Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Social media over a cup of coffee

As always last Saturday I’d nothing useful to do, and some said weekends are meant to be fun. Well quite simply no if you’re single, 22 and coming to a new place, knowing not many and having no bike. But I simply refused my usual self to exist and woke up at 9. Yes on a weekend I woke up at 9, when was the last time that happened?

But because of my kind friend Mudassir, it was not going to be the same tale again. He had emailed me earlier about a certain OCC (no it is not an abbreviation for Over a Cup of Coffee but Open Coffee Club) having a discussion about Social Media. Well after that it was just what I was missing for the past few weeks “A high octane discussion by people mostly young from different companies and some even from different countries”.

We were past the clichés pretty soon, and went onto some serious discussion. It was really exciting to meet few entrepreneurs and specially some who were in the social media space. Social media is such a space where every fifth person on Facebook and every second on twitter feels like an expert. Not that I’m questioning anyone’s expertise as I feel no expert, but there were really some good takeaways from the discussion.

One that really has stuck me is that Facebook was designed as a platform where people will stay and will be reluctant to leave. Well this thought had never crossed my mind. We all think of leveraging what this new Facebook revolution has given us. But in the process we all try to bring prospective customers to our website, so instead of that we are better off by keeping them hooked on the platform itself and engaging them as much as possible by discussions and debates. The idea that nobody likes to be sold to forcefully also add to this and makes the point that content is the king hygiene today.

Another important point was how much of a truth was behind what Facebook might tell me the profile of my TG. To be honest I know most of the links I’ve liked in the past few months were either obligations or were due to my conscience forcing me so that I keep my Facebook friends engaged. So if Facebook come up with some analysis of that data constructing an image of me, I won’t be surprised if I fail to recognize myself. And then is this article on Facebook which talks about some more things that have crossed my mind more than once in the previous few months. Perhaps that’s the reason I’ve shifted more to Twitter.

Ah Twitter. Then there was one of the most significant things I remember. Someone pointed out that instead of shoving our products down the throat of a follower on Twitter, one should try to collect information about what they tweet and perhaps make better products or even innovation, who knows what all is possible. I remember another person mentioning that he had written a book on Sanskrit. He had a Facebook page which had not many followers. But a simple comment on some forum discussing about Sanskrit brought 6000 followers to his page. Moral of the story, it’s not only about sharing on your own page but also at other places also.

I think Social media is in a nascent stage now, where not many can predict which way it will go and what consequences it will bring with it. A thing called Orkut was hip a few years ago and today it is as good as Gautam Gambhir’s facial expressions DEAD. But one thing is for sure, along with all the changes, it will definitely bring along new opportunities, open new business horizons and much more.

P.S-I would like to apologize to have not mentioned any names above. For the people who were present there and are reading, I had to rush as I had no breakfast that morning and can’t survive on a hungry stomach on a weekend so it was not possible for me to know some better. But there is one person I do remember. It’s Amarinder and Amarinder thanks for everything, for moderating and for arranging it all. I would love to attend more OCC meets till the time I’m here.

Comments are welcomed J

Monday, May 23, 2011

Social Networking +1

I was going through my twitter Newsfeed when an idea struck me to relieve me of my boredom so I got down writing

Facebook ask me what I'm thinking, Twitter asks what I’m doing, Foursquare asks where I am and Orkut....aaaa. Ok forget Orkut I can’t remember, anyways it’s dead. I decided to create some fictional Social Networking website with some catchy status update asking lines.

1. Food&me.com

Yeah it had to start with food.

What’s hitting that belly?


2. IPLHooked.com

Who is getting the next curse?


3. PoliticiansToTihar.com

Oh this one is one of my favourites.

Who’s coming next?


4. YeahImfat.com

What’s the next excuse to console?


5. GeeksAreGod.com

For some of my geek friends

How many lines of code today?


6. OneSidedLovers.com

Who is the hot chick that just moved to office/college/school/colony blab blab............


7. DepressedExLovers.com

When are the next happy hours and what’s on your mind Devdas?


8. PoliticiansInTihar.com

Yeah one more

How much?


9. RajniRulez.com

Any Joke will do sire.


10. Bored4mOffice.com

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Friday, May 20, 2011

Eureka........Eureka!


Don’t worry, I was not having a bath when I said the above words nor have I discovered anything new. I was in my usual place in the office doing nothing but some reading and mind thrashing. But during the course of my meditation (of course mind thrashing) I came upon the news of LinkedIn IPO and I could feel the fears of some sceptics and laughs of some lunatics. For the past 6 months or so I been hearing a lot of talk of another bubble in the making from the bubble obsessed people, our now beloved friends Americans. To be more precise another dot com bubble.

The recent events like the takeover of Skype by Microsoft and the LinkedIn IPO helped a lot by giving a lot to talk and write. I couldn’t help but feel that the only reason many of the American watch News is to find another bubble or to create one. So obsessed are they with the idea of a bubble that even after having disastrous consequences twice in a decade they still want another one.

It seems like God has definitely blessed America or Americans as to say by once again listening to them. I have been hearing stories of people driving across States with posters on their cars saying “God give us another bubble”. But this definitely is not a dot com bubble, even if it turns out to be a bubble in the end. This time it’s all about social networking. Be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Zygna or Skype. The buzz word is social networking. There are people saying this is not a bubble as all these have sustainable business models generating good revenue year after year. But so were the companies that started the last dot com bubble like Ebay, Amazon and its revenue not profits people.

But this is not where the things go wrong. I read someplace there are three kinds of entrepreneurs. The first are the innovators, the second are the ones who tweak and take it to masses and third are the cheap imitators. The third ones are the one which are most dangerous. It seems that most of the people who run to the markets to invest have either not read or forgotten that “All that glitters is not gold”. The LinkedIn IPO showed how eagerly people wanted an IPO from the social networking breed. With some shares going at double or more the initial price of $45, its valuation went straight away to $8 billion in the trading market from the $2.5 billion it had earlier.

And the Curious Case of Microsoft buying Skype has not helped, but add more fuel to the fire. By no means this looks like a bubble. It when every Tom, Dick and Harry is making social networking sites to make those millions (which I guess is already going on) and the rest of Tom, Dick and Harries think that they can rank in the moolah by investing is when things go wrong. Both things have started, but not risen to alarming propositions. The next year is going to be very interesting to watch whether Facebook or Twitter comes out with IPO and how big of a response come from people (it sure is going to be big). It’s after that, the people who would think that they missed the bus will be interesting to watch. As these will be the gullible ones to burn their hands by investing in the third category of ventures. So let’s wait and watch the movie. From the looks of the initial trailer or teaser or whatever you call, it looks to be an interesting one. I have already bought the popcorns and a nice comfy seat. For the moment GOD BLESS AMERICA!