Every philosophy talks about living in present. That seems to be only way of maximizing potential of achievements. Past is history. Future is unknown.
But i feel, what we treasure most is memories. especially the good ones. I am sure we are all selective about memories. How many of us would like to ponder over say sad memories or the tough times faced by each one of us. Human mind conveniently tries to mask them. that brings me to the topic of some of the very best memories of my life. School days. Reason, a gettogether where i met some classmates after 21 years. Three idiots met after 10 yrs out of college. Here we attempted to rewrite the script by rewinding 20 years. (sure not a remake of "bees saal baad").
School days were the most carefree days of our lives. Only purpose of going to school for me was recess and PT periods. Cricket, football, volleyball, hand ball, appa rappi, hand cricket, list of sports goes on.. They were seasonal. Primary school days were the most formative days. I still remember impact i had for every langauge class, maths funda, composition etc. But in secondary, the scholastics took back seat atleast till 9th. Exams were the only spoilers. Vacations were the high points. Extra curricular really started in secondary where the setup became more democratic. In primary , access to activities was controlled by teachers. Thus backbenchers like me never had chance. With advent of interest in Quizes, Drama, etc, extra curricular activities added a lot of confidence. My head master was another inspiration, such dedicated teachers are very hard to find. At home, no one pressurized me to study. And i compare what i am doing to my daughter. These are different times but still we all parents should have sanity and reflect upon our own school days. Ofcourse, we had many self motivated colleagues who used to be toppers and use to generate an awe. In my daughter's class , i find such characters. They say , your child is an opportunity for you to revisit your childhood. and thats whats happening with me as a parent.
Coming back to school memories, I remember those bus journeys, cycle journies, some crazy events. Fights with girls. (so silly of us as we realized that in later life)
In fact in our gettogether, we had girls (now ladies) outnumbering gents. Welcome change... Those interhouse competitions, social service camps, trips. Many more memories.
Its a tough choice for me to judge between hostel life in kgp and school days to be the 'best days of my life' (summers of 80-89 or summers of 91-96 as i can say)
Kgp life was different. i have an earlier blog titled Rocking memories here if you want to read abt that kgp life.
Professional life also has some great moments. But also were challenges. In both these phases (kgp and school), there were hardly any low points. Thats why if i had a time machine, i would definitely go back then. Buts its hard to chose if i had only one option to revisit....
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Curious Case of Virender Sehwag
I am a total fan of Sehwag. I would pay anything to watch him play. More than Cricket, More i like his philosophy: Plain, simple, honest, positive. There is no fear of failure as failure is acceptable part of life as per his philosophy. He will on some day get out trying hyper ambitious shot. But most of the days he will send it for cleaners.
Aby baby in a hit film had said " Duniya mein do tarah ke log... ". There are two kinds of people: as per obama catch mantra: Those who think they can and those who think they cannot. and that though makes the final difference.
The only way he thinks is positive. If he thinks he can hit he does. More often than not, it succeeds. People have criticized that he throws away wicket loosely and does not have technique. What better technique you can have if you can hit like what he does. And about throwing away wicket , its shows for lack of fear of failure.
Even in life we need to do away with lot of mental baggage, remove negativity and stop being afraid of failures: Sehwag shows the way. Fear of failure comes with lack of confidence in ones ability and efforts. Back your strenghts, think positively: Think every ball as potential boundary ball : be it a bouncer (recession) or be it a half volley (boom time). Every ball can be hit. You will get beaten one ball or might even be out. But dont stop playing your shots....
Dont just block the ball. Purpose of life is to score runs , and while doing that is that you remain notout. If you dont score, better be out as blocking will not lead you anywhere. Score will remain same and there will be one ball which will take you out just as people who are comfortably enconsced in their jobs get fired during recession as an example.
When everyone struggles in srilanka on difficult Dambulla pitch, he ends up scoring centuries. I hope we remember similar story on greener Newzealand wickets in 2002-3.
and at galle against ajantha mendis in 2008, and his pace setting 83 while chasing 380 against england in chennai, and his almost 3 triple centuries: One matchwinning (multan), One match saving (chennai) and one game changing (brabourne), his great hundreds in Australia.
He has been earlier branded as flat track bully. But if you study his major succeses have come against toughest opposition on taoughest conditions as mentioned above.
He has score everywhere in planet. infact his stats against bangladesh and zimababwe are most average. Thats a curios point. He lacks motivation when there is no challenge. He is someone who takes opposition by his horns.
