Spam filters – friend or foe?

I have to admit that, although I understand why they were developed and people use them, I hate spam filters.

Please, don’t misunderstand me – I hate Spam!, but I probably hate spam filters even more!  They are like computers and technology in general … they offer so much and when they work they appear to be wonderful and really useful … the trouble is that they don’t always work – or, at least don’t work well, and do what they are intended to do.

Not long ago, for example, we received a booking at the hotel … by email … and responded with a confirmation.  Then we received a message asking for a response to the earlier message.  We didn’t understand – we had responded and replied accordingly with another copy of the confirmation.  A little while later, our first message was returned to us – it had been rejected by the receiver’s server which “thought” it was spam.  So we sent it again with a cover note from a different address … this one apparently got through because the client replied – apologetically – thanking us for the reply but saying that, as he hadn’t heard from us he had since booked with another hotel.

If it had been “snail mail” the postman wouldn’t have filtered the communication, he would have delivered the message and it would then be for me to decide what to do with it … read it, act on it, reply to it or file it – for example in the waste bin.  It would only be “returned to sender”, (as Elvis Presley put it), if the address proved to be wrong or for some reason it was rejected by the recipient (although that might involve a special “return fee”).

There is of course, a difference between the postal service and email.  The customer who posts a letter pays for the service – he concludes a contract with the postal service who have an obligation to deliver it to the address they have been given.  In the case of email, the situation is not so clear cut … but it seems to me that, in principle, it’s the same … the internet providers have an obligation to deliver the message if at all possible.

In this particular case the recipient – or his Internet Service Provider – had installed a filter which not only marked a message as “suspected spam”, but actually rejected it.  The one good thing about the filter used in this particular case is that it bothered to tell the sender, (that is, us), that it had been unable to deliver the message … so that we could, at least, try to do something about it.

Now, my email engine comes with an automatic spam filter … and I can’t turn it off … but, at least it receives the messages and siphons them off to a special folder.  That means I can then, at least, look at the messages and decide what I want to do with them … and, to be fair, most of the time – that is more than 50% or the time – the messages can indeed be considered spam … BUT … a number of them are not.  In my opinion a substantial number … OK, in my opinion, even one message is substantial … in the example above it actually cost us business.  Depending on the content of the message – it could be even worse.

As I said … I hate spam … and I get a lot of spam – but, to be fair, it’s not as much as 90%.

For the record: it is said that the first email spam, was an advert for a presentation by Digital Equipment Corporation and was sent out to all users on ARPANET (several hundred users) on 3rd May, 1978.  It wasn’t until the 1990s that the use of the internet for mass advertising really took off … and it’s estimated that nowadays something in excess of 90% of email messages constitute spam.  It is also said that most spam is received in America and Europe – which isn’t all that surprising … but we get our fair share of it here in Central Asia as well.

I go through the messages in my spam box and look at each one … and, although as I said, some of the messages are not in fact spam, most of them are … and are duly ignored or deleted.

Amongst the spam messages … there are a number which are particularly galling.  Not the adverts that are trying to attract my attention … they are unsolicited emails so in one way count as spam but because sometimes – just sometimes – they contain interesting or useful information – so they don’t really qualify under the definition as being “unwanted” emails.

The ones I am thinking of are the “scams“.

I recently came across an interesting feature article: Internet Scams That Still Fool People.  They weren’t all email scams, but the vast majority were … and I have received, (and ignored), examples of most of them.  Included among them were:

The so-called “Nigerian” scam:

This is one of the most common all Internet scams and the name refers to the fact that it first came to prominence in messages claiming to come from Nigeria.  The scam apparently has a history that long predates the internet … by maybe a hundred or so.   

It is often claimed that the author is something like a “rich Nigerian prince”, who want to share some of his fortune for philanthropic purposes, or as an investment; or maybe it’s a banker who gain access to a large sum of money in a frozen account, … or well, you have probably received several of these so I don’t need to enumerate the various versions that I have see.  The catch is that, in order to receive your share of the money that he is offering, you have to cover various fees – for example, in order to transfer it into a new account.

In the days before the internet, of course, such messages were delivered by post … and apparently, some people are still using the post.  Some time ago now, I received a visit in the office from an acquaintance, a lady of some age and experience, intelligent and well connected – by no means a simple person – who was in charge of a small charity which had only recently opened and been registered.  She was in a somewhat “excited state”.

After we had completed all the customary pleasantries without which a meeting cannot start, she reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope … and somewhat breathlessly handed it to me read.  I was somewhat taken aback … it was in English, which is why she had brought it to me … although she had tried reading it, the only thing that she had seemed to have registered she really understood was the mention of “1,400,000 dollars”.  It seems that one of her relatives knew a little English and had said something about the sender wanting to share it with her charity.   What, she asked me, did she have to do to get the money?

I have absolutely no idea how the sender had got the name and address of the charity – as I said, it had only just started work and been registered.  I felt really sorry for her as I explained that it was 99.999999999…% certain to be an aphorism - a con trick or scam …  showing her copies on my computer of similar letters that we had received by email.   Even faced with this evidence and agreeing with me about the dubious nature of the missive, I could see in her face the reluctance to accept, after all – as they say here: Nadezhda oomeraiyet posledniye  – “Hope is the last to die”.

Incidentally – I have also seen a similar letter in Russian…

Similar to this are the “inheritence” scams … someone I have I have never heard of has died and left me lots of money … yeah?, really?  Is that likely?

Some of the scams are honest enough to admit that, no … the legacy is not for you, but they want you (or me) to pretend to be a long lost relative and claim the inheritance.  I suppose that if someone agrees to go along with this and participate in such a scheme it makes it more difficult to back out (having already made themselves a potential hostage to blackmail) or complain to the authorities when somebody starts asking for payments to pay “fees” and make the necessary arrangements.

The “Congratulations – Your a Winner!” scam

A congratulatory email will land in your inbox stating that you’ve won a prize … maybe a large jackpot in a foreign lottery, and inviting you to claim your prize.  

The catch is that all you need to do is pay a “processing fee” …

For the record: Lottery holders are pretty clear about who is eligible to win the lottery and how they have to win it. Usually, foreigners cannot win national lotteries, and Lottery organizers would not contact winners via email – even if they knew the address – to inform them that they have won.  

I first came to Kyrgyzstan I had a UK lottery ticket which was still valid after I had left the country … so I left it with a friend, (trusting, of course, to his honesty and fairness), because, if it did win – I wouldn’t be able to claim the prize.

You may never have bought a ticket … but that doesn’t matter because, perhaps,  it’s you’re email address that has won, having been selected at random … and, I suppose, that helps to explain how they got your email. 

Similar to that is the:

“You’ve won an award” scam

This is sent to businesses … and they’ve obviously got the address from a business directory somewhere.

We often get, for example, letters that we have won an award as “Gold Star” hotel … perhaps based on reports, nominations and recommendations from previous guests.  It’s all free – there is no charge … no administration fees … but we have to go and attend the ceremony in some far flung place … well, it is for us … the costs of transport, accommodation, meals and the various events at the function do mount up – and are presumably inflated by hidden fees and commissions..

It’s not exactly an internet scam, but here there has been a spate of SMS telephone scams … and another acquaintance told me how they had received a call saying that such and such a company is running a promotional campaign … a lottery competition in which their number has been drawn as a winner …  but to receive the prize they had to pay “the tax” which they could do by paying it into a special account and when they  had done that, then their telephone account would be credited with the “prize”.

There was always the added pressure that the campaign was about to close … so they had to do everything that day … yes … right … and the “tax” account would be cleared out before anyone realized that their phone account hadn’t been credited with the prize money.

As I often tell the kids, as a general rule – and not just for the Internet – anything that claims you’ve won, when you never entered in the first place, is a scam.

As the saying goes: If it seems too good to be true – it probably is!

The Lucrative Job Offer:

Apparently many scammers are using popular job sites to find potential scam victims – but it seems that they’ll also send out messages to anyone on a list on the off chance.  They send a message claiming they have an unbeatable job offer … for you … but the catch is that in order to be considered for it, you’ll need to give money up front and provide your personal information for “tax purposes”.

Yeah!  Right! that sounds likely doesn’t it.

Phishing expeditions

Phishing is a common form of scam that uses fake websites and credentials to try and trick someone into providing personal information – like account numbers and passwords.  These mimic messages from real websites or firms … banks, ebay, on-line stores and so on.  They look exactly like the “real thing”, using all the logos, graphics, layout and so on … except that the links you are invited to click on take you to a phoney site where, once again, everything looks real … but the information that the user types in goes straight to the scammers, (who then use it to change the password on the real site, empty the account and steal the person’s identity to use elsewhere).

I really hate getting these pretending to be ebay or some other site that I don’t use … it’s so obvious that it’s a scam.

