The Power of Words

I miss writing. Over the last couple of years, I have always felt that writing is something that goes deep inside me. It is a strong part of my character, of who I am and it is one of those personal facets which have allowed me to nourish my mental-self, nurture my psychological curiosity and partially get away from the noisy world we live in today. I have realized that expressing in this particular way lets me escape from worldly despair and look at the bright side of things. It has acted as a stimulant for me to get out of a state of stagnation and think broadly, talk wisely and act realistically. It has enriched my creativity and imagination and has translated my communication in a way which has been hard to express otherwise. As it happens to every person in this world, I have occasions in my life when my artistic avenues become dormant and my senses cease to exert efforts towards a simple and direct answer. In my intent to pursue these hidden answers, I have often experienced difficulties finding correct paths and have often relied on self intuition to yield desired outcome. I learned that by following this path, not all of my subsequent actions have taken form of success. On many occasions, I have looked back later in time to assess deficiencies in my preceding actions only to realize that the actions I undertook required greater depth, a different approach with higher amplitudes of imagination. As I entered the contemplation to vary my approach, I sought refuge in displaying my thoughts in tangible fashion so as to have a sense of direction and something to have as a reference for my subsequent actions. Scripting my thoughts has always allowed me to assess pros and cons. It is an investment of time and effort in which one can exercise intellectual curiosity in indescribable ways and unleash hidden potential. Interestingly, it is a skill which is unique to every person. Every person is blessed with a different writing style. Should people realize the benefits of scripting their thoughts, it may very likely help them diffuse their dispersed senses.

Happy writing!

The Magical Wonders of Collective Intelligence

The industrial revolution was responsible for the major shift in moving people from the countryside to cities. People got access to work, a better lifestyle, higher pays, more information and above all, people supplemented their brain activity with great processing power. As people were exposed to new environments and adopted a unique and faster living lifestyle, the way they saw the world was totally different. Urbanization opened up the eyes of people to new possibilities. It assisted the development of infrastructure and aided the birth of the institutions we know today. Decades have gone by. Progress adopted a stable path and it was thought that it would keep on moving in the same manner.

1990! Birth of the internet! Initially, the internet was a mere source of storing information in static form. With the development of new technologies, the internet experienced a transition from being static to resemble a more dynamic fashion. Even then, it was a mere source of storing information. People would publish information which could be used by others freely and openly regardless of their physical locations. People gathering the information from the internet analyzed that the communication was one way and lacked a feedback loop. A strong need to attain two-way communication was experienced. A consequence of this need gave birth to social media. Social media opened up the internet and provided a platform for people to not only publish information but provide feedback in real time to counter the erroneous flaw which hindered two-way communication. People could finally give opinions openly on a platform where there are few institutionalized rules to obey, thereby creating a democratic atmosphere. People could voice. People could provide feedback. People could process more information to produce quality information. It would be plausible to assume the information has gotten richer, qualitative, research oriented and people are more aware of potentialities which were unthinkable a number of years ago. Progress in scientific research has been one of the most benefitted entities due to the birth of social media. People have finally been placed on a platform where they can put their heads together, brain storm together to merge information, produce ideas and divulge breathtaking potentialities which are not only needy given the current state of the world but are also innovative and sustainable.

There have been many studies which disclose the potential and the vast imaginative power of the human brain. However, there are other studies which indicate that with the passage of time, the human brain tends to lose creative power due to its exposure to simultaneous situations. On the other hand, it has been found by researchers that if humans are allowed to brainstorm on a collective basis, they become efficient, effective, productive and the quality of the results are overwhelming on a relative basis.

In the spirit of “IDEAS WORTH SPREADING”, Madrid gathered speakers, artists and performers at the annual TEDxMadrid event on September 15. The event showcased that if people allow themselves the luxury to work in collaborative fashion, the results are affected in the qualitative sense, yield becomes higher, productivity is enhanced and the working atmosphere is registered at an emotional level, thereby creating greater happiness and intelligence was multiplied.

One conclusion was clear that if people attempt to achieve great things, it cannot be done alone. Even the greatest of minds require feedback and more importantly, emotional uplift to achieve the unachievable. Yet, rarely is the case that it happens. People need people around them who can show them intelligent ways to counter problems. People need people who are caring and can give them that extra drive to move forward. Going solo is a good start but it may lead to an unwanted destination.

As it is always wise to extend the argument with an example, it would be good to portray that of Neil Armstrong, one of history’s extraordinary men who departed from the world some days ago. Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon made a giant leap for mankind. It is true that Armstrong created an extraordinary moment, what was imagined had been achieved and the dream did come true. What many fail to realize is that it was perseverance, hardwork and most importantly, teamwork which made this possible because NO ONE GETS THERE ALONE!

7.68 Minutes Extra to Life ...

We think about having longer lives. We think about living happier lives. We struggle hard to find a balance between living in the present and yet attempting to place utmost endeavors to secure a future which, by all odds, is being traumatized by the current state of the world. The pursuit of attaining this balance has enforced repercussions amongst many of the worldly wise. Most people depart from the world without the fulfillment of their life objectives, not having spent enough time with people who matter to them, not being authentic as they would have wanted to be, not being able to follow dreams which truly reflect their personal selves or simply put, not doing things that really matter. There are plenty of reasons that can be attributed to these repercussions. Change in lifestyle is perhaps an umbrella rationale. Life has become faster, boundaries have converged, travel times have shortened, and diversity has intensified – all of which are plausible means to connect. The shift from mass media to the networked information environment probably is the biggest culprit of all. However, several studies indicate that while there is a significant proximity in the digital world (electrons chasing electrons), the human connection has suffered a massive blow. A possible accumulative outcome of these studies can help conclude that as subjects of this current generation retreat, the repercussions may only be greater. Desires will remain.  

