Igniting Thoughts

Contrary to popular opinion, Is Porn making a come back via Social Media?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:57:00 +0000

Everyone who is associated with Internet marketing probably is aware of the buzz created last year when Porn sites seemed to have lost it's # 1 status to Social networking sites on the Internet. A while back, Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise, announced in his book, "Click: What Millions of People are Doing Online and Why It Matters", that porn was no longer the #1 activity on the Internet. According to Bill, porn has been replaced by social networking, but a year later, could the data read a bit different, because i am getting the feeling (i have no data to back it) that Porn is actually making a comeback ironically via Social Networking. And now it's back in an even more dangerous form where it can go undetected and barriers of entry for woman and men who are in economically desperate situations are even lower. If you spend a fair bit of time on the popular social networking sites you will see the mass proliferation of Porn profiles that probably never existed before. And what's even more concerning is that many of the profiles are not large scale aggregaters but private individual profiles and sites which could be a one person operation. The last one year of economic meltdown has i think propelled many first timers to experiment with this form of income. For example Twitter, If anyone has an open networking policy on Twitter and use third party tools like auto follow will know that Porn profiles on Twitter seem to have benefited by this, where someone auto follows them without checking them out first. If an open networking strategy is right or wrong is a discussion for another post but it most definitely makes you aware that the Porn industry has learned to improvise their biz model and jump on the social media bandwagon. The Twitter example is just one of them and i am sure there are many more that needs further study and analysis. I believe with this new trend parents will have to be even more vigilant about their kids social networking profiles and check on the friends that their kids are following and interacting with. It would be interesting to see the statistics on how much of Porn related traffic is actually now coming from social media and what size of the social networking profiles are porn related. Any thoughts?

A lifetime to explore and understand

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:07:00 +0000

"For all those who think that they can slot and categorize India in a box, this is a must watch, it's diversity and richness is so broad and deep that it needs a lifetime to explore and understand"

Have you reached your home?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:51:00 +0000

This weekend ended on a mixed note for me and off course the rainy weather magnified the pensive mood. Yesterday a good friend of mine performed on stage and I was so happy for him, not because he sang so beautifully, which he did, but because I knew he was now at home. All of us at some point in time in our life search for our home, a home where you are most comfortable in your skin, someplace where you are treasured and valued, where people love and respect you, some place where you could let your weary head down, a place where you completely fit in like a missing jigsaw piece. Oh the joy that brings to a searching soul to find destiny. And then I couldn’t shake of the feeling that I hadn’t found my home. Some people find it so effortlessly early in life and some of us take a life time to find our place in this world.

Both sides - Good intensions but bad leadership and attitude?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:30:00 +0000

I put up a status update on Facebook today that goes like – “Public sentiment and the actual truth can be 2 different things, a good leader knows this and would either lovingly try to change the sentiment of his or her members or back off till an appropriate time to effect the change. Change no matter how truthful it is can't be stuffed down peoples throats without love and understanding. Quoting the movie Gladiator "You win the crowd you win your freedom”

No points for guessing what inspired this. It’s the sad turn of events that occurred this weekend in Singapore where two groups clashed to wrestle control of a well meaning NGO focused for welfare of woman. In my opinion none of the 2 groups really won. And I am really curious how many of the new members who put an end to the anarchical attitude of the new committee will come back to do service to this organization. Does it take a crisis like this to boost an organization’s recruitment? Or should the recruitment be driven on growing needs of the woman in our society. Shouldn’t these new members have signed up before this political storm hit, when children and woman were falling prey to abuse and injustice? So much energy to fight ideology on both sides but so little consideration to service the community. Will we continue to react to situations only when our interest as a group is in jeopardy? or will be more proactive in serving people, assuming that is the whole reason the institution is established for. As for the style of leadership of the new and now old exec committee, the lesser is said the better. Even if your values may be well placed this is no way to enforce it on others. Assuming people know how secular democratic NGO’s function where people are convinced and won over before any directional changes are implemented. We aren’t talking about a hostile corporate take over we are talking about an organization with a mandate to serve people. And as per my belief in our God, I believe that God provides us with his guidelines in his word to live our lives but he leaves the choice to us to follow. God would rather have us follow him out of love and conviction rather that coercion and force. I don’t believe that he has given any fellow human the right to judge another human being; that right is with him and only him. Nor has given the right to anyone to ban or condemn any other person who thinks any different than his word. He welcomes all his children to come to him with varying opinions because he knows when they genuinely connect with him he will set their hearts right.

