ideaburger

Who created the Apple "Think Different" Campaign?

2011-12-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Well, Think Different, says Rob Siltanen.

Read on...

Jay, Bangalore

The Five Traits That Get You Promoted to CEO :)

2011-04-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Passionate curiosity
Battle-hardened confidence
Team smarts
A simple mindset
Fearlessness

Read on! http://goo.gl/f3f55

Cellphone Centric Living

2010-11-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

Consider this:
4.2 million people are using their cellphones at any given time
89% of U.S. citizens owned cellphones in 2009
In the U.S., 4 out of 5 teenagers carry a mobile phone
47% can text with their eyes closed

More here

Jay, Bangalore

A Nobel Prize for Hope...

2009-10-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize as a "Call to Action" - "a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

View the video here.

Jay, Bangalore

First Dates

2009-10-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

Steve blogs about Organizational ADD. Read more about it here:
50 Million First Dates

Jay, Bangalore

"Always Be Learning..."

2009-01-25T05:18:00.000-08:00

Garr Reynold has a list...over at Presentation Zen. Here is five I particularly like.

In structure there is freedom and spontaneity.
Restraints and limitations can be great liberator
Listen more than speak
Embrace the power of now, this moment.
Always be learning. Always be learning. Always be learning.

The full list is here.

Jay, from Bangalore

BMW M - Climbing up the cliff

2008-12-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Worldwide, when car sales is literally dropping off a cliff, one car manufacturer is showing the world that it is also possible to CLIMB UP THAT CLIFF!

Riding on the phenomenal success of the new M3, the BMW M lineup sold an unprecedented 22,340 units as of November, exceeding the previous year's sales figures of 14,092 units by
over 50 per cent.

Big lessons there for OEMs, Retailers, Designers, Marketeers and of course Marketing Communicators.

Jay, from Bangalore

Communication counts

2008-11-22T20:14:00.001-08:00

Communications - it's not just what you say. It's also what you do.
And it counts most when everything hangs in balance.

Jay, from Bangalore

Marcom Lesson #01: Trust

2008-11-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

"You can fool us once, but probably not twice.", says Seth Godin.
"Trust is really valuable and equally fragile."

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Obama Lessons

2008-11-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

Six Obama Lessons for marketers
Obama understood the meaning of Actionable Messaging.
And that made all the difference!

Marketing lessons from the US election
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/11/marketing-lesso.html

What Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Campaign
http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=132237

Obama's Web marketing triumph
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/29/technology/leonard_politics.fortune

The Marketing of the President 2008
http://www.patrickruffini.com/2008/02/13/the-marketing-of-the-president-2008/

Obama: Web marketer of the year
http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/44c1daacd7257afc0f4b6915980a0f17-503.html#unique-entry-id-503

Obama wins on Google before he wins the elections
http://www.portentinteractive.com/blog/obama-mccain-seo.htm

And One for Sriduth, my son...

9 lessons in balance, love, and leadership
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=7987743a7fddc110VgnVCM20000012281eac____&page=1

Jay, from Bangalore

November 4, 2008 -The Power Of Words

2008-11-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Life. Liberty. Opportunity. Hope.
Change we can believe in.
"Yes, we can!"

Simple, everyday words. Words that articulate clear, elegant, concise, thoughts.

Words close to truth.

Words that inspire. Words that empower.

Words that indeed changed the world, this Autumn night.

Jay, from Bangalore

“Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships”

2008-09-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

And perhaps that's why they are always, ALWAYS met with resistance.

"Your friends may love you, but they don't want you to change. If you change, then their dynamic with you also changes." - says Hugh Mclead.

" They like things the way they are, that's how they love you- the way you are, not the way you may become. Ergo, they have no incentive to see you change. And they will be resistant to anything that catalyzes it. That's human nature."

Jay, from Bangalore

The Netbook Revolution

2008-07-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

Asus, the Asian company little known outside the mother-board and graphic cards market, has led a quiet revolution almost as significant as the IBM PC of the eighties.

Moving away from the smaller, and faster mainstream market for laptops, the Asus eeepc, which is smaller and cheaper, created a new "Netbook" category overnight.

Now, the "Netbook" niche is threatening the mainstream, and PC manufacturers are worried.

Meanwhile, portable computing became cheaper, more reliable and convenient.

Jay, from Bangalore

Apple right on top

2008-07-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Apple is right on top of the IDEA design awards 2008, striking Gold with the iPhone, the Macbook Air, and the Apple wireless keyboard.

The Winners.

Jay, from Bangalore

Bill Gates - a computer in every home and on every desk

2008-06-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you Bill for that bootlegged Windows 95 OS on which I learned to make mistakes.
Thank you for Windows 98 on which I grew up.
Thank you for Win xp on my office PC. It did not even crash once the last year.
Thank you for Office 97. And thank you for office 2007.
Thank you for Regedit. Thank you for "format c:"

And thank you for DX8.1 on which my son Sriduth discovered his first games.

