Life is just a state of Mind

Have you ever felt emotional break-down in your life? If yes, you know the pain of it, if not, then be prepared for it, because it is just like aging, you can't avoid it. I spent my entire life in lucknow and knew every nook and corner of the town. I was so well versed with the city that I could walk the town by keeping my eyes closed and could still avoid all the potholes that were scattered all over in the city (sounds like hyperbola? Ignore then...:-)). It was all hunky dowry until I had to fly down to Bangalore to pursue my higher education (yup you guessed it right, to do my so called MBA, that gives me a certificate that i can sell anything irrespective of the fact how bad or good it is). That was the first time, when I was on the verge of my emotional breakdown, leaving my comfort zone and travelling to a city that is alien to me wasn't easy. Like a good MBA aspirant, I quickly did a swot analysis in order to challenge the decision of moving to Bangalore but had to shed my stubbornness in front of my parents' wish.  

It wasn't easy to leave your childhood buddies behind thinking that you will come back as soon as course is over, wasn't easy to bid adieu to the play ground, which had seen your worst defeats and the best victories, wasn't easy to board the train alone and seeing your home town going out of sight while you are moving to a place where at times it is going to be a struggle to read what is written on the board due to language barrier. I won't mention the home food and luxury because that goes without saying. Take it as a confession but even a hardened heart would melt for a while and eyes would get misty howsoever hard one tries to be strong and I was no exception. There was something that was wrecking my heart and choking my throat but my pseudo male ego didn't allow me to cry. 

I landed in Bangalore with a kind of mixed feeling of dilemma and excitement, but in no time fell in love with this city. Bangalore is rich in terms of weather, lovely people, an infrastructure that can't be qualified as the best but of course better than many cities in India. I was in a spree of making friends. I have spent more than 5 years today in the same city, I never wanted to come at the first place or wanted to run away from in my initial days. I have friends in every street of Bangalore who are always there to bail me out, if I get stuck anywhere. Life was so good and I was happy in my comfort zone that has built around over the span of 5 odd years but life doesn't give smooth ride to anyone. History repeats itself, one fine day my company got acquired and the new management wants me to relocate to Mumbai, a city, I am familiar with but still an alien on a larger perspective. Life has again shaken me from my slumber and have put me back on the same train that I boarded many years ago. 

I was in a indecisive mode because of this sudden arrival of a high tide that has destabilized my stand and was not able to figure out how to react over this. There is an old dictum that says, if you don't find answers to your questions in today, try to find it out in past and I flipped through the pages of my life just to realize that it is just a state of mind. Mind is the fastest carrier of nostalgia and quickly plays the entire script of unforgettable moments that are associated with the place or person going to be left behind. It was the same state of mind years back, when I was leaving my home town and it is the same state of mind today. Human emotions are something that makes us to stand out of all the creatures living on the planet earth and it is an uphill task to fight against emotions but then happiness lie right underneath it. My parents have spent their life in the same town. They know India is great but they are less aware of the fact, what makes it great. Almighty wants me learn that to explain this to my parents someday. I was born in northern part of this country, have spent some beautiful years in down south and now relocating to western part of it. May be someday, I will get a chance to travel to eastern part of it and serve a small tenure there too and then one day, I would proudly say that I have been to every highway of my country and can explain you what it means to be born in this country.  

Trying to collect and putting myself together for a long journey ahead from 20 odd days down the line. This time, it is much more different though. I am not facing the callous uproar of my heart this time, on the contrary, I am feeling a soothing calmness around, more focused, more prepared, and of course in much better state of mind.

Because Ashes doesn't rule

It started with Saddam Hussain, Osama Bin Laden couldn't escape from it and then came the turn of Gaddafi. The biggest dictators of modern era met with their end and became the part of history forever.

