Some fun with Cuil.....

Read this.....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073002689.html

Search Engine War.....

Cuil is cooooool.....well, the buzz has been created in the market with decent success....last few days, I have been trying to get some pointers on MS Project. Google has not helped me so far. So, when I read this mail about Cuil, I gave it a try. The result: I was quite disappointed with Cuil!!! But going by Cuil's team, they are the 'best'. So, I have done a very very simple test....(please note that this does not indicate the actual performance, but just a pointer).
First, I just typed "India". Here, is the screenshot from Google, Cuil and Live

Google lists the official website of Indian govt. (this is what I wanted)

Cuil is nowhere there..in fact...on the panel in the right,if you expand the states, it justs lists some 8 odd states!!!! My gosh!!!
Live....jus made it ;-)

Let us give another try..this time, I am searching for Indian railways...

Google is PERFECT!
Cuil stumbles ;-)well....Live lists one of the sites....the main reservation page isnt there..

Chalo...let us try something interesting..why not the recent SRK-Salman issues..Google again scores over the rest
Cuil and Live fail this search again...

Though this is not representative of the search abilites....for a common man like me....Google is way ahead of competition...afterall...accumulated knowledge over years is anyday better.

A Must Read for all Indians!!!!

I am not with Congress or with BJP or any other party. As an Indian, I salute our Prime Minister for this fantastic speech, which we could never hear in the Parliament because of the childish behavior of some people.
Read the speech: http://www.pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=695

A look at BSE 30 on June 4, 2008

After a gap of over 2 years, I am inspired by our economy to write this blog. Check out the attached image....

There was an announcement on hike in fuel and LPG prices and there was bloodbath in the stock market. But notice this peculiar case...where 29 companies go south bound while jus one managed to go north!!!! =))

Good marketing or people's craziness????

Here in Chennai, it is the time for the Metro Life Style exhibition. It is an annual affair that happens in the Chennai Trade Center (of course, not an imitation of WTC). This year's response has been phenomenal with an increase in the number of visitors by almost 70%.....oh man! that is amazing by any standards. But, what factors could we attribute this increase to? The very first thing that comes to our mind is marketing. But have we not seen some superb marketing fundas going down the drains because of consumer's lack of enthu? Or could we attribute the reason to the person who inaugurated the show (fyi it was actress Asin who inaugurated)? As we scratch our head for variety of reasons, I conclude that people have GONE CRAZY. How else should I put it when people are ready to throng the place even though the temperature goes beyond 38 degrees, add it to high humidity. The cynosure is the samsung outlet that has been organizing games and selling their products at huge discounts. And seem people have balancing on one of their toes inside this outlet......this description by one of the visitors made me conclude that people are really crazy...and and of course, I have better work to do than to go all the way in the Chennai Summer.....!

Post Elections 2006 - What did HE say?

Elections are over, one set of people are partying while the others are hiding their humiliation. In Tamil, there is a saying "Ooru rendu pattaa kuthaadiku thaan kondaattam". Who could be kuthaadi in this case? Any guesses? I feel it is the news channel. Most of the news channels brought the charismatic leaders of both the winning and the losing parties to analyze the results. While the winning side could speak anything, even nonsense, which would not be scrutinized, the losing side has to find the best words because the show anchor as well as the winning parties are going to pass comments if they blabbered. Thus, the entire day passed with no boredom.
But one interesting comment that I heard was from a leader, who is also a very eminent economist. He said that the results were a victory to the secular forces. I was left wondering as to what he meant exactly. Look at this scenario: In West Bengal, the Communist party won the election against Congress, which came second. In Kerala also, it was the victory for the communists over the Congress party. Assam was an exception where Congress emerged as the single largest party. In Tamil Nadu, the DPA coalition won against AIADMK's coalition. In all the states, there was absolutely no talk about secularism or communalism. In West Bengal and Kerala, if one were to interpret our leader's statement, could we say that the Left party is secular and Congress is communal? In Tamil Nadu, no one could term AIADMK as communal. So, what prompted our leader to say those words. Well, I do not have an answer to it. But all I could say is that the minds of certain section of people in this country is strongly affected by the agenda of the parties affiliated to hindutva. If the perceived agenda is real or imagined is for people to think!

