1/13/2008

Predict the future?

Can anybody predict anything else apart from recession that is bound to hit us sooner than later? I think we are heading very very soon given that Mr.Bernanke sees no option but to reduce interest rates spiraling more inflation, driving more bankruptcies, more cuts, more inflation and less growth!! What else is this?

Anyways, I had not started this to talk about the recession that we are going to see or the recession we already see....I am trying to see what the next most popular thing would be? Google built an empire on AdSense and AdWords and a very successful one and it has changed lives to a great extent! It has also burgeoned a lot of startups one way or the other, by search, apis or atleast in spirit...if Google can make it this big, than I can do too spirit! But what will the next thing for Search be? More Search? But Where? How about a GPS? GPS's have been available for a long long time but haven't been within reach for a number of people, including moi...but this Thanksgiving all that changed...GPS's were the hottest thing on the market...prices were slashed and these devices were embraced with open hands!! Touch screen tour/city guides for just a little over $100 bucks to start with was a big temptation that many couldn't stay away from....

Given that these devices are not simple to construct, a $100+ tag doesn't do them much justice...there are other ways to make money....you can imitate the Game Console business and sell units for cheap while selling games/maps at a high price (will become a cash cow as people update devices with new maps, routes etc) OR
How about making money on Search? I know there are POI (Points of Interest) in a GPS, but how many can you have in a car? Put Wireless Internet, Search on a GPS device and POI's are boundless and avenues for earning money equally endless and I think that's what will happen...Voice Activated search/voice commands for a GPS device tied with search and wireless internet.....I can see Google doing it or the next google doing it :)...But well who cares for what I think :D...

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Disruptive Innovations


A new Nano entered this world...a nano that can move on it's own feet...well, can sing a song too but only if upgraded...for better or for worse, there is something very different out there and the aims are quite big ... Aims to change this world for a majority are always big!

If you lived in India, you would know this...Owning a 4-wheeler is one of life's biggest dreams, as big as owning a house for some...I know how excited I was when we owned our first car, a second-hand light blue colored Fiat...we were so proud of it! Tata has done the incredible, released a sweet looking car for around $2500 dollars...maybe we should get the price in rupees...dollar is just so flaky...Well, it is priced at Rs. 1,00,000, well within reach of half of India's population...if not easy, it is definitely affordable...I am sure other third-world countries are equally happy/cautious about it....

Called this a disruptive innovation, because it shrunk the dream cycle of millions of people...and it is not a cheap looking car! The cheapest car here in the US is somewhere in the $10,000s .... Although I love the look of the car, the very fact that it will be a very common sight on our roads in India is a scary thought...It's not been a long time since I visited India last and I still recall the soot I inhaled even when traveling in car...things have changed and they have changed a lot out there...lots of development, lots of cars and very little room....this new car will only make life impossible out there...maybe it is time to enforce some Chinese vehicular policies in India to cut the congestion....odd numbered number plates travel on a particular day of the week and even numbered on the other days...(fosters car pooling) and many more in the same direction.....
Tata has really made India proud and will make a lot of Indians proud very soon :)...The smile that I had 20 years back will soon be on so many faces....how very wonderful :)

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1/12/2008

Baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkk Aggainn

Finally :)!! Can blame a lot of things, but that would be finding reasons for my faults and I don't want to do it :)

Isn't it easy to just pass the blame and let the next one worry about it? It is!, but it is also an addictive chain. It becomes a loop with cyclic dependencies or it ends up pointing to "Spiderman" being at fault because he didn't rescue us from this. Is this an uncommon sight to see? Not exactly ... think about Office Politics? Isn't it rampant there? Think about a problem and the reason why one couldn't do it.....It will always end up in one of the cases mentioned earlier...A workplace should be a self-correcting system..not a self-destructing system...Office politics can really act as a catalyst for self-destruction...

So, what's a catalyst for self-correction? Good team dynamics, excellent management, what else? Can you find any of these :)....Well, maybe it is easier to spot Spiderman!!!!