Category: A Mix

  • No more following for promotion

    When we take up a job that seems to be the mantra. Securing promotion is one of the prime motives. And one of the best ways considered to secure your promotion is to follow your boss and his edicts.

    It's a time when following might not be a great strategy for promotion. Why?

    1. If the situation is fraught with fear of lay-offs and your boss has vouched for your protection, just keep in mind that his head could also be on the line. If your bosses had got it right, the situation of lay-offs wouldn't have arisen in the first place.
    2. If you've been following very obediently and for a good cause, most likely your boss has been seen and credited for that. Check with your boss' boss if he knows you.
    3. If you've been following your boss or policies or procedures and nothing has worked until now for you, what do you think will work in the current situation?
    4. Following anything or anybody has meant you've not exercised your judgment till now, and therefore, you've not realized what can work. How do you think you are going to handle the situations in the current downturn? The sooner you stop following the better.
    5. When good times come again and you've only followed until then, do you think you would be in the position to make of it?
    6. If you've only followed till date, good times might not be attributed to you; perhaps only to your boss in case he is lucky. Are you the harbinger of good times or the one waiting for good times?

    Let the work be your own. Let the judgment be your own. Let the voice be your own.

    One response to “No more following for promotion”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar

      You have raised the questions that are pertinent in every mind each and every day. It is like a norm which people like to follow- ‘Be in the good books and you make it to the top.’ This was a visible practice in my last job where I had an appraisal; the boss actually had a black diary which used to be his source to justify the appraisal grade. As for me; well being amongst a group which was not particularly know for being in the books for the “Yes Sir” attitude, it was always Code 3. (Code 1 being superlative and 5 being the ‘3 months to pull up your socks’)
      There is one glitch in the ‘Boss’s Fav’ situation too. Firstly your peer group has no linking for you. Secondly, it does not work when the boss is in trouble himself, or moves into a role where you no longer matter. Even worst is when it is a job cut scenario and capability becomes a factor, the godfather’s become non existent.

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  • Create or maintain?

    If we find it so difficult maintaining our god-given – largely self-regulated – body, we are undoubtedly going to find it tough to maintain things that we create ourselves.

    On the other hand, if we don't create anything, there's nothing left to maintain than our own bodies. Which is what our ancestors did thousands of years ago.

    Therefore it's impossible that we don't create. We have to, we have been and we always will. The standard questions then are: what, how, how much?

    I won't answer 'what'. I won't answer 'how much'? But let me try and hint at an answer to 'how'.

    The first picture is Oberoi Mall in Goregaon, a structure in glass, steel and cement. Fully enclosed and centrally air-conditioned. Now have a look at the second one. That's Nirmal Lifestyle in Mulund. An open, self-ventilated mall which accommodates a few trees as well. Your guess which one will be easier to maintain and sustain.

     

    Oberoi Mall Goregoan
    Nirmal Lifestyle Mulund

    Creating is a one-time act. Maintenance is an everyday act. If maintenance is easy, there are greater chances that the creation will exist for long.

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  • Unforced errors

    Look at it this way. The most important asset we got in our lives is our time. And evaluate honestly what we do with it.

    In the game of tennis outcomes are often decided by the number of unforced errors. The more unforced errors you commit the more you are likely to lose. And you reduce the unforced errors by working on your game, relentlessly.

    'Spending time', it's just like tennis. Your success will often be determined by how you spend your time. It's all upon you. You are free to spend it one way or the other.

    You want to play music, but you dance more than you play music; in terms of spending time that's an unforced error. Want to dance but you spend more time watching soaps; that's an unforced error.

    The most precious game is 'spending time'. Reduce the unforced errors. Putting in 10000 hours can take us to the top of our games/professions/skills.

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  • Business is as boring as the word itself

    While channel-surfing some time back, I happened to watch Learning Curve (D-Street meets B-School) on CNBC. Five minutes was all it took to bore me. And it isn't the first that a business program has failed to excite. Seemed like it's more boring than even the most boring reality show on any channel. 

