Student-Talk Magazine is a joke.
I didn’t realize how good of a magazine Bazaar is until I picked up a copy of Student-Talk. I picked up a copy of the magazine (and discussed their incapability to tell jokes, or write), and of the 72 pages, 38 are commercials (which are actually more entertaining than the magazine itself). Then you have eight pages of people giving ignorant answers to ridiculous questions.
Student-Talk: Who is smarter, men or women.
Some Guy: Men, because they are weigh more.
Those people alone are proof that evolution is a theory; in truth we are going backwards.
After you go through the 46 pages of useless information; you are left with 26 more pages of copy/pasted/butchered/stolen garbage.
7 Lies Men Tell Women prepared by Dima Al-Damen
was stolen from Dr. Joyce Brothers and Readers Digest.
The Horoscope prepared by Dima Al-Damen
was stolen from Essential Magazine.
The Biography of Bjork is also online.
10 Tips for making life more fun prepared by Dima Al-Damen
was stolen from Keith Varnum.
Forgiveness Heals prepared by Dima Al-Damen
was stolen from E Not Alone.com:
Student Talk:
A lot of people describe unforgiveness as a choice to wear dark, gruesome glasses that distort everything.
Original:
Gary Zukav describes unforgiveness as a choice to wear dark, gruesome glasses that distort everything.
Just a word of advice .. I don’t think ‘a lot’ of people describe unforgiveness as that; just Gary Zukaz.
After you get rid of the idiot-answers, stolen articles, and advertisements.. you are left with a terrible article of a Volvo and the Managing Director accepting an award or charity donation.. and the editors word .. if that is supposed to mean anything.
To Bazaar, its editor and the writers behind it; I commend you for writing original and interesting articles; just lay off the stock photos, honestly.
And to the people behind Student-Talk; I could write a better magazine, in my sleep, by mistake, inhaling carbon monoxide and balancing on a unicycle.
HaHa..great articles. Now only if copyright laws existed in kuwait.
Does Dima exist or is she fictional?
Mark deSouza:
Copyright does exist to some extent .. either way, they should at least keep the original articles and not butcher them.
Purgatory:
If she exists .. I want her job; it would take three minutes to find several articles and submit them.
Looks like someone slept in the day they had the PLAGIARISM class.
Well if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys that cut and paste.
I like Bazaar Magazine whenever I make a quick stop-over at starbucks I always read through Bazaar since they usually have interesting things to say.
I salute you for actually taking time to analyze the magazine.
Why are you reading their magazine?
I think she is a guy who likes that name, or maybe a blond woman, or at worst case a figment of the editor’s imagination.
Is Dima Al Damen their only writer?
Either way, I agree.. their magazine sucks big time. Was reading it once in the airport and was bored to death from it
Delicately Realistic:
Or they are under the impression that ‘prepared by’ means plagirized and butchered,
Don Veto:
This is less quality than peanut eating monkeys.. think cats and other domesticated pets.
Marzouq:
My spam filter loves you .. either way, I find half the Bazaar writers mediocre; not really my cup of tea (but way, way above Student-Talk).
Cajetan Barretto:
Thanks .. lets hope they realize that people read this and make something original.
adorra:
I read everything else.
Purgatory:
Don’t give them that much credit.
Fonzy:
I wouldn’t call her a writer; since she has yet to write anything.
Damn K, you hit them hard! The last part of your post made my day btw!
dear K and everyone else that had positive comments about bazaar: thank you so much for your kind words.We go out of our way to find original writers from q8,dubai,cairo,amman and as far away as london and NY city (maria shehata) and are glad that people noticed the difference between us and other local magazines.We never ever plagarise but we do have syndication agreements with some news wires like the washington post,ny times,daily star lebanon,and slate so you might sometimes see an article in bazaar that you have seen elsewhere.
oh,and K,regarding stock photography that we use,everything is from getty images,istock photo or shutterstock and is all licensed and paid for.We also use over 4 local photographers for local stuff,but unfortunately havent found local creatives with fast turn around times that can offer things with a ‘twist’.Plz spread the word if u know anyone interested.
marzouk,plz keep in mind some of the writers in bazaar are weaker than others because they are still new at it and are not proffessional writers.We give them the chance to express themselves and try not to edit their work too hard as lots of times these are younger writers and they use their work in bazaar as part of their graduation projects or on their applications to colleges abroad. Usually these ‘weak’ writers dont appear in bazaar more than once or twice.
