Your Mom joined Facebook, now what?

You could –--

Scream “OMG! WHY Why why y?”

Ignore her friend request

Grant her limited access with special ‘mom’ privacy settings

Grant her full access but warn her of possible scandalous photos/comments/posts

Have a discussion about what’s OK and what’s off limits

Tell her to use Facebook to stay in touch with her friends, NOT to stalk you

Tell her not to friend all your friends (that is creepy!)

Explain the Facebook generation gap – the information you exchange with your friends is special to you because you share that experience with them

Tell her it does not replace the traditional phone calls meant for catching up

Make a family album and tag her

Lastly, don’t be rude to your mom (whichever option you choose, try to understand her excitement/sentiment)

Business Cards

Traditional business cards are going to be a thing of the past. No one wants to keep piles of accumulated business cards about local businesses or estranged friends. Not only is it a waste of shelf space, but it’s also hard to sort them out or use the search function to find that friend of a friend.

E-business cards come in all sorts of varieties these days. They play music, link directly to your website and services, and even market themselves. Businesses have an array of templates and technologies to choose from. But I am talking about electronic business cards for you and me. Options include SMSing your contact information, twittering your information, emailing it (then and there) from your smart phone, or sending a linkedin invite. I liked this website called mydropcard.com which allows you to send contact information to someone by texting their email address to a particular number. The website instantly sends your information to that person and makes a log in their address book. Obviously, we have many options to keep in touch these days rather than exchange that piece of paper that may get left behind at the corner table once your discussion is over.

Think of the benefits – all contact information can be retrieved at a later time, people can link to your website or blog right from your e-business card, they can map your business location instantly, and address books will automatically pick up all this information!

I’m not saying that traditional business cards will seize to exist. But eventually, 10 years from now, do you really think one would care to carry around those cards in their wallets? Well, for those who still want to invest in hard copy business cards – be creative and eco-friendly. Use business cards made from recycled cereal boxes, photo business cards, differently shaped cards, anything that will bring you the attention you deserve!  Look at some interesting ideas here. 

The question is would you print yourself 500 new business cards or resort to technology to distribute your contact information? 

Web 3.0 and its frills

The wave of Web 2.0 is slowly shrinking. Web 2.0 is the internet revolution that lets users publish and share content. Social networking, bookmarks, blogs, and wikis – every person and corporate is raving about its importance and impact on our lives. While most people are still coming to terms with Web 2.0, the talk of Web 3.0 has exploded over the web.

Corporates are still stuck with Intranet 2.0. I recently interviewed with a company that was reinventing its corporate intranet strategy to integrate social media to allow employees to create and share content. “But the world has jumped ahead,” I tried to explain to the interviewer. (Needless to say, he seemed annoyed with my suggestion.)We have come to the point where we tag and push content to appropriate users, create roll-based virtual collaboration, and promote the Web 3.0 culture and excitement. It’s about blending personalization, social networking, social media, and that ‘wow’ factor.

Web 3.0 is about rich and relevant user experiences on the web (think unique internet identities, customized web services, and everything at your finger tips). Information will be pushed to you instead of you having to search (pull) it.

Imagine the possibilities when Web 3.0 combines with mobile internet devices such as the iPhone, Google Phone and BlackBerry. Google’s ‘My Location’ lets users locate friends using its mobile mapping service. In time, your phone will locate your friends, suggest a convenient place to hang out based on your friend’s location, give you driving directions to get there, and order your favorite food and drink! Now that’s a smart phone for you! 

The concepts of targeted advertising, loyalty programs, and need-based selling have already taken off – combine that with Web 3.0, PDAs and RFIDs – the shopping experience as we know it will cease to exist. Personal shopping assistants will comb the web and make price comparisons and order you the best deal. You won’t need to get involved except for setting the boundaries and telling the phone what you need. 

I could go on about the possibilities of Web 3.0… but I don’t want to seem overly enthusiastic about something that could compromise our identity and privacy. Ultimately, we need to use Web 3.0 cautiously and remind ourselves that information on the web is for everyone to see. 

Oxymorons

Some of the phrases below are used so frequently, we forget that they are a figure of speech. (The use of these verbs/adjectives make it seem like the contrary is always true! As though, if it weren't mentioned, we would assume otherwise.)

Honest politicians A diet that works
Pretty ugly Forward retreat 
Same difference Resident alien
Open secret (or known secret)
Controlled chaos Nondairy creamer
Government organization 
Military intelligence 
Drink responsibly 
Stripper's dressing room 
Fun run 
Happily married 
Honest crook 
Mercy killing
Business ethics 
Postal service 
Expect the unexpected
Meaniful nonsense
War on terrorism 
Jumbo shrimp (courtesy Alena)

CHEERS in different countries

The idea of this post came from the picture alongside. This picture is a year old, from my trip to Russia as part of an International Finance study/report that I was involved in.

“CHEERS” is a sign of goodwill, camaraderie, and a toast to good health. I’ve also read somewhere that it’s a matter of etiquette and a sign of trust in some cultures.

With all the travelling that we do these days, I thought that my friends might be interested in learning to say “CHEERS” in different languages. After all, no better way to socialize and fit-in than yell “CHEERS” in the local dialect!

USA, Canada and England – CHEERS

India – CHEERS (we have a strong British influence, so we are used to saying Cheers too! However, we have about 200 different local vernaculars like Cheersuu in Kannada, Joy in Bengali, Lambi Umar in Hindi...) 

Australia – CHEERIO (aka Cheers!)

