New business/employment opportunities spawned by social networking websites

When Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, or when Twitter was launched, the founders were sure that they are launching a revolution in the way people connect to each other and dispense information. But, what they did not know, is that they this would also lead to opening of new entrepreneurial and employment avenues for those who could cash on this innovation. And it is surprising for us too, to see such avenues opening up. Of course, now there are companies which develop apps that can enhance the visibility of your products and service on social networking websites, but the fact that such an arena has opened up is astonishing. Let's see a few examples

1. Twitter analysers: Various news dispensing websites now have twitter analysers. Some of it is automated, e.g. tracing the hash-tags  or twitter handles and displaying them on the website. But there are people employed to collate tweets from various sources and then display the most interesting ones. Almost every website or newspaper has a section dedicated to celebrity tweets. These can be movie personalities, sports-persons, politicians, social workers or anybody who is a "celebrity". Because there is a section of people who would devoutly consume the news generated by these tweets.
   
   Customer-care departments of various organisations have started keeping a look-out on twitter feeds to identify adverse comments and see if they can be addressed. So, you can either have a person who does this work, or write a piece of app or software that can do this job for you. Infact, the app can perhaps sort out complaints based on the product and forward it to the customer-care of that handling the particular product.
   
   Insurance companies too have begun using twitter and facebook analysers. These analysers try to see what were upto, during the time the incident, for which you have filed an insurance claim, occurred. A case in Bengaluru was reported, when the insurance company denied accident claim to a driver because he was DUI. And they traced it to his tweets, when he had posted about being at a friends place and enjoying the alcohol. The timeline of the tweets matched with the time of the accident. And insurance generally doesn't cover for claims if the driver was DUI at the time of the accident.
   
2. Facebook: XYZ likes "This person should be killed for what he did to the girl". I bet you do not want to "like" such frivolous pages. So, what do you do? Try and search whether that link is available elsewhere. And invariably you would find it on bypassfanpages.com. This website has spun a business around Facebook users' dislike to "like" frivolous pages and yet see their content.
   
   Now, companies that design and maintain websites also have a Facebook arm, which designs the clients' content on a Facebook page. So, there is a need for personnel who can design content on the Facebook pages for the clients.
   
3. Thieves and burglars: Thieves and burglars have now begun to hunt through facebook status messages and tweets when they plan for their next heist. So, be careful, when scream on your page "Offfffff for a week to Maldives". Information is being mined for such potentially dangerous use too.

Have you come across any such interesting leverage of twitter, facebook or any other social networking sites to build a business around it?

Bombay Blood Group: A rare and interesting one

Trust me, when I say that tabloid newspapers can throw up interesting pieces of news. Today, I came across this interesting piece of information in Mumbai Mirror.

The Bombay Blood Group is a rare blood group, called so because it was first discovered in Mumbai (then Bombay), by Dr. Y. M. Bhende and his co-workers around the year 1952. This study of theirs has been published in the medical journal Lancet. It is estimated that only 1 in 2,50,000 people are of this blood type. If regular blood testing methods are used, this group type gets classified as belonging to the O-type. That is because they are neutral to reactions related to both, anti-A and anti-B antibodies. This, typically ends up classifying the blood as O-type. However, this category of blood, does not contain or produce the antigen-H, which is found in O-type blood. The blood type gets detected only by cross-matching with other O-type bloods, where blood from the Bombay blood group will show incompatibility to the O-type blood group.

People with such blood can donate blood to anybody (all ABO type), but can receive blood only from their own type. Therefore, if you know anybody who belongs to the Bombay blood group type, ask him/her to contact the NGO, Think Foundation which tries to maintain a database of people of the Bombay blood group.

For the love of Khadi

While Khadi existed even before Mahatma Gandhi made it the symbol of India's freedom struggle, Gandhiji brought it to the masses. It was viewed as a tool that would empower rural India by creating jobs in villages and towns and thus lead to the economic improvement of the hinterlands. But with Khadi being associated with politicians and being a hand-made fabric, it didn't catch my attention for a long time. I had an impression that Khadi industries churn out only politician type clothes and the national flag from their factories. And hence, I never ever peeked at Khadi wear. Although, over time, I realised that only cotton wear suits me, because of the Mumbai climate and my body's cooling mechanism dynamics. But, I always bought cotton shirts and trousers from outlets other than Khadi. Until, one day, a friend of mine showed me his Khadi wear.

