of reason in the age of conversation. It’s a great testimony of Mack’s short yet highly impressive journey in social media waters.

Personally, what I like most about Mack is his very endearing nature, his passion to focus on human connections and the way he puts across his message in very simple and direct terms.

As a dedication to Mack on his now very belated birthday, here’s a pick of some of my favorite posts from his blog. I must confess that I was not a regular reader of ‘The Viral Garden’ back in the days, but today I had a great opportunity to go through his great work.

1. Both social media evangelists & traditional marketers have to shed the ‘only I know my stuff better’ stereotypes and learn to work together.

2. Don’t focus on using social media to ‘create’ community, focus on using social media as a way to connect with your customers and join them in THEIR space.

3. Social media is NOT a marketing channel; it is a TWO-WAY communication channel. It helps enable trust between a brand and its consumers.

4. How can you bring more value to the world of social media?

5. New to Twitter? How to transform your Twitter experience.

6. A flyswatter case study on how to have fun with your marketing.

7. How to market like a rockstar. Another post on how marketing can be a fun process.

8. 10 ways to excite your blog readers. Another one here has more tips to grow your blog’s audience.

9. How to grow your social media audience. Do you target the ‘A-listers’ or you follow the ‘smart peeps’? Lots of great comments in this post.

10. This is one of my favorites where Mack tells us not to ‘overthink’ social media and to remove your ‘perfect filter’. I suffer from the same disease to get the right posts and am considering Mack’s advice to get over the bend this year.

11. Some very sane advice to companies who are thinking about engaging bloggers and social media influencers.

Hope you enjoyed ‘The Best of Mack Collier’.

Many years ago, when I was a budding rail-fan, I was fascinated with being a railway guard on Indian Railways. I was so enamored with how the gentleman in white at the rear of the train would lean out of his cab, sound his shrill whistle in a high pitch and gently wave his green flag to let the train move. And as the train picked up speed, his waving of the flag would feverishly increase in its intensity till the train would disappear from your sight.

Years passed and my interest turned into locomotives and their drivers (called Loco Pilots in Indian Railways parlance). Specifically Assistant Loco Pilots who perform inspection of the loco, check signals, and wave the green flag in sync with the Guard at the rear, as the Loco Pilot sounds the horn and takes the train out of the station.

The entire action of a train starting from a station is one of my biggest rail-fanning moments. For a rail-fan like me, those are moments of great anticipation.

Sometimes there is a crew change. The few minutes when the old set of crew interacts with the fresh crew taking out the train are exciting. If there is a loco change, you can bet that there will be a crowd watching to see the loco getting coupled to the train.

Occasionally, you will see a very faithful loco driver pray at the control stand before taking out his ride. Some Assistant Loco Pilots carry waste paper in their hands as they do their loco check. None of them wear a uniform in the place where I come from.

Almost all of them eagerly await the signal of the guard before they start waving their flags. No Loco Pilot sounds the horn till they get a ‘right’ from the Guard. It doesn’t matter even if the starter (signal) is right (green). The Guard’s gotta say ‘aye’.

Sometimes, the train moves as a family makes a last bid effort to the board the train. If the Assistant Loco Pilot spots that he asks his chief to go a bit easy on the wheel.

And I almost forgot about the locos, depending on the type of loco, be it a Diesel (WDM2, WDM3D) or Electric (WAP4, WAM4, WAP1), they all come with different horns, different looks and different take-off actions, which makes each experience different.

A few weeks ago, I created a set of videos capturing the starting of trains at Ernakulam Junction, a major railway station in Kerala. These 12 videos feature probably everything I shared about my biggest rail-fanning moments. I was plain lucky to have the same vantage point for every video, a great place to watch these amazing locos take off. They may all look the same to many. But a true rail-fan will find each journey a different beginning.

Enjoy your videos!

With Connie Reece, originally uploaded by arunmct.

Have an amazing day, Connie! Hope you have the most wonderful year ever – with lots of joy, peace, good health and prosperity.

P.S. You rock.

The Coast is Always Changing, originally uploaded by Luka Skracic.

On Guy Kawasaki’s post ‘Signs of the Times’, Tanya Chadwick hits the nail on the head with her sage comment on how one should deal with these changing times.

“For me and mine, it just means do more of what we are already doing… Work hard/er, live right, treat others as you would expect to be treated, save more, grow what you can and keep on living each day to the fullest.”

This is what I am doing this year. What about you?

Jump on the social media bandwagon, originally uploaded by Matt Hamm.