Once I did get one from someone pretending to be a bank that I do use … but it seemed so strange that they would use email to contact me like this by email, (especially as they have an extremely convoluted security system for their internet banking service), and so the first thing I did was to check the links … and sure enough, they were fake … so I sent the bank a message along the lines of, “I thought you would like to know that I received this …”, together with a with a copy of the email.  I am not sure what surprised me most about this incident, that a phishing expedition would be mounted on customers of a Kyrgyz bank here in Bishkek – or that the bank never even acknowledged the email – yet alone, as far as I am aware did anything about it.

The plant:

The article also mentioned the fake virus scan that, instead of identifying and eliminating viruses on your hard drive,  actually installs a virus on your machine … perhaps an example of Ransomware  which threatens to trash your datafiles if you don’t cough up the dough … I understand that there are sites that manage to do this by getting the surfer to click on particular links that then download and run the programme.  Although that’s not strictly on topic as it’s an on-line scam … we do seem to get a lot of strange files sent as attachments … and many of them are more than just a bit suspect.

I once received a notice to appear in court in the United States, purporting to come from a firm of lawyers who were acting as the “clerk to the court” with the warning that if I didn’t turn up then the judge would decide the case in my absence … the relevant paperwork about the case was in the “attached file”.  If I had any questions I could “get in touch” and was given an address to contact.

As I sat wondering what on earth it was talking about … a court case? … in Texas? … and ignoring the temptation to open the file I moved down the inbox to read the rest of the mail.  By the end of the list I had two more similar emails … from the same email address … but with different cases being heard on different days … and “signed” by different people.

Unlike the ordinary Phishing attacks, the email address and the links quoted in the message all looked fine … until I did a Google search on the firm … and discovered that it was a good, well established, reputable, large firm – with an office in the appropriate city – the web address for the home page of the site was correct, but the signatories were all probably phony in that they weren’t listed on the site and there was still something wrong with the email address …   and then, when I got the hotel, I found two more similar, but slightly different, messages waiting for me …

I decided that I was being shouted at … loud and clear … SCAM! SCAM! SCAM! (… “and what I say three times is true”!!!)

… but, the interesting thing about ths incident (an the reson I am writing about as a plant and not a phishing attack), was that one of the messages on one of the three computers which received the messages … was picked up by one of the virus scanners installed as “infected” … oddly enough the other messages all passed the malware scans – even when tested with the same scanner.

I write to the law firm because I thought they would like to know that their name was being used in this way … and someone apparently found a way to attach a fake email address to their server … interestingly enough they was no response – not even an acknowledgement.  And this is a firm where a former President of the United States apparently used to work as a student intern.

The article went on to list a number of other scams, but as they basically operated on line and didn’t involve emails, I’ll pass over them here.

I think, however, that they missed some  … perhaps one of them was supposed to be number 15 on their list, (it said there were 15, but there were only 14 – I checked … several times).  One is what I call the:

Help me! scam

You receive an email apparently from someone you know who claims to be somewhere away from home and have been robbed, maybe they are in hospital, and they are totally devoid of funds, credit cards and any other visible means of support.  Can they borrow some money which they will repay you when they get back home.  Please send them by Western Union or some other service $x.  If you reply then they provide you with some tidbits of personal information to prove that they are who they say they are … but it’s not true … maybe their wallet has been stolen … maybe an on-line account has been hacked … and maybe they know enough to know that you cannot contact them in any other way (maybe the person is away from home, traveling).

Then there is what I call the:

Credit card order:

This is something that we get two or three times a day … a booking or request for services … usually quite a valuable order … and to make it more attractive the “client” offers to pay in full … by credit card.  The trouble is that if you take the booking then either:

1.) they’ll cancel and ask for a refund – but ask for it to be sent to a different bank account – maybe their is a problem with the credit card they used originally and the account has been closed …  or …

2) can we do them a favour and pay a bill for them – add the cost to our bill and add a commission to pay ourselves for the trouble – and … or …

Well, you get the idea … they’ll want you to do something … so that they can get their hands on the money which is presumably coming from a stolen credit card.

Fortunately, the banking rules here are quite strict … although exceptions can be made, the banks basically want the card holder present during the transaction, whilst the card is swiped through the terminal and to sign the slip … and they tell us that refunds can only be made to the same source … and payments to third parties abroad attract a stinging “non-residents” tax (unless you have the relevant paperwork … which, of course, is not available) … so even if we manage to get past the initial stage of the correspondence … we’ve got a fairly easy let-out … without actually having to tell someone that we think they are a crook.

I say, “if we get past the initial stage” … it is actually getting harder to spot some of these scams early on … as the perpetrators are getting cleverer and cleverer.  It used to be, for example, that:

• when a message was typed in UPPER CASE LETTERS that was a sure give away that something was amiss … but nowadays they seem to have found the caps lock key,
• they used to refer to “your country” or “your place”, or order tickets for a flight between Johannesburg to New York via London – and back (… why on earth they would they want to order those tickets for that itinerary from a travel agent in Central Asia????), but nowadays they actually customize the messages to refer in some way to Kyrgyzstan …
• they used to have email addresses from a generic free provider like gmail or yahoo, but now thy use other addresses which are either not so obviously from such a general third party server, but they even manage to hijack addresses off real servers …
• they used to tell you up front the whole story – “we’ll pay in full in advance by credit card” … but now they may not say anything about payment in the first email … but wait for a reply and then confirm “Yes, that’s fine … please charge my credit card … here are the details …”

… and so on …

These days I am even getting these messages in Russian … but not yet in Kyrgyz  although I suppose that this is probably just a question of time.

Although a lot of these scam messages are detected by the spam filters … unfortunately not all of them are … a fair number get through to the regular inbox … and then I still have to go through the spam box to see if any messages have been wrongly identified … to I can’t escape these scams altogether anyway …  so, perhaps you’ll understand why I say that I hate spam filters as much as, if not more than the spam itself.

The slogan may have been borrowed from New York … but it describes a strong sense of civic pride that people here feel for their city

Earlier this week I came across an interesting post on the kloop internet portal …  although the site has a blog in English, this particular post was in Russian – which makes sense because it was really aimed at a local audience.  Even so, I thought it was particularly interesting and well worth sharing with a wider audience … and so I decided to do so.

In short … I am not an interpreter so I am not going to try and translate what she wrote, (and if, in my paraphrasing, I hit the wrong note anywhere, I apologize) … she points out that in social media there has been a lot of discussion recently about Bishkek and life in the capital.  The emphasis in the comments has concentrated on negative aspects, problems and so forth.  This got the editorial team at kloop wondering – what about the other side of the coin? … what is there about Bishkek “to love” … (after all, there’s been a city wide campaign “I ♥ Bishkek”) … and what are the distinctive features which help distinguish it from other cities around the world?

Personally, I had a slight problem with that, because I think she’s asking two different questions … and the answers may well be different … the proximity to the mountains may also be found in other feature associated with other cities but, to me at least, it is certainly a great attraction of the city … but I’ll let that pass for now.

Among the list she came up with were:

• Convenience stores and Pharmacies … it’s possible to buy almost anything at any time of the day or night …;
• Tolerance … although there may be individual manifestations of nationalism, basically the city offers a friendly and accepting environment for people from all over the world …;
• Cheap, diverse and relatively health food … with a striking variety of cuisine represented among the cafes and restaurants in the city … and especially the recent the recent trend of coffee chops that have sprung up;
• A Spirit of freedom … with a “sideswipe” at the opportunity to over the government every five years, (and another about “protest rallies against protest rallies”), she notes that many people from our neighbouring countries are often surprised at the diversity of what is permitted in Bishkek … a “freedom of expression” which is is not to be found in other cities throughout the region … and people do not feel that they have to “hide their relationship”;
• Barrels of Maksym – the traditional Kyrgyz (cool, refreshing, inexpensive and healthy non alcoholic) beverage sold from barrels on most street corners in the city center which is a truly distinctive flavour to the city, a sign of  the warmer climes of Spring and Summer and, (albeit an acquired taste which some tourists don’t have enough time to asquire), extremely popular – so popular that a suggestion that they be removed caused a wave of indignation among the citizenry;
• Gender equality (well, relatively speaking) … perhaps the tolerance and spirit of freedom results in a more liberating environment for women to take part in running businesses, in expressing themselves and in what they wear … with an active and vibrant civil society that includes a number of “feminist” groups;
• Taxis … the city has a fast and efficient, convenient and affordable, friendly and customer orientated … and competitive collective of taxi services that cannot be rivaled within the region, and possibly much further afield,
• Greenery … the city that was once known as the “Greenest city in the world”, despite losing parkland to development and the felling of many trees, is still rich in abundant vedant  landscape;
• Flea markets – well, bazaars where almost anything (apart from fleas) can be found on sale; she uses the phrase Veshshevie bazaary for which “flea market” is the best equivalent phrase in English … but she has also in mind the gargantuan bazaars such as Dordoi - on the outskirts of Bishkek.

