The Funny online Selling Experience

So this was almost 2 yrs back when I wanted to sell my creative 2.1 speakers. The selling experience was both amusing as well as frustrating at times. I posted the ad with photos on two of the popular online websites. I installed their apps too, so that I could respond to any messages quickly. A few of the conversations with prospective buyers were so hilarious that I can still recall them vividly. One buyer had called me asking about the speakers, and after usual few questions, he asked- "Are the speakers having lengthy enough cords, so as to place them in different corners of the room". I was like, 'does this guy even know how 2.1 speakers are like!!' But I calmly replied that these are 2.1 speakers, and not meant for getting placed across the room.
Another buyer called and asked if the speakers have 3.5 mm audio jack. When I replied in affirmative, he asked if it will work with his Samsung phone which apparently didn't have 3.5mm audio output!
One caller asked me to lower the price being quoted in ad. I had already kept the selling price close to half of the current market price since it has just been 1 year for the speakers. When I told him that I don't want to sell it at any price lower than mentioned, he replied- "But several other 2.1 speakers are being sold at much lower price." I was like, "Oh, so all 2.1 speakers are same!"
There was one instance when a girl (or may be a buyer with female name) messaged me, and wrote-
"Heyy, do you want to sell this item?"
I replied- "No, I am just testing the selling feature here."
She:- "I too am new to buying here. Can you help me buy a good 2.1 speaker system?"
Me:- "Yes of course, you can buy mine."
She:- "But I actually want to buy, not just indulge in testing". I repented my first reply, and somehow brought the conversation back on track and explaining about my 2.1 speakers.

Another day, I got a message in my selling website's inbox, and started chatting with the buyer. Here is how the conversation went on:-

Buyer : "Hi, May I know why are you selling your speakers?"

Me: "Because I want to buy a better one."

Buyer: "Is it working fine?"

Me: "Yes".

Buyer: "Then why are you selling it?"

Me: "I told you, because I want to buy a better one, and I need money for that."

Buyer: "Which speakers are you thinking to buy?"

Me: "Haven't fully decided yet, but why do you want to know?"

Buyer: "May be I too will buy the same speaker, if good enough"

Me: "Do you want to buy my speakers or not?"

Buyer: "Yes, yes I do."

Somehow, we agreed on the price and then I asked for the location of exchange. 

Me: "So where do you want to meet for taking the speakers?"

Buyer: "Anywhere in Jammu city."

Me: "WHAT!! You are from Jammu?"

Buyer: "Yes, I thought you too are from Jammu."

By now, I was frustrated as hell,but somehow persevered.

Me: "Sorry, then no point discussing. I stay in Hyderabad."

Buyer: "Heyy, By any chance, can you courier the speakers?"

Me: "Yes I can, if you pay the additional courier charges"

Buyer: "Ok, please courier then. I will transfer you the money as soon as I get the courier."

This was the limit of my patience.

Me: "Good Bye", and I blocked the person.

Now, after so many months of the experience, when I came across the Cashify.in website, I found it to be a very promising website for selling old electronic items.

Disposing of e-waste is another big issue that can be solved by such initiatives. Many times, we don't sell our electronic items, because of the hassles involved in selling. With such hassle-free experience of selling, with no negotiations and haggling involved, I think cashify comes up with a very great initiative. #CleanUpCashOut is the mantra, i.e. you clean up your old electronic items, and you get cash out of it! You can know more about the cashify, by watching these two videos- Video1, Video2.  Use coupon CLEANCASH and get an additional Rs 250.

Digital India : Empowered India

Image Source: http://www.teluguaspirant.com/digital-india/1468/

It has already been so many years now that India has been a leading Nation in terms of Information Technology outsourcing and consulting. What has been worrying though that the same hasn't reflected with the Government machinery. The kind of technology revolution we see in private sectors, the same is missing in Government systems. Government offices are still prone to lethargy and corruption. While our IT prowess has ensured a big push to our economy and a worldwide recognition to our talent, it is yet to bring an equally visible revolution in the working of Government.

