Dusting off the cobwebs...

Dear Blog,

Sorry I completely ignored you for a really, really long time and although so much was happening all around me that needed to be recorded/expressed/vented, I just kept it to myself in a corner of my mind and heart (a corner which I eventually hoped would vanish). But then unexpressed feelings have this funny thing about them, they keep expressing themselves in the weirdest of ways - tears, memories, dreams..

So finally here I am, doing what I should have never stopped doing.

Life has taken a very serious turn lately. Everything I do is SERIOUS. I look serious, I talk serious and worse, I AM serious almost all the time. 'Tom-foolery, where art thou? Those silly jokes? Those insane, utterly meaning-less conversations - why did you vanish? Are you mad at me and hiding in some silly corner?' 

Uff. This post is turning out even sadder than I thought to be. Ok! So time for updates!!

In these few months, there are/were many a firsts for me -
- My first Quarterly Review (and that's all we are talking about it)
- My first Health Check-up (not counting the one just after I said 'Hello! World')
- My first pair of best friends (those shinny lil' things that dangle on your ears, hide behind hair and costs your parents a bomb :D)
- The first wedding of my generation in my family.(!!!!!)

Damn, writing a post in parts is such a bad idea. You lose the flow and never end up saying what you actually started out with. I guess I will stop here. Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a heart, cant torture my single-digit  loyal fan following :|

One last thought - I think this post exactly reflects my current state of mind - sad, confused, lost for directions and without any zing whatsoever.

Of memories, engagements and good-for-nothing brothers...

It's amusing to watch long lost relatives gush over you with 'Oh, you are so grown up now!' not realizing that one does grow up in a decade's time. There is this aunt of mine whom I have met only thrice in life - once on my naming ceremony (mom tells me that she named me!!), then once at her daughter's wedding where I was dragged to, much against my wishes as my mother didn't want to cook for just one person and then finally at my brother's engagement last week.

This aunt almost had tears in her eyes to watch me prance around in a sari that day when the only two other memories of her about me must have been 

1. me in a pram waiting to be named with some rather good name (Don't ask..I should probably sue her for naming me this name)

2. me in some pink frilly frock (the fairy frock, it used to be called) looking hungrily at the buffet.

But then you realise that memories are not always for the experiences one witnessed. They are stories we heard or talk about which some how got stuck to our minds. I am quite unsure about how to react to these situations. Do you greet back with the same enthusiasm which you know is going to be quite a feat for you to achieve because honestly you never remembered that person in the last 10 years? or do you simply acknowledge their emotions smilingly, knowing that you are not quite the same person they remember you to be..but it's ok to let things be? Somehow the latter seems alright.

Talking of memories, it is sad to see some older relatives struggling with names and identities especially when hit with too much information. I remember meeting one of my grandma's brothers at a function 2 years back. My dad is one of his favourite nephews and the love got passed on to me by default. Memories of my childhood when we used to visit his place and stories of my grandma as a naughty kid, came flooding in.  But the confused look on his face was heart-wrenching. I could see him struggle with his mind trying to match names with faces. Even sadder was to see his eyes brimming with guilt when he said, 'I am sorry but I couldn't recognize you.' How do you deal with that? 'Anna, mi shamachi mulgi' (Grandpa, I am Sham's daughter). Thankfully, 'shama's' name rung a bell. 'Oh, you are that car winner!!' (Refer this) Yes! That's how my grandfather finally remembered me. It's funny and sad at the same time. Such is life!!

Talking of engagements, my silly self realized that wearing a sari at family functions can be quite hazardous to health. Even more hazardous when you are the only sister to a gang of guys with none having mastered the art of subtlety. There was sneering, sniggering, laughing behind backs and laughing out loud involved. There was also some fuming, cursing under the breathe, cursing out loud and warning that one would walk out and rather attend the birthday party on 2nd floor of the reception hall involved. But of course, brothers being brothers, one eventually learns to ignore them after 24 years of existence and so  my pretty self stayed on. Other more mature and older set of relatives were pleasantly surprised. And that's when things began to run downhill. Collective opinions about my marriageable age were met with collective nods just when I was grabbing a hot puri. By the time I was pouring chocolate sauce over vanilla ice-cream, my wedding menu was almost being finalised!! But then my mom-dad being completely aware of their first-born's mental age much calamities were averted.

So its decided!! I am wearing a pair of baggy jeans and some old T-shirt for bhai's shaadi. Even if it makes me look like one of those crooks who gatecrash weddings for fun and free food. How 3 idiot-ish, no? ;)

Under the cyber sun...

This was an interesting bit of information. Or was it? Yes, internet did make “dialogue, debate and consensus through communication” possible, but at the same time internet made information symmetry possible which may always be a good thing? I mean..terrorists checking out the exact directions on Google maps before bombing is known to happen. And as for the whole 'dialogue, debate and consensus' part...well, this here is an excellent example of that going for a toss! 