She points out that the list is not necessarily exhaustive … and there’s an appeal for comments and further suggestions.  Indeed, although I think it is quite a good list, I can see that some people might want to question one or two of them …

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Apart from the list itself, what I found particularly refreshing was the fact that the article tried to focus on the positive aspects of life here in Bishkek, rather than the negative.

Criticism, discrimination and prejudice are examples of words which are double edged … but because of the way they are used in everyday speech we tend to think of it in only way way – negatively.

Take criticism, for example, which describes making a judgement of the merits and faults of something or someone … note that “merits or faults” … but because it is usually applied to comments that are adverse, it is usually associated with “finding fault” and we tend to forget that it has this double edged nature.  The word probably derives from the ancient Greek kritos, (judge), kritikos, (able to make judgments), and krisis, (the the result of a judgment as in a trial) … where the emphasis is on the process of making a judgement and not on the nature of the judgement itself.

It is true that we sometimes talk about a minor criticism, or positive criticism or constructive criticism as a way of ameliorating this negative aspect and trying to make is more palatable – because people find being criticized an unpleasant experience and tend to react badly, going all defensive.

I suppose one reason for this negative association that the word has, is that more often than not, criticism tends to negative, highlights weaknesses and finds fault.  After all, it is usually a lot easier to enumerate deficiencies and describe potential desirable improvements.

As the leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats pointed out to his party members shortly after entering into a coalition with the country’s Conservative Party, it’s easier to be in opposition than to be in power and take responsibility for decisions.  Sometimes it seems as if it is easier to sit back, to harp and snipe at those in power than to critically weigh up the pros and cons of an argument, balancing principle with the practicalities of the situation and making an informed judgement and coming to a decision about what course of action to take.

I remember being on a course where one of the activities was to work in pairs and for a period of several minutes to give each other a positive critique of something … then, for a second period of several minuets, a negative critique of the same thing.  It’s surprising how easy it was to be negative … and how hard it was to be positive.

I notice in several conversations I have with locals, (especially when they have asked how come I ended up here in Kyrgyzstan?, why I am still here? and when I plan to return “home” to the UK), how they appear almost eager to describe the pitfalls, difficulties and disadvantages … and as a result, in my opinion, lose sight of the benefits, the good and the potential that is available for those who are able to take advantage of them.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t pay attention to the negative aspects of life and strive to overcome them and improve things … but it’s a balance and we shouldn’t forget the advice of the old Sankey gospel song: Count your blessings, name them one by one, and that will help to put things into context.

You might well get a surprise …

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For the record:  The internet portal kloop.kg was launched in June 2007 and consists of two main services: journalism and a blogging platform by Bektour Iskender and Rinat Tuhvatshin.  I The original idea was to bring all the features for free, which means there are no paid skins, and no paid plugins – it was established with funding provided by the Dutch-based Hivos Foundation.

Articles are written by young journalists, mostly University High School students between the ages of 15 and 25. The Kloop Media Foundation runs training courses to help them with issues such as Balance, Accuracy and Jounalistic Ethics.

Currently there are more than 3000 blogs on Kloop, which makes it one of the three biggest blogging platforms in Kyrgyzstan.

Blog pages are supported in Russian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik and English.

This was the fourth article by Amina Suleeva on the site.  The others were: a photo essay about how the city on the first day of the new year; an interview with a Kyrgyz citizen about her experiences when she was refused entry to Russia after a trip to the states – even though she has lived in St. Petersburg for several years; and a short piece about a split in the political parties that made up the majority on the Bishkek City Council.

It may not be the best reason in the world .. but it can be hard to argue with

As I mentioned in a previous postcard the Oxford English Dictionary declared selfie as the Word of the Year for 2013, citing its rapid increase in usage as the reason for their choice.  Well, the selection of the guardians of the English language has a competitor … in the choice of the American Dialect Society: because.

Now, Selfie isn’t exactly a new word … apparently it was first coined by an Australian writing on Social Media back in 2002 when describing how he took a photograph of himself when he was a little bit the worse on account of the drink he had consumed … and it seemed to describe the incident well, catching the moment, as they say, and it caught on.  The reason it was given the honour of being named the Word of the Year was that there an explosion in the amount and way that it was used … gaining common acceptance.

Because isn’t a new word either, having been around since … well, forever or so it seems.  According to one dictionary it can be traced back to the Middle English construction bi cause which literally means “by cause” and is used to lead into the reason for something … Like “selfie” it explicitly describes its meaning.  The reason it was selected as the Word of the Year by the Americans was the way that it was being used in a new and innovative ways changing its role in the language from being a mere subordinating conjunction.  (yes … well …).

Tersely worded rationales like “because science”, “because fun” or “because tired” have become not merely accepted … but they can convey so much more.  It can be used ironically – or simply to cut off further discussion … “because science – there … that’s it … there’s nothing more to be said … end of conversation” with an implication of “you must be stupid not to get it”.

To be honest, the story took me by surprise as this new meme has passed me by out here in Kyrgyzstan.  Like “Sit on it” or “Well wicked” back in the eighties … you have to be in situ to get the full feel of the social phenomenon.  On the other hand, it was well explained and it did fit in with something I have mentioned before …

I once overheard a conversation between mother and child – I was tempted to say on the Clapham Omnibus, but I think the reference might be a bit obscure … and there’s already been enough of that in this particular postcard.  Anyway, the conversation went something like this:

• Don’t do that
• Why not?
• Because people won’t like you if you do
• Why not?
• Because it’s not nice?
• Why not?
• Because people don’t like that sort of thing
• Why not?

and so it went on until

• Why not?
• Because I said so!
• Why?
• BECAUSE !!!

Here there ‘s a similar phrase – Potomu shto! – used in a very similar way: ”there … that’s it … there’s nothing more to be said … end of conversation“ with an implication of “you must be stupid not to get it“.

All of this got me thinking … that could be a great slogan Because Kyrgyzstan … for example placed over a photograph of the mountains, a yurt, a snow leopard, skiers, sunbathers on a beach … hey … “Because Kyrgyztan” –  ”there … that’s it … there’s nothing more to be said … end of conversation“.

Actually, the more I though about it, I decided that preferred a slightly different approach: Why Kyrgyzstan … Because …

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Mountains

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because History

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because The Silk Road

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Nomadic Traditions

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Traditional Hospitality

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Adventure

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Skiing

Why Kyrgyzstan … Because … 

I’m sure you get the idea … or, to quote another postcard:

Why Kyrgyzstan? … Because Why Not?

Well, what do you reckon?

To whom it may concern …

About a month ago I received a phone call from one of your offices  and was asked if they could send me some literature. I said that they could send me if they so wished but I thought it was a waste of time because I was not interested in following the stock market.

About ten days ago the brochure arrived and I perused it.

I then received a phone call from one of your brokers where a particular stock was mentioned and an offer to buy shares was put to me. In all the conversation the caller was very polite … but persistent. He kept using my first name as if we were “old pals” – presumably in an attempt to establish a rapport … and he seemed to have a habit of ending sentences at “crucial” points in the conversation with a question – which I understood to be attempts at creating a “call to action”.

Several times throughout the conversation, however, I repeated the point that I was not interested in following the stock market. In the end, he seemed to accept this position – at least, at the time, I got the impression that he did – especially when he said that he “understood and respected” my point of view.

Today, I received another phone call from another of your brokers who tried once again to interest me in the same deal, asking if I had been following the news and that the share price had already shown a significant growth. I said, once again, that I was not interested in following the stock market … but he continued to outline the deal and ended with: “that will involve a commitment of around ten dollars, I am sure you can handle that, can’t you?”

I pointed out that this was now the third time that I had told a representative of the company that I was not interested.

It was at that point that he said, “There is no need to get angry,” I don’t think I was, I was simply pointing out that this was the third time that I had told a representative of your company that I was not interested in following the Stock market.

He then went on to say that “he would not waste his valuable time” talking to me any further and hung up … Oh, to be fair, he did wish me a good day.

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Can I point out that:

• I took three “cold calls”, (I hadn’t requested them, I wasn’t expecting them, and they had interrupted me in the course of my working day when I was attending to other business);

• Two of the calls were quite lengthy;

• That in the course of each I tried to explain that I am not interested in following the stock market and that

• Apart from, (at the very last moment), they all attempted to prolong the discussion and persisted in trying to persuade me otherwise.

• The final caller, in my opinion, spoke to me rudely – not just curtly – and seemed not to respect my “valuable” time.

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I am not going to mention names of the individuals concerned – although they all identified themselves at the beginning of the calls, I didn’t make notes, or keep the notes that I did make. If you are interested I presume they keep records and that you can find out.

Personally, I am not certain that cold calls like this are a good way for you to generate business … oh, it obviously works or else you wouldn’t waste your “valuable” time and do it … but I am not sure that making a decision under, what appeared to be an attempted “high powered pressure” telephone sales call … by operators/brokers/whatever who don’t listen to what their potential clients are telling them.