To end no hateful comments please! Let’s talk like self respecting adults.

Protect what’s yours

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:38:00 +0000

When i was a kid my mom used to frequently bring us to the beach. An outing at the beach meant horse rides, sand castles, eating by the beach stalls and walking along the water. There is this one particular day i distinctly remember, i was sitting by the beach and watching another kid build his sand castle. This kid over the last one hour had put in a great amount of work in defining details like windows, doors, a chimney, a garden and a dog house. Then suddenly out of no where there was this teenager who came up to the boy and kicked at his sand castle destroying it completely. Seeing that i was so upset that i ran to the bully and asked him why did he do this but he just ginned at me and walked right past me with no answer and no reason. I remember thinking to myself, wow this boy took over an hour to build something so wonderful only to be ruined in a matter of seconds by another person. The reason why i remember this incident now is because over the last few months i have come to realise that there many such people out there who never manage to build anything good in their life but they take pride in ruining things for others who have things going for them. Seeing so many instances of people ruining other people’s marriages, driving others to financial ruin and sabotaging other peoples careers. All these people only know one thing that is to destroy in a instant what other people took many years of toil to build. We need to guard our hearts, marriages, friendships, relationships and finances from these destroyers who just look for that weak link in us to strike us down with their deception.

25 Randoms

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:36:00 +0000

The 25 random chain that’s happening at Facebook i thought i should repost mine on the blog.
1. I don’t like mangoes and the first and only time I had a mango in my entire life was on my first date with Chris as I was too shy to say no.
2. My first ever published article was wrongly attributed to a professor of mine and they issued an erratum the next week and gave me credit for it.
3. My favorite drink now is ‘Milo’ and I had my first ‘Milo’ just 4 years back when I visited my friend in Shanghai.
4. I pinched my teacher’s butt when I was in Kindergarten.
5. During my hostel days I was known as the banker and the lender. Anyone who wanted money would come to me. My hostel mates even gave me money for safe keep as they thought it was safer in my hands. No I didn’t charge any interest and probably made some losses out of all this.
6. I have a heart condition called ‘Wolfman Parkinson White’ syndrome which essentially makes my heart beat faster and no that’s not the reason why I feel that I am in love always :)
7. My favorite musicians are Annie Lenox, Whitney Houston, Sade, Cold Play, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Gun’s & Roses, Pearl Jam, Bee Gees, Eagles, Bryan Adams, Moby, Paul Van Dyk, these are just some that come right to my mind.
8. My favorite song is “Secret garden” by Bruce Springsteen. I just feel it illustrates well the depth of a woman’s heart.
9. I am inherently an introverted person but over the years I have forced myself to be a bit more open. But I would still classify myself as a bit stuck up.
10. Yes I am very aware that I am anything but cool and my favorite line on this is from the movie almost famous. “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool”
11. What hurts me most is ‘Racism’ and i just hate it when people pretend that it doesn't exist. The only thing I want to say about this is ‘if you don’t understand a culture, don’t hate it’.
12. I have had 2 surgeries done on me till date and no it’s not plastic surgery.
13. 13 is my lucky number.
14. I consider myself as a person who is 100% in touch with my feelings I know exactly how I feel and why I feel that way. Because of which I never have any excuses for myself when I behave bad.
15. My earliest memory is from when I was 3 years. It’s still as fresh in my mind.
16. I love to play the role of a DJ. One of my childhood dreams is to have a house that’s big enough to have a disco room.
17. I have had more woman bosses than male bosses. My preference is …. (it’s an easy guess)
18. I have problem with clannish behavior. I don’t like anything that is forcefully synchronized or choreographed to be similar. I am of the firm belief that we all have our unique strengths and it is this uniqueness that makes us a pretty picture. How would a family look if they wore clothes made from the same fabric? Weird right?
19. Please note again in pt 18 I said forcefully. There are things that flow together with free will but those are rare and you will know when you experience something like that.
20. My favorite movie is ‘Jerry McGuire’
21. My favorite color to wear is blue but for everything else it is ‘red’.
22. I have learnt how to be patient around superficial conversation and I know that there are places you can’t avoid it.
23. I get my short temperedness from my grandpa.
24. I have an ambition to be an author of a best seller one day.
25. There 25 more things that I don’t want to pen down :)

