Gandhi's new Avatar

The question asked in the column titled ‘Yo Bappu’ was whether it was good for Gandhi to be made ‘cool’ so that perhaps the millennial generation would catch the philosophy. Turning the simple dhoti-clad-with-walking-stick image of Gandhi into a Nehru topi-wearing, guitar playing rocker may probably make the young inclined to the ideologies he had. Perhaps make them give an ear at least. Many of the respondents surprisingly had a black of white answer – either embrace Gandhiism or leave it. There couldn’t be a morphed version of the age- old philosophy that won India her independence. The article, I felt, just highlighted views instead of drawing out a way of getting the issue at hand sorted.

My own view is that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel on this. The issue is not of the youth being able to find him and  his teachings ‘cool’ to apply, it’s about them finding the teachings to be relevant to their life.  With increasing troubles for the youth today with studies, addictions, broken relationships or broken homes, few jobs, the picture of just standing still in the midst of the storm around is hard to digest.

About two centuries ago, Jesus went on to say “love your neighbor as you would love yourself”. Imagine today, that you were listening to that sermon by Jesus, and your neighbor was the party animal who blew the speakers off with music at any odd hour of the day. Wouldn’t you say “Ok Jesus, I’m sure you’re not talking about that guy being my neighbor!” . The funny thing is, someone did in fact get back to Jesus on that statement with this question “Who is my neighbor?”. Jesus answered with the parable of a The Good Samaritan.

The same teaching that was brought a couple of millennium ago, is still being taught with the same effect to millions of young Christians today. If those teachings could be brought in to the youth without the church re-imaging Jesus into a super-man who could even tweet and skype, then, what is lacking in spreading the philosophy of Gandhi is not the branding, but the relevance; how it will change their lives.

Anna Hazare has exemplified the fact that Gandhi’s yesteryear’s teachings still hold good today with the fast for the Lokpal bill in Delhi. His fight was against corruption. One cannot stop at just that. You don’t ‘do a Gandhi’ only when you want a bill passed. Like the faith you practice, it needs to be worked out in your own personal life daily.  You need to reach out at individual levels and address core issues. The Lokpal bill is of no use if tomorrow if you bribe a cop for breaking a signal or throw dirt around your own streets.

If the teaching is relevant, the audience will pick it up, no matter how the content is delivered, or for that matter what content. For a philosophy to continue, prolonged use depends on the effect that it has and thereby its net worth. If our country cannot substantiate either, then the new Uber-Cool-Gandhi may also flop two generations down the line.

Do you think icons of yesterday need to be given a makeover to make them relevant to your generation?

It’s not always nice to judge a church on the basis of their website, but then again, that’s the best impression you have of the church.

Do lemme know if you think my church website : www.treeoflifechurch.in made the cut!

Pic by James Almond on Flickr

I really doubt if time passes at the same rate of 24 hrs. per day. It really seems to have zoomed past this year.

1. Completed Graduation! Was in serious doubts over my passing.. and when I got my results I was like.. could’ve done better – how cynical can I be?

2. The Recession eased off and hiring began. Most of us in our last year were wondering if there would be jobs available for us when we graduated.

3. And I got a job, in the industry I wanted, in the company that I’d dreamt of, and with plenty of time to spare before I got in. My employment has been such a relief/blessing/miracle.

4. Started going to the gym. It’s been there for so long on my list, since first year at senior coll. And now it’s begun.

5. A new post graduation course that came along. This course in Leadership was well-tailored for my needs and that’s exactly what I wanted to do after my college. It came in just in time after college exams ended.

6. Got my first cheque for blogging. There were a bunch of ads running on my blog that I earned a bit from. They’re gone now. But still, it just encourages me to keep writing.

7. Desire fulfilled: Somebody made 3 full banners for the church. I wanted to design and print a few new banners for my church. I didn’t get any time during the year. Towards the end of November, someone from a church in Pune called in saying that they were printing extra banners and could custom make it for us for a minimal charge. In 6 days three new banners came home. You wouldn’t believe how big that was! One resolution complete.

