What Happens When Google Goes Down!

No, the world does not end!! But, if I go by my twitter feed a google outage might be a sign that the world might be coming to an end. BTW, if you did not know Google just had a major outage and pretty much all services were down including the search engine Google.com. Google services are now back atleast for me!!

Wonder what chaos ensues when Google goes down!!  The current outage might have been a minor one but lets see what happens when google goes down!

What happens when Google Goes Down?

Chances are you hear it first on Twitter or if you are a software developer like I was in my past avatar, you realize your work comes to a standstill. Bad jokes apart, panic sets in as the digitarti discovers that Google services they rely on so badly is not accessible. Think Google Search, Google Mail / Apps, Google Docs and a range of Google services used widely by people.

Here is a list of things that can happen when Google Goes Down

• Twitter goes down as well. Well, more like folks tweeting "Is Google Down" and others responding with "Yes, Here As Well" set off a chain reaction and the virality of Twitter becomes its Achilles heel and you are hit by a #failwhale. Ouch!
• Coders and IT Managers Get Frantic. It might be self-deprecating but it is true. Thousands of coders working in software companies are hit by a sudden realization that they have lost their coding skills all of a sudden. No google means there is no search and that means there is no easy way to find out what is the solution to the darn bug you are getting.
  IT Managers on the other hand being the considerate type they are, realize the obvious hindrance and start thinking of way to push the deliverable deadline. God forbid, if Google goes down for more than a day or two they will have no answer as to why no work is getting done
• People discover something called ‘Bing’ exists. Oh yeah! Microsoft’s awesome search engine ‘Bing’ that never seems to give me decent search results, ever. If Google goes out for a full day, expect a press release with the title ‘Bing traffic explodes, Microsoft’s investments paying off’
• Google Announces It’s Time To Materialize Its Evil Plans. Unlikely and scary, but imagine Google decides that the ‘Free’ era is over and announces the outage was an intended move. Anyone who wants to access Google services now needs to give an arm and a leg to be able to use Google’s services or it is over. I cant imagine a headline saying ‘Google’s World Domination Has Begun’
• Robert Scoble Is Not Able to Bash Twitter, On Google+. Well, if you have been active on Google+ you will know what I am talking about. With Google services down, where will Robert Scoble diss twitter and the fact that Twitter is not innovating at all

On a more serious note, there is no denying our dependence on Google. Privacy issues and monopolistic strategy notwithstanding, Google has its users by the hook across a majority of its services. For me, a twitter outage itself makes me realize that something is missing so imagine what Google outage means.

Do share your thoughts on what can happen when Google goes down? How does it affect you.

PS: This was my not-so-good attempt at writing a humor style post. My intention was not to malign any brand or individual

Five Important Wall Street Q3 Results [Apple, Goldman, BoA, Citigroup, Yahoo]

Even as India Inc moves forward with its Q2 fiscal earnings, the top Wall Street companies are slowly oozing out with their Q3 results performance amid slowdown and deficit-reeling US economy.

While the global sentiment is mired by the unanimous downgrade of Spain’s creditworthiness by three credit rating agencies – Fitch Ratings, S&P and now even Moody’s; the Wall Street earnings have been no show-stealer amid mixed-bag of results with some banks doing well, while few others including Apple missing earnings forecast.

Let me summarize a few important Wall Street earnings performance over here:

Apple drags on lower iPhone sales

In a rare instance on missing its earnings forecast, Apple Inc reported a net profit of $6.62 billion (up 54% from $4.31 billion last year) on revenues of $28.3 billion, which came in a tad lower than Wall Street expectation of $30 billion, for its fiscal fourth quarter of this year.

At 17.7 million, Apple sold 21% more iPhones than last year during the July to September 2011 quarter, with no new next-generation iPhone and iPad releases. However, the iPhone sales fell short by 19% when compared with its previous quarter figures.

Goldman stutters with underwriting losses

Investment banker Goldman Sachs reported a quarterly loss of $428 million for the three months ended September 2011, run down by slump in its investment portfolio and fall in trading revenues. This was its second-ever quarterly loss in at least a decade, next only to post-Lehman era loss of $1.6 billion in Q4-2008.

Goldman’s net revenues came in at $3.59 billion, down 60% from $8.9 billion a year ago period. The Q3 results include $1.05 billion losses from investment in Industrial and commercial Bank of China. Its investment and lending business lost $2.48 billion during the quarter under review.

Bank of America prospers with one-time gains

Bank of America, the second biggest US bank by assets next only to JP Morgan Chase, posted a net profit of $6.23 billion. Revenues recorded a growth of 6% to $28.7 billion mostly led by one-time accounting gains related to debt valuations.