    Have you felt the same? 

    Digging into the history of the word 'business', I found this:

    O.E. bisignisse (Northumbrian) "care, anxiety," from
    bisig "careful, anxious, busy, occupied" (see busy) + -ness.

    Anxiety, the root cause of stress, immobility, tension, blood pressure… No wonder business is conducted in such a boring fashion. No wonder it has the element of 'care' inbuilt. But care for whom? For what? Don't we see that businessmen care only for their own self, own work, own worries, own health. 

    The world around is dieing for a change but businesses are busy worrying about what they are busy with.

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  • Do we lose the ‘cool’ to become hot?

    The episode of Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai tonite (20th Jan '09) drove home a point. Monisha's mother-in-law is not happy with her middle-class upbringing. She wants Monisha to become sophisticated.

    Monisha undergoes a transformation and becomes really sophisticated. Sophisticated to the extent that everybody in the family, including the mother-in-law, starts missing the original unsophisticated Monisha.

    Monisha herself feels very frustrated with her sophistication. When given the first hint by her husband, she immediately goes back to being her earlier self.

    Identify what's cool in you. Sometimes to find that out, you need to try what's 'hot'. Have you tried?

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  • What if you make Monday, your Sunday?

    You don't get queues at the grocery store counters.

    You can shop at ease and at peace.

    You can browse through well arranged merchandise in your favorite stores.

    You can better assistance when you shop.

    You can get the seat of your choice at the cinema hall.

    You can get better prepared food at the restaurants.

    You can relish peaceful dinners at the restaurants.

    You can spend time all with yourself and sleep to your heart's desire.

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  • Is your product a bomb? (part-2)

    Bajaj has been in the news but not for happy reasons. Sales went down; it lost market share in a big way and slipped to No.4. Just a few months back, Bajaj sounded so upbeat. So what has suddenly gone wrong?

    1. Environment and sentiment. People seem to have put big purchases on hold. Bike's definitely a big purchase.
    2. Competition. Finally doing justice to its reputation and perception, Yamaha launched the sexiest and the best performing bikes in the category Bajaj dominated all this while.

    3. Discontinuing what it started. Bajaj is adopting Hero Honda's way of doing things. Launch the same product over and over again with a few cosmetic changes. In that, it has failed to keep up with the demands.

    100cc is economy. Higher above 100cc, it's about looks, performance, excitement, status, impression. Can you still flaunt a Pulsar now? Can you even flaunt a Pulsar220 now? Can you flaunt an R15? Oh, tell me about it.

    The big tank did it for Bajaj some years back. It brought the zing to biking. Bajaj needs to do it again and regularly. It needs to get something else, something new, something refreshing to set the pulse racing again. Not the Discovers 110, 125, 135. Not the Pulsars 150, 180, 220. Not even the XCD's I would say. Hope the six launches in 2009 don't have to do with these. Otherwise, you know what's gonna happen.

    Where's the Ninja 250? Why is Bajaj waiting? Why are we waiting?

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  • How to accomplish forgettable tasks?

    Hefty salary, more shopping, more products, more taxes, more tax-saving investments, more instalments, more socializing, more commitments, more parties, more connections, more important people, more emails, more replies, more passwords… 

    Your mind goes for an upward spin these days. As a result, they are the simple tasks that don't get accomplished. If the simple tasks have to do with office, you would still do it; coz you'll get a raise in the salary. But they are the household tasks that you forget; coz there's nothing like a raise there. Not even appreciation on most occasions.

    The problem is time, partially. The problem is also your attention. The problem is your memory. The last two are one and the same thing.

    For a task to come to your memory, you need to aid your memory a bit. Like a last minute revision before exams, like an alarm you set in your mobile, like noting down your office tasks in personal organizer.

