LinkNSurf - What it means?

Recently we at Wirkle, released a mobile social networking application called LinkNSurf. LinkNSurf drives its meaning from the words "Link" and "Surf". The idea is to link people and use that network as a social recommendation for content such as blogs, RSS feeds etc.

Every social network e.g. Orkut, MySpace, LinkedIn etc. has a certain aim, has a particular purpose with which it gears around its users. In case of LinkNSurf, we are building a viral network where users can discover what public events their peers are doing and use it as a social recommendation of content for them.

We believe that there are primarily two ways by which an average consumer gets relevant content - one is search engines and second is its peers - apart from million others like advertising etc. A recommendation that a friend gives at times plays a far important role as compared to traditional search. It's not to imply that search engines are not relevant but the key is - social network when integrated in the online world can have more powerful repercussions. Flickr has revolutionized the photo album world and Delicious has made a big impact in managing bookmarks.

And why on mobile? The mobile world is much more fragmented then the online world. It might be much easier to find and get content on a PC but on mobile, doing search is a lot cumbersome. Secondly, Blogs and User generated content have become the mainstream mechanisms to generate content. With millions of new devices reaching millions of people, individuals/groups will create and consume more user-generated content. We believe what we need is a seamless environment that provides an easier way to discover such content, consume such content and share it easily.

And if this is what you also believe in, do checkout LinkNSurf. It will be great to hear your feedback.

Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti - I just saw this move yesterday. Like all other Amir Khan movies, this is unconventional in style. But this movie is not about Lagaan's Bhuvan but a group of youngsters, college going lads, living their life with full vigor and asking us to rise, stand up and lead the country.

This movie made me remember a particular real life incident. At the end of the movie, there was a paricular shot where people are asking questions on the radio why these youngsters killed the defence minister and the very first remark was - you did a brilliant job, all politicians should be made to stand in a line and be shot down.

Now remember the Indian Parliament Attack in 2001, I was in IIT that time and travelling in train from my home town towards New Delhi. Just when the train arrived at the old delhi railway station, the news of the parliament attack became apparent. And you know - what did the average indian talked about in train? The response was exactly the same. Someone at my back said, if atleast some of the politicians would have been killed, they would have learn't some lesson.

This is what the average normal indian thinks about indian politicians. We the better educated might differ, but will there be something that is going to change India and the Indians?