In the race to claim position of top-most American bank, Bank of America came in second with its $2.22 trillion in assets, behind JP Morgan Chase’s which reported assets of $2.29 trillion in this latest quarter.

Citigroup in the pink of health

Citigroup posted positive Q3 results with net income of $3.77 billion, up 74% from $2.17 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, backed by lower losses from loans and $1.9 billion from credit valuation adjustment gains.

Citigroup, which is fourth largest US bank, posted revenues of $20.8 billion, almost at par with its revenues clocked in the year-ago period. The bank’s losses from bad loans came down by 41% during the July-September quarter to $4.5 billion.

Yahoo beats estimates

Internet portal Yahoo announced its third quarter results with dwindling sales and profitability, led by growing prominence of social media platforms and Google search products. Yahoo Inc posted Q3 profit of $293 million, with search queries showing tepid growth.

Revenues for the third quarter came in at $1.07 billion, down 4.5% from $1.12 billion recorded last year for the September-end quarter. The revenues exclude traffic acquisition costs. The internet giant is aiming for more business partnerships to target growing monetization.

 

What’s wrong with BSNL – They have disconnected IDEA, Vodafone & others from their network!

Since last Saturday I am unable to make calls from my idea connection to any number on BSNL network connections. This is most likely due to the non-payment of interconnect usage charges (IUC) by Private Mobile Operators. IUC are essentially the charges paid by one operator to the other for using its network to complete calls and send SMSes. So when Idea consumer makes a call to BSNL network – Idea has to pay certain charges to complete its call to BSNL and vice-versa.

Here is the recording of message that I get when I try to make calls from my Idea Network to BSNL.

BSNL has lot of outstanding from various operators for very long time, and there is no doubt that private operators are responsible to pay BSNL, but that does not mean that users should get screwed for this issues between operators.

Infact, BSNL has defied the ruling of the appellate tribunal which has directed BSNL not to disconnect users from its network and had clearly stated that the operators shall continue to pay intra-circle carriage charges to BSNL at the same rate that they had been paying since July, 2010.

The question is – What should consumers do in such a scenario? Any answers?

Ice Cream Sandwich – Newest Android version with NFC Awesomeness!

The internet has been abuzz with the launch of Android’s latest Mobile Operating System and it comes in with lot of goodies including NFC or the Near Field Communication in form on Android Beam!

Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich seems to be the most polished Android ever. For the first time Android is talking about beauty and elegance. Thanks to Guy Kawasaki, Android is now enchanting. At least the Android team thinks it is.

There are some significant improvements to make things easier and to make the Android experience less geeky.

While there are more features of interest on ICS, here are the top 5 which makes things simpler :

People App

ICS’s new People app works on the contact list and gathers the social media activity. There are quite a few apps/startups who are working in this space. They want to make Address Book sexy again. Xobni Smartr is one such app. Drumbi is yet another app. Everyme is another intelligent social address book app. I hope Android is trying to answer all these apps with the People app.

Roboto

A new typeface completely worked from ground up. This gives Android a completely new look.

Android Beam

 

You can literally touch 2 ICS powered phones which are also NFC enabled to transfer content. If you are viewing a web page on phone A, then bring phone B and make it hug phone A and voila, the web page is on phone B. A new way to share things.

Think of Andriod Beam as Bluetooth and Bump without the pairing and with some excessive touch. The applications of nifty little NFC chips are just far too many…think mobile payments for one…

Quick response

This is a quick text message you can send to someone who called you at the wrong time. This is such a simple thing to implement, I wonder, why no one has implemented it till now. A simple feature phone like Samsung Corby had it much before than ICS. Better late than never.

Face Unlock

 

No more gestures and no more passwords. You can unlock your Android phone with just your smile. Now you got one more reason to smile.

There are features like single motion panoramic camera, taking the screen shot from the phone, WiFi Direct, rich notifications, multi tasking, recent apps and enhanced Google+ experience.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first Ice Cream Sandwich powered phone.

Should you be buying Facebook and Twitter followers?

If you are not aware, it is true that many brands, businesses and individuals buy twitter and facebook followers to inflate their followers count.

Does buying fans and followers on social media sound unethical to you? Unethical or not, many small and large business who don’t have the time, patience or inclination to gradually build up a genuine following, are adapting this new trend of buying followers and fans for their social media pages. Here are a few things you should consider before you bulk buy for your social media.

 

Make a good impression

Have you noticed that you tend to "Like" something on Facebook more promptly if it already has a following of 30,000 people and it ‘looks’ popular? And sometimes, until you know of the product, service of the social media page personally, you’d generally be iffy on following a page that has only a handful likes or a few followers, isn’t?

Many businesses consider buying Facebook or Twitter followers not because that’s actually going to convert more lead for into sales them in the future, but for setting up random visitors psychologically that their page is popular, accepted and worth following.