    Here's the solution. Have a big white (or any light colour if you prefer) writing board cover one of  the empty walls in your house, preferably in your bedroom or a room where you spend a lot of time. Note the tasks whenever they come to mind. Don't force yourself to do it in one day. Now like an advertisement billboard, this board will serve as a constant reminder. It will work. Do it and check for some days.

    Your life our of office might improve. You might feel more satisfied even if there's no salary raise. You might feel in control of life. You might manage yourself and your money better.

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  • Is your product a bomb?

    Bomb has two meanings. The movie bombed. The product bombed. Means failed.

    She is a bomb. Means she is hot. Sexy. Attractive. You get it. And it's this meaning I'm referring to.

    Remember an electric car called Reva launched quite some years back? When it was launched voices in the country had already gathered momentum to bring an inexpensive alternative to petroleum guzzling cars. Then, what happened? It's not spotted on the roads though.

    Reva was the first of its kind in the country. It was small and small cars always have a huge market in India. It was inexpensive in terms of fuel consumption but didn't take off. Even lately when the fuel prices increased (before crashing) people weren't talking about Reva.

    The crucial point is that Reva isn't a sexy looking car. It's a rather toy-like car and badly designed. So badly designed that a person who buys might not want to be seen driving it and standing around it. Moreover, if a car is a status symbol, it had better look good coz people want to flaunt it whenever given an opportunity.

    Is it too late? No. Reva is known as the first mover. It can take advantage of that before any other similar but better looking car gets launched. India has buyers aplenty.

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  • Customer service to lose the customer

    An email I received from Reliance General Insurance. Bolds, colours & italics are mine.

    Dear Customer,


    Thank you for writing to us , we value our relationship with you.


    We will attend to your mail promptly and revert to you within seven (7) working days .Your service request no. is 00125900 , kindly refer to the service request number for any further communications or query.


    Register yourself on our website
    www.reliancegeneral.co.in for managing your policy account online. To know more about our online services,


    If you need any further assistance please feel free to contact us on our toll free number 1800-300-28282/ 39898282 our customer service executive will be glad to assist you.


    Assuring you of our best service always.

    Yours Sincerely,
    Customer Service Team
    Reliance General Insurance Company Limited

    Oh, boy. Here I am writing just a couple of days before my policy expires, in an urgency to renew my policy before it lapses and look at the response. This kind of response has a few problems:

    1. It is automated. I know nobody's read my email. Increases panic.
    2. It talks about seven days. If someone had gone through the message, he/she would know that I am not a 7-day candidate.
    3. It is not in the right spirit. It says things like 'we value' and 'will be glad'… I think that's b*** s***! If it's an automated response, just keep it simple instead of sending contradictory messages and debasing words like 'value' and 'glad' and so on. Next time, I receive a message from such a company, am I gonna trust 'em?

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  • Gyms that produce electricity and pay you to exercise

    Yes, that's what we need and that's what looks possible. Has anybody made anything yet? I don't know.

    The observation is this. People are becoming health conscious. They are going to gyms everyday to workout. They try to shed weight or keep fit by using energy to move some mechanical equipment or to run on electricity consuming treadmills. Can't that movement of equipments be further channelized into generating electricity? It's like the old times when the head light of a bicycle glowed because of the motion of pedaling.

    And now since you produce electricity by exercising in this gym, you should be paid, right? Imagine clean energy. Imagine the incentive to exercise.

    3 responses to “Gyms that produce electricity and pay you to exercise”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar

      That’s an amazing idea… and in a way its practical. It would actually be a nice prospect to explore especially with the exercise cycle of the stepper. All you need is to connect a dynamo and your effort can help generate power. You shall be paid as per the effort you have applied on the cycle.
      Try selling this concept to a health club. This can be a great source of income and the power genrated can substitute the power required for lighting up the place or for the music they play.

