All posts by Chaitanya Dhareshwar

Chaitanya Dhareshwar, a Technocrat | CIO. Member of various key technology and management organizations (IETF, ISOC, CSI) with 14 years of technology management & advisory experience has transformed companies from "stone age" to "space age". I build high-scale, self-sustaining, self-service platforms. Passionate about technology, innovation and creating killer opportunities that only great tech can bring. I've led teams from 5 - 150 people, and am hands-on with all forms of technology.
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Tamasik, Satvik – what does it all mean?

In Indian tradition, the terms Tamasik and Satvik come up every now and then. The average person may know the usage / common meaning of the terms, but the true essence of this tradition is lost, in my opinion.

It’s not just Tamasik and Satvik. There’s more ‘alignments’ – is how I call these.

Tamasik – The most base and material form, something that benefits at a physically visible level only. An example would be a crash diet or a botox treatment – it’ll make you look pretty but that’s it; there’s limited long term benefits. And no depth to it. You get what you see.

Aarthik – Things that have a deeper meaning. It’s not just what you see on the surface, but the benefits derived at a tangible, yet subtle level. A balanced diet would be an example of this – the effects are not instantly perceivable but the long term benefits of good overall health are notable. Exercise is an excellent example of a Tamasik activity which has other Aarthik benefits to it.

Satvik – A subtler, more ‘essence’ related implication. In simple terms it’s the little things that are easy to miss but are absolutely essential for existance. Vitamins, or drinking adequate water would be easily understood examples. The effect will usually not be instantly visible, but the absence thereof can result in significant side-effects.

Bramhik – Levels above Satvik in a more spiritual sense. This gets tricky to explain in a non-religious manner, but I’ll try… This has more to do with the underlying things we take for granted. It’s the core difference of ‘Life’ vs ‘Living’. Following Brahmik principles not just result in good health, but can also strongly, positively influence those around. Regular meditation (which relieves stress, reduces friction in day-to-day life) or self-enhancement through deeper learning – the benefits of these are impossible to quantify. Their absence probably wont kill you – but presence thereof can result in a huge change in quality of life.

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The Raw form of immortality

Maybe you rubbed a lamp and got a genie out of it. 3 wishes you say.

“Genie, I make my first wish! I wish… for IMMORTALITY”.

How will you verify that you’ve got the “ideal” scenario as per what you wanted?

I think there’s several forms of immortality. But I have difficulty in believing the logic of an “immortality serum” or “I wish for immortality!” or suchlike. Let me explain what I mean. I think the easiest way to define it would be though the ‘level of comfort’ each form of immortality offers.

The most fundamental, if you will, is one that permits you to live forever. So I guess survival through the memory of others is one way to do this; create an event so awesome that you’re remembered forever.

The next kind perhaps is one that allows the brain to survive forever. Let’s call this Scenario #1. Presumably this would some limitations: Aging will continue, so past maybe the 80s you’d be a decrepit walking corpse suffering from the troubles of aging – endlessly, until consumed by disease or physical damage. Perhaps even after this the brain would continue to function – so being buried would mean you’re stuck in a dark box forever, or being burned would mean you actually feel the burning & pain as your brain is destroyed by the fire… I.e. possibility of a post-death suffering scenario.

Painful & distasteful. I agree. But this is likely the most primitive and most basic form of immortality possible (if at all it is possible).

The next – more comfortable form – Scenario #2 – is likely one that prevents aging. Of course disease and accidents can still cause death (in which case the post-death suffering scenario can still happen). Also you won’t get to choose your body’s effective age; if you consume the immortality thing at age 80 your body would remain 80 for as long as you live.

An even more comfortable form – Scenario #3 – of this would preventing aging and include immense regenerative ability. That is – injuries would heal rapidly, and infinite protection from virus, cancer, auto-immune disorders or other life threatening diseases and conditions would be granted. This is the one they speak of in works of fiction like Highlander of course.

Now… Imagine you’re given a vial of clear fluid and told “This is an immortality serum. Drink it and be immortal!”. What would you do?

Or to be more specific – how do you verify the claim of immortality granted by the serum? Would you take the risk of (for example) killing yourself to verify if it works? What if you end up in scenario #1 – stuck at the bridge between life and death until every neuron rots away?

On the flip side, if you choose not to undertake the “risky self-assessment” – and instead have a test subject imbibe the substance for you, how many years will you wait before you’re “sure”? And in that case if you wait till age 80 (and are convinced when your test subject does not age or die) – will you then quaff the pretentious potion yourself and risk a Scenario #2? You know – the one where you remain the same age as when you drank the serum.

