<body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener('load', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <div id="navbar-iframe-container"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> gapi.load("gapi.iframes:gapi.iframes.style.bubble", function() { if (gapi.iframes && gapi.iframes.getContext) { gapi.iframes.getContext().openChild({ url: 'https://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID\x3d6418452\x26blogName\x3dFootsteps+on+Clouds\x26publishMode\x3dPUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT\x26navbarType\x3dBLACK\x26layoutType\x3dCLASSIC\x26searchRoot\x3dhttps://chirayu.blogspot.com/search\x26blogLocale\x3den_US\x26v\x3d2\x26homepageUrl\x3dhttp://chirayu.blogspot.com/\x26vt\x3d-4198601941058342502', where: document.getElementById("navbar-iframe-container"), id: "navbar-iframe" }); } }); </script>

Monday, May 30, 2005

An Article on China


An interesting read on China's growth statistics. Is this the right time to learn Mandarin? Online Education targetted at China is going to be a big market. E-Learning companies take note.


Friday, May 27, 2005

Fantastic Quote


Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.
- Louis L'Amour


Google Desktop Search for Enterprise


Google Desktop Search for Enterprise.

Google Desktop Search for Enterprise provides the same functionality as Google Desktop that searches for files on an individual's computer. The Enterprise edition of Desktop Search works in an enterprise environment, which is distributable from a centralized resource, and can be configured by a Windows Administrator. Google Desktop Search requires Windows 2000 SP3+ or Windows XP.

List of files searched by Google Desktop Search.

For Companies:
Register and Download Google Desktop Search for Enterprise for Free.

For Personal Use:
Free Download of Google Desktop Search.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts for Faster Tabbed Browsing


Keyboard shortcuts to switch between open tabs in Firefox
- Switch between open tabs in Firefox by using the
Ctrl + 1 to 9 keys. For example, if you have seven Web pages open as tabs and you want to move from the first to the fifth tab, press Ctrl + 5 on your keyboard.
- Use Ctrl + Tab to cycle (forward) through all the open tabs. Use Ctrl + Shift + Tab to cycle (back) through all the open tabs.
- Use Ctrl + T to open a new tab.
- Use Ctrl + W to close a tab.
- Use Ctrl + R to refresh the Web page.

Increase or decrease the font size in Firefox
- Use Ctrl + +(plus) to increase the font size of the Web page.
- Use Ctrl + -(minus) to decrease the font size of the Web page.
- Use Ctrl + 0(zero) to see the default font size of the Web page.

Read the comments section from this link for more Firefox keyboard shortcuts.

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Monday, May 23, 2005

Firefox Video Commercials


Watch these Firefox video commercials with office, mobile, and notebook as the themes. Read a comparison of Web browsers. Firefox tops the list with a rating of 8 on 10. Download Firefox browser (Version 1.0.4, Size: 4.7 MB).

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I want to participate in Yahoo!'s Contextual Search Contest


Dear Yahoo!-

I want to participate in your Y!Q Contextual Search contest. (Only for U.S. citizens). I can always experiment with Y!Q search without taking part in the Contest. However, taking part will be an added incentive to use Y!Q more often and experiment with inline searches.

Thanks and Regards,
Chirayu

Y!Q related posts on this Blog

- Y!Q Challenge Contest dt. 21 May 2005.
- Show Y!Q Search on your Web site dt. 19 May 2005.
- Set default Y!Q search with "p" dt. 20 April 2005.
- Thoughts on Y!Q Search dt. 9 April 2005.
- Search specific sites with siteRestriction in Y!Q dt. 7 April 2005.
- Y!Q Contextual search for cricket, search, lyrics related content, and more Y!Q searches on posts written in April and March 2005.

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Sunday, May 22, 2005

Can you see the right sidebar of this blog in IE6?


Usability of this Blog in IE6

I opened my blog in IE6 after a long time. Why does the right sidebar of my blog, the one with search and related links, appear at the bottom right of the Web page, after all the posts? Why is it so?

The Web page appears usable and perfect in Firefox. Why does the right sidebar go down in IE6? Is it because of the Google Ads code? Or is it because of the slow loading speed here?

Request: Please open this blog in IE6 and let me know if the right sidebar appears alongside the first post or goes down and shows at the bottom of the Web page. Thanks.

Note: To use IE6 at least once a week to check my blog's Usability.

Update: I've replaced the 125 by 600 skyscraper ads with a 125 by 125 button ad on the right sidebar. 01:35 p.m. IST. There's no change. The right sidebar still apears at the bottom of the Web page in IE6.

Update 2: 09:58 p.m. IST.
I've changed the Blogger settings and now the Home page (this Web page) shows only two days of posts instead of the 30 posts that were seen earlier. Now the sidebar comes alongside the posts in IE6. Thanks for the comment, Satish.

Update 3: Mon, 23 May, 12:25 p.m. IST
I've reduced the width of the image in this post to 400px and now the right sidebar appears alongside the posts in IE6 even for 25 posts on the home page. Thanks for the suggestion, Sebastian.

To read more posts please select links from the Archives section on the right sidebar of this Web page.


Saturday, May 21, 2005

Nice Sher


Beautiful Sher. Nice one. Read this on a Shayari Web site.

Saaqi teri sharaab bhi pheeki lage hai aaj
Hai pyaas un labon ki pareshaan kiye hue

Wine-bearer girl your wine too tastes sour today
The thirst for those lips (of hers) troubles me


Maximum Temperature soars in Pune


The last two days have been the hottest of this year's summer.
Yesterday's maximum temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit) was the hottest of this summer.

The Meteorology building (Shimla Office) is on my way to work. The max. and min. temperatures are displayed outside the main gate. The city recorded a max. of 40.7 degrees Celsius on Thu., 19th and 41.8 degrees Celsius on Fri., 20th May. There was a 3-hour power cut from 7:00 this morning.

I think this heat wave will continue for a few more days. It always rains in Pune when there's a sudden rise in temperature.

Use Yahoo! to convert units of measure.
Try these searches on Yahoo!
- Convert 41.8 degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit
# 41.8 deg. C = 107.2 deg. F

- Convert 41.6 kilometres to miles
# 41.6 kms. = 25.85 miles

- Pune weather

Technorati Tags: and .


