eDemocracy or power to the lowest denominator

What does Youtube, MoBlogging, MySpace and nautanki.Tv have in common? They are all examples of participatory democracy on the Internet. It is the power of the small user who defines the mind boggling numbers that make an Youtube. It is the ability to cater to the smallest possible denominator that makes Nautanki.Tv unique. However as the following extract explains, it is still early days.

The explosion of direct participatory democracy that we all hoped for is highly unlikely to eventuate merely as a result of the Internet's existence. The Internet provides opportunities for limited revitalisation of the public sphere. These are for the most part restricted to relatively privileged groups.

At least it is an increase in the activities of the public sphere, however modest.

As Internet use expands more profoundly into middle-income groups, lower-income groups and non-English speakers, it may yet present a real opportunity for greater participation, democratic communication and a true revitalisation of the public sphere.

However, this may only occur if current power structures such as governments and large corporations are willing to incorporate this process into their standard practices.

Given the history of such things, this seems fairly unlikely, however exciting the possibility might seem.

The most promising aspects of the Internet as a site for a revitalised public sphere are:

*
the ability of small interest groups to find and communicate with each other
* the ability for individuals and smaller groups with fewer resources to present their points of view to a large number of people
* the easy availability of a much greater range of points of view
* the longevity of materials on the Internet, from journalistic, academic and private sources, that would otherwise have a short life in print publication or other media. They provide a valuable information resource, since access to these offline would require considerable effort and skill
* the interactivity that is possible between web sites and their audiences, enabling more two-way communication than has been possible previously, and
* the formation of online communities.

These do not hold out the promise of a revolutionary change to participatory democracy or a new Athenian age, but they do present an opportunity for more voices to be heard in the public sphere in a new way.


The Internet, combined with easy access to mobile telephones, has fundamentally changed the nature of communication in affluent societies. It has made it possible for people to:

* communicate from almost anywhere to anywhere, at any time - changing the information available, the speed with which it is made available, and the number of sources it is possible to obtain them from. This applies to both email and mobile phones.

One example was on September 11 2001, when passengers on the hijacked United Flight 93 were given information by loved ones on the ground via mobile. This allowed them to make informed decisions about what actions they should take, ultimately leading to the plane crashing into a Pennsylvannian field instead of into the White House or US Capitol building.

Without mobiles, this information would not have been available and those on board would not have known the scale of the events they were involved in

* access information that was previously very difficult to obtain, including exchanging controversial, politically sensitive and minority-based information within countries and across international borders

* conduct international commerce with reduced need for human intervention, 24 hours a day.

This ranges from local companies dealing with international orders and suppliers they would not have had access to before, to individuals selling their expertise online (from financial advice through to tarot readings)

* facilitate the flow of money and goods between national borders in an unprecedented way, allowing not just money market brokers and international traders and bankers access to this, but also individuals.

As a result, over the coming decades we are likely to see a significant shift in international relations, in information, journalism, trade and politics.

Because these changes are in their infancy, it is difficult to say how much impact they will have. It may simply represent a more dynamic movement of money, goods and information; or it may produce a fundamental shift in dynamics as profound as the Industrial Revolution.

Either way, I believe that these changes are profound, and combined with the trend towards globalisation that has been going on for many years, they are a powerful force for change.

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Please do respond. Intelligent conversations makes ideas grow and funds flow.

Sunil R Nair

MS Ipod Parody

What happens if Microsoft had designed the Ipod?

wake up and smell the Kaapi!!!

Over the past month Alchemy has gone to sleep. I guess it was obvious - Sanjeev was busy launching IndianShutter, Juno was busy being Juno, I was trying to do too many things (inclusive of learning how to burp a lil baby girl, feed her on time and generally be a responsible father - phew) and the others too I suppose had their reasons.

In the time that went by a few things happened - MaalDhamaal - an idea that was born on Alchemy has formally taken shape of a company and the launch will be happen soon. And we are closer to getting Alchemy of Thoughts to be a incubator of ideas and businesses.