8. My computer hasn’t stopped working. Not even a bit. It’s a P4, 11 years old, but it hasn’t stopped working even for a day last year. I can put of the PC and go to sleep knowing it’ll turn on in the morning. You don’t know how much of a blessing that is.

9. Went further in India than before: The furthest I’d been in india was Bangalore. This year, we went to Kerala and went even further from Munnar to visit Allapey, close to the bottom part of Kerala. Then in the same month went for a youth camp to Pune. You can say that it was a time of chilling out right after the board exams in May.

10. I’m getting help for the newsletter. It used to be a one man show – the church newsletter that I would design and print.. now there’s a new girl helping who gathers the articles and emails to me. This saves me around 6 days of work every month.

11. A trio of travelers landed up in our church through the blog. I have set up a blog for my church. It’s pretty convenient for someone living near the airport to visit our church since we meet in Santacruz. The hits on this site were going down and the bounce rate was increasing. Questions were raised over whether the website is a worthy investment. Just the next week, three guys pursing medicine were on an exchange trip form the US.. they came to our service. You can imagine my joy when they tell people they came in through the website.

Most importantly, and more than all of the above, my family, my friends, my relatives are safe! Accidents, calamities keep happening world over. This year, we’ve all made it through safely. You couldn’t ask for something better.

These are just a few things that I thought I’d list down. There are obviously many more. . I wrote this down in like 5 minutes. Maybe you want to take a look back at the year and see what’s happened for you.

I think in terms of my dream, 2010 has taken me 10 steps closer to it. The year has passed. And now it’s time to take on the next year.

What are the things you’re thankful for?

Here’s wishing you a very happy 2011 and may God be with you and prosper you in this year!

Getting ready for the Interview

My tales of doing things by the book and still not making it the way I should.

Have you landed your interview? Congrats! You made it half way.. now starts the real important part. The part that actually separates the best from the rest, the sheep from the goats, the milk from the water. You either make it or mess it in these few hours that you’re supposed to display your brilliance that was accumulated in the prior 20 years of your birth.

As I shared in my previous post, I got an interview at Big Bank Inc. (name changed thanks to company rules on blogging) Have you got one to go for? Here are few of the guidelines I followed.

What you need to do before the actual interview for the job in a bank

Interview

1. Read up on all possible Financial and interview prep material: Go through what you were taught in school and college. If you didn’t learn anything from there, sit with an accountant friend or girlfriend and ask him or her to help you out with certain important financial concepts. Make sure you get them all in. you don’t want to be left wanting in front of the probable scores of MBAs and PGs who’ll be applying with experience too. Rehearse all possible questions – theoretical and non theoretical as well.
2. Do a background search on the company: Go there understanding what the company stands for, how long it’s been there for, it’s business lines etc. the whole profile. Have it read.
3. Find out what your job needs from you: Do a search on the job profile you’ve been called for. Search the job descriptions and see if you’re up to it. And if you’re not, make a back up plan.. i.e. an excuse.
4. Dress formally: You want to have 2 people at least tell you if your attire is appropriate and professional. For guys, shirts and ties are a must at a minimum. Splash some cologne and get on a suit if you could. Personal hygiene if I need to mention. And carry a safety pack with Nail Clippers, breath mints, Deo and anything else you think you’d need. It’s a bit overboard, but when it’s your first time, going all out is essential.
5. Carry a pen silly! The interview may not just be taken verbally.. it may be written as well. So don’t land yourself in an awkward situation and forget to carry a pen.
6. Go well on time: Don’t make a bad impression on the recruiter by going there later than the scheduled time. Going early also helps you understand your environment better – so incase you find out the interviewer is a Bill Gates asking you how many steps you climbed up, or how many chairs were in the lobby.. going early helps you figure out all that.
7. Pray: Again? Yes, this time it’s not about getting in an interview, it’s about getting there and back in one piece. Pray that the trains run on time, that no one accidentally spills their coffee on you, that your shoe heel doesn’t come off… that you don’t become the next script for a Final Destination Movie. And that the interview goes well.