Y!Q Challenge Contest


To read and participate in Yahoo!'s Contextual Search Y!Q Challenge contest.

Oh! It's only for U.S. citizens.

To read more posts please select links from the Archives section on the right sidebar of this Web page.


Friday, May 20, 2005

Personalize your Google Home page


What's New at Google?
Personalize your Google Home page.
URL: http://www.google.com/ig/

Google provides an option to personalize your Google Home page with Google News, GMail, NYT, Slashdot, Wired, BBC News, Weather, Stock quotes, Driving directions, Movies, Word of the Day, and Quote of the Day.

Screenshot of My Personalized Google Home page
My Personalized Google Home page

Why is Google going the Yahoo! way of showing content on the search page?
Google is unique because of its fast and simple user interface. Why do they want people to read email, check stock quotes, follow news stories, and more when they've come to search?

Google seems to have plans of becoming a portal.

Why does Google want to change the Internet's most popular Home page design?
If I want to check GMail, I will visit GMail.
If I want to read news, I will visit Google News.
What's the Usability in cluttering the Home page by showing content on it?

The idea of personalization is cool, but I won't use it. I'd prefer the Classic Google page, as they call it now, without any of these personalization features.

What do you think of Google's personalized home page? Take a poll on Google Blogoscoped and express your opinion. I feel it clutters the white, clean, simple, and usable look-and-feel of Google.

Update: 07:58 p.m. IST.
Some more thoughts.
- I agree GMail on the search page or a good thought for today and word of the day is informative and useful.
- Google shouldn't make their page stress on content.
Content should be secondary. Google should retain its flavour of white and simple design.
- The link to revert to Classic Google should be made prominent.
- Addition of RSS is a feature that's awaited.

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Google AdWords Blog


What's New at Google? The AdWords team at Google starts blogging. Read Inside AdWords, the Google AdWords blog. Stay tuned to the latest news at Google with the Google blog. Find more search and blog links on the right sidebar of this Web page.

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Greasemonkey


To read, experiment, and practice.

Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that allows users to control Web page interaction by adding DHTML user scripts to change its behaviour.

Install GreaseMonkey for Firefox.
- Firefox menubar --> Tools --> Options
- Web features --> Allow Web sites to install software
- Allowed sites --> greasemonkey.mozdev.org
- Allow --> OK

Read Dive Into GreaseMonkey, a book on programming with GreaseMonkey to customise Web pages using DHTML. Collection of Greasemonkey user scripts.


Thursday, May 19, 2005

What is good design?


Good design is

- Simple
- Usable
- Readable
- Linkable
- Clickable
- Fast
- White
- Scalable (White is always scalable)
- Informative
- Aesthetic
- Contrasting
- Sober
- Eye-catching
- Self-explanatory
- Google :-)

Our Web site follows a pattern of black font on a white background with shades of blue in the horizontal bar that links to internal Web pages. It looks good.



The above link is an example of Yahoo!'s Contextual Search. It is a useful feature to help readers search for related information. Read the code to generate a Contextual Search Link.




Step 1
Include the Y!Q JavaScript between <head> and </head> of your HTML Web page.
<!-- Start Y!Q JavaScript -->
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://yq.search.yahoo.com/javascript/yq.js">
</script>

<!-- End Y!Q JavaScript -->

Step 2
Include the code in your post.
<!-- Search Y!Q -->
<form class="yq" action="http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search" method="post">

<!-- Set Y!Q Search Parameters -->
<input type="hidden" name="context" value="What is good design" /><input type="hidden" name="p" value="Good Web site Design and Usability" /><input type="hidden" name="YSTResultsMax" value="5" />

<!-- Show results on clicking the hyperlink -->
<div class="yqact"><input class="yqbt" type="submit" value="Related Design Info" onclick="return activateYQ(this)" /></div>

</form>




How does Y!Q search work?

- Search within the context of this post
name="context" value="What is good design"
- Provide a default search query
name="p" value="Good Web site design and Usability"
- Customize the number of results shown
name="YSTResultsMax" value="5"
- Restrict search to specific Web sites
name="siteRestriction" value="www.usability.gov www.useit.com www.37signals.com"

Learn more about Yahoo!'s Contextual Search Y!Q Search (Beta).

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Personal


To do:

Remember to get Medical Bills for the months of Feb. and March 2005.


Personal


At Work
We had a good team meeting last evening. All big companies started small and these people may have been late off the blocks but that's no reason for not growing big. We've a good product (as opposed to client-side projects), an enthusiastic team, a good development lead, a top designer, and the determination to move fast. If only the management team would be more forthcoming. If you want to make millions you've got to spend a few thousand rupees on people.

There are opportunities to grow big. Take the organization from a team of seven developers and four designers to a 100-people company. The product is extensive. Once these guys get the rights and the source code from their collaborators, we can start with the documentation, streamline processes, and move fast. So instead of having to search for a template in a maze of code, all documentation can be made searchable and available either on the Internet or on local servers.

I see potential in this product and money for the management.
I would like the management to be open. Management is a misnomer. Y needs to have a better style of leading people. Cut the employer-employee relationship to we are friends out here and you're helping us make millions. They didn't do this in the last five years. I know five years is a long time in software. Now, in the last three months we've (all-right I've) brought changes.

All I've to say is if you have a point don't keep quiet. If you want to say something say it out loud. Share knowledge, learn to fall flat on your face - laugh it off, clean the dirt and start again, and whatever programming challenges are there, the developers out here aren't the only ones facing them, it's a big world out there and use Google to your advantage. Nothing is impossible. Any answer can be found. There's no write-up, we'll make one. There are no guidelines, we'll prepare them. There are no FAQs. I'll write them. Right now, the development lead knows about 10% of the vast project. Once guys from 'a' come, there's knowledge transfer and we get documentation and process in place, the work will be a easy for the team.

Then think of customization and the potential of the product's seamless integration. It's a potential goldmine, if only the management becomes more pro-active.

So that's about work here. A challenge if it happens. I know I can make it happen. All I need is some 'passion' (josh, junoon) from the management.

We were having a discussion and I said 'x' is never in office before 11:15 a.m. My co-worker said, "He works till late night, hence he comes late." I replied, "Agreed. If it would have been my business, I wouldn't go home."

