Tweeps Remember Tsunami

On hashtag #2004TsunamiMemories tweeps poured in with memories of one of the worst nightmares of Sri Lanka.

Here are some select tweets - that blends all the emotions (the good, the bad and the ugly), facts and impact on Sri Lankan society. I guessed this is way better than a detailed blog.

Its a disaster which thought us that beautiful things can be devastating at times too. #2004tsunamimemories
— Muhammed Sabith(@Sabithl) December 26, 2012

My #Tsunami experience srimahasen.blogspot.com/2011/05/2004.h… #Tsunami2004
— DJ Slash™ at Y FM (@yfmdjslash) December 26, 2012

A friend of mine became a victim. Luckily her father later found her among the dead bodies in a hospital, unconscious. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Janu K (@Janujedi) December 26, 2012

I witnessed so many decaying bodies were pulling out from the Peraliya train and it still gives me goosebumps...:/ #2004TsunamiMemories
— Hiyal Biyagamage (@hiyal89) December 26, 2012

#2004tsunamimemories Volunteering and diving in sea for dead/lost bodies after Tsunami is one of memories I will never forget.
— N ⚓ Thomas (@Yaaluwa) December 26, 2012

For the rest of the world it's Boxing Day. To us it's Tsunami day. Ravaged beaches and lost souls. Moment to Reflect and move on.#fb
— Mili (@milindat) December 26, 2012

Went to Galle for cleanups after 2 weeks of Tsunami - We cleared up a whole school in the town #2004TsunamiMemories
— Nadheera Udawatthe (@nnulk) December 26, 2012

Proud to have been part of a great job of sending clothes, meds & dry foods to affected areas by the SL Girl Guides. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Gayathri (@GSenev) December 26, 2012

@cioconatsl Went to Kalmunai to see the affected area's and was dumbstruck at the extent of the damage.. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Muhammad Nasir (@MoAwesomeSauce) December 26, 2012

My beautiful cousin and her hardworking single mom were at the Matara church when the waves hit. They didn't make it. #2004tsunamimemories
— Himal Kotelawala (@himalkk) December 26, 2012

#2004TsunamiMemories - I had engaged in relief work for 7 days. Such life transforming event -isura.biz/2012/06/happy-…
— isura(@isura) December 26, 2012

අත් ටැක්ටරයක කොස් පොල් පුරෝගෙන අපේ පාරෙ ගියා සුනාමි ආධාර දෙන්න..ඒ ඒ මිනිස්සුන්ගෙ උපරිමය වෙන් ඇති.#2004Tsunami #2004TsunamiMemories
— indika kumara (@indika27) December 26, 2012

සුනාමි අස්සෙ මැරුන මලමිනි සමග ලිංගිකව හැසිරිලා තිබුනා සමහර මිනිස්සු..දුම්රිය අනතුරෙත් හෙම වෙලා තිබුනා.. #2004Tsunami #2004TsunamiMemories
— indika kumara (@indika27) December 26, 2012

Simple test on been happy

2012 is almost done with. A time for reflection and celebrate success.
What I've found interesting during the year, I have blogged here.

And I was reflecting on the most important learning of the year. Let me share it with you.

If you want to make others happy, be happy with your self first, no matter what.
If you are not happy, forget others.
Dig deep in to the reasons why you are not happy and make a list. That's a start.

Let 2013 be your happiest !

Yours truly,
isura

pic credit: IBushuev

Celebrate small wins

First start at individual level - that is with you.

Nothing motivates and energizes you better than the simple realization of ' I am making progress each day.'

We take small wins for granted - a conversation that went well or a small progress in a project that was stuck. These small wins counts each day. They add up to Victories.

But mind is tricky, it forgets because we adore big endings. Hence keep a list - better keep a diary.

You have to do it Every day before you leave office.

Pic Credit: Image Source

Email is not your work

We are not paid for the number of emails we read, or assessed on how many replies we hit.

Email has become a place where we spend a lot of time.

But on real terms, email is an enabler for better decision making. Yet, it is not work.

We should focus on the output. If we finish, package and ship, that is out put. Then we should see how much of an impact that output makes. Do a simple test - if the impact you make is low. Go backward from impact to output to number of emails you respond. I did, and at one time, was hugely surprised.

Few things I did successfully.

1. Check emails once every 2 hours. Not having email opened in the browser all the time.
2. Prioritize and star emails by skim reading. Then make a day plan and see which work needs to be done during the day. And then have a list for sending and replying emails.