Now imagine, what one would do if one could get some extra minutes in life. Maybe one can attempt to counter the repentance of life, spend time with friends, family or with someone who they dear. One wouldn’t think it is a plausible suggestion which is true. However, Jane McGonigal, a game-geek by profession explains how it can be possible to live longer (on a relative basis) in a TED Talk which is eye-opening and jaw-dropping to say the least.

There have been very few occasions where I have been overwhelmingly awed by a TED talk. I recall one talk by Neil Parischa at TEDxToronto who reflected on how one should approach life. Now, Jane produces this fine tailored talk with elements of research, studies and personal experiences to leave a surprising gift to the viewers.

If you miss it, you miss the very element of life which one dearly endure.

Mastering the Art of Communication in a Connected, Yet Dispersed World

Online media has lead to an online community that comprises of various demographics such as age, location, interests, opinions and personalities. Companies attempt to communicate with them as one target group and start bombarding campaigns without comprehending specific needs of each one, which in turn, can be seriously consequential in the future. To resolve this, companies can address this issue by communicating “smartly” in a connected, yet dispersed world.

From debates in coffee houses to a closely wired world, progress in media communication has been exemplary. Contemporary media has connected people together on a mass-scale, giving them a voice that can be communicated over the virtual sphere autonomously, thereby bypassing the monopoly of traditional mass media. As a result, more people are embarking on the engaging conversation train. An interesting phenomenon that has emerged is how individuals form groups in the online world. Just like nodes are arranged in a network to form different topologies, these individuals have assimilated characteristics of the former and have clustered in increasingly different groups. This status-quo has experienced compassion by companies in the revenue generation sense as individuals are treated as a single target group when in fact it comprises of diverse demographics. Companies often overlook this aspect and the potential consequences when attempting to communicate with them. These consequences entail the strong deviation between the needs of these consumers groups where interests, opinions and personalities are determining factors in the offer development process. As of note, companies face the dilemma of not having significant hard principles to rely upon as in how to effectively consume the benefits of online media, this part of the strategic spectrum is not given due relevance. Hence, it is important to plan a communication plan which mitigate potential risks, creates consumer value by understanding specific consumer needs so as to trigger positive emotions and secure long term customer loyalty. 

Identify Yourself

Nowadays, companies are compelled to tailor offerings according to consumer needs. Nonetheless, they face shortcomings due to the improper communication. The first step is to attain effective communication between both entities and accepting different target groups over the “dispersed” social sphere. This will allow companies to understand their position how an offering on demand can be tailored to achieve a worthy fit. In addition, core values of a company will unfold in effortless fashion which will bring elements such as brand image, prospective brand positioning and offer development process to the forefront in new dimensions. This can ease strategic decision making, draw constructive conclusions and allow a company to remain aligned with core values and ambitions from a consumer perspective. Given the projection that by the end of 2011, Facebook will reach 1 billion registered users (Zuckerberg, M., 2010), it is likely that the different consumer groups are only going to increase. Therefore, it is crucial for advertising agencies, communication agencies and companies to gather on one platform to roll out engaging communication plans that will target audiences “smartly” and remain aligned with the core values of a company to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Friends with Benefits – Maximum Yield, Competitive Advantage

Accomplishing the above will assist companies to identify specific target audiences, enjoy a fruitful relationship with consumers and sustain their brand image and brand positioning without having to spend additional resources. Secondly, it will bring companies, advertising and communication agencies together which would allow them to share resources and share risks a win-win situation. Finally, it will allow companies to target wisely and in retrospect, tailor customized offerings that create value, which will ultimately become their source of competitive advantage.

“THE UNCONFERENCE” Regresses - #TruStockholm

Have you heard about the “unconference” happening in Stockholm? Well, if you have, you are right on the money! The regression of this unconference is attributed to the success of the exact same event 12 months ago at the exact same location – Stockholm. The #tru fest is back thanks to Michelle Rea from Social Honesty and hosts/sponsors Monster.se and it will be happening on March 28, 2012.

With a primary focus on employer branding, #TruStockholm will amalgamate aspects such as Recruiting, HR, Technology, Branding and anyone who works in the "people" space. At this point, I would imagine some doubts remain in the heads of certain people as in what this is all about, what an “unconference” is and what are the aims behind it. Well, here it goes:

“THE UNCONFERENCE”

An unconference is an event that is about conversation. Each discussion topic is hosted by a track-leader who is knowledgeable enough of a particular topic. This individual will start the conversation with the audience, provide necessary input where needed. However, the individual’s core responsibility is to make it happen and make is a networking game.