More fans and followers but no interaction

You may end up buying fans and followers for increasing potential sales in your business but you can you buy interaction too? It’s extremely easy to recognize fake followers and fans if a visitor sees no interaction of your fans or followers with your brand.

There have been cases where paid fans and followers copy paste multiple comments, wall posts or tweets for various businesses. This becomes an immediate getaway to the fact that your popularity has been paid for, which may harm your reputation considerably.

Top search results within Facebook and Twitter

We wonder if having more followers can push you up in the ranks of search results in Google. But your chances of turning up in searches made within Facebook and Twitter can decrease considerably if you have more followers.

Again, it will also boil down to having good content on your Facebook or Twitter page because even if you manage to route traffic to your page by showing off popularity with large number of followers, you won’t be able to hold the visitor for long if nothing interests him/her.

Risk for negativity

Do you know what kind of harm you risk for your brand by buying followers for Facebook or Twitter? Imagine you woke up one morning to find out that a follower has posted for fun "Hey guys, I am a paid follower. Is anyone else paid here?" or "Get a better offer for following XYZ".

This could not only mean a complete waste of money for the followers you bought, but also a complete slur on the name of your brand. Your genuine followers will feel betrayed and never trust you again. There isn’t much potential for signing a contract with each individual follower to post only positive comments right?

Buy the target audience you want

One big advantage of buying Facebook and Twitter following though, is that businesses can select the range and profile of the type of fans and followers they want. For instance, if you have a beauty product to sell, you could specifically buy American women fans in the age group of 25-40 and so on (yes, there are services that give you that).

On the other hand, if you solely depend on building genuine traffic, you would probably take a long time to build up a following of potential customers and a target audience of the exact diversity and category that you would hope for.

It may sound like we’re sitting on the fence here, but it’s really a matter of every business’ ethics and policy to bulk buy followers on social media or not. Building genuine fans and followers who can regularly interact with your brand and actually consume your marketing communication sounds like a much better idea to us.

What’s your opinion? Should social media followers be bought?

Enterprises Adopting Gamification In Unique Ways!

"Gamification" framework has been embraced by a lot of companies in the recent years and the likes of Zynga, Foursquare, Badgeville have succeeded tremendously by either implementing gamification features for virality or for developing a relative royalty / reward system.

Personally, I am always fascinated by the applications of gamification in the workplace. I discussed in an earlier post how gamification can help brands expose their true work culture to prospective employees. Despite numerous success studies and sheer simplicity of gamification principles (perfect implementation is a tough ask though), there haven’t been too many case studies emerging where enterprises have implemented gamification techniques in unique and innovative ways to improve employee engagement or to make work FUN.

What is heartening to see is that some of the interesting gamification applications are coming from large scale enterprises like IBM, Deloitte, SAP AG etc. as these companies strive to take the boring out of the workplace. The applications range from very simple ones like awarding badges based on meeting specific milestones or morphing a CRM system to look like a golf course ( I personally loved this gamification implementation by SAP AG)

What you see in the image is an application that SAP provides its sales rep.  Golf Balls represent "leads" and have detailed information about the leads and users can drag these leads into the holes (assign the lead to a specific sales representatives)

Now there may not be something groundbreaking about this, but it sure sounds and looks fun instead of having a system wherein you fill data in lots of boxes and then assign a lead to a rep by choosing the name from a drop-down.

Badge based applications are the most commonly used when it comes to bringing gamification into the enterprise. Badge based applications can be highly customized but they tend to deliver one thing nonetheless – making the employee feel special. It can be in the form of bragging rights, recognition or monetary rewards but badges offer a sense of achievement (akin to becoming a mayor in Foursquare).

What are your thoughts on gamification in the enterprise? If  you are aware of more interesting cases where enterprises have implemented gamification techniques in interesting and unique ways, do share with us!

Brand Revitalization: How Burberry revitalized their brand.

Burberry is an iconic luxury brand established in 1856. Its Tartan pattern is one of the most creative contributions to the world of fashion. It is the 98^th most valuable brand in the world and has Royal warrants from the Queen herself.

But some time ago the Burberry brand almost lost its value and this was due to factors outside its control. In the 1990’s Burberry became the favorite apparel of choice of the English soccer Hooligans who used to travel across Europe to support their teams. These hooligans had habit of instigating violence after the matches and often looting stores across Europe. These hooligans found out that if they dressed in Burberry attire they were less likely to be picked up by the police in continental Europe.

In the 2000’s the trend spread to other youngsters from the inner city neighborhoods in the UK who were also inspired by the Gangster rap movement from the US. Finally Burberry became the apparel of choice of the Chav movement. The Chavs were prone to violent crimes and also social disturbances especially at the pubs. For more on this, please read.