What would YOU wish for. And if you did chance upon the desire to live forever, what would you do when you find your loved ones dying around you – and then 100+ years in the future start seeing your kids, grandkids, etc fading away before your very eyes.

Sucks to live forever, don’t it.

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A Dharmic Discussion

I was discussing about the 4 classes defined in the Hindu dhrama as traditionally followed. My friend was under the impression that the Brahmins are priests, Kshatriyas were kings, Vaishyas were merchants and Shudras were lowly servants.

In my mind, this is a drastic oversimplification-to-the-point-of-stupidity. In fact the whole meaning of Hindu heritage is lost if this is the foolishness being taught / spread by the so-called modern ‘educated’ common man.

Now here’s the truth as I understand it. Naturally this may not agree with your perception… That’s fine, it’s my thoughts alone.

Brahmins are fundamentally the intellectuals. As we know today, this includes doctors, teachers, philosophers, theologians – keepers and givers of specialist knowledge. Quite clearly these are the most respected group of people in today’s world irrespective of religion.

Kshatriyas are fundamentally the politicians. I don’t mean the corrupt bucket of greed that we see around – a real Kshatriya would be expected to govern a vast land, manage and maintain a protection/expedition force (army), prepare advisories for the common people in the matters of economy and so on. Heck even today the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces in most countries!!! It’s exactly the SAME, again irrespective of religion!!

Vaishyas are fundamentally the managers, innovators, entrepreneurs. YES, ancient India had a special class called “entrepreneurs” – and they used to create, manage and operate businesses. They had a good sense for numbers and could create trades around currency or commodities (today: forex, stock exchange, commodity exchanges), in addition to creating organizational structures for each vertical, marketing the products, warehousing and supply chain management – and they did this at an ASIA-WIDE level (they travelled as far Arabia to the west and China to the east – the northern scope of the travels remains somewhat a mystery). You get these across all religions as well! No surprise there.

Shudras are the working class, the salaried class. The nearest equivalent word in modern Hindi is “Naukar” and this classification includes anyone who works for a salary (i.e. they have a ‘Job’ or a ‘Naukri’). The concept is similar to the concept of the Salary man. The usual difference is that the job undertaken used to be passed on from generation to generation… Some scum even undertook slavery – but this is an abnormality that I believe detracts from the core concept.

Possibly, in today’s world, we have possibly more freedom to transition between these categories. However it may not surprise you to know that 70-80% of people (across religions) take up salaried jobs. And even historically, the Shudras were the largest category – simply because they were the salaried class as we have today.

Naturally the all went to the Brahmins to learn core skills. The Kshatriya wanted to learn literature, martial arts/self defence, psychology, and management. Vaishyas wished to learn mathematics & statistics – and possibly transport management methods. Shudras wished to gain knowledge that would help them progress in their specific job – whatever the job was assigned by their reporting manager.

Likewise everyone visited the Kshatriya for his guidance on regional governance or political clout (i.e. ‘connections’) assistance. For example a Vaishya starting a new trade route. Shudras requested job opportunities in governance roles. And the Brahmin asked for methods to both gather & disemminate knowledge (eg. ‘temples of learning’ – that we know today as schools)

A Vaishya was the quintessential trader – he would help the Brahmin find the best rates to build their local temple, assist the Kshatriya in getting (for example) quality manufactured goods, and transportation for it. The Shudra would provide the manpower – transportation, wares display, moving material to/from the warehouse – for example. Naturally everyone would buy food / clothing from a Vaishya somewhere….

A Shudra had the most important job of all – they were the staff key to any business, or venture – and Vaishyas always had a never-ending need for good staff. Everyone genuinely needed their help as guides & interpreters, huntsmen & farmers, builders & artisans. Yes, a Vaishya would get the contract – but the actual carving / construction was done by his staff. Kshatriyas and Brahmins alike needed staff for various things – from fetching milk (handyman/gofer) to taking care of the elderly (nurses/caretakers).

So I say – nothing has changed. Everyone whether they realize it or not fall into these categories by their own choice.

I agree that a lot of bad stuff happened – some merchants got greedy and exploited their staff, some corrupt politicians robbed the people of quality governance, and some corrupt educators denied people their right to education. Ego, vanity, greed, and all the other vices as we know them today…. Sadly they have corrupted our knowledge of a fairly well-structured economic model.

As you can also plainly see, the distinctions are entirely self-made, and go beyond the concept of religion, race or anything else – they exist even today across the world, and there’s not a single thing we humans do that cannot be classified as per this way-of-life.

