I'm also giving up "traditional" blogging. 

In the new year.

Hope its a better year than this one.

3:11:24 PM    comment []  trackback []

Fantastic effort ... and thank you for pitching in and helping our world.

Cameron Sinclair: When Worldchanging and Architecture for Humanity began the tsunami reconstruction fund on Monday we placed an initial target of $10,000 by the end of the year. A mere 32 hours later we surpassed that mark and by 5pm today the donations and pledges pushed it over the $25,000 mark. As we are donating all design services, this increased goal would be enough to build more than a 15 homes, 4 schools or one medical clinic.

A huge thank you to all who donated, and who will soon donate: the more funds we raise the more we can rebuild.

If you want your contribution to be counted towards the 2004 tax year (Architecture for Humanity is a registered 501(c)3 organization) you have until tomorrow to donate. Remember your employer may also match your donation.

With over 320 donors, frankly we are a little overwhelmed by the response and thanks to the incredible Worldchanging/AFH community we are increasing our goal to US$100,000

2:58:15 PM    comment []  trackback []

Three families, who were looking for their relatives in andaman and nicobar(CNN MISSING PEOPLE PAGE), who we sent links to our South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami help blog and wiki have just replied saying that they have FOUND all of them safe and sound. They have thanked us all for the effort we put in.

Two more individuals Lori Gustafson from London and Lindsay Francis from Seattle are fine and doing well..their families have this to say to us:

"Thank you so much for your information. It is so nice to know there are so many people in the world who are still caring enough to take their time to respond to our request. We managed to conatct Lori and she is doing well.We wish you a Very Happy New Year.Margaret Eastman (Lori's Mother)"

"Thank you for your kind words. Lisa has be confirmed as safe. Please do convey my deepest regards and good wishes to all those who are putting so much time and effort to maintain this mammoth of task. We are all so happy to know that such amazing people live in this world too." (Lindsay's sister)

This is so rewarding ! Am proud to be a part of this effort.

2:18:33 PM    comment []  trackback []

Rohit shared this poem with me ....

I Am The People, The Mob
by Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems. New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt, 1916.

I am the people--the mob--the crowd--the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world's food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history.
The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns.
They die.
And then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground.
I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing.
Terrible storms pass over me.
I forget.
The best of me is sucked out and wasted.
I forget.
Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work and give up what I
have. And I forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for
history to remember.
Then--I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember,
when I, the People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer forget
who robbed me last year, who played me for a fool
--then there will be no speaker in all the world
say the name: "The People," with any fleck of a sneer in his voice
or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob--the crowd--the mass--will arrive then.

1:33:33 PM    comment []  trackback []

I hope this doesn't happen but nature has its own ways.  There's an alert issued by the Home Ministry on the possibility of a fresh tsunami attack in coastal southern India.  This is on almost all our TV channels right now and they are asking people not to panic.  The Army, Navy and Airforce is on alert.

CNN reports :

Indian authorities have issued a tsunami warning for Tamil Nadu state, ordering those near the coast to head inland.  The reason for the evacuation notice was not clear.  Sources said the ministry received information from foreign governments regarding tectonic plate shifting near Australia. However, there was no evidence of any major seismological activity on the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site.

1:37:17 PM    comment []  trackback []

I just saw a horrific report on TV that in Nagapattinam, one of the worst affected districts in Tamil Nadu, there aren't enough people to clear dead bodies and those that are helping are hesitating to do so.  So the authorities are importing ''scavengers'' (sanitary workers) from Madurai to dispose off the dead.

9:13:34 PM    comment []  trackback []

The Indian government has announced plans for installing a tsunami early warning system in the wake of the Indian Ocean disaster. 

"If the country had had such an alert system in place, we could have warned the coastal areas of the imminent danger and avoided the loss of life," said Kapil Sibal, India's minister of state for science and technology."

Details here.

8:33:31 PM    comment []  trackback []

This is neat !

Free text messages to and from earthquake countries.

