Social Media Marketing

Few days back, I got a chance to talk about any topic of my interest and a nice audience to listen to me.

Looking at the current list of hot-spoken topics, I choose to share my thoughts and experiences about Social Media marketing, covering its importance and few take care areas. Here is how it goes:

(image source: http://www.heraldboy.com)

First of all, let us again recall what Social Media is. Social Media is a platform for interaction among people, where people can create, share and discuss information and ideas in digital form, across virtual communities. These virtual communities may or may not have any real-world existence. 

This social media has changed our lives drastically. There are already many articles available on this:

1)    Look Up by Gary Turk

2)    5 Ways Social Media is Changing Our Daily Lives – Mashup Article

So, i just gave a thought about it, which what is social media doing to us, or it has already done. It has given us the power to create multiple identities. Traditionally, in the real world, along the course of our lives, we do stuff like we go to school, then we go to college, we do job, we progress gradually, and that’s how we create our own identity. But with the advent of Social Media, this has changed. As any individual log-in into a social networking site, say Facebook, it creates a new virtual identity of himself. With this identity, it can attach his choices and preferences as per his own wish. And since there is no validation process for these claims made on social media, people are free to put any real or false detail, without any hesitation. They can put pictures of other people as their own profile pics, can claim to be living in any random location of choice, can talk about products they never used, or places they never visited. And due to lack of validation, the trust factor on unknown people is also almost negligent over social networks.

The complete story, including the commonly used tools and techniques, advantages of using social media, and few take care areas while using social media are available here: http://bit.ly/SMM-Blog


Please feel free to send your suggestions and comments about the same.

Touching EPM (Enterprise Project Management)

As a part of our job, my profile includes working with different technologies across various domains. This helps us in understanding the bigger picture about the Enterprise Architecture across various verticals.

After the exploration of the EPM tool 'Smartsheet', this time we had another chance to get a closer look at the EPM. This time we expected a deeper dive, and for that, first step was to create a baseline of our existing knowledge into a common repository.

So here is a jargon of the common terms, acronym etc. around EPM:

EPM (Enterprise Project Management) - A streamlines procedure for managing projects running across the organization.
PMO (Project Management Office) - A group or department within an organization, that deals with, defines and maintains standards for project management.
EPMO (Enterprise Project Management Office) - An enterprise level PMO.
PMM (Project Management Methodology) - The standards or guidelines followed for EPM. There are several standards (PMMs) available, including:

• PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments, version 2) - Developed by the UK government agency Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and is used extensively within the UK government as the de facto project management standard for its public projects. 
• PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) -  Recognized as standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
• IPMA (International Project Management Association) - A federation of National PM associations, supporting role-specific competence development and certification guidelines.

The PMBOK Guide recognizes 47 processes that fall into five basic process groups and ten knowledge areas that are typical of most projects, most of the time.

The five process groups are:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling
5. Closing

The ten knowledge areas are:

1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Time Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Human Resource Management
7. Project Communications Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management
10. Project Stakeholders Management

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a not-for-profit professional organization for the project management profession with the purpose of advancing project management. In 2007, it earned the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for granting credentials and certifications in the field of Project Management.

Here is a short list of certifications and credentials offered by PMI:

Credentials:

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)

Certification:

• PMI Certified OPM3 Professional

Multi-Lingual Big Data – The Bigger Data

Recent technology trends shows that Big Data is one the emerging trends that is picking up fast across the organizations. It helps in unlocking the huge potential hidden underlying the huge set of information spread around us in different formats and types. And there are lot many articles already shared about what and how Big Data can be used in various industry scenarios. In this article, we try to add a totally new dimension to the Big Data thinking….a Multilingual Big Data.