Pic credit: nicolas hansen

Anything.lk & Groupon making headlines

First it was Anything.lk been acquired by Dialog, on 10th Dec 2012 - Dialog buys 26% of anything.lk

Then few hours back, a rumor mills around Groupon, that it might be bought in by Google. And the CEO of Groupon refuses to comment.

This post from Nov 2011, provides context on why daily deals startups like Groupon starts nicely and then slows down - Groupon shares continue to free fall.

2 reasons put forward: Was it the ill timed IPO, or fundamental error in business model? For further insight, play 5 minute video below.

Wanna pitch Sri Lanka? Share this.

It is long been told about the power of user generated content, opposed to colossal budgeted promotional/branding work, where a team puts everything, except passion for what they promote.

Above is a perfect example. Product is a video. About Sri Lanka. Done by Max Kegfire (a tourist I guess).

Would there be any other perfect material than this for us to promote our country?

And the song in back ground is 'paradise' by Cold play. Paradise...hmmm...

UPDATE: 25th Jan 2013
Apparently youtube has blocked this video as the video uses 'paradise' track from Cold Play. So the video above will be having a different sound track. And if you really wanna see this with 'Paradise' you can still see it at Vimeo. Here goes.

We Go Sri Lanka 2012 from Max kegfire on Vimeo.

How can YOU be your HERO ?

This movie gets a review from me, just after seeing the trailer. Very seldom that happens. The following is taken from movie web site.

Finding Joe is an exploration of famed Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s studies and their continuing impact on our culture. Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids, the film navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person. Rooted in deeply personal accounts and timeless stories, Finding Joe shows how Campbell’s work is relevant and essential in today’s world and how it provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life – or as Campbell would simply state, how to “follow your bliss”.

Market for old PCs and feature phones

I took this pic at a shop, which is at the centre of Piliyandala, last week. If you look close, right in the middle, you can see a very old PC, something that you saw in 1990's, is up for sale.

128 VGA - 1,000/=

It took me a while to digest.

Then I remembered a story an Indian colleague shared a few weeks back.
In India, very old feature phones, with damaged screens, have a huge market among the blind community. I asked ' how can a blind person use a phone?'

I felt small while listening to the answer. Abundant and amidst a sea of smartphones we take these stark realities for granted. There's a world out there, cut out from basics. It's time for us to think big - in seeing the big picture, not necessarily big in thinking.

On eating mindfully

" A crust eaten in peace, is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety " ~ Henry Thoreau

Eating a meal can be a pleasant relaxing experience. But eating in a rush ruins that experience. I had times, when I could not tell what I had for lunch, after 2 hours of consuming it.

Mindfully eating can make a huge difference. Simple things in life gives you energy. This insight was dawned after this experience - Eating rice, only rice

Pic credit : Atli Mar Hafsteinsson

Ideas Vs Execution

Friday night, I had a 3 hour long discussion with one of my most admired mentors.

I asked him few questions about entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. Here I Share few of them, as they were really helpful for me.

Q - I talk to many Sri Lankan youth, and they have some good ideas. How do you think of these ideas? Is it worth pursuing them?

A - I would say we have good people with good ideas. I even see brilliant ideas that can go global. Ideas is not the problem. Execution is the problem.

Q - What does that mean? Does that mean I should be realistic in generating ideas? 

A - No, you can dream big, but lot of big ideas do not see the day light. Why? because many don't think of the How. Prime example is Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg did not had the idea of a social network, but his 2 friends did. The 2 friends went around talking to people, funders, etc, because they were passionate about idea. Zuckerberg simply took the idea and made it work. He was a doer. And he beat the pack. What Zuckerberg did was not right. Later he settled out of court with his 2 friends. Message here is - he who won, was the doer -who worked fast and loved a product, instead of been obsessed with an idea.

Food for thought for the week end. Do you agree?

Pic credit : Blend Images/Jon Feingersh

App revenue: Android taking over iOS.

Really?

Yes.

Comparatively on YoY basis. (October 2011 - October 2012).

During this period Google Play Store (android) revenue grew by 311% ! while Apple App store(iOS) sales grew by only 13%.

Not really?

Still with that growth , Android total app revenue is one fourth of iOS app revenue. Apparently the gap is getting closer each month.

And on free downloads: Android grew by 48% and iOS just 3.3 %. Significant number for Android, yet no impact on revenue.

Apple and Android now claim having 700,000 apps each in their app stores.

Where is this leading Sri Lanka?