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The ‘Techie Code’ for Business Leaders

Simplified TechSpeak for the Technically Befuddled

Thanks for reading my book. I hope it brought real value to you – and helped you recognize opportunities / gaps where your business can evolve & grow. This page is a list of credits and references for the book.

Google’s research about the digital experience in shops
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/how-digital-connects-shoppers-to-local-stores/

Why a website is needed
http://www.serviceonemarketing.com/why-do-i-need-a-website/

My research on ‘Technology utilization patterns and business growth in Small/Medium Enterprises’ at Cornell University’s arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.03956

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Chaitanya Dhareshwar, 2018 June – Technology utilization patterns and business growth in Small/Medium Enterprises

Content, Uncategorized

Content Marketing Trends to Watch for 2018

Content marketing means attracting and transforming prospects into customers by creating and sharing valuable free content. The purpose of content marketing is to help companies create sustainable brand loyalty and provide valuable information to consumers, as well as create a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future. This relatively new form of marketing does not involve direct sales. Instead, it builds trust and rapport with the audience.

Unlike other forms of online marketing, content marketing relies on anticipating and meeting an existing customer need for information, as opposed to creating demand for a new need. As James O’Brien of Contently wrote on Mashable, “The idea central to content marketing is that a brand must give something valuable to get something valuable in return. Instead of the commercial, be the show. Instead of the banner ad, be the feature story.”For content marketing, continuous delivery of large amounts of content is required, preferably within a content marketing strategy.

When businesses pursue content marketing, the main focus should be the needs of the prospect or customer. Once a business has identified the customer’s need, information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, infographics, email newsletters, case studies, podcasts, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, blogs, etc. Most of these formats belong to the digital channel.

Digital content marketing is a management process that uses digital products through different electronic channels to identify, forecast and satisfy the content requirements of a particular audience. It must be consistently updated and added to in order to influence the behavior of customers.

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How to Use Your Content Marketing Strategy to Write

Metrics to determine the success of a content marketing are often tied to the original goals of the campaign.

For example, for each of these goals, a content marketer may measure different engagement and conversion metrics:
Businesses focused on expanding their reach to more customers will want to pay attention to the increase in volume of visitors, as well as the quality of those interactions.

Traditional measures of volume include number of visitors to a page and number of emails collected, while time spent on page and click-through to other pages/ photos are good indicators for engagement.Businesses want to measure the impact that their messages have on consumers. Brand health refers to the positive or negative feedback that a company gets. It also measures how important a brand is for consumers. With this companies want to find out if brand reputation influences their customers to make a purchase.

For businesses hoping to reach not only more – but also new – types of customers online, they should pay attention to the demographics of new visitors, as evidenced by cookies that can be installed, different sources of traffic, different online behaviors, and/or different buying habits of online visitors.

Businesses focused on increasing sales through content marketing should look at traditional e-commerce metrics including click-through-rate from a product-page to check-out and completion rates at the check-out. Altogether, these form a conversion funnel. Moreover, to better understand customers’ buying habits, they should look at other engagement metrics like time spent per page, number of product-page visits per user, and re-engagement.

Conversion through the sales process (the process from sign-up to check-out), including click-through-rates at each stage of the conversion funnel.

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How to Protect Customer Data- and Your Company

Early societies relied on a gift economy based on favours. Later, as commerce developed less permanent human relations were formed, depending more on transitory needs rather than enduring social desires. Although such distinctions have no contemporary semantic weight, certain sectors prefer client while more stable, repeat business operations tend to prefer customer

The term client is derived from Latin clientem or clinare meaning “to incline” or “to bend,” and is related to the emotive idea of closure. It is widely believed that people only change their habits when motivated by greed and fear[3] Winning a client is therefore a singular event, which is why professional specialists who deal with particular problems tend to attract one-time clients rather than regular customers.

Clients who habitually return to a seller develop customs that allow for regular, sustained commerce that allows the seller to develop statistical models to optimize production processes (which change the nature or form of goods or services) and supply chains (which changes the location or formalizes the changes of ownership or entitlement transactions).

A customer may or may not also be a consumer, but the two notions are distinct, even though the terms are commonly confused. A customer purchases goods; a consumer uses them. An ultimate customer may be a consumer as well, but just as equally may have purchased items for someone else to consume. An intermediate customer is not a consumer at all. The situation is somewhat complicated in that ultimate customers of so-called industrial goods and services (who are entities such as government bodies, manufacturers, and educational and medical institutions) either themselves use up the goods and services that they buy, or incorporate them into other finished products, and so are technically consumers, too. However, they are rarely called that, but are rather called industrial customers or business-to-business customers.Similarly, customers who buy services rather than goods are rarely called consumers.

