1. Very excited about the Skype / Facebook integration. I heard about it a while ago but didn’t realize that the ‘integrated’ version is available for download.  (The full release details are available here.) I actually thought thought that the integration would be available seamlessly on FB (i.e. no upgrades download required – just sign in with you skype login on FB). Once I get it fired up (hopefully I will if my work computer is not totally locked down) I’ll post screen captures.

2. Bing incorporates Facebook ‘your friends like this’. Interesting news. I guess it’s still up in the air about who is going to own the ‘social webs’ but I think Facebook is winning. Seems like all of Googles initiatives in this area have not been super successful (i.e. Buzz, Wave, FriendConnect).  I wish I could buy some Facebook stock.

3. Looks like more and more Brands are getting into the location game. Actually, I’m really annoyed because of course being in Pakistan mean I have not really been able to try the whole ‘Facebook Places’ ‘Gowalla’ ‘Foursquares’ check-in thing. I wonder how successful this will be (in the future) in our local market. I know that some forward thinking business in Pakistan have actually been using Google Lattitude for business purposes – i.e. tracking the location of on the road salespeople / delivery people etc.  I think if would be interesting to use check-ins to monitor for field visits and collect real-time data.Two side notes though:

- I gotta get data on ‘data package’ penetration on mobile phones. I think providers like Telenor have recently pushed for it on the mid-level market (i.e. People who don’t have smart phones)

- I really gotta get rid of my BlackBerry. Almost of all my data communication is still locked down (Ok if SOMEONE can logically explain to me why is it locked down for blackberries and not other handsets I will bake them a cake). This mean no Facebook, no Twitter, no ‘on the go WordPress updates’, no google maps (which I really miss most of all), no Google mobile search (which is actually very useful and pretty accurate – even in Karachi).  So basically this device is totally useless for me.  I will probably go for an Android phone although sometimes I still get tempted by the iPhone.

A little insane – I know!!! I would like to think it was the typhoid that scrambled my brains but seriously forgetting my age is well something I’m not THAT surprised by. I found an internetty thing that tells you your age based on your dob. I am so happy!! I am 27 – not 28 like I’ve been telling people.I have not been so happy in a long time.

Hollywood has its genres – romantic comedy, action – but indian movies have just one style BOLLYWOOD. Okay, I might sound like I’m being a downer but actually the movies coming out now are bollywood are great. The cinematography is really amazing both in terms of location, set and in interesting editing techniques. The music is, as always, great.We also demand a lot out of the bollywood plot line – we want to love, laugh, CRY, feel passion, hate and it should end with us feeling happy and satisfied with the emotional journey when we leave the cinema.Anyways, My Name is Khan delivers on all of the above and its a good satisfying cathartic movie. I LOVE Kajol. She is such an amazing actress and even though I find Shahruh Khan such a loveable actor he just isn’t even on the same leauge as her.Probably the only bad thing is that Kajol is so good she should be in serious movies. And that’s one thing that can’t happen in a Bollywood movie – you just can’t get too serious. You can’t have characters that are ambigious, multiple view point or a really a complex analysis of a situation.Or at least not yet. But eventually Bollywood movie watching audiences will get more savvy and sophisticated and demand even more.I’m eating a Haneefia burger now with cottage cheese. So excited!

- Ad copy

- Community project Mostly it seems like its being used for brands as a marketing tool / viral / we are so hip and cutting edge tool.Here are some things I’m will think about regarding crowd sourcing as I drive home tonight:

- What are the key elements that actually make people interested in participating in this? For me personally, I’ve experimented with ConceptFeedback. I guess I like giving my feedback because I feel I know something about effective design. Yet as someone who doesn’t design myself; there isn’t a whole lot to keep me coming back to the site.

Sunset

Went to Sandspit beach this weekend and was lucky enough to be there for turtle egg laying season. We saw TWO turtles coming up from the ocean (those cuties are NOT as slow as you would think for a turtle and are really big) and we say them dig their hole and start laying the eggs.The local peeps who protect the turtles told us to keep away from the turtles until they start laying their eggs (otherwise they get afraid and run away aborting the turtle babies for the year).  Once they started laying their eggs we got closer to take a look. It was amazing – right under their back legs is a surprisingly deep hole which had over two dozen eggs.Apparently each turtle will lay between 100 – 120 eggs. Once the turtles lay the eggs and go back to the sea the local peeps dig them up and move them to fenced off location where they are safe from predators like dogs and of course humans. We either saw the Green Sea Turtle or the Olive Ridley Turtle. My bet is that it was the Green Sea Turtle which as supposed to be big ’cause these guys sure were. (I also kept referring to said turtles as guys, even though they are clearly the opposite.)We also got to see some of the baby turtles that had already hatches (they were probably a couple of weeks old) and released them into the ocean. Pretty cool!

More Turtles on the Beach - Photo Credit Danish Ghazi

Turtles laying eggs - Photo Credit goes to Sami