Social Networking Sites - Reflecting Truth??

I am inspired to writing about Social networking again since I came across this article: Social networking sites reveal users' true personality

My first expression was... "really?", "Is it possible??", "Can people be this honest?" but now that I give a second thought to it, I think this is possible because of a few reasons

1. Netizens are growing more mature ? stalking ones's gf/bf and watching porn is not the *only* activities
2. Net has turned out to be an integral part of our lives (see this article)
   
3. People may find it easy to share the things when they are not surrounded by others
4. People feel more free to appreciate the shared things when none's watching '

I hardly get a chance to go online and catch up over Facebook and sometimes I think people don't have to publish details as granular as how much disgusting it was for my fellow mates when I farted in the tee! Knock it off guys... we don't want to know what are you doing every minute ! S wasting your time to update your status on all these sites?

But for sure when used such sites legitimately ? it will provide me wealth of information about persona of an individual.

Approach Matters - A Management Lesson

My two minutes were well spent on this repeat-forward and can't eschew from sharing with others! :)

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When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (Ink won't flow down to the writing surface). In order to solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C. And what did Russians do?? The Russians used a Pencil!!!

One of the most memorable case studies I came across on Japanese management was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so. But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the same problem, did not get into complications of X-rays, etc but instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on,and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes
out of the line.

Moral of the story: Always look for simple solutions. Devise the
simplest possible solution that solves the problem So, learn to focus
on solutions not on problems

This is how Media works…..!!!

Here is how the Indian TV news channel NDTV 24x7 would report the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme.

All names (except those of Jack and Jill), are fictitious.

Prashant - TV Anchor

Two persons have been injured in a freak climbing accident. Jack and his companion Jill had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water when Jack fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after. Live from the hill, our reporter, Amrita Shah, takes up the story.

Amrita Shah

Thank you Prashant. Well, as you say, two persons - Jack and Jill - had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Suddenly, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Prashant.

Prashant

Thank you Amrita. What do we know about the hill?

Amrita

Not too much. Jack was going up the hill to fetch a pail of water when he fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: "hill breaks crown of pail-boy Jack"]

Prashant

What news of Jack and Jill?

Amrita

Prashant, it seems that Jack had gone up the hill to fetch a pail of water. We know nothing about the pail, or how heavy it was but it seems that Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. I have here with me, an eyewitness to the accident, Mr Shahid Trivedi. Mr Shahid, tell us what you saw.

Shahid Trivedi

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: "Boy and girl tumble down hill. Water spilled"]

Amrita

Jack and Jill. What do we know about them? Are they brother and sister? Are they married? Just what were they doing on the hill together?

Shahid Trivedi

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail a water.

Amrita

And what happened next?

Shahid Trivedi

Jack fell down and broke his crown

Amrita

Go on.

Shahid Trivedi

And Jill came tumbling after.

Amrita

Prashant, there you have it. Two people innocently going about their business to fetch a pail of water when one of them falls down, breaks his crown, and the other comes tumbling after. Back to you in the studio Prashant.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: "Water errand ends in tragedy"]

Prashant

I have with me in the studio now, Professor Chandrashekar Belagare from the Indian Institute of Applied Hill Sciences. Professor: a hill; Jack; Jill; a pail of water. A tragedy waiting to happen?

Professor

Well that depends on the hill, the two persons, the object they were carrying and the conditions underfoot. Let us look at the evidence so far.

Jack and Jill

Went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down

And broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after.

Clearly, one would suspect that if Jack’s fall was severe enough to break his crown then the surface of the hill must have been slippery or unstable. But I think we’re overlooking something quite fundamental here. Who was carrying the pail? Jack fell down and broke his crown and – this is the key – Jill came tumbling after. If Jack and Jill had been carrying the pail together, would they not have fallen at the same time? The fact that Jill came tumbling after suggests that Jack lost his footing first and perhaps knocked Jill over as he slipped.