In a generous gesture, Chatbar announces a free SMS service to help contact families and friends affected by Asian earthquake. Free SMS messages can be via ChatBar to or from the following countries:

Bangladesh
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Thailand

SMS messages sent to mobile phones of foreign nationals roaming in those countries will also be provided free by ChatBar, although separate charges may be applied by some carriers. Relevant parties should utilize the following links:

-- for English

-- for Simplified Chinese

-- for Traditional Chinese

-- for Tagalog

Paul Roberts, Director, ForgetMeNot Software, stated "We are all shocked and stunned by the devastation wrought by the earthquake. In an effort to help, we wanted to make the functionality of ChatBar available free to everyone who needs to communicate with loved ones at this difficult time. Experience has shown that SMS messages may get through to mobile phones even though voice networks may be overloaded." Those people without a mobile phone but access to an internet connected PC can still send and receive SMS messages through the service."

cf related Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org. [Smart Mobs]

7:26:35 PM    comment []  trackback []

Number of dead as at December 29, 5.05 pm IST :

Total : 65,000
Indonesia : 32,0000
Sri Lanka : 25,000
India : 10,000
Thailand : 1500
Malaysia: 60
Myanmar: 30
Maldives: 52
Somalia: 100
Tanzania: 10
Kenya: 1
Seychelles: 3
Bangladesh: 2

And the UN Health Agency warns that outbreaks of diseases could double the deaths.

[Source : NDTV]

6:31:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

On hindsight I wish we had set up the SEA-EAT (South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami) blog on a wiki instead. It was such a quick and spontaneous decision driven by Peter Griffin and Rohit Gupta that we just wanted to get on with building the resources rather than fuss about the platform.

We now have 28 contributors at last count, and every few moments one if us gets asked if someone can pitch in and the answer is most always yes. Because its a community that is open, a community of people wanting to pitch in and make a difference as we watch the horror unfurling in this part of the world. We know the magic of community in coming together for a cause. Perhaps a wiki might have captured the spirit better?

As a result, there's lots of great stuff coming in, and as blog posts roll back into the archives and disappear from the front page, some amount of duplication too. Moreover, we did not set categories as we didnt know where we were going with this except that we wanted to gather resources together into one space. And i only just realised that Blogger doesnt allow categories !

We've got much much appreciation for our efforts - i won't get into a wild linking spree because thats not the objective - still large traffic generating blogs and publications like Boing Boing, Worldchanging, Smart Mobs, Internet.com, The New York Times and many many many more have pointed readers to the blog. Blog stats shows around 2000 visitors per hour, more than 20,000 in less than 24 hours. Thank you to each one of you and to all the contributors, and to the hundreds of other blogs that are putting a link up on their pages for us.

As a reult of the traffic, requests for all sorts of things are pouring in. We've had requests to allow translations into different languages, requests to mirror the blog onto other pages, requests to set up pages for people who are looking for their loved ones gone missing. As I write this we are discussing the taxonomy for categories and looking at Blogger templates. Some pages/categories/navigation bars we need to build - country specific, enquiry/helplines/emergency services, personal stories from the scene, update on news and stats, a space for missing persons, message board, rescue operations, contribute by country/NGO's, and perhaps more as we go along. Because we are building the resource so fast and in a completely open manner - there are now 28 contributors, and the pages are getting muddled and lost. Blogger doesn't do categories i am told - so maybe a navigation bar or sub-blogs linking back to the main blog, with posts appearing on both may be the way to go. We definitely donot want to lose the url we have already. Any suggestions ?

This only reinforces my belief that a wiki might have been a much better medium - not only would these pages be separate yet part of a faceted collection and linked to each other, it might have been much easier for someone to navigate and jump in and post as well. Or to open a new page that they felt was relevant without checking back with admin. Morover, the layers we might have wanted would be so easy to build. And few entry barriers about asking whether they could post or not. Owned by all - a true community.

All we might have needed then is a wiki gardener!

9:32:06 PM    comment []  trackback []

Its been a strange two-three days. Much shock and horror about the devastating earthquake and tsunamis. Much helplessness too. And a desire to do something, as the reports just keep on pouring in with more and more horrible news. I was speaking with a friend earlier, when i said i just feel like packing a bag and going off to the disaster areas to volunteer to help. Then i know thats not practical, maybe i am lazy or selfish ... i don't really know.

Then i got involved in two community projects that have consumed all my energies and have made me feel i am contributing more than by just sending off money or clothes, which is what i would have done otherwise. I've been blogging at WorldChanging and in the last two days have felt the support of a community that is truly worldchanging - i feel the blog has moved to a very influential position where real action can come out of conversations and dialogue. Like the relief fund that has already collected a good amount of dollars for victims of the earthquake and tsunamis.

