Wave of Smartphone Innovations

Now this is insane. In my last post “We live in exponential times”, I mentioned how quickly new developments are showing up in field of mobile computing and internet technology. First it was introduction of iPhone that changed the way we interact with mobile devices. This revolution placed internet in our pockets. After iPhone made waves in the consumer market, internet giant Google came up with an alternative mobile operating system Android and made it available to smart phone manufacturers. Then the concept of App Store was introduced by Apple opening a whole new world of possibilities for developers. Same goes for Android. Lots and lots of startups came up creating an unimaginable interactive experience for smart phone users and making their lives simpler. The demand and craze of apps can be judged from numbers. According to app tracking and analytics company Mobilewalla - The number of apps available on top four smartphone platforms is set to surpass the one million mark within the coming days.

One might think that more innovative apps will be introduced and thus innovation will continue. Smartphone manufacturers will make their products better by bringing down the price and by competitively placing their products in the market. But still there are many more things to come that we see in hi-tech Hollywood movies.

Introduction of Siri with iPhone 4S was again a revolution. Siri, an intelligent personal assistant that helps us getting things done just by asking, is not traditional recognition software but it understands natural speech. To compete with Siri, Android came up with Iris. So now we feel that technology has provided us things that we see in movies and what is next. Siri will soon be able to control the settings of any wi-fi connected device like thermostat directly through iPhone. Siri is still in beta phase and so we don’t know its limit. While this was a wow development, I heard about Senseye. Senseye will let you control your smart phone with your eyes. Insane!!!

We live in exponential times

We live in exponential times. Technology has radically transformed our living and the way we interact on daily basis. We are connected to the entire world with access to global information at clicks. Apart from an individual perspective, technology has affected business strategies on a large scale. 

We live in dynamic times. Technology has enabled businesses reach out to their target audience in different parts of world. The whole idea of marketing has revolutionized. Companies can easily give their information and run promotions via inbound marketing techniques (social media marketing) rather than sending promotion mailers to huge databases and spamming them. It always is a good business strategy to cater to a person who is actually looking out for something rather then knocking on his door and asking him to buy your products.

The scope of growth has increased for businesses, but at the same time competition has also increased as all the organizations are leveraging same technology to reach out to the audience. Moreover number of organizations are increasing as everyone aspires to be an entrepreneur. Bunch of start-ups today are focused on improving experience of internet and smartphone users. They are purely hanging on innovations of global giants like Google, Facebook and Apple. App development, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing are new buzzwords in corporate environment. It has created unimaginable opportunities. Before Facebook, was there a designation in companies titled as Social Media Exec/Manager? Who knows when google plus catches up with the market, what it has in store for developers. Something new might emerge which we don't know yet. And this resembles with what I wrote in my previous post - "the job that you are doing today may not even exist in 2020". Changing times! And so its important to keep yourself updated.

With more and more innovation in computing technology, the word Globalization will soon fade away and will not hold any severe importance as it will be for almost everyone. Capturing business opportunities from any corner of the world without being physically present over there is now no new to anyone!

A perspective to career after IIT

Everyone has heard their parents saying “Study very hard for JEE and your entire life will be peaceful”. Well, this is correct up to a certain extent, but not always. The brand name IIT sometimes gets too heavy to carry in the corporate world. You are paid better in your organization than graduates from other colleges, but at the same time you will be burdened with high expectations. But that’s good in a way. You are always challenged with difficult tasks and that keeps you going.

My placement year 2010 was again a year suffering from after effects of economic turmoil. So, obviously there is no scope of making a choice of career. And in fact, in normal conditions I have seen very less people who are clear on what they want to do in life. People take offers whatever comes their way. Because months pass by and if you are still unemployed, you doubt yourself and your capabilities. Majorly, they feel peer pressure when others are already placed. But I think the place where you are studying is a reflection of your capabilities. Have you heard your seniors telling you that they are frustrated with their jobs in 2 years? This is when they are “Caught in the wrong job”. You take up any job for the sake of getting a job, but then when your work starts, you have to deal with it 9 hours per day. So, it’s extremely essential to figure out what you want to do in your life. And I know it’s very tough to decide as you have not experienced a corporate life. But at least one can be clear on a tech or nontech career.

And the most important tool to success is continuous learning because it saves you from being outdated. In a time where the world has became more dynamic than ever, you need to catch up very speedily with the change. May be the job that you are doing today may not even exist in 2020. So, adhere to Darwin's theory or you will be out of the game.

Remember: Career is not always about aspiring to have a seven figure salary in hand, its about doing something significant that you love.