Social media- the good, the bad and the Ugly

June 2nd, 2009 2 comments »

First- the good. Its heartening to see ground-up momentum for a call to action. A few weeks back I got a FB update from one of my friends on the social networking site, Onir (a filmmaker, who’s made sensitive films like My Brother Nikhil in the past), about this film he was making on the story of a child abuse survivor inspired by a true story. What excited me was that Onir was using FB and other social media effectively to not just promote the film, Abhimanyu, but also raise funds for the making of the same. He has got several volunteers to support the initiative in direction, promotions (me included!) and other aspects of film making, purely by word-of-mouth. Couldnt be a better case study to demonstrate the power of social media, if it needed one anymore anyway!
I am totally in agreement that topics like child abuse must come out in the open. In India, one out of every five girls and one out of ten boys face some form of physical or psychological abuse. Sadly, most of these incidents are never reported and innocent victims are forced to suffer in silence. The brave few that do come forward are woefully underserved by a society that prefers to look away and a legal system that doesn’t care.
I am enthused by the fact that this initiative will also be a slap on the face to the power-hungry producer/multiplex coterie. Bravo new cinema!! Anyone who wishes to be a part of this initiative, either in the form of monetary donation (which will get the donor suitable credits in the film) may contact me on this blog. Incidentlly, the script of Abhimanyu has been nominated in the new category of Best Educational Movie, Triangle Media Group (UK)Global Award Nominations for 2009 for its script. www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2009/05/18/12881/index.html

The Bad (not so bad really!!)
An interesting trend I notice when I scan Twitter and Friendfeed for news and trends. Unlike TV that thrived on “sensationalizing” bad news, it was heartening to see all news- bad and ugly included getting evened out on social media sites. So my fellow communicators while breaking their heads over “exciting” headlines need to rethink their new media strategy if they have to garner attention of bloggers and master tweeters, for its not a sensational headline, but a news that is new and provocative in its content that will garner attention. Now, if only broadcast and print take the cue…

The Ugly
I learnt through a recent post on Oliver Marks’ blog on ZD Net that hundreds of teens who coordinated through MySpace and Twitter got together in South Philadelphia, hijacked a taxi and created mayhem and rioting on the streets http://blogs.zdnet.com/collaboration.
The reasons were not very clear in the posts, but what’s interesting to note is that the powerful collaboration that’s possible today through social media can also turn ugly. Is it time for a new set of rules?

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living a dream…

May 19th, 2009 2 comments »

I was hearing my dear friend Soumitra Dutta, who wrote the book “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” the other day, speak about his book where he opines that the future of work lies not in the hierarchy and position an organization provides an individual but if individuals can excel and unleash their potential. Besides, today’s “employee” collaborates not just within the organization but also as much outside and the fine line between work and pleasure has dulled considerably. I am living his theory in some way.

The last 6 months have been the most difficult but some of the most exciting months in my life. I struggled to find my course and take decisions that I knew would have big implications on my life and career. After all, I had a wonderful job, great boss, amazing colleagues, and a supporting family to boot. It seemed stupid to rock the boat on one side, but there was this nagging feeling that unsettled me. Instead of ignoring those feelings, I decided it was time for some introspection and determine how I wanted to live my life in the coming months and years.

In my 15 year career, I have had fantastic opportunities where I have led projects where there had been few precedents. Be it creating a roadmap for commercialization of India’s first biotech crop, overcoming what could be the worst business environment, or executing a brand transition in 19 days or taking a brand from being virtually unknown to be nominated as among the top 5 to watch out for, my career has been full of excitement and challenges that have not only been fulfilling for me as a professional, but have also shaped the person I am today. Now, other than having a strong will and perhaps a reasonable above-average intelligence, I don’t think I have any other remarkably different skills that an average professional possesses. I realized that what really helped me succeed all these years was the ability to look at a seemingly impossible situation and create a path to find a solution for it. It was the challenge that excited me and helped me get the successes I have had so far. One of things I had always struggled with was to translate my vision to others and delegate, but in the last few years, my biggest satisfaction has been the creation of the communications team from scratch at HCL and watching this vibrant and high-energy team grow from strength to strength and execute programmes with an expertise and panache that would put much experienced veterans to shame! Easily the best and the sharpest team in the world!!!!

