1st April is a different day … it
heralds the starts of Financial year (I started my career with the present
company 11 years ago) … for strange reasons, it is also associated with ‘fools’
– informally known as ‘April Fools' Day (sometimes called All Fools' Day). In many countries, people play practical
jokes and hoaxes on each other – during my school days, remember that people
used to spill ink from their pens on others [how many of us till have an ink
pen now ?]
It is also ‘Kha b' Nisan’ – the new year of Assyrians. Assyrians
wear traditional costume and dance in parks for hours. The Assyrians are an
ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia .
They are Semitic people, who speak and write distinct dialects of Eastern
Aramaic exclusive to Mesopotamia and its
immediate surroundings.
The Assyrian nation existed as an independent state,
before the BC era, gradually they became a minority in their homelands.
You know ‘Selfies’ – the famous and ignoble ones recently
circulating the web… heard of ‘Shelfie’ ……. ..here is something from the desks
of Google …..as posted in their official blog.
Today,
April 1, Gmail hits the double digits. Over the last 10 years, our users—have
been our biggest inspiration. You've sent us ideas for features you want, and
told us what you like (and didn't like...). So while it may be our birthday, we
want to say thank you to you with a gift that is, well, all about you. When
custom themes were launched back in 2012, we urged you to find “your perfect
image and make Gmail your own.” And you did. Many of you rushed to take photos
of yourselves to upload as your Gmail custom theme, which you started referring
to as selfies. The term quickly spread
beyond email themes and has permeated our culture so thoroughly that the Oxford
Dictionaries named it Word of the Year in 2013.
Google has already started with this year’s
April Fools’ silliness. On the Gmail blog, they announced “Gmail Shelfie,” a
way to turn your Gmail background into a selfie, and share it with your friends
and family. Software engineer Greg Bullock writes: You all love setting selfies
as your custom theme in Gmail, but you’ve told us there’s one major problem:
there isn’t a way to share your selfie with others. As the pioneering platform
for selfies, Gmail is committed to being at the forefront of innovation in the
selfie space. And we think it’s a tragedy that your handsome hair, luscious
lashes and beautiful brows have been trapped in your own inbox. Until now, that
is. Today, we’re proud to free your selfies by launching Gmail Shelfie, the Shareable
sELFIE.
April 1st just happens to be the ten-year
anniversary of when Google first released Gmail in beta. It would appear that
the product was not an April Fools’ joke.
Is it a prank by Google or mocking the Self
appreciatory culture – is Shelfie for real ? – we tend to ask …. To put simply, Gmail Shelfie makes
your Gmail background, technically known as your custom theme, shareable with
others. Google claims that so many people have selfies as their custom theme
that the company decided to make them shareable with others. Share. Selfie. Shelfie.
So how do you get this new feature on your Gmail? It's
simple. Open or refresh your Gmail, and the option will appear at the bottom of
your screen. I tried this morning and it worked for real ! ~ so what are you waiting for – got an
awesome Selfie, share and make it ‘Shelfie’ ……. Join the current trending…
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
1st Apr 2014
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