INSEAD Blog by Zanat0s the INSEAD(er) @ Tokyo ! The Biggest among INSEAD MBA blogs. Insead is over, blogging not.

Competitive Economies for MBA students

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The IMD Yearbook of Competitiveness:

The 20^th annual World Competitiveness Yearbook is published by IMD, a European TOP MBA(not as great as Insead- I am biased). The Yearbook ranks 55 economies on various competitive factors. IT tracks their path through the future Challenges. It is no surprise that US is number 1 for 15^th Years in a row. I believe there can be many people who will dispute that but remember the one who does the ranking doesn’t need to do them in a way that everybody agrees.

I am posting some of the results here so B-school applicants can think about places where they can get a job. It is very important since I believe everybody would rather work in a growing economy than to be in a slump. Opportunities await, take advantage of them.

One may complain that this is a European research, therefore more countries are represented. IT is true that European countries have 5 out of the 10 first places. Let me explain this is not a rnaking about how attractive an economy is but how competitive. For example Japan the world’s biggest economy is absent form the first 12 spots. That should surprise nobody. Japan may be big, but definitely not competitive. Another big absence is China. China is big and growing at trailblazer speeds is not the most open, competitive economy(you must have heard about state-owned companies).

Students should use this guide to decide where they would like to get employment after graduation. This is important because competitive countries/economies are always open to foreign talent(although this is not anymore for the USA).

Let the rankings begin:

Nr 12: Ireland

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 24
Government Efficiency: 7
Business Efficiency: 4
Infrastructure: 23

True Ireland is not what it used to be. It is not the only place with low taxes and the Euro is hurting. What Ireland was offering has already been copied by other countries and now Ireland is becoming an expensive place to do business. Opportunities abound in the pharma industry although it is moving eastward. Ireland has fallen behind in Telecommunications and Information technology. It is not Ireland’s fault that the center of the world is going eastern…

No. 11

Norway

Per Capita GDP: $55,610
Real GDP Growth: 3.5%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 10
Government Efficiency: 15
Business Efficiency: 13
Infrastructure: 10

One word: OIL! North Sea oil. Did you know that After Saudi Arabia and Russia, Norway is the 3^rd largest Exporter of oil? One of the richest countries in the world but at the same time most expensive too. I once bought a burger for almost 5 Euros(and that was 5 years ago, before inflation). I do not know where there are opportunities in this country other than the oil sector

No. 10

Netherlands

Per Capita GDP: $37,743
Real GDP Growth: 3.5%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 7
Government Efficiency: 17
Business Efficiency: 12
Infrastructure: 9

A country that has a great football team but never win any competitions. Great language abilities, very open economy(based on trade and international relations). Netherlands embodies the type of country that can make it on the 21^st century. There are some problems like entrepreneurship and research but I hope they will be fixed. A lot of opportunities exist in Holland due to European HQs

No. 9

Sweden

Per Capita GDP: $34,703
Real GDP Growth: 2.6%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 22
Government Efficiency: 11
Business Efficiency: 8
Infrastructure: 5

IKEA, H&M Volvo and other hail from Sweden(along with tall Scandinavian models).

Sweden ranked first for computers per capita and Internet users, and second for secondary-school enrollment, the efficiency of large corporations, and expenditure on research and development. Fiscal policy and tax regulations need to be tweaked. 60% income tax, I am sorry this is a bit too much.

No. 8

Canada

Per Capita GDP: $37,383
Real GDP Growth: 2.7%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 11
Government Efficiency: 8
Business Efficiency: 11
Infrastructure: 8

Think of US lite… Canada is a good mix of Europe and US. A very international place, Vancouver is more Asian than Caucasain. Oil is bringing in Billion of dollars, healthcare exists. Trade is booming. Canada is focusing resources on energy and letting foreign talent pour in. Microsfot opened a software center in Canada instead of the US because it was easier to bring foreign engineers.

No. 7

Australia

Per Capita GDP: $36,460
Real GDP Growth: 4.1%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 15
Government Efficiency: 5
Business Efficiency: 6
Infrastructure: 16

Mines, resources, Rio Tinto and others are showering in dollars. It ranks second to the U.S. among countries with more than 20 million people, thanks in part to fierce resilience to economic cycles, the ease of launching startups, and a high influx of foreign college students. But if I hear once again the phrase Mr. Rudd, the Chinese Speaking Prime Minister, I will go nuts! Australia has found itself near china and with great asian relationships: China and Japan. Cleantech is improving and the financial sector is strengthening itself. Though I do not believe it can become a Financial hub.