Tweez:
I think the guy who makes my coffee can make a better magazine .. just give him a photocopier.
bazaar:
I am well aware that your articles are original and even when they are from other syndications .. you give credit to the original writer. My Issue with Student-Talk is that they take an article, butcher it and then don’t give credit.
I am sure the getty images are paid for .. but it doesn’t give the magazine a sense of style. Stock image upon stock image makes the magazine seem like a template from a book about adobe pagemaker. Send me a email about what kind of photographer/images you are looking for and I will be more than willing to write a post about it.
“I could write a better magazine, in my sleep, by mistake, inhaling carbon monoxide and balancing on a unicycle.”
lol
Neyahahha you were evul to them.. they deserve way more !!
this magazine is for advertisement, they just fill it with stuff so it can be called ” a magazine” not a commercial catalogs. i never thought of reading it, i just look at the pics
“I could write a better magazine, in my sleep, by mistake, inhaling carbon monoxide and balancing on a unicycle.”
That is a TOTALLY quotable quote! LOL!
If you think Student Talk sucks, don’t go near DMag. it’ll make you want to kill yourself!
Ahmad and co at Bazaar are cool and out of all the mags in Kuwait. It is by far the best… at least the work there is legit…
P.S. I am biased in favor of Bazaar for the obvious reason!
nice review though!
P.P.S. I didn’t see the soft-core porn image!
I use those magazines to add a touch to my living room. I like the look of magazines nicely organized under the coffee table
P.S. Was I supposed to read them?
This is Zeina M., the person who started Studentalk and the publishing house behind it.
I want to personally thank you for taking so much time and putting so much effort into researching Studentalk.
I never thought any of our readers would go to such lengths. Unless, you are working for another publication!!! Did we, by any chance, step on your toes lately? Has our success been so frustrating to you?
Anyways, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad publicity. So thank you for the free campaign.
Personally, I believe, if something is not controversial it is stagnant.
I thank you for reading Studentalk, please do not miss my letter from the editor in the January 2007 issue. I shall have a few words for you in it.
P.S: I would like to see you on a unicycle but I don’t advise you to inhale carbon monoxide, but then, good luck on both!!
Well, well, well, what do we have here ?
Student talk !
lail7een mawjoda hal majalla !!!
Mr.K,
hal majjalla mawjoooda ONLY 7ag illy wanna show their pix and faces to every1 7ag illy yabi yertaz.
amma il silly articles or il silly students answers fa la ta3leeeq cuz il majjala ibalash , shino titwaqqa3!
plz plz plz mr.K
save me an issue of jan 2007 so i can read it.
thanks
DiiGMa:
I have to be a bit professional..
Dawn Fairy:
I would check if the pictures were original… but I don’t have that much free time.
krispydixie:
I have sworn to stay away from most of those magazines; I have found that my IQ drops as I turn the pages.
And they didn’t put your name in the last issue… are you sure you don’t want me to review it.
Check my last post; it’s the one with the nurse.
Elijah:
Well… It might be better that your not reading them. I do suggest you get some books or real magazines so people don’t think you’re insane for having them around. :p
Zeina M.:
Check my latest post.
Rimo:
Inshallah… here is hoping I am emailed a copy.
LOL! No way will I put my books and real magazines on the coffee table! They’re on their shelves safely protected from the dangers of coffee spilling
Elijah:
So the magazines are there to protect from coffee spillage; then its ok.
