"To Be or Not To Be", Jerry Yang's Soliloquy to Yahoo

Some like it, some dn't;most have predictions, almost all knew this was coming;a lot of us are fussed about this more than we should be, but one things is certain- entire silicon valley is anticipating its most dramatic week since the
April 2000 when the 'bubble-blooped'. Only one question goes to bed with milions on Sunday night:-Will Yahoo wed Microsoft?

Who are we? In the first que are the investors, with some direct or indirect money raked in one of these giants:Yahoo, or, Microsoft; second in line would be both firm's employees with fingers
crossed about their future;not far behind would be Google with ears trained to Yahoo's boardroom;also intrigued are Yahoo's users from Flickr,Answers,360, and not to forget good old Yahoo Mail;we bloggers are also spending midnight oil in speculating and spreading the news, but finally I think it'll be Jerry Lang going to bed with this question: "To be (microsoft), or not to be".

I am not here to talk figures in nthis post, but as part of my sunday review post I would scan through some intersting posts o this affair. I couldn't help but notice Flickr's protest group:-

1) Microsoft Keep your Evil Grubby Hands of Our Flickr:
The group has 3482 members at the time of writing. And its ever growing. Most of the members strongly think about Microsoft's approach.( click on the image to find the group)

2) Terence Chang an expert blogger and a paid (Flickr) loyal Yahoo user has also expressed strongly against the merger possibility.

3) Well, some simply think Google is too good to be bogged down by this merger. Presuming that Microsoft's biggest enemy is Google and buying Yahoo is their strategy to go one up on Google, I would think there is more to it than that. Ankesh Kothari of Blog Clout
simply resonates the opinion that merger wouldn't baffle Google as Google in invincible. Ankesh goes on to suggest Microsoft to buy Wordpress and Ebay instead.


4) Industry insiders are adamant on their insight that Yahoo doesn't want take it, as yet. As the offer on the table at present is $31/share for Yahoo's 1.4 billion shares. Some believe Microsoft won't be able to dole out more than this, so a NO for now would be very likely. Techcrunch has been firm with that view. But valley insider such as, Henry Blodget of Alleyinsider have pointed out that Microsoft are playing a waiting game. They met with Yahoo's largest shareholder Capital Research and Management, who interestingly also have 6% of Microsoft shares. Now, the news going round is that the Cap group wouldn't want the $31 offer to rise.

Let me summarise now:

Yahoo's position:
1) Sell meekly on $31/share offer as some of the shareholders are happy!and NO other bidders have emerged.(highly unlikely)
2) Say NO, on monday and start negotiating tactics to raise the offer (most likely), also may be encourage other bidders to come up.
3) Explore outsourcing Search side of business to Google (possible but unliekly), as that will scare Microsoft

Microsoft's Position:
1) Back away as unable to increase on $31 offer as yet, and bide time to start negotiations.(most likely)
2) Get into fast negotiation and still get a fair deal for just under $40,(their ideal situations)
3) Be rejected by Yahoo straightaway, so Microsoft will have to look for other avenues such as Wordpress and EBay otherwise face angry stakeholders due to devaluation of their share values.


I am scratching my head, but honestly I dn't know why! I am not affected by any of this anyhow! I just wanted to see whats best for the users of Yahoo, Microsoft and Google. But does it really matter who owns Flickr if we get the right service. Look at Stumble Upon, EBay has let it be..

Image Credit from Flickr

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A week spent with a pint of Guinness, some Twitter and a bit of energy saving!

I am starting to round up my week with some interesting collection of posts from around the blogosphere covering a variety of topics. The topics and the authors are hand-picked by me on the basis of my personal admiration of their previous content and their overall integrity towards their chosen field. I dn't have any proffessional or personal interest in any of these guys. I just happen to truely like what they do!

1. I have started with Skellie's post on blogging/writing basics series she is so successfully going about. Here she has asked every write/blogger to ask themselves only one question before putting pen to paper: 'Who am I writing for?'. Here's the interesting post from Skelliewag from Australia.
2. An influencial content marketer Newt Barrett writes about the brilliance of a single idea as opposed to the theorem that 'a small number of influential people can influence a trend that will impact millions'. Newt cites examples to prove that ideas are superior than the mass opinion. A good line of argument taken.
3. Maki of DoshDosh from Toronto gives influencial tips on using Twitter in his so typically explorative post. He certainly knows what he talks about. with over 10,000 subscribers of his blog, this philosophy student does know a thing or two about Twittering.
   
