Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts

Thursday, June 20, 2024

20: Nalanda

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Thursday, June 06, 2024

6: India

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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

29: Gandhi

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Wednesday, May 22, 2024

22: Modi

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Monday, May 20, 2024

India 2024

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Saturday, July 01, 2023

1: India



How Can ChatGPT Provide Recommendations For Improving Website Design And User Experience?
How Can ChatGPT Suggest Optimization Techniques To Improve Website Speed And Loading Times?
How Can ChatGPT Analyze Website Traffic Data And Provide Recommendations For Improving Website Performance?
How Can ChatGPT Conduct Keyword Research And Suggest The Best Keywords To Target For SEO?
How Can ChatGPT Generate Content Ideas For Blog Posts, Social Media Updates, And Other Marketing Materials?
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Refusing To Pay (Short Story)



Deepak was a middle-aged man living in the bustling city of Mumbai, India. He had seen his fair share of changes over the years, as technology infiltrated every aspect of daily life. But one thing that always puzzled him was the way people in the West clung to their cash, even in the face of advanced payment systems. He considered it a thing of the past, a relic of a bygone era.

One sweltering summer day, Deepak found himself in a narrow alley lined with food stalls and eager customers. The tantalizing aroma of street food filled the air, mingling with the sounds of chatter and sizzling oil. As he strolled along the bustling street, his eyes landed on an American tourist standing in front of a colorful ice cream cart.

The American man, clad in shorts and a loose T-shirt, carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. Deepak furrowed his brow, perplexed by the sight. In India, cash transactions had become increasingly rare. People simply whipped out their smartphones, scanned a barcode displayed on the vendor's cart, and completed the payment through digital wallets. It was quick, convenient, and left no room for error.



Intrigued by this oddity, Deepak lingered nearby, observing the unfolding scene. The American approached the ice cream vendor, who had a small mobile payment terminal next to his display of frosty delights. A confused expression crossed the vendor's face as the tourist extended his hand, offering the cash for the ice cream.

Deepak couldn't help himself any longer. He stepped forward, catching the attention of both the American and the vendor. With a friendly smile, he said, "Excuse me, sir. I hope you don't mind my curiosity, but we usually pay using our smartphones here. It's faster and more efficient. Would you like some help?"

The American looked surprised but grateful for the offer. "Oh, thank you! That would be great," he replied with a hint of embarrassment. "I'm not used to these mobile payment systems. I guess I'm just an old-fashioned cash guy."

Deepak chuckled warmly. "No worries. It's fascinating how our payment methods differ across cultures. Let me show you how it works."

Deepak took out his smartphone and opened his preferred mobile payment app. He swiftly navigated through the options and generated a barcode on his screen. Holding the phone toward the vendor's terminal, he scanned the code, and a satisfying beep confirmed the successful transaction.



The American watched in awe as the transaction took place within seconds. "That was incredible! So efficient and convenient," he exclaimed.

Deepak nodded, pleased to share a bit of his culture with the visitor. "Indeed, it has become an integral part of our lives. It saves time, reduces the risk of carrying cash, and offers various discounts and rewards. Plus, it helps in creating a digital record of transactions."

The American fished out his wallet and tucked away the cash. "You've opened my eyes to a new way of doing things. I guess it's about time I embraced this digital era."

With a newfound appreciation for the benefits of mobile payments, the American bid Deepak farewell and indulged in his chosen ice cream flavor. Meanwhile, Deepak continued his stroll, content that he had helped someone understand the changing dynamics of a cashless society.

As he walked away, Deepak couldn't help but smile, knowing that he had bridged the gap between cultures and made a small difference in the life of a stranger. It was a reminder that even in an increasingly interconnected world, there was always room for learning, understanding, and embracing new ways of doing things.

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Friday, June 30, 2023

30: India



How Can ChatGPT Help Create And Implement A Social Media Advertising Strategy?
How Can ChatGPT Analyze Data To Determine The Most Effective Social Media Ad Formats?
How Can ChatGPT Suggest Ways To Use Data Visualization To Improve Data Analysis?
How Can ChatGPT Provide Guidance On How To Use Chatbots For Customer Support?
How Can ChatGPT Help Create And Manage An Influencer Marketing Campaign?


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Thursday, June 22, 2023

China/India



How Can ChatGPT Suggest Ways To Use Quizzes And Surveys To Engage Customers?
How Can ChatGPT Help Create And Implement A Thought Leadership Campaign?
How Can ChatGPT Provide Guidance On How To Create Effective Case Studies?
How Can ChatGPT Analyze Competitor Data And Provide Recommendations For How To Differentiate A Brand From Competitors?
How Can ChatGPT Suggest Ways To Use Webinars To Generate Leads?