If they are indeed successful in generating business for you, then can I ask you to at least train your staff better.

• I suggest you tell them, for example, to avoid challenging the potential client with phrases like “I’m sure you can manage that, can’t you?” Apart from the rudeness of the approach, if they “fall for it”, are such people going to be “good” clients? the sort of clients that you want to encourage?

• Above all, can I ask you to tell them to listen to the person at the other of the telephone – whom they have just called and interrupted, and who may not think that the great “deal” that they are being offered is necessarily the right thing for them.

• As is often said in another context “No means No”. I do accept that, in the initial call I was asked by the caller if she could send me some the literature … and I suppose that it might have been better if I had said outright “No – don’t bother”. I am sure, however, that you will be aware that “No” is a very strong word, it is “Final” and as such is to be used sparingly … and that many cultures have ways to avoid using it. Train them to recognize “No” in its different forms.

• Remind them that although their time may be valuable, to them – that our time is also valuable, to us.

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Incidentally, I haven’t yet mentioned the fact that the last two callers both referred to what I think could be considered “privileged information”, concerning a contract that had been signed which would “drive the price up” once “it was made public” … leaving me with a nagging doubt about the possibility of “insider dealing”. However, I accept that as I am not interested in following the stock market, (as I have already said three times to three different people in three different phone calls – this is now the fourth occasion when I say it), that my understanding of the phrase, (and what the legal implications might be), could well be at fault.

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Finally, please can you take note that I am not interested in following the stock market – and remove my name from whatever lists of potential clients that you maintain.

Obviously one of the things that wrankled with me was the way the last caller said that he wouldn’t waste any more of his “valuable time”.   If he had said that he wouldn’t “take any more of your valuable time”, (that is, MY time), then it would have come across as a normal courtesy or etiquette – and the worst it could have been interpreted as, would have been sarcasm.

 There were, however, a couple of other points about the conversations that struck me:

There was a marked difference in approach between the last two callers … While both could be said to be appealing to natural human greed, (stressing the impressive rate of return on the investment), the first took a fair amount of time trying to persuade me that he was offering me a good deal explaining that he was interested in forming “a long term relationship”.  The last caller, on the other hand, was almost “aggressive” in his questioning … and it wasn’t just the “I am sure you can handle that, can’t you?”

The thing that struck me as most odd about the whole situation, however, is that they seemed to be targeting successful businessmen and yet seemed to make no allowances for this in their approach.

They had certainly done some homework, (or at the very least they had a bought a list of people who might  be potential clients), because they not only knew my name but also quoted details about the company.

And, they weren’t talking about small sums of money, (ten thousand dollars was not the smallest sum mentioned in the conversations – but then, neither was it the largest).

Despite all this, they didn’t seem to consider that we might also have read the same training manuals, or attended similar courses in marketing and sales.

Brughel's The Triumph of Death

There were a couple of very sad items in the news last week … and one of them led me to a shock discovery and a “moral dilemma”.

It concerned the death of a fifteen year old boy.  Tragically sad in itself, the article was even more poignant because it went on to report that it was thought that the boy had died of bubonic plague and all the people that he was not to have had contact with had been placed in quarantine – isolated and under medical surveillance and the village is cordoned off by police and health workers.

It seems that he lived in a remote region at the extreme Eastern tip of the country, and had been his father, a working shepherd, when he complained of feeling ill and returned home to his village.  After a period when he didn’t seem to get any better, indeed he became feverish and developed swellings in his armpits … they family took him to the local hospital where the doctors diagnosed the likely cause and tried to treat it.  Unfortunately, however, it was already too late – the disease was too far advanced and boy died the same day.

The authorities were quick to react, not only setting up the quarantine but also establishing a regional control center and dispatching the necessary medical supplies to treat all those possibly affected.  A statement was issued which hit the local and regional news – but I haven’t seen any mention of it in the international press – so far.

In a way that doesn’t surprise me.  Although, when a squirrel was discovered to be infected in park in Los Angeles earlier this year, there was quite a bit of coverage, but that may well have been because the authorities there immediately closed the park.  In fact, there are something between one and two thousand cases diagnosed around the globe every year … even in the South Western states of America …  and they don’t all get covered in the media.

For someone who was brought up on stories of the Black Death,  the Great Plague of London in 1665/6, and reading Albert Camus’ existentialist novel The Plague, the images that sprang to mind when I heard the news were quite alarming … after a little research, however, I began to feel a little more at ease.

For the record: Bubonic Plague is a disease caused by bacterial infections carried by fleas.  The name comes from the Boubos which refers to one of the classic symptoms – swollen glands under the armpits or in the groin.  It, along with two forms of plague, are thought to be the cause of the Black Death which swept through Europe in the 14th Century and is said to have wiped out something like a third of the world’s population at the time.  It is not only contagious, (conveyed by flea bites), if it isn’t treated then most victims will die within days.

The symptoms are numerous and diverse, including: gangrene of the extremities such as toes, fingers, lips and tip of the nose; Chills; a general malaise, (ill feeling); a high fever (39° Celsius or 102° Fahrenheit); muscle cramps; seizures; smooth, painful swellings of the lymph glands commonly found in the groin, but may occur in the armpits or neck, most often at the site of the initial infection. Sometimes the swellings may be preceded by a pain; color changes of the skin – to a pink hue in some very extreme cases; heavy breathing; continuous vomiting of blood; aching limbs; coughing, and extreme pain; extreme fatigue; gastrointestinal problems; black dots scattered over the body (which led to the name Black Death); delirium, and coma.

Treatment is possible, however,  if administered in time – the sooner the better but preferably within 24 hours of the appearance of the first symptoms. Several classes of antibiotics, for example, are known to offer effective treatment.

In fact, the Center for Disease Control, (CDC), seem to think that preventative measures – especially avoiding contact with wildlife – don’t pick up dead animals, etc. – is a good preventative measure.    The also advise educating the public in likely areas of infection of the risks; regular surveys of the wildlife population, controlling rats on ships and docks and in warehouses; wearing gloves whenever handling carcasses and immunization.

In the event of an infection such as this one, they advise immediate reporting to the authorities so that remedial action can take place: isolation and quarantine (for seven days – the incubation period of the disease) and delousing of contacts, their clothes and belongings, disinfecting surroundings, and administering medical treatment.    Further steps are advised to be taken in the event that it is not an isolated case but develops into an epidemic scenario.

Normally, when researching a topic, I am delighted to discover that Central Asia in general, and Kyrgyzstan in particular, may the home of something: tulips, for example, or rhubarb; apples or walnuts … and so on.

I wasn’t so happy to discover, however, that Issyk Kul could be the home of the original Black Death which swept through Europe in the fourteenth century.

Apparently, the news reports of this case included a comment that the remote region where his father was tending his livestock “is considered a natural focus of the plague” with occasional outbreaks – but the last reported case was in 1980.

The Issyk Kul region is certainly a prime habitat for marmots, which are known to carry a virulent form of the plague.  (It seems that the family had caught and eaten marmot).

Unfortunately the course of the disease in Asia is not as well documented as its history in Europe.  Many scholars seem to think that the disease began in Western China, and some actually point the finger at Lake Issyk Kul and that it spread Westward along the Great Silk Road together with the Mongol hordes who, according to some sources, even used it as a form of what we would call today “biological warfare” – catapulting infected corpses over city walls of Kaffa in the Crimea to spread the plague among the defending population.

Archaeological excavations on the shores of Issyk Kul reveal that the Nestorian Christian trading community there was ravaged by bubonic plague in 1338-39 when the settlement’s  death rate shot up from a 150-year average of about 4 people per year, to more than 100.

It is also possible, however, that traders from further east brought diseased fleas with them to the shores of the lake.

So, what was the “moral dilemma” that I faced? – whether or not to write a postcard about it.

I work in tourism and aim to attract potential clients to visit Kyrgyzstan and its mountains.  Bad news like this may be enough to cause them to think twice about Kyrgyzstan as a possible destination – if not actually positively dissuade them.

On the other hand … I have a moral duty and responsibility (if not a legal obligation) to inform clients of any material risk that they may face.

Also, on a purely practical point, it is likely that people may get to hear about the case and so, I decided, we need to be prepared to answer any and all questions that do arrive.

As a result, I decided to write this postcard.

The Ten Commandments exhort us that we should “not bear false witness against thy neighbour” … which is frequently simplified to “Don’t Lie” … which, it seems to me, is actually much stronger.

I keep telling people that this should also be a fundamental rule of marketing … don’t let people think that they are going to land in the seat of luxury but be honest – although there are five star hotels in Bishkek, for example, and some good quality accommodation around Lake Issyk Kul, most of the accommodation in Kyrgyzstan is fairly basic – Bed and Breakfast or akin to camping, (for example in a yurt).  Tell the clients “up front” so that there can be no misunderstanding and they know what to expect.

