Recent news of Khap panchayat in Muzaffarnagar banning girls from wearing jeans came as a shock to many. The panchayat believes this will prevent eve-teasing incidents and help maintain decency. A lot of furor is created every time something like this crops up and rightly so. What in the hell the panchayat has to do with this? On one hand we talk about the freedom of speech where even the worst of stand-up comedians make fun of Prime minister on national TV and on the other hand we want to decide what one should wear. If this ridiculous news makes you angry I have got some more news to cool you down on the same lines. One small town in Italy, Castellammare di Stabia is planning to ban wearing of miniskirts! The mayor (modern version of panchayat) believes miniskirts can be very provocative and can lead to indecent behavior. Surprisingly this news comes from a country which has produced Giorgio Armani! Forget Armani, it comes from the country headed by Silvio Berlusconi who himself has been alleged to have a lot to do with miniskirts! Nobody knows how much of this allegation is true, may be the opposition is trying to tarnish his image. But one thing that is sure is that if this kind of stupid laws can exist in a country like Italy then it should not come as a surprise if a small town in India decides to ban wearing of jeans. Besides, nobody has defined what decency is? If a well known director in India makes a movie depicting intimate scenes it qualifies as aesthetic movie and same movie by an unknown person becomes a ‘C’ grade movie. So let’s just not get affected by this news as it is just a mini issue, skirt it!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Unity is strength?
Saying "unity is strength" is like saying bombshell Neha Dhupia's next movie will fail to detonate, it is that obvious! Okay, I am not here to discuss Neha Dhupia’s non-existent career so let me come back to the main topic. Just yesterday I experienced two different incidents of this particular adage. The reason I am saying ‘different’ is because one of those examples reconfirmed my belief in the proverb whereas the other made me see the darker side of it.
As always I was traveling in a bus where moving your body was a crime as if everyone in the bus had told each other to "statue" (old school games...Still love them). On its way through the alleys of Kurla, the bus happened to brush along the side of a truck. Initially I felt only the left hand side mirror of the bus had kissed the driver's door. But I was mistaken as the bus driver didn't seem to care and it continued moving forward jolting the truck on its way, one could actually see the truck moving. Still the driver didn't care and moved forward. Nothing happened for few seconds, and then we saw the truck driver racing towards the bus from behind. He, like a speeding car, overtook the rear-wheels of the bus and reached the front door and got in. Without wasting a second he started beating the bus driver. He was so much aggrieved as the bus driver didn't even come out to see what had happened and how much damage was done. It was then the proverb came into picture. Everyone in the bus started getting angry with the truck driver as they were running late! Despite it being bus driver's fault, the passengers threw the driver out of the bus, abusing him they asked him to go to BMC and complain instead of wasting their time here. It is anyone's guess whether that truck driver would get justice or not. But the unity of passengers certainly saved the wrongdoer!
When I finally got down from the bus I was a bit shocked as this could happen to anyone driving his personal vehicle and even in that case the bus driver would manage to get away. That is when I experienced another example of this. One bus had broken down on the slope and I could see all the passengers as well as the passers-by having their share of fun pushing it upwards. It was such a relief to see the strength of unity in real sense.
As always I was traveling in a bus where moving your body was a crime as if everyone in the bus had told each other to "statue" (old school games...Still love them). On its way through the alleys of Kurla, the bus happened to brush along the side of a truck. Initially I felt only the left hand side mirror of the bus had kissed the driver's door. But I was mistaken as the bus driver didn't seem to care and it continued moving forward jolting the truck on its way, one could actually see the truck moving. Still the driver didn't care and moved forward. Nothing happened for few seconds, and then we saw the truck driver racing towards the bus from behind. He, like a speeding car, overtook the rear-wheels of the bus and reached the front door and got in. Without wasting a second he started beating the bus driver. He was so much aggrieved as the bus driver didn't even come out to see what had happened and how much damage was done. It was then the proverb came into picture. Everyone in the bus started getting angry with the truck driver as they were running late! Despite it being bus driver's fault, the passengers threw the driver out of the bus, abusing him they asked him to go to BMC and complain instead of wasting their time here. It is anyone's guess whether that truck driver would get justice or not. But the unity of passengers certainly saved the wrongdoer!
