FB Photos

Yesterday as I prepared myself to click the Rakshabandhan photos of my 9 year old daughter tying Rakhi to her brothers, she warned me against posting them on FB !! “Click the photos if you want, but don’t post them on facebook” is what she said. My teenage son also supported her in the same.

Been thinking about it… the way we (I mean our generation) and our seniors are active on facebook, our kids are not very keen about it.

I get such warnings of not posting their snaps on facebook during every birthday party, outing, vacation.

Are they growing up to be unsocial? Nopes I don’t think so.

It is the ease of communication to the current generation which was not present during our time, which has made us so addicted to facebook.

For me the best part of facebook is getting an “Add friend” request from a long out- of-touch friend or relative. For me I get excited when out of the blue, thru one facebook friend I get in touch with another. When we were small, we did not have access to mobiles, whatsapp and other messengers, like todays kids. Most of us depended on keeping in touch with each other over phone calls, emails(at a later stage). Our elders were in touch with each other by writing letters… an art which I believe is missing in our generation.. let alone be present in our kids.

Communication and keeping in touch is far easier for the todays kids, then what we and our elders had.

Our kids will never know the fun of giving blank/crank calls thru landline numbers which were in our time very difficult to trace. Modern day  lovers, have direct access to each others mobile numbers.. they will never know the fun/excitement/fear of calling on the landline number, hoping that it wont be picked up by any other family member. Now they can directly call each other, message each other.

Just a few thoughts when I started thinking, am I overdoing it by posting snaps on facebook… but then I think our life was far far better…..

Disconnect to Connect

Am a self confessed Facebook, twitter, whatsapp addict. Have in the past many a times taken a break from Fb for a week or month…but have always come back.

Whatsapp is one addiction which was very easy to deaddict myself from. Whatsapp works on a the basic rule…you send one ..u receive many. So if you stop sending those jokes around… people will also stop sending the same to you.

So what remains was Facebook and twitter. Last week I had to move out at 1 pm from my office for some urgent work. In my rush, I forgot my mobile at the office. The ghost rings in my ear, the ghost vibrations in my pocket were so disturbing. Every now and then, I would put my hand in my pocket to remove my non existent mobile phone.

By evening however, I was beginning to enjoy my “disconnected” world. Spent some good time with the kids without the phone ringing or pinging out a notification, watched a movie without having to talk on the phone in between. Loved the evening. It was like those times when mobiles did not exist in the world.

Next day morning however was a shock. When I came back to the office, had 124 missed calls. Though a few were repeat calls from many… but still was shocked to realise how much time we spend in staying connected.

I made a decision then that I would disconnect my self to connect to the real world. Now daily my phone goes in Quite mode from 6 pm to morning 7 am. No phones calls, no social notifications, no emails. I do cheat on the social media part by going online, but a few of my friends keep reminding me of my decision… and trust me it actually helps me off it.

Now I am disconnected from virtual world…but connected to real world. I like it that way. Hope to keep it that way.

Privacy?!!

My son happened to show me what all access we are giving to the mobile app of Facebook after we install it..out of the many permissions to it which are wrong...there are two permissions which has left me wondering if we are right in allowing Facebook to access our data.....

It can access our call data

It can access our SMS and mms data

Now why the hell should we allow facebook to access that!!!

In a way it has access to ur bank, credit card spends. Ur insurance policy, light bill, telephone bill details thru SMS received ..

Just why exactly does facebook need this data. It might claim that it uses it only to show us advts on our TImeline...but what if it looses control over the data, if it falls in wrong hands?

As if our mobile operators don't have access to our data...why are we allowing a third party access to the same?!?

Being connected is one thing...but at the cost of invading our privacy?!

The feel good factor…

Not on an ego trip…but over the years…have found my certain tweets being mentioned on some site or other. In the past I have always tweeted the link or put it up on facebook…few I bookmarked…but then thought of trying to get them together under one roof. I have lost a few a them…whatever I could salvage from here and there..I am putting them up….also adding a few “replies” from celebrities…

Tweet regarding Saif Ali Khan – Kareena marriage in October 2012 got mentioned in Funny Tweets about Saifeena on Indiatimes.com

Click here to see the site 

Kalmadi arrested due to CWG scam tweet got mentioned on in.com in April 2011

Kalmadi Tweet

Mumbai Rains have always been a headache for me specially when travelling. And I am always trigger happy and tweeting about it. Two of my snaps were put up NDTV

Snap 1

Snap 2

Aamir Khan and Kiran are blessed with a baby….and me like usual shot off the first thing that came to my head….