In the weeks ahead I hope that there will be some awesome breaking news and also more concepts discussed as before.

IndianShutter.com is a week old today

We are today, a week after launch, celebrating the following :

35227 Hits
45 Registrations
3 paid up premium members
30+ photos approved and uploaded
Referrals from Alchemy of Thoughts : 15 unique visits.


Some experienced photographers on our site include Nigel Pinto from the UAE and Omkar Singh Plaha from India.

We have also recd requests from certain stock photo agencies in India to upload their entire database of images onto IndianShutter.com ... As soon as we reach an agreement with these agencies, we should be at least 15000 photos strong.

One key feedback that has come in so far, is about us offering free members only 20% of revenues per photo sold. Maybe, the people here could guide us as to whether this needs to be addressed. I personally, from experience, feel that 20% is a good figure, 'cuz most sites do that. I am however, open to raising it to 30% ... Maybe, I could look at offering 30% as an incentive to people who upload a certain number of photos, or to people who do referrals to get in 10 members, each of who upload 5 photos or something to that effect.

Thank you all for an extremely satisfying response.

Warm Regards
Sanjeev Sarma
Team IndianShutter.com

indianshutter.com due to launch on Ganesh Utsav

As India enters its 60th year of Independence, we proudly present to you, www.indianshutter.com the world's first portal for buying and selling exclusively Indian images.

Indian images so far were all about slums, poverty, and grim things. There was no site or portal in the world that depicted the true India. There was no representation of India's progress, its technological and other capabilities, its natural heritage, its history, its monuments, its people and its festivals in pictures. There was no site for photos related to Indian cuisine, costumes, jewelry, customs, traditions, marriages, festivals and culture.

Now there is. It’s called www.indianshutter.com. And its launching on 27th August 2006.

All you need to be a part of Indianshutter.com is an eye to bring out and present the best of India in images to the world.

You and only you can make it happen. Be a part of history in the making. Connect now to http://www.indianshutter.com/ and get ready to upload your photos. Photos that you can share with the world and sell.

Spread the word to anyone who you know has photos of India, to upload, share and sell. Be Proud. Be Indian. Be on Indianshutter.com

Warm Regards

Sanjeev Sarma

Team IndianShutter

alchemy can work ...

billionaire mark cuban recently threw open a challenge on his blog.

how to convince the masses to go out and watch his movie without spending the earth.

in short he was looking for ideas in order to market movies, but with a difference.
the bait ? the guy who's suggestion clicked, would have the job of his dreams, courtesy the maverick businessman.

at the time of typing this, the blog entry had 828 comments from hopefuls.

gigaom's solution to the problem on their blog set my mind ticking.

confident that i am about the collective intelligence and talent and experience of the members of this blog, what do you say that we offer it as a package deal to any entrepreneur / professional looking for a solution to his business problem ?

we are looking to instituionalise alchemy any way.

it would be great if we could get paid for it. even if we don't ( in the beginning perhaps ) compensation could be a function of performance generated from our recommendations. with the rider that we get credit for our work. and that we can create case studies out of it.

in the meantime we can provide solutions on this blog to mark's situation.

what say, sunil ?

any one else ??

ajit narayan speaks..

...on how and why direct response cannot and should not be relegated to the also-ran category in media choice.

read about it here .

The Community Gym - A concept

Near where I stay is a Gymnasium. It is equipped with the usual lot of instruments, people trying to get fit, as well as people trying to stay fit.

Near where I stay is also a beachfront, littered every morning with debris comprising mainly stuff thrown around, or discarded or left over from evening jaunts.

And it struck me, that a workout can be coupled with much, much more than firm, healthy flesh and blood tingling through your veins.

Imagine a scene, where a community gym is formed, with the main objective of keeping this beach-front clean.

A trained fitness instructor evangelizes and creates equipment and tasks designed to ensure that a team performs various tasks, scientifically and in a structured manner, that ensures that the beach remains clean, morning after morning. It could involve squatting, stretching, walking, weight lifting, and all other exercises that one pays so hugely to a gym for.

I am sure that such a scene could be easily mapped to a community, and a tenth of the monies that are normally paid to a gym, collected towards purchasing scientifically designed equipment and hiring services of a trained fitness instructor.

What I would like to do is as follows :

1) Evangelize and produce such equipment that could be used for such cleanliness and maintenance exercises, equipment that would be designed to provide for an optimum of exercise.

2) Build up a team of trainers who could work out regimes, and instruct a community on how to do the work, through manuals, videos, etc.

3) Sell the above package to communities that would benefit through exercise and a clean environment as a result.

What I anticipate as a market? Over 400,000 such units of "community gym" in Mumbai alone. This target can be achieved in under 6 months, with proper tieups with action groups, CSR involvement, and correct evangelization.

We would soon have clean drains, no garbage lying around, and at the end of things, a committed citizen, who is proud that his body has been toned up and at the same time, and happy that he has provided a good environment to people around him.

Very soon ... Bye, Bye, Gyms.

Any takers?

Sanjeev Sarma

You blog? Or is it Me Blog?

Recently went through the findings of a survey that captures patterns in blogging, and tries answer the why, what and who blog.

Contrary to popular opinions, what I've been saying all along, emerges factually correct. That predominantly blogging is more like ones own diary! A medium of self expression, its young, is done by heavy internet users... Here are the top ten findings of the study. And this is basis Americana ... Guess what and where could be in India?

Here are the top ten findings:

1. Blogging is bringing new voices to the online world.

2. Telephone surveys capture the most accurate snapshot possible of a small and moving target.

3. Contrary to the impression created by the press attention on political blogging, just 11% of bloggers say they focus mainly
on government or politics.

4. The blogging population is young, evenly split between women and men, and racially diverse.

5. Relatively small groups of bloggers view blogging as a public endeavor.

6. The main reasons for keeping a blog are creative expression and sharing personal experiences.

7. Only one-third of bloggers see blogging as a form of journalism. Yet many check facts and cite original sources.

8. Bloggers are avid consumers and creators of online content. They are also heavy users of the internet in general.

9. Bloggers are major consumers of political news and about half prefer sources without a particular political viewpoint.

10. Bloggers often utilize community and readership-enhancing features available on their blogs.

Source: Lenhart, Amanda and Susannah Fox. Bloggers. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 19, 2006.Bloggers - v - Pew Internet & American Life Project

beat the ban

guys..ever since our moronic government and its lackeys blocked blogspot..no one has been saying or posting anything here. despite knowing fully well how to circumvent the ban and log on and post and view as well.

well..shake a leg. and fast. wake up and smell the coffee. is this all that it takes to put you all in to a stupor ????

sunil
ajit
sanjeev
gurpreet

where ARE you all ???

fyi we are now being tracked by google analytics and are on technorati as well...

test post

am i here or am i not ???

the brave new google world ...

as seen through the eyes of a die-hard googler with a bit of imagination..

cannot however disagree with the concept of EPIC. i see the beginning of that happening already as phone-cams and blogs and citizen journalists are the new lexicon.

one can debate nitty-gritties. or even the time frames. cannot however the fundamental truth which is out there.

tip of the hat to ajit narayan for this link.

fun ways with google !!!

courtesy dhoomketu's and lessig's blogs, i found 55 ways to have fun with google.

its downloadable as pdf here.

have a look and share your experiences.

cheers !!!

community expressions

push-button publishing.
make that click and post.

and then i heard about haftamag

published online every monday by a community of people-like-us who want to move beyond lunchtime journalism. a community of bloggers who blog on different subjects under the brand of haftamag. ranging from food to people to satire and politics..
this is what we have talked about and seen. communities driving and creating cutomised content..