Thats why he terrorizes bowlers just like Viv richards used to do. Sometimes he gets under skin as what he got to srilankans and suraj randiv...
People have tried short balls, bouncres, wide of off side balls to trap him. He has comeup with answers everytime. He has habit of making to landmarks with big hits. sometimes he has perished as well. Thats another facet of sehwag philosophy: Discard that is common place do something big...
Another curious aspect is his average performance in limited overs. He is the most suitable guy for limited overs but its opposite. Reason for that is any contraint or restraint is painful for such souls. Field restrictions, runrates , wickets etc make him play some unnatural shots. Solution is simple and he seems to have worked out in recent series: Play naturally street smart cricket And thats a good sign with ICC world cup coming. India has great chance if he continues like this.
If you ask me, that who is the player whom you like most to watch, my answer would have been SRT in 90s but in new millenium it is Sehwag. Ands its not balsphemy with due respects to SRT, most will agree.
Aby baby in a hit film had said " Duniya mein do tarah ke log... ". There are two kinds of people: as per obama catch mantra: Those who think they can and those who think they cannot. and that though makes the final difference.
The only way he thinks is positive. If he thinks he can hit he does. More often than not, it succeeds. People have criticized that he throws away wicket loosely and does not have technique. What better technique you can have if you can hit like what he does. And about throwing away wicket , its shows for lack of fear of failure.
Even in life we need to do away with lot of mental baggage, remove negativity and stop being afraid of failures: Sehwag shows the way. Fear of failure comes with lack of confidence in ones ability and efforts. Back your strenghts, think positively: Think every ball as potential boundary ball : be it a bouncer (recession) or be it a half volley (boom time). Every ball can be hit. You will get beaten one ball or might even be out. But dont stop playing your shots....
Dont just block the ball. Purpose of life is to score runs , and while doing that is that you remain notout. If you dont score, better be out as blocking will not lead you anywhere. Score will remain same and there will be one ball which will take you out just as people who are comfortably enconsced in their jobs get fired during recession as an example.
When everyone struggles in srilanka on difficult Dambulla pitch, he ends up scoring centuries. I hope we remember similar story on greener Newzealand wickets in 2002-3.
and at galle against ajantha mendis in 2008, and his pace setting 83 while chasing 380 against england in chennai, and his almost 3 triple centuries: One matchwinning (multan), One match saving (chennai) and one game changing (brabourne), his great hundreds in Australia.
He has been earlier branded as flat track bully. But if you study his major succeses have come against toughest opposition on taoughest conditions as mentioned above.
He has score everywhere in planet. infact his stats against bangladesh and zimababwe are most average. Thats a curios point. He lacks motivation when there is no challenge. He is someone who takes opposition by his horns.
Thats why he terrorizes bowlers just like Viv richards used to do. Sometimes he gets under skin as what he got to srilankans and suraj randiv...
People have tried short balls, bouncres, wide of off side balls to trap him. He has comeup with answers everytime. He has habit of making to landmarks with big hits. sometimes he has perished as well. Thats another facet of sehwag philosophy: Discard that is common place do something big...
Another curious aspect is his average performance in limited overs. He is the most suitable guy for limited overs but its opposite. Reason for that is any contraint or restraint is painful for such souls. Field restrictions, runrates , wickets etc make him play some unnatural shots. Solution is simple and he seems to have worked out in recent series: Play naturally street smart cricket And thats a good sign with ICC world cup coming. India has great chance if he continues like this.
If you ask me, that who is the player whom you like most to watch, my answer would have been SRT in 90s but in new millenium it is Sehwag. Ands its not balsphemy with due respects to SRT, most will agree.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June
June had been hectic on work front. Schools have reopened. Rains had their entry in Pune. But has taken some respite as usual. No picnics till rains reappear, though had a small drive to hadshi a beautiful place in Maval. it will be matter of concern if this dry spell continues. Food prices are already up. if rains continue to desist then we are having an issue. Fuel prices have increased. Not so good time to live in.... but for football.
Its that time after four years when world stops. For us, we have to lose out on sleep due to late night matches. Everyone talks about demi gods like Maradona, Baggio, Ronaldo, Zidanne, Beckham, Rooney, Messi...... Pubs, restaurants are all abuzz with action. No other sport carries that mass appeal. maybe because its very simple. Man with a ball to kick. Thats it...