It’s not even a case of “put a positive spin” on the story.  Be honest and realistic – Tell it as it is – “warts and all”.

In this case where someone has died of bubonic plague … tell people … tell them what the risks are and what precautions they need to take to avoid exposure to the disease … and plan accordingly.   As it happens, none of our tourists are likely to visit this particular region so the risk they face is fairly minimal … but if there was a serious risk then we would inform them and make alternative arrangements.

Although this is the first time time I have come across plague – Kyrgyzstan is an area where Rabies is known to exist … and we occasionally get questions from prospective clients about the risks.

I have written a postcard about that in the past … indeed, I have been bitten by a stray cat, myself, and had to have injections of anti-rabies serum.  Once, also, I was bitten by a dog in France – although it wasn’t a particularly serious bite it did break the skin and I admit to being quite concerned at the time.

In fact, the risks pretty negligible – at least for most tourists, especially if they follow the basic guidelines of avoiding contact with wildlife – for example, refraining from picking up dead animals.

Hardly surprising News

From my regular scanning of the news sites on line, I came across an item reporting the results of a survey conducted in Britain … with the headlilne declaring that “Cold calls and spam emails top the list of ‘bugbears of modern life’“.

Although the list of the top 50 irritants did contain some interesting and mildly surprising items, those at the top of the list came as no surprise – to least, not to me.

The trouble is that cold calls and spam emails, (and for that matter, most of the items on the list), are not limited to Britain and are commonly found here as well.  It is as if in an attempt to learn from the West, people have adopted some of the less appealing aspects of the free market economy instead of applying  discerning approach and learning from our mistakes.

This last couple of weeks, for example, I have taken a number of calls from sales operatives, all of whom are convinced of the value of whatever it is they are offering – which is right and proper – but their attempts to put pressure on me to make an instant decision to buy does not go down very well … at least not with me – maybe they have more success with others.  The trouble is, I don’t respond well to high power, high pressure sales pitches – if anything they tend to turn me off.  I don’t like making “instant decisions” but like to consider the question from several angles, the possible alternatives, implications for the future, and so on …

Please don’t misunderstand me … it’s not the phone calls in themselves that I object to, per se.

After all, it represents just one form of advertising, one method for them to put their products or services before an audience of potential customers … and unlike most of the spam which I receive, could be considered as being relevant to my business in some way or another … whereas most of the spam I receive is totally irrelevant!.  The am of the “spam marketer” is simply to put their message in front of as many people as possible – after all, that’s what they are paid for – not converting those “sightings” into sales.

One of the advantages of the telephone call is that you are talking to a person – so there is some form of interaction … and it is a sign of commitment – there is cost, which is not inconsiderable when compared with that of sending out several thousand emails in a “blunderbuss approach”.

However, I have problems with the techniques employed by these cold calls.  I didn’t ask them to call and although I may be interested in what they have to offer, the first thing I need is information – so why is it they are reluctant to send me details … oh, no, they would rather talk to me on the phone – taking my time, (distracting me from what I was doing), and theirs … not to mention the cost of the phone call (… o.k., that might be minimal, for example, in the case of a call from here in Bishkek – but some people call from abroad – from Moscow or from London, for example).

Often, when the caller is from Bishkek, they say something like, “We would like to meet with you to explain our offer, when would that be possible?” … Hang on, hang on … you may well want to meet with me – but do I want to meet with you?   Give me a reason why I should … send me some information about what you are offering so that I can judge whether it is relevant for me and my business.

If it is relevant and seems appealing then you will have attracted my attention and I will follow up, call you back to ask for more information … and that’s when you try the “sales pitch”.

One of the reasons for requesting a meeting is that they happen to have a foreign “expert” visiting at the moment – and “he can explain far better and in more detail …” – or does that simply mean he’s more convincing – more technical – and more able to “pull the wool over my eyes” …

Then, concerning that meeting, “of curse, we can come to you, but it would be better if you could come to us …”.  Excuse me, but you are asking to see me … you want to see me … so you should come to me.  Why should I have to make special arrangements?  One salesman answered that by saying, “so that you can see that we are a solid well established company, and not a fly-by-night operation.”  Hmmm … maybe … but … we can deal with that later, when I have decided that I am interested and want to pursue your offer.

Perhaps the worst example I have come across recently was the attempt to sell me a course.  It took the form of three phone calls,  on three consecutive days …

In the first, the caller identified themselves and the firm they were working for – OK, that’s a good start.  She then said that they were conducting a survey about doing business here in Kyrgyzstan and started with a totally pen ended question : what problems do you face?  During the five minutes or so of conversation she kept trying to bring the conversation round from what I was saying to the question of sales and salesmanship … yes, I do think that is a problem – without sales there’s no business, but there are other more fundamental issues, I replied.  At the end of her allotted time she hurriedly thanked me for my time … OK, Good, and said that I had given her a lot of useful information and raised several important issues … and rapidly drew the conversation to a close.

It struck me as an odd phone call, and not like a survey … apart from the opening question she didn’t really have any others … just a general attempt to raise the question of the importance of making sales.

I didn’t think that much of it until the next day when she called again and thanked me for my “contribution” to the survey.  Her manager had given permission to approach me with a commercial offer which she thought might interest me … Aha!, I thought … now all is explained.  The commercial offer involved an upcoming course on sales and salesmanship which was being conducted by their consulting firm … and would be led by a “foreign expert” who had conducted several such courses and had already been to Kyrgyzstan … so, apparently. knew the situation here.

OK, I said, send me some details, and I will look at them.

She did.

I wasn’t impressed.

So when she called back the next day and started again to thank me for my contribution to the survey – and asked if I was interested in the course, I said No.

To my mind, that should have been the end of the conversation … but, no.  She asked “Oh, why no?”

I let the line go silent for five seconds before asking “Do I really have to explain the reason for my decision to you?”  This time, she let the line go silent for five seconds … so I said something like “I don’t have to explain my decision to you – but seeing as you have asked … IF this is an example of what I will learn on the course, then I am not interested … you phoned me pretending to be doing a survey …”.

“But we were conducting a survey,” she interrupted.

“Yes, you asked me a question, so I suppose we could say you were conducting a survey, but we both know that it was just the first step in an attempt to sell me a place on this course.  You didn’t have a series of questions but simply tried to, repeatedly, bring the subject back to this topic … then you called a second time to tell me that your manager had “given you permission” to offer me a place on this course – suggesting that it is something special and to be valued.  You sent me details which included the discounts available, (most of which it was to late for me to take advantage of), but didn’t include the price.  Then you call me back to get my answer … but don’t accept it as such, instead asking me to explain why. ”

“Sorry, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that is a good example of salesmanship.”

To be fair… she was very polite all the way through, unlike some telesales people that I have had the “pleasure” to come across, and the c0urse description did seem quite interesting … IF she had started with “we have conducted a survey and discovered that one of the main problems facing business in Kyrgyzstan today is …”, going on to outline the course as a way of addressing that issue, and asking “would I be interested in such a course?”, then she might, (I did say “might”), have gotten a different response from me.

Also, to be fair … I should point out that this is NOT the only example I have come across in the last few weeks … and I do hope that this is not indicative of a trend here in Kyrgyzstan … it strikes me as one of the aspects of Western culture that would be better left in the West.

Similar?

Last year, Kyrgyzstan adopted a new tourism brand – the winning entry in a competition depicting a multicoloured circle with swirling patterns resembling traditional Kyrgyz ozori, (pattern), portraying the sun, mountains, lakes and a swimmer with the slogan “So much to discover”.

Although it was selected from about 40 different entries by a commission representing many of the different sectors of the industry, it wasn’t a universally popular design – with some people complaining about the kaleidoscope of colours and the “busy” image was too complicated.  It was designed by a student and that fact was also the subject of some comment, in that it wasn’t a design produced by marketing specialists.

Although the previous Kyrgz logo, which was the product of a professional marketing company, was not circular, it featured similar colours and imagery, (and  the slogan was “Somewhere that you haven’t yet been” … although in English it was “Somewhere new, somewhere different“).  It also proved to be somewhat controversial.

As it happens, a similar logo was developed separately by a group of individuals and made a considerable impact on Facebook, attracting over 12000 “likes” and regularly receiving around 4000 reposts.

At the beginning of the year, the newly adopted logo became the subject of much discussion once again.  This time, however, the attention came from abroad – from Bulgaria.  It seems that they have also been undergoing a rebranding process.  They contracted a marketing firm to carry out research and design a new brand.  The design that was eventually chosen was a similar multicoloured circle with swirling patterns and the slogan “Discover and Share”.  It proved to be a controversial choice with the people working in Bulgarian Tourism with many expressing their opposition and dislike of it..  To many people working in Bulgarian Tourism, it also looked very similar to the Kyrgyz design and there were cries of plagiarism … although the marketing company strongly denied this.

