what an interesting story on business standard! SRK planning to cash out on his KKR investment of 300 crores, and looking to net as much in profit..in only the 2nd season! gosh where's all that trash about being serious in cricket, and buying for a long term plan etc gone now? in the end, its just about the money honey? almost like indian business groups applying for national telecom licenses, and all they needed was 1000 odd crore with them, in the big hope that a global major would buy out the license soon after they win it..remember unitech? so now, it would be tempting if anil ambani buys them out...BIG Riders, would it be? Or would it be BIG Indians? tempting...with sahara and nokia also being talked to, lets see who ends up as the new owners...but given the chemistry between ambani and sahara...it may end up as BIG Sahara.....KKR ko kaafi sahare ki zaroorat bhi hai!!
if only BCCI does not play spoilsport for Shah rukh khan, and decides to expand the number of teams next year to 16, 4 of which will be international teams....wait and watch!
Apr 30, 2009
Apr 29, 2009
y r indian companies shy of using social media?
broadly, there are 2 aspects of social media, as i understand it: pleasure and business (and i'm limiting my TG to only the corporate employees / companies and their employees)
the pleasure aspect is basically about the people we know and keep meeting daily. most of them were on orkut and most still are, but a lot many are migrating to facebook, and also creating profiles on linkedin and trying to figure out twitter...this set of people try to stay updated about what their pals are up to (though they get irritated by too many updates happening all of a sudden), and almost making facebook their home page, as fb is becoming almost part of daily things to do list. linkedin is more about future hope to find a better job through a connection...all that's fine, but if you ask these employees, if anyone in their office, either in marketing or in corporate communications team updates social media on behalf of the company regularly, then my guess wud be 80% not knowing much about it. as the companies in india have still not started using the social media effectively. they probably don't realize the potential of staying in touch with fans and foes, who have the liberty of giving instant bouquets and brickbats..perhaps that scares most companies away, the fear of getting ridiculed publicly....but why should we really be defensive about our products, services and decisions? why can we not tolerate criticism? why do the indian companies feel that 2000 fans are good enough, who can help get 10000 new customers to become fans, over a period of time? the viral effect of social media stays confined to releasing viral animations, but not everyday updates, which can help crate a brand salience...more of a longterm play than considering only short term gains....i mean look at how dell has used twitter to jack up additional sales of 1mn USD. amazing. 17 different divisions of dell are on twitter, giving deals news and discounts to people who really care. nice to read that kingfisher is now on twitter, but my earnest suggestion is to actually use it meaningfully. make people see value from it. promote new features, give discounts, make the followers feel privileged and special, and ensure its not only a one way communication. get prepared to listen, and implement suggestions. give them info and affection on facebook..make them see videos, photos and stories which otherwise the brand fans would never have seen.....its the way forward. and the sooner social media is adopted by brands, the better they stand to gain. ofcourse, in the long run...
the pleasure aspect is basically about the people we know and keep meeting daily. most of them were on orkut and most still are, but a lot many are migrating to facebook, and also creating profiles on linkedin and trying to figure out twitter...this set of people try to stay updated about what their pals are up to (though they get irritated by too many updates happening all of a sudden), and almost making facebook their home page, as fb is becoming almost part of daily things to do list. linkedin is more about future hope to find a better job through a connection...all that's fine, but if you ask these employees, if anyone in their office, either in marketing or in corporate communications team updates social media on behalf of the company regularly, then my guess wud be 80% not knowing much about it. as the companies in india have still not started using the social media effectively. they probably don't realize the potential of staying in touch with fans and foes, who have the liberty of giving instant bouquets and brickbats..perhaps that scares most companies away, the fear of getting ridiculed publicly....but why should we really be defensive about our products, services and decisions? why can we not tolerate criticism? why do the indian companies feel that 2000 fans are good enough, who can help get 10000 new customers to become fans, over a period of time? the viral effect of social media stays confined to releasing viral animations, but not everyday updates, which can help crate a brand salience...more of a longterm play than considering only short term gains....i mean look at how dell has used twitter to jack up additional sales of 1mn USD. amazing. 17 different divisions of dell are on twitter, giving deals news and discounts to people who really care. nice to read that kingfisher is now on twitter, but my earnest suggestion is to actually use it meaningfully. make people see value from it. promote new features, give discounts, make the followers feel privileged and special, and ensure its not only a one way communication. get prepared to listen, and implement suggestions. give them info and affection on facebook..make them see videos, photos and stories which otherwise the brand fans would never have seen.....its the way forward. and the sooner social media is adopted by brands, the better they stand to gain. ofcourse, in the long run...
passport nahi...ye hai durport!
what's the easiest and most recommended way to get your passport work done in india?
get hold of a contact who is with the government, and senior enough to push your papers across....so you avoid any hassles. if you don't have any such messiah, then god bless. i, for instance, got my original passport made in a week's time, in 2001, when infosys mandated us software engineers to have a passport ready...just because my uncle was a top IT official in delhi....however, 8 years hence, when i wanted to get it edited, so that my baby's passport could be made, it has already been 4 months, and i am trying to figure out what the government status messages mean..sample these, and let me know if you can relate to this morse code status highlighted in pink:
some of my woes:
1. applied for passport updates etc in december for dad, wife, daughter and myself
2. the government decided to act gentlemanly, and despatched the passports of the 2 ladies within a couple of months
3. dad and i have been waiting and waiting, with weird status messages like service already rendered, passport made, despatch under way etc
i wish the online systems that our beloved ministries so lovingly put in place move out of the hello world and shopping cart mentality, and face the music. i wish to see a politician in charge who outsources all the government websites to companies who understand internet, and not only to those who bid high enough to get the contracts, satisfying the babu bellies in the process, and then do such shoddy work of the sites, that you end up hating the internet in the process...
get hold of a contact who is with the government, and senior enough to push your papers across....so you avoid any hassles. if you don't have any such messiah, then god bless. i, for instance, got my original passport made in a week's time, in 2001, when infosys mandated us software engineers to have a passport ready...just because my uncle was a top IT official in delhi....however, 8 years hence, when i wanted to get it edited, so that my baby's passport could be made, it has already been 4 months, and i am trying to figure out what the government status messages mean..sample these, and let me know if you can relate to this morse code status highlighted in pink:
some of my woes:
1. applied for passport updates etc in december for dad, wife, daughter and myself
2. the government decided to act gentlemanly, and despatched the passports of the 2 ladies within a couple of months
3. dad and i have been waiting and waiting, with weird status messages like service already rendered, passport made, despatch under way etc
i wish the online systems that our beloved ministries so lovingly put in place move out of the hello world and shopping cart mentality, and face the music. i wish to see a politician in charge who outsources all the government websites to companies who understand internet, and not only to those who bid high enough to get the contracts, satisfying the babu bellies in the process, and then do such shoddy work of the sites, that you end up hating the internet in the process...
the outdoor behind sabeer bhatia's invention
love india for its idiosyncrasies...just keep bumping into them here and there, every day of my life...god bless the age of camera phones which lets us capture so much, which otherwise got lost somewhere within us.....now looking at this outdoor advertisement, i wonder if sabeer bhatia happened to pass by...ist a different issue that this one says hot male served..while sabeer served us hot mail!
mahalaxmi paradies!
just a random post...got an emailer, clicked on the link, and visited the site which was advertising..and found some glaring spelling mistakes, which are such basic mistakes, that i am alarmed no one thinks of them, in a hurry to put up content on the site...i mean how can a project named paradise be spelled paradies?
check for urself!
check for urself!
find x: can revisit this li'l cartoon everyday!
isn't this so cute??? i really wish i could restart my education, and develop a lateral thinking mind as expressive and brilliant as this little piece of genius suggests!