For me memories go back to days in 82 when paola rossi's headers caught imagination. Then it was Maradona's world cup that led into addiction. I remember in recesss time we used to discard cricket to play football for that month. 90 was boring WC. 94 I was in Kharagpur , i was doing project in vacation.Whole hostel was empty but for 3-5 mtechs and bhains (nick name of a wingie)with me. WC in bengal is a crazy experience. Everyone in market talks about it.
Final match was played on second day of sem when everyone was there. It was fun....There wer 6 of us supporting Italy against atleast 80 odd brazil supporters. Italy has been team of my choice due to their style of defense and counter attack. But this time i am supporting argentina...
98 I was in Mumbai . i used to share flat with some likeminded people at andheri. Mumbai rains was the memory alongside. and water logging was often. so soccer was only source of entertainment. 02 i had opportunity to see it live in Korea. My client had booked tickest for all office. we took a bus. It was some tempo. De hamaniguk was the chant. Ads of Korea team fighting were all around. Some fun and dream come true for me. When Korea lost yesterday, my client gave me a call and i had to console him. 06 was good WC with some good matches. I enjoyed at my club.... Now we are here in 10, almost half way. But clear pattern emerging of south american teams doing well... lets see if argentina goes all the way.
Another June highlight is memory of PL. I remember 10 years back, it was on 12th June he passed away. I felt a huge loss and attended his funeral, went to his home. PL has been a great inspiration. Even now after hectic day, i listen to haritatya, or asami in my drive back. And i am unwound... Simply a great person apart from being a great writer, orator, singer, musician,actor, social activist.... and so on..... A person who lived life and enjoyed every bit of it. He is a light and role model to demonstarte how one should live his life. .... He is know for humour but i feel he gives serious dimensions to make us think , guide us as to how one should live. But for that one should study his life, literature, drama, history etc.... There is a criticism that he dwelved upon only middle class values and was not all inclusive. To answer that, i feel though the medium he chose was based on middle class experiences but issues addressed were global. Also human values in each of his character are much deeper than his humour. salute to a great man...
last aspect of june is start of wimbledon, waiting for semis and finals...
And most importantly waiting for Rains so we can have picnics, treks and whole countryside turing into heaven....
Its that time after four years when world stops. For us, we have to lose out on sleep due to late night matches. Everyone talks about demi gods like Maradona, Baggio, Ronaldo, Zidanne, Beckham, Rooney, Messi...... Pubs, restaurants are all abuzz with action. No other sport carries that mass appeal. maybe because its very simple. Man with a ball to kick. Thats it...
For me memories go back to days in 82 when paola rossi's headers caught imagination. Then it was Maradona's world cup that led into addiction. I remember in recesss time we used to discard cricket to play football for that month. 90 was boring WC. 94 I was in Kharagpur , i was doing project in vacation.Whole hostel was empty but for 3-5 mtechs and bhains (nick name of a wingie)with me. WC in bengal is a crazy experience. Everyone in market talks about it.
Final match was played on second day of sem when everyone was there. It was fun....There wer 6 of us supporting Italy against atleast 80 odd brazil supporters. Italy has been team of my choice due to their style of defense and counter attack. But this time i am supporting argentina...
98 I was in Mumbai . i used to share flat with some likeminded people at andheri. Mumbai rains was the memory alongside. and water logging was often. so soccer was only source of entertainment. 02 i had opportunity to see it live in Korea. My client had booked tickest for all office. we took a bus. It was some tempo. De hamaniguk was the chant. Ads of Korea team fighting were all around. Some fun and dream come true for me. When Korea lost yesterday, my client gave me a call and i had to console him. 06 was good WC with some good matches. I enjoyed at my club.... Now we are here in 10, almost half way. But clear pattern emerging of south american teams doing well... lets see if argentina goes all the way.
Another June highlight is memory of PL. I remember 10 years back, it was on 12th June he passed away. I felt a huge loss and attended his funeral, went to his home. PL has been a great inspiration. Even now after hectic day, i listen to haritatya, or asami in my drive back. And i am unwound... Simply a great person apart from being a great writer, orator, singer, musician,actor, social activist.... and so on..... A person who lived life and enjoyed every bit of it. He is a light and role model to demonstarte how one should live his life. .... He is know for humour but i feel he gives serious dimensions to make us think , guide us as to how one should live. But for that one should study his life, literature, drama, history etc.... There is a criticism that he dwelved upon only middle class values and was not all inclusive. To answer that, i feel though the medium he chose was based on middle class experiences but issues addressed were global. Also human values in each of his character are much deeper than his humour. salute to a great man...
last aspect of june is start of wimbledon, waiting for semis and finals...
