Taxonomy of Facebook Users - Which Type are you?

Sometimes I think there are just two types of facebook users. Those who play Mafia Wars and the rest of us who have still preserved their own sanity.

But observing a little more closely, you can categorize almost every user in a fixed category. Here is my first cut at the list.

1. The Chirpy

They are generally happy people on Facebook. They share their smiles when it rains. Or the joy of a cup of tea on a Sunday morning. They want the world to know if they are humming a tune from 1960s. These people are annoyance but only a little. Many a time their status updates make me smile. So no hostile feelings to them.

2. The Braggers

These people primarily do only one thing on Facebook. Brag. If they did a world tour, they want to brag about it by sharing about a couple hundred photographs. If they ran a marathon, they want everyone to appreciate. They also show the symptoms of the first category by trying very hard to make the world notice them and their achievements. Which makes them a little more annoying than those above.

3. The Grumpy Whiners

This category really pisses me off. These are the people who think only they have all the problems in the world. If their professor gave them a tough assignment on which they had to spend the night, they would be complaining on Facebook at 4 in the morning. If they had to work on a weekend, they would spend more time on Facebook complaining about it than actually working. I have just two questions for them. Why are you seeking the entire world's sympathy everytime you run into a little problem? And second, do you really think anybody gives a f**k about your problems? Grow up.

4. The Habitual App'ers

These guys live on Facebook only for one reason. To try out Apps. Some freaking psychic named Tara or Zelda or whatever the hell. Some Farmville little people. Gangsters in Mafia War. Crazy cabbies running amok in the city. You name it. And they have tried those apps. The best thing is that you can hide these games once and for all. This makes them a little less dangerous and annoying than the other categories.

5. The Wise Guys

These are not the 'wise guys' from De Niro's movie. They are the people who come up with wise thoughts and update their status messages. Most of those status messages are good and entertaining. So no complaints here.

6. The Attention Seekers

These people update their status message with lines that you can never understand without context. For example 'Why does it have to be that way?' 'Can you believe it?' 'I am so sad' and so on and so forth. And that's their strategy. They deliberately keep the context out of their first updates. And then when people start asking questions, they start revealing bit by bit. They are plain attention seekers who want the world to ask them about themselves.

7. The Occults

These people update their status messages with bizarre messages. Sometimes messages in some exotic languages which they know nobody else knows. I just have one request to them. If you want to do it, fine. But please just translate it in plain English as well so that we don't have to ask you everytime what it means.

8. The Knowledge Sharers

They love to stick interesting links into their status updates. I am sort of one of these people. So I show an obvious bias towards this category and will refrain from bashing these. However, comments are welcome.

Which Facebook User are you?

P.S. All the sarcasm and pun in this post are intended. But please do not take it personally. It's just friggin' Facebook. Who cares?

The magic of Quota!

The Supreme Court upheld the OBC quota in educational institutes supported by the Government. Only consolation for the supporters of Merit over Caste was that the 'Creamy layer' was kept out of the quota system.

Congratulations Mr. Arjun Singh. You successfully carried out your agenda. In the world that is moving at lightening pace and values nothing but intellect and hard work, the quota system in my opinion is a step backward. But for UPA government, the corroboration from SC could not have come at a better time. With 6 states going to polls in coming months, UPA government will be hailed by the people who will reap the quota benefits as 'The saviors'. Well, not exactly saviors. More like deal makers for them. After all, the government has cut a good deal. 'We will give you quota in jobs and education, you give us vote and bring us to power.'

As someone with a keen interest in Political scenario in India, I must confess that UPA has some of the most cunning and crafty political brains. Starting from Sonia's so called sacrifice of the Prime Minister's post, Chidambaram's thousands of crores of loan waivers to farmers, 'venerable' Mr. Arjun Singh's recent attempts in quota system; all these events are cold bloodedly calculated to pull votes. And my hunch is that they will succeed in their attempts to get back in power. In the general assembly elections to come, I can see UPA reaping the sweet fruits of their labor and winning the elections once again.

