The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 920 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 15 trips to carry that many people.
Warren Buffett is one of the smartest businessmen in the world. He possesses a third eye that seeks opportunity for growth where most people don’t. Take example of Berkshire Hathaway, whose stock price was $7.50 in 1962 as a textile industry which soon turned into an insurance company. With Warren’s investment in the company, the stock price increased to $93 per share in 1973. Warren had seen the lucrative future of the industry and he knew that there was more in store for Berkshire Hathaway. In 1985, the stock price for the company reached $2000 per share which was something a very few people expected. Then the company caught the flight and in 2007, its stock price flourished to $150,000 per share.
Warren truly possesses a gift that really few people are bestowed upon. His ways were beyond the understanding of many. Nonetheless, with the power of computing and analytics, we may be able to uncover the secrets of his ventures. Some of these secrets are easy to uncover and have been discussed about publicly. Given below is the document that uncovers his personal investment rules.
Today, through technology we can understand the working of such a great mind. His ways can be learned and implemented to help industries stabilize, to help economies grow, to build a sustainable world and to clinch our utopian dream.
For forty years, all kinds of start-ups followed the same procedure to get established, expecting to flourish and turn into a company. While that worked surprisingly well for the organizations before, any start-up today that follows this traditional procedure is likely to fail. Now this is not a wild speculation or an untested hypotheses: an online course on entrepreneurship by Udacity talks extensively and in much more detail about the right way to start a business. In this article you’d find the summary of this course with the key aspects that are essential to know in order to understand how start-ups should operate.
First of all, why is it necessary to closely understand the start-ups for Business Analysts? There is no doubt that many start-ups are hiring Business Analysts to make data-driven decisions at an early stage as startups are the most opportune for getting successful. Their success, however, depends upon how they take advantage of this fresh start to emerge as a successful company. Business Analysts leverage the power of their skills to exploit the potential competitive advantage. For this reason, it is essential for Business Analysts to understand how start-ups should work to get successful.
Now let’s understand how today successful start-ups work. For almost forty years, people rested upon a fallacy that start-ups are indeed smaller version of large companies. This fallacy might seem obvious to you now, but that’s what entrepreneurs believed for many years. To get straight to the point, today’s start-ups follow a simple business model that involves a lot planning before execution. The Business Model Canvas is illustrated below.
1] Value Proposition: The value proposition is like a problem statement. It’s about solving a problem or need of the customers.
2] Customer Segments: It’s all about understanding your customers. The founders are expected to get out of the building to understand the demographics, geographic and social characteristics of their customers.
3] Channel: Channel refers to the way your product or service reaches the customers. There can be a physical distribution channel (mail) or a virtual distribution channel (email, telephone, television, etc.).
4] Customer Relationships: Customer Relationships are to be maintained throughout. You need to know how to gain more customers as well as how to retain them.
5] Revenue Streams: It’s defines how you make money from the customers. Customers pay for a product/service and you need to decide how to get money for this value.
6] Key Resources: The key resources encompass everything you need to start and run your business.
7] Key Partners: Partnership is different for a start-up than it is for large businessses. Partners are selected very carefully and it is to be made sure that partners are value for money (or vice versa) at all costs.
8] Key Activities: The key activities involve the main process of your business that avails your product/service to the customers.
9] Cost: The cost here refers to the expenses incurred in order to operate the business.
Data visualization is used to communicate findings in not only data analysis but also other areas such as advertising, and wherever a graphical presentation is necessary. If you think that you’ve never heard this term as frequently as it is heard today anytime before a few years, then you’re right. Flourishing importance of data visualization stems from the exponential increase in data around us. There are numerous examples around us that palpably illustrate the sources of data: social networking websites encompass more than 50% of data that exists at the moment. In the era of excess data and hence information glut, we need graphics to communicate vital information: infographics are extensively used by data scientists to present the results of their findings in the form of statistics and facts.
Data visualization is not rocket science. In fact, it is close to art when you already have some kind of important finding that you need to communicate effectively. The design of your visualization may vary according to the target audience. For example, businessmen are more interested in straight fact and vital statistics that are essential for decision making; laymen on the other hand seek entertaining information which can be different from professional visualization.