I find myself again at the crossroads now, and I choose to take the path less travelled. The decision to move out of a role that gave me so much success and satisfaction hasn’t been easy but I need to this now. I am excited about the challenging projects I have determined for myself, that will bring significant business impact to the organizations I will associate myself with. Time will tell if this was an intelligent decision but it definitely feels good. I truly believe today I can be successful and get peer recognition purely for the value I bring to the work I do, and not be judged primarily on a high profile designation I might have.

I am also reminded at this time of this discussion I had with Prof Gary Hamel sometime back where he was telling me about this company he was very impressed with called WL Gore. He told me that employees in the company had no designations. I pretended that I wasn’t baffled, but I actually was. I mean, how does one know who’s the boss? Gary’s theory was very simple. He said if “someone calls for a meeting, and the invitees turn up, well, he sure is a leader”!!!!!!!!!! Which is true, isn’t it- people naturally gravitate towards people they think bring value to their work and their lives. Isn’t that really a better yardstick to determine who has “leadership” potential?

So there…flagging off my personal journey and experiencing the “future of work” where the fine line between personal and professional, between social and business, between work and pleasure is just that….a fine blurring line!

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The end of charity-The beginning of Social Change

April 14th, 2009 4 comments »

I just finished reading Nic Frances’ “The End of Charity”. And while I didnt find the writing gripping, the thought process of the author is far superior to anything I have read in recent times. Also, I found it very relevant considering I have become such a passionate champion of bringing about social change in the real world by working real-time with businesses who will endorse that change and become partners in the process.

 

The way individuals and entities define themselves today is primarily determined by the place where they have chosen to reside- be it in the “profit-making” space or in the “charity” space. It keeps the sphere of action distinct and therefore when people decide to decide to dole out grants or make philanthropic commitments, their choice becomes simpler. 

 

However, today’s market scenario and the demands of the changing business and societal environment have led to the emergence of a third kind of business model. That of the “social enterprise”. A social enterprise is not merely one that innovates while relying on philanthropic donations and government grants. It locates the interface between a social goal and building a customer base for a service that is based on market realities and driven by an ideology that there could be a sustainable way in which we can bring about social change in a global, market-driven economy.

 

The question here is- if charity in its traditional form has been able to make a difference to the soceity at large given the magnitude of money that gets circulated? The more I read and understand this route to social change, the more I am convinced that it doesnt impact the fundamental root of the issue. 

 

And the more I get involved with Dialogue Social Enterprise (DSE), the more I tend to believe that the space they have chosen to occupy is the one that will create a social change that is sustainable and a force multiplier. In the last few years, the results they have demonstrated with no obvious effort to market themselves by empowering and employing hundreds of people with disabilities and sensitizing millions of people, to the concept of otherness, while catering to a growing demand for effective learning, is a testimony to this fact. Another example is that of Grameen Bank, a concept that I first came to know when I was thick into rural marketing, almost a decade ago. The bank has been able to do more than any number of charities exisiting in Bangladesh.

 

Choosing the charity route would have been an easier choice, but I am inclined to think that by using market principles, one can provide a more practical and long-lasting business model that helps the “receipients of charity” merge with the mainstream.

 

The process is undoubtedly more complex than in a purely-for-profit or a charity organization with no imperative to operate profitably. The need of the hour is to find with like-minded partners, who will support this business model and  bring about a social change so significant that the world will sit up and take notice that driving change by operating in the real world- by engaging and operating within society, market and economy is not just possible, but far more impactful.

