An Update: What's going on with Tworque and me??!!

India is beckoning. It is alive and buzzing with excitement (photo source: Dharmesh)


A few of you have been recently hinting that I have been a little too quiet (thanks for noticing and for the prodding). So I thought I ought to explain what is going on:

Since this blog is a side-hobby, it is extremely dependent on my availability of internet and free time. In the past several months, I have been traveling a lot with little access to the internet.

Right now, I am in India. I came here because I had heard that the place is buzzing with ideas, innovation, and vitality…something I have been waiting for years to happen. I had to see it for myself! Would I feel inspired enough to stick around??

Already in the past month, I have been so impressed by the energy of this place. So much enthusiasm and promise, as I have never seen before. Of course, I have also been very lucky to come across a lot of people wearing their passions and hopes boldly on their sleeves. Younger and older entrepreneurs alike are popping up all around, taking chances and doing something ‘different.’ For a country that is so gripped by conformity, this is a SIGNIFICANT indicator of the wave of change sweeping through.

If anything, India’s development is significant for the map of the world’s development. The world’s largest democracy has some of the greatest economic disparity, with some of the world’s poorest people living side-by-side with the richest. The enormous economic growth here against such a backdrop along with its mélange of castes, languages, religions, geography, and lackluster governance defies logic; probably as a result, India’s growth will provide a roadmap for the development of underdeveloped economies as we move forward.

As Hans Rosling predicted in his recent TEDIndia talk, its only a matter of time (July 27, 2048!!) before India (and China) regain(s) their original position(s) of leaders of the (free??) world. I’m here to see if I can be in the thick of things, if I may even venture to say…to lead a small part of it. But only time will tell. Hopefully, I’ll find enough internet and time to take you along for the ride...assuming I even have one! ☺

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This is a list of FAQs, and I'll update them as necessary.

1. Is "Tworque" a word? How did it come up??
I gotta say this is my #1 question!

Well, "tworque" is my word. It means revolutionary (as in "torque") technology and thinking and ideas...that work (get it?? Torque with a 'w' in there...). I believe that even old ideas that are "tweaked" or retrofitted or reworked to make sense for a set population are also revolutionary. So "tworque" combines revolutionary tweaking, and things/thoughts that work.


2. Where were you between July 2008 and Jan 2009. I ask 'cause your blog was quiet?
I was working at the X PRIZE Foundation helping them design a Global Development prize. I am an independent consultant, working on different projects as they come up and interest me. Some projects can be more demanding than others, as was my work at the X PRIZE Foundation. Also, their blog (which I was helping build readership for) was covering a lot of the issues I was posting over here. So it made sense to just focus on theirs until it had a steady readership.


3. I read that you attended TED2009 in Long Beach as a TED Fellow, and put up a list of great FAQs. Where are the TED FAQ's?
Here's FAQ I, FAQII, and FAQIII; Also check out the TED Fellows blog here.


4. How do I email you?
If you are a crazy Nigerian trying to get your grandmother out of jail or if you just like stalking me, please leave me alone. I am dirt poor (really...all I have is this blog!).

Anyone else, can email me at tworque AT gmail DOT com

Apologies, thanks, and what's happening...

Many apologies for my long silence. I was on vacation until June 1. Vacation is my cut-off time. I try to disconnect from my regular life, rarely using a computer, television, telephone, or other technology that keeps me connected to the world in any way. Instead I retreat into my thoughts and the landscape I am around.

Upon return on June 2, I flew headlong into a new assignment. And here's something for any other visionary hopefuls out there who don't believe that lightening can strike... A prominent university professor heard about Tworque, and contacted me asking to set up a beta version. Turns out she's had the same idea for a few years now, but didn't have the time to implement it. So three weeks later, I'm in Boston working to churn out a tangible concept. Our goal is to use Tworque within a teaching environment, and maybe tweak it into working condition, at which point it will just market itself.

This week has and will continue to involve brainstorming and setting up the "ghost" Tworque (a precursor to Beta). Next week, I will present the ghost version at an educator's retreat. The goal will be to get feedback, and possibly even interest in incorporating Tworque Beta into their curriculums.

Tworque Beta will hopefully launch in the fall, for exclusive use in an MBA International Development (ID) class in the Fall. I'll let you know what happens. But wish me lots of luck, because I need it!

Thanks, as always, for your continuing support. Special thanks to those of you who wrote asking me to continue posting. I will do my best to keep you updated.

An important note on reviewing technologies and how Tworque works

Right, its time we get into technology showcasing and reviewing. But at this juncture, I need to make a quick and important note on my reviews.

As written in my very first post, I'd like to ultimately (hopefully soon) build a cnet/digg community (called Tworque.com possibly!) where information about technologies from around the world with BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) applicability can be archived and reviewed.

At this point, tworque.blogspot.com is just a place to test the waters for readership and act as an archive for information I collect. Its incredibly hard to review something without physically viewing or testing the product. So please take what I write with a grain of salt. Please give me your own feedback/review on any of the technologies I present. It will greatly add to the objectivity of my review and tell me (and the designers) what factors to look for in the future. I will also try to get the technology developers to possibly weigh in on their technologies.

My goal when Tworque.com becomes a reality is not to fly around the world wildly to review these technologies first-hand, but rather rely on the sense and will of the "commons," as Linux, wikipedia, and other such ventures have. Anyone, anywhere (with a registered account) should be able to submit a technology that they have either built or come across randomly (either in article, by word-of-mouth or in-person); while other users can review as they deem fit. Experts (who will be selected by the editorial board based on their expertise, experience and individuality) will be allowed a special say in what goes on, but even they can (and should be) questioned. In the end, Tworque.com will be a library of technologies for anyone to access, which will include balanced dialogue with the inventors/designers, users, and other reviewers. This will improve technology access and implementation, technology transfer, and technology design (which the inventors need!) around the world.

I need to say here that I don't believe that technology is the answer to poverty alleviation or economic development. I believe it is part of the solution, an accelerator or catalyst that when designed and used correctly can greatly shorten the distance between problem and solution.

Finally, if you would like to be a part of/help design/sponsor Tworque.com, let me know. I'm on the lookout for advice/help.