I'd prefer a 10/12-hour per day 5-day week work schedule. Instead of a slow six-day week with 'n' stoppages. Work hard and play harder.

On Opportunities
I've the documents ready. I was awaiting confirmation from people whose names I've written as references. I've received it. Now all I've got to do is send the documents and take the process further.

Before taking the first step, I need to decide on whether I want to go there. Last evening's team meeting, the plans, my role, the focus to move with speed, and all these things.

So should I look for more money and a bigger name and make the jump to another company, or should I stay here?

Everything may turn out to be fine here and we may go on from a 20-people company to a 100-people one with a 5000 sq. ft posh office space, or after a year we may still be at the same place, and I'd draw the same or a little more salary and work would be all plans and no concrete progress without the support of management.

So this is about work and other opportunities.

I haven't yet sent the docs. because I know once I set the process in motion, things will happen fast. Before that I need to decide on should I stick with this dull, slow, small but old software company that has chances of changing from a tortoise to a rabbit by magic (my magic hehe..) or should I say come on what's with a company, get a good, big organization and make your move. Get a good competitive pay package. Work hard. Show your skills and progress in a major company.

I had these thoughts and I wrote them.

I always believe in taking my own decision. Good or bad, happy or sad. Reminds me of a line from The Fountainhead, "Don't you know what do you want to do with your life." (that you're asking others for advice).

A year is a long time in life.
A month is a long time at work.
A week is a long time in politics.
A day is a long time in search.
A moment (moment's separation) is a long time in love.
A click of the 'Publish Post' button is all it takes for your life to go on-line.

Cheers
Chirayu

So what's the decision? Simple. I'll toss a coin. No, I won't. I'll decide over the weekend.



Wednesday, May 18, 2005

To Read: An Article on Ontology and its Relevance


To read tonight: Clay Shirky's article on Ontology and its relevance.

Before that, a long personal post tonight.

Personal


I know I have the writing skills and the learning ability. I need to cultivate patience to go through times when the going is slow. I can't sit idle.

In a small company if there's no writing work I can dabble in coding, design, search marketing, business development activities, reading, research, and many other things. In a big company there are rules, policies, and procedures to follow, which I'll have to abide by.

A big fish in a calm lake or an anchovy in the Pacific with the ocean as its playground.

Opportunities are always there. I keep the door open so they don't have to knock. :-) It's taking decisions that matters.


Google AdSense for Feeds


What's New at Google?
Google introduces AdSense for Feeds (Beta).

Earn money from your RSS/ Atom feeds by showing Google Ads related to the syndicated content.

- Show contextual Ads in your RSS/ Atom feeds.
- Google publishes Ads related to the content you syndicate
- Learn more about Google AdSense for feeds.
- Apply for Google AdSense for feeds.
# Your feed should have more than 100 active subscribers to qualify for Google's AdSense for feeds (Beta) program.
- Read these tips on placing Ads in feeds.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Between Drops - Poetry in Motion


This is what I call a Poetry in Motion. Read the flow of words—fast and unstoppable. Read the words and stop at the colours to feel the flow of the poem after those words. It's a beautiful poem. Don't you think so?

Between Drops

A twisted streak
of multi-colored
lightning

pirouettes* across
the belly of a
cottage cheese sky

above a shimmering river
where lines of trees
outstretch their
every limb to

catch the drops
of fat fat rain

freely falling
down below
wet lovers

slowly kissing
in the late afternoon

where dancing hands
madly rub on
concealed delights
begging to wake

before the roll
of sonorous thunder

bounces off the
steel & glass canyon

reflecting the shadows
that takes them away

~ Charles Lara

* pirouette: spin, turn

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Haikus on a Summer Afternoon


Afternoon Haikus

Haikus written on a Pune afternoon looking out of the window. A power cut with the AC off and the fan on. The whirring of the fan makes the hot breeze from the open window seem cool.

5-7-5
Power cut stops the AC
Window opens, fan whirls, and I wait
Hot breeze cools my face

3-5-3
An open window
Waits for hot breeze to
Blow and cool

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Nice Sher


A beautiful Sher. Vintage Ghalib.

Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hai
Tumhi kaho yeh andaaz-e-guftaguu kya hai

For each small matter you question me
Please tell me what style of conversation is this

Ragoon main daudte phirne ke ham nahin qaayal
Jab aankh hi se na tapkaa to phir lahuu kya hai

Literal
I'm not satisfied with blood running through my veins
What's the use of blood if it doesn't drop from my eyes

Hidden
What is this low-level one-upmanship and competition
I've above all this and my work is based on passion (not for rewards)

There's an interesting story to this couplet recited by Ghalib.

Ghalib and Zauk were famous Urdu poets who were contemporaries at the court of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in the mid-nineteenth century (1850s). That was a time when Urdu poetry flourished with renowned poets like Ghalib, Zauk, Momin, and Daagh.

Zauk had differences with Ghalib and taunted him. Ghalib replied to his taunts with, Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hai... and then followed with the couplet on passionate poetry Jab aankh hi se na tapkaa to phir lahuu kya hai

Read the complete Sher, Har baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hain. Read Mirza Ghalib's poetry.

Technorati Tag:


Personal


Thoughts on is Management an oxymoron?
A combination of contradictory terms.

Cool heat, eloquent silence, glowing darkness, cold tea, hot ice cream, smooth Pune traffic, sweet spices, ugly beauty, golden silver, smart and so on.

Yes, it is. The best managers don't manage. They tell people things to do and let their people surprise them with results. That's the essence of a manager.
Set a target. Give a deadline. And Boss, leave them alone.

The other way is what they teach in Business schools.
Management is an art and science. Lead people, motivate them, take them to greater heights, achieve professional success, and progress by applying the principles and practices of management by doing analysis, showing case studies, and finding ways based on best practices of successful organizations.


Monday, May 16, 2005

Thoughts on Web Content Writing and Technical Communication


What is Technical Writing?
The aim of writing is to make people read.
Technical writing bridges the gap between technology and the reader who may or may not be an end user.

Who is a Technical Writer?
A technical writer communicates technology to readers.
Communication is the flow of information from a sender to a receiver with mimnimum loss. A technical writer writes for the target audience to read, understand, and act on the information with minimum loss of information.

What makes Technical Writing different?
The challenge of Technical Writing is to make people read, understand, experiment, and help find answers that they're seeking from the copy written.