Thank you for making computers ... well, usable, playable, tweakable, and kickable.

Jay, from Bangalore

Story of the web

2008-06-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Like any real-life success story, this one is also full of surprises, unexpected turns, off-track growth, and adrenalin pumping breakthroughs, not to say the best years of the world's best.

And who succeeds the best? As always, the ones who sell pans!

How the web was won. Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Obama and Drucker: the five eternal questions

2008-06-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Peter Drucker's five eternal questions for business:
What is our mission?
Who is our customer?
What does the customer value?
What are our results?
What is our plan?

Business Week's Rick Wartzman wrote an interesting article about how Obama found the right answers. Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

Office 2.0 is here

2008-06-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

There is nothing virtual about it. Office 2.0, the connected, networked, real-time work place is here.

Work together, anywhere, says Adobe Acrobat. Google Docs offers "Free web-based word processor and spreadsheet, which allow you share and collaborate online." (Right idea, wrong grammar!)

Many organizations now prefer the real-time features of Google Docs over Microsoft Office, making for surprisingly speedy adoption..

Here is Scoble's take on Office 2.0

For an exhaustive list of Office 2.0 tools, click here. How many of these are you using right now??

Jay, from Bangalore

People and environments

2008-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Pleasant. Caring. Engaged." people are the key to success, says Tom Peters.

‘Pleasant, caring, engaged’ work environments create "Pleasant. Caring. Engaged." people, says ideaburger.

Join the conversation here.

Jay, from Bangalore

12 PR secrets for startups

2008-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

"Measure Success, Not Traffic" - reminds Brian Solis.

The PR secrets:

"Understand You’re Not the Only Story in Town."
"Pick the Right Person or Team to Lead PR."
"Participation is Marketing."
"Identify The Target Audience For Every Step Of Your Growth."
"Don’t Launch on Mondays."
"No Two Bloggers or Journalists are Created Equal."
"Measure Success, Not Traffic."
"Customize the News For Each Influencer to Make His Or Her Job Easier."
"Get a Spokesperson."
"Your Company Blog is More Powerful Than You May Think."
"Blogger Relations Extends from the “A-List” to the Magic Middle."
"Follow the Conversations and Join In."

I find #3 and #7 the most revealing.

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

The changing face of business travel

2008-05-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Business traveling is changing.

"Certain types of corporate jaunts may be dead for good.", says Business Week. [more]

"If oil is $130 a barrel and if security adds two or three hours to a trip and if people are doing more and more business with those far afield...,and if we need to bring together more people from more places when we get together...,and if the alternatives, like video conferencing or threaded online conversations continue to get better and better, then..., I think the standard for a great meeting or a terrific conference has changed." says Seth Godin [more]

Means a paradigm shift in business communications. Is your next business presentation compatible with a virtual meeting?

Jay, from Bangalore

Social Responsibility - the new competitive advantage

2008-05-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

The 2008 IBM CEO Survey has some startling facts.

Over 18% of the 1000 + CEOs and Public Sector Leaders surveyed claimed they are adopting their organizations to address the social concerns of their customers.

Is this the dawn of what IBM calls the "Socially Minded Customer" - a new breed of customer who knows what's good for society at large is also good for her, and knows where to pull the levers to get it?

Is Social Mindedness here to stay? Can you be social minded and still meet quarterly targets?

A lot more than business profitability depends on the answers. What do you think?

Jay, from Bangalore

Building Brand Friendship

2008-05-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Creating Friends for your Brand

Rule 1 - "The only way to have a friend is to be one."

Rule 2 -"you can't force friendship. As a marketer, there's no way to compel people to feel comfortable with your brand. You can, however, take steps to initiate friendship."

Read On...

Jay, from BangaloreSave as Draft

The mafiosi's management handbook

2008-04-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Running the mafia can be infinitely more challenging than running a legal business. That's why the innovative always thrive, even among the mafiosi.

Here is a sneak peek into the mafiosi's management practices, some of it penned by Bernardo Provenzano himself - from Jail.

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

The dark side of blogging

2008-04-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has an interesting article about blogging here. And Scobleizer has an interesting rejoinder here.

Well, blogging is certainly proving to be deadly to another class of journalists. The print media professionals.

Read the Washington Post article on declining newspaper sales here.

Jay, from Bangalore

"The absolute dominant screen in the world. "

2008-04-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

"None of us now, are ever, ever, ever, more than a few inches away from a screen because we all carry the mobile phone in our pocket, we all have a computer at work or at home, we all have five or six TV screens at home, we have our iPods with us" - says Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saachi Worldwide.