Mumbai i write this with a heavy heart

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:54:00 +0000

Its taken me over a week to gain some composure to write a post on the terror attacks that happened last week in Mumbai. Probably after a very long time I experienced unbelievable anger, sadness and a sense of hopelessness watching the heinous acts unfold for so many days. Being away from Mumbai which is my home city made me feel even more helpless and alone in it. And as I went through a range of emotions that at some points were hard for me to contain, all that comforted me were my silent conversations with God seeking his answers and comfort for me and people who were going through the ordeal in Mumbai. The entire time I was just glued to my TV and computer, switching channels and watching online streaming video getting both international and local coverage. I even kept a tab on blogs, twitter and social media sites that were reporting about it. As I watched the terrorist vandalize those great land marks of my city, my mind raced back in time when I had many joyous occasions with family and friends in all those places. It was unbelievable how 10 men could hold the city of Mumbai at seize for so many days and all we could do was helplessly look on. What was even more unbelievable was the way the politicians on both sides of the divide behaved and reacted. Some stooping to lowest level by trivializing the events and making irresponsible remarks. As like everyone I had questions - how could our intelligence agencies not detect such a huge operation? who was behind these attacks? and what we as a nation need to do that this never happens again? We have many of those answers now but again the same deadlock with a neighbor who refuses to take responsibility of the happenings in their country and our political leadership that never seems to rise up from their petty bickering. The people of India have unanimously spoken 'Enough is Enough', no more of this terror. Our government needs to get its act together to protect its citizens. Some learning's have emerged very clearly and if we don't learn from them, then history will repeat itself. Lastly let us never forget ever the heroes who gave their lives for the nation in this.

My prayer request to God

Dear Almighty,

Bring your healing and comfort to all the families of the lost ones. May the souls of all the men, women and children that died rest in peace. We do believe that they are all now with you in your loving kingdom. Awaken the minds of the people who are responsible for administrating nations all over the world so that they realise that they have responsibility to their citizens and to the world that they live in. May they be freed from all their greed for power and money and may they understand the seriousness of their duties that they have been instated for. May all those who want to fight in the name of religion realize that the only religion you want them to follow is the religion of love and brotherhood. We all hope that you will be besides us in this hour of need when the world stands at brink of self destruction. May you inspire each and every heart to make positive changes in our lives and in the lives of others.

Amen

A day to remember

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:44:00 +0000

Today will go down as important chapter into future history books of our children as a day of great encouragement. A day of encouragement for all those who may have given up on their legitimate demand to have a fair shot to life. A day of encouragement to all those people who live in societies full of prejudices where people are judged by their skin color, race or ideology and not judged by the content of their character and their skill to bring about change. It gives us hope that we can dream to be anything and achieve anything, if we think we have what it takes to get there. It’s also signals the beginning of the end of an era for all the gatekeepers out there who decide unfairly on who deserves an opportunity and who does not. Barrack Obama deserves every bit to have a shot at this great opportunity to lead the most powerful and influential nation in the world. History will not only remember him for this victory but will also judge him with what he chooses to make of this opportunity. What can I say? Hope rings in my heart and makes me believe in my dreams again.

I will keep coming back to look at this screen shot whenever i feel i have hit a roadblock.

