Daily updates on what I’m reading. Links with my notes. I also just tweet links and things that interest me @dina

• A Social Publishing Strategy by @gkjohn at @kanter covers education/publishing. love the skype reading sessions esp. -

“Our strategy has relied upon being part of a larger mission, providing meaningful and valuable content, curating information and content for the community, using a legal framework that allows for a participatory culture and lastly, in time, providing a space for the community to assist in the mission by creating content themselves. The last part, a community publishing platform, is something we are working on with the Connexions Project and a brief video about it is here. It’s still a journey we are on and we’ve had many success till date  - Skype reading sessions across countries, helping us get books to children across the country, audio books created for the blind, iPad apps being made of our content and so much more.  Here’s some details about some of social tactics:

Skype reading sessions: This project started after a few tweets were exchanged between a librarian from Central Manor, Pennsylvania. We started off by people from our organization having Skype reading sessions with a few children and then moved onto having sessions with entire classes. On 20th March, 2009, we managed to hold a Skype storytelling session between kids from Akshara Foundation’s community library and a class from Central Manor.The purpose is to go beyond being just a publisher. Through these activities we are encouraging reading, learning and connecting children from different communities and backgrounds. Channels used: Twitter, Skype, Blog

Inviting people to remix/repurpose our content: As a publisher, we have a lot of content available which we want people to access as easily as possible. In our attempt to do so, we have managed to license some of our books under Creative Commons licenses. Now, if we can’t publish a book in Assamese, but a teacher in Assam wants to do so, she doesn’t have to worry about copyright infringement. We have also put up some of the illustrations of our books so that people can remix or repurpose them. Channels used : Scribd, Blog, Flickr

Facilitators/connecting organisations and people: @Anorakmagazine found us on Twitter and asked if they could send us some back issues of their magazines to share with kids in India. Once the books arrived, they were sent to the community libraries run by Akshara Foundation. We also helped coordinate a drawing project that Anorak Magazine wanted to involve the children with. Now, some of the kids have their work published in an international children’s magazine.Channels used: Twitter

Audio books for the National Association of Blind : This project started off because of another blog post (on the Helen Keller Talking Library project) that got automatically updated to our Twitter account. @owos then messaged us to tell us about a similar intiative Radio Mirchi had started. Then another tweep (@barkhad) told us that she had registered with Radio Mirchi but they didn’t get back to her. So, we got in touch with Radio Mirchi to talk about a blog post and while we were talking, she asked if we would be interested in having our books recorded by Radio Mirchi for the National Association of the Blind. We also requested if @barkhad could record one of our books and they agreed. So, our Twitter friend went offline and recorded a book in their Delhi studio! Channels used: Blog, Twitter

Passing it on – the book edition: We read about about a bunch of kids in Kolkata who went around with a van full of books to reach kids who didn’t have access to books and even went on to teach the kids how to read. After reading about this initiative, one of our trustees volunteered to sponsor some Bengali books if we could find these kids. We mailed the news bureau which published the article, but were unable to get a response. So, we decided to see if the Twitter community could help us. Within half an hour of sending out a tweet, we had a volunteer who said he would get us the information and by the next day we had an address and contact number. Within a few days, Bengali books were sent by us to these kids.From this story, we decided to start an initiative which would allow our online community to participate…to help these kids as well as other kids. Channels used: Twitter, Blog, Facebook

What we’ve found is that honestly, transparency and accountability are the three most important elements of any social media strategy.   A longer case study that we had written up is available on the IndiaSocial site.

• iSay, you say, we all say, to Nokia – neat post by @rashmibansal who’s got herself an iPhone – Rashmi Bansal shares why she will never go back to a Nokia phone, and gives Nokia some good advice!!

CLIPs: “Nokia is still a market leader in the lower end handsets. But there too companies like Micromax are coming in aggressively with high end features at very competitive rates.” It’s time for Nokia to go back into the laboratory and come up with something that make you want to chuck what you have and buy a new one. Imagine a stunningly good-looking girl with an IQ of 180 – but in the form of a phone.”

“… Just a few crazy ideas. I am sure there are designers and engineers out there can come up with much better. Because product lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter. If you’re not dreaming ‘what next’, ‘what more’, your brand is one step closer to the grave. Nokia still enjoys tremendous goodwill, and marketshare. But it needs some stardust to sprinkle on consumers. To work its magic spell, to mesmerise us into saying “lena to Nokia hi hai, question is ‘which model’!”

This is a post that’s long overdue, since the time the film was released! I was spurred to write it this morning, as I’m quite excited to be on a panel discussion at the screening of Tactical Tech’s film called 10 Tactics – Turning Information into Action.

The screening is at the Conference Room of National College, Bandra today and is being hosted by Point of View.  I’m often asked what Info-Activism is, and this film is a must-see for all those who are curious about, interested in and work in the area. I’m also often asked whether I’m a rights activist or a digital activist – and I say no, I’m an ethnographer and researcher who is sometimes an accidental information activist. I’d also broaden the scope of the relevance of these 10 Tactics to those who are working in the social media area, and to those in the corporate world, who’s focus of work is in developing products, services and strategies in a world where customers, users, consumers are already exchanging information, having conversations, and learning often much faster than organizations are. Or simply, it’s for those who care and already use these tools – how can you get more involved in making a difference?

From the 10 Tactics website:

What is 10 Tactics?

10 tactics provides original and artful ways for rights advocates to capture attention and communicate a cause. It includes a 50-minute film documenting inspiring info-activism stories from around the world and a set of cards; with tools tips and advice, for you to work through as you plan your own info-activism

The film features 35 info-activism stories told from the point of view of advocates in 24 different countries including Lebanon, India, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Indonesia, South Africa and the UK.