It made me wonder if the designers all studied together, or had used the same textbook – or if it was an example of “great minds think alike“.

In many ways, Bulgaria is like Kyrgyzstan.  It’s not a large country and has an existing tourism industry based on traditional markets. It doesn’t have a single USP, (Unique Selling Point), which marks it out as different from its competitors.  It has three main types of tourism: Recreational Tourism based on the Black Sea ports, (similar to Issyk Kul), Adventure and Cultural Tourism (based on their mountains), and Health Tourism, (based on a number of sanatoria spread throughout the country), with a number of other niche markets which it might like to develop such as skiing and Sustainable Tourism, (based on something that looks very similar to CBT – Community Based Tourism).

To be fair, there are also important differences – particularly the fact that it is part of the European Union and much closer to new potential markets that it hopes to exploit.

One of the major issues in the controversy over the design and choice of a logo in Bulgaria seems to have been that, whereas the Kyrgyz logo had cost very little – the competition had been organized as part of project funded by the European Union, thousands of US dollars had been spent on the Bulgarian logo.  In defense of the expenditure the marketing firm pointed out that the expense represented far more than simply creating the final design, which was just one of several which were all considered.

As part of the process they undertaken considerable Market Research … asking visitors to the country about their experiences and impressions and used this information to help them in creating the various alternative designs.  It gave them valuable information, telling them who their visitors were and where they came from, what they did, where they had visited and where they had stayed .  It answered questions like, what the visitors found interesting and appealing?, what they had enjoyed?, what had gone well during their visit? and … what could have been improved?  What hopes and aspirations they had before their journey? and to what extent had they met?   If they were to return, then what they would like to see and do given the knowledge and experience that they already had? and if they would recommend Bulgaria to others, their relatives, friends and colleagues?

All this was valuable information.  More importantly, however, the company realized that these people represented a biased sample, in that they had already chosen Bulgaria as a destination.  It gave them valuable information, but didn’t tell them anything about grabbing the attention and attracting potential visitors who may not know anything about the country and may never have thought about travelling there.  What sort of image did they have of Bulgaria?, what did they know about Bulgaria? what did they look for in a holiday destination? where did they go to get information? what would attract their attention? and influence their decision? and what would discourage them from choosing a destination for their holiday?

So, they went outside Bulgaria and talked to people who had never been to the country.  In this way they gathered a lot of information which was not available to them if they simply asked people on the streets of the capital Sofia or visitors to the main tourist spots, by handing out a questionnaire to tourists at the airport as they were about to board the plane to return home.

All this was also valuable information and gave them the opportunity to explore new avenues and seek to attract new visitors, possibly opening new markets.

It seems to me that Kyrgyzstan could learn from this example.  Most tour operators and hotels welcome and ask their clients for feedback about their experiences and impressions of Kyrgyzstan and their services.  Also, over the years, there have been several research projects which have asked tourists for similar information and there are proposals for an exit survey to be conducted, funded by a donor project.

As with the Bulgarian example, these surveys give us valuable information.  How much more useful, however, it would be if we could gather the additional data from abroad.

Unfortunately it is also an expensive exercise … but the Bulgarians thought it was worth it.  As it happens, as I understand the situation, it didn’t cost the Bulgarian taxpayer anything as it was all part of a project – funded by the European Union.

Originally written  for: Tourism in Kyrgyzstan: Problems, Practice and Perspectives

Brendan's Adventures

Last week I came across an interesting post by a Canadian travel writer and photographer, Brendan van Son: Why I’ve Never Been to… on his blog Brendan’s Adventures: The World is my Jungle Gym.  It caught my attention because of the unusual and seemingly negative approach … and I wondered if there was something we could learn from it.

Rather than outlining the attractions of a destination and why people chose to visit it, such as: for the sightseeing, the historical connections, the cultural attractions, the available activities or entertainment …  the article addressed the negative question of why someone, a potential visitor, might have passed it by.

We are used to taking the positive approach – for example I have written postcards about making positive choices: Why Kyrgyzstan?, Why Celestial Mountains? and even about why people choose to return somewhere, (Going back).

On the other hand, Brendan von Son points out that, as a “permanent traveller”, he’s been to a wide diversity of destinations and especially places which are not traditional destinations but can be regarded as being “off the beaten track”.  Apparently, or say he tells us, people are often shocked when he says that he hasn’t been somewhere.  That surprise might well be something to do with the expectation that, as a “professional traveller” he would have been to certain particular destinations, but it is also possible that the destination in question is thought to be somewhere that seems to fit the profile of the sort of destinations that he features in his work.

Usually, he said, after the element of surprise he is asked the question “why?”, (although I presume that should be: “why not?”).

He said that there is no single answer, nor for that matter a “formula”, but he gave four examples.  In most cases, he tells us, it was not simply that he wasn’t interested in the destination – on the contrary, he was  full of the potential that they offered.

• In one case he felt that he put off by the cold.   Even though he’s a Canadian, (and so used to cold winters),  and that fact that he’s been to places like Antarctica – the idea of having to brave the cold was just too much of a deterrent.  (Personally, I think that’s a little unfair and I would recommend that he reconsiders because the destination is spectacular and well worth a visit even in the summer).
• In another case, he was almost on his way to visit, but another opportunity cropped up – and now it is just too far to travel, and the cost involved is out of his budget – although he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of making the trip at some time in the future.
• In a third example,  whilst he admits he would love to visit the destination, there are just too many other gems in the region – and the result is that it’s just not top of his list of priorities at the moment.
• The final example was one where he admitted that he feels no real desire to visit, although he admits that it may well have been somewhere he could have fallen in love with years ago, before the tourists arrived in their masses … (remember that he specializes in visiting places that are “off the beaten track”) …

I hope that I have been fair in summarising the gist of his argument.  He is quite clear that his examples were exactly that – examples – they weren’t meant to be an exhaustive list.

Indeed, as I thought about it I considered what might want to add:

• physical factors – although he lists the deterrent value of  ”the cold” – Brendan van Son could as easily have cited the heat, the rain, the lack of creature comforts, … and so on … perhaps the extreme physical factor is that of …
• risk - although there are some people who enjoy visiting trouble spots, disaster zones, and so forth, most people, (myself included), would probably pass up a destination where we thought there was a heightened sense of risk – whether it be from physical or man made dangers.
• social or peer pressure – brought by family and friends may take the form of advice or comments and make someone rethink their plans – especially when it comes to travel to potential hot spots … and that can sometimes make them reconsider and rule out a potential destination.
• emotion - van Son mentions the lack of appeal as a reason why he might be positively discouraged from visiting a specific destination … he chose to highlight a particular feature – the need to get away from it all and off the beaten track, but over the years I have meat people with other concerns, the desire to avoid poverty or “dirt”
• ordinariness – a lack of uniqueness – like many people van Son would rather try somewhere new, somewhere different, and to get away from the crowd … most of us live ordinary lives and so we are looking for something out of the ordinary – a sense of adventure or the exotic.
• awareness – one reason he doesn’t explore, but I think is an important factor is a general lack of awareness about a destination and what is has to offer.  I think this is a vitally important factor when it comes to choosing a destination from a dazzling array of potential alternatives.  I well remember the clients who once said to me: “Ian, if only we had known … we would have planned to spend longer here …“
• facilities and experiences available – personally, I loathe sunbathing and if that is all that a destination seems to have to offer then I am afraid that I am not likely to find it attractive.  Whereas some people find the presence of a vibrant cultural life, (concerts, theatre, opera and ballet) a great attraction, for others it means nothing … on the other hand a vibrant night life can be an important attraction for some, but quite off putting for others.  It is interesting to see how many destinations are seeking to attract the LGBT visitor, but to be honest, the paucity of a lively gay subculture is likely to put off some potential visitors from choosing a particular destination … and a lack of luxury accommodation, fine food, good communications or health care facilities can also have the same effect for other groups.
• priorities in the face of competing destinations - I well remember the clients who said that they loved Kyrgyzstan but probably wouldn’t be back … after all, there were about 200 countries and territories in the world and they still had about half left to experience … van Son, himself, talks about how a new opportunity diverted him from making a trip to one destination and again that his visit to another may well be simply as a result of travelling to a third …    
• practicalities such as time, distance and cost :
• cost I was once told that it all boils down to the bottom line – what’s the cost? can we afford it?  I suppose it is a case of options …  and balancing the various features … there are usually different packages available with, for example, different levels of comfort.  Many families chose camping as a way to visit places because it offers a sense of adventure as well as lower costs, or self catering options top cater for specific dietary needs – and cheaper options.
• time: when a student has a three month summer holiday, travel seems easy … but once they have graduated and entered the “rat race”, are tied down with the responsibilities of a job, and perhaps a family, then the time needed can rule out travel to a distant destination or undertaking a journey along the Silk Road or a cycle marathon the length of Africa … and even if the time is available it may not be convenient for the conditions in the chosen destination, (summer holidays in the Northern hemisphere fall in the winter season in destinations in the southern).
• company: although van Son suggests that he wants to avoid crowds of “tourists”, and the implication is that he is happy to travel alone – but not everyone is happy to do so.  Many of us like having someone to travel with and to share experiences with – and difficulty in finding people ready, willing and able to do so may rule out a particular destination.
• opportunity: van Son points out that although he was about to embark on one journey, and alternative opportunity opened up for him, so he ended up on missing out on that particular destination.  It might seem like the result of a game of chance, but there is more to it … I am often told by the kids how they would like to visit Britain … or some other destination.  My response is often to tell them that I would like to walk on the moon – but I have never had the opportunity and even with the possible advances in space tourism, I doubt that I will ever fulfil that particular dream.  Much more prosaically, there are lots of places in the world that I would love to visit … I have always been fascinated, for example, by South America, Brazil in particular and specifically the Amazon Basin, ever since I studied the continent at school.  Unfortunately, the opportunity has never really presented itself to me … but, unlike the moon, although it is unlikely, it is still an open possibility.