Soon most social establishments including pubs banned Burberry. And soon Burberry sales started flagging as most self- respecting customers started avoiding Burberry.

Now why did this happen? Burberry had been worn by Gentlemen like Ronald Amundsen, the first person to reach South Pole. Then why did this iconic brand become the favorite among soccer hooligans, gangster and the Chav.

Well, the main reason was introduction of a line of clothing that was targeted at the youth. Especially the main culprit was the Burberry variant of the baseball cap. This line of clothing attracted the youth especially the gangster rap and Chav movement. Secondly in order to become more mass market, Burberry had lost its identity as fashion apparel and not one intended for the masses.

Luckily the brand took some painful steps and they can be summarized as the following

– Revitalized the brand as a fashion brand. Signed up leading actresses and models in the UK including Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn and Jourdan Dunn. Recently they unveiled Emma Watson as the face of 2009.

– Discontinued their mass market line especially the caps that were creating most of the problem. The reduction of this line and their non-availability to the gangs led to decline in their popularity among this segment.

– Associated heavily with leading fashion publications like GQ, esquire and Vogue.

These are some of the prominent steps revitalized the brand. There was also a change in management and in 2008 Burberry showed an increase in revenue despite economic down turn affecting the global economy.

Though Burberry survived, the Revitalization was strongly dependent on the association of the brand with luxury. Luckily for Burberry the association was strong. A weaker brand would not have survived.

It was difficult for me to find a brand in India, which as come back strongly, so I had to take example of Burberry – Do you recall any Indian brand which has revitalized itself like this ?

How should you make yourself stand out in an organization?

Are you armed with a degree from a good university in India or abroad? Look around, there are thousands more who have it too. If you are working in a mid-sized to a big organization, chances are that there will be more people in your workplace or office who will have degrees and qualification similar to yours.

Here’s the big question then… how do you make yourself stand out in an organization? Let’s look at some simple yet very effective tips that we all can use to really stand out and shine.

Offer suggestions when you’re not asked

Let’s suppose you overheard your bosses talk in their offices about an issue at work which happens to fall in your area of expertise. Their discussion is stuck at a point which only you know the answer to, or maybe their discussion is going the wrong way and you know the exact input they are looking for. But here’s the irony. You are not part of the discussion nor are you at a certain position in the organizational hierarchy to be able to take part in it. What do you do?

To stand out in an organization, feel free to give your inputs and ideas. If you think that your job can be done more efficiently, say it. Bosses and managers appreciate when their subordinates do and think more than ‘what they are told’.

Take responsibility and fix it

Have you noticed that when something goes right, everyone swoops in to take credit? However when something goes wrong, there will be no takers for the blame or responsibility?

It’s not surprising because it is human nature to avoid conflicts. Here’s your chance to stand out in your organization. If you’ve caused a blunder or have made a mistake, take responsibility for it. Rather than sulking about it, tell your boss that you will look into it and solve the problem. Managers and bosses appreciate when people ‘step up to the plate’.

What’s your special skill?

Everyone has a special skill or talent. Your talent could be analyzing charts while someone else’s could be making great presentations. Use your special skill and talent to stand out from the crowd in your organization. Turn a dormant skill into your company’s asset. Once your bosses are aware of your skills, they will notice you and have you at the back of their mind.

Take genuine interest in your work to gain personal satisfaction

This tip to help you stand out in an organization is all about bringing out your passion for your work. When you’re working on a project or task in your company, we suggest that you show and take genuine interest on a daily basis.

At the end of each day, look back and see what you’ve accomplished to gain personal satisfaction from your achievements. Why are we telling this to you? Because it is a fact that genuine interest and passion never goes unnoticed.

Don’t stay back at work

Contrary to popular belief in India that long hours equals more work, managers are now waking up to the fact that work can be done smartly and within normal working hours. If you have the need to stay back 2-3 hours every evening at work, it could also mean that you can’t get work done in time, as opposed to the thought of looking like a hard worker.

So stick to your work timings and finish your work load within these hours. This will also show to your boss that you have a life outside work.

Heed these tips and make yourself heard, seen and felt at your workplace!

We would be glad to hear any other tips that you have up your sleeve that makes you stand-out in an Organization!

New Car Launches feast on Festive Season in India!

2011 can be dubbed as the year of new car launches in India. Moreover, with the festive season of Diwali round the corner, most of the new car launches have been cluttered in the months of Oct-Nov. Even September saw buzzing activity with a spate of new releases from various automobile companies.