The film is shared at the website as 10 Tactics, along with Tactics cards that cover a case study, a video story, suggestions and tips, and a featured tool. The 10 Tactics are:

1. Mobilizing people
2. Witness and record
3. Visualize your message
4. Amplify personal stories
5. Just add humour
6. Manage your contacts
7. How to use complex data
8. Use collective intelligence
9. Let people ask the questions
10. Investigate and expose

(I’m featured in Tactic 8 – Use Collective Intelligence – here’s the gist of what I said – “We have communities that we have developed over time in several spaces on the web – on blogs, Facebook, Twitter. What these tools allow you to do is network with all of your online communities, to operate as hubs of connected people. So when something happens and you need to respond, it’s about the spontaneous mobilisation of a community that already exists online, through the multiple nodes and hubs that you have created as you leave your footprints on the web.”

Tactic 8 – Use collective intelligence from Tactical Technology Collective on Vimeo.)

The project came about at the Info-Activism camp held in February 2009, which I was very privileged to have attended.

We’ve also used collective intelligence and swarming way back in 2004 when the Tsunamis had devastated parts of Asia and then again in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina – each of these on a different scale, and using other technologies like blogs and wikis and Skype.

If you’re interested in this area, make sure you view the whole film, all 10 tactics! And there are screenings all over the world, so do go for them, and participate in the discussions.

I had a lot of fun today at TEDxMumbai. Was great to catch up with old friends, and made some new ones. The speakers were quite interesting and moving especially when they were ‘presenting’ through the narrative of story; some of them really worthy of being on any main TED stage. I tweeted that I really felt more engaged and stimulated by many of these talks than I did at TED India, perhaps because they were targeted at a more culturally homogenous (and yet quite diverse) audience.

Some of my favourite quotes of the day:

Rahul and Mattias from URBZ on Koliwada: “Matias talks about how when friends from Europe visit this so-called slum, they love it, and feel that it is an urban village—“like Florence!” Koliwada, Rahul explains, “is anachronistic to the idea of Mumbai as an urban space. [...] The word slum is too generic.” Then they move on to Dharavi. “Land in Dharavi is used in a very special way,” says Rahul. “Many people who don’t have resources, when they find a spot of land, they use it in complex ways.” He shows a slide with a typical toolhouse, with separate images depicting its component functions: “for sleeping, living, working, storing,” This messy structure of Dharavi, he says,”has an internal logic to it. Rural areas prior to the industrial revolution were sites of production.” [full quote from Amit's blog]

Also from the duo – “the home itself becomes source of wealth. It is common in Indian villages” – they’re referring to tiny urban spaces in slums like Dharavi which breed much entrepreneurship. Anyone who’s ever walked into Dharavi will be hit by how these tiny spaces are converted into economic hubs. This post and image above, from Stuart’s  blog captures it so well!

“We condition a child to be a man or a woman. Children who don’t like it are treated like they’re not normal” . ”People used to accept my art but not me. It changed when I worked on tv films” and ”give ownership to the community & they’ll show they can do it. We proved we were employable thru education” Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi who’s fighting for transgender rights through her organization Astitva. She also says “the Right to Education bill has come to India. But I don’t think our community will get the benefit of it” and “My guru Shabina is doing a PhD in Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She’s probably the first one of our community in India to get a doctorate”

Ganesh Devy – “The peculiar history of language is not from the tower of Babel, but experience, culture, civilization, climate” ”Multilingual cacophony. In india 96% speak 4% of languages & 4% speak 96% of languages. At the time of independence, the figure was 46% and not 4%. India is becoming a graveyard of languages” On why languages die ... “a language doesn’t die – it is killed. …. one reason is conquest. the command of language became the language of command”

And importantly, “Every language is a world view. Let diversity live, only then will democracy survive in a country like India”

Zubin Pastakia of The Cinemas Project: “The problem of nostalgia is that it debilitates you, and limits your way of thinking. I like exploring these cinema halls as cultural experiences of space”

I also loved Dhanashree Pundit Rai’s talk where she used her fantastic vocals to demonstrate that the language of music is a common one, across geographic and cultural boundaries (eastern and western traditions) and across ages (urging youngsters to appreciate the traditional roots in all music today). She live-demoed many forms of ornamentation as well, in Indian Classical Music and made the distinction between Indian musical traditions which relied more on melodies and western classical idioms that relied on harmony. “If the seven notes are common all over the world, then why is that something sounds Japanese, Indian, Western?” “Indian music is a very deep melodic system. Jazz and Pop can improvise a lot on it” Difficult to capture her talk in words – do look for the video on Youtube soon!!

V Raghunathan, who’s written the book Games Indians Play, and describes how Indians are “privately smart, publicly dumb” among other things!

More:

• My livetweets stream.  My twitpic stream (the only cam i had was on the iphone – so apologies for lack of clarity and no zoom!)
• Amit’s live blogging which was just fabulous and a lesson in live-blogging an event!
• Update: just noticed some great liveblogging by Navin Kabra here.
• Tedxmumbai live tweetstream

The food was great, venue cool, very good with a few exceptions, the event efficiently run, and the company just super! A wonderful way to spend a Saturday. Thank you Netra, Ankesh, Ajay, Parmesh, Priyanka, Yashesh, their teams, and the sponsors of the event Cleartrip and the venue Bluefrog.

Lakshmi’s talk was moving and reminded me of Sunitha Krishnan’s talk at TEDIndia which was extremely evocative. Both are on the “fringe” and both are fighting slavery and discrimination. Left me feeling as I had after Sunita’s talk –  that all of us must take responsibility for having relegated them and their communities to the fringes. And must open our own homes and offices to them. The government will then be forced to take notice. Brave words – but are we really ready for this, as a society? I was absolutely horrified to hear that last night, at the TEDxMumbai dinner at the Bombay Gymkhana, a premier club in South Mumbai, Lakshmi was asked to leave as her presence was felt inappropriate by some club members CEO of the club  (correction – based on this report on the front page of The Mumbai Mirror today). The whole tedxmumbai team and their other guests walked out too. This is inhuman and reminds me of the old British signboard – Dogs and Indians not allowed. Shame on you, management and staff of the Bombay Gymkhana for allowing this to happen.