No matter the target audience or even the project goals, data visualization is primarily concerned about letting the viewers make sense of the visualization, encouraging them to ask questions and find answers for themselves than just story-telling. If that doesn’t make sense right now, don’t worry as I will come up with more posts illustrating real-life projects. Stay tuned and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Applying to the universities in USA is a cumbersome task as there are so many options for universities and courses. Now you could apply to as many universities as you want, but there is one problem. For each application you need to shed about $50 which is fine if you are loaded. Nonetheless, it is always a good idea to do some background research on the universities you wish to apply to. I am applying for fall 2015 intake and I understand what other applicants may need to make a list of about 10 universities to apply to based on the courses. To save your time (and practice data visualization skills for my own sake), here is an infographic about the faculty of top 50 US Computer Science program.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) reaches another milestone and the thought of “Human-like” Machines is not only fascinating but also daunting. The Hollywood movie “Transcendence” might have less convincing effect on audience, that being said, AI is transcending and the fear of its transcendence is rising among a conservative mass of people and a few computer scientist. While AI promises solutions to many far-fetched problems in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and economy, the antagonists claim that the disadvantages of AI, in deed, outweigh the advantages. Here, I present developments in the area of AI and its subdomain, Machine Learning, and I also propose a cipher to bypass intelligent systems.
Alan Turing in his 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” introduced a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human. An AI passing the Turing test is conceived to be human-like. The 65-year-old Turing Test is successfully passed if a computer is mistaken for a human more than 30% of the time during a series of five-minute keyboard conversations. On 7 June Eugene convinced 33% of the judges at the Royal Society in London that it was human, along with other artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including Cleverbot, Elbot and Ultra Hal, that completed the test. Eugene was created by Vladimir Veselov, who was born in Russia and now lives in the United States, and Ukrainian-born Eugene Demchenko, who now lives in Russia. Certainly, the current developments in AI are only the beginning as per a few computer scientists. Other scientists concede that we don’t even need human-like machines when we can superhuman-level machines: A book on “Superintelligence” by Nick Bostrom takes the discussion further on AI.
Eugene Goostman simulates a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy
The gap between humans and machines is undoubtedly quelling as seen from the numerous examples at hands. Many scientists are working on reaching human-like artificial intelligence. Others believe that machines have a definitive role which complements the human role: Introduction of technology like Augmented Reality (AR) and Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) deem their significance. Certainly, machines and humans working together are conceived more productive than either of them working alone, meaning that we don’t need human-like machines as there’s no replacement for humans. The third approach as discussed earlier could be superhuman-like machines, which are neither human-like nor dependent on humans.
Nevertheless, no matter what approach is taken, one can’t ignore the fact that AI can shape our world. The question that needs to be answered is whether the consequences of even a near-perfect artificial intelligent system tend to be vicious. Many events in the movies “Transcendence” and “Terminator” may seem specious, but the cost of ignorance is certainly high as opposed to certain precautions. A heuristic machine that has more resources than the human brain can patently transcend itself, posing threat to humanity.
The bright side of developments in AI should not be underestimated, or ignored, as well. AI can make countless breakthroughs in the field of medicine to quell diseases like Diabetes, HIV AIDS, Ebola, etc. Due to AI we will soon have driverless cars, or at least safety mechanisms to prevent damages and injuries in car accidents. Many more advantages root as opposed to a major disadvantage, our control over AI. Apparently, that doesn’t thwart us from improving AI, and it shouldn’t as well, however, we need to be ready for what we might have to face in the future.
Today’s scenario is that many artificial intelligent systems are hovering over the web to monitor internet users, keeping record of their activities and making certain predictions regarding the user, let alone the future scenario. Many free social networking websites, or apps, including Facebook and twitter, keep data of their users and sell this data to third-party. For now, the only firm that guarantees absolute privacy of our data is Apple as from the recent claim by Tim Cook (the CEO of Apple) that “Customers are not the products at Apple”. Nevertheless, with developments in AI, it could be possible to break into today’s impenetrable encrypted databases. Consequently, maintaining privacy would be a herculean task.
In the next article, I will be sharing an encryption algorithm, one of my own, which might come handy for humans to communicate online in the future because of its less probability to be penetrated by a super-intelligent machine. Consequently, the cipher might bypass the understanding of super-intelligent machines.
Have you always dreamed of making your own professional looking website, but backed off because it was costly? Are you an amateur into web designing and wanting to try something for as cheap as possible before you go heavy billing? Are you a total newbie having no idea about what goes under the hood of web development?
If either of the questions above has ‘yes’ as an answer, you are at the right place. If not and you don’t own a website yet, you should note that everyone is going online and a website not only gives competitive edge to businesses but also adds extra credibility to your profile. Based upon years of experience in web development, I have come across a simple and possibly the cheapest way to build a professional looking website. So let us dive into building your own website and I promise that it will not take much time as compared to the other ways.
