Surrender to Silence

In stillness you will hear, the deep inner voice in you,

resonating loud and clear, quite colorful and all true;

For this you must surrender, and be calm and still too,

In the silence tender, as subconscious sees through;

In solitude you will discover, your reflection and shadow,

Inside-out, allover and under, you may find it sad and blue; 

Wrapped at rest in nature, your inner strength will grow,

And your body will nurture, making you happy and aglow. 

Cheers!

Hammett

Rooted on the Seashore

Silhouetted against the sky at dusk

Reserved and timid to be seen along

The golden horizon, covered in husk,

I'm fixed here from dusk to dawn, for lifelong; 

Taking refuge from the sky up high,

Burned and washed-out in sun and rain,

Growing ever bright, it helps beautify;

I'm rooted here all alone, with Nature I sustain. 

Standing on ground close to the seashore,

Quenching thirst with saline water mostly,

Surviving as I grow, into the earth my feet bore;

I'm planted here on sand, in a place remotely. 

Cheers!

Hammett

Photo credits: Hussain Waheed

Colors of Twilight

In varying colours, from pink to blue,

Sun ends the day with a bold highlight;

Painting the sky with a golden hue,

As day and night meets at twilight;

The wind and everything else stands still,

As do I, enjoying the moment's thrill.

Cheers!

Hammett

Thoughts Straying in Words

In the City, I don't really belong

Where it's chaotic and crowded;

In the sea, all day and nightlong,

Where materialistic life enshrouded,

By the ever-changing scenic view,

Of the creative arts, Nature drew; 

In the sea, steering about in a boat,

With a grey-haired man and his wisdom;

Waking about on a beach, of an island remote,

Or drifting with the current of underwater Kingdom;

Here I am, with thoughts straying endlessly;

When I'd rather be, close to nature where it's heavenly.

Cheers!

Hammett

Warm Showers

Don't you see conflict up there?

That's what I was talking about,

New day has dawned, full of despair,

For the sun, who even sent a scout

to the night sky, with a divine decree,

to keep the skyline clear by morning tea;

As the sun gets enraged by the hour,

And the scattered clouds get more denser,

There will be darkness and a warm shower,

As the wind chuckles and goes gentler;

Take your umbrella to work today,

and yeah, grab sun lotion on the way.

Nevertheless, have a great day! 

Cheers!

Hammett

Sun Dance

When the sun goes down, at twilight,

The horizon sets ablaze a colourful show,

And elsewhere will be a beautiful sunrise,

As we wait for the night sky to say hello;

The magic takes place every day, everywhere,

And it's never the same any day, anywhere;

I sit in silence watching the sun dance,

The sight of it sending chills up my spine;

Half conscious in a slight state of trance,

In the colorful sky, I see your graceful smile;

The dusk falls into a beautiful starry night,

leaving me gazing, till you to come alight.

Cheers!

Hammett

New Cafe' in Town

Tried a different kind of coffee

With chocolate and cream;

Try it and you won't be sorry,

Tastes much better than it seems;

They serve well, though a bit costly,

Good food and Starbucks coffee;

A new café in town, you'd see,

Not far from the terminal to airport,

On your right, as you step of the ferry,

You can't miss the place called Newport;

My first time there was delightful,

For a truly good service I'm grateful. 

Cheers!

Hammett

The Natural Pair

After few days of dullness,

Shying away behind clouds;

Today, shining in its fullness,

In the blue sky, the sun is proud;

Chilly wind died off, for now;

The trees greener, standing still,

With no movement in the bough,

Leaves spread-out to light, for refill;

Quiet and warm at the surface, 

Providing for all the lost tears,

Of yesterday sky, and all other days,

Mighty sea with bright sun; a natural pair.  

Cheers!

Hammett

The Lost Computer

A Feydhoofinolhu dive day 

Without my oceanic geo two,

Stolen by a lucky dude the other day,

Probably in the bushes of San Francisco;

All my dives stored on it,

Every dive, a freedive or scuba dive,

I heavily rely on it, when I go deep,

Wish me luck, I'll come back alive.

Cheers!