And most importantly waiting for Rains so we can have picnics, treks and whole countryside turing into heaven....
Friday, May 21, 2010
Remembering Rajiv
'Yeh Bharat Desh hain , Humme ise ikkisvi sadi mein le jaana hain'. (This is India and we have to take it in 21st century) How many times in my formative years i had heard this. I used to do a reasonabaly well mimikri in my school repeating these lines, tone, accent. 21st century has completed its first decade , and we really are in it. For a middle class boy then aspirtaions were to grow into someone of repute, money and knowledge. And i hold Rajiv Gandhi one of the enabler of dreams of many people like myself. Though someone may attribute the growth of Indian IT to JRD/FC Kohli or someone may attribute liberalization window, someone may define it as windfall of Y2k. For me reasons of clear. Alongwith me , i have few noted economists agreeing to this.
1. Penetration of telecom with STD/ISD
2. Mid 80s construction boom leading to urbanization of cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
3. (Though done not with honest intent) Creation of policy to encourage private educational institutes creating pool of engineers much needed to promote IT.
4. Focus on technology and many schemes encouraging govt funding for initiatives like STPI
I can dwelve upon each of above and impact of those policies on IT , but thats beyong point. Its about remembering a leader whom i liked genuinely.
Maybe then i was young but today its very hard to find any politician whom you can like. In current spectrum after retirement of A B Vajpayee and to an extent Thakaray, i personally dont feel worth of affection. (I am clear about word affection; It does not mean i support policies or the politics). Leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, Vajpayee, Thakray, are liked by people. They have charishma. People look upto them to stand out and be with them in thick and thin.
They have humane face. Their politics or policies can be cricitisised but not their personna.
Thats what is missing today : a politician with personna. Rajiv Gandhi was much more than that. Though into politics by accident (calamity), he literally blazed onto scene. His speeches, youthy, energy was infectious. We never had so presentable, eloquent and dynamic PM.
That was the time when we like to be involved in National affairs. Reason being advent of DD with its high quality serials (though it was only option). We really felt together as a nation. Remember those national networks or run for countries (which we participated).
Politics declined with advent of characters like VP singh, Devilal etc .... People could not realte to them as person.Only respite was honest characters like Vajpayee and Manmohan singh.
I still remember that night on 21st May . That was the day i got to know about one of my greatest academic achievements. But as news poursed in (by means of one of my neighbours reading a board in local square), i was shocked. I felt my academic achievement is worthless as there is no one in country whom you can prove your capabilty. Those were the teen ages ;inexplicable not understanding that noone and nobody is indespensible and life goes on and on with or without anybody. Strange emotions that time. Today i can laugh over them equipped with lifes experiences, sarcasm /indifference/hate for politics and leadership. Maybe elders then could have felt that time also. But honestly i dont see today's teenager carrying same emotions for politicians (atleast not those i know of).
Rajiv was naive in politics and had to pay ultimate price for it. he also was tainted and back stabbed by those close. He also played a role of constructive opposition once down from PM post in 89 for almost and and half year.
Coming back to point i started that Indian IT has enabled many people to lead a life their parents would not even have imagined them to live. Entire middle class could aspire to get equipped with skills they can demonstrate on global scale and be part of mean world of Business which was restricted to few in old economy. In my community its rare to have someone who does not have immidiate kin in US /UK or western world. In fact those who stay back out of choice have to face a stand out situation. And for me ,one of the enabler was Rajiv Gandhi. Point to be noted by all my peers in IT industry.
1. Penetration of telecom with STD/ISD
2. Mid 80s construction boom leading to urbanization of cities like Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
3. (Though done not with honest intent) Creation of policy to encourage private educational institutes creating pool of engineers much needed to promote IT.
4. Focus on technology and many schemes encouraging govt funding for initiatives like STPI
I can dwelve upon each of above and impact of those policies on IT , but thats beyong point. Its about remembering a leader whom i liked genuinely.
Maybe then i was young but today its very hard to find any politician whom you can like. In current spectrum after retirement of A B Vajpayee and to an extent Thakaray, i personally dont feel worth of affection. (I am clear about word affection; It does not mean i support policies or the politics). Leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, Vajpayee, Thakray, are liked by people. They have charishma. People look upto them to stand out and be with them in thick and thin.