No. 6

Denmark

Per Capita GDP: $36,265
Real GDP Growth: 1.8%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 26
Government Efficiency: 4
Business Efficiency: 5
Infrastructure: 7

Another Scandinavian country joins the club. The Nordics prove my belief that culture is incredibly important for economic success. Bad cases in point include the Balkans..

Denmark as plenty going for it, placing first in the world for education, the percentage of broadband subscribers, employee motivation, positive attitudes toward globalization, and labor regulation. Though if Denmark become more right wing and doesn’t let immigration any more they will face problems(look at Japan), Europeans do not have an issue since they can go and work without any restrictions.

No. 5

Luxembourg

Per Capita GDP: $77,187
Real GDP Growth: 5.2%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 4
Government Efficiency: 14
Business Efficiency: 9
Infrastructure: 18

If one can call Luxemburg a country….  I have no comments about it. It was in the list so I have to refer to it.

No. 4

Switzerland

Per Capita GDP: $38,131
Real GDP Growth: 3.1%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 9
Government Efficiency: 3
Business Efficiency: 7
Infrastructure: 2

It boasts the world's third-largest current account surplus (16.8% of GDP). Unemployment is also unheard at 3.6%. It is supposed to have the best quality of life(but there is no definition about what is considered quality)among economies surveyed. Switzerland also placed first in finance and language skills, 3 official languages, first for its credit rating, and second for health expenditure. But expensive as hell itself.

No. 3

Hong Kong

Per Capita GDP: $41,110
Real GDP Growth: 6.3%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 5
Government Efficiency: 2
Business Efficiency: 1
Infrastructure: 19

Hong Kong placed first for stock market capitalization as a percentage of GDP: 902.6%. To do business is Hong Kong is as easy as it gets. Government has 1.3% of Debt(Italy and Greece have both 100% upwards). Proximity to China, English is spoken around the island. Good infrastructure. BUT small houses! Consider that.

Opportunities are to be found in Finance(This is the NY of the 21^st Century), in trading and logistics, Consultancies. As a matter of fact a lot of Bschool Graduates make the move to HK.

No. 2

Singapore

Per Capita GDP: $47,052
Real GDP Growth: 7.7%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 3
Government Efficiency: 1
Business Efficiency: 2
Infrastructure: 3

My sweetheart!  Efficient Government= Singaporean Government. Located equal time between India and China. Chinese and Indian population abound. Immigration of talent and money is more than welcome. They are trying to create a city of millionaires and they seem to be doing a great job at it. Singapore works by targeting sectors and attracts talent. SO if you are into technology, biotech or Digital graphics look at opportunities in this island state. Unemployment stands at a crazy (2.1%), and zero foreign debt make Singapore one of the healthiest economies in the world. Though growth comes with a price, it is called higher cost of living. I personally enjoyed many cheap lunches.

No. 1

U.S.

Per Capita GDP: $43,987
Real GDP Growth: 2.2%

World Competitiveness Rankings:
Economy: 1
Government Efficiency: 18
Business Efficiency: 3
Infrastructure: 1

The U.S. has ranked first on the World Competitiveness Scoreboard every year since 1994. But Singapore is closing in fast: The city-state trailed the U.S. this year by less than 0.7 points. US wake up otherwise you will become irrelevant in the years to come. Remember all Empires crumble from within.

Alexander’s, Qin’s, Rome’s, Byzantium’s,

Give China a break!

originally posted by Roark at e-roosters

Watching some days ago the angry protestors in London, I thought that after stopping globalization, the activist left has found a new raison d’être: bashing China. It would be funny though to see the faces of these uncompromising idealists when someone tells them that this China-bashing sport was actually invented and funded in US by their beloved neoconservatives and hardcore Republicans that want to see the growing superpower China facing as many problems as possible.

In regards to Tibet, here are some facts for the angry boys and girls that I am certain they never came across before:

• The recent riots in Lasha were nothing less than a planned pogrom against the wealthiest Han minority in the region. As this piece in The (not-especially-friendly-to-China) Economist describes,

"The destruction was systematic. Shops owned by Tibetans were marked as such with traditional white scarves tied through their shutter-handles. They were spared destruction. Almost every other one was wrecked."

