Friday, November 06, 2009
Murthys and Infy
A pleasant story about love, freedom, entrepreneurship and human values. A must-read article.
Numbers, figures and all that...
Facts got hold of me quite firmly this week when I decided to google curiously some of my unanswered questions. Here is what it looks like:
1) India with the population of 1.2 billion people has only 47 million total internet users. Read the last line carefully, the number belongs to total internet users and not the active ones. The number of active users would be even lesser. Out of 47 million, 39 mill come from urban areas and the remaining 8 mill come from rural areas.
2) The projected yearly growth for total internet users is about 10%, i.e. one will see growth of about 5 - 6 mill users for few years, which is a pretty disappointing figure.
3) Another interesting yet somewhat discomforting fact is that only 13% of the total internet users prefer to read online content in English. Other popular languages are Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujurati.
So if you are a tech entrepreneur in India banking on online ads for the business model then these figures will serve a good reality check for your business.
1) India with the population of 1.2 billion people has only 47 million total internet users. Read the last line carefully, the number belongs to total internet users and not the active ones. The number of active users would be even lesser. Out of 47 million, 39 mill come from urban areas and the remaining 8 mill come from rural areas.
2) The projected yearly growth for total internet users is about 10%, i.e. one will see growth of about 5 - 6 mill users for few years, which is a pretty disappointing figure.
3) Another interesting yet somewhat discomforting fact is that only 13% of the total internet users prefer to read online content in English. Other popular languages are Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujurati.
So if you are a tech entrepreneur in India banking on online ads for the business model then these figures will serve a good reality check for your business.
Monday, October 26, 2009
One night at the call center
Read this book recently. It feels like the author (Chetan Bhagat) is a big fan of Bollywood movies and / or was writing his book for Bollywood audience. Having read his previous work, 5 point someone, I can comfortably say now that he has no training in writing (which is not a bad thing). But writing a book as a Bollywood script cannot be classified as a great work. The book is about 6 characters, talking to each other through-out the book. He hardly explains the premise, ambiance or any other details that might help characterizing the protagonists.
I liked his overall story plot that carries an underlying message. However his writing, the execution of his story, lacks novelty. The book has an usual standard climax in last 30 pages, similar to his previous book, and ends up in 'happily-ever-after' fashion.
He could have definitely told his story without the ingredients: self-praise and US bashing. Self-praise is something that he has consistently shown and spoken about to the media (But that is the problem for him and his PR). US bashing is pretty baseless in the book. I believe author should seriously consider studying the IQ of an average person of any other country. To be fair, people who call 'call centers' are the ones who haven't figured out the solutions to their problems but they have shown the traits of curiosity and willingness to learn by asking somebody else. Well I could go on and on with the examples, but that is not the point, the point is that Chetan could have avoided US bashing.
The characters in the book are convincing but the plot isn't (mainly GOD calling the call center employees). The story plot is short, precise and an enhanced version of a movie script. If that was Chetan's intention then kudos to him as both of his books have been materialized into Bollywood movies. But if he is seriously considering to be a globally accepted writer then he needs to listen to his critics more carefully (who will tell you the same story as this blogger).
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
I liked his overall story plot that carries an underlying message. However his writing, the execution of his story, lacks novelty. The book has an usual standard climax in last 30 pages, similar to his previous book, and ends up in 'happily-ever-after' fashion.
He could have definitely told his story without the ingredients: self-praise and US bashing. Self-praise is something that he has consistently shown and spoken about to the media (But that is the problem for him and his PR). US bashing is pretty baseless in the book. I believe author should seriously consider studying the IQ of an average person of any other country. To be fair, people who call 'call centers' are the ones who haven't figured out the solutions to their problems but they have shown the traits of curiosity and willingness to learn by asking somebody else. Well I could go on and on with the examples, but that is not the point, the point is that Chetan could have avoided US bashing.
The characters in the book are convincing but the plot isn't (mainly GOD calling the call center employees). The story plot is short, precise and an enhanced version of a movie script. If that was Chetan's intention then kudos to him as both of his books have been materialized into Bollywood movies. But if he is seriously considering to be a globally accepted writer then he needs to listen to his critics more carefully (who will tell you the same story as this blogger).
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Entrepreneurship and YOU
While reading one of the articles on TechCrunch I came across the analogy that Yossi Vardi made in regard to the current entrepreneurship. He quoted Theodore Roosevelt from a 1910 speech 'The Man in the Arena':
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.".
Something worth pondering about....
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.".
Something worth pondering about....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A speech
Steve Job's Standford Commencement Address
One of the best speeches that I have ever heard and the best part is that the whole speech is factual. It has happened to a person who is known for beating all the odds.
One of the best speeches that I have ever heard and the best part is that the whole speech is factual. It has happened to a person who is known for beating all the odds.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Rediff
Rediff has always impressed me with the type of articles they cover. They are usually a step ahead from the others. When dignified news corporations were covering Mumbai terror attacks and their effects on Indian people and politics, rediff was covering different strategies as a reply, for attacks, to Pakistan. When news were filled with Steve Job's temporary exit from Apple and its reasons, rediff was covering Tim Cook (Steve's back up guy), his resume and his capacity to lead Apple.
And of course they always have articles like these for personal development.
Do I sound like a marketing guy for Rediff, hmmmm...
And of course they always have articles like these for personal development.
Do I sound like a marketing guy for Rediff, hmmmm...
Friday, January 09, 2009
Must read article!
The depths Indian democracy has fallen to
Classic example of incompetency achieved by politicians and blamed on Indian people for the outcome.
Classic example of incompetency achieved by politicians and blamed on Indian people for the outcome.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year
What a better way to start the New Year than a healthy breakfast followed by a first blog entry for the year. Yeah, I know I am a geek and I am proud of it. This might be one of the few occasions where I am blogging with no particular thought in mind. So I will fall back on everybody’s favorite i.e. New Year resolution.
For me, resolution means to figure out what went wrong in last year and try to improve it in this one. When I think of it, I might have followed my own resolutions only about 50% of the time every year. But people do feel this urge of planning their lives and work and get the maximum benefit out of it. And I think this is a good idea. Don’t you feel good when you plan something out and accomplish it? But the only drawback with planning is that you lose out on enjoying the current moment as you are always heading towards your future goals. So the trick is to draw a fine line between your planned and unplanned lives and keep it as balanced as possible. You need to know where you are heading in life; however you also need to be open to the sudden surprises and excitement in life. Remember life is a journey and not a destination.
With this blog, wishing you a happy new year.
For me, resolution means to figure out what went wrong in last year and try to improve it in this one. When I think of it, I might have followed my own resolutions only about 50% of the time every year. But people do feel this urge of planning their lives and work and get the maximum benefit out of it. And I think this is a good idea. Don’t you feel good when you plan something out and accomplish it? But the only drawback with planning is that you lose out on enjoying the current moment as you are always heading towards your future goals. So the trick is to draw a fine line between your planned and unplanned lives and keep it as balanced as possible. You need to know where you are heading in life; however you also need to be open to the sudden surprises and excitement in life. Remember life is a journey and not a destination.
With this blog, wishing you a happy new year.
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