I was impressed by the make and the look of it. It was a kurta-payjama set and it appeared very nice and elegant. It was then, that I decided to try out Khadi wear. My friend informed me that Khadi outlets offer 20% discount on their products in the week following Gandhi Jayanti. I rushed to their outlet to take advantage of the sale. The Khadi Gramudyog Bhavan in Fort, Mumbai is a huge outlet. They have the advantage of being in a prime location. And they stock everything that is Khadi or from cottage industries. And there I realised, that Khadi is not only from the politicians, but for GenNext too! They are in touch with the times. Apart from the conventional kurtas, I also saw kurtas that were vibrant in colour. These had a contemporary look to them. And the cloth too was light weight. They did have the older heavier kurtas, for people who still like to wear those. They stocked shirts, ties, sarees, all type of silk wear and cotton wear. Apart from that, they also stocked various other cottage industry products like honey, incense sticks, soaps, herbal preparations, etc. I also realised that the sale is not only for a week but for one whole month!

It was a rare occasion when I shopped liked a shopaholic and bought kurtas for myself, my brother and my father. I've bought something for my mother, but have kept it a secret from her. I will be surprising her with that gift. Kurtas ranging from the traditional styles to modern contemporary styles, they were all there. Ties made from Khadi silk, cotton and silk sarees, shirts and a lot more. If you do not like the ready mades, you have an option of buying the cloth and then getting it stitched as per your style. And they don't cost too much. I got a cotton kurta for around Rs. 220/- after discount! And short kurta for daily wear at around Rs. 120/-. That, I would say, is damn cheap. And the comfort level in these clothes is awesome. You have to trust me on this, because I have been very choosy about what I wear. Some of my shirts are just lying around because I don't feel comfortable wearing them.

This trip to the Khadi Gramudyog Bhavan has converted me into a Khadi fan! I have just begun to love Khadi. And, the best part is that it is completely indigenous wear. We are encouraging small and medium entrepreneurs and also sustaining and creating jobs at village and town levels. That is what is more encouraging, apart from having good quality clothes to wear. Yes, Khadi Gramudyog does have good quality control checks. Now, I've planned a revamp of my wardrobe and have decided to slowly stock it up with Khadi! My swadesi movement has begun here.

International Bloggers' Community Award

Radhika, writer of the Rads Blog-a-Zine has awarded me the International Bloggers' Community Award. I don't know why, but I have received it. Thanks, Radhika for considering me for that award. What I have to do now, is award this to atleast seven (7) people on my blogroll. Seven people? It is difficult, don't know if I can ever find those many. Let me try. But before that, those who get the award, have to do the following-

1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Copy the image above, the rules and the questionnaire in this post.
3. Post this in one or all of your blogs
4. Answer the four questions following these Rules
5. Recruit at least seven (7) friends on your Blog Roll by sharing this with them
6. Come back to BLoGGiSTa iNFo CoRNeR (PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS LINK) at http://bloggistame.blogspot.com/ and leave the URL of your Post in order for you/your Blog to be added to the Master List
7. Have Fun!

Here are the questions, and besides them, my answers-

• The person who tagged you: Radhika
• His/her site's title and url: Rads Blog-a-Zine some info on stuff you might like... @ http://rads-blogazine.blogspot.com
• Date when you were tagged: July 8, 2009
• Persons you tagged: I tag the following (note: The order of appearance has nothing to do with the importance I ascertain to the blog)-

Preposterous girl
Sandhya Iyer
Virtual Crossroads
Kaushik Narsimhan
Vikas Vinze
Sandeep Deshmukh
Iris
Swanand

Okay, for those who are tagged, do as has been said in the post!! For those who I haven't, sorry, it is just an oversight! No bad air between us!

P.S. By the time I posted this, Preposterous girl too had tagged me. I thank her for that!

The silent arrival

It is the first week of June and the weather, warm and humid. The temperature is not much of a problem, but the humidity is. Add to that, the winds have almost come to a standstill. And as the days progress, the humidity makes conditions even more worse. But, there is a silver lining to all this. The increase in humidity, winds not blowing anymore, and a steady temperature are an indication of an impending monsoon. As we enter the month of June, the question on everybody's mind is- "when will it rain?" Get up in the morning, with humidity circling your body, that is the first thing that comes to your mind. Air-conditioners are running to the fullest and their exhaust lines are draining more water than recirculating air.

Nature too, tries to play hide-'n'-seek with man. It teases us with a cloudy weather in the morning followed by an extremely sunny afternoon and a warm night. Every morning, looking up in the sky, there are prayers for it to rain today or get postponed till the time one is prepared for rains. I have to still buy an umbrella. So, while I pray for the rains to come on time, I pray that it rains only in the night, so that I am spared till the time I buy one.

In this part of the country, generally, pre-monsoon showers are accompanied with thunder and lightning. The clouds hover in the sky for the entire day and by evening, they start roaring and sometimes scare the hell out of people. But, they serve as a warning sign. It is akin to the monsoon saying- "Ding Dong! Next four-five months, it is my music and my song". Ever since Lagaan was released, everytime these thunder showers occur, I am reminded of the song "Ghanan ghan ghan ghir aaye badaraa". And it is this warning sign that keeps many ready for the monsson.

