Back to the Drawing Board

Learning is painful.

RC and I rediscovered this when we met one of India’s leading tech / internet business gurus on Friday. We were asked many many questions that forced to re-examine how we were going about developing our plan. There were several ‘back to the drawing-board moments’ as well. All these have to led to a more unified ‘back to the drawing board’ moment

Among the critical issues we will have to address before we launch our services are:

(a) Are we building an ‘community with added features’ or an ‘information portal with community options? Linked to the question – who are we – content builders or community managers?

(b) Are our community interactions going to be along issue-lines i.e. issue-based or along group lines i.e. based on disability specific groups? For instance a social network is friend-circle based while a discussion forum is more issue-based.

The entire design / flow / experience of IP will depend upon a great degree of clarity viz the above. This will determine whether IP is a successful community or not.

Thank you AG. You’ve sent us back to the drawing board at the right time.

Meanwhile, we look forward to comments on these points.

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Thank God it’s Friday (almost)

In another couple of days from now we launch the beta (trial) version of our first online offering in partnership with the Centre for Internet and Society. The design and tech are done – now they are just being married. Husband and wife are taking some time to get to know each other. Afterall, what with all the hoopla we can’t disappoint

For all those interested in the disabled voters story here’s another piece from Outlook:
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090330&fname=Script+EVMs+(F)&sid=1

Meanwhile, the search for talent continues…

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The Creative Process

There’s something truly amazing about the creative process. The journey that begins with a white canvas and, stroke by stroke, takes the form of art. Most often, I wonder about the process of writing poetry or composing a song. How they all begin as nothing more than a thought. The thought, then, travels a certain distance eventually attaining a personality of its own.

The attached 2 jpegs show the journey of the Inclusive Planet logo. These are scans from the sketch board of Pervez Rajan a.k.a Puru, the man behind the logo. These jpegs provide a glimpse into his creative process. In this case, Inclusive Planet began as an ‘eye drop’ (the letter ‘i’ and a rain drop), met a certain Jayaram’s phone number on the way, adopted the yin-yang, masqueraded as a fish, before finally liberating itself as a butterfly.

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The Disabled as a Vote Bank

An excellent piece by the amazing Mithu Alur (Head of ADAPT – formerly Spastics Society of India) on how taking the vote-bank approach is the best strategy to ensure inclusive thinking at a policy level.

http://telegraphindia.com/1090324/jsp/opinion/story_10693815.jsp

Excites us because we believe that Inclusive Planet could go a long way in ensuring one voice of a large community. Will a million strong disabled community, heavily networked and expressive still be ignored?

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Obama’s Special Olympics gaffe on Jay Leno

I don’t know if you guys have been following all the noise surrounding Obama’s remark on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (couple of days back). The controversy arose when, while speaking about his skills at bowling (the game), Obama laughed at himself and said ‘It was like the Special Olympics or something’.

Hmmm.

Not the smartest or most sensitive thing to say but try going five years in a position such as that of the President without a few mess-ups. It’s amazing how we expect someone to have a perfect record in such things when gaffes and bloopers leak out of our mouths on a daily basis. I know i’ve been guilty of my share of ‘insensitivity’. The best I can do is to continue to evolve.

I think the important thing is how he reacted to this. He realised the nature of his remark quicker than everyone else and immediately apologised – not just to the audience but also the President of the Special Olympics.

The more interesting issue however is this – the sub-conscious biases, prejudices and perceptions that slip past our conscious limits occassionally. Scientific studies have repeatedly verified this even in sensitive issues such as racial bias.

Some more reading on the Obama issue: Obama sorry for Special Olympics gaffe, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29784865/

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Disabled-friendly – A marketing tool or what?

This blog is not to state an opinion or pass a judgement. This is meant to describe a conversation that may have been fairly insignificant if I were not involved with Inclusive Planet.

Yesterday I went checking out a business center for our office. While showing me around the 5-star facilities, the marketing lady made it a point to mention that they have a special bathroom for the handicapped. Quoting her, “All our facilities are upto international standards. We even have a washroom for the handicapped”.

It’s great to see that most modern facilities in India are recognizing global standards and are providing for the disabled. While a part of me cringed at the thought of using this as a marketing tool, another part felt that it’s a good sign for Inclusive Planet that ‘disabled friendliness” is being increasingly seen as ‘matching upto global standards’. Is this really a good sign for us?

Taking off from the Idea Ad, “Haan ya Naa” Let me know what you guys think? Janta ne kaha haan, toh haan!

Bystander

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The artist on his work – Pervez Rajan speaks about the logo

I was AWOL all of December last year and January this year – or so I’m told. Resultantly, MMI went logo shopping. They showed me what had been done thus far by 2-3 different designers; none of it was exciting or interesting, or even close to it. At the end of it all, after a several days of persuasion, goads and unveiled threats from the aforementioned party, I succumbed and decided to design the logo.

Eventually, around mid February, after many sleepless nights and days of drawing and searching for a visual “cue”, I came by the good old ‘perfect symbol’ : the Yin Yang, and used it as a point of departure. There are other false arrivals and premature departures I made with this logo that I do not wish to disclose for the need of brevity.

A humanoid butterfly, fashioned out of an “i” and “P” is something that was created over more than twenty attempts and after pursuing at least half a dozen different approaches or visual routes. In some variations, the conjoined letters looked like a Mesopotamian gargoyle or even a Nordic sail ship’s figurehead!

In my understanding of the subject, a company’s logo must be memorable. It needs to convey metaphorically or directly, perhaps by the aid of a symbol what the company “does” or wants to “do”. It should try and imbue the philosophy and ethics of the people who run the firm, but more importantly the proposition or ‘promise’ of the firm needs to be exemplified or portrayed in a simple yet elegant manner.

