The hallway conversations I had at World Economic Forum

This week I’ve been wandering the hallways at the World Economic Forum meeting interesting people. Instead of keeping those conversations to myself I pulled out my iPhone 4 and recorded them with Cinchcast. Enjoy!

1. What it’s like to be a Quora reviewer, with Baidu’s Kaiser Kuo.

2. The Tech Guy (CTO) behind the World Economic Forum, Brian Behlendorf, told me about how the World Economic Forum is developing infrastructure and mobile apps to run the event.

3. Mashable’s founder, Pete Cashmore, talked about what he’s learned in Davos and the experiences he’s had. (He told me about dinner with a billionaire that could lead into something very special).

4. GE’s CMO, Beth Comstock is one of the top female executives in the world and she talked about what she’s trying to do to keep GE on top as one of the world’s largest corporations.

5. Discovered the future of “inside your body” drug tracking with Andrew Thompson, CEO of http://proteusbiomedical.com Mind-blowing technology to help people.

6. Discovered why people cheat and what the future of cheating (and beating cheaters) is with Duke University Professor Dan Ariely. Esther Dyson listened in and told me this was the best session of Davos for her.

7. The future of buildings with Serious Materials CEO, Kevin Surace.

8. How to protect your online reputation with Reputation.com’s CEO, Michael Fertik:

9. What are technology revolutions past and present with Esther Dyson.

10. The future of tablets and datacenters with Michael Dell.

11. The past and future of publishing with one of Europe’s most powerful publishers, Hubert Burda.

12. The future of cities with Chris Luebkeman, director for Global Foresight at the World Economic Forum.

13. The state of social media communities and addiction with Clay Shirky.

14. About China’s tech status with Kai-Fu Lee, former head of Google in China.

15. I had my mind blown by Harvard’s John Clippinger who taught me about the algorithmic corporation.

16. What Facebook is doing at the World Economic Forum by having a conversation with Randi Zuckerberg.

17. Forester’s CEO, George Colony, told me about trends in tech (the web is dead!?!)

18. The state of online news with Huffington Post’s CEO Eric Hippeau.

19. Price Waterhouse Cooper’s CEO told me what he’s learned about how CEOs think by surveying thousands of CEOs for its annual CEO survey.

20. Bloggers are more loyal employees, I learned, by talking with Francisco D’Souza, CEO of Cognizant, which has 100,000 employees.

21. Why Facebook is going to be the biggest bank in the world and how Ven is going to be the currency supporting it.

22. Wrapping up World Economic Forum 2011 with Jeff Jarvis.

Anyway, hope you enjoy these 20 conversations from the hallways at the World Economic Forum.

View the original article here

Mumbai Taximen’s Union Steps Up After Meter Jam – Starts Online Forum

Mid-day recently took the initiative by providing a number where commuters could call in and report the license plate number and the driver’s license number of an errant cabbie. Through this many cab drivers lost their licenses but the problem failed to cease. Now the Mumbai Taximen’s Union has finally taken notice and has decided to start an online forum where commuters can report arrogant and errant cabbies.

Why now? Mumbai Taximen’s Union speaks up

According to the Union, movements like Meter Jam have affected the “relationship” between cab drivers and commuters. According to them, the new website which will be launched in January next year, will help better communication between the two parties.

Will this work?

I may be extremely skeptical here but I highly doubt this is going to work. Cab drivers have, and always will, refuse commuters. At airports, commuters are not charged by the meter but rather an arbitrary amount that the cab driver feels right at the moment. Some have excuses like “I am getting late for lunch”, to “I am running out of gas”, or the more blatant “I can’t go there”. Will the forum really help change any of this?

Forums are a great way to put in complaints. Delhi police even resorted to Facebook to reach out to the community. Online forums and groups are a great way for the law and unions like the Mumbai Taximen’s Union to hear the grievances of the people. However, how much it will help the community is very much up for debate.

Do you think such forums are a boon or just a gimmick to let off some pressure?

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