Let the Race Begin ( My Article In DAWN Newspaper)

This article is the same one which i had submitted to Governance Now magazine, but i have written in more detail about the features of Google+ in this article. This article was accepted by International Newspaper DAWN, you can find it here:

http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/04/let-the-race-begin%E2%80%A6.html

Article:

A new kid on the social networking scene appeared last Tuesday, ambitiously named Google+, Google’s long expected shot at taking on Facebook. This is one race that promises to be as exciting as any Hollywood action packed flick. It’s the race between the two iconic technological giants of our times.

At first, it looks like Google+ has cleverly borrowed some very good ideas from the reigning king of social networks, Facebook, but in addition offers some exciting features for sharing content and managing privacy. With a reported 700 million users worldwide, Face book’s privacy practices are the leading issues facing the company and Google is going directly after that point with Google+. That won’t likely be enough, however, to win the social media battle.

But going by the series of reviews by the critics all round the world it looks like Google has the capability to offer a solid alternative to Facebook.

Like Facebook, Google+ allows netizens to share photos, messages and comments in addition to a video chat function which is absent in Facebook. Google, whose previous attempts ended in failure with both Google wave and Google buzz proving unpopular with the users, is banking on four special features of Google+ that the company says will resonate well with the social networking audience.

1. Circle: A functionality that allows you to group your friends into individual circle/group. You can share different content with different circles. More interestingly, in these circles you can define who gets to see what kind of updates. Google says, “You share different things with different people. So sharing the right stuff with the right people shouldn’t be a hassle.” So in short Google+ gives you the option of separating your Friends from Just Friends, Relatives, Family and of course your boss.

2. Sparks: This functionality connects individuals on the network to others with common interests. This feature lets you choose from a list of interests or to enter your own specific interest. It then does what Google does the best, it gathers all relevant content from the web for that topic and allows you to control which circle views what content. It’s obvious that Google will try to leverage its core competency i.e. Search in its fight against Facebook.

3. Huddle: A type of group messaging. It turns different conversations into one simple group chat, so everyone gets on the same page all at once.

4. Hangouts: Now this is one feature which could be a potential Facebook killer. A multi-user video conference, a sort of group video chat. You can create hangouts of up to 10 people. By the looks of it, it gives me a feeling that this could revolutionise the way people will use social networking sites.

Besides the above listed four features, there are other features like Stream which is akin to your Facebook newsfeeds. Another important feature is the instant upload. The photos and videos from your mobile can be shared instantly. You can take a photo and it uploads to your Picasa or YouTube account and then you can share those photos and videos via Google+ to specific “circles.”

One critic said that “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. And Google+ looks like and quacks like Facebook in several ways.” Google dubs Google+ as a project rather than a product, stressing “it’s part of making Google itself more social rather that being a standalone social network”, says the company.

So what is it in Google+ that augurs well for its survival against Facebook? If you have to take my opinion, then it is the ability of Google+ to become a one stop shop for all that netizens crave online using different URLs. Imagine a social network with Google search, Gmail, Picasa, Google videos, Youtube, Google Maps all integrated on a single platform, providing you a wholesome package of all your daily online needs. With all those great services and now a tightly integrated social networking platform under one roof, who needs Facebook?

Who will win the race? The answer to this question lies in the future. In fact the race hasn’t even started still; apparently Google+ is not even launched worldwide. But the critics are already out with their daggers. It will also be interesting to see the maneuvers by Facebook in response to Google+. Will Google+ prove to be a Facebook killer? Your guess is as good as mine.

Let the Race Begin (My Article In Governance Now Magazine)

My Following article was accepted by Governance Now magazine, you can find it here:

http://www.gov2.in/stories/let-race-begin

My Article:

A new kid on the social networking scene appeared on Tuesday, ambitiously named Google+. Google’s long expected shot at taking on Facebook. This is one race that promises to be as exciting as any Hollywood action packed flick. It’s the race between the two iconic technological giants of our times.