The Digital India initiative by the Government of India, is a laudable step in this direction. For the Nation to have a wholesome growth, it's necessary that people have easy access to citizen services. It is in this direction that E-Governance through technology can play a crucial role.

The objective of revolutionizing Governance through help of technology, can be achieved by focusing on three aspects:-

1.  Delivery of Government Services to Citizens and handling of related complaints.
2.  Keeping Citizens informed of their rights and duties.
3.  Involving citizens in policy/law making and various infrastructure development tasks.

Delivery of Government Services to Citizens and handling of related Complaints

Out of the above three, this is the most crucial aspect of E-Governance. Timely delivery of services and a complaint management system is the need of the hour. Here are a few suggestions in this regard:-

           a)   All the Government services should be digitized and processed through an online portal. Many of the services like Electricity Bill payment, LPG booking etc. are already being delivered through online portal in many states. The same needs to be carried forward to other services too.

       b)   It should be ensured that there is minimum requirement of paper-based documentation. The required infrastructure should be put in place. All the government offices should be equipped with required digital gadgets like Computer, printers, scanners, digital cameras etc. Officials working should be given required training to handle the same.

           c)   There needs to be proper awareness among Govt. officials about the need of such digital revolution, lest they develop resentment to the sudden change in governance model.

      d)   All the documents and certificates needed for various application process, should be kept at a central location allocated to every individual. This could ensure that there would be no longer be the need of submission of any documents for verification. A person could simply share the web link of a certificate with the concerned official, and he could verify the application looking at the same certificate.

          e)   All the Government departments should have their own websites, through which citizens could apply for various services. Since internet usage through smart-phones is on a rise, it would be a prudent step to create mobile applications for various departments. District level officials could oversee the development, and handling of all such mobile and web applications.

            f)   A robust complaint redressal mechanism should be put in place. Citizens should be able to lodge complaints through online platforms and their complaints must be resolved in a timely manner. There should be an appellate authority for every department’s complaint handling division, and punitive action for not performing duties in timely manner, should be specified clearly.

            g)   Citizens should be able to submit image, audio, or video evidences and supporting documents through the web or mobile applications meant for complaint submissions. An online receipt should be sent to the citizen, specifying the timeline of complaint. The responsible official for complaint resolution and the appellate authority’s name too, should be clearly mentioned in the receipt. An online complaint redressal tracking mechanism too should be put in place- where citizens could track the progress of complaint redressal and could take any necessary steps in that regard.

Keeping Citizens informed of their rights and duties

Knowledge of rights and duties is very important. Knowledge empowers more than anything and so it makes it even more important an issue. A large section of Indians are unaware of their rights and duties, which a huge impediment in the delivery of government services. Here are a few things that should be done this regard:-

          a)  There should be a completely searchable database of Indian laws,  rights and duties. A citizen should be able to search for a law or a particular rights through a web application. For example, to know about the law related to Dowry system, a person could simply write the keyword “Dowry”, and the application should display all the laws related to Dowry. Similarly, the application should display the duties of citizens too.

        b)  Right to Information is a very powerful law, but it needs to be made more accessible. RTI should be made completely online across India. Also, the privacy issues related to RTI process should be looked into. If the person fears asking for some sensitive information due to some reasons, his identity should be kept anonymous.

         c)  All the laws and policy being newly formulated should be prominently displayed on a common website. This would ensure that citizens know about all the ongoing reforms and could take corresponding steps to benefit out of it.

Involving citizens in policy/law making and various infrastructure development tasks

Our democracy must be reformed into a participatory democracy- one where citizens are constantly connected to decision making and policy making bodies. Citizens should be involved in the policy formulation and various other tasks of the Government. Involving citizens not only make sure that citizens feel being part of the process, but it also ensures that the process immensely benefits from the collaboration of thousands of intelligent minds! Here are a few specific suggestions in this regard:-

         a)   Whenever new policy or law are being formulated, it should be put up in public, on a website, for taking suggestions of citizens. The suggestions could be further voted upon by other fellow citizens. The most voted suggestions should be discussed by law makers. If they are feasible, they should be included in the policy being formulated.

         b)   If a large section of citizens are opposed to a law being brought up, their concerns must be looked into. Depending upon suggestions and criticism of people on the online platform, corrective measures should be taken.

            c)  Whenever a new development project is being undertaken, suggestions should be sought from public, on how best to carry on the project. The best ideas could be given some incentives too.