To get a picture, remember the pogrom against the Greek community in Istanbul in the 1960’s.

• The reported (13?) dead that were presented in the western media as if they were rioters, were all ethnic Hans that were killed, most of them burnt alive, by Tibetans.

• In this pogrom, the Chinese police was totally absent in the beginning and showed up only after few days, when the destruction of the Han property by the Tibetans was almost complete. Even then, the only victims of violence were the police and ethnic Hans. As the Tibetan head of Tibet's regional government said:

"Chinese police did not fire their guns or use anti-personnel weapons against the Tibetan protesters, even though the Tibetans wounded 61 police officers, including six in serious condition"

In other words, the Chinese police in Lasha was as “brutal” and “threatening” as the Greek police is in riots and looting in Athens.

• The big picture now, China is not your typical oppressor. China consists of 56 nations and minorities tend to have more rights than the majority of Hans -for example, the one-child policy does NOT apply to the minorities. Personally, I find this a bit weird behavior for an oppressor.

• At the same time, Tibet enjoys a very high degree of autonomy in China, it has its own local government and increased legislative rights. Btw. it also has one of the highest economic growth rates in the country, due to deliberate infrastructure development from the central government.

• Historically, Tibet was almost always part of China. Given that China is multicultural with several regions (sthg like Canada), it will be impossible for any Chinese administration to allow the full independence of the biggest region, Tibet.

Now, China is far from a saint country and has a lot to answer when it comes to political liberties, environmental issues etc. But in this specific issue, don't believe the hype -give China a break

Facebook, will its own success alienate it from its users? Disables keep growing

Facebook disabled – Too much power?

This message was supposed to concern another subject but right now due to unexpected developments the main theme will have to be changed. For those of you who know FB(Facebook) no introductions are needed. In case you do not know it I think a small description will help you.

FB is a social utility platform. It is unique in a way that allows people to connect easily with people they already know. If I can summarize FB’s strengths in bullet points that would be:

1.      Great to keep in touch with former classmates all over the world

2.      Nice to see how friend are doing and where they are going

3.      Learning about events going on near somebody’s city or country

4.      Meet people through events, even though you may not have arranged that

5.      Create groups which only people with relevance can join

6.      Syndicate your blog and notes

Basically it has filled a great need in the marketplace. All other SN( Social Networks) do not offer any value or utility to their users. For example myspace is too cluttered. Hi5 is just profiles with cute widgets. For the reasons I stated above people love FB and it creates a networking effect. Here is a great example of how can FB thrive in this global world.

I went to an elementary school in Greece during a time that email didn’t exist. Hey I am not old by the way. I do not even remember my classmates. On Facebook I found on a friend’s page an old classmate of mine. What did I do? I connected with him and slowly slowly through friend’s pages I found my elementary school classmates. It was easier with my high school friends since it was a networking effect. FB has the Newsfee which notifies users of friend’s updates. For example I add Friend X, if my Friend Y knows my Friend X but they are not connected he can read on his newsfeed that zanat0s and Mr. X are now friends. He will try to contact Mr. X since they were both classmates. This is how most connections are made on FB.

For example my class, Anatolia 2000 is represented 50% on FB. One classmate took the initiative and organized a reunion(one I was unable to attend since I am in Tokyo). It was a success. Our school doesn’t have a good alumni site( I wonder if it exists actually). FB took that role. It filled a need in a timely and convenient way.

I also created a group called NIT(Networking In TOKYO) since I was new here and wanted to meet new people. Probably I wasn’t the only one, the group now has 430 people most of whom attend meetings and are active.

Of course too much of a good thing can backfire. FB has to be vigilant so it can avoid a backlash by users. If it gets spammed and people start getting poked too much or they get “annoyed” they will have no reason to join or use FB. Therefore FB has to have a vigilant police force. For better or for worse FB has its own policy(which is NOT clear and communicated to the users), there are some automated filters that identify “spammers” and terminate accounts. Myself has fallen victim to those filters 3 times now.

An example may be used to illustrate. There are some messaging limits. A user though doesn’t know whether these limits are daily, weekly or hourly nor does he know what the limits are. A user may receive a warning when he tries to send a message: The message will state: Warning you are sending too many messages, slow down or you will hit a block. Personally I find this baffling. Does it mean that the user has crossed the line or slow the rhythm with which the send the messages? I still do not know. After getting disabled once I decided to stop 100% whenever I got this message. Guess what! I would still receive a warning ( a strike) by email, 3 strikes and you are out.