"We're constantly in a world with a screen. More and more that screen will be, as it is in many cases already, interactive, it will be social, it will be networked and it will be mobile".

But for the next 20 years or more, "TV will be the absolute dominant screen in the world", says the author of Lovemarks.

"You're not going to watch a game of football on a 3x3 inch iPod; you're going to watch it on a 40-inch high tech, high digital TV screen".

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

If you are "innovative" enough

2008-03-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

If you are "innovative" enough, you can trigger a global economic meltdown.

Here is the New York Times take on it.

Tom Peters has a Sub Prime Primer here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Creating an interesting resume

2008-03-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

"A resume is not your life story.", says Brazen Careerist. "The only things that should be on your resume are achievements."

Here's more -
Don’t focus on your responsibilities, focus on what you achieved.
Don’t make your resume a moral statement; it’s a marketing document.
Don’t give everything away in the resume.

While I personally disagree on the idea of focusing on the don'ts, it may be of assistance
if you are creating a resume now. Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

The six M's of Marketing

2008-03-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

One more interesting list to ponder over.

Mission
Message
Market
Media
Moment
Money

Read on.

Jay, from Bangalore

When your marketing clashes with the "Surrounding context"

2008-03-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

"Marketing isn't just about creating impressions or getting attention" - says Business Week. "To be truly effective, the visibility your brand generates should be relevant within the surrounding context."

What happens when your next big idea is a disconnect?
Read on.

Jay, from Bangalore

Fostering Innovation

2008-03-01T03:56:00.000-08:00

The Fast Company Blog has Marissa Mayer's 9 principles of Innovation.

But nothing fosters innovation better than Challenge AND Trust.

You innovate the best when you are trusted and relied upon to do the impossible, yesterday.

You innovate the most when you need to cram in more than the usual 24 hours into your days, and you need to do it over and over again.

Jay, from Bangalore

Social Networking Worldmap

2008-03-01T03:46:00.001-08:00

The social networking worldmap at psfk.com, very useful if you are into Social Media.

Click on the image for a larger view. Find the orginal post here.

Jay, from Bangalore

The World's Most Innovative Companies

2008-02-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

#1 - Google
#2 - Apple
#3 - Facebook
#4 - GE
#5 - IDEO

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

Challenges shape talent

2008-02-20T04:39:00.000-08:00

Challenges shape talent, and even create it.

That said, creating a climate of opportunity and yes, challenge, is no mean task. One man's boredom is another's challenge, and yet another's insurmountable brick wall.

Einstein would have had a tough time to get into the MITs and IITs of today.
And as Steve Jobs said famously, his Stanford Address was "the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation".

How do you create the right challenges that bring out the talent in people? What is the "right cut" that brings out the shine?

Jay, from Bangalore

Four ways to improve PowerPoint Presentations

2008-02-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

Lifehacker has an interesting post on Harvard cognitive scientist Stephen M. Kosslyn and his four suggestions to improve Powerpoint Presentations.

The Goldilocks Rule
Present the "just right" amount of data. Never include more information than your audience needs in a visual image.

The Rudolph Rule
Rudolph the reindeer's red nose stood out from the other reindeers' and led them. Even small differences guide your audience to what's important. If you're presenting a piece of relevant data in a list, why not make the data of interest a different color from the list? Or circle it in red?

The Rule of Four
The brain can generally hold only four pieces of visual information simultaneously. Don't ever present more than four things at once.

The Birds of a Feather Rule
Organize information belonging to the same group by giving them similat visual tags -color or shape.

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

Scoble and the art of breathing

2008-02-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

These days, if you are not doing something that scares you once in a while, you are probably not doing anything really worthwhile. Question is, are you breathing healthy while you are at it?

Scobleizer has an interesting post here.

Here is my take on it.
It takes more than breath control to stay on top of your world. It takes a “Perspective view”, a sense of the “whole” even when you plunge into one world of detail after the another.

In short, it takes meditation.Breath control is one of the ways that help you "get" it.

Look at what the meditative guys are doing - look what a stint of soul searching in India did to Steve Jobs. Or what the burning man did to the Google folks.

Jay, from Bangalore

The Steve Yastrow Blog: Great Thinking, Great Conversations

2008-02-13T03:33:00.000-08:00

Steve Yastrow, the author of "Brand Harmony" and "We: The Ideal Customer Relationship", has started a new blog at yastrow.com

Great thinking and great conversations make for a great blog. Just try Steve's blog!

Jay, from Bangalore

Bad news for online display ads

2008-02-13T03:14:00.000-08:00

Slashdot goes to town with a new report that 6% of viewers generate 50% of click throughs. They are mostly males between 25 and 44 years of age, have incomes under $40K, and their clicks are not related to offline buying.