Maybe you can add some more … I would be interested to hear …

Why do I think all this is important? … because, if we are to develop Kyrgyzstan as a tourist destination then I think that we have to consider both sides of the coin:

• what is it that positively attracts people … so that we can work on developing and promoting these positive aspects – and also
• what positively discourages people … so that we can work on avoiding, minimizing, (and preferably eliminating), such negative factors.

After all, a standard SWOT analysis seeks identify Weaknesses and Threats as well as Strengths and Opportunities.

The new (English) logo and slogan

So, it’s now official … or is it?

As I keep reminding myself: This is, after  all, Kyrgyzstan – Central Asia – where nothing is as simple as it seems at first … or as an acquaintance once put it: “where anything can happen … and usually does.”

Anyway, according to the posts on various outlets of “social media”, such as Twitter and Facebook, Kyrgyzstan has adopted a new brand, logo and slogan which it will use to try and position itself as a potential destination in the ever increasingly competitive global tourism market place.

The trouble is … that’s not quite the full picture.

I have written before about the various “brands”, images, logos and slogans which have been adopted over the years, (several times, in fact … for example, here and here, top give just a couple of examples), and one might wonder if it is a subject worth another outing so soon after my last rant about marketing the country.   However, I think it is worth it, because it raises several questions which I think deserve attention.  For example:

First: Who’s slogan is it anyway?

Several of the tweets and social media posts suggested that it was a new official brand, approved and adopted by the government.  Others suggested that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had selected the new iconography for the country.  I am pleased to say that the press reports, (at least most of the ones that I saw), actually did quite a good job and represented the background quite well.

There hasn’t been an official concept for the development and marketing of tourism since the previous plan lapsed in 2010.  Well, back in 2010 our minds were concentrating on other, more immediate, issues … and since then it was difficult for anyone to gather up steam to tackle anything but the most urgent of problems.

That’s not to say that nothing was done – just that little seems to have been achieved.  At that time, the responsible government body was the Ministry of Economy and Regulation, and they did try to set in motion the processes … but it was a difficult time to do anything.  It would be harsh to say, or even hint, that they took their eyes off the ball, yet alone dropped it, but it is easy to see why some people may be tempted to think so.

In the meantime, however, several of the international donor organizations decided that they wanted to do something to help and one project in particular, (financed by the European Union and implemented by ESCEAT  - based in the Netherlands – IBC, KATO and KCBTA here in Kyrgyzstan together with tour associations in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan). took up the reigns.  In discussions with the Ministry it was agreed that they would work on developing a brand, and associated imagery and a number of other things such as the development of an official website.

Please note: “and a number of other things” … this is just one of a whole package of measures which on their own might seem like “small beer” but when taken as a whole, as a package, should help us to actually achieve something that will help tourism to develop within the republic.  I am worried that, without some form of help, we would continue floundering around – not because Kyrgyzstan lacks the knowledge skills and experience to implement such innovations, (it doesn’t, it has them in abundance), but because it lacks the incentive, focus and consensus to do so.

Anyway, since then, the structure of government has changed and the responsibility for affairs relating to tourism passed to the newly created Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

We need to bear in mind that this is not the first time that these tasks have been undertaken, nor that there is a historical and global context.   The project team worked on collecting information about other exercises, both in Kyrgyzstan and abroad … inviting suggestions for themes and images and a commission was established to consider the various proposals.  Unlike some other occasions of which I am aware, they had a wide variety of suggestions to consider and, although I wasn’t on the commission, I understand that they had quite detailed and heated discussions.  Of the various proposals, one was selected and that’s the one being presented to the public at the moment.

However, as far as I am aware, it hasn’t yet been “officially” approved and adopted … and, in fact, that’s quite a complex process.  If the Ministry of Culture and Tourism wanted to adopt it for it’s own internal uses then I suppose it would be free to do so but if it is an official brand for Kyrgyzstan as a whole, then there are lots of other interested parties, departments and agencies of the government, who have to be consulted.  Only then can a decision be made and accepted.

At the moment, it’s nobody’s brand, logo and slogan … except, perhaps, that of the commission … now it is being presented to the Ministry for consideration.     Oh, the bureaucracy (!) … but there is a logic to it.

To make matters worse, we are now in another of those moments when everything seems to be in the process of change … will the same people that are serving in government today be there tomorrow … or will it be someone else who decides that they want to make their own mark … and that they can do better.

Second: Who’s happy with it?

There is still a possibility that it could be rejected, if there will be sufficient opposition.

I wasn’t a member of the commission, but I understand that they considered a wide selection of different suggested designs.  It wasn’t a case that the “customers” sat down with the “design experts” who listened to their instructions, and then produced a design – or even three alternative designs – according to their brief.

Now, let’s face it … with so many alternatives, there were bound to be a number of disappointed people, (those, for example, who submitted or voted for a different design).  Indeed, criticism is easy – easier than the creation and justification of an alternative.   What’s more, it is hard to imagine any design as being “perfect” without any problems or drawbacks.  I did see one criticism which said that the writers objections to the design were objective, principled ones … and therefore, by implication, not subjective or based on emotions.  As it happens, I had some sympathy with the author’s comments but, on balance, I think it is not a bad choice.

• It does seem to be “busy”, complicated, difficult to reproduce or copy, for example … but that doesn’t seem to me to be a major problem, indeed it adds an element of intrigue to the design.
• It is simple in that it is a basically a circle.
• In terms of attractive, bright, colourful and will be recognizable.
• Most of the elements are symbolic and draw on traditional Kyrgyz motifs, portraying a lake such as Issyk Kul and the mountains, petroglyphs and even a letter “K”.
• Although, most of the colours are not traditional Kyrgyz colours, they are bright and cheerful and should appeal to a wide variety of people regardless of age, socio-economic or cultural background.  They make an interesting compromise between the relaxing pastel colours that are suggestive of Sun, Sand, Sea type of vacations and more active Adventure holidays.

Yes, I suppose it would be possible to do better, (isn’t it always?), but it’s not a bad effort and worth at least a”B+”, (or a “4″, on the local scale of grades).

No matter how good it is, however, we also need to recognize that it won’t be perfect.  It is a symbol, (just one symbol), for the here and now, (… and the immediate future … ideally it will work for several years), but it may still be necessary to consider adaptations or “variations on a theme” to meet particular circumstances.

Third: What’s the aim?

An obvious part of the answer to this question is to attract attention and, hopefully, entice people to think of Kyrgyzstan as a possible destination for their holiday.  In addition it should serve as a mark or symbol that can be used for identification purposes – hopefully creating a badge of quality.

I have already commented a little on some of the choices encapsulated in the design, especially in the choice of colours.  Another example can be found in the slogan “So much to discover!“.  Now, I quite like that … although it is a lot better than it was seventeen years ago when I came out here, it seems to me from all that I see and hear that there are still far too many people that have absolutely no idea that there is place called Kyrgyzstan, yet alone where it is or anything about the the history, geography, landscape, wildlife, culture or any other aspect of the place, the people who live here or the lives that they lead.  This slogan is powerful in declaring, “There IS so much to discover …” and at the same time it contains a hint of an invitation “… come and discover it with us!”

The new (Russian) logo and slogan

(Actually, I have to come clean and say that there are really two slogans … one in English and in another in Russian.  The image chosen for the logo is the same, but the Russian slogan translates, “Strana Otkrytiy” thranslates as “Country of Discoveries”.

Although I am told that this works well in Russian, a country where there are things to be discovered  (like there are opportunities to be taken in a “land of opportunities”),  but there’s also a slightly different emphasis which I understand to be like “A wonderful country”, or “Enigmatic Country”.

Fourth: Will it be effective?

When faced with questions like this, I always feel a great temptation to be mischievous and answer something like: “Who is John Galt?”, or “How long is a piece of string?”.