Hammett

Good to be Back Home

A warm Friday afternoon,

with a homely salty odour in the breeze, 

and the very sound of nature's tune,

makes you feel relaxed and at ease.

Busy and noisy like any day,

with much traffic on narrow streets,

and we'll, concrete jungle some say,

maybe, makes you want to retreat.

That's the upside and downside,

With a different taste, the things it lacks,

and we call it home with pride,

Makes you feel so good to be back.

Cheers!

Hammett

The Island Nations' Presence on the Facebook: Interesting Statistics

Facebook is BIG 

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) statistics1 shows that over 33% of the 7 billion world population are using Internet, out of which 45% are below the age of 25. ITU statistics also show that over 5.9 billion (which is over 80% of world population) are using mobile phones. 

Over 70% of online population use social networks, with majority on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Facebook online population has reached over 835 million by end of March 20122, out of which more than 400 million people use Facebook daily3. 

Growing fast in the Maldives

There are over 135 thousand Maldivian Facebook users4, out of which 61% are males and 39% females; the largest age group is 25 to 34 with a total of 48,737 users (36%), followed by users in 18 to 24 with just about the same number of users. Within the last 5 weeks, 2700 new users from the Maldives joined Facebook, while 21000+ users joined this year. Facebook penetration in the Maldives is 34% in comparison to the country’s population, and 153% in relation to the number of Internet users.

Out of about seventy two thousand users who have specified relationship status, shows interesting statistics; 25000+ are single, 12000+ are in a relationship, 30,000+ are married (out of which 15000+ are parents, 6000+ newlyweds within last 6 months, and about 6000 newly weds within the last year), and 2700+ are engaged to be married.

53000+ users from the Maldives access Facebook from mobile devices, out of which are 20000+ iOS devices and another 36000+ smartphone/tablets. I always thought iOS devices would be significantly high compared to Androids. However, the available statistics shows that 54% of the mobile devices are from Apple, running iOS, and remaining 46% are Androids. Among the Android users, 36% are using varieties of Samsung phones. 

The most recent record of total Internet users in the Maldives, that I could find, refers to 2009 census records5 showing around 88000 users. This could have exponentially increased over the last 3 years. In that context, the 153% Facebook penetration in relation to Internet users might not be the correct figure/estimate. Having said that, out of the 135,000 Facebook users, several thousands could possibly be online users with multiple accounts. 

With more than a quarter of the population on the world’s largest social network, socializing pretty much on a regular basis, it is a major platform, for relatively cheaper marketing compared to the ordinary means such as print-based media, and television/radio. In that regard, “Traditional vs. Social Media Marketing” by Social Media Quickstarter is a good article to refer to.  

The amount of information each of us put on the social networks can be used in many different ways. Not many of us are security-conscious, or even care to think about the misuse of such information, or threats it could present to them.

Criminals are highly-adaptive at exploiting every available opportunity, and exponential developments in Information & Communication Technology, the transformation of our society, and the unbelievable penetration rate of such technology in the Maldives, in such a short period, when most of the community are not even aware of the drawbacks and what/how they are falling prey to, probably presents many more problems than the effectiveness and efficiency it has brought.

With over 40% of the island nation's population present on Facebook, embracing and accepting technological innovations, we gotta make the most of it, at the same time keeping in mind the consequences of our actions. 

Well, I wouldn’t go too deep on cybercrime in this article. Will come back on that later. 

Cheers!!

Hammett

--References--------------

*Image taken from here: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7-Z2ayTporQ/TbWHevumDtI/AAAAAAAAADg/G_idtSkH_no/s1600/facebook-world.jpg

¹ ITU, The world in 2011 - ICT Facts and Figures: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf

² Facebook Growth Stats for 2011-2012: http://www.internetworldstats.com/facebook.htm

³ Wauters,R; Over 1 Billion People Use Social Netowrk Today, And Other Stats: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/14/over-1-billion-people-use-social-networks-today-and-other-stats/

⁴ Social Baker, Maldives Facebook Statistics, Penetration, Demography: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/maldives 

⁵ National Readiness Assessment for Establishing a National CIRT, January 2012: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/asp/CMS/Docs/CIRT_ABBMN_Assessment.pdf