Apr 28, 2009
thanks vodafone, for the respite in the form of zoozoo!
i've said this earlier, and am willing to shout out yet again. vodafone has done a brilliant job of unleashing its zoozoo on the indian audience, this IPL. some positives for me:
1. voda continues to evolve, in its quest for marketing moksha, displayed so brilliantly earlier through hutch campaigns, and after the yummy happy to help campaigns of ipl 2008, they've gone a step further through their stunning series of zoozoo ads..and to think that only 10 have been released so far, with 15 more to go by the time IPL 2009 ends..yummy
2. finally, marketers in india have realized the impact a good tournament or tv event can make, and voda chose to launch its campaign when it knew tv audience will peak, as it did in 2008. excellent strategy.
3. voda is supplementing the zoozoo craze well, through facebook...with 8000 fans already (i remember 5000 fans yesterday..) the social media is being used adequately well to sustain the interest...in fact i got to know of the species name thru facebook
4. there's not much to do this summer in india...with the producers and multiplex slugging it out, with heat piling on to our collective agony, the regular tv shows getting on to the nerves as usual.....and in between comes the big hope yet again, as it did last year and blew away every other channel...its probably going to end up the same this year too...fortune has favored the brave...and in the midst of all this, vodafone has managed to release a campaign which actually brings in more smiles and better entertainment that the histrionics being played out on the field! commendable.
Finally, the reasons for this campaign to stand out and be talked about so much: super concept+simplicity+fine execution+super timing+unimaginative competition
luv ya, zoozoo. please do reserve the best 3 of your creations for the last 3 days....nothing else will get you bigger bang for your buck. can barely wait to see how the "beauty tips" concept can be bettered by the zoozoos!
1. voda continues to evolve, in its quest for marketing moksha, displayed so brilliantly earlier through hutch campaigns, and after the yummy happy to help campaigns of ipl 2008, they've gone a step further through their stunning series of zoozoo ads..and to think that only 10 have been released so far, with 15 more to go by the time IPL 2009 ends..yummy
2. finally, marketers in india have realized the impact a good tournament or tv event can make, and voda chose to launch its campaign when it knew tv audience will peak, as it did in 2008. excellent strategy.
3. voda is supplementing the zoozoo craze well, through facebook...with 8000 fans already (i remember 5000 fans yesterday..) the social media is being used adequately well to sustain the interest...in fact i got to know of the species name thru facebook
4. there's not much to do this summer in india...with the producers and multiplex slugging it out, with heat piling on to our collective agony, the regular tv shows getting on to the nerves as usual.....and in between comes the big hope yet again, as it did last year and blew away every other channel...its probably going to end up the same this year too...fortune has favored the brave...and in the midst of all this, vodafone has managed to release a campaign which actually brings in more smiles and better entertainment that the histrionics being played out on the field! commendable.
Finally, the reasons for this campaign to stand out and be talked about so much: super concept+simplicity+fine execution+super timing+unimaginative competition
luv ya, zoozoo. please do reserve the best 3 of your creations for the last 3 days....nothing else will get you bigger bang for your buck. can barely wait to see how the "beauty tips" concept can be bettered by the zoozoos!
100 Mbps in US...2 Mbps in India!
a snippet from Om Malik's writings:
"Cablevision, the Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable and Internet service provider, has continued its tradition of being a cable industry innovator by introducing 100-megabits-per-second service in Long Island. The service, dubbed Optimum Online Ultra, utilizes DOCSIS 3.0 technology to deliver the ultra-broadband experience over cable’s wires and comes with ability to send data upstream at 15 Mbps. It starts at $99 a month, will be available starting May 11 and will be the fastest service from a cable provider anywhere in the U.S.'
I'm sort of amazed at the gap that continues between what happens in US and what happens in India at the same instance....with news of 100 Mbps connections pouring in from US, i happened to see a BSNL ad on TV, advertising unashamedly about their super-fast 2 Mbps service! Even Airtel's out there with a 16 Mbps speed advt, and just wondering how out of place BSNL would be feeling, as it tomtoms about 2 Mbps speeds! But, having said that, price was and continues to be the biggest challenge. even though we say we're ready for super internet connections in india, how many of us will pay 5000 bucks for the same? what will be the price barrier that gets broadband rolling in india, like never before?
500 rs for 512 kbps unlimited usage?
1000 rs for 1 Mbps unlimited usage?
3000 rs for 10 Mbps unlimited usage?
We'll never be willing to pay more than this, which means such speeds will not find many consumers, to make it appeal to the masses...unless, ofcourse, our TRAI comes up with a solution that ends the broadband woes of india...
"Cablevision, the Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable and Internet service provider, has continued its tradition of being a cable industry innovator by introducing 100-megabits-per-second service in Long Island. The service, dubbed Optimum Online Ultra, utilizes DOCSIS 3.0 technology to deliver the ultra-broadband experience over cable’s wires and comes with ability to send data upstream at 15 Mbps. It starts at $99 a month, will be available starting May 11 and will be the fastest service from a cable provider anywhere in the U.S.'
I'm sort of amazed at the gap that continues between what happens in US and what happens in India at the same instance....with news of 100 Mbps connections pouring in from US, i happened to see a BSNL ad on TV, advertising unashamedly about their super-fast 2 Mbps service! Even Airtel's out there with a 16 Mbps speed advt, and just wondering how out of place BSNL would be feeling, as it tomtoms about 2 Mbps speeds! But, having said that, price was and continues to be the biggest challenge. even though we say we're ready for super internet connections in india, how many of us will pay 5000 bucks for the same? what will be the price barrier that gets broadband rolling in india, like never before?
500 rs for 512 kbps unlimited usage?
1000 rs for 1 Mbps unlimited usage?
3000 rs for 10 Mbps unlimited usage?
We'll never be willing to pay more than this, which means such speeds will not find many consumers, to make it appeal to the masses...unless, ofcourse, our TRAI comes up with a solution that ends the broadband woes of india...
SRK: pepsi and coke in the same bottle??
SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) has been the brand ambassador for pepsi since eternity, right? and he hates coke as well, going by brand endorsement rules? well well...i was extremely surprised to see him endorse Sprite! As logic would go, it's all in the name of getting some much needed moolah for kolkata knight riders...the korbo lodbo jeetbo re tribe...but is he going overboard with brand endorsements for KKR, when they just don't have a team good enough to win more than a couple of matches in IPL? was the simple idea behind buying a team was to add a separate revenue stream through endorsements which otherwise would'nt have come to him? will we next see KKR folks, ganguly included, applying some Axe talcum powder on their bodies and going out to defeat delhi daredevils? (SRK sells us duniya ka sabse chota AC, right?). I think SRK is killing his brand appeal by trying to be everywhere. Getting desperate to make money, while the good times last. One of his mandates is to get red chillies as the producer in case he wants to be featured in any endorsement...whatever happened to the creative liberties of the marketing folks in the brand teams? sample the sprite ad here...
fanta ka signal loud: is bunking allowed?
without fail, all ads of the orange soft-drink, Fanta, leave me perplexed. they managed to create some horrible ones with rani mukherji, and now with genelia as their brand icon, the execution and the ideation have only got worse. fanta ka signal loud, bunking is allowed?? what kind of ideation and copyrighting is this? who on earth is the marketing head who gives an approval for such bizarre ideas? if you haven't seen the commercial yet, here it goes. watch it at your own risk...
Apr 27, 2009
tatasky actve services: pretty lame, r'nt they?
have you had the misfortune of sampling the actve services on tatasky? especially the actve stories or wizkids..extremely primitive and lame animation, which are, in most cases, nothing more than static jpegs with some music and voiceover thrown in for measure. given the advancements in animation globally, and the rising appetite of indians for better quality products, how can tatasky continue to dish out such a pathetic product? sample these 4 images, which were telling a story to us about three blind mice...extremely poorly executed. i could have browsed through a PPT rather than getting my kid and myself listening to it!
