Rahul Writes

Now a day that I am getting busier than ever, I am getting less time for doing two things in particular: spend time on social networking sites, and to read articles which provide me good food-for-thoughts. I am still spending quality time with my near and dear ones, and I do read books regularly; and this brings the equation to some interesting inferences. Is life better with or without social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, or Googleplus? I happened to read two very enticing articles today; one is on the extreme and the other is rather a sane voice:  

The first news says, “Internet hacktivist group Anonymous has urged to destroy Facebook on 5th of November”. I thought it would be interesting to read their allegations hence I read through the buzz, and here is something which was agreeable to some extent for most users (IMO):   

“Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family.” 

“It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent.” 

“Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.” 

“Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook. Engaged.” 

Read complete piece: http://www.buzzom.com/2011/08/anonymous-urges-to-destroy-facebook-on-november-5/  

Not that I support hacking as a means to achieve some goal, but I do understand their concerns about lack of privacy and denial of choice and consent. The concern is real.  

On the other hand, I found a very interesting article on the HBR Blog Network. Whitney Johnson uses most of the social networking sites and she sees the whole thing in a very different perspective:  

“According to the jobs-to-be-done framework, whenever we buy something, we are hiring the product or service to do a “job,” the job being a problem we want to solve or a way to advance toward a better self. With few exceptions, every job that people want done has emotional, social and functional elements. Let’s start with what I presently hire social media to do: 

1. Help me find my personal voice and get published.

2. Help me be found professionally.

3. Help me stay in touch with people I like, even though our lives don’t currently intersect.

4. Help me expand my network.”  

“While technology can hinder progress by making us hyper-connected, distracting us from those we love, and helping us avoid our to-do list, the important job of technology in general, and social media in particular, is to facilitate human connection, to expand our social circles and strengthen our in real life relationships. That’s true progress — a job we all want done.” 

Read complete piece here: http://blogs.hbr.org/johnson/2011/08/what-job-does-social-media-do.html  

While this second article puts up facts and features in supporting the positive role of social (or socio-professional) networking sites, I wonder why we can’t have best of both worlds. Why can’t we do all good things with the social-networking sites, and yet don’t face risks of lack of privacy which websites like Facebook have inherent in them?  

I think ideally the power should be in the hands of the users; sites like Facebook should provide us with features that we demand. But in reality I feel the power is still in the hands of the websites and users follow what is offered to them. This is why I feel the arrival of Googleplus (or Google+) is a good sign in my opinion. Given a serious competition, the s/n sites like FB will not have to look at what users really want (or fear), rather than throwing features and apps at the ever-amazed (or addicted) audiences. I believe the competition amongst social-networking sites will try to bring us to a situation where the users’ fears and demands would be genuinely addressed. And then, there won’t be any need for a hacker group to claim righteous-hacking of websites like Facebook, to teach them a lesson.  

© Rahul

http://rahulbemba.blogspot.com/2011/08/role-of-social-networking-sites-in-our.html

Mother and I were on a morning walk. We noticed that a cow was on the same path behind us. It would be about 6.30 in the morning. Mother started walking fast to escape the cow, but the cow was quick to follow. The cow was a clean one; she was white and very beautiful. After some time, we saw the cow entering the main gate of a neighbour’s home. The cow had a child like enthusiasm as she went through the entrance. We learnt that every morning the landlady of that house used to feed that stray cow with bread (rotis). That was why the cow was coming to her house that morning too. I thought about the cow. Every morning she would wait for the time her owner would release her and then she would run for that lady’s house. It should be more than the food because since the cow wandered all through the day, she could find better food elsewhere. I thought that it should be the love and reception that made the cow come to the house every morning as a routine. Then I also recalled how the cows which would be taken long distances for grazing (by cowherds) would travel back to their homes every sunset, all on themselves. So cows have memory, cows have discipline and routine and cows understand love too. And the motherly aspect of cows is unparallel; a cow would clean her children with her tongue and gentle mother cows would turn ferocious to protect their babies. It pointed towards an alternative world of cows living on this earth, with their complete lifecycle. And then there are so many other animal species too.  

On so many fronts, these cows are far better than us. On routine, punctuality, and discipline, they are better than us because of their nature. They are gentler and less violent than us. On character traits like loyalty, love, devotion, reliability, or perseverance, they score far better than we humans. I realise that there is more to this world than meets the eye…  

- Rahul

We have been subscribing to this magazine for a long time now. Just thought to share it here since many of you may not have heard about it and would find it interesting.

Published by Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashram, Raipur, this magazine comes as a Hindi monthly. At preset it is in its 46^th year of publication.

It has many regular columns, starting from one which is from the pen of Swami Vivekananda himself on contemporary issues in India; then there is one running discussion on one character at a time from epics like Ramayana or Mahabharata, and it also includes one very interesting column called "Ma ke sanidhya me" as I remember, where people recall their experiences in meeting Ma Sharada Devi, the holy mother and wife of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. It regularly features the letters and communication by Swami Vivekananda as well as people recalling their experiences in meeting or communicating with him, both in India and from abroad. There have run columns and articles from great men and women like Sister Nivedita also. Another very interesting column is where sadhus share their personal experiences while travelling across India. Some of these experiences shared are very touching and come with divine messages.

Every time I go to home, I search for the shelf where mother keeps last issues of the Vivek Jyoti. Experiences are beyond ex-pression. You can take the annual subscription for convenience. This may be a perfect gift to your friends also, since when it came to Vivekananda, even the world bent down to respect him. No young Indian could remain but be influenced by the seer intellect and charisma of Swami Vivekananda. A proud Hindu and a true nationalist ' we wish every Indian could become like him one day

In the times when our media bombards us with some corrupt communication aping from other cultures, such readings are becoming rarer day by day. Also, in the time when we see a lot of us Indians being ignorant of our own religion Hinduism, such magazines are torches which show us the way.

Subscription details are as follows:

India: Rs 60 yearly, Rs 8 single copy, for institutions: Rs 90 yearly, Rs 400 for 5 years, and Rs 1200 for 25 years.

Abroad: 15 USD annual, 200 USD for 25 years (airmail) and 100 USD (sea mail)

Demand Draft: 'Ramakrishna Mission', payable at Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Address: Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Ashram, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492001

Phone: 09827197535, 0771-2225269, 2224119 (8.30 ' 11.30 am, 3-6 pm)

The picture shown here is a snap from one of the pages, written by Swami Vivekananda. At places, the language Hindi may be difficult for those who are not very comfortable with it, but there is something that comes from purity too. I hope some of you would find it really interesting and life changing.

In critical times, each of our values is tested. And what can be a time better spent than 'talking' to some of the greatest men and women our mother India has produced

By (Think Tank)

(Kumar Rahul Tiwary)