There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes; By the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, but nature more...
-Lord Byron
While watching the movie "Into the wild" I thought of scribbling about my closest tryst with mother nature. It has been until now the most exotic trip of my life to a place called Kiruna (Lapland-northern part of Scandinavian paradise). For any of you who happen to reach that north must not miss the beautiful train journey from Kiruna(Swedish lapland) to Narvik(Nowegian Lapland).
Finally some air to breathe after a hectic week of studies and accomplishing status "finished" for three more subjects got me thinking about my blog. The concept of B.O.P (Bottom of pyramid) has got many multinational firms thinking who are looking out to expand their business. Mobile handset industry seems like a promising industry in such a sector with the need for mobile handset changing from a luxury to a necessity.
As the devices get equipped with more and more features, industries-once separate-find themselves competing against each other. The growing use of the 3G standard mobiles is a major step towards convergence leading to a change in focus towards emerging countries such as China and India. The emergence of wireless local networks (WLANs and WiMax) and development of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) nurture convergence of mobile handset devices. Mobile handsets market once easily distinguished market is slowly falling to be a part of consumer electronics market with slower growth rate, intense price pressure and intense competition.
Convergence is the single most important trend to reshape the mobile handset industry. It is technology driven and is taking place in four main areas: devices; operating systems; wireless network standards; and wireless, wireline, Internet, and cable networks.
Once separate markets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones are no longer distinct devices. Both markets have appropriated the other market's functions and features to such an extent that the two industry segments have blurred. As an increasing number of handsets incorporate digital cameras as a standard feature, for example, such handsets are increasingly replacing cameras altogether.
This situation in this industry like other saturated industries has lead to the emergence of three business models: global leaders, cost leaders and followers.
26th Nov. turned out to be the most horrifying day in the history of India. Around 12 terrorists entered into the heart of Mumbai and took the city under siege. Claiming 183(declared officially by the home ministry) lives and injuring hundreds, this attack is a spit on the face of Indian ministry of home affairs which was being lead by Mr. Shivraj Patil. Lasting for over 3 days it was tough battle between NSG and the terrorists who came with the motive of claiming 5000 lives and blowing up the jewel of Mumbai, Hotel Taj Palace.
On the political front tensions between India and Pakistan are rising as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggests Pakistani links have been found behind these attacks, although the government was not involved. In a remarkable turn of events Mr. Shivraj Patil has tendered his resignation as the post of home minister which would be now taken over by Mr. P. Chidambaram. What might lead out of this situation are border tensions across the LOC with the prime minister deploying troops on the border and cancelling the ceasefire. If such a situation takes place it would require Pakistan to re-deploy its troops to Indian border creating an entry path for terrorists across the Afghan border which is something U.S. and NATO won't let happen.
Increasing tension between India and Pakistan:
But, whatever happens in the world of politics would not be able to bring back the innocent victims who lost their lives in this horrifying act of terror.
This video displays the evolution of screen from a movie theatre(1896), to understand the present and see visions of the future, sharing emotions and experiences that shaked our lives. Then came the television(1907) followed by the computer and the internet age. We are currently living in era of the fourth screen, where everything comes in a device that can fit into our pockets, the mobile phone. But with world and technology changing at such a rapid pace the wait for the fifth screen won't be a long one!!
Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder is a diagnosis within psychiatry and other mental health professions referring to excessive social anxiety (anxiety in social situations) causing abnormally considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some areas of daily life.
SNAD, on the other hand, is caused by stress from the pressures of social networking: the constant Friend requests, Scrabulous requests, photo tag requests, group and event invitations... Consider also the anxiety of creating things like "limited profiles," carefully managing how much of ourselves to reveal to our virtual associates -- and that accompanying, nagging, guilty question: "Will this person realize I restricted his ability to see my Super Wall?"
Not sure if you're suffering? Here are three symptoms of SNAD to look out for. If you have any of these, you should contact your mental-health-professional avatar immediately.
1. You were considering breaking up with your significant other, but decided to stick it out because of the anxiety associated with changing your Relationship Status on Facebook and de-tagging hundreds of photos.
2. You currently have 36+ Friend requests festering on Facebook or MySpace, which have built up month over month because you don't want your rejection to send these strangers on a downward, emotional spiral.
3. You belong to several groups including "I Skin Cats on Sundays" and "Cousins Make Great Husbands," because, well, they were nice enough to invite you.