The reason why organic search engine results always beat paid ads.

Marcom/ SEO/ SEM brethren out there, time to sit up and take notice.

Jay, from Bangalore

Fear, Hope, Love

2008-02-12T04:46:00.000-08:00

"The easiest way to build a brand is to sell fear", says Seth Godin. "The best way, though, may be to deliver on hope while aiming for love..."

"Chanel is in the hope business. How else to get you to spend $5,000 a gallon for perfume?"
"Rudy Giuliani was the fear candidate."
"Ronald Reagan was beloved. So was JFK."

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

The Steve Jobs Secret

2008-01-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

What is the Steve Jobs secret? He sells the Steak and the sizzle at the same time, says BusinessWeek Communications Coach Carmine Gallo.

How Steve Jobs does it:

Set the theme
Demonstrate Enthusiasm
Provide an outline
Make numbers meaningful
Try for an unforgettable moment
Create visual slides
Give 'em a show
Don't sweat the small stuff
Sell the benefit
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

Read the BusinessWeek article here.

Find an entire chapter on the Steve Jobs keynote here.

Jay, from Bangalore

10 Secrets to success

2008-01-28T07:57:00.000-08:00

Pick The Brain talks about the "10 Secrets to success".
1. How You Think is Everything.
2. Decide upon Your True Dreams and Goals.
3. Take Action.
4. Never Stop Learning.
5. Be Persistent and Work Hard.
6. Learn to Analyze Details.
7. Focus Your Time And Money.
8. Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate.
9. Deal And Communicate With People Effectively.
10. Be Honest And Dependable.

From Lifehacker Comments on the 10 Secrets
"Success means getting up one more time than you fall down"

Read On

Jay, from Bangalore

Rock your presentation

2008-01-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

LifeHacker has some great presentation tips.
Get them here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Looking for a few good images for your next PPT?

2008-01-26T08:19:00.001-08:00

Great painters talk all the time about where to find a good brush, they say. And the mediocre ones? About styles and trends!

Well, we Marcom folks talk all the time about images. My personal all-time favorite is istockphoto. Mostly at 1 dollar a pic, (Except illustrations), iStock helped us create the "winning ambiance" for 2 of our successful Fortune 10 presentations last year.

Another good resource may be the open-sourced images in Flickr.

Presentation Zen has a good list. Find it here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Business, is communication

2008-01-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

Business used to be trading. Business used to be marketing.
Now, business is predominantly communication.

Steve Jobs. Robert Scoble. Seth Godin. Examples abound.

The Steve Jobs keynotes have been a netstopper for some time now.
Presentation Zen has six presentation tips from the Steve Jobs Keynote.

Develop rapport with the audience
Give them an idea of where you're going
Show your enthusiasm
It's not about numbers, it's about what the numbers mean
Make it visual
Save the best for last

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

Change the world. For free!

2008-01-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

If you think you have stuff that can change the world and help people, you can do it now. For free.

Step 1: Start a blog
Step 2: take your blog to the world. Here's how.
10 ways to a Killer blog
15 Powerful Ways to Differentiate Your Blog from the Crowd
The Secret to Building a Popular Blog
17 Ways You Can Use Twitter

There! Get going now.

Jay, from Bangalore

Happy Birthday Robert

2008-01-19T00:59:00.000-08:00

"All real living is meeting."
Introductory quote in "We - The Ideal Customer Relationship" - the Steve Yastrow book.

Thank you for meeting so many of them, and for making your viewers a part of those meetings.

Happy Birthday, Robert!

Jay, from Bangalore

Bangalore, Monday Morning Jan 14

2008-01-13T18:52:00.001-08:00

16°C, Humidity: 91%. Moderate fog. The city is just waking up.

The milkman is late today!

Jay, from Bangalore

Is this the real Web 3.0?

2008-01-12T03:09:00.000-08:00

Google + iPhone. Is this the real Web 3.0, the future of the web?

The iPhone version of Google, as reported by Techcrunch.

But why iPhone? Read the untold iPhone Story here.

Jay, from Bangalore

TATA Nano: the 21st century world car

2008-01-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

When a county on the wedge of a breakthrough gets an affordable, enviable "vehicle for the masses", miracles can happen.

The Ford Model T, for instance.

Now, think of a $2,500 price tag, which brings the car within reach of the Indian "masses". Think of Euro 4 environmental standards. And 20 km per liter mileage.

Is the TATA Nano the 21st century Model T?
What do you think?

Jay, from Bangalore

Robert Scoble Lawbreaker?

2008-01-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Did Robert Scroble break the law by trawling Facebook for "Names, email ids and birthdays?"
More importantly, did Robert break the trust reposed in him?