Best of my Twitter updates (So Far)

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:28:00 +0000

· I am quite positive that there is an inverse correlation of a person's success in life to the number of self help books he or she has read.
· Felt I heard another confession "we are afraid to let foreigners into our lives, what if we don't like them, worse still what if we do?"
· Jamshed felt he heard a confession today - "I don't know how to be honest, maybe that's why I like metaphors"
· I love watching people's expressions when they run out of money on their bus card it's like 'what's wrong with this damn card'
· Jamshed feels life would be more peaceful if people focused on bettering themselves rather than pulling others down in order to get ahead.
· Let’s give people the smiles we never get in the hope that someday it would come back.
· I like this quote "if we don't win their hearts today, they will break our hearts tomorrow"
· Noticed a man on the MRT wearing an interesting T-shirt that said 'Searching for an Aspirin and also details of what happened last night' :)
· When genuinely nice people come along, people begin to question their motives & search for hidden agendas, but in reality there are none.
· Just saw a funny bumper sticker 'I drive like this because I want to piss you off’
· It’s important to have clarity before ambition; you wouldn't want to land up on top of a wrong mountain.
· Nobody really cares if you are right all they want see is how you react.
· I pointed out to my girl friend at dinner that her favorite word is ‘No’, and she said.. 'No, I don't think so' :))
· Jamshed just realizes how much he dislikes indecisiveness, people take a stand, make a move, have an opinion, live your life.
· To see yourself in a younger face, there is no better joy.
· People are like metallic springs the more you contain them the more they jump.
· Collaboration is a key skill to have in world where people have diverging views and less authority. Mantra for Life 2.0 is to collaborate.
· Ladies chase a good man not a good ring.
· Leading someone needs courage, but following someone needs even more courage
· Should we seek answers to questions that are not ours to ask?
· It’s either right or wrong, you can't be half pregnant.

Why i love Twitter

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:08:00 +0000

I have been using twitter since June of this year and i just love it. I don't use twitter too much to update my status in terms of what i am doing or where i am headed. I use it more as a tool to quickly capture a fleeting thought that previously would go uncaptured. I have always been hit by these thoughts in the most inconvenient of times, like when i am on the bus or at lunch etc. But now all i need to do is get out my PDA and tweet away from m.twitter.com. I also like the feature where anytime i make a blog post it sends a tweet on my behalf with a tinyurl of my post. In recent month's this has boosted the traffic on my site. I can see that there is even competition of incoming traffic from twitter and linkedin where i am active also. I recently also hooked my facebook status bar with a facebook twitter application that updates my status bar whenever i tweet. This is great as i no longer need to seperately update status bar in facebook. I won't be surprised if Twitter becomes the default status update tool that feeds other status bars in other social media tools like facebook, linkedin, msn etc. Whoever said twitter is dead got it so wrong. But i did notice that my frequency of blogging has reduce ever since i micro blog at twitter. Next post is best of my twitter updates. Cheers!!

Corridor Conversations

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:44:00 +0000

Last night (rather early this morning at 5 am :) ) i made my finishing touches to my new blog 'Corridor Conversations'. I intend this to be my professional blog where i can talk about marketing, branding, internet, technology etc, basically anything to do with corporate life. I have been wanting to set up a professional blog for the longest time because bloging on reflections (which is this blog) always made me feel that i was missing out all the business related stuff i wanted to talk about. So for now it is one personal blog and one business blog and the on the roadmap is 'Let's blog for God', but not yet ready for that, URL is booked though :)

I hope you all like 'Corridor Conversations'. Please do give me your candid feedback on the look and feel and of course the content. Thanks ... Jam
P.S. Thanks Joy for helping me brainstorm on the new title.

An appropriate quote for our current economic crisis

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:25:00 +0000

"Bud, bud I like you, just remember something, man looks in the abyss, there is nothing staring back at him, at that moment man finds his character, and that is what keeps him out of the abyss."

From Wall Street movie (1987). Bud Fox taken under arrest by SEC.