Or Alternatively… (as in my case)

Get told that you have to go for an interview but don’t know what position you’re being offered. Have a long weekend before the Monday that the interview is scheduled effectively getting ready hurriedly with whatever clean formal clothes available. Make it alive through the morning upstream train traffic, have people soil your shoes which weren’t polished anyway. Manage to reach the interview hall on time and you’re in the first ten.

Well I did reach on time, but then we were waiting there for over two hours. During the two hours I flipped the pages of the International Finance text-book that I had in my bag but put it down to play Football on my cell. Those few minutes were the only preparation I managed to do. Sometime later I had a brain wave. I googled Big Bank Inc. on my cell (Wikipedia) of course, and readied myself with facts about the company.

When around 60 people had gathered they called us all in together for the subsequent interviews. No point of going early.. the ones who suffered were the ones who came on time. So began the interview process.

Not the best run up to an interview, was it? What was your experience like before an interview?

The final post on the interview and the getting the offer letter to follow soon…

JOBS: Looking for a door to open?

I hope you’ve read part one of the story right here: Part 1.

When school would get over, it would be like a full tension-released situation.. free for the next two or three months till the next year or college was to start. When you graduate though in India, you’re not looking forward to freedom; you’re looking forward to the job that’s going to imprison you for the next most valuable part of your life. As morbid as this may sound, you actually look forward to it with zeal! I so wanted it too.

With all the tips and the advice in and around, it was overwhelming indeed. As you may have guessed there is no custom made job finding pattern. Sometimes even studying well doesn’t seem to cut it. Well, here’s some more advice.

I tried doing everything by the book you know.. to get my dream job or something close to it. But my story is a bit different.  I did everything and nothing to get my first interview. Did you read this line? Everything and nothing..

What you need to do get an interview in a bank or a Financial Institution

For getting an interview:

1. Pray: if I didn’t pray, it was surely my parents who kept praying. Praying has a calming effect. It’s kind of like throwing the weight of the job search on the almighty. You know he’s going to work behind the scenes somehow. It’s great to do that, but expecting him to email you with a mail saying “Neil, God has the right job for you, APPLY NOW” is foolish.  For a while that’s what I expected God to do (A bit of exaggeration).
2. Apply on all the job sites of the Banks: it’s pretty cool that companies these days have job sites themselves. I tried applying in Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, RBS, JP Morgan etc. The most irritating aspect is that you don’t get a reply.. not even an auto generated email saying your application has been sent. Please note that applying on these sites is different from putting up your resume on Monster and Naukri.com. None of the job sites proved useful because they had openings only for top positions and MBA+ candidates. I can say I got one good job offer from a contact through Monster.. but then again qualifications were required.
3. Network Like Crazy: If you’re spending time using Facebook and twitter, try and chat up with people who’ve got into companies before you. Doing that, I even was told to be ready for an interview with a certain established company. But the call never came. And still hasn’t. Update LinkedIn.
4. Polish your resume and make a cover letter: now this is a no brainer but I did this in readiness and anticipation of the interviews to attend. One day I got a call to send over my resume. I quickly from my phone found the draft of my resume in PDF and the cover letter.. and emailed it to the person. The next day.. I got a mail saying it hadn’t reached yet. The next day again it didn’t go. My resume didn’t reach that person ‘cause his company had firewalled his email address. Preparing the resume kind of went down the drain in that case.
5. Read Times Ascent and Classifieds 3x: When we were in college I remember always wanting to read the Times Education section. You know you’ve entered a new phase of life when you start reading Times Ascent (the job fortnightly in TOI). So many job offers to choose from, but you know the bigger the ad.. the more the work in the job.. or the lesser they’ll be paying.. and the longer you’ll have to stand in a line.
6. Do some more studying: During the ‘unemployed’ tenure that I served, I gave a lot of exams in Finance from the NSE.. the NCFM modules. It helps you understand the money market more than anything. Studying actually buys you time in a way to get the right job. And it looks better on your resume too.
7. If someone asks, tell them the truth: Tell people that you’re jobless because you’re focused on a particular career and don’t want to pick up all the marketing jobs that are available out there. Explain that your plan to study further and how you wanted your job to give you relevant experience. Don’t cook up anything here. Make sure you have a plan in the first place.

