Food for Thought.....

"A devel­oped coun­try is not a place where the poor have cars. 

                                                         It’s where the rich use pub­lic trans­port"
I have heard this quote for so long, but I never knew the source of it. Recently, this came across and I was so curious to know the person who has said this because it turned upside down, my assumptions about a developed country. So I googled. Normally a developed country brings to our minds clean drinking water, great schools, reasonable jobs, lack of corruption, clean environment, fabulous infrastructure etc. But this single line takes us to a new horizon.

The genius mind behind this quote is Enrique Penalosa a  for­mer Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. Though this is just single line there is so much of depth in it. It is not only about travelling or development he is talking there, but the benefit of sustainability. The rich use public transportation' means that physical infrastructure has to be so comfortable, efficient and accessible to all the sections of community that even the richest (who can easily afford luxury) are compelled to use it. Using less cars also indicate towards less fuel consumption, implying environment conscious citizens. Development is not about having tall buildings or extensive road networks. It has come to be defined as having zero energy buildings, and public transportation. Laying concrete on earth is not natural and not going to help environment.

Someday in the future, perhaps all the world’s countries will be “developed” and each human will own a classy car. Do we have enough fuel in this world to run the engines of all these cars? Do we have enough space to build all the highways, underpasses and roads? Consider for a moment, some of the world’s wealthiest cities — London, Paris, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Mumbai and their ways. The majority of the population travels through a massive public transport system of trains, metros, trams and buses. Owning a car maybe a point of pride but is often limited in its usage due to the difficulty car driving can be in choking traffic. It is of no surprise that the mass transportation systems of these mega cities are more than a matter of showing off the pride. They keep the cities efficient, fast and therefore growing.

Imagine how much time everybody saves when a 2 hour journey is cut down to 20 minutes.
Imagine how much space the city saves when 100 people fit into one coach instead of on 100 cars.
And imagine how much fuel that one coach saves compared to a 100 cars!

We all are runners of an endless race. No one knows what is the destination but we are all keep running. our goal is to have a sophisticated run as fast as possible. While running no one cares what is happening to others.The development also like the same, the technology is getting more and more advance everyday. Brand new concepts come to stores one after the other. We our the ultimate consumers with insatiable hearts to grasp whatever available out there. How we think is, bigger the quota ahead we are. But in the reality bigger the share bigger you lose.

So think wise, before using!!!

Wish type you are?

‎What is a wish? What does that deliver? 

There are many ways that man can wish for himself or someone. Wish, my belief is an act that expresses the desire of a soul for himself or others. Human mind is an amazing  source of energy which has a huge effect of things that is happening and is yet to happen. 

My attempt today is to discuss what are different ways of wishing and their effects.

Someone might wish himself or another party deep inside his soul yet will not express it.

In another scenario someone will have a wish  ‎for himself for others and will express himself.

Other two types aroused with the development of technology, invention of social media. Where your PDA or reminder or profile notify you that it's the anniversary or a birthday of someone. People are not alike. They have different state of minds and memory power. 

Someone might forget it and will do a genuine wish once you are enlighten with thanking to social media. It's only the reason that he couldn't recall the event. And then there's another party who might have to check the person's profile to recall who the person is and how he or she is related to him. But his or her wish will be the most glamorous which is not genuine.

So, where does the validity of true wish stand?

Justice and equality

A controversial topic I would say. Equality is treating every aspect irrespective of its specialty. Treating every human being without any consideration like race, nationality, religion, skin color, cast or political perspectives would be equality. Yes, it is true that we are in a diverse environment with different types of people. Remember this does not mean that we have to discard those differences. But after realizing the diversity can we treat everyone equally ? The answer would be an obvious "No". Then the problem would be how to define the clearcuts, what to be considered, what to be ignored and  whom should decide. Series of questions with no clear answers. 

If we focus on justice keeping all the endless questions aside, Justice is simply everything treated properly in the proper order irrespective of what or who it is. So, does the diversity in the nature bring barriers to Justice? Do these justice and equality coincide? 

I think this picture says it all. 

Equality will not be the best option when it comes to some situations. But where to draw the line? Eliminating equality for justice is not where corrupted politicians roam freely or released on bail while a random citizen who stole few thousands is jailed for years. I think this is where the true wisdom comes to the play, we humans are the most intelligent species, if we have the power to recognize the diversity don't you think that God has not given us the ability to act? This where we all stumble. Social norms, culture, power, law and regulations all comes one over one. But if you can put humanity among all of them I think the answers would not be that far.