4. Andy Beard blogging from his European villa shares an excellent tip on a useful Twitter tool. I can't stop myself seeing Twiiterring topics everywhere and Andy is such an authority on suggesting tools to make our online experience useful.
   
5. Young blogger Ankesh of Mumbai is blogging about energy saving devices from past and present. Ankesh is a brialliant techy blogger who once in a while wanders in some interesting direction such as this.
   
6. Last but not the least, cool guy Stefan, a brand strategist from Romania shares his views about Guinness:Its Good For You theme. Stefan's blog outlines his branding expertise by citing examples from real life examples.
   

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10 Biggest falls in Sensex history!

The 22 january slump of Indian stock exchange has been termed by many as a 'bubble burst' as the previous year has shown investing in stocks as the most lucrative way of earning money in India.Not anymore??
US is heading towards a recession, amidst contrary claims and a record interest-cut from the US govt. When the US sneezes, other countries catch cold as well. UK, Shnaghai, and India are already seeking treatment. Here's is break of India's record fall over the years:

Following post is as reported by Sify.com

Here are the 10 biggest falls in the Indian stock market history:

1. Jan 22, 2008: The bears showed no mercy this morning and the resultant slide in stock prices sent the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty crashing down by over 10%. The exchanges have halted trading for an hour.

When BSE cried halt, the Sensex was down by a staggering 11.53% or 2029.05 points at 15,576.30.

2. Jan 21, 2008: The 30-share Sensex, which has been sliding over the last six trading sessions crashed by over 2000 points to 16,951.50, its lowest since 26 September 2007.

The market turned weak following reports of a sluggish trend in international markets due to rising concerns of inflation in the world's biggest economy - the US.

3. Oct 17, 2007: The stock market benchmark Sensex crashed by 1,743 points within minutes of opening, prompting suspension of trade for an hour. The 30-share index, Sensex, tumbled to 17,307.90, a fall never seen before.

4. May 18, 2006: The Sensex registered a fall of 826 points (6.76 per cent) to close at 11,391, it's biggest ever, following heavy selling by FIIs, retail investors and a weakness in global markets.

5. April 28, 1992: The Sensex registered a fall of 570 points (12.77 per cent) to close at 3,870, it's second-largest, following the coming to light of the Harshad Mehta securities scam.

6. May 17, 2004: Another Monday. Sensex dropped by 565 points, its third biggest fall ever, to close at 4,505. With the NDA out of power and the Left parties, part of the UPA coalition government, flexing their muscle, the Sensex witnessed its second-biggest intra-day fall of 842 points, twice attracting suspension of trading. At close, however, it regained some of its lost ground.

7. May 15, 2006: The market fell by 463 points to 11,822 points.

8. May 22, 2006: Sensex slumped by 457 points to 10,482.

9. May 19, 2006: Sensex slumped by 453 points to 10,939.

10. April 4, 2000: Sensex slumped by 361 points to 4,691.

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How Natwest Bank Stole My £70 that Costed me £657 ?

Banks are supposed to save your money and give you back fractionally more, or atleast, exactly what you deposited in. Ya, thats the basic idea. Most bankers spend sleepless nights just to stick by this rule while doing business. Mine doesn't!

Right now I am facing legal proceedings for unpayment of my monthly credit card bill, which I paid through Natwest but the bank never paid through, or, bothered to tell me or the payee( Natwest credit card).

Natwest and most other banks charge an 'unpaid item fee' if you dn't have enough in your account and there is a payment due to go out. So basically they dn't save your ass even in occassional lean patches. Natwest charges a £35 fee, for every such instance.I know a friend who paid the £35 three times within ten days beacause a silly direct debit kept coming back and Natwest kept saying no charging the fee everytime.By the time he got the letter they had charged him 35 times 3.