What's so special?
Writing for the Web is different from writing for a newspaper or a magazine.
Web content writing, which includes technical writing, content writing, and marketing communications is concise, scannable, usable, and invites people to read more.

For example

Please follow these steps to clear History from Firefox browser.

- Open Firefox browser
- From the Menubar - Go to Tools
- Select Options
- Choose Privacy Tab on the left sidebar
- Select the plus (+) sign on Saved Form Information
- Uncheck the Save information box (remove the tickmark)
- Click on the Clear All Tab
- Click on the OK button
- Press F5 to refresh the Web page

Learn more tips and use Firefox to your advantage. We invite you to take a free trial of Firefox. Download Firefox and rediscover the Web. Experience a faster, better, more secure, and simpler way of surfing the Web. (Size: 4.7 MB, Filetype: .exe)


Web content writing, as shown in the above example, is concise, uses small paragraphs, has scannable information, is usable, and invites the reader to explore more.

Technical communication needs Web writing skills and the ability to gauge and write for different audiences. A User Documentation for learners, a manual for administrators, a FAQ for registered users, a Knowledge Base for a product, a step-by-step installation guide, an article to generate click-throughs, coding guidelines for programmers, SRS for project team members.

A technical writer needs to be a fast learner, an effective communicator, and a liaison person between technology, clients, and design. Technical writing acts as a bridge between the product/ application/ Web site and the end user. A technical writer needs to understand the business along with technology and should be able to write for different audiences. For example, if there's a manual with links to a free product download, a technical writer needs to combine writing and marketing to get users to download the product.

Web Writing needs to be smooth, flowing, and informative. Each word conveys a meaning. By nature, people don't like to read and they read even less on the Internet with different Web sites, images, links, and much more.

As the reading span of attention is less in an online medium people scan a chunk of information, look for a link, and click on it. So any writing for the Web has to be usable. If it is usable, it has chances of being clickable, and if it is clickable, it has chances of generating business by holding user interest.

What's my criteria for Technical Writing?

- Passion for writing is more important than knowledge of softwares
Writing softwares are utilities to improve communication and help with file conversions. What is essential is passion for writing and knowledge of the end user.
Softwares can be learnt. Content comes from the writer.

- Working Software is more important than volume of documentation
Instead of having a five-day two-hour session about understanding a software, I'd prefer to use the less than Beta version and experiment with its features for a week on my own.

- Help Files need effective Searching
Help files are of no use without a perfect search engine to find information.
I'd prefer a set of 10 indexable questions that are found on a Web site (by an internal site search) than links to 50 questions that are not searchable.

- Usability comes first. Comprehensive documentation comes later.
A Web site, product, or an application has to be usable. If it is usable, it is readable.
For example: There's no point in having a FAQ section on a Web site if it doen't have examples, and no links to back to the top of the page. A web site with White Papers to download without a file size and file type is of no use.
Usability precedes writing. Screenshots with step-by-step information are better than long paragraphs.

- Programmer's trust is more important than BD Manager's Guideline (Debatable)
If a manager says this application supports 20 users and the programmer says its capacity is for 15 users and more than 20 users slows the speed of the system, I'll go with the programmer and write this software provides optimum performance for 15 users.

I also believe in these points from Agile Software Development.
(I read these points on Google Blogoscoped)

# Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Example: I've found this works with programmers. Instead of asking them to send an email explaining the features. I'll go to their cubicles, spend half-an-hour and ask them in Hindi about how this works, what it does, and what's so good about it that I should write for the users.

# Working software over comprehensive documentation
Usability first. Writing later.

# Responding to change over following a plan
Example: No point in writing about a product if you feel it is not good. Better tell them, this is not documentation worthy. A writer has to use the product and then write as a user.

What skills do I have to be a Technical writer?

- Passion
- Knowledge of how users read on the Net
- Ability to write with examples that interact with different audiences
- Marketing skills, good research skills, people skills
- Excellent search skills.
# If it is on Google. It is searchable.
- Usability and web design skills
- Web development and coding skills
- Fast learner
- Read a lot.
- Always open to experiment with writing
- Follow a subject verb agreement style for smooth writing
# Chirayu takes the first step and explores a writing opportunity.
# Infosys values its people at $6.4 billion.
# MSN improves its Desktop Search application.
# 'XYZee' introduces data management solution for system consultants.
- Nothing is impossible. I have to start. That's it.
- I believe in myself.
# I've the ability to write Web content, marketing copy, search marketing copy, technical copy, domain-specific technical copy, write and understand code, design web sites, do research, and much more.
- Do it fast. Keep it simple. Get it right the first time.

What do I need to learn?

- Domain-specific technical writing
Example: Telecom, PLM, e-learning

- Technical writing softwares.

Who am I?
I'm a simple guy with big dreams.
I'm a Web writer and an Internet researcher.
I've learnt my writing from Google, using it as an example of design, usability, writing, and web content and searching Google to find anything.

Technorati Tag:


Saturday, May 14, 2005

IBM supports Firefox Browser


IBM encourages its employees to use Firefox. 10% of 330,000 IBM employees worldwide use Firefox. IBM employees can now download Firefox browser from internal servers and get support from the company's help desk staff.

IBM's move to promote Firefox in-house shows its intention of supporting industry standard open source products, and is also seen as a move to lessen the dependence on Microsoft's IE. It may also give other major companies reason to try Firefox. "If IBM uses it so should we." Read more on CNET.

So which browser do you still use?
55 million downloads and counting...
Experience a faster, better, easier, and simpler way of surfing the Web.
Download Firefox. (Size: 4.7 MB).

Update: This is interesting news. IBM plans to start corporate blogging as a marketing strategy.

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Rabindranath Tagore's Poetry


The immortal beauty of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry.

Rabindranath Tagore's poems are as sublime, fresh, soothing, beautiful, lyrical, smooth, flowing, and masterful as they were a hundred years ago.

Read The Gardener, translated to English from the original in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore in 1915.

My favourite verses from The Gardener.

Verse 30

You are the evening cloud floating in the sky of my dreams.
I paint you and fashion you ever with my love longings.
You are my own, my own, Dweller in my endless dreams!


