Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Hotmail icon

Sabeer Bhatia on how to become a Super Power

SOUGHT AFTER GEEK Sabeer Bhatia

If there is one urban legend close to every geek's heart, it is the story of Sabeer Bhatia. Bhatia the ex-Josephite (St.Joseph's, Bangalore), the ex-BITSian, who went on revolutionise the chitti aayee hai phenomenon with hotmail. The story has a wonderful ending with Bhatia selling hotmail for a delicious $400 million to Microsoft and owning Ferraris, an apartment by the ocean (the Pacific no less) and dating a succession of lovely women. Even better is that the story is in present continuous. Bhatia continues to be the presiding deity of the Internet, doling out hot, new ideas.

There was a time when Bhatia "lost faith in the Internet. It was during the nuclear winter when the dot com bubble went bust. There was a two-year dip starting with the stock market crash on March 5, 2001. Things are getting back to normal and the world is ready for web 2.0, a new version of the web, which is all about user participation."

Sabeer, who supports the Round Table India's "Freedom through Education" project, bristled with righteous indignation at aspersions cast on his intentions. "It is not about giving back to society. This is something I passionately believe in. I feel every young person should be involved in the fight against illiteracy. There are 50 million children who have never seen a school. If we want to become a super power, the only way to solve all problems, from religious intolerance to terrorism, poverty and population, is through education." Sabeer's take on blogging... blogeverywhere is a multi-purpose browser based tool that enables everyone to become a blogger and comment on anything under the sun. The gaffers that sit on the log in Asterix comics have sure come a long way on the information super highway!

"Blogs are a manifestation of the democracy of the Internet. They are a platform for people to air their views. Blogs are not frivolous as they help capture feedback and one can listen to what the market is saying."

Blogs being democratic is all very well but what about the infamous anti-IIPM blog incident? "I accept there is a downside to blogging as there are opportunities to malign and for misstatements. But the rating system on the Internet is the best police."

"Soon the most valuable real estate on the Internet is going to be the tool bar, which is why our tool bar offers a whole lot of stuff like multiple searches and a faster browsing experience with mail being downloaded to the users' PC." All who moaned about hotmail being slower than snail mail have cause to rejoice as Sabeer promises the "toolbar will speed up hotmail." Then Sabeer is re-launching "arzoo.com in three months' time. It will revolutionise travel in India. We are the first to give information on the mobile phone."

Still very much the eternal entrepreneur, Sabeer says: "Creating is a lot of fun." And talking of fun, what is the latest on all the weekend partying in the Big Apple? "No partying for me anymore! The crazy time is over," says the 37-year-old drolly.

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHIBBER

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail