Amchi Mumbai...

London, Delhi... and Mumbai, all within a few months! Its been incredible! I had hardly finished my welcome back parties, and I already had to start saying my good byes! Honestly, I never expected it to happen so soon!!! For some reason, we just tend to think we have all the time in the world to say what we have to!!

Truth be told, we don't! I never managed to say a hi or a bye to many of my friends back in Delhi! But nonetheless, Mumbai and Delhi are much closer than London and Delhi! So I keep telling myself, either I'll go there soon, or they'll come here soon!

Unlike many other countries, each city here is very different from one another! Delhi and Mumbai are poles apart! I for one have always been a 'Delhite', but now, I'm set to become a Mumbaikar!

Part of the excitement of being here is that I already know half the places - of course, living in a place and visiting the place are 2 completely incomparable things! But I'm ready to make Mumbai my new home - it's always been my second home!

Amchi Mumbai... Hope you live upto my expectations!!! :) 

Memories... Back in Time...

9 months ago, I landed in London at around 5 in the evening. My first thoughts - Has London changed since I last visited? Is the Baggage claim as bad as I've heard? I hope some of my friends are still in London!

The rush of questions was interrupted by the view outside the window. I could see London - from way up there, it looked just like it had the last time. My feelings about landing were just the same - only difference - this time round, I knew I had to stay here for a year. So this was going to be my home for the next one year - not just another vacation spot!

The view looked nice. To make sure I could hold onto those images, I used my petty phone camera and started clicking pictures. After a while, I stopped with the pictures and started trying to figure out where my place was, and whether I could see Russell Square Garden from up there - clearly I had my perceptions skewed - I had mixed up Russell Square and Regent's Park! So I thought Russell Square was huge, when it was actually not as big - not that I could see either of them from up there!

I saw a car park...

and some houses.... 

and then some more houses... 

Finally I gave up, and just waited for the plane to land. My thoughts shifted towards what my new life would be like. I was sitting next to another Indian student who was going to study in UCL. At that point, I had no idea that my classes would be held in UCL's Birkbeck. I just presumed that it would be far. 

A new city - all new people (except the few who I knew)... Looking back, I never thought I would be sad just thinking of going back. But the fact is, I am! Right now, we have 60 days of our course left. I would love to go back and meet my friends! But then again, I want to stay here forever! Although I must admit, when I think about it, I do crave going to some places and doing some things which I just can't do here!!

I'm in a fix... If I stay here, I'll miss Delhi... If I go back, I'll miss London... I need a job which will allow me to travel between the 2 and a whole list of other places on my travel list.

Pinning Away

"Pinterest -  A content sharing service that allows members to "pin" images, videos and other objects to their pinboard. Also includes standard social networking features ..."

That's what you see when you search for the platform on Google. That's pretty much what it is about, but it provides for a whole day's worth of entertainment. My own perception - Pinterest is like a mesh up of Facebook and Google Images! 

So, for those of you who are unaware of what Pinterest is, here's what it looks like: 

The pictures are pinned onto a board which users create. So for instance, I have some 6-7 boards, and I have given a theme to each board. So if I was to pin the image of the lanterns (above), I would pin it to 'Just Beautiful', but the picture of the cat or the house would go on another board. 

After YouTube, I'd say Pinterest is the best site to keep you busy, browsing the whole day - I'm quite sure you wouldn't get bored! 

If you add the 'Pin It' button to your browser, you can pin anything from any website to boards of your choice. Studying digital marketing, my mind keeps shifting to how this could be leveraged by marketers - and the answer is right in front of you! When I pin any item, it gets shared with all my friends (the same effect as sharing an image on facebook or twitter has). However because it has only images, it becomes a lot more appealing, You can make sure that images of your product are shared via Pinterest with ease. Just add the 'Follow us on Pinterest' or 'Pin It' button to your website. 

Apart from the marketing stand point, of all the social networks that have come and tried to overthrow Facebook, Pinterest seems to have taken a huge slice of cake when it comes to customer engagement.

Again, like I mentioned in my post about whether Facebook and Google will be around 10 years down the line, the whole debate and question about mobility comes to the fore front. Pinterest, is far more 'mobile' friendly than either of the other platforms. When you take a picture of something you've eaten at a restaurant, the chances of you sharing it with your friends are high. Now imagine, a friend of yours wants to make plans with some other friends about having the same dinner, all he has to do is pin it to his board and either tag his friends. 