The other is SEA-EAT (South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunamis) Blog - pulling together news and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts. It is a living document and i have seen it grow in a few hours to an amazing resource, as a result of so many wonderful people volunteering to share information and resources here. It both leverages and stregthens our beliefs in the strength of community and an open space where anyone can contribute in real time and real voices, that have driven us together to work on this project.

As far as i know, it was a spontaneous gesture from Peter who is a blog buddy - who sent a few of us an invitation to blog here - and without any discussion or question we jumped in and pitched in. Since then, it has grown - we now have requests of all sorts coming in - some to allow translations into different languages, requests to mirror the blog onto other pages, to set up pages for people who are looking for their loved ones gone missing.

And some stats - almost 21,000 visitors in just about 24 hours ; around 30 contributors until now.

I think this blog would help people find resources on how to help/contribute quickly and efficiently. I'd like to believe we are making a difference.

9:30:15 PM    comment []  trackback []

Some more updated figures of estimated dead as at 4.45 pm December 28 :

TOTAL : almost 34,000

• Sri Lanka: 17,000
• Indonesia: 5,700 - upto 25,000 expected to be dead
• India: 9,499
• Thailand: 1,500
• Malaysia: 60
• Myanmar: 30
• Maldives: 52
• Somalia: 100
• Tanzania: 10
• Kenya: 1
• Seychelles: 3
• Bangladesh: 2

[Sources : Hindustan Times, NDTV, CNN]

4:48:30 PM    comment []  trackback []

It gets worse ... and worse.  Already 27,000 dead and millions homeless. 

The Indonesian Vice-President says that although they have confirmed around 5000 deaths, the number could go up to as much as 25,000 in Indonesia alone.  Most of the deaths have been in Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra Island.  However, towns on its western coast that were facing the epicenter of the quake, are yet to be visited by either reporters or relief and rescue workers.  

Here's a tragic account of Aceh, at Channel News Asia.  Aceh has been under military lockdown for the last 18 months, while trying to surpress separatist rebellions :

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: The rotting corpses of quake victims piled up Tuesday in Indonesia's Aceh province where up to 25,000 were feared dead and the possibility of disease outbreaks threatened to claim more lives.

So far, at least 5,774 people have been confirmed dead and another 1,164 are missing.  There were post-apocalyptic scenes in the main city of Banda Aceh where the stench of death hung over the rubble of houses demolished by tidal waves as survivors struggled to dig graves in tropical heat.

Along the region's isolated western shoreline, there was only eerie silence pierced by an SOS call from what remained of the main town, where police said time was running out for survivors as looting broke out and starvation loomed.  With medicines, water, body bags, electricity and communications still in short supply, the threat of disease epidemics was growing while foreign aid agencies struggled to get relief to the area.

Aceh has been under military lockdown for the past 18 months during a government drive to crush a long-running separatist rebellion.  A ban on foreign aid agencies and media was only lifted Monday.

Earlier, Indonesia's Vice President said the total fatality figure could reach as high as 25,000 as information comes in from areas which have been cut off since Sunday's catastrophe.   "He's probably right. It's a total devastation," said senior United Nations official Michael Enquist. "We don't know the situation on the islands."

3:45:21 PM    comment []  trackback []

As relief work continues, there's now lots of talk around warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis. 

One such report seems to suggest that if we were part of the Tsunami warning system, we'd have had 90 minutes to prepare !  Indian Express reports :

"NEW DELHI, GOA, DEC 27: After yesterday’s earthquake, there were 90 minutes before the first wave of the deluge crashed into the Indian coast. Within 15 minutes of the earthquake, scientists running the tsunami warning system for the Pacific had issued a cautionary from their Honolulu hub, to 26 participating countries. India was not among them.

This tsunami warning stated: ‘‘Revised magnitude based on analysis of mantle waves (8.5). This earthquake is located outside the Pacific. No destructive tsunami threat exists for the Pacific basin...There is the possibility of a tsunami near the epicentre.’’

The last part of this warning was crucial to India, as it was this very ‘‘possible tsunami’’ that ravaged the east coast.