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Thursday, May 18, 2023

18: India, Russia, China

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Friday, March 10, 2023

Apple Producing In India Is A Big Deal

For a long time India has been a promising country that simply did not deliver. That is now changing. There are thousands of tech startups that prove the point. But the move by Apple to start iPhone production in India is a huge symbolic step. That is Apple saying India seems to have done its homework.

India needs a huge manufactuting base to create the large number of jobs it needs for its huge young population. The intractable labor and land laws mean most Indians end up in what gets called the "informal sector." There is a lot of entrepreneurship going on in that informal sector. People do so much with so little. It is heartwarming to see many of those street vendors take digital payments seamlessly.

Google getting an Indian CEO was a big symbolic step. Microsoft getting an Indian CEO was a big symbolic step. That CEO taking Microsoft from 200 billion to over a trillion was big. The recent ChatGPT move on the part of Satya Nadella has been huge and symbolic. And now this move by Apple adds to that momentum.

The two biggest democracies are attemtpting sync.



Apple begins making the iPhone 14 in India, marking a big shift in its manufacturing strategy

Rewriting the Rules of Audience Targeting The way people and tools are handling personal data is fundamentally out of sync with the new privacy-focused world. .......... what if we could personalise advertising without systematically collecting and exposing personal data? ....... The ad industry is fast approaching a crisis point. Cookies are disappearing, mobile IDs are vanishing, and consent rates are falling. This is an existential threat, not just to internet advertising but to the internet in general. If advertising fails, then business models supporting the open internet will fail, professional journalism will struggle, and the internet as we know it will be swallowed up by the walled gardens. ........ the pervasive surveillance of our every move online can no longer continue. ....... a high-level understanding of what publishers needed, a good grasp of privacy rules, very good knowledge of technology and tons of ideas. The canvas they were using to draw the building blocks of what would then become ID Ward (now Anonymised) was truly blank. ......... They spent months absorbing information from all corners of the advertising world, learning the jargon, diving into the tech, figuring out which tools were compliant and which were marketing a lie. They found that regulatory compliance isn’t sexy enough to sell, that companies were happy to break the law if it meant hitting revenue targets, and that leadership was hard to find. In short, they learnt that the industry was, well, a bit of a mess. Convincing a huge, chaotic, fragmented industry that they had to radically change the way they treated data was always going to be difficult, but the need for change was greater than they originally thought and time was on their side. .......... a mission to decouple personalised advertising from personal data. ........ make digital advertising fit for the future and protect advertising business models that support a free, independent internet. There is a direct connection between brands’ ability to speak to consumers online, the ability of journalists to report facts to the public and our right to be informed from a plurality of sources without breaking the bank. ......... without all of the snooping and systematic privacy invasions that are currently rife in the advertising industry ........ By replacing people’s personal data with anonymous datasets across the entire digital advertising ecosystem .



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Thursday, August 04, 2022

4: Bangalore



Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, voicing U.S. 'solidarity' as China fumes "Our congressional delegation's visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy," Pelosi said in a statement shortly after landing. "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy." ....... Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday before her arrival, and Chinese state media said People's Liberation Army would hold exercises near Taiwan from Thursday through Sunday. ........ Several Chinese warships have also sailed near the unofficial dividing line since Monday and remained there ........ Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide the island's future. ....... During a phone call last Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Biden that Washington should abide by the one-China principle and "those who play with fire will perish by it". Biden told Xi that U.S. policy on Taiwan had not changed and that Washington strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. ........ Bonnie Glaser, a Taiwan expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told reporters in a call that the damage to American-Chinese relations done by the Pelosi visit would be hard to repair. "We all know how bad this relationship has been in the past year. And I just think that this visit by Nancy Pelosi is just going to take it to a new low," Glaser said. "And I think that it's going to be very difficult to recover from that."

The rouble is soaring and Putin is stronger than ever - our sanctions have backfired Western sanctions against Russia are the most ill-conceived and counterproductive policy in recent international history. Military aid to Ukraine is justified, but the economic war is ineffective against the regime in Moscow, and devastating for its unintended targets. World energy prices are rocketing, inflation is soaring, supply chains are chaotic and millions are being starved of gas, grain and fertiliser. Yet

Vladimir Putin’s barbarity only escalates – as does his hold over his own people.