You could argue that they could do the same on Facebook. Yes they can. And till now, they have. But with people increasingly liking the idea of browsing content that interests them and being able to store it in one place, I have no doubts that Pinterest, with a good mobile app, will overthrow the Facebook over the next couple of years - unless the later buys them out! 

For now, happy pinning!!   

Will Facebook, Google be around 5-10 years from now?

I came across an article a while ago, about whether or not Facebook will be around in a few years from now. The opinion of the article was - most likely, no. In fact, it would be wrong to say just Facebook will not be around, the write-up actually referred to Google, Facebook and several other websites we're hooked-to. The reason - not because they are not popular, or because they are going bankrupt. The reason was quite simple - they cannot adapt. Just like MySpace went out (though it still exists), so will Facebook!

Remember the time you jumped to Yahoo or Lycos or Alta Vista everytime you wanted to search for something? And how many of you had email ids on every website that popped up?

How many of you remember ICQ? Do you remember your number? I don't! Though I do know a few friends who do. How about your Hi5 account? How often do you visit that? They all still exist, but few ever visit such sites. We just changed our minds and started using things which were easier to use! In more techie terms we shifted from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

When I look back, I used all of these platforms. But I was never able to stay hooked to one! The whole idea of using the internet is to make life simpler - so when a newer (and simpler) site comes up, I switch, as do many others! When I realised that all my friends were shifting to Facebook, I did it too! Though I have often wondered why?

I have seen this shift very often -- MySpace to Facebook, Orkut to Hi5 and then to Facebook, and then off late, people often choose between Twitter and Facebook. I'm guessing its because we all have one reason for using social networks - to keep in touch with people. So if people shift, so do we. But that begs the question, why do they start shifting? The 'whys' can be answered by psychology, and although I wish I was an expert at it, I'm not.

Coming back to the topic, the reason why Facebook and Google may not be around in a few years from now, is because the companies cannot adapt as quickly as we do. If we have started using our phones more than our computers, it is in Facebook's and Google's interest to ensure they have mobile versions of the site. But not just mobile versions. It's the whole experience of using the site that needs to be translated to a mobile platform.

On a personal note, I sort of agree - Google Search may be mobile friendly, but not the other Google products - I mean, how many 'Google' products do you have on your phone/tablet? Even for all the Android users, do you use Google Goggles or Google Earth or Google Latitude?

But then again, can you imagine having to send 'friend requests' to all your friend again? Or starting to get used to a new platform altogether? - Not that Facebook hasn't trained us for it, with all their changes to the way you use your profile, there is no doubt, we're all experts at getting used to new social networks in a giffy - We love Pinterest don't we?

But as of now, thinking of a world without Facebook and Google although tough, is not impossible! 

A simple example that I thought of when reading the article was - Whatsapp. We all use Whatsapp, but did it occur to anyone that you can use G-Talk, Skype or any other such messenger across all platforms?  Or was it because there is no G-Talk for iPhone? and no Skype for Blackberry? I guess that is exactly what the articles means by it will lose out!

Now imagine if tomorrow Whatsapp launches a profile option allowing you to share status updates with your friends? Oh wait, it already does that right? You can share statuses, create groups, share pictures, videos, etc - you just can't share it with everyone without 'chatting' with them! But if they do bring such features in, would you start using those instead of Facebook? 

UKBA - Studying in the UK, a Wrong Choice?

For the last 6 weeks, I have been working on various school projects and had sort of forgotten what the end goal was! But today, I was suddenly reminded of the real deal - study here, but be ready to pack your bags soon! Why?

I'm studying in an American University in UK, but I happen to be an Indian! I should have either chosen to go to US and study at the campuses there or I should have made sure I got into a UK university - either of the two might have made things easier - MUCH easier!

But am I sad about my choice? NO!

My experience at Hult London has been amazing - to say the least. Working with real companies for nearly all our class projects has made sure that we can take on any sort of project. But today, I realised that for many of us, non-EU students, working in the UK will be tougher than expected.

For instance, I read this article today, that said 'Genuine Students are Welcome'. The point is, sure you say you're welcoming 'genuine' students, but are you really? One could argue, that since Hult is an American university, I should not be cribbing - I made a choice. But I do know students from UK universities who are facing problems just like me. Why?