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    2. Siddharth Soni Avatar

      O’ yes, to make it practical at the simplest level, the power can be generated for the gym itself :)

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    3. Ninad Avatar

      Dude, they are already doing it in the West. Its in the experimental stages currently. I read about it in Newsweek a couple of months ago. Check this out too http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/02/06/green-microgym-in-seattle/
      Its a great concept if it takes off. Need not be restricted only to gyms. I mean various kinds of activities can be tapped into for energy. Just thought of it as I am typing….How about typing on the keyboard.Imaging the collective energies generated only through typing!

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  • Johny Johny Yes Papa – the Indian version

    Raju Raju…

    Yes baba…

    Cheating us…

    No baba…

    Telling Lies…

    No baba…

    Open the balance sheet…

    HA HA HA

    – by Abhishek Taneja

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  • Be slow to be fast

    Paradoxical? Definitely. Logical, if you get the thought.

    These days I live so near to my office – precisely 2.6kms – that I walk down to office almost every alternate day. What that has meant is that I take a little more time to observe my surrounding when I am walking. As a result of which I've observed shops and services which earlier never grabbed my attention.

    So, yesterday I got my printer cartridge refilled. For months we weren't using the printer simply because we couldn't the cartridge refilled. And we didn't get the cartridge refilled because we didn't quite know if there were a service nearby. I was afraid I might have to spend a few hours just to locate the shop in case if it's far or in some other area. I got my work in 15 mins. That's it. 

    Apart from that, when in the market, it is only through some attentive observation that we come to know about things in detail or that we get some ideas. When we whizz past our surroundings on a bike or when we are locked in the air-conditioned confines of our sedan, we can hardly notice things, leave aside attentive observation.

    Surely, walking takes time. But it makes my body agile. It makes my mind alert. Anything more you need to be fast?

    One response to “Be slow to be fast”

    1. Crimson Feet Avatar

      u have a fuckin sedan?!?!

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  • Tell a story… like this.

    No, I don't want to plagiarise Mr. Godin's great thoughts. But to explain my point and to elaborate on the subject of this post, I have to use the whole post. The emotions I went through in a short span of time. Highlighted in red.

    The thing about goals (I am curious. That concept called 'goals'. Let's see what Seth Godin says)

    Having goals is a pain in the neck.(Oh, so true! I feel happy)

    If you don't have a goal (a corporate goal, a market share goal, a
    personal career goal, an athletic goal…) then you can just do your
    best.(Oh, true again! The man also feels like that) You can take what comes. You can reprioritize on a regular basis.
    If you don't have a goal, you never have to worry about missing it. If
    you don't have a goal you don't need nearly as many excuses, either. (I buy. True. Almost on the verge of believing, no point in setting goals.)

    Not having a goal lets you make a ruckus, or have more fun, or spend time doing what matters right now, which is, after all, the moment in which you are living. (Hmm… yes, right)

    The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. (Yeah, that's what! Just recently I set up myself finally to get to accomplishing a long-cherished dream. I'm finding it a big tough to manage really. What if I didn't have a goal and just went about doing things as I like randomly?)

    It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who
    lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals. (Ah! see, the man makes his point in the last sentence. Thank God, I have a goal!)

    In the shorten run, you feel joy like I felt in the first few paragraphs of the post. In between, there's some scepticism. By the time I reached the end, I realized that I am on the right track though the usual overt manifestations of joy can't be seen. It happens like that. Story telling also works like that. Movies also often end up like that. :)

    One response to “Tell a story… like this.”

    1. Mysterious Avatar

      wah! wah! wah! Kya funda hai!!

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  • Domestic cricket’s googly: Mumbai is the winner in the draw against Saurashtra

    If cricket is the passion of India, why don't we watch domestic cricket? Earlier the matches weren't telecast live. Now, Neo Sports is doing that as well. Then, why aren't we watching the matches?

