The UAE loves bling

The take up of trends that demonstrate the wealth of the individual is rife in the UAE, be it the new Cayenne or allsinging Nokia. And if things are not available to the mass market, it makes it even more important to get a hold of the item. I present you with two items that I believe will be the want of society in the coming months, maybe a small market, but there will be a few who want to have these items, just to say that they had them:

The first e-ink watch



Seiko designed a bracelet style watch using the high contrast e-ink technology. If the futuristic watch is set to its 'efficiency' mode, the display is informative and easy to read. If, however, the watch is set to its 'mystery' mode, the panel expresses the time in a more imaginative, evocative style.

Philips/Swarovski crystal-clad USB drives



Partnering with Swarovski, the duo is loosing the Active Crystals collection of 1GB USB drives (and sparklin' headphones, too) onto the fashion-conscience set

These are certainly niche, and probably target Vertu lovers and those who have aspire to pre-order their car at the factory rather than the showroom.

Would twitter work in the UAE?

Internet trends come in leaps and bounds. Some fizzle out and some stay, at least for a time. What has been hotting up recently is microblogging, and specifically a product called twitter. What's the premise here? You have 140 characters to update your status at any one time. You can do this online or by sending an sms to a specific phone number. It them can text those in your network or those who have chosen to watch your status or "thoughts". The applications could be huge if conceptually it can be converted from idea to monetisation. Anything from marketing to advertising to discount codes etc. It hasn't reached critical mass yet in the US, but is growing at a phenomenal rate, and soon it won't just be tech nerds who 'twitter'. Either that or it's all froth and another fad to pass through time.

But the question at this stage in the technology is whether it would work in Dubai or Abu Dhabi? An interesting thought. It is no secret that the concept of mobile is more status in the Gulf Arab states than in some places in the world. (Aside, on one occasion I was with someone who had 4 mobiles with him - Why he just didn't just divert the calls to one, I don't know) I wondered whether the concept of mobile is just to do with receiving calls and looking important or is it really about being in the know. I haven't quite come to a conclusion. Is being in the know what it is all about or does one need to know the gossip? These are two different ideas but depending on the use of this "service", could be covered by twitter.

There are all sorts of hurdles before twitter would be available as mass microblogging in the UAE. But the ability to inform people real time of your status or thoughts is probably something too scarey for the TRA to consider. That said, would it work anywhere where there is censorship? Twitter would become twatter, not in real time and the very essence of why it is so appealing to the technerd crowd at present would be lost in its formal application by the duopoly powers of etisalat and du. In any case, this is all some time off, as markets collide and twitter looks to devise a business model that can be applied to markets where you pay to receive and pay to send sms.

Abu Dhabi on the map

Even five years ago, mention Abu Dhabi, out of context and you would get murmurs of misunderstanding, questioning eyebrow raises and glances of disapproval. Over recent months, Abu Dhabi has slowly taken prominence and column inches amongst the international press, and the confusion has started to turn to an understanding of what Abu Dhabi could be. The closer we get to some semblance of property completion, probably within 3 years, the more Abu Dhabi will become a household name that one can talk of in the same way that one talked of Dubai, Shanghai or Mumbai not so long ago. Today's special report in the FT is the beginning of seeding the potential of Abu Dhabi to those who need to know, and this seeding will promote further conversation in the months and years to come.

Special Coverage of Abu Dhabi in the FT

The next property explosion

Let's face it. The speculative gains to be be made in Dubai's property market are probably a far cry from what could be earned elsewhere. Much of the talk focuses on places such as Bulgaria and the like, but there is an argument saying that this is also old news. So where can one make that extra buck from investing. Readers to this blog will suspect that I will put my money on Abu Dhabi. However, I don't think there will be much speculative potential. I think the investment in Abu Dhabi will keep its value simply for the nature of the aims of the Emirate. But for me, the next place to put your money down is neither in Dubai, nor Abu Dhabi, nor RAK, nor Sharjah. The next big thing in real estate, if you can call it "real" estate is in second life. For those of you not yet in the know, this is a virtual world where money is transacting, and people look to have a second life doing other things, being an alter ego. But it is not a game, and it should be taken seriously. This video will give you an overview of its potential:



There are similarities to be drawn with Dubai. Jest with them as you see fit. But those of you with a creative bone within you and can conceptualize life elsewhere, consider putting some money in a land in second life. I have a feeling it is about to go big time.

Second Life

Second Life: Real Money in a Virtual World
Making a Living in Second Life