MSM Exhibits Lamp Kettle Syndrome

The editorial entitled “The Lost Art Of The Written Word” in a mainstream media daily laments about the incapability of the common man and woman (henceforth J6P for Joe Six Pack or Jane Six Pack) to write proper English. This is Exhibit A of lamp calling the kettle black considering that this newspaper makes tons … Read more

Actionable Insights From myBAR ChatGPT Data Analysis

In myBAR Data Analysis By ChatGPT, we saw various insights from ChatGPT based on crunching the data in myBAR dataset (For those who haven’t read that post, myBAR dataset contains ratings and reviews given by me to 600-odd books I’ve read in the last 15-odd years). This analysis happened on data in a spreadsheet. Some … Read more

AI Didn’t Invent Circular Deals

I concluded my blog post entitled ROI For Customer ≠ ROI For Investor with a promise to write a follow-on post on startup investments that are not made in cash. This is that follow on post. Noncash investments have been practice du jour in many industries for decades. During the dotcom era, it was customary for startups to pay for marketing, … Read more

myBAR Data Analysis By ChatGPT

I recently asked ChatGPT to dive into my book collection, crunch the numbers, and give me insights into my reading behavior. This blog post is the result of that exercise. I’ve read over two thousand books. You’ll find some of them in my bookshelf. But many books I’ve read are missing from it since: I … Read more

Pune Metro Year 3 Impressions

I recently went from Kalyani Nagar to Nashik Phata via Pune Metro. My route was: Kalyani Nagar to District Court (fka Civil Court) on Aqua Line towards Vanaz. District Court to Nashik Phata on Purple Line towards PCMC. Here are a few updates on the metro from this trip: 1. Crowds Both Aqua and Purple lines … Read more

“Will AI Kill SaaS?” Is The Wrong Question

Last week saw a severe meltdown of software company stocks on Wall Street. Salesforce: −47% Figma: −83% Hubspot: −71% ServiceNow: −53% Workday: −45% Click here for a more complete list. According to Wall Street Journal, the $300 billion drawdown in software stocks was caused by the threat posed by new AI vibe coding tools to … Read more

Reg DrugsQR Comes Into Effect After 14 Year Wait!

I first heard about the mandate for QR code on drugs three years ago. According to this article in Economic Times dated 3 January 2022, National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) shortlisted Top 300 drugs for insertion of QR codes on their packages. These drugs included analgesics, pain relievers, anti-platelets, vitamin supplements, diabetes and contraceptives. The … Read more

Rufus v. ChatGPT

Rufus is Amazon’s Generative AI chatbot. Whenever you have a question about a product you’re browing on the Amazon website or app, you can click the Rufus button and ask away. You can converse with Rufus in normal language (Natural Language) just as you’d with ChatGPT. Around six months ago, I was in the market … Read more

Paging RBI EMandate – Is There Anybody Out There?

I bought a paid plan of a SAAS software, with the fixed monthly subscription fees payable with credit card. This is a canonical example of a recurring payment subject to RBI Emandate that came into effect on 1 October 2021. According to Reg Emandate: Every credit card and debit card based mandate for recurring payment … Read more

Arattai V. WhatsApp: Network Effects Don’t Grow On Trees

The mainstream media has already started writing the obituary of Zoho’s Arattai messaging app. Take, for example, Economic Times. In its oped entitled Why Arattai Isn’t A WhatsApp by Akshat Khandelwal, ET writes:  Arattai will join the long list of ‘dead’ Indian apps such as Koo, Hike and Chingari that tried to punch above their … Read more