50 Things That Are Being Killed By The Internet

We the technology-awed populace always view all technology as being better, faster and taking us to a better place. The internet seems like no exception. Yet, every new technology also takes away something...

Stumbled upon this interesting article 50 Things That Are Being Killed By the Internet at PSFK. Have a read...

Gleanings enmeshed with my thots on some of them...

1. Punctuality. Before mobile phones, people actually had to keep their appointments and turn up for lunch on time. Texting friends to warn them of your tardiness five minutes before you are due to meet has become one of throwaway rudeness of the connected age.

This is going to be a huge conflict area between generations. My father runs his life by the hour, I am far more comfortable keeping things fluid all the time!

2. Memory. When almost any fact, no matter how obscure, can be dug up within seconds through Google and Wikipedia, there is less value attached to the "mere" storage and retrieval of knowledge. What becomes important is how you use it – the internet age rewards creativity.

Today, if you have a story, the facts and the props are available for free on the net. However, as an agency planner and now a trends and futures consultant, I find this aspect liberating!

3. Dead time. When was the last time you spent an hour mulling the world out a window, or rereading a favourite book? The internet's draw on our attention is relentless and increasingly difficult to resist.

All former dead-time is now pottering time - twitter, flickr, youtube, fb, sms, mobile chat, gtalk...And we are more busy than ever before, our reflection time has dropped to an all time low!

Just because the pipe of our conversations is broader and the flow 24X7 hasn't guaranteed that better stuff is flowing through those pipes. Although, the more plugged you are, the more you can scan the global brain for ideas and inspiration.

4. Mainstream media. While in India, print might be growing and TV getting higher TRPs, for some of us mainstream media has been quietly marginalised over the last few years.

- We don't miss the week-night news. In fact haven't watched the weekly bulletin which were so much a part of life a decade back.

- Right now we are consuming a mash-up of mainstream media and new media. This may be the intermediate step before some of us totally migrate to newer forms of digital media(personalised, customised, on-demand)Already, in the Western markets, free news and the migration of advertising to the web threaten the basic business models of almost all media organisations.

Mental post-it : What else is being killed by the internet, new media? Isn't it an interesting thought to stay with for a while...

Bye Bye Mumbai, Hello Delhi

After 6 years of a sort of dream stint in Mumbai, last week I packed my life and belongings in 105 cartons and headed north to Dilli!!

It's been a busy week settling down in Delhi(actually Gurgaon)! One needs planning skills of a different kind getting a new home started...Finally this evening I am connected to the web again thanks to Airtel broadband.

Trying to catch up with the world having missed much of the debate and action around Cannes, the run-up to the budget and Wimbledon!!

While I chug back into the blogosphere, read a nice post recommended by blog-buddy Neil Perkin on Creative Paralysis by Dave Trott. I love collecting stories like this in my head. Here it is...

When Bill Shankly(one of Britain's most successful and respected football managers)managed Liverpool he had a very gifted young striker playing for him. This young star worked hard, trained hard, and studied the game.

In one particular high-pressure match he found himself with the ball at his feet and only the goalkeeper to beat.

He thought about everything he’d learned.

Should he wrong-foot the keeper and go round him?

Should he bend the ball around the keeper into the top corner?

Should he try a power shot and hope the keeper can’t hold it?

Should he hold up the ball so he could lay it off to someone in a better position?

While he hesitated a defender took the ball off him and booted it upfield to the other end of the pitch.

When the young striker eventually came off the pitch, Shankly asked him what had happened.

The striker said he’d been trying to pick his best option.

Shankley said, “Look son, if you ever find yourself with the ball at your feet and just the goalie to beat, stick it in the net and we’ll discuss all your options afterwards.”

I often think advertising is like that.

We’ve got young copywriters and art director getting confused by concentrating on complicated things that aren’t their job.

So they can’t do the simple job they should be doing.

Instead they spend all their time thinking about brand theory, new media, cultural memes, and social latency.

Now maybe brand theory and the all rest has some relevance for planners.

But that’s their role in the team, not ours.

It’s our job to stick the ball in the net.

And that’s simple, or it’s nothing.

Now, I don't follow football at all and I have recently left advertising, but loved this story for it's simple and powerful lesson...

Looking forward to Monday and the start of a new and exciting journey! Must rummage through my notes for some other post ideas.
Neo's Ben 10 overlooks our packed samaan:-)And while I hardly drove my old war-horse Lancer, felt nostalgic about selling it off:-( I was particularly fond of its blue-green-silver colour and the front grille. I don't know why I am sharing it, but I guess it was important to say it one last time! And our new home...actually a small independent house in Gurgaon, quietly redefining my Bombay sense of space!

iShift

I was planning to hold this post till sunday night when I would have blogged my departure from Mudra/ Tribal DDB.(Not that 48 hrs makes much difference:-) But since DigitalMedia already got wind here...here are the details!