Tweet mentioned on India Wires Site

Aishwarya Rai gets pregnant and twitter is on fire….tweeted to The Ramesh Srivats who in turn tweets it on his TL with a twist of his humour and also acknowledges me on the tweet..needless to say the tweet caught on like anything…with people sending it across on BBMs and whatsapp…nothing beat the feeling of getting it on the messengers from friends who did not know where it originated from

BayB

King of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan replies back

His reply to my tweet

India ke Sirr pe do singh…a tweet sent to Pritish Nandy … and retweeted by him

As I said…have a few more…maybe I will have to search for them on my TL in twitter and facebook…and no this is just not an ego trip…its just getting my collection together :) Will add more once I have more time

Kya Super Fool Hai Hum

Facebook statuses have undergone a transformation…..now they are being put up as pictures on the walls. Quotes, Jokes…u name it…u start your account and they are right there…staring in you face.

Infact Twitter and Facebook have actually killed the punches, the jokes have been repeated so many times, that they have lost it totally.

Add to it BBM and Whatsapp and the likes….and there u have it…overdose of jokes, quotes.

Kya Super kool hai Hum has taken it further, it is a movie on all the jokes which we have been subjected to again and again on social networking and messengers. I guess the filmmakers decided not to have a dialogue writer and just asked their people to a research on the most shared and liked non-veg and double meaning jokes and asked her characters from the movie to mouth them. And thats that….thats how you have Kya Super Kool Hai Hum.

The movie is good to make you laugh…but then it lacks one basic ingredient…a storyline. Kya Kool Hai hum had the serial killer angle to a give a definite story to the movie, while this one is just depending on the jokes to keep the audience engrossed. The previous movie had its strong characters like Inspector Urmila Martondkar and Dr.Screwwala, but here most characters are like your normal characters from Laughter Challenge Frankly I am sure than many people just did not get the BJ and DilDo la Re punch.

Come to think of it.. DilDo la re has given a totally new perceptive to the original song of Devdas….I will be foolishly smiling the next time I see Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya dancing to that song from Devdas….after all Kya Super Fool Hai Hum ;)))

P.s If this movie is ever shown on Doordarshan, expect a 30 min movie for sure :)

Of Facebook Relatives and mobile numbers…

So when one has free time, s/he starts marking Uncles, Aunts, Cousins on Facebook. Set up the relationships. Not bad till one starts receiving calls for a certain relation from collection agencies.

The social network boom has got almost every person hooked on it. And Bank and Credit card defaulters better beware. Collection agencies have now started tapping Facebook to find the elusive persons or have started contacting the relatives for recovery.

Now how do they contact the relatives? Simple thru their mobile numbers which have been posted on the profiles!!!

Read a few newspaper articles about such incidences. Got to know of one such incidence yesterday thru a cousin. Infact read one article in the newspaper in which a Collection agency agent befriended an elusive defaulter on Facebook, arranged for a meet, where he found that the real intention was to recover his dues.

Ones intention of setting up relations is not bad, but cant certainly get you in trouble if your relative is that elusive defaulter…….

But yes…posting of mobile numbers should certainly be thought of again!!!

Sources :

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_that-sexy-facebooker-is-a-recovery-agent_1478225

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/recovery-agents-harass-defaulters-kin-on-facebook-134654

http://www.goanewsonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6830

Angel in the Cloud

Here I am … sitting on the cloud….. confused …sad…wondering what my near and dear ones are doing. Wondering how will they get in touch with me again. I want to go back….back to all the fun and frolic….back to wiping a tear shed by someone….back to wishing a Happy Birthday to someone….Back to POKE someone !!!!

 

Yes Poke!!! .. No I am not dead….I just deactivated my Facebook account yesterday.

 

And now here I am missing it.

 

Infact the feeling might be similar to dying…I really dont know if one who is dead faces the same feelings, but yes, I am worried on Day One…worried that I might miss out a lot.

