Simplifying Ideas

I've always been interested in learning what makes a good presentation great. And have been constantly surprised at how few people are able to make a reasonable presentation. You'd assume that speakers at conferences hare professionals and this is their 128th presentation and they'd have learnt something about how to engage the audience. Surprise, surprise, all most of them have managed to do is perfect the art of completely ignoring the audience and their boredom.

Making effective presentations is not very difficult. There are a myriad resources online and otherwise which are very helpful. If only you pause, realize you need help and go find it.

This blog is not about any of this. Its about a great presentation. And simplifying ideas, in a manner to make it understandable. Not for the experts. But for everyone interested.

I recently came across this 2010 presentation by Roy Beck and was fascinated about the methodology he used to make a complex subject, simple. Not simplistic. Just understandable.

Have a look and I'm sure that the next time you have to talk on a subject, you'll have a few ideas on how you can simplify and make ist super interesting.

Enjoy !

Coin

After the Uber realization, I realized how there were several new services, innovations, products, ... that were out there and I had absolutely no idea about. I'm assuming that some of you maybe like me and have no idea about some of the cool stuff out there.

And so to educate myself, I decided to dedicate the next few blogs to cool stuff. And this week is dedicated to Coin. So what is Coin. And like all good things, who better to explain the concept than the folks who invented it.

Simple
All your cards. One Coin.

Its said that a picture speaks a thousand words. And a video a million. The coin video explains it all in under 3 minutes. Watch it.

Coin is still under development. And while it'll be shipped in the summer of 2014, its available as a pre-order. And yes, I have pre-ordered.

Whilst going through the product I came across a very interesting fact. The CEO and CTO of the company are of Indian origin. Kanishk Parashar is the CEO & Founder and Karthik Balakrishnan the
CTO.

An interview that Kanishk gave to TechCruch throws light on the thought process and the product. Here's to Kanishk and Karthik and to the success of Coin.

Uber

The first time I came across Uber was a few months ago. One of my colleagues had been to San Francisco on a business trip and the charge slip he gave me to approve had Uber on it a few times. I asked him what that was and he enlightened me.

I was fascinated. Sounded like a really cool idea. And let me allow Uber to explain what they do.

Everyday cars for everyday use.
Better, faster, and cheaper than a taxi.

Their other lines elaborate a little on that explanation.

The Uber App
Request, ride, and pay via your mobile phone

One Tap to Ride
Reliable pickups
Clear pricing
Cashless & Convenient

and finally

All around the world
Available locally, expanding globally

What I was amazed to find was that its now available in 26 countries. Including India. Not yet in my favorite city, Mumbai but in Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi.

And Uber summarizes their offering very well. "Uber is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From our founding in 2009 to our launches in over 50 cities today, Uber's rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer."

What makes Uber so fascinating is how it seems to solve a need we never even knew we had. All of us have spent umpteen occasions when we've been frustrated trying to get a ride and on the rare occasion we got one, we were ripped off. And they have worked smart on removing most if not all of their pain points. As an example, no tip required. Its already included. Simple. Effective. And hassle free.

What makes Uber interesting is that it partners with all of its stakeholders in what is a reasonable and fair manner. It results in an increasing benefit, not only to the consumer, us but also to the driver. The benefit to the ecosystem making it easier to visit the city, and of course to themselves from the commissions they make on the transactions works into a nice win-win situation for all involved.

One thing we can definitely learn from the success of Uber is that a simple and good idea, executed well in a fair manner stands a very good probability of success. And there are several opportunities that remain.

New York Marathon. Its more than a race.

Earlier today was the New York marathon. Last year we were recovering from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy and it was the first time since 1970 when the marathon was first run that it had been cancelled.

And so, it was great for New Yorkers to be out there either running or cheering. There were more than 50,700 participants of which an incredible 50,266 completed the race. An astounding 99+%. I guess this is helped by the difficulty level of getting a running spot in the Marathon.

The New York Marathon is arguably the most famous of the world marathons and one of the 6 annual marathons that form the World Marathon Majors. The others being Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and from 2013 Tokyo.

You can find more interesting trivia about the New York marathon at:
http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2013/the-2013-ing-new-york-city-marathon
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Marathon

or better still see the video

The point of this blog was that the marathon and its diversity of runners from the teens to the octogenarians has inspired me to participate in a Marathon.

However being a realist, I want to start easy. So will do a half marathon. I also want to start slow, and since its nearly the end of 2013, let me target next year. Not 2014, but 2015. So basically, I do hope to compete and complete a half marathon in 2015.

Would love to write more, but gotta run. Literally.