 

Imagine a scenario, any international level enterprise – say some travel agency, or some hospital, or any international food chain, or some international retail chain having its presence across multiple continents across the globe. They need to daily deal with local people residing in the respective areas, and often need high level of interaction with those local people for churning out a good business. As reflected in a well-known quote from Nelson Mandela, communicating in native languages makes the easiest way to establish trust among the people.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”              ~Nelson Mandela[1]

The enterprises can hire local people for all the verbal communications, but then there is equal amount of written communication (tickets, bills, instructions, instructions etc.) required for almost each step of interaction.

Now imagine having robust IT Systems for supporting for these native languages, so as to manage and maintain all the native communications as-is in digital formats. And not just keep the digital records, but also leveraging this digital data directly for critical business elements like business analysis and marketing strategy development etc. Ability to leverage the support for native languages can result into miraculous results in many ways. Let us take an example of the second most spoken language in the world to understand the situation better.

An example of Multi-Lingual Bigger Data - Hindi:

Hindi language is the second most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese[2]. Indian songs and hymns have been adapted and used by various popular rap and pop music artists. From science to commerce and business to various multimedia as shown India to becoming a viable world economy with increasing interest in the world.

Recent study by global firms also mentions that many Top global IT firms have more staff in India than home nations.[3] This fact is enough to suggest that almost every big enterprise is now willing to have presence in India. With having a such a huge workforce working for all major enterprises of the world, just image the way things could be turned around by putting an integrated system for taking inputs in their local language (most prominent of which is Hindi), doing analysis of that data within its native format, and then producing outcome analysis and reports directly in the same language. Employees getting training in their local languages, using Hindi language take feedback from end customers, and leveraging them directly into analytical purposes. Information available on page-scans written in local languages can directly go into systems. Preparing product collaterals (like user manuals), or doing analysis (sentiment analysis) could become so faster if data can be leveraged directly from source into the advanced IT systems. Instructions can be generated in native languages, so that every local native can understand them. This can just accelerate the rate at which entire business cycle moves.

 

Other benefactors:

Ability to leverage the support for native languages can result into miraculous results not only for the enterprises, but also for the local agencies like Government departments, small and medium industries, where mostly local people are both the employees and the end users. Entire departments running on their local languages would be able to take advantage of the faster  processing and analytical capabilities of such advanced technology concepts…known as big data, and targeting to  (soon or later) become a Bigger Data.

 Do let us know your feedback about this post on Twitter: @bigdataindiya or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigDataIndia 

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[1] Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand121685.html

[2] Source: http://www.importanceoflanguages.com/LearnHindi/

[3] Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-06/job-trends/43731362_1_capgemini-india-allianceibm-4-3-lakh

Big Data India

Big Data India is an initiative taken by the technocrats of Advaiya solutions Pvt. Ltd., with an aim of providing a platform for all Indian technocrats to share and explore opportunities with Big Data. The ‘Big Data India’, currently in form of a Facebook page, provides information about latest news, activities, events and other happenings related to Big Data across the nation. This enables the members to be informed about the technology, providing them opportunities for further developing Big Data applications, implementation scenarios and research in India.





This fast growing community has already made good contributions in helping the members develop Big Data Technology awareness (including hadoop, hive, MapReduce etc.) and skill development. It already has more than five certified members, who developed and demonstrated their skills on the online learning platform provided by the Big Data University.

Members of Big Data India community (Ankit Matta, Badal Bordia and Vishal Soni) also conducted a training about Big Data in Advaiya premises, where more than 15 attendees were provided with an introduction to Big Data technology and concepts, followed by a Hands-On-Lab. In this lab, attendees learned concepts related to Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), MapReduce and Hive, and they also learnt ways to process huge amount of data using MapReduce technologies, saving it into Hive Tables, and then loading this data into Excel sheet for advanced analysis.


Big Data is a whole lot of new world and with a platform like Big Data India, all young technocrats can try to use this technology for betterment of the society.

For more details, visit our Google Plus Page  or join us on Twitter

Steps to Redeem $100: Big Data on AWS cloud with "powerof60"

AWS is providing $100 AWS credit for trying out Big Data on cloud.

