Santa & America’s Schizophrenia – Published on SikhChic
On my way back home, as I pondered over our interaction, I thought of another recent incident. But, before I get into that (and, you must be wondering, why Santa?), here is what I look like [Top photo on the right].
The only difference: I was wearing a red turban and shirt on that day. As you can see, I still have a black beard. So, I don’t think I really look like Santa! But, at least, the kid thought so.
Going back to the other incident. Here is what recently happened with a fellow Sikh-American. Cartoonist Vishavjit Singh was featured in a Facebook Tips video that showed up randomly in people’s feeds. It immediately attracted a barrage of ignorant comments from bigots and racists who didn’t care about the content of the video or what Vishavjit was saying. These trolls instead chose to attack him based on what he looked like!
That is, because of his turban and beard.
Now, compare the above treatment with my being called a ‘Santa’ – a legendary, saintly and fatherly figure that represents Christmas in many ways and forms!
Isn’t that good? Hell, yeah!
via sikhchic.com | The Art and Culture of the Diaspora | Santa & America’s Schizophrenia.
SANTA FOR A DAY – ISIS FOR THE REST?
Photo credit – littlesikhs.com
Christmas! What a wonderful time – isn’t it? Holidays, Family, Food, Gifts – enough reasons to love it! Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas, or get gifts, who doesn’t like festivities?
Yesterday, I went to my daughter’s school and a cute little kid told me – “You look like Santa!” “Is that good or bad?” I asked. “I don’t know”, he said in all his innocence. On my way back home, I pondered about our interaction and a recent incident came to light. But, before I get into that (and, you must be wondering why Santa?), here is what I look like.
The only difference, I was wearing a Red turban and shirt today. As you can see, I still have black beard. So, I don’t think I really look like Santa! But, at least, the kid thought so.
Going back to the incident. Here is what recently happened with a fellow Sikh who was featured in a Facebook Ad. Vishvajit Singh was featured in a Facebook Tips video that showed up randomly in people’s feeds. You can watch the video at the end of this article. Below is a sample of comments he got from bigots who didn’t care about content of the video or what he was saying. These trolls rather chose to attack him based on what he looks like!
Now, compare the above treatment with being called a ‘Santa’ – a legendary, saintly and fatherly figure that represents Christmas in many ways and forms! Isn’t that good? Hell, yeah!
What happened to Vishvajit Singh is nothing new. Sikhs have been targets of hatred and bigotry not just in US but also in their home country (India). This has happened not only once or recently, but throughout our 500+ years of history. But, the point I want to make is not about unwarranted hatred against Sikhs and other communities. We have all read and listened to it many times and it will sound like another rhetoric.
Rather, I simply want to put forward something that I believe is quite strange. Come Christmas time, every parent is ready to hand over their kids to a stranger dressed up as Santa – overly sized costume complete with long beard, moustache and headgear. Well, often, these costumes are smelly, hands are dirty, and conditions are not really the most hygienic. Add to it the fact that some of these Santas don’t even go through background checks!
Now, how many other occasions can you recall where parents would willfully hand over their kids to a stranger, or to emphasize, a ‘person’ with above description sans Santa costume? Yes, that stranger could be me, who this cute little kid called Santa! And, like me, many others who don’t look like so called “Typical American”, the way bigots and hate mongers describe it – White, European, and so on… And, us Santas, exist all year around. We don’t do it for money, though. It is part of our daily life – it is our faith!
Now, bear in mind, I do not intend to spoil the holiday mood or mean to say that anyone should stop posing with Santa! I take my kids to mall to pose with Santa. They actually took pictures yesterday with local Santa on the fire truck. I also do not intend to discount one of the biggest virtues of America – acceptance of all faiths, cultures and races, which most Americans embrace.
I just want to point out double standards of bigots (like the ones who posted comments on Vishvajit’s Ad), who in no way represent the spirit of America! Most racists and bigots don’t have the courage to say such things face-to-face, so they use the Internet. Nevertheless, they feel the same way and would never allow “Year-Around Santas” to even come close to their kids. The funny thing, though, they are out there today clicking pictures of their kids with someone, whom on another day, they might call ISIS or Taliban!
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Here’s Vishvajit Singh’s Facebook Tips Video
Also, published on Medium – https://medium.com/@jasmeetio/santa-for-a-day-isis-for-the-rest-c7e9a4f501ab
12 Hiring Tips For Your Early Stage Startup
Startups live or die based on their ability to attract talent. All other factors that can affect startup success are secondary. This is even more pronounced when you are an early stage startup (read ‘resource constrained to the extreme’) as you have little or no room for bad hiring decisions. Having said that, everyone makes hiring mistakes and it is a process that you hope to get better at with experience. If you are like me and most other entrepreneurs, you would dump conventional wisdom and techniques, and build your own set of hiring rules that are driven by your unique style and situation. Over the years, I have been involved in several startups and here are some of the things I have learned in hiring during early days of the startup (i.e., first 2-5 employees).