They have humane face. Their politics or policies can be cricitisised but not their personna.
Thats what is missing today : a politician with personna. Rajiv Gandhi was much more than that. Though into politics by accident (calamity), he literally blazed onto scene. His speeches, youthy, energy was infectious. We never had so presentable, eloquent and dynamic PM.
That was the time when we like to be involved in National affairs. Reason being advent of DD with its high quality serials (though it was only option). We really felt together as a nation. Remember those national networks or run for countries (which we participated).
Politics declined with advent of characters like VP singh, Devilal etc .... People could not realte to them as person.Only respite was honest characters like Vajpayee and Manmohan singh.
I still remember that night on 21st May . That was the day i got to know about one of my greatest academic achievements. But as news poursed in (by means of one of my neighbours reading a board in local square), i was shocked. I felt my academic achievement is worthless as there is no one in country whom you can prove your capabilty. Those were the teen ages ;inexplicable not understanding that noone and nobody is indespensible and life goes on and on with or without anybody. Strange emotions that time. Today i can laugh over them equipped with lifes experiences, sarcasm /indifference/hate for politics and leadership. Maybe elders then could have felt that time also. But honestly i dont see today's teenager carrying same emotions for politicians (atleast not those i know of).
Rajiv was naive in politics and had to pay ultimate price for it. he also was tainted and back stabbed by those close. He also played a role of constructive opposition once down from PM post in 89 for almost and and half year.
Coming back to point i started that Indian IT has enabled many people to lead a life their parents would not even have imagined them to live. Entire middle class could aspire to get equipped with skills they can demonstrate on global scale and be part of mean world of Business which was restricted to few in old economy. In my community its rare to have someone who does not have immidiate kin in US /UK or western world. In fact those who stay back out of choice have to face a stand out situation. And for me ,one of the enabler was Rajiv Gandhi. Point to be noted by all my peers in IT industry.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Innovation and IPL lessons
Innovation is the need of hour today. Whatever that was done in past should act as reference point. Innovation is a process. It builds upon several past attempts to make difference. Success lies in learning from past. Be informed about possibilties. take a new angle to same problem . Innovation does not mean doing something new but taking different look at same thing. Romantics may differ. They might believe innovation to be an eureka moment.
Everyone in life has eureka moments. But we fail to act and take calculated risk. innovation also is process of taking risk. Its combination of idea and implementation.
We have seen a movie at the start of year lamenting lack of innovation in education system in India. We have seen innovation like IPL making it big but creating so loud bang that itself was detrimental. IPL is disscussion topic nowadays. It symbolizes all that is wrong in Indian system. High and might egoes, manipulation, secracy, corruption.... Cricket is just a topic which generate passion. It could have been bollywood or any subject matter ;. basic matter remains We in India lack the culture of innovation , discipline and system to sustain innovation as proven in case of IPL.
In foreign countries you have double volume scams, corruption as we saw in 08 crisis. Greed is universal , but somethings stands out for India.
Coming back to innovation, its rather difficult today to just keep on doing same things as in past. We entered market with dreams of being next infosys. But now we need to change this and have dreams to be next google.
But foremost we must make impact to change the rules of game. (as proven negatively ) in IPL.
High Hopes but we shall overcome....
Everyone in life has eureka moments. But we fail to act and take calculated risk. innovation also is process of taking risk. Its combination of idea and implementation.
We have seen a movie at the start of year lamenting lack of innovation in education system in India. We have seen innovation like IPL making it big but creating so loud bang that itself was detrimental. IPL is disscussion topic nowadays. It symbolizes all that is wrong in Indian system. High and might egoes, manipulation, secracy, corruption.... Cricket is just a topic which generate passion. It could have been bollywood or any subject matter ;. basic matter remains We in India lack the culture of innovation , discipline and system to sustain innovation as proven in case of IPL.
In foreign countries you have double volume scams, corruption as we saw in 08 crisis. Greed is universal , but somethings stands out for India.
Coming back to innovation, its rather difficult today to just keep on doing same things as in past. We entered market with dreams of being next infosys. But now we need to change this and have dreams to be next google.
But foremost we must make impact to change the rules of game. (as proven negatively ) in IPL.
High Hopes but we shall overcome....