This is Dima Al-Damen, the retired Studentalk Content manager blah blah and the person whom you all have been throwing unappropriate views at. First of all i would like to have the opportunity to thank everyone on this blog who have posted a view about me. I do respect each and every one of them. Second of all, i would like to know whether there was any magazine out there that does not take in articles from sites here and there. If u say otherwise then i’m sorry but ur awfully lieing. On the other hand, Studentalk wouldn’t be out there for almost 7 years now if it weren’t a successful magazine and people would not be advertising in it and also, students would not be reading it. I’m only saying so because i used to work there. But like every successful magazine, it should have it’s pros and cons. Now, about the biography of Bjork, yes i did get it from the internet, however, its a freaking biography wherelse would u wanna get information about a celebrity if it wasn’t through the internet. Of course you could meet up with that specific celebrity but hello! This is a Student’s magazine remember? We only have contents as such to have a bit of an entertainment to the students, we certainly don’t wanna bore our readers. We do have a lot of contributed writers from the American University of Paris, Kuwait Uni, Auk, Ack or even Gust.But that was when i used to work there i don’t know about now. We only got these articles this time from reader’s digest or any other site because we thought our readers would really find them interesting and we have done so through Studentalk. The word PREPARED by Dima doesn’t necessarily mean that i wrote it! It could also mean that we have gotten it to issue it for people to read. However, reader’s digest is very popular and people read it’s articles all the time. We know that!! I know that! Now this is not supposed to be a clarification as such nor a self-defense. But i sure do admit that it is totally unappropriate to have had done that if that’s what people would’ve taken it to be. I’m retired now, because i didn’t find myself fitting well in the magazine industry as it is not what i would want my career to be based on. Everyone here has been so judgemental but you all had failed to believe that i could be an employee under an employer (hint hint). Sometimes it is an obligation and you wouldn’t have a say and you gotta do as your told, even if you don’t like what you’re told to do (hint hint). I don’t have to explain or prove anything to anyone. But since i’m the one being attacked here i only think it’s fair that i’d have a say. After u people read what i have written i assure u i will not look back to read what you have commented. But i only think it’s fair that you judge fairly. Besides, what are you all bothered about anyway? Why is Studentalk eating you all? Or is this what you guys really do for a living? Get a life
BTW you guys!! Because of you and what you have written about me, even though it was attacking me i was gonna get SUED! LOL, now how gay can we get!
Don’t ever judge a book by it’s cover! Judge truly, judge fairly.
Thanks again.
Yes ‘SPILLAGE’ sorry, typo, I had initially written ‘…of anyone spilling coffee’ Bear with me, I suffer from ‘mistake phobia’ that’s why I had to comment again
k and krispie dixie: on the contributing writers list we only put down the writers who submitted an article in that particular issue.We used to just have a list of all of those who occassionally submit articles,but it got ridiculous since some writers only submit stuff every few months…
krispie dixie: you make us blush. It is cool people like you and all of the writers in bazaar that make it all worthwhile.
dima: how the hell could you say “Sometimes it is an obligation and you wouldn’t have a say and you gotta do as your told, even if you don’t like what you’re told to do (hint hint” that is such utter bull shit. You remind me of the nazi officers under hitler who said they were just following orders!
zeina: what do you mean there is no such thing as bad publicity?Look at what all these people said about your magazine! that is bad publicity if i ever saw it.And you didnt even address the main issue which is that content was STOLEN from other sources.
bazaar: you guys easily have the only real magazine in kuwait.I work for an ad agency and even our dubai office and all our clients love the publication and constantly ask for it.They say that it is the best way to keep up with whats really going on in kuwait .keep up the great work.
Dima:
I created another post just for your response.
Elijah:
Hehe .. Next time just leave me a new edited message, I can change it.
bazaar:
I agree, you would be left with 12 pages of names of previous writers if you were to do that (I shouldn’t be giving Student-Talk ideas).
mo:
I replied to Dima’s comment in my last post .. as for the other things, I agree with you.
Dear all,
I have came across this website through a colleague that works with me. I work in an ad agency and i personally know Dima. I can’t help but say that dima is such a great person to know. I’ve known her for a while now and i got to know her through her job field, that is when she used to work for studentalk.
