As the year draws to a close there has been time for much festive cheer but it is also a time for reflection. Think of this post as kind of like a flash-back episode on a TV show.

In the spirit of this I decided to put together a list of the top 10 posts from this blog as chosen by you, the readers. In order to do this I have used some background web stats on number of views as well average time people spent each blog post. So without further ado here it is! Enjoy!

1. The 7 Chakras of TweetZen - A fun piece on the emerging existence of Twitter Spirituality (in my humble opinion!). I have a fair few retweets on this one so I will take that as good karma!
   
2. Lost in Social Media Mayhem - The world of social media can be tricky and confusing but there is light at the end of the tunnel!
3. 10 Unemployment Survival Strategies - Over the last year there are many that have experienced unemployment and this is a very challenging time for the soul.
   
4. Google and Microsoft Take Potshots At Each Other - Online business world has been compare to the 'wild west' and this is certainly not and understatement
5. Bada Bing - Nothing to do with Microsoft search engine but something I wrote at the beginning of the year about my love of the TV show The Sopranos. It is a surprise entry in this list.
6. Postcard from Palestine - A fantastic post from Ben Khanna about his experiences in the holy land
7. Arabian Nights.... Dubai Style - Dubai is city I never forgot when I visited it. If you are going yourself give this a read for sure. It includes a video of our expedition through the desert.
8. Is It A Case Of To Little To Late For Mr Murdoch - The way consume news and share information is changing with Internet. Murdoch wants to charge for online news content. We will see in 2010 how successful this is.
9. Has Notting Hill Carnival Lost It? - This is written by guest blogger Nadia Auckburally on how she thinks London's Notting Hill Carnival may be losing the original Carnival spirit.
   
10. Asperger's Syndrome/Autism - Disability or Special Ability - A piece on differing perspectives on Asperger's and Autism. This is especially poignant with the Gary McKinnon case and his possible extradition to the US.

The festive season would not be the same without christmas trees brimming with decorations, paper party hats that keep falling off, cheeky mistletoe, presents with big bows on them, and a turkey so big you will be living off the leftovers for weeks afterwards! Add to this the wonder that is Christmas cracker humour and you will feel you have had the full festive experience.

It is amazing because even though they are so bad they always seem to put a smile on your face! For your Christmas cheer I have specially selected a couple of my favourite 'bad' Christmas cracker jokes... I warn you though I am not sure some of them have punchlines!

1. Father Christmas lost his umbrella but he didn't get wet! Why not?
   Because it wasn't raining!
2. How do Snowman travel around?
   By riding an icicle
3. What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?
   A Christmas Quacker!
4. Why didn't the skeleton go to the Christmas party?
   Because he had no-body to go with
   
5. Knock Knock.
   Who's there?
   Mary.
   Mary who?
   Mary Christmas!
6. What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
   It's Christmas, Eve!
7. How do you make an idiot laugh on Boxing Day?
   Tell him a joke on Christmas Eve
8. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
   Frostbite
9. What do angry mice send each other at Christmas?
   Cross mouse cards
10. Who hides in a bakery at Christmas?
    A mince spy

Have a great Xmas! Keep shining! :)

From the outset this blog is about shining light on the issues of the moment and one of these is the subject of bullying.

A lot of people have faced this whether it was at school, work or now online. Often bullies are individuals who have some shortfall or insecurity about themselves and want to take this out on someone else. Social media sites have given bullies another way to do this.

This may take the form of a relentless campaign of intimidation by the bully. Some of the behaviour and may be direct whereas some of the behaviour may be undermining behaviour. It can be difficult to deal with a bully if you share a workplace or university course with them. The key thing to remember is they are trying to make you feel bad for their own insecurities and mishaps that have happened in the past. They are often cowards who probably need a hug from mummy!

It is not your fault that they have had a rough ride and you should not be made a scape-goat for the fact that they cannot take responsibility for what has happened in their own life.

If you have a special talent too you will encounter the 'haters'. These are people who feel they have missed out and are jealous of the fact you are doing well. They may mock your talent and try and make you feel ashamed of it but do not let them. It is not your fault they cannot do what you can do or are not smart enough. Build yourself up, invest in your talent and screw the playa haters.

The best way to be bully/hater proof is to first of be proud of who you are no matter what and create a network of likeminded people who you trust and value you for what you do. Wherever possible give the bully absolutely no attention (as this is what the bully ultimately desires). Make sure you get advice from others and do not bottle things up inside. Some people find it productive to write things down. You could even take up boxing or Martial art and give the bullies a run for their money like on MTV's Bully Beatdown! The internet is also a place where you can find information and meet others in the same situation as you.

Whatever happens.......Stay Strong And Keep Shining! You might think you are alone but you are not the only one. Take 'em down champ!! It's your time! ;)

It has been no secret that the internet culture of sharing information and news content has been an increasingly large thorn in the side of large news corporations. However, media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, feels he has the answer and can reverse slumping revenue by charging for news content.

Strangely enough the only reason I heard about this story was because I was following the Guardian on Twitter. I then did a Google News search to find more about the story. I cannot think of a better way of illustrating the problem that large old media corporations are facing at this moment in time.

In a video interview on YouTube, the media mogul Murdoch discusses how 'everyone has been asleep' and how the content should never have been free in the first place. He then went on to accuse the likes of Google and Microsoft of stealing his stories. To me it seems like the last frenzied scrap by a dying autocratic media business model. He seems to place little or no value on the fact that such companies are directing potential customers to his news websites. They simply act as indexers or portals that lead users to the content and are not responsible for the content itself. It is centralised media corporations which have been asleep not everyone else.

If they were awake they would have realised that there is a fundamental shift taking place in the media landscape. It is now evolving to a more distributed decentralised two-way model of sharing news and information. It is not a case that one corporation can take charge and own the stories. The story is no longer static content at a point in time but a dynamically evolving entity of which we are all part of and can all have our voices heard. The value of this human connectedness and sharing goes way beyond profit margins of large old autocratic media corporations. However, a new business model will soon evolve out the ashes of the old media world. I doubt it will be what we expect. The internet is funny like that.

What is more is that people have already had a taste of this new evolution and will not give it up. At the end of the day corporations like Murdoch's provide a service for customers and in order to do this effectively they need listen to what customers want and value instead of being 'asleep'. It is no longer the case that they will have exclusivity to impose a rigid view of the world on its audiences. I am not sure those audiences are not even theirs any more - they are more mine and yours. This audience exclusivity is and will continue to be challenged by the new distributed online information sharing model.

By next year it may be difficult to find Murdoch news content in Google or Bing as he attempts to charge users for content. I am keen to see how this works out and if it is viable business model as all this may achieve is to further reduce his influence, audience and ultimately revenue.