Elections 2006!

Election results are out and it is in sync with the expectations. In Kerela, Congress loses; Tamil Nadu - DPA wins; West Bengal - Left SWEEPS and in Assam - Congress combine wins!But the most talked about elections were those of Tamil Nadu's. People never thought that the DPA would sweep elections even though the exit polls predicted a majority for DPA. This proves the changing political scenario in the country. From a single major national party to coalitions, India has come a long way. The state of Tamil Nadu now has to come to terms with the realities.
But the results make me ponder over the reasons for the defeat of the incumbent government. Many people I have interacted with narrated the merits of the government and yet they lost! The same happened in the case of NDA government. This shows that the benefits enjoyed by the urban voters are not getting down to the lowest possible levels. This reasoning is supported by the fact that the AIADMK has won about 8 out of the 12 seats from Chennai, a traditional DMK bastion.
Now that the verdit is out, one needs to watch the moves of the new government. According to me, much needs to be done on the infrastructure side. Also, the poilicies should get more friendly in order attract investements. At the same time, let there be enough concern for the needy. Let one not hear stories about starvation deaths, stories about farmer suicides, stories about robberies, stories about fraud.
Best wishes to the winning party to propel Tamil Nadu into a higher level. And also to the opposition for having given a brave fight!

Unsustainable Urbanisation

While man runs after money, scriptures prescribe a ceiling on desires. How great would it be if each and every Indian desired just for one house, one vehicle, abundant greenery, temperate consumption of food and a continuous flow of money to charities. Our country would have progressed faster and the Sensex would have touched 15000 in 1995 itself. Unfortunately, the state of affairs is pathetic.
Today, as I parked my bike in a narrow lane in Chennai, I glanced around the place. How crowded the place was. The lane is filled with multi storeyed apartments on either side. The apartments clearly are not constructed as per the guidelines which necessitates ample parking and recreation space. As a result, a road which is about 14 feet wide gets narrower because of parking space and pedestrians. And children do not have any place to play outdoor games. This forces them to watch TV or play video games. As a result, the young talent is getting wasted......I do not say that watching TV or playing games are too bad but I definitely believe that playing outdoor games increases one's creativity, mental strength and physical strength. It is not surprising that many children wear spectacle even before they reach their 10 the standard.
Who is accountable for this? Not one person or organization but the entire society at large.
When I was a kid, I watched a science fiction where the earth's natural resources are totally exhausted. As a result, men live underground and they roam around wearing a safety jacket. I feel such a scenario is very much likely unless we change our path.

Indian in a foreign land!

Going by some statistics, we wonder if India still has a long way to go to become a developed nation. That may be true. But, I feel that the disposable income has tremendously increased among Indians. As a result, one finds an exploding traffic, burgeoning real estate market and increasing service sector market. There is one more interesting point about Indians. Indians are increasingly exploring the lands outside India. I have seen this myself. Go to any place in Europe and you would find a sizeable population of Indian tourists. Once, when I had been to Swiss, I was surprised to see about 400 Indians on a very famous mountain peak. The point to be noted is that there was an Indian restaurant there, at a height of about 10000 feet....tennnn thousand feet !!!!!!
While this is a good indicator about India's success story, there is one more interesting aspect about Indians visiting other countries. You know how an Indian plans a trip?First he gets his ticket booked with a tourist operator who would take him through out Europe for the least price. Remember, it is important for him to increase the number countries that he has visited irrespective of whether he gets time to explore each and every place. Next he would take great pains to find an Indian restaurant where he would be ready to pay 12 euros for a dosa. Remember, he has prioritised this over a meal in Mc D... where he would get a Mac, fries and a doughnut for 5 euros! Once energised, he gets hold of a map and spots the most important places that he could visit. Take for example a place like Rome. Rome is a place where one needs to walk a lot to visit places. So, our guy takes great pains to cover as many places as possible....but what does he do once he gets to the destination....he searches for a strategic place..for what??? of course to take a pic...and once it is done..he heads off to the next place. Siginificance of Spanish steps (Rome) or Colosseum does not really matter to him...all he needs is a pic there. Thus, he finishes a wonderful trip and heads back home. Once at home it is a head ache for others...why??? Obviously, our hero has taken more than 500 pics on his newly bought Canon digicam.....and its the duty of others to patiently browse through the photos. I am fine with browsing through the 500 fotos..but please..let our hero not sit beside me to explain the PHOTO!!!
Someone refuting my story?????