When I finally got down from the bus I was a bit shocked as this could happen to anyone driving his personal vehicle and even in that case the bus driver would manage to get away. That is when I experienced another example of this. One bus had broken down on the slope and I could see all the passengers as well as the passers-by having their share of fun pushing it upwards. It was such a relief to see the strength of unity in real sense.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Stick to what you have, as what you want is not there!
I came across this good article on itthing.com which discusses the strangest jobs in history. But among these jobs I found the best as well as the worst job profiles. I promise by the end of this post people who feel they have the worst job will fall in love with their current profile! And the ones who feel they already have the best job will have to eat their words! So let’s begin. First profile that we will discuss today is that of a Stercorarius. They were found in ancient Rome at a place where people were living on hills, had no money for plumbing so practically no way to treat their poop! And some were against the sewer system due to its association with foul smell. So the job of a Stercorarius was to travel door to door collecting human waste matter and sell it off to farmers who would use it for their crops. Now there is one question that crops up in my mind: were any of those people (who would give poop to Stercorarius) not farmers? As it is hard to think of any other work they would be doing considering the fact that they were living in rural area and farming was the best occupation in ancient Rome. And if they were farmers themselves then was there a need to give it to someone else! Now let us come to the best profile in the world. It is that of an Orgy planner! (Please don’t confuse it by comparing it with event management!). His job was to plan, of course, an Orgy for the rich. Need I say what all activities it involved and how satisfying this job must be. I am sure many of you would agree to work without pay if you had that choice!
So the moral of the story is if you are not enjoying what your doing currently just think of a Stercorarius and feel happy and if you actually enjoy what you are doing currently (rarest specie in the world) then think of an Orgy planner and feel sad!!
So the moral of the story is if you are not enjoying what your doing currently just think of a Stercorarius and feel happy and if you actually enjoy what you are doing currently (rarest specie in the world) then think of an Orgy planner and feel sad!!
Third 'C' of Selling
My friend asked me once "how does one sell?" and I was at a loss for words. Then I told him there are only two ways in which one can sell: either you convince the customer or you confuse him. Okay I agree we all studied this so there is nothing new to it. But there is something that we didn't study and still it is being used more often than not by people to sell things nowadays. It is the third 'C' of selling apart from the other two i.e. convince and confuse. The third and the most important 'C' nowadays is 'C' for corrupt! We always knew this but it is just that it was never put into theory (for obvious reasons!).
Let us understand this with one example: We have more news channels than news viewers in India today. How do you differentiate and how do you position yourself in the market as any new news channel would realize that all the possible positions have already been taken in the market (double-meaning not intended!). But still you have got to do something to address this issue and the channels (especially business news channels) have actually found a way out i.e. corrupt the audience. They do this by having the most beautiful set of news readers. I am not trying to say that they are there on those channels purely because of their looks; they are of course beauty with more brains than men have. But the channels are capitalizing on their looks because if there is a choice between two channels: one having a male reader and other having a beautiful female reader (other things remaining equal), it goes without saying which channel one will prefer. Again some might say that one needs to be presentable to appear on news channels and I agree with that notion. But I fail to understand how in the recent past these ‘presentable’ news readers invariably turn out to be the most beautiful women on television! And only news channels have to be blamed for this.
Adding weight to my argument is one of the headlines on one political news site (www.politicususa.com) which says “Fox news combines sex with tax”. This headlines comes in the wake of fact that one Fox newsreader (they say Fox cheerleader!) was wearing such a revealing dress that it was practically impossible for anyone to not notice it. And the topic of discussion was “Obama and Tax Cuts” (so it explains the logic behind headline as well as the dress!)