We have seen it throughout history that empires rise and fall mostly due to inflexibilty and being unadaptable to changing environmental conditions.

I guess what I am trying to say can be summed up in one sentence or status update. Click here...

The high-profile relationship and recent divorce of Peter Andre and Katie Price (aka Jordan) has been the subject of much attention over the last few years. However, when all is said and done who wins in the end?

Since their 'chance' meeting on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here in 2004 we have had to endure the trials and tribulations from marriage to divorce.

I often wonder why people are so drawn to sensationalism like this as to me it seems like a mediocre plot from a soap opera. Whatever I think the Peter and Jordan story is big business for tabloids, gossip mags and other broadcast media (and of course PRs somewhere in the background). I always find it fascinating on how people get so obsessed about celebrity culture and want to know every gory detail. Everyone seems to have an opinion too as if they know all the facts inside-out and are some sort of Peter/Katie relationship expert.

It is sad that many that focus on this often neglect the real relationships around them. They also appear to have a very short memory. Peter Andre for instance was almost a complete nobody before that 2004 apart a couple of luck-lustre pop records where he took his shirt of quite a lot.

Then came a certain reality TV show and a relationship with Glamour model Jordan. He was suddenly thrust back into the limelight with relationship that then became a celebrity marriage in 2005. Jordan's love-life up until that point had been tumultuous to say the least. It included well-known footballers, and other celebrities. For the most part, however, Jordan has also been known for taking her top of quite a lot too.

The high profile relationship even lead to a TV show which featured the lifestyle of the glamourous couple with pseudo Posh and Becks style awe. Then was the divorce.... which of course lead to two separate TV shows in which both divorcees attempted to show to the world how much better they were doing than the other.

As most people know the recent divorce and pot-shot spats have become very messy. These are people who probably never heard the phrase 'Do not wash your dirty linen in public'. Add to this some children and it makes for a very volatile situation.

We have heard stories about relationship jealousy, and we have even been subject Jordan's past stories of rape. I wonder what their kids will think when they grow up and see what happened to them when they were young.

At the end of the day I ask who wins? It surely isn't the kids. Is it us who consume this information almost voyeuristically? Is it Peter Andre who is now trying to keep shirt on this time and launch a solo career as 'serious music artist'? Is it Katie Price who is desperately trying create a couple of other reasons to remember her by? Or is it the sensationalist media and other related businesses who fan the flames of an on-going drama for financial gain?

Chakra 1: The Truth changes - Stories and emotional states change quickly on Twitterspace like the wind and the tides. You may find it very beneficial to retain emotional detachment from the sensual barrage of tweets that appear in your awareness. We know from the wisdom of 'wiki' that ideas and truths may be altered by different entities from around spiritual cyberspace. What is true one minute may not be true the next. Whereas some truths may yet come to fruition when their hashtags or keywords become trending topics.

Chakra 2: Tweet the Karma - It is said that a journey of a 1000 followers starts with a single tweet. So begin as you mean to go along as for every cause there is an effect and for every action, a reaction. With each tweet try to follow along karmic lines of positive intention and benevolence. Pay attention to sending a tweet and its consequences as it is akin to firing an arrow from a bow. Once it has gone it may not be easily retrieved or undone (even with use of the delete tweet button).

Chakra 3: 'Flow like water, my friend' - These are the wise words of martial arts legend Bruce Lee who was around long before the world of Twitter. In spite of this his words are of great value and relevance even now. Twitterspace is a constantly evolving enitity so flow with it whilst keeping calmness and serenity in your heart.

Chakra 4: Meditate often - Meditation and contemplation on tweets by you and others may bring about new creativity and direction. It may help you connect with other tweeters who have a similar energy and can help you on your journey.

Chakra 5: Become detached from materialism - There are many who will try to blind you with the seductive tweets of materialism and ego. However, as it is written in the first Chakra; the truth changes so such tweets may only be temporary delights which soon vanish into Twitterspace.

Chakra 6: Follow your path - The path into Twitterspace is up to you and you alone. There may be distracting energies along the way but stay true to your essence and intention.

Chakra 7: Patience.... This last Chakra will be here soon. If this has been of use please retweet below and all will become clear....

As an enthusiast of all aspects spiritual it occured to me while sitting under a tree last week in Spain that Twitter could actually be used to understand Zen Philosophy.

I know this sounds a little crazy but anyone who has gone through their old status updates may understand. Isn't it weird to see what you were up to and thinking a week or month ago? Who were you talking to and what about? Normally we would forget a lot of this but if you are on Twitter you have a snapshot into your past reality.

It is also interesting to observe how much situations and emotions change. Much of Zen Philosophy is living in the present moment without attachments to opinions or judgements. On Twitter we see how circumstances evolve sometimes in unexpected directions. What is true at one moment is often not true a second later when some new information is available or our state changes.

All this happened anyway but with Twitter we can see this on a large scale with ourselves and other people. Is this useful? I think so as quite often we can get consumed in the emotion of the present moment. We may write a status update like .....'I am really pissed off!' On reading the same update the next day we may wonder why we were so pissed off and whether it was worth it...

It was just over a decade ago that I decided to, for the most part, throw in the towel with alternative rock, indie rock, etc for the life of blazing breakbeats and raw baselines of Drum'n'Bass.

From that moment on I have never looked back and observed an emerging music genre that now spans the globe while staying true to its initial sound. Drum'n'Bass is a style of music that you just cannot hold down no matter what. It is a genre which is able to incorporate many other styles of music into a sonic barage of fiery intensity. From old-school rave to reggae to hip hop to soul to rock nothing is out of bounds for Drum'n'Bass.

I remember at the end of the 90s in the UK many said Drum'n'Bass was dead and hailed in a new era of UK Garage. How wrong they were! The UK Garage scene has all but disappeared and Drum'n'Bass only continues to get stronger.

For me certainly it has been (and still is) the soundtrack to my life and I have evolved and grown with the scene over the last decade or so. The new producers along with house-hold names such as Grooverider, Fabio, Bukem, Blu Mar Ten and others never fail to surprise with wealth of new tunes that always push the boundaries. I still remember firm favourites like Goldie's 'Inner City Life' and Bukem's 'Music' but also embrace the continued quick evolution into the future. Artists like High Contrast, Sub Focus, Pendulum and Shy Fx have given the mainstream a taste of what Drum'n'Bass producers are capable of. DJs like Andy C continue to smash the clubs like they did ten years ago and how could I forget MCs like Skibadee, Stamina and DRS who always rock crowds with their lyrics.

People who wanted to label Drum'n'Bass as soley electronic music found it increasingly difficult with Roni Size and Reprazent's escapade into live Drum'n'Bass in 1997. It won them a Mercury music prize and inspired others to follow suit. Now we have live acts by Pendulum who again push things to the next level.