    Because in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy League, the premier domestic cricket league of India, Mumbai is declared the winner against Saurashtra on the basis of first innings scores. Mumbai won the toss, elected to bat and scored in excess of 600 runs. Saurashtra replied by scoring 370 odd runs. Mumbai had barely begun their second innings when five days got over and thereby the match as well. Imagine five full days of cricket and barely manged to finish the first innings!

    BCCI has a monopoly over the sport in the country. But it doesn't manage the sport, it only manages the funds generated by the sport. The sport generates funds in spite of BCCI; the country has an insatiable appetite.

    What if international cricket collapses? Where would Indian cricket get its money from? Ever watched the domestic sports circuit in the US or other countries? The stadiums look filled to capacity every time. Can BCCI learn? Can it work to make the domestic circuit more result-oriented? Can it facilitate intense battles and dramatic matches? Can it learn to generate money from domestic cricket in stead of running it with the money generated out of international cricket?

    Make sport look like sport. Make it entertaining. We don't mind watching. We have the time. We don't mind paying.

    One response to “Domestic cricket’s googly: Mumbai is the winner in the draw against Saurashtra”

    1. Crimson Feet Avatar

      BCCI SUCKS MAN…. i honestly want a chance to assassinate it… if only it was human!

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  • When was the last time you were curious?

    Sitting at the breakfast table, Arti narrated a dream she saw last night. She saw that she was getting late for her Hindi exam. That reminded me of something that we used to do as kids. And perhaps today's kids also do it.

    At the beginning of every academic year, we would buy new text books. I would often read through the English and Hindi text books since they contained a lot stories. So while the class would be on chapter-1, I would have already read till chapter-5. So when the class would come to chapter-5, I would be sitting pretty comfortably (and with some pride too :)). But on many occasions, the chapters read in advance would simply not be taken up in the class. So on occasions I would end up sharing the stories with my friends. In either case, the pleasure was mine.

    Doing things out of curiosity often helps. Especially for us to sense what's gonna come later. Do we ignore curiosities when we grow up? Is that why most often we aren't able to sense what's gonna happen next, whether in our career or business?

    One response to “When was the last time you were curious?”

    1. Ninad Avatar

      Cant agree more on this. I too remember the time when I used to read stories form my Balbharti and Yuvakbharti textbooks during the vacations. One more thing to note is the dwindling writing skills of the newer generations due to the kind of tests that they are exposed to in schools. We used to answer questions in brief for our language subjects. Noawadays its all comprehension based. Students are given short paragraphs from the text books and asked to answer after reading those paragrpahs. Most of those answers are one line answers. How can you expect people to become thinkers if you do not encourage them to write enough during childhood?

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  • Europe-inspired brand names in India, do they work?

    I wonder. Have a look at some brand names in the apparel market:

    Peter England
    Cambridge
    Oxford
    Liverpool
    Thomas Scott
    Heidelberg
    Barcelona

    Easy to imagine 'England'. But how about Cambridge or Oxford or Liverpool? Or for that matter Scotland or Sweden or Germany or Barcelona? If apparel makers have their way, entire Europe might land in India.

    If the names are known but can't help people imagine, it can become tough. But if the names are known too well and facilitate the imagination, you had better understand the names the way consumers understand them. Naming is a big deal, indeed.

    2 responses to “Europe-inspired brand names in India, do they work?”

    1. Tushar Jambhekar Avatar
      Tushar Jambhekar

      Names do make a huge difference. Especially if they have some resemblence to a foreign name. ‘Premier Padmini’ can never erase FIAT from our minds but Ambassador did manage to erase Morris. Ajmal can never be regarded as international in the Indian minds, but Mubadala from the same region sounds more foreign to Indian ears.
      I feel its a universal trend- acceptablilty for a brand always depends on the name. Why else would beauty brands always have a feel of Paris in their name, even if the R&D and manufacturing was out of Ambernath???