All this is what you SHOULD do.. now here’s what you COULD do

OR

Alternatively to all of the above, you could also accidentally bump into a guy (with whom you have never interacted with during your 3 years at college) while collecting your report cards from college. Then compliment him on his stylish new phone and have the following conversation:

You: Hey nice phone!
Stranger: Oh thank you!
You: You must be working in a nice company.. the phone looks expensive J
Stranger: Umm yes.. I work at BIG BANK Inc.
You: Really ? That’s where I’ve always wanted to work.
Stranger: Great give me your number then, I’ll let you know when there’s an opening.

Needless to say, in spite of doing everything possible in my strength, what landed my job interview was something totally unexpected. It took a long time like three to four months but the interview actually came. This guy, managed to set me up for an opening in Big Bank Inc.. And how did the interview go? That’s another post, really.

So what actually landed me my interview?

1)      Prayer

2)      Networking OR

3)      Destiny

Disclaimer: This weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. Further

Pic by sun dazed on Flickr

You have to be very careful while choosing some jobs in the cities these days. And after getting it, you need to craft what you tell someone about your job.

Envy, happiness and sympathy are part of three reactions that people will give a person who tells them that he or she is employed at a BPO – one of the most successful outsourced Indian jobs.  Envy because of the pay packet, sympathy because they work graveyard shifts, and/or happiness because they’re not loafing around blowing their parent’s money.

A few years ago, a new type of offshore job also arrived in India called the ‘back office’. The general job description prevalent in that time was that of a computer technician – the ones whom you call when you’re office computer or program malfunctions. This was because of the IT companies who set up back offices initially.

Very recently I too got into a big offshore bank in the back office. They gave me a very limited job description. Mum and dad, like any prudent, cautious and loving parent quizzed me on every aspect of the promise of a job. We three began to ponder if the job at hand was a call center or not.

Here’s why we wondered if it would be a call center:

• The job application explicitly said that the candidate must be ready to work in shifts. Call centers are the only one’s everyone knows who want people to work in shifts. (of course my mom who’s a senior official in the airport also has night shift.. but you get what I mean)
• They had pick ups and drops. There again, a call center feature
• My recruiter said ‘there would be some calling to do’.. was it lots of calling compared to call center.. less than that.. or more than a normal bank job?
• I was to deal with the US clients. Our knowledge meant that it was customer service.
• The interview had great emphasis on English speaking. They asked to stand and speak up for about a minute.. and they had a pain in the neck aptitude test a fourth of which had Grammar questions. Now why would they go over the top in picking good English speaking candidates if it wasn’t a voice process?
• The location of the bank branch was in Mindspace, Malad. What is Malad known for? Companies like 2G.. sorry 3G, Wipro, Intelenet.. all have set up their BPOs and KPOs there.
• They were hiring fresh graduates from any stream : when I was waiting to give my interview there were many there who had come from B.A. , BSc IT etc. . no one had any exemplary accomplishment in studies. I know my friends who work in banks like Deutsche and Axis, had to slog it out to clear some Banking Entrance Tests to work in bank. If a bank like the one I am in, didn’t want us to have passed that test.. surely the job wouldn’t involve any core ‘banking’.

My recruiter finally told me that it was a back office job that I would be getting. Much to my surprise that did not allay their fears either. My family and friends weren’t aware of the concept of Back office. That created a whole new set of discussions for me.