[gallery link="file" columns="4"]
Actually its a larger issue that i am grappling with. i find a number of companies using india as a dumping ground. cars, electronics, consumer durables etc are coming to india ages after they've been launched globally. though the trend has improved drastically when compared to the initial days of liberalization, but why should we be served inferior products? why should tata sky or other corporates take the liberty of assuming that we don't appreciate quality? would loved to be proved wrong on this...
[gallery link="file" columns="4"]
Actually its a larger issue that i am grappling with. i find a number of companies using india as a dumping ground. cars, electronics, consumer durables etc are coming to india ages after they've been launched globally. though the trend has improved drastically when compared to the initial days of liberalization, but why should we be served inferior products? why should tata sky or other corporates take the liberty of assuming that we don't appreciate quality? would loved to be proved wrong on this...
Apr 23, 2009
orkut scraps is now following me on
Orkut Scraps (orkut__scraps) is now following your updates on Twitter.
Check out Orkut Scraps's profile here:
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Best,
Twitter
Check out Orkut Scraps's profile here:
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You may follow Orkut Scraps as well by clicking on the "follow" button.
Best,
Apr 22, 2009
maya memsaab, i hate you
mayawati is now on the newsweek cover story, being compared to barrack obama..however, with a twist. though the rise and the early rise may have been similar, but her reliance on the caste politics is in sharp contrast to how obama has been playing all along...obama's promise was more about development of those who have traditionally lagged behind, while maya memsaab is about personal development, even while the caste she promotes continues to drag along. her rule is more about creating her statues wherever and whenever possible, in the hope that she will become immortal in the eyes of her followers, much much after she's gone....and she loves to see the glitter in the eyes of the poor when they admire her wealth and jewellery...but is that what ministers are supposed to do? incite casteism and rely on a stupid divide and rule policy to promote their personal wealth? what choices do the indian electorate are left with? the abject backwardness of SP manifesto? the casteism of mayawati? the goondaraj of bihar politics? the getting together of like minded people to form a third front, which can be used to haggle during horse trading to amass more personal wealth and ministries/portfolios to ensure a steady stream of income for 5 years?
what are we left with? congress and bjp? and then we have lead india and every single media unit doing their bit to promote the cause of voting in these elections? whom do we choose? why cant we have a double party regime in place? i dont want the likes of bsp and sp and rjd and so on to have any influence in the scheme of things. i just want our electorate to have 2 clear options to choose from, so they know what to expect, without leaving development to chance. will that ever happen? can that ever happen?
visit this link to read about the mayawati and obama story of newsweek
what are we left with? congress and bjp? and then we have lead india and every single media unit doing their bit to promote the cause of voting in these elections? whom do we choose? why cant we have a double party regime in place? i dont want the likes of bsp and sp and rjd and so on to have any influence in the scheme of things. i just want our electorate to have 2 clear options to choose from, so they know what to expect, without leaving development to chance. will that ever happen? can that ever happen?
visit this link to read about the mayawati and obama story of newsweek
Apr 21, 2009
vodafone beauty tips (white alien): brilliantly funny
when it comes to innovation in advertising, absolutely no one in india comes remotely close to the hutch/vodafone franchise. absolutely magical how they keep churning out blockbusters one after another. each series of their ads is a lesson for advertisers and marketeers, on how to stay on top of the game..how to keep innovating. sample these ones from the latest "white alien" series....absolutely brilliant.
Apr 20, 2009
myntfresh.com: theme changed and plugins installed
just to update: changed the theme from simplex to clean home. and experimented with some interesting plugins. let me see how the new plugins work, will update with a new post on my experience with them!
hiraj.com: doesn't work for me.
i'll start by referring to some text found on hiraj.com:
"At Hiraj.com you don’t have to wait longer to receives messages/responses from other kids because you will be automatically updated and on the main account it will show the all kids updates, so you view them and get updated what the little ones are upto.
As you know sometime people fear, nervous and hesitate in sharing their kids information through opens blog, social networking, file sharing or broadcasting websites because they don’t want any and every body to see or know their kids information. But at Hiraj.com you can share the information only with people who you want to and like to, gives you full control.'
the grammar leaves a lot to be desired, and on first glance, it looks like a hurriedly put together website. i've been asked to review the site by Mr. Sandeep Gulati, and unfortunately, i do not have too many positive points to note about hiraj.com. here are my reasons:
1. as a parent myself, i can not relate to a name like hiraj. whatever justification is given, about the inspiration coming from the birth of a kid in the founder's family, i cannot relate to it. i believe this was the reason given by kidmondo.com as well, but they were amongst the first such sites globally, and have been well accepted over the years. i suspect there were not too many domain names available, hence the name hiraj came about.
2. There are thousands of sites now, where the similar work can be done. some popular ones are: www.babyspot.com, www.aboutmybaby.com, www.babynamey.com, www.babygrapevine.com, www.kidmondo.com, www.babycenter.com, www.mothersclick.com, www.mommyclub.ca, www.opmom.com, www.cafemom.com, www.gurgle.com, www.babyfy.com, www.baveo.com, www.babyzbook.com, www.momcentral.com, www.momscrowd.com and so on. why do i need another site? if the site is targeted towards indians, then is there a real need in the market to have a separate site for indian babies? is there any particular desire which indian babies have, which these sites cannot fulfill? its all about keeping the world updated with milestones, photos, videos of the baby, right? that can be done on any of the existing sites, and i don't need a new site to do it, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
If you go through the site, you will realize some glaring technical faults. on the homepage and the tools page, you get to read about some of the features of the site, but there is no way to know about those features or the look and feel, unless you sign up. why should i, unless i know what i'm getting into? this approach is perhaps rooted in web1.0, and will surely not work, as the web has evolved. as a publisher, my approach now should be to give a flavor of what's inside, and build in registration when felt necessary and appropriate. i do not want to stop people from entering my shop, and i do not want to try and coax them into giving me their profiles in the name of registration, in the hope of making money sometime in the future with the profiles gathered.
i'm sorry, mr sandeep, for being too blatant and harsh. i wish you the very best with hiraj.com, though as an independent observer, your site was not up to the mark to me. i hope there are people who benefit from your service.
"At Hiraj.com you don’t have to wait longer to receives messages/responses from other kids because you will be automatically updated and on the main account it will show the all kids updates, so you view them and get updated what the little ones are upto.
As you know sometime people fear, nervous and hesitate in sharing their kids information through opens blog, social networking, file sharing or broadcasting websites because they don’t want any and every body to see or know their kids information. But at Hiraj.com you can share the information only with people who you want to and like to, gives you full control.'
the grammar leaves a lot to be desired, and on first glance, it looks like a hurriedly put together website. i've been asked to review the site by Mr. Sandeep Gulati, and unfortunately, i do not have too many positive points to note about hiraj.com. here are my reasons:
1. as a parent myself, i can not relate to a name like hiraj. whatever justification is given, about the inspiration coming from the birth of a kid in the founder's family, i cannot relate to it. i believe this was the reason given by kidmondo.com as well, but they were amongst the first such sites globally, and have been well accepted over the years. i suspect there were not too many domain names available, hence the name hiraj came about.