Monday, April 19, 2010
Midsummer's Night Dreams
IPL nights will be done and over with in a weeks time. Excitement is at its peak with semifinals and finals to go. My favorite team MI also feature.... what more you want.
Leading characters have created magic eyesolution just like in the original play by the bard. Anyone who sees IPL, its grandeur falls in love with it. They want to be part of glamour, money involved. Whole nation is sedated. Cricket is like mass opium.
No issues if it is treated like a sport. But amount of money, stakes involved have made it a big risk for all the stakeholders.
Till now players seemed to be out of bounds for corruption. But you never know.
Owners funding sources will definitely be under scanner with ministers etc getting involved.
TV rights, ad rates etc are so high that i really doubt the value it brings to advertiser.
Right now economics in conventional model, has made it unviable. But then real game is about equity. This equity is mainly valuated based on egos of owners than actual numbers.
The fanfare, glamour, power etc are added incentives.
Viewers and spectator who pay out of their pocket also want their share of glamour and glitz.
TV viewers fall into two catergories: serious indian cricket fanatic who can watch any cricket dished on TV and party animals who have another reason to party with match live.
Its the former one i am concerned about. For him cricketers are god and cricket is religion (sorry for using cliche.. But its fact, yours truly included). also i am worried about test cricket and integrity of criceters. Need of the day is realistic management of money involved with lot of transparency...
Hopefully still there are some sane voices who will make these happen.
Till then praying for MI to go all the way......
Leading characters have created magic eyesolution just like in the original play by the bard. Anyone who sees IPL, its grandeur falls in love with it. They want to be part of glamour, money involved. Whole nation is sedated. Cricket is like mass opium.
No issues if it is treated like a sport. But amount of money, stakes involved have made it a big risk for all the stakeholders.
Till now players seemed to be out of bounds for corruption. But you never know.
Owners funding sources will definitely be under scanner with ministers etc getting involved.
TV rights, ad rates etc are so high that i really doubt the value it brings to advertiser.
Right now economics in conventional model, has made it unviable. But then real game is about equity. This equity is mainly valuated based on egos of owners than actual numbers.
The fanfare, glamour, power etc are added incentives.
Viewers and spectator who pay out of their pocket also want their share of glamour and glitz.
TV viewers fall into two catergories: serious indian cricket fanatic who can watch any cricket dished on TV and party animals who have another reason to party with match live.
Its the former one i am concerned about. For him cricketers are god and cricket is religion (sorry for using cliche.. But its fact, yours truly included). also i am worried about test cricket and integrity of criceters. Need of the day is realistic management of money involved with lot of transparency...
Hopefully still there are some sane voices who will make these happen.
Till then praying for MI to go all the way......
Friday, April 9, 2010
Break ke baad
Read somewhere that thoughts of holiday ahead gives pleasure. Infact act of planning a vacation is great happiness booster. Compare your own travelling for work and travelling for fun. Travelling on work is pain especially intercontinental ones. Some people like that. They keep on posting on email groups/fb entire itinerary. Maybe its cool to be a globetrotter. Today in London tomorrow Frankfurt before flying to NYC. How many times have you seen this status. For me its simply pain. Having done some years of globetrotting and due to peculiar circumstances i took a choice to stay put. Look after Indian side of things. Avoided almost confirmed journeys by hook or crook. lets see how long i can hold on . Reason being i hate the journeys especially alone. Though for education i used to travel 36hrs in train but those were different days. when you are 18-20, every journey has an expectation (esp after tracking bogey reservation chart for F 18-21s around). Life was different then. Seems like ages... Seems also like mid life pangs have started when you feel that way..
Its different story when i have to go on family vacations. Then flights are fun with my daughter around. Friends around. I remember last vacation we were 15 close friends & families around.
It was rocking.
Another year has passed by. At this rate i dont see that far that my daughter will reach serious academic standards. What summer vacations we used to have as child or as youth even in college. Total Fun. No worries. Read books, eat mangoes, go to grandparent's place, see films, watch TV, go on long bicycle rides, swim, sleep on terrace.... so much fun.
Our kids here do it differently. now they have summer camps, sleep outs, Computer games, internet, malls , multiplexes, IPL and so on.... They will feel about these with nostalgia when they grow up.
Vacations are refreshing. Away from mundane routine. No time-check, relax, eat, drink.