Here in kuwait or basically in our Arab world a boss is a boss! u can never argue with him/her and can never say no unless u want to be thrown out. We all work because we need to build our careers. So when they sense ur in need, they bully u or black mail u. We all might’ve been through this point one way or another.
Dima is a very hard working person. I know what kind of person she is. She is a responsible and a respectful person and more or less, she’s a Lady. I am sure that dima might have been ordered to do this. Don’t for once think that i am defending her, but when i heard about what’s going on and i read the views about her in this blog i felt that as a friend, or someone that knows her well i should say whats right.
By the way, dima left the magazine from what i know way before the November issue.
Thanks
man you destroyed her.. lol
I think there are many magazines out there, StudentTalk included lack journalistic ethics by bending the rules and pasting in works by others. Any publication must include the credentials, unfortunately we have weak copyright laws in Kuwait that does not protect writers.
It is extremely misleading to measure success in terms of financial gains and advertising revenue. Success should be measured in terms of a journalistic value created and proper readership. This is exactly what ensures that there is long term financial success. There are many flip through photo album magazines with almost zero content like Layaleena, but atleast they understand that people buy it not for its journalistic content, but for people watching. I beleieve that a magazine should clearly understand what readers / flippers actually do with the magazine. StudentTalk surely has readers / flippers otherwise they wouldn’t be getting that much advertisement, but what is certain is that their growth is capped to the local market since they can be slammed with law suits elswhere, and they can plaigerize here as much as they like as long as there are no copyright laws to stop them.
I think Kuwait Journalists Society(?) should be more active as to extend its activities to cover such journalistic misconduct.
No Mercy:
We are not question Dima’s as a person or friend, I am sure she is great at both. We are, however, are questioning her journalistic aptitude or lack thereof. I would personally look elsewhere for work if my professionalism was being pushed daily. If Dima left the magazine before this issue, then why was her name on the articles.
steve_leb:
I had to edit your comment .. it was a tad bit harsh.
Equalizer:
Student-talk has a high subscription count, based on the stores it is found in. I don’t believe those stores are aware of the material found in this magazine. As for the Kuwaiti Journalists Society .. they have much bigger things on their hands.
OBVIOUSLY SINCE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO DESPERATELY TRYING TO DEFEND THEM SELVES, WITH THEIR FREINDS ALL JOINING IN. THE MAGAZINE IS OBVIOUSLY 90% COPIED FROM OTHER REAL JOURNALISTS.
THIS BLOG TOUCHED A NERVE, OTHERWISE THEY WOULDNT BE IN DEFENSIVE MODE TO THIS EXTENT. WHATS WRONG PEOPLE FROM STUDENT TALK? AFFRAID OF A LITTLE SUBJECTIVE REVIEW??
“Those people alone are proof that evolution is a theory; in truth we are going backwards.” –> Love it! I find this whole thing incredibly amusing, but I just had to comment on that line. It made me laugh out loud.
Dima… judging from the huge number of grammatical errors in your comment (I lost count after the 4th line), I can’t believe you’re actually defending your writing “style”.
i was just browsin throguh the internet its exam time and i found this page
anyway man gr8 job with the artical
and zaydoon this is just a blog with very intresting facts
i dnt give to sh… with the gramatical areros
thats y the sppelling mistakes are on this reply coz no one care its readable and thats inof
any way who efver rote this artical proved to me that kuwait has evloted magorly since i left and its only been three years since wen did people start reading in kuwait and understand wat there readin most i c is people pikin up magazins at starbuck to look smart but there lookin at the adds thats if that. it also ticks me off the guys with the laptops evrywere in the mall man if ur doin a project or workin on some graphic desighn program thats aight but msn in marina mall like get a life u can do that at home or u think ur extra cool coz u have a laptop well buddy welcome to 21 century and wake up.
u can all hait me but thats wats gr8 about the intrnet
any way good job again now im gna read try and find that magazin onlyin and cheek for myself
evryone else should do that too
Hey K! This blog is amazing!