It seems to me that there is a great temptation to think of a brand with its attendant logo and slogan as an end in itself.  If it is merely a “tick box” to indicate a “deliverable” outcome which can be objectively observed and measured in some plan or project evaluation … then by all means, “tick the box“.  It has indeed been “delivered“.  The trouble is that we don’t live in the “Field of Dreams“, where a disembodied ghostly voice can confidently predict that “If you build it they will come …” and the director can pan out in the final dénouement to show this forecast being fulfilled.  Let’s face it, we don’t all have supportive guardian angels like Ray Kinsella and, after all, he could just as easily lost his farm, (as brother in law was predicting), as a result of turning his fields in to a White Elephant baseball diamond.

I suppose there are some things that have proved to be a natural success, but generally, in real life as opposed to the movies, initiative and innovation require work if they are going to bring results.

Fifth: What next?

Developing and adopting a new brand, logo and slogan … is Great! … Super! … but having done this it would be a mistake to rest on our laurels and expect them to work on their own.  Now, (or, at least, as soon as they are finally adopted), they have to be put to work!

That is going to require Time, Effort and Money.

I am reminded of two piece of advice … one that I was once given by a sage old man: “Use it, or lose it“, (if you have something that is supposed to be useful, then use it or risk discovering that when you really need it, it doesn’t work), and the other: “If you’ve got it, then flaunt it!“.  (If you have have something to be proud of, then make sure that people know about it.)

A brand, logo or slogan is only useful, recognizable, help to attract potential visitors and identify Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyz tour products, if we “get it out there” in front of people.  That means we have to use it …  for example, tour companies like us need to use it in our advertising copy, on our letter heads, on our websites … but also, we need to use try and see that it is used at exhibitions, in advertisements, posters and video clips … to have it displayed in embassies, hotels, restaurants, museums and any place where tourists might venture.  It can be used as the basis for road signs, giving directions and tourism information in and around the country.  We also need to have if emblazoned on badges, T-shirts, hats, umbrellas, notebooks, pens, coffee mugs and all sorts of object d’art.

That’s not an easy task.

First of all, we have several different images that we want to project, representing the different segments of the tourism industry in the country.  For example, and this is not an exclusive list, the sun, sand, and sea, (well Lake), image of recreation on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul; the active Adventure of mountaineering, trekking, horse riding and so on; the cultural image involving history and traditional nomadic lifestyle and culture associated with Silk Road Tours; the opportunity for Winter Sports – skiing and snowboarding and so on.

We have tried several such brands, (Oasis on the Silk Road, Там где ты ещё не был, Land of Tourism, Land of Santa Clause, the Heart of Asia), and we have adopted several emblems; (the “flying tuunduk”, a multicoloured freehand sketch of sun, mountains and lake, and the Aigul flower), but with the possible exception of the flying tuunduk, these have failed to stand the test of time.

As a result, in the outside world there is no clear image of the country.

This was brought home to me some years ago when I was speaking with a tour operator from Britain, (who was thinking of offering a new itinerary in their catalogue which would involve Kyrgyzstan).  I well remember his comment: “Kyrgyzstan has lots of potential, it is very pleasant, the scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly … but it doesn’t really have anything really unique which we can promote.”

Of course, I tried to argue the point … “But there are lots of things about Kyrgyzstan which we can promote.”  “Yes,” he replied, “but there is nothing unique”.  As I thought about it, I had to admit that, even though I didn’t entirely agree with him, he did have a point.

In fact, there were two important words in his statement … “unique” and “promote”, but I wasn’t sure which was the most critical.

There are certainly things which are special to Kyrgyzstan, specific peaks, the Mezbacher Lakes, the epic of Manas, the Kalpak and Elechek, but to what extent are they “marketable”?  To what extent can we base a marketing campaign on them?

Now, there is only one Kyrgyzstan in the world … it is unique – but is it marketable?  Unlike Mongolia, Nepal and Tibet, (perhaps our biggest rivals as tourist destinations when it comes to the Western world), have far greater name recognition than Kyrgyzstan.

If we consider the word “unique” which means, “being the only one”.  Although it is true that there are things which are “unique” to Kyrgyzstan, in that they are found only in Kyrgyzstan, or are special to Kyrgyzstan, their significance and value in promoting the country as a tourist destination is not always obvious.

Take for example the landscape; the mountains, one of the things in which Kyrgystan takes great pride?  There is, for example, only one Khan Tengri, one Peak Pobeda and one Lenin Peak in all the world – so, technically, they are unique in the same way as the Syrney Opera House is unique – there is only one Sydney Opera House which is easily recognizable to people all over the world.  Well, yes, but there are lots of opera houses around the world of which the one in Sydney is just an example.  Likewise, there are mountains to be found throughout the world.  Although, for example, we don’t have such spectacular ranges such as the Tien Shan and Pamir in Britain, (a friend of mine from New Zealand once described the country as “flat”), there are the odd features which qualify as mountains.  What’s more – there are many, many mountain ranges within much easier reach to people from Great Britain than those in Kyrgyzstan.

To take another example, the Kyrgyz landmark which is visible from space: Lake Issyk Kul, the Pearl of the Tien Shan?  Well, of course there is only one Issyl Kul in the world, but there are many, many, lakes; many of them with beaches for sun bathing and many in easy reach of the mountains … and many of them within much easier reach of Britain than Lake Issyk Kul.  Son Kul and Sary Chelek are also magnificent lakes in their right and popular with the tourists who see them – in so many ways special and unique, but in other ways they are just reminiscent of lakes.  The mystery of the Mezbacher Lakes might seem a unique feature and although this may be the most famous of the “vanishing lakes” – there are, in fact other similar occurrences around the world: in Iceland , Switzerland and Greenland

Consider the historical connections. Although in Britain we have plenty of historical monuments, the history of Central Asia abounds with mystery and intrigue.  When it comes to the Silk Road, however, Kyrgyzstan is just one of twenty odd countries and some of them much more well endowed with historical monuments.  Given its location, Kyrgyzstan featured prominently during the age of empires, (such as those of Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, and Babur), but these were massive and conquered lands far away, far away from Central Asia even, and Kyrgyzstan’s claim on their inheritance is shared with many others.  Even the more recent Soviet heritage is shared, not only with the other republics of the USSR but with many other Socialist states.

If we consider traditional nomadic Kyrgyz traditions and culture: the yurt is found throughout Central Asia from Mongolia to Anatolia; Kumys is drunk throughout the region, (and beyond); the Komuz is specific to the Kyrgyz but one of a family of similar musical instruments found throughout the region; the Kalpak and Elechek are probably unique … but how do we use them in marketing, promoting the country as a tourist destination?; horses and horsemanship are important features of many cultures around the world; almost every culture would claim to be “hospitable”; the epic of Manas is unique, in that it is specific to the Kyrgyz – although if the Chinese have applied to register it with UNESCO as example of World Heritage, and then, there are many such sagas and Manas is not particularly well known outside certain specialist circles.

The Bars, (Snow Leopard) and Argali, (Marco Polo Sheep), are associated with Kyrgyzstan in that it is one of the few places where these endangered animals are to be found, but they cannot be claimed to belong to the country.  The Aigul flower may be special to Kyrgyzstan and for a time it was pressed into service as an emblem for the country, but it is not well known outside our borders.

That’s actually quite an important point.  What seems like a powerful and useful image to those of us who know and live here in Kyrgyzstan may not appear so to the people whom we want to attract to visit Kyrgyzstan.

Take, for example, one of those images which is “uniquely” Kyrgyz: that of Manas.  To those of us in Kyrgyzstan, the name conjures up images of a dashing hero on horseback, daring deeds, faithful friends, battles and celebrations, (tois), evocative lithographs of Theodore Hetzen and white haired aksakals reciting episodes from the epic perhaps by firelight … to those in the outside world, however, (if it means anything at all), it is associated with an air base and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

Another example is that of the “flying tuunduk”, (created when Max Haberstroh was a consultant working for the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan).  We in Kyrgyzstan look at it and recognize the representation and the symbolism that is associated with it, but to most people outside Central Asia is merely a geometric design; interesting but without specific significance.

There are other criticisms that can be levied at it, such as that it doesn’t represent all aspects of Kyrgyz Tourism, (for example, Recreational Tourism, (rest and relaxation on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul) or the various activities of Adventure tourism), but it is simple and stylish and it remains my favourite to date.

OK, so it is my favourite of the designs that we have had so far – which means that I like it, … so what?  We really have to ask ourselves not what we like but what will be an effective logo and speak to the people we are trying to attract to Kyrgyzstan; our potential clients.

That really means doing some market research … which, in turn, probably means having to spend some money on surveys and focus groups in our prospective markets … and that, in turn, means deciding in which markets we want to work.  Our resources are limited and we cannot afford to do everything, to work in every marketplace, so we will have to decide on our priorities.

(Originally written for Tourism in Kyrgyzstan: Practice, Problems and Perspectives)