BBC's Radio 1 and 1Xtra host several Drum'n'Bass show including the Fabio and Grooverider show which has been an indispensible resource for latest tunes for over 10 years. With the growth of podcasting Drum'n'Bass has also turned its attention there. London Electricity's Hospital podcast has won awards and is consistent with its output of all styles of Drum'n'Bass. There also others such as the Lifted Music Podcast and the Drum'n'Bass Arena Podcast. There seems nothing that Drum'n'Bass people cannot do when they put their mind to it.

There are so many artists, DJs and MCs in scene right now that I rate I could even begin to list them here. They all share a passion for the scene and provide consistent good music whatever else is happening in other music scenes. I hope this will continue into the future. Also while Drum'n'Bass draws from many wordwide influences it is the only style of music that originates entirely from the UK (if you can think of any others let me know!). People in the UK should celebrate and value this more.

For my there seems to be a tune that suits every mood. I have stuck with Drum'n'Bass this far and look forward to another decade of smashing breakz, basslinez and rhythmz...

BIG UP D&B MASSIVE!

Brazil's DJ Marky feat. Stamina MC - LK

With the advancement of any new media many get swept up by it but there are always those who want to dampen the spirits and rain on people's parades.

I recently read a an article on USA Today about how Twitter haters see no point in Tweeting. It is nice that they are able to have their views discussed online and shared on social media. ;)

Apparently most of what is discussed on Twitter is pointless babble but hang on a minute.... most of what is discussed offline is pointless babble too! Sensationalist tabloid journalism and reality TV shows could also be seen as pointless gossip but people still like it. One of the arguments that keeps coming up over and over is that Twitter and social media are making people lose human contact.

I find it strange that many of the people who hold these views have never even bothered to go on Twitter and experience it for themselves. In spite of this they will quite happily give judgements on what society should or should not be doing based on little or no information. Maybe it is a case of sour grapes at not being invited to the party.

Far from limiting human contact social media actually gives people different ways of communicating with others across the world. Twitter has been a great way for people to organise meetings in person or Tweetups. Such meetings with diverse sets of people would not have been possible in the past.

Online tools are great for start up businesses on a budget who quickly want to make a name for themselves. They have also been successfully used to inform people of political issues from the Obama campaign to US Healthcare/NHS debate. I am not saying social media world is all rosey and there are issues to deal with, however, change is never easy. Social media should be looked as tool to facilitate and enhance human communication and not a limiting factor.

Whenever something new comes along there are always 'haters'. In Hiphop they are always talking 'dealing with playa haters' and this is no different. When something gets popular there always people who want to take shots and have rant about how bad life is. Just because these people do not understand something does not mean they should hate on it. If they want to actually do some research and come back some sound arguments then great. In the meantime they should not try and spoil it for everyone else who is benefiting from social media. It they don't like it they don't have to join but...

Don't Drink The Hatorade!

As many know on the net a US healthcare reform debate yesterday sparked shockwaves when they criticised our very own NHS. It was at yesterday afternoon I notice a flurry of NHS related tweets. Within a matter of hours the hashtag #welovetheNHS became a top trending topic on Twitter. The debate still continues on US blogs and now even Gordon Brown has joined the Twitter furore over the NHS.

While there are many who are debating the topic this post focuses on how the debate seems to have erupted at an incredible rate on the internet.

An issue like this really demonstrates how quickly opinions can be formed online and how it is shaping a healthcare debate on both sides of the pond. The massive response online has lead to the debate being covered in the conventional media TV, Radio and National newspapers. If anyone has any doubts about how powerful social media can be they should put them to bed now.

While the battle still rages on multiple media channels, I feel it can only be a positive that so many people are taking part and actively contributing to an important political issue.

It also shows that the way people get news and engage in debate is changing. It seems like if you turn your head for one second you might miss something. Then again I suppose you always do a search and catch up pretty quickly! In Online PR and Social Media Strategies we always look for an 'engagement factor' when implementing a campaign and with this particular online debate you could safely say that engagement was off the chart. The potential for an online debate like this to inform people and create better politics is incredible.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome my second guest poster, another good friend of mine Nadia Auckburally. Carnival time is almost upon us again in Notting Hill, London but Nadia questions whether it is still relevent and authentic to its roots? NiteGlow..

As Notting Hill Carnival quickly approaches us, I wonder to myself if this will be another year of disappointment for me? I say this as I feel the carnival is no longer authentic to its roots.

Carnival began in January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall as a response to the depressing state of race relations at the time; the UK's first widespread racial attacks (the Notting Hill race riots) had occurred the previous year. The carnival was a huge success, despite being held indoors. It first moved outside and was rescheduled to August in 1965. By 1976, the event had become definitely Caribbean in flavour. (Wikipedia)

The carnivals I have experienced in Trinidad & Tobago, Caribana in Toronto, Brooklyn and Miami have a mainly Soca presence to them. In fact Soca music has always been the cornerstone to all Caribbean carnivals. However, Notting Hill Carnival seems to have forgotten this. Since when do carnivals play homage to garage, hip hop, house, etc?

Other carnivals around the world have hundreds of organised floats blaring out music with masqueraders wearing costumes that have an impressive display of colours and creativity. You can watch the video below for a carnival in Trinidad.

All too often you only see the drips and drabs of parades and floats wondering along the streets of Notting Hill. I always feel like there is a lack of effort. Anyone who has experienced a real carnival will know what I am getting at here. This year London prepares once again to take on an estimated 1.5 million people during the bank holiday weekend August the 30th and 31st. I cannot help thinking what it would be like to have a full carnival parade like the ones in Trinidad or other parts of the world.

One of the other factors that disappoints me about the carnival is the substantial amount of crime and disorder which is always covered by the press. Some would feel is an unfair, negative and one sided view of carnival. Having said that there have been some serious violent incidents in the past and it is such a shame that a minority wants to start trouble. Carnival spirit is supposed about people coming together and having a good time.

This year the organisers have decided the procession will start earlier at 9.00am so that the judging of floats can be completed by 18.30pm and there will be more rigorous noise monitoring. All this is so that the police are able to control the crime throughout the day and riots at the end of the night! With so many measures in place I wonder if people will truly be able to relax and enjoy themselves.

I hope that somehow that Notting Hill Carnival can turn itself around for the sake of generations of people with Caribbean roots and all other cultures who come to enjoy the carnival.

As I write this Twitter has been shut down and Facebook is experiencing problems as Twitter users log on there instead. Social media world has been brought to a temporary stand-still and it is interesting to see what effect this is having online. This got me thinking on the world we are now moving into.

