Even though Facebook has always suggested that those signing up be at least 13 years of age, I know for a fact that a lot of kids much younger than that are on the social networking giant. So my older son, who is 10, has quite a few friends on FB and has often asked me to sign him up. I had been putting it off so far, telling him we'd take a decision on that after seeing how things were among his peers in Canada, where we recently moved.
Yesterday my first-born told me at least 15 of his classmates were on FB. Even if I made some room for exaggeration there, I suppose a few of the kids might just be. So I tried to sign him up. The last category on the sign-up form was the complete date of birth, with the year. When I entered the information, FB very clearly said "you are ineligible". I made sure my son saw it. He was crestfallen, but I was very relieved. And also pleasantly surprised, given all the flak FB has been taking lately over its privacy policy and other issues of security. I don't know if this is a new, stricter sign-up policy or just enforced in this part of the world. Whatever the case, it made me happy.
I guess I fall into the category of more conservative parents who believe in limiting their kids' access to the great beyond of information and networking till they're more capable of handling it. I feel that too much access too soon can be detrimental. Kids are always in a hurry to grow up. We were too at that age, but it was a time when it was possible to remain innocent and child-like for longer. Now with so much information out there, kids are graduating from childhood much too soon. Before they're actually ready for it. I don't think children in their pre-teens or early teens are emotionally equipped to deal with a lot of the stuff that being socially active online might potentially bring their way.
Let me clarify here that my kids do not live a cocoon. They are very aware of the world around them. They have had questions about drugs, rape, incest and homosexuality after reading of these issues, and we have answered them in the simplest possible way. Our boys have email accounts and use them often to stay in touch with family. They browse the Internet almost every day. But I take every opportunity to remind them to carefully choose what they read, especially while using a search engine. They have been advised to consult us if they're not sure of the source of information, and so far they do that. I suppose I hover a bit when they're online, but I think this is one area in which you can't be too careful. There are a lot of freaks, pests and perverts out there. And I believe my primary responsibility is to make sure my children are safe, in the real or virtual world.
There's plenty of time for online social networking, or whatever else replaces it in the future. That day too shall come. In three short years. Right now my older son is still a kid, and I feel he should stay that way at least for a while longer. Thanks FB, for declaring my 10-year-old ineligible.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Indian BPOs, accent training isn't enough
I'm an outsourcing industry wife. For about a decade in India I have heard several conversations about the many things that go into making a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm tick. While all the technical stuff was wasted on me much like Latin, I followed with interest stories about accent training for Indian kids barely out of their teens so they could masquerade as Americans or Canadians over the phone. It was pretty phenomenal what India had pulled off in a fairly short period of time. In less than two decades our country was serving as back office and troubleshooter for a lot of the Western world.
But now that we're on the other side of the globe I'm seeing things with different eyes. Or, to be more precise, hearing things with different ears.
This afternoon the phone rang and some young man with an extremely peculiar accent asked to speak to my husband and then began a fairly long and clearly rehearsed greeting/small talk routine. I asked where he was calling from and what the call was about. He launched into a long speech that was hard to follow. The twangs and lilts of the American/Canadian speech pattern were all misplaced.
Anyway, I politely pointed out that he hadn't answered either of my questions. So he went through the whole thing again, emphasizing a few words here and there for effect. I still had no answers. Finally I lost my patience and told him my husband wasn't available and he should try calling tomorrow. The caller asked when he'd be back home today. I told him not before 6.00 p.m. He went into an involuntary "so that would be.....okay", which was a dead giveaway. It was so very obvious that he was calculating what the local time would be when it was 6.00 p.m. in Toronto. Again I asked where he was calling from, I confess entirely for my amusement this time. He said, "Toronto, the same place you are." Yeah, right buddy.
Now here's what the Indian BPO industry should take note of. First, the accent training is not cutting it. People in this hemisphere realise pretty quickly that they're not speaking to a local. Besides, I found it very hard to understand what the caller was saying. I have no such problems of comprehension when conversing with Canadians or Americans. The caller's accent was unnatural, forced and really quite annoying. So, is it unnecessary? Or do you need to do a better job on accent training?
Second, people in this part of the world value their time. Legitimate callers with real business open a telephone conversation with pleasantries and then immediately get to the point. There's nothing vague about the call. It is polite, crisp and as short as possible. These callers know they will lose customer/potential customer goodwill by wasting the other person's time. So please, train these kids to get to the point a lot sooner in the conversation. Especially if the call is being made to fish for business. And equip them with the information they need to give straight answers.