Step 1:
The first step is to get your own domain name (like yourname.in). Now, you can create a free website without buying a domain name, but you will lose that professional luster when people visit your website. For example, when people see the address of your website, a short address like yourname.in will look more professional and attractive as compared to yourname.wordpress.com. Luckily, there is a website that sells domain names for a very low cost. But you have to choose a domain name carefully. If you want it for as cheap as possible, I suggest buying domains like ‘.in’ instead of ‘.com’. You can get a ‘.in’ domain name for as cheap as $1.5 (Rs 99). There are other domains which might be available for even lower costs. Just visit the link below and search for available domains.
Step 2:
The second step is to register for a web hosting. You need a server that holds your website 24/7 with minimum downtime. Now that you have your domain name (it’s okay even if you don’t have your domain name yet), register and login into one of the best web hosting services that is shown below. The free services provided by this web hosting are limited and if you are wanting a 100% professional website, I suggest you to buy their premium services which are very cheap and reliable as compared to others. Just follow the link given below.
Step 3:
The third step is to direct your domain name to 000webhost.com servers. Log into your crazy domains account and navigate to ‘Domains’ section. Now, change the ‘Name Servers’ to the following:
Nameserver 1 ns01.000webhost.com
Nameserver 2 ns02.000webhost.com
Click ‘Update Servers’ to save the changes. It will take 24 hours to update the server. Until then you can design/download the website.
Step 4:
The next step is to get your website ready to be uploaded. You can use the built in features of 000webhost to easily build a website or you can upload your own website.
Step 5:
If you are not purchasing the premium services of 000webhost.com, then the easiest way is using wordpress to maintain your website. When you create your own website using wordpress, your domain will look like yourname.wordpress.com. If you have purchased a domain name, you can use it (yourname.com) to redirect to yourname.wordpress.com. To do this, just create a ‘index.html’ file with the following HTML code in it:
<html><head><meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=http://yourname.wordpress.com"></head></html>Upload this file on 000webhost.com and the visitors to yourname.in will be redirected to yourname.wordpress.com.
I know that this is not 100% professional, but still it’s semi-professional and worth your money. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Today, reading books or even short articles has become a dull and painstaking task for most people. In no way I am saying that the current generation is less excited about learning than the previous one, or yet predecessor to the previous one. Nevertheless, advancement in technology has forced us to be on our toes to almost everything around the world, resulting in scarce time for time-consuming activities like reading books. Although an average individual develops habit of learning extensively, retaining what is learned becomes a herculean task even for those with so called eidetic memory, let alone an average individual. So what technique is effective in learning quickly and arranging the hodgepodge of what is learned? If there is a more entertaining way to learn, then what is it? To the both questions there is a simple and one word answer, “Infographics”. If you’re thinking that an infographic means what it sounds like, that is information blended with graphics, then bingo, you’re correct. Go and zoom the image shown below, and see how clear and entertaining it is as compared to a ten pages science article.
Congratulations, you just learned some science facts in minutes or seconds, depending upon your perception speed. A good question that comes in one’s mind is that if infographics are so pleasant to the eyes and time-saving when it comes to learning, then why are we still adhering to the textual matter. It’s an absolutely fair question, because infographics seem a lot more helpful than books. However, books still claim their dominance when it comes to effective learning. True that infographics have merits over books, but the merits of books certainly outweigh the merits of infographics.
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Are you a student struggling through the academics as a direct consequence of your poor writing skills, or are you a quasi-pro writer who is passionate about writing a novel? No matter your background, I share a set of rules from the professional writing practices which will help you brace your writing skills. Certainly, writing skills can give you a competitive edge, especially in science, engineering and relevant domains. While I am an amateur writer who has struggled his way to be able to call myself even a “writer”, I followed established rules of writing, practicing them every week. Before I shed light on these rules, I want to be clear with the fact that none of these rules are my creation, and I just have gathered these rules from various sources like Stanford University’s free online course on scientific writing, On Writing Well by William Zinsser and my daily observation.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert on writing but just an amateur passionate about writing. The set of rules provided by me are inherently limited and are directly mentioned from the rules of academic writing. In no way I ascertain that I am hundred percent accurate.
Finally, writing is an art and I reckon adopting your own writing style. That being said, writing is not poetry, allowing no room for grammatical errors. The ball is in your court but it’s imperative to play by the rules.
Feel free to correct me, or to contact me for any assistance.
Anurag Kulkarni 