Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Race, Gender, Tech

A representation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka...Image via WikipediaGroup dynamics is the number one thing I bring to the table for work. And there gender as a topic stands out. And I don't even mean in a political way. It is fascinating as a topic like stars might fascinate astrophysicists.

The zen of tech makes it even more possible to see the threads of race and gender. In a city where the subway ride is cheap, even at free events why do you end up seeing a room that is almost all people of one kind? Culture is a powerful force. Like Facebook did not create the social graph, it merely mapped it, tech in general helps you see social threads.

The other day I saw a group photo of the Tumblr team somewhere and it was an all white team, and I noticed. My teams in India are all Indian. (Doubling Down On Tech Consulting) I was at an event in Jackson Heights on Friday and it was a room full of people from Nepal.

And you come across women who would like you to believe they are on the cutting edge of things like the glass ceiling, only it simply does not involve a single white male they might personally know. Or when a white woman does her racist bonding thing with a white male to portray you as The Other. The same platform also is open to acts of sexist bonding, but do you really want to go for that? But then corporate warfare has its twists and turns. And the Internet is globalization on steroids. A billion Indians would not be my idea of a minority.

Permanent War

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Google Plus: Symmetry, Asymmetry: Both

Ashton KutcherImage by jdlasica via FlickrOn Facebook there is symmetry, we have to friend each other. On Twitter there is asymmetry. You could argue there is asymmetry also on Google Plus. So far I have not had to ask for anyone's permission before adding them to a circle.

But where Google Plus is different from Twitter is I can only add a total of 5,000 people to circles. On Twitter I follow and am followed by 45,000 people.

A million people might still add Ashton Kutcher to their circles, but Kutcher can not reciprocate. He can only add 5,000 people to his circles. And so the experience stays intimate for both Ashton Kutcher and his fans. His fans also have that 5,000 limitation. And so there is quality to that circling. Those fans can not add 50,000 people to their circles. That adds value to every time you get added to some circle.

The Help



(Via Marissa Mayer)
Marissa Mayer: Location, Local

Google Plus Will Get Many People Blogging


2011: Quora's Year?

I noticed this about Quora in January. A lot of tech entrepreneurs who I wished were active bloggers were waxing eloquent on Quora. But they did not have blogs. And Google Plus might facilitate even more than Quora ever did. More people might speak up now.

Google Plus Has Buzz

Google Plus is for real.
Larry Page - CaricatureImage by DonkeyHotey via Flickr
Larry Page At The Helm
Permanent War
I Will Not Miss Eric

The 5,000 Limitation On Google Plus: A Good Thing


Anil Dash

If you want to interact with a million people, that is what Twitter is for. I am glad Google Plus has that limitation. So people are more careful in terms of who they add to their circles.

Facebook also has that limitation. Facebook perhaps is the inspiration to that Google number. If you want to interact with more than 5,000 people, well, there are Facebook Pages you can create.

I think a limitless number of people can follow you on Google Buzz. That would be the Google version of Facebook Pages. I think there is no limit to how many followers you can have on Google Buzz. But I don't know for sure.

Ace Sundays


Think Different
www.acehotel.com/nycsunday​s



Sunnyside


Sunnyside (1)
Sunnyside (2)
Sunnyside (3)
Sunnyside (4)

Comment Spam

Monday, July 11, 2011

Doubling Down On Tech Consulting

Shakira at the Rock in Rio concert in 2008.Image via WikipediaThe immigration bureaucracy in this country is so fucked up, it's not even funny. It is like getting in line for a land line with the state ownned telco in Nepal before I left the country. It took years. Now they have mobile phones, easy to purchase, but the immigration bureaucracy in this country continues to stay fucked up. Bajeezus fucking Christ.

I once quoted Lincoln on immigration. "I will prepare and perhaps my time will come." I felt like I was about to get the paperwork sorted out. But no, they went ahead and postponed the court date.

I guess I get to double down on tech consulting and plot to become my own angel investor when the time finally arrives, if it ever does.

I also recently got approached by someone to help take Shakira to Nepal to perform for a hefty commission. I am tempted to branch out beyond tech consulting.

Bryan Adams In Kathmandu

As for tech consulting, I have three associates in NYC looking daily for projects - it is not easy - and I have three teams in India always ready to get the work done. I could so scale at both ends. This is not bootstrapping, this is flying by your pants.

I guess fate will have it that I end up my own angel investor.

Using Political Contacts To Beat The Immigration Beast
Ugh, Immigration (4)
Immigration Court Date: June 6, 2011: Prepared Statement

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Paradigm Shifts And Challenged Assumptions

Larry Elllison on stage.Image via WikipediaMy personal hero in tech Larry Ellison (Larry Ellison, Larry Ellison's Personal Life) often talks in terms of paradigm shifts. When entire industries collapse that is a tectonic paradigm shift. When banks collapsed in New York and freed up tech talent for tech startups, that was a paradigm shift.

Larry's own life is full of paradigm shifts. My favorite detail probably is when one of his wives left him for a Harvard MBA. Wait, there is another. One of his wives had the option to take the family pickup or Oracle stocks. She picked the pickup truck.

Larry Ellison's Personal Life

The very best entrepreneurs cascade from paradigm shift to paradigm shift. Ordinary mortals don't even see the tsunami coming. When you ride the wave - you could also call it the tiger - a lot of your assumptions get challenged. What was just true is no longer true. And that is a hard thing to navigate. The ordinary person feels tremendously unsafe when that happens.

I look at the details of Larry's personal life, one failed marriage after another, and the many paradigm shifts Oracle has navigated, and no wonder I think his biography reads like fascinating.

Freshly divorced yet one more time Larry shot this email to a friend: "Congrats on getting and staying married!"

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Think Different


Yesterday some of my Nepali friends had a meeting about me.

"He is not like you and me. He is different from us," one said.

Months back another Nepali friend bought bakery products for me. That was his way of his saying this guy has become too Americanized.

There is a flip side to the coin: Americans coming to me from the Bollywood/yoga angle.

Happy 4th From My Friend Luke
The Facebook Effect
Meeting Fred Wilson In Person

From: Paramendra Bhagat
Date: Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Subject: {New York Metro Madhesi} Sunday ---- Come out and dance --- free event
To: nycnepali@googlegroups.com, New York Metro Madhesi

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137120103034144
http://www.acehotel.com/newyork/calendar/sundays-live-music-series
https://twitter.com/USRoyalty/status/90104312633622529

Ace Hotel
20 West 29th Street
Sunday, July 10 · 8:30pm - 11:30pm

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