A number of tracks are on the agenda. Take a look:

• Referral recruiting
• Your professional reputation
• Twitter Success Stories
• Campus To Career 
• Social Footprints
• Slaying The Social Recruiting R.O.I - .B.S.
• Technology Futures
• Going Mobile/Successful Apps
• The Social Recruiter
• Case Study #truStory 
• Branding Inside Out 
• Community Or J.I.T.
• The Real Cost Of Engagement
• Moving To The Clouds 
• Spectacular S.E.O.
• Managing Talent
• Recruiting Technology 
• Candidate Experiences (from Job Seekers)
• Global Case Studies - What works where?
• Boolean Strings
• Expose Yourself 
• Future Job Board 
• Recruiting with LinkingIn
• The Rejection Business 
• Compelling Content 
• Every Picture Tells A Story 
• Graduate Employer Brand
• Kool New Tools
• Secret Sourcing
• Facebook Recruiting 
• What is an E.V.P.?
• Video Story 
• Recruiting 3.0

Aim of a track – TO GET YOU ON TRACK!

Once in a track, the agenda is completely yours! You decide what you want to share and ask what you wish to ask. 3 tracks will run on an hourly basis. Once all learning avenues are consumed at a particular track, one has the possibility to move on to the next one. The event is focused 100% on learnings on the topics above and networking. Interesting facts about the event: 
1. No Presentations/PowerPoints
2.No name tags. If one wants to know someone, ask!
3. The attendees set the track objectives and content.

Hosts and Platinum Sponsors are Monster.se while Gold Sponsors TweetMyJobs for making #TruStockholm possible and affordable.

Now, here’s the deal. You can keep on thinking about the learning and networking possibilities this event has to offer and exhaust all your creative thinking avenues. On the contrary, you can sign up for it and actually experience this exclusive event for real. Still thinking? Register here:

http://trustockholm2012.eventbrite.co.uk/ 

Harnessing Capitalism via Social

Yea, yea! There is irony involved in the caption above. Not talking politics or .... maybe I am .... when talking about media companies going head-to-head with each other. Trends in the media industry suggest that companies which are able to grasp elements of capitalism are destined for supremacy. Facebook is under severe pressure by Google+ given the strength of the Google brand. It is of interest to many to see what will happen.

Salvaging Facebook … !

The general response from consumers to the constantly evolving nature of Facebook is marked with resentment and rage. Considering from Facebook’s own perspective and given the fact that it operates as the most successful player in the social sphere, it has valid reasons to do so. These series of experimenting allows it to evaluate consumer reactions, check responses, attain feedback and gather innovative ideas to see where are the flaws and where are the niche areas where it can improve and get more advertisers. Fair play since Facebook’s advertising strategy allows it to generate more than half of it revenues! However, with all the experimenting, it bred grounds for another social network to emerge.

Enter Google+ … !
Google’s social network came in roaring. It created a series of waves and initially, it attracted a lot of reaction from consumers. Many wanted to be part of it! Its strategy, based on the invite-only basis, elevated the excitement amongst social media consumers. Finally, a perception was prominent that there is some player that was going to give Facebook a run for its money. Google+ was growing quite steeply at the beginning and its adoption rate was eccentric. It was presumable Google was well on its way to cash on its own advertising strategy to becoming the most revenue generating company in the world. The rather ridiculous adoption rate of Google+ possibly had Google getting a bit carried away. Status-quo suggests that Facebook took serious note and answered Google+ in a very, very “social” manner! It embedded new features such as the NewsFeed and is partnering up with Spotify, the social, sharing and caring legal music service from Sweden to forge a combo that will only allow Facebook to capitalize on its more advertisers and compete for the dollars with Google. Google+ has suffered a drastic downturn. It failed to impress consumers and it failed to provide a ground breaking user experience good enough to compel consumers to switch!

The recent amendments in Facebook have allowed it to go more social at the cost of consumers’ privacy. There is resentment, fury and actions full of venom contradicting the ‘fun’ that consumers find in Facebook. Nonetheless, sharing is becoming easier, more seamless with loads of lubrication. Google has started to promote Google+ by adding more features and advertising it as the Next Generation social network. Google realized that best way to pulverize the Facebook strategy is to cash on its own brand. One of the ways it is doing so is by attempting to divert users from Gmail. This is what prompted me to write this post. I think it is self explanatory. As soon as I signed out of mt Gmail, I saw this huge ad Google had dedicated to Google+ to attract consumer consent. One would say Google intends to retain consumer attention, traffic and time on Google products.

Will it be successful? Will Google’s advertising strategy bear fruit? Or will Facebook outdo the Google brand by its all social, sharing, caring and interacting strategy? I wonder, I wonder ….    

Diffusion of Yearly Thoughts - A "LOVE" filled @STOCKHOLM?

OK! I will try to reflect on how and why I joined the Communications team during the term 2010-11 at AIESEC Stockholm, my experiences, what I gained from it, my opinions on the communications team and what kind of things assume(d) the mainstream at the LC. Mmmmmm ... let’s dig deep …

All seems to be a mere stone-throw away. So many things occurred; some motivating, some challenging, some special, some mind-blowing, some magical and some nearly mythical. It is ruthless to be selective and highlight only some of them. Where to start? Big, big dilemma! For me, it started midway through my Masters. Having spent significant time in Sweden and having adopted a professional mindset like the Swedish mainstream, I joined AIESEC pursuing certain professional goals. I wanted an internship in a high profile company. It became my foremost belief that becoming part of the AIESEC family was essential to my pursuit, only realizing ahead that one could achieve such an objective without becoming a member. Nonetheless, there were no regrets at the time. I became part of the Communications Team in which plenty of ideas used to be discussed and many goals were set. Sources of motivations came from Par Fridholm, the VP (Communications) at the time while support came from Niru, Gen and Santha (and of course, Myself! :)). Over a span of the term, the team ended up with three members with Gen and Santha dropping out fairly soon. This happening did not hinder progress. Rather, motivations and confidence were yet elevated. Outlined objectives started to be achieved and this pretty much remained the course throughout the entire term. The Communications department at LC Stockholm started exhibiting characteristics of an outstanding Center of Excellence. In saying so, the story remains abstract. However, I will attempt to convey some special moments that I went through at the LC.