"He single-handedly bashed through most of the basic principles of privacy with his scraping exercise, never mind Facebook’s terms of service." - says Thomas Othevo

"My friends gave me permission to use their stuff when they gave me access to their information. " counters Robert Scoble.

"I was erased. Erased so quickly and completely that my friends had no idea what happened."
posts Robert about the way he was removed from Facebook.

But Facebook may have had their own real reasons why they did what they did.

Be advised, this is one space that's worth watching. The early debates on the rights and wrongs of our increasingly "real" virtual world.

Jay, from Bangalore

"We" - the best brand strategy

2008-01-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

"We" is the best brand strategy, says Steve Yastrow in his new book "We - The Ideal Customer Relationship".

Find the book at Amazon

What do you think?

Jay, from Bangalore

GE 2.0. A journey from "We bring good things to light" to "Imagination at Work".

2008-01-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

"A strong brand -- BusinessWeek and Interbrand rate GE's as No. 4 behind Coca-Cola, Microsoft and IBM -- and an iconic slogan are tricky to tinker with. A company doesn't want to tarnish its brand in, for example, the way that Coca-Cola did in the 1980s when it fumbled the introduction of New Coke. Yet it also must update its image as times and its business change. "

GE's Judy Hu: 'We're Reinventing a Brand and a Company' - Knowledge@Wharton

Read on, about this remarkable journey...

Jay, from Bangalore

The CRM Challenge

2008-01-03T19:19:00.001-08:00

Will anyone suggest a definition of customer relationship management that doesn't include the words, "software," "application," "system" or "database"? asks Steve Yastrow.

While not exactly a CRM definition, Mahatma Gandhi had an interesting view of the CRM mindset:

"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider of our business. He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so."

Jay, from Bangalore

Update: Tom Peters comments on the Gandhi Opening:

The following is a little heavy for me, but given the Gandhi opening above, I'll let it rip:

“What would happen if we looked at a customer and saw the face of God in them? To most people it sounds like a lofty idea. But if you see the face of God in a flower, why wouldn’t you see it in the face of a customer? If we treated customers and honored the God within them—if we loved them—we would not need a ‘quality program.’” —Lance Secretan, founder of Manpower, Inc., and most recently author of One: The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership

Why not, indeede?!
http://www.tompeters.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=10176

Making a difference

2008-01-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

entrepreneur.com lists the top 5 traits of Sales Superstars. This one is Trait no. 5.

"Going above and beyond"
"The most successful sales-people go out of their way to lend a helping hand. As one customer told me, "We're not a company that looks solely for price. What's more important to us is the extra effort and degree of service we get from the rep and from the company. There's one sales rep who is outstanding in both effort and service. If we have an unexpected workload that exceeds our supply, she's willing to [do whatever it takes] to get us through the crunch period. We had a case where she even drove the product from Greensboro, [North Carolina], to Charlotte [for us]. Because of her, we would not change vendors for a difference in price.""

Jay, from Bangalore

The Starting Point

2008-01-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

"The starting point of all significant change is mindset" - Tom Peters

What is your's? How is it holding you back?

Jay, from Bangalore

"The curse of knowledge"

2008-01-01T06:23:00.000-08:00

Knowledge brings ignorance. Period.

"Once you’ve become an expert in a particular subject, it’s hard to imagine not knowing what you do. Your conversations with others in the field are peppered with catch phrases and jargon that are foreign to the uninitiated. When it’s time to accomplish a task — open a store, build a house, buy new cash registers, sell insurance — those in the know get it done the way it has always been done, stifling innovation as they barrel along the well-worn path."

Be wary. Be very, very wary.

Jay, from Bangalore

Do More!

2008-01-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

Most of us can probably accomplish twice as much with half the resources.
More brings more. Give it a try.

Jay, from Bangalore

Hello 2008

2008-01-01T05:27:00.000-08:00

"Every day is going by so freaking fast. "

What I have learned in 2007 - Robert Scoble

25 ways to distinguish yourself - Rajesh Shetty

Top Web Apps and sites of 2007 - Richard McManus

The day the world almost died - Tony Rennell

Have a great 2008!

Jay, from Bangalore

36 Startup Tips

2007-12-29T04:42:00.000-08:00

Planning to take the plunge? Read Write Web has some invaluable tips.

"A small, passionate team can generally accomplish more than an army. "
"Get PR people who understand your space."
"Do not launch or release big news on Monday or Friday"

ideaburger will like to add just one tip to the list.

Set impossible deadlines. THEN MEET THEM.

You will build great results. You will also build a great team.

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Happy Holidays from the hills

2007-12-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a star of a different kind wishing us happy holidays.

