Social Media Exodus

Being a student of marketing and finance at graduate level, I understand the importance of social media marketing for big brands and small businesses, however there has been an increasing trend of exodus and exile from social media. This does not come as a surprise as people are facing the problem of information overload with posts and tweets coming in every minute.

Don’t get me wrong - Facebook and Twitter are wonderful tools for both businesses and individuals but it’s the exploitation of these services with spam that makes them irritating at times. Just like Spam marketing emails burst out during the email era, Facebook is seeing a similar trend. Mails which in those days were meant to be “forwarded” to friends are now pictures and memes which are meant to be shared.

We as individuals are spending too much time on Facebook and other social media platforms than we should. We have become social media zombies and we need our “daily pill” like Sara Goldfarb from Requiem For a Dream or else we feel disconnected. It’s the same for marketers using Facebook as a tool. There is too much clutter. Also, how many of engaged prospects actually turn into customers is the real question. I am sure many of them do - but is the time spent worth it?

Microsoft's restart - Windows 8

I have been reading a lot about the rave reviews that Windows 8 has been getting over the past few days and I have been giving thought to Microsoft's strategy in making the Windows 8 experience. It is increasingly clear from the past few years that ecosystems in general are going to be much more relevant in the tech world than an operating system itself, and while I still think that we are not living in a post PC era but we are living in one where all devices stay in sync with each other and therefore in that perspective, I can say that Microsoft's Windows 8 is headed in the right direction.

As an Apple fan, I too criticized Windows 8 as it adopted a schizophrenic UI with the Modern UI while still supporting the legacy apps and in some ways the mainstream tech reviewers are correct in saying that Windows 8 has a learning curve to which most people would throw criticisms. 

However I think we should see the long term "outlook" of Microsoft's approach. Microsoft has been a company whose software is used by the most number of people around the world. Apple mobile devices may be popular but desktop machines are on the high end of the spectrum which cannot be bought my most. It is this factor that makes Microsoft a big innovator. The mass market will use what Microsoft gives them - and this time it's an OS that says "Hey, it's time to move to the touch screen". Historically Microsoft has always given very good support to legacy software and hardware (try playing Doom 2 on a Windows 7 machine and it will still work) and so the explorer and the legacy UI is here to stay. 

Google's new Nexus devices

Google’s New York event was cancelled courtesy Hurricane Sandy on 29th October but members from The Verge were allowed to take a little peek at what’s new with their ambitious Nexus project. And it wasn’t just a peek that they got - it was a future of Google’s vision.

Google is going to release two new products on the 13th of November -

• A Nexus smartphone - LG Google Nexus 4
• A Nexus tablet - Samsung Google Nexus 10

Both these devices have stunning new features. Here are some details about them ...

Windows 8 OEM Sucks

Microsoft is a great company. They have made software products that have been extremely successful in the past and Windows 8 is also a huge positive change. This is because like it or not - the technology ball keeps rolling and the future chapter will see more touch based intuitive and personal devices that would form the part of mainstream computing. Windows 8 with it's live tiles is heading towards the right direction. Not everything is perfect. Microsoft's decisions are bold this time and they are high on the Win 8 cool aid, which is a good thing as the Surface and the Surface RT Tablets are really good. 

Problem is OEM vendors like Dell, Sony and Lenovo are creating these "transformer" products with their new iteration of devices which threatens the success of Windows 8. Having a keyboard dock is fine but what vendors are not understanding is that these hybrids are technical misfits. They want to fit into the PC as well as the tablet category and they fit into none. 

iPhone 5 is now available in India - Is it worth it ?

The iPhone 5 was launched with much fanfare on the 21st of September in USA and other countries. It saw record breaking sales with people lining up for the 6th generation phone from the fruit company and some even travelling as far as Australia to get it first! No doubt the iPhone reeks success with each iteration but is it worth it if you are here in India? Let’s get things into perspective.

If you scour the grey market in New Delhi you will “magically” discover that patented rounded edges is available for INR 65000 to INR 75000 only i.e USD 1240 - USD 1430. Wait, let’s digest this for a moment. Shall we?

Yeah. Considering that you could buy a mid range motorbike or a high end PC laptop with that kind of money - it’s really not worth it spending so much. Even if you have the stash to buy an iPhone 5 you should ask yourself twice. Here’s why - 

Most features available in this magical device are unavailable for India. Forget iTunes music - which was never debuted in India, features like Siri are crippled. Ask Siri scores on cricket and she doesn’t know the sport exists. Open up Apple maps and you would be greeted with a blank slate for a map of Delhi. Try finding driving directions and the revolutionary iPhone will eloquently show you the message - “Driving directions are not available for India”. And it’s the same story for Turn by Turn directions and Passbook. 

Most features available in this magical device are unavailable for India. Forget iTunes music - which was never debuted in India, features like Siri are crippled. Ask Siri scores on cricket and she doesn’t know the sport exists. Open up Apple maps and you would be greeted with a blank slate for a map of Delhi. Try finding driving directions and the revolutionary iPhone will eloquently show you the message - “Driving directions are not available for India”. And it’s the same story for Turn by Turn directions and Passbook.