Many would take the sigh of relief with the end of people who were carrying the batton of tyranny but somwhere humanity has been crushed under the toe. Somewhere on the net sombody has rightly written that Be it hero or villain, no one deserves the end like Gaddafi and Hussain. Trues isn't it? The sheer desire of ruling the world on their own terms and dealing any voice that is being raised against them in the most brutal way has lead the debacle of these big names. 

An ages old phenomenon of "CHANGE" has again proved its supremacy and has turned people into ashes who failed to adept to the changes. The biggest lesson that keep coming back from different aspects of life. Chnage is not always welcome but it is imperative. I experienced the same somedays back, when my current company became the part of another organization and the entire team had to move to new employer. Suddenly the entire feeling of coming to office was diffenret, i felt a weird change, a forced change and somwhere I was not able to cope and adept with it. May be because when things are forced, it is hardly welcomed but then I realized, isn't it something, I already knew when I thought of leaving a secured job with a big company and decided to join a start-up? If yes, then what am I complaining for? why is so much of resistance in accepting the change and moulding myself accordingly. Isn't it something I learnt during my 2 years of MBA that the companies that couldn't change themselves with the time eventually perished? Isn't it something, we so called MBAs are well prepared for?

Thanks Gaddafi & Saddam, you tought me a lesson that I have always read about but could never imbibe. I learnt to welcome change and try to make inroads into the success. Being rigid means turning into ashes eventually and ashes can't rule. 

Planning commision: you are hilarious to the core

Oh, it was damn hilarious and is good enough to get anyone burst with laughter but the best part of it, is  the people who cracked this joke were damn serious about it. The so called (or self proclaimed) best planning brain of our country that came together and termed as planning commission voted for a statement that says "a daily expenditure of Rs 31 enough to sustain a family of five in a city like Delhi and Mumbai". Hey, nothing wrong with your eyes or specs, and you don't need to read it over and again, you have read it write, it is Rs 31 only.  In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the panel quoting the Tendulkar Committee's recommendations said the urban poverty line is fixed at an expenditure of Rs 4,284 per month while it is Rs 3,905 a month in rural areas (check the article Plan panel's joke on poor).

Let me quote the definition of poverty line, that I know, poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living. The key word here is adequate standard of living, It means that the money is enough to bear the expenses on health, food and education. A family spending more would fall in the above poverty line (APL) category. 31 Rs for food, education and health? I have no idea on what basis the gurus of economics and politics have arrived at this figure but if I walk on road and pick any random guy irrespective of his education level and ask him to survive in Delhi or Mumbai with a paltry sum of 31 and support a family of 5 too, he will immediately help me with the address of nearby mental asylum and having asked this question, I rightfully deserve a place there.

My dear planning commission members, the people of India need to buy everything, and unlike you, we don't get it at subsidized rates. We have to pay taxes on every small thing necessary for living. Kudos goes to the honest workers of your party that the food inflation rates on 22nd Sept was standing tall at 8.84% and your party was celebrating because they somehow brought it down below 9. Indeed an achievement. But I don't understand the nitty-gritty of this inflation rate or who monitors it. What I understand is that when I would be buying my food tomorrow, it won't be cheaper than yesterday. 

What else do we need to prove that we have absolute jokers running the country, who don't even know the ground realities or if know have turned blind eyes towards it because they are busy in realizing their own ulterior motives. Mr prime minister, if you have read about it somewhere, please try to take some corrective measures against it. Rs 31 is surely not enough to get one good meal for a single person, leave aside supporting a family of 5. Please ask your co-worker to stop ridiculing the poor by making these kind of law or statements because it will not go down with the people of this democratic country who may be unaware but not insensible or emotionless. Choice is yours, choose wisely.   

10 long years of denying justice

If you are reading this page, please leave everything for next couple of minutes because I want to take you to a journey where justice is so much delayed that it is as good as being denied. Can you look back in past and share the changes that have come in your life in past one decade? There are many na? It could be your journey from being an average student to becoming a successful professional today. It could be meeting with your girl friend, who may be your wife today, first time, falling in love and then a long struggle to get united as a couple. Each one of us must be having so many stories to share. 10 years indeed a long time and a lot would change in 10 years, wouldn't it be? Well, for Irom Sharmila Chanu (born March 14, 1972), also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur" or "Menghoubi" ("the fair one"), nothing has changed in past 10 years. She is still waiting for truth and justice to prevail, which looks like a distant dream though.

