|In: Blogging|Last Updated:

Ever since,I migrated from the old blogger to the new one , there has been lots of problems.First it was static HTML code that was generated and than some crazy alignment problems.And yes,I did find some problems in Blogger and I have reported them to “Blogger Support Group”.

But one thing which I was missing(in Blogger from the beginning) is the “Tags” section which is available in WordPress.What is the advantage of having Tags? Having “Tags” makes your post grouped under a particular group which helps targetting a particular genre of readers.

But,when I migrated to new blogger,there were “Tags” available but they were called as “Labels” in Blogger.This has raised some confusions in the Blogosphere.

An example of TAGS in Blogger

On googling for “Tags in Blogger”, I came across a blog where this debate is going on-“Labels or Tags” ie “Has Google done the right thing in calling Tags as Labels in Blogger”

A small excerpt from the blog

Tags are one of the defining elements of Web 2.0. When Google started gmail,it used the term label instead of the term tag. When Google developed the new version of Blogger, it also again used the term labels instead of tags.

Do not miss out this Interesting Topic on the Eygpt Software Blog

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated: | 2 Comments
It was just a normal day when I was returning back from the office and I happened to think about the close connection between sports and business.Since, my favourite tennis tournament Australian Open is on, I could not think about anyone other than my favourite tennis player Roger Federer.

Everytime when I watch Federer play , there is always something to learn from him from a business point of view.Some of the learnings are given below:

1.

Just as Federer considers each and every match important,be it an unseeded player,it is important for companies(even startups) not to under-estimate the competition.Who knows Guruji.com may become the next Google.

2.

Federer has been unbeatable except for some defeats against Nadal on clay court.Inspite of these defeats,there is some improvement in his game.Here is the message,improvement is the key…Keep on improving and innovating since, you never know that your competitor may see your weakness and counteract on it.

[Click on the video to watch FEDERER’s excellence]

3.

I have rarely seen Federer losing his calm during the course of any match.He does not show any reactions on the court ,which helps him win so many matches.Similarly,it is very important to take the right kind of decisions when you own a company.You may be very talented but decisions based on emotions like anger may kill your motive and also your talent since,important decisions like these cannot be taken on basis of emotions.

4.

This is the final point and by every means the most important point.Federer has won 9 grand slam titles and 45 single titles and he is just 25 years old.It is very easy to get carried away by such achievements at this early age but I always see some improvement in each and every match that he plays,be it grass court or clay court.Thus, it is very important to have centered focus on your market where you are targetting your product.Age has no relation with the achievements you have under your belt.Also, never be satisfied with your achievements since there is always something more to achieve!!!

PS:If there are some other interesting points (which I might have missed) about Federer,please include them in the comments section or shoot a mail at himanshu.sheth@gmail.com

|In: Blogging|Last Updated: | 8 Comments
One of my colleague Kishore Bangalore asked me “Why do I blog?”.He had an impression that blogging means a way of passing time. He is just an ocassional blogger whereas I am a very seasoned blogger.I definitely agree to what he has said but the important aspect is “What is blog meant for?” and I came up with my Previous article about blogging for a meaning.

When I created my LinkedIn account, I was finding it hard to get some contacts and one fine day I received a mail from an unknown person(who is a Program Manager in Denmark) asking me for a connection.

This really excited me and I understood that MEANINGFUL blogging does create a lot of value.

Now, coming back to business, imagine people getting paid for blogging.I was chatting with my friend Alok when he gave me the information about Ibibo. Ibibo is just an example to show how blogging makes a difference.

To summarize, I am very optimistic about the waves that blogs have created and this is just the start to a new blogging era!!!

|In: Job Hopping|Last Updated: | 7 Comments
Many times, it is seen that a person is very talented but it becomes very difficult for him/her to get a job.It is seen that the entire selection process is not only a test of your technical skills/managerial skills , but also your attitude,temperament which is well tested through a series of interviews.

It starts right from your first round of interviews where they take an initial test till the last round of HR interview where they try to see your convincing skills and also your loyalty for the previous company(the worst reason to tell the HR guy about the job change would be “My previous company/team has X/Y/Z problems which leads to bad-mouthing your previous employer”).

Just happened to overlook CareerBuilder, where they have listed out “Top ten reasons why you’re not finding a job” as given below:

  1. You’re not making finding a job a job itself!!
  2. You haven’t developed a system of finding a job.
  3. You have an unrealistic idea about the market for your skills.
  4. You aren’t acknowledging the psychological and emotional stress that changing jobs entails.
  5. You ignore small businesses.
  6. You don’t recognize that face-to-face interviews are the only things that matter.
  7. You don’t prepare well for interviews.
  8. You’re not selling yourself.
  9. You have the attitude, “What can you do for me?
  10. You give poor reasons for leaving your job.

Do not miss out the Complete Article on CareerBuilder

Happy job searching!!!

|In: Proto.in|Last Updated:

Finally,I am off to Chennai for Proto.in
Looking forward to all the interesting ideas created by the 30 startups and how does it feel to listen to 25 VCs from around the country.

Events like Proto.in would definitely change the face of Indian entrepreneurship.

Some of the VCs that would be present are:

I hope that along with taking photographs and listening to the VCs speak,I would try to blog the event live just I did in BarCamp Bangalore 2.0

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Read this one on Economic Times and found it very interesting.An article on how to pitch VCs and how much an entrepreneur should be aware his product and the market he would target with that product.

A small excerpt from this article is below:
What is common between a good venture capitalist (VC) pitch and stand-up comedy? In both the cases, a perfectly timed and delivered spiel can make or break your career. A comedian begins with a killer opening and keeps rolling to peak a couple of minutes later. He makes a graceful exit with a customary greeting, leaving the audience yelling, whistling and clapping.

The urban legend regarding start-ups is that you get a two-minute shot to reveal your plan and what it is good for. All this is done in such a way that the venture capitalist, with whom you’ve jumped into a cab or elevator, will write you a cheque one day. You want to win over your audience so that it supports your idea with its heart, soul, mind – and money.

Winning these, in a start-up business, means you have to construct a short and snappy sales pitch of your idea. In Mumbai, like in the Silicon Valley, face-time with a VC is limited. So, be prepared to make your only shot your best shot. The time window is small, hence the idea has to be crisp and clear.

Read the Complete Article

|In: Management|Last Updated:

The toughest question on earth is “Can you tell me,whether your manager is good or bad?”.Yes, I know , this has made you think and this is the question which I have always found very difficult to answer.

After scratching my head for a long time, I came up with two articles listed below:
My current read is “Winning-The Answers“ by Jack Welch, an interesting book about Management.I just came across a very good Chapter(#13) – “When to Cut the Cord” where he has mentioned about Four kinds of managers.

This classification is done on how well they perform ie. deliver results and how well they demonstrate good values such as candor and customer responsiveness.

TYPE#1(BEST):
Managers who deliver great results and adhere to good values are easy to cope up with.They should be rewarded at each and every opportunity.
TYPE#2:
Managers with poor results but good values deserve another chance, maybe in another position in the organization.
TYPE#3:
The third kind of manager,with great results and lousy is the kind that usually destroys the organizations.They deliver the numbers,but usually on the backs of their people.Companies very often keep these jerks around for way too long, destroying morale and trust as they do.
TYPE#4(JERKS):
This is poorest kind of manager.He’s got poor performance as well as poor values.Here,even if the manager has good technical expertise but, he may be a threat to major projects since his management skills are poor.These kind of managers should not be kept in the organization and should not be given any second chance.