Folksonomies (as opposed to taxonomies)

I have been watching a new technology that has got tongues in the online community wagging a lot lately. Its called the folksonomy phenomenon. It is a distributed way of tagging content on the web. It is inherently different from taxonomy which is more rigid in nature. It may be defined as loose taxonomy. Here content is tagged based on social perception and situational context. A remarkable site that lets you practice folksonomy is DEL.ICIO.US. It adds a script to the bookmarks toolbar of your browser that lets you add tags to url's that one visits based on personal relevance. These tags can then be shared with the other users of the online community. An interesting picture that emerges is that website publishers have no control over the taxonomical classification of the content on their webpage. Instead the online community decides relevant tags for the webpage. It is a very powerful system of classifying content that is more relevant to the end user. It would come as no surprise if Window wasnt tagged under OS but is tagged as JUNK ;-). An useful feature that I would like added to the site is something I would call REVERSE FOLKSONOMY. This feature would given an URL, tell me what are the various TAGS that have been assigned to it arranged according to number. That would help me re-think my entire publishing strategy and ensure that my content means what I want it to mean. Neat huh?

Dell theory of conflict prevention

Heres a very interesting article that appeared in the Times of India. It talks about how globalisation ushers peace in troubled nations.
Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism and rated America's most important columnist by the New York Times, puts forth in his book what he calls the "Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention ".
This stipulates that no two countries that are part of a major global supply chain, like the American computer company Dell, will ever fight a war against each other as long as both are part of the same supply chain.
Friedman recalls that tense summer of 2002 in the subcontinent when the prolonged military standoff between India and Pakistan led the US State Department to warn American citizens to leave India because the prospect of a nuclear exchange with Pakistan was becoming very real.
"The global American firms that had moved their backrooms and R&D operations to Bangalore were deeply unnerved. "
It was then that Indian technology majors like Wipro, Mind Tree and MphasiS brought the urgency of the matter before the government in New Delhi, saying US companies that had decided to outsource mission-critical research and operations to India were a worried lot . . .
Heres the link to the complete article - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1153141.cms

Web content the Ajax way

In continuation of my killer apps series, today I am posting on a killer app that's taking the web experience to new heights. Its called Ajax(Asynchronous JavaScript + XML), and what it does to the user's web experience is something that all of us experience everyday but fail to take note of. Ok, this is the technology that drives Google Maps, GMail, Flickr and Google Suggest. So whats new about it and why is it that it can change the marketplace? To answer that one simply has to understand that how is it that Gmail differs from the normal web based mail interfaces. The storage limit aside(which isnt surprising because storage is getting cheaper with every passing moment), probably the most powerful value-add of gmail is that it brings the power of a desktop e-mail client to a web based application. The almost seamless responses, and the blank page free experience is what differentiates gmail from the other web based mail clients. Interested in reading up more?
Read on . . . .
Ajax unravelled

Please vote:
http://snappoll.com/poll/19011.php

A day at the consulate

I had been to Chennai with my wife on the 22nd to get my visa stamped. We were booked for a 1:30-1:45 slot but reached the consulate a good 30 minutes in advance. On reaching the consulate we was surprised to find a long queue at the entrance that was growing by the minute. Like the good FIFO's that we were we too joined the fag end of the snaking queue. The heat was oppressive and within minutes I started sweating profusely. The minutes ticked on and soon it was a good 1.5 hours past my scheduled appointment. After another 15 minutes of waiting we finally got to go inside at 3:15 pm. To tell you the truth, I was slightly apalled because I always felt that Americans laid a lot of stress on optimising processes. So technically speaking, I shouldnt have had to wait for more than 45 minutes.
After 2 rounds of metal detectors and two rounds of screening, we finally made it to the PA area. Now unlike the rest of the consulate, this area is completely manned by the Americans except for a few Indian ushers, who are mainly there for crowd control. The lobby was jam-packed with people of all ages. There were retired people, students, techies and businessmen. There were about 10-12 counters where the actual interviews were taking place. I took our token number and we sat down to wait for our turn. While we were waiting we listened in on the other interviews that were taking place. There was an American consular officer at one of the counters who was harassing the people a lot. She was asking all kinds of baseless questions that were in no way relevant to the purpose of the interview. I saw her rejecting quite a number of applications. I was in particular offended by the way in which she rejected the application of an old retiree who wanted to go to the US to visit his son. She was very rude to him without any immediately visible cause and after harassing him for 15 minutes she finally rejected his visa application. I felt sorry for the old man and the way in which he was treated. The other consular officers were very well mannered and were treating the people in an even handed manner. Strange how one rotten apple spoils the bunch. National pride aside, I felt that her behaviour was very un-professional. There is a reason for which the PA process exists. It is not an elimination round where they try and eliminate the greatest number of people that they can. It is just a process by which the officer verifies whether the applicant is actually a genuine one and not a phoney.
At about 5:10 we were asked to approach the counter. The lady manning the counter was a very sweet and professional lady. She greeted us, verified our credentials and asked me some questions pertaining to the category of Visa I has applied for. She then asked my wife a couple of questions to establish whether we were truly married or not. The entire process took at most 5 minutes.
America doesnt look like the land of the free to me. It looks more like the land of the scared. The consulate here was the closest thing to a fort. 10 inch thick walls, security details, bullet proof glass and metal detectors gave me a feeling of being in a war zone. I value my privacy a lot and felt uneasy about being fingerprinted at the consulate. After all my fingerprints are my identity and I dont want them lying in some American data center where they may be used in any manner that the Americans see as fit. Will an American citizen take to it kindly if he/she was fingerprinted at the port of entry in India? Well what can I say except that, we need to travel THERE more than they need to travel HERE. Thats the price one pays to enter the Land of the Free.

