I consumer, My data

There's a new girl in town.  She's apparently a high flying corporate executive, health freak, enjoys the good things in life, and until today wasn’t just anonymous to us but altogether invisible.

Until she ‘turned herself on.’

Ok hold your horses all of you, this isn't the beginning of an erotic novel.  It's actually much more interesting.

She is very particular about what she brought into town with her. But she didn't pack almost anything in her bags… said something odd like "everything I need is in the clouds" as if she’s some sort of starship trooper.  She is also particular about who looks at her and especially who speaks with her.  Yet she freely shares her phone number with anyone who asks for it.  Talk about mixed signals!  She apparently even walks into stores and demands to set the price of what she buys...  and she gets away with it.  Imagine that.  What a vain and demanding gal… some would say playing hard to get, some would say using her good looks, and some would say a bully plain and simple.

But one thing is for sure -- everyone listens to her and she gets to choose whatever she wants and whenever she wants.  In short, she's like our new queen.  And we have to love her.

Enter reality, the context.

It's 2030--the Year of the Consumer--is what the Chinese should call it.  World War 4 has just ended, the horrible war of marketeers versus privacists.  The latter has won, marketeers have been put on notice, and consumers now own their greatest asset… their own data.

And not just their data, but ALL their own data.

Tables have turned in this new era.  A consumer’s right to privacy is now a human right.  Each human is now protected as a consumer.  There are systems in place to protect and preserve these new rights.  And marketeers who break the rules are sent to the gallows.

Now back to our story... obviously of more interest to those of us that are in the direct marketing industry. 

She came to town with just a pointer to her data in ‘the cloud.’  And all she had to do was reset the pointer to say "I have moved to Random Town and grant only A, B, and C there the right to market to me.  I bring with me all the history of all my shopping up to this date.  And I can analyse this and that data to figure out what prices A B and C should be charging me. So if they are interested they are free to contact me.  I'm open for business!"

Imagine this new world.  No customer data is allowed in any company database.  Each customer owns and stores all their data, independently, in the secure cloud.  And marketers don't and can't push to customers any more, unless customers have explicitly requested it.  Customers pull, and pull only when they want something and want it now.  Being a consumer is now a series of reverse auctions.  They are informed, they open the auction with their requirements, they receive bids, they settle with the provider of a winning product or service, and they walk away necessarily satisfied.  And so does the business that just sold them something.

Is this reality a possibility?  No silly, this is fiction, so just listen and enjoy the vision of yourself in a brave new world where you the consumer are king.  Or queen.

When a business currently renders a service, and creates an associated transaction, they get to keep the data.  But what if at some point in the distant future a new sort of legal equalizer emerged between individuals and corporations.  Isn't it conceivable then that individuals would tip the balance get to keep “their” own data instead of the companies providing them services?  And if cloud storage and data analysis became dirt cheap isn't it also possible that consumers will now be the ones that buy into it en masse and use it proactively in order to enhance their needs and lifestyles?  Finally, isn't it also possible that businesses will want to access, and compete for, that holy grail of marketeers -- a customer that comes along with the entirety of ALL their behavioral and attitudinal data?

Lol.  The thought of this new world is as ludicrous to me as it is interesting.  As someone who's taken a professional oath to protect consumers from indiscriminate marketing... what if our crusade goes too far?!

“There's a new girl in town.  I'd like to date her.  She's given me her number.  And I hope I’m good enough for her because the line to her is one heck of a long one…” is what will keep the Random Town marketeers up at night.

Why do I like the sunset so?

Is it the magnificence, the vastness, the unbridled explosion of colors?
Is it because my photos always turn out so spectacular? (hahaaaa, mine are the best!)
Or is it my key to accessing peace--effortlessly, without trying, daily

It's a ponder I enjoy each and every time I watch the sun blaze, soften, dip and then melt into the horizon... from my front row seat at home... yep lucky me... and of course when I'm in magical places like Goa. Its remarkable how my mind and senses open when the sun sets.

Sunsets are me for an awesome, personal experience
But one I like knowing is shared by everyone everywhere; we see and feel the same
Almost Godly in giving me and everything we know Life, generally and daily
Showing me that beauty is fleeting; I must be present and aware to enjoy it

My soft end to a usually hard day; when I'm lucky to catch it
What I'm reminded to respect; sleep too late and mornings suck
Slows down my breathing; makes me aware of myself
Relaxes birds the same; they glide into smaller circles and then settle down to rest

I like knowing too that the sun actually hasn't really set
Rather a refractive illusion... from there, to here
My life source, air, regularly hiding our original source, for a wee few moments
Their own sneaky little meeting to plot the wonders of my next day.

yaay!