      Like

    2. Siddharth Soni Avatar

      Right. The names I was trying to highlight are geography/placed inspired brand names. I was wondering about the effectiveness of names coz, surely, the idea is to evoke and appropriate the associations with those places or the fashion code of those places.
      Your reference to Paris is apt.

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  • What’s bigger: context or contents?

    Some stats in January 11, 2009 issue of Business India.

    Price of world's most expensive pair of shoes 'Cinderella Slippers', studded with 565 platinum-set Kwiat diamonds and worn by singer Alison Krauss at 2004 Oscars ceremony, in million dollars: 2

    Amount offered by Saudi citizen Hasan Muhammad Makhafa for shoes thrown at President Bush in Iraq by a local journalist on 16 December, 2008, in million dollars: 10

    But how do you leverage context? A deliberate act done with the purpose of leveraging often gets ignored as yet another marketing gimmick. How does your leverage seem genuine?



    Thank you Anoop Babani for gathering and putting together these amazing stats.

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  • How do you market ‘hard work’?

    By making it hard to earn :). Or by showing other opportunities when it is hard to earn by means that we know of. But who can make it hard to earn? No one in particular. Perhaps collective foolishness, perhaps the world around us, perhaps the government, perhaps the economists. Who can show opportunities? The very same people who make it hard for us to earn :). This argument is like a snake eating its tail.

    The news is China turns to villages for next miracle (Hindustan Times, 4th Jan '09). Yes, in the absence of white-collar cubicle jobs, fresh graduates from different fields have been given opportunities to work in villages, at the grassroots level with farmers. Courtesy: Chinese government.

    Tough to imagine and go through, but I reckon this could be the best training for these youngsters. Training not just at a professional level but at a personal level too.

    What is Indian government waiting for?

    2 responses to “How do you market ‘hard work’?”

    1. Crimson Feet Avatar

      I didn’t get this. Who is markting “Hard work”? Aren’t they simply making it mandatory. Like the vietnam recruits?
      Also, what the Chinese govt is doing can only be done in China. Not in a democracy like India. Isn’t it?

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    2. Siddharth Soni Avatar

      Who is marketing ‘hard work’? In this instance, it’s the Chinese govt. And no, they haven’t made it mandatory. They’ve given a compelling choice to the graduates who would otherwise be facing unemployment.
      Your remark ‘what the Chinese govt is doing can only be done in China. Not a democracy like India’ has two aspects. One: the form of government. Two: the activity/initiative undertaken. If the objective is economic sustenance and development, most often we would find that whatever the form the government, activities are of a similar kind. It is the activity I’m referring to and not the form of government. Form of government, though, can definitely impact the way the initiative is marketed, received and undertaken.
      In this instance, I definitely feel if Indian government also takes an initiative like that, a lot many problems related to unemployment and modern farming can be resolved.
      What say?

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  • ‘Expressing’ is an important act – a precursor to something more profound

    I read a post No Comment on Chris Brogan's blog. Have a few thoughts.

    Blogging facilitates the act of 'expressing'. And typically this 'expressing' happens in words, sometimes pictures or videos. Talking about words, it's all about story telling. And we all know that it's an art. How easy or tough is it to master an art? Depends on how much you practice that art. So, if you've just started blogging and if you are not a known personality in general, you've only got started on the journey. You've only begun expressing. Stories are yet to come and they'll come if you keep at it.

    There are some worldly norms too. Not sacrosanct but simply observed. If you are first at something you have greater chances of becoming known. If your subject area has already been thrashed by a hundred or thousand other guys and you do not have substantially new stuff to say or new way of saying things, you could have a tough time gaining popularity.

    Besides, why is it that people maintained private diaries in earlier times (even now many do)? They had amazing thoughts jotted in their diaries but never had any 'traffic' or 'commenters'. Wonder what was the motivation… One can call it an outlet for pent up thoughts, emotions, etc. Or a cathartic activity. Or a storage of memories.

    The key is to keep writing. You'll grow whether people comment or not.

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