Finland – KIPPIS (aka Cheers!)

Denmark, Iceland – SKAAL (aka Cheers!)

Ireland, Scotland - SLAINTE (meaning to health)

Italy – SALUTE (aka Cheers!)

Brazil, Portugal – SAUDE (meaning to health)

Spain, Mexico – SALUD (meaning to health)

Germany, Netherlands – PROST (meaning beer)

China – NEIN NEIN NU E. KONG CHIEN 

Indonesia – PRO (aka Cheers!)

Japan – KAMPAI (aka Cheers!)

Russia – ZA ZDOROVIA (meaning drink to health)

Drunkards – BOTTOMS UP (meaning chug/drink up so we can fall on our faces!)

Word of Advice: If yelled repeatedly under the influence of alcohol, you will EMBARASS yourself (instead of charming the attractive person across the bar)! 

Translations from: http://www.awa.dk/glosary/slainte.htm

Economics and Shopping on the Magnificent Mile

I was reading the WSJ this morning and as usual it contained depressing news about the recession and the anticipated slow recovery. That then got me thinking about consumer confidence and its record lows. The thought of consumer confidence drove me back to Business Economics MGT 551 in the MBA program. The simplest concept I learnt in that class (and I mean simplest – everything else involved multiple curves and multiple equilibrium points) was that recessionary fears essentially fuel the recession.

Over the weekend, I was paying my routine visits to the splendid stores along Magnificent Mile, Chicago. I wasn’t looking to shop for anything in particular. I was just feeding my soul with the experience. As expected, I found some awesome deals this time of the year. (I’ve frequented stores in all seasons so I know that the best deals are during the end of winter and not between thanksgiving and Christmas.) Banana Republic jackets for $30; Kenneth Cole shoes for $20; 50% off at Nordstrom. WHO CAN RESIST THAT?  

To draw a connection between the paragraphs above – I felt the need to resist the temptation to shop, even with such awesome deals around. The pessimistic job market, weary business conditions and bleak economic outlook has made me reluctant to spend. In any other scenario, I would have considered these deals to be throw away prices. But the need to stretch your dollar’s worth has become ever so crucial.

This fear feeds the recession which feeds job losses and we keep going in circles! It’s discouraging even for a fervent shopper like me!

Slumdog and the Oscars

So many people have asked if Slumdog bothers me. Well, it does. But this is not a movie/story about national sentiments or depiction of the broken slums of Mumbai. Yes, there are issues to address – India’s poverty line, the disparity in income, the living conditions of the slums, the fate of slum children, and more… But those are not reasons to discount the success of the movie. Enjoy the movie for what it is – 2 hours of thrilling cinema.

The Oscars are recognition of excellent cinema, cinematography, and acting. Last night was possibly the first time that a movie associated with India, Indian actors and musicians received such acclaim. All the actors in Slumdog are Indian, for the exception of Dev Patel, who is a Briton of Indian origin. The story is based on the novel “Q&A” by an Indian author. And of course the brilliant music of A.R Rahman – he deserved an Oscar long back. (If you compare his work in this movie to his older ones like Roja, Dil Se, Bombay, and his take on Vande Mataram; Jai Ho and O… Saya don’t come close. I am glad he finally got the recognition he deserved.)

Even at the Emmy’s, Slumdog won hands down. So let’s acknowledge the work of the crew and not crib about the image it portrays of Mumbai. I know that my country is battling poverty, but on the other hand, it offers so much more than can be captured through any film.  

All said and done, I think I’ve seen other Indian movies that surpass Slumdog, and are definitely worthy of such international recognition. For what it’s worth, I’ll mention my picks – Lagaan, Taare Zameen Par, Black, Devdas, and this Kannada movie called Galipata. Hopefully our film makers will get more appreciation going forward. 

Making rounds on Facebook

This picture of smileys is making its rounds on Facebook! I found it in some corner and decided to tag my friends – but what do you know, overnight, it’s become quite a sensation!

I have to say though, that this picture got the most comments of all my pictures! Obviously, when you tag a friend as the guy ‘who is up to no good’ or the ‘geek’, you are bound to invite reactions! It was a fun exercise though… 

Benglur Talkies

This post is meant for all my Kannadiga and Bangalore peeps. Click on the post title Benglur Talkies to listen to some amuzing snipets of Bangalore residents. 

Its not the perfect dialect and accent, but very entertaining and will guarantee a laugh... My favorite imitation is that of the NRI guy. Good job Bikerdude!

I did HTML!

P.S: I don’t enjoy reading code or trying to make sense of it.

So I thought that editing the template that I chose for this blog would be easy... apparently, not so easy! What I wanted to do, was expand the 2 column posting area and minimize the brown wrap on the sides. I started off playing with the HTML code and changing the width of the header, body and footer. By the way, the template's name is Scribe. I was successful to the extent that I was able to expand the posting area, but the main wrapper was not expanding accordingly, it was only adding white space.

After some futile attempts, yet not wanting to give up, I googled for help. And I found some helpful ideas from other bloggers like this guy. They didn’t have the solution, but they pushed me in the right direction. So I combined some of their suggestions along with my own intuition from playing with the code. I had to resize the image that I have in my header, but that was the least of my problems.

Ah well, after 3 hours of trial and error, I was able to get the look I wanted. I would have settled for less, but obsession is kind of my problem – I can’t quit until it looks the way I want it to.

Lesson learnt: I can manage HTML. I might struggle, but I can do it!

And I probably need to start paying more attention to the content of the blog than the appearance!