Prashant

Professor thank you very much. So there we have it, two persons – Jack and Jill – went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Later in the programme, Osama bin Laden captured in Afghanistan, President Bush says rent-boy menage-a-trois was "just a brief lapse of judgement", and Pakistan launches nuclear warheads against key Indian cities. But next up, join us after the break for a studio discussion about hills, boys and girls and whether water-fetching trips should be supervised. We’ll be right back...

Relying on Social / Professional Networking websites while recruiting a candidate

I was browsing thru discussion on one of my groups at LinkedIn about leveraging websites like Facebook and LinkedIn to check a candidate's postings before recruiting him.

It tells me a few things ...

1. We do way more things than just googling out for summer internship projects... we socialize over internet!!
   
2. Social / professional networking sites are becoming defacto place to peep into anyone's activities

When it comes to taking an in-person interview; I make sure I "google out" the candidate's name to gather a few data points from not only Linked in but also from any other possible sources online!

The key here is to do this exercise before you get into an interview. This will help you gather some data points about what candidate is doing / has done in his / her professional life and more. Also, if you have developed any prejudices / doubts; during in-person interview, you can clarify by means of asking direct / indirect questions.

I do the same when I am appearing for an interview. If I knew the interviewer?s name in advance, I would like check his/her profile online so that I know whom I am meeting. It helps me better prepare for interview

Something to be aware of is that people have different personality when at work and when participating in discussions at Social Networking sites.

Net net: social and professional websites will definitely help you take a better (and informed) decision if you do note get carried away!

Now apply for a PAN Card Online

http://www.utitsl.co.in/utitsl/site/index.html

I used to part of a Distribution List people at work are free to post “NBR” (non business related) emails. And have this questions coming often – Does anyone know a PAN card agent?

UTI seems to have started PAN card services thru their Technology Services (erstwhile Unit Trust of India Investor Services Ltd) One can either download and fill the form or can go online and fill up the details. (I have not applied using these services so, please spare me from your critique)

The best thing is – they seem to have put guidelines also to fill up the form. Of course there is a scope for improvement but I am sure whatever little available there helps.

I also liked the fact that their service charges are affordable - 94.00 rupees :-)

Not many people know hence this blog entry.

Hope this helps!!

Setting Right Expectations Upfront!

Setting expectations will help one do better business. Successful company will develop a relationship with the clients by telling them will give you a good quality services – but nothing comes for free.

I have worked with software consultancy firms where in I have observed two schools of thoughts. Giving something for free to get the business and then charging high rates to get more business that’s first. The second school of thoughts is – set an expectation up front that there is nothing like a free lunch. We will charge you reasonable rates but we will not do anything for free.

IMHO doing something for free sets wrong expectations. Bring us to a rather philosophical point – grid. Let’s all agree it’s a only human to have unlimited wants! You give something for free and they will want more. This act of giving a free ride - generates grid in minds of the clients and they will ask for more. Again, if someone has to pay very high rates, I am sure they will have a lot more expectations too which will ultimately break the hell loose for the poor developers who will end up burning mid night oil not only for the work they are doing for free but also for the implementation phase where in they have to churn out more. Exceeding expectations is the most dreadful (worst) nightmare come true for them.

Morale of the story: If we set expectations right (and upfront) there are a few tangible advantages. :-)

Capital Markets - Managing Risks

I came across this lecture / webminar – How to manage risk using Price Behaviour analysis - not having base in trading and risk management, it was difficult for me to understand but after hearing it a few times, it makes sense. If you have 45 minutes to watch/listen – time spent will be well worth it.

http://transcripts.fxstreet.com/2009/11/monthly-webinar-how-to-manage-risk-using-price-behaviour-analysis.html

I don't want to crib about India as a country but is what they teach in universities outside India and we normally go by books… what an irony!

On a positive side - technology has enabled us to see whats going outside India and hope we learn soon! :-)