I also found out that if you use Facebook Mobile(my primary platform of use you never receive any warnings, since they are not supported. Guess how many users will cross the arbitrarily set limits and face random deletions. Another point I would like to make is that when a users log on FB and checks his messages and replies to them he will still get penalized if he replies to them too fast(define fast!). Moreoever if a user gets disabled once the limits tend to get even more strigent. Ask me I know! What is even worse real spammers can get away with it(unless somebody reports) because they can game the system.

Of course these limits are there to protect users but it defeats FB’s mission: to connect people with each other. During my correspondence to FB they stated FB is not to exchange messages among users, which really baffles me. Email is dead by the way. SN and IM have replace email as the dominant form of communication. At the moment I am writing this message I have at least 211 unread messages in my account. I am afraid to read them or reply to them since I will be caught once again by the filters.

The reason I receive so many messages has to do with networking effects. The more people you know the more visible you become. The more networks or groups you belong to more people will be able to contact you. For example NIT group is only open to people who are based in Japan. There are a lot who want to join but cannot. They mail me and ask me questions. Another example NIT organizes biweekly lunches on Sundays. I send through the group invitations to members. A lot of them have questions or comments and contact me directly. If I do not reply to them they think I am a snob.

Last point, if you read Facebook Terms of Use, it states that all the information you upload belongs to facebook, especially the photos. After I had my account deleted it felt so bad that I lost all my pics! Facebook adds so much utility that it is scary after a while. I will stop using FB to contact people through FB to protect myself until FB communicates clearly its limits policy or makes warning more proactive. I do not want to have to explain to Facebook every time that I am abiding by the rules and that the filters got me by mistake.

Having said all that I want to communicate to all FB users that FB has an amazing Customer/user supports operation. They are there for the users and they will send you a personalized email not computer generated. They are willing to listen to you and look at your case objectively. Surely they must have a ton of work. If you google the term facebook disabled you will be amazed by the instances of people getting kicked out, some for valid reasons other by mistake.

I am truly amazed by how professionally the FB customer support team look at every case. Personally I want to thank Rufus, a guy whom I have “bothered” in the past but he always replied to my mail in a friendly way. If anybody has ever any problem with FB and they think that the filters got them by mistake do not hesitate to contact disabled@facebook.com or appeals@facebook.com! I wish everybody a happy Valentine’s day.

Zanat0s out!

Lessons In Humility

Lessons in Humility

Yesterday I went to play a game of 5 on 5 in Tokyo with my colleague. Along with us there were some people from a local MBA program. One of the guys was from country X. During the game he made a lot of comments regarding my nationality. I stopped enjoying the game and I got ready to leave.

This guy didn’t realize that he was the source of my discomfort and then he let a triple comment about my country of origin which really sealed the deal. Then I let a sign and left without replying. His mistake? My advice to everybody is never, never make any comment about one’s nationality, culture or family unless you know them well enough to do so.

At that moment he realized his transgression but it was too late. According to psychologists first impressions are difficult to overcome. It is a pity that happened since my colleague invited so I can meet other MBAs and fellow foreigners.

Unfortunately I missed the chance to go another dinner I was invited with good friends. I hope the blog’s readers will avoid these socially stupid comments and be mentally aware of their behavior when it comes to strangers. Remember you never know when you may meet a random person again in life

The Japanese procedure

So now that my quest is over, what does it take to work in Japan and how can you get a good job in the 2nd biggest economy in the world (which is also the greyest)? There are interesting questions but the answers are elusive. There are tons of people who want to work in Japan, other for profit, other because they are interested in Japan and another portion who want to build a better CV.

First of all Japan is a very domestic economy with a special domestic market. There is a special form of competition and cooperation between domestic firms when it comes to the internal market. I call this form of rivalry coopetition. Firms, especially domestic ones hire only locals, since local specialized knowledge is required. International companies are more open to hire foreigners but those hires are mostly expats or transfers who have specific knowledge of one industry or other skills. For example financial companies who do trades and research do not necessarily need Japanese employees, but number-crunchers. That’s the main reason most Investment banks are infested with tons of gaijins!

