Charity is easy. In ‘money’ sense. You have the money- you give it to someone. Job done. Charity is easy because once you make up your mind for it, you could just do it. Like that.

Charity is difficult- the more money money you have- the more opportunities you create to spend it. The more you spend, the more difficult it is to give it away. Charity is difficult because it is difficult to let go what is dear to you.

Charity is noble. It is helpful, benevolent, character building and praise worthy. Everyone should do it once in a  while, preferably consistently. Assuming that the intentions of the giver are always noble, it is also a great peer to peer support.

And yet, charity is unsustainable. It can be degrading to the subject and is never enough. Charity is not THE solution. It is only one way of extending service to the society.

Then what is the best way to contribute to the the society? Reduce its ills and support the needy?

The answer is- entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone of Social service. I speak largely in the context of building businesses, but even entrepreneurship in its broader sense of the word could come into play.

You start something- you employ people- you create something. The people you employ get paid- they spend on stuff. The people involved in making that stuff gets paid- they buy more. They stay out of streets, be constructively occupied and breed their children in a more positive spirit.

You start something- you need resources- someone needs to fulfill those needs. They fulfill-get paid- pay their people.

The big wheel of society turns on the fuel of entrepreneurship. It is the biggest, most sustainable and the noblest way to do help the society.

Think about it

Shalabh

I can’t stand status quo. Somehow. I want it sometimes- even long for it. But I can’t seem to stop challenging it.

In my many years of working life, I have always found myself at the center of change. From the time I managed marketing for network center solutions (enterprise level networking solutions- mostly to dotcommers of the early millenium years)- to consulting on developing web apps/sites to the time of starting Digital Media departments in a few agencies- introducing search engine marketing and developing digital marketing frameworks for my agencies- to starting a completely new agency in a completely new country- to dabbling with starting-up and independent consulting.

It was not easy. It has never been. But many of these have been successful stints. Satisfying and I have brought value to the table.

The only common thing with these challenges has been the fact that I was brought in to be- or expected to be- or turned out to be- The Change Agent.

Digital Marketing field is a field where you can either be like a monkey- sitting on a tree and making some noise- or you get into the jungle and ride the tiger.

• There were (and still are) few systems in place- which implies you could establish a new paradigm- or wait till someone else does it.I did it myself.
• You had to learn the ropes yourself. Self learn -take time away from family. Be “always on’. Learn to swim or drink the water on your way down. And let me tell you- I drink a lot of water- but somehow always surface
• New storms are always on the horizon – but you have to keep on chasing the storm- riding the tiger. (Oh yes!- and if you survive- you need to train everyone else how to do it- over a weekend)

As a change agent, I have always been commanding positions yet without directions. Performing various tasks, yet resource deprived. A digital specialist but also a planner, suit, salesperson, project manager, ad trafficker, et al. Always in start-up mode- always on.

But too much change never worried me. What always scared me though was too little change.Perhaps it is the Indian roots- there is a naturally high tolerance for ambiguity. Mix it with the attitude- “I can do this and I can do this better- because I am passionate about this and willing to go the extra mile”- and the concoction would define a change agent.

But I have been a change agent not just for the sake of change- I have been in situations that demanded change. And someone had to bring it. A start-up, a new set up, an innovation- whatever it was.

Many a times, the challenge was to define change itself.

The times demanded change- and it had ‘something to do with digital’. This was the untold directive. What it actually was, how to leverage and how to solve whatever it was, had to be defined, managed and executed.

Thankfully, leading that change and translating it into something meaningful and demonstrating success was something I have been able to achieve. More in some places, lesser in others. Notwithstanding the degree, it did make some difference. And not without the help of friends and colleagues.

In the initial years- the challenge of making everyone understand the logic of failing fast and failing quick- was immense. As a ‘digital’ specialist- you are expected to know what is going on!

Most of the times, the complexity of the change came not from market forces or even defining the change- it came from internalizing/fitting that solution within the existing dynamics of the organization. That is the biggest challenge.