Let us understand this with one example: We have more news channels than news viewers in India today. How do you differentiate and how do you position yourself in the market as any new news channel would realize that all the possible positions have already been taken in the market (double-meaning not intended!). But still you have got to do something to address this issue and the channels (especially business news channels) have actually found a way out i.e. corrupt the audience. They do this by having the most beautiful set of news readers. I am not trying to say that they are there on those channels purely because of their looks; they are of course beauty with more brains than men have. But the channels are capitalizing on their looks because if there is a choice between two channels: one having a male reader and other having a beautiful female reader (other things remaining equal), it goes without saying which channel one will prefer. Again some might say that one needs to be presentable to appear on news channels and I agree with that notion. But I fail to understand how in the recent past these ‘presentable’ news readers invariably turn out to be the most beautiful women on television! And only news channels have to be blamed for this.
Adding weight to my argument is one of the headlines on one political news site (www.politicususa.com) which says “Fox news combines sex with tax”. This headlines comes in the wake of fact that one Fox newsreader (they say Fox cheerleader!) was wearing such a revealing dress that it was practically impossible for anyone to not notice it. And the topic of discussion was “Obama and Tax Cuts” (so it explains the logic behind headline as well as the dress!)
Picture perfect
Of late we have seen how a picture of Jimmy Wales appears on Wikipedia requesting people to donate money for site. But it certainly came as a surprise to me when one Chinese newspaper had a huge picture of the wikipedia founder appealing to the readers on behalf of Maurice Lacroix (A Swiss watch brand) to contribute and that is when I realized that the need was so desperate, though they regularly have these fund raising seasons. The reason why they need money so desperately is, of course, the fact that it is free for all. But we need to consider the fact that operating costs for the year 2010-11 are expected to be somewhere in the range of $20 million!! And from what I have read recently they need $16 million at this stage to remain free.
We have become so used to getting information for free on the net that we have never really given a thought to the fact that someone else is paying for it. What if suddenly from tomorrow wikipedia becomes a paid site? (Thank god I am done with all my college assignments!). But it was nice to hear that last year it did garner donations worth $8 million and hopefully it will continue to do so.
This reminds me of one news that I read recently about a gang in Delhi who are using a picture of Jimmy Wales to extract money from people!! We have seen how beggars show gods’ images and ask for money and we in the name of god tend to give some. But now these same beggars are using Jimmy Wales's picture to earn money. One MBA student in Delhi was feeling proud when she donated Rs.50 to a beggar thinking that it will lessen her guilt for having used wikipedia for all her academic work without ever paying a single penny. But obviously she got the shock of her life when she found out that the nine year old kid at the traffic signal wasn’t on the payroll of Wikipedia! As far as the beggars are concerned they are having a great time as someone who would just give Re.1 on seeing a beggar with a god's image in his hand, is now giving Rs.50 in the name of Jimmy Wales!! Talk about increase in revenue overnight, this gang of beggars beats any corporate hands down!! The funniest part about this whole episode is the fact that police says it won’t be able to take any action on this matter unless there is a written complaint from Jimmy Wales!! I have no idea how much money would have been raised by thee beggars as of now that will certainly not find its way to the Wikimedia Foundation. Jimmy Wales must be wishing he had not used his picture for this!
We have become so used to getting information for free on the net that we have never really given a thought to the fact that someone else is paying for it. What if suddenly from tomorrow wikipedia becomes a paid site? (Thank god I am done with all my college assignments!). But it was nice to hear that last year it did garner donations worth $8 million and hopefully it will continue to do so.