Your feet are rosy-red with the glow of my heart’s desire, Gleaner of my sunset songs!
Your lips are bitter-sweet with the taste of my wine of pain.
You are my own, my own, Dweller in my lonesome dreams!


With the shadow of my passion have I darkened your eyes, Haunter of the depth of my gaze! I have caught you and wrapt you, my love, in the net of my music. You are my own, my own, Dweller in my deathless dreams!

Verse 31

My heart, the bird of the wilderness, has found its sky in your eyes.
They are the cradle of the morning, they are the kingdom of the stars.
My songs are lost in their depths. Let me but soar in that sky, in its lonely immensity.
Let me but cleave its clouds and spread wings in its sunshine
.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Verse 85

Who are you, reader, reading my poems an hundred years hence? I cannot send you one single flower from this wealth of the spring, one single streak of gold from yonder clouds.
Open your doors and look abroad. From your blossoming garden gather fragrant memories of the vanished flowers of an hundred years before. In the joy of your heart may you feel the living joy that sang one spring morning, sending its glad voice across an hundred years
.

Tagore and Neruda
Latin American poets like Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral and Mexican poet Octavio Paz have been inspired by Tagore's poetry. I was surprised and happy to read about the popularity of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry in Spain and its influence on Latin American poets. Read this article on Tagore's influence on Spanish and Latin American poetry.

I want to learn Bengali. I can understand Bengali, but to enjoy the beauty of Tagore's lyrical poetry one needs to be able to read Bengali. Bengali and Spanish are beautiful languages.

Read Pablo Neruda's paraphrase of Tagore's verse 30 (Bengali: Tumi Sandhyara Meghmala) from The Gardener in English as In My Sky At Twilight and in Spanish. Pablo Neruda was deeply influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's style of using nature and its colours to write love poetry.

Related Links
- Read Pablo Neruda's Poems.
- Download a PDF of Pablo Neruda's poems. (Size: 400 KB).

Related Post on this Blog
Links to Rabindranath Tagore's Poetry - 28 Nov. 2004.

Have you felt the sublime beauty of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry?

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Friday, May 13, 2005

Ash at The Cannes Film Festival, May 2005


Aishwarya Rai looks beautiful in this white dress with pink flowers
Ash looks beautiful in this white dress with light pink and black flowers on it.

See more images of Ash at Cannes 2005.

A shayari on Ash at Cannes.
Sau chaand bhi chamkenge to kya baat banegi
Aap aaye to is mehfil ki auqaat badhegi

A hundred moons won't show the lustre
That appears when you grace our party


Personal


At Work - SEO
I've taken the responssibility of SEO at work. They were paying 'x' amount to a company and were going to pay 'x' Pounds for another deal. I've taken a month's time, and given them the suggestion to put both companies on hold. I'll do the work.

This will be a good chance for me to try RSS, and blog-based marketing for SEO.
The challenge is in getting on Google for generic keywords through blogs.
I'll experiment with the latest in Search, blogs, marketing, RSS, and search marketing.

There are lots of web sites for discount hotels, low rates, best hotels, cheap hotels etc., and related keywords with thousands of backlinks for major players, so the option of getting on top with backlinking won't work for generic keywords, it may work for specific keywords.

Plan
I'm planning to use blogs at work for all our sites, link them to each other, and link to all web sites from each post and check results on Google. Let's see. I'll write about my experiments and the results they generate.

Getting on Yahoo! with a blog takes 2 days. Getting on Yahoo for generic keywords with blogs is an experiment that I'm trying.

We can also try Overture's international option of paid ads and paid RSS Ads on Feedster. More than that I'm trying for Organic SEO with quality backlinks for Google. Don't plan to get hundreds of links, but get a blog on Google for related keywords and then direct the user to our web sites by linking to them on each post.

-------
Note:
Yahan pe accha hai. Paisa thoda kam hai, lekin woh badha sakte hai. Facilities kam hai, woh bhi aa jaayegi. Kaam hai, baaki naya seekhne ke liye time hai, and I'm bringing changes, initiating plans, taking responsibilities. Work is boring sometimes, but it's good in a way. I'm doing lots of activities. I'm doing writing, search marketing, project mgmt., research, internet marketing, PPC, project co-ordination, liaison, operations, interviews, client communication, and much more. The workplace is dull but I've plans to get people involved. Take them out for parties. I'll suggest Pizza on Saturdays and snacks in the evenings; a team dinner, an outing to a bowling complex, going for a movie on Saturday, celebrating birthdays; a cricket match on Sunday, or an evening out at a pub. Kuch to karenge yaar!
-------



Cricket: Who will Coach India? Tom Moody or Jimmy Amarnath?


It's 02:40 a.m. Surprise, a Koel's cooing wafts across the window.

Thoughts on India's New Cricket Coach.

The Cricket Control Board has shortlisted Australians Greg Chappell and Tom Moody with Indians Jimmy Amarnath and Sandeep Patil.

Batting is Strong
India doesn't need a coach who teaches batting because all our top batsmen have a unique style of batting. Shewag's flamboyance, Rahul Dravid's stability, Sachin's solidity, Laxman's magic, Kaif's nudge, push, and run, Yuvraj's bold strokes.

Sachin, Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Laxman, and others don't need tips on batting, except for Ganguly.

Need for a Bowling Coach
Now, lets look at the bowling. For India to win the 2007 Cricket World to be played in the West Indies, our bowling attack needs a lot of strength. The grounds in the Caribbean islands are half of those in Australia. It is going to be a batsman's world cup, as always, but here the bowlers will be under more pressure because of the shorter boundaries.

Irfan Pathan, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra, and Zaheer Khan all look good to be the fast bowlers who will be in India's 2007 team. This is the fast bowling team that a coach has to build and Tom Moody will be a good candidate for the Coach's position.

Tom Moody
Tom Moody always contributed with the bat, ball, and in the field whenever he represented Australia, and although his test record doesn't show many milestones, yet his ability to be a team player, one who always contributed when called upon, and his strength as a bowling all-rounder should tilt the scale in his favour.

Steve Waugh says Tom Moody is the best player to coach India and he's right because our batting has champions one after the other. All artists in their own ways. Batting is an art and people will learn on their own, but bowling—fast bowling requires guidance and tips to prevent injuries, build stamina, and attain perfection, more so in ODIs and this is where Tom Moody can build India's bowling attack for the 2007 world cup.

Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Anil Kumble want Tom Moody as a coach. Sachin and Kumble agree with Dravid that India needs a bowling coach. Ganguly wants Greg Chappell.

Jimmy Amarnath with his guts and glory approach to batting (Amarnath's battles with the West Indies fast bowlers of early 80s: Holding, Garner, Roberts, and Marshall is legendary. That bloodied nose during the Windies tour and coming back and hooking Marshall for a first ball six without a helmet; as are his continuous ducks versus Pakistan in the home series). Jimmy Amarnath's Test carreer has followed the path of a zero to a hero to a zero. His determination, toughness, and bowling expertise will help India in tests and one-dayers. A coach (in sport, teaching, or life) has to be a good communicator. Jimmy Amarnath's skills will be tested here. Although everyone understands Hindi so that won't be an issue.

So it's Tom Moody with an eye on the 2007 world cup.
Or Mohinder (Jimmy) Amarnath to build a strong, fighting team for Tests and ODIs.

India needs a bowling coach and both these all-rounders fit the position.
Let's see who becomes India's Cricket Coach.

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Thursday, May 12, 2005

Personal


Whatever happens and wherever I am; whether it’s Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bombay, or abroad it doesn’t matter. I am going to run a marathon before the end of this year. No monetary or professional challenges. This is a personal challenge. I'm challenging myself to run a Marathon, a distance of 42.6 kms. without dropping out.

Nothing is impossible, and I know I’m going to finish running a Marathon once I start it. The Pune International Marathon is held in the 3rd week of December each year.
There are eight months to prepare for an afternoon of running.
Come on Chirayu, fight!

If I’m good enough to run a Marathon, I’m good enough to score 750+ on 800 in GMAT, and good enough to get a call from all six IIMs by scoring 99+ percentile in CAT.

It is not impossible. I’d have made it to the IIMs in 2004. Oh my dear Senorita, all I needed was one email, a simple email of good luck (Why to blame that sweet girl. I wasn't good enough, but if I'd have got an email, I'd have studied inspite of a 12:00 midnight to 10:00 a.m. work schedule, and she was the one who encouraged me to take the test). The difference between 93 and 99 percentile wouldn’t have been more than eight marks (correct me if I’m wrong). I'd performed better in the first test, the Nov. 2003 test that got scrapped. I scored 93 percentile in the Feb. 2004 re-test.

The time for IIMs may have gone, GMAT isn’t an option because of a lot of factors, but the Marathon is a dream that’s wide open to turn to reality, and I’m going to run a Marathon. I won’t give up on that dream.

I may be all pumped up tonight and the next morning when in office, I’ll forget all about this post. No, I won’t let it happen that way. I’m going to run a Marathon and I’ll do what it takes to practice and complete the run.

Writing is so easy, now let's see some sweat rolling down the forehead!

Woh zindagi hi kya jisme koi namumkin sapna naa ho!
What's a life without an impossible dream to achieve!


Ash at Cannes 2005


Ash can't go wrong wearing black at The Cannes Film Festival. She's put on some weight. She looks plump and beautiful in the images taken at Cannes 2005.

See these images of Ash at Cannes 2005. Take a look at her Cannes 2004 and 2003 photos. She is looking beautiful dressed in black this year.


Personal

I'm feeling sleepy. I slept at 5:00 this morning. I was listening to songs and surfing the Net.

Google to improve Blogger



Google's plans for improving and enhancing Blogger.

- Make image uploads easier
- Integrate GMail with Blogger
- Make it simple to send posts from GMail to Blogger
- Provide facilities to make posts public and private for a select audience
(Good move - Will encourage more people to blog)
- Add password protected areas and create private groups
(Good move - Will encourage business blogging)
- Thinks about launching an enterprise application for the workplace
- Read more


Lyrics of Agar Tum Mil Jao Zamaana Chhod Denge Hum


Listen to the song 'Agar Tum Mil Jao Zamaana Chhod Denge Hum' from the film Zeher.

Sayeed Quadri has written these beautiful, soulful, poetic Lyrics of the song Agar Tum Mil Jao Zamaana Chhod Denge Hum from the film Zeher.

Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamana chhod denge hum
Tumhe paa kar zamaane bhar se rishta tod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum


Bina tere koi dilkash nazaara hum na dekhenge
Bina tere koi dilkash nazaara hum na dekhenge
Tumhe na ho pasand usko dobaara hum na dekhenge
Teri soorat na ho jis main
Teri soorat na ho jis main
Woh sheesha tod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum


Tere dil main rahenge tujhko apna ghar bana lenge
Tere dil main rahenge tujhko apna ghar bana lenge
Tere khwaabon ko geheno ki tarah khud par saja lenge
Kasam teri kasam
Kasam teri kasam
Taqdeer ka rukh mod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum


Tumhe hum apne jism-o-jaan main kuch aise basa lenge
Tumhe hum apne jism-o-jaan mein kuch aise basa lenge
Teri khushboo apne jism ki khushboo bana lenge
Khuda se bhi na jo toote
Khuda se bhi na jo toote
Woh rishta jod lenge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum
Tumhe paa kar zamaane bhar se rishta tod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum
Agar tum mil jao
Zamaana chhod denge hum


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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Pune - No streetlights on major roads


There were no streetlights at 08:15 this evening from Shivajinagar, COEP to Sohrab Hall, Pune Station. (From COEP bridge, COEP, Sangam Bridge, RTO, Le Meridien, Sohrab Hall). A distance of 4.5 kms. The newspapers reported a decrease in load-shedding. Then how come there are more power cuts? Didn't they reduce the power cuts by an hour from 4 to 3 hours per day? Then why weren't the streetlights on? On most other days there are no streetlights on Bund Garden Road and Yerwada and there never are any streetlights on the Pune-Nagar Road.

Technorati Tag:

Update: Nah, it's not that bad.

- Pune has M.G. Road, F.C. Road, Sinhagad Fort, Khadakwasla Lake, and Vada Pav.
- Bangalore has IT, Pubs, and Brigade Road.
- Hyderabad has Irani Chai, Escape, Lifestyle, good roads, and HiTech city.

That's the magic of an online journal/diary/blog. You can write your emotion at that point of time. 12:39 a.m. IST. Posted 05:46 p.m. IST.