To convince them and myself too I called the HR and did some research, and as it turns out, a back office is the spine of most banks. Not because they fix computers.. in fact not at all.. but because they perform many of the central and core activities in a banks’ day to day functioning like reconciliations, transfers, KYC checks etc.  I was glad that something was cleared… but some doubts still lingered on.

Work began. One week later I was fully convinced that this job was a neat banking job. I guess I had to convince my self more than my parents. My job involves receiving trades from exchanges in London, consolidating bank reconciliation statements i.e. making it easy for clients to read, then pushing the executed trades in their respective client accounts (You play around with millions of pounds every time you do that). Did you doze off halfway through that statement?

It’s so difficult to convey this to people. I mean personally I too am guilty of thinking of my friends in the back office as mechanics or sort like that. Guess you only know when you do that job. That’s why I wrote down this blog. Plan to print it out and give it to anyone who starts debating about the type of job I’m working in. And also to serve as a reminder not to judge people on the basis of their jobs.

What questions have people asked you regarding your job?

Premier Taxis of Mumbai

“Please stay on the line… your estimated hold time is 10 minutes” The IVR system was pretty neat, but the customer rep took a long time to take my call. When the rep picked up, I told him I needed a taxi for the airport. The immediate answer was “we are very sorry to inform you that all our cabs are booked till 9am” . It was the same case with all the other cab services.

What is their problem? When I asked them how it was that all their taxis were booked – Does Mumbai go for a late night party on a Monday early morning? Is the company sending their drivers to sleep and giving them a night’s rest? “Sir our taxis are booked for the airport passengers and the railway passengers”

That answer made some sense. But a friend was convinced that they didn’t want to ply short distances and hence the excuses that morning. Finally in the wee hours of the morning I walked out on the main road and I got a taxi with an overhead carrier in no more than 3 minutes. Sweet!

There have been articles in the newspapers and on the media about why the current taxi fleet might be getting obsolete and that the new fleet of Private AC cars with Call centers might replace the humble yellow and black premier taxis of Mumbai. They may be cutting the pie a bit more, but I think the Premier Padmini taxis are here to stay and here’s why:

1. They’re available at 4 am :  I don’t know if they were booking the cabs for the tooth fairies, or whether they were scared of the ghosts at night, the AC car cos like Meru and Mega Cabs should have their cabs free in the early mornings too. It’s just plain silly that it isn’t available.
2. They’re cheaper (on paper at least) : Their fares even with ac are good competition for the Private companies. Of course if you’re not smart, they drive you around the town and charge you a bit more if you take them from the airport. They get the job done though.
3. Politics won’t allow it : The cab industry has figures of around….. with many political parties backing the rickshaw and taxi unions, more lobbying in their favor is already happening.
4. They don’t require advance booking: There are times when they refuse to ply you to certain places, but it is quite possible that you will find a yellow black taxi more easily on the road than the private ones.
5. Their part of our Heritage: That’s my view at least… Like the yellow cabs of new York, Mumbai’s black and yellow ones – the crammed and uncomfortable ones are a signature of Mumbai travel. They’re not going to go out without a fight. Just like Delhi’s Ambassadors

Do you think the Mumbai taxis are better than the private ones?

Won't be washed away

Who's copied your idea?

Since long I’ve been working on a certain Facebook page. I’d keep it interesting by sourcing content from a certain blog full of quotes and articles for the page’s niche. It kept the facebook fans of the page interested. Now another organization’s employee who’s an acquaintance, copied out my idea and began to do the same for his page. The used the same sources too. Ordinarily it wouldn’t matter. But the problem is both our fan pages catered to the same niche and we both had comparable content.

Later he went a step further to source content from popular novels’ summaries that were available on the net. I felt like my idea of sourcing content from popular blogs were being copied. He could think of another way to make his page content interesting couldn’t he? It is all the more ridiculous when both our status updates appear in the streams simultaneously and one has a quote, as does the other.

Pablo Picasso once wrote: “Good artists copy, Great artists steal” I guess he’s been in that place too!