Actually, my super lazy blogpost post TEDIndia. It was an absolutely fantastic experience and the best part was meeting such a great group of people. I feel incredibly fortunate, and humbled to have been a TEDIndia Fellow.

I’ll be blogging more thoughts and pictures in the next few days, but for now, here’s a compilation of my Tweets (for me, my notes and apologies for typos & grammatical errors) as I was live-tweeting some of the sessions.  Read them, bottom-up!

DAY 3:

well done #tedindia blog and social media team! “TEDTalks will be available starting mid-november” http://is.gd/4PIaR
oddly enuff, many of the BIG names were in the latter group – disappointing. #tedfellows pre-conference truly gr8. will blog later #tedindia
talks i loved – those that came thru w raw honesty. disappointed when projects pitched w’out extracting big pic & some ‘same old’ #tedindia
overall thoughts on #tedindia – transformational for some, inspiring to others. for me utterly humbling & I made many super new friends
feels strange being back after #tedindia and having to shift modes so rapidly. working on a research presentation & off to delhi for monday
oieee TED is almost over … a bunch of us are leaving on the 1 pm bus for bangalore. so pack-up time real soon #tedindia
india is a nationalism of an idea that has emerged long ago – consensus in diversity is how we move into 21st C #tedindia @shashitharoor
Tharoor – the story also rests on political will – secular india & how we’ve embraced religions of the world. a (ra-ra moment) #tedindia
the country that tells the better story wins! (i so agree – and our stories are also in our pop culture). #tedindia @shashitharoor
afghanistan – most popular TV serial – Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi – eg. of soft power. lots of popculture egs. @shashitharoor #tedindia
.@shashitharoor tells stories interestingly. empowerment of the poor is the real achievement of communications #tedindia
thanks for all the shout-outs for my tweeting from #tedindia
the cell phone 15 mn/month story – what did we have to do to get there.!! talks of growing up w’out one. #tedindia @shashitharoor
soft power emerges partly because of govt but partly despite it #tedindia @shashitharoor sez
talking of india’s potential in the 21st century – the Future Beckons – soft power #tedindia
lakshmi also sez @shashitharoor singlehandedly made twitter popular in india. ???. #tedindia
Lakshmi apologizes to tweeters following @shashitharoor for late start #tedindia
A. Balasubramanium – artist, sculptor, painter, printmaker on stage – work here – http://is.gd/4PmVM & http://is.gd/4PmZL #tedindia
lol sivamani doesn’t spare a suitcase – he’s making it sing! wonder if brand managers r watching – sponsorship opps galore :):) #tedindia
he’s using everyday items – pans, empty 10 litre water bottle etc. sheer genius – Sivamani #tedindia
sivamani is awesome! hope all u tweeters r watching the livestream. @shashitharoor will be on later. http://ted.indiatimes.com/ #tedindia
the irony is that so many years of denying being a girl has led us here!! eve ensler #tedindia
being a girl is so powerful that we’ve had to train everyone not to be a girl. Eve Ensler #TEDIndia
Eve Ensler – playwright and activist – best known for The Vagina Monologues is on!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Ensler #tedindia
Matthew Spacie – talking of rugby being an institutionalized safety valve. And Play as a way to learn. Sport teaches u abt life! #TEDIndia
Matthew Spacie – a #TEDFellow – Magic Bus – http://www.magicbusindia.org/
Riverside school url http://www.schoolriverside.com/.
if the city gives to the children, in the future, children will give back to the city #tedindia
in Ahmedabad – how did the city respond to the school? every other month – biggest street closes down & infected by kids playing #tedindia
kid said – teacher told me “i can do it” – but parents said what abt grades?? kids actually did v v well in math eng and science! #tedindia
Kiran Sethi – aware (see the change), enable (being changed), empower (leading change) = “i can” – infect children with this bug #tedindia
Kiran Bir Sethi Riverside School. Contagious is a good word – laughter, passion, inspiration – infected by “i can” bug! #tedindia
Aravind Eye Care – Fastcompany article here – http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/43/drv.html #tedindia
disappointed w session – where’s the new way of learning in all this? eg. ask questions faster, stories, dialogue, real-time etc?. #tedindia
“eye care with the efficiency of macdonalds” – deliver eye care like a burger??? heh! Aravind Eye Clinic – #TEDIndia
CK Prahalad is talking of mobile revolution now!. Didn’t say too much we haven’t seen. Wish he had focussed on stories of change #tedindia
Interview w CK Prahalad on how bottom of the pyramid strategies are paying off. mobile phones as an eg. #tedindia . Link -http://is.gd/4PjBV
CK – 4. multilevel dialogue. 5. Knowledge creation. all thru access to connectivity, information, analytics, dialogue, assessment #tedindia
CK – how to democratize learning? a. eliminate info asymmetries, b. give access to analytics, c. make access affordable & avail, #tedindia
CK – for the first time in history, everyone has access (cell phones eg.) leads to democratized learning. #tedindia
CK – instead of having an institutions view of citizens have a citizens view of institutions – facilitated by tech and internet. #tedindia
CK – how do we change – break down hierarchical power structure becos pple hc access to information and can challenge each other #tedindia
CK – why do gr8 companies lose leadership – becoz cant excape the past or create the future. mistake momentum for leadership #tedindia
multiple discontinuities challenge mental models – learning is abt selectively forgetting the past & refuelling for the future. #tedindia
CK Prahalad – discontinuities egs. eg. suddenly deal w 5 bn pple on less than 2 USD a day OR 400 mn connected by mobile phones #tedindia
CK Prahalad – success has its own learning disabilities built into it . Discontinuities disrupt the process! #TEDIndia
social determinants to learning impt. learning must lead to change. information –>inference (educ + socialization –> Action #TEDIndia
CK Prahalad on!!! #tedindia I want to separate teaching fm learning. learning does not take place in isolation – we’re part of a social grp
Sashwati – “if we can’t reach them, we can’t teach them” – mobile & wireless tech will bridge the gap. with engaging content. #tedindia
looking forward to C.K. Prahalad’s talk. Galli Galli Sim Sim – Shashwati Banerjee of Sesame Street Workshop on now. #TEDIndia #TEDFellows
wow #TEDFellows get a Nokia E71 and a 1500 USD cash card among other things! pays for my new macbook :):) #tedindia