In this direction (of involving citizens), the government of India has already taken a nice initiative in form of the website mygov.in. Ideas are being asked there, and best ones are awarded too. The same model of collaboration needs to be expanded to other areas too.

Challenges Ahead 

It won't be easy to get in place an efficient e-governance system. There will be several challenges. First and foremost, internet penetration is still very low in India. Whereas urban areas are fast moving on broadband way, most of the rural populace is yet to have easy access to internet. Secondly, government employees may not take to technology changes too easily. People will be hesitant to adapt and learn. Moreover, their proper training too will be a challenge in itself. And third, people may take some time to adapt to the new e-governance system. We can do several things to tackle these challenges. Below are a few steps which I think, could play most important role in facing these challenges:-

     i)  Broadband access should be extended to lesser penetrated, rural areas by collaborating with private players. Government should tie up with private Internet providers to ensure that Internet is accessible even in rural areas.

     ii)  Computer training should be incentivized. Private Schools and companies should be encouraged to impart free computer trainings to citizens. They could be given some concessions/incentives for doing the same. Alternatively, government too could open public computer awareness and training centres in rural areas, where it is most needed.

     iii)  Government should encourage employees to take to the changing e-governance system. They could be explained it's ease of use, and could be offered some initial incentives for adapting to it.

       iv)  Proper awareness about the e-governance system should be spread among the citizens. Through newspaper advertisements, radio broadcast, pamphlets, and door to door campaigns, people should be made aware of the changing e-governance system, and how it is beneficial to them.

All in all, with an honest effort from government, E-Governance with help of technology can  hugely accelerate the vision of digital India. It can throttle the development of our Nation. Collaboration, involvement of citizens, and an efficient complaint redressal mechanism are the crucial keys, which can determine how quickly and efficiently we can propel our Nation on growth pathway, and how fast we can achieve the target of Digital India. Hope we really do get on the fast-track of digitization, moving on to the efficient way of e-governance.

P.S.:- This blog-post was written for an online blogging contest on #DigitalIndia organised by intel (http://www.intel.in/), through the blogging community indiblogger.

The Melbourne Dream !!

Source: www.visitmelbourne.com/in

Wow!! A contest for free journey expedition to Melbourne!!  The moment I visited that contest page, I was filled  with excitement!! Just minutes into  reading the contest details, and I was  already dreaming of what all I would be enjoying in Melbourne! :) :)

First, it will be my first foreign journey and first journey on flight. So this journey itself gives me quite a bit of excitement you know :)

Then the ballooning in Melbourne!! Never done that, only saw those in movies. So you can well imagine the excitement in me. :) Watching the earth below from top above, what a fascinating experience it will be.

Source: www.visitmelbourne.com/in

And Ohh, the Skiing! OMG, I will absolutely love skiing. That’s topmost in my priority list. Skiing on snow, feeling like having grown up wings in legs!! hahaha :P weird imagination but can't help it you know :) :)

Going to Melbourne aquarium too will be an amazing experience. Those small beautiful fishes are so lovely specially those transparent, colorful ones. I would love to visit them.

And Zoo!! The kangaroos of Australia! It will be a great change, No? I mean seeing a completely new set of animals than what we see here in India. :)

Source: www.visitmelbourne.com/in

The Island nature park too would be awesome for sure. The penguins!! Ahha, first the mesmerizing sea beach and then the penguins!! It will be lovely, fascinating to visit that.