Are We losing it??

As we enjoy this festival season, I think this is the most appropriate time to have a glance at our festivals. Being a catholic, the most festive occasions for me are Christmas and Easter. Christmas being closer to the year end and being a marketable event as we all witness has become commercialized. From December first we can feel the christmas-phere in everything around us that is economical. Either it's a shop, television ad or any other Christmas has influenced the way of life commercially rather than spiritually which it supposed to be though Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country. Being a kid of 90s I do not know what Christmas should look like as we all are born to the era of open economy. We may think that giving away an extra T-shirt we have or give someone something to eat would be more than enough for the sake of spirituality. But still none of the actions will touch the greater depth of Christmas.

Comparing to that I guess for whatever the reason that Easter is saved still. The noble causes of the Easter is still untapped by the mercantilism world.  But if we take Vesak to the consideration, though it is also a religious festival which observes the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha’s, it is sad to see that the true meaning of the festival has become obsolete.  Only few of praiseworthy practices are still remaining within the society.

Now the question is Awurudda (Tamil and Sinhala New Year). I wonder how many people knows why the events 'Kana muttiya','Aliyata aha thabeema' exist, or the in depth of meaning of the games and rituals.  New Year  is a glamorous and memorable event for all Sinhalese and Hindus. The harmony, coexistence plays a vital role there. It is a season where we feels the warmth of bonds and families but the sadness is slowly I'm witnessing it being commercialized as well. Slowly but steadily.

Will our next generation see the Aluth Awurudda just like the way I saw commercialized Christmas or will it be preserved?

Social media or phobia

Technology develops rapidly in every aspect we need. The one we get and heard today is outdated in a month. Development has effected a lot to habitual of human kind. It took so long to deliver a message to some one in the same village as either you have to walk all the way or a tangible object has to reach the destination from your point. But now the message is delivered to the other end of the world the moment you press enter in your keyboard or you are heard when words released from your mouth. 

Technology developed and social media came into action as time for people to interact and communicate with each other as competition increased. We the WTF(whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook) generation uses this social media immensely. But the strange thing is the youth seems to work for social media. Not for the moment they live on. The status update, profile picture, cover photo, tweet have become more important than the companionship. Instead of living in the moment people now lives in the timeline. 

Connecting the people is the motive of having social media, but what matters is not the quantity, no of relationships are not to be count but the time we can spend with them is. What if we loose the grip of real friendship and companionship while we are all busy with making friends online. What if we do not have time to look up and grasp the moment as we busy with looking at screens. 

This life is very short, and it is very plain, it up-to us to paint it with memories and make it colorful. But better to be remember it does not mean a colorful timeline, but a colorful ad vibrant life indeed.

Atheist or not, still you need a some guidance...

Human always tend to mend his life patterns in accordance to the nature he lives in. Unlike other creatures it is not merely escaping from death in a danger. Not only the fight for survival. As he has a brain, a power of imagination, an amazing memory and a brain that takes decision, he needs guidelines to have a scope or to transform his lifestyles or rather take a better decision which of course effects not only his but also his surroundings or may be the existence or coexistence of the whole universe.

From where does the guidelines come? Man should have morals and they are basically based on his surroundings. His or her family, relatives and most importantly his or her religion. May be the effects of culture or civilizations has lead to a situation where there are many religions where it seems the values are different but deep inside it's the same. But to explore to that level or to be enlightened up to that level a person needs to have a certain level of intelligence where we can't expect every human to posses. Many people therefore tend to assess the religion they follow. Making it superior to other religions where deep inside the story is the same. 

Meantime some people believe that there's no need to follow a religion till you do good to others. But how do they define what is good or bad? They need a certain guidance till they set up there principles as well. Only religion can provide such guidance. After Eisenstein came up with one of his greatest discovery of the theory of relativity, we as humans try to apply it in every possible scenarios. But we have to understand that there is one scenario which cannot coverup with such theories, that is where the truth lies. Even as a linguistic practice we say "the" truth, because there can  be only one truth exists. Finding this truth and live up to it is what religions try to do.

Recently I've heard that someone is saying that he is not believing in God, yet he believes that there is some kind of power around us. I believe that power is what the ultimate truth or the right doings which explains by the prophets of  each religion. So simply the religion saves us from the hard part. we do not need to dig in deep to find the facts religions have done it for us. 