DAY 2

Hehe. The bollywood party continues in the bus back. #tedindia rocks. http://twitpic.com/oi3wi
song at #TEDindia Grand Party at Lalit Palace Mysore. Bollywood Nite. Jai Ho! http://twitpic.com/ohvo2
Abhay Deol – thinking woman’s eye candy (paraphrased by Shandana). He’s cute. And seems a lil nervous #tedindia
E3it. Engage entertain educate immerse transform. It’s his mantra. Cost him 250 USD. He’s a dude!!! Rocking #tedindia
RT @tedindia: TED’s June Cohen invites you to join the TED Open Translation Project http://bit.ly/2yFqSF #TEDIndia
E3it. Engage entertain educate immerse transform. It’s his mantra. Cost him 250 USD. He’s a dude!!! Rocking @tedindia
Digital Hampi. Travel to hampi. Ramachandra Budihai takes us there on his augmented reality headset! #tedindia
familiar sight at #tedindia queing up for the vest seats in the house http://twitpic.com/ogrr6
Loved Kavita Ramdas. On feminism – there’s no need to lose yr femininity or yr traditions. SHE (woman) rocks & can be on top. #tedindia
Experienced a real TEDmoment in the last session. Magical. Collective. Worth being here even if just for that. Thanks #tedfellows #tedindia
What can civil society do? Accept and embrace victims of human trafficking in our daily lives. And tell 2 friends. #tedindia
Touched by Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala. rebuild faith in victims of human trafficking. 1 person changes life of 3200 people. #tedindia
Rapid transformation impt for rapid diffusion. Esp w mess we r in. Often best solutions cone in v lil time. Agility. Banerjee #tedindia
RT @infosys: Banny Banerjee: reframing insights -> concepts – > prototypes – > new paradigms in design that r solutions to probs. #TEDIndia
The simulcast lounge is cool. V v comfy. Here’s a pic. #tedindia #tedfellows http://twitpic.com/og7l7
For me best part of the last session was Bribe Buster idea. Wish the others had moved to the ideas space more than showcase work. #tedindia
Anil Gupta – scalability must not become the enemy of sustainability. Shows egs of innovations fm grassroots to global #tedindia #tedfellows
Anil Gupta knocks maslow’s hierarchy of needs out of the stadium! Don’t have to go thru levels fr self actualisation.
Anil Gupta -honeybee network. To learn fm & support grassroots innovation. Minds on the margin are not marginal minds.
@shaffimather totally loved the bribe busters thought. Let us know how civil society can help. #tedindia #tedfellows
RT @pkgulati: Shafi at @tedindia – we are insane people and an insane person does not know what’s an impossible task !! #tedindia
New idea. How to fight the demand for a bribe!! Call in the Bribe Busters Dial …… Nice :) Shaffi Mather. #tedindia #tedfellows
Shaffi Mather. Ambulance service. Dial 1298. Similar to 911. Furst on scene on 26/11. Was at Jugaad workshop Y’day. #tedindia #tedfellows
Dr Asher Hassan. Main Bhi Pakistani Hoon. (I too am Pakistan). Sharing stories of normal people thru photos. #tedindia #tedfellows
RT @bcampbelljr: Idea from TEDIndia – write your obituary. If you don’t like the way it reads, change your life – now. #tedindia
Quite inspirational!! Q- one key idea to spread ? Shukla Bose A- educate the teachers!!! #tedindia #tedfellows
Content of education is education. Not necessarily things like toilets. Take one child at a time and unleash her potential. #tedindia
98% of fathers r alcoholic. An ex-maid was of 28 kids selected for Duke’s scholarship. These kids r using facebook!
Showed videos of kids of roadside flower seller talking of hardy boys and ducatis. Kids teach their parents. ICSE curriculum. #tedindia
Dream is to prepare kids to live peacefully in this conflict-ridden global world. English medium. #tedindia #tedfellows
What?? Her research found one out of four teachers in slum schools donot go to school all yr!! Educating poor > a numbers game #tedindia
Shukla bose- 3 schools for poor kids. 26 yrs in corporate world. Quit. 2003 started Parikrama fm kitchen table.
Q fm @tedchris.how do u get yr insights working in villages on ground?? A- test it first & refine. Iterative process.
Need to combine psychology marketing art and the scientific method. On the verge of a new social science – Sendhil
Intentions don’t always translate into actions. Last mile problem shd be talked of as last mile opportunity. #tedindia #tedfellows
Sharing puzzles w us. We hv intuitive ways of dealing w the world. For Last mile problems our mental models may not always work. #tedindia
Sendhil mullainathan on stage. How people make choices and decisions. #tedindia #tedfellows http://twitpic.com/ofray
At the TED x Fellows breakfast. Spreading ideas. #tedindia #tedfellows http://twitpic.com/ofndt
(ed) RT @rmack & @AndreMartin: “A trip into d secret, online ‘cloud’”: where & how yr files r stored online -plain English http://ow.ly/zuwf
Does anyone in the simulcast lounge at #tedindia have an iPhone charger?? It’s a real trek to my room!!He got 3 sets of standing ovations. @tedchris says he’s one of the most outstanding innovators he has ever seen. #TEDindia #tedfellows
Integrating computing with everday objects. How powerful is that!!! Pranav mistry is sheer genius. Wow. #TEDindia #tedfellows
Wow!!!! Took paper. Removed mic from camera. Clipped cam to paper. now plays games using paper as the computer. With info too. #TEDindia
Explored 3D pen and stickynotes. Then reversed this thinking Why not paint real life with digital info??? And WOW!!!! #TEDindia #tedfellows
Pranav Mistry – SixthSense we use objects and gestures as part of everyday life.wHy not mimic in tech?? #tedfellows #tedindia
Modified camera to record his acuity. Dylan is the system being used. Now testing Dylan for autism. Awesome!!! #tedindia #tedfellows
Motion or dynamic info processing the bedrock in recovery. Using Darius his baby as a baby cam!!! #tedindia #tedfellows
Really enjoying being here. Get a bit of “india shining” feel tho. 1st session was v entertaining. 2nd session a bit of same old. #tedindia
Pavan sinha fm MIT tells us that recovery is possible and has treated 200 kids despite extended congenital blindness. #tedindia #tedfellows
Project prakash. Neuroscience. Outreach +treatment + study. Showing kids from blind school on video. #tedindia #tedfellows
For all those who asked. Was in the main auditorium so no tweeting. Only allowed in simulcast lounge and last row. #tedindia #tedfellows
And another pic of the mainstage. #tedindia #tedfellows No video allowed at all. http://twitpic.com/obxvm
The TED stage. Event begins in 10. Nice sarees as a backdrop. Mobiles off soon. http://twitpic.com/obx04
Crazy rush for the best seats for the opening session of the main event. #tedindia #tedfelliws. http://twitpic.com/obvqe
Jugaad flourishes where government fails to provide solutions. Bottom up social arrangement. Scale makes it viable. #tedindia # tedfellow
What??? RT @vishalgondal RT @ppeach: Credit card companies know whether couples will divorce 6 months before they do. #TEDIndia
Calls chit funds stripped down capitalism! Regd industry 3-4k billion dollars. Unregistered 10 to 100 tines that amt. #tedindia #tedfellows
Modit on Chit funds in context of jugaad. Much like the kitty party concept. Lending/saving/ insurance device. #tedindia. #tedfellows
Reuben sez new term for ambulance = death taxi ! #tedindia #tedfellows
Charges approx. 2.5 times normal taxi rates Bigger barrier is cultural, located in association with dead body. Jugaad #tedindia #tedfellows
Context for his business idea. 90% usage of ambulance in india was for dead bodies. #tedindia #tedfellows jugaad panel
Shaffi fm 1298 dial for ambulance. Jugaad. Differential pricing paid &free. depends on type of hospital. Pvt or public #tedindia #tedfellows
For working poor. Rentals play a key role in pricing. Selling impressive homes fr USD 6k to 10 k. Jugaad #tedindia
Housing market in inda. 25 million units of unfulfilled demand. USD 150 billion opportunity in sales. Jugaad
Dhaval fm ashray housing. His company treats land as working capital rather than rely on appreciation. Jugaad.
David Kyle on jugaad panel sez jugaad is inherent in education sector in india. He’s a financer.
Jugaad is a work around the system sez Reuben. Affordability is at the heart of jugaad
Workshhop on jugaad with reuben abraham and others just starting.