There’s sometimes not much you can do when your idea is stolen. It remains a grey area till today in most cases. But you can deal with the attitude and emotions that go along with it:

1. You’re not alone: If you ever think you’re the only one out there stuck with someone copying your work, you’re not alone! My pastor too talked of someone getting the credit for an idea he had started off initially. I think he’s over it but he still remembers it so it was quite big a deal. Then there is noted blogger Jon Acuff who wrote a whole article after his stuff was being blatantly plagiarized off of Stuff Christians Like. Imagine how Apple feels when they find out that all new touch phones came out after they conceived the Iphone first!
2. Take it as a compliment: Yea, don’t swear back at them.  If you’re idea is copied, consider it really good to have qualified for the honor. If people are using your idea it’s most probably because it’s really good. This should help you to deal with all the anger, and frustration that comes with the thought.
3. Consider it as a challenge to your creativity: It’s not you who’s the ultimate loser, it’s the one who’s copied. He having taken the idea, it puts you in a spot to push your creative juices and come up with a new improved one. You’re ideating, not him. Your mind’s getting creative not his. I’m now coming up with some really creative ideas for the facebook page – some which I would never have thought of before this.
4. The copycat is not always ‘copying’ it per se: Jon Acuff later found out that the guy doing the plagiarism of his articles was a novice trying to find an article for his church’s new blog who really didn’t know much about copyrights. By the way I’ve done that so often even without credits!
5. It’s not the end of the world: Don’t let it bog you down. The worst part is when you give up because everyone is copying stuff. Like I said, if Apple had given up, they wouldn’t be at the forefront of the tech world today would they? So keep ideating and creating. You were built for it!
6. Your ideas were probably not yours anyway: I’m sticking my neck out on this one but, noted author Elizabeth Gilbert says in her speech “Allowing somebody, one mere person, to believe that he or she is the vessel, the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile human psyche. It’s like asking someone to swallow the sun.” In simple words, your ideas come from other higher places that loan it to you. Copycats are just borrowing it.
7. Admit it. You’ve COPIED too: No it’s not the same as the previous point. In closing I just want to say, your ideas coming from all those higher places are original ideas gifted to you. But I’m sure you know the times when you’ve purposefully stolen an idea. I remember when I initially started out my church newsletter; the first three newsletters’ content was exactly similar to that of an uptown church. I would just copy because I had no other sources at the time. Haven’t you copied too? This is karma at work people.

I’ll end with this quote: “So here’s my blog. And there’s your gift, waiting to be used. Don’t let it be stolen. You might have damaged it and bruised it in the past. Someone close to you may have tried to snuff it out. But it’s there. Tired of being silent, desperate to sing.” – Jon Acuff

What are you’re thoughts on the copyright a.k.a. right to copy?

Marrying your Facebook Profiles

Marriage is an institution that you can say has been common to man for a long time. Man says to woman, “will you marry me?” She says “yes”, they get married and then the two become one. When God joins man and woman, I don’t think he’s particularly joining their networking profiles too.

EX&why DSouza

AlphaandBeta Parab

You’ve seen them haven’t you?

The  phenomenon occurs when two consenting adults willingly create their profiles as one person when they get married. Social Networks were really meant for individuals. Yet, you have two persons who create a single profile representing both of them. To each, his own. But I have some questions..

..how do you manage the following:

• What gender do you put up?

Is it male or female? Sadly there aren’t any other options available on the sites today. Maybe in the future who knows?  It’s really funny when you’re writing on the wall and addressing the Man and the gender is female. “Hey man, what’s up? Did you see that Jolie in SALT? She’s the bomb!”. Might not make you roll over and laugh but it’s just ridiculous.

• How do you manage your Birthdays?

If there are two people, it’s likely that they have two birthdays.  So who’s birthday do you put up? Or do you keep changing it every time one person’s birthday is over? It’s silly when you’re wishing someone who has joint name, and you don’t know if it’s the guy’s birthday or the gal’s.