Can politicians make good Marketing Managers?

It is election time in Tamil Nadu. And the limelight has switched to Madras. I am quit surprised to see some special shows being aired in some of the leading news channels. The topic ranges from the poll survey to the conservatism of Tamil Nadu. But the main question is whether the population is getting allured by the freebies being offered by the parties. So far not a single poll has been conducted to record the response of the public with regard to the freebies on offer.
But going by my interactions with the people I know, it looks like the real issue has been missed. When it comes to voting, many people think about factors like - safety of people, economic and infrastructue growth, basic amenties and a good standard of living.
How come the expectations of the people and the attractions projected by the parties are not in sync? The answer the parties give is that only a part of their manifesto is being talked about while the rest is ignored. Even though I do not buy this argument, I feel politicians can definitely become better brand managers than marketing managers going by the way their words find the headlines!

HLL and India

HLL and its products
For consumers of FMCG, India is THE PLACE where some of the most competitive fights are fought to capture even a miniscule market of 1% or 2%. The Indian arm of Unilever, HLL, offers the best fight to the world leader P and G.Last year saw HLL stripping its product lines and lined their products with a tag line "Shakthi Brands". HLL identified the best selling brands among its product lines and enhanced the selling of these brands, which has given a positive outlook for the company.
Among its latest moves is to introduce a small cover for its detergents. I have always felt that HLL's detergents turn to fluid state with usage. To check this problem, while maintaining the composition, HLL has to come up with this novel idea. All that one has to do is to put the detergent into the bag, that comes with every purchase. The cover is very handy and should go down well with the consumers. But, there is a minor rethinking that ought to go into this new design. HLL has perhaps not read the mind of an Indian consumer. The Indian consumer typically wants the detergent to be spread all over with lot of foam and this is restricted with the usage of the cover.
HLL should quickly move in to check this flaw, before the novel design is discarded by the consumer.
Sami

Back to bloggin!

Well, what a difference. It has been over 5 months since I last posted my blog. And since then, so many things have happened. I moved to India, to Austria and now back in India. And in this period, the world has witnessed some dramatic changes. London bombings, Katrina, declining approvals for Bush and Tony Blair, the Volcker Committee report and the Indian political drama...what not? It has been a very eventful 5 months. And on my personal front, well....so many things have happened. Right from my career to friendships to.... EVENTFUL INDEED!
Emerging from my shell,
-- I find the Apple mania is very fast catching up in India, one of the largest market for any damn product in the world. Apple is all set to rule!!!
-- Bill Gates plans to invest over 1.2 Billion (you heard it?) in India
-- The Big Five are ramping up their India operations
-- Jobs are pouring in Indian B Schools
-- TCS has been in news for bagging big orders in the past quarter
-- Indian Stock market has breached the 9000 mark
-- A record 1.5 lakhs aspirants took CAT 2005 out of 1.7 lakhs applicants
-- Indian B-Schools toe the ISB line; start one year programs for experienced professionals with simpler entry route

Well, so much more to say but less time. Catch u soon!!!
Sami

Sony on Apple's Footsteps!