1) Android is cheaper, far reached to rural communities in Sri Lanka, than iOS. Fusion's 'Smart Village' project gives us greater insight of app requirements in rural landscape.

2) Many wanna be and expert android developers are available in Sri Lanka. Many are concerned about not been able to monetize their apps.

3) And...Google Play store is not launched in Sri Lanka yet. But Google officially launched a office in Colombo recently. Hopefully things seem to fall in place.

Pic credit: ryccio

SOCL - the social network of Microsoft

I am in. My Socl profile here.

Dummies guide here.

My initial feeling checking around So.cl was : "Pinterest in windows 8"

Why Microsoft in social media?

Few weeks ago Microsoft emphasized 'social search' on Bing, as a reason to use Bing.

Now comes a social network that is explained as ' share your search, discover new interests &  start a video party'.

I don't get why I need to share a search. I don't need to go to So.cl to find new interests, and video party? I mean Google+ hangouts is the only feature Google+ can out perform Facebook, and that too for Google did not worked well, still. So not impressive Socl.

Future?

Having said that, internet is a funny place. I was over the moon with Pinterest, instagram and tumblr and posterous, when I started in. Now, hardly log in to them. Life is too short, to be in too many places. But you may never know. It's still early hours for Socl. Rupture can come from anywhere. What's your thoughts? 

Pic credit: copied from some where in Socl.

Innovative non profits ! Why not?

Innovation is something found in for profit sector. More risks, more innovations, more returns.

Non profits in the other hand, are more careful.

Seth Godin did a wonderful post on  'Non profits have a charter to be innovators.' He reasons from non profit point of view, as to why non profits do not innovate as they should be.  

One reason: "We're doing important work. Our funders count on us to be reasonable and cautious and proven, because the work we're doing is too important to risk failure."

One alternative: "We're doing important work. Our funders count on us to be daring and bold and brave, because the work we're doing is too important to play it safe."

The thing about most cause/welfare non-profits is that they haven't figured out how to solve the problem they're working on (yet). Yes, they often offer effective aid, or a palliative. But no, too many don't have a method for getting at the root cause of the problem and creating permanent change. That's because it's hard (incredibly hard) to solve these problems.

My life as a social entrepreneur throws me challenges of both the reason and the alternative.

Seth's full post here.

Pic credit : Doug Ross

Sri Lankan crusade on Facebook

There are many hate mongering posts on FB - done by a few, spreading like a virus - all camouflaged as 'in the name of saving their respective religions.'

And recently there are anti-hate posts popping up too. It's a religious war front, fought through emotions. We all know what these emotions lead to. I was born in 1981, and I am bitter about such nonsense.

I can do only one thing - quote Ajahn Chah.

" All religions are like different cars all moving in the same direction. People who don't see it like that, have no light in their hearts "

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Related article:
- No action for spreading religious hatred on Facebook - IT Pro

Pic credit : Dorling Kindersley

World AIDS day - What does it mean?

I knew facts about HIV disease. But I never knew the deep social, economical and cultural aspects of AIDS in Sri Lanka, until I watched 'Swara' a movie with Nita Fernando in lead role. I had the rare opportunity to watch the movie before it hits the screen (Unfortunately the film is yet to be released). She asked for my critique, instead I thanked her for her sincere effort to put a humane Sri Lankan touch in to a much debated issue plaguing us. Coming back from the movie, I felt ashamed of my lack of understanding on Sri Lankan context of AIDS. Then I studied on it.

Do you know some poor women in this country, who work as sex workers to earn a living (labeled/tabooed as 'prostitutes') get raped 20 times or more in one night?

Can you imagine the human tragedy?

Many praise Thailand for its' 'professional' sex trade (tourism). Sri Lanka is also testing viability to follow those steps. 

And I am alarmed to see the global campaign for AIDS is spearheaded by a contraceptive producer. What does this mean? Does it mean ' Have sex as much as you want, but remember to purchase and wear a condom? '

Now you may argue, then what authority Reebok has to sponsor Cricket. Yes, but you see, Cricket is not a disease which decides very stability of human race. AIDS is very dangerous, spreading and lurking around us in broad day light. 

Why no PR campaign in the world, requests for curb in sex trade? Why there is no discussion on how to control harmful rage of lust at individual level? Do we have enough understanding of the issue?

These are just few thoughts and questions in my mind. I am no way an authority on AIDS, but a humble being living in a complex combo of a society where sex is celebrated as a 'thing' to consume/purchase just as we purchase tooth paste from a grocery store.

Pic Credit : extracted from Facebook