I do believe that the rough hewn butterfly, forming the initials of the company is not only memorable but holds a strong significance for the manner of work Inclusive Planet will be engaging in. More than anything else, Inclusive Planet is about emancipation of the disabled, portrayed here by the butterfly that has transformed from a stationery pupa (and earlier from not a very itinerant caterpillar) to a creature that now can fly.

Pervez Rajan

posted by SM for Pervez

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First Post

Hello all,

As this is my first post ever, on any blog, I’d better introduce myself!

My name is Rahul Cherian and I am one of the founders of Inclusive Planet. I am a lawyer by profession and I have been running my own law firm in Chennai. I have been disabled since the time I was about 3 but I didn’t quite realize that most obvious of facts till last year. It was, strangely, my work in the field of copyright law that made me see the light so to say.

Last year I was invited to D.C. by the World Blind Union to help draft an international treaty on providing material in accessible formats for the print impaired. Of the 15 people who were helping on the treaty, 2 of them were blind and they were the most inspirational people I had met. So while I was sitting there in awe, trying not to stare at them, trying to control the periodic spasms in my legs so that I don’t shake the table too much and spill my coffee, and discussing what it means to be disabled, it dawned on me that I too am a member of the disabled community, a community with its own specific requirements, in the same way that pregnant women are a unique community with their own requirements. The idea of inclusive Planet was born at that time.

What Inclusive Planet is attempting to do is use the Internet to create a global community, of the disabled, for the disabled and by disabled.

More to follow…..

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Open Positions at Inclusive Planet

Build this with us.

Yep. This is a call for applications to join us (for our vision click here). We’re not looking for employees – we don’t believe in employees. We believe in co-founders. Come join us in our efforts to build the world’s largest online community and marketplace for the differently-abled. In the process work in areas that are highly relevant in the Web 2.0 world and that will have a transformative impact on the lives of millions of people. Your work will demand close interaction with the disabled community, an uncompromising focus on their needs and continuous innovation to deliver commercially sustainable solutions to the community. We’re looking for out-of-the-box thinkers with strong analytical skills, professionals who can achieve their goals, yet enjoy the process thoroughly. You will be working with a bunch of highly qualified, creative and ambitious individuals in a flexible and innovation-friendly environment. Depending on your background and the position you’re applying for there is a combination of excellent pay + equity. Here’s a list of the open positions:

Head of Community (Creation and Management)
If you have 6-10 years of work experience with preferably 2-3 years in online community building / and content AND have strong inter-personal skills, communication skills and creative ability then you fit the bill. Even if you don’t have the exact experience we’re seeking but believe you have what it takes to build and manage online communities [including creating and managing text, audio and video content, discussion groups, social networking platforms, user-generated content, events and so on] then still go ahead and apply. You will report to the CEO.

Head of Marketplace (Creation and Management)
If you have 6-10 years of work experience with preferably 2-3 years in e-retailing / e-commerce / online business building (if not directly sales) AND have strong inter-personal skills, communication skills and marketing and sales leadership skills then you fit the bill. You will build the Inclusive Planet marketplace – engaging with service providers in various spheres (products, travel, entertainment, education etc.) to create more and more product / service channels. The net result of your responsibility will be to create an international marketplace unlike any other. You will report to the CEO.

Accessible Travel Manager
If you have 4-8 years of work experience with preferably 2-3 years in the travel industry – especially tour planning, design and delivery AND most importantly a deep love for travel then this is for you. You will build Inclusive Planet’s accessible travel business, help differently-abled people, in India and abroad, realise their travel dreams, and create an exciting one-of-a-kind market. You will report to the Head of Marketplace.

Community Manager
If you’re fresh out of a leading business school or law school or some equivalent post-graduate qualification and are interested in online communities, comfort with social networks and the kind of work profiled under the Head of Community profile then this is perfect for you. Inclusive Planet is premised on the concept of a special needs community and this role is central to its success. You will work closely with the top management on building the entire nationwide community. You will report to the Head of Community.

Website Manager
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how important this position is. That is why we are not looking for rocket scientists! We’re looking for creative people with an analytical mind – rare? The kind who can coordinate with design and tech to continuously evolve the portal to meet the needs of its patrons. Fresh graduates or professionals with 1-2 years of experience with design skills (not just aesthetic but structural), and the people skills to coordinate effectively. You will report to the Head of Marketplace.

The positions are based out of Bombay / Mumbai / such other names our leaders come up with in the future.

If you don’t fit any of these position profiles but still want to work with us don’t hesitate to reach out. To inquire about these positions and learn more about the current team and our concept please write to sachin.malhan@inclusiveplanet.com.

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Manic Monday

Busy busy Monday.

RC and I met a couple of potential investors. Regardless of whether or not these meetings result in funding they are hugely educative. There is always that one point you never thought of, or not quite in that fashion. Blinker-breakers.

Incidentally, we travel around in RC’s super-cool i10 – which is completely hand-operated thanks to a separately purchased kit. You have to see it to believe it. I’ll get a pic tomorrow and put it up. He’s also pasted an advocates sticker and a handicapped sticker that entitles him to park on top of another car if he so wishes Empowerment. Nice going.

But coming back to meetings – good stuff. Something should come through in the next two weeks.

The beta versions are just around the corner. Once the funding is through we’ll build the right team (already started). The next post, on open positions at IP, may be that great calling you were waiting for

Here’s an interesting read shared with us by a junior from law school. Some lives are more special than others. Thanks Ankur!

http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13176558

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