It`s been several months since I left African soil to come to this island, and I`m pleased to say that apart from the initial acclimatisation phase, things have been just peachy. Of course, there is no end to individual experiences which remind me just how foreign this place is to me - like seeing signs proudly advertising the sale of eels and mash at a local caf'e, or playing games of Trivial Pursuit with a handicap safeguarding me from any questions relating to Coronation Street.
I`m not certain that advice from a Feng Shui expert alone ... will persuade me to sign to a new mobile contract.
Basheera Khan, UK contributor, ITWeb
There`s also the weather to consider; it`s summer in the Northern Hemisphere and it goes without saying that as far as the media goes, it`s considered to be the silly season. Small wonder then that every time I see the date, I feel dreadfully out of context - having associated the silly season with the month of December almost all my life, it`s quite easy to glance at the calendar and wonder why on earth it seems so wrong to find myself in the middle of the year and not the end.
But regardless of how confusing it may be to newbies like myself, the silly season it is - and no wonder, with stories like this one floating around.
Mobile phone retailer Phones 4U, which sponsors Birmingham City Football Club and Dienza Ducati in the British Superbike Championship, is trying to reach another potential market. It has teamed up with Paul Darby, a Feng Shui expert, and launched a "Phone Shui" Web site (www.phoneshui.co.uk).
Darby is an internationally registered consultant of the Feng Shui Society and is a member of its governing body. His Feng Shui smarts are tapped on a regular basis by many popular culture magazines in the UK and he has also won acclaim for lifting an apparent curse which dogged football teams using the notoriously unlucky dressing room at Cardiff`s Millennium Stadium.
Using the quiz on the Phone Shui Web site, one can determine the mobile phone which will match the two needs which the site punts as crucial: working with one`s inner energy and the image one wishes to project to the outside world.
For example, my results are as follows (and I advise anyone who`s got this far to fortify themselves with a hefty pinch of salt). According to Phone Shui, I am a person who tends to be most concerned with people and relationships, but I am also creative. These energies can best be harmonised by any of the following handsets - the Motorola V60i or V66i, the Nokia 8310 or the Sony Ericsson T68i.
And of course, the catch: "The Phone Shui team would like to offer you the perfect complement to these handsets. Print this e-mail and present it in your nearest Phones 4U store, you will then be able to claim your free accessory triple pack when you purchase any of these phones." The offer is, of course, subject to status and connection to a new 12-month contract.
The whole affair strikes me as boldly entertaining; certainly the branding exercise will pay off, and thanks to viral marketing, the Phone Shui Web site will soon be revelling in its 15 minutes of fame. But as far as new business development strategy goes, I`m not certain that advice from a Feng Shui expert alone, regardless of his high standing in the eyes of the media, will persuade me to sign to a new mobile contract.
But the adage of one being born every minute has been seen to hold true in the past, so no doubt, there will be some out there who will use an elephant design on their mobile phone in hope of improved career prospects, and there may even be people who, in hope of reviving the passion in their relationship, will tie their mobiles together with a red ribbon and charge them at the same time - in the southwest corner of their home or office, of course.
Somehow, I don`t foresee this trend taking hold. But I`m certain that Phones 4U will have fun while it lasts.
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