This reminds me of one news that I read recently about a gang in Delhi who are using a picture of Jimmy Wales to extract money from people!! We have seen how beggars show gods’ images and ask for money and we in the name of god tend to give some. But now these same beggars are using Jimmy Wales's picture to earn money. One MBA student in Delhi was feeling proud when she donated Rs.50 to a beggar thinking that it will lessen her guilt for having used wikipedia for all her academic work without ever paying a single penny. But obviously she got the shock of her life when she found out that the nine year old kid at the traffic signal wasn’t on the payroll of Wikipedia! As far as the beggars are concerned they are having a great time as someone who would just give Re.1 on seeing a beggar with a god's image in his hand, is now giving Rs.50 in the name of Jimmy Wales!! Talk about increase in revenue overnight, this gang of beggars beats any corporate hands down!! The funniest part about this whole episode is the fact that police says it won’t be able to take any action on this matter unless there is a written complaint from Jimmy Wales!! I have no idea how much money would have been raised by thee beggars as of now that will certainly not find its way to the Wikimedia Foundation. Jimmy Wales must be wishing he had not used his picture for this!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The 5th ‘P’ of Marketing!
If there is one thing about the subject of marketing that no single student of it would ever forget then it is the concept of 4Ps i.e. product, price, place, promotion. Time has come to add another ‘P’ to it and that is ‘P’ for purpose. Consumers all around the world have become more sensitive to issues such as reducing poverty, child education, protecting environment etc. They expect companies to contribute towards the society in some concrete manner in one way or the other so the companies can’t afford to operate in isolation anymore.
Consumerism is gaining momentum in India so it didn’t come as a surprise to many when Edelman's 2010 GoodPurpose Report ranked India as the numero uno country where people consider social cause more important than any other factor when comes to having an emotional connect with any brand or a company. Report says 80% of Indian consumers volunteer for a cause every 12 months and 85% donate to a cause every 12 months. Some examples of companies that have utilized this ‘P’ to the fullest, and also helped society in the process, include HUL donating fifty paisa for every Lifebuoy sold for the diarrhea project, Whisper contributing Re. 1 for every pack sold for blind relief society, Sponsorship of Anju Bobby George for 2004 Olympics by Sobha developers, ITC’s E-choupal and how can I forget JRD Tata scholarship being one of its’ beneficiary.
It is high time now that the companies started taking this new ‘P’ into consideration while forming their strategies to make sure that they remain on the top consumers’ minds.
Consumerism is gaining momentum in India so it didn’t come as a surprise to many when Edelman's 2010 GoodPurpose Report ranked India as the numero uno country where people consider social cause more important than any other factor when comes to having an emotional connect with any brand or a company. Report says 80% of Indian consumers volunteer for a cause every 12 months and 85% donate to a cause every 12 months. Some examples of companies that have utilized this ‘P’ to the fullest, and also helped society in the process, include HUL donating fifty paisa for every Lifebuoy sold for the diarrhea project, Whisper contributing Re. 1 for every pack sold for blind relief society, Sponsorship of Anju Bobby George for 2004 Olympics by Sobha developers, ITC’s E-choupal and how can I forget JRD Tata scholarship being one of its’ beneficiary.
It is high time now that the companies started taking this new ‘P’ into consideration while forming their strategies to make sure that they remain on the top consumers’ minds.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Isi baat pe ek chai ho jaye!!
On my way back from office I encountered two contrasting business models for the same product i.e. tea/coffee. One was the ubiquitous tea stall named Santosh tea/coffee stall near sakinaka where my bus was awaiting green signal since last three years! I was watching constant influx of people inside that small hotel when I happened to see the message written on one of the walls which read "muft mein baithna mana hai". Finally when the bus moved I came across a CCD selling same thing with the tagline "a lot can happen over coffee". Santosh tea stall of course depends on the volumes of business done and more interested in pushing people out to make sure that they survive whereas on the other hand CCD survives on those who have all the 'muft' time in the world and don't mind spending a fortune for a cup of coffee as they get to spend (read waste) some quality time (read muft time). Anyways whether sitting idle in CCD and spending both money and time (or going to a Santosh tea stall and saving both) is worth or not is not the topic of this post and at the same time it is very unfair on my part to compare these two entities. Though personally I would prefer a Santosh tea stall (I know my friends are going to kill me for this). What I find most amazing about this whole thing is the fact that both business models are alive and kicking. Actually I spent more time thinking about the title for this post than I spent for writing it but still could not think of a title so I decided to go for this one which is completely unrelated to the topic so extremely sorry for that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)