You must be an atheist whom believes the non existence of the God, but no one can deny that there is an ultimate truth lies somewhere which we need to know to makes our lives better and as well as this whole world. We have n right to judge anything. But in simple terms loving each other making their lives  beautiful should be always admire no matter what you worship. It will help you to find the truth  we all are seeking.

That Love which saved us

Good Friday, the day Catholics cherish the memories of sweet Jesus where he sacrificed his life on a cross in a way that is recognized ‎as how top class murderers are sentenced to death. All because of the sins of human kind as Catholics believe. The greatest sacrifice ever is remembered year after year, for sure till the end of the world. But is it only the love of Jesus that we have to take into our lives? As a catholic I'd like to mention few characters who went through a real lot for the salvation of mankind.

The first name comes to my mind is Mother Mary. Let's forget Mary being the m‎other of Jesus. A mom who searched for 3 days in church when her son was lost, a sweet girlfriend being pregnant before marriage and went through a lot of social drama, a mother giving birth to her first child in a manger, a wife traveling for days to save the life of Jesus and family seeing his child being crucified half naked. Yet she was unable to express her feelings. How much would she went through inside because of love?

The lady saved by Jesus when people were taking her to be killed as she was a prostitute. Her savior is taken away to be crucified but she is helpless. Managed only to give a relief to Jesus by wiping blood, dirt and sweat away from the holy face though for sure she wanted to do more. Even to save her guardian angel.

Apostles on the other hand are in a real dilemma. Their passionate leader is taken away. But they can't do anything. Master did not want to fight as well. Peter refused Jesus. Yes true. But realized it and then should be wondering what to do.

 Even Pilate, tried his best to save Jesus but he couldn't manage.

The love we have for others can be expressed. And you will be loved back. But there are moments where you love the world but you are helpless that you can't show it. You even cannot let the other party who needs that love and compassion feel it no matter how much you are desired. Keep trying. Keep Loving. The love you have do not have to be heard or shown.

"Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine."

How did complexity become the evil villain, simplicity a hero?

Complexity is not bad always. Even the world is complex and our tools must work in that world, so they must match it. People need complex tools, products, and services.

People does not want simplicity. How do I say? Because when offered a choice between something really simple and something that actually accomplishes things people wants done, even though more complex, they will chose complexity.

On the other hand we do not wish to be confused, puzzled, and frustrated by our tools as well. People misunderstand that complexity leads to confusion. No, it doesn't always.  This is the role of good design to make complex things simple to understand and easy to use.

When we talk about simplicity, we need to ask how "simple" is being judged from what point of view. Elegant, special-purpose tools are always simpler than complex, multi-functional ones.

Why is it that the tools of the crafts worker always seem simple and elegant? Consider woodworking, gardening or sports such as camping, hiking, and mountain climbing. All of them have simple, straightforward tools. Then why must our electronic tools be so complicated? Now you can say the above comparison is misleading as it is not fair enough to compare such totally different domains.

But the real complexity does not lie in the tools, but in the task. Skilled workers have an array of tools, each carefully matched to a particular task requirement. It can take years to learn which tool goes with which task, and years to master the tools. The tool set is complicated because the task is complicated. Looking at the visual simplicity of the tool is misleading. The mark of the great designer is the ability to provide what people need without excessive complexity.

Make things understandable and they are perceived as being simple. It is the job of the designer to manage complexity with skill and grace, to ensure that complex things are understandable, usable, and enjoyable. The mark of the great designer is the ability to provide the complexity that people need in a manner that is understandable and elegant. Simplicity should never be the goal. Complex things will require complexity. It is the job of the designer to manage that complexity with skill and grace.

Simple can be a siren just as easily as it can be a signal. Good simplicity is less with leverage, not less with less. Good simplicity is complexity disguised, not complexity denied. Don't give in to stupidity when creating simplicity.

The Language is the Mainstream.....

Who defines a country? Us...
Who defines a nation ? Us..
Who writes the anthem? Us..
Who defines the language? Us..

So if it all about us, Does it fair for us to say that this the right and this is wrong. where the validity lies then?  Why we act like this? It is all due to our barbaric thoughts of racism.  Some think comes as  the ultimate output of the human evolution. It is for our own escapism we are saying like wise, and trying to build a rationale behind it.But it is all a myth.