Life continues throwing new challenges- and with them come some wonderful opportunities.

I am finding myself at the center of another big change agent role- and a wonderful opportunity. I have joined Nokia in Singapore- as the Head of Earned media for South-East Asia and Pacific.

I am getting to define, manage and execute change – all over again- and I do hope to get your support, encouragement and tips.

Chasing the Storm continues to be independent of my professional assignments- and will continue to carry personal thoughts (though a little intermittently) on Ideas, innovations and inspirations.

Happy New Year and god bless.

Shalabh

Now that you started reading this post, let me begin by asking you some quick questions:

• What is the Focus and Directrix of a parabola? (Yes you did study this in school)
• How about the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis?
• Quick – what’s the first law of thermodynamics?

Hang on – if you think I am about to take you on a  ‘Are you smarter than a 5th grader’ journey- No I am not. Nor am I going to demonstrate my knowledge on elementary science and maths. To tell you the truth, I have no clue on the answers myself.

So why am I asking these questions in the first place?

To begin with, these might not be life impacting concerns for most school survivors (/adults), but if you’ve been there through those schooling years, you will probably appreciate the importance of knowing the answers to these questions.  Likewise, if you are an adult who wants to refresh your memory on certain concepts (like I love to go back to refreshing Statistics and mathematics fundamentals from time to time), getting  an easily available resource would be huge.

Then again, in today’s “must-have-expensive-private-tuition-otherwise-my-kid/I am- screwed” world, where nothing except crass entertainment (and perhaps ample opinions) is free, enter Khan Academy.

And these are just of the two reasons why you should visit KhanAcademy.org.

Just imagine if you could get good quality education- at your own pace- at the time that you want to.

This one line perhaps explains the concept of this virtual repository of education-well enough- but more in this video:

I first came to know about this while flipping through the Fortune  Magazine on iPAD- a few months ago. Since then, it has been talked about- and even Bill Gates has encouraged and endorsed the academy, and probably Gates Foundation will support the work at Khan Academy.

Salman Khan (or Sal Khan- as he is popularly known), the one man faculty and founder of the academy, is a Harvard MBA and former hedge fund manager. He has created about 1600+ videos since 2006 – short snippets of about 15 mins each on topics covering maths, science, economics, and other subjects. Goes a long way in demonstrating what perseverance- along with talent and passion can achieve.

Online video has been used for education since long- but the unique content, the quality, the approach and the consistency – all of these make for a great story for the Khan Academy.

Now that success has been demonstrated, what we’d like to see is the spread of the concept- across countries- and across languages. I sincerely believe in video’s real power will come to the forefront when local, vernacular content is created- making the internet a truly ubiquitous phenomenon. When the kids in the villages get world class education, and family resources do not constrain kids/adults from getting good education. In many countries, infrastructure could be  the constraint, but at least the content will not be.

Think about it.

@shalahpandey

This is one thing India was missing on till now- but I see some traction building up now.  And its about time.

Karam Lakshman, this year’s programme manager for iAccelerator (an incubator of internet & mobile startups in India) introduced me to this relatively new but exciting programme they have come up with.

The Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), an IIM (Indian Institute of Management) Ahmedabad endeavour, has invited entrepreneurs in the internet and mobile space to submit application under its iAccelerator incubation programme.

The incubation programme runs from June 1st to August 1st this year, and the deadline for submitting application for the iAccelerator’s current edition is April 10, 2010.

iAccelerator have their own building in the IIM campus, and the programme has run thrice in the last 2 years, and have already funded about 16 companies.