Moment 1: Unique Memory with Dedication - "COMMUNICATION SAGA"

The Communications team had a responsibility to promote communication (internal, external, online etc). Although the genes that comprise the AIESEC structure advocate that communication is effortless at all levels of the hierarchy, it remained evident that there were certain hidden elements that obstructed easy communication within members. However, it remained hard to figure out what were these elements. As a norm at AIESEC Stockholm, midway through the term, each team at the LC was required to showcase productions according to their respective functional and professional DNA. When this opportunity was presented to communications, it created a unanimous opportunity to address this problem with the entire LC crew present in the first LC meeting after the X-Mas and New Year break. With the communications team present with only two members (Sarmad & Niru) on the “Day of Judgment”, the LC crew was entertained like never before with talks, reflections, observations, actions, movements, demonstrations and content, compelling CONTENT! Post reactions were productive, pleasing, emotional and exuberant. Speaking strictly within the parameters of internal communications, I considered it remained a great memory and will possibly remain a benchmark for the communications team, as far as the very essence of communication is concerned. This humorous, entertaining yet meaningful episode created harmony and forged lubrication within the realms of communication at the LC. The entire production was dedicated to the ruling VP (Comm) at the time – Lucky him who became the envy of many J.

The presentation came at a very crucial moment. The LC was going to participate in the second conference of the year, UNITE in Copenhagen which was supposedly an international conference. Consequently, people went there in high spirits and showed what LC Stockholm was made up of.

Moment 2: Eruption of the crazy "OC! OC! OC! … OY! OY! OY!"

After mid-January, a broadcast message was circulated to all LCs across Sweden informing that opportunities were available to be part of the Organizing Committee in the second conference of the year, UNITE. Though at a short notice, I seized the opportunity and travelled all the way to Copenhagen to work with people I had never met before. So many nationalities were present prior to the actual kick start of UNITE. The most incredible aspect was that despite so many variations, all had one objective in mind, that of making the conference a memorable outcome. The OC embraced energetic members. This was important as it was to be taken for granted that these members were not going to get much sleep as they were the ones responsible to execute the off-show activities and preparing subsequent formalities in time for delegates that partook in the conference. Becoming the focal point of sheer heavy workload, members were motivated, confident and energetic. They were supportive and helpful with each other which eased the workflow – fabulous teamwork! It went on for three days (plus) and OC members started to assume zombie-like appearances. However, these feelings were instantly overshadowed at the reunion held at the official dinner when massive acknowledgement was given to the OC for the way the rather “memorable” conference had shaped out. This fused the OC even more which lead to several strong acquaintances amongst OC members even after the conference. It was truly memorable. I would recommend AIESECers to try OC stuff at least once. It is a once in a lifetime experience.

Moment 3: The Impeccable, Dramatic, Astounding Episode

Boy! This is the hardest one, and the best one! It was the month of April, theoretically when bootstraps are tightened at AIESEC to carry out aggressive campaigning for the subsequent term, recruiting new members, defining the new Executive Board and plenty of other formalities. It was during this time that I developed certain acquaintances. Many mouths utter AIESEC is all to do about professionalism, developing leadership skills or developing tomorrow’s leaders. The counter side also exists where people mingle and know other cultures by interacting with them. For me, it was rather different. This phase allowed me to learn more about aspects of people and also about myself. It allowed me to evaluate myself, assess myself, MAYBE even re-assess myself and unearth my shortcomings. It should be clear that by dealing earthly matters as such allow one to be stronger, acquire greater prowess and strive towards excellence (VERY AIESEC LIKE!). However, some experiences take longer time to illustrate results. I am pretty sure this IMPECCABLE, DRAMATIC, ASTOUNDING experience is another one of those situations where I look ahead into time into the unseen and explore the unknown. The days from April 11-15 will truly remain very important for me as things were shaping out better than I had expected. I was achieving academic goals, professional goals and social goals in such a short time frame. It would be great to undergo the very same experience again. I, personally, would classify this experience as the pinnacle of my AIESEC life. So much happened during these 5 days that it is impossible to depict all happenings here.

Rounding off? ….. NOT YET! ….. What’s with LC Stockholm?

While being at AIESEC, one can undergo many life changing experiences. People say one can develop professionally while others say they gain a great networking opportunity to develop acquaintances. Very true! To exercise this effortlessly, I believe there are certain shortcomings at LC Stockholm that require immediate attention. With new leadership on board, expectations are potentially higher. Given the fact that AIESEC Stockholm comprises of two EB members at the moment and more members are on the verge of becoming part of the founding LC of AIESEC, it is important that there is harmony, union, bonding and collective thinking within all the people who will hold the responsibility to run the LC next term, members included!