When the visa rules were enforced last year, many companies decided to ensure that they only get EU applicants (or at least those allowed to work in UK). This meant, that you cannot even apply for some jobs if you say you're not an EU resident. That's it. Full Stop. End of Matter.

Now that the rules have changed, it should get easier to get a job for international students. The key word here is SHOULD. With restrictions of how long you can work for and how much they have to earn, etc, there are few chances that companies will want to hire them.

That being said, international students have a better chance getting educated and 'employable' in US or Australia because they can at least work there for a few years after studying.

There is nothing wrong with trying to protect the interest of your own citizens - but one should think of the repercussions of doing so. The tough visa rules, clearly reflects in the reduction in the number of applicants to UK universities. UK earns a large part of its revenue from international students. This number dropped last year, and I am sure it will drop further this year - does this benefit UK citizens?

Why would foreign students come to the UK if they know at the end of the day, they are going to have to cope with their loans/finances by getting jobs elsewhere? Wouldn't they rather study 'elsewhere'?

I agree that since I knew the laws were changing, I should have chosen more thoughtfully - so does that mean, my decision to study in the UK was wrong? 

Life without Facebook and Twitter... and Watsapp?

Continuing my thoughts on 'Grown Ups'... The internet has sort of taken over our world!

The whole aspect of 'Second Life' will change! It will probably become 'life'! I was actually thinking about the never-ending debate of how technology is taking over our lives! I know that being a marketing student, and specializing in Digital Marketing, I should be utmost thrilled about the fact that more and more people will be hooked to the platforms. But, somewhere inside, I myself want to know how my mom and dad spent their days! I mean when she was my age, she did not have a twitter or facebook! So how did she keep in touch with friends? Snail mail?

What did they do when they went out? How did they make plans to hangout? I really wish I could understand, but for the life of me, I can't imagine living without my phone, or the internet!

Then I remembered the challenge that Mashable brought out, to leave social media for 2 weeks, I was up for the challenge. Like Sam Laird, I want to see the other side! How was it before facebook and twitter came along! I know its only been a few years, but honestly, would you be up to the challenge?

No social media means no twitter, no blogging, no facebook or any other social networking website. It means you can at most read mails and news. You cannot do anything much! For me, personally, I will have to change the way I use the internet! At present, whatever content I come across, originates from some tweet or facebook post! If I am not allowed to do that, I will have to focus on other aspects of the Internet.

Coming round to the student side of me, that might be a good thing. It might just help if I know how people use the internet without facebook and twitter! My father for instance, spends all day online, but he doesn't have a Facebook or Twitter account! I guess I could do with a glimpse of his cyber-world!

Despite the noble intention, I'm going to have to put the challenge on hold!I have to think about the various projects I'm doing! I need to be online to promote them! I will most likely take up the challenge during my next break - in May.

Spring Break!

I have spent half (or more than half) of my spring break just lazing around at home and watching tele! But somehow, that seems to be just what I needed after the madness of Module B. A week from now, I will be in the 3rd module of my program.

It feels like I left Delhi just yesterday! But then it also feels like my Christmas holidays just ended. Although these may be my thoughts now, they were quite different a few days ago! Last week or 10 days back, I was counting the days till my next break! Our last term at Hult was a whirlwind! But as usual, we survived! Like Kelly Clarkson's song, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!', well, the term just prepared me for the madness I have coming up in Module E!

So coming back to my spring break - I have been watching tele! Cooking shows, travel shows, animal planet, you name it, I'm watching it! So basically I have in a way been expanding my knowledge about things... Sort of...

I watched a movie during this time, called 'Grown Ups', some of you may have heard of it. Well the bottomline of the movie is that kids today, don't 'play'! Well they play, but not the way their parents did! The movie got me thinking. I'm into digital marketing, and at present there are a handful of people around the world who use internet round-the-clock! But a few years from now, the whole world will have a duplicate cyber-world!

Understanding Viral Videos!

