It’s always known more than said,
that Change is the only permanent thing in life. With the technological
research cutting the market at a lightning speed, knowingly or unknowingly it’s
laying impacts on various elements on its way. Technology is killing technology.
The gravity of this statement was realized when I had recently been to the
states. Simply I wanted to buy a new wrist watch. But to my surprise I was
confronted with the fact that wrist watches have almost become obsolete in most
parts of the states just because there is a digital watch in every one’s Iphone. I was also surprised to know, that
wrist watches were hence sold at much cheaper rates than what we buy in India.
Its actually intangible yet measurable difference.
Moreover, companies like Nikon ,
Canon which are major digital camera
manufacturers, popularly known as Digi Cams, are becoming a past as the higher
resolution cameras in the phone itself are encroaching the camera market
gradually. Iphone’s market is In a tough competition by Samsung, to the extent
that the US is planning to ban the same.
This reverse interaction today
and the sharp technological demands are creating very short lived businesses
with a constant threats of dissolution. The interaction between technologies is
becoming reverse. Hence it becomes essential to identify prudent business
solutions to combat the heat of ever changing uncertain market.
There are three types of
approaches generally found around us...
1 . We have determination, hard work, Education and talent working
together; we call it Success...
2. When Hardwork and Determination only working together with no money
we call it Hard luck...........
3 when we have nothing and still have money, we have to call it Corruption................
What a paradox. But yes,
unfortunately true. This inconvenient truth is the most believed and followed
truth of today’s times. From government to chai walaas, from politicians to a
common man, corruption is spreading like a wild fire. I am certainly not trying
to make statements to sell my BLOG and make it sound like a social activist’s
voice. But the agony is this.
Just a small incidence to back what i just said. The impression of
this incidence continues to remain on my mind as i write this BLOG. While i was
on my way to catch a train for Mumbai, on Ahmadabad station, i stopped to pick
up a bottle of water for myself to quench my thirst. The guy on the stall must
be in his late 20’s or Mid 20’s may be...basically very young and smart! Before
you start getting me wrong, let me proceed further....
I asked him a BISLERY. He fetched
me with one costing rupees 12. But he charged me Rs 15. Now i was in no mood to
fight with him for those three rupees. But the fact that he did so, i thought i
should.I asked him an explanation for
those 3 rupees he charged me extra. He very confidently, making no bones over
it replied...” Behenji yeh toh ice ke liye hai, thanda pani chahiye ha garmi
mein” So i asked him to fetch me a warm bottle of water, He said” woh hum nahi
rakhte” before i lock my horns with him further, he replied..” Jaane do na
madam, yeh politicians log karodon ka ghotala karate hai, tab koi kuch nahi
bolta...hum pooch ke lete hai toh hamein hi sunaate hai”
I was speechless. I was so much
filled with answers to backfire him, that i actually couldn’t speak anything. I
just kept wondering,. What is being internalised in the minds of tomorrow.
Aren’t we acting like morons by making these corruption lobbyists our Role
Models. These politicians are true trailblazers of corruption. With all the
scams and scandals of don’t know how many crores, and how many “ Zeros” in
those crores, they are actually setting a trail behind their scams which will
one day set on fire every one of us. With HUGE mammoth scams, small level
corruptions or say may be illegitimacy, is appearing so miniscule that its no
more remaining one. So with this kind of an attitude that is developing in today’s
young minds i wonder where we will be standing 20- 30 years down the line. I
wont be surprised if, a day will come, when corruption would be so much a part
of our system, that the government would take its pleasure in legalising it...i
can’t stop laughing at this. Certainly not because its funny, but i am mesmerised
with the helplessness of our System to save itself from being a BIG FAILURE.
So whats the answer to this?? I
am still thinking...post your comments ifyou have come up with any...
Gone are the days when our
parents used to plan an evening to buy stuff from the markets. With the
multiple revolutions surrounding us, like the internet and the mobile revolution,
it has completely changed the way we live our lives today. This change has been
so rapid, and it has been so much a part of our lives now, that we hardly
realise that something is actually changing.
It has not only changed the way
we live, but also the way we CONSUME. Internet revolution has helped trigger
this change more. If you wish to sit at home and shop...we have FASHION and YOU
the largest online shopping store. Wish to add something to the library? We have
FLIPKART or AMAZON, another largest online stores...i mean why just books it
almost has everything at its stock. Bored with your old camera & wish to
sell it off? Even that’s just a click away.
QUICKR allows you to do so ...and all this in just few hours..!!! Now that’s
mesmerising!! Its at your disposal, just one click away. How much better can one define comfort today?
But the success of these online stores lies in its demand too. We, the urbanites,
are so much stuck with out routines and hop ons that something like this
essentially aims to target our weaknesses and win the battle.