Sharmila has been on hunger strike since 2 November 2000 for a demand that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), which she blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India's northeast. Having denied food and water for more than 500 weeks, she is still continuing the the world's longest hunger striker. The government made the travesty of her struggle and three days after she began her strike, she was arrested by the police and charged with an "attempt to commit suicide". Do we still need anything to have a bigger laugh than this? Why wasn't Anna charged for committing suicide or why isn't Modi being charged for committing suicide. Oh, I missed the point, we have laws that can be tweaked as per the will of powerful and against the weak.  

3 days Sadbhavna fast of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi is everywhere in media but the long struggle of a gritty soul seems to have lost in time itself. Hats off to unwavering faith of Irom sharmila that keeps her hope alive even after 10 long years. She still feels that justice can be delayed but can't be denied.

I have no idea how many of us are interested in Sharmila's story but if you think, she is fighting for a cause which is just then be a part of her struggle and stand by her as we stood for Anna. I hope, the voice of her determined soul reaches to so called law makers and justice prevails. Amen!!   

If you want to know more about the cause, she is fighting for, watch this video. 

Social Media and B2B, myth is broken

You have got a business and have got an online presence too? Congrats, time to celebrate. Couple of months down the line, you expanded your online presence to social media, the most talked about medium. You have developed a very good looking and interactive Facebook page and with efforts you've got some active followers and fans. Time for three cheers again.

Everything was so good until you realized that the efforts you are putting in managing the FB page are not reflecting in terms of sales or ROI, and then you started making up your mind that social media is just a hype, it doesn't work. At this juncture, somebody who is so called an "EXPERT" of social media whispers into your ears that you are into B2B business and having a FB page is a good strategy for B2C but may not always work for B2B. This expert doesn't tell you the tools you need to resort to in order to get benefited from the social media, consequently, a more prominent thought that Social media works for B2C businesses but not a good medium to consider for B2B, makes inroads into your head permanently. Now you adorn the status of "EXPERT" and are ready to spill the beans everywhere.

I read an interesting article on social media Vs search on forbes website with the title Social is Intriguing, But Search is Proven, where the author has compared the two form of online advertising and proved the efficacy of search over the social media, when it comes to B2B marketing. Though, it is a very good article to go through but compares two completely different mode of online marketing. Where search is completely "intent" driven i.e. a user was looking for something with an intent and luckily (pat the back of your SEO guy) came across with your page, got his/her intent fulfilled and went away. He/she may or may not come back to your page ever, they may not even remember the name of your website. They don't need to. On the other hand social media, just like videos are driven by "interest" i.e. you want to connect with a brand or company because you are interested in them. You may not always be a buyer but could be a strong admirer or influencer in buying cycle. Remember, no marketing is as good as word of mouth. A user, advocating your brand is the best brand ambassador, you can ever have.

The biggest question is if ROI is the correct parameter for Social media. Which is the better sales pitch, a cold call or pitch where you already have some relationship in place. Most of you would vouch for the later, won't you? If yes, then why are we judging Social media only on the matrix of ROI? Isn't this medium is good in building a network of your prospective, who may not be shelling out money on your products as on today, but may get convinced enough in future to become loyal customers with you? It is all about having relationship in place before you can pitch them for your products.

In a recent study done by KnowledgeStorm of B2B technology decision makers the following statistics were revealed:

• 90% Participate in Video
• 80% Participate in Blogs
• 80% Participate in Wikis
• 69% Participate in Social Networks
• 53% Participate in Podcasts

The above stats are convincing enough to prove that how important it is that B2B companies explore social media marketing channels.