DAY 1:

5 Mins into Microsoft surface demo here’s what we see. @amitvarma spilt coke on it. Hehe. #tedindia http://twitpic.com/o8ezk
Watching a demo of Microsoft Surface. 10000 usd. #tedindia #tedfellows http://twitpic.com/o8enq
over and out for now – party time !!!
announcements on now – party at brindavan gardens tonight – gr8 becoz infosys campus does not allow booze!!!!!!!
he’s a great speaker!! whatever brilliant ideas you hear – the opposite also may be true – essence
he should study indian addresses too!!!
final lecture of the day beginning – confounding systems of japanese streets = derek sivers
new opps for collab, multimedia integration, imaginative ways to tell their story – grade 4 using it too!!!
Rob Newberry – students using prezi. http://prezi.com/. So what does web2.0 in classroom mean for the future?
kids r thinking vieually – engaged and tech minded – when u ask for proof of learning – non-linear ways!
Rob Newberry – emerging tech are changing classrooms & students. give it to them, rather than teach, u see learning!
she’s holding a brain in her hand! talking of info processing. starts left goes right forward & backwards
strange twist – cowdung trade led to increasing cattle & degrading forests & elephants (which were in my coffee!!)
growth of trade in cowdung – YES cow dung – it is being sold as get far higher price than chemical fertilizers
Prof. Madhusudan Nature Conversation – nice first slide – “waiter, there’s an elephant in my coffee!”
Bacterial Consortium formed to solve these probs. Cultured at diff salinity levels. Nitrifying BioReactors
Prof Mohan Kandaswamy – traditional systems of aquaculture lots of waste & harmful ammonia – pollution – hi mortality.
eve blossom’s company is lulan artisans http://www.lulan.com/blog/ -
artisans vulnerable to trafficking – at risk. formed social venture to prevent human trafficking & generate eco opps.
talks of human trafficking as a marketplace – and she felt the call to do something after a horrifying experience
Prof Eve Blossom – moved to vietnam as an architect of buildings and left vietnam as an architect for change
Raqs – photo, installations, video – invite viewer to analyse a crime. subodh gupta – celebrates everyday artifacts
interesting set doing art and installations – loved the skeleton of a rickshaw by jitin kallat
Ravin Agarwal 10 indian artists- bharti kher, – bindis, balasubramanium, chitra ganesh – amar chitra katha,
.@thecomicproject tons of references to Jugaad this morning at the Fellows sessions!
the infosys campus is fantastic in a weird sense – architectural kitsch! not sure i love it tho – ot inviting me to explore more!
Ramachandran – Gandhi neurons – there is no independent self that is outside of others – bridging the science-humanities gap!
similarly – with touch – these neurons are based in empathy. but you don’t feel the touch. empathy but not experience
MIRROR neurons – transmitted eg. tool use, fire, shelter, language – this is the basis of culture and civilization.
neurons fire when person performs a specific action. a subset will also fire when u look at someone else performing that action
VS Ramachandran – representation of self and others on the human brain #tedindia @tedfellows . puts electrodes in nerve cells & eavesdrops
Suneeta Reddy – Apollo Hospitals talked of telemedicine – a bit like a pitch – didn’t learn v much
Richard Alderson of Unltd India – DNA of social entrepreneurship made up of Economic, social, political, Spiritual.
First interesting TEDUniv talk – PalletRacks Structures by Freeman Murray
this morning was cool; got to hear what 25 Fellows are doing! will be posting pics I took later.
TED University consists of 4 minute talks – 3 sessions with 6-7 people each. Before the main event tomorrow
Bruno Guissani introduces the first session at TED Unilversity #tedfellows #tedindia Kiran Khalap talking. Are Ideas Good or Bad?
In the bus to #tedindia with #tedfellows. Much bonding happening. @amitvarma is in form! http://twitpic.com/o3l2e