Audi A6

The most premium car launch has been Audi A6, which is also one of the most efficient vehicles in the business luxury car segment with a fuel efficiency of 18.9 kmpl. The new entry-level executive sedan has been priced at Rs.37.7 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

The vehicle’s 2.0 diesel engine generates 130 kW with displacement of 1968 cc. Audi A6 is built from hybrid material, tagged as ‘Audi Ultra’ technology. The car boasts of some exquisite multimedia functions as well.

Skoda Rapid

Coming to C+ Segment sedan cars, Skoda is all set to roll-out its compact entry-level sedan car ‘Rapid’ in direct competition with the popular Maruti SX4 and Honda City. The compact sedan, which is expected to leverage on the Vento’s platform, will be priced in the range of Rs.7 lakh to Rs.9.30 lakh.

Its 1.6-liter engine will provide a maximum output of 105 Bhp and 153 Nm torque. Rapid will be the first car from Skoda to be designed keeping in mind the needs of Indian customers with high degree of localized manufacturing.

Mahindra XUV500

At Rs.10-13 lakh price range, you can now buy a sturdy Mahindra XUV500 in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment. This monster vehicle is powered by MHawk engine with 5^th generation variable geometry turbocharger.

The Mahindra SUV sports a  much superior interior and exterior looks, a big change from its traditional image as manufacturer of tough utility vehicles in heavy category. The exterior comes with a cool LED-day light running lights, delightful aesthetics and marvelous looks provided by honeycomb grill.

Honda Brio

With its dwindling brand value of Jazz, City, Civic and Accord, Honda SIEL is all set to lure small car segment buyers in India with its new Honda Brio, powered by 1.2-liter advanced i-VTEC engine, in the price range of Rs.3.95 lakh onwards.

The Indian JV Honda Siel Cars Limited has nurtured this car by imposing cost controls, maximizing production efficiencies and savings administered by higher degree of localization, to engage in price competition with the popular Hyundai i10. As a part of festive offer, Hyundai’s i10’s era model is now available at a price of Rs.4.20 lakh on-road in Mumbai.

Nissan Sunny

The new Nissan Sunny sedan was launched on September 20. Nissan’s starting range sedan has been equipped with 1.5-liter DOHC 16 valve engine providing 99 bhp and 134 Nm petrol engine with a five speed manual transmission for all variants.

The Sunny sedan has been priced at Rs.5.78 lakh for its base version; and inches up to Rs.7.68 lakh for its topped-up version. The petrol version of the car is capable of delivering a fuel-mileage of 16.5 kmpl.

Hyundai Eon

With the recent launch of Hyundai Eon, the South Korean automaker has jumped in direct competition with Maruti’s highest selling four-wheeler car, Alto, in the compact car market share. Hyundai’s futuristic small car definitely has an edge over Maruti Alto in terms of  interiors, jazzy looks and advanced use of technology.

Priced in the range of Rs.2.5 to 3.8 lakh, Hyundai’s new A-Segment car will be powered by 814 cc IRDE petrol engine developing 56 bhp and 75 Nm of torque. The small car will provide a fuel-saving 21 kmpl of average drive.

RIP: Dennis Ritchie Dead At 70

                             Dennis Ritchie died at home this weekend after a long illness. I'm sure every "Unix" and "C" user will miss him.He was the key developer of the Unix and original developer of the C programming language.

                      

                              Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie was an American computer scientist notable for developing C and for having influence on other programming languages, as well as operating systems such as Multics and Unix. He received the Turing Award in 1983 and the National Medal of Technology 1998 on April 21, 1999. Ritchie was the head of Lucent Technologies System Software Research Department when he retired in 2007.

India to experience 4G services as early as Jan – to cost nearly as much as 3G!

                                 Yes, that’s what it looks like – According to the news appearing on TMI, mobile users in Indian states of Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh may experience 4G services as early as January 2012.

3G has not taken off in India – Infact, many users (including yours truly) have moved back to GPRS / Edge internet even though 3G is available.

                                Although, telecom providers are offering attractive discounts and schemes on 3G services, the adoption rate has been quite low. One of the main reasons being extremely poor & erratic speeds, that also affects basic voice calls.

                                Now, even as 3G services is struggling with its adoption rate, Augere Wireless Broadband India, who bagged BWA spectrum for those 2 states are planning to launch 4G services in Bhopal by January and by April in 14 cities of Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh. Augere Wireless will be offering 4G broadband services under their “ZOOSH” brand.

                                  Incase, you are not aware – 4G stands for fourth generation of mobile communication technology  through TD-LTE (Time-Division Long-Term Evolution), which will enhance user’s experience of faster wireless broadband including web, online gaming and video streaming even while on the move. It essentially provides much faster internet speeds as compared to 3G services.

                                    The TMI article also states that the 4G services will be priced nearly equivalent to what users they pay for existing 3G data services. In my personal opinion, the cost of HAS to come down for users to adopt these services, be it 4G or even 3G. The prices are just too high for most of the mobile users.