What to expect from the programme? Verbatim from Karam here:

Its fairly simple. You send us an application for funding saying that you want a startup that does xyz. We read every single application that comes in. If we like your application, we’ll get in touch with you via email and then meet you if the email conversation goes well. We’re funding companies in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bombay, Bangalore & Mumbai.
We offer living and working space in each of these cities if the startup needs them. Once you get selected, you spend 10 days at IIM to sort things like your business plan, get your company incorporated, etc… After that, you spend 3 months building the first version of your product.
We’ll have weekly meetings with mentors & inspiring speakers in your cities + free dinner !
After 3 months, we help you get your first set of customers so you can see if your product is actually viable.
We’ll take it from there after that… if you need funding and your customers are happy, we’d be happy to fund you ourselves or introduce you to other investors too.

The programme will be run by experienced professionals and CEOs from the Indian internet and mobile space.

The selection criterion:

According to iAccelerator, all you need to have is brilliance and a good idea. More here.

This differentiates their programme from other incubators in the present landscape.

More. (Verbatim again):

I think there’s a great story around the fact that there are extremely few incubators in India who are willing to fund a startup even if all they have is just an idea.

The other thing is, given that we’re backed by IIM-A… we can do a tremendous amount to help startups apart from just funding them.

If they apply from a place like mysore for example, we can give them living and working space in Bangalore.

We’ll get them in touch with mentors to advise them if they come across any difficulties and I think the greatest value we provide is the fact that we’ll help them get their first set of customers once their product ready.

The other great thing is that we’re the only incubator that can support a startup across the country, We’ve got amazing partners in Delhi, Bangalore, Bombay & Hyderabad apart from our own facility in Ahmedabad.

And no Red tape.

The best thing I can say however is that we’ve got zero in the way of red-tape even though we’re technically a government organization. That and we read every single application that comes in.

So that’s about it. if you are an Indian entrepreneur, go ahead and try this out. Best of luck to iAccelerator and all the applicants.

Keep on Chasing The Storm.

One thing I feel disenchanted about in Asia, is the fact that there is more “talking the talk” than “walking the talk” – when it comes to encouraging the start-up ecosystem.

Like many other things in life, people look at the West, marvel about how good the start up environment is (can the real slim shady please step up and explain- Silicon Valley is not ‘the West’). But when  it comes to supporting the start up ecosystem, hardly any one seems to put the money where their mouth is.

This seems to be true even in countries like Singapore, with a focus to foster entrepreneurship. There are loads of institutions for start up mentoring and support, but when it comes to seed stage or idea stage funding, there is more talk, than play. Many of these incubation institutions seem to be self serving tools for their founders (“I am a ‘mentor’/father figure for start ups”) than making any tangible real difference to start ups. 

Businesses need more than a garage and some computers to start with- though that makes for a nice story.  For a 50k grant, the expectation is that entrepreneurs will not have any earning and work full time to bring a product out in the market. Which is the reason why you see school/college kids starting up operations rather than serious, mature individuals. (and by that, I don’t mean grandpa). The ones who eventually do get something out of this, will probably be experienced individuals in the game of funding and ‘well connected’.

Most funding institutions have limited sight, angel investment is a rare thing, venture capital looks for (perceived) risk free/me-too projects (Online travel operator? tick. Online book selling company? tick. Online ad network? tick. Mobile ad network? double tick- because “you know AdMob got acquired by Google”) -you got the idea.

Yes there are incubation/funding institutions, but the truth is, it is too little with too much effort (to get at it- not the effort to make a successful company). Add the red tape (wait for 5 months for a 50k grant and still not be sure where you are)- and you are set for disappointment. (happened to some people I know).

This space has more action in words than deed.

Prove me wrong and I’ll dance with you.

“Think About It”- Ideas shaping digital media and marketing in the new decade

Its love’s labour. Really.

After more than a year of running ChasingTheStorm – with loads of loving time spent- and acquiring loads of loving friend circle, this is it. I put together a book.

“Think About It” is a book inspired by Ideas from this website. With more meat, more thoughts and well, in a different format. The title of the book is actually the signature I use in most articles.

The book covers Digital Media and Marketing trends in the new decade, Mobile Media, new marketing paradigms and Marketing Case studies.

It is written not as a tutorial to digital media platforms or Digital marketing 101. Rather- it attempts to raise a storm on specific Digital media issues. Offering an easy read for the evolved, thinking marketer, it is a book to raise debate- and expects a degree of interest in Digital Media.

I’ll talk more about it later- but since I am quite excited about it, I decided to put up the news anyways.

It’ll go in print soon (and available online and on the Kindle)- but as usual, not without your support in its making. I need you to help pick up the right cover design.

My good friend Ankur Khurana volunteered to get the cover design done- and boy- he did get them designed in two days flat. Many thanks buddy. And many thanks to MG Harti- the Art Director who helped the idea come into reality by doing many iterations.

So here are the designs- (the copy/text and some elements are dummy).

Just from a design layout perspective- let me know which ones do you like the best?

You could comment here, or

Email me: shalabhpandey at gmail dotcom

DM or @ at Twitter : @shalabhpandey

The cover Designs for “Think About It”

GROUP 1:

Cover One

Cover 2

Cover 3

Cover 4

GROUP 2:

Cover 5

Cover 6

Cover 7

Cover 8

Comment here, or

Email me: shalabhpandey at gmail dotcom

DM or @ at Twitter : @shalabhpandey

Think About It

Shalabh

Think of some oxymorons. And then think about this- “templatized entrepreneurship”.

In case you are actively looking for starting your own (tech/web) venture- and looking for any kind of assistance- financial or otherwise- be prepared for these templatized requirements from establishments:

Template 1) Single entrepreneurs are not welcome.Entrepreneurship support/financing companies are of the belief system that starting business is something that necessarily needs more than one founders.

This started from the hotbed of all such activities- Silicon Valley. Their Asian counterparts- as expected- take the template apply here. But is this requirement true of startup success /entrepreneurship all over the world? Is the culture in Asia more individual led than partnerships led?

This presentation from TED India descibes some nuances in the different value structures between the East and the West:

Template 2) If you are tech start up- not only do you need multiple partners, at least one of them has to be ‘Technology’ background.

Template 3) The younger you are, the more schemes there are for you. Age is inversely proportional to the chances of getting funding- and is directly proportional to the demands from the prospective venture

Template 4) Don’t get your spouse involved in the business. An incompetent partner is more welcome that a competent spouse. No body wants a Mom and pop show.

Template 5) A bad idea that everyone else is doing- is more valuable than a ‘good’ concept that no one is pursuing.

So in case you are looking for funding- follow these templates. And remember- it is always more important to spend your time in contests, shows and funding presentations.The work on business can wait- get the glamor on first.

Think about it

Shalabh

Welcome to 2010. The year when Social Networks get into early adulthood- and get married. To whom? The real world. FTW for sure. And sure enough- the best man will be the mobile device.

I don’t say this to promote Augmented reality. That I’ve already discounted. No- not given up (I think it is pretty cool) just time shifted- not for the next 6 months in 2010.

Why do I say so? Listen up:

• Facebook has more than 65 million members accessing it using mobile.
• 20 percent of Twitter streams originate from mobile devices
• In 2009, YouTube video watching through mobiles was up 52 percent-  according to a study published in May by Nielsen.

These three social networks- pretty much rule the web world- and they are slowly but surely being mobility driven. Mobile is the BFF of Social Networking. But there’s one marriage that is long being awaited. That between the real and the virtual world. Tying the knot between real life interaction and virtual (mobile +web) presence.

In late 2007, while being on a panel at GSMA in Macau, one of the things I had felt and brought up was that location awareness could give a great boost to mobile marketing. Though many marketers did not have a great degree of success at the time (with limited bluetooth and SMS campaigns), I always had this hunch that the one obvious advantage of mobile over others is – ahem-mobility. And we finally see it happening now- with the convergence of Social and real life (location) and Mobile.

While Twitter plans to incorporate location based features soon; applications like Google Latitude and Loopt are already in this direction. The ability to connect with ‘friends’ based on location hyper targeting coupled with other triggers is a ‘no- brainer’ path that will be taken soon by many others.