Funny stories from my school days

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:55:00 +0000

- When I was 8 years old my cousin brother and me packed our bags and ran away from my grandma’s place. We didn’t like the breakfast so we walked out in protest. I remember packing my things and pretending to be upset. We hid for a couple of hours in the stairway of the next apartment building. Our families were just short of calling the cops that’s when we made an appearance back. Off course the beating I got from my mom that evening is etched in my memory.
- I had this huge crush on a girl during my secondary school days and one day when I was walking back home I thought I saw her by her window sill so I gestured a passionate flying kiss only to discover when I moved closer it was her mom.
- I pinched my Kindergarten teacher’s butt in one of her classes. She reported it to my mom and asked for an explanation.
- One of the years at school I won a prize for best student in physical education and I was probably the most frail and puny boy in class. I suspect it had something to do with the socks I gifted my PT instructor on teacher’s day.
- There was one particular dish that my mom made that I completely disliked and those days I made it a point to exchange my Tiffin box with friends at school.
- I was in love with the piano when I was a boy and was all set to learn it but then my parents for some unknown reason just pulled me out of the class, later I found out that there was a rumor going around that my piano teacher had some affair with a peon in my school.
- Once my teacher caught me making police sirens in the class. She asked for my shoes and threw them out of the window. That evening I told my mom someone stole my shoes on the playground.
- I participated in many singing competitions in school and there was this one particular practice session that I distinctly remember. My teacher asked me which song are you planning to sing and I said ‘Like a virgin’ to which she replied ‘err I think we should select another song for you’.

Here is another hilarious one !!

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:01:00 +0000

Ok, so this one is written by yours truly in the 4th or 5th grade. It’s a letter to my best friend Savio about how I spent my summer vacation. I didn't know I could get that morbid in school. I love the part where I say "Now I will stop as I need to go to my auntie’s place". So here is one more classic creation from my younger days. Those were the days. Enjoy!

Cute essay

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:17:00 +0000

My girlfriend has been teaching one of her friends kids and i happened to browse through his essay book. I found the below essay cute and funny.

I really like this part - "My body was superfical wounds and was send to hospital".

The Promise

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:54:00 +0000

The promise of a life time that’s what I had with you. Having my world revolve around you was the most satisfying feeling I ever experienced. And when I felt overwhelmed with the world you had the smile that helped me to make it through the day. I never knew why and how most problems happened to melt away when you were around. It was as if our lives were designed by a super natural force to be interwoven together. And when people saw us together I can’t help but remember the awe that they had. There was so much pleasure we enjoyed in each others companionship. It’s a fact that you were the only man that made me feel like a complete women. And now with you gone forever I feel emptiness, an emptiness I can’t describe. But I know deep in my heart I have your promise, a promise of a great life for having loved you so much.
(Dedicated to a friend who lost her loved one)

Journey of a kiss

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:19:00 +0000

As the wind plays with your hair
The weather plays with my heart

As the rain slowly descends on us
The droplets wets us in its bliss

As the air gets colder and our breath’s get warmer
The sun decides to give us a peek

As a rainbow appears in the distance
The water below cushions our feet

As our lips lock together
The kiss starts its journey

Jamshed Wadia

Playing it Safe?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:42:00 +0000

A question that was asked today in my LinkedIn connection network - Do we really need to play safe in organisations? So i decided to post my response back here as well.

My immediate response to a question like this is, take the risk if your inherent personality is that of a risk taker. If you curtail that natural instinct then it will bring in frustration eventually. Some people call it a gut feeling and at times it very strong in some people. So resisting risk taking is like not using a gift given to you. Not all people have that overwhelming urge or courage to take risk and it’s not meant for everybody. But it also boils down to the organization that you work for. I have seen open culture organizations and some not so open. If you are a risk taker then no point working in an organization whose mantra is ‘play it safe’. Bottom line is Go for it and if the org is not conducive to it then move out and search something that gels with your philosophy. My personal philosophy is ‘if God gives you dreams and visions then he also gives you courage to go for it’.