I tried personally to enter post my MBA a marketing job in Japan but all my efforts were in vain for various reasons(the main one being my inability to converse business Japanese). I had some offers to use my talents in different positions by working for Japanese companies in Europe though. Of course commitment and consistency brought results. I found a company who could use my abilities and my non Japanese/Asian origin as a plus. After 4 rounds of interviews I got the job. I won’t disclosure where I will be working or the details of my job yet since I am obliged not to before the start of my official employment.

Believe me when I say that working for a Japanese company is a challenge. Even Japanese themselves do not want to work for Japanese companies. They must know better. My friends at INSEAD pleaded with me to reject the offer. I am aware of(or at least I think I know) where I am getting myself into. If I can make it in Japan I can succeed in every other developed market.

So after I “accepted” the offer I needed to overcome the Japanese bureaucracy, which is really a burden. Here is the process for most foreigners. First of all whoever wants to work/live in Japan needs to have a reason to do so. For example people who would like to work in Japan, cannot just move there. A company must hire the foreigner in advance in order to get permission to enter and stay/work there. There are some steps which need to be taken before the official work can begin. The biggest time consuming process is to get permission by the Japanese state to be employed there. Unless foreigners bring know-how or money, they are not welcomed

The certificate in question is called Certificate of residential eligibility which is issued by the immigration department. This Certificate which takes almost a month to be prepared is more or a pain in the neck(to be politically correct). The employer is supposed to take care of it(since it is he who needs you). You send to your employer tons of different documents(degrees, language certification, CV, resume, criminal records and Passport copies). The employer needs to draft a reason for recruitment. After the procedure has been finalized the employer will mail to the potential employee the employment contract and also the certificate of eligibility to the country of residence.

Then there is the easy part, which takes 4 working days, of applying for a working visa. In my case I was advised to this in my country of residence, according to the Japanese embassy though in Singapore If I have the COE I can apply for a working Visa all over the world(no limitations). The trip to Japan is next step. But not everything is over yet. What about Alien registration, payroll accounts and housing? I have no previous experience with the aforesaid other this: to get a place in Japan, I mean a room(pretty small compared to European standards) means that the tenant needs to pay 6 rentals in advance( 2 are agent’s fee, 2 are key-money and 2 for deposit). That is a huge investment! Someone also has to “guarantee” for the renter just in case. Personally I am lucky since due to my position and level all of these are being take care for me.

A minor detail: Although an employee has the COE, it is tied to the company he is working for. So if the employee is fired or changes his work he needs to go through the procedure once again. The only difference that now the “new” company doesn’t need to re-issue a new COE. Why is this important? Let me give a vivid example. Let’s suppose Mister Y has signed a contract with company A for 5 years. He receives a COE and a working VISA for 5 according to his COE. If during those 5 years there is a new chance and Mr. Y wants to jump ships then his 5 years COE is annulled and he will receive a new (the duration depends on the contract’s duration) which may last only for 1 year.

According to some friends of mine (Chinese origin) you can get the Japanese citizenship (passport) after 4 years of permanent residence(not studying) in Japan. I called the embassy but they couldn’t confirm it. Most of those who gave me this number I should also say the studied in Japan for 4 years before they started working. Getting the Japanese passport means getting rid of your European passport, or whatever passport you hold (not a good trade-off If you ask for my opinion).

There is also the issue of double taxation. You are required to pay payroll taxes and also income taxes. There is an agreement between EU and Japan which lets you pay taxes to the country where you are based for more than 181 days per years. Otherwise you may pay taxes not only in Japan but also your original country. This must be taken into consideration since Japan is not a high-tax country(compared to most Europeans). Something I learnt from my boss is that foreigners pay also residence taxes(something like local taxes) after they have stayed in Japan more than 2 years.

Last but not least health insurance is covered by contributions and offered by the employer. I do not know any details about this subject since it is in my contract.

I hope you will find this article interesting and helpful.

Zani out!

The Japanese procedure

So now that my quest is over, what does it take to work in Japan and how can you get a good job in the 2nd biggest economy in the world (which is also the greyest)? There are interesting questions but the answers are elusive. There are tons of people who want to work in Japan, other for profit, other because they are interested in Japan and another portion who want to build a better CV.

First of all Japan is a very domestic economy with a special domestic market. There is a special form of competition and cooperation between domestic firms when it comes to the internal market. I call this form of rivalry coopetition. Firms, especially domestic ones hire only locals, since local specialized knowledge is required. International companies are more open to hire foreigners but those hires are mostly expats or transfers who have specific knowledge of one industry or other skills. For example financial companies who do trades and research do not necessarily need Japanese employees, but number-crunchers. That’s the main reason most Investment banks are infested with tons of gaijins!