A very prominent shortcoming last term was the lack of communication and interaction between the EB and the members. Moreover, the lack of interaction between members and members! No measures were taken to eliminate this inadequacy. It was pretty much down to self-initiative to overlook this problem. Keeping in mind I owe my loyalties to LC Stockholm, I have a number of recommendations for the next group of AIESECers to keep in mind.

1. Be Abrupt: Do not think about what you want to do and what you want to say, whether you should do a certain thing or you should say a certain thing ….. Just Do It and Just Say it!

2. Interact & Communicate: Though a hierarchy exists in the LC in the technical sense, in reality, there is no hierarchy. Do not be afraid to step up, deliver your thought and smile about it when you do so. At least you will get appreciation from someone!

3. Avoid Personal Branding: It is important to think in the collective sense and pursue objectives that work in favor of everyone. Give everyone an opportunity because that’s why people join AIESEC. Once this is implemented, everyone will be branded anyway - Branding in the Making, so to speak!

4. Adopt a Recognition System: As we know, acts and works done at AIESEC are considered professional. However, the reality is that it is voluntary work after all in which certain people put in a lot of effort. The EB should acknowledge their efforts by actions, by words or by recognition through something tangible. This will instill further faith and most likely, members will double their efforts to work even better.

5. Participate in Conferences: Extremely important for all newbies! This is your chance to acquaint with people from other LCs. Though ties tend to remain weak due to the spatial distance in the post-conference life, it still boosts a lot of confidence and lead to some friendships that can be lasting. Maybe you can cash some friendship later!

6. Challenge Convention: Try to do something unconventional, something different, be a change maker! You may not get appreciation from all but you will certainly gain self-satisfaction and get a chance to influence others.

7. Network, Network, Network: Very important to enter new circles. Do not think about what kind of people there are in the circle you are eyeing. Go in there, speak with them, you will get a chance to understand where you stand, a chance to assess yourself and carry out corrective measures if needed.

8. Be Omni-Present: Try to understand what other teams other than your own do, their operations, their tasks etc. This will not only broaden your vision but will allow you to learn more. Moreover, it will allow you to interact with other AIESECers and prepare you to step up against big audiences.

9. Please! Change the Roll-Call: Perhaps I need not say more! The song used to practice the roll-call is “STUPID” in itself, not to mention its title, “THE STUPID DANCE”, which require urgent remodeling. Plzzzzzz Hawra & Co., LISTEN TO MY PLEA! :D

As I sign off, I would want to take this opportunity and thank everyone I met at AIESEC, especially Par and Niru, who have been a tremendous support and have been truly awesome throughout. Thanks to all the EB as well, especially Filippa who has been so energetic all around. Many thanks to all the other acquaintances as well! I hope we can meet on other better occasions in the near future. So long!

Besos y abrazos desde Madrid!

Google’s “Dubious” Competitive Advantage

Before I dig deep, let’s take a look at this:

The company that has created marvels in the online arena since its inception seems to be plagued with uncertainty. Evidently, I am talking about Google Inc. Ever since Google unleashed its search algorithm, the manner in which it sought stardom saw no worthy adversary. With time and with the emergence of new technologies, different companies have tried to outclass Google within the search engine business. Yet, all have failed! In December 2007, Google had a massive market share of 62.4% in the search engine business. Just over two years down the road, in January 2010, this market share saw alterations only for the better, which ascended up to 65.2%. No parallel as the numbers suggest and adequately so! These figures obviously manifest that the search algorithm is Google’s competitive advantage. It allows it to stay ahead of competition and more importantly, draw revenues and profits by cautiously embedding an excellent advertising strategy. Yahoo has exerted immense efforts to somehow draw contention by whipping off some of Google’s market share. However, these efforts have not been overwhelming. Similarly, Microsoft made a massive entry with “Bing”. It looked promising but ever since Google upgraded its search engine with Caffeine, Bing has not proven to be a formidable opponent either.

Many would agree that Google is the first option in search due to the lack of complexity in terms of usage . It‘s simple interface made it so attractive and appealing for consumers that it became renowned extremely quickly within the mainstream. Slowly and seemingly apparently, Google is attempting to implant “simple” characteristics in its services. It can be understood that the surge of social networks have been fundamental in structuring this transition which Google exercises so abruptly. However, the question that arises here is where Google Inc. itself sees its source of competitive advantage in present day era, SEARCH or SIMPLICITY? Or both? The clip above suggests Google has opted for simplicity. It allows simplicity to the users to such an extent that all they have to do is to ‘drag and drop’ and results become visible, not harder than that! However, numbers call the shots and suggest otherwise. It is the SEARCH that overrules everything else. I believe this generates sensations that Google is somewhat tumbling down the rabbit hole and is getting strayed from what has made it become the premier leader in the search engine business.

Tensions of Extensions

WHY IS IT SO HARD? Why is it so problematic? Why is it so unpredictable? Why does it swing like a pendulum? Many questions raised here yet very few answers yielded. Throughout history, nature has been teaching lessons to mankind regarding when and where they should partake in any venture. No matter what kind of venture it is, humans, the most formidable species present of the face of this planet, always tend to excel more than required. Many argue it is acceptable to display this facet on a regular basis. It is true to some extent. What many fail to realize is that overplaying can become the subject of unwanted repercussions. These repercussions can be upsetting, distressing and disappointing – to say the least. Humans have a natural tendency to overachieve in a short time. It is a way to remain preeminent and get to the long term goal by any means that, if not pursued as planned, can start to cause tensions, unwanted tensions. Tensions of Extensions!