Killer Apps (The future of computing)

I have decided to make a running list of technologies that I percieve have the potential to change the rules of the market-place. This will be a list that will be updated frequently. A direct link to the list will be available from the side bar under the section "Technology".
Killer Apps

1. Open Source
2. Ajax
3. Folksonomies

OSS vs Microsoft. Who will win?

Here is a very interesting article(HBS) that I read on the turf war between Microsoft and the Open Source Community. An interesting conclusion of the article was that "Piracy actually helps Microsoft keep inflating prices and make more profits". Sounds confusing??? Read on . . .

Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?

Related articles:
An organisational model for Open Source
The secret of how Microsoft stays on top.
Simple economics of Open Source

"Thou art tagged"

Count me in the tagging game. I was tagged by Metal. Thanks dude. Would be fun to know where this chain spreads to. :-)
Behold, Thou Art Tagged For Life. I Christen Thee "Lords of Blogosphere".

1. Metal
2. MIB
3. Arundhoti
4. Yashodeep
5. Wilson

List of my Must Reads(chronological)
HMS Ulysses - Alistair McLean A gripping WWII tale of courage and fortitude. It is the story of a doomed British cruiser and the courage under fire exhibited by her crew and captain. Has a sad ending.

Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Howard Roark(the protagonist), is a gifted architect who will break but still wouldnt bend. In a world full of second-handers and oppurtunists, he stands out alone, battling for his ideals and his values. Definitely the best of anything ever written by Rand.

The Day of the Jackal - Fredrick Forsythe
Definitely one of Forsythe's greatest works. This gripping story of a hired assassin out to kill the President of France(Charles de Gaulle), is un-putdownable and has eerie similiratities to real life events. The ending is simply superb.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Omnibus - Douglas Noel Adams (DNA)
This 5 part masterpiece by DNA is a laugh riot. An assortment of bizzare characters like Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Prefect and Marvin the despodent robot, create the perfect setting for putting down DNA's observations on life and people. Behind its funny exterior lies deep philosophy and dark satire. Have read it many many times.

The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid - C.K. Prahlad
Was deeple inspired by Prahlad's revelations that for businesses to do well they must cater to the deep bottom of the human prosperity pyramid. The case studies presented were mind blowing. Doing something of this nature would forever be an aim in my life.

Steve Jobs Graduation Day Speech at Stanford

Below are excerpts from Job's speech:

PALO ALTO, California -- Steve Jobs told Stanford University graduates Sunday that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made because it forced him to be innovative -- even when it came to finding enough money for dinner.

In an unusually candid commencement speech, Apple Computer's CEO also told the almost 5,000 graduates that his bout with a rare form of pancreatic cancer reemphasized the need to live each day to the fullest.

"Your time is limited so don't let it be wasted living someone else's life," Jobs said to a packed stadium of graduates, alumni and family.

Jobs, wearing sandals and jeans under his robe, was treated like a rock star by the students, in large part due to the surge in popularity of Apple's iPod digital music player.

A group of students wore iPod mini costumes over their robes and several shouted, "Steve, hire me!"

Jobs, 50, said he attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon but dropped out after only eight months because it was too expensive for his working-class family. He said his real education started when he "dropped in" on whatever classes interested him -- including calligraphy.

Jobs said he lived off 5-cent soda recycling deposits and free food offered by Hare Krishnas while taking classes.