Looks like i need a good break. These breaks are necessary... I am looking for one promised to daughter in summer vacations
Its different story when i have to go on family vacations. Then flights are fun with my daughter around. Friends around. I remember last vacation we were 15 close friends & families around.
It was rocking.
Another year has passed by. At this rate i dont see that far that my daughter will reach serious academic standards. What summer vacations we used to have as child or as youth even in college. Total Fun. No worries. Read books, eat mangoes, go to grandparent's place, see films, watch TV, go on long bicycle rides, swim, sleep on terrace.... so much fun.
Our kids here do it differently. now they have summer camps, sleep outs, Computer games, internet, malls , multiplexes, IPL and so on.... They will feel about these with nostalgia when they grow up.
Vacations are refreshing. Away from mundane routine. No time-check, relax, eat, drink.
Looks like i need a good break. These breaks are necessary... I am looking for one promised to daughter in summer vacations
Friday, March 26, 2010
Buzz about Buzz
Most of us have already been addicted to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter. Now we have one more distraction called as google buzz. Is its just another of many such applications or is it really adding value to users. Do we really need one more such application
Why did Google release it even before it was ready in market?
It is known that Google still wants to buy Twitter, and putting Buzz into Gmail might be enough of a threat to bring Twitter back on negotiations. Buzz did not launch in some Google Labs backwater. It is placed front and center in Gmail. Buzz is Google’s strongest effort yet to enter the stream. If Buzz can gain traction it would certainly help Google’s negotiating position with Twitter.
Independent of any pressure it may place on Twitter, Google needs to have its own realtime micro-messaging communications system. This system according to many is just a more efficient way to communicate than email for many types of messages so it makes sense to add it as a layer to Gmail: broadcast your public messages via Buzz, and keep private ones on email or chat, all from the same place.
The other reason Google needed to establish its own social stream pronto is that links passed through social sharing are beginning to rival search as a primary driver of traffic for many sites. Part of Google’s prowess stems from the fact that it is the largest referrer of traffic to many other Websites. It doesn’t want to lose that status to social sharing streams such as Facebook or Twitter. Already, Buzz is helping to boost sharing through Google Reader. While Google doesn’t benefit directly from that traffic (yet), simply knowing what links people are sharing and clicking on is valuable data which can help it improve its search results.
It's now been just a few weeks now since Google launched its Google Buzz social-sharing service and started rolling it out to Gmail users. Much of the coverage so far has not been very streamlined . It had a major privacy issue: the initial list of people you auto follow on Buzz is based on who you talk with most often in Gmail, and that list is public unless you choose to make it private.
To its credit, Google responded to complaints: It's made changes in Buzz to make it more obvious what information the service is making public, and to help you crank up the privacy settings. Users thought their contacts were being made public without their knowledge (in particular the lists of people they follow, and the people following them). They have resolved this issue
Google's explanation of the post-release changes points out that millions of people are now using Buzz...and maybe that's part of the issue. Rather than let a sizable pool of testers outside of Google try the service out before opening up the floodgates, it's gone straight to a full-blown launch. Sounds like the company didn't expect some of the confusion that's happening.
Highpoint of Buzz is that it has one of the nicest photo-album viewers .
Buzz lets users include thumbnails when sharing web links, making them more graphic and attractive (according to Google). One way in which Google differentiates its service from Twitter is that Google Buzz also lets users attach various degrees of access to posts, from completely public, to limited to hand-picked friends.
Quite fun is the Buzz map, which lets you see who is Buzzing in your neighbourhood - (albeit with security risks entailed). This is a good way of finding fellow Buzzers in your area.
People may not Twitter and Facebook anytime soon, but Buzz is full of potential and it can become the third major service of this sort. Given Google's history with social stuff, that's impressive in itself.
But multiple aspects of Buzz in its current form are frustrating. And quite frequently, the service leaves user confused.
Consider the following points:
If you're on a PC or Mac, Buzz is a feature within Gmail and therefore requires that you be a Gmail user to use all its features. But if you're on a mobile phone, it's a separate service, not a Gmail feature. Odd!
* Even in a desktop browser, the Google Public Profiles that are part of the privacy concerns over Buzz don't live in Buzz. Since the Profiles provide personal info that goes beyond Buzz-specific stuff. It is still confusing and ungainly -- if you're in Buzz and want to figure out who somebody is, you'll probably have to click out of Buzz and into his or her Profile...and then back into Buzz.