While people may criticise social media for 'dehumanising' our interaction I would argue it opens many doors for people across the world to communicate with each other in ways that we never could have dreamed of before. However, this assumes that people know and understand how to use these online tools properly and also understand the consequences of their actions.

Recently in the UK, we have heard about the new phenomenon of 'sexting' where people send each other naked photos of each other with no regard for the fact this may quite literally 'bite them on the ass' later on. Sour grapes and jealousy from ex-partners can be a potent force and can quite easily lead to compromising photos being shared online or posted on websites. The key thing is to remember that what happens in online world has repercussions in the offline world.

So powerful is this force that countries like Iran and China have are trying to impose strict limits on internet activity. Businesses are desperately trying to control and charge for access to certain parts of the web. However, the internet and the open source philosophy is not about 'walled-gardens' whether it is in business or between nations. It is about sharing information and ideas which crosses international boundaries, cultures, age, and social backgrounds and creating something new we can all benefit from.

For my part, I love the fact I can talk to people from all over the world and learn about them. The old order does not like change but then it never has looking back through history.

Much of the predjudice in the world stems from ignorance so having more information readily available is most likely a more positive than negative thing.

I guess what I am trying to say is simple: wE aRe hErE, wE aRe gLoBaL!

While many of us in Online PR and Media make a big noise about strategies and content we often forget the people who made this possible in the first place

Many people know of the Mark Zuckerbergs or Brin and Pages of this world, however, there are many unknown software/online tool developers who offer their expertise online for free or little cost. These people are largely forgotten when people in the media make a big noise. It is only right that their efforts be noticed and valued.

With the rise of social media we have seen the all sorts of online applications pop up performing a giant multitude of tasks. Facebook, for example, has a variety of third party applications which have been by designed by developers around the world. Its continued success is certainly in part dependent on external application developers.

In Twitter's case such external applications seem to be even more important. From your Tweetdecks, to your Hootsuites, to your Twininfluences, to your Tweetlaters all offer a free service (at least initially) for businesses and individuals. This is all thanks to some clever software developers and coders.

Much of this is born of the 'open source' philosophy where developers create software for convenience before profit and can be modified by any other developer to meet their own needs. The open-source software licence does credit the original author, however, the software can distributed or copied with no restriction. People around the world from different countries and cultures come together and collaborate on fantastic projects which lead to browsers like Firefox and operating systems like Ubuntu.

Inspite of the contribution of these developers are still often looked upon with ridicule and contempt by many for being 'sad geeks'. I had a friend that worked at a Tech agency a while back (which will remain nameless) and he was very surprised at the snobbery they exhibited for technology and their own clients some of which were software developers! Their lack of knowledge of IT/Online processes was astounding. Unfortunately, it seems that this kind of attitude is still quite prevalent from certain people in the media industry even though their future business will be reliant on these very same IT/Online processes.

It is very unfortunate that the developers do not get the kudos they deserve especially as people are currently trying to make money from these tools. Content is, of course, important but it would not be accessible without the creativity and expertise of developers.

Google's search engine dominance is a subject that has been discussed before on this blog in October of last year where I questioned whether the Google search engine was on the way out.

It has only been a matter of weeks since Microsoft's launch of its new search engine Bing. The new service was aimed to win some of the search engine market share which Google has dominated for so long. Recent weeks have seen Bing claim up to 15% of the market and it continues to further challenge Google.

Microsoft's challenge has not been unanswered as Google announced today that it would be launching it's own operating system in a direct challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the operating system market. It is possible that Windows may become a thing of the past if Microsoft do not up it's game. Its continued success will hinge upon Windows 7 which is due to be released later this year. However, Microsoft has had great difficulty in previous years with a very lack-lustre reaction to Vista. Microsoft even agreed a deal with some PC companies to ship new PCs with the older OS Windows XP. Vista has been viewed for the most part been viewed as clunky, cumbersome with some significant security flaws.

With the wide variety of Google Applications and products such as Maps, Gmail, Street View and the upcoming Wave would people be happy using a Google OS to? For my part I like to have a bit of variety in my life and would not like all of my IT tasks to be reliant on one company. On the other hand, Microsoft’s offerings have not been anywhere close and even the enthusiasm of Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer could not win me round. It is a real pain for people to keep having to learn how to use new systems and people favour what they are familiar with. This is the reason for people's and business' reliance on Microsoft. However, just because something is familiar does not mean it is the best product out there. Many people also go for an open source linux based operating system such as Ubuntu. Its open source nature means it free to use, distribute and modify if necessary. However, Linux operating systems have a reputation of being a little too techie for the average 'Joe' off the street.

The Google OS will have to be very easy-to-use if it is going to realistically challenge Windows and it will have to demonstrate clearly benefits on security and privacy issues. Google is a strong, well-recognised, trusted brand and this will give it a strong foundation.

There is also another OS that I have not mentioned and that is MAC OSX which comes with Apple's computers. As people have become very used to using iTunes and MAC the Apple OS looks like it is also coming to more prominence. While much of the focus is a showdown between Google and Microsoft a new OS will also affect Apple.

Who knows? What happens if another Search Engine or OS player comes on the market? How will these companies feel about splitting the market further? The IT/Online world is constantly evolving and anything is possible right now. Whatever happens Google, Microsoft, Apple and whoever else will have to integrate with each other to survive the fast-paced online world.

Having watched an amazing Wimbledon final yesterday I couldn't help feeling for Andy Roddick. Without Nadal in the draw this year this was Roddick's best chance for years to win the long sort-after Grand Slam.

He had already extinguished British hopes with the dismissal of Murray and certainly thought there was a chance against Federer given the Swissman's defeat to Nadal last year. It was a fantastic final and we had the pleasure of having a whole pub sofa to ourselves along with a couple of cheeky rums and cokes! :)

It was a very difficult match to watch as I was taking Roddick's side inspite of him beating Murray. I have always admired Roddick inspite of him not winning Wimbledon. His strong reportoire of shots and serve certainly put him in the running this year. If there was anyone who deserved to win a title it is him. He has come so close but with likes of Federer on the circuit windows of opportunity have become few and far between.

Andy must have fancied his chances this year when he went one set up but from there onwards it was up and down. However, Federer did look like he had had his feathers ruffled on many occasions.

Ultimately, there are many factors that determine who will win. There are little turning points within the match. Little unforced errors can have a large effect when they accumulate. After playing for over 3 hours physical fitness and resilience will come into play too. It was Andy who had the tough matches to get to the final so I thought that he would have more match resilience though he may have been more exhausted from them.

After four hours of a rollercoaster match Federer was too good and he showed what champions are made out of. I am sure his mate Gavin Rossdale (formally of the rock band band Bush) also agreed!  

