A tweet a day keeps the wrinkles away!

While the use of social media sites for business promotion has become very popular in the United States, in the Middle East there has been a more muted response from companies to online social networking. An research organization estimates that 400 brands are represented on Twitter in the region including companies, government departments and non-profit organizations. For the past two years Spot On has been working with clients to help them understand social media marketing programs.


Despite the fact that social media isn’t popular in the Middle East, Dr. Lillian Khan is a very active ‘social media user’. She is active on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DrLillian), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Lillian-Khan-Dermatologist/205228057000) and Blogger (http://drlilliankhan.blogspot.com/).

Dr. Lillian uses her social media resources in part to answer questions about skin conditions. While she does recommend various products, the physician also states frequently that certain symptoms need to be investigated in a medical setting for a definitive diagnosis and treatment. Her blog promotes various packages and other promotions at the clinic. She is sharing her expertise with the community, which is important for her to unify her business goals within all social media. Social media is allowing Dr. Lillian to interface with the community and grow her business, while building a reputation. This is why she must be transparent in her online business relationships.

Dr. Lillian does reveal certain of her personal details in posts and tweets. When people feel that they know someone, they are more likely to trust that person. This can be an especially effective marketing tactic in the Middle East where relationships have always been important. There needs to be common sense though in deciding what personal details to make public. Dr. Lillian has crossed over into a potential danger zone by posting her mobile telephone number on Facebook. Making such information easily available could lead to disruption in Dr. Lillian’s life and there could be security concerns.

Will Dr. Lillian’s efforts to grow her clinical practice succeed using social media alone? The best marketing campaigns in the Middle East are hybrid programs. These marketing efforts use both traditional marketing — such as advertising and roadshows, combined with promotion of the business message through social media including social networks, blogs and YouTube.

When companies do dive into social media without understanding the requirements of such a move, issues can quickly arise. It is very time consuming to write blogs and respond to Twitter queries. In the past, businesses simply turned over their marketing campaigns to ad agencies and the message was shouted out. With social media, consumers have the ability to shout back and companies need to respond.

In my opinion every business should consider if it’s worth to invest in online social networking, set goals for those efforts and then faithfully follow their plan…


Do you think every business should use social media? Give your reaction on this blog!

See you next time!

Maffia boss tracked down through Facebook!

A mafia hitman, who called himself Scarface, was arrested by Italian police today, after being tracked down via his Facebook account.

Pasquale Manfredi, 33, was on Italy's 100 Most Wanted List and had escaped from the Justice last November and loaded with accusations of Mafia association, murder, extortion, drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons.

Officers had been tipped off that Manfredi was a fan of the global social networking sight and regularly logged on using his laptop. The arrest came after that Manfredi was connected to his profile on Facebook using a 3G modem internet connection. So the police could intercept the signal and find your refuge. The mafia boss was arrested in Isola Capo Rizzuto while trying to escape through the roof of the house which had served as a hiding place, realizing that the building was surrounded by agents.

Manfredi would long on under the Facebook name Georgie and even had a picture of Scarface on his site — officers said they believed he received coded orders via the site and also kept in touch with mobsters.


Manfredi had more than 200 friends on his Facebook site and police are going through them systematically to see if any others are involved in Mafia activity or are wanted.

Mr Giobbi said: "Manfredi is a good catch. He is particular cold and cruel. We tracked him down because we had information he was using a key to log on to the Internet and in particular use Facebook.

"The operation lasted several months and was successful thanks to good police work and sophisticated technology. Manfredi is suspected of at least two murders and is also wanted for drugs and arms offences.

"He is a very dangerous character and he was on the country's 100 Most Wanted but now one can be taken off the list thanks to meticulous police work and a through investigation."

This is not the first time Italian law enforcement has used Facebook to track down criminals. Last October, police near Rome arrested a burglar who logged on to the social network during a break-in and sent messages to his friends.

Shopping...now ridiculously easy!

It took a while, but Google has made its big move as a local shopping inventory gatekeeper. Google has announced the full launch of its stock-checking service, where mobile phone users can see if their desired item is available.

The new feature works on iPhone, WebOS and Android powered phones which detects your location when a product search is performed and shows the nearest store where the product is in stock. The interface also lets you select/change or manually enter your location for better results. The new “In stock nearby” feature is marked with a blue dot in the search results. Hit on the blue dot and it will show you more details about the stores that have the searched product in stock (for example stores phone number, navigate to the store using maps, etc.).

However, this service is only available for shops like Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, or West Elm. Yes, you have got it right…at this moment this application is only available in the US. Therefore, Google has already offered to discuss the service with any other retailers as well, so there is every chance we could see this rolled out to the UK as well.

Following screenshots will give you a better idea of what the feature looks like.

Making a soundless call?!?!

The Institute for Anthropomatics has developed a technology that enables people to speak soundlessly and still to be understood by the conversation partner. This technology is called “Silent Sounds” and is based on the principle of electromyography, that is the acquisition and recording of electrical potentials generated by muscle activity. This muscle activity is measured in the face.


An example of this new innovation is soundless calling. The user can speak into the phone soundlessly, but is still understood by the conversation partner on the other end of the line. As a result, it is possible to communicate in silent environments, at the cinema or theatre, without disturbing others.
Already the "Silent Sounds"-system makes on average only one mistake every one hundred words!

Another field of use is the transmission of confidential information. For the transmission of passwords and PINs, for example, users can change seamlessly to soundless language and, hence, transmit confidential information in a tap-proof manner.

So in the near future, the electrodes will be placed in mobile phones...! Will you make use of this application? Tell me and give your reaction on this blog!

Have a nice evening!