• Relationships?

If you have to add in your parents, what do you do? The networks usually allow only two parents. Does the Husband’s come in or the wife’s?

• Chats

Who’s online? How do we know whom we’re chatting with? A singer friend of mine who has a joint profile is quite unreachable during the week. On seeing her online, I send her an IM. But it’s actually her husband on there. Once again, there’s confusion.

I won’t put down every detail of a joint profile – events, invitations, wall posts etc. so long as you get the point:-

Gross Miscommunication

You see, basically joint profile create misunderstandings, they don’t help in communication and can also be difficult to handle.

Check this one out as an example:

Bob N Nihara : Last night in cape town
Comment: Oh so you two are here?
Bob N Nihara: No, no, only Nihara is there with our son, I’m still in the states.

What about Individual Opinion?

When you keep profiles separate each person’s status update is attributed to him or her. When you post an update on a joint profile, people assume that both of you have the same thought about something, which might not be the case. I know a couple whose husband posted an update on Jethro Tull and she didn’t exactly support that thought. They had it removed eventually.

A joint profile looks cute. But it is rather impractical. Two people can display their love, commitment or whatever in a similar way, if not better, with a separate profile. And at the same time they can both retain their individuality. Having said all this, it’s really up to the couple to decide what they want to do.

What do you think of  Joint profiles?

Related Posts:

• Why Facebook seems a better choice for a personal Blog
• The true value of Social Networking

“You might say it is highly unlikely that we would make the same mistake twice.” – Robert Luz

On signing up to any social network, a page comes where they will ask you to add your friends who are already on the network and email those who aren’t. At a few clicks of the mouse, we’re able to announce to everyone that we’re on so–and- so network and invite them over to have a conversation.

These emailing techniques are successful more often than not. I remember I would have continued to use Rediffmail as a webmail service hadn’t someone invited me to Gmail first (in those days it was on invitation only). Now thanks to that, I’ve made Gmail my default account. On Facebook, among my friends, I’m ranked no.3 for inviting people over to Facebook. Which means a lot of people accepted my invitations and joined Facebook. Email invitations usually don’t harm the user too much.

However there was this occasion just week ago, when this medium backfired. I was on LinkedIn and was trying to figure out how to bring my profile to ‘100% completeness’. The option came up to invite people to the network which I did after allowing it access to my email account. I clicked a few buttons and invited as usual the contacts in my email. Here’s what happened next:

1. Everyone in my email account got the invitation. And these were people who didn’t even know me (since I email a lot of people overseas for church work). They began sending me emails saying why they couldn’t come on LinkedIn and stuff. I had kind of made unprofessional conversation with people who’d considered me strangers, although ironically the emails were for a professional network.
2. Customer Support: Vodafone and SanDisk customer support emailed me back saying that they’d sort my issues shortly. I’m guessing the other customer supports that are on my email and didn’t reply probably saw my email had a laugh at it.
3. Emailing the Chief Minister: Responsible citizens may keep their politicians email addresses nearby, and I know I had kept the Chief Minister’s to email something on the floods a few years back. The email, I’m sure got to him too. “Dear Chief Minister, Neil wants to add you on his network”.
4. Email updates: I have set up email updates via Facebook and twitter. Now this is really annoying. LinkedIn even managed to send invitations on those addresses. Next morning I check my profile to see ‘Neil Quadros has invited you to LinkedIn’. Today, it was this –

There was one good thing that came out of this fiasco – a friend of mine who was long lost, got my email on his old address and then got in touch with me. That was really great!

Otherwise, please keep in mind the following when you’re looking to mass invite people to your social networking profile:

• You’ll invite people you wouldn’t know to your social network
• You’re not going to look any smarter by doing it via email
• Your professional contacts might not appreciate the conduct

I think most of us have such gaffes that make us resolve not to do something again. I don’t ever want to mass invite people again.

What do you think about email invitations?