At first, it looks like Google+ has cleverly borrowed some very good ideas from the reigning king of social networks, Facebook, but in addition offers some exciting features for sharing content and managing privacy. With a reported 700 million users worldwide, Facebook’s privacy practices are the leading issues facing the company and google is going directly after that point with Google+. That won't likely be enough, however, to win the social media battle.

But going by the series of reviews by the critics all round the world looks like Google has the capability to offer a solid alternative to Facebook. Like Facebook, Google+ allows netizens to share photos, messages and comments in addition to a video chat function which is absent in facebook. Google whose previous attempts ended in failure with both Google wave and Google buzz proving unpopular with the users is banking on four special features of Google+ that the company says will resonate well with the social networking audience. (1)Circle: A functionality that allows you to group your friends in to individual circle/group. You can share different content with different circles. (2)Sparks: This functionality connects individuals on the network to others with common interests. (3)Huddle: A type of group messaging. (4)Hangouts: A multi-user video conference.

One critic said that “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. And Google+ looks like and quacks like Facebook in several ways.” Google dubs Google+ as a project rather than a product, stressing “it’s part of making google itself more social rather that being a standalone social network”, says the company. So what is it in Google+ that augurs well for its survival against Facebook?

If you have to take my opinion, then it is the ability of Google+ to become a one stop shop for all that netizens crave online using different URLs. Imagine a social network with Google search, Gmail, Picasa, Google videos, Youtube, Google Maps all integrated on a single platform providing you a wholesome package of all your daily online needs. With all those great services and now a tightly integrated social networking platform under one roof, who needs Facebook? Who will win the race?

The answer to this question lies in the future. In fact the race hasn’t even started still; apparently Google+ is not even launched worldwide. But the critics are already out with their daggers. It will also be interesting to see the maneuvers by Facebook in response to Google+. Will Google+ prove to be a Facebook killer? Your guess is as good as mine.

Why is the Government of India right in not issuing the Notification to the Drafting committee.

On 19th October 1952 a man named Potti Sriramulu began a fast unto death in madras (Chennai) demanding a separate state of Andra for the telgu speaking people. Potti Sriramulu like Anna Hazare was a Gandhian. Nehru ignored his demands and paid no attention to his fast. For Nehru the idea of a United India in the early years of Independence was much greater than the idea of states divided on linguistic patterns. As weeks passed by, the support for Potti Sriramulu grew, hartals were called in many towns and cities, trains hijacked by his supporters and destruction of the government property was on the rise.

On 15 December, fifty-eight days into his fast, Potti Sriramulu died. This incident in our history formed the bedrock for the states being balkanized according to their language. Two days after Sriramulu’s death the Prime Minister gave in and announced a separate state of Andra for the telgu speaking class. The creation of Andra Pradesh intensified the demands of other linguistic groups demanding separate states, the result being, India got divided in 28 states and 7 Union Territories.

It is in the back drop of this incident in history that I support the government’s view on official notification. What if tomorrow The Jats ask for a similar notification for their demand of quota? What if the Assamese demand the same for their secession from the Indian Union? Here I must mention that I am one of those crusaders who support Anna’s view on corruption and Lokpal Bill, but I am also convinced that we have got what we were demanding for. We will now have a drafting committee with representative from civil society with impeccable integrity. We are also assured that the drafted Bill will be presented in the parliament in the monsoon session itself. The people’s movement needs a new turn. If we hold on to our demands assuming that the government of the day will have to eventually bow down, we are not only wasting our energy but we may also give rise to problems which may haunt the future of our nation. While Initial public thrust was necessary, we must also realize that India shouldn’t become Egypt or Tunisia. It’s time we get on to the actual drafting of a strong and a robust Lokbal bill waiting to be implemented for the last 42 years. Let us all contribute in the process on nation building by weeding out corruption, incompetency and their ilks. Remember Lokpal Bill is just the beginning of the reforms we all were yearning for and not the culmination of that crusade.

In-your-face(book)

From Morocco to Yemen the Arab world is burning, and fueling this fire of change is the 21^st century panacea ‘The Social Networks’. These agents of change helped the Arab civilization achieve what they couldn’t, for decades, in just a few days or weeks. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Google or usual blogosphere, they have found themselves central to the action in an unprecedented way. Lets us take a look at how some of these new found tools have spurred the actions on the ground.