2. There are thousands of sites now, where the similar work can be done. some popular ones are: www.babyspot.com, www.aboutmybaby.com, www.babynamey.com, www.babygrapevine.com, www.kidmondo.com, www.babycenter.com, www.mothersclick.com, www.mommyclub.ca, www.opmom.com, www.cafemom.com, www.gurgle.com, www.babyfy.com, www.baveo.com, www.babyzbook.com, www.momcentral.com, www.momscrowd.com and so on. why do i need another site? if the site is targeted towards indians, then is there a real need in the market to have a separate site for indian babies? is there any particular desire which indian babies have, which these sites cannot fulfill? its all about keeping the world updated with milestones, photos, videos of the baby, right? that can be done on any of the existing sites, and i don't need a new site to do it, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
If you go through the site, you will realize some glaring technical faults. on the homepage and the tools page, you get to read about some of the features of the site, but there is no way to know about those features or the look and feel, unless you sign up. why should i, unless i know what i'm getting into? this approach is perhaps rooted in web1.0, and will surely not work, as the web has evolved. as a publisher, my approach now should be to give a flavor of what's inside, and build in registration when felt necessary and appropriate. i do not want to stop people from entering my shop, and i do not want to try and coax them into giving me their profiles in the name of registration, in the hope of making money sometime in the future with the profiles gathered.
i'm sorry, mr sandeep, for being too blatant and harsh. i wish you the very best with hiraj.com, though as an independent observer, your site was not up to the mark to me. i hope there are people who benefit from your service.
IPL: Initial thoughts
So IPL finally kicked off this weekend...giving millions of indians something to look forward to, this summer. i must complement lalit modi and his band of rebels for pulling it off. and kudos to south africa for the welcome....even their president was at the opening, highlighting the importance being given to IPL...however, let me talk briefly about the cricket..after all, thats what IPL is all about right...or is it?
rajasthan royals totally vindicated my belief that they'll end up as the worst team in season 2. they just do not have the fire power to propel them. shane watson and sohail tanwir were clearly instrumental, and the current line up are way too dependent on pathan and smith....risky.
royal challengers seemed a different unit than season 1, but they will find it hard to sustain the momentum.
KKR has been embroiled in everything else besides cricket. had the misfortune of seeing one of their ads yesterday, where a boy throws a dart and gets beaten. then this boy again throws a dart, this time pointing the dart to the genitals....and the message being we may have been beaten, but we'll hit back reloaded. pretty corny. they look a very disjoint unit, and i won't be surprised if they end up towards the bottom of the heap.
delhi daredevils rocked, however, they got only 6 overs to show their skills. lets wait to see them go through the entire 6 over stretch. for sure, this unit will be in the top 2 this season.
punjab kings XI got off to a great start, and they do look balanced, though with a very weak bowling attack. they'll perhaps end up in the top 4, purely on the back of their batting prowess. but will that be enough to take them till the end? i dont think so
deccan chargers may have won, but this just doesn't look like a winning unit to me. something's missing. that t20 spark is not there somehow.
mumbai indians were nicely balanced. watch out for abhishek nayyar. great temperament. remains to be seen if they're batting will revolve around tendulkar...
chennai super kings, you are still my favorites. doesnt matter you lost, you have a great side out there. dhoni will probably promote himself up the order (at no. 4) in remaining matches, and that should do the trick.
hence, my revised prediction for season 2 (and this wont change now):
1. chennai
2. delhi
3. mumbai
4. punjab
5. bangalore
6. hyderabad
7. kolkata
8. rajasthan
This season is gonna be different. Spin's back in action, the pacers will play a more active role than season 2, get ready for abridged matches due to the weather, 160 will be a winning score in most games, and batting prowess will be tested rather than mere bludgeoning. its good that IPL moved to south africa....theories that worked last time around will be thoroughly tested, and in the first half of the tournament, teams will be experimenting trying to figure out the best way forward...and hence the 2nd half of the tournament will result in much more closely fought matches. yummy.
rajasthan royals totally vindicated my belief that they'll end up as the worst team in season 2. they just do not have the fire power to propel them. shane watson and sohail tanwir were clearly instrumental, and the current line up are way too dependent on pathan and smith....risky.
royal challengers seemed a different unit than season 1, but they will find it hard to sustain the momentum.
KKR has been embroiled in everything else besides cricket. had the misfortune of seeing one of their ads yesterday, where a boy throws a dart and gets beaten. then this boy again throws a dart, this time pointing the dart to the genitals....and the message being we may have been beaten, but we'll hit back reloaded. pretty corny. they look a very disjoint unit, and i won't be surprised if they end up towards the bottom of the heap.
delhi daredevils rocked, however, they got only 6 overs to show their skills. lets wait to see them go through the entire 6 over stretch. for sure, this unit will be in the top 2 this season.
punjab kings XI got off to a great start, and they do look balanced, though with a very weak bowling attack. they'll perhaps end up in the top 4, purely on the back of their batting prowess. but will that be enough to take them till the end? i dont think so
deccan chargers may have won, but this just doesn't look like a winning unit to me. something's missing. that t20 spark is not there somehow.
mumbai indians were nicely balanced. watch out for abhishek nayyar. great temperament. remains to be seen if they're batting will revolve around tendulkar...
chennai super kings, you are still my favorites. doesnt matter you lost, you have a great side out there. dhoni will probably promote himself up the order (at no. 4) in remaining matches, and that should do the trick.
hence, my revised prediction for season 2 (and this wont change now):
1. chennai
2. delhi
3. mumbai
4. punjab
5. bangalore
6. hyderabad
7. kolkata
8. rajasthan
This season is gonna be different. Spin's back in action, the pacers will play a more active role than season 2, get ready for abridged matches due to the weather, 160 will be a winning score in most games, and batting prowess will be tested rather than mere bludgeoning. its good that IPL moved to south africa....theories that worked last time around will be thoroughly tested, and in the first half of the tournament, teams will be experimenting trying to figure out the best way forward...and hence the 2nd half of the tournament will result in much more closely fought matches. yummy.
Apr 17, 2009
Entrepreneurship: Spelling it right
I've been wanting to right a post about my perception of entrepreneurship for a long time....its a topic very close to me, and would love to write about some random thoughts crossing my mind every now and then on starting off on your own.
