Google SideWiki - What do you think ??

I am not a google fanboy, (well i work in microsoft, so that makes sense) but cant help saying that they come out with interesting products. The latest in line is the Google SideWiki . It comes with the google toolbar and is basically a sidebar which allows you to post comments about the site. The comments that you make are connected to your google account and so there are no anonymous comments. Plus the comments that you make are also sorted according to relevance so that the topmost comments make sense. It works with IE and Firefox currently and also allows you to share your sidewiki exploits via Facebook and twitter.Pretty cool right ?

However this has managed to irk some people. The content is owned by google and not by the website. So you cant modify what will appear to be a part of your site and google will effectively change the appearance of your site. It also can eat away at the monetization models of some sites. Plus the potential of having derogatory/inflammatory comments on sensitive topics is also something people are concerned about. Leading the charge is Jeff Jarvis the author of What will Google do ?

I think its a pretty interesting development. It takes a step further to socialize the web ,however i think the concerns of people like Jeff jarvis need to be answered. Well what do you think ?? Do you think Google's moving away from its "Do no evil" motto ? Or are you excited by this latest goolgle exploit ?? Let me know for sure.

Your ideas are your new resume

A lot of people at my office ask me what's twitter ? And what's the big deal. Most of the times i have given them the usual microblogging definition, but most of them were not convinced. And also i wanted to convey why i am so interested in tweeting and the whole social media thing. Then suddenly it struck me its a way for me to share and come across ideas. That is why i am so excited about this. I love thinking aloud something on twitter and then have a great discussion with my tweeps. I come across new things, terms and perspectives.

Which brings be to the point i am writing this blog, Your ideas : How you polish them , present them and whom you discuss them with is your new resume. It may not be mainstream right now, but i have seen instances of this happening. A good presence on the web in terms of blogs, forum discussions etc allow potential employers to get a peek into your thought process and depth of knowledge. Which ideas you tweet or blog about and how you conduct yourself on the websphere while may not be always enough to land you a job but it will definitely get people interested and imagine the width of the audience - potentially the entire web.

That is why i was quite impressed by brazencareerist.com .Not only they focus on the traditional way of marketing yourself, they also encourage you to share ideas through your blogs and friendfeed. And its available to everyone. People can read your ideas and then comment about it. Finally a site i guess which combines your professional and social networking perfectly. The interface is also not as drab as linked-in (no disrespect intended) . And it will definitely appeal much more to today's 20-somethings.

Anyways, so back to my point, your ideas are your new and improved resume. Get them out, refine them and let them do the talking for you. So that's whats so amazing about twitter , getting your idea out in precisely 140 characters to potentially the entire world and thats why i tweet, my friend .

Why do i need a college degree ?

After 4 years of college and nearly one and half years of working, i havent yet found out how what i learnt in college was useful to me in my professional life. Everything i learnt in my college i easily could have learnt from the right book or from the millions of how to tutorials available on the internet. Most of my friends work on technologies that weren't on our college curriculum ,which was probably last updated in 2001. I guess this is the case with most colleges. Take any field, what is is that a college degree gives you which you couldnt have learned on your own. Its more probable now than say 15-20 years ago, what with the amount of knowledge that i available to us. All you need is a laptop and a broadband connection.


Critics to this idea may point out to my total disregard for teachers. My counterpoint to this is that i believe hands on training is much better than pure pedantism. Also with the web we have easy access to people with the same ideas and interests. Facebook groups and tweeps could replace your traditional classmates.

Then specially in India comes the question of jobs. Why will a company hire someone without a college degree. What i suggest is nothing new, introduce an internship program and give your intern/apprentice sufficient time. He will be as useful to you as any college graduate you hire after six months and also you will have a chance to correct a mistake if you hired the wrong person.

I still understand the reason for degrees in something like medicine, you cant directly intern at an hospital after a self reading of Grey's anatomy but does the same hold true for a computer programmer or even in the field of management.

Do you think i am wrong or you agree with my ideas. Do let me know.