Call it fixation on Apple products, I do not mind. But, Apple has emerged a clear winner in the competition for the product of tomorrow. Yes, I am talking about MP3 player.
Not long before, Sony was very popular for its invention of the walkman. In fact, Sony was called one of the companies that produced products with very novel features. But Sony could not keep up with times and now it stands in a peculiar position.The reason could be many. But some of the striking reasons are the business decisions of Sony. It has a culture of supporting their custom technology, while the rest of the world followed a seperate trend. For example, some of the Sony MP3 players support music in ATRAC formats only. To make it compatible with MP3, an additional sum has to be spent. All this makes it difficult for the consumer to percieve.
While all these has been happening, Apple has emerged a clear winner with its iPod range of products. The advantage is that the iPod has brought in more brand recognition for Apple that even its iBooks sales are increasing. The high end iPods are very convenient to use. I would rather call it a feature packed product with the best ease of use.
Recently, I found that Sony has redesigned one of its MP3 players to look like iPods. Looks are almost similar to iPOds. The only difference seem to be the control.
It shows that Sony is desperately trying to catch up with the trends and as a result following the footsteps of Apple!

The changes I would love to see.....

It has been a refreshing experience to be outside India for a good part of the year. That too when one gets to stay in a place like Stockholm, I bet people fall in love with its practices!

Based on whatever I have been experiencing in Stockholm, these are some of the constructive changes that I would like to see in our Indian society:

1. School kids carry less than 1 KG with them to the school. The school provides lockers for the children. The lavatories have the best facilities so that the kids drop in for a shower after a "wild" games period. There is an outstanding amount of individual attention given for each kid, meaning the strength in each class is optimal. The kids are taught to be flexible. The kids are made to play outdoor games for 1 hour each day, irrespective of the weather.

2. People are made to imbibe the culture of queuing at public places.

3. Public utility services are offered with the best interests of the people. A bus driver and a conductor is responsible for the vehicle they drive when they are in duty. Responsibility should span a variety of chores like cleaning the bus, reporting any problems in time and being hospitable.

4. Any hoardings that distract the attention of drivers are removed. No posters in public places.

5. When the public transportation runs late or breaks down, the authorities should provide the people using the system with allowance to use any alternative mode of transport.

6. Have the infrastructure to meet the challenges of extreme weather like floods.

7. The newspapers are flashed with progressive and constructive stories. There are more advertisements about the latest products and services, signifying the fact that the economy is healthy.

8. There is a timetable available for the public transportation and the time is maintained with less than 5% delta. The government should provide a public transport access point to any location at maximum of 200 metres walk.

9. Working hours do not extend beyond 5 pm. Five days work should be emphasised across all industries and sectors.

10. The government provides sufficient social security for even people working in private companies. This could be (a) a legislation that gives an insurance policy for all the working professionals, insulating them from job insecurities (b) a legislation that gives the spouses a long vacation during maternity periods (c) A subsidised health care for at least the underprivileged. This should be a foolproof system!

11. Each Indian has a unique identification number. This should make him identifiable for all purposes, be it passport, driving license, ration card, health care and public libraries.

12. A single taxation system. One should be able to drive peacefully from Kanyakumari to Kashmir without the hassles of check post!

13. Promotion of waterways as viable passenger transportation. This could also be used from an entertainment perspective. For example, there could be a ferry plying between Vizag and Mumbai on weekends that provides superior weekend holiday.

14. Make the place tourist friendly! When I say friendly, I want the real implementation of the meaning of the word "FRIENDLY"

ummmmm....what a wonderful society I am talking about. If I were to talk about these to a common man in India, one could expect a standard reply saying such a thing is possible only in an ideal world and is simply not practical. But I am talking about something that is happening thousands of miles from India!
And yes, it is not a dream but a practical approach to an ideal society.

Intelligent Jacket!

This is supposed to be summer time here in Sweden. I said "supposed to be". But I do not find any difference between October and now. Maybe it is October minus snow equal to June!
I never knew this equation earlier. Believing what the local people say, I have opted to wear normal jacket. But unfortunately, yesterday was one of those days when weather played spoil sport. On my way back from work, it was so cold that I was bitching my thought process for having chosen a normal jacket!
I was also pondering over the idea of an intelligent jacket. Imagine a jacket with the following features:
- It has a sensor to constantly monitor the outside temperature- The user should be able to set a threshold temperature. If the outside temperature drops below this, then a process starts- A process to convert the kinetic energy into temperature, that warms up the jacket and generates heat
I think this one is going to be of great use to people living in extreme temperatures! This also avoids the carrying of extra sweaters.

