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Excerpt: Finally some news about my passport. After standing in long queues in the blazing hot sun everyday for the last four weeks, I managed to get an audience with the Regional Passport Officer. While waiting for my time with the RPO, I met another individual who had similar issues as mine with regard to renewal. However, this particular inidividual had to be abroad within the next week as he had won a sponsorship to represent India in one of those scholarly meets in Zurich. Now, c’mon people, if not for me, please give him his passport at least. Don’t stifle…
The Great Indian Passport Renewal Saga
March 2009 Updates
Still in India…trying to juggle with so many different things mentally and physically. Squeezing in nearly 10 hours a day working remotely for AF and a new five week project, spending some time at our new abode as well as trying to catch up with friends and relatives. Renewal of my passport is being unduly delayed despite numerous letters, faxes and phone calls. Another quite month for blogging and tweeting.
February 2009 Updates
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, had to rush to India for a few days. Whenever am in India, blogging takes a hit. Never have the peace and calm I am generally comfortable with. Any case, should be back on the blogosphere soon…
Yet Another Tweet Post: Twitter benefits, Celebrities on Twitter, and random rants…
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Excerpt: 2008 was a big year for Twitter users and 2009 promises to be even better. The micro-blogging site is a great social networking tool, putting individuals, businesses, celebrities and spammers on the same ground. Twitter is a micro-blogging tool which allows up to 140 characters of short messages to be broadcast from its interface, which can be read by any other Twitter user. Unlike Facebook or Linkedin, Twitter allows users to declare who they are interested in following. A User who is being followed by another user doesn’t necessarily have to reciprocate. In comparison with our regular blogging, which is…
Apple Wishlist: Would iPhone 32GB be a parting gift at Macworld?
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Excerpt: Unlikely. There are many other likely contenders for Apple’s final goodbye to Macworld Expo. A number of rumours as well as expectations from enthusiasts on what Apple could announce have being doing the rounds for the past few weeks, including some really weird and outrageous ones. Personally, I have mixed emotions about Apple’s participation at Macworld. I am a recent adapter to Apple’s products and although I was aware of Apple’s presence at Macworld, I was a tad bit ignorant about the fact that new products are announced in every event. I have only realised the importance of these events to…
Facebook Connect or Google Friend Connect: Which One Offers Better Brand Visibility?
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Excerpt: I am mighty impressed with Facebook Connect. It offers a tremendous potential for businesses and individuals to improve their visibility on the web. Of course, both Google’s Friend Connect and Facebook Connect came out of their test phases at the same time, but at the moment Facebook Connect seems to be holding the sway, largely because of its impressive 120 million user base. MySpace too has a fairly large user base which matches Facebook, but the growing popularity of Facebook, coupled with a cluttery feel and template heavy profile pages makes MySpace a bit messed up in terms of aesthetics….
Facebook Tweets Twitter: How do two biggest Social Networking Sites Make Money?
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Excerpt: Do They Make Any? Facebook’s courtship with Twitter in the past few weeks has officially ended after Evan Williams, the founder and CEO of Twitter confirmed on Tuesday that there would be no marriage with Facebook. The web world has been abuzz with news recently about Twitter’s reported refusal for a $500 mostly stock offer from Facebook. Both social networking platforms are yet to turn profitable and this raises several questions about how viable these are as propositions for investors. There is certainly a point in a way Mr. Williams envisions Twitter’s prospects in the coming years. He has clearly stated…
Obamania: The Marketing of a President
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Excerpt: I can’t remember who said it, but whoever did is certainly a major dude. I guess it must be John Lasetter, the CEO of Pixar in one of his interviews for Harvard Business Review in September. Not the exact words though: “You give a good product to a mediocre team, they will mess it up, you give a mediocre product to a great team, then you are bound to succeed” I am certainly not implying Obama’s mediocre…he’s superior (More about it later…), but he’s had an incredible marketing team. Too few words to describe, but probably, I will do a long post…
Saurav’s Comments and Kumble’s Farewell
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Excerpt: Anil Kumble’s already bid farewell to Cricket. Living in the same neighbourhood as Kumble, I feel privileged for the gentle giant. He’s put in long yards. He’s not naturally talented, but his perseverance is a lesson in many senses. Another one’s biting the dust on Sunday…he’s had a raw deal, seen ups and downs…but his final words does leave a lasting impression. During the felicitation ceremony on the final test match of the Border-Gavaskar trophy, the man in question had pretty simple words…but it struck me as the wisest… “Over the last 13-14 years I’ve made some friends and I’ve made…
The Science of Marketing Apple
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Excerpt: Apple’s approach to product innovation, marketing & branding is legendary. Despite having a minimalistic presence in the advertising Arena, the company evokes sufficient interest from people who matter the most, customers. Apple’s customers are usually early adopters and if you give a high quality, well designed product to early adopters, then you can certainly expect others to follow them, which has always played a central role in Apple’s success. It has done a wonderful job of creating an Apple culture, where people are waiting to take cues from the company and advertise repeatedly through the simplest forms of advertising -…