If the Indian BPO industry wants to stay ahead of the game, it should perhaps consider these suggestions from this insider/outsider.
But now that we're on the other side of the globe I'm seeing things with different eyes. Or, to be more precise, hearing things with different ears.
This afternoon the phone rang and some young man with an extremely peculiar accent asked to speak to my husband and then began a fairly long and clearly rehearsed greeting/small talk routine. I asked where he was calling from and what the call was about. He launched into a long speech that was hard to follow. The twangs and lilts of the American/Canadian speech pattern were all misplaced.
Anyway, I politely pointed out that he hadn't answered either of my questions. So he went through the whole thing again, emphasizing a few words here and there for effect. I still had no answers. Finally I lost my patience and told him my husband wasn't available and he should try calling tomorrow. The caller asked when he'd be back home today. I told him not before 6.00 p.m. He went into an involuntary "so that would be.....okay", which was a dead giveaway. It was so very obvious that he was calculating what the local time would be when it was 6.00 p.m. in Toronto. Again I asked where he was calling from, I confess entirely for my amusement this time. He said, "Toronto, the same place you are." Yeah, right buddy.
Now here's what the Indian BPO industry should take note of. First, the accent training is not cutting it. People in this hemisphere realise pretty quickly that they're not speaking to a local. Besides, I found it very hard to understand what the caller was saying. I have no such problems of comprehension when conversing with Canadians or Americans. The caller's accent was unnatural, forced and really quite annoying. So, is it unnecessary? Or do you need to do a better job on accent training?
Second, people in this part of the world value their time. Legitimate callers with real business open a telephone conversation with pleasantries and then immediately get to the point. There's nothing vague about the call. It is polite, crisp and as short as possible. These callers know they will lose customer/potential customer goodwill by wasting the other person's time. So please, train these kids to get to the point a lot sooner in the conversation. Especially if the call is being made to fish for business. And equip them with the information they need to give straight answers.
If the Indian BPO industry wants to stay ahead of the game, it should perhaps consider these suggestions from this insider/outsider.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Lardy-da
I'd heard of them, but never seen them in the flesh. When I spotted them first I suppose I stared a bit. Even though my brain kept telling me to look away and stop being rude, I couldn't immediately avert my gaze. I noticed that they jiggled when they moved. The only form of vegetable they ate was deep fried and quite often dunked in a viscous cheese dip before being shoved into the mouth. They consumed unimaginable amounts of meat. And when they walked, it was always with a gigantic tumbler of some form of aerated beverage firmly clasped in a forelimb. They came in all colours, but the racial differences were neutralised by the body mass.
I am speaking of the gigantic blobs of lard that had come to Niagara Falls, Ontario, from south of the Canadian border. I got a chance to observe them last weekend. The Canadian part of the Falls is apparently considered more of a tourist haven than its counterpart in New York state, which is why most weekends Americans drive north of the border and inundate the town.
No matter how much you hear about the obese American, nothing really prepares you for the first sighting. It's hard to explain. Every visitor to the U.S. has told me that the vastness of its people matches that of the nation. Even though you now see a lot of obese Indians back home, especially in the big cities, they aren't yet in the same league as the true-blue large American. And Canadians often discuss the growing incidence obesity among their people. But at least in Toronto and surrounding areas, people are by and large fit and healthy in appearance.
I'm a big Jay Leno fan and try to catch his show whenever possible. Practically every evening he'd have a "now how fat are we getting as a nation...." segment. I'd laugh at the jokes but think to myself, surely he's exaggerating. Now I realise that he is most certainly not. These people are HUGE. They probably haven't seen their own feet or genitals in many years!
I understand now why the restaurant we ate dinner at on our first night at Niagara had "deep fried cheesecake" on its dessert menu. I checked with the waitress if that was correct. Yes, she said. It is really deep fried. And comes wrapped in a tortilla. But of course. Surely a simple cheesecake - made with cream cheese, butter, flour, sugar, eggs and cracker crumbs - isn't decadent enough for these people? I was dying to see a serving of this monstrous dessert but was too chicken to order it. Maybe next time.
I am speaking of the gigantic blobs of lard that had come to Niagara Falls, Ontario, from south of the Canadian border. I got a chance to observe them last weekend. The Canadian part of the Falls is apparently considered more of a tourist haven than its counterpart in New York state, which is why most weekends Americans drive north of the border and inundate the town.
