Twitter will track your Location

You can now be tracked on Twitter J.Don’t be scared. Twitter is planning to add a location feature in its micro blogging platform. Twitter co founder Biz Stone informed that the new API will allow developers to add latitude and longitude to any tweet.

This service can be exploited by marketers to target their respective geographical customer segments. This can help marketers/retailers to offer their customers limited time discounts or inform about various events in their immediate proximity.

Twitter informs that the data will not be stored for an extended period of time. If you are a developer this is the right time to create some interesting applications on Twitter. Follow me on twitter @kapilkb :)

Yahoo Plans to acquire Maktoob

Yahoo has finally taken a plunge in the Arabic world by acquiring Maktoob.com, the largest Arab web portal and online community. GCC companies can now target their ads toward Arabic speaking customers using the Yahoo portal. Last year, I had met online sales director for Yahoo Middle East at a conference who confirmed that Yahoo had previously attempted to acquire Maktoob, but was not able to meet the financial expectations of the website management. The formalities of the merger are expected to be completed by 4th quarter of this year.

Soon Arab users will be using the Yahoo Messenger and Mail on Maktoob. Yahoo last month signed a 10-year search pact with Microsoft that will enable the company it to become the exclusive global sales force for both partners' premium advertisers.

Fancy a Gucci Car Seatbelt?

The Fashion bug is trying to get into our car seat belts. The following article was reported in

7days newspaper, stating that UAE Road Safety officials are trying to encourage young drivers to wear seatbelts while driving by introducing fashionable and stylish straps.

Many young drivers don’t consider it cool and deem it as a cowardly act to wear seat belts while they are behind the wheels. As per the article, the latest figures by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) shows that only 11 per cent of Emiratis and 44 per cent of expats wear seatbelts, which I believe is one of the many reasons for causing horrific deaths in car accidents.

History of Seat Belts – The first known seat belt was introduced in 1958 in Volvo cars. Aircraft engineer Bohlin was consulted by Volvo to help it design a seat belt. Within 5 years most of the cars were equipped with a belt in the front seats after 1958.

Perhaps, wearing an Armani or Gucci seatbelt will become a style statement or a way of expressing oneself in the elite class of society. Do you think drivers would ever like to have a branded car seatbelt or would it just be another fad?

Emirates ID Catch

Yeah! I have finally got my Emirates ID done. It took me just 2 hours to complete the formalities. I just wanted to make every one aware of the renewal procedures for the ID and wanted to share my frustration with the potential ID takers.

For Illustration Purposes

My Visa Expires in September 2010
I went to register for the ID card in August 2009

Emirates ID Charges – 100 per year (for the year you have a valid visa)

I had to end up paying AED 200, ‘cause I went to register for the ID a month earlier. Had I gone in September 2009 for the ID, I would have paid only AED 100. I requested the official at the center to issue me the card from September 2009, thus enabling me to pay only AED 100, but my pleas fell deaf on her ears. To add to my frustration I will have to pay AED 300 next year upon renewing my visa.

Friends please ensure you are not being charged more than what you need to pay. Ideally, try registering for the ID exactly a year before your visa expires.

Click here for the Emirates ID Schedule

Is your email Throttled ?

Many companies are busy sending emails to their customers to promote their products and services. ISPs (Internet Service Provider) monitor and manage emails sent via their servers to ensure they are not being flooded by spammers. Besides blocking and filtering nowadays ISPs use throttling technique to block emails from a user having vague reputation or has been known to spam the servers.

Throttling is a technique where by an ISP allows a limited number of emails from a sender for a set period and blocks any emails beyond that limit. Throttling is a liberal process versus completely blocking emails from a sender. Many ISPs use it to manage message delivery from high-volume senders or questionable sources. Presently the trend is changing as throttling is used because of the sender's reputation as well.
I wonder if Etisalat would ever use Throttling technique on various spam SMS sent on our mobile phones.

Check out this link on Wikipedia, which claims that Etisalat uses throttling technique (in a negative way) to block peer-to-peer traffic, gaming and other types of traffic to reduce load on its oversubscribed international links.

RTA to launch 10 Metro Stations

I have just come to know that on 09/09/09 RTA will launch only 10 stations. Below is the list of 10 probable stations that may be launched in Sep : -

- Rashidiya
- Deira City Center
- Al Rigga
- Union Square
- Burjuman Square
- Al Jafiliya Station

- Financial Center (DIFC)
- Mall of Emirates
- Jumeirah Island
- Dubai Airport Terminal 1

The inauguration will be done at the Financial Center Station. Most of the stations will have limited retail outlets open to the public as they are still under construction.

Also check out the new website launched by RTA http://metrogis.rta.ae/. The website provides information about Metro lines, stations, running time and multi-modal interchange points using the Geographical Information System (GIS).