Actual Link the Answers section at LinkedIn

Mobile friendly version of my internet assets

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:41:00 +0000

I made my first attempt at a mobile version of my internet assets. You can access it at (mobile url) jamshedmobile.com from your mobile device. Please do have a look if you get a chance. I would love some feedback and suggestions on improvements. Thanks

How well your organisation embraces technology

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:15:00 +0000

I was in a meeting some days back where a potential vendor was presenting via live meeting. As we had some callers logged in from remote sites they requested the presenter to email them the presentation. I was shocked to hear their reply ‘Sorry we can’t mail the presentation as it’s above the 4MB mail limit’. To which I replied ok can you use a private mail provider like hotmail etc. The next reply shocked me even further ‘Sorry our organization doesn’t permit use of personal email accounts or social networking sites’. And this organization is one of the leading software companies from an emerging market. It tells me two distinct things about the company. First as a technology vendor they should be embracing technology not shying away from it. It’s a classic case of I can’t even eat the cake I baked. Secondly this company has very little trust in its employees and their ability to be productive. That place needs some HR re-org.

Are the following restrictions in an organization warranted in our times?

- Blocking of personal email providers.
- Blocking of social media websites.
- Email Limits that don’t allow sending over large files.
- Blocking of Job sites and Competitor websites.

Thoughts?

Do you judge a blog by the comments and number of conversations happening there?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:12:00 +0000

I was having a corridor conversation with a colleague and the discussion centered around blogging. During the conversation he made a comment that struck a sensitive chord in me. He said “Nowadays everyone thinks or pretends to be a good blogger but if you go to their blogs, you will see zero comments on most of their posts”. Well that’s exactly the way my blog is, I thought to myself. Does that make my blog lousy? Well apparently by his standard it does. But I feel that it’s the wrong way to judge someone’s blog. I monitor my blog visitor statistics very regularly. I have a loyal group of subscribers and a decent amount of unique visitors monthly. Also the average time spent and average pages visited on my blog are favorably high numbers as well. Above all this I do get a lot of emails from friends and strangers after reading my post. Once I had a Japanese man who wrote to me, how reading one of my posts made him believe in love again. But then why is it that my visitors don’t like to comment on my blog? I tried to come up with my own set of assumptions and answers
- My blog posts are usually feel good, motivational, inspirational or just my rants. I don’t write anything controversial that elicits anger or strong opinions. So maybe there isn’t much room for commenting?
- Many of my friends and other visitors prefer sending me comments offline on email or on messenger. Quite a few go on to discuss their private lives and how they related with my posts. Could they be shy giving these details on the blog?
- Maybe I haven’t marketed or connected myself well enough on the whole web 2.0 thingy?
- Maybe I haven’t established my self professionally or personally for people to pay attention to what I have to say?
- Or maybe there are few readers for the kind of content I generate.

But despite of this I am going to continue blogging as it makes me happy. Maybe I will get better with time and maybe peoples taste in content shall change. Hopeful

Comments anyone? (Nice try right :) )

What's the world thinking about?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:10:00 +0000

I was having a conversation with a friend over dinner this evening and he told me about websites that track people’s feelings through blog tags, twit’s, facebook status etc and that a common theme could emerge out of them. So I went ahead to ask him, do you really need a software to tell you what is going on in peoples minds? Its quiet easy to predict the common ones.

- Life is : unfair, unpredictable, too short, too long, is a bitch, beautiful, endless, continuous change, my family, my girlfriend, my wife, my husband.
- I feel : lonely, left out, isolated, alone, miserable, sad, depressed, not loved, angry, happy, loveless, elated.
- I hate or love : my boss, my family, my pet, my school, my company, my job, my friends, my situation, my finances, my addiction, my life.
- The world is afflicted with – evil, global warming, hunger, disease, inhumanity, terrorism.
- I need : money, a life, a partner, sex, happy marriage, religion, happiness, children, emotional support, a meal, a roof above my head.

