ALKHOBAR, 29 July 2003 — Companies and organizations across the Middle East are slapping up new websites every day. More does not necessarily mean better — although I must admit that lately I’ve seen some very nice online efforts. Do you know of a website that is really a step above the rest? Then contact its webmaster and submit the site for the Datamatix Middle East website Awards 2003 by clicking to http://www.meawards.com/web/default.asp.
Nominations for the Middle East website Awards have now opened in 10 categories in the search to reward those companies that provide useful information over the Internet. The awards aim to encourage greater use of Internet technology to make information available to customers in a readily accessible form.
The criteria for the award selections are that the site:
*has excellent content.
*is easily navigated.
*presents information well.
*doesn’t require extensive plug-ins.
*has a good balance between text and graphics.
*utilizes graphics appropriately for all Internet connections.
*fulfills target market or purpose.
*is graphically appealing.
*appears to be kept up to date.
*is accessible to the public.
*has at least some original graphics.
With the Middle Eastern business community developing so many new websites, perhaps e-commerce and e-business can get moving in earnest. To jump-start that effort, undergraduate students enrolled at GCC universities are being invited to participate in the “e-Biz Challenge.” The goals of the Challenge in part are to:
*Distinguish and recognize future talent.
*Identify and encourage the e-entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
*Link e-innovative business ideas to national resources.
*Build intellectual bridges between academia and industry.
Run under the leadership of the Institute for Technological Innovation’s Director, at Zayed University, UAE, the e-Biz Challenge was initiated in 2001. In its first year only students from UAE universities were invited to participate. The Challenge proved to be successful on all accounts exposing possibilities for students and industries of the region to network and gain intellectual and innovative business opportunities. The project team situated at the Dubai Internet City, works on various aspects of the event among which are: University students’ participation, industry partnership, road shows, seminars, press events, trade fair participation and the gala dinner. This year the e-Biz Challenge first prize, to be presented at the gala dinner, is a week-long trip to CeBIT 2004 in Hanover, Germany. Significant prizes will also be awarded to the second and third place winners.
To enter the e-Biz Challenge students must form a group made up of three students and a faculty member, and register online at ebizchallenge.com. The groups will participate in the event over several months during which time students and faculty will be engaged in writing e-business project plans. The projects must be innovative and creative yet feasible.
Competing students from the GCC countries will be invited to attend seminars held by various business sector leaders across the region, giving the students and faculty ideas for their plans, showcasing real life scenarios, guiding and supporting student initiatives, providing an opportunity to network, and so forth. All groups will be awarded with a participation certificate ensuring that all the work from the event is acknowledged and archived for future reference. The e-Biz Challenge is internationally recognized and winners are eligible to participate in the Stanford University e-Global Challenge.
Now, moving from theory to reality, as Middle Eastern companies take a greater interest in e-business, this fuels local demand for IT professionals holding the most up-to-date skill sets. Thousands of firms in the Middle East and North Africa have turned to online recruitment as the most efficient way of procuring qualified staff for IT departments and other skill-intensive posts. The online recruitment leader in the Arab World is Bayt.com. With business opportunities in Iraq continuing to make headlines, Bayt.com has stepped in to meet the growing recruitment needs of both businesses and individuals hoping to participate in the new Iraqi economy.
Since June, Bayt has witnessed a dramatic jump in the number of job postings for Iraq-based positions. To date, companies who have listed these jobs are based in the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and are concentrated in the construction and technology sectors. Other sectors, particularly legal, electronics, and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) are expected to follow in the next few weeks, as evidenced by the interest employers in these sectors have expressed to Bayt e-recruitment consultants for recruiting talent for their Iraq operations.
Rabea Ataya, CEO, Bayt.com said, “Iraq is a new market, and there are opportunities in all commercial sectors. Businesses looking to set up operations in Iraq need to recruit the right talent, and they need to do so quickly because establishing first-mover advantage is critical at this stage.”
For employers interested in specifically recruiting Iraqi professionals, Bayt has thousands of Iraqi CVs on its database, spanning various industry sectors, including oil and petroleum, construction, and technology. This number continues to grow daily. Job seekers interested in Iraq employment opportunities can apply directly to any available jobs instantly through the Bayt site. Most recently, Bayt added a new feature on the site’s home page enabling job seekers to conduct a quick job search for all jobs in Iraq, whereby users simply click on the Iraqi flag to view all job postings for that country.
Another new feature that Bayt has recently added to its site is the Bayt Polls Corner. These weekly surveys are aimed at giving Bayt an insight into the various career and lifestyle-related issues currently impacting job seekers in the region.
The overwhelming impression from the first five rounds of polls is that job seekers are looking for more than just the ability to cover their monthly expenses. Seventy-six percent of job seekers expressed the importance of finding a job that would advance their career. Underscoring this priority, 46 percent of job seekers place the opportunity for future growth within an organization at the top of their list, higher than salary or even company reputation. However, when it comes to relocating for an employment opportunity, the majority, 76 percent, would consider leaving their present location only if the salary was sufficiently attractive.
In the Middle East, the Internet has become a major resource and enabler of recruitment opportunities. Bayt’s polls showed that job seekers now turn to the Internet for guidance and support during their job search, with 47 percent drawing on the Internet as their main source of support in comparison to 22 percent that prefer utilizing insights from professional colleagues and 16 percent from family. In terms of the most effective job search method, job seekers indicated both online recruitment sites (36 percent) and leads from family, friends, and colleagues (34 percent) would most likely help them find their next job.
All right, that’s enough seriousness for one week. On a more humorous note, if you haven’t already tried it, go to google.com. Type, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and click “I’m feeling lucky,” instead of search. What pops up next appears to be a customized, extremely funny error message. In actuality it’s an advertising ploy designed to encourage people to click on links within the “error message.” The links lead to gambling sites and a company selling t-shirts.
I am constantly surprised by the amount of creativity on our planet finely tuned to the task of making money. Here’s another example. Every year by e-mail we all receive hundreds of jokes, riddles, puns and other assorted weirdness. The common response to these missives from most busy folks is to press delete and move on to the next e-mail. That’s why I nearly had a heart attack when I came across the three part series titled, “E-Tales.” The books are made up of “frivolous forwardings.” A review of Book Three states:
“This huge collection of Internet humor parades outrageous jokes, alarming facts, amazing-if-true stories, revealing personality tests, and mind-numbing word games. The world’s worst accidents and horrible diseases appear next to terrifying tales of air travel. You’ll find drawings you can make using x’s and o’s. “Darwin Awards” honor people who do stupid things that result in their demise (thus removing themselves from the gene pool). With yet more sick tales of personal injury and injustice; a superfluity of celebrity lampoons and sexist sideswipes; a myriad of topical gags and timeless humor classics, E-Tales III will while away those times — in bed, on the train, in the toilet — when you are away from your in-box. Re-live your favorite office moments and discover what the people on the other side of the office were doing.”
The E-Tales books retail for nearly $10 each. Hundreds of thousands have been sold. The bottom line — while I was focused on pressing the “delete” key and getting on with work, others were scooping up my digital trash and laughing all the way to the bank. (Comments to [email protected])