…. a mobile phone in Seoul, South Korea. Neat observations and statistics from Rudy de Waele. And more insights on youth and mobile phones in South Korea. I’d love to see more posts like this covering different parts of the world, including India! [links via @grahamdbrown on Twitter]

Here’s a presentation from him on Mobile Digital Storytelling which is an intriguing field.

Priyanka Kargupta is an 8 year old living in Maryland, USA. She’s set up Kids for Mumbai – to help those affected by the Mumbai Terror Attacks.  I personally don’t know her, just got an email from her, and would encourage you to assess it for yourselves before donating.  She’s provided links to her Dad and has her own blog. I’d like to know more details around who the funds are going to for disbursement.

Fighting Back the Carnage at Mumbai
on November 26-29, 2008 

Kids for Mumbai
www.kidsformumbai.org

I’m quite impressed with what she’s doing. I do hope she is able to achieve her goal. I’d love for her to build up a movement around this where all kids all over the world are made increasingly conscious and aware that there are other kids like them who are being affected and violated every single day.

My friend Tracey Rankin was here last year and she had shared a lovely thought with me then. She told me that for Christmas 2007 she planned to gift her two young nieces an account with a non-profit where they would send money to a child affected by some form of violence in the developing world. What I liked about her plan was that her nieces and the children they were sponsoring would be in constant touch with each other via email.  I forget which NGO she spoke of, just thought it’s a nice thought to share as Christmas is upon us.

A celebration of women.

“Last month 26 women from around the world took a moment to write an inspiring sentence. Each woman has shared something unique – please take the time to read the message on each slide.”

A Woman’s Investment

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: opportunity_intermational microcredit)

…. to break my blogging hiatus. How helpless we are under the force of nature’s fury. Myanmar Cyclone 28,458 deaths & 33,416 missing. China Earthquake almost 10000 dead & mounting. All of this in less than 10 days.

There’s been a huge load of blogging and tweeting live as the earthquake and its aftermath unfolded, with first accounts – reports, images and videos from those in the zone, as it happened.

The Worldwidehelp group blog and wiki sprung back into action on May 4, with the Myanmar cyclone – there’s a huge load of information on aid resources available at the Nargishelp wiki now. Many of our contacts on the ground are saying that it’s been difficult and very political trying to get aid quickly through to those affected in Myanmar. We’re also blogging updates on the Sichuan earthquake, and will try and put up information on help required and aid agencies as we get the information.

Tags: Asia, China, Earthquake, Myanmar, Cyclone, Nargis, Floods, Breaking News, Disaster, Emergency, Humanitarian, Relief, Rescue

November seems to be full of online activism days and weeks! Today’s the Buy Nothing Day, here’s another one – to end Violence Against Women:

Cheekay Cinco of APC Women writes to inform me of this campaign to end violence against women. This is a collaborative campaign by ICT users, advocates, collectives and organisations that take issue with the prevalence of Violence Against Women in our diverse realities.

Go over to the take back the tech website to get ideas on how you could participate, localize it, start it in your own community, suggest actions, and join the blogathon.

Join in and spread the word if you care.

TAKE BACK THE TECH: 6 DAYS OF RECLAIMING TECHNOLOGY IN ACTIVISM TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

//In Uganda, a SMS campaign called Speak out! Stand Out! is organised by WOUGNET to collect messages against VAW//

//In Quebec, feminists and communication rights activists are creating short video clips and comic postcards on VAW.//

//In Malaysia, Burmese refugees are creating audiocasts on issues related to VAW and women’s rights together with Centre for Independent Journalism.//

From 25 November to 10 December, get ready to pull out the mouse, flex your SMS fingers and engage full energy in activism to end violence against women (VAW). APC Women’s Programme (APC WNSP) calls on users of the radio, television, internet, emails, mobile phones and all kinds of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to Take Back The Tech!

Technorati tags: takebackthetech, harmfulcontent

Application Deadline: November 30, 2007

Rising Voices, the outreach arm of Global Voices, is now accepting project proposals for the second round of microgrant funding of up to $5,000 for citizen media outreach projects. Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to communities that are poorly positioned to discover and take advantage of tools like blogging, video-blogging, and podcasting on their own.

In July we funded five projects out of the 142 applications we received from over 60 different countries. The first five Rising Voices grantees are based in Bangladesh, Colombia, Bolivia, India, and Sierra Leone. You can view their applications by clicking on the relevant links underneath the sub-heading “Grantees” in the sidebar of the Rising Voices wiki

Rising Voices aims to help bring new voices from new communities and speaking new languages to the conversational web, by providing resources and funding to local groups reaching out to underrepresented communities. Examples of potential projects include:

• Convincing a group of taggers or graffiti artists to transfer their medium of expression from walls of buildings to blogs, podcasts, and online video.
• Approaching a local NGO with the offer of training their participants to blog and upload video in order to document the NGO’s work and the community where the participants live.
• Distribute $10 digital cameras to two different groups of the same community and create a Flickr group where they confront each other’s photographic perspectives of their city.
• Distribute mp3 recorders to participants of a youth group and help them produce monthly audio documentaries featuring elders who describe how their community has changed over the decades.