He told the graduates that few friends could see the value of learning calligraphy at the time but that painstaking attention to detail -- including mastering different "fonts" -- was what set Macintosh apart from its competitors.

"If I had never dropped out I might never have dropped in on that calligraphy," Jobs said.

Jobs also recounted founding Apple in his parent's basement and his tough times after being forced out of the company he founded when he was only 30.

"I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the valley," Jobs said.

Instead, he founded Pixar Studios, which has released enormously popular films such as Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc.

"It was awful tasting medicine but I guess the patient needed it," Jobs said.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, Jobs said his doctor told him he only had three-to-six months to live. He later found out he had a rare, treatable form of the disease -- but he still learned a tough lesson.

"Remembering you are going to die is the best way to avoid the fear that you have something to lose," he said.

Before the ceremony, a plane rented by the Computer TakeBack Campaign, an environmental group, flew over the stadium with a banner that read: "Steve, don't be a mini player -- recycle all e-waste." The group is prodding Apple to improve its efforts to recycle obsolete electronics.

The Porcelain Express

My favorite pastime this week has been taking rides on the Porcelain Express :-) . Have been taking as many as four rides daily. Naturally, the past year and a half had been good to me. Home cooked food and proper sleep . Now, I am again at the mercy of the elements. Add to that my roomie's penchant for rich food and you get the perfect setting for a stomach on the loose.
The other day I met Pradeep's sister Deepa at my workplace. Had to do a lot of head scratching to put a name to the face(I am terribly bad with female faces). Finally when she introduced herself, I was left feeling embarrased. After all I have been to her wedding, her brother's wedding, her kids christening ceremony and God knows how many other such occassions. She joined the organisation I work for about a week back and coincidentally is in the same group that I work for. The world's a small place.
Bangalore is an absolute menace to anonymity. Every time you are out you run the risk of running into people you have been associated with at some point in your life. I have bumped into all kinds of people ranging from school mates, college mates to old sweethearts(just wishing :-)). I sometimes wonder, how the city coped with such a large transient population. The promise of a better life and better oppurtunities bring thousands of people to the city every passing day.
Interestingly, such a large migrant population has given rise to innovative strategies of making money. Natives have started converting their apartments into shared accomodation, making almost double the money they would have, if they had rented out the apartment as a whole. Interestingly the call it Paying Guest Accomodation, which I feel is a complete misnormer. Also Bangalore probably has more Andhra Style Restaurants than probably Andhra Pradesh itself. These joints offer Andhra style meals at low prices and are very popular with the migrant crowd. One thing I like about Bangalore are its Juice Centers. For as low as 10(20 cents) rupees, you can have a mug full of fresh fruit juice. Now thats real value for money. Another strange thing that I noticed about the place is that most of the petty businesses here, like convenience stores and eateries, are run by migrants from either Tamil Nadu or Kerala. I dont see any businesses owned and opearted by Kannadigas. Strange, isnt it?

A wet wedding

Had been to Chennai for a couple of days to attend a wedding. One of Priya's cousins was getting married and we thought that it was the perfect oppurtunity to meet up. The wedding was a grand affair with the usual hustle and bustle that is routine down south. The girl was a Tam Brahm and the groom was a Keralite. We reached the venue on time to find that everyone except the bride and the groom was present. Apparently, the grroms family had decided to hijack the wedding ceremony(as is common in inter-cultural matches) and get the couple married Kerala ishtyle, much to the consternation of the bride's side. After hours of waiting, the couple and their immediate families turned up fully married, much to the bewilderment of the assembled guests. The guests tired of waiting in the stifling heat, decided that the best bet now would be to greet the couple and push off to the lunching area.
I and Priya greeted the newly wed couple and without much ado hurried to the lunching area. The lunch was undoubtedly the best part of the entire wedding. People were seated on benches facing long tables laid with banana leaves for plates. There was an assortment of items, the number of which escapes my little mind. I dived into the food and savored the mild vegetarian delicacies with zest. Half an hour and a full stomach later we bid our goodbyes and beat the hell out of there.
Evening again saw us assembled at the same venue for the reception. Accompanying us were most of the people who were present for the morning ceremony. As with the morning ceremony, the food was again a saving grace.
One thing I noticed about Chennai natives is their ability to tolerate heat and the discomfit caused by perennial sweating. Each one of them carries a large handkerchief which if wringled could solve the world's water problems with finality. Also people use a lot of talcum powder on their faces. A Chennaiite at night is an eerie spectacle with with a white face set on a dark body. Before long it was time to head back to Bangalore. It surely was a wet wedding.