Next time you log on to Facebook, MySpace or any of those thousands of Social Networking website think about this disorder and draw a line for yourself.
Formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, California and having been survived for over two decades Red Hot Chilli Peppers is my favourite rock music band. The band consists of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith. RHCPs varied style of music comprising of alternative rock, funk rock had impressed its millions of fans worldwide. The group originally featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. Slovak, however, died of a heroin overdose in 1988, resulting in Irons resigning. The band has seen many lead guitarists and drummer but the current line up has been together for the longest preiod of time.
So far the band has released 9 record albums: The Red Hot Chili Peppers(1984), Freaky Styley(1985), The Uplift Mofo Party Plan(1987), Mother's Milk(1989), Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), One Hot Minute (1995), Californication (1999), By the Way(2002), Stadium Arcadium(2006).
"Scar Tissue" is the autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis. The story follows Kiedis from his birth in 1962 to the (then) present day of early 2004. It follows Kiedis into the depth of his experiences with drug addiction. The title name was taken from the single "Scar Tissue" released nine years earlier on the Chili Peppers' album Californication.
The most damning indictment of the book is that there is literally no narrative structure here; Kiedis does not impose any sort of dramatic development on his story, so unless one is familiar with the outlines of Chili Pepper history, this is just one really long picaresque. One of the more chilling moments in reading the book is realizing that the overdose death of Hillel Slovak (the Chili Peppers' original guitarist), who Kiedis refers to as his best friend and "soulmate", prompts approximately a page of reflection from Kiedis. That's it. After that, it's on to further bouts of drug-taking, startlingly dysfunctional relationships with women and occasional musings on sobriety.
Though a bit long(comprising of 400 pages), I would recommend this book to all RHCP fans which enlightens about the history of this band.
One of the things that I am looking forward to in the year '09 (beside the economy to stabilize) is the completion of Volkswagen's manufacturing plant in Chakan, Pune, Maharashtra. Built on a 230 hectare site, this plant will consist of a press shop, body shop, paint shop and assembly lines. Volkswagen plans to produce 110,000 vehicles per year out of this plant by 2011.
Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest vehicle manufacturer and my favourite, had earlier announced that it is going to raise its investment in its Chakan facility (Pune) from 410 million euros (Rs 2,400 crore) to 580 million euros (Rs 3,500 crore) to speed up the completion of the plant and roll out the first 15,000 units of Skoda Fabia one year earlier than originally planned.
Calling this move ‘the biggest investment by a German company’ Jorg Mueller, president and MD, Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited said that the company will start production in the first half of 2009.
To ensure quicker delivery of different auto parts to the plant, Volkswagen has decided to invite their auto component manufacturers to set up units in its land around the Chakan facility. This will help the company to save transportation costs and VW will be able to source the same quality of components procured and used in its vehicles sold in overseas markets.
The German car maker has finalized some suppliers like Minda Industries Ltd which has bagged orders worth 50 crore to supply lamps for the small car in India and Russia. Although Mr. Ulriche Proske, Volkswagen India Executive Director Finance, admitted that the company was considering Indian suppliers, he declined to provide any further details regarding the sourcing of parts or the potential markets for its compact car.
Based on the company’s plans revealed during the Auto Expo in January this year, Volkswagen’s India- based small car would be similar to its small car Polo and it is expected to hit the Indian roads by 2009-10.
In his recent visit to the plant, Lower Saxony's prime minister Christian Wulff said “Lower Saxony is proud of Volkswagen and the contribution the company is making all over the world. Our best wishes go to Volkswagen employees and management for swift growth in India, too.”
Volkswagen also plans to increase its Indian market share to 10% from its current less than 1% market share in the next five years.
While the allowance from the government for 100% FDI in automobile makes India a lucrative investment for building production plants but the competition for market share is getting tougher with more and more entrants.
Thinking that I won't get this opportunity to post about the much talked about U.S. presidential elections for the next 4 years, here is one dedicated to Sen. Barack Obama.
"Yes we can"- cheered the U.S.A. on 4th November 2008 when Senator Barack Obama defeated Senator John McCain bringing democracy back to the U.S.A. Surely, America is the place where everything is possible having Sen B.O. as its first black president. Born on the 4th Aug 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii U.S.A., this Harvard Law School graduate has showed America a ray of hope. A hope to overcome the financial crisis, to create more jobs, build more schools, to make an average American better off than he is at the moment.
