The Facebook Phenomenon

The Facebook Phenomenon

I am writing today to let my friends know why I think Facebook is not just another successful company, but a global Social Phenomenon.

Any successful Enterprise relies on great data gathering systems to collect data. They then warehouse the data and mine the data to come up with good decisions that are "Based on Data" and thus devoid of human bias. Facebook has taken this concept to the next level by applying this to society. The data collection is "Outsourced without fee" to FB users who share this personal data for free. In return, people get their voices heard and enjoy Freedom of Expression in the truest sense. There is no evil paid media to twist and turn facts or worse still present one sided stories. Instead you hear the voice of the people directly " From the horses mouth". People do not get manipulated, they now get heard. (RAW DATA)

Let me give a few examples of Facebook influenced social change. The latest school shooting in the USA went on to show just how much people were against Gun Proliferation and were for gun control. Lawmakers want us to think otherwise, because there is a gun lobby, they have vested interests, or are fundamentalists who would point to the First Amendment. But I think FB made sure peoples voices were heard! And Lawmakers have no option but to sit up and take notice. The tail(leaders) does not wag the dog(people) anymore! Thank You Facebook!

 

+George Bush Vs +Mark Zuckerberg

Looking next at international affairs, George Bush sent in the Army to fight  in Iraq and and Afghanistan to bring about Regime Changes. After many frustrating years, Dollars lost, Lives changed for the worst and lives lost, they have still not been able to "Finish the Job". Moreover, they have made the Public Sentiment in these countries Anti-USA. Not a desirable situation.

Now look at the Arab spring! REgime changes in Libya, Egypt and maybe Syria without the need for bloodshed with a few facebook posts. Zuck has achieved with a website what the Bushes could not achieve with a Trillion Tax payer Dollars!

Zuck you showed the World that the Pen is indeed mightier that the sword and I Love you for it! 

Regards

+Milind Thombre

(Comments welcome)

Purpose

I recently attended a Data mining class by Indian Statistical Institute with Prof. Subrata Rath as one of the faculties. He came off as a person with profound Management Common Sense. One of the main things he taught is was to discover/define our Purpose before starting a study. This provoked a lot of thought inside me. Purpose is larger than objectives or motive. I decided to pick a purpose nobler than the profit motive for my Data Mining Project. I have also been associated with Life sciences and Healthcare projects before and had some orientation about these. I decided to leverage my skills in this area and defined my purpose as:

"To better the physical and psychological condition of Human beings around us"


What followed after significant thought was a logical picking of a (non-sponsored) Clinical Trial as my project. I obviously needed raw data for this project. So i took off on the internet and after several searches on Google found a Clinical trial's raw data posted online. It was a Study done in 2004 and published already in BMJ. "Effects of Accupuncture on Migrane".

I am hoping I will learn something beyond what is already published in BMJ, (ambitious goal) At the minimum I hope to master the statistical modeling techniques we have already studied.

Keep watching this space !

Regards
Milind K Thombre
(comments welcome)

Software: An asset or a liability?

Software: An asset or a Liability

All over the corporate world there is a mad rush to identify IT project ideas. Once a business process that can be automated is identified it invariably results in an implementation. Little thought seems to be set aside for ROI or the calculations are invariably flawed. Asking the project manager of the IT project to make these  calculations is like asking the cat to guard the milk! 

For an enterprise, the decision to develop a software solution is like going down a road with no return , a cul-de-sac. Let me explain... 

• There are large upfront acquisition/customization or development costs to any IT project. 
• Slippages and scope creep as well as unforeseen expenses and inflation add to this cost.
• Hardware/Hosting and other costs are upfront as well as ongoing, sometimes inflating
• People costs (ongoing and forever inflating)

While these costs may even be accounted for by a trained manager, there is little thought given to the ongoing maintenance overheads. 

Contrary to popular belief, Maintenance is NOT an option for software, it is an absolute necessity. The consequences of no maintenance include:

• Security Risks: in case underlying OS/DB and other components are not patched regularly with security updates. (Data theft and other irreversible consequences)
• Incompatibility issues in case some Software is not updated.
• Operational Failure
• Bugs
• Operational inefficiency

This also means that the enterprise must buy expensive maintenance contracts from the vendors of the OS/Database and other component makers. Feels like RANSOM? it is!!

So now...What can you do ?

• Ask tough questions about WHY the solution is a necessity to your enterprise.
• Who really benefits by its existence? 
• What is the quantum($) of the benefit?
• What is the duration of the benefit? (will this business process be obsolete anyway in 3-4 years)
• How often do your business processes change?
• How CONFIGURABLE is the software to process change?
• How portable is the solution in case you switch h/w and OS.
• What components comprise the IT solution? are there open source versions available
• What is the track record of the component makers.
• What is the maintenance history of the software components. (e.g. how many security patches were posted in the last year and what is the consequence of not patching)
• User interface: is it cutting edge or will it look outlandish in 2-3 years?

So think about these things before you jump in to your next IT project! Good luck!

-Milind Thombre

(Comments welcome)

Top 10 Interview signs that you are in a Run of the Mill IT shop and not an Analytics Organization(funny)

1. When you are asked "Are you C++  or java?"

2. When the recruiter confuses Analytics with Business Intelligence.

3. When SAS  is confused with SaaS.

4. When you say "R" They think it is something done beyond C.

5. When Data Mining is confused with Mining industry experience.

6. When they ask you how many years have you done this? And the expected answer is 10 years! (wayy before some of these tools were launched)

7. When the CTC offered is decided by your current CTC.(Predictive Analytics at work!)

8. When the Offered role is "Project Manager/Solution Architect!" Make up your mind!

9. When they ask you if you have friends you can refer to the position before they roll out your offer(ha ha)

10. When the CEO wants to meet you because your CTC is in the higher bracket.