But, Nature again wants to tease. Probably trying to show who's the boss. With no looming clouds and an almost clear evening sky yesterday, I was sure that it will take atleast a day or two to for rains to begin. This would give me enough time to purchase my umbrella and ready my rain-sheeter for this season. And in night, while I was returning from the lab, there were silent drops. No thunderstorms, no lightning, nothing. The drops started pouring in sliently, evaporating almost instantly as the hit the hot parched earth. There was an aroma of freshly wet earth all around. The drizzle continued silently for some more time, enough to send people running helter-skelter. Clothes hanging in the terrace were taken off, windows facing the west were closed to prevent rain water from entering the rooms. Slowly, the rain water was cooling the parched earth. The monsoon season was on track! But then, Nature had a few tricks up its sleeve left.

The drizzling, as silently as it had started raining, the end was more silent. The clouds quietly drifted away, the sky cleared up, with the bright moon shining into my room. The next morning, I woke up to find the sky cloudy again, just to see bright sun-shine two hours later. Ghanan ghan ghan ghir aaye badaraa....

P.S. The monsoon is set to arrive in Mumbai on 7th June, as predicted by the Meterology Department.

Movie producers'-Multiplex owners row: A conspiracy theory

The ongoing strike by Bollywood producers against multiplex owners has definitely affected everybody. For those unaware, the producers decided to go on strike because the multiplex owners refused to agree to the producers' demands for greater share in profits from ticket sales at multiplexes. From movie watchers, to the producers, to the parking lot contractors, beverage stall owners in the multiplex, everyone stands to lose a lot of revenue. With movies not being released, their pirated versions too are not available. Hence many movie watchers (those who cannot afford multiplex tickets) are starved for movies.

But this strike is not without conspiracy theories. The beginning of the strike coincided with the IPL 2009 season. IPL began on 18th April (the kickoff began a few days earlier), while the movie producers began their strike on 3rd April. Well before the IPL, many producers had decided not to release movies when the IPL is going on as it affects their revenues. Hence, even without the strike, very few movies would have been released during the IPL. The tiff with multiplex owners gave the producers a very good reason for not releasing their movies. With this year's IPL producing much more drama, the bickering between producers and multiplex owners too started increasing as the tournament progressed. The IPL will be followed by the T20 World Cup in England. The T20 WC will be held between 6th and 21st June 2009. That IPL causes a drop in movie ticket sales is well known from previous year's experience.

According to this article (dated 5th May 2009), any movie requires 2-3 weeks of promotion prior to its release. And on 30th May, there were reports that the producers are willing to end the strike and have presented a compromise formula on the profits. Apparently, there have been claims that both sides are under pressure because of the financial losses they are facing. The ball now is in the multiplex owners' court. It is for the multiplex owners to now respond to the situation.

So, if the strike ends, we should see movies coming to multiplexes in two weeks from the date of truce. Assuming that the strike ends by 10th June, movies should be released on screens by 20th June. And 21st June is the T20 World Cup final. So, the multi-crore rupee question is

Was this strike actually called by the producers so as to extract a greater profit share from multiplex owners or was it just a means to avoid releases during IPL and T20 World Cup?

Who surfed my blog?

I subscribe to Google Analytics to get a few details of my blog. Who visited, when, from where, how did they arrive, all sort of such stuff. Most of the time, I am interested in looking at the range of cities from where people visit my blog.

Recently, I realised about the search engine feature in Analytics. The feature allows you to see what search terms were used to arrive at your blog. Many times, the search terms used surprise you, sometimes they baffle you. You begin to think "What, this combination of search terms puts my blog on the top few pages?" This is based on the assumption that an average surfer would not go beyond the third page of a search engine. Most of the people who use the search engine would have not even gone through the post completely. They do not contribute anything as readers. I mean, I don't expect comments from every reader, but then they do not go away with the satisfaction of having read something nice/good/interesting.

The largest number of hits that my blog (or posts in the blog) received were from a search term "orkut testimonials". Over the past eight months it continues to occupy the top slot for every month's statistic. Now, I know that none of these readers would have appreciated my post on orkut testimonials as most of them are looking for testimonials that they can use. But surprisingly, my blog received the cumulative maximum number of hits from queries related to orkut testimonials. Why would one google for testimonials? I don't understand. As I have said in my post on testimonials, it should indicate the depth of friendship. Not to be used to flatter friends.

Another term that generated a lot of hits and surprises me is "Raj Thackeray". I have only one post related to Raj Thackeray, but the hits contribute to nearly 14% of the month's hits. That most of the people searching for Raj Thackeray are not exactly his fans, such gang of readers do not read and give a thought to the post. Those who are his fans, read and get happy because of the content. But only a few actually try to realise the problem.

While we have our own thoughts about the way people will try to reach our blog, search engine statistics throw up a lot of surprises. When you go through that report, the world appears to be much more stranger than earlier.