"In change we believe", assured the government of the people, for the people and by the people but what this change is going to lead to is a question which only time can answer.
A race is a competition of speed, against an objective criteria, usually a clock. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time and so is “LIFE”. Winning horse doesn’t know why it runs in race.It runs because of beats and pain. Life is a race. God is your rider. So if you are in pain.Think God wants you to win.
Somewhere, somehow, And I don’t know when It all began. Was it for fun? Or, Was it for fame?
I saw people run, Where and for what? I didn’t know. But it seemed fun! So I put on my running shoes And joined the race.
People crumpled But I didn’t care. Beautiful places passed by, But I didn’t stop The race continued And I ran along.
Adrenaline is still pumping And the race is on. But I feel lost. How long? Or, How far do I run?
Is there, A finish line marked somewhere? A dais set to welcome a hero? A-Cup-of-Life. Or, Do I turn back? And live life.
Social Networking is still a relatively new field and has its pros and cons. To outweigh the pros against the cons or otherwise is a personal perception.
Contd....
Well seeing some interesting posts during the last one week, I could not restrict myself from posting another blog entry more relevant to the topic of our debate, “By 2020, social networks will be recognized as the main drivers of organizational success”.
What is main driver of organizational success? If you would ask me I would say its the sales of the company. With the emergence of "Web 2.0." a new set of business practices are creeping into the way companies sell their products to their customers. This new trend in selling is being called “Sales 2.0.”.
What is “Sales 2.0.” ? "Sales 2.0." is the adaptation of "Web 2.0." concepts and technologies to improve and accelerate the sales process. Like "Web 2.0.", many of the tools, technologies and techniques of "Sales 2.0." are being born of experimentation. "Sales 2.0." is radically reshaping every facet in the process of how companies market and sell to their customers. It’s helping salespeople do a better job of identifying leads, turning leads into opportunities and converting those opportunities into customer wins.
Companies are using "Sales 2.0." tools to try to extend traditional networking activities both inside and outside of the company. The use of "Sales 2.0." tools internally allows employees and other closed groups, such as channel partners, to collaborate and share proprietary data and ideas behind their corporate firewalls. This is akin to a private conversation. Companies also are using "Sales 2.0." tools externally to reach out and connect with prospects, customers and otherequivalent of public conversations.
Survey results shows that the growth of “Sales 2.0” is effecting the traditional sales and marketing efforts. “Sales 2.0.” is more prominent in small companies as compared to big companies because of fewer resources and generally these firms are less restriction by their IT departments. As many companies are using "Web 2.0." technologies both internally and externally for sales and marketing purposes, there still appears to be plenty of room for additional adoption, even among smaller companies.
While the majority of sales and marketing professionals are not yet using social media applications such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Jigsaw, for business purposes, that’s rapidly changing. People are beginning to understand the power of collaboration and "Sales 2.0.". Sales and marketing professionals are beginning to see they can use these tools to do a better job of selling and marketing to their customers. Sales and marketing professionals who use these types of tools gain a competitive advantage over their peers who do not use them. Businesses are starting to see that wikis make their internal teams more productive while tools such as blogs help them target and direct their message externally to customers. And vendors such as Oracle are seeing that incorporating "Sales 2.0." tools and concepts into their products will empower sales and marketing teams, making them even more effective.
Here comes an ice breaker. Joe Kraus of google states that "Social is the new black", with social websites becoming a fabric of the web rather than a feature. He also states that "We are evolving from social sites to the whole web being social". There are social websites for nearly every niche be it if you love camping or cooking.
In the last few days I came across many blogs/websites of Social Networking both against it and supporting it. The link mentioned below is a fresh one published today by Eric Sylvers on the "International Herald Tribune" website which is relevant in the present scenario and financial crisis.
The blog describes about a social website "MeettheBoss.com" which started in September to help nervous bankers connect to their peers. This website like a few others caters to a niche, but it is particularly interesting as it is relevant in the current financial crisis. This blog also reveals the importance of social networking in today's world be it any sector of an organization.
During my research for this blog I found many interesting facts about Social Networking and it being the future of how organizations will work. There have been some interesting facts stated by many social networking strategist such as Jim Wilkerson, David Nour and their work has helped many organizations increase their productivity and revenues. At the same time Social Networking websites are creating a jungle on the web leading to ailments such as "SNAD-Social networking anxiety disorder".
Social Networking is still a relatively new field and has its pros and cons. To outweigh the pros against the cons or otherwise is a personal perception.