But such was the level of ignorance that even National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) director Satish R Shetye admits: ‘‘I got to know about the tsunami at around 10 am on Sunday, I was completely taken by surprise.’’  The irony could not have been sharper. For, one of the people who helped set up the Pacific Tsunami Warning System and the Canadian Tsunami Warning System three decades ago was a Canada-based Indian, Tad Murty."

More here.

2:49:58 PM    comment []  trackback []

Worldwide Earthquake Activity in the Last Seven Days, from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program :

Updated as of Tue Dec 28 08:28:01 UTC 2004.

DATE-(UTC)-TIME	Latitude	Longitude	Depth	Magnitude	Comments
yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss	degrees	degrees	km
2004/12/27  20:10:48	2.86N	95.59E	10.0	5.8	SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
2004/12/27  19:28:49	8.57N	93.64E	10.0	5.4	NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  14:46:45	12.36N	92.50E	10.0	5.8	ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  11:57:53	8.07N	92.28E	10.0	5.1	NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  10:46:45	13.58N	93.07E	10.0	5.4	ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  10:46:35	13.63N	93.10E	10.0	5.2	ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  10:36:23	38.75N	122.73W	2.9	4.3	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
2004/12/27  10:05:00	4.78N	95.12E	10.0	5.9	NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
2004/12/27  09:39:03	5.38N	94.71E	10.0	6.3	NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
2004/12/27  06:59:12	3.01N	95.54E	10.0	5.4	OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
2004/12/27  05:10:49	5.98N	93.22E	10.0	5.0	OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
2004/12/27  03:04:38	4.26S	152.68E	64.7	5.2	NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
2004/12/27  00:49:26	12.98N	92.45E	10.0	6.1	ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
2004/12/27  00:32:13	5.50N	94.46E	10.0	6.0	NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

Its an interesting site with a lot of information on each quake felt.  Follow links on the left panel when there.  There's even email alerts for earthquakes in the United States of America.  It might be useful for other countries to follow.

Now i wish they had something that could provide early warning signals too. 

2:20:53 PM    comment []  trackback []

Ramdhan is mobilising NRI's to send in donations :

"I am collecting the donations through Pay-Account. This is the best way I could find to collect donations as of now. I will report the donations collected from time to time and will publish the details of how the fund is chanelled. Click here for the list of donors.

Please Donate To Tsunami Relief Fund using the Visa/Master Donate Button in the TOP-LEFT corner"

9:41:44 PM    comment []  trackback []

A group of Indian bloggers has set up a community blog - South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami - and are encouraging participation there. Its also a place that lists out avenues for individual persons and groups to lend a hand, with contact details. We'd be delighted to extend it to all affected areas and people.

8:23:24 PM    comment []  trackback []

Our Prime Minister has appealed for donations to the PM National Relief Fund.

"Thousands of people have lost their lives and property worth crores of rupees has been damaged. I appeal to all citizens to donate generously. The cheque or draft should be addressed to the Prime Minister's national relief fund and should be sent to the Prime Minister's office, South block, New Delhi," 

The Vice President of India has donated one month's salary. 

Lets follow his example, even a portion of a month's salary can go a long way.  All donations are tax-deductible. 

5:59:40 PM    comment []  trackback []

December 27, 5.30 pm :

Total dead in Asia : 24,000

Sri Lanka - over 12,000 dead, almost 80,00,000 rendered homeless

India - 6000 in South India; 3000 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands which faced aftershocks registering 5 and 6.9 on the Richter scale

Indonesia - 4400 dead

Thailand - 840 dead

[Source : NDTV]

The figures are much much worse than what was expected, and still rising.

5:54:59 PM    comment []  trackback []

The international community is sending aid and relief through governments and NGO's, with Japan, the EU ($4 mn), Australia ($10 mn) and India leading the charge.  Others are promising aid. More details in these reports :

International community sending relief

Flooded nations get US help (however no figures pledged)

Assistance - the disaster prompts quick response and promises of aid from nations of the world

UPDATE : The US Govt has offered $100,000 in aid to India.

5:24:40 PM    comment []  trackback []

CNN reports that scientists say the death toll might have been reduced had the nations affected by the earthquake and tsunamis been part of an international warning system designed to warn coastal communities about potentially deadly waves. 