 

 

 

 

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Tiny links and multiple lives

March 17th, 2009 1 comment »

Compressed communications

The first time I heard about Tiny URL some moons ago, I laughed. I couldn’t understand why someone would take the pain of creating a programme that apparently serves no purpose. But then eventually when I started Twittering more often than I did a few months back, I realized what a boon it is. But the thought of someone making a living making words (OK, links) tinier is way weird, when you come to think of it. As I explore social media tools more, I find myself slaving to communicate in 140 characters or less and find increasingly that the world is rules by the power of the link!!! I suppose this is no different than how people in a bygone era got a high using applications like WinZip of StuffIt that allowed files to compress and fit into a “floppy disk”. I am struggling to even remember how it looked like- the floppy disk, I mean!! In a world that is ruled by communicating in the shortest possible phrase, and one where prepositions and conjunctions are almost defunct…I dnt no whts coming nxt but’ll b intrstng 2 c!!

Getting a (second) life…

 

At a recent talk I gave on using social media for effective communications, one of the participants asked me if I could share how they could use Second Life to position their brand. While waxed eloquent about this 3-D virtual world created online by its users who buy land, build houses, go to parties, and otherwise “live” a virtual life, it set me thinking. When you join Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com), the first thing you do is create an avatar, your personal virtual representation. Not too different than a “Tiny Url” really. I don’t have an avatar and the first time I meandered around the Second Life labyrinth along with a friend who had one, I must admit I couldnt figure the head or tail of what one is supposed to do there. I mean, when I am such a poor shopper in real life, why would I want my avatar to buy stuff online? And I definitely wasn’t interested in seeing a virtual art gallery or go on a virtual picnic, when I could have so much fun doing it in real life feeling the sun on my back and a group of chattering kids around me.

But what I realized was that chatting up with “art critics” on Second Life was much less overbearing than one has to go through with nose-up-in-the air types, who make no sense whatsoever in their critique of art, at least to me. I am warming up to the thought that I could find fellow social entrepreneurs and social media officianados like me with whom I can have a discussion without moving out of my house. Maybe its time to create an avatar. Besides, Philip Rosedale is really cute!! J

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(blog) camping notes

March 8th, 2009 1 comment »

This weekend was especially productive. I was speaking at the Delhi blog camp (http://wiki.ibnms.com/BlogCampDelhi2) organized by the Indian Blog and New Media Society (IBNMS) on how organizations, individuals and institutions can create an effective brand campaign using new media, taking up case studies and examples that have yielded commercial results for the organizations that chose to run them. It was a mixed group and frankly, way more lovely and participative that I had hoped it to be. I had expected a bunch of “whacko” techies, students and perhaps a smattering of communications professionals, who are realizing more and more that their inability to understand these new media for effective communications will make them obsolete very soon. But I was surprised to find professors, senior representatives from government establishments as well as established marketers, agencies, photographers, and journalists in addition to bloggers of many hues that just goes to prove that we are at the cusp of a new wave of marketing.

The debate and discussion was thought provoking and I learnt a few lessons in the process as well. I was excited to meet with a bunch of smart techies, who in addition to their day job ran free-to-subscribe portals like www.troublefixers.com that advised people with issues in their hardware, providing real-time solutions and trouble-fixing tips. I was intrigued by their business model that relies primarily on ad revenue right now, but perhaps needs a rethink to ensure sustainability.

It was a also a pleasant surprise to see that the book “Corporate Blogging in India” in its hard paperback version. I recall having several discussions with its author last year on the status of corporate blogging, trends that I predict, etc. Never realized they will all end up in the book. Makes for an interesting read, even if it is to give one a sense of how corporates are viewing the blogosphere!!

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Throwing sheep and some others….

March 3rd, 2009 No comments »

I am halfway through reading this book written by my friend Soumitra Dutta and his associate Matthew Fraser- “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom”. I have been generally cynical of books written on some current trends proclaiming to be the next “how to” manual. Its with this attitude that I started reading the book. I must admit I had to swallow my cynicism as the book is thoroughly enjoyable.