Read more about it here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Leaders and their secrets

2007-12-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

"I could always use a good cup of coffee."
Chairman, Starbucks

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Innovation: "7" lessons from Apple

2007-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Five "Rules" from the Fast Company Blog
Rule #1 Orchestrate and integrate
Rule #2 Build products around the needs of users
Rule #3 Trust your instinct
Rule #4 There’s no success like failure
Rule #5 Safe is risky
Read On...

Two ideaburger "Lessons"
Rule #1a Grab the imagination space. "Be the change you wish to see in the world".
Rule #2a Build products that "spoil" users.

Jay, from Bangalore

Listening and the art of seduction

2007-12-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

The surprisingly uncommon act of listening is the most foolproof seduction "tool"-"method" ever invented - Tom Peters

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Today, God touched our lives...

2007-12-15T08:09:00.001-08:00

Sriduth Jayhari, all of 14 years. after experiencing broadband at home.

Jay, from Bangalore

Meaningful Conversations

2007-11-26T03:34:00.000-08:00

"If you're meeting someone for the first time, don't make a negative comment about the event that you're both attending", says Life Hacker.

Wouldn't it be better if you were just yourself, attentive and responsive?
Wouldn't it be better if you just listened, without being manipulative?

Jay, from Bangalore

Give 1 Get 1

2007-10-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program to bring change to millions of children worldwide.

For $399, you can purchase two XO laptops—one that will be sent to a child in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.

Take a look here.

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hello America!

Thank you for Google, and err.. Thank you for Bangalore!

Me 2.0

2007-01-20T02:27:00.000-08:00

I Do. Therefore, I am..

Be Real.
Be Human.
Be fallible.

Trust. Trust. Trust.

Make a few mistakes.
Learn from making mistakes.

Shred some weight.
Spread some light.

Dream more. Dream a whole lot more.
And then dream some more.

Learn! Learn! Learn!

Create expectations. Then, MEET THEM.

Do! Do! Do!

Trust More. Dream More. Learn More. Do More.
And for God's sake, have fun...

That's me 2.0. circa 2007. What about you?

Jay, from Bangalore

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

Just back from a quick tour of Kerala - God's Own Country. We have a small Suzuki Alto Hatchback that delivers 21 kmpl on the Highway, and the entire drive - 1265 km on the odometer - was fun.

Kochi is Hot, humid, and full of festive lights. The real surprise was Munnar - that place is warm! And the mercury dipped below 2 degrees here at this time last year...

Everyone out there - Happy Holidays!

Jay, from Bangalore

Seth Godin offers six free tips to build Org 2.0

2006-12-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

And five of them apply to profit oriented companies as well.

Put yourself on You Tube
Get found on Technorati
Measure your traffic. Free.
Tap the Blogs.
Donations with Squidoo
Digg it!

Download the Seth Godin Article Here.

Jay, from Bangalore.

Open Office.org 2.1 is out

2006-12-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

Improvements include:

Multiple monitor support for Impress
Improved Calc HTML export
Automatic update notification

More

Download Open Office.org 2.1 here.

11 ways to promote your blog

2006-12-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

Fast Company offers 11 thoughtful tips to promote your blog.
Good for you, good for your "Audience"!

Enable comments on your blog.
Leave someone a note.
Reciprocate!
Use Trackbacks
More...

Get the 11 Fast Company Tips here.

Adobe Reader 8 is out...

2006-12-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

This one is fast,convenient, and free! It’s easier now to access attachments and view comments, plus there is the “Read Out Loud” option.

The new Adobe Reader supports Windows Vista, Windows 2000 SP 4, Windows XP, Mac OS X, Solaris 9 and 10, AIX 5.3, HP-UX 11i v1 and v2, Debian and LSB 3.1, Red Hat, SUSE, Turbolinux, and more. But no support for Windows 98 and ME, which Foxit Reader 2.0 has.

Download Adobe Reader 8 here.

Lifehacker has an interesting post about using the Adobe Reader 8 as an RSS Reader

Cick >View > Review Tracker . In the Subscriptions window, click the RSS button. Then click the Subscribe button to add a feed.

The download size of Adobe Reader 8 is about 20 Mb, which is not a big handicap in the days of TB storage and broadband connectivity. But the Foxit Reader is only about 2 Mb.

Jay, from Bangalore

The master teacher

2006-12-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Seth Godin remembers his master teacher.

"You can't say you can't play!"

"He understood that kindergarten wasn't third grade for little kids. It was an important step in beginning the process of becoming someone who could learn without stress, forever. And he taught them this motto, "You can't say you can't play."

Seth had Lenny Levine. I had a kind nun called Rosalio. A nun who taught us the true meaning of compassion. A teacher who insisted on visiting her students every year, even after 30 years.

Who's yours?

Jay, from Bangalore.