To understand why the idea of race is a biological myth requires a major paradigm shift. And for me, it's like seeing what it must have been like to understand that the world isn't flat. The world looks flat to our eyes. And perhaps I can invite you to a mountaintop or to a plain, and you can look out the window at the horizon, and see, "Oh, what I thought was flat I can see a curve in now." And that race is not based on biology, but race is rather an idea that we describe as an aspect of biology.

People see racism only with their cultural lens. The race is a cultural construction, that we really are fundamentally alike. It's our politics, it's an old ideology that tends to separate us out.

If we take kids as an example they always love to have some common humanity, they never discriminate, they always work together, play together as one. So why we adults, cannot  smash down the walls between us and say no to racism.

So, my simple question is,  do you still bother whether it should be in Sinhala or Tamil? 

Aut vincere aut mori - Either conquer or die!!

Just over a decade ago, Skype transformed the way we communicate. The Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) tool became so popular as people embrace the ability to video chat with friends and colleagues halfway across the world.Microsoft would have never put their money in the business if it is not about having millions of users all around. 

Then, challenging the might of Skype, Google also launched a competitor called "Hangouts" in May 2013. It takes lots of courage to step in to the red ocean like that knowing there will be a high chance to be drowned. Yet, it is Google; the State of Art Company of future technology is what we are talking here. They never think twice when it comes to innovation.  With a risk or not, they are the revolutionary generators of many disruptive inventions.  

Why yo choose Google Hangouts over Skype?

You can keep on listing, but I think below two would be the ones which matter the most;                                        

Its free. Now you may say “So is Skype.”  But it is a Yes, and no. Because Skype is only free for one-on-one video conferencing, but for group video conferencing at least one member has to have the paid subscription. But Hangouts allows for up to 10 users to video conference at a time (15 if you are a google+ premium user).

Apps make it more easy. Google may have the edge on Skype when it comes to the apps that are available on Hangouts. The tool offers full integration with a wealth of other Google services, including YouTube, Google Docs, SlideShare and Google+ Games.

However Skype still remains a brilliant VoIP tool for doing what it has always done best: long-distance calls over the internet. Despite its once in a while poor video quality, installation is easy and people can communicate via desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone where Google Hangouts requires users to have a Google Plus account which, while free, is another layer of red tape for the occasional user.

Even though both offer impressive functionalists, Skype’s free service is too limited to consider as a business tool. That is why Google shines more in the corporate world.  

But I believe Skype still has the chance to counter Hangouts ready made apps if Skype Translator proves good enough for people to communicate with foreign business heads.

But what Google Hangout  teaches us is, never be afraid for giants and they will fall out have faith in you potential :)

Today's Marketing

Today I thought to write something about how marketing was used to be and how it is now. Because, he approaches, the strategies have been evolved alot throughout the time. 

Earlier days,  main focus was  Transactional marketing which  was aimed at individual transations (or one-off sales), rather than at creating a long standing customer relationship. But now with the evolvement of marketing, organizations are more concern about Relationship Marketing. 

What is Relationship Marketing? 

In simple terms, without only focus on enhancing the product it gives the same priority to enhance the customer relationship as well. Keeping customer retention, building customer loyalty and maintaining a high level of customer service are some of the key highlights of Relationship Marketing. 

In marketing books you can find about even four types of relationships. They are, 

Alliance Relationship                                                                                                      

Partnering Relationship

Transactional Relationship

Co-operative Relationship

If you ever think why the orientation have been changed, it is simply because of the competitiveness of the market. Everyday a cool product appears somewhere in the world. To being ahead of the business it is must to retain the existing customers rather trying to create new ones. To accomplish that, focusing on Relationship Marketing is vital.

Relationship Marketing, from the point of view of the supplier-customer dyad, is all about the supplier improving the quality of the customer experience. Although some customers still rate low price as the key factor in determining their satisfaction level, most of others rank service level. Specially since products become more and more similar in terms of their features and benefits, the differentiating factor between them would  be the level of service accompanying the product. 

To get the essence of Relationship marketing you have to directly communicate with the customers and ask them to respond in a tangible way. Only then you can look forward to fulfill the response and lead a prospect to a partner. 

So, to win the race,

Try to obtain the loyalty earlier

Maintain the consistency 

and

Commit to continual renewal!!