I've been racking my brains to try and figure out how I can help people using social media. The answer has always been right in front of me - people power. But it wasn't until recently that I realised the true potential of it! When a few months back, the song 'Why This Kolaveri Di' went viral, I realised the real power of social media. But I still need to understand what makes something 'go viral'. What's that one thing that made over a million people around the world watch a video of a song in a language many would not even have understood? And then why did they share it? Forget the rest of the world, why did I share it?

People may wonder, being a digital marketing student, how can I be saying that I don't understand what makes a video go viral! Well the fact is, if anyone knew the secret to make every video go viral, then there would be no questions! But fact is, the same formula seldom works twice! Despite using 'recommended' tactics to promote NGOs and non-profit organizations, they don't gain the popularity that some accidentally viral videos do! This is the point I want to understand! Why is it that 44 million people watch this video, but not half of them will watch or share videos about missing dogs or animals being rescued, etc?



I myself showed at least 3-4 people the video, many of them showed it to 3-4 people and so I helps spread the word. So how is it that the same effect is not seen when people share information about animal rescue or any other social cause?

The questions have been ticking in my mind like the timer of a time bomb!! I still have no answer. I guess some of us liked the use of the south Indian accent. But was that the only reason people watched it so many times and made so many versions of it? No, it's not possible. Trying to understand what makes a video go viral, made me think of another video which had gone viral ages ago. Some of you might remember it, 'The Badger Song'?

Can you imagine the number of views on this video? Around 13 million when I embedded it here! But how? If anyone can solve the riddle of 'why' videos go viral, he/she could call himself the viral guru! One might say 'comedy', 'interactiveness of the video', etc. Fact is, it could be all of these plus more! The 'more' here is the mystery!

At present I'm experimenting with using the power of social media and viral videos to  promote awareness so that people will take responsibility of helping animals around them. Whether it is for helping animals or helping people, or any other purpose, understanding what makes videos go viral will make sure we can easily spread the word on important issues!

So tell me, why would you share (or have your shared) these videos? 

Wroom Wroom...

I am loving my projects at Hult... Last module the project I loved the most was Dentsu's GreenTomatoCars Campaign... This time, I'm quite sure it's going to be the one with Porsche... Amazing!! I just love the fact that what we work with such companies. In fact, we work with so many amazing companies -- some of whom are start-ups, some non-profits, some big well-known names in the industry!

Whichever company we work with, we are treated exactly like (or at least more or less exactly like) real consultants! The most fascinating aspect of our projects is that we know that in many cases, some of our ideas will actually be used, so we're not just being graded on things!

  

A new series, and a new episode!

So I created another web-series for the Network. This video is about animals planning to help us, cause they think we are just to messed up to do it for ourselves!

The series is titled 'The Takeover', since it is about the way animals will be taking over our lives. But this is no ordinary 'takeover'! The only reason the animals are trying to takeover is because they feel that during this troublesome time (recession et al), we need help in surviving. Since they have survived for decades without any worries, they are now going to help us, mankind, survive! But will they be able to? Don't we humans tend to put them down generally?

Last week I also released the second episode of 'Every Little Bit Helps'.

Chris makes the pitch to his boss with the presentation, but what do you do when you have a boss who is just not willing to see anything beyond numbers?! The boss has given him a challenge! From here on, the story will go the way people want it! If he has enough supporters for his cause, he will go ahead with it, if not...

Since the series in meant to show people the kind of problems that people trying to help animals face, it is best to get people to direct the story!! I have thought of keeping it simple: If you support Chris, like the video! If by the time the time runs out, Chris does not have 50 likes on his video, then he has not won the challenge! Simple, isn't it?

The Bong Connection

Before coming to London, I thought I should try and get back in touch with the 'Bong' side of me.

Having been brough up in Delhi, I hardly kept much connection with either the bong side or the konkan side of me! It's not like people living in another city lose connection with their roots. It's just that since your peers are from that area, you tend to find a midde ground!

Just celebrating the same festivals is not really understanding a way of life! festivals and occasions are just a minor section of it! To understand they way people live, you need to 'live' the life they live!!

Just before coming to London, I thought of going and spending time getting reconnected to my bong side. (For those of you who don't know what 'bong' means, it's basically a slang for Bengali)

I wanted to go to Kolkatta to say bye to my relatives before coming to London. It might surprise most people that the way life is in Bengal is different from the way life is in Delhi! However, I was in Cal for only 2 weeks. I was happy that I finally got some time to understand their way of life. What I never thought of, was connecting with the modern Bengali way of life. That too, I did not learn this in India; I learnt this in London!