1. Nothing like being a bachelor when wanting to be on your own. The thinking is fresh, the quality of life is abysmal in most cases (you can support yourself on a shoe-string budget), and with no family or society pressures, you are much better equipped to try it out, until you succeed
2. Find a real need, and don't just go googling to find those needs. Every successful venture of US will not succeed in India. Appreciate the cultural nuances, and ensure your offering is customized well enough to offer value to the audience it is targeting
3. Fail. Its important to fail. Never underestimate the importance of failing in your venture early on. It will teach you a number of things which you otherwise will never realize
4. Build a network which you can rely upon, at the right time and place. And it's not only the online network. While Linkedin, twitter, facebook etc are great places to start getting known amongst the right people, its equally important to build a strong offline network as well. Go to blogcamps, meet people who have gone through the entrepreneurship cycle, learn from them, keep a track of all these people and be in regular touch with them. You never know when they might come in handy
5. Do not assume that everyone out there is just waiting for you to tell them something, and they'll go rushing to follow you. For example, if you send an email to 1000 of your contacts, do not expect all of them to act upon it, just because the mail is coming from you. Irrespective of whether they are your known contacts or not, only when they see some value in what you're saying, that they'll be willing to listen to you
6. Learn from your mistakes, and take immediate actions. You'll be better off by not repeating your mistakes. Small mistakes and oversights can make or break startups
7. Never forget the people who helped you initially. The success of your venture should not change the person you are. At a young age, when you suddenly taste unanticipated success, it is very very easy to get carried away
8. Learn as much as possible. Even if you're new to technology or photoshop or other relevant knowledge base, you'll be served by better by taking a shot at learning them yourself. Do some google and you'll be surprised at the amount of help that will come your way, by way of free tutorials, advice, templates, and sites which will do the jobs for you
9. Make a sustained and solid presence on the web. Think along the lines of a complete online identity management approach, wherein you integrate your website, your blog, business and social networking, micro-blogging, feedback tracking, participation in forums of relevant/related topics
10. Give your venture some time. Do not look for short-term gains. Be clear on where you see your venture 2 years, 5 years and 10 years down the line. Most of us end up thinking from a short term gain perspective, without realizing that this can only result on temporary happiness. Have belief in your idea and your venture, and go all out to succeed. Celebrate short and sweet successes that come your way, without ever compromising on the vision you have set for yourself
1. Nothing like being a bachelor when wanting to be on your own. The thinking is fresh, the quality of life is abysmal in most cases (you can support yourself on a shoe-string budget), and with no family or society pressures, you are much better equipped to try it out, until you succeed
2. Find a real need, and don't just go googling to find those needs. Every successful venture of US will not succeed in India. Appreciate the cultural nuances, and ensure your offering is customized well enough to offer value to the audience it is targeting
3. Fail. Its important to fail. Never underestimate the importance of failing in your venture early on. It will teach you a number of things which you otherwise will never realize
4. Build a network which you can rely upon, at the right time and place. And it's not only the online network. While Linkedin, twitter, facebook etc are great places to start getting known amongst the right people, its equally important to build a strong offline network as well. Go to blogcamps, meet people who have gone through the entrepreneurship cycle, learn from them, keep a track of all these people and be in regular touch with them. You never know when they might come in handy
5. Do not assume that everyone out there is just waiting for you to tell them something, and they'll go rushing to follow you. For example, if you send an email to 1000 of your contacts, do not expect all of them to act upon it, just because the mail is coming from you. Irrespective of whether they are your known contacts or not, only when they see some value in what you're saying, that they'll be willing to listen to you
6. Learn from your mistakes, and take immediate actions. You'll be better off by not repeating your mistakes. Small mistakes and oversights can make or break startups
7. Never forget the people who helped you initially. The success of your venture should not change the person you are. At a young age, when you suddenly taste unanticipated success, it is very very easy to get carried away
8. Learn as much as possible. Even if you're new to technology or photoshop or other relevant knowledge base, you'll be served by better by taking a shot at learning them yourself. Do some google and you'll be surprised at the amount of help that will come your way, by way of free tutorials, advice, templates, and sites which will do the jobs for you
9. Make a sustained and solid presence on the web. Think along the lines of a complete online identity management approach, wherein you integrate your website, your blog, business and social networking, micro-blogging, feedback tracking, participation in forums of relevant/related topics
10. Give your venture some time. Do not look for short-term gains. Be clear on where you see your venture 2 years, 5 years and 10 years down the line. Most of us end up thinking from a short term gain perspective, without realizing that this can only result on temporary happiness. Have belief in your idea and your venture, and go all out to succeed. Celebrate short and sweet successes that come your way, without ever compromising on the vision you have set for yourself
Workosaur Salary Survey Report 2008-09: Interesting!
The Workosaur Salary Survey Report for 2008-09 is a first-of-its-kind salary survey of senior professionals working in India across different functional areas.
Objective of the Survey
The Workosaur Salary Survey is an Annual Survey which is conducted with the objective of providing senior professionals with data to benchmark their salary against prevailing industry standards within their functional area.
The functional areas being covered under this survey are:
1. Consulting, Strategy & Planning
2. Finance & Accounts
3. Sales, Business Development & Marketing
Visit http://www.workosaur.com/salary/ to know more and download the report!
Objective of the Survey
The Workosaur Salary Survey is an Annual Survey which is conducted with the objective of providing senior professionals with data to benchmark their salary against prevailing industry standards within their functional area.
The functional areas being covered under this survey are:
1. Consulting, Strategy & Planning
2. Finance & Accounts
3. Sales, Business Development & Marketing
Visit http://www.workosaur.com/salary/ to know more and download the report!
Apr 16, 2009
how to take someone's case publicly!
a very weird and interesting newspaper insert greeted us in udyog vihar, gurgaon today morning. the insert was in TOI and HT both. Go through the images...
Apparently, someone has taken the help of newspaper inserts to highlight sexual abuse in some obscure factory of udyog vihar! its a badly made creative, with a lot being left to the imagination..unless ofcourse you realize that mr kumar's and mr sharma's mobile numbers have been mentioned.....i am sure loads of people have called them since morning!
[gallery link="file"]
Apparently, someone has taken the help of newspaper inserts to highlight sexual abuse in some obscure factory of udyog vihar! its a badly made creative, with a lot being left to the imagination..unless ofcourse you realize that mr kumar's and mr sharma's mobile numbers have been mentioned.....i am sure loads of people have called them since morning!
[gallery link="file"]
Apr 15, 2009
is facebook serious abt India?
if they are, i would advise them to get other telecom carriers into their list of compatible operators. Tata Indicom is perhaps having the least number of subscribers, when compared to airtel, idea, vodafone, reliance, bsnl and aircel....and yet, they are the only carriers compatible with facebook...strange, i would say!
Airtel's billing system: Worst possible?
Here's what happens 2 months in a row...
> Airtel alerts me to pay by due date for my landline/broadband connection
> I go to www.airtel.in and dutifuly pay through my hdfc credit card
> Airtel displays on the site in red that payment was unsuccessful
> At the same time, I get an SMS from HDFC which says (verbatim): Thank you for using your HDFC bank credit card for 996.00 in BHARTI AIRTEL LTD - B& @ 10-Apr-2009 10:46 AM
> I get 2 more alerts from Airtel on next 2 days which say (verbatim): The payment for your Airtel fixedline bill is due on 13-APR-09. Kindly make the payment of Rs. 996 to avoid the late fee charges. Pls ignore if paid.
> I call up Airtel customer care, and am blatantly told that you last made a payment last month, and this month's payment has not come in yet. I told them about the HDFC message, and I was asked to call in 2 days to verify again (2 days would have meant after due date)
> I then call up HDFC customer care, and am reassured that payment has been made to Airtel already, and am also told that this happens very frequently with Airtel.
Given that airtel has paid IBM billions of dollars for their IT/tech support, i am surprised why this minor problem persists every month? Why can't airtel put its systems in order to avoid giving agony to its "valued" customers time and again?
> Airtel alerts me to pay by due date for my landline/broadband connection
> I go to www.airtel.in and dutifuly pay through my hdfc credit card
> Airtel displays on the site in red that payment was unsuccessful
> At the same time, I get an SMS from HDFC which says (verbatim): Thank you for using your HDFC bank credit card for 996.00 in BHARTI AIRTEL LTD - B& @ 10-Apr-2009 10:46 AM
> I get 2 more alerts from Airtel on next 2 days which say (verbatim): The payment for your Airtel fixedline bill is due on 13-APR-09. Kindly make the payment of Rs. 996 to avoid the late fee charges. Pls ignore if paid.
> I call up Airtel customer care, and am blatantly told that you last made a payment last month, and this month's payment has not come in yet. I told them about the HDFC message, and I was asked to call in 2 days to verify again (2 days would have meant after due date)
> I then call up HDFC customer care, and am reassured that payment has been made to Airtel already, and am also told that this happens very frequently with Airtel.
Given that airtel has paid IBM billions of dollars for their IT/tech support, i am surprised why this minor problem persists every month? Why can't airtel put its systems in order to avoid giving agony to its "valued" customers time and again?
Apr 14, 2009
thetrafficpeople.net : weird
"Subscribe for Traffic Updates during peak hours from Monday to Saturday on your mobile phone through SMS @ Rs 99/month."
Why would i do that? Still trying to figure out why we need this service in the first place...a number of reasons for my dilemma:
1. i am expected to pay 100 bucks a month to keep getting SMSes which tell me traffic is heavy in these 10 areas of delhi...and i may have no plans to go to those 10 areas. what if i want to go to a 11th area not covered?
2. like most people, i pretty much know where i need to go on a particular day, and as long as i'm traveling most days on my route, i know what to expect at what time
3. how do i know information being provided is accurate enough? if the sms says traffic is heavy at 11 am, how do i know if it will be heavy at 11.30 am too?
4. do we really have so many alternate routes in delhi, to avoid taking the one which is forecasted as heavy traffic?