And then obviously, being first time in Australia, shopping will be a must. I would like to bring back some beautiful souvenirs from there, and some for my friends too :) Having various delicacies too will be exciting!! Looking forward to the experience…   btw, I am already feeling positive vibes about it, as if the GOD is whispering in my ears- "its your time to visit Melbourne NOW!" :) :) hope so :)

Melbourne website link- www.visitmelbourne.com/in

If I had two EXTRA hours in a day.....

We have been writing on these kind of topics since childhood- "If I had....", "If I were....". It always feels nice to let loose our imagination and just pen all our crazy wishes.

Talking of this one, having two extra hours in a day won't be a usual thing. It would be a miracle to have so. Won't it? After all, who can imagine having 26 hours in a day! But miracles do happen. Yes, it does, you only have to be in the right place at the right time to witness the miracle. So, since having two extra hours will be a miracle in itself, so I would like to spend those two hours to help create further miracles, albeit of another kind. Am I confusing you? Wait, let me explain a bit.

Miracles can be basically of two kinds- One, totally inexplicable, divine miracles, and two, the miracles of equally surprising nature but brought about by human efforts. This second kind is what I am talking about of creating. Miracles can be created by human efforts too.

A 3 year old, cute girl child fells sick and is diagnosed of some very serious birth defects. India's topmost doctor specialising in that specific area, gives up and says there is only 1% chances of her survival if operated upon. Parents seek foreign consultations. One US doctor gives assurance of success but approximate expenses involved comes out to be around 60 lacs INR!! Parents are from middle class background and they have already spent 2-3 lacs in the child's treatment. What can you expect?? Fact is that, they go on to collect money from public as donations and  after having collected sufficient money they fly to US to have their child treated. By now, more than 90 lacs INR have already been spent, all coming from public donations, and the child is totally fine now. She has even started attending her playschool now. So, what India's topmost doctor  opined to be almost impossible, and even after getting medical assurance, what seemed an impossible task due to the huge expenses required, that impossible looking thing became possible. If this is not a miracle then what it is? This kind of miracle is what I am talking about of creating.

A poor girl goes on a daily working ritual, working in unsafe, untidy, unhiegenic conditions and earning a meagre sum of Rs 100 daily. Suppose now, our organization picks her up, educates her, trains her in some technical education and voila, she starts earning Rs 20000 per month!! Now she lives a healthy life, works with dignity and earns enough. Isn't it a miracle for her? This is precisely the kind of miracle I am talking about.

I would like to spend the extra two hours in creating miracles. Yes, it may sound a bit strange, but really, I would like to create miracles in the lives of other not-so-blessed people.

Its all about how we put our available time to use. If  we use the extra two hours in an intelligent and well planned way, then I am sure lots of big objectives can be achieved. Suppose I decide that I have to provide job oriented training to 10 females from a particular poor locality. The main challenge will be to arrange the fund for doing so. I will rope in our organisation for this. Being a registered organisation, we would be able to apply for grants being provided by many national and international organisations. So I will prepare a well drafted plan and send it to those organisations applying for funds.

Another issue that will need to be taken care of is 'manpower'. If I want to do something really significant, I will need to rope in other like minded people. Spreading words, inspiring others to join the cause will be another major objective. So basically- choose the miracle to be created, think upon how to make it a reality, and then start working on it in a well planned way- these are the things I would like to do in those two hours in my effort to create miracles.

We all know time is very precious, much more precious than money. When a person is in need of help, rather than helping him monetarily if we spend some time trying to spread the word about him and urging others to help, then it will be of much bigger help. Any extra time that we get should be spent judiciously. We can achieve surprising results by putting our time to use in an intelligent and productive way.

If we wish, we can bring about lots of miraculous changes in the lives of people around us. Two hours daily is a good amount of time to do so. Only thing is that we really wish to do so, and I wish to do exactly that- I would like to spend those extra two hours to create miracles in the lives of people around us.

*****           *****             *****            *****           *****

P.S.- This blogPost has been written for one of the indiblogger contest organised by HUL and Indiblogger team. If you liked my post then please leave your feedback and comments in the comment section below.