Many of you might be aware of the traditional culture in Bengal, but how many of you know about their real way of living? Bengali music is for instance always associated to Rabindranath Tagore. Not like that's a bad thing, but that's like associating English literature only with Shakespeare!! While traditional songs are a part of Bengali music's history, it is not the only Bengali music! People hardly know about the upbeat bengali songs! All this, I learnt after coming to London! In fact to be honest, I have never interacted with so many Bengalis in my life (other than my family)

Some Bengali movies, are so much better than Hindi ones I've watched!! But sadly, only Hindi movies seem to portray 'Indian' movies to most of the world (other than film buffs who would know of other films too)! It's true with Marathi movies too, and I suppose with movies of other languages too.

I must say, I'm looking forward to going back and discovering the Konkani side of me next!!

So I made my first web-series a few days ago. I know last time I wrote about starting a travel blog, and I have, though I have not gone public with it just yet!

The video above is my first shot at seeing how I can use webisodes for marketing purposes. Since I am a student, I do not have the liberty of splurging money around. That is why I have started using YouTube's Video Creator Apps. The best thing about it is that I am just getting to know the app. I love the fact that there are different kinds of videos that can be created using the apps.

Some provide animated characters like the ones I used above. However, there are also other kinds of videos which are more useful for people who want to make video presentations.

Fact is that while doing my report for my digital channel, I had to explore the world of webisodes and mobisodes. That was when I realised it. A picture says a thousand words, then a movie?

Every Little Bit Helps is a series about young adults who are trying to change the way people around them think. This episode starts showing the hostility and attitude a large number of people have to the very concept of CSR.

As of now, this video was released on 31st January, 2012 and has received 73 views. I realise that the number may not be extraordinarily high, but nonetheless, at least it reached that many without any advertising (apart from the few tweets and facebook posts). I have till now, not spent a penny on my NOAH campaign. But have managed to get around 205 followers (of which I only worked at getting the first 120 or so)!

If NOAH does well, I will definitely be on cloud no 9! I just need to put in a bit more effort!

A New Blog...

I'm getting inspired by my classmates at Hult. Everyone has a nice blog that brings out their interests. I already have 2 blogs; this one and the one about NOAH... But that is not enough. As I said in my post "Where am I headed?", I am most interested in travelling and animal welfare. While one is a passion that I would not like to turn into a profession, the former is.

There are so many thing that I would love to talk about when it comes to travel, that I am seriously contemplating starting my own blog for it. Yup, you read right, I will start another blog. But this one will be different.

The only thing holding me back is the fact that I already have my feet in many boats (not just 2!). If I dig into something new, I may not be able to stay committed to everything. This used to be my chain of thought!

Now that I have seen the way my friends have been blogging, I changed my mind! I will give it a shot. I love writing and travel, so now I will blog about it.

Now to think of the name of the blog. Any suggestions?

Dogs are the cutest!

While walking to class today, i saw, what I would call the cutest site ever! I first saw a dog running wildly after something... The next instant i realised that he was chasing a squirrel! I slowed down.. Saw them play catch-n-catch (as we called it when we were kids) for a while. The squirrel finally ran up a tree, and the dog... No he did not stand barking below (dogs here never seems to bark!). He continued running... Up the tree! And then flipped back to the ground!

There was another little one just behind him... He stood below the tree waiting for the squirrel to come back down!

Dogs are just adorable! Everyday I see at least one or two 'babies' in either the bus or the tube or the park. But the best thing is that they always have an expression of some sort! They are adorable!

People wonder why I am so crazy about dogs? To be honest, I have no idea! I have always loved dogs... But with time, my frenzy for them has increased!

Till I was 3 or 4, I had a dalmatian in Calcutta (Kolkatta)... But then somewhere after we moved away from there, I became terrified of them (still don't know why though). So when did the fear end?

When we moved to Delhi, my cousin had a black lab. Whenever I went to her house, she had to lock up the dog in another room. I used to feel sad that he was locked, but at the same time, I was too scared to set foot near him!