To take the benefits, here are the steps:

1. Logon to the home page of event: http://aws.amazon.com/big-data/powerof60/
2. Provide your details and register for this event.
3. If you already have amazon account, same can be used. Amount will be added to your current account. First time users can create a new account by choosing the appropriate option.
4. Check your (registrated) email from 'powerof60' team. This would have the CODE. (i got the email within few minutes of registration).
5. Within the email, click on the 'AWS credits redemption page' link. 
6. Enter the CODE. and BINGO.....$100 straight into your AWS account.
7. Follow the steps metioned in the Getting Started with AWS : Analyzing Big Data: http://awsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/gettingstarted/latest/awsgsg-emr.pdf 

Additional Terms of Use (available on AWS Website ) (see the highlighted parts in particular)

• This Offer is available until December 31, 2013 to new and existing AWS customers. You will not be eligible for the Offer if you or your organization create(s) more than one AWS account to receive additional benefits under the Offer. You will also not be eligible for the Offer if the AWS account holder is the federal government or other governmental entity and the Offer is inconsistent in any way with applicable laws. You will be charged standard rates for use of AWS services if we determine that you are not eligible for the Offer.
• You must create and maintain an AWS account in good standing (including a valid credit card) to participate in the Offer. Your participation in the Offer and your use of the AWS services is subject to the AWS Customer Agreement.
• AWS Credits will expire 60 days after the date of issue or on March 1, 2014 (whichever occurs first).
• AWS Credits are not valid for the use of any AWS services other than Amazon EC2 and Amazon EMR.  You will be charged AWS’s standard rates for any use of AWS services that is not covered by this Offer. You will also be charged standard rates for use of Amazon EC2 and Amazon EMR after the AWS Credits expire or are consumed.
• Your use of the AWS Credits will be in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions currently available at http://aws.amazon.com/awscredits/, as such guidelines may be updated by AWS from time to time.
• AWS may stop accepting new registrations for the Offer at any time.

Using Hindi Keyboard with Android Phones

I am using my Android based Samsung Galaxy S plus phone since more than a year now. And I must say, buying this phone has been really a nice decision so far. Although at present, we have many new devices with a higher configuration at much lesser cost, still I am happy. One reason being, I can do most of the things what any other high-end mobile device is capable of. One recent experience is about using 'Google Hindi Input'.

Google recently launched an official app 'Google Hindi Input' for enabling Hindi typing on the Android based mobile devices. This app requires a minimum of Android 2.2 or above, and occupies just around 6.0 MB of space. I tried that on my phone, and its (now) working nicely. The official blog from Google do describe the way to use it, but they didn’t mention how to start / launch this after installation. So after finally figuring out the way to use it, here is my experience with Google Hindi Input:

First you need to download the 'Google Hindi Input' application from Google Play store. In the Google 'Play Store', i searched for the phrase 'google hindi input' and the first search result was the desired 'Google Hindi Input' app. 

After that, this was a simple installation procedure:

 

I downloaded and installed the app. Then I thought of trying it. I tried to create a new message in Hindi. However, I was not able to find the Hindi keyboard or letters anywhere. The input message options were still all the same English font only. I tried exploring all option in the Samsung keypad settings, but there were no whereabouts of this new Hindi keypad.

Just to confirm about the proper installation, I went back to the Google play store again. This was now displaying that the application is already installed.

It’s even showing in list of Downloaded apps under Manage Applications. 

So where is it? The official blog from Google do describe the way to use it, but they didn’t mention how to start / launch this after installation. Therefore, I gave it a try by doing general search and browsing or internet. One good source for hints was found as the description provided under the Google play store itself. Although, this did not worked out as end – to – end steps for my phone model, but it helped a lot.

 

For my phone, I did the following steps to enable the Hindi Input keypad. 

1) Go to Settings >Locale and text.  

Here tick the check box for 'Google Hindi Input'. This would permit your phone to use Google Hindi Input. 