Now, I paid through my wifes Natwest account to my credit card. One payment of £30 ad another of £40 teh following month. None reached the card services. The Bank never bothered to inform me. My wife's account was debited duely everytime. The card guys got impatient, obviosuly, and passed my account to debt collecters. ow I owe to pay £657 in one go, or go to court.Am I f****d or not!!

1) Payment never went through in the first place.
2) Bank never bothered to tell me or the payee about the problem.
3) I was rendered defaulter and passed on to debt collecters.
4) Debt collecters being awfully mean people wouldn't listen to my history with the bank and want FULL payment, or Court.

I haven't got a faintest of clue what to do now? I can't pay the whole £657, and ofcourse I dn't want to see the judge! Isn't my bank responsible for the whole fiasco? Where should I complain? Would the bank manager be able to sort someting out? I'd be sleeping (may be not) with these questions scratching my mind?

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THE ARRANGED-MARRIAGE BUSINESS

There are stakeholders, including, external pressure groups; merger consultants and facilitators; auditors, as financial and general audit of both parties is paramount to ensure successful matrimony; and a temporary board room chalks out the t&c’s for a smooth procession. An arranged marriage in India is no less than a high-level corporate tie-up. No wonder 99.99% marriages come with a life-time shelf value and rarely disappoint the buyers.

Those foreign to the idea might giggle at the prospect of not knowing the future wife enough. As it happens, prospective groom and bride see each other before the wedding, or let’s say take a glimpse, and if lucky get to exchange a few mumbled sentences, which make no sense at the time but trigger unstoppable laughter when talked about later. How in the name of Christ, one can judge a person in that brief encounter? One doesn’t know whats in offer! She might have a boyfriend, or she thinks completely opposite, or let’s give it a thought she might be a lesbian! Same can apply to the prospective groom. The idea of marrying a person for your entire life solely based on a tiny window of an encounter would sound bizarre to most of us.

Things are thought differently in India. The Vedas dictated some mantras: ‘One can never find a perfect partner, you have to become one’; the only perfect pair is Shiva-Parvati. The West believes in finding a perfect partner, be it for business, or, for life. East believes in making your partner perfect though the life. West needs ready-made, prepared recipes, while East stirs the pot to make a perfect individual recipe.The exit doors are taken off and there are no other options.

Talking about practical sides of an arranged marriage, its very thoughtfully done. The two families make sure to know as much possible about each other. The ensure they are financially and socially compatible; one’d rarely find an arranged alliance between a millionaire family and a middle-class famly. This is not a big fish eating a small fish scenario so its ensured it doesn’t become one. On social compatibility , its required that the families are from same religion, cast and share similar ideologies. Basically what the two families are doing is to ensure compatibility between the bride and the groom.

I am lucky to be able to arrange my marriage myself with the girl I loved. So thank God, I knew her (hopefully!)

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Law of Karma, or, Just Doing it Right!

Do we have control over consequences once we have done our bit? Can a student influence a result after handing over the exam sheets? There are always two part of any process: Action & Result; do we control both, or, the first invariably defines the latter?

There was a poor farmer, who lived in a town in old China.He was starving and his family was dying. Whatever he did never paid back, he found it hard to get results from any of his actions. He went to a Zen master Tsao Lu. The master heard his problem, spoke little and gave him a fist full of corn seeds and instructed him to sow them in his farm land. Only one rule was given: water the seeds every day for twenty days and do NOTHING else but wait. All will be well, said the master.

The farmer did as instructed, he dug and sowed the seeds in his barren land. He was hopeless but believed in the master. He watered the seeds, religiously for fifteen days. Nothing happened.Next day he sat there wondering if there was anything else the master wanted him to do but may be forgot to mention. Mere watering has not helped for sure. But he also remembered that master said not to worry and just water the seeds.Another three days passed.Not a single sprout. He canvassed the whole field helplessly. Strange thoughts flocked his fickle mind; may be rat ate the seeds, may be they need to sown deeper, may be this part of land is not good enough. Soon he found himself digging the land to check on the seeds.The master had said not to worry but what if he hasn't sown the seeds right. He dug and found some half sprouting seeds deep in the mud.Everything seemed fine. He put the soil back, watered and went back hoping to see some result the next day.