"The international warning system was started in 1965, the year after tsunamis associated with a magnitude 9.2 temblor struck Alaska in 1964. It is administered by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Member states include all the major Pacific rim nations in North America, Asia and South America, was well as the Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand. It also includes France, which has sovereignty over some Pacific islands, and Russia. However, India and Sri Lanka are not members. "That's because tsunamis are much less frequent in the Indian Ocean," Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center near Honolulu, said."

Here's one comment from the article that touched me .... 

"Unfortunately, we have no equipment here that can warn about tsunamis," said Budi Waluyo, an official with Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. "The instruments are very expensive and we don't have money to buy them."

The warning system exists ... but its not for all !  Why can't these systems be available for all ?  Freely distributed ?

1:00:07 PM    comment []  trackback []

Dec 27, 12.30 pm : Andaman and Nicobar Islands very badly devastated after the earthquake on the 26th.  Coastal areas particularly in the Nicobar Islands have been washed away.  Mr. S.P. Deol, IGP, Port Blair said that a conservative estimate of the death toll is now 3000 and as many injured. Moreover, getting relief to some islands has been tough. 

12:37:44 PM    comment []  trackback []

This is so impressive ... within hours of the disaster, Wikipedia has a most comprehensive and evolving page on the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake.   

12:03:32 PM    comment []  trackback []

An update on the devastating earthquake and tsunamis that hit Asia yesterday.  Latest news suggests that the earthquake recorded 9.0 on the Richter scale.  

States of emergency declared by Sri Lanka and Maldives.  Tremors rock Port Blair this morning.

Read Keith Taylor's understanding of the magnitude of the devastation both immediate and longer term, and a detailed explanation on tsunamis.   Excellent coverage at The Command Post, a first-hand account here and updated death tolls here and how you can help [Source : Keith Taylor].

Figures on death toll that continues to rise, [Source : NDTV] at 10 am this morning, almost exactly 24 hours after the tsunamis struck this is what it looks like : 

Total dead :  Almost 13,000.  Many thousands more missing.

Indonesia : 4200

Sri Lanka : 4300; 750,000 displaced and unconfirmed reports about more flooding

India :  3900 ; statewise split Tamil Nadu- 2900; Andaman & Nicobar Islands- 1000;  Andhra Pradesh- 89 ; Kerala- 128

Thailand : 280

Malaysia : 40

We called up our friends in South India and Sri Lanka and they are safe.  Still, they know people who have been affected and some are still missing. We are all affected.  Am wondering whether we would have seen this huge loss had the region had tsunami warning systems like the US and Japan?

Still, right now its all about relief operations in the region - aid to survivors, hunt for the missing.  Fear of epidemics from the disaster as a result is mounting. Contaminated food and water, break-down in sanitation among others.

Here's how you can help. 

The why's will come later.  And the human stories.  

10:52:24 AM    comment []  trackback []

Wow.  This is really useful stuff - there's a new term doing the rounds - SkypeCasting - Stuart along with Bill Campbell has figured out a way for podcasters to create great sounding audio recordings from interviews and conference calls using Skype.

I tried it out and it really works so well.  I must confess i had a few setup problems - i first printed out the "recipe" and i tried to follow it perfectly.  Obviously i didn't and so i had to redo the whole process.  Well worth it.  My advice to anyone who wants to get Skypecasting is to follow the detailed instructions to the very last letter, and not skip anything. 

And i learnt some new things during the process - how to set up and use system restore and multiple user accounts on  my PC, and how to insert blank tapes into the sound recorder.  Now i need to figure out the last leg - am looking for a good Wav to MP3 convertor so i can link up my own first SkypeCast !

I'm thinking applications here.  Stuart has listed some at his post :

"Professional interviews are a prime example. Makes it easier to write up your notes later while you can completely focus your attention on the interview. Then we have the equivalent of "panel" discussions. The mini conference call fueled by good chatter and a great topic. Perhaps you are a budding poet wanting to spread a reading to a small group? Want to send a joint message or birthday greeting where the parties are dispersed, record a Skype conference call and e-mail the mp3. Similarly, finishing up a conference call --- create a simple 5 minute SkypeCast of the key action points. Blog it to your group. An hour in five minutes. It's over to you now. Tell us how you use it"

The most immediate one that comes to mind is linked to my work as a researcher - i could now conduct interviews in locations outside Bombay this way and not worry about sound quality (because Skype has excellent sound) and about keeping a record of the interview for analysis. Another i can think of is for couples separated by distance recording and storing conversations for those lonely hours - dangerous huh? 