Whether it is the #Iran Election or your local newspaper it is becoming clear that Social Networking is changing the way people interact. We are now more interconnected than ever but can this have a positive effect?

The internet has lead to an environment where information and stories are freely accessible and it is difficult for large inflexible corporations to control the information flow as they have been accustomed to in the past with conventional media.

Whether it is tips on how fix your car or how a Tokyo street looks like the information is now there at click of a button. Social media has created connections between people and events that never existed before. I hope that this will mean that people will come to understand each other a little better. For businesses it is a new opportunity to understand their market or create a communication structure. For individuals it is about discovering new information and talking to new people they would never had the opportunity to before.

Large Institutions are coming under closer scrutiny as a consequence, either direct or indirect, of social media and new technology. The policing of the G20 in London has widely been criticised as a consequence of footage from mobile phone cameras among other factors. Even the MPs expense fiasco shows that the Government is not immune from such scrutiny. Most recently the unfolding events in Iran have displayed the effectiveness of social media tools in exchanging information.

For charities and other social movements, it is now easier to communicate their message to large numbers of people on a more personal level. High profile campaigns such as Twestival have borne successful results.

There are some who will talk about the darker sides. It is true that there are extremist groups who will use these online tools as a way to recruit and organise themselves. Paedophiles and other deviants will use it to exchange illegal and obscene content.

There is a problem though as such groups generally rely on the fact that their members having a limited view and perception of the world which they control and is not subject to question. This is not the nature of the internet as everything is questioned and is constantly moving all the time.It may be much harder to sell lies to people especially when you are using the internet to do it.

Ultimately internet entities, be they individuals or businesses or even governments, should act authentically and with integrity if they want to succeed. If this is the case the positives effects will be massive and the negative ones neglible.

I hope that these new tools enable us to understand our humanity and get along a little better.

This post is by a guest poster and good friend of mine, Ben Khanna. It tells the story of his experiences in the West Bank Palestinian city of Hebron last year. Please read on..... NiteGlow


In late November last year I decided I needed a holiday... Palestine is perhaps not the first place for a winter break a lot of people would think of, but for me it was a great opportunity to see such a historically important and volatile area of the world first hand.

I was meeting Davina, a friend of mine currently based in Ramallah, and also Pauline, both of whom work for a French non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Palestine. I spent the next week travelling around different cities, meeting locals and other NGO workers, and hearing all they had to say.

One of the most memorable days was in the West Bank city of Hebron.
I was initially quite surprised by Hebron's appearance - wide streets and a bit of a Western feel. Hebron is the centre of finance for Palestine, my Lonely Planet guide informed me. Davina called her ex-colleague Omar, who came to meet us and then took us to a burger bar inside a proper US-style shopping mall. And there I was thinking no Palestinian dudes liked burgers.

We were then joined by Lubna (who had also worked with Davina and Omar at Relief International) for our stroll to and around the old town. Hebron started to look a lot more like the centre of Ramallah - bustling, busy. "Soon it will look like a ghost town" Lubna remarked. She wasn't wrong.

A minute later we approached an area that looked like it had been flattened to the ground. There were a number of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers loitering around including some on rooftops surrounded by barbed wire, with heavy duty guns slung around their necks. Pauline took a photo and was immediately rebuked by a soldier. The shop fronts nearby were almost completely deserted other than the very occasional Palestinian store that had somehow escaped expulsion.

Lubna pointed up a flight of steps in between two buildings to our right. This was where the Israeli settler territory now started, easily identified by the messy wall of twisted mesh fencing and the ubiquitous barbed wire. Lubna gave Pauline and me a bit of background/history... There are now around 600 Israeli settlers living in Hebron, with a whopping 2000 IDF soldiers based here to protect the "civilians". When the settlers moved to the old city, residents and shopkeepers were forcibly evicted and the IDF welded shut their homes and shops to stop them returning. Settlers then moved into upper floors of these buildings and any Palestinians seen below were habitually bombarded with the contents of settler waste bins. As an attempt to shelter themselves the Palestinians hung up myriads of sheets and blankets, creating an oddly enclosed and shadowy main street. Davina had told me about this scene before; to see it for myself was a stirring experience.

Fact interlude: it is illegal under international law to move a civilian population into occupied territory. Currently around 430,000 Israeli settlers live within in the West Bank.


Lubna then gave her version of another little story Davina had previously related to me.

When the settlers moved to the old city the main road was closed to Palestinians, but a few families were left on the other side, separated from the old city. Among these was a friend of Omar’s. On Davina’s last visit to Hebron Omar took Davina, Lubna and an American girl named Yasmine to see his friend. They asked the IDF permission, which was granted, but when walking up the main road a Jewish lady ran out of a building and started pushing Lubna because she was wearing a hijab. “You should not be here! You should not be here!” she shouted hysterically at Lubna, before summoning a raft of Jewish school children who surrounded the three unwelcome visitors and began spitting and pelting rocks and stones at them. Lubna was utterly petrified. "I just didn't know what to do" she kept saying to me. A staggering example set by, what transpired to be, a school teacher. Yasmine was 9 months pregnant at the time.

After walking a little way we came to the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque - one of the holiest Muslim and Jewish sites outside Jerusalem. This was the site where American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on a Muslim prayer session during Ramadan in 1994, killing 29 Palestinians. (In the rioting that followed a further 25 Palestinians were killed plus 5 Israelis. Israeli authorities then imposed a curfew on the 120,000 Palestinians in Hebron, while the settler population were free to roam around. A shrine to Goldstein was built in a Jewish community adjacent to Hebron and not removed until 1999.)

We tried to enter the mosque but were refused entry as it was prayer time. Looking down the street away from the mosque and into Jewish territory Pauline and I noticed a large group of joggers complete with stopwatches, heart rate monitors and Nike trainers. I found it a poignant scene.

Omar had a little more to show us and led us up a steep road behind the mosque and up to a Muslim cemetery. A little further down the road was an IDF roadblock and adjacent a large house that some soldiers appeared to be working on. This was where the violence had broken out less than two weeks earlier, which I’d been following on the BBC website. Omar wanted to take us past the house so we walked up to the roadblock where, as Omar had predicted, we were asked if we were journalists (journalists are usually forbidden from entering any Israeli conflict zone in case something undesirable finds its way to international media). The large ginger haired chief soldier asked for all our IDs; Omar produced his Relief International ID which the soldier didn't particularly like the look of and thus refused to let us pass.

We turned around and headed back the way we came. Or at least we thought it was the way we came, but there seemed to be a massive Israeli roadblock impeding our path down an alley. Omar tried to reason our way through again while Pauline and I surreptitiously took photos. The likelihood was of course that we had chosen a different alley to go down rather than the blockade had sprung up in a few minutes, so when Omar failed to get anywhere he called a taxi to come pick us up.