But this is not done yet, after permitting your phone, you'll also need to select the Hindi Keypad to enable Hindi typing. This can be done in the following manner:

1) Open the text box where you would want to type something in Hindi. When you long press in the typing area, you get option to select 'Input method'. (You can also long press the small 'wheel' icon in the last row of the keypad. I did this when composing a new text message, and got the following screen:                

 

      

Select the 'Google Hindi Input' from the list of input methods shown:

Now you should get the keypad, which is demonstrated in the videos on the Official blogs of Google. 

From here onward  it’s all your experience and exploration. Do let me know in case anyone is still facing any issues in using this, and we can explore better ways of doing this together.

X Blogs - The Series - Part 3

(Story continues from X Blogs - The Series - Part 2)

X-Blogs Series Part 3: Coffee with Mr. X | Basic Mobile security concepts

Mr. Joshi: Alright, so you wanted to know more about securing your mobile phone.

Mr. Sibbal: Yes, I wanted to learn about mobile security.

Mr. Joshi: There seems some confusion with the naming here. When we say mobile security, it’s not just about security for your mobile phones. Mobile Security also includes security for all moveable client devices that might be accessing information remotely.  But since your requirement is personally about securing your smartphone, we should be talking about that only.

Microsoft provides some simple ways to make sure your smartphones are safe and secure:

1. Personal Identification Number (PIN): Always protect your phone with the inbuilt security using PIN numbers.
2. Installing new apps: When you install new apps on your phone, make sure the apps are downloaded from some trusted and secure source. This increase phone safety, and makes sure that the apps are not sending your personal data stored in your phone to some external sites.
3. Install updates regularly: The OS makers know the loopholes in your OS and keep sending the security patches often.   So the updates recommended by your phone’s OS should be applied immediately.
4. Protection against lost or stolen phone: Make sure your phone has some smart features capable of revealing themselves at your will. You can use those features, like tracking the location over the internet, theft alarms, etc. in case your device is lost or stolen.

Mr. Thakur: Regarding this, I have also written a good blog post, which tells you about the three best security applications for your smartphone.

Mr. Sibbal: Oh, I would love to read that blog.

Mr. Thakur: Oh sure, I’ll share it with you.

Mr. Mahalik: Besides that, talking about mobile security at enterprise-level, there are few more considerations. For instance, if suppose an organization like Advaiya wants to define new mobile device policy to allow use of personal mobile phones, they need to have the following considerations for implementing Enterprise Level Mobile Device Security Policies in their organization:

•  They need to decide about the users who would be allowed to connect to the network.
•  They need to ensure adequate and updated antivirus protection
•  They must adhere to new developments, updating the policy, software, and hardware as necessary (e.g. when a member of staff leaves).
• They should emphasis on providing specific services to those who need it on the basis of sound business requirements. 

Mr. Sibbal: I think this again went from above my head. Did not understood much what you said about “Enterprise Level Mobile Device Security Policies” (Really big words to speak)

Mr. Saxena: So, what else you wanted to know about IT security Mr. Sibbal?

Mr. Sibbal: Oh, I also wanted to explore more about Database security, System Security, and Firewalls…

Ms. Chaudhary: But Mr. Sibbal, I am afraid we won’t be able to spare so much time for all the topics. We are here to work for our Web-based application “PhotoMash”, and I need to manage many other tasks as well.

Mr. Sibbal: PhotoMash? What is that?

Mr. Paliwal: That is another web-based photo search application that we are developing for another event for Hackathon. More details are strictly confidential.

Mr. Sibbal: Hmm… I really love the kind of job you people do have. I would like to join this organization after I finish my graduation.

Ms. Chaudhary: For this, there is a very simple selection procedure, open to all students. You may try that.

Mr. X: And in case of any problems or guidance required, just let me know. I’ll be there to help you out.

Mr. Sibbal: Thanks a lot, Mr. X. Your support was really helpful for me in understanding my assignment topic well. 
(Read the previous blog X Blogs - The Series - Part 2 or the first part X Blogs - The Series - Part 1