November 24, 2008
What is the value of 500 Rs for different people in today's world ?
Spellbound by this video, though I dont agree with the statement "Think Before you Spend" (or am I missing something), the video shows how aspirations of people from lower income groups are radically different. poor want to spend on education, on there families and on there education where as relative well of groups want to spend on Jullia Robert movies and haircuts. Nothing wrong, but what bothers me is our fortunes are more or less depend on the families in which we are born. Can we provide quality education and opportunities to excel in life irrespective of our birth and place where you live(difference in quality of education in urban India and rural India), I hope we can
November 21, 2008
Can India make it?
US National Intelligence Council (NIC) releases a trend report every 4 years to help U.S. Presidents and their administrations think strategically and long-term about potential future trends and how they should be dealt with. This year report spotted trends like China, India and Russia will increasingly challenge US influence, dollar may not be world’s major currency and Al Qaeda may loose its strong hold.
The report comes with a Disclaimer: These outcomes are not inevitable and will depend on the actions of world leaders.
I wonder do we have those kind of leaders to make India a major player in coming decade. Yes Manmohan Singh may be highly educated PM of the world, but at the end of the day he is not a strong leader. Can we elect leaders who thinks long term and take India forward? I am skeptical but wont completely rule out.
The report comes with a Disclaimer: These outcomes are not inevitable and will depend on the actions of world leaders.
I wonder do we have those kind of leaders to make India a major player in coming decade. Yes Manmohan Singh may be highly educated PM of the world, but at the end of the day he is not a strong leader. Can we elect leaders who thinks long term and take India forward? I am skeptical but wont completely rule out.
November 17, 2008
key digital developments in 2008
Identifying trends is a challenge especially when there are booms and buzzwords coined every month and the ecosystem changes too quickly. I would like to share a work in progress article on “key digital developments in 2008” before coming up with a final version. Let me know your opinions on the same
Here are my observations on key digital developments in 2008-
1. Aggregators: aggregators will become more popular, if they are not yet. From friendfeed to techmeme, we will see smarter ways to consume content.
2. Yahoo – launched an intelligent social architecture, yahoo life, to turn Yahoo into a set of platforms for third-party publishers and developers. Closed down services like yahoo music, auctions, yahoo 360, and missed a golden chance to join hands with Microsoft and lost many key managers. Yahoo’s move to openness, especially on search front and its move to be a platform will shape its future in coming years
3. Microblogs: Users started speaking in 140 characters and sending tinyurl’s thus making inroads to microblogs, Twitter has passed the one-billion tweet mark and used by more than 3 million users.Microblos helped more and more users to express there opinions and share there lives on internet
4. Developer platforms /API – Every popular social network has launched application platform or joined an existing one and making there websites a plug-and-play services. API’s became mainstream with more than 1000 Web service API’s on offer a steep increase from 32 API’s in 2005
5. Data/Content portability- Data and content portability will help in reducing social media fatigue and makes life simple at a time when so many new web services are trying to catch user’s attention on the other hand it will help companies to retain users to there services. We witnessed few initiatives last year (Facebook connect, Google friend connect and Myspace data) in making data more portable, but its still a long and unclear road ahead. Profile data will be shared by major websites making the web experience beyond their walled gardens
6. Browser wars – Google created a buzz by launching chrome. Chrome aspires to move the web forward and provide a stronger platform for emerging web standards. Chrome helps Google collect more data on consumers’ needs and behavior and display more precise ads Chrome can run applications faster than traditional browsers and pave way to cloud computing environments. Chrome may appeal to tech crowd but attracting users beyond early adopters is a challenge. IBM is developing a new product built around the browser as an application platform which lets users share data live and in real time. Browser will become more advanced and will became as an application platforms than just display web pages
7. Mobile web –Nokia launched a premier mobile advertising network with leading publishers and operators across the world. Nokia rebranded twango, a media sharing start up acquired in 2007 to ovi, which offers Web services such as gaming, social networking, and mapping and partnered with Google on mobile search application. Nokia recognized the need to be more than a mobile manufacturer and threats it may face from new companies and quickly started reorganizing the company into 2 segments: devices and services. Nokia will differentiate with rest of players by the content(like tie up with Sony BMG to offer free music for a year) and services it offer not just functionality of the phones. Web-capable smart phones gained more penetration and shaping mobile web habits.
8. Virtual Worlds –IBM and Linden Labs joined hands develop a version of Second Life that will live behind the corporate firewall. Google launched Lively, a browser based virtual world, but overall I am still skeptical whether virtual worlds and 3d will make big in 2009
9. Self Serving Ads- Myspace, Linkedin and facebook launched self service ads. Self servicing ads will help grow the total online ad market pie, and it helps in forming a ‘Long Tail of online advertisers’, in coming years.
Here are my observations on key digital developments in 2008-
1. Aggregators: aggregators will become more popular, if they are not yet. From friendfeed to techmeme, we will see smarter ways to consume content.
