Month: October 2011

  • Idea Maturity Models

    One of the blogs which almost always manages to give me fresh and interesting perspectives is Ribbonfarm. A recent post which caught my attention was ‘The Milo Criterion‘. Though not well versed in Lean Startup principles, I think I managed to get the gist of the post. (The comments were a completely different ballgame though!) So, Venkat’s Milo Criterion states that products must mature no faster than the rate at which users can adapt.

    Though it did remind me of the product life cycle – consumer life cycle thought from sometime back, I thought it also served as a good filter in another, probably simpler, line of thought – the adoption of social media by brands and enterprises. As a reasonably early adopter of services, there are several times when I have wondered how organisations could allow themselves to miss out on obvious potential. As I worked more with brands and clients, I became more objective (or probably pragmatic) and realised that it wasn’t always a lack of understanding or perspective that held brand custodians back.

    This is not just for consumer facing applications, but internal ones too. So I wondered whether organisations had somehow internalised the Milo criterion and the attitude towards social media was just a manifestation. I somehow couldn’t digest that though. Meanwhile, my recent experiences have pointed me to another factor – effective communication. I’m wondering if the Milo criterion would still apply if the ‘audience’ is always appraised of the intent and is constantly educated on the ‘why’ of the intent. Thankfully, my current line of work allows me abundant testing opportunities, and I intend to make full use of it.

    until next time, Milo’s and my highs 🙂

    Bonus Read : Will you become Irrelevant?

  • Halo Dilli

    No, I’m not shifting to Delhi.

    Lara Dutta is not an actress I’m a fan of, though I’ve not been able to fathom why. And this was long before she became part of Colgate’s Namak Harem (after Koel Puri and before Sonakshi Sinha), so that, though enough, can’t be the reason. However, Vinay Pathak is an actor I like, especially in roles in which he is a silent sufferer. (remember Dasvidaniya)

    Things thus balanced out, I decided to watch Chalo Dilli. Vinay’s Manu Gupta is awesome as ever, and Lara Dutta actually surprised me with a decent performance, and the ‘bhaisaab‘ and ‘behenji‘ shared an excellent chemistry throughout the road trip. Yana Gupta has always received an excellent chemistry from my side and that continued with her rendition of ‘Laila o Laila’. Since this isn’t a movie review, I’ll stop at that, and let you read a legit review by my favourite reviewer. Not a movie I’d fancy at a multiplex, but easily one that I’d buy a DVD of.

    Somewhere during the movie, probably the scene where Lara is surprised by the joy of seeing a sunrise, I had an epiphany of sorts – that I might have a better shot at joy if I didn’t pre-decide what could give me happiness. The templates that I form – movies, shopping, vacations, reading etc probably make me shrug off opportunities when they present themselves. In fact, I probably go out of my way to ignore them and prevent them from arising.

    It also made me think of the flip side – unhappiness/sorrow. Would I be better off if I decided what are the things that would really make me sad, instead of being upset over every minor derailment of plans? The ideal is to be able to treat happiness and sadness with the same calmness and even further, detachment, but until the time I get there, this is probably a good measure.

    until next time, chalo comment, don’t dilly dally 😉

  • The Elephant and the Maruti: Stories

    Radhika Jha

    Radhika Jha is perhaps one of the most unique authors I’ve ever read, even if I had to judge only from this book. There is a vividness in the prose that I’ve rarely experienced before. The book consists of 6 stories. ‘The Wedding’ gives us a peek into Delhi’s high society, as portrayed by a wedding that stops just short of bizarre. This would be my least favourite. ‘Hope’ uses two characters – the narrator, who represents a typical middle class migrant to the big city (Delhi) and Shibu Mondal, a roadside beggar with a cruel past, and their experiences, to describe facets of the city’s relationship with its inhabitants.

    3 characters and their unique relationships with ‘Beauty’. This one is set in Bangalore and features Koshy’s. ‘The Elephant and the Maruti’, is a chain of events set in motion after an elephant steps on a Maruti in a busy Delhi traffic junction. The story takes us through a cross section of social layers, and seems a hat tip the ‘circle of life’ as well as the ‘butterfly effect’. ‘Sleepers’ is set in the remote village of Mangladi, and the narrator’s experience with the role of blind faith and religion in individual lives and the community. ‘The Cook’ is the story of a chef whose family realises that he has lost his skills. The chef feels that his family is plotting against him. What follows is a maze of betrayal and counters, which ends in a neat twist.

    The stories are all a mix of vivid explanations and layered mysteries, often leaving a lot to the reader to imagine, and fill. Worth a read.