* There is a yellow strip alongside the left-hand side of Buzz posts for 24 hours which is not explained. One has to figure out that the posts to its right are new since the last time user checked Buzz.
Buzz-in-your-Gmail-inbox feature is also confusing. When someone comments on user’s posts, user gets a thread in his inbox, but it starts with a message that looks like it's coming from user himself, listing his own post . It's especially unhelpful when I'm looking at the message in his own iPhone's inbox, since the subject line is the pointless "Buzz from XYZ," and I have to open the message to see what message is. User can't figure out which post someone has commented on.
Why did Google release it even before it was ready in market?
It is known that Google still wants to buy Twitter, and putting Buzz into Gmail might be enough of a threat to bring Twitter back on negotiations. Buzz did not launch in some Google Labs backwater. It is placed front and center in Gmail. Buzz is Google’s strongest effort yet to enter the stream. If Buzz can gain traction it would certainly help Google’s negotiating position with Twitter.
Independent of any pressure it may place on Twitter, Google needs to have its own realtime micro-messaging communications system. This system according to many is just a more efficient way to communicate than email for many types of messages so it makes sense to add it as a layer to Gmail: broadcast your public messages via Buzz, and keep private ones on email or chat, all from the same place.
The other reason Google needed to establish its own social stream pronto is that links passed through social sharing are beginning to rival search as a primary driver of traffic for many sites. Part of Google’s prowess stems from the fact that it is the largest referrer of traffic to many other Websites. It doesn’t want to lose that status to social sharing streams such as Facebook or Twitter. Already, Buzz is helping to boost sharing through Google Reader. While Google doesn’t benefit directly from that traffic (yet), simply knowing what links people are sharing and clicking on is valuable data which can help it improve its search results.
It's now been just a few weeks now since Google launched its Google Buzz social-sharing service and started rolling it out to Gmail users. Much of the coverage so far has not been very streamlined . It had a major privacy issue: the initial list of people you auto follow on Buzz is based on who you talk with most often in Gmail, and that list is public unless you choose to make it private.
To its credit, Google responded to complaints: It's made changes in Buzz to make it more obvious what information the service is making public, and to help you crank up the privacy settings. Users thought their contacts were being made public without their knowledge (in particular the lists of people they follow, and the people following them). They have resolved this issue
Google's explanation of the post-release changes points out that millions of people are now using Buzz...and maybe that's part of the issue. Rather than let a sizable pool of testers outside of Google try the service out before opening up the floodgates, it's gone straight to a full-blown launch. Sounds like the company didn't expect some of the confusion that's happening.
Highpoint of Buzz is that it has one of the nicest photo-album viewers .
Buzz lets users include thumbnails when sharing web links, making them more graphic and attractive (according to Google). One way in which Google differentiates its service from Twitter is that Google Buzz also lets users attach various degrees of access to posts, from completely public, to limited to hand-picked friends.
Quite fun is the Buzz map, which lets you see who is Buzzing in your neighbourhood - (albeit with security risks entailed). This is a good way of finding fellow Buzzers in your area.
People may not Twitter and Facebook anytime soon, but Buzz is full of potential and it can become the third major service of this sort. Given Google's history with social stuff, that's impressive in itself.
But multiple aspects of Buzz in its current form are frustrating. And quite frequently, the service leaves user confused.
Consider the following points:
If you're on a PC or Mac, Buzz is a feature within Gmail and therefore requires that you be a Gmail user to use all its features. But if you're on a mobile phone, it's a separate service, not a Gmail feature. Odd!
* Even in a desktop browser, the Google Public Profiles that are part of the privacy concerns over Buzz don't live in Buzz. Since the Profiles provide personal info that goes beyond Buzz-specific stuff. It is still confusing and ungainly -- if you're in Buzz and want to figure out who somebody is, you'll probably have to click out of Buzz and into his or her Profile...and then back into Buzz.
* There is a yellow strip alongside the left-hand side of Buzz posts for 24 hours which is not explained. One has to figure out that the posts to its right are new since the last time user checked Buzz.
Buzz-in-your-Gmail-inbox feature is also confusing. When someone comments on user’s posts, user gets a thread in his inbox, but it starts with a message that looks like it's coming from user himself, listing his own post . It's especially unhelpful when I'm looking at the message in his own iPhone's inbox, since the subject line is the pointless "Buzz from XYZ," and I have to open the message to see what message is. User can't figure out which post someone has commented on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)