Consumerism has undergone a
metamorphosis, thanks to the, i revolution. It has redefined SHOPPPING. Kishore
Biyani, the FUTURE GROUP CEO, once stated, if you want to make a business successful, don’t
concentrate on the products, concentrate on the context which surrounds your
product...”EK CUP CHAI” sells more than “CAPPUCCINO”...!!! Similarly these
online shopping giants know where they have their maximum consumers from and by
doing what..!!!
Behind the success stories the
selling mantra is “CASH ON DELIVERY”. This revolution had not been one for its
cash on order. Only because, Indians largely don’t still prefer paying online,
its this CASH ON DELIVERY concept that is factoring in , the sense of security as
an additional attachment with Comfort...and it sells.....
Sometimes, the revolution takes
over us, before we even realise it’s a revolution. Wether good or bad, time is
the best judge..!!
WOW, now thats called a BREAKKING news !! Recently i read in the BBC news stating, now India’s richest shrine TIRUPATHI, is also GOING GREEN. Going green is not just the mantra for multinationals and professionals today, but goes way beyond the boundaries, surpassing all the conventional means of reducing the catastrophe of climate change. It’s inexorable to know this. In the country of 2 Billion people , where our culture, religion and beliefs form the foundation of all crucial moves and decisions , can a move like this serve the potential to make a difference???
As the news mentioned the Shrine has registered itself for carbon credits and thus by saving tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, the shrine plans to earn credits and then sell them..!! Now isn’t that a WOW...!!! The shrine manages to cater to 50-1, 00,000 devotees per day. To serve plethora of devotes daily, the shrine has used its roof for huge SOLAR PANELS which help them cook independent of diesel use. An initiative like this not only will make the world think on non conventional ways of combating climate change , vis a vis mere negotiations and paper blotting policies , but will also change the way we look at things. Sometimes solutions to few problems are beyond our reach and sometimes they are so close that we often fail to identify them. Religious places have always played an essential role in changing the dynamics of our country. Now who ever imagined, it might also prove its influence on Global issues like climate change.
When socially powerful institutions like these realise their power and strengths, they can create a metamorphosis. A transformation, to bring a revolution. Now we have for the world to say, rather state, that we are not just rich in culture and population, but culture with a difference and population with an attitude to make a difference.
Its more said than believed by us today ,”Life was much simpler when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits” The phones are no more the same old hefty boxes which somehow help you connect to your near, and dear ones today. They do much more than that...just beyond what we would have imagined in our dreams few years ago. Nevertheless, the "i"- revolution, that shook the market few years back, by introducing the very concept of SMART Phones, still continues to do so , rather has spread like a wild fire. Infact to put it this way, this will continue, with or wihout Steve Jobs. At the risk of sounding too statistical, it was proved, in a survey done by an UK Communication Organisation, that more than a third of adults and 60% of teens admitted to being 'highly addicted' to their SMARTPHONES. Especially the under 25’s??????? In this case what distinguishes addiction from revolution? Why is this thin line so conveniently ignored? Where is this revolution leading us...rather...are we really heading somewhere? To put it straight , has it just become an "all group" style statement?
An 'always on' phone status also enables you to do many of the things you used to do from a normal OLD PC. From socialising to banking, all is in your pocket today. Life seems so easy this way. As i recently read somewhere, these smart phones today, have an application, popularly known as "APP" to monitor your health parameters like sugar etc. What else you can ask from a simple phone now. What is astonishing here is , to look into the pace at which it has managed to pierce into the hearts and pockets of the societies. We were taken over by the technology in all sense before we could even realise what happened to us.
This is one way of looking at it. Another way could be, this clearly indicates how vulnerable are we and the society at large to “change”. Is this our strength or our weakness? If this is a weakness, then its an alarming situation indeed. And strengths like these can be used to turn the world upside down. Can global issues like Corruption, climate change, terrorism be fought with these kinds of revolutionary movements? I guess, the success of the technology does not lie merely, in its effectiveness, but also depends on its popularity, glam associated and the scale at which it is managed. I leave it to you to take a stand on this.
Recently i got an update on face book, stating the Chinese taking over solar markets in U.S creating job issues. I was stunned with the news, and immediately switched on to the Down to Earth fortnightly magazine site to view the full story. It wasn’t even a second more, and there flashed another update by my friend prachi.....
Oh.....i missed Rockstar movie’s first scene .....
It’s a baby girl for bachchans........ and many more....
Updates are very updated these days. The world of education and knowledge-seeking has undergone a paradigm shift. Education, with the slight touch of entertainment is what is liked, loved and accepted by all the societies today at large.