One picture is worth of thousand words. Hence uploading a picture below to that I found on web. I hope it should help you out to formulate your social media strategies.

One thing you will do without worrying about the failure??

Live your passion and do what you feel like doing. Don't drag your feet on something which doesn't excite you. We have heard these lines many a times in our life but when ever we try to follow these lines and start the process of mustering our courage to chase our dreams, the evil thought of failure starts haunting us. Haven't we all gone through this phase, when we got so fed up with the status qua that deep inside our heart we developed this urge to challenge it but then mere a thought of failure made us so vulnerable that we gave up our urge.

Why the thought of failure is so powerful that it knocks us down each time we try to fight against it? Book of history has innumerable stories about the people who believed their heart and reached the destination, why didn't the fear of failure trouble them? Why do we get so inspired each time we read this book but tend to brush aside all learning with the first encounter of trouble? Why do we have only one Bhagat Singh, Gandhi, Anna Hazare, when many people think on the same line? Don't we know that in order to live happily we got to be doing something we really want to do? 

The above questions were humming so raucously in my head that I strained every bit of my grey cell to find out an answer but for no use. I had almost smoked off these thoughts when someone asked me a simple question "what could be that one thing you will do without worrying about failure?" I am still trying to find out an answer for this question but I got the lesson that came out of this question. Many a times, we are dazzled by the success stories of others and try to follow their path. We expect ourselves to succeed like they did and in the process we start chasing success instead of our heart or passion and when you are running a race to success you are bound to think about failure. 

I am trying to find out that one thing I will do without worrying about failure. Do you have one in mind? If not try to find out that. Who knows in the process of finding the answer, you will find out yours true self. 

Love: Stop abusing it please

Sitting with my friends cum colleagues at office, enjoying some rare leisure moments during working hours, when suddenly the topic of my never existed love story became the talking point and everyone started questioning about my lackluster efforts towards having a love story. They were curious to know what really held me back from allowing my heart to go for someone and to my surprise, I didn't seem to have an answer. What has really caused me to dream about someone but let her go at the end of the story? Is it that I always had a doubt about the existence of love or it is such a sublime feeling that I found it hard to ever believe on its existence. It is so confusing for me and was enough a reason to find me brooding over it and allowing my finger to play with the keyboard of my laptop in order to help me pouring my heart out on this space. Does love really exist and if it does, why do we behave so erratically, when it comes to accepting it?

What can be addressed as love? A group of fanatics beats the innocent people to death and justifies it by calling it their love and devotion towards culture or country, is it love? We love the martyrs but either have no respect for their martyrdom or we think that writing some pages and remembering them on national festivals is enough to salute their martyrdom, without even caring about the cause they were fighting for, certainly can't be qualified as love. We worship Goddesses, but abuses the women, is it irony or love?. We love our country and ready to sacrifice our life for it, but if someone is dying on the road, it is none of our business, so what, if a country is made of people living there and loving a country essentially means to love its people. We love pet and love eating them too. Two guys are after the same girl, one is beaten by other and other gets dumped by the girl, where is love? Please don't give a counter argument about mother's love and all, that is so pious and I don't want to touch it by bringing it into conversation or in an argument.

I may be sounding like a frustrated soul who has been defeated in love in some point of time in his life, hence questioning or criticizing everything but be honest to yourself and tell me, if I am not close to the reality? We have questions but don't want to make an effort to find out the answers for them until someone like Anna Hazare leads the way. In reality, we love being a follower and that is the only logic that defines the all saga of everyone falling in love at the tender age itself. I am supposed to be in love because my friend is in love or everyone else is in love for that matter, isn't it like following a fashion statement?

Isn't love the most abused word? Don't we use it where ever we feel like as per our convenience? Lend me some money or you are not a good friend of mine, doesn't matter why do I need it. I don't care even if I hurt your sentiments, you need to behave normally because we are room mates as if just because you are agree to stay with me, it gives me right to treat you the way I want. 