The evening was spent eating and drinking in Bethlehem, where we were joined by a few more of Davina’s friends. Unsurprisingly there was a lot more interesting conversation; hearing one of Davina’s friends recount how she’d been hounded by the Israeli secret service for ten years in a series of attempts to convince her to become a spy was one part that stood out. Heavy stuff. Anyway, despite the fact it was very quiet for a party night in Palestine (i.e. Thursday) I think we all had a good night.

I left Palestine with a well of pretty strong emotions, though I should imagine there are few that don't. There's so much history and beauty to be seen and it's an absolute tragedy that the conflict continues to remain. However, despite a certain feeling of helplessness, there are many who dedicate themselves to make a difference and do so. A permanent peace though seems a long and complex road away.

Unemployment can be a very stressful time especially during the recession which is why I decided to write this post for people who are currently in this situation. I am sure there are many. Hopefully these survival strategies will see you through the hard times…

1. Keep Your Head Up – Try not to blame yourself for being unemployed as it was something that was out of your control and not necessarily a failing on your part. It is important to keep a positive outlook even in gloomy times. Feeling down may be justified but it will prevent you from taking action to change the situation. Try not to worry what others may be thinking of you. They may not have any experience of be unemployed so have no idea what you are going through. If you take out the emotions the challenge you face is logical one that you can address.
   
   
2. Eat Well And Stay Healthy – This is a classic time when you may find yourself reaching for ‘comfort food’ such as chocolate or fast food. It is important to rein this in and minimise this behaviour. While it may comfort you in the short-term it will not make you feel good in the long term. If fact you will probably feel even worse afterwards. The same could be said of alcohol as getting hammered will not solve your problems and will deplete your bank account even further. This isn’t ideal if you are currently not getting any income! Keeping a balanced healthy diet will keep you focused on the task at hand which is get back into work.
   
   
3. Maintain Regular Exercise – If you can, try and keep fit. Go for runs, do physical sport and do regular exercise at home if you have limited finances. This will help dissipate the tension and stress you may be feeling. Also it keeps you sharp and this may give the edge in interviews.
   
   
4. Ask yourself, ‘what job would you like if circumstances were more favourable?’ – It is important to ask yourself this question and come up with a written plan if possible. You may come up with ideas you never thought of and become inspired. A written plan focuses you mind to the task at hand.
   
   
5. Ask yourself, ‘how should I approach companies I would want to work for?’ – Make list of companies where you be able to get your foot in the door and come up with a strategy of how to approach them. Maybe using email might be the best method or a phone call but don’t give up if you aren’t getting positive results straight away. If you choose to use recruitment agencies be careful as they have a tendency to rail-road into a job that may not be what you want. Remember they are a business and have to achieve tight financial targets every month. They may not have your best interest at heart however friendly they may sound on the phone. Ideally you should become your own recruitment consultant and then you won’t need them.
   
   
6. Get Online – With wide range of social media and online tools available for the job search the internet can be an indispensable resource for job research and chasing up employment opportunities. Get chatting on Facebook and Twitter and see what you can find out. Maybe the company you want to approach already has a Twitter or Facebook page where you can contact them. You’ll have a lot of time on hands anyway so may as well use it wisely.
   
   
7. Get Help With Your CV – It is important to get feedback from people in the industry about what they are looking for. How could your CV be tightened to make it more attractive employers? Input from friends and family may be helpful but ultimately they will not be the ones giving you the job.
   
   
8. Read A Biography Of Someone You Admire – Quite often such people have gone through very difficult situations similar or worse than the one you are going through. However, chose your book well as biographies by Robbie Williams and Katie Price may not be packed with ‘pearls of wisdom’ which will help you through your current issues.
   
   
9. Listen To Positive Music – Music can be a powerful reassuring force to you but you must make sure it is positive and not bringing you down into hole of self pity. As musical taste is personal only you can make this decision but something as melancholic as Coldplay may sink you down further into an emotional quagmire. Soul, funk, R&B and Jazz might be better options.
   
   
10. Sleep Well – It may be tempting just to sleep in every morning as you have no work to get up for. Try to resist this temptation by not sleeping to much (or too little). Ensure that you give your days a routine and structure. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time during the week like you would do if you if were in work. This will keep you fresh, alert and positive.

Hopefully these points were of some use and if you have any more that would help please feel free to leave a comment below. There is no quick fix for being unemployed but sustained effort over a period of time will get you positive results eventually. Who knows you may start to see things in a different way. Losing a job has been the propelling factor for many to start up their own businesses and make a success of themselves.

So it is official..... Four guys from Sweden are being jailed for a year along with having to pay damages of $4.5. All of this is for creating a website that indexes links to copyrighted material through Bit Torrent.

The official verdict was that they were found guilty of ‘working as a team to make copyrighted content available’.

Hang on moment! Google are a team too (a large one at that). The Google search is the top search engine in the world and it indexes Torrent sites. Could it not be argued that Google too are facilitating the availability of copyrighted content? While some have mentioned that Google does not run a public torrent tracker it links to hundreds of sites that do run them. Maybe Google should be the next one in the dock for Movie and Record Companies on their witch-hunt.

I find this unbelievable that even as we are entering into digital / online age companies like Warner Bros, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, and Columbia Pictures still do not seem to get it. They seem intent on staying attached to out-dated business paradigms and models. They should be thinking of ways to move with the internet evolution instead of trying to hold it back. Bit Torrent is a way that many around the world chose to enjoy different sorts of media and the guilty verdict of the PirateBay guys will not change this. They will pursue other options if one is closed to them.

The evolution is already happening and the large corporations either embrace it or see a bigger loss in profits than they claim to be already seeing. ITunes looks to be a success so it proves that it is possible to create a business model that works.

I feel the story is far from over as the PirateBay guys will appeal the verdict. In the long run I do not think it is going to look good for these large corporations whatever happens.

During the last year I have been involved in a volunteer group for adults with Asperger's Syndrome in Bristol, UK. If you are not familiar with Asperger's Syndrome you can find out more here on the National Autistic Society Website. Essentially it is classed as an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and people with it have great problems in social interaction and communication with the rest of mainstream society. It is a trend identified by Hans Asperger (hence the name) during the 1940s. If it is picked up early in a child's development teaching strategies and support can be put in place. In a lot of cases, though, it is missed and the child may go through life continuing to have difficulties well into adult life.