then there is nandita's blog on food and cooking. mouthwateringly well executed with her passionate band of followers. such a pleasure to read and be part of.

and there is enough buzz about the guys who keep a watch on the TV news channels and their backroom shenanigans here

and i have been on my buddy naren kusnur's case to start his music blog..passionate rocker that he is and works for virgin records and writes on music in mumbai's mid-day.

then some upcoming stylist or designer can also start a style blog.imagine what would it do to build his / her brand ?

then will someone do a humour based blog ? that would be SUPREMELY difficult am sure. making people laugh is not easy at all. or may be they exist in regional languages ?

i mentioned this guy who uploads funny videos on his blog . do check him out..

in the long run they could turn in to profit making ventures. or insitutions. as we are in the process of doing.

let me know which other subject based blogs and communities come to your minds...

Institutionalising Alchemy of Thoughts

The first time I said the title aloud it did sound like I was talking about sending the blog to an asylum. On second thoughts, I let the title remain - it is so apt. Institutionalising - creating of an institution which has aims and definitions and everything else.

One of the ideas that floated around on the Blog has gone into production. There are models being evolved, plans being written and by the looks of it come what may the idea will see action soon. And all of this because Juno wrote a small piece some one month ago and others jumped in.

Here is what I propose - for every idea that is born on this blog and reaches some kind of business structure, let the custodian of the idea give a small percent of the company / business to Alchemy of Thoughts. It is not compulsary, it is based on an honour system which believes in the inherent goodness of some men and women.

The figure I had in mind was about 3% stake in the company / business. The figure is debatable. This stake goes towards formation of a corpus of fund that can then seed more ideas, a community of real technocrats, maybe some sort of a publication, events etc. It can also then attract industry leaders to be advisors on board to help startups find their feet. Alchemy can then become the virtual version of JATC in Bandra or the dozen odd coffee shops in the silicon valley that spawned everything from Apple to Skype and Google. And Alchemy can then be a platform for investors / funders / people with money to meet people with ideas (they are the ones who generally do not have any money)

What this means is that Alchemy of Thoughts has to become some kind of an entity. I suggest (comes from experience) that Alchemy of Thoughts be registered as a private company with a core group of people. The people who will be in the core group can be open to debate. I can fund this bit and let the idea get started.

I had thought of a business plan and all that jazz, but I think this one is simple enough to write on the back of an used envelop.

Will the people on this blog please respond to this thought and write back.

Sunil R Nair

The collective

Remember the dialogue - "we are the Borg, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated" (Star Terk - TNG). I think we are headed the way the Borg went - collective consciousness, decisions made via the collective thoughts of a group. Blogs, forums, cell phones are all headed that way. You join a blog, subscribe to a group and are influenced by the thoughts of the people there. Not all will subscribe to the thoughts but a small but significant amount of people will think alike and act accordingly. The collective mind set.

I took this off wikipedia

It defines what a collective would be, makes interesting reading:

While group and artificial intelligence have something to offer, collective intelligence is at its roots a human enterprise in which mind-sets, a willingness to share, and an openness to the value of distributed intelligence for the common good are paramount. Individuals who respect collective intelligence are confident of their own abilities and recognize that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of any individual parts.

Maximizing collective intelligence relies on the ability of an organization to accept and develop "The Golden Suggestion", which is any potentially useful input from any member. Groupthink often hampers collective intelligence by limiting input to a select few individuals or filtering potential Golden Suggestions without fully developing them to implementation.

Knowledge focusing through various voting methods has the potential for many unique perspectives to converge through the assumption that uninformed voting is to some degree random and can be filtered from the decision process leaving only a residue of informed consensus. Critics point out that often bad ideas, misunderstandings, and misconceptions are widely held, and that structuring of the decision process must favor experts who are presumably less prone to random or misinformed voting in a given context.