1 in 3 American Adults have heart disease

2006-12-03T03:02:00.000-08:00

Coronary heart disease is America's No. 1 killer. 1 in 3 American adults has some form of cardiovasculardisease, and prevention is obviously better than cure.

Tips for a healthy heart.
Tips for Heart Healthy Holidays.
Warning Symptoms.

Jay, from Bangalore

Laws of simplicity

2006-12-02T07:19:00.001-08:00

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.", says John Maeda. Read the Ten "Laws of Simplicity" here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Planning to buy a computer this holiday season?

2006-11-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista is out for retail this January. The best option is to wait a little longer! But if you must buy a computer now, make sure that your computer is "Vista Premium Ready" and not just " Vista Capable".

The reason being, Vista capable PCs and laptops will miss out on the Windows Aero (Authentic, Energetic, Reflective,Open) visual experience of Vista. Only "Vista Premium Ready" machines have the graphical muscle to run the resource intensive Aero.

A Vista Premium Ready PC would need at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a graphics card that supports direct X 9, with 128 MB of graphics memory. Windows marketplace has a list of Microsoft approved Vista Premium Ready Laptops.

Windows Vista itself comes in four editions - Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate. Get the lowdown on these editions here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Writing for the web

2006-11-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

Writing for the web is very different from writing for print. Sun Microsystems has some simple but effective tips to make your web writing more effective.

Make the word count for the online version of a given topic about half the word count used when writing for print.
Put the most important information at the top.
Allow users to quickly find the information they want.
Avoid "marketese" in favor of a more objective style.
Do not use clever or cute headings.
Limit the use of metaphors.
Use simple sentence structures.

Get the full article here.

Seth Godin has an interesting post about writing a blog post.

Access more web writing tips here, here, here, and here.

Jay, from Bangalore.

"The World is flat" is No.2 in the 2006 Amazon 50 list

2006-11-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

"The World is flat" by Thomas L. Friedman makes it to the No.2 slot in the 2006 Amazon Customers' list of Favorites.

Get the full list here.

There is a crisis, warns Thomas L. Friedman, author of "The World Is Flat".

"We're not producing in this country, in America, enough young people going into science and technology and engineering – the fields that are going to be essential for entrepreneurship and innovation in the 21st Century. "

Read Friedman Interviews here and here.

Jay, from Bangalore.

Google Tourist Guide

2006-11-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Robert Scoble blogs about the clustered search results in Google.

But presently, the clustered search results and refine search option seem to be limited to places.
In fact it seems to be the Google version of a tourist guide!

For instance, when I search for "Taj", which can be Taj Mahal, or the Taj Group of Hotels, or the Taj brand of tea ( All of them are popular!) I don't get clustered results.

But when I search for Bangalore, I do get clustered results!

Jay, from Bangalore

The Open Source Gift Guide

2006-11-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Make Magazine offers the Open source gift guide - Open Source Hardware, Software, and more for the Holidays.
Here are a few...

Ubuntu Linux with Support
Arduino Stamp
Rockbox an new MP3 player

Get the full Open Source Gift Guide here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Robert Pirsig Interview

2006-11-26T05:10:00.000-08:00

"The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there", said Robert Pirsig. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - An Inquiry Into Values, his first book, had the distinction of being rejected by 121 publishers before it saw the light of the day and went on to sell 5 million copies worldwide.

The Enlightenment Experience
"Suddenly I realized that the person who had come this far was about to expire. I was terrified, and curious as to what was coming. I felt so sorry for this guy I was leaving behind. It was a separation. This is described in the psychiatric canon as catatonic schizophrenia. It is cited in the Zen Buddhist canon as hard enlightenment. I have never insisted on either - in fact I switch back and forth depending on who I am talking to.'

Here is the latest Robert Pirsig Interview by Tim Adams of the Observer. Get an abridged version here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Living Dangerously

2006-11-26T04:12:00.000-08:00

CNN has an interesting story about how Americans are living dangerously, and how facts can be different from perception...

Two Third of Americans are overweight or obese. Cholesterol kills close to a million Americans every year.

Tens of thousands of Americans die every year because of the common flu.

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

First golf shot in space

2006-11-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin was late for his tee time, and mishit the ball. This one is likely to be the longest shot in the history of golf - about a billion miles!

Read on!

Jay, from Bangalore

Just do it!

2006-11-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

Gaping Void has an interesting Seth Godin Manifesto.

"So, decide. Decide before the end of the day."

End of the Hour/ day/ week/ month/ year/? NO! It's NOW or NEVER! And not a second later.

Why?

Because doers do not think and do. They "Thinkdo", or rather, "DoThink". Doing for them is exploration. They start off with the hunch of an idea, and that's why they occasionally blow up factory rooftops.

Bill Gates (Yes, Bill Gates) . Steve Jobs. Sergey and Larry. Jack Welch. Examples abound.