Are you finding me harsh here? But I have avoided using harsh words then how come you figured it out? Actually, you sensed the feeling associated with each words that may appear mild but are pinching somewhere. Words are hollow until unless backed by emotions and that is the point which I want to make here. Love is just a word until backed with genuine feeling and deep concern. Don't go and tell anyone that you love him/her until you mean it and likewise, don't hide it from him/ her when you know you really mean it. Else you will be on a beautiful voyage but neither will reach to the destination nor will enjoy the journey.

Feel the Humanity...!!!

Humanity??? Sometimes felt as if the word extinct like the way dinosours...!!!

I am not going to blabber anything nor going to give a gyan... I am just writing what I had seen in reality...

Where to start??? hmm..... Yup...

10 years back, the avg lowest salary of a person is Rs.2,000/- and avg highest salary of a person is Rs.20,000/-. And now, the avg lowest salary of a person is same Rs.2,000/- and avg highest salary of person is Rs.2,00,000/- and so on. Hope you would have heard the sentence "Running behind money" and now it turns back as 'Dieing behind money". Cities and cultures are changing according to this highest salary drawing person.

Do you think how many type of persons live in your cities?

Only Two types... quite surprising...???

Yes... One who is inside shopping malls and the other who is outside shopping malls watching those fancy things in desire not able to enjoy it... the one who is inside disco clubs/multiplexes and the other who is outside watching with the same unfulfilled desire...

One fine day I was withdrawing money in one of the ATM center near my office... A lean lady at age of 40s entered into center when I was leaving... She stopped me and requested to help her for withdrawing money... I felt surprised, how come she can reveal her PIN to me?? After certain step of ATM procedure, it entered the money withdrawal page. She said Rs.100/- to withdraw. I felt again surprised, for 100rs? When I entered the amount, msg came as "Unable to process becoz of low balance"... I explained her and by the end of my word, I could see her eyes with tears... She told she was waiting for her salary of Rs.800/- to pay his son's education fees. Now I felt ashamed... All i could feel is her tears... I told her I could give Rs.200/- if she accepts. Nope... She went without saying a word... Questioned myself, "When so much of people are struggling for life, then Why do you need so much fancy in your life Arun?? What you did for others? 1000 questions arouse in another 5 mins similar to that... Thought am also one of biggest Asshole in life...!!! True... No way I can take back this word...!!!

Another few minutes, I was passing through a shopping mall... I saw few ladies standing in front of it, of age 20s, 30s, 40s...!!! "Touch me here if you dare", "Don't look at my face", "I do have a face above this", "Unbutton me", "Keep smiling", "Want a meaningful night", "You are naughty boy go to my room", "Size definitely matters", "Good girl, gone bad", "Born again bitch/virgin"... These are all not philosophical quotes in any of the books, I have read... I could see these in those ladies T-shirts... I could see a deep shit of bitches/whores standing there... Men are no different from this... Same story in different format... What a shameful fucking world...!!!

People who have money save it as if they are gonna die tmrw and people who don't, die for money just to fill their hunger...
As well said in one of recent movies, "Richer get richer and Poor get poorer"...

Instead of living the life, most of us survive the life...!!! Quite a difference...??? Hope you understand.

The above seems to be complete shit to you sometimes, but this is reality. If it is a shit to you, Of course guys, We live in this shit only...!!!

Bollywood inspiring Politics

People who are fond of hindi movies and have watched Rajneethi (a hindi flick revealing dark side of politics) must have voted for an opinion that the plot of our hindi movies are inspired by the real life phenomenon specially when it comes to politics. There are innumerable movies that have been featured on the condition of present politics or on real politicians.