No matter how much you hear about the obese American, nothing really prepares you for the first sighting. It's hard to explain. Every visitor to the U.S. has told me that the vastness of its people matches that of the nation. Even though you now see a lot of obese Indians back home, especially in the big cities, they aren't yet in the same league as the true-blue large American. And Canadians often discuss the growing incidence obesity among their people. But at least in Toronto and surrounding areas, people are by and large fit and healthy in appearance.
I'm a big Jay Leno fan and try to catch his show whenever possible. Practically every evening he'd have a "now how fat are we getting as a nation...." segment. I'd laugh at the jokes but think to myself, surely he's exaggerating. Now I realise that he is most certainly not. These people are HUGE. They probably haven't seen their own feet or genitals in many years!
I understand now why the restaurant we ate dinner at on our first night at Niagara had "deep fried cheesecake" on its dessert menu. I checked with the waitress if that was correct. Yes, she said. It is really deep fried. And comes wrapped in a tortilla. But of course. Surely a simple cheesecake - made with cream cheese, butter, flour, sugar, eggs and cracker crumbs - isn't decadent enough for these people? I was dying to see a serving of this monstrous dessert but was too chicken to order it. Maybe next time.
Hygiene vs Conservation
I'm all for personal hygiene. My kids might tell you I am fanatical about it. They'd be exaggerating. Like all moms, I insist they wash their hands periodically, brush their teeth twice a day, do a thorough job when bathing and hound them a little about being clean after using the washroom for a do-do.
If there was a scale to measure hygiene fanaticism - with 0 being a complete slop covered in layers of germ-infested slime and 10 being an unnaturally sanitised being in danger of scrubbing away skin and flesh in the quest for personal cleanliness - I think my score would be somewhere in the middle.
Germophobes who'd rank top on that scale amuse me a little. You can spot them from the way they wash their hands in public restrooms (if at all they use those). There is a normal hand-washing that most people do, and then there's the germophobe hand-washing which lasts a lot longer. I don't think surgeons going into the operation theatre do quite as thorough a job.
Anyway, I came across one of those at a restroom at Niagara on the Lake on Sunday. She made quite a production of cleaning her hands. Then she used the middle digits of her clenched fingers to yank some towels out of the dispenser. The elbows, feet and knees were then very creatively employed to dispose of the used paper towel, open the door and leave the washroom without contaminating her freshly washed hands by touching any surface whatsoever.
When she'd left I noticed the tap she had used was still gushing. That's when I got angry. She was so obsessed with hygiene that she didn't care she was wasting so much water! If I hadn't been in the restroom to turn that tap off, heaven knows how long it would have been left running. Hygiene is essential, but is it okay to seek it at the cost of such a precious resource?
Then there's the other extreme - conservation over hygiene. Singer Sheryl Crow has been the butt of quite a few jokes for suggesting that we all use just one square of toilet paper per bathroom visit. One stand-up comedian said he had immediately added her to the list of celebrities he'd never shake hands with. I agree. That's a tad too much, don't you think?
If there was a scale to measure hygiene fanaticism - with 0 being a complete slop covered in layers of germ-infested slime and 10 being an unnaturally sanitised being in danger of scrubbing away skin and flesh in the quest for personal cleanliness - I think my score would be somewhere in the middle.
Germophobes who'd rank top on that scale amuse me a little. You can spot them from the way they wash their hands in public restrooms (if at all they use those). There is a normal hand-washing that most people do, and then there's the germophobe hand-washing which lasts a lot longer. I don't think surgeons going into the operation theatre do quite as thorough a job.
Anyway, I came across one of those at a restroom at Niagara on the Lake on Sunday. She made quite a production of cleaning her hands. Then she used the middle digits of her clenched fingers to yank some towels out of the dispenser. The elbows, feet and knees were then very creatively employed to dispose of the used paper towel, open the door and leave the washroom without contaminating her freshly washed hands by touching any surface whatsoever.
When she'd left I noticed the tap she had used was still gushing. That's when I got angry. She was so obsessed with hygiene that she didn't care she was wasting so much water! If I hadn't been in the restroom to turn that tap off, heaven knows how long it would have been left running. Hygiene is essential, but is it okay to seek it at the cost of such a precious resource?
Then there's the other extreme - conservation over hygiene. Singer Sheryl Crow has been the butt of quite a few jokes for suggesting that we all use just one square of toilet paper per bathroom visit. One stand-up comedian said he had immediately added her to the list of celebrities he'd never shake hands with. I agree. That's a tad too much, don't you think?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Hindi-Chini, more alike than we think
We've moved into a predominantly Chinese neighbourhood on the eastern fringes of Toronto. You'll see a few brown or white faces on our street, but most residents are Chinese. And the more I observe them the more it strikes me that the middle class Chinese person is so very similar to the middle class Indian.