Marketing dollars will aid the growth of such services- we the marketers are hungry for these things. Forever. Ah! The pain of dealing with yet another technology and yet another platform.

See again- I said ‘marketing’ and not just ‘advertising’. Though advertising is the obvious beneficiary as well.

Ad Networks like AdMob are already cashing in to the opportunity (and I don’t mean the Google way) by offering location based ads.

But speaking of marketing, services like Foursquare have been making waves (and I promise you the buzz around this service will almost be as much as Twitter had from 2007-2009 the next year onwards).

Of course you know Foursquare- don’t you? a location-aware app that lets users “check in” at venues in a number of cities. The opportunities for footfalls are immense. You could do coupons (opt-ins of course) to subscribers within a certain radius of a location (say restaurant or boutique); or you could run loyalty rewards for frequent patrons (called Mayors for some funny reason)

Foursquare is not alone. I struggle to find Asian examples (trust me they will pop up within a month or two of this post) but there are other popular ones like Rummble (an interesting story of already brewing competition here) and Gowalla.

Rummble

Gowalla

Update on 7th feb 2010:

Just received a mail from Placepop about their offering too. In case you want to take them for a spin- you could try them free at the iTunes store

This is of course, not all. And there are at least a few solid Asian examples after all.

We saw Friendster acquisition by MoL, a company that will probably use the social network’s remaining audience base to promote m-commerce, micropayment led social gaming and what not.

Alongside, in October 2009, mobile manufacturer Ericsson tied up with Kaixin001. The deal was to incorporate more social activities to the handset and ease of access.

All said and done- Mr Real World- it is time to say “I do” to Lady Social Network. The best man “Mr Mobile” will keep a close watch.

Passion is everything.

It makes up for many weaknesses. It drives you to jump over the hurdles, go around them, or just kick them out of the way.

If you are passionate about your business or product, great marketing ideas will happen.  Great products will happen. Why, even great relationships will happen.

Passion is everything. It is not about teeth flinching, fist swishing, swash buckling, frantic paced walking up and down type. Passion can be quiet. Passion can be fun. Passion can be unassuming.

Passion is everything. Marry it with consistency- and it steers you to excellence.

Just a note to ending a very tough but very learning 2009. Wishing you a happy new year- may it be full of positive passion for newer and more interesting things in life.

Shalabh

I’m sure you must have heard the story of the Little Red Hen.

In a barnyard full of animals, there was a little red hen.

The Hen finds some wheat grains/seeds (lets say an entrepreneurial idea or a project concept) and wants to germinate it to grow into wheat plants so there could be a crop and everyone in the barn could eat the wheat.

She goes to every animal in the barn to sell the idea (team building/funding) and ask if anyone would be interested in joining in. All the animals decline- and so the hen does all the work herself.

Once the crop is done and bread is made, all the animals come in to eat it and demand a share.

Have you been through this?

Here is a beautiful modern adaption of this story here- my bits only in Italics:

Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard (say looking for opportunities) until she uncovered some grains of wheat.

She called her neighbors and said, “If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?” (say, Concept development/fund generation stage)

“Not I,” said the cow.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“Not I,” said the goose.

“Then I will,” said the little red hen, and she did.

The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. “Who will help me reap my wheat?” asked the little red hen. (The prototype stage)

“Not I,” said the duck.
“Out of my classification,” said the pig.
“I’d lose my seniority,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my unemployment compensation,” said the goose.

“Then I will,” said the little red hen, and she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. “Who will help me bake the bread?” asked the little red hen.

“That would be overtime for me,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my welfare benefits,” said the duck.
“I’m a dropout and never learned how,” said the pig.
“If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,” said the goose.

“Then I will,” said the little red hen. (Getting the funding, product prototype, business plan, legalities, done- and the concept is now successfully launched)

She baked five loaves and held them up for her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share.

But the little red hen said, “No, I can eat the five loaves.”