 

Facebook addiction for me has been very bad, so bad that twice I have tried to detox myself from it, but was back on it with all my time whenever I have competed my self set detox period. So decided to permanently deactivate my account(though Facebook has been kind enough to inform me that I can just reactivate by entering my user name and password again )

 

Come to think of it, did I not have a life before Facebook. Were not my friends in touch with me on phone, on email. Then why think that this is the end of life. For those whom we really mean something have other ways of being in touch always. There are a few for whom I believe my posts are just like the newspapers they read in the morning, to be informed, to be amused, to be entertained. Apologies if anyone finds this offending. I have nothing against such people, because it was I who was posting , they never asked me to post thus.

 

Anyways…now here I am sitting on the cloud like an Angel…singing my lonely song…..till I get over the feeling ……..

Am I ever serious....???

A friend asked me "Are you ever serious. All your posts on social networking sites are so funny". I retorted back....if i start posting my problems, will you follow my posts? Sorry for being crude mate...I know u are going to read this and understand.

For me being on a social networking site is like physically sociallising. One doesnt carry his troubles to a party or a social get-together. One goes there for enjoying. Ok you may discuss your problems on and off..but then there is a time and place for everything.

I do put up my serious thoughts....but then sometimes...what might be serious for me...might be light hearted humour for others, and when they comment back in  good humour..it lightens up the  mood further. So there you are. I am serious also..but open for nice and light chat, wherein the mood does not remain serious. One can even put it as ..... Online socialising is my de-stress media.....

Again recently I was asked what do I get from posting so much on Facebook and Twitter..my reply was simple, I know that somewhere someone might be smiling on reading this, not necessary that I get a like or comment for that, but it makes me happy...

P.s This post was lying in my drafts since more than a year...posting it today while cleaning my drafts :) The last para was added today....

Heads I win…Tails you lose….

The Govt of India thru the Delhi Court is slowly tightening its grip over Google, Facebook and the likes. While it was able to control the print and television media, it had offlate found itself unable to muzzle the general public opinion.
There are two sides of every story like there are two sides of every coin. What the Govt of India is interested in is keep the people of India limited to only one side ..their side.
Its like minting coins for India with only one side, but the problem is that there is still a blank side, and this blank side will be left to the imagination of many. Atleast with the two sides of the story, one could understand the facts and then decide which side is up or right.
But with the action being taken now the Govt is trying to tell the people of India… Heads I win…Tails you lose…

My experiment with the new Facebook cover picture

Being in touch

Met a school friend on facebook after around 21 years. It was fun talking to him. Though we chatted on the fb chat…we both were down the memory lane talking of our school teachers, friends, places.
Now that I think of it wonder if our children will have that kind of fun to talk to friends after so many years. There will always be a difference between them and us. During our school time 20 years back we didnt have mobile phones, social networking sites, emails.
Passing on Telephone numbers then was also not always feasible more so because telephones were not available in all houses and kids were random allowed to make calls.
I remember I used to be in touch with one of friends who had to shift to another city thru letters. But then even that stopped over the time.
Now the kids have some many mediums to be in touch.
Anyways it was nice chatting to my friend after so many years….

Overdose of Social Networking

Lately I find myself just staring at my social networking web page, wondering what to do. Facebook or Twitter, I am just not able to know what is to be done. People have been asking me about where are my new posts, but frankly my mind is blank.
Infact, I am even tired of all new mobile phones being more inclined towards Social networking applications. Its making me sick now. There was a time, when I could not do with Facebook or Twitter, but now I dont even log on to them for hours together, without having to worry which friend is doing what. Being updated is good…but being constantly updated…………………………………
Maybe an overdose of being on the social networking sites has killed the fun, or maybe they are really losing their charm as time is going by……….
Whatever it maybe, but I have decided today to stop my mobile live updates of both Twitter and Facebook…….maybe the previous system of checking them once in a while will be worthwhile……….

