The name:
Shvetha Jaishankar
Claim to fame:
This model and former Miss International runner up is getting married to tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi.
How Net savvy are you on a scale of one to ten?
I'm hooked to the Net. I get online at least once a day and spend my time emailing, surfing for information and chatting with friends. I'd easily give myself an eight. For me, the Net is imperative, which is why I lug my laptop around everywhere.
What do you do once you get online?
I have a lot of friends spread all over the world. So I usually spend about 45 minutes replying to email, downloading software like Adobe and chatting on MSN. I also used Dialpad and Net2phone to call earlier. But now the time lag really irritates me, so I just pick up the phone and call.
In fact, Mahesh and I got to know each other better via email, because he would be travelling all over the world and I was busy doing shows, etc. Now, since he gets online a lot, we don't email much but just fix times to chat. I also watch a lot of his matches on my laptop if they aren't being shown on television. I usually download the scorecard and keep it on while I read a book. So I know the outcome of the match even before he calls me to let me know what happened.
What are your favourite Web sites?
I use Google a lot to search for information. Other favourites are dictionary.com, howstuffworks.com and straightdope.com. Straightdope is a favourite because answers are given so wittily and in an interesting fashion. Also, I have my own Web site, which a friend put up for me, with my pictures and information. I'd like to update it with new pictures as all the stuff on it is about a year old.
I used the Net even for my wedding -- to source coats and envelope designs for our invitations and embroidery designs from coats.com.
What do you like most about the Internet? What do you hate most about it?
I like the ease with which one can access information and connect to anyone in the world.
What I don't like is the high cost of DSL and quick connectivity -- one cannot afford it all the time. Sometimes MSN gets congested in the night as everybody is online and that does bug me a lot. Also, the Internet gets very impersonal sometimes. I miss the charm of receiving a handwritten letter or card rather than ecards!
Is there something you'd like to buy or sell online?
I've bought college books via Barnes and Noble. Barring once, when the shipment got stuck, I have not really had a bad experience online. But I don't know if I'd use it to buy veggies and stuff, like people do abroad!
Any strange experiences online?
Once, a friend who's a computer whiz bet me that he could hack into my email account. He managed to do so and even read my email aloud to me. That really spooked me because it made me realise that we are so vulnerable in the electronic medium...
Have you ever been ego surfing? What did you find?
I have never ego surfed. But my cousin did because she wanted to show her friends some pictures of mine. She sent a link of what she found to my mom and me. My mom who's a Net addict then showed it to everybody in the house, from my grandpa to all my relatives. So that felt nice.
Is there any one celebrity you'd love to chat online with?
George Clooney... But actually, I'd rather chat in person, because the most amazing thing about him is his voice. Jude Law is someone I'd like to chat online with.
What's your favourite Web-based gadget?
Currently my laptop, but I would love to get a Web Cam!
If the Net didn't exist…
I wouldn't shrivel up and die, but I would miss it!