It was the twenty first day and nothing happened. He has been checking the seeds as well.He watered them regularly, guarded against the rodents eating them and spent nights on the field. No dearth of hard work from the poor farmer but no result.

Wrecked and disappointed, he ran to the master and burst out his tale. Master spoke nothing and took his hand and walked down to his backyard. There was a small garden and in one corner was a small herd of green saplings swaying in the breeze.These were corn plants.'I did nothing special, just watered these seeds. These are same seeds as I gave you. I did my karma and left the rest, as it is out of my control anyway', said the master.When the farmer explained how he's been guarding and digging his seeds to make extra sure, the master said, 'How can you expect fruits when you kept digging the seeds out of soil?, once you did your best in choosing the best land, sowing the right way, watering, you have done your karma, there is nothing else you can do and if you panic and try to enforce result you ruin the law of karma and you did that.'

The farmer straightaway knew why his land has never produced anything but half sprouted crop, why he could never succeed in anything he did. The master recognized the farmer's nirvana and gave him sacks of corn seed. By next harvesting season he was a different man.

Moral:: We all do panic and try to enforce result, doing so ruin the whole process. We have the right to perform our 'actions' to the best of our ability and leave the 'result' on the belief that we have done our best. All actions have results,but not all actions can have positive results. We ONLY can control the 'action' part, so why dn't we?

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‘To Do Or Not To Do…’, and my life went past me!

‘To Do Or Not To Do…’, and my life went past me!

"It is the Law of Inverse Relevance: the less you intend to do about something, the more you have to keep talking about it” (The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister)

We tend to brood, ponder and think too much about a lot of things in life we need to do, and end up doing nothing. ‘To do, or not to do’, remains a universal question. I recently read a great passage in Yes Minister about the stalling technique used by Civil Servant Sir Humphrey to delay any policymaking undertaken by his minister Jim Hacker.

I believe it applies to our lives in general and especially to most entrepreneurs. I realised its what most of us go through unknowingly, sometimes we call it procrastination, sometimes sheer laziness. Especially, in making career related, or, business start up decisions where a lot of thought is required, some people take their entire lifetimes to come to any conclusion. Here’s a quick check up on what Sir Humphrey’s reasons for not getting things done:

1. Lots Going On: Biggest excuse people give for even simple life chaging decisions such as, going to gym, or get a medical checkup, is that there is an awful lot going on in life and there are other urgent attention seeking things to get on with. So a decision to start a business, even though you always wanted it, remains something you will always keep wanting never to do anything about it. Beacause, a lot is going on!
2. The Perfect Way: I have always wanted to write. But I also always wanted to write the perfect line in the very first go. We have this uncanny ambition to be able to do things the perfect way in the very first attempt. So we keep searching for that perfect line, or the perfect right way to what we want to do. Those who actually achieve something believe n findng the right line, or the right way by digging for it under the layers of imperfections. A stone sculptor once said, he doesn’t create shapes out of stone but merely carves out the unwanted stone, the idol is always there only needs some layers to be removed.
3. The Perfect Time: This might sound like the first point and the excuse would sound the same in saying that this is not the right time for so and so reason. But timing matters in a lot of things we want to do. I want to do MBA from Ivy League schools, but every time I ponder serisouly about applying and look for application packs, I find myself too close to the deadlines, or, they are already gone. So, rather than preparing for next intake well in advance, I normally give up saying the time is not right.
4. Technical Obstacles: Even though one has fought hard to come through all the above stalling stages, this one pushes the best of people behind. This is especially true with new business start ups. A business I planned as a student fell to exactly this stage. We took the courage to go for a business plan instead of a ‘lot happening in our lives’, we knew there are flaws in the overall plan and it isn’t perfect, the time was hardly right as it was near Christmas and nobody wanted to discuss business. But we had persisted. Untill, we recognised a serious technical and legal problem in our basic idea, which meant complete overhaull and eventual let-go.

The fifth stage of Sir humphrey depends on the fact that he would have already stalled enough to delay the proceedings for three years or so, and now its time for his minister to start preparing for next elections. ‘ And he assumes, rightly, that the minister has too much else to do’.

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