Opening our minds....

Strange that I came across two videos that spoke about opening our minds, one to the different possibilities and another to the different problems in the society, both impacting me in different ways. Sharing them with you....
Video 1: Nescafe - open up!!


Video 2: Sunitha Krishnan on TEDIndia


Visit Sunitha's blog to know/help more.

Efficiency is the name!

One of my friends recently tweeted about a particular article. It was about a business in India. Some unique things about it were:

• it didn't need millions to start this business, just some ingenuity on the part of the entrepreneur
• it wasn't based on new products or inventions
• it was closely connected to people's lives
• it was uniquely Indian (where else would people wait to know when the water would come?)
• it was simple - simple enough that you don't need an MBA to figure it all out
• it doesn't need too much to run on, leaving the company to concentrate on expanding its business - lesser maintenance costs per customer
• it takes advantage of the perks of other companies - For eg, this company (in the current model) would fail if the cell phone companies decide to charge for incoming SMSes; but the cell phone companies wouldn't do it in the near future for their profits still depend on these freebies.
• it combines technology to what people basically need
• it uses local resources (read, finding local unemployed youth to run the franchise) - lesser relocation costs and upkeep costs; add to it happier employees (as they don't have to relocate without families) who come with their own network that they can put to immediate use (their personal network - family, friends, etc) and you've got a solid deal for so less.
• it doesn't need to train employees much (except for the basics)
• it is not dependent on finding employees with special talent or degrees - if one employee quits, they can always find another; finding an unemployed youth who is ready to do this in their own town/village for such less a cost is not too hard
• it fosters entrepreneurship - even if 1% of franchise owners decide to do more on their own, then entrepreneurship has grown - and that is something India needs!!

I could go on and on about this business, but I'll leave the rest to you guys! In one word, this business is effficient. They've taken care of the basics of any business, leading to a very successful business model. What are your thoughts on it?

Vanish away, can you?

Can someone really vanish in this digital world? Here is a link about a guy who tried to do exactly that, and his adventures while at it. I've read stories about how people walk out of one life and leave no trace. But I guess it would become harder and harder as digital life takes over more and more. Though I'm not sure what would cause someone to do it, I can't imagine myself doing it, even for the sake of trying it out. Would you? Atleast for the sake of trying it?

A note to Newyorkers

As you know, NYC is one of my favorite cities in the world. That city lives and breathes energy into anyone that comes in contact with it. This link would be of interest to Newyorkers where it displays the income level of people living in a particular area. I'm curious to see such maps for other cities, especially aamchi Mumbai or singara Chennai. It would throw light on the lives of people in a far more zoomed in manner. Now, that would be interesting!

PS: Been away finishing up stuff... now I'm safely back from the thin ice world. Hope everyone had a good Diwali and Karthigai and Thanksgiving!