With my firm belief that this coffee community can grow into something useful online I’m attending the  Dubai Digital Media Conference  here in Dubai hosted by the gang down at The Media Exchange. Investing my time, if you will to see what is coming next in the world of social networking after some 2,700 posts and 58,000 comments here at coffee following the drama of us having all our flower smelling content stolen in the summer of 2009 where we nearly lost the lot and sadly lots of regulars along the way. This radio interview on Dubai eye was key to us getting it all back and re-inventing ourselves – as one does in life!

With technology moving on at a rapid rate of knots and as we move from web 2.0 to web 3.0 user generated content is expected to grow. I enjoyed the presentation by Rob Proctor of London based reality digital who gave us a glimpse into the future of online media and a sniff of things to come.

The reality of GO! Smell the coffee is we are a clique forum of varying personalities that post from time to time, comment, adopt various personas in some cases and go from there – we could be so much more!

The following is taken from the reality digital website that made me stop & think:

People naturally associate with groups and communities with similar hobbies and interests. Social media on the Web has created countless niche communities revolving around focused points of interest. Whether it’s seeking parenting advice or showing off their latest car modification, online communities of interest are creating highly-targeted verticals for people’s passions. Reality Digital provides social media solutions to businesses that cater to online niche communities that promote and inspire entire groups of artists, enthusiasts, critics and fans. With UGC capabilities rich in video, images and more to share, as well as social networking tools like blogs, forums and chat to interact in, Reality Digital enables these businesses to build passionate social media communities that thrive.

With reality digitals help I’d like to create a virtual coffee shop  – that online place to get your ‘fix’ everyday within the world of inspiration, health, people, places, food and media and of course – COFFEE. The question is before more time n money is invested to you is what would you like to see here or isn’t it enough just to tweet and be on facebook?

Rob and his team in London have kindly agreed to look into the potential of what they see GO! Smell the coffee holding.

Comments welcomed – poking optional and do let me know your thoughts and any questions you may have regarding the Dubai Digital Media conference, reality digital and the future of GO! Smell the coffee……

Hi from Dubai  and Choooooo Chooooo to you.

The Dubai Metro officially opens today but the city’s commuters will have to wait another day before they can take a ride on the £4.5bn transport system.Its construction has been the emirate’s largest infrastructure project in more than a decade, and an army of overseas workers laboured day and night to meet the deadline as featured in this random slide show of how it all came together:

It is the world’s largest automated driverless train system – with just under 75km of magnetic track. The Metro will be able to carry up to 27,000 passengers in each direction every hour.

The carriages boast air conditioning, wi-fi and mobile phone reception while a gold class cabin with leather seats and plush pile carpets offers panoramic views at the front of the train.  Sadly mountain bikes & surfboards will be banned and I’m not aware yet if coffee will be allowed!

Most commuters only care about its congestion-beating ability as this place was bumper to bumper before the economic crash. The ambitious project has had to defend a budget spike of 75% – with the estimated cost rising from an estimated $5 bn to about $9 bn.  The Road and Transport Authority also announced that only 10 of the Metro’s 29 stations would be opened and we’ll have to wait unil March 2010 before the benefits of the system really kick in.

While Cairo and Tehran already have metro systems, Dubai’s network is the region’s first mass transport system in more than a decade. It ensures Dubai’s ambition to be the Middle East’s number one metropolis remains on track but is it sustainable considering the current economic climate?

So all aboard here for comments as the Dubai public transport system gets one step closer to reality. Mind the gap and share your view on public transport right here!

What was the last concert you went to? They really help put things into perpsective.

It’s been ages and I’m looking forward to seeing Keane play at the wonderful Madinet . Afterall, everybody is changing:

Comments welcomed and I’ll save you a seat! Cheers and enjoy the show.

Following Jim’s recent post with an interesting definitition of Emirates airlines I wanted to share my recent experience here at GO! Smell the flowers.

Emirates, you see, are bringing the fun back to flying. Strategically headquartered in Dubai and, therefore, a perfect gateway to Africa, India, Asia, Europe, and now North and South America, Emirates is definitely the way to fly.
When approaching the airport in Dubai, you may not detect that you are pulling up to an airport terminal. A Skycap wielding golden baggage carts, along with a team of people, opens your limousine door, which is included in your airfare if you are traveling in business or first class and personally escorts you to a special check-in counter.

There are no lines at security and no lines at immigration because of their special fast-track service, and this is just the beginning of how Emirates takes the experience of flying to a whole new realm. You then take an elevator to the Emirates lounge – a lounge that can only be described as luxurious; no bottles of water and little bags of snack crackers here……..

