The Age Of Artists Sans Middlemen

The age of the privileged middlemen is over. All along the artist has been at the mercy of that privileged middleman to get their work to the audience. Be it be a publisher, an art gallery or a music records company – for years they have controlled who and what reaches the market. But the times have changed and so has the role of the middleman – from the controller to the facilitator.

The artist is the privileged one now – they can opt for a facilitator but it’s not mandatory. They just need their art to be good enough to reach the market. They can paint, create music or have their own comic strip – and even if they choose to go with the middlemen they can do it at their own terms.

Discussion: Do Indian IT companies need to be more innovative to remain successful in future?

This started as generic discussion on a recent article published in The Economic Times regarding relevance of Bangalore as the IT Hub in the future but very soon we were discussing relevance of innovation for Indian IT companies.

Me: Here is something that you might find interesting :)

Has Bangalore lost track of its success curve?  

@Varun: I beg to disagree partially with Mr. Debashish Roy.. I believe he is misled by what he has been watching on television in last 3-4months, and if I am not mistaken he would have been one of the first few to sell Infy shares after last quarter results were declared.. :) But everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.. So no further comments on his blog!! :)

Me: I don't agree with the entire piece either but I do agree with concentrating on Product versus the services part :)

What the Skype deal means for Microsoft?

Microsoft snapped an 8.5 billion USD deal to acquire Skype. The deal sure has raised a lot of eyebrows - what is Microsoft up to? How and where are they planning to use Skype? Is it a game-changer or is Skype doomed forever? I have a couple of observations regarding the deal but first the casual conversation that triggered the thought process.

Mansi: Microsoft paid 8.5 Billion USD for Skype? Did someone not tell them that they can download it from the website for free???

me:  Actually they want to put it on their website for everyone to download after shelling out some bucks instead of just free ;)

Mansi:  lol  I’ll be amazed if they get 50 bucks back out of 8.5 billion USD.

me:  yes, the deal has surprised everyone ..let's see what Microsoft has planned

Mansi:  yeah..Skype walo ki to nikal padi (Skype people hit upon a lottery though). Offices mein champagne chhalak rahi hogi (They must be enjoying they Champagne in their offices)