2. Yahoo – launched an intelligent social architecture, yahoo life, to turn Yahoo into a set of platforms for third-party publishers and developers. Closed down services like yahoo music, auctions, yahoo 360, and missed a golden chance to join hands with Microsoft and lost many key managers. Yahoo’s move to openness, especially on search front and its move to be a platform will shape its future in coming years
3. Microblogs: Users started speaking in 140 characters and sending tinyurl’s thus making inroads to microblogs, Twitter has passed the one-billion tweet mark and used by more than 3 million users.Microblos helped more and more users to express there opinions and share there lives on internet
4. Developer platforms /API – Every popular social network has launched application platform or joined an existing one and making there websites a plug-and-play services. API’s became mainstream with more than 1000 Web service API’s on offer a steep increase from 32 API’s in 2005
5. Data/Content portability- Data and content portability will help in reducing social media fatigue and makes life simple at a time when so many new web services are trying to catch user’s attention on the other hand it will help companies to retain users to there services. We witnessed few initiatives last year (Facebook connect, Google friend connect and Myspace data) in making data more portable, but its still a long and unclear road ahead. Profile data will be shared by major websites making the web experience beyond their walled gardens
6. Browser wars – Google created a buzz by launching chrome. Chrome aspires to move the web forward and provide a stronger platform for emerging web standards. Chrome helps Google collect more data on consumers’ needs and behavior and display more precise ads Chrome can run applications faster than traditional browsers and pave way to cloud computing environments. Chrome may appeal to tech crowd but attracting users beyond early adopters is a challenge. IBM is developing a new product built around the browser as an application platform which lets users share data live and in real time. Browser will become more advanced and will became as an application platforms than just display web pages
7. Mobile web –Nokia launched a premier mobile advertising network with leading publishers and operators across the world. Nokia rebranded twango, a media sharing start up acquired in 2007 to ovi, which offers Web services such as gaming, social networking, and mapping and partnered with Google on mobile search application. Nokia recognized the need to be more than a mobile manufacturer and threats it may face from new companies and quickly started reorganizing the company into 2 segments: devices and services. Nokia will differentiate with rest of players by the content(like tie up with Sony BMG to offer free music for a year) and services it offer not just functionality of the phones. Web-capable smart phones gained more penetration and shaping mobile web habits.
8. Virtual Worlds –IBM and Linden Labs joined hands develop a version of Second Life that will live behind the corporate firewall. Google launched Lively, a browser based virtual world, but overall I am still skeptical whether virtual worlds and 3d will make big in 2009
9. Self Serving Ads- Myspace, Linkedin and facebook launched self service ads. Self servicing ads will help grow the total online ad market pie, and it helps in forming a ‘Long Tail of online advertisers’, in coming years.
November 04, 2008
5 things I observed during American Elections
5 things I observed during American Elections:
A guy born to a Muslim father of African origin and a Christian mom, An American, half Kenyan, half white, half black,raised in Indonesia and graduated from Harvard, who have Hussain in his middle name can became US president. People actually vote for the most competent guy in the race, especially during a crisis, color and race wont matter during tough days
USA saw unprecedented voter turnout,and they do have problems like names missing in voters list, malfunction of some optical scanning machines, and allegations of voter suppression and intimidation. Common Americans turned to polling booths some waiting nearly 3 hours to cast there votes. People recognize importance of vote especially during crisis, when there present leaders failed them and see a good alternative
Obama raised record funds, in innovative ways. He raised micro donations from large number of people than raising money from few. He tapped social media and social networks. For the first time internet played a crucial role in a political campaign. Both candidates spent 2.4Billion Dollars on elections, with each spending $ 1 million per day on TV ads!!
USA can conduct elections in a single day
voters are lured with freebies not directly but indirectly. Getting free chicken, ice cream and coffee as a reward for voting are some of the hottest Google search trends early in election day
A guy born to a Muslim father of African origin and a Christian mom, An American, half Kenyan, half white, half black,raised in Indonesia and graduated from Harvard, who have Hussain in his middle name can became US president. People actually vote for the most competent guy in the race, especially during a crisis, color and race wont matter during tough days
USA saw unprecedented voter turnout,and they do have problems like names missing in voters list, malfunction of some optical scanning machines, and allegations of voter suppression and intimidation. Common Americans turned to polling booths some waiting nearly 3 hours to cast there votes. People recognize importance of vote especially during crisis, when there present leaders failed them and see a good alternative
Obama raised record funds, in innovative ways. He raised micro donations from large number of people than raising money from few. He tapped social media and social networks. For the first time internet played a crucial role in a political campaign. Both candidates spent 2.4Billion Dollars on elections, with each spending $ 1 million per day on TV ads!!
USA can conduct elections in a single day
voters are lured with freebies not directly but indirectly. Getting free chicken, ice cream and coffee as a reward for voting are some of the hottest Google search trends early in election day
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