Jay, from Bangalore

Innovation and Outsourcing

2006-11-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Company as a "Globally Integrated Enterprise" is fast replacing the "Multinational Corporation". In the process, national borders and associated privileges are vanishing, jobs are going where talent is available at competitive rates, and outsourcing is becoming irreversible.

Read On...

Jay, from Bangalore

What would you like to have?

2006-11-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

ideaburger exists to serve you. With really yummy ideas, Game changing innovation, and lots of fun.

What would you like to have served here? Please let me know. Mail me at jay.ideaburger@gmail.com

Jay, from Bangalore

Who invents the next big thing?

2006-11-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

"It's always youth questioning assumptions.", says Reed Hastings, founder and chief executive of NetFlix.

"They have the courage and willingness to do so -- we have mortgages."

Read on...

How Google works

2006-11-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

How is it possible for Google to process 10 billion Web pages and terabytes of information on Google servers to bring us search results in milliseconds? Read about the workings of the Google magic here.

View Robert Scoble's video peek into Google here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Build your website your way, says Microsoft...

2006-11-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

And offers Microsoft Expression Web. Download the beta here.

Ten lessons of entrepreneurship

2006-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, about the ten lessons of entrepreneurship

Tell stories
Concentrate on creativity
Measure the company according to fun and creativity
Be different, but look safe.
Be passionate about ideas.
Feed your sense of outrage.
Make the most of the female element.
Believe in yourself and your intuition.
Have self-knowledge

Get more of the ten lessons here.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Tom asks - "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

I say - live it, share it, celebrate it, and sacrifice it, if need be...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jay, from Bangalore

Creating an Innovation Roadmap

2006-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Steve Crom asks us to visualize, identify, engage, create, and implement - an innovation road map, to get the wheel of innovation fortune turning in our favor.

Get the article here.

But I disagree. Innovation, by nature, belies structure. However, you can create an organizational structure that encourages innovation, and once Innovation happens, structures can channel it to good use. But structuring the Innovation process itself is something else altogether.

What do you think?

Jay, from Bangalore

InnovationJam

2006-11-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

The largest on-line brainstorming session ever
More than 150,000 people from 104 countries participated in InnovationJam, an on-line brainstorming session sponsored by IBM, creating more than 46,000 ideas, including the 3D Internet, Simplified Business Engines, and Smart Healthcare Payment Systems.

IBM will invest $100 million over the next two years to pursue ten new businesses that were spawned by these ideas.

"Collaborative innovation models require you to trust the creativity and intelligence of your employees, your clients, and other members of your innovation network," said IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samuel J. Palmisano. "We opened up our labs, and said to the world -here are our crown jewels. Have at them".

Read on...

Jay, from Bangalore

Internet Advertising crosses $4.2 billion for the third quarter of 2006

2006-11-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

The Internet Boom 2.0 is here to stay, driven by massive growth in online advertising. The third quarter results is a 33% increase over $3.1 billion in Q3 2005.

Read on...

Fancy flying with a Jet Pack strapped to your back? POSSIBLE!

2006-11-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Got $200,000 to spare? Strap on your jet pack and get going. Caution: up there, just don't forget Newton's Law!

Jay, from Bangalore

Wi Fi Spray!

2006-11-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

"Do you live in a polluted environment such as Los Angeles? If so, you've probably experienced the heartbreak of data transfer slow-down. WiFi Speed Spray™ can overcome the effects of pollution, increase fidelity, and provide you with the fastest wireless data transfer possible. Approved by the FCC, and 802.11b compliant! Compatible with Windows and most versions of Linux".

Read on...

This one is from j-walk.com. Hint: Good with a pinch of salt!

If you enjoyed that, you'll want to try this and this...

Jay, from Bangalore

Zimbra, the coffee shop startup

2006-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

This one started in a coffee shop in Palo Alto, CA, way back in 2003, and is now competing with Microsoft Exchange. In between, they raised $30.5 million in venture funding, and created a vibrant web community.

Zimbra has about four million users, and even Bill Gates had to admit that "they've done a good job," even if Zimbra "doesn't even come close to the things that Exchange does."

For more meat on Zimbra, click here, here, here, and here.

Download the Zimbra Colloboration Suite here.

Jay, from Bangalore

Gandhi on Customers

2006-11-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Here's Gandhi's take on customers.

A Customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

He is not dependent on us.
We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption on our work.
He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider on our business.
He is a part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him.
He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so!

I just posted this on tompeters.com, as a comment.

Jay, from Bangalore

Design Lesson-1

2006-11-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

Average user, average result
If you just try to understand the average user,
you'll get average results.
Read on

Here's Ziba's take on Ethnography, and it's impact on design.

Jay, from Bangalore