S Anand

Tag your cables.

Watch TV shows online.

How to Exercise an Open Mind.

Why Don’t Ad Agencies Advertise? Comments Sai 4 May 2006 10:39 pm: Thats hogwash Anand. Just my opinion. Sudheer 5 May 2006 5:50 am: Seems more like a crib article more than one which gives answers… S Anand 5 May 2006 6:09 am: I wonder, though: isn’t it true that ad agencies, in general, don’t advertise? Why is that? Sai 15 May 2006 11:16 pm: Don’t you think the reason they do not advertise in mainstream media like newspapers & tv is that it is catered to the b2c crowd. But i have always thought that Ad firms do advertise in magazines and such read by decision makers, thought that was the case. S Anand 17 May 2006 12:27 am: Quite possible. Even so, it looks like they advertise less than other industries. And that is odd…

Paul Graham on The hardest lessons for startups to learn. So why do I spend so much time thinking about startups? I’ll tell you why. Economically, a startup is best seen not as a way to get rich, but as a way to work faster. You have to make a living, and a startup is a way to get that done quickly, instead of letting it drag on through your whole life. ...

The banana proves God’s existence. I think they’re serious.

Change management can be analytic, as opposed to touchy-feely. Our client’s operating margin was falling. The bosses wanted to offshore their back office. Others weren’t convinced. To manage this change, we needed three questions answered: Who’s not convinced? Why aren’t they convinced? What’ll convince them? Who’s not convinced? We plotted the level of support and importance of key people on the stakeholder support matrix. This split people into 4 groups (below). Then we showed it around to people and had them move people around on the matrix. ...

Misconceptions spread by textbooks. This site lists the facts, contrary to what most textbooks say about them. Facts: The ocean is blue because water is a blue substance. Not because it reflects the blue sky. The sky is blue because air is blue. Clouds actually remain aloft because they are warm inside.

Jakob Nielsen’s old write-up on how users read on the web. Actually, this is how people read anything. I write my e-mails, PowerPoint presentations, and Word reports this way.

Why I don’t use a registry cleaner

Sketchup (from Google) is now available for free download. It’s a 3D modelling tool.

The Long Tail of information sharing. Even on Wikipedia, fewer than 2% have contributed over 100 articles. Over 85% have contributed fewer than 5 articles. A Wiki inside an organisation is unlikely to reach critical mass, left to itself. Comments Arun 28 Apr 2006 6:10 am: But I imagine, many in the 85% probably contributed stuff that the prolific guys never thought of. For instance, I know one guy who put up something on Ananth Pai (Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha), and i doubt he probably ever added anything else. But you are right about wiki in an organization. Do you know an organization where a wiki has been used effectively? S Anand 28 Apr 2006 10:22 pm: No, not offhand. We were planning to recommend it at one of our clients’, but I’m not going to do that any more. sathish 30 Apr 2006 2:39 am: if the organization strength is large - runs into many thousands or lakhs - I think the required critical mass might be acheived.. for smaller companies and small teams too, it might make sense - since, every one is liable to participate - especially product documentation - it would be easier make/correct and change. Arun 30 Apr 2006 6:02 am: Ah, ok. S Anand 30 Apr 2006 8:45 am: A colleague just reported that his current client is successfully using a Wiki. So may it’s not impossible after all… Madhu 2 May 2006 12:24 pm: wiki is all about scale i think. The sergery brin special lecture at UCB is a case in point. You can access this at google videos

What Drives Bloggers? I think what most bloggers are doing is thinking out loud. It’s a little misleading to talk of “putting things into words,” because that implies the ideas come first. In fact, expressing thoughts creates them. And especially expressing thoughts to other people, even people you don’t know. So I think the reason many people like blogging is that they like the thinking it causes.

Why are you afraid of process? … we bristle when we’re asked for our weekly goals sheets, or when the boss wants us to use a database or when the insurance company requires docs to follow data-driven guidelines. We pass up the tenth novel by a successful author… because the process has become too transparent. And yet, in many cases, process is underrated. Process is your ace in the hole when your intuition stops working. ...

How to get Yahoo Mail Beta. Since I’m in the UK, I have it already. It’s excellent. I now actually check my Yahoo mail thrice a week, and feel happy while doing it.

The Great Google Float. Interesting article on how Google makes money by holding Adsense payments until it hits $100.

Create Google calendar events via SMS. Just SMS 48368 (in the US) with a message like “dinner tomorrow 7pm”. 48368? GVENT?

How to tie a bandage without it falling off. It’s in Japanese, but the video is pretty clear.

Pirates still exist. According to the International Maritime Organisation, 266 committed or attempted acts of piracy were reported last year. Although this was a lower figure than in 2004, in part because many small-time pirates died in that December’s tsunami, risk experts say that a more brazen, violent and organised strain has emerged. Pirates are said to have injured or assaulted 152 crew in 2005; they abducted 652, of whom 11 are still missing. They hijacked 16 ships; a tug and a barge are unaccounted for. ...

Top 10 Windows XP tips of all time. Comments Ashwin 3 Sep 2006 10:43 pm: hey….nice set of links u have here…btw…the xp link is down i think…and i’m gonna try the torrents thing… the calvin search is awesome except for the fact that u can’t read the stip immediately….but its real good….thanks… S Anand 4 Sep 2006 6:59 am: Thanks, Ashwin! I’ve fixed the Windows XP tips link.