“Excess profits!” cried the cow.
“Capitalist leech!” screamed the duck.
“I demand equal rights!” yelled the goose.
And the pig just grunted.

And they painted “unfair” picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, “You must not be greedy.”

“But I earned the bread,” said the little red hen.

“Exactly,” said the agent. “That is the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide their product with the idle.”

And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, “I am grateful. I am grateful.”

But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.

————————————————————————————————–

OK the last bit had communist overtones- but pretty much summarizes the attitude of many people. Has this happened to you? As a manager, entrepreneur or in your personal life?

Think about it

Shalabh

Thumbnail Image: http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/Little%20Red%20Hen.bmp

In part 4 of this 4 part video brainstorm, we discuss how to market a start up.

Start ups usually do not have the luxury of huge advertising spends- and this pushed the boundaries being creative and using only the most efficient mediums for maximum bang for their buck.

Thorben highlights how he uses the Influencers (what I call the MicroInfluencers) to gain traction.

I had lots to discuss- but this was about them- and some good points were made .

Enjoy

Shalabh

In part 1 and part 2 of this 4 series video brainstorm, we discussed Orsiso and Advertising on social networks previously.

In Part3, we discuss whether downloadable appplications have a significant advantage over browser based or web based applications. Also another point- the funding story- the issues- what do investors look for, and the like.

In part 1 and part 2 of this 4 series video brainstorm, we discussed Orsiso and Advertising on social networks previously.

In Part3, we discuss whether downloadable appplications have a significant advantage over browser based or web based applications. Also another point- the funding story- the issues- what do investors look for, and the like.

Enjoy

Shalabh Pandey

We featured Orsiso in Part 1.

In part 2 of the discussion between myself (Shalabh Pandey) and Thorben, amongst other things, we discuss advertising on social networks, its significance and nuances.

Enjoy!

Larry and Sergey

These guys are the stuff dreams are made of. They ruled the world before thirty and double handedly (single handedly won’t be an appropriate phrase right?) altered the online advertising space.

For this company, at one time, normal was ordinary.Excellent was not good enough. And Extraordinary was default.

Buying a private Jet matching Air Force one wasn’t good enough. These guys had permission from NASA to use its landing strip. Now that is something.

Yes it is Larry Page and Sergey Brin- the founders of that Dream factory called Google.

As I always used to say- It is tough to form a company that hires its own celebrity chef. ( Google hired the chef of the rock band ‘Grateful Dead” once). But it is tougher to form a company that makes news when their menu changes. Or sweeps the press when the chef leaves.

Author- Richard L. Brandt

No these are not the facts Richard Brandt’s boook : “Inside Larry & Sergey’s Brain” delves on. These are things dotcom mavens like me have professionally grown up experiencing.

Richard Brandt’s book is a different take on Google- and actually it is about it’s two young and talented founders from Stanford University- and what goes in their minds while deciding the future of not only their company, but decisions impacting the Internet itself.

The book hinges on the moral stance of the duo- and the “Don’t be evil” motto of Google.

Richard does succeed in painting a picture of the duo in your minds. They actually come across as aggressive, resolute (unyielding) and brilliant (obviously)- quite contrary to the warm smiling faces that one is used to seeing in pictures.

It is an easy read- one of the few books I finished in about 2 days- and a good read for anyone who is starting up- specially in the Internet industry.  These guys are icons and we needed to know what is happening in those sharp brains resting on the smiley faces.

Larry is the main strategist – with business acumen and practical drive, while Sergey is the primary technologist and idealist, with brilliant ideas and strong moral positions. But they work closely together- almost like complenentay halves of a single brain.