As if the division of people based on the religion was not enough, now the UPA is bent on creating a rift between people based on their castes. I wonder why other countries which are economically more successful than India never had the necessity to impose such affirmative actions. Why in US we see no discrimination based on race?

-Is merit really secondary to your caste?
-If an economically middle class or lower class bright young student who can't afford to pay for the NRI or payment seats is deprived of higher education and at the same time if someone from quota system is allowed, is this fair?
- If you can waive farmers' loans, why can't you give economic incentives to the OBC or other castes if you feel they have been wronged in the past.

These questions are age old and many anti-quota activists, a lot more vocal than me, have tried their best to avert this rule. But I felt it a moral responsibility to give this issue a space on my blog.

Thanks UPA for leading us back to the past. Your definitions of progress are indeed unique.

P.S. No hard feelings for any one based on any caste. I DO NOT believe in caste system and that is why I feel there should not be a divide based on it.

Where did you go?

I remember the times when
You and me were together
Where did you go my beloved
Can I not have you back?

Those parks and those slides
How we used to swing against the winds
Those stories and those songs
All faded in the darkness of past

Time heals so they say
But hurt is what it has given me
I want to halt this speeding life
And go back in time to meet you

I call out to you O' my Childhood
Where did you go?
Was it maturity who defeated you
Or was it you who betrayed me?

Whose fault is it?

(Indian IT Software and Services Industry US $ Billion)

AT WHAT COST ?

"We are under pressure, we need to push the limits and need to work harder. Guys (including gals), let's make sure we work at least 14 hours a day for sometime."

This is a dialogue from a project manager which should be familiar to all who work in Software Industry in India. The pressure never reduces. Days don't become shorter than 14 hours ever. And in a city as unsafe as Banglore and Delhi, women IT employees are the ones who suffer because of such attitude of management.

In 2005, a female employee working in HP at night shift was raped and murdered. In what can be called an eye opening judgment, the Karnataka High Court gave its verdict against Som Mittal who was HP's CEO then, charging him of negligence under Shops and Establishment act.

People might argue, a meager sum of Rs. 1000 as fine for Mittal as a punishment for a human life? The argument is indeed valid. The punishment is hardly anything in all practicality. But an important underlying issue is that the court recognized this as a problem and decreed that it is indeed a partial responsibility on the part of top bosses.

Many Indian IT companies have what I call pathetic HR practices. And I say this as I have worked in this industry for more than a couple of years and seen it happening. People are forced to work for 12-14 hours a day regularly and sometimes even more. The weekends are virtually non-existent. Woman employees are pressurized to work till late nights and even stay over night in the name of imminent delivery of product.

I have seen some project managers who would peep into an employee's mail box and would comment on personal mails if they see any. A newly wed friend of mine asked for a transfer because her husband was in another city. And the answer she got from the manager was, "You got married is your problem, not mine. I won't let you get a transfer"

Foul language, accusations, loud yells at the subordinates - all this is not a scene in any manufacturing shop floor. These are the scenes in a posh, centrally air conditioned and neat office space in a software company.

Who's to blame in this situation? Employees who are not committed to their work? Project managers who are constantly under pressure to get results? Sloppy hiring practices from recruitment? Senior management?

I see the problem manifold.

1. Top management is too obsessed with profit margins. They are so greedy to grab a deal that to reduce the cost estimates in a proposal, they would literally put half the effort actually required. What does this translate into?

'I will give you only 10 person months even though I know that you will need 20. Motivate your team and make them put a little more effort', says the project manager to a team leader. A little more effort? You are asking the employees to work double time.

I have seen this happen when I was a Project Lead for a project.

2. The top bosses set impossible targets for all the departments. So what do you do? You hire more people. But when you are given a target of hiring almost 4000-5000 employees in a quarter, your recruitment practices become sloppy. The talent level of work-force is compromised. And then you expect a mechanical or a civil engineer to pick up the pace in software development in a month or two. Is this realistic?