But it looks like that table has turned now and it is politicians who are learning a lesson or two from bollywood because that is the only logic that can define the discussion that was held in parliament in favor of Jan Lokpal. Like in our bollywood movies (some of them) police resorts to a "con" to catch the big daddy or main "Conman", we have corrupt politicians debating in parliament to figure out how to nab the corruption. Isn't it such a flick inspired scenario? I die laughing when leaders like Lalu prasad yadav claims that he has been one of the protagonists involved in arresting the corruptions. He doesn't stop here and goes one to scoff at a person (Anna Hazare), who is leading the way of uprooting the corruption even at the cost of his own life.

I am not up for listening to any kind of gyan in favor of parliamentary democracy because even I am not against it. But, when we have politicians who are so dumb headed that they can't evwn see the sentiments of entire country going in favor the cause and way that has been adopted to get their voices heard. They have completely washed out the fact from their head that they themselves have been elected by the people to table the opinions of people instead of their on vested interests. I wish, honorable minister Lalu prasad yadav had a clue about the amount of money that is spent to run the parliament for a single day. Let me quote a 4 year old data for him, it is whopping INR 17,677 every minute and INR 79.55 Lakh per day, which is taken from the hard earned money of the people of India in the form of taxes. But then again the question would be, if I can expect our politicians to understand what is hard earned money, as for them it is not even earned so the question of earning it in hard way doesn't even exist.

I would request you all to please visit the below link and watch Lalu's speech. It is a bit long (30 mins) video but worth watching in the interest of our country. Long Live Democracy!!....

Lalu Prasad Yadav's Speech in parliament on Jan Lokpal Bill.

Social Media Marketing: Get it right to see results

The popular site Social Media Examiner released its 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report on the effectiveness of social media. They surveyed more than 3,300 marketers and found the following:

• 88% of marketers reported better business exposure because of the use of social media marketing. 72% marketers confirmed the increase in traffic since they switched to social media and 62% marketers noticed an improved search engine ranking;
• 45% people who had been using social media marketing for 12 months or less have indicated of acquiring new business.
• 52% of marketers saw lead generation benefits by spending only 6 hours per week on social media.

So all a marketer needs to do is to have a presence on social media, hire an expert, and handover the key to success to him. Is that what your are thinking? take a breather and look at the downside of it else it can boomerang and will hurt you badly.

Social media marketing is like a new kid in house and everyone wants to pamper it without even knowing about the repercussion. It is unarguably a very strong tool but at the same time irrepressible i.e. you don’t have much control over it. Once something goes out on internet; spreads like a wild fire and reaches to millions in no time. Hence it needs to be used meticulously.

As, I have mentioned that the concept of social media is new to Indian market and hence there is no set rules to follow. Everyone is using the trial and error method in order to figure out the best SMM strategies. Nevertheless there are some basic rules that need to be adhered to. Let me try to pen down some of the common mistakes that are made and lead to failure of the social media campaigns.

Focus on the Wrong Metrics - This is one of the common mistakes that most of the new entrants in social media do i.e. considering a fan or a follower a business objective. Social media has enabled marketers to chase metrics that don’t impact their business. The prominent reason for most of the discussion questioning social media ROI is caused by measuring the wrong metrics. Reach, leads and sales should be some of the tangible metrics that should be measured as part of social media marketing strategies

Selling instead of Interacting: - One of the common mistakes that brands do; is to consider their fan page as a place to promote their product or in worst cases to sell their products. Social media is best when you try to interact with the followers and get the first hand feedback.

Like the page in lieu of freebies: The purpose of social media marketing is to engage your audience with some interesting content or contest, or get your audience to “like you” by offering freebies. If we talk about Indian context, it seems that a lot of marketers are opting for later and that is where they fumbled big time. Requiring someone to “like you” to get a discount on your product or some freebies is not social media marketing it’s paying a media house to write something good about your product, which essentially doesn’t mean that the very media house has a good opinion about you or could be a buyer of your product for that matter.

Opting for a wrong tool:- You have got an agency who built an impressive FB page for you and you have team of content writer who are continuously updating the page on daily basis but at the end of the month you have very few likes or followers of your page. You are frustrated and started doubting the effectiveness of social media. Where did you go wrong? May be you didn’t realize that you have B2B product and opting for Linked-In would have yielded you better results.