Oh why such malaise in such an "independent" country?

In a country where people starve to death because their safety net is routinely siphoned off by corrupt officials, one can argue the government is directly culpable as a Hitleresque mass murderer, and that too annually. The recent spate of corruption scandals (affectionately referred to as "graft" here), and their enormous scale, are now bringing home this point.

So why is there no outrage? Why can a people's leader like Anna Hazare be so easily marginalized? And why as a people do we sit on the sidelines and watch the potential for a critical democratic control - the Jan Lokpal bill - fizzle out right in front of our eyes?

Here's why I think corruption so acceptable in India. This should be especially interesting for those who need to be entertained in order for their curiosity and conscience to be aroused. And for those that like word play.

Karmasharma: Many in this grand old spiritual country view the poor and "dirty" (thanks Maureen Chao) backward castes as living into their Karma if they suffer and die... and for those that may care about the plight of the underprivileged the media does a pathetic job of "showcasing" their anguish and interests.

Disenchantmentality: The common man is already so disenfranchised that he has no redressal mechanisms to fight for his basic human rights, far less fight for anyone else's. This could explain the apathy and lack of personal initiative that leads informed and educated Indians to proactively not exercise their right to vote. Do you know any Indian that knows who their local MPs are?

Victimism: We like being victims, because "victims" are absolved of all responsibility and are allowed to sit around crying like a bunch of babies. And oh did I forget, a victim can't sit around crying unless it has an abusive somebody to point its quivering little finger at. Its sad but its true, we're a nation of crybabies not doers.

Religionry: Religion in India has evolved into a scary, bloody and self-inflicting phenomenon that keeps us from progressing as a self-aware and responsible nation. An age-old belief system in the bountiful sweetness of mother nature and its animal children has been subverted into a belief in warring God-systems. And in the process, everyone not only has to look to God for fear and fortune, but treat politician leaders as Gods rather than the social servants that they are meant to be.

Richypoor: A vast majority of India has been led to believe that India is a "poor" country, and therefore convinces itself that poverty and mass corruption are but a natural part of India's developmental evolution. When in fact we are already one of the largest and wealthiest economies on the globe, with scores of dollar billionaires living large at the expense of everyone else. By the way, did you know we were the richest country on the planet till the Brits came and looted us?

Purgings: The Brits didn't kill enough of us when they ruled us, except for the 1770s Bengal Famine that took a meager 10 million Indians - God bless their souls. Our lack of sustained extermination, unlike most other cultures who have died of plagues or slaughter, never created the kind of renewal that brings with it collective mobilization against failed policies and institutional corruption.

Distractionation: Early in our evolution as a republic, Partition was used to create a fake enemy and distract us from the potential to actually create something better and stronger in India. The state of our own failed democracy, and its pathetic attempt at regional policy, is also to blame for the situation Pakistan finds itself in today. We cannot wash our hands of facts by asking only them to "look within."

Conflictionation: Many large businesses fund the election of corrupt politicians who then serve their interests, and the laws are not strong enough to protect citizenry from a broken system chock full of special interest loopholes. Where in the civilized corners of our planet does a democracy allow a billionaire liquor baron to be an MP while also running a vast and influential commercial conglomerate?

Unconstitutionment: And finally, India's constitution is all talk and no walk, and has been this way for decades. It is a worthless piece of paper full of false promises, at best, and is a court order for the upward re-distribution of power and resources, at worst. Our constitution, along with a massively subverted bureaucracy, is arguable the world's largest system for institutionalizing cruelty, hunger, disease and death.

So, on this our 64th independence day, lets step back and think about ways to individually

- shed our KARMASHARMA and DISENCHANTMENTALITY

- stop blaming our VICTIMISM and RELIGIONRY

- stop believing the RICHYPOOR myth

- replace DISTRACTIONATION with responsibility

- be thankful for few PURGINGS

- and then break the back of CONFLICTIONATION and UNCONSTITUTIONMENT!

Otherwise, India will burn, fall apart at its seams, and be forgotten as an experiment in the dreams of textbooks. No more, and no less. And quite a sorry prospect for the next generation of Indians.

-vikram

The truth be told about driving in India

Why do random people in India prefer to walk in the middle of the main road instead of on the side of it? Maybe they lack excitement in their lives? Maybe they have so much faith in their destiny of survival? Or are they just plain suicidal because they’ve got nothing left to lose? Regardless of which it is (and yes all 3 conditions are very very sad), the end result is it sends drivers like me careening around them and putting everyone around at risk. Aside to the cops: stop these asinine few and squeeze your weekly quota of bribes out of them instead of me when I’m trying to cut lanes to avoid maiming them.