But yes, there is no denying the power of Internet (Kindly insert - With great power comes...blah blah). Being the most adaptable of the digital migrants, my generation is blessed to be witnessing these miracles unfolding before our eyes. For the digital natives to come, these miracles would be as commonplace as a telephone or TV set is to us. 

One of the most intriguing aspect of Internet, for me, has been the phenomenon of blogging. To be able to read a stranger's thoughts, ideas, stories has now become possible. Exhibitionism, the need to be appreciated by others and a sense of ownership seem to drive this phenomenon. For some, blogging is an outlet for their emotions channelized into some form of art. For others, a self-improvement project. For yet another, a way to keep in touch with their dear ones - a chance to form a far deeper connect than mindless social networking, if I may add so. But most  importantly, we like this 'my very own space under the cyber sun' . The whole 'My name, my domain, my shit-posts!' thingie.  And not to forget its free!!

So here's something I have been toying with for a past few months, which I thought I would share with my exactly 3 followers (Yes, I thank thee, each day :D) and any bonus random visitors (delurk guys!) This is part of my dissertation and I thought I would share it on my blog since its about 'blogs'.  So here is my grand idea in a easy-to-digest form: 

YT: Yours Truly
RG: Random Guy

YT: Hey dude, you blog right?

RG: Yes

YT: And you read others' blogs too?

RG :*Yawn* (Nodding)

YT: So when do you read them?

RG: When boss is busy.

YT: Ok great! So do yuo have a sort of list of blogs that you read often?

RG: Yes...come to the point now!

YT: OK,ok..sorry..so why do you visit just a few of them regularly? 

RG: 'Coz they are all my friends who coerce me to read and comment and throw a major tantrum if I dont!

YT: yeah, but you must have eventually explored a lil' and gone on to read some strangers' blogs?

RG: Well, there was this blog with a cute girl's profile pic...

YT: Not for those reasons!! Something you genuinely liked and wanted more of it!!

RG: Definitely the cute girl!!!!

YT: Aargh..I meant the content dude, ever liked any posts so much that you blog-rolled/RSS feed the blog?

RG: Oh that way!! Yes, yes..quite a few - Sidin, Parul, SwB...why even our very own Bhale!

YT: Great! So tell me...why do you like these blogs so much? Is it only the content?

RG: Man you ask a lot of questions!!

YT: (weak smile)

RG: Ok, ok...well, it was only for the content initially, but then other things came into being after that..

YT: Like??

RG: That's for you to find out - Go figure!!

Well if you managed to reach here (virtual hugs!!) you will realise that I am trying to find out the reasons for people liking a particular blog, apart from the content ofcourse. I believe that blogs over a period of time, amass some potential for future earnings (as blogs can be monetized in various ways). Lets call this 'web equity' which can be similar to 'brand equity' but for a we entity wherein a customer is willing to pay a premium for a particular brand vis-a-vis the competing brands. So if tomorrow, blogs become Pay-per-view or if the bloggers decide to publish their content in other paid forms - say a book/movie, the same audience would generate revenue for the blogger. Which means that if we identify the reasons for people liking a blog ie if we identify the 'sources of web equity' for a particular genre of blogs and improve upon it...viola! we can actually improve the web equity of a blog!! 

Oh who am I kidding, its not as simple as it sounds! I know it doesn't even sound simple, but yes, my dissertation topic it is!

Well just to support my idea - quite a few bloggers have published their first novels, Parul being one of them (Oh! She is brilliant! You have to read her blog and she is MICAn too!). Sidin is gonna follow soon. Infact, Parul's novel seems like an extension of her blog - like a brand extension, if we can say that she has established her online brand. 

So here it is!! My lil' idea - to develop a framework to identify sources of web equity.  So let me know what you think of it - bouquets and brickbats both welcome :) Thanks!!

Look who's back!

I started this blog on a bored December evening around five years back. I wrote a lot then but didn't post it too often. Quite a few poems were trashed at the risk of sounding 'childish', 'silly' or 'cheesy'. I repent that now as I realize that being 'childish', 'silly' or 'cheesy' is all a part of me and no matter how hard I try that is never gonna change.

A lot happened in these past years and I gradually moved on from Vedyancha Baazaar to Katha Collage but it didn't quite feel the same. So here I am...back to where it all started. And God knows it feels good to be back :-)

***

In other news...last weekend it was brought to my notice that 'tattoo' is a bad, bad word. In the league of 'shee-ganda-thu thu' that I was taught while in kindergarten. Booze, drugs and tattoo - stairway to hell. No-no for girls from good families. What will Shaila maushi think? and who will marry a tattooed girl? Just imagine, if Babdu would have brought home a girl with tattoo!! Could we ever accept that? No sir, never..imagine the horror!!