And one of the most important aspects for 4G adoption will also depend on 4G enabled mobile handsets – Currently, we don’t even have a single 4G enabled handset being sold in India.

                                      It is going to be interesting to see when & how other BWA spectrum holders will launch their 4G services. Reliance is the only one who have Pan-India BWA license. Other companies who hold BWA spectrum include Aircel (8 circles), Tikona Wireless (5 circles), Airtel (4 circles) and Qualcomm (4 circles).

What’s your take? Do you think 4G services will get popular in India?

5 tips for using Youtube effectively for your business

                           Are you using YouTube videos for your business just by uploading videos like an average user? You need to realize that YouTube is not just any other video hosting platform. It has many powerful tools that you could use to generate traffic on your website and promote your business.

If you are using YouTube to promote your business, make sure you use the following tips.

Upload a variety of videos frequently

                              A great way to promote your products, services and business as a whole is to create videos that range from showing viewers how to use the product, podcasts from non-confidential meetings, slide presentations, interviews with customers as their testimonials and so on.

Maintain interactivity by giving regular video responses, hosting contests, polls, giving out freebies etc.                               

                                Create a playlist of related products or services grouped together so that a viewer is automatically directed to one video after the other.

Make a customized YouTube channel

                                  If you are randomly uploading your business videos on YouTube, you’re making a terrible mistake. It is extremely important to represent your business logo, color, aesthetic, formal details etc together on a YouTube channel. They go a long way in business branding and brand recall!

                                   The best part about using a channel is that users can subscribe to it and receive email alerts and reminders about every single update that you may have posted. A Youtube Channel is a great packaged way of representing your all the details of company on Youtube at once.

Promote and embed your YouTube links on other forums

                                 You may have a fantastic regular updated channel, lots of amazing videos and interactive business content, but all that is no good until you have people watching it. You must aggressively embed and promote your YouTube URLs in other related forums and through advertising.

A great way of using YouTube for your business would also be to embed your company’s YouTube channel in your email signature. Tweet about your YouTube videos and Facebook them regularly. If your followers see your active participation with YouTube, there are more chances of your videos being watched.

Use YouTube’s lesser known features

                                   YouTube is power packed with innovative features such as annotations, which is the text that you can place within the video, YouTube Insight which will display your channel’s performance in detail, AudioSwap, Language Options, Quick Capture and much more.

Also, you must follow YouTube’s official blog and ‘TestTube‘ to make use of their new and upcoming services regularly.

Don’t miss out on the details

                                  Are you missing out on the small details of YouTube such as adding tags to your videos, enabling comments, writing video captions, using keywords in your description text, placing your videos in the correct categories and so on? If you think these details are small enough to be ignored, you’re wrong. You will be able to generate traffic and promote your business only when you make sure that you’re utilizing the power of YouTube in every possible way.

                                     The statistical importance of YouTube is so high that it is impossible to ignore it as a medium to promote your business. With Billions of people spending an average of a few minutes a day on this popular video hosting service, you can take your business to the next level if you harness the power of YouTube effectively.

Take a look at this Youtube Infographic which was released few months back by Google!

Youtube Infographic

Are you convinced now that Youtube is a indispensable tool for your business ?

Apple’s iOS 5 launch on Oct 12

                            iPhone’s iOS 5 new operating system launch date is set on October 12, that will be made available on popular Apple devices such as iPhone 4, iPad and next-generation iPod Touch music players. Moreover, even iCloud, Apple’s cloud-based service offering, will also be made available for download for users on the same day.

Official Facebook App for iPad users FBapp thumb 150x150 Buzzing News: Infosys Results, PSLV C18, August IIP & Sept Exports data & Apple iOS 5 launch date!

                          Facebook has released its iPad application on popular demand, to allow the tablet users to connect with its social network in a tablet-friendly version of the website. The newly launched software will enable users to navigate through high-resolution photos, games, chat with friends and update their status without any systemic hiccups.

Infosys cheers market by Q2 numbers

                                This time around, IT bellwether Infosys announced above-expectation earnings at Rs.1906 crore, up 9.72%, to completely stump the street estimates, despite deteriorating macroeconomic scenario globally. India’s No.2 software service exporter also announced an interim dividend of Rs.15 per share. The company has revised its FY12 guidance to Rs.33501-34088 crore in rupee terms.

Hack pc in your network

Facebook Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy [Comparison Infographic]

                         One of the biggest gripe that users have/had with Facebook was its privacy. Additionally, Facebook privacy has gone through so many iterations over the years, FB users are actually more confused about it. It has been a sticky issue for Facebook for a while, however, it has not stopped facebook from reaching a whooping 800 million users.