Facebook and Twitter – The cradle that rocked the despots

#Sidibouzid, this twitter hashtag gave rise to a movement which toppled not only the Ben Ali regime but also inspired a dozen other mutinies. The picture of Mohammed Bouazizi, the youth who set himself on fire in the Tunisian town ‘Sidi Bouzid’ in protest against the unemployment spread like wild fire on youtube and other social media. This was for the first time the internet spawned a feeling of enough is enough among the Tunisians.

Soon after Tunisia happened, Egypt was getting ready to herald in to the new dawn of democracy, the first salvo being “We are all Khaled Said” facebook page. Khaled Said was the young Egyptian man who was beaten to death by police in June 2010. The online activists began protest groups with Khaled as their ‘martyr’, some anonymous activist also came up with the Arabic version of the facebook page, who was later revealed as Google executive Wael Ghonim. #Jan25 made its presence felt on twitter, the day Wael called for young Egyptians to take to the streets. Twitter was abuzz with videos, pictures, data and links tagged with #jan25, which became an effective way to group together online information about the protest. The influence of social networking was such that, an Egyptian man named his newly born child as “facebook”. By now one thing was very clear, that the social networking websites have become a force to reckon with.

The events in Tunisia and Egypt inspired a whole lot of generation and Yemen was no different. The “Yemeni Anger Revolution” group has almost 20000 members on facebook, those who were not bitten by the social network bug were encouraged to pass on the word via traditional methods like SMS and cards. After the Yemeni government cracked down on internet, many nonresident Yemenis settled outside Yemen shared their contact numbers with their friends and relatives in Yemen in wake of internet shutdown, to help them share news about Yemen, many of NRYs tweeted and retweeted news and also links with the international media.

The hashtag #feb17 has categorized the Libyan movement and given a fresh identity to the Libyan protest amid unrest across the Arab world. Feb 17 is the date when the Libyan protest against the megalomaniac colonel began. Information – what little is accessible from the country – has been pouring in on Twitter and Youtube, where activists are uploading news the minute they are able to get online. A dedicated facebook page for the Libyan revolution has more than 82000 members and another key facebook page by the name of ‘RNN Libya’ has 22000 members. Libya being the most oppressed and closed nation of the region has caught the fever of Internet-driven dissent passed on from their friends in Tunisia and Egypt, as young Libyans are been exposed to the power of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter to voice opposition to the regime.

Just like the #feb17 Libyan protest, the Bahraini activists have #feb14 as their identity on twitter. Internet providers were shut down and facebook accounts were deleted across Algeria as thousands of Pro-democracy demonstrators were arrested in violent street demonstrations. President Abdelaziz Boutifleka’s government first cracked down on the internet to nip the protest in the bud.

In Morocco, the facebook group “Movement of freedom and democracy” has attracted more than 90000 members. The Iraqis had their own twitter tag as #iq4c but many of them tagged news of protest in Iraq with #feb25 so as to reach a larger audience of the internet by linking their cause with other popular revolts.

In Syria, the case is bit different; people are still learning about the arab revolution through facebook, media, twitter, newspapers and blogs. The facebook page “Syrian Revolution 2011” has received more than 25000 followers. People in Syria have slowly started to come out in open against the Syrian authorities.

Google: ‘Don’t be evil’

True to its slogan, Google as a company showed character in the Arab revolution when its CEO, Eric Schmidt said that he was ‘very proud’ of Wael Ghonim and the company has made it clear that it would welcome him back to his old job. Even when the Egyptian authorities cut off internet access, Google developed a workaround that allowed users to send twitter messages over phone lines. Youtube, which Google owns, also created a hub to promote videos from protestors in Tahir square.

As the crusade for democracy and basic human rights rages on, Today’s youth have a lot of tools at their disposal which the earlier crusaders didn’t posses. The Internet has become a conduit for disseminating the idea of democracy which was till now alien to the Arab civilization. For a change the Internet is applauded for its power to influence and change history for the better.