................ To criticise western sanctions is close to anathema. Defence analysts are dumb on the subject. Strategy thinktanks are silent. Britain’s putative leaders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, compete in belligerent rhetoric, promising ever tougher sanctions without a word of purpose. Yet, hint at scepticism on the subject and you will be excoriated as “pro-Putin” and anti-Ukraine. Sanctions are the war cry of the west’s crusade. ............. The reality of sanctions on Russia is that they invite retaliation. Putin is free to freeze Europe this winter. He has slashed supply from major pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 by up to 80%. World oil prices have surged and eastern Europe’s flow of wheat and other foodstuffs to Africa and Asia has been all but suspended. .......... Britain’s domestic gas bills face tripling inside a year. The chief beneficiary is none other than Russia, whose energy exports to Asia have soared, driving its balance of payments into unprecedented surplus. The rouble is one of the world’s strongest currencies this year, having strengthened since January by nearly 50%. Moscow’s overseas assets have been frozen and its oligarchs have relocated their yachts, but

there is no sign that Putin cares. He has no electorate to worry him.

.............. They want to bomb Russia’s economy “back to the stone age”. ......... The assumption seems to be that if trade embargos hurt they are working. As they do not directly kill people, they are somehow an acceptable form of aggression. They are based on a neo-imperial assumption that western countries are entitled to order the world as they wish. They are enforced, if not through gunboats, then through capitalist muscle in a globalised economy. Since they are mostly imposed on small, weak states soon out of the headlines, their purpose has largely been of “feelgood” symbolism. ........... more than 30 sanctions “wars” in the past 50 years have had minimal if not counterproductive impact. They are meant to “intimidate peoples into restraining their princes”. If anything they have had the opposite effect. From Cuba to Korea, Myanmar to Iran, Venezuela to Russia, autocratic regimes have been entrenched, elites strengthened and freedoms crushed. Sanctions seem to instil stability and self-reliance on even their weakest victim. Almost all the world’s oldest dictatorships have benefited from western sanctions. .............. Putin’s response to the sanctions imposed on him since his 2014 seizure of Crimea and Donbas. Their objective was to change Russia’s course in those regions and deter further aggression. Their failure could hardly be more glaring. .......... the toughest ever imposed on a major world power, may not be working yet, but will apparently work in time. They are said to be starving Russia of microchips and drone spares. They will soon have Putin begging for peace. ............ Russia is “slowly adjusting to its new circumstances”. Sanctions have promoted trade with China, Iran and India. They have benefited “insiders connected to Putin and the ruling entourage, making huge profits from import substitution”. McDonald’s locations across the country have been replaced by a Russian-owned chain called Vkusno & tochka (“Tasty and that’s it”). Of course the economy is weaker, but Putin is, if anything, stronger while sanctions are cohering a new economic realm across Asia, embracing an ever enhanced role for China. ............ Meanwhile, the west and its peoples have been plunged into recession. Leadership has been shaken and insecurity spread in Britain, France, Italy and the US. Gas-starved Germany and Hungary are close to dancing to Putin’s tune. Living costs are escalating everywhere. Yet still no one dares question sanctions. It is sacrilege to admit their failure or conceive retreat. The west has been enticed into the timeless irony of aggression. Eventually its most conspicuous victim is the aggressor. Perhaps, after all, we should stick to war.

Republicans’ agenda for a second Trump term is far more radical than the first Rather than sideline federal agencies, Republicans want to seize control of them, purge civil servants and replace them with America First footsoldiers .......... the intention to strip away employment protections from thousands of senior civil servants, eliminating at a stroke a large chunk of the civil service’s expertise and institutional memory. ......... Often, it seemed like Trump considered his own government to be more useful to him as a political foil than as a tool in his hands. Trump appeared to have decided there was little point to trying to actually control the “deep state” when he could instead portray himself as its victim. ........ The people at the heart of the movement today are more likely to idolize the Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán than they are Ronald Reagan. .......... the recent overturning of Roe v Wade provides a blueprint for how a compliant conservative judiciary can enable government officials to take away even the most fundamental of human rights. ......... With the Department of Justice finally under control, the next Republican president would be free to launch criminal inquiries into political opponents. The brutality of immigration enforcement would be sharply increased while environmental regulations would languish unenforced. Rightwing extremists would go unmolested while American Muslims had their rights abused. Corruption and venality would become rampant across the government as checks and balances were removed and inexperienced hacks had their first taste of power. .......... today’s conservatives act more like revolutionaries. And like all revolutionaries, they want to seize control of the state and launch an offensive on as many fronts as possible.

Sunak closing gap on Truss in Tory leadership contest, poll shows Foreign secretary’s lead down to five points in latest poll of party members, after 24-point lead a fortnight ago ........... Truss on 31%, Sunak 29%, and more than 30% saying they did not know.

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