Freakonomics – Book review

Finished this book called Freakonomics recently, I say finished because I was waiting to finish. Just a bunch of trivia and lot of ‘Masala’, covers this book. I do not say it is essentially a bad book, but freak things cannot be called a type of economics. That’s a bit too far at least given what is there in this book. I would have rather read a fiction, at least I knew it is a waste of time, and would not be disappointed at the end of the day. Trash it.

Free – Book Review

Another book review in a short span! Actually the previous one was written a week ago and kept in draft. I thought I will update some more info, but then realized I had nothing much to say!

Okay, coming to this one, “Free” by Chris Anderson is a quick and enjoyable read. It is so contemporary I sometimes felt I am reading a blog rather than a book. The general Idea he is trying to say is that in the digital business, no longer money comes before. Duh! we would feel. But I think there are so many guys out there who still think they should charge for email and twitter. This book is for them. For us, it is just reassuring that at least some one realizes why Internet is Hip. Recommended.

India Unbound – book review

I recently finished this book, and I should say overall I am happy that I took this.  This book does not seem to follow a pattern of writing and neither its contents are in chronological order, but I am just saying. It really helps to know what you have avoided. It makes you feel happy that you were not born a decade ago.  There are also some great moments on insight and a very street smart analysis of getting things done in India. Recommended.

Flipkart salary

Hey there, thanks for dropping in, but unfortunately I do not know the salary they would offer at Flipkart. I write this because, I see so many guys coming to my blog, in search of any clues. But let me give you an idea, the guys at Flipkart are  cool and would probably tell you what they can offer, If you mail to them via careers@flipkart.com. You may also contact them via Twitter at @flipkartdotcom, @shivku, @m_mekin and @binnybansal.

Good luck with your job, and if this post was somehow useful, you may show your love by dropping a comment or by subscribing to my blog.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

A very interesting TED talk, of course all TED talks are interesting, but I am just amazed at this guy’s ability to think so out of box!

NDTV Hindu – Reload

Although I try to avoid writing about this channel, I couldn’t. NDTV Hindu is growing now, by leaps and bounds. It recently tied up with BIG TV and thus making itself available for a national audience. There are a few pointers which I would like to give which can ensure that it get’s the maximum attention and viewership.

1. It has one of the most obtuse web presence for a television channel. I could not find a website for it. Neither did a google search provided link to any official page. This might turn catastrophic. It would not take time for others to book some cool domains related to its name and ask for a high price.

2. It does not also have a wider web presence. I mean it is not active on Twitter! A company which runs show for the english speaking middle class elite and whose external participants are mostly children and teens, it is a surprise that its presence of Twitter is abysmal, there are no tweets after the initial one which is a month ago, and it is not following any one. #FAIL. [I assume @ndtvhindu is the right one].

3. Its marketing is poor. Hindu newspaper is rocking because it is there for a century. But one should be foolish to expect the same to happen for NDTV Hindu too! I do not see The Hindu fully leveraging its reach to market NDTV Hindu. Prime time news is broken in Tamil and people are eager to listen to a good News show. It is a very lucrative market and NH can claim a good following with in few months if it positions itself properly.

4. One another irritating aspect of NH is the pronunciation of its anchors when it comes to tamil words including places and names. “Vellachirey?” C’mon, we understand it only when you say “veelaacheery” and that pronunciation is fine. In fact it is authentic. Why don’t you see?

Overall, I am expecting NH to grow and position itself in good stead. On a related note don’t miss out the bashing of Prime time News channels in India by Sevanti Ninan in today’s Hindu.

Vulgar Salaries

There is a new set of austerity the government is trying to impose on the private sector. Vulgar Salaries for its CEOs should be stopped whined Mr. Kursheed.  But Montek, you too?

I strongly disagree with this though I am not a CEO myself The reasons being it would not take another V.P Singh or Raj Thackeray to smell a good potion brewing. Then it would be hell broke loose. Every Neta, pissed of by their leaders’ austerity measure will start shouting this until we see the good execs going back to ‘phoren’ countries. It reminds me of the disgusting license raj period where private sector was an euphemism for quasi government. Everything for price control, wages, production, exports and market were determined by the ‘Wesley Mouch’ s of India, Terrible.

Now, any government measure has not been fully implemented. Remember, Reliance grew in spite of License Raj, and Aditya Birla took off to South east and else where? Don’t you think the same may happen with Bharti Mittal or Anil Ambani? Mr Mittal is already pissed off with the failure to convert the MTN deal, now it would add insult to the injury. Please give us a break.

Another related question, why can’t these politicians and government officials including Judges who own more than a limit say 10 crore give away their salary and work for a Rupee? Rahul, are you game?