To my cool dad 'Happy Father's Day'

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:50:00 +0000

On this father's day I wanted to repost something I had written about my dad a few years ago. I would like to wish all the fathers out there a 'Happy Fathers Day' and may you all enjoy everlasting love and happiness with your children. And to my dad I would like to say I love you and that you have been a great dad. As grandpa died when you were very young, you have always known the importance of having a father in a childs life and you have played that role to your very best. I hope whatever i achieve in life serves as a great reflection of how you brought me up.

Previous Post
I was at my at my sister's place today for tea this afternoon and we were generally chatting and remembering our school & college days. During our conversation I recalled an incident where i thought my dad behaved super cool. This was during my last year of engineering away from home in a city called Pune. In my last couple of months of engineering I was kind of depressed and low and my parents knew it, so they decided to come by to Pune to stay with me for a couple of weeks. About the same time Bon Jovi was visiting India and doing a concert in Mumbai and I so wanted to go but for the fact that it conflicted with one of my viva's (exams) in Pune. My dad knew that I loved music and knew how much it meant to me, especially when I was not feeling too good about my self at that point in time. So my dad few days before my exams on his very own went over to my college and spoke to the professor who was the head of my engineering department. My dad requested him if my exam could be accommodated on an earlier date as my mom was not well and that he needed me back home. So the Head of the department relented and I made it to the concert. My dad has always been the ‘studies come first’ kind of a person but this time round he really surprised me with his gesture. It’s the fact that he had to lie about something to get me back to Mumbai. For person who has been simple and honest all his life I know this must have been tough for him. Thanks dad, you are super cool.

Should technology companies proactively warn their consumers of the ill effects of excessive use of technology?

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:17:00 +0000

We are all quite familiar with the advantages that computers and the internet bring in our lives. Its effect on our productivity, connectivity with our friends and family, improving our knowledge base and the quality of entertainment etc, are well documented and well articulated by technology marketers. A PC for every family and child is a reality that should be worked at and its importance is not questionable or debatable. If any kid wants a serious shot at success in the new millennium then being out of the technology revolution is not an option. But like my mother always said and I am sure yours did as well “Too much of anything is not good”. As technology marketers, are we doing enough to educate the consumers about the ill effects of its excessive use and over dependence on it? I know some technology companies have already started their campaigns around the environment and strong family values but I feel we are just beginning to scratch the surface. If I were to think through the top of my head a list of possible problems that excessive use of technology brings it would be as follows
- Social Isolation of children and adults who spend way too much time on their computers.
- Preliminary research supports that people who spend excessive time on computers show signs of loss of social etiquette and develop an inability to deal with real life situations.
- Illusion of a false personality that they may adopt in their virtual worlds. It’s amazing how strong this influence can be on young impressionable minds that they may actually believe it to be the real thing.
- High stress levels in the body at the joints and even emotional fatigue can set in.
- Deterioration of language skills as people get used to internet lingo.
- Last but not the least the proliferation of existing social problems like pornography, prostitution, white collar thefts, identity thefts etc.
Though the above points are based on my judgment and assumptions, I am quite sure that there is research out there that can back up these assumptions.
So then who should take the lead in educating and preempting the consumers of these issues? Does the responsibility lie only with the user and parents? Many may argue that people are mature enough to make the right choices. But are they really and should it be left at that? I think these problems bring up an excellent opportunity for technology companies to take leadership in. All technology companies can play a role in researching these potential social problems and then educating and spreading awareness about it. I am quite positive that consumers will appreciate, trust and look upon such companies that are willing to shoulder more social responsibility. What do you think?

Hold your tears my beloved

jamshedwadia@hotmail.com (Jamshed Wadia) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:08:00 +0000

Hold your tears my beloved
As your tears make up an ocean
An ocean that will drown me with sorrow
Neither will you forget, neither will I forget
That we belong together

Hold your tears my beloved
Your tears sadden my heart, they sadden my soul
If our hearts meet, then our destinies will meet also
Neither will you forget, neither will I forget
That we belong together

Hold your tears my beloved
As all the distance and constraints will disappear
As I walk towards you and you walk towards me
Neither will you forget, neither will I forget
That we belong together