We are still a long way off when it comes to accurate, updated traffic and weather information. It needs much more than physically placing some people at key intersections and trying to help people. It needs better and richer technology. It needs dedicated satellites which can predict to the tee. It needs more involvement from the government.
here are the top 3 sites which open up on google when you search for "india+weather". trust me, its fun :-)
[gallery link="file"]
Why would i do that? Still trying to figure out why we need this service in the first place...a number of reasons for my dilemma:
1. i am expected to pay 100 bucks a month to keep getting SMSes which tell me traffic is heavy in these 10 areas of delhi...and i may have no plans to go to those 10 areas. what if i want to go to a 11th area not covered?
2. like most people, i pretty much know where i need to go on a particular day, and as long as i'm traveling most days on my route, i know what to expect at what time
3. how do i know information being provided is accurate enough? if the sms says traffic is heavy at 11 am, how do i know if it will be heavy at 11.30 am too?
4. do we really have so many alternate routes in delhi, to avoid taking the one which is forecasted as heavy traffic?
We are still a long way off when it comes to accurate, updated traffic and weather information. It needs much more than physically placing some people at key intersections and trying to help people. It needs better and richer technology. It needs dedicated satellites which can predict to the tee. It needs more involvement from the government.
here are the top 3 sites which open up on google when you search for "india+weather". trust me, its fun :-)
[gallery link="file"]
Most infleuntial twitters from India
Even if you've read this list before, it still makes sense to read it again. These are the most influential twitters from India, and has been compiled from a few sources from the net. Always a pleasure to know what the thought leaders are up to!
drmani
dollars5
leplan
cheth
angsuman
debasispradhan
labnol
goobimama
meghnak
amitbhawani
vimoh
naina
kiruba
indianguru
tecupdates
gautamghosh
nishu
asfaq
aalaap
twilightfairy
yuvipanda
ankeshk
dina
brajeshwar
preshit
pchere
baxiabhishek
simplyarun
gsik
sharjeelsayed
shankargan
vijayanands
sampad
TheNonsenseBlog
jaytweeter
aDeSe
ceetee
naziasayed
sizzler_chetan
hiway
nischalshetty
thej
monikkinom
mayank
wildlifesos
wingsofsuccess
farrhad
Ramkarthik
narayananh
WATblog
gauravonomics
shahpriya
netra
drmani
dollars5
leplan
cheth
angsuman
debasispradhan
labnol
goobimama
meghnak
amitbhawani
vimoh
naina
kiruba
indianguru
tecupdates
gautamghosh
nishu
asfaq
aalaap
twilightfairy
yuvipanda
ankeshk
dina
brajeshwar
preshit
pchere
baxiabhishek
simplyarun
gsik
sharjeelsayed
shankargan
vijayanands
sampad
TheNonsenseBlog
jaytweeter
aDeSe
ceetee
naziasayed
sizzler_chetan
hiway
nischalshetty
thej
monikkinom
mayank
wildlifesos
wingsofsuccess
farrhad
Ramkarthik
narayananh
WATblog
gauravonomics
shahpriya
netra
go2web20.net: a cool site to hang out with!
ever heard of go2web20.net ? its actually a very amazing website, with listings of cool new web2.0 based websites. each site is accompanied by a short description, and the mandatory links to the site. what i like most is perhaps goign through some rally bizarre ideas that people get for new websites....it would help if you go through this site for urself, and enjoy!
the story of an ATM guard being more powerful than India's largest private bank!
ok here's an interesting post spotted on an ATM machine in gurgaon (enkay towers).
no matter what the icici bank tells you, the ATM guard has the authority to overrule the guidelines specified by the bank. And to imagine that this guard managed to take on the might of india's biggest private sector bank! commendable, chief. :-)
no matter what the icici bank tells you, the ATM guard has the authority to overrule the guidelines specified by the bank. And to imagine that this guard managed to take on the might of india's biggest private sector bank! commendable, chief. :-)
India's only metrosexual ice cream!
sample this....its called bubble boo or something similar....by kwality walls....
got the shock of my life when i opened it...to find a glistening pink icecream underneath!
got the shock of my life when i opened it...to find a glistening pink icecream underneath!
jama masjid somewhere between the wires
ventured into the walled city a couple of weekends ago....love that place...and couldn't resist taking these snaps...jama masjid visible somewhere between the maze of bijli ke taar....at chawri bazar..
[gallery link="file"]
[gallery link="file"]
Apr 13, 2009
SP vows to make India a 5th world country!
- SP is against english medium education
- SP is against the use of computers
- SP believes computers result in unemployment. All work should be done by hand, as it makes u work longer and harder for the same quantum of work, which results in more "work" per se per person. beautiful beautiful logic.
- Use of agricultural machines like harvesters should be banned. India proudly claims to be amongst the world's biggest agricultural growers, without realizing it is also amongst the most unproductive, specially due to the use of hand and no use of machinery in its fields. brilliant brilliant logic, shri shri 108 m.s. yadav ji
- corporate salaries should be aligned with government salaries. babuji, does that mean corporates should start thinking of how to make money under the table, just the way our politicians are known to do? and one reason why our public servants indulge in corruption is because of the meagre salaries our government is known to dole out. everyone has a right to survive and sustain a family right?
- SP is against share trading, forward trading and mall culture.
- SP will abolish schools which support english language
one forgets that their children themselves are studying in english schools. but surely, with this manifesto, yadav sahab has clearly left the left behind when it comes to being against everything that development means.
- SP is against the use of computers
- SP believes computers result in unemployment. All work should be done by hand, as it makes u work longer and harder for the same quantum of work, which results in more "work" per se per person. beautiful beautiful logic.
- Use of agricultural machines like harvesters should be banned. India proudly claims to be amongst the world's biggest agricultural growers, without realizing it is also amongst the most unproductive, specially due to the use of hand and no use of machinery in its fields. brilliant brilliant logic, shri shri 108 m.s. yadav ji
- corporate salaries should be aligned with government salaries. babuji, does that mean corporates should start thinking of how to make money under the table, just the way our politicians are known to do? and one reason why our public servants indulge in corruption is because of the meagre salaries our government is known to dole out. everyone has a right to survive and sustain a family right?
- SP is against share trading, forward trading and mall culture.
- SP will abolish schools which support english language
one forgets that their children themselves are studying in english schools. but surely, with this manifesto, yadav sahab has clearly left the left behind when it comes to being against everything that development means.
2009: The best year to go to B school
one of these days, i was thinking about the impact recession is making on college passouts...specially those form iits/iims. and reason for thinking of these 2 brands was because society has a way of making them feel exalted...of pushing them to start thinking they are the most powerful men and women in the universe....not that they are, but there is so much of media hype and society expectations from these brands...that....anyways thats a separate topic. what i was thinking was about the recession impact on these college passouts...ready to face the world with fresh and chamchamati degrees....and i completely agree that 2009 is a bad year to graduate in. but all those who are about to face their entrance exams this year, shoudl not get too bogged down by the gloom they see around them. its a great time to get into a B school. you'll get all your dope on what went wrong during the last year, u'll know what to avoid doing when working in the corporate sector, u'll get more sensitized to cost rationalization, u'll get enough time to work on your personal Plan B...u'll be better prepared for entrepreneurship...u'll relax while the world at large presents a sorry picture....and u can rest assured that by the time u're ready to graduate, the world would have left the recession behind, ready to tackle the new set of growth challenges, ready to incorporate you into the grind. inot the rat race.......all the best!
Apr 10, 2009
Blogger to Wordpress migration is a breeze!
Had been sceptical for a long time, how to move from blogger to wordpress...and finally got the courage, and some help on the way! wordpress has made it sooooooo simple to do it! Just a click of a button, and voila! all my posts/comments from http://myntfresh.blogspot.com have now moved to http://myntfresh.com
luv ya, wordpress!
luv ya, wordpress!