Read the rest of this entry »

Summertime in Dubai and 40 degrees C is the norm. I’m taking a sabbatical from anything alcoholic for a couple of months and haven’t had any cravings as yet:

I find I sleep better on a booze free body and as cask ale isn’t readily available here there is far less temptation.

I do miss THINGS THAT  ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN  DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3.  Proliferation
4. Cinnamon

THINGS THAT  ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN  DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2.  Anti-constitutionalistically
3. Passive-aggressive  disorder
4. Transubstantiate

THINGS THAT  ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY  WHEN DRUNK:
1. No thanks, I’m engaged.
2. Nope, no more booze for me!
3.  Sorry, but you’re not really my  type.
4.  No thanks, I’m not hungry.
5.  Good evening, officer. Isn’t it lovely out  tonight?
6. Oh, I couldn’t!  No one wants to  hear me sing karaoke.
7. I’m not interested in  fighting you.
8. Thank you, but I won’t make any  attempt to dance, I have no coordination.  I’d hate  to look like a fool!
9. Where is the nearest  bathroom?  I refuse to pee in this parking lot or  on the side of the road.
10. I must be going home  now, as I have to work in the  morning

The joy of booze – feel free to share your ‘fors and against’ of alcohol’ and difficult to say words in comments. Share them here as the garden needs watering and please comment moderately!

What are you like with heights? How about a 818 metres high view at least two Empire State buildings high as Burj Dubai is on track for completion! Monument, jewel, icon as the website says!

Thanks to Uncle Cryil for sending this breathtaking clip to GSTF – just don’t look down!

Would you  make it to the top of the tower and what is the nearest icon to where you live? Do tell…….

Hi from Dubai – my heart skipped a beat as I glided through the predatoresque H1N1 detector at Abu Dhabi airport. I glanced across and resisted the temptation to do the ‘Tales of the unexpected’ dance, possibly semi-naked:

Neighbouring Qatar has just announced the first two cases with a Canadian Doctor the first up here in the Emirates.

A true pandemic or a conspiracy theory to glance us away from the credit cruch and I wonder what effect this has had on global travel?

Do tell, tales of the unexpected dance optional – does swine flu worry YOU?

Hi from Dubai folks!

Got a spare 7 minutes? How about learning how Islam will overwhelm Christendom unless Christians recognize the demographic realities, begin reproducing again, and share the gospel with Muslims.

Word is by 2025 one third of all European births will be Muslim as it becomes a Muslim continent.

Thoughts welcomed, wherever you are!

Does this really matter anyway as we’re all humans together, right?

Sam in Dubai from my first post here at GO! Smell the flowers and I need to get something off my chest immediately!

Jumeirah beach Dubai

I have nothing against expats coming to Dubai for a better life, earning more money and enjoy their life, but what really annoys me is the way these expat look at Dubai and the locals. Allow me to rant if I may:

First they think that they are doing a favour for Dubai Locals by coming here, they think they are coming here to develop this place from ‘nothing to everything’. Maybe it is the other way around?

Secondly they look at the locals with very upper class stereo type mind that they don’t know anything, they are a bunch of lazy people who don’t want to do anything and we should never give them a chance to do anything otherwise we will be jobless.

Third they think they are above the law, they can drive while they are drunk and kill people, they can have sex on the beach, they can wear anything they want even if that meant walking naked in the public road, they can borrow money from the banks and if they can’t pay for any reason they should be allowed to go home and the bank should write off the loans, they can also ignore traffic law and park infront of other peoples house in the Al Wasl area.

Failing that if they don’t ‘make it’ here  they often go squaking to all the international press to say how bad they were treated in Dubai, and there is no law, and so what they killed someone or they had sex on the beach.

This is Dubai and it should be normal, this is not UK or USA where we have to respect the law and not do such things. Go back 10 years to the case of the 2 british nurses who killed their australian colleague and stole her money from the ATM Machine, not only the british embassy in Saudi Arabia did their best to make the King release them, they went back to UK to write a lousy book about how they where mistreated in Saudi Arabia!

I guess they were expecting the integration to take place in 5 star hotel?

I feel better for writing that! Comments welcomed at my first post here in the garden! Thanks.

Hi from Dubai where a much needed wake up call has hit.

Those of you in the U.K may have watched Panorama recently that features the darker side of the Emirate:

Behind all the glitz lies poverty and turning a blind eye to what is, no matter how much you dress it up as slave labour as part 2 also shows:

This motivates me to stay in the region longer and help give the unsung foot soldiers of Dubai a voice as I tip-tap away on the novel I started back in 2005 when I felt something wasn’t quite right.

Comments welcomed!