Why do Indians never use their side-view mirrors, or completely remove them?! Do they not understand their use and value? Do they really want to skin another car a few inches closer without breaking their mirrors? Or are they just so “forward looking” that the mirrors don’t matter once they’ve skinnied past the last auto or freaked out mutt… and they’re on to their bright new future of other vehicles to skin by? Regardless of which it is (and yes all 3 conditions tell me Indian drivers are amply insane), the end result is it leaves drivers like me begging for mercy as we shinny our skinnies past them, and of course puts everyone on the road at risk. Aside to the cops:  stop these asinine few and squeeze your weekly quota of bribes out of them instead of me when I’m peacefully engaged in an illegal though much less dangerous phone conversation with my giggly girlfriend.

And why do stray dogs and cows lie and doze off smack in the middle of the street? Are they mocking us humans? Are they so bloody bored with the world we give them that they feel safer on the road? Or have they too gone stark raving mad in this land where chaos was invented and Murphy is re-born every few seconds? Well, maybe it’s because they don’t give a flying woof (or moo), and the cops can’t squeeze a penny out of them :). Ok ok I will stop here now. Let’s not drag our poor and adorable pi-dogs and holynesses, respectively and respectfully, into this mid-week rant of mine.

So there you have it. Randoms, side-view mirrors, and animals – all staking a claim to a road that my taxes go toward diligently repaving 8 times a freaking season. Keep and eye on road and your truth will be told too!

vikram

Moving Retail's Marriage from Convenience to Relevance

As Indian consumers become more educated about products available to them, and become more demanding in how they receive these products, marketeers are waking up a stark new reality. Scarcity of choice has changed to abundance, customer has transformed from beggar to king, and a once remote phenomena called "competition" has now arrived in this previously oligarchic market. And this trend will only increase as retail invests expertise, modernizes and consolidates.

Enter the relevance of Customer Loyalty as a tool for driving retention and positive brand experience. Let us explore this a bit further.

Hydroponics, the urban face of Agriculture 2.0

Hunger and water scarcity are but two sides of the same coin, both in urban India as well as in farming communities depleting their reserves of arable land. We desperately need for traditional practices of soil-based agriculture to be complemented by more productive and ecologically-sustainable forms of modern agriculture. These modern practices need to be cognizant of our modern day challenges of de-forestation, overly complex distribution of perishables, overuse of water for irrigation, excessive use of transportation fuels, and the rising menace of food price inflation.

Making Innovation Contagious

Utopia in the developmental world can be visualized as the existence of a vast array of 'copy, tailor and paste' programs, where sustainable social innovations are being massively replicated across low-income communities, and the capital markets are seeing enough opportunity to trade in the sector. What would drive this ability to scale though would be an abundance of openly-available success stories and lessons learned. And what would allow for such successes in the first place would be a relentless focus on collaboration, as opposed to competition, by social entrepreneurs and their sponsors. Collaboration in specifics is the essence of what will scale social impact, and set it apart from the purely commercial world that is obsessed with capturing value primarily for shareholders.

Our Invisible Green Collars

Imagine our beloved city of Mumbai if our hundred thousand 'ragpickers' suddenly vanished! Our neighborhoods would be awash in waste, well in excess of what the municipal authorities can manage. Our massive recycling industries, such as in Dharavi, would lose a chunk of their raw materials. Our city's harmful greenhouse gas emissions would continue to balloon. Our products made from recycled products would become more expensive. And most unfortunate of all, our poorest and most vulnerable members of urban India would lose their one and only opportunity to earn a meager 100 rupees a day.

IRIS to the (Triple Bottom Line) rescue

Between 2004, when I initially grew interested (through Net Impact, CA) in impact investment and the blended-value/SROI models developed by the likes of Jed Emerson and Sara Olsen, and today, there have been several attempts to mainstream the connect between social entrepreneurs and their financial sponsors. Enabling philanthropists and capital markets to engage social innovators on a healthier footing, and build overall capacity in this sector, has been a challenge. I am therefore encouraged now to find that a number of SVCs/social impact investors have built tools to support their due diligence activities, measure and benchmark their investees, and report against a standard of social and environmental indicators. It would seem like the notion of the 'triple bottom line' is now here to stay and a recognized 'must' in order to scale the impact investment sector.

Godliness revisited

Whether ‘believers’ or not, the idea of God is pervasive in our over-complicated little lives. God is either our friend or foe, based on the circumstance dealt. An unfortunate but true universality. As much as we love and exalt God when times are good, if someone dear to us is at death's door, we will choose to beg God for a recovery, often as a quid pro quo for confessing our sins.