Currently, they are many adults discovering they have Asperger's traits but have no where to turn. They knew that there was something different about them their whole life. They had very focused interest areas like an interest in astronomy or gardening but found it difficult or impossible to connect with other people who did not share these interests. At school they were looked on as different or 'geeky' and excluded or even bullied. They found social interaction and dynamics very confusing and often got themselves into trouble because of it through no fault of their own. People find it difficult to deal with their straight-up blunt approach to issues and often label them as arrogant or rude when this is not what they meant. Many Aspie traits can be difficult to spot or misunderstood as something else.

As adults 'Aspies' (as they are called) find it difficult to fit in. They have a need for routine and structure and without this they can lead a lot of day in a state of anxiety. To say late diagnoses are like gold dust would be an understatement. In the case of the UK there are probably thousands of adults who have had difficulties all their lives and have not realised that it is because they communicate differently to the rest of society. Support for adult Aspies is almost non-existant and they are left to just fend for themselves. Getting a diagnosis can be frustrating and it usually involves a long waiting list or travelling to another part of the country.

In the job world Aspies can find it very difficult to get jobs and progress in careers. This can be largely due to lack of knowledge on the employers part, however, there are many cases of employers discriminating against people with Asperger's /Autism. As with other discrimination some unscrupulous employers have become very good at covering their backs and it can be often difficult and lengthy process to prove that foul play took place (if this has happened to you fell free to leave a comment below explaining what happened).

The strange thing about Asperger's is it doesn't have to be something that hold someone back with right support. In fact it can be a positive ability rather than in disability with right skills and environment. People with Asperger's are very focused or their special interest areas and very attached to routines. If they were to be able to work in their special interest area (for instance. gardening or IT or setting up a small business) in which they had to follow routines everyday they would be exceptional employees. Currently this is not happening and all to often Aspies find themselves out-of-work. To me this is ludicrous as we are currently in recession and it people like these who will get us out of it. Aspies are some of the most determined, focused and passionate people I have ever seen. They are not given the chance to shine or being held back just for communicating differently to the rest of society. For a little support employers would find that they would get a massive return on investment.

Another interesting point is that in history there have been many famous people including scientists, politicians, journalists, etc who have demostrated Asperger's traits. Examples of them include Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and even William Shakespeare. In recent times many successful business people and entrepreneurs have Aspie traits (Bill Gates or Henry Ford). The wealth of evidence is overwhelming that these people have risen to the top of the field and had an impact on the world. It is these types of people who will lead the way in getting the world out of financial crisis.

If all of this is hitting home for you and it sounds like some one you know - give 'em a break will you? They find the world quite confusing anyway.

If you feel like this is you do not worry. Drop me a comment or click on the National Autistic Society website above for more info. It is a UK website but I am sure they will point people in the right direction if they are not from the UK. Also there are whole wealth of Asperger's adult networks and forums on the net. A google search will bring them up. Remember your special interest is your special ability and don't let anyone take it away from you.

There are some phrases that just really annoy the hell out of me! :) I can't be alone in this so I thought I would share them with everyone.

1. "Do you know what I mean?" - Isn't it annoying when people seem to end every sentence with this phrase? Do you know what I mean? ;-)
2. "It's not rocket science" - Would thinking of a better phrase be rocket science?
3. "Keep me in the loop" - This one is widely used by Jack Bauer in 24 but doesn't sound as cool if you don't work for CTU.
4. "No offence but....." - "I am going to offend you anyway!"
5. "Touching Base" - Sounds like a phrase that cool yuppie guys in the 80s used to use but people still seem to use it now. Get with the program!
6. "Get with the program!" - No explanation needed
7. "Don't take it personally!" - This is a pet hate of mine when I hear this! How else should I take it if it is a personal attack on my character? ;0
8. "There are plenty more fish in the sea" - Yeah but I want that fish!

I am sure these are only 'a drop in the ocean' or 'the tip of the iceberg' of the many of annoying phrases out there! :)

However, if you have a particular phrase that winds you up please share it below......

A couple of years back I decided to give up the cigarettes for a totally smoke-free lifestyle. As many ex-smokers will know this is not the easiest of tasks! I was plagued with withdrawal symptoms including dreams of being chased down a hill by large cigarette shouting, "You know you want me don't you!"

Having said this I have some great smoking memories. I think the height of my smoking career was at university. During exams revision in the university library, I would nip out at regular intervals for a ‘quick smoke’. I would usually be met by other fellow smokers outside the building where we would discuss about how we should get back in and do more revising.

Smoking culture can be quite a big deal at work too. In one of my previous jobs I remember how people would congregrate in the designated smoking area with a fag and acan of Redbull discussing the usual office politics. It was at this point that I began questioning whether I wanted to be a part of this or not.

However, giving up smoking is always fraught with difficulties. There is always at least one annoying smoker friend who tries to test your resolve by waving a packet of Marlboro Lights in your face. The new laws on smoking in the UK have certainly helped me though. It was too often the case that after a couple of drinks my anti-smoking resolve was weakened.

Another point is that in the UK it is becoming more and more expensive to smoke. In fact I think that the UK is probably the most expensive place in the world to have the habit. A packet of 20 cigarettes now costs a £5.67 compared £3.88 in 2000 and it just keeps rising. This current price is almost twice what the same packet would cost in Italy.

As a result of this many people opt for making their own cigarettes with rolling tobacco. I tried this for a while when I was smoking but have to admit I was not the best 'roller' around. Call me lazy but part of the smoking experience is to have your cigarettes ready made. When you are desperate for a smoke you don't necessarily want to be faffing around with rolling paper and filters.

Having given up now, I suppose can now reminisce with other ex-smokers about the glory days of waking up in the morning with a mouth like an ashtray. Ermm maybe not, but I will always be reminded everytime I manage to catch a whiff of cigarette smoke. I certainly understand how Chandler from Friends felt in this clip!

Anyway if you are trying to give up smoking or are an ex-smoker - I feel you brothers and sisters! Only those who have been there understand! :-)

With the rise of new social media channels and other online tools many people have been talking about the decline or even death of the conventional media. This could be one explanation though I feel it could be seen more as an evolution of media.

Unfortunately this evolution is happening very fast and leaving some people in its wake. As Matthew quite rightly put in his comment on my previous post this process is also being quickened by the recession. For instance in Bristol, regional newspapers such as the Western Daily Press, have made large redundancies to their staff. Bristol’s radio scene seems to have shrunk as well with the relocation and redundancies. I think there must be similar trends throughout the UK.

Across the pond in States papers like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (one of the oldest in Seattle) rolls out its last newspaper today and becomes a totally online entity. They follow in the footsteps of many other US publications to the online realm. Around the world people are utilising media in new ways.

However, I am not sure that journalists and conventional PR people should get too fearful of the new online world. What is needed is an understanding of how their skills could be best used within the online realm. Social media allows obtaining feedback and interaction with an audience which simply was not possible in previous media channels. While this may involve learning a totally new IT skill-set it is preferable than being left on the sidelines as more social media tools appear.