Since, social media is evolving and there is something new that is introduced in social media everyday, hence everyone is a learner in this space. The points mentioned above are my observations while trying out my hand on social media and failing miserably. But as a famous saying goes "experience is a name that we give to our mistakes".. :-)

Good read on Digital Branding

Was just flipping through pages online, when I came across with a very good read. Sharing the pdf with you all. Please go through to know more... :).. Below is the link:

Download PDF

Enjoy reading... :-)

The most effective tool for Digital Branding: Online Videos

It is estimated that the total number of internet user in India is more than 100 M, who spend on an average 16 hours per week online i.e. close to 10% of their total time in a week. No brand marketer can afford to ignore the above stats, hence digital branding slowly becoming an integral part of the marketing budget. The belief that online advertising has limited or no value to a marketing campaign and it’s not a medium to increase brand image, doesn't hold water today.

The research done by MSN, the Internet Standards Bureau (ISB) and the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) on Unilever's Dove Nutrium bar has revealed that in order to achieve a better result and even without increasing the cost of the campaign, 10-15% brand advertising budget should be on web. The study shows that in a media mix, boosting the frequency of the online campaign can cost effectively increase the effect of a branding campaign. With the advent of social media, the effectiveness of building brand online has increased manifold.

Knowing the fact that online is the way, the next biggest challenge in front of a brand marketer is to decide how to go about it. Where to pump in money, is it search or display? Let us try to explore the option here. As we know search is intent based and is capable of targeting people just the right stage of decision making process. Hence, search is one of the best options for response marketers. But as a brand building tool display outruns search because of the higher recall than the search.

Amongst the innumerable options in display advertising, online video advertising has turned out to be a clear winner in terms of brand recall, engagement and influencing user to start the buying cycle. An Interactive marketer will bank on online video to get benefitted from the branding potential richer than that for previous online display ad formats. Recently done study shows that more than half (53%) of respondents who recalled seeing some advertising remembered viewing these in-stream ads. Check the graph below:

If we look at the above chart closely, we will come to know that the permeating nature of banner ads also have an impact on brand recall. Because of the pervasiveness 35% of users have reported to recall seeing static banner ad compare to 13% of user who remembered seeing engaging video banners. This result may disappoint many considering the fact that videos are very high on engagement, but the underlying fact is that a user is exposed more to the static banner than online video banners. Let us compare the effectiveness of the two in engaging the user and making the user to interact with the ads. Please check the below graph:

Please note the ability of expandable video banners to prompt user to interact with the ads vis-à-vis banner ads.

Online advertising is in India is far from becoming mature; hence there is a huge possibility of seeing more innovative ad units in time to come. But today, brand marketers have found a solution in the form of interactive online video banners in order to engage, influence, and prompt user to interact with the ad.

A single swallow is making a summer

Normally, I refrain myself from writing about any individual but if an individual becomes the voice of more than 1 billion population, you can't stop yourself from penning down something about him. This country was reeling under corruption and people were fed up of facing the corrupt faces in every section of their lives, but the "chalta hai" attitude was so deep routed in our souls that we never thought of doing something to uproot it once and forever. We were always carried away by an old belief that a single swallow doesn't make summer, until a man rose up to the occasion and almost proved this belief a myth.

Anna Hazare is one of the billions people living in India, the only characteristic that has made him different from the herd is his determination to bring the changes in system that the population of billions want but never had enough courage to demand. Anna reminded us that we are living in democracy where government needs to be scared of the people, it is ruling for, not the other way. He showed us the power of peaceful protest that we had almost forgotten.

It is so ironical that Congress is not ready to accept the power of "Satyagrah", when its own DNA is made of this peaceful protest. Doesn't it prove that it has derailed from the tracks which were laid down by the people who fought and dreamed for an India which was certainly not the one we are having today??

