How ‘Smart’ is your ‘Network’?

‘Smart’ is the new buzz word in these days. Smart phone to smart cities, smart kid to smart guy! Our lives have become smart even without our intentions or efforts. Now the question is How smart are we and our network? Our smartness depends on our intelligence and the way we tackle the day to day challenges in an efficient way. It’s a born gift and can be improved with surrounding society and proper education. Not everyone who holds a smart phone is smart. Sometimes your smartness depends on your smart network.

The evolution of Smart Phone: This year ‘Nokia’ which is the first one to develop the GSM technology is celebrating 150 years of its existence, which also continued the dominance in handset manufacturing till recent years. Though India entered late in to the cellular technology, it adopted very fast and now it is one of the biggest markets after China globally. Our generation also grew with the technology. I still remember my first cell phone a bulky Nokia 3110 (see figure) with which we can only talk and text messages (Rs.8/- for outgoing call and Rs.4/- for incoming call!). Later on handsets/SIMs/networks changed (see figures) so quickly due to the rapid development of technology and changing tastes of consumers. Then came the ‘Smart Phone’ with which you can do all your office/personal/entertainment works along with normal functions of phone smoothly, effortlessly and effectively that it almost replaced PCs/Laptops. Some of the high end smart phones are having configurations better than CAD workstations with which we worked 10 years ago!

Smart Network: What is smart network? Don’t Google, where you will get varieties of definitions. My concept of smart network is different. After thorough study (research?) of different kinds of people and their networks, I found that our individual or personal smart network depends on our contacts (read phone numbers) and their smartness. Very simple! If you consider me, a professor who’s majority of contacts are fellow colleagues (past and present), students, and their parents apart from relatives, friends and neighbours. Let’s consider a ‘Techie’ who’s major contacts will be various clients, colleagues (past and present). Similarly if you consider a doctor/surgeon, whose major contacts are patients, fellow doctors/surgeons, pharmacists etc. You can extend the same to a home maker, student, plumber, painter, contractor, retailer etc etc. Now our smart network comprises of the number of contacts having smart phones (let’s say smart contacts) out of our total contacts in our smart phone.

How to quantify our smart network: To find out whether any contact in our phone is having a smart phone or not, ‘Whatsapp’ app is one of the best sources available in smart phone. The number of Whatsapp users surpassed even the ‘Face book’ users. Last few years the number of Whatsapp users increased exponentially. Also it is the easiest way to find how many number of our contacts using Whatsapp a.k.a our smart network. The following are the simple steps which anyone can find using their mobile smart phones

Step 1: Open the Whatsapp and in ‘chats’ mode click on the + button on top right side as shown in the figure below.

Step 2: Once you click the + button, you will find a screen as given below, from which you can find the number contacts having Whatsapp app which confirms they are using a smart phone. In my smart phone the number is 684 contacts.

Step 3: Now find the total number of contacts in your phone as shown below.

Step 4: Calculate the percentage of your smart network as given below.

That means approximately 70% of my contacts are using smart phones. Still some of my contacts using smart phones and may not have installed Whatsapp. The chances are very rare. This is one observation to find the penetration of smart phones. The percentage depends on type of person and his/her profession. I would like to study further ‘on what factors the percentage depends’ like the profession, age, region, and gender.

Interesting? Find your ‘smart network’ percentage and revert back along with your profession, age, area and gender! Watch this space for more!!

THE CITY OF JOY - REVISITED

I am from a developing city (Visakhapatnam), my family is now at Hyderabad and I am working in Bangalore! Of course I was born in Nagpur! I also worked in Bhubaneswar for a short period.