Oh but there is a way out, you know. Lets find you a husband who will give you the 'permission' to get a tattoo done. Its a clear win-win situation then!!

Aaargh...kindly remind me why the hell did I sit through those 'Decision-making' classes in MBA?

It's a bittersweet symphony!

Leaving you has never been easy.
This time, its gonna be extra tough.
God only knows when will I be back.
But yes, back I shall be!

An empty room - a vacuum
My place in this crazy land - without me
My haven, my shade, my burrow, my cave
My world in this world, I shall forever save

Gonna miss you MICA! And shall miss you like hell, # 16, Chandni!

A turn in the road.

One more bites dust. I fell for the trap and would succumb to the corporate life. Congrats to me! The offer rescued me from an even crazier jamboree called Placement week. You know the one, when we all dress the same, walk the same, talk the same and yet trying to ‘differentiate’ and sell ourselves? So have I finally arrived in life? Shete says I need some ‘self realisation’. My brain registers a big ‘’Huh?!’ but then again the man greets me with a ‘Aye marr na’ instead of ‘Hi!’ So I won’t pay much attention to him.

I need some time and space - may be a trip to Bhutan. But joining date is less than a month away. So here I go, compromising from the word go. The wish-list is made and it sits pinned to my notice board till the pay day. My first one it would be. But the future is dark.

No more bunking classes.
No more leisurely breakfasts.
No more walking it in the middle of classes.
No more late night walks.

I don’t know if I learnt much here. Definitely not much when I was doing the above things. But those were the best of times. A rewind please? Somehow going ahead is going to be painful.

The New Yahoo! - What do Y!ou think?

On 5^th October 2009, 4 major daily newspapers of the country – TheT imes of India, HT, Mint and DNA greeted us with a full page bright yellow jacket advertisement saying, ‘The Internet is under new management. Yours.’ Prime time slots on all major as well as niche television channels like Discovery, NatGeo played the Yahoo! Anthem – a minute long advertisement focused on the international spirit and interactivity of Yahoo!

Earlier this month, horizontal portal giant Yahoo! launched a global branding campaign ‘It’s Y!ou’ focusing on the user now being in charge of his internet experience through Yahoo! Personalization of homepage and other products are the ways in which Yahoo! wishes to offer superior web experience to its users. Costing them a little over $100 million, the campaign is seen as a long term transformation for Yahoo! who wishes to be at the centre of all internet-based activities for the users.

This brings out several interesting issues for discussion:

1. Conventional media – still alive and kickin’– It is interesting to see an Internet company leveraging conventional media – Print, television, radio to drive people to its website.

2. ‘Product innovation precedes the branding campaign’, so claims Yahoo! Yes, there have been several up gradations and add-ons, and the collaboration with Microsoft for the search engine Bing has been a huge step. The Homepage too has undergone a makeover, looking much sleeker, cleaner and appealing. The biggest feature that the Homepage now offers is the personalisation of content that one wishes to see on his/her homepage. There are also similar features in the other core products like mail, messenger and search (through choice of filters). But is personalization of content such a breakthrough innovation that it justifies a budget of $100 million? More so, can an entire branding strategy be based on this development in the product? In the past, iGoogle has offered similar options without so much as a ruffle.

3. Horizontal vs. Vertical portals – where are we heading?

In an age where digital immigrants are fast turning into digital natives, we all wish to become ‘specialists in information’ rather than being simply ‘well-informed’. Similarly, we tend to rely more on vertical portals for the depth and variety of content that they offer. For an avid internet user, a horizontal portal is increasingly being seen as a platform for the internet noobs to start off from. So the moot point is as the consumer preferences change as one becomes more adept with the internet, does a horizontal portal still offer us a reason to stick around? And more importantly can Yahoo! do that?

4. ‘Centre of peoples’ online lives’ is the positioning Yahoo! intends to achieve. But in current times where every digital native has 4 or more social networking ids (Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) not to mention multiple mail accounts and other personal favourite websites can one website become the centre of users’ online lives? Interestingly, even Google seems to be in the race for this coveted position. It would be exciting to watch if Yahoo! can match up to the expectations it has set for itself.

In recent times, Yahoo! has undergone a plethora of changes both in its management as well as product portfolio. Streamlining of products, identifying and communicating the role of Yahoo! in cyberspace are a few tasks carried out by the feisty CEO Carol Bartz after coming on board. Agreed, that the company has had its share of tumultuous phases and even more may come, but one would be foolish to discount Yahoo! as it gears up for the challenge of becoming the centre of people’s online lives. Not to mention, Yahoo! sites are after all, the third most visited websites on the planet!*

*Source: June 2009, comScore