MP3 player or iPOD?

Tim: "Hey dude! I've just bought a MP3 player. Sony Network Walkman, 20 GB. Even John has bought a Creative MP3 player. What about you?"

Jim: "I have an iPod"!

Most of us have heard a conversation of this type. It shows that Apple is way ahead of its competitors in terms of product conception and delivery. This way, it has been able to carve a niche for itself.

It is of course not a new phenomenon. People refer to photocopiers as Xerox. In India, washing powders are generally called Sabena. There are so many such examples.

Even though Apple has not been able to make iPod a synonym for MP3 players, it has dominated the market perception by making them identify iPod as a different product line altogether!
That is a big success story for Apple. No wonder that a good chunk of its revenues is earned from Ipod sales.

Outsourcing - A Global economic perspective

The term "outsourcing" evokes contrasting and contradicting emotions among people of the developed nations. While the victims swear against this concept, the scholars proclaim that this concept is the growth engine for the future!

No wonder! But whose side should we take? Sometime back, I heard a story of an employee working in MNC committing suicide because his job was outsourced to another company. This evoked a series of protests and failed legislations. But what could be the macro economic perspective of this phenomenon of OUTSOURCING?

Ponder over this fact. Off late, there has been a very popular Internet site that sells the best products at unimaginable discounts. And the discounts are at least 30%. This is something really cool because one gets the best product of superior quality at a very reduced price. It is of course known that the concepts of huge discounts are more an issue of reduced profit margin. But in spite of this, companies are prepared to sell at take away prices. This is primarily because the MNCs are able to globally source in their products. For example, a laptop manufacturer could drive the R & D work in USA, give the manufacturing contracts to a South East Asian country, develop the related software components in a development centre located in India and finally deliver the product in California. The cost advantage incurred is really significant to be ignored by the uproars of anti-outsourcing campaigns.

Also, the laptop that usually sells for 2000 USDs is now available for 1100 USDs. Essentially, the manufacturer transfers a part of his margin to the end user. This results in a volume business, which in turn runs the macro economic engine of the country.
This simple logic proves that outsourcing is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders!

Livelihood and Infrastructure

In almost all the international trade and economic forums, one tends to hear voices on improving the infrastructure to embrace the growth in the next century. It is more often pronounced in the policies of the nations like India, China, Brazil and other developing nations.
One concern among the policy makers in these countries should be to bridge the infrastructure gap as well as to bridge the economic gaps. When I say economic gap, I mean the provision of the very basic living amenities.
Recently, I came across an article discussing the case of wireless internet connectivity across the city of Philadelphia. The connectivity is going to be at a very subsidised rate for the less privileged. The authorities also plan to give computers once the plan takes off. The city authorities aim to bridge the digital divide by this approach.
Compare this scenario with the one in a place like Mumbai - India. The city is supposed to be the commercial capital of the country. It houses the head quarters of most of the MNCs and Indian conglomerates, Stock market and Bollywood. Yet, the city has the largest slum dwelling in the world. The crime rate is quite high and the economy is getting choked because of very basic infrastructural bottlenecks like traffic congestion! Even though similar problems plague other major cities like New york, the infrusture in the advanced countries is far ahead to cope with the demands.
It is high time for the developing economies to set their basics right!

The Beginning!

Everyone has the most cherished memories dating back to one's college days. I have many. One of them was the venture to start an Entrepreneurship centre at BITS-Pilani. We were a group of six guys, who ventured to achieve this. Our aim was to make the student community a budding ground for entrepreneurship. Thus was created the Technonology Incubation Center at BITS-Pilani.
We wanted it to be named Shreshta. But for better reasons, the current name was chosen. So, I have chosen this name for my blog.
The credit for the existence of the center goes to the management of the institute and to the students who carried forward the basic framework that we started with.
To continue with the knowledge sharing experience, I shall keep posting my random thoughts.
Our shreshta team: Amudhanvel (ammu - http://amudhanvel.blogspot.com), Balaji CH (bajji), Bharath (Nob), Shanmugan (shangy), Raghavan (RT) and me.