I tried personally to enter post my MBA a marketing job in Japan but all my efforts were in vain for various reasons(the main one being my inability to converse business Japanese). I had some offers to use my talents in different positions by working for Japanese companies in Europe though. Of course commitment and consistency brought results. I found a company who could use my abilities and my non Japanese/Asian origin as a plus. After 4 rounds of interviews I got the job. I won’t disclosure where I will be working or the details of my job yet since I am obliged not to before the start of my official employment.

Believe me when I say that working for a Japanese company is a challenge. Even Japanese themselves do not want to work for Japanese companies. They must know better. My friends at INSEAD pleaded with me to reject the offer. I am aware of(or at least I think I know) where I am getting myself into. If I can make in Japan I can succeed in every other developed market.

So after I “accepted” the offer I needed to overcome the Japanese bureaucracy, which is really a burden. Here is the process for most foreigners. First of all whoever wants to work/live in Japan needs to have a reason to do so. For example people who would like to work in Japan, cannot just move there. A company must hire the foreigner in advance in order to get permission to enter and stay/work there. There are some steps which need to be taken before the official work can begin. The biggest time consuming process is to get permission by the Japanese state to be employed there. Unless foreigners bring know-how or money, they are not welcomed

The certificate in question is called Certificate of residential eligibility which is issued by the immigration department. This Certificate which takes almost a month to be prepared is more or a pain in the neck(to be politically correct). The employer is supposed to take care of it(since it is he who needs you). You send to your employer tons of different documents(degrees, language certification, CV, resume, criminal records and Passport copies). The employer needs to draft a reason for recruitment. After the procedure has been finalized the employer will mail to the potential employee the employment contract and also the certificate of eligibility to the country of residence.

Then there is the easy part, which takes 4 working days, of applying for a working visa. The trip to Japan is next step. But not everything is over yet. What about Alien registration, payroll accounts and housing? I have no previous experience with the aforesaid other than to get a place in Japan, I mean a room(pretty small compared to European standards) means that the tenant needs to pay 6 rentals in advance( 2 are agent’s fee, 2 are key-money and 2 for deposit). That is a huge investment!

I hope you will find this article interesting and helpful.

Zani out!

A new start-up from another INSEAD alumni

Hi everyone,

a very good friend of mine is launching his start-up. He has just set up a teaser website giving an idea of what his company is about. Insead alumni are famous for being entrepreneurial and setting up their own companies. There is a strong team making this company real full with talented individuals. I would like to say more about this issue but then you would have no incentive to visit the website and find out for yourselves. If my introduction has sparked your interest you shouldn't be able to wait for the real thing when it is out. For the time being you can just follow thins link to the teaser website! Enjoy!

The new trend in creativity

After 12 years experiencing the internet I have wtinessed a lot of changes all these years. I remeber when people starting using the internet most will try to funnel their creativity through internet. A huge majority started by creating their own graphics and designs. As techonlogy progressed videos and small games were created by applications as Flash and shockwave. That was the major trend until the 2000s.

WIth faster internet connections and more powerful computers a new Gerne started to emerge: AMVS. ANimated Music videos. Talented individuals would try to create their own music videos. The recipe for success was there a lot of P2P programs and sites gave the material: anime episodes and movies and thousands of Mp3s! The editors were on the internet either cracked or purchased. AMVs were and still are a major internet phenomenon.

There have been thousand of competitions, conventions both offline and online. Me myself have watched tons and have posted some on my site.

Humans per se are creative creatures and they need to funnel their creativity somewhere. The internet is a great platfom, you need a PC an idea and a internet connection an dthe world is your stage. My best friends( Jonko, Bonko and Bakarilos) and I have direceted our own comedy shows offline and we still have these records. Who knows i may end up uploading them on Youtube!

Youtube is full with people who post anything just for the sake of it. The last trend to emerge is ADMV(this is my own term) Avatar Directed Music Videos.  These videos are msuic videos the only diffreence is that the stars are neither real people nor animated cartoons but 3D generated computer characters called AVATARS and they are used in the MMORPG(Masive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games).  MMOs are here to stay and people love them. So some people started creating their own versions of some songs with their avatars as the main star! These must be give a lot of freedom regarding actions(since computer characters obey to the commands given to them) but of course may require more thinking and synchronization! What's is next?