Apr 7, 2009
IPL 2009: Predicting the winner!
As IPL 2009 unfolds, here's my prediction on who will win. And also the order of all teams involved, basing my judgement on the quality of players on board currently.
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Delhi Daredevils
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Mumbai Indians
5. Kings XI Punjab
6. Deccan Chargers
7. Royal Challengers
8. Rajasthan Royals
Chennai has a very strong team, and Dhoni's charismatic leadership will play a key role. KKR has a strong team too, specially david hussey, chris Gayle, mendis and mccullum, pujara, hodge and ishant who can all change the game...but going by current form, delhi boasts of a very impressive sehwag and gambhir combo...rajasthan royals was heavily dependent on pakistan imports last year, and that won't hold true this time around...i took the list of 2009 players from here
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Delhi Daredevils
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Mumbai Indians
5. Kings XI Punjab
6. Deccan Chargers
7. Royal Challengers
8. Rajasthan Royals
Chennai has a very strong team, and Dhoni's charismatic leadership will play a key role. KKR has a strong team too, specially david hussey, chris Gayle, mendis and mccullum, pujara, hodge and ishant who can all change the game...but going by current form, delhi boasts of a very impressive sehwag and gambhir combo...rajasthan royals was heavily dependent on pakistan imports last year, and that won't hold true this time around...i took the list of 2009 players from here
angry journalist throws shoe at chidambaram at press conference!
after the shoe-in-face of bush, its turn for the respected politicos to smell the leather! an angry journalist from dainik jagran (heard) has thrown a shoe at mr chidambaram at a press conference. catch the story on this link. There was high drama during Home Minister P Chidambaram’s press conference in New Delhi when a journalist threw a shoe at the minister.
Chidambaram was speaking with journalists on terror and Congress' policies, when the incident occured.
The Home Minister was referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the journalist, Jarnail Singh, asked him a question regarding the CBI clean-chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
When Chidambaram averted the question, Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at him. However, the shoe narrowly missed hitting Chidambaram.
here are some cool tips to capitalize on the god-sent opportunity:
1. Adidas should lay claim to the shoe, release a print ad and a youtube video, all with the tagline; impossible is nothing
2. dainik jagran should run a special campaign honouring the journo: zidd karo duniya badlo
3. the shoe should be taken out of india, and kept in safe custody in new york. vijay mallya will buy it for usd 1.5 mn 3 years from now
4. start a training academy, with shooting at public conferences as the course objective, training the students to fling shoes accurately....everyone somehow misses the target!!
Chidambaram was speaking with journalists on terror and Congress' policies, when the incident occured.
The Home Minister was referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the journalist, Jarnail Singh, asked him a question regarding the CBI clean-chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
When Chidambaram averted the question, Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at him. However, the shoe narrowly missed hitting Chidambaram.
here are some cool tips to capitalize on the god-sent opportunity:
1. Adidas should lay claim to the shoe, release a print ad and a youtube video, all with the tagline; impossible is nothing
2. dainik jagran should run a special campaign honouring the journo: zidd karo duniya badlo
3. the shoe should be taken out of india, and kept in safe custody in new york. vijay mallya will buy it for usd 1.5 mn 3 years from now
4. start a training academy, with shooting at public conferences as the course objective, training the students to fling shoes accurately....everyone somehow misses the target!!
IPL 2009: Predicting the winner!
As IPL 2009 unfolds, here's my prediction on who will win. And also the order of all teams involved, basing my judgement on the quality of players on board currently.
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Delhi Daredevils
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Mumbai Indians
5. Kings XI Punjab
6. Deccan Chargers
7. Royal Challengers
8. Rajasthan Royals
Chennai has a very strong team, and Dhoni's charismatic leadership will play a key role. KKR has a strong team too, specially david hussey, chris Gayle, mendis and mccullum, pujara, hodge and ishant who can all change the game...but going by current form, delhi boasts of a very impressive sehwag and gambhir combo...rajasthan royals was heavily dependent on pakistan imports last year, and that won't hold true this time around...i took the list of 2009 players from here
1. Chennai Super Kings
2. Delhi Daredevils
3. Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Mumbai Indians
5. Kings XI Punjab
6. Deccan Chargers
7. Royal Challengers
8. Rajasthan Royals
Chennai has a very strong team, and Dhoni's charismatic leadership will play a key role. KKR has a strong team too, specially david hussey, chris Gayle, mendis and mccullum, pujara, hodge and ishant who can all change the game...but going by current form, delhi boasts of a very impressive sehwag and gambhir combo...rajasthan royals was heavily dependent on pakistan imports last year, and that won't hold true this time around...i took the list of 2009 players from here
angry journalist throws shoe at chidambaram at press conference!
after the shoe-in-face of bush, its turn for the respected politicos to smell the leather! an angry journalist from dainik jagran (heard) has thrown a shoe at mr chidambaram at a press conference. catch the story on this link. There was high drama during Home Minister P Chidambaram’s press conference in New Delhi when a journalist threw a shoe at the minister.
Chidambaram was speaking with journalists on terror and Congress' policies, when the incident occured.
The Home Minister was referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the journalist, Jarnail Singh, asked him a question regarding the CBI clean-chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
When Chidambaram averted the question, Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at him. However, the shoe narrowly missed hitting Chidambaram.
here are some cool tips to capitalize on the god-sent opportunity:
1. Adidas should lay claim to the shoe, release a print ad and a youtube video, all with the tagline; impossible is nothing
2. dainik jagran should run a special campaign honouring the journo: zidd karo duniya badlo
3. the shoe should be taken out of india, and kept in safe custody in new york. vijay mallya will buy it for usd 1.5 mn 3 years from now
4. start a training academy, with shooting at public conferences as the course objective, training the students to fling shoes accurately....everyone somehow misses the target!!
Chidambaram was speaking with journalists on terror and Congress' policies, when the incident occured.
The Home Minister was referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots when the journalist, Jarnail Singh, asked him a question regarding the CBI clean-chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.
When Chidambaram averted the question, Jarnail Singh threw a shoe at him. However, the shoe narrowly missed hitting Chidambaram.
here are some cool tips to capitalize on the god-sent opportunity:
1. Adidas should lay claim to the shoe, release a print ad and a youtube video, all with the tagline; impossible is nothing
2. dainik jagran should run a special campaign honouring the journo: zidd karo duniya badlo
3. the shoe should be taken out of india, and kept in safe custody in new york. vijay mallya will buy it for usd 1.5 mn 3 years from now
4. start a training academy, with shooting at public conferences as the course objective, training the students to fling shoes accurately....everyone somehow misses the target!!
Apr 2, 2009
other banks ATMs for free
with this new liberation of using any bank's ATM to withdraw money, the consumer sure will benefit, but in the long run, will they? i have the following 2 questions:
1. if i am an icici, and i currently have 4 odd ATMs in each locality, should i still maintain all of them? will i be better off (read "save maintenance money") by having just 1 atm instead of 4 atms's?
2. if all banks suddenly decide to use this opportunity to reduce the number of ATMs they had been forced to operate, will it result in lesser number of ATMs in existence, which again will lead to serpentine queues?
i am assuming that 80% of the people going into ATMs in india do it to withdraw money. those guys will surely benefit by being able to withdraw from any ATM. but if the banks indeed bring down the number of ATMs they operate, the other 20% will stand to lose a lot, as they will see additional queues outside their preferred bank ATM, and hence result in bad user experience.
1. if i am an icici, and i currently have 4 odd ATMs in each locality, should i still maintain all of them? will i be better off (read "save maintenance money") by having just 1 atm instead of 4 atms's?
