Marketing the dead

Marketing the dead is actually a billion dollar industry. A dead product….uh  a dead celebrity! has all attributes that are required to form a hot brand. They have a fan following, they are idols, they are memorable, they are likable, they are valuable and above all, as they are no more present to pamper their fans with their performance, their very names are cash cows for smart entrepreneurs.

Recently, MJ’s death has given the way for a fresh lease of life to the dying Hollywood economy. Anyone who is associated with him, may be too remotely, is trying to encash the opportunity. Everyone is busy buying his name to build up their respective bank balance. Just a couple of hours after his death, music industry re-launched jackson’s album and overnight a few of his songs booked the top slot of the chart. Using death of celebrity as a short term marketing policy is not a new trend, but the same phenomenon was observed with Princess Diana’s funeral event.

Memorial event are too a part of this strategy of marketing and branding. Fans are ready to pay $50 for a photo shoot with a cutout of king of pop. A tribute magazine with 132 glossy pages is also in the line which will be available for around 3 pounds. A sale of 2 lakh copies is expected within next month. Street market is full of Jackson merchandise, which is full of T-shirt, coffee mugs, caps and other things with his photo.

Media and IT are also in the fray to join the mammoth race of money collection. Jackson cremation was witnessed by around 750 million people, which was telecasted live and was full of endorsements.  Social networking sites were in no mood to let-go the opportunity and have done everything possible to update their users in real time.  They are in rivalry for the copyrights of the promotional images, videos and other materials to boost up the TRP or hits.

True! Dead celebs make for hot brands, hotter than even the living ones. May their soul rest in peace.

 

Expanding world of Twitter

From being a status update tool, twitter has evolved into a much sought after communication platform. The twitter phenomenon reverberates across cyber space and is being embraced by a number of segments including business, politics and education.

Gone are the days, when businesses used traditional methods of marketing. Today, they use new marketing strategies each day keeping themselves in pace with technology. They use it to send alert to team members, keep in touch with customers and the like. A web savvy customer today, expects a string of twitter updates from business firms. The landscape of twitter is unavoidable today.

Twitter is being widely used as a presentation aid as well. Educationalist uses twitter to post the live links and other search commands, which can be used from twitter web page directly. Twitter has come up as a way to engage aid for students. Twitter is a place for extensive discussions and interactions among students and related communities.

An educational video (Http://www.mbavid.com) site is another extension to twitter which host a short video of 14 seconds pertaining to business management. Twitter database is a information goldmine. If you wish to follow the latest development on a particular event, then search that with a appropriate string and get thousand of results as millions of customers are using twitter at any instant and on different topics.

 

National ID Project

Nandan Neilkani, chief mentor and founder member of Infosys, stepped down from BOD of software major after getting an invitation from prime minister to head the national ID project. The project will be open soon, and infosys, satyam are the front runner for the project bid.

Today we Indians have multiple ways to identify ourself, whenever we interact with state. It may be passport ID, ration card number, PAN number, voter ID etc. This cause not only the flaws related to identity crises but it paved a way for many other problems like interaction between citizen and state.

Lets see how a unique ID may prove beneficial for  Aam  aadmi.

1) We will get rid of redundancy and triplicating of  forms by  the  common register  for  all citizens while applying for government schemes.

2) Faster governmental procedures  and  access to  information  will  increase.

3) Acknowledging the  existence  of  every  single  citizen will compel the state for a better quality of service.

4) Use of IT will be boomed up which will in turn ensures a growth of a nation.

 

Undue me

She was calling me

Again and again

Making calls

Writing SMS

But reluctant me

Unusual me

Refused to go,

Knew it could be last.

As an undue closeness

To someone else

may violate

My unsaid and

Unexpressed feelings

For her,

Who never recollected

Never missed,

Never cared.

 

Obama killed someone

On Wednesday, many news channels were airing a video footage showing president America, Mr Obama giving an interview. There was nothing interesting about what the interview was about or what they were discussing.

But what was emphasized in the footage was a fly that was pestering president for a time and ultimately he killed it in one shot. Sense of humor apart, what about the other more irksome flies like terrorism, economic crises and global warming which are creating nuisance for the last many decades? Will president destroy them also with the same acuteness.

 

Can we confess our misdeeds: Lets join hands for it

In our day to day life, with intent or inadvertently, we make some mistakes. We all are human, so making mistakes is one of the common attribute of life. But very few of these times, we admit our mistakes, even to ourselves, let alone the world. Come on! Let’s face it. We can run from the whole world and pause innocent or perfect. But our heart knows everything; it keeps on ringing a bell inside deep in your heart.