I’d urge you to go apply if you have a project idea, or wish to run a pilot or an experiment, that will bring more people , especially those that are underrepresented, into the conversational web. What you will gain is not just the grant, but access to an absolutely wonderful global community at Global Voices Online, many of whom I know personally, and am sure will be willing to mentor you and guide you through your project. [disclosure - i'm one of the Advisors for GV]

Learn more about how to apply through this neat screencast David Sasaki has made, or at the wiki or download the forms at the announcer post.

There’s been some recent discussion around whether Word of Mouth and Viral Marketing are indeed different. In my view, viral marketing is the outcome of word-of-mouth recommendations. And it’s not surprising to see Asians rely a lot on word of mouth in this study from Neilsen that reveals some interesting trends:

- 7 of the top 10 markets relying heavily on word of mouth are from Asia, with India in the 4th position. Am not surprised by this – reputation and positive word of mouth are critical for success – and most transactions are done on this basis here. Manufacturer speak comes second.

- for advertising, 78% trust ‘consumer’ recommendations over newspapers (63%) and brand websites (60%).User opinion online (they call it ‘consumer opinions posted online’) comes in at 60%. Am wondering whether ‘recommendations from consumers’ and ‘consumer opinions posted online’ are really discrete.

- 73% of Indians trust advertising via these consumer opinions posted online … South Korea tops the list with 81% and some of the European nations are the least trusting

- blogs are trusted as a reliable resource for information in North America and Asia-Pacific more than in other regions in the world. Still, 62% in Asia-Pacific isn’t as high as we’d hope!

The tables below are reprinted from the press release. I’ve uploaded them into Flickr too.

Send your panties to Burmese embassies as a sign of protest for the atrocities being committed by the Burmese regime. A new wave of activism, Panties for Peace – a manoeuvre meant to embarrass and insult the Junta:

“The manoeuvre is a calculated insult to the junta and its leader, General Than Shwe. Superstitious junta members believe that any contact with female undergarments – clean or dirty – will sap them of their power, said Jackie Pollack, a member of the Lanna Action for Burma Committee. Not only are they brutal, but they are also very superstitious. They believe that touching a woman’s pants or sarong will make them lose their strength,” Ms Pollack told Guardian Unlimited.”

My friend Ange is in the process of setting up a blog for this too .. one of the pages that’s ready there is a list of Burmese Embassy addresses where you can send in your panties. A great way for women to protest!!!

Brief Edit: conversation in the comments to this post made me reflect .. there is lots for marketers and PR folk to learn from online activism that uses social software so effectively to gather community support – this is just one example. “Technology with heart” is how I’ve described social media in this context earlier!

Tags: burma, freeburma, burmaprotests, burmaactivism, humanrights, pantiesforpeace, panties, onlineactivism

A new video from Mike Wesch, who had earlier made the fab video, The Machine is Us/ing Us. Mike Wesch’s videos explore mediated culture, seeking to merge the ideas of Media Ecology and Cultural Anthropology.

In a blog post describing this video, Prof Wesch says:

It began as a brainstorming exercise, thinking about how students learn, what they need to learn for their future, and how our current educational system fits in. We created a Google Document to facilitate the brainstorming exercise, which began with the following instructions:

“… the basic idea is to create a 3 minute video highlighting the most important characteristics of students today – how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. We already know some things from previous research (and if you know of any interesting statistics, please list them along with the source). Others we will need to find out by doing a class survey. Please add whatever you want to know or present.”

A super example of Digital Ethnography! [thanks JP, for the link]

….. why weren’t any of these amazing ladies at the Women’s Forum? (apart from Anina and yours truly)

A day in an astrologer’s life by Jacqueline Bigar

A Girl Must Shop by Megan Garnhum

A Little Pregnant by Julie

A Luminous Halo by Cicily Corbett

Alkamar by Susan Reid

Allied by Jeneane Sessum

A Look at Art & Design: by Lisa Mikulski

angiemckaig.com: still a great pair of legs by Angie McKaig

Ask Dr. Kirk by Dr. Delaney Kirk

Average Jane by Average Jane

Back in Skinny Jeans by Stephanie Quilao

Bag and Baggage by Denise Howell

BlogWrite for CEOs by Debbie Weil

Blogaholics by Arienna Foley

Biz Growth News by

Brain Based Biz by Dr. Robyn McMaster

Brain Based Business by Dr. Ellen Weber

Brand Sizzle by Anne Simons

Branding &

Marketing by Chris Brown

Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk

Build A Better Blog by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff

Build a Solo Practice, LLC

by Susan Cartier Liebel

Cafe 360 by Towanda

Career Goddess by Susan Guarnieri

Cheap Thrills by Ryan Barrett

Christine Kane by Christine Kane

Church of the Customer by Jackie Huba

CK’s Blog by CK (Christina Kerley)

