I had a blast last week....because Madonna was here! Now, normally i am not a fan of Madonna's songs in general but i had heard that she gives a real show on the scene. Not only this, but it doesnt happen often that a famous singer comes to the Balcans so everyone was rushing to find a ticket and a means to go to Budva, a lovely place in Montenegro. The mobile company, where i am working, made a promotion for its offer by giving 1000 tickets to Madonna's concert. Of course, they also gave tickets to us, the employees.
The albanians dont need a visa to Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, so going to Budva wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, it was so cold there and it started to rain but it stopped raining before Madonna appeared on the stage. Despite the fact that she is 50 years old, she was so energetic and active. I was more focused on the show that she was giving, the skillful dancers, the big screen transmitting her videos and the endless lights because i really didnt like some of her songs and she was off key several times.
The beautiful part is that there were 65.000 people from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and many other countries (besides greek people who were waiting for Madonna in Greece on the 27th). And although, we were all there speaking different languages, we were singing with one voice. For once in a while, the Balcans was united...I guess Madonna was right in saying: ..music, makes the people come together..yeah :)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Doing business in Albania?! Think about it!
I have never thought that i would be so interested in business and marketing. Although i graduated from international relations which i still like, i am working in a company in the marketing sector. The work is really cool because firstly i am learning new things that i havent studied in school. It is not boring because i dont have to sit all day in the office. Sometimes, i have to compile data in the computer but other times, especially when there is a new offer, i go to the points of promotion and i interact with people. Since one month that i am officially an employee, i have also noticed some weaknesses of the business environment in Albania. Thinking about this, a new topic for my blog came in my mind: doing business in Albania.
I blame the Mediterranean climate for having so hot-blooded people in Albania :). Sometimes, it is hard to achieve an agreement or to find a common point because people are stubborn, in the meaning that they want to achieve what they want themselves. Communication is also missing, i feel like people think that the more they scream, the more it shows how tough they are. Organizing things is also very hard because people do what is not assigned as their job and they dont do what they are supposed to do. We are all 'leaders' here and it is hard to find the true leader. And when somethings goes wrong, we are perfectly able to leave the responsibility to someone else.
But, apart from what i wrote above, Albania is developing economically and positively in terms of business. When i was googling about business in Albania, i found the site www.doingbusiness.org which describes the business environment in 181 different economies in the world. According to this site and the surveys it has conducted, Albania is ranked the 86th out of 181 economies for the ease of doing business and compared to one year before, it has improved a lot by moving 49 ranks above from the 135th rank. Other fields in which Albania has improved are: starting a business (67th), protecting investor (14th), getting credit (12th) and employing workers (108th). Unfortunately, it has moved backward in: paying taxes (143th), trading across borders (77th), registering property (62nd), dealing with construction permits (170th) and enforcing contracts (89th).
Everyone who would like to invest in Albania should be aware of the positive changes and of the high possibility of success in possible investment. Of course, do not forget to check everything before starting a business and don't complain about possible surprises in this small Mediterranean country. Life is beautiful when it is organized but small surprises make it more interesting :).
I blame the Mediterranean climate for having so hot-blooded people in Albania :). Sometimes, it is hard to achieve an agreement or to find a common point because people are stubborn, in the meaning that they want to achieve what they want themselves. Communication is also missing, i feel like people think that the more they scream, the more it shows how tough they are. Organizing things is also very hard because people do what is not assigned as their job and they dont do what they are supposed to do. We are all 'leaders' here and it is hard to find the true leader. And when somethings goes wrong, we are perfectly able to leave the responsibility to someone else.
But, apart from what i wrote above, Albania is developing economically and positively in terms of business. When i was googling about business in Albania, i found the site www.doingbusiness.org which describes the business environment in 181 different economies in the world. According to this site and the surveys it has conducted, Albania is ranked the 86th out of 181 economies for the ease of doing business and compared to one year before, it has improved a lot by moving 49 ranks above from the 135th rank. Other fields in which Albania has improved are: starting a business (67th), protecting investor (14th), getting credit (12th) and employing workers (108th). Unfortunately, it has moved backward in: paying taxes (143th), trading across borders (77th), registering property (62nd), dealing with construction permits (170th) and enforcing contracts (89th).