Let’s today, right here, right now, we commit ourselves that we will confess to the world that, Yes I did a mischief.  Can we dare to write against ourselves?  World and the concerned person may forgive you, but if he/she will come to know about it from other source, then please forget forgiveness. So let me begin the drift towards forgiveness, acceptance and contentment.

Many a times, during my daily life, I tried to make fun of my buddies, my friends who were kind enough, not to respond back. And all this, just to get attention. To create an image of bunter for myself. I am trying to work on this.

 

India knocked out of T20 world: is it so important?

India is mad about cricket industry. It was a game, then business was added to it, recently it was victimized by politics but now you can unhesitatingly call it an industry, self sufficient and on the rise. Indians overdo everything related to cricket, from watching and supporting the team to burning of effigies of Indian captain openly in the market.

Latest drama played was the London fiasco, India lost all the matches of super-8 of the Twenty 20 world cup attributed to the fatigue, overplay, and tiredness. Though there were a lot of speculations and qualms about the decisions made, approach taken and team selection. The media criticized the team and captain with open heart and unparliamentarily words. They even demanded the captain to step down from captaincy for the upcoming stints of team India.

But should we really blame the team and captain for the loss. Come on! It was just a series and moreover cricket is just a game, not a question of honor, poise and war. It is not acceptable that we expect only win for our side. We have to accept the loss as well. It is just a part of the game. Moreover, we will lose the very essence of a game, if we are over consistent and wining every match played.

And one more thing which must attend in this regard is the undue glamour, we attached with the game. When India won a game, we and media make them super hero and treat them as god. On the other side, if we lose a match or two, we start to burn the effigies, throwing stones to their houses, blackening posters and lots of other irrational acts.

So where will this cycle stop?

 

unexpressed love

I was about to yield,

In the field,

 combating the world

With all odds

Against me.

Then came you,

Like a miracle,

To decipher the debacle,

With your selfless love,

I took all those move.

You sailed me through,

With hand so humble,

Without any grumble.

A mere word,

 not required,

the six letters of thanks,

will diminish the essence,

The tenderness of feeling,

which I have for you,

you have for me,

is free from these expressions,

I care for you,

May be I cant say that,

You cant hear,

But my heart will always,

Beat for you,

Care for you,

Unsaid, unexpressed

And unheard.

 

Why?

She was beauty and bold,

hinted me, just be on hold.

Homely, sophisticated and fair,

were the plain traits I asked for?

Looking into the eyes

Without any fear

She asked me honestly,

What is this homely?

To be dwelled

friendless and lonely.

Being without a guy,

without a story?

Did I ask your chastity?

she put it exactly,

Was she crazy?

Asking a guy,

of his chastity.

come on! It’s not customary.

I wonder now, but why?

Unjust and unfair,

 only for she?

why?

 

Women MP quota

 

India’s newly elected congress led Government is to propose a radical law for reservation of one third seats for women in parliament and state legislature. The pledge of congress also includes, setting aside the half of the elected seats in village councils and city municipalities for the weaker sex (so called). All major parties including Hindu nationalist party BJP, RJD, PMK and communist are also in favor of the bill. So to gain a mandatory two third majority for the bill will not be a problem for the UPA and probably they will do it in the following months (monsoon session) of the year.

The country which faces 2000 female foeticides every day,  this type of propagandas are just allegorical and entirely put forwarded to gain political edge for the coming state elections in many states. The women are denied quality education, they are harassed at work place, they faces other evils like dowry, rapes, eve teasing and the list goes on to infinity. But the problem cannot be certainly solved by providing reservation or fixing seats for them. This will simply support the women who are already privileged one, but somehow missed to get the seat. I mean, like all reservations, this will not reach out to the really needy one and the benefit will go to the person who doesn’t need it.

The need of the hour is to make some strict laws which ensure better access to education, ethical work culture, security so as to knock the problem at its root cause. We need to create such an environment of confidence that they can grow by themselves, without any support. After all they are the one who gave birth to this society, and now they only are facing the heat.

What we can do is:

1) Stringent implementation of the female foeticides ban, dowry discouragement with serious punishments for the perpetrators.

2) Change in mindset of people that female child is a burden for the family.

3) Better education infrastructure for female students. Here instead of making reservation, we can give them financial subsidies.