Top Benefits Of Implementing A Social CRM Strategy – YibLab Blog
Here’s a question that I get asked often by sales and marketing professionals in regulated industries – does a Social CRM strategy work for regulated industries?
Let’s face it, if you’re in a regulated industry where you need approval from compliance department for any kind of Social Media use, it is in fact difficult to fully leverage all the benefits of a Social CRM. So, it is extremely important to first figure out why you need a Social CRM and understand benefits your company seeks from implementing it. Without understanding your specific needs and clarity on custom requirements, Social CRM implementation will not go much far and it is going to be an uphill task to convince C-Suite and Leadership to commit and invest in it.
via Yiblab | Top Benefits Of Implementing A Social CRM Strategy.
Traditional Pharma Sales Model – Is It Really Broken? – LinkedIn Group
There is a lot of hue and cry about traditional Pharma sales model and why it doesn’t work – prescriber access, ROI concerns, more stakeholders in the process, regulations, and so on..But, are these real issues? Most Pharma companies continue to spend Billions on the traditional model – why? Is it really not working?
According to you, what are the things that work? And, what are some of the most prominent issues in the traditional sales process?
via FiercePharma A Network of Pharmaceutical Professionals - Traditional Pharma sales model – is it really broken? | LinkedIn.
via Pharmaceutical Sales Representative - Traditional Pharma sales model – is it really broken? | LinkedIn.
via PMSA - Traditional Pharma sales model – is it really broken? | LinkedIn.
Here Are 3 Things You Are Missing Without a Social CRM – YibLab Blog
- Are you in market for a Social CRM, but don’t know what features to look for?
- Are you still not convinced about value of a Social CRM?
- Are you having tough time convincing your management to write a check because they don’t see the ROI?
If you answered yes to any one of the above, you are not alone. The good news (or, actually, the bad news) is that most of the companies that have actually made an investment in Social CRM do not leverage some of the basic features offered by the technology. So, what exactly does a Social CRM offer? The answer is complicated because feature set requirements of a Social CRM are dependent on various factors such as company goals, business functions involved, number of platform users, structure (centralized/de-centralized), industry, target demographic, use cases, regulation and compliance requirements, and many more. We can go into each of those in a separate blog post, but first, let’s get the basics right.
via Yiblab | Here are 3 things you are missing without a Social CRM.
Entrepreneurial Journey – How to raise your first round? – #Startup Meetup Event
Raising capital is one of the most arduous tasks for an entrepreneur. As part of the “Entrepreneurial Journey” series, we are bringing rockstar entrepreneurs from the NYC ecosystem to help you in your fund raising journey. These serial entrepreneurs have raised multiple rounds of funding and know in-and-out of raising startup money. They will share their experience and provide tips on fund raising and avoiding mistakes. More details about panelists and moderator below. There will also be good food and drinks at the event.
Sikh Tech Startup Founders – On Satjot’s Blog
It is sometimes very lonely to work on a technology startup. The ups and downs are unimaginable. The culmination of all the hard work is generally binary: (0) huge success, (1) failure. And it’s an emotional roller coaster that only other founders can relate to.
So, I’ve always wanted to learn about fellow sikhs who are running technology startups. I’ll try to kick off the list of founders here and hopefully you can add to it in the comments.
The Productivity Value of ‘Sent From My iPhone’ – Published On Inc
If you email from an iPhone, maybe that line that automatically plugs into your signature–”Sent from my iPhone”–feels tacky, like you’re being used as a marketing arm for Apple. Or maybe you do in fact love your iPhone, but the signature makes you feel uncomfortable because you’re not the type to humblebrag.
While many have opted to turn off the setting, though, others have found professional use for it. In a post on Boston tech news site BetaBoston, WorkLife.io CEO Jasmeet Sawhney explores unintended benefits of the signature line. His ideas might convince you to reactivate your iPhone signature, or if you’re not the Apple type, to create a similar tagline on your phone. (Microsoft employs a “Sent from my Windows phone” signature on its smartphones.)
Check out Sawhney’s post for his entire ode, but a couple of his points show how the brief note can actually serve as a productivity hack.
via The Productivity Value of ‘Sent From My iPhone’ | Inc.com.
Does Your Rigor Match Your Risk? – Disqus Comment On PharmExec
Your brand Is liable
Cases like these are not atypical in today’s world. Pharmaceutical executives need to think about evolving technology and be prepared for the impact when glitches happen. After all, the possibility exists that glitches may represent the same level of liability as a brand recall.
If your digital property is riddled with errors, your target is going to have a suboptimal experience. In other words, defects erode the relationship your target has with your brand.
via Does Your Rigor Match Your Risk? – Pharmaceutical Executive.