 

Picture this- Jimmy Wales who writes the foreword for this book draws comparisons between HR professionals getting paranoid abut employees misusing the employee handbook in the organization wiki, and being completely in control to deal with a situation where an employee demonstrates some ridiculous behaviour like pouring coffee over a colleague. This book brings out areas that business professionals would feel reluctant to use and deploy social media but would be greatly benefitted if they did. It talks about the way some of these social networks are transforming our lives. The narrative is simple but pretty insightful and thought provoking. The very fact that half-way through the book I feel compelled to pen down my thoughts and share with people, many of them unknown on a public medium should be testimony enough!!

 

One of the reasons, opine the authors, that these social networks, be in Facebook or Myspace are so popular (almost compulsive for people who participate in them) is because they give vent to a spontaneous expression of the self, that is restrained at the workplace, no matter how “casual and cool” the organization you work for is.

 

Whether the motivation to join the social networking bandwagon is rational or irrational, the fact remains that markets today are no longer captive to traditional business models. Budding writers no longer need a big publisher’s back up to come out with a book (though it sure helps!!), nor do creative entrepreneurs need traditional funding avenues to fuel their ideas. It’s a marketplace where the power is shifted to the consumer. Even Facebook, that introduces concepts that are unacceptable to its users is forced to retract within days of launching.

 

The one thing that fascinates me about this “power of collaboration” that’s taking over every field of work we are in is its impact on “structured hierarchies” in organizations, and in challenging traditional roles that people have come to accept as the norm. I find a lot of organizations and even senior managers wanting to appear cool, talk a lot about adopting Web 2.0 methodologies and platforms in their organizations, but when it comes to sharing knowledge and collaborating, which is the essence of social networking, most don’t walk the talk. Like Soumitra says, “Knowledge sharing and mass collaborations are nifty management concepts but in the real world where human nature meets organizational behaviour, people behave according to their basic survival instincts.” The issue isn’t really with the technology we have or the platforms existing, but in the people who manage them. Thankfully for every paranoid manager, there is also one that doesn’t shy away from “throwing sheep”…sometimes in the boardroom!

 

I am excited at the prospect of participating in a blog camp this weekend (see http://wiki.ibnms.com/BlogCampDelhi2), where the agenda, the speakers and the participants all are nominated through a process of collaboration. Would be interesting to see how that translates into action in the real world!

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Pink slips and pink slips

February 12th, 2009 No comments »

I am tired of the colour pink.

 

This has nothing to do with Valentine’s day fatigue, and I definitely don’t have anything to do with Senes’ of any kind. I am tired because that’s the flavour..er…colour of the season. Not so much the unsold pink hearts and V-day merchandise but more pink slips due to this seemingly endless recession, and our “Pub going Loose and Forward women” a-la- Munnabhai style  taking pink slips of another kind to a completely new level!

 

 

 

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Trust quotient- is the marketing wheel turning a full circle?

February 12th, 2009 No comments »

 

 

I spent last weekend preparing for a workshop on brand management that I am leading shortly. The turn of events in the last few months set me thinking. As did this survey that I read recently: Spending on social media and conversational marketing will outpace that of traditional marketing by 2012, according to a new study conducted by TWI Surveys, Inc. on behalf of the Society for New Communications Research.” (Source: PR Newswire).

 

Make your brand last…that’s the mantra most marketers including myself are taught in B-schools. Make it visible and make it salient. So off one goes, creates an identity for the brand, designs fancy multi-million dollar campaigns, gets a cool brand ambassador and then sit back, relax and enjoy the adulation. Right? Wrong. Without seeming too clichéd, there is obviously something more that will ensure longevity of brands.

 

The contrast between a Citibank and an HSBC is too obvious not to notice. Both are highly visible brands, having a huge global footprint. So why is it that today, the two evoke different sentiments in the minds of the consumer. Its not a coincidence that HSBC has a better association with the values in the geographies it operates than Citibank, something that regular advertising and marketing cannot help much with. What is it that forces Loreal to keep The Body Shop brand alive, despite the fact that spend zilch on advertising?