This morning I was watering the lawn in our backyard. Now ours is a corner lot and the street side hasn't been fenced, which means we have little privacy in the outdoors. So while I was in the garden, one of our Chinese neighbours from across the street walked up to say hello for the first time. "So you bought this house?" he asked. No, I said, we're tenants. His eyebrows went up a bit. "Very good tenants," he said, pointing at the hose pipe and then rotating his finger to cover the general spread of the lawn. Because we have a corner plot, we have one of the largest patches of grass in the area.
So similarity number one - if you're a tenant, you aren't really expected to take an interest in the appearance and upkeep of the property.
"How much you pay?" came the next question. I was a little taken aback. I haven't heard that one hurled at me quite so casually for a few months now. And I have never been comfortable with questions of this nature - how much rent do you pay; how much did you buy the house for; how much do you earn etc. I was instantly transported back home. Anyway, I mumbled a ballpark number which seemed to impress him.
So similarity number two - you can be asked the most intrusive and personal questions in the most casual manner. And you're expected to answer, pal.
It wasn't over yet. "For whole house?" he asked. I nodded. "You sublet?" he pressed on. Now I have heard this is fairly common practice among Asians in this part of the world. One couple or family rents a home and then two or three other families move in as well, splitting the rent. The property, naturally, goes to seed pretty quickly. Despite being aware of this, the question threw me a bit. And I was a little offended. But I managed to shake my head to convey that that wasn't going to happen.
Similarity number three - (and we faced this more in Mumbai than in Delhi) just four people living in a big house is considered a waste of space and money. I remember when we bought our four-bedroom apartment in Thane, many asked us if our parents would be moving in. When we said no I could see their brains trying to comprehend why these strange people need such a big home for a small family.
A couple of weeks ago a white lady from across the street asked me if we were home in the afternoon. We'd been out at the time she was speaking of. I asked why. She said she had seen three of four Chinese men walk right up to our kitchen and living room windows. press their noses to the glass and peer in. I had forgotten to close the blinds. "You definitely need a fence," my white neighbour said. I agree. The fence will hopefully be up within the next fortnight and we'll get a shield against prying eyes.
Similarity number four among the Hindi and Chini - curiosity about how others live will often get the better of you. My parents back home once had visitors going into the bedrooms and opening up closets!
This morning I was watering the lawn in our backyard. Now ours is a corner lot and the street side hasn't been fenced, which means we have little privacy in the outdoors. So while I was in the garden, one of our Chinese neighbours from across the street walked up to say hello for the first time. "So you bought this house?" he asked. No, I said, we're tenants. His eyebrows went up a bit. "Very good tenants," he said, pointing at the hose pipe and then rotating his finger to cover the general spread of the lawn. Because we have a corner plot, we have one of the largest patches of grass in the area.
So similarity number one - if you're a tenant, you aren't really expected to take an interest in the appearance and upkeep of the property.
"How much you pay?" came the next question. I was a little taken aback. I haven't heard that one hurled at me quite so casually for a few months now. And I have never been comfortable with questions of this nature - how much rent do you pay; how much did you buy the house for; how much do you earn etc. I was instantly transported back home. Anyway, I mumbled a ballpark number which seemed to impress him.
So similarity number two - you can be asked the most intrusive and personal questions in the most casual manner. And you're expected to answer, pal.
It wasn't over yet. "For whole house?" he asked. I nodded. "You sublet?" he pressed on. Now I have heard this is fairly common practice among Asians in this part of the world. One couple or family rents a home and then two or three other families move in as well, splitting the rent. The property, naturally, goes to seed pretty quickly. Despite being aware of this, the question threw me a bit. And I was a little offended. But I managed to shake my head to convey that that wasn't going to happen.
Similarity number three - (and we faced this more in Mumbai than in Delhi) just four people living in a big house is considered a waste of space and money. I remember when we bought our four-bedroom apartment in Thane, many asked us if our parents would be moving in. When we said no I could see their brains trying to comprehend why these strange people need such a big home for a small family.
A couple of weeks ago a white lady from across the street asked me if we were home in the afternoon. We'd been out at the time she was speaking of. I asked why. She said she had seen three of four Chinese men walk right up to our kitchen and living room windows. press their noses to the glass and peer in. I had forgotten to close the blinds. "You definitely need a fence," my white neighbour said. I agree. The fence will hopefully be up within the next fortnight and we'll get a shield against prying eyes.