Communication Overtones by Kami Huyse

Conflict coaching and resolution for the workplace by Dr Tammy Lenski

Confession of a Marketing Addict by Sunny Cervantes

Conscious Business by Anne Libby

Contentious by Amy Gahran

Conversation Agent by Valeria Maltoni

Conversations With Dina by Dina Mehta

Corporate PR by Elizabeth Albrycht

Creating Passionate Users by Kathy Sierra

Creative Curio by Lauren Marie

Crossroads by Evelyn Rodriguez

Cruel To Be Kind by Nicole Simon

Customers Rock! by Becky Carroll

CustServ by Meikah David

Debbie Millman by Debbie Millman

Deborah Schultz

by Deborah Schultz

Decent Marketing by Katherine Stone

GourmetStation Delicious Destinations by Donna Lynes-Miller,

Designers Who Blog by Cat Morley

Design Your Life by Ellen and Julia Lupton

Design Your Writing Life by Lisa Gates

Diary of Claudine Hellmuth by Claudine Hellmuth

Diva Marketing Blog by Toby Bloomberg

Do It Myself Blog by Glenda Watson Hyatt

Dooce by Heather B. Armstrong

Downshifting - by Anne Howe

Driving Traffic – Carol Krishner

Eie Flud by Heather

Elise.com by Elise Bauer

Email Marketing Best Practices by Tamara Gielen

Emily Chang – Strategic Designer by Emily Chang

Enter the Laughter by Marti Lawrence

Escape Blog by Melissa Petri

Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim

eSoup by Sharon Sarmiento

Essential Keystrokes by Char

Every Dot Connectsby Connie Reece

EvilHRLady by Evil HR Lady

Expansion Plus by Sally Falkow

Fish Creek House by GP

First Light by Julie Keyser-Squires

Flooring The Consumer by CB Whittemore

Forrester’s Marketing Blog by Shar, Charlene, Chloe, Christine Elana, Laura and Lisa

Franke James by Franke James

Full Circle – Nancy White

Funny Business by Elena Centor

Fusion View by Yang-Amy Ooi

Get Fresh Minds by Katie Konrath

Get Shouty by Katie Chatfield

Getting Granular by Aimee Kessler Evans

Giant Jeans Parlour by Anjali

Great Presentations Mean Business by Laura Athavale Fitton

Hartsock Communications by Nettie Hartsock

Hey Marci by Marci Alboher

Hip art for playful hearts by Claudine Hellmuth

Horse Pig Cow by Tara Hunt

ifelse by Phu Ly

Illustration Friday by Penelope Dullaghan

In Women We Trust by Mary Clare Hunt

Inspired Business Growth by Wendy Piersall

Internet Geek Girl by Stephanie Agesta

Jane Geneva by Jane Geneva

J.T. O’Donnell Career Insights by J.T. O’Donnell

Jemima Kiss by Jemima Kiss

Joyful, Jubilant Learning by Rosa Say

Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog by Katya Andresen

KDPaine’s PR Measurement Blog by Katie Delahaye Paine

Kinetic Ideas by Wendy Maynard

Kristy T’s Home Business Blog by Kristy T

Learned on Women by Andrea Learned

Mkgmd – le mag du marketing multidimentionnel by Christelle Alexandre

Lifeblog by anina

Lindsay Pollak by Lindsay Pollak

Lip-sticking by Yvonne DeVita

Little Red Suit by Tiffany Monhollon

Live The Power by Karen Lynch

Living A Passionate Life by Diane L Dunton

Liz Strauss at Successful Blog by Liz Strauss

Lorelle on WordPress by Lorelle VanFossen

Making Life Work for You by April Groves

Marketer Blog by Leslie Jump

Marketing To Women by Holly Buchanan

Mary Schmidt by Mary Schmidt

Manage to Change by Ann Michael

Management Craft by Lisa Haneberg

Managing With Aloha Coaching by Rosa Say

Mandarin Design Daily:The MEG Blog by Michelle Goodrich

Marketing Roadmaps by Susan Getgood

Media Influencer by Adriana Lukas

Mediation Mensch – Dina Beach Lynch

Misbehaving by Dana Boyd, Hilde Corneliussen, Caterina Fake, Meg Hourihan, Liz Lawley, Fiona Romeo, Dorothea Salo, Halley Suitt, Gina Trapani, Jill Walker

Moda di Magno by Lori Magno

Modite by Rebecca Thorman

molly.com by Molly E. Holzschlag

Muddy Boots

Narrative Assets by Karen Hegman

Netdiver by Carole Guevin

On My Desk by Linzie Hunter

Orlando Avenue by Colleen Kulikowski

Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog by Peggy Payne

Poultry Discussion by Louise Manning

Presto Vivace Blog by Alice Marshall

Productivity Goal by Carolyn Manning

Purse Lip Square Jaw by Anne Galloway

Quality Service Marketing by Sybil Stershic

re:Invention by Kristen Osolind

Resonance Partnership by Marianne Richmond

Small Biz Survival by Becky McCray

Small Biz Trends by Anita Campbell

Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us by Jess Sand

Spare Change by Nedra Kline Weinreich

Susan Mernit’s Blog by Susan Mernit

Sweet|Salty by Kate Inglis

swissmiss by Tina Roth Eisenberg

Talk It Up by Heidi Miller

Tech Kitten by Trisha Miller

That’s What She Said by Julie Elgar

The Artsy Asylum by Susan Reynolds

The Blog Angel by Claire Raikes

The Brand Dame by Lyn Chamberlin

The Budgeting Babe by Nicole

the Constant Observer by Trish Grier

The Copywriting Maven by Roberta Rosenberg

The Engaging Brand by Anna Farmery

The Entrepreneurial MD by Philippa Kennealy

The Floozy Blog by Kate Coote

The Kiss Business Too by Karin H.

The Krafty Librarian by Michelle A. Kraft

The Marketing Mix Blog by Ilse Benun

The Parody by Sasha Manuel

The Podcast Sisters

this is rachelandrew.co.uk by Rachel Andrew

Toddler Planet by WhyMommy

unstruc chitchat about information by Daniela Barbosa

Veerle’s blog 2.0 by Veerle

Virtual Women’s Day Celebrations by Heidi Richards

Water Cooler Wisdom by Alexandra Levit

Wealth Strategy Secrets by Nicola Cairncross

What A Concept! By Sherry Heyl

What’s Next Blog by B L Ochman

Wiggly Wigglers authored by fellow Podcast Sister Heather Gorringe

Wonder Branding by Michele Miller

Worker Bees Blog by Elisa Camahort

Write Ideas Marketing by Andrea Morris

Ypulse by Anastasia Goodstein

Or the BlogHers?