                        Google+ on the other hand made a blockbuster opening, garnering over 50 million users in just less than 3 months – And one of the main reasons was its absolutely simplified privacy. Google+ users exactly knew what they were sharing with whom and who it would be visible to.

                         So – how does Facebook’s privacy stack up against its younger peer Google+. Here is nifty infographic published by Peer1 hosting that depicts Facebook’s Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy. It makes for an interesting visual.

Facebook Privacy Vs Google+ Privacy

  

 

Here are couple of real gems from the Infographic, if you missed them.

• The “Like” button is considered illegal in Germany and carries a fine of upto 50,000 euros!
• Facebook will guess your interests, even if you have provided absolutely no information in your profile, based on interests of your friends!

Mobile Roaming Charges may soon become Free – Draft Telecom Policy 2011

                         The new Draft Telecom Policy 2011, which is set to replace the existing Telecom Policy has number of amendments that should make Indian consumers happy and at the same may create more anguish for Telecom Operators – who are already reeling under tremendous margin pressure to keep themselves afloat.

                        One of the proposals in the new Draft Telecom Policy is to abolish the Roaming charges completely. This will be a very big positive for Indian consumers especially frequent travelers who generally pay relatively heavy roaming charges. 

                         In current circumstances, when consumer moves out of his existing “home” circle to any of the 22 designated telecom circles, he has to pay additional charges by way of roaming. But the new “Pan-India single circle” kind of setup will ensure that mobile call charges are even through-out India, irrespective of place, city or region you are calling from.

                         Currently, even though MNP is available, it becomes very difficult for users to retain their number when they move out of their existing circles as all calls are charged at roaming rates. The new policy will allow such users to retain the numbers without any extra call costs.

                         Having said that – this new proposal will not go down well with Telecom Operators who are reeling under tremendous margin pressures. According to estimates, Mobile roaming generates Rs 13,000-14,000 crore, or roughly 10% of total revenues of telecom operators. With such high chunk of revenues coming from roaming services, it will be very difficult for Telecom Operators to accept this proposal and it will most likely be met with stiff resistance.   

                        Additionally, according to article in BS, the new draft telecom policy proposes to separate the licensing and spectrum allocation functions from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which will continue to retain the policy-making area. The subordinate offices of DoT will be given with the licensing and spectrum allocation work, which will ensure that more transparency is bought in licensing norms and procedures.

                       This new draft telecom policy is expected to be unveiled next week by Indian HRD minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal, though the implementation of this policy may take quite a bit of time. Telecom Operators will not accept this decision too easily…

R.I.P Steve Jobs!

                            The shocking news of Steve Jobs death was announced by Apple yesterday – World has lost a true genius, an artist, a CEO, an inspiring leader and a visionary. Very few people come close to Steve Jobs and his greatness. It would not be wrong to take his name in line-up of select few people who changed millions of lives across the globe.

The world will dearly miss him– Rest in Peace Steve Jobs!

Note: We are republishing a post on Steve Jobs that we have featured earlier on trak.in, that shows a small glimpse of the kind of man he was and how seriously he took his work!

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Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple . Although, he will be Chairman of Apple, his day to day involvement in Operations will not be there!

 

                          Whether you are an apple fanatic or not, you will agree to one thing – If it was not for Steve Jobs, Apple would not have been half of what it is today. He probably is aware of every minute detail of design of Apple Products.

A example of it was given to us today by none other than Google Social Media head – Vic Gundotra. In his recent update on Google Plus, he narrated an experience he has with Steve Jobs, and it clearly goes to show why Steve Jobs is really “The Steve Jobs”

Here is the incident narrated by Vic Gundotra:

ICON AMBULANCE

                        One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said "Caller ID unknown". I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. "Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss" it said.

                        Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

                        "Hey Steve – this is Vic", I said. "I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn’t pick up".

                        Steve laughed. He said, "Vic, unless the Caller ID said ‘GOD’, you should never pick up during services".

                        I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

"So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I’ve already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow" said Steve.
 

                     "I’ve been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I’m not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn’t have the right yellow gradient. It’s just wrong and I’m going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

                      Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject "Icon Ambulance". The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

                      Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

                     But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I’ll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

                    To one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic

                     This story just goes to tell how particular Steve Jobs was about anything that was connected to Apple. You can’t have better designed products than Apple, can you ?

                        There is a reason why Apple has become (albeit temporarily) world’s most valuable company!

MHRD’s Aakash will cost Rs. 2276! Will be sold in Retail

                             Here is the first news that has come out – The price of the MHRD’s Aakash Tablet is going to be Rs. 2276 and it will be available in retail. It was previously thought that it will only be available to students. But that’s not the case, it will be available to everyone at that cost.