Many things struck me from the book-

• Like AdSense was not developed by Google. Why even the name “AdSense” was not by Google. And all the while I thought it was a nice name to match “AdWords’
• Like what the founders said on their hiring policies- they like someone with a “slight disdain for the impossible”. It struck me because I have been searching for a single line short but powerful explanation to the question people often ask me- What is Chasing The Storm about? Well, it is about “A slight disdain for the impossible”.
• Even Adwords might not have been an original idea. As a matter of fact, Google settled out of court with Overture with regards to a patents battle in 2004 in exchange of 2.7 million shares. But Google did fine tune and develop the product in a fantastic way.
• When Microsoft bid to buy Yahoo, Larry, Sergei and Eric Schmidt opposed the scenario- saying almost the same things- as I mentioned in this post of mine in May 2007 . (Being a bit pompous I know- but feel happy that the thinking is similar. So what- if one is writing a post in the middle of the night and the others are probably sipping martini on a private island?)
• OK, on that- another common thread- while most web watchers are betting on Augmented reality and brain scanning as the next thing on the Internet- I have often said one of the next big things (media wise) is probably Video- both on the web and digital rendering over the TV. Interactive TV with targeting and measurability rivaling the internet- and so on. Google has tied up with Echo Star- a company that makes cable set top boxes and is working towards  delivering a better system to achieve its goals
• Perhaps the best quote from the book: Entrepreneurship is a crime of passion. It requires motive, means and opportunity.
• The ratio of revenues per employee at $1 million each- is the highest in the technology world- Microsoft weighs at $700,000 Revenue per employee
  
• “Don’t be evil” is a phenomenally simple and yet powerful philosophy. Simple yet difficult to achieve. Simple yet difficult to live up with. And to me, it should be the mantra of every single person on earth.

There are too many things to mention from the book. At least more than a mere blog post can merit- for what it is worth.

Facts that I think went missing from the book:

• No mention of Sir Vincent Cerf- and what impact did he have in the shaping of the company or future goals. Richard talks about a whole host of people but leaves behind Cerf- popularly credited as the Father of the Internet, who is now the Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. Google has a coup with the most respect respected brains- Sir Cerf, Eric Schmidt and Hal Varian- Chief Economist- whose writings we have read while in college. (Yes I graduated in Economics and sucked at it – coming from a science background- the only thing I liked was statistics I think)

• The second thing that I found conspicuous by its absence is the skipping  of click fraud as a topic. I mean if we have chapter or two dedicated to Google consenting to China censoring - we have totally missed a big huge debate in the digital media industry. An issue that every client spending their millions and every small business spending their hard strapped funds is worried of.

Of course Google is doing all it can (we hear it all the time- and see the credits in our ad words accounts), but if there ever was an issue- on transparency and Don’t be evil- it is probably click fraud. This book could have been a good excuse to tell the story on what is being done and how.

In case you happen to buy and read the book, let me know some discussion points. Thanks to Christy from Penguin Group for arranging to send this over.

I was on a panel at the Social Networking World Forum Asia  held in Singapore recently.

Posting the audio podcast here- will soon follow it up with the video version.

In case the above player does not work for you- here is the direct link to the audio to play online or download to your players: Shalabh Pandey at Social Networking World Forum Asia

The Panel’s topic was

Home entertainment, broadcast television and social media

and the topics covered were:

• The marriage of online video and social media
• How communities can help develop better TV programming
• Using social networks to engage new audiences and expand reach
• Integrating social media within the Television proposition
• Developing pay-tv with web 2.0 applications.

Panelists:

Thorben: CEO Orsiso

Nicolas Colinos, Deputy Sales Director, Eurosport Asia

Shalabh Pandey, Digital Marketing Thinker and Strategist, Singapore

Chaired by Euan Wilcox from The Upper Story (Who did a great job in steering conversations)

The premise or build up was thus:

Premium content and advertising is fast becoming a key strategy allowing social networks to monetize their sites. Viral content distribution has created a valuable new inventory for advertisers and a new business model for the entire media industry.

We look at at content services, the strategy behind there delivery and how this can be developed.

In the audio clip, podcast and video, I have basically cut down the talk to my opinions – so apologies to the rest of the panel members- I will take the first opportunity to upload entire content (runs into 3 GB+ and it is a pain- so had to cut down)

Think about it

Shalabh