That being said, the instincts for clear communications and stories that conventional PR, Journalists and other people in the media have developed over years of experience are still greatly needed especially in a confusing online world. While web wizardry and social media can dress things up very nice you always need something with substance to begin with.

It seems like everyone is going social media mad! Whether it’s businesses or individuals, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or Myspace; everyone suddenly wants a piece of the action. I wonder if this will really help us though and where it will end up.

Recently Twitter seems to be the new social media ‘weapon of choice’. Since it's successful use in the Obama campaign it has gained popularity in recent months. Celebrities like Stephen Fry have become high profile ‘Twitterholics’ which have given us a snap-shot into their lives. If I get stuck in a lift I’ll know what to do!

I am hearing a lot of talk at the moment about how Twitter is going to revolutionise everything from businesses to social lives. I still remember when Facebook was flavour of the month. When I went to the pub and I would hear people discussing what they were doing on Facebook. Gradually, now I am hearing more people talking about Twitter.

My point is that Twitter is a very useful tool but it is just one of many tools. While it may facilitate people’s approaches to business and social lives, it is not the revolutionary ‘silver bullet’ that everyone seems to making it out to be. It is nice following people and following others but this assumes that they have something vaguely interesting to say instead of how ‘the train was late again this morning’. As many Twitter users will know, it is all too easy to get lost in a mass of irrelevant updates, photos, videos, etc.

I accept that Twitter has been successfully used to organise global events like Twestival but a closer look leads us to see that many other online tools were used in that campaign as well. Twitter can also be used by businesses to update customers with latest news and organise internal operations/events. However, the online social media landscape is more complicated than Twitter and we still at the tip of the iceberg as far as what the internet can do.

It is important to have some perspective on these tools and IT evolution as a whole. As I have discussed in my previous post about Google, the IT world moves very quickly and it will not be long before there is something newer and more shiny than Twitter for people to go crazy about. I feel like people seem to be jumping on the Twitter bandwagon without really understanding it and worse still because they think they may be ‘missing a trick’ if they don’t.

In fact there are many other social media tools that have sprung up like Friendfeed and BrightKite. Friendfeed works by collecting all your feeds from other networks and displaying them all on one feed. You can also subscribe to other people’s feeds and have them subscribe to yours. BrightKite is still currently in Beta development stage and is location-based social networking. Old favourites like Myspace are not as popular as they once were but are still very useful for bands and musicians. We are also seeing a resurgence in blogging with the use of free services like Blogger (which I use for this blog!), Wordpress and Tumblr.

To make things even more complicated all these different services offer integration with each other and mobile phones! For example this means that you can update your Twitter status on your phone via SMS or online with the use of Twitter mobile application. You could then add Twitter to your Facebook page with use of a Facebook application and get it to update you status there too. There are now services like Ping.fm that also allow you to update multiple networks at the same time.

While this might be a tech enthusiast and social media whore’s dream I fear it may ultimately lead to mass of irrelevant confused communication flying across different networks. People will pick up bits of the story but may find it more difficult to pick up the ‘whole’ story. The original message that was trying to be communicated will be diluted and dispersed over many channels and hence may lose its power.

This may be a long way away and we are still in the ‘honey-moon’ period of social media, however, it could be time we took a look how we are currently using these tools and how they will be used in the future. It is also important that people spend some time learning exactly how these tools work before throwing themselves in the deep-end.

After Delhi and Mumbai my next destination was Goa. I arrived in Goa on Christmas Eve in the midst of another security alert following the Mumbai attacks. As with other airports in India, security was stepped up to a high level. When I finally found my way out of the airport and into a cab I noticed the security presence on the roads was very high too. Apparently it had been reported that Goa was a 'soft target' for terrorists because of number of foreign tourists that were there over the festive season. I had heard many of the beach parties and other events had been limited or cancelled because of the threat.

It was a bit of a shame to have arrived in such circumstances but I was still taken away by the beautiful Goan landscape. I was spending Christmas with some friends of mine so I knew that I would cheer me up.

The next day was Christmas Day and the friends I was staying with organised a massive Christmas lunch. Christmas is quite a big deal in Goa as it used to be a Portuguese colony so still has a lot of Christian Catholic influence. As you can see from the photo the Christmas meal was a little different to what people are used to in the west! The main dish was a duck cooked with spices not turkey! It was served with an assortment of other spicy vegetables and rice. The meal was topped of with a beer on the garden patio in 30 degree heat which made for a rather unusual Crimbo for me as you can imagine!

Unfortunately, my plans had got changed somewhat because of the security alerts as I was supposed to meet some friends and family in Goa. They couldn't make it in the end so following Christmas the rest of my trip was spent at an appartment near Benaulim Beach in south Goa. I woke up every day and made my way to the beach where I would go to one of the many beach shacks for a cool cocktail and some authentic Goan fish! The service was a bit chilled out but that was the Goan style. I found the people there to be friendly and honest.

The beach turned out to be a very good place for meeting all sorts of people from different parts of the world. On the first day I met this crazy bunch who I ended up spending new years with! They know who they are!

After several days of lazing about on the beach, swimming in the sea and a scooter trip to north Goa it was New Year's Eve. This is was actuallly the first New Years I had celebrated out of the UK so it was a little weird! I wasn't sure exactly how things would turn out but I had heard their was a beach party happening on one of the many beaches in north Goa. We decided to chance it and jumped in a couple of cabs to get there. The journey was about two and a half hours long but well worth it. We arrived in the town just outside the beach and had to make the rest of the way on foot. The town was vibrant with life and people from all over the world. After an interesting walk in the dark through the palm trees we made it out on to the beach where we were met by a barrage of colour, movement and loud Goa trance music. It was a an experience I would never forget.

Each beach shack was dimmly lit and had its own DJ playing the craziest trance I had heard for a while. The good part was you could order food at them as well. I immediately ordered some chicken fried rice (good energy food) along with my standard Cubre Libre!

There rest of the night was an intoxicating blur which led up to me running around the beach at the stroke of midnight wishing everyone Happy New Year! They had lots of fireworks going off though they didn't seem to be very safe. A couple of them flew in our direction so we got well clear! Most of the rest of the night I don't remember much of at all. In the morning we got a cab back to Benaulim beach, I feel asleep and woke up just as it got to my appartment - thank god! I slept all of new year day as I am sure many people did!

I only spent a couple more days in Goa before flying to Bangalore then back to UK. My trip to India had been a very eventful and enlightening one though it hadn't gone entirely as planned. When I finally landed in the UK it was -6 degrees and freezing cold. It seemed like a world away from the heat of Goa.