2. if all banks suddenly decide to use this opportunity to reduce the number of ATMs they had been forced to operate, will it result in lesser number of ATMs in existence, which again will lead to serpentine queues?
i am assuming that 80% of the people going into ATMs in india do it to withdraw money. those guys will surely benefit by being able to withdraw from any ATM. but if the banks indeed bring down the number of ATMs they operate, the other 20% will stand to lose a lot, as they will see additional queues outside their preferred bank ATM, and hence result in bad user experience.
google translate is actually fairly accurate!
While browing on the net, came across my blog in hindi....and was intrigued to know how bad it actually may be...but i was in for a surprise! google translate has done a fairly good job it seems! check it out...if not visible, access the taaza mynt here
other banks ATMs for free
with this new liberation of using any bank's ATM to withdraw money, the consumer sure will benefit, but in the long run, will they? i have the following 2 questions:
1. if i am an icici, and i currently have 4 odd ATMs in each locality, should i still maintain all of them? will i be better off (read "save maintenance money") by having just 1 atm instead of 4 atms's?
2. if all banks suddenly decide to use this opportunity to reduce the number of ATMs they had been forced to operate, will it result in lesser number of ATMs in existence, which again will lead to serpentine queues?
i am assuming that 80% of the people going into ATMs in india do it to withdraw money. those guys will surely benefit by being able to withdraw from any ATM. but if the banks indeed bring down the number of ATMs they operate, the other 20% will stand to lose a lot, as they will see additional queues outside their preferred bank ATM, and hence result in bad user experience.
1. if i am an icici, and i currently have 4 odd ATMs in each locality, should i still maintain all of them? will i be better off (read "save maintenance money") by having just 1 atm instead of 4 atms's?
2. if all banks suddenly decide to use this opportunity to reduce the number of ATMs they had been forced to operate, will it result in lesser number of ATMs in existence, which again will lead to serpentine queues?
i am assuming that 80% of the people going into ATMs in india do it to withdraw money. those guys will surely benefit by being able to withdraw from any ATM. but if the banks indeed bring down the number of ATMs they operate, the other 20% will stand to lose a lot, as they will see additional queues outside their preferred bank ATM, and hence result in bad user experience.
google translate is actually fairly accurate!
While browing on the net, came across my blog in hindi....and was intrigued to know how bad it actually may be...but i was in for a surprise! google translate has done a fairly good job it seems! check it out...if not visible, access the taaza mynt here
Apr 1, 2009
gurgaon....as never seen before!
i can proudly say that i'm currently living quite close to nature..with hills and lots of greenery near me, with clear crisp air in the morning and rest of the day, with pollution of delhi NCR not getting to me at any point of the day...so i did some trekking this weekend to really take a view from the hills of gurgaon, and i have to admit, the view was worth the effort. Ambience mall somewhere in the distance, the dlf phase 3 skyline clearly visible, the delhi gurgaon metro running close by...nice nice.
the magic called india...as discovered again during a trip down the highway...
I have always felt that the measure of a country's development can be gauged quite accurately by the quality of roads it offers. Roads in India leave a lot to be desired, and so does the development. Most roads in US and Europe and nice and well maintained, and so is the development. The places where roads are a bit dilapidated in the developed countries are precisely the sreas which are not as well developed...the wonderful state of rajasthan has always amazed me, just because the roads they develop are truly wonderful. And that leads to more people wanting to travel on them, and the associated development....this pic was taken when on my way to mahndipur balaji somewhere between agra and jaipur..
This can happen only in India. I love taking such shots, so truly representing the magic that is india!
Have you ever wondered that there are so many obscure and tiny little places you can't ever hope to remember, or visit? Take a trip down any highway, and you'll be flooded by names of villages which sound strange, funny, inappropriate..but always a pleasure to read them...here are some which i came across most recently. And these are only the most peculiar ones!
This can happen only in India. I love taking such shots, so truly representing the magic that is india!
Have you ever wondered that there are so many obscure and tiny little places you can't ever hope to remember, or visit? Take a trip down any highway, and you'll be flooded by names of villages which sound strange, funny, inappropriate..but always a pleasure to read them...here are some which i came across most recently. And these are only the most peculiar ones!
Google and MS in final race to acquire Facebook for around USD 10 bn!
After time having elapsed, we can see that the deal for Google to acquire Facebook is not going through. It’s quite possible that Google executives are still talking to Facebook executives about the idea, but I do not think it is a serious discussion — if it exists at all.
One reason I think that Facebook really does not want be acquired, especially by Google, is all the recent executives leaving Google for Facebook.
Sandberg left in March and Schrage left just two months following her lead. Seems like one big happy family over at Facebook these days.
Facebook has a lot more to benefit from by staying as an independent company than it does by going through the acquisition process by a big media conglomerate.
Oops. Ye to April Fool Ban gaya!!
One reason I think that Facebook really does not want be acquired, especially by Google, is all the recent executives leaving Google for Facebook.
Sandberg left in March and Schrage left just two months following her lead. Seems like one big happy family over at Facebook these days.
Facebook has a lot more to benefit from by staying as an independent company than it does by going through the acquisition process by a big media conglomerate.
Oops. Ye to April Fool Ban gaya!!
gurgaon....as never seen before!
i can proudly say that i'm currently living quite close to nature..with hills and lots of greenery near me, with clear crisp air in the morning and rest of the day, with pollution of delhi NCR not getting to me at any point of the day...so i did some trekking this weekend to really take a view from the hills of gurgaon, and i have to admit, the view was worth the effort. Ambience mall somewhere in the distance, the dlf phase 3 skyline clearly visible, the delhi gurgaon metro running close by...nice nice.
the magic called india...as discovered again during a trip down the highway...
I have always felt that the measure of a country's development can be gauged quite accurately by the quality of roads it offers. Roads in India leave a lot to be desired, and so does the development. Most roads in US and Europe and nice and well maintained, and so is the development. The places where roads are a bit dilapidated in the developed countries are precisely the sreas which are not as well developed...the wonderful state of rajasthan has always amazed me, just because the roads they develop are truly wonderful. And that leads to more people wanting to travel on them, and the associated development....this pic was taken when on my way to mahndipur balaji somewhere between agra and jaipur..
This can happen only in India. I love taking such shots, so truly representing the magic that is india!
Have you ever wondered that there are so many obscure and tiny little places you can't ever hope to remember, or visit? Take a trip down any highway, and you'll be flooded by names of villages which sound strange, funny, inappropriate..but always a pleasure to read them...here are some which i came across most recently. And these are only the most peculiar ones!
This can happen only in India. I love taking such shots, so truly representing the magic that is india!
Have you ever wondered that there are so many obscure and tiny little places you can't ever hope to remember, or visit? Take a trip down any highway, and you'll be flooded by names of villages which sound strange, funny, inappropriate..but always a pleasure to read them...here are some which i came across most recently. And these are only the most peculiar ones!
Google and MS in final race to acquire Facebook for around USD 10 bn!
After time having elapsed, we can see that the deal for Google to acquire Facebook is not going through. It’s quite possible that Google executives are still talking to Facebook executives about the idea, but I do not think it is a serious discussion — if it exists at all.
One reason I think that Facebook really does not want be acquired, especially by Google, is all the recent executives leaving Google for Facebook.
Sandberg left in March and Schrage left just two months following her lead. Seems like one big happy family over at Facebook these days.
Facebook has a lot more to benefit from by staying as an independent company than it does by going through the acquisition process by a big media conglomerate.
Oops. Ye to April Fool Ban gaya!!
One reason I think that Facebook really does not want be acquired, especially by Google, is all the recent executives leaving Google for Facebook.
Sandberg left in March and Schrage left just two months following her lead. Seems like one big happy family over at Facebook these days.
Facebook has a lot more to benefit from by staying as an independent company than it does by going through the acquisition process by a big media conglomerate.
Oops. Ye to April Fool Ban gaya!!
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