Human capacity is fragile, it is weak, it is brittle and it can be manipulated easily. Effectively, all lessons one learns from life ought to an important lesson for prospective periods. It is essential to do a good RISK ANALYSIS of any venture. In doing so, one often anticipates certain consequences that can be quite boggling. Perhaps it is means to assess a potential future. The way humans normally go about with this is by drawing certain boundaries for themselves and attempt not to trespass them showing notions of strong willpower. However, most of the times, this will power is overshadowed by strong human sentiments, strong acquaintances, solid ties that emerge from weak ties. Happenings as such take place quite often but the human urge to think that something good will result remains a tough fallacy that transforms into something which is hard to encounter. It is one of those stages of life where one seeks answers. One often starts visioning into the future thinking something might just happen abruptly, only to realize that one immerses into a state of pure artificialness and try to believe a truth unknown. I wonder if it is plausible, I wonder if it is fair. I don’t know if it is but what I know for certain is that I am seeking answers to the tensions caused by such extensions.

Interactive Video "CONTENT" Usage for the Better

All those who are into social media, its evolution, its potential and what it can achieve in merely no time would be interested to know the power of compelling and interactive content and the way it has produced shifts in the educational paradigm. Far are gone the days when education used to be boring to many students; the days when students did not have real-time interactive resources to pursue their academic objectives. The situation today is altogether different. Education has become more interesting and more friendly thanks to resources outside conventional means. Exemplifying things always helps to gain a more profound understanding. 

Just recently, an excellet TED talk by Salman Khan, the founder of the Khan Academy revealed how their academy assist students to not only improve grades but also enjoy education and be more creative - their way of "REINVENTING EDUCATION". Take a look:

As I streamline this, the key takeaway from this video is how improving online content and making it more interactive can benefit all entities involved; students, teachers, content creators and the education sector on a whole.

ENJOY!

Spotify’s US Launch: A Party in the Making

Last Friday, November 26, 2010, a big party was arranged in Sodermalm, Stockholm. As evident as it is from the title of this post, the entity behind the event couldn’t be other than Spotify AB, the buzzed streaming music service. Being lucky enough to form part of the guests, I took pleasure in going there and have the opportunity to explore the motivations behind this party. Apparently, Spotify notified that the party was supported by their close friends. These “so-called” friends were no other than big names such as Telia, Volkswagen, Phillips, Playstation, Xante and Carlsberg. Demographics of the guests comprised people of a variety of ages. The mix Spotify created in getting their guests together was incredible. Starting all the way from youth and extending up to people who live in their “MIDDLE” ages were present. They were no ordinary people! Rather, majority of them were big shots in the corporate world. I came across certain people who represented giant corporations like the Microsoft. I am certain there were plenty of representatives from other giants as well.

Spotify Ready To Hit the US? 

The organizers, Spotify AB, considered their guests to be extremely fortunate to be entertained with mini concerts. Entertainment in these concerts was provided by Shout Out Loud, Me and My Army, Oskar Linnros, Hoffmaestro and DJ Tony Zoulias. Heavy metal and rock music comprised the welcoming portion on the agenda. This was followed up by the usual music which one may virtually everywhere.

However, what motivated me to write about this party is the proximate launch of Spotify in the US. As they are getting closer to this feat, can it be considered that arranging such a party that surrounds such high profile personalities is a move on their marketing schedule? Well, strategically thinking, it can potentially be a marketing move, and a smart one! The odds are that people who attended the party are likely to carry out word-of-mouth marketing of the Spotify brand using the party as an excuse, which apparently, most people do not realize. If this is what Spotify wanted, they did one hell of a job executing it. As mentioned earlier, the guests incorporate elements of youth as well. Youth can potentially be a good source to create suspense and generate a buzz or potential conspiracies since they tend to talk a lot and establish new opinions. Having said this, it still remains very much under-cover until the actual story makes the headlines. As I write this, I realize I am carrying out marketing for Spotify brand, only unconsciously!

Oracle Battling the Data Storage War

Tuesday, October 26, 2010: Conference at Oracle in Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden. Latest happenings at Oracle indicate that they are very much into producing solutions and services which hold great potential for companies that deal with lots and lots of data on an everyday basis. The service under promotion was subtitled “Business Ready Storage Solution – Software, Hardware Complete”. The product is fundamentally a B2B product which customers can leverage and cope with extreme quantities of data.

Guys at Oracle stressed that IT challenges are increasing which has a substantial impact on the demand for storage capacity. The era where customers were able to put all the data they had onto disk is over. We are residing in a new world where the rules of the game have changed. Data quantities have not only increased but it is apparent of diverse manners. Interestingly, 80% of the data we handle today is unstructured which signifies that reuse of existing data is shrinking. An incredible 80% of the data that is being handled is not usable. To support this fact, the data being used today becomes obsolete after 90 days. There is a strong need to archive data. A shortcoming emerges when we look at the costs that are involved in storage management. A colossal 30% of the entire costs that encompass IT infrastructure is employed for this purpose. Additionally, storage of this data consumes 40% of a data-center’s power.

