Between this tweet in August 2009 and the $ 19 billion offer by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2014, the snubbed job-hunter worked on his epic comeback , alongside Jan Koum and created a product that transformed the world around.
Look at how the ‘'No Ads, No Games, No Gimmick” Whatsapp has transformed life around you. Be it personal or professional reasons, it has transformed the way we function.
A decade ago, who would have imagined that a vegetable vendor in a Tier 3 Indian city would Whatsapp images of his stock and clients would place orders, if they sensed the stuff to be fresh. Today, it’s a reality
After re-launching cajobportal.com in its new PHP avatar last fortnight, we shockingly realised we didn’t have “Share on Whatsapp” feature on our pages. It is an imperative, we told our developer, irrespective of the cost. “Please fix it ASAP”
Who would have imagined a state government banning usage of mobile data to prevent a belligerent Hardik Patel from galvanising an entire community on Whatsapp!!
You will find college goers saying “Whatapp me when you reach the auto stand. I’ll reach in a minute”. You find lovers, blinded by Cupid during their courtship period, crazily Whatsapping away each other, obliviating the hitherto ubiquitous Reliance phone. You use WhatsApp emojis to express yourself (An emoji of two beer mugs clunking does a better job than 'Cheers!'). Those SMS Blackouts on Festivals are now irrelevant in the Whatsapp era. You remain in touch with your school and college friends on those ever popping Whatsapp groups, even though you may keep them in mute mode. And finally you flaunt that you are in conversation with that senior HR on Whatsapp, such wonderful is your personal rapport with him/her.
No wonder, Whatspp has become a synonym for Disruptive Innovation. No wonder, the venerable Nandan Nilekani stated that India is witnessing a “Whatsapp” like movement in the finance sector due to emergence of payments banks, e-sign, IMPS and other technology-related revolutions.
We’ve innovated for centuries- the Button on our shirts, Ludo, Chess and Snakes & Ladders, the first iron-cased and metal-cylinder Rockets, Shampoo, Algebraic abbreviations, Trigonometric functions, the Zero, Decimals, Cataract Surgery, Plastic Surgery. Innovation is in our DNA !!
Look at the world around and you will find mavericks Whatsapping away each moment.
On February 2, 1993, post the 13 hour meeting at ICC, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmia, euphoric after having just moved the World Cup to India for a second time and forced England and Australia to surrender their veto power, commented “I wonder with this intelligence how you ruled us for 200 years”.[1] The iconic administrator, no longer with us, single handedly transformed the face of Indian cricket.
Ranganathan, 'the father of the sachet revolution, unleashed an era where his Cavinkare sachets completely obscured those costly shampoo bottles.
In the late 90s, employees of a company would moor over the 35-40 pages of the appointment ads for managers @ Business India. It was the only official source of new jobs, the rest being a closely guarded secret, privy only to select consultants. Dropping hard copy of CVs at a consultant/company’s reception was the accepted norm. Then we saw online start-ups like Naukri and Monster; redefining the rules of the game.
Who would imagine that the Indian government would mull banning usage of Gmail and Yahoo by its employees for official communication[2]; who would have imagined our political leaders and civil servants tweeting away their perspectives?
Who would have imagined that you would search for prospective bride/grooms on Facebook, check for mutual friends and enquire; that you would read your friend’s comments on the latest movie release before deciding to buy the ticket; that a company would ask for your LinkedIn profile before they rolled out the final offer letter.
Who would imagine that it is difficult to imagine even a single a day in our lives without access to data!! For many, Life w/o Internet is worse than life w/o food .
Mass adoption of the Uber and Ola app revolution forced the auto leader Anand Mahindra to take note of their presence as a potential threat to vehicle sales.
‘Kapalabhati’ and ‘Anuloma’ changed the morning routine for millions of Indians; Baba Ramdev created a Rs 2,000 crore empire, surpassing Jyothy Labs and Emami and prompting an amazed ‘CLSA’ to comment “Wish you were listed, Patanjali Ayurved”[3]
Joseph Schumpeter had predicted a century ago that business could survive and stay ahead of the curve only with innovation that was disruptive, not just incremental. The rest would just perish, like Ambassadors, BSNL landlines, tape recorders, and Nokia phones.
Innovation, thus, is the only way to survive and stay ahead on the curve !!
If you haven’t updated your POS system, you’re leaving yourself open to a competitive disadvantage. If you’re not taking social media seriously, you’re open to a competitive disadvantage. If you’re not Googling each and every customer you have, you may be missing some big connections you could use to accelerate your business
I like the way Thomas Friedman says it:
It’s time to decide whether you want to Whatsapp or simply get Whatsapped!!
Sincerely Yours,
cajobportal.com™ Knowledge Centre
References
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/3734038.stm
[2] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-bans-use-of-private-email-for-official-communication/articleshow/46438095.cms
[3] http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/wish-you-were-listed-patanjali-ayurved-clsa-115082800265_1.html