Geoff Tennant, a Six Sigma consultant from the United Kingdom, uses the following analogy to explain the difference: A supermarket’s customer is the person buying milk at that supermarket; a not-customer buys milk from a competing supermarket, whereas a non-customer doesn’t buy milk from supermarkets at all but rather “has milk delivered to the door in the traditional British way”.

Before the introduction of the notion of an internal customer, external customers were, simply, customers.[citation needed] Quality-management writer Joseph M. Juran popularized the concept, introducing it in 1988 in the fourth edition of his Quality Control Handbook . The idea has since gained wide acceptance in the literature on total quality management and service marketing; and many organizations as of 2016 recognize the customer satisfaction of internal customers as a precursor to, and a prerequisite for, external customer satisfaction, with authors such as Tansuhaj, Randall & McCullough 1991 regarding service organizations which design products for internal customer satisfaction as better able to satisfy the needs of external customers. Research on the theory and practice of managing the internal customer continues as of 2016 in a variety of service-sector industries.

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Identifying what’s crap in your BLOATED PHP site and what’s not

  1. Register a shutdown function ref: http://php.net/manual/en/function.register-shutdown-function.php
  2. Call “get_included_files”
    ref: http://php.net/manual/en/function.get-included-files.php
  3. Save the returned file list to a log somewhere on your server.

This shouldn’t affect the response times – but be warned, it WILL generate higher disk I/O (which might in turn bottleneck at peak usage times).

Don’t let the size of the log file go up too much. Ensure crons/schedulers or any background processes use this shutdown function.

 

<?php
function shutdown()
{
 $xyzzy="";
 $included_files = get_included_files();
 foreach ($included_files as $filename) {
 $xyzzy .= "$filename\n";
 }
 file_put_contents($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']."/shutdownlogger/incfiles.txt", $xyzzy, FILE_APPEND );
}

register_shutdown_function('shutdown');
?>
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Data doesn’t lie, and it tells us things like this.

Data and information are often used interchangeably; however, the extent to which a set of data is informative to someone depends on the extent to which it is unexpected by that person. The amount of information content in a data stream may be characterized by its Shannon entropy.

While the concept of data is commonly associated with scientific research, data is collected by a huge range of organizations and institutions, including businesses (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price), governments (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates) and non-governmental organizations (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless people by non-profit organizations).

Data is measured, collected and reported, and analyzed, whereupon it can be visualized using graphs, images or other analysis tools. Data as a general concept refers to the fact that some existing information or knowledge is represented or coded in some form suitable for better usage or processing. Raw data (“unprocessed data”) is a collection of numbers or characters before it has been “cleaned” and corrected by researchers. Raw data needs to be corrected to remove outliers or obvious instrument or data entry errors (e.g., a thermometer reading from an outdoor Arctic location recording a tropical temperature). Data processing commonly occurs by stages, and the “processed data” from one stage may be considered the “raw data” of the next stage. Field data is raw data that is collected in an uncontrolled “in situ” environment. Experimental data is data that is generated within the context of a scientific investigation by observation and recording. Data has been described as the new oil of the digital economy.

Data, information, knowledge and wisdom are closely related concepts, but each has its own role in relation to the other, and each term has its own meaning. According to a common view, data is collected and analyzed; data only becomes information suitable for making decisions once it has been analyzed in some fashion.

Knowledge is derived from extensive amounts of experience dealing with information on a subject. For example, the height of Mount Everest is generally considered data. The height can be recorded precisely with an altimeter and entered into a database. This data may be included in a book along with other data on Mount Everest to describe the mountain in a manner useful for those who wish to make a decision about the best method to climb it. Using an understanding based on experience climbing mountains to advise persons on the way to reach Mount Everest’s peak may be seen as “knowledge”. Some complement the series “data”, “information” and “knowledge” with “wisdom”, which would mean the status of a person in possession of a certain “knowledge” who also knows under which circumstances is good to use it.

Data is often assumed to be the least abstract concept, information the next least, and knowledge the most abstract. In this view, data becomes information by interpretation; e.g., the height of Mount Everest is generally considered “data”, a book on Mount Everest geological characteristics may be considered “information”, and a climber’s guidebook containing practical information on the best way to reach Mount Everest’s peak may be considered “knowledge”. “Information” bears a diversity of meanings that ranges from everyday usage to technical use.

This view, however, has also been argued to provide an upside-down model of the relation between data, information, and knowledge.Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation. Beynon-Davies uses the concept of a sign to differentiate between data and information; data is a series of symbols, while information occurs when the symbols are used to refer to something.