I am beginning to get convinced that traditional marketing, with run-of-the-mill campaigns will become obsolete if they are not firmly integrated with a strong non-traditional marketing mix using third-party channels, both physical and online media.

Its obvious that all marketing must lead to trial. Today, trust and consumer confidence in a brand is by far the most important attribute. Non-traditional is better at driving trial because it acts as third-party peer validation. And today, such validation is imperative and perhaps the most  powerful driver in marketing. It also comes the closest to approximating an actual experience when “someone like you” – endorses the brand attributes, be it a media editor, a third-party champion, a subject matter expert blogger or other consumers.

Trial creates the opportunity for experience, but that experience had better not disappoint!! There must be alignment with the brand attributes, and the consumer needs to be made aware of those attributes before driven to trial. The consumer must be brand aware, brand attributes must be delivered as a brand promise, and the brand experience must live up to the promise. Any break in the sequence is the difference between success and failure.

 

 

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when obama made me feel inadequate…

August 29th, 2008 No comments »

I saw Barack Obama’s acceptance speech this morning on television. More than my awe for Obama’s powerful oratory skills, listening to him made me realize how far removed India’s electoral politics had become in recent times. I cant remember the last time when a candidate talked about the specific things they will do once they come to power. Sure, there is the regular rant on how they will “bring prosperity and similar gyan” but nothing specific about how they will tackle the growing water scarcity in Delhi or a process to improve the state of roads or easing traffic. The PM surely announces new schemes every year to address some broader issues like unemployment, supported by large ads, especially before elections on how they have fared. But to me that’s more jingoism than a will to do anything meaningful.

What’s worse is that the average populace (including me) expect nothing better and just remain as armchair cynics, who can do nothing better than crib.

Is there a way out really? In a country where coalition governments are more the norm than an exception, can we expect anything better? Our system encourages small groups of people or even an individual to float a political party that has nothing to differentiate them from the others. Which is great to provide a window of opportunity to smaller fries to want a piece of the national scene- Mayawati’s BSP being the best possible example, but hasn’t this system also given rise to coalition politics and a government based on compromise as its shaky foundation.

Perhaps Obama’s speech today lasted two hours, but I couldn’t bear to hear him for more than 30 min today. I just couldn’t bear to endure to see a display of our own inadequacies….

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on a wine trail- first stop: Niagara

August 22nd, 2008 No comments »

This summer I travelled to some amazing wineries. The obvious mecca of “Napa Valley” was on my list, but this time I want to talk about a series of wineries that I went to in Canada. About an hour from the famed Niagara falls, the Ontario wine trail in the state of Niagara was a revelation. Somehow even to an amateurish wine lover like me, Canada didn’t seem like a destination to associate fine wines with. But I was pleasantly surprised. I visited about 3 wineries there, and tasted different kinds of wines.

 

I also learnt there that since the temperature of the region is comparable to areas around the south of Burgundy in France and Tuscany in Italy, which is temperate compared to the other warmer climes where many kinds of grapes grow. Wine from grapes grown in  these relatively colder regions have more intense and complex flavours. I was very eager to taste some of my favourite wines to check if this indeed was true.

 

The Pinot Noirs and the Chardonnays were really not that great, but I have to mention two specific wines that I think were spectacular. They were the Reisling dry and the famed “Icewine”. The Reisling was very light and very dry with just a hint of sweetness. It was perfect as a day wine and I loved every sip. The Icewine, which is a dessert wine was very sweet and fruity- not something I usually like, but with a piece of cinnamon bread or warm apple strudel, it was spectacular. Ice wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape to be pressed, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. I don’t think I would enjoy too much of the Ice wine, but it was different and after the mild Reisling, it made for a stark and exciting contrast.

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Posted in my tryst with gastronomic ecstasy