The Billion People Effect: Lessons From China turned out to be a surprising read. It made me realize that India may actually be an important player in the world. Something like the following quote made me realize that, and being reminded that India is a billion person nation, next to China.

For instance, you can't say that India has only 1.7% internet penetration in 2004 and therefore it's not going to affect the immediate future of everything - including governance, law and economy. That small percentage amounts to 18,481,000 individuals and rose by 270% in 2000-2004. By 2005, there will be more internet users in India than the population of Australia.

This quote was also a mind changer about camera-phones:

Cellphones with cameras, now that's a clue. Suddenly the entire swarm of people toting cameraphones, Panasonic NVDS 65 handycams and webcams, resembles a mega-journalist, watching everything at all times.