I have posted 2 videos for your reference. One of them is based on the game called Lineage while the second one is WOW(a.k.a WOrld of Warcraft). What I was thinking is these videos more or less are like real-life music videos. In case you need a special place to "shoot" your video you may need special permission in order not to have different avatars running through the stage ruining the shoot or you don't want to be in th emiddle of inter-galactic war!

How recognised are university degrees in Greece?

PLANS to computerise the country's system for validating foreign university degrees is just six months away, George Leondaris, president of the Hellenic National Academic Recognition and Information Centre , told a special parliamentary committee on May 31.

But this technological upgrading may be unrealistic in a country that has yet to computerise its paper-based public sector. Greece is still struggling to implement a multimillion euro endeavour known as Syzevxis (Harnessing), which was launched in December 2000 to put local and central government online. Which was another waste of our taxmoney

Leondaris, however, said he is confident that e-assessment will succeed in breathing new life into DOATAP (formerly DIKATSA). Of course he couldn't say otherway

If all goes according to plan, a special computer programme will be used to process the information for each degree application in order to determine whether the degree satisfies the conditions for recognition(which are numerous). At present, it is almost impossible to contact DOATAP by telephone(m i have tried) - the line is always busy (there are only three telephone operators or so i have heard)) - and information on its website (www.doatap.gr) is available only in Greek, pretty simple since no1 who studied abroad would like to return to greece.

"We are almost ready [to implement] this so-called e-assessment system," Leondaris told a cross-party parliamentary committee. He said he has spent the past two years preparing for the new technologies to shed DOATAP's reputation of long queues and bureaucratic difficulties and delays.

"We have tried to quantify these two types of recognition," he said, explaining that parity will be based on the number of academic credits earned by the foreign-degree holder.

To simplify the system for recognising equivalence, Leondaris said he has drafted a list of "core" classes that foreign-university degree holders should have completed.

At present, the recognition (parity and equivalence) of foreign degrees by DOATAP is a four-step process that can take between two months and two years(just to recognise it:

1. Applications are filed and registered. Applicants receive a priority number (protokolo)

2. Applications (including transcripts, confirmation of graduation etc) are reviewed by members of DOATAP's academic committee, which meets twice a month

3. Applications are reviewed by DOATAP's advisor (eisigitis)

4. Applications are brought before the president of DOATAP for final approval or rejection

Problems

DOATAP, which receives an average of 1,000 applications each week(DO NOT FORGET that Greece is the country with one of the higher percentage of students studying abroad, except me), reportedly spent the past two years reducing a backlog of some 10,000 applications. Half of all applications involve degrees earned from universities in the United Kingdom.
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Another problem has to do with American-degree holders who had enrolled at a community college before transferring to a four-year university degree programme. DOATAP, however, can only recognise the university degree if the holder has not earned more than 30 credits at the community college.

The biggest problem facing DOATAP today, however, has to do with thousands of university graduates who began their studies at a local KES (a local private liberal arts institution affiliated with a university abroad).

The Internet Movement of Amalia's Friends

ANNOUNCEMENT TO MEDIA

It was only natural that today’s internet protest “For Amalia” brought a lot of attention to the Greek blogs. We are bombarded with invitations from t.v. stations in order to comment as bloggers about our initiative. We choose however not to participate in any news or show for the following reasons:

• We have deep respect for Amalia Kalyvinou’s memory, who chose to fight with strength and dignity till the end.

• We have deep respect for her family’s and friends’ mourning for their loss.

• The reason for our protest being massive is exactly that it is unselfish and completely off any political or economic interests. We focus on the core of the problems and not on show-offs and futile debates.

• We regard anyone’s intentions to take advantage of Amalia’s tragic loss for feeding his/her vanity, off-mark, to say the least

• We believe that free expression via the internet is multi-collective by nature. However, in a team effort like today’s, there can be no single person who can represent such an uneven group.

• Organizing today’s movement was achieved by democratic processes open to everyone, aiming at sensitizing the State, the citizens and the Healthcare community about the ineffectiveness and corruption phenomena of the Greek National Health System.

Thank you for the invitation you addressed to us and for the publicity you keep on giving to our protest.

We continue.

INTERNET MOVEMENT OF AMALIA’S FRIENDS