The fact of the matter is Education/knowledge is no more confined to the boundaries of four school walls or class rooms per say, it has broken all the conventional modes of expression and have induced itself in all possible forms. All the forms which people believe in, enjoy staying connected with.... and love being a part of. Not just networking sites like face book does it all, it has Twitter, Linked In and many more to say, do this job of so called EDUTAINMENT. This newly coined word is the truth of today’s times. Be it environmental organisations, reporters, journalists ,politicians or hard core academicians, learning has become so accessible to most of us today. The recent revolution on lokpal bill was certainly exacerbated more and reached the masses, especially the youths, across the country, through all these networking sites more than the news channel could actually do.
There are youth networks running their chapters across the universities/colleges just through emails/face book, connecting the academicians, researchers and students. This phenomenon has even crossed the mobile age. The institutes or universities find no guilt today in displaying their curriculums online and share the link on face books just because they very much now how to get to the right targets with the right mediums. World bank today has a plethora of information updated on climate change on twitter. The news of passing of Steve Jobs, was first flashed on Twitter . Many more like these to quantify the fact that networking sites have all that we need today.
Face book and twitter are no more a medium to just connect yourself to the world known by you; it also means to know the world, known by others, having treasure of opportunities hidden for you. It’s just using the right medium for tight purpose.
These Social networking sites are all inclusive sites of times today. Education + Entertainment is what sells. Edutainment stays the paramount mantra for many today. With the times changing and the revolutions changing the images of multiple things in fraction of seconds, it won’t be wrong to say that, we would no more need physical learning institutions to mainstream education.
We are probably entering a world where, Google and face book will suffice the needs for education, there is getting created an parallel virtual world, that is slowly taking over the physical forms of learning. Its no more a forced change, but a change that is gradual...yet so revolutionary....virtual yet so real.....and fits in only an 14 inch laptop...but is capable of changing the world around you. So are we ready for this change? Or maybe the change is so fast that probably it is leaving us with no time to actually think...???? Can Google/face book/teacher ever be able to give us the right education, we might want out children to undergo?
I open this debate here; let me know your comments .
Climate change? And what’s that? Yes, to every one’s surprise, that’s what even most of the Americans ponder upon ,when asked, a recent BBC study revealed? Despite the U.S being the largest contributor to this whole issue, and all the problems which have emerged today as a biggest threat and challenge to the humanity as whole, they still somehow manage to ask this. For a while even i was surprised at their this kind of a cavalier attitude, but then i gave a thought over it and realised its not just people in the west doing it, but most of us in all parts of the world are doing it. Not knowing a problem and hence no action.... can be excused!!! But, knowing a problem and still continue ignoring the issue, i guess invites more trouble.
Climate change is a serious business and not just a matter of making business. Today more than an issue it has become a sophisticated lobby of sophisticated scientists, trying to solve a problem in their own sophisticated pace. Climate is changing today at much faster rate than ever. The warmest years since 1850 have been experienced in the last 12-13 years. So now what do we do with that? Either we continue living with the changing climate and think of adapting it and spend trillions , or alter it ...i repeat “alter” not change our lifestyles from an EXPENSIVE to EFFICIENT one to mitigate the emissions.
Last week i was in Bangkok for our study, we stayed there for over 8 days, and could observe the lifestyles of the people living there. The emissions made by the each individual ( what we call as per capita ) is ,much much higher than those of the Londoners and equivalent to the New yokers. High use of plastic, high use of vehicular mode, high electricity consumption by industries....together is making Bangkok a worst city ...even worse than cities like Mumbai, Manhattan as far as the emissions are concerned. Despite knowing the fact , that their emissions will be solely responsible to the rise in the level of the very sea which they have their economy dependant on....they are not serious....................??????
So our thoughts need to be in tandem with our actions, eliminating the gap between the two.
So then what are these climate conventions meant for? Are they just another long holiday for parties, to relax, enjoy and get over with the issues so casually. Can we really get in to the crux of the global issue like climate change and try to solve the same by sitting in an air conditioned conference somewhere on a romantic island, making tonnes of emissions by flying for the emission reduction conventions per say? Its a total oxymoron? What are we doing then? I mean issue like this, that will be having devastating impacts the entire of Asia, including other parts f the world, needs an urgent attention as we can loose the resources even before we thinking about saving them.
If the climate emissions are not fastened and the pace to cap them is not geared up then probably we would no more see, Mumbai in 2100 as the risen sea level would have crossed its limits already. Millions of people are expected to be displaced. We won’t be there by that time, but then what about our children why should they pay for our deeds and ignorance,
Think over it...climate change is a serious business and i repeat not just a serious money making buisness. Unbridled exploitation of the natural resources for years and years, today have made us confront this terrible situation, so to get this climate back to its normalcy is a tough task, yet if we act now, the magnitude of the forthcoming impacts can atleast be redeemed ,if not stopped completely....!!!