Some mobile applications I cant do without

It took me more than 5 years to shift to Nokia phones, since i found them very common then, and then I have been using Nokia phones since past 8 years after my wifey gifted me one. What kept me attracted to them were the number of applications Nokia has and the ease of usage. So thought of jotting down the application which I have been using over the years…..
Nokia Sports Tracker : Very good application for recording your walks/cycling exercises. Needs GPS enabled phones. After shifting to touch screen mobile was saddened by the fact that there was no application available for it. But last year they launched the touch screen version and since then it has found a place on my cell.
Maps : Frankly I hate Nokia/Ovi Maps. They take too long to load, and most of the times are inaccurate. Been using Google Maps since past 4 years. Amazing accuracy. Though I wish it was intelligent enough to chose the shortest route possible, which many a times it fails to do.
Quickoffice : Seriously cant do without it and it needs no introduction over here.
Whatsapp : This is one messaging software which incorporates Blackberry, Android, Iphone and Symbian 60 phones. It doesnt require you to have a new messaging user id and password, just your phone number is sufficient for it. All the above phone uses just need to register their cell numbers once, and the application will go thru your contact list, find the people who are using the application and you are connected with them. The application doesnt hog the battery of your cell and is very useful.
Socially : Sadly for me, Nokia is having some issue with social networking applications for my current cell. I know they are working on it, but no results yet. So after going thru various other third party applications, I settled down with an application called Socially. It incorporates Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Linkedin. The only disadvantage with the software is that its not real time, the minimum time for auto update is 30 mins, which i feel is too much. Otherwise it has all the features one requires for social networking sites.
There are many other applications…….some I delete over the time…some I use randomly……….

The Owl

Yesterday turned out to be very interesting day. At around 10 am my factory worker excitedly called me inside the factory area….Quick bring your mobile and click the photos of an owl who has entered in the factory he said. When I reached there, I found two empty cans of 50kgs had fallen off from the overhead loft(the owl did this said my man). The owl had now hid itself below our big vessel.  I clicked a few snaps and then asked my people to scare it out of the window. But instead of going towards the window, it ran into another machine. We opened the door of the machine to find it neatly hidden there. From there we managed to make it go upto not one but three windows. But it was just not ready to go out. The reason of which dawned on us soon. A lot of crows had accumulated outside the window now. We were now aware that if we let it out, then the crows would surely peck it to death. Slowly we made the owl reach one of our office rooms, the doors of which we closed once it was inside. We were able to see thru the glass doors, that the owl was now sitting on the window ledge, (the glass pane of the window was closed), while the crows were pecking at the glass trying to get to it.

My  brother called up the Animal Hospital at Parel, from where he got a few other numbers. But mostly we got the reply that they did not have the facility to take it away. In the meanwhile our habit of posting every bit of our life on facebook started a series of comments and phone calls. Some people were informing us its auspicious, while others were informing us its bad. Whatever the case, the thoughts in my mind were to get it out safe.

By afternoon a new issue cropped up in the office. There was a lot of chirping sound in our office bathroom loft. We were now worried …what if the owl has given kids over there. Finally one person climbed up the loft to only confirm that they are pigeon kids.

Thru net, we got numbers of BNHS, who informed us that they have already been informed, but were not able to help us out, and PAWS. From there, I was asked to leave the bird out only in the evening, since that is when the owl would be able to see and fly away. The dilemma was , that my office shuts down at 5 pm. sun down normally is at 7 nowadays. We got a cardboard box, punched holes on all sides and then with the help of one labour put the owl in the box.

I took it our residence. In the evening  all the kids of our building had accumulated on our terrace to see the release. On opening the box, it just gave a two second stare and flew off as if nothing has happened.

And Oh yes…my wife did some research in the night, and found that the Owl is the mode of transportation of Goddess Laxmi in the night. In the morning she uses Elephant. So it is supposed to be auspicious:)))

The unknown face

Being on the social networking for so long, I have set one rule for myself, never to add an unknown face. I dont care if my number of friends dont go up. I am quite happy with the limited people I have. This is how I am trying to protect my privacy and also my friends whom I have added.

Many a times, one receives request from people about whom you have never heard of, friends of friends, who are maybe trying to set a record of having the maximum number of friends in their account. I have always confirmed with the “mutual friends” about their identity and to my shock have discovered that even they have added only because they are sharing the same person with “mutual friends”. This trend is very dangerous and can lead to a lot of complications.

A number of times I have also mailed back these requesters asking them to indentify themselves more clearly. Some have sent back their identities, some have accepted the fact that its a case of mistaken identity. But one person whom I have lately corresponded has not only managed to raise my anger level, but has also gone to the extremes of accusing me of accepting friendship only on face value. I have refused the request, but the reply has certainly bugged me and on enquiring I have discovered that this particular person has an habit of criticizing people, coupled with the fact that that most of the persons friends have no inkling about the true identity.

Social networking is about socializing but while doing that we should not forget that we should behave in the same ways as if we are meeting in a civilized society. We do get oddballs over there also, but then we are facing a oddball with a face. Not someone who is creating trouble while keeping the face hidden. I am not ready to accept this unknown face, and will never ever do so.