Online Observations » Miscellaneous

Finding out what people are really about in this world

The Observer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:47:00 +0000

Have you noticed how Google suggests search terms as you type in whatever it is you are searching for? Well, I always think it is a useful tool to find out what people are really about in this world. I mean, Google probably only suggests those choices based on what everyone is searching for, right? Well, to illustrate what I mean, take a look at these screenshots. I started out by typing some words, and let Google do the rest.

The top things that people forget – in today’s world, the number one thing that people forget is their password:

How people sleep:

This is what people think about their wives:

and their husbands:

and their kids:

and here’s what the kids think:

And people’s top needs:

If you are a girl:

And if you are a boy:

So, as you can see, you can learn a lot about people through Google. Go do some learning of your own.

It pays to enroll in airline loyalty programs

The Observer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:22:39 +0000

I am a Frequent Flyer with Lufthansa, and I enjoy the benefits to the fullest. I get access to their lounges, get upgraded almost always when I am flying on a full flight, and earn miles which I can use to upgrade myself or buy tickets. It does have other benefits that I don’t use so much. But here was one more benefit that I came to know about recently. It was my birthday last month, and they sent me a gift

Yup, and it was nicely presented too, where I had to go online and unwrap it by blowing away the stuff covering it with a fan. And what I uncovered was free Internet access in Lufthansa lounge whenever I visit them next. Here’s what it looks like:

Yup, and I am going to be in a Lufthansa lounge this weekend, and I will use it

Great.

SEO is important too

The Observer — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:59:33 +0000

As it turns out, a lot of people make a lot of money just by showing ads on their blogs. The reason they make money is because they get a lot of traffic through search engines (such as Google). A lot of traffic through search engines is a direct result of SEO (a lot of people including me will tell you that it is also a result of content, but you still need SEO).

One of the most common requirements for SEO is that other sites link to you. Now this can happen spontaneously, where you can be linked to by a lot of people because you had great content. But that is not a guarantee – chances are that you don’t have such content. There are other means of obtaining these incoming links as well. One technique which is quite popular (though I am not sure if it works, as I have never done it myself) is to submit your site to a number of free web directories. Some of these directories also offer you advice on SEO as well as tools to measure your SEO efforts (such as the one I linked to).

Well, I haven’t tried these, and I know nothing in this world comes for free, so if any of you have tried this, please leave a comment citing your experience.

Not everyone is worried about the upcoming economic crisis

The Observer — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:23:19 +0000

Everyone’s saying that 2009 is going to be worse than 2008; that 2008 was just a preview. People are really affected all over the world because of the economic slowdown – they are driving slow, being conservative in spending, and so on. However, not everyone should worry.

Or at lease you shouldn’t (especially if you are an Indian IT Professional) according to this blogger. He has written an article titled Indian I.T Professionals Need not worry about 2009. He writes about the fact that during this downturn strong companies will actually be looking to consolidate their positions and will hire more. He gives examples of Accenture and TCS who are hiring fresh talent straight out of college.

Actually, I think now that everyone is aware that 2009 spells doom, everyone will be prepared for it, and thus it may not turn out to be such a bad year after all. I keep hearing about the measures governments, banks, various companies, and individuals are taking active measures to hold out during the next year. I think this ill have the effect of warding off the economic disaster.

Do you like beauty?

The Observer — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:32:03 +0000

Contemplate the pictures that are shown in this post. These are wonders of nature, so beautiful that they are almost mesmerizing. I stumbled upon these pictures a while ago and decided that I HAD to share them on my blog.

But before the pictures, a little bit about the site I picked them up from. This is the homepage for Butterflies For Africa – a Butterfly house in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Here are the pretty pictures:

There are more of these on the website, so go visit.