Sometimes, mid-way through a job, your role starts mutating in a way which may not be to your liking! So, I decided to hang my digital boots which were getting a bit sooted(I hope there is a word like that) with analog dust.

I am joining The Futures Company as Principal Consultant. The Futures Company has been formed by the coming together of Henley Centre HeadlightVision and Yankelovich. This WPP entity is a pretty cool global trends, futures research and consultancy company. Got offices in the US, UK and India!

And am shifting base to Delhi/ Gurgaon. Will start the Delhi innings from July 1st week.

The blog stays, the rants stay...even though I may not be privy to agency insider information:-) Banking on my small group of friends inside agencies. And while I don this new hat of a consultant, I think I will remain an account planner(in spirit). The hats are quite interchangeable!

Reach Out and Other Stray Thots

Day before, I got a mail from a planner in Delhi. Nothing unusual about that. Except that I didn't know that planner and it was a 'reach out' e-mail. The e-mail wasn't for a job or a LinkedIn introduction or plain networking...It was just one planner reaching out to another - across cities, across agency networks...A simple, honest reach-out!!

The planner just wanted to talk to me...It felt good. Today we had a longish chat on the phone. Smuggled some time from the 'effie case preparations' that's keeping me and sonal bogged down!! One stray thot led to another...

1. It's so easy to reach out today. Through social media and a connected world. And yet in our small Indian ad world, we don't do that enough. We had a small planning collective - ThotBlurb - but unfortunately it died out after a few months...

2. There are few regular planner meets or ad forums.(Or maybe I am clueless about them or too old and therefore denied entry)

3. Is there something wrong with the Indian ad fraternity. While trying to get people to interview for my book, I have found it easier to reach Alex Bogusky(haven't made this up) than an Indian CEO(ex-boss, 4 mails, zero replies:-)
Why are we(ok, so many of us) so stuck up? So, hierarchical and designation-obsessed in our dealings and so incapable of reaching out...

4. On the positive side, today is the best time for communication people. It's so easy to stay in Mumbai and think with Boston...There is no lag time in global idea downloads. It's all there to be scrutinised, made sense of, to be re-purposed.

5. But I guess Internet and social media still hasn't really penetrated our bottled up mindsets, our un-sharing nature, our silo-workings...

6. Or maybe some of us are waiting for 'pehle aap'!!

Resolution - (a)To increase LinkedIn connections to 500 in the next 12 months!!, (b) To revive SchoolOfDavid(okay SchoolOfMudra:-), (c) Revive ThotBlurb, (d) Be more regular with the LikeMind Mumbai meets...and (e) Find time to do all of the above...LOLAnd this is the old file photo of a SchoolOfDavid:-) Miss you guys...

Ferment, Huddle and BarNone

When I took up my current job some two month back, one of the stuff that really excited me was the potential to integrate the 5 odd SBUs - in digital, OOH, data driven marketing, health & lifestyle and events & promotions...

The task needless to say is tough as hell but that's also the exciting part.

One of the things that I have been trying to do with the help of colleagues is to start conversation hubs within the SBUs.

The first modest gathering of three was BarNone - the mid-to-senior team conversations(actually to be honest still tweaking with the brand name). BarNone was held at Red Box in Bandra with Andee and Leroy as founder members:-) Happened in 3rd wk of Apr.

The next was for the young blood in the system. Planners and trainees and passionate crowd sourced talent. The first Huddle happened last Sunday - May 18th at Carter Road CCD.

In the words of my planner Sonal - "In between sipping scary looking blue slushes, some really cool initiatives were discussed. With conversations about music, virals, movies… and an impromptu performance by a guitarist member of The Huddle, the first meet was just like huddles should be – inspiring and fun."

And the last one - Ferment is going to happen with the SBU heads in June...

Our TQ(twtr quotient)/ conversation quotient is getting higher every month:-)

Time-Poverty : Jame Raho!!

Got an early morning mail from Jo who now works for the Henley Centre Headlight Vision(the WPP global trends and insights company).

Anyways, few clicks later I was reading this post by Josh Hunt on the HCHLV site on time-poor consumers! Read the post here...

Marketers/ advertisers often lament about consumer time-poverty but the fact is most often clients and agencies are equally time-poor. Of course this is largely a case of self-infliction.

