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I read two pieces last week by two well-known personalities—newly anointed minister of state, Shashi Tharoor, and Thomson Reuter’s chief honcho, Tom Glocer— and thought I’d flag them for readers.

Shashi Tharoor wrote this piece for Global Brief before the results of the recent elections were out but he makes a contrarian point when he questions all the talk about India emerging as a strategic global power. It’s India’s soft power that’s probably more significant than that of being an “emerging 21st century power”, he argues. I tend to agree, although now that he’s been appointed a first-time minister, I’m not sure we’ll see such pragmatic articles from him.

I always like to read Tom Glocer’s blog. Although Glocer, who’s the CEO of Thomson Reuters, is not a very frequent blogger, his posts are always thought-provoking. His latest post appealed to me because it was about a band that I grew up listening to. In How The Grateful Dead Saved the Music Industry, Glocer talks about how the band, which began in the 1960s and grew into a huge cult with a devoted followers, had pioneered a sustainable business model long before mp3s and illegal downloads were even dreamt of. Glocer talks about how eschewing record sales, the Dead encouraged their audience to tape and trade its music freely, while making their money by relentless touring. The recordings, therefore, became advertisements for building the brand and selling concert tickets. And when the digital revolution came, piracy never really bothered the Dead. Read more about it on his blog.

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Posted by Sanjoy Narayan on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 10:24 pm 
Filed under Blogosphere · Tagged Indian Strategic Power, Shashi Tharoor, The Grateful Dead, Tom Glocer

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