Mahmood's Den An Arab man's attempt at bridging the cultural gap. Trying to make a difference, failing a lot, succeeding once in a while.

Kuwait takes blogging seriously!

21 Feb, 2007 18 Comments · email · print

They even constructed a whole multi-story building to celebrate WordPress!

stuff

Goooood Morning Kuwait!

Sad day for freedom of expression

18 Responses to “Kuwait takes blogging seriously!”

Ahmed Reply 21 Feb, 2007 at 11:00

Nice :biggrin:

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nibaq Reply 21 Feb, 2007 at 11:41

You know they had to change their logo once before since it resembled a multinational company. I wonder if they will have to do it again..

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Q Reply 21 Feb, 2007 at 12:46

lol nice one!

Never thought of it this way!

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mahmood Reply 21 Feb, 2007 at 21:17

Nibaq, this is really going to hurt their agency then, as if I was them I would fire their asses immediately. Their logo looks so much like a clone that it could just be a copy and paste job with drilling a whole in the curve to appear like the Arabic “wow” character.

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Barry Reply 21 Feb, 2007 at 22:27

You’d think they could find a designer to make their logo look unique and still give the appearance they’re using the waw character, as well as make it look like a Latin W.

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Redbelt Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 7:31

Other companies with similar issues:
Rotana > Sony Ericsson

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mahmood Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 8:00

I remember seeing an email or a post from a designer highlighting all of these errrr inspirations for ME companies.. it might have been 248am but am not sure.

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Barry Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 9:52

The Middle East has produced some of the most exquisitely intricate and complex art using nothing but the written word, and all of these companies are so unoriginal in their logo designs? Something’s wrong here.

I guess there’s something to be said about Japanese companies and their use of visual symbols to create a striking design (such as their family crests which are often abstract designs or taken from nature)

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mahmood Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:00

I am not in a position to evaluate branding standards as I am not an authority. I hope that someone from the industry can shed some light as to why branding and advertising agencies do not heed your advice, but rather just modify a copy to arrive at a derivative.

As a simple observer who loves good and nice design, I am disappointed by this and think that this could be attributed to the low level of creativity and brand comprehension not only by the designers but also by their clients who accept such mediocrity.

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Ali Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:21

Not that I like Alwataniya logo but being in telecoms industry I think the company existed long before wordpress. It’s intersting to see who cloned who!

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Ali Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:33

About WordPress:

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and fewer users than you can count on your hands and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

About Alwataniya:

Launched in December 1999, Wataniya Telecom has gone from strength to strength. Born into a monopoly telecom market, Wataniya Telecom is Kuwait’s first privately owned operator and has been a driving force in increasing the mobile communications market penetration in Kuwait to over 93 percent of the population; one of the highest penetration rates in the region.

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mahmood Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:35

Thanks Ali, any idea when their new branding was done?

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mahmood Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:46

no press releases are available on their (Wataniya) website prior to June 2003 and I haven’t found the “branding” press release yet.. there must be one!

However, it does seem that Wataniya did have one of its ads copied according to Mark where a Taiwanese company allegedly copied one of their ads concepts, although I personally think that the idea is so cliché that one would be forgiven to have thought it only a mere coincidence.

The essence of the story is that we don’t know yet, and won’t until we get to know when the new branding was launched.

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Ali Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 10:52

If you browse through Alwataniya’s annual reports you’ll see their current logo printed on year 2002 report.

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Redbelt Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 11:04

why stop at branding?
Adverts have alot of “borrowing” as well. I can find examples, but … I can’t be bothered. :getlost:

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mahmood Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 11:18

Thanks for the investigation Ali, so it is confirmed that WordPress copied Wataniya’s logo. Another win for Wataniya!

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finlandi Reply 22 Feb, 2007 at 14:44

If only the rest of the Arab world would learn….

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6385849.stm

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BahBlog - 21 Feb, 2007
21.02.2007 – angelworld: علاقة ملابس21.02.2007 – adel marzooq:   صحافة الإرهاب الدونكيشوتي   عادل مرزوق – …21.02.2007 – Jaffar’s Blog: تصميم أول ثيم للمدونة21.02.2007 – Kuwait takes blogging seriously!21.02.2007 – Goooood Morning Kuwait!21.02.2007 – المسكوت عنه، مدونات وحيد البلوشي: تساؤلات حول البطاقة الذكية21.02.2007 – [ ..جنون أنثى ]: أخيراً

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Freedom of Expression?

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which the Bahraini Government is a signatory of states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 23 of the Bahrain Constitution: Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion and publish it by word of mouth, in writing or otherwise under the rules and conditions laid down by law, provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.

Article 24 of the Bahrain Constitution: With due regard for the provisions of the preceding Article, the freedom of the press, printing and publishing is guaranteed under the rules and conditions laid down by law.

Article 26 of the Bahrain Constitution: The freedom of postal, telegraphic and electronic communication is safeguarded and its confidentiality is guaranteed. Communications shall not be censored or their confidentiality breached except in exigencies specified by law and in accordance with procedures and under guarantees prescribed by law.

Therefore, I don't need the MoI's protection, thanks very much!

Blocked sites in Bahrain

Last updated 3 Oct '09 For details, administrative order numbers and alternate URLs, please see this. If you know of any other blocked sites or have more information in this regard, please contact me in confidence.

In the first ministerial order of the new year from the new new minister of information, we get a wave of site blocking, even Google translation service is blocked! How can they block Google translation service for goodness sake? This is so farcical it simply beggars belief. The ONLY translation service that could help people be more connected with the world and the ONLY free English/Arabic translation service is now no longer if you go to google.com/translate I think the press (and all active bloggers) should make a huge stink about this.

Kuwait takes blogging seriously!

18 Responses to “Kuwait takes blogging seriously!”

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