Similarity number four among the Hindi and Chini - curiosity about how others live will often get the better of you. My parents back home once had visitors going into the bedrooms and opening up closets!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Cockroaches - the latest political weapon
Among the hardiest creatures to crawl the Earth, the humble cockroach can survive adversities most other species can't. Maybe that's why it has become the latest weapon in the arsenal of a political group that is all but dying out across the world. At least, that is, if the Indian Marxists' ace opponent is to be believed.
Indian Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has reportedly accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of sneaking cockroaches into meals served on trains in the hope of denting the image of the mammoth state-run railroad and her credibility.
"They have been planning sabotage. They are trying to ruin (the reputation of) the Railways by letting cockroaches into food," The Times of India quoted the notoriously melodramatic Banerjee as saying during an address to her Trinamool Congress party in Kolkata. She also accused the Marxists of engineering a train accident last week that claimed nearly 70 lives.
Cockroaches? How much more ridiculous can Indian political discourse get? Mamata di seems to have hit an all-time high note of absurdity. Get serious people.
Indian Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has reportedly accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of sneaking cockroaches into meals served on trains in the hope of denting the image of the mammoth state-run railroad and her credibility.
"They have been planning sabotage. They are trying to ruin (the reputation of) the Railways by letting cockroaches into food," The Times of India quoted the notoriously melodramatic Banerjee as saying during an address to her Trinamool Congress party in Kolkata. She also accused the Marxists of engineering a train accident last week that claimed nearly 70 lives.
Cockroaches? How much more ridiculous can Indian political discourse get? Mamata di seems to have hit an all-time high note of absurdity. Get serious people.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Census idiocy
I've spent the past seven years fooling myself into believing I've made the righteous choice by giving up my career and choosing to stay home for the kids. I even gave up dabbling in freelance writing because it was interfering with my family's happiness and taking time away from my children. I felt I was doing the right thing by focusing on home and hearth. What a fool I am. Not until this evening did I realise that my contribution to my country was as worthless as that of a convict, a bum or a whore. But wait. Don't those people make some money? So I guess we homemakers are even less productive and consequential to our great nation.
India's decennial census reportedly clubs housewives with non-productive groups like beggars, prisoners and prostitutes. I'm not judging these other groups of people. My objection is to homemakers being labeled non-productive. Just how much more chauvinistic and blinkered can our vaunted mandarins get?
A former colleague told me today that a research group had assessed housewives' worth to the nation some two decades ago and come up with the figure of 10,000 crore rupees. I agree with his view that it was an extremely conservative estimate. But even if you keep to the conservative scale, how much do you think our contribution is worth now?
I understand it's hard to put a price on the things a housewife does. But let's break it down to basics. Add up the incomes of a caregiver for children, a cook, a cleaner, a nurse, a housekeeper. That's something, isn't it? Please take into consideration that we're on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. That necessitates higher remuneration. Then compensate those of us who have given up jobs for the voluntary early retirement from the workforce. There are many other intangibles, but even if we leave those out the sum can't be small.
So what the heck are these idiots at the Census department talking about? Thankfully the Supreme Court has stepped in and I hope the judges will give these morons a well-deserved kick in the pants. But the very fact that there is a group of people who think this was is extremely disheartening. If they're right and we're of no consequence, let's strike work my sisters. Bet your ass they'll notice our worth and productivity very quickly then.
India's decennial census reportedly clubs housewives with non-productive groups like beggars, prisoners and prostitutes. I'm not judging these other groups of people. My objection is to homemakers being labeled non-productive. Just how much more chauvinistic and blinkered can our vaunted mandarins get?
A former colleague told me today that a research group had assessed housewives' worth to the nation some two decades ago and come up with the figure of 10,000 crore rupees. I agree with his view that it was an extremely conservative estimate. But even if you keep to the conservative scale, how much do you think our contribution is worth now?
I understand it's hard to put a price on the things a housewife does. But let's break it down to basics. Add up the incomes of a caregiver for children, a cook, a cleaner, a nurse, a housekeeper. That's something, isn't it? Please take into consideration that we're on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. That necessitates higher remuneration. Then compensate those of us who have given up jobs for the voluntary early retirement from the workforce. There are many other intangibles, but even if we leave those out the sum can't be small.
So what the heck are these idiots at the Census department talking about? Thankfully the Supreme Court has stepped in and I hope the judges will give these morons a well-deserved kick in the pants. But the very fact that there is a group of people who think this was is extremely disheartening. If they're right and we're of no consequence, let's strike work my sisters. Bet your ass they'll notice our worth and productivity very quickly then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)