The best-known collective intelligence projects are political parties—which mobilize large numbers of people to form policy, select candidates, and to finance and run election campaigns. Military units, trade unions, and corporations are focused on more narrow concerns but would satisfy some definitions of a genuine "C.I."—the most rigorous would require a capacity to respond to very arbitrary conditions without orders or guidance from "law" or "customers" who constrain actions tightly. One interesting proponent of the rigorous view is Al Gore, the United States Democratic Party candidate for President in 2000, who noted that "the US Constitution is a program that lets us all do together what we could not do separately."

Now apply this to the communities on the internet and eventually to the mobile / hand held devices. The blogging phenomenon can drive / make or break a product or a service. Suppose we were to take together the collective clicks of people on a banner, we can get a fair idea of their needs.

Or the downloads of a particular kind.

Imagine the potential of creation of a monetizable collective.

True, you will be assimilated!!!

sign of the eating times...

had heard of this a number of times..saw it for the first..just outside manali...this picture features a colleague who wanted his two cents of fame...

What a way to make a million dollars …

The name: Alex Tew. Occupation: a student. Seeking: funding to go to grad school. Selling: Pixels. Rate: $1 per pixel. Quantity: 1,000,000 pixels. Current status: Sold out!

Starting last September this kid with a huge idea ran up the million dollars in almost a flash.

Why go to the grad school at all? Don't even drop out. Check out the site here.

The story does not end here.

Netherlands-based Sandberg Institute, is imitating the very same concept. But this one is selling space on its building facade!



The building displays ads and logos from brands such as Nike, BMW, Google and IKEA ... art imitating life, virtual or otherwise.

The Sandberg Institute site quotes "a new work that sets itself on the borders between commercial art and critical art, commerce and information, private business and public space."

These Europeans are crazy!

RFM anyone?

While one talks about databases and targeting, mining, beyond demographics and such terms today in marketing I am yet to find a refined use of the basics of database marketing in practice. Is it because of lack of energy to do it (remember there are tons who seem to be talking about it) or lack of the abilty of how to do it? Wonder which angle...

R = Recency, F=Frequency, M= Monetary Value... three behavioural aspects of customers. Fundemental to any marketer, especially when the category is repeat purchase led. (like say retail.)

Even following basics like studying latency would streamline any marketers offerings and deliver high end ROI on every Rupee spent! Latency would mean studying the time intervals before one interaction (choice of the interaction would be the marketers.) For example, one could be studying latency for web site visits, or actual purchases, or complaints, or calls to customer care etc...

And worse when you do tell people the how to do, they still don't buy it! The answer to it is "my CRM system is coming that will help do much more". WOW!

Any category that has a repeat interactive behaviour would benefit by using tracking and using the knowledge of the behaviour. RFM or latency anyone?

This is a huge subject that I am trying to simplify. Some of the basics covered here.

Multitasking with Balls!

Its may seem a bit preposterous to talk of soccer at the moment and I seek forgiveness for not being able to hold on to this rather innovating thought. This morning a wise guy asked me to spot the similarities between Indian Cricket and Indian Soccer. At the very broad level, mind you and not the pub hopping fashionably interested in soccer frenzy of the kind that I witnessed with much amusement this year. I could find no similarities - not money, sponsorship, audience or government interest, fan following...except may be the running (they all run all the time) or the ball (size matters!) or the ball stopper. And that could be the genesis of the Indian soccer team!

The wise man added that instead of only dreaming of watching an Indian team playing international soccer (we are 117th in the FIFA rankings ), it may be time for innovative thinking. Why cant the wicket keeper be the goal keeper? Isnt it the exact role that he is tuned to? Stopping the ball? Some practice to align for the size of the ball but that’s easier than the alternatives. The reflexes of a wicket keeper are geared to keenly watch, follow and catch a ball traveling at the speed of 80-100 miles per hour. And that’s a good starting point for our soccer team.