From 14-18 December 2008, I will be a part of The New Media Event in Dubai, the first and the biggest ever event devoted to social media in this part of the world.

Held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dubai, The New Media Event features over 20 leading experts from Middle East and around the world who will help attendees understand the growing power of new media in corporate world and identify the key social media tools, challenges, issues and trends that brands and organizations in the region need to be familiar with.

On 15 December 2008, I will be doing a keynote on corporate blogging with Rajiv Ahuja from Muscat who writes the only corporate blog from Oman – Khimji Ramdas Bright Sparks.

Our presentation ‘Getting On The Corporate Blogging Bandwagon’ will attempt to answer the following questions:

• Should you be on the corporate blogging bandwagon?
• What are the lessons to learn and the pitfalls to avoid?
• How to get more value from your corporate blogging endeavors?

A part of our presentation will focus on Rajiv Ahuja sharing his learnings and experience from Khimji Ramdas Bright Sparks, the first corporate blogging initiative from Oman.

If you are attending the event, I look forward to meeting you there and I hope that you derive excellent value from the splendid lineup of presentations and workshops that are focused on ‘you getting social media right’.

I will live-blog about the event so that those of you with an interest in social media in the region but cannot make it to the event can also stay updated.

I think it is an exciting time for social media to take off in the region, with fears of a recession widespread in Dubai and more marketers interested in using social media to create more interactive conversations and effective relationships with their customers.

Based in the Sultanate of Oman, I have seen that interest in social media has been spiking recently especially in the corporate sector. Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM), the Muscat-based national ICT park recently organized a Digital Nation Seminar on Blogging on 10 November 2008. This was followed by a couple of stories in local media especially on blogging. (The Week article Blogging Goes Corporate quotes me and Rajiv Ahuja.)

Beginning next year, my effort is to help organize a forum like BarCamp in Muscat so that we can help popularize and familiarize social media among followers. It’s also a long-standing promise I have made to social media guru Connie Reece who is based in Austin.

My perception is that a lot of people in the Middle East know the social media tools, but are yet to get the big picture, the big idea of social media by using the tools in an effective way that delivers value.

I think primary concerns are:

1. Is social media just a fad I can live without?
2. I have my corporate website, isn’t that enough?
3. What do I say and how do I say it?
4. What will social media do for me?
5. What are the metrics that will measure success?
6. Will I lose control of the conversation?
7. Is there a business model behind blogging?
8. How much money will I make from my corporate blog?
9. How will get various stakeholders to buy into my social media engagement?
10. The fear of the unknown

These are natural concerns and I would recommend that you address them head on. It is by participating in events such as these that you will get the answers to these questions and learn the ropes of social media.

This is my first ever speaking gig and I will go into the event with the message that you can make a mark in social media if you LISTEN, OBSERVE, LEARN, BE HUMAN and TRY TO GIVE VALUE. Like my good friend and marketing champ CK says, social media is an exercise in getting the basics right!

It’s my pleasure to join the following speakers at The New Media Event in Dubai.

1. Debbie Weil, Author, The Corporate Blogging Book
2. Robin Hamman, Head of Social Media, Headshift (Former Head of Blogging, BBC)
3. Marta Kagan, Director of Marketing, Viximo.com
4. Philippe Borremans, Marketing Director, Blackline / Former Media Lead, IBM
5. Mohamed El Fatatry, Founder, Muxlim.com
6. Angel Gambino, Former Global VP Music & Content, BEBO
7. Dan Healy, CEO, Real-Opinions
8. Magnus Nystedt, Founder, emiratesmac.com
9. Omar F. Koudsi, President & Co-founder, jeeran.com
10. David Skul, CEO, Relativity
11. Steve Vaile, Founder & CEO, H2O Media
12. Rama Chakaki, Chief Operations Officer, H2O Media
13. Scott Monty, Head of Social Media, Ford
14. Rajiv Ahuja, Head, Corporate Communications, Khimji Ramdas
15. Bobby Kakar, Head of Marketing – Direct Channels, HSBC
16. Mohamed Nanabhay, Head of New Media, Al Jazeera
17. Jonathan Woodier, Director Corporate Communications EMEA Global Consumer Group, Citi Group
18. Philippe Deltenre, Media Strategist, Microsoft
19. Duane Nickull, Senior Technological Evangelist ADOBE & Host, Duane’s World TV
20. Ammar Bakkar, Head of New Media, MBC Group
21. Catherine Captain, VP Marketing, msnbc.com

More on the The New Media Event to follow. Stay tuned, folks!