Last week, Tech Talk completed one year. When I began writing last November, I started by getting the first 15 columns (3 weeks of matter) ready. Back then, I wasn’t sure I had much to say beyond a few weeks! But then, as time has passed, the joy of writing and sharing my thoughts has ensured that not a single weekday has passed without an update in the past year. Yes, some weeks, it has been harder to think of what to write, but the thoughts and ideas have always come.
At the start, I used to think of Tech Talk as a daily column, somewhat on the lines of Red Herring’s Catch of the Day. But then I realised that not being a journalist and the pressures of running a company make it almost impossible to sit and write on a daily basis. So, I’ve evolved a mechanism where I take a theme and then cover that in 1-2 weeks. Most of the week’s writing is done in one or two sittings on a Sunday morning, so there is continuity in the flow. It takes about 30-40 minutes to write one day’s column, so the week’s writing takes on an average about 3 hours. (And for those weeks when I find it almost impossible to write, I’ve fallen back on a collection of thoughts from others in the two “Points to Ponder” sections – only realising later that abstracting from what others have said takes as much time if not more than writing one’s own!)
I have also received many emails from you all, most of which have been published on Saturdays in the Readers’ Comments section.
This interaction has also fueled some of the thinking which have become columns. Thanks to everyone who has written in and taken the time to share some of your thinking.
The writings may not be as journalistically refined as they ought to have been, but they are the writings of a “technopreneur” – one who believes strongly that a mix of vision, optimism and entrepreneurial thinking is what the world needs. Even though internationally we are going through a technology slump, I cannot think of a better time to think about tomorrow’s world and build companies – the challenges and opportunities are immense. This is what I have tried to convey though my writings and the collection of quotes from various others (who say some of the things much better than I could have!)
The past year has been a difficult period for many: as companies have slowed down on technology investments, many tech companies and jobs have disappeared and venture capital for new ideas is almost non-existent. This, though, in no way diminishes the importance of technology in the years to come. If anything, the push is towards greater (and now, smarter) use of technology in companies.
