The Valentine Web[Experience]

Web has been my best friend and it is the only where I could have found my first ever Angel Investor, a person who believed in me and my ideas .Though it would be close to a month since Valentine's day has passed,I would like to share an article which was published in DivyaBhaskar newspaper[V-Day special edition],Ahmedabad [I received my copy few days back !!!]. The central theme of the article was Why Web is the best place to find your life partner.

Note:
The article is in Gujarati,if you know the language;hope you like the article else kindly scroll down to have a look at our photo.



Below are three key take-away(s) from the article:
1. Maintain an excellent profile on the Web.It may not only get you your Angel, but would also help you in each & every aspect of your personal & professional life.
2. If you are not blogging, start a blog[more here].Without my blogger friend Paras Shah, this interview wouldn't have been possible. He was the one who introduced me to the journalists.
3. Finally, point(2) leads us to Networking.Be an active networker; whether times are good or bad, guys in your network would definitely be your savior & sometimes, you may also find a surprise appearance in a newspaper

INDIA has to find it's four STEVE JOBS : Guy Kawasaki

Times Of India had a very interesting interview with Guy Kawasaki when he was on a visit in Mumbai.Though many lines are quoted from his book "Art of the Start" , yet the interview is quite entertaining as well as very informative.I was a bit late to read the article and hence, thought it would be a good idea to share with other lazy people in the crowd [like myself ] , who might have accidentally missed the article.

Note:
"You","him" and other such references are to Guy Kawasaki.

Some interesting excerpts below:

But the crowning glory of his Mumbai trip was a visit to Dhobhi Ghat that set him wondering about the ‘business analytics’ involved. “How can you send a pair of jeans there and get the same one back,” he wondered.

“And that too without RFID chips, no barcode scanner,” he said. India still managed to surprise him and it takes a lot to surprise a man who has had pitches made to him about buying out Israel!

Can you trace any commonality between revolutionary companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google?

Yes, the commonality is completely contrary to most people’s idea of venture capital. Which is every one of the mentioned companies had two co-founders who were not proven. They were nerds. So Google was founded by two PHD students in computer science, and Steve was a college dropout.

Bill Gates was also a dropout. It was not like Bill Gates was VP of say Data General and decided to write personal computer software. Looking at these companies, you should invest in unproven teams, in unproven markets, and unproven technologies.

Contrary to what VCs say, which is invest in proven teams, proven markets, and proven technologies. That’s the digital divide.

What stage of the entrepreneurship cycle do you think we in India are?

I haven’t been in India long enough to say. Statistically there should be four Steve Jobs in India because we have 300 million people, and you have 1.2 billion. So there are four Steve Jobs in India. You just have to find them.

What’s your take on Web 2.0?

No one wakes up in the morning and says I need a Web 2.0 application. They may say I need something to balance my cheque-book, I need something to manage my inventory, I need to create a personal profile. I can understand that; but nobody wakes up and says I want a Web 2.0 experience today.

What are the few steps that an entrepreneur should get right?

Prototyping is the first thing. That’s the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth thing. The sixth thing is to write a business plan. And don’t even think of the exit plans, it’s a joke. Statistically, the logical exit plan is bankruptcy.

Entrepreneurs should focus on the prototype because a prototype will tell you whether people will use the product/service or not. It proves to the investor whether you are serious or not. Prototype is the key, not the business plan and definitely not the research either.

You can read the complete interview here, here, here and here

Hubert Chang , Google's third Co-Founder ?

All of us know about Larry Page and Sergey Brin but what if , after ten years of incorporation of Google ; a guy comes out and claims to be the third co-founder A guy named Hubert Chang claims to be the third co-founder of Google. Thanks to Guy Kawasaki's tweet for this information. Check out the shocking videos below where Chang explains how the Google journey began...

You can check out this article [which has an interesting tag:"If you liked this post please spread it"] for the shocking information.It would be interesting to keep a watch on Washington Post for updated information where they claim to have mailed Professor Rajeev Motwani of Stanford University for more details.

On the lighter side , this makes me wonder :
Q. What might be Google's immediate move ???
A. Ban Hubert Chang from Google search , just like John Chow [check out here]

Blog at 95: Blogger's Pride, Non Blogger's Envy....

In the recent past, many celebrities including Indian celebrities namely Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and off late even Salman Khan [& many others] have started blogging

They have made great use of this potential tool , not only to get more media attention [as if they need much more of it ] but also to build their credibility online and earn great money.Not to forget, it helps them become more popular in countries where Bollywood has not penetrated to the fullest !!!

Just happened to check out Aamir Khan's blog and was aghast to see the number of comments [close to 8K per article], as if Aamir Khan cares so much of his audience But there was one news today in Silicon India, which made me write this article.The article is on Mr. Randall Butisingh who has started blogging at the age of 95[It is not a typo ] and is one of the world's oldest blogger.A small excerpt from the article:

Note:
[ I and He refers to Mr. Butisingh ]

"I am a learner. I believe that when one stops learning he ceases to live and that it is never too late to learn," Butisingh said.

At the age of 80, he learnt Arabic so he could read the Quran. At 95, he began studying Spanish and he is doing it "poco a poco" (little by little). Butisingh has an agile mind and an eager interest in life and at present he is studying the Hindu religion and philosophy.

He responds to every comment or response to his popular blog.

Explaining his daily routine, Butisingh said: "At my age, I do not work strictly as per routine. I cannot read for very long although I have good eyesight. You may find me in the day resting for hours and at nights up until two or three reading or typing up my blog.

"We live in deeds, not years. Living long has meaning if one can redeem oneself with the time given. It is never too late to learn - youth is an attitude, not number of years. The soul never grows old."

You can find the complete article[a must read] here and Mr. Butisingh's blog here [Nice to see a Page Rank of 6 for this blog] .IMHO, he is the real hero of the Blogosphere , who definitely deserves a standing ovation !!!! This is definitely a proud moment for the entire blogging community and also a message to the Non-bloggers to start blogging .... Long live Mr. Butisingh !!!!

Article Credits:

1. Title Courtesy:
Inspiration from Onida's punch line "Neighbour's envy, Owner's pride"
2. Image Courtesy:
Cartoon Stock