We have a chk-list in our minds and we want to tick-them off asap! Whither listening, whither deep probing, whither better questions:-)

Kas Ke Joota Kas Ke Belt, Khons Ke Andar Apni Shirt
Research Ki Chali Sawaari, Planners Pe Bhaari Zimmedari

Haath Mein Brief Man Mein Dum, Insight Nikaalke Rahenge Hum
Har Eyeball Se Takrayenge, Tas Se Mus Na Honge Hum

Research Ka Naara Jame Raho, Boss Ka Ishaara Jame Raho
Planning Ka Naara Jame Raho, Clients Ka Ishaara Jame Raho

Ye Sote Bhee Hain Attention, Power-point Ki Hai Tension
Mehnat Inko Pyari Hai, Process Bilkul Sarkaari Hai

Ye Research Par Hi Jeete Hain, Ye Insight Saare Peete Hain
Deadline Pe Sote Deadline Pe Khate, Taan Ke Seena Badhte Jate

Research Ka Naara Jame Raho...

(Sincere apologies for bastardising TZP lyrics...But hey it's UGC and I can surely get a reprieve and a laugh:-)

The Size of Thoughts

I had/have a book by this name. By Nicholson Baker - a contemporary American novelist, whose writings focus on minute inspection of the narrator's stream of thought.

Baker is difficult to follow. Past attempts have been bouncers. But I love this phrase - the size of thoughts...

So, I decided to compile 10 Size of Thoughts Thots:-)

1. Very often, my immediate pressing work requires very small sized thoughts. Nano thoughts. Sometimes, no thoughts at all.

2. If we are satisfied with mid-sized thoughts, that's all we will ever have!

3. The company we keep, affects the size of our thoughts. Some people, organisations just shrink the size of your thoughts! Stay away from them...

4. Children have a habit of why-chaining(aisa kyun hota hai) everything! Their constant company can increase both the size and the shape of one's thoughts!

5. One person can change the size of thoughts of a country, an industry - Gandhi, Ratan Tata!

6. The more we stay with a problem, the more the size of our thoughts increase!

7. In advertising, who has the thought/ or sometimes the department of thought determines the size of thought:-)

8. Has constant blogging increased the size of my thoughts?! Decreased the size of my thoughts?

9. Do you only wonder about the size of thoughts related to work? What about the size of thoughts outside of work? For a social cause, any cause...

10. Have you noticed how News TV is squeezing the size of our thoughts?

I don't know whether it's making much sense...But I enjoyed the shape of these thots if not their size:-)

Bono-vita 2

It's been a busy week till now. Meetings, travel, more meetings...

Planner time is the most elastic resource in an agency. It can be consumed for almost anything!

On days like these, I always perk myself with a glass of milk, a spoon of Chywanprash and some Bono-vita(just kidding)

Edward De Bono-vita thoughts...
1. "The ability to send hundreds of e-mails does not ensure the ability to write something intelligent or amusing."

How about an e-mail free day every week? And then check employee productivity! Or our own. What about Thursdays? :-)

2. "Everything is fine but the ship is still heading in the wrong direction."

Have you had that feeling lately?

What have you Stumbled Upon Today?

Stumbled upon this nice post on StumbleUpon Vs Google by Muhammad Saleem!

Nice read...Note to myself - Use StumbleUpon as much as Google...Actually Yahoo. I don't know your experience, but Yahoo searches invariably throw up better results these days!!

StumbleUpon is becoming an essential part of my planner tool-kit!

Last Mile Stories 2

Kapil had shared this loo photograph of the Novotel Hotel in Bangkok...Smart LMI(Last Mile Idea:-)

On the subject of last-mile interaction, I feel the humble post-it can be put to great use. Many companies(especially the small retail stores) can gain immensely by using post-its at the Last Mile for instant feedback. Instead of giving those boring, lousy feedback forms...What say?

Of course. Agreed, you can't process the feedback quantitatively. But do we always need to process data quantitatively. Often I feel a combination of experience, gut feel and random but in-depth feedback from a few passionate shoppers serves the purpose just as well!

Indiadrant is 1 year old 2day

Hey guys...Indiadrant is a year old today! It's been a journey of 223 posts!! Not a bad statistic at all:-) (Back-slapping) Long, fun-filled, at the expense of a lot of family-time and some work time...

But been good. Much of my learning in web 2.0 has been thru Indiadrant. Many contacts, friends, a hire, few spam, many many useful comments and learning/interactions...

Was planning to write an anniversary post with bells and whistles and multiple thank yous, but feeling drained out. Five days of boot camp and a 6th of the strategy council day-long meet has left me blissfully empty!

Am catching up on all the lost sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

P.S. Here's the Aug 18th post from 2006 on Memes in case you don't believe me:-)