Everyone who would like to invest in Albania should be aware of the positive changes and of the high possibility of success in possible investment. Of course, do not forget to check everything before starting a business and don't complain about possible surprises in this small Mediterranean country. Life is beautiful when it is organized but small surprises make it more interesting :).
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
It is time for blogging...and facebook! Part 2
I could continue the list of the benefits of internet..mainly facebook. Some would argue that it makes u lose time with unnecessary things but we are all grown-ups, and we can try to organize ourselves. Although, i would like to spend more time with facebook, i have other things to do which are more primary since i get my salary by doing those things :).
Just to give some short history, Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg when he was still a student in Harward and he is the youngest billionaire on earth. Here u have another advantage of facebook: success doesnt have limits, dont be afraid of the ideas u may have, with a little courage and ambition everything is possible...and an ounce of good luck :).
But, facebook has also met criticisms because it is seen as means of surveillance and data mining which is the process of sorting through large amounts of data and picking out relevant information. Private information of the facebook users can be easily extracted by business intelligence organisations, CIA or private individuals. The list of criticisms includes other points such as mini-feed option, secret crush widget, advertising, termination of accounts and censorships...for more read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook.
Well, i enjoy facebook so much and for the moment i feel lucky to use it and be updated with the changes in my cousins and friends'lives. What if it will be closed?? New facebooks will come together with new changes. We live in the time of changes :).
Just to give some short history, Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg when he was still a student in Harward and he is the youngest billionaire on earth. Here u have another advantage of facebook: success doesnt have limits, dont be afraid of the ideas u may have, with a little courage and ambition everything is possible...and an ounce of good luck :).
But, facebook has also met criticisms because it is seen as means of surveillance and data mining which is the process of sorting through large amounts of data and picking out relevant information. Private information of the facebook users can be easily extracted by business intelligence organisations, CIA or private individuals. The list of criticisms includes other points such as mini-feed option, secret crush widget, advertising, termination of accounts and censorships...for more read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook.
Well, i enjoy facebook so much and for the moment i feel lucky to use it and be updated with the changes in my cousins and friends'lives. What if it will be closed?? New facebooks will come together with new changes. We live in the time of changes :).
It is time for blogging...and facebook! Part 1
I am back to my blog finally. I havent been writing anything since June justifying myself that i was busy with exams and holidays. But, even now that i have started work, I am still busy and it will always be the same but there is always time for blogging :). I was thinking for different topics but there is one which seems to be more interesting for most of us...FACEBOOK...
Most of us have been easily addicted to facebook, although some of us get more chance to use it than others. At the beginning, it all started very simply...I just uploaded some pics and added some friends. But then everything became more interesting, I was finding old friends that i havent seen in years and since they had also uploaded pics, I could see how they had changed, to whom they were married or engaged, how their babies looked like, what my ex was doing and so on. Now, it is 'part' of my life and not only mine apparently. My cousin Elona doesnt like the new look of facebook and she is 'protesting' like some other friends about this change. One day, when all my photos disappeared together with my friend list, i called my cousin immediately to tell her what happened. I was so stressed :).
It is so amazing how people get connected to technology and mainly internet. And, the speed or the way technology changes influences so much on our everyday lives. We just need one laptop or computer to get connected to the world and to people we love; to make a change in the world'isues only by organizing and propagating on the people through a mail; to learn new things and exchange experiences; and so on...
Most of us have been easily addicted to facebook, although some of us get more chance to use it than others. At the beginning, it all started very simply...I just uploaded some pics and added some friends. But then everything became more interesting, I was finding old friends that i havent seen in years and since they had also uploaded pics, I could see how they had changed, to whom they were married or engaged, how their babies looked like, what my ex was doing and so on. Now, it is 'part' of my life and not only mine apparently. My cousin Elona doesnt like the new look of facebook and she is 'protesting' like some other friends about this change. One day, when all my photos disappeared together with my friend list, i called my cousin immediately to tell her what happened. I was so stressed :).
It is so amazing how people get connected to technology and mainly internet. And, the speed or the way technology changes influences so much on our everyday lives. We just need one laptop or computer to get connected to the world and to people we love; to make a change in the world'isues only by organizing and propagating on the people through a mail; to learn new things and exchange experiences; and so on...
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