What applications would you use it for?  Or can you think up for this? 

Must also figure how it will work with SkypeOut to record conversations where i make calls to landlines or cellphones using SkypeOut. And whether you can record fade-in and fade-out music too ... now that would make a great SkypeJockey ! 

4:32:14 PM    comment []  trackback []

As i work in wikis, i'm faced with dilemmas.  I'll try and describe some of these here. 

There are tensions between the need for some structure and and my belief in streams of chaotic flow.  The need for nomenclature and terminology that is required and meaningful to a user and not terribly geeky, and the desire to let it emerge as we play along. 

A deeper struggle between the question of ownership and the willingness to dance with others in the space. And between the desire for open playgrounds and a more functional need for walled gardens.

Do you feel these tugs too?  How have you worked them out? 

2:50:00 PM    comment []  trackback []

I have so much to blog about and so little time.  As the year closes, bills to be sent to clients, lots of pressure to complete assignments, all mixed up with passion about some new collaborations coming up in 2005.

I've also been having some cool experiences working with a bunch of amazing people on and at Seedwiki - and i want to share these learnings as i go along.  A believer in the philosophy of wikis, but the tech goofball that i am, i've found many wikis really tough to work in.  Loads of pages linked together in ways i find difficult to wade through.  Not all have easy navigation bars.  Sometimes they have too much and i am overwhelmed and opt out.  Some of them are plain ugly.

Seedwiki is rather special, its not perfect but so so malleable - Jerry's favourite term is its a "plastic" platform.  Its terrific to know i can ping Tom or Kenneth anytime i have even the silliest of problems with it, or if i have an otherwise 'absurd' demand, or just simply to talk about the Wisdom of Crowds. Or in recognising the magic of the platform and getting peole and organisations to play.  

I've also been reflecting on how difficult it is to get someone unfamiliar with tools like blogs and wikis to buy into the 'systems'.  I think we're missing something here by calling them blogs and wikis and all the terminology associated with them. They sound so geeky and can put a person off when she has to find her way through so many pages, and its unclear what these terms mean in simple English. 

These are our platforms, they are our tools, they are our networks - am not sure they are what we, as consultants should aim to sell to clients.  People buy refrigerators not compressors or Joule Kelvin expansion, they buy computers, not silicon chips. I am reminded of Godrej refrigerators in the mid-eighties, who achieved much success because it touted in its ad campaign that it had PUF.  Nothing new really in the tech - all refs have it - but noone had talked about it in a way that was considered meaningful by customers.  The magic lay not in the term PUF or the technology behind it, but in the personification of PUF as this strong, reliable, gold-caped, larger than life man, tapping into the (then) customer need for a long-lasting, reliable, hard-working  refrigerator.   

The other lesson i have learnt to make the tech-bogeyman go away, is to simply get in there and play.  The beauty of blogs and wikis is you can undo and redo stuff as many times as you wish.  Even broken links aren't such a nightmare.  The other day in a conversation with Kenneth from Seedwiki, we were talking about opportunities.  He pointed me to WikiFish which is a neat example of starting with a small team, a small project, engaging a much wider group and building upon it as it emerges.  

I think i am beginning to let go of my wiki-bogey-man :)  

2:45:38 PM    comment []  trackback []

Oooooooooo ... it worked .... at last!  Thank you Skype.

After my long rant the other day, I said to myself this morning, that I must give it another shot.  And wow .... I finally managed to buy SkypeOut credits, all in one shot.

Am still not happy I had to go through Moneybookers though. That is the only choice they gave me unfortunately - no option for direct payment via my credit cards. Has anyone used them ? Experiences ?

Oh well ... we shall see.  I'm just happy to be able to make SkypeOut calls again :) Ethan, James ... has it worked for you yet ?

I've also downloaded the Skype Chat Beta - is exciting potential as an IRC channel - am going to try and test the multiparty chat tonight on a conference call.  Oh - but it maynot work with  Mac - and one of the participants is a Mac user.

Will also be interesting to see how the multiparty chat scales.  More power to social media!

11:28:49 AM    comment []  trackback []