First of all, you have a point. You were only trying to wake them up as if this continues, and if they practice it outside Kuwait they’ll fall on their heads. This way, you are not being fair to the original writer him/herself and I am more than a 100% sure that they wouldn’t like it if even one sentence of an article of theirs was stolen.
Second of all, what I do not understand is being so defensive! I was taught to accept critisizm whether it was good or bad. Being successful requires people’s feedback afterall! Not just the positive feedback! You need to absorb the negative feedback as it is more constructive, because people are actually making it easier for you. They are pointing the things that you have missed, these things reinforce you if you improve them. Don’t hink we are degrading you in any way by giving you our feedback. Positive feedback only means that you are good, but the negative feedback,when improved, can make you much much better!
Third, I was really disappointed in Dima and Zeina when i saw those two sentences, “Get a life BTW you guys!! Because of you and what you have written about me, even though it was attacking me i was gonna get SUED! LOL, now how gay can we get!” and “Did we, by any chance, step on your toes lately? Has our success been so frustrating to you?”! That was not a professional way of speaking! You guys are losing fans that way, and you lost one already,me!
Zeina, if the magazine was so successful then how come it is available freely! If it was so successful we would actually care to buy it! It is completely aimless, especially the questions that are asked! They are meaningless.
AT last, thank you guys for this great blog. Keep up the good work! BRAVO! *APPLAUSE*
I know I’m resurrecting a blog topic long dead, but I felt that I had to make a contribution to this, actually being one of the few contributors of original content to Studentalk. I work full time for an English language newspaper in Kuwait, and in November 2006 was approached to create content for Studentalk Magazine by PH7’s (the publishing house that controls Studentalk) new marketing manager. She had just started and had a visible plan to create a better magazine. Having myself flipped through the magazine only a few times, I was a little wary of contributing to what is correctly being slammed as a press release/stolen content whore, however, I hadn’t been back in Kuwait for a year yet and I figured I was ready to dip my feet in the pool and start submitting articles somewhere, even if it was Studentalk.
It has now been almost four months since I started writing for them, and the marketing manager has quit and I’m considering this to probably be my last month of contribution, today being my deadline for three articles that have taken me over the edge of how much faux Vogue/Cosmo crap I can fake caring about.
The magazine IS a sham, it really is a print media aimed at generating ad revenue. All print media is based on making money, but there is an acceptable amount that consumers will tolerate and even enjoy, and then there is just blatant whoring. Studentalk falls into the latter.
As for stolen content, this is Kuwait. If you are going to pick on this particular media, you are being biased and cruel. Bazaar, believe it or not, does have content in it that is plagiarized. The “resident guru” might be unaware of this fact, but an individual that contributes regularly does paraphrase content regularly taken from the internet and call it his/her own. For that matter, so do the plethora of daily newspapers. Its easy to pick out these articles once you recognize it from your own paper, and it is something I have argued with management over. This is where I sympathize with Dima, because your boss has the final word. This isn’t only the case with English based media, but also with the Arab language media. Dot Magazine would be one such case, and it isn’t even appropriately timed stolen content if you know your video games and tech. Image theft is rampant across the board, regardless of the amount of experience an individual holds or the prestige and subscriber base of a publication. Employess are encouraged to fill space, by any means necessary, and for few publications are ethics a factor.
That’s my little piece on the plagiarism of content in Kuwait.
On a side note, Bazaar is an example of what print media should work towards in Kuwait, it being the only free publication I intend to pick up monthly, but there are many issues where I don’t bother reading beyond the first paragraph of any piece. I call it the best in Kuwait myself, but only with the added disclaimer that there is no competition (for now ;)).
hahahahahaaa
i couldnt stop laughing.. man they suck
I read it once and the few articles seemed familiar to me too. I mean, if they cant frekin write, why have a magazine ?!
The questions they ask are stupid and the answers a lot stupider AND they even have duplicated pages ..like the interviews? The put them in twice in the same issue but in random pages which is totally dumb.
Cant we get a decent english magazine in Kuwait ??!!
student talk should be renamed to ’slk-driving, mop-hairdo sporting, pink hummer driving… TALK’- dont you think?