"Data Storage Becoming a Big Concern", Oracle CEO

Though the evolutionary practices that have revolved around multi-tiered disk storage have attempted to address this shortcoming it did not seem enough to counter the turmoil. Oracle emphasized that it is critical that new storage models ought to be designed and the one that can cause a major breakthrough is the incremental usage of Flash Storage. Oracle’s vision is to provide business-ready solutions with a high degree of performance that function optimally, are efficient and scalable at a low cost. They have designed a product that secures data access on an on-demand basis, offers unlimited capacity and unparallel storage performance. Directed at B2B customers, as depicted earlier, it is a unique and simple management tool that integrates applications, systems and storage on a large scale. The philosophy behind this is simple. In designing such a product, they started off with a general purpose. Here, they develop a product and analyze where it falls short to address the needs of the customer. Supplementary innovation is carried out to achieve the desired product which is followed up by integrating previous works.

Going into a little bit more detail about the product, named “Oracle ZFS Storage” allows operations with 10 different protocols within a single box. The product offers diverse advance services which are already built-in. these services include clustering, replication, cloning, de-duplication, provisioning analytics, virus scanning and plenty more. ZFS Storage also offers choice of interconnect among Ethernet, fiber optics and Infiniband on a simultaneous basis. A feature that separates this product from the rest of data management tools is that it supports multiple simultaneous apps and workload analysis n production. The product provides a throughput of 8 GB/s as well. All in all, the product provides an extensive back-up system. Towards the finale, it was highlighted that the design of the product was aimed at supporting the buzzed architecture – Cloud Computing as well.

Oracle ZFS Storage Dilemma

A few days ago, I was posed a query whether or not the cloud is the new way of outsourcing. Clearly, the cloud offers a variety of advantages. It allows the centralization of data with merely no infrastructure at all. It cuts down costs massively and makes operations smoother. I insist it further takes care of the dilemma Oracle executives addressed during this conference - appearance of exponential data amounts. If the “Cloud” is not yet a new way of outsourcing, it is very much on its way to accomplish it!

KTH Goes the Microsoft Way

It is turning out to be a very tense period of my life at the moment. Wrapped up in meetings, research, events, projects, my Masters thesis and seminars  from diverse high-profile personalities all contribute to this intense phase. Yet, I feel energetic, proud, honored and confident, all at the cost of being arrogant to be experiencing all of this. Over the past week, I have attended several seminars and exhibitions where I have had the opportunity to meet executives from different companies and have a peek at the upcoming revolution that is taking place in the digital world. Great insights, exceptional speeches, awesome sources of inspiration and huge motivations for people who formed part of these events from the people who have had their hands and mouths full of actions, demonstrations and words that are truly reviving and encouraging. Great foundations for even greater prospects! Today hasn’t been any exception.

The Royal Institute of Technology or KTH, as it is more commonly known, entertained the presence of Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer and certain other Microsoft executives in addition to Daniel Ek, the founder and CEO of Spotify AB based in Sweden. The demand to partake in this event was by far huge. KTH premises fell of short of accommodating all students, researchers and personnel. People who had pre-registered enjoyed the chance to visualize and experience the event live at KTH in Hall F-1. As demand for the event had approached intense levels, people at KTH had decided to stream the event live on different campuses KTH has in Stockholm. The core of the session was based on cloud computing, though the Microsoft people had captioned it “New Digital Lifestyle” referring to the buzzed vision of “The Cloud”.

It started with a dancing demonstration of a guy whose actions were simulated by a computer through sensors that were attached to him that mimicked his moves to perfection. Shortly after, it also replicated the facial features of the guy which were reproduced on a giant projector right in the very hall where the seminar was held. It was described as the “True Natural Interface Gaming Showcase”. It exhibited features that made the person connected to the sensors the controller of the situation. Multi-cameras also formed part of the experience that captured full body movement and the entire showcase was integrated with a facial recognition system. It was quite fascinating, eye-catching and mind-blowing. People were awed, me included! The Microsoft aim behind this demonstration of exceptional Human-System Interaction was to make it compatible with the XBOX360 and providing a full gaming experience. It was depicted that Microsoft are going to launch 15 different games by November 2010 and bring the best consumer experience in gaming, all based on the principle of kinetic movements of the human body.