Recently I had an opportunity to roam all major metros within a short span of time on official work. After finishing our official work at Pune and Mumbai, I along with my senior colleague landed in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata by 11:00 pm. We surprised to see long queues for prepaid taxi service controlled by Kolkata police, while the branded taxi service counters were empty. Even international travelers were seen in the long queues and none of them even tried the other services. I looked at my colleague, he glimpsed to stay in the queue only. Suddenly there was a commotion at the counter and two passengers were shouting at each other for a place near the counter. I wondered whether we were in airport or bus stand. After few minutes the counter was temporally closed due to shortage of taxies. Few people left our queues and lined up for other branded taxi services. Again I looked at my senior colleague, still he signaled me to wait as we were in different queues. Finally we got the taxi slip by paying Rs.350/- and boarded the taxi assigned to us. 

First I didn't like the ‘yellow taxi’ with diesel stinking smell inside. Even though I came to Kolkata several times before, I still don’t have the complete idea of the city. All those were sightseeing trips with family, everything arranged by travel agents, we never felt the pain and the perspective was different. I asked the driver, how much time it will take to reach Alipore (Taj Bengal), he simply said 45 to 60 minutes. At night 00:20AM that too nearly empty roads, 45min means a long journey. Then Rs.350/- is nothing, even an Auto Rickshaw in our cities will charge more. The same situation in Bangalore/New Delhi/Hyderabad will cost you not less than Rs1000/-, of course with a neat AC car. These types of cars also available in Kolkata. But in other cities, there is no other option for common man. You have to cough up more in the name of development. Then I understood why all preferred yellow taxi which is also safe! I also observed on all taxies ‘NO REFUSAL’ caption prominently painted (see picture) means the taxi driver should not refuse to a passenger whenever the taxi is on the road. It’s a great service to the common man, who usually gets exploited in all major cities. But in Kolkata, I observed the common man is always protected. Transportation, Food, Accommodation and Clothes are always cheap in Kolkata when compared to any city in India! The public transport fares in Buses, Trams or even Metro are peanuts when compared to Bangalore. The common man is protected in the Kolkata system. You can see Love, Care and Humanity in all aspects; there is no looting in the name of development. The high class people also happily utilizing the facilities, as I observed the queues near prepaid taxies. 

The next day, we asked the receptionist to arrange a taxi by 7.00AM, then he suggested ‘Sir, just walk for few feet to the left of the hotel, you will get plenty of taxies with normal fares, If I call them here, they will charge more!’ What an advice! Is it honesty or injustice to his profession? I call it as ‘being human’ Here people won’t cash your situation! Just recalled the same situation in Pune, where we have to cough up extra Rs.200/-. We roamed around the city with those yellow taxies as per meter reading, once the meter showed Rs.41/- when I am searching for that one extra rupee, the driver said, Rs40/- enough. Have you ever paid below Rs.100/- fares for taxies in any other cities? The poor, middle class are protected from exploitation by public and private transport systems.

Another small but clear indication of differences among these cities. A ‘Sweet Pan’ in Pune costs Rs.20/- where as in Kolkata it costs Rs.10/- only. The best and affordable food available for all kinds of people in ‘Haldirams’. Of course KFCs, McDonalds are also there.

Really those two days, I have seen a different world, which I never thought of in a metro city like Kolkata. I have seen the ‘Love, affection, care and the human touch’ which we are missing in the so called developing/developed/metro/mega cities. That’s why long before the famous author and historian Dominique Lapierre called Kolkata as ‘The City of Joy’. The people of ‘The City of Joy’ and their tragedies will move you, but their faith, generosity, and most of all, boundless love will lift you, bless you, and possibly change your life. Yes the people live here with ‘Joy’! It certainly changed my perspective on several aspects. 

Finally, when we reached the airport and waiting for our Bengaluru flight, we were informed by the ‘Haldirams’ vendor about the yesteryear popular heroine ‘Moon Moon Sen’ who smoothly rejected our request for snap, but allowed to do so, once she came to know that we are from Andhra Pradesh and reminded her about her legendary Telugu film ‘Siri Vennela(1986)’ by well known Director K.Viswanadh. Bengalies won’t disappoint you!