Finally one day, she decided to let the dog out! I ran all the way out to the front garden! He came to me; her parents and my parents had come running out behind me... For a while it felt like i had paused all of Delhi with my shouting and running out! They told me not to be scared... And to remain still... I did... Within a few seconds, the dog just walked away... Back to my cousin... Ever since then, I was not scared of him! But then, I was still scared of other dogs...

My fear for other dogs went down with time... Today, the minute I see a dog, i feel like running up and cuddling it!

One of my friends had rightly said, if any man wants to impress me, all he has to do is make sure he has a dog (not that that's true!)... But ya, the second I know a person has a pet, my perception of the person does change! In a way you could say I am biased about people with a passion for animals, particularly dogs!

Whatever it is, I am crazy about dogs! And without a doubt, dogs are the cutest things in the world!

Understanding Digital Channels

We have a new task at hand... becoming an 'expert' in different Digital Marketing Channels! My topic for this particular assignment is iPTV, Webisodes, and Mobisodes. The funny thing is, I was one of those who would rather wait for friends to download movies or television shows and then watch them--and here I am trying to understand the world of online television!

It is not a tough topic--the problem is quite contrary... it is a very extensive topic! Webisodes, Mobisodes, and iPTV are three quite different channels used for more or less the same purpose. When you watch shows on iPlayer, you are actually watching iPTV. On the other hand, there some shows which are designed primarily to be aired over the web. These are then referred to as Webisodes (web episodes). The concept of Mobisodes is still in its infancy. With more and more people turning to smart phones to watch TV, the concept of Mobisodes is becoming popular.

While doing my research, I realised something, whenever I searched for information on Webisodes, I would end up with a number of TV shows and Webisodes but no information about them. I then realised that I need to play with the 'keywords'.

Finally I have sufficient basic information on the topic. However, to get primary sources (straight from the horse's mouth), I still need to find some resources. I should be able to find something soon, now that I know how to find it and what I am looking for!

One of the important factors to remember when understanding any digital channel is that each channel is designed for a particular use and is intended to be used by someone specific (customer, businessmen, organisations, etc). Identifying the target of the channel is probably one way of gauging the efficiency of the medium. For instance, I cannot say that the concept of webisodes have failed just because kids still like watching TV! The idea of a webisode is not to replace TV completely! Perhaps someday it will, just as someday paper newspapers will be replaced by digital papers!

I guess I still have a long way to go before I become an expert in webisodes and mobisodes! iPTV seems an easier bet! It was my search for information on iPTV that got me re-hooked to some of my all-time favourite shows!

Whether or not I become an expert in internet television, webisodes and mobisodes; I will surely become an expert in which is the best website for each show!

A New Beginning...

It's been 2 weeks since my second module at Hult started off! But the holiday spirit somehow doesn't seem to understand that! However, as all good things must end, so will the holiday spirit (now that our projects have started)

This term our projects are a step ahead of what they were last time...

...while in Module A, our projects focused on how quick and creatively we could think of marketing ideas, this term seems to focus more on how we use data to plan the future... whether it is in Strategy or Project Management or Customer Conversion, the theme of 'finding out what we don't know' seems to be a hot favourite! But then I suppose that is how real marketing projects are! You need to know and understand the client before trying to create an out-of-the-world marketing strategy for them!

In retrospect, we did analyse our clients even in the first term. However, that was never really our 'main goal' (if I can call it that). I guess we learnt at that time that we needed to understand them in-depth and therefore have now welcomed this module far more easily.

Most people would say that logically, we should first be taught how to build the strategy and understand the client and then be given assignments dealing with marketing them. To be honest, I thought so too.

Nonetheless, thinking of it now, as students, we seem to be far more enthusiastic to show our creative side than to want to waste time learning of the client's past/present. This is probably why the school used (should I say) reverse psychology on us and made us first realise WHY we needed to learn Project Management and Strategy and then taught the subjects to us!

Personally I am now happy to be learning it since I already know how projects would have been without such knowledge!

'We learn from our mistakes'... absolutely true! Now when we are being taught about these subjects, we can co-relate topics with what we did (or did not do) in Module A...

But this does not go to say that during Module A we would not have done a good job! Our projects at the time were such that they focused more on the plan; it is while working on the plan that we realised that we needed to understand other subjects too! The projects then focused on what customers liked, didn't like, and how we could use our knowledge of digital technology to rope them into things!

Now back to work, more on Module B later!