The Head of Consumer Division of Microsoft (HCDMS), Sweden stepped up and initiated his speech with hard facts about the company. He stated Microsoft is research-driven company by tradition. He supported his statements by stating that Microsoft spends $10 billion per annum on R&D. This was complemented by the fact that Microsoft has tons and tons of data on consumer behavior and the way they consume media online. A formidable shift has occurred in the way people consume media nowadays. He stated that 25% of the world’s population has access to mobile networks whilst 95% of the Swedish population has access to high speed internet and these were the driving factors behind the huge transition in media consumption. Contemporary practices in innovation, connectivity and consumer electronics are likely to lead the world towards convergence. However, it was identified that the development was actually working in the opposite direction. Nowadays, people use the same content and same media on multiple devices and on different screens. The HCDMS stated that people in Sweden spend 20% of their time online which is a huge part of times, out of which 80% is spent on personal issues such as Facebook and communicating with friends. The HCDMS described this unique transition has to be owed to the emergence of new portable devices and excellent infrastructure. Having said this, the HCDMS stated the vision of Microsoft is to understand needs of the consumers and deliver an all-in-one solution, something we know as “Windows Live”. Since needs are growing and storage always remains a concern for both the consumer and the content provider, the essence of the “cloud” was brought into perspective. The HCDMS affirmed that Microsoft has reached a point where it is possible to store all this information in the cloud and be least worried about storage space. This propelled Joakim Karlem, Product Marketing Manager, Windows Live to step up to the scene and display some of the marvels that are usually unexploited by the consumer within the Windows Live framework. One of the demos was pretty cool. Joakim demonstrated how he could take a photo and place it into the cloud and edit them in merely no time to achieve eye-pleasing results. Whilst he accomplished that, he emphasized on other areas Microsoft was addressing. The core of these areas is innovation and focused on unleashing the subsequent version of the Internet Explorer, IE 9.0 which has underlying technologies such as HTML 5 and CSS 3. As the demonstration continued, the remarks made by Joakim and his colleague, HCDMS became apparent as the audience was subjected to real-time visuals of how content is integrated and combined in the Windows Live framework. The audience gave a big round of applause. Joakim asserted that Microsoft is an engineering company and a platform company. At this moment, the company is directing their efforts towards creating a social hub, primarily due to the outburst of social media. He stated that they have been successful somewhat, backing up his statement by stating certain facts about MSN Messenger used for communication. His time to deliver the speech was up and this is where the show really begun!

STEVE BALLMER TOOK CENTER STAGE!

The much awaited personality for whom students at KTH had formed long queues, Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft took charge in a very energetic manner. He came out saluting and smiling at everyone. It was a pleasing spectacle. He started by giving a background of himself, stating he had graduated from Harvard University in the 1970s where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. However, the most intriguing aspect made waves when he stated that he had shared the very same dorm with the high-profile Bill Gates. As he had the audience engaged with his prolific comments, he sensed he had the audience captivated somewhat. Instead of delivering what would have been his conventional speech for the event, he changed the direction of the speech and addressed the students and the researchers by giving them inspiration and high hopes. Steve said the generation of today is the future of tomorrow and it was pretty much up to us to keep innovating and make the world a better place. Intentional or unintentional, this comment set the foundation for what he was to speak subsequently. This is where he started talking about the “cloud”. He stated people had often asked him what is the “cloud”? He clarified that the “cloud” is the foundation for technological advances. The “cloud”, being a buzzword in itself, is a fundamental transformation in the computing world which is aimed at combining the best of devices, datacenter computing and smart devices. The real impediment was how to combines all these. The answer lies the technology called “Cloud Computing” which bypasses the notion of lack of storage capacity. The cloud is perceived to be quite advantageous primarily because no servers are needed and applications can be written and collaborated thereafter on the same datasets. However, Steve stated that this is where the social aspect comes into play. He said as the cloud creates greater opportunities, it also creates greater responsibility that deals with specific issues such as security and privacy. It was also explained by Steve that the pre-requisites for combating privacy and security issues lie in the consumers’ positive experience and confidence towards the utilization of these services. Steve’s emphasis on system integration was quite extensive. He envisioned that systems learning is critical and is getting smarter. The buzzed “cloud” assisted in exploring, navigating and taking necessary actions.

About 2 years ago, the bubble that encompassed the entire cloud paradigm was emerging big. It had enhanced interaction at a personal level and at a professional level. Steve underpinned that he is witness to this entire phenomenon which dates back a couple of generations. He stated to reach where the technological industry is today, lots and lots of endeavors have been carried out. The importances of data in everyday life lead to the conception of datacenters which were not very effective at the beginning. These data centers consume about 3% of the world’s power and are allocated an annual budget of approximately $700 million. Steve highlighted that the real problem was that the data gets outdated extremely quickly. As a consequence, efforts are directed at the construction of New Generation Datacenters in order to make them more effective. However, as effectiveness is achieved through successfully manipulating hardware and software platforms, serious repercussion are likely to arise in the form of job turnovers. However, Steve continued speaking wonders of the cloud. He articulated that the cloud wants smarter devices and the present generation has to conceptualize them to be able to sync them effectively. With this portion of the speech approaching to its end, Steve stated his company had recently started working closely with the Spotify AB. He called upon Daniel Ek, the CEO and founder of Spotify to come to the scene and share some of his thoughts. Daniel’s actions interpreted a sense of restlessness. He was kind of rushing through his speech. However, the significant parts of his thoughts were expressed in relation to what Spotify has done and how it will head into the future. He said that the advent of the internet has substantially altered the way music is consumed worldwide. People discover music through friends and share it in a matter of seconds and this is the big theory behind the dawn of Spotify. As Spotify is trying to make an impact in the US as well towards the end of this year, it is going through a venture with Microsoft to make music sharing easier. In the upcoming days, Spotify is coming up with its mobile app that will operate on the Windows Phone 6. Daniel quickly concluded by thanking the audience and handed over the microphone to Steve once again. Steve took the opportunity to conclude and thank the audience who were listening to him in different parts of Stockholm and was ready to address any queries the audience might have had.

The most interesting question that was posed to Steve was that which his types of games were his favorite. He answered that by stating that the ones where not much action is involved where the mind actually has the opportunity to relax. He took the chance to carry out exceptional word-of-mouth marketing by saying “AVAILABLE IN STORES NEAR YOU!” which made the entire audience laugh.