3. Middle level managers and team leaders are in a non-enviable position. They are pressurized from the top and even if they empathize with the employees below them, they are helpless. But what they should do is resist the force from above and at least make an attempt to shield the employees beneath them.

My plea to all such companies,
Before it is too late, please wake up and implement employee friendly policies. Don't treat employees as machines or slaves. If you want to spend time on the golf course and five star hotels' swimming pools, give at least a little time for the employees to take their meals with their families once a day.

P.S.
I do not want to mention any company's name here and if someone wants to infer my previous company by other means, I am not responsible. I have tried my best to protect my previous company's identity in this post.

HP Boss Guilty: Article link at
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hp-bpo-rape-case-exboss-guilty-of-negligence/
59537-3.html

Image Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/adsections/indian/infotech/
2001/software_bar.jpg

Blessings

I take a deep breath and inhale the fresh air deep till the lungs cry out 'No more'.
The clouds are sailing in the background of a light blue sky.
The trees are divine after a sacred bath.

I look up to the heavens and say, "Touch me O' Almighty. Bless Thy child."
And I feel the drops of rain streaming down my face.



[Image Source: http://www.praktica-users.com/img/pics/
mk_raindrops.jpg]

An Inquiry into necessity of Religion in society

Why do we need Religion? This question could not have been more relevant at any time than it is today. Today the world faces crisis under the pressure of religious fanatics. Hundreds of lives are being taken every day in the name of religion.

In these times of turmoil, we stop and ask ourselves, ‘Do we need a religion at all?’ I am reading a book named ‘Breaking the spell – Religion as natural phenomenon’ by Daniel Dennett. I do not place this book among the high quality thought stimulating material. But it did provide some useful insights into the rationale of an atheist. Dennett is more of a scientist – a proponent of evolution theory and Darwinism. He views everything from the point of view of Darwin’s theory and tries to fit the argument at hand into the Evolution theory. Therefore his arguments are almost always based on Darwin theory. The motivation behind this post is not to critic Dennett. I might write a critic on the book sometime later. The objective of the post is to present my thoughts about the need of religion in a society and why people follow religion.

1. To teach us to be good, just and loving to each other.

Although there will be a faction of people who would not agree to this, in general, I believe almost every religion has this foundation. To teach people to be good, just and loving to each other. The fundamental message that the religion is supposed to convey is the overall good of humanity and peace. Most certainly, we can say that there is no religion which is founded on the basis of hate or violence.

2. To teach us how to live our lives beautifully.

They act like cookbook solution to making our lives happy. They teach us good practices. They spread the message of happy living.

3. To give us shelter in the name of intangible and invisible ‘Almighty’

Sometimes, we do not have answers to complicated questions of life. We can not understand why the fate is so cruel to us. We do not have a way of knowing why our loved ones depart. We are upset with ourselves. We are upset with the whole world. The God or Almighty is the answer to all this. We say it’s the Almighty’s will. At least, it gives us temporary respite.

4. To help us achieve ‘Moksha’ (Salvation) after death

Most religion describe the goal of humans as to achieve ‘Moksha’ or salvation. Although we do not know what lies behind the closed opaque doors of death, we always long for a beautiful ‘after-life’. Salvation from the circle of life. Nirvana.

5. To give the follower a sense of belonging to a group

Herd mentality. It gives us a sense of belonging to a larger group. We Hindus. We Muslims. We Christians. It makes us feel stronger. It has ramifications of both nature. Good and Bad. People gather and pray in group. On the other hand, people also form cults and indulge in unacceptable activities. People form mob and spread riots or commit hate crimes.

6. To help keep people away from crimes and anti-social activities

‘Thou shalt not kill’ as the bible says. Killing is bad. If you hurt someone, God will never forgive you. As if the God is omniscient Supreme Court Judge who has absolute discretion and power. Even though nobody is watching, we do not steal. Because we are taught that ‘God is watching you’.

[Image Source: http://www.wisegorilla.com/images/worldreligions/S_S_world.GIF]