Money


Money, get away.
Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.
Money, it’s a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team
.
- Pink Floyd's Money


Google plans to open an office in China


Google has bought the domain name www.google.com.cn and plans to open an office in Shanghai, China by the year-end.

China is a big marketing opportunity for Google with their text ads and related advertising targeted at the growing Chinese market in their local (Mandarin) language. Read more.
Visit Google China.


Corn Club


Corn Club for Corn (Makai, Bhutta) varieties.

Corn Club is a well-known eating joint on F.C. Road. I had been to the Corn Club last week. Try the the Grilled Corn Sandwich (Rs. 28/- 2 nos.), Corn Patties (Rs. 18/- 2 nos.) and Baby Corn Fingers (good) (Rs. 36/-) all washed down with a glass or two of refreshing Kokum* Sherbet (Rs. 10/-). Read more about Corn Club products and recipes.

Good for an evening out with friends and family, and a change from regular hotel food like Punjabi, Chinese, or Pizza.


Tuesday, May 10, 2005

A Nice Thought



If you want to run a race, run a mile.
If you want to experience a new life, run a marathon.

Navy font on a whitesmoke background is a good colour combination for small paragraphs.


Personal


I'll be completing almost three months without having lunch at work. Not an achievement or anything (I do have breakfast in the mornings). I feel that fasting once in a while is good for health.


Interviews at Work


Spent the afternoon taking interviews. We need people with 3+ years of Web designing experience (Photoshop and Dreamweaver) with knowledge of HTML and JavaScript and the ability to use MS Visual Studio .NET. We need designers who understand code.

I can be an ideal HR. I have people skills and I am an employee's manager.
Didn't keep anyone waiting. Sent instant emails on the candidates interview status and sent design tests to selected candidates.

An Irony. I've had some bad experiences with HR and here I am, becoming an ideal HR.

One HR question that I don't like when I've interviewed at places is "Where do you see yourself five years down the line?" "Boss, it's a big world out there and if all of us knew where we would be five years down the line then the world would be an unhappier place. In 1998 who had thought of Google as a verb? Isn't it? The magic of future is in its uncertainty and our ability to shape it."


A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever


Brazilian supermodel Ana Beatriz Barros.
Brazilian beauty Ana Beatriz Barros

Cold winds can never freeze, nor thunder sour
The cup of cheer that Beauty draws for me
Out of those Azure heavens and this green earth-
I drink and drink, and thirst the more I see

Personal: Nice Quote: Roots and Wings


Personal

I'm going to follow this quote for my children.

There are two things we must give our children.
One is Roots, and the other is Wings
.

I've taken most of my life's decisions. However, strange and ironic but I'm going to leave the decision of marriage to parents. I'm going to meet girls and get engaged by the end of August and get married by the year-end. Arranged marriage is good and it's always difficult to understand girls and I don't think I'll fall in love (again). There was a time I was in love or was I? No point in analyzing emotions so let's cut that.

There's a nice saying that goes as Between a woman's Yes and a woman's No there's not a place for a pin to go! Haan bole to Naa aur Naa bole to Haan! :-)

------

Some examples:

I know how to pamper women. Spending money on others is something that's easy for me because money is just a number in the bank, nothing more, nothing less.

"You didn't compliment me on my red and white salwar-kameez, and why did you compliment me on my green and yellow salwar-kameez." "You got me a ring, why didn't you get me a necklace?" "What's so special that you say I'm looking beautiful?" "Why don't you say I'm looking good?" "I don't want to go out doesn't mean I don't want to go out, it means I don't want to take a walk."

------

If I have the money, I'll go to Brazil for my Honeymoon. That's some bank balance that I'll require. However, I'm not worried about money and somehow it doesn't make me happy. Spending money on others makes me happy, but the salary that comes at the end of the month is just an SMS with 'x' amount deposited, that's it. And I know with the skills I have and the pace I set for myself money will never be something that I'll have to run after. It will always come.

Passion always comes first for me. Be passionate and things happen.

That reminds me of another quote. I'm good at quotes, and even with numbers.

If you can kiss and drive safely you're not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. Moral of the story—There's nothing easy or difficult. Passion and Concentration achieve a lot.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Personal


I'm bored. Like a truant school-boy I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I know I will go, but this is a thought and let me write it.

I'll join a bigger company. Or maybe become a school teacher and earn Rs. 4-5K per month. Simple. Teach kids. Be happy. I can do search marketing work as per EST and make up for the 75% salary cut that I'll have to bear if I work as a teacher. Nothing pays like software, and I'll take the most monetarily (used an adverb, that's bad!) foolhardy decision if I become a school teacher.

Everyone goes to work in the morning and comes back home at night.
Some place you change the world, at others it's the salary at the end of the month, at some more it is the location and name.

I've got to live my dreams.

- I want to run a marathon. The entire 42.6 kms. It is not impossible.
- I want to write a screenplay

I helped a co-worker send 16K emails today. ("Boss you're too fast for this place. What are you doing here?" he said. Yes, maan what am I doing here?)
Some marketing plan they wanted to implement. The success rate is going to be 5% and from that we can expect about two to five sales of a $5K product.

I know better marketing plans, but why should I tell, if they want me to do all that in the same salary. I'll do as per their way of email marketing.

Use RSS maan. Syndicate your PR, start an official company blog and syndicate it, syndicate your Web site content, take your product to the market, make the market read about your product. Spend $80 to send your press release through PRWeb.com
If users don't come to you, you go to the users.

Targeted email marketing still works, but finding email addresses is a time consuming task, and random email addresses from the public domain will get daemon mailers 80% of the time.


A Beautiful Poem


Sarojini Naidu's Coromandel Fishers

Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light,
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night.
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free,
To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea!

No longer delay, let us hasten away in the track of the sea gull's call,
The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all.
What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sea-god drives?
He who holds the storm by the hair, will hide in his breast our lives.

Sweet is the shade of the cocoanut glade, and the scent of the mango grove,
And sweet are the sands at the full o' the moon with the sound of the voices we love;
But sweeter, O brothers, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam's glee;
Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky mates with the sea
.
~ Sarojini Naidu


Draft: Generic Product Intro


Draft of a generic product introduction.
Replace the alphabets with your company's name, clients, and industries
.

