March 12, 2017 by apurvadesai
Working in Silicon Valley for nearly two decades, I’m frequently exposed to the concept of innovation. Sometimes even overexposed to the point of hype. But what I’ve learned over the years is that innovation isn’t limited to technology companies, driven by a secret algorithm or framework yielding the next game changing software or hardware product. Rather, innovation is all around us, perhaps equally generated by accident, or by trial and error, as it is from an organized innovation initiative. It’s evident in all aspects of my daily life, from cooking, to music, to travel, and theater as well as technology and is globally true. What I’ve observed though is that the universal factors in the entrepreneurial attitude that creates such innovation are curiosity and perseverance. Curiosity to investigate multiple options and approaches and the perseverance to keep going when those initial options keep failing and conventional wisdom all around you is saying it won’t work.
As I reflect in my own diverse and seemingly unrelated interests just in the last two months, such innovative spirit is very evident. Two examples in particular reinforced this to me. Continue Reading »
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Posted in Entertainment, Leadership, Pop Culture, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged Aaron Sorkin, Curiosity, David McCullough, entrepreneurship, Gaggan Anand, Grandmaster Flash, Hamilton, Hip Hop Evolution, Innovation, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Netflix, Perseverance, The West Wing, Wright Brothers | Leave a Comment »
March 5, 2017 by apurvadesai
I’ve been to India 8 times in first 40+ years of life and 8 times in last 3 years now that I have a job that requires frequent travel to India. In all of those trips and now reinforced more than ever, it is the sound of India which is most embedded in my mind whether the 1980’s in Mumbai or 2016 in Hyderabad (picture from below – December 2016).
To me, India is: Continue Reading »
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Posted in India, Travel | Tagged India, Magical India, Sounds of India, Travel | Leave a Comment »
March 23, 2014 by apurvadesai
Terms like Wearable Technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) have forced itself into the mainstream. In this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, IoT was all the rage. Connected toothbrushes, home audio systems and thermostats were showcased. Early adopters have embraced products like Google Glass, and there is even now a backlash in some places against the use of Google Glass.
As I think about uses for such devices, particularly a product like Google Glass or a Samsung smart watch, it makes me think of a possible use case from my own experience, and whether we’d really want such a use case.
A few years back, I had a job that I commuted to in San Francisco. Living about 15 miles away, I would take public transportation on the Caltrain to the last stop in SF and then walk about 25 minutes one way to my office. Typically taking the same train each day at the same time, I would always be making my walk to the office from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM. I would take the same route each day and would pass hundreds of pedestrian commuters walking the other direction. Continue Reading »
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Posted in Commuting, Internet, Silicon Valley, Technology | Tagged Google Glass, Internet of Things, IoT, LinkedIn, Linkedin Interent of Things Use Case, Samsung Smart Watch, Wearable Technology | 1 Comment »
March 16, 2014 by apurvadesai
I’ve been fascinated by Sugata Mitra’s self-direct learning methods, which I wrote about here http://bit.ly/OuXgcd and here http://bit.ly/1ddR9Pu. Now, he’s opened his first learning lab in India. More below
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Posted in Education, India | Tagged Learning Labs India, School in the Cloud, Self Directed Learning, Sugata Mitra | Leave a Comment »
March 1, 2014 by apurvadesai
One of the most popular posts I’ve written for this blog was about my experience with the Indian Head Wiggle, (or Shake, or Bobble- many names for that most Indian of Indian gestures) inspired by an analysis of the wiggle in the fantastic book Shantaram. That post for many years was a cited reference in Wikipedia for the Indian Head Wiggle. I even was interviewed on Canadian radio for my so called expert perspective on the Indian Head Wiggle. Needless, to say, this gesture and topic has become important to me and something that I’ll pay attention to as I hear about in the media. Continue Reading »
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Posted in India | Tagged Indian Head Bobble, Indian Head Shake, Indian Head Wiggle, Shantaram and Indian Head Shake | Leave a Comment »
November 30, 2013 by apurvadesai
As we all know, the Internet is a treasure trove of information- some useful, often useless; frequently educational, unfortunately, repeatedly ignorant. Pick your favorite pair of opposite meaning adjectives, you can apply it to the information on the Internet.
But the good, educational, information is indeed abundant. It’s overflowing and the trick is how to filter it, find it, and make time to read it and avoid the useless information. My approach has evolved, with a current go to model consisting of multiple web and mobile social media and news applications coupled with multi-platform productivity and storage tools. Here’s how it works. Continue Reading »
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Posted in Internet, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Startups, Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged Evernote, Instapaper, Read Later, Reading Internet Articles Later, Twitter, Twitter Instapaper Evernote, Web Content Discovery | Leave a Comment »
October 7, 2013 by apurvadesai
The other night, I was walking in downtown San Francisco after a work event near two other pedestrians, two men probably in their mid twenty’s. I could overhear parts of their conversation when one of them said, “I hate technology. I forwarded the email to her, and then she posted it on …….”. It seemed to be a discussion about singles, dating, and technology and the first thing I thought about was, of course, Aziz Ansari!
On September 7, 2013, I attended a comedy show of acclaimed comedian and Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari at the Victoria Theater in Dayton, Ohio. The evening started out with a funny bit where Ansari allows the audience to take a picture of him on stage, a practice that had just previously been announced as prohibited. Ansari wondered why fans were so eager for a picture that would inevitably be blurry and sure enough here’s my requisite blurred photo. Continue Reading »
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Posted in India, Lifestyle, Pop Culture, Social Media | Tagged Aziz Ansari, Aziz Ansari Dating Expert, Indian American expert in dating, Indian Americans in American Society, National Asian Indian Sammelan, Texting and Dating | 1 Comment »
October 6, 2013 by apurvadesai
Every day on my commute to work, I drive past downtown San Francisco, onto the Bay Bridge, and into the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Along with the beauty of the San Francisco skyline, the glistening water, the contrast of the old and new Bay Bridge, a must see part of this drive is the shipping cranes of Oakland. I’ve become fascinated with the large cargo ships, the imposing cranes, the aluminum containers that neatly move from ship to truck, and the unexpected innovation and clockwork efficiency of the global and vast shipping and trucking transportation industry.
To get a closer look, I ventured to the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, right smack in the middle of the Port of Oakland. The park has a viewing center to see an operating crane and you can see close up the stacked crates at the port. Here are some photos from my afternoon at the park Continue Reading »
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Posted in Globalization, Silicon Valley, Travel | Tagged Bill Gates Shipping Industry, Gas in Your Car and Food on Your Plate, Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, Oakland, Shipping Industry, The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back | Leave a Comment »
September 15, 2013 by apurvadesai
The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in sports, dating back to 1851. It pits the worlds best yachting teams with state of the art catamaran boats. This year, the America’s Cup finals are being held in my backyard, being held in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area from September 7 to September 21.
I was fortunate enough to spend a day on the bay and experience the America’s cup as a spectator with the best seat in the house. Continue Reading »
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Posted in Silicon Valley, Sports, Travel | Tagged Alcatrez, America's Cup, America's Cup San Francisco, Bay Bridge Golden Gate Bridge, New Bay Bridge Old Bay Bridge, Team Oracle | Leave a Comment »
August 18, 2013 by apurvadesai
Here in August 2013, it feels like there is unprecedented promotion, clamor, and attention for the English Premier League in the US. Continue Reading »
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Posted in Globalization, Sports | Tagged An EPL franchise In New York, English Premier League, NBC Sports English Premier League, NFL EPL Cross Investment Strategy, NFL in London, Soccer EPL New York | 1 Comment »
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