                             Additionally, although we are not able to confirm this 100%, students are NOT going to have subsidized rate of Rs. 1200 (we have yet to confirm this…) as widely anticipated. It will be at same cost of Rs. 2276!

At today’s rate, the Tablet cost works out to about USD 46.5 unlike the previously announced USD 35.

                           MHRD has tied up with Canadian Datawind to manufacture these tablets.

This Post will be updated frequently as we get details from the launch – so stay tuned.

Update: The MHRD’s Aakash Tablet has been unveiled, and the details given above are quite accurate. Here is Hon. HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal inaugurating low cost Aakash Tablet

Aakash Tablet Hardware Specifications

• Processor: 336 Mhz Connexant with Graphics accelerator and HD Video co-processor & graphics Accelerator
• Memory: 256 mb ram
• Storage (internal) : 2Gb
• Ports: 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Audio: 3.5 mm audio jack
• Display: 7” resistive touch Screen
• Resolution: 800X480 resolution
• Connectivity: GPRS and Wifi
• Battery Backup: Upto 180 minutes on battery

Aakash Tablet Software Specifications

• OS: Android 2.2
• Office Document Support
• Audio / Video / Image support
• PDF Viewer & Text Editor
• and other standard software supported by Android OS.

                          So, finally we have details on this much awaited, much talked about and much controversial low cost tablet called Aakash!

 

Brand Arrogance: How Market leaders lose the plot – lessons from Honda

                          Market leaders are always in a peculiar position. Always faced with the daunting task of keeping their position, Often than not, they lose track of what got them to the top and end up as laggards in the Industry they once dominated. In other words they become victims of Brand Arrogance.

                         Take Hindustan Motors (HM) the makers of the iconic ‘Ambassador’ for example today they are a shadow of their former self. But up until the mid- 80’s the only challenge for Hindustan Motors was coming from Premier Motors and a substitute competition from Bajaj scooters.

                         But then the arrogance steeped in and HM never thought of providing what customers wanted and slowly but surely slipped into oblivion.

                         Twenty years later, another auto company is going down the same route and this is actually a surprise. When Honda entered India, it was with a bang. They had brought in a popular car that was in many ways built for Indian roads, the Honda City. In the early 2000’s it used to be a matter of pride to own and drive a Honda City. City ruled the roads in its segment for many years but soon the Customers were looking for a change and Honda was not listening.    

                             They released a Civic as a logical upgrade but that did not have many takers. Honda Accord was too expensive for most. The Honda Jazz though a very good car was definitely over priced for its segment.

                           And after losing much of the market share Honda finally launches the Brio one of the cheapest cars in its segment. But in my opinion it is a little too late.

                           The Brio comes in at a time when the market is flooded with cars, and also with petrol only variant when the Petrol prices are at an all-time high. Further Honda cuts the prices on the Jazz and City, an act that it has never done. 

It is not difficult to figure out what the result would be.

So how can a market leader avoid brand arrogance?

                      I believe there are three simple steps in which a good brand can keep its ears open and be cognizant of what the customers are saying.

Listen to the customer

                      Often brands go into a ‘speak only’ mode and even use their communication channels to only broadcast. They often stop listening and taking in any feedback from customers and prospects. I once recently overheard a Honda official calling the City a luxury car. I was really amazed at that analogy, it could have been 10 years ago but now with every second car being a sedan, the concept of luxury in India had become an Audi or Bentley.

Effectively Leverage Social Media

                      A quick check on the Honda India Twitter account shows just 240 odd followers and 740 odd tweets. In a piece earlier I had discussed what lessons Marketers can learn from Volkswagen.

                      Currently Volkswagen India has about 5000 followers and has been present in India only in the last two years. Also Volkswagen is running a contest which is in sync with its marketing campaign for Jetta called ‘anything4jetta’.

Brands should always strive to build a community and engage the same to bolster themselves. A good example to this effect is Apple which over the years has built a strong community of Apple fanatics who would not hesitate from paying the price for an Apple product.

Play to your strengths

                       Honda has traditionally been strong at R & D. Hence it should continue doing the same rather than trying to reduce the price and get into a very dangerous price war which its competitors like Suzuki and Hyundai. I feel what Honda should have done earlier was to dazzle existing customers and prospects with its technology by bringing out cars with advanced features that the Consumers are seeking.  

Volkswagen did introduce many new features on the Vento and stole the march over Honda.

                        In conclusion I feel that most brands, when they get into leadership position, forget about the very attributes that got them there. This situation is not endemic to Auto but can be seen across Industries.

It is the role of the marketing managers to ensure that Brand Arrogance is kept away and customers are always the focus of a brand whether it is a leader, challenger or niche player.

Your thoughts welcome!