ABC solutions helps companies to increase revenue, cut costs, improve quality, adopt best practices, ensure compliance, and drive change and bring innovation that impacts the bottom line.

With a wide range of enterprise solutions and focused implementations, ABC helps companies use products to their advantage and get the most out of them. ABC shows a proven track record of success and innovation at more than 'n' number of global companies. ABC's Solutions provide complete support for strategic business processes and fulfill* requirements of complex enterprises.

SMBs including a, b, c, d, and Fortune 500 companies like p, q, r, and s are among our customers in the w, x, y, and zee industries. They have obtained results that led to strong growth through the use of our solutions.

Read these case studies (link here), download these PDFs (link here) and presentations (link here), and learn more (link here to FAQs) about how ABC Solutions can change your business. We encourage you to join us as a preferred business associate (link to form).

Try this for your company. See if this draft fits.

Note: fulfill is American. fulfil is British.


Nice Dialogue


The movie Tango Charlie was playing on cable a couple of days back.

There's an interesting dialogue in it. Ajay Devgan who plays Havaldar Mohammed Ali, leader of a Border Security Force group says, "Zamindaar Sahab, Main ek sipahi hu. Maine maut ko itne kareeb se dekha hai ki zindagi ke har pal hi keemat samajh aati hai." "Landlord Sir, I'm a soldier. I've seen death from such close quarters that I understand the value of each moment in life."

The movie highlights the role of unsung BSF soldiers who handle counter-insurgency operations in certain states of the North-East, Naxal-infested areas in parts of rural Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Kashmir on the Line of Control.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Google Blog moves to Blogspot

Google Blog has a new address.
Visit Google Blog at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Google cuts price of Urchin Web Analytics to $199 per month


This is good news for small and medium business Web sites. Google cuts price of Urchin Web Analytics software solution from $495 to $199 per month. Sign up and take a 15-day free trial of Urchin Web Analytics software.

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Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Yahoo!'s linkdomain: Search Operator


How to find the number of Web pages that link to your site with Yahoo search?
Google uses the link: operator. For example, link:www.getfirefox.com shows the number of Web pages that link the Web site of GetFirefox.com.

Find the number of web pages that link to a site with the linkdomain: search operator on Yahoo Search.

1. Use Yahoo! Search to find the number of Web pages (both external as well as internal) that link to chirayu.blogspot.com
linkdomain:chirayu.blogspot.com
549 results


2. Use Yahoo! Search to find the number of external web pages that link to chirayu.blogspot.com
linkdomain:chirayu.blogspot.com -site:chirayu.blogspot.com
469 results

Explanation of the search query
- Find the number of web pages that link to the page chirayu.blogspot.com (1)
(Gives results for internal and external Web pages)

- Exclude (use the minus sign) the site chirayu.blogspot.com and show only the external Web pages that link to chirayu.blogspot.com (2)

Why is the number so high (as compared to Google)?
It is so because most of the web pages that link to this site are blogs, and as each blog post has a permament url (a permalink) hence the permalinks (individual blog posts) are taken as web pages and each link from a permalink is an external link according to Yahoo! This is proof of Yahoo! giving more weightage to pages with RSS feeds that Google does.

What's so cool about it?
If you want to market a product, don't think of an email marketing campaign, start a blog.
Make a blog, syndicate it, write a post with the keywords of your product, give links from your blog post to your Web site, publish the post, ping Technorati, get indexed by search engines. See your blog post on Yahoo! for the keywords of your product within 48 hours of having published the post, plus get feedback on your product with comments from people who visit your blog. Sounds good? Give it a try.



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Monday, May 02, 2005

To Read: Google TrustRank

To read Google's TrustRank Paper.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Sunday goes fast


Personal

It's 09:00 on a Sunday evening. There wasn't a power-cut except for half-an-hour.
It's back to work tomorrow. I want a 5-day week at work. Whatever work is to be done can be done from Mon through Fri. What's the point in working on Saturdays when the client has a holiday and there's no progress till Monday morning? I'm not able to find time for any personal work.

Draft of an email that I'm going to discuss tomorrow.

I have suggestions to make our office a better workplace.
I understand it's a small company, but there are solutions, which can be found to make people happy at work, which in turn increases productivity.


- Please keep a 5-day week at work. All our clients follow a 5-day week.
- Let's follow a 9 am to 7 pm work schedule with Saturdays and Sundays off, unless there's critical work that cannot be postponed.
- Please credit salaries on the 30th of each month, instead of the 6th of next month.
- Please arrange for a soft copy of salary slip on the last day of the month.
- Please arrange for a Generator Set or make necessary power arrangements to prevent loss of manhours due to load-shedding.


How many of these can be implemented with immediate effect?
I look forward to your positive reply.

Thanks and Regards,
Chirayu


Thoughts on Google's CPM Advertising Plans


Why is Google moving away from its core competency of Search?

Examples:

- CPM (Pay-per-1000-impressions) advertising that has nothing to do with web or contextual search
- Site-Targeting without the need for searching
- More Image Ads on their Ad networks, which goes against Google's white look and feel and a departure from their popular text-based ads that has brought them success.

All these features have the ability to succeed, but they shouldn't at the cost of effective Search advertising.

Google is a Search company that generates revenue through Search and related advertising.

Now with CPM and Site-Targeting Google is exploring another road of becoming a major Advertising player trying to experiment with its focus on the lucrative ad market without a focus on search. Will this strategy succeed? Google is Google and hope it does and GOOG reaches $310 by the end of third-quarter.

A point to think for Google.

CPM will succeed, and that will be great for their revenues, but it should not be so at the cost of Search-based advertising.

Google should go slow on image ads. Google's Usability, its look and feel separates it from other players, does it want to become a banner ad company with a Google sponsored banners on a million web sites?

Yahoo! and Google:

Yahoo is moving toward revolving their content around search.
- Trying to integrate personal search, contextual search, RSS headlines, blogs, and related content and tying that up with advertising.

Google is moving away from search.
- Introducing CPM ads and Site-Targeting, experimenting with plans to increase revenues not related with search, showing more image ads, trying to expand the network beyond search-based advertising, which is a potential money-spinning business plan, but shouldn't backfire on search-based ads.

Related Post on this Blog:

- New Advertising Options on Google AdWords dt. April 26, 2005.

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