Anna is an epitome of an Indian who believes that determination and perseverance can move mountains. He believed that if you are right and fighting for the amelioration of people, you won't walk alone for long. Sooner or later people will come to join and fight with you. Today, the entire country is voicing the words given by Anna.

I am clueless, if Jan Lokpal Bill will see the light or not but isn't it an achievement itself that today our country, in single voice, not only demanding something but also fighting against a stubborn government to ensure that it kneels down and accept which is right and for the welfare of the public at large not for handful individuals. Long Live Anna, Long Live Democracy....

Belief or luck

While stepping out on a sunny day, when sun was at its peak and testing everyone on the road, a guy, unruffled by stubborn sun, said himself "It is going to rain today". People around him, who heard this, scoffed at the bullheadedness of the guy. Working under sun, completely drenched in sweat, he looked at the sky and with the same serenity said again "It is going to rain today" and gave another chance to people around him to laugh at him.

Little more time ticked away, when suddenly cool breeze started shooing away the hot wind, sun started losing its reign and was arrested by clouds which came from nowhere. It appeared as if a coup has happened and little drop of water from sky started spreading the incomparable smell of soil everywhere. Yes, it rained.

When I first heard this story, it looked like a fairy tale to me, which is bound to end on a pleasing note. My first reaction was "he was a lucky chap", but then was it really a luck or an unflinching belief that made him to see something, which was not visible to many eyes? How come a guy who turned out to be lucky at the end, was so serene in entire episode? It can't be luck alone or may not be luck at all. It must be something that was residing within that man, which was bolstering his morale each time he was saying to himself that it is going to rain. It has to be "BELIEF". A belief which is so strong that it obliterate the sun, a belief, which was not ready to die just because everyone else had different opinion and circumstances were proving them right.

Life doesn't give smooth ride to anyone and we make it worst by filling negativity in it in our day to day life. While starting for office, the incident that happened yesterday haunt us and fill our mind with the thoughts that we are going to be screwed for that today, there is no surprise that our thoughts take the shape of reality and we do get screwed up. How many of us, while planning for a trip with friends ignore the roadblocks which may come and think of the gala time we are going to have together, if you are being true to yourself, you know the answer.

As a famous saying goes "you can't run east looking for a sunset", we have to figure out what we want from life and have to belief that it can be achieved. Circumstances will not always favor us, but if we fall back and let negativity reign on our thoughts, our dreams will not turn real. So next time, when I am slapped hard by the destiny, I will follow one of the best Indian movies "3 idiots" and will say to myself "ALL IZZ WELL" and believe that everything is well and if it is not, I will set it right. It may or may not ease out my surroundings but will surely help me in stepping out to enjoy my journey... :)

And they lived happily ever after

When should I get married and with whom? Isn't it the most difficult question to answer? Even the people who are reading this and already married must have gone through this trauma of pondering over it. I was so happy when I was doing my MBA without having an iota of inkling about what is coming in my way in years to come.

Couple of years, since I have started earning on my own and was hardly able to digest the fact myself that I have got into a world of economic independence, that the whole world seems to have one biggest issue to deal with and that is when is my mental independence is going to be arrested. This left me thinking about the aftermath of getting married.

A girl might be having a completely different perspective about marriages and no disrespect to that perspective, but for a guy like me, it is getting into an entirely different world. A world of maturity and shouldering n number of responsibilities. I met couple of my friends who have recently got married and was so amazed to find out how a simple word "marriage" has changed their lives completely. Those whimsical brains have got into a shell of discipline. Those late night rides on deserted roads to unknown destinations seem to be things of long forgotten past today. Life appears to have confined in 9 to 6 job and spending time with family thereafter for them.

I have always been an ardent follower of saying "live in today, past has gone and future never comes", I wonder, if I will be able to continue following it once I am married and have responsibilities to shoulder. When I have a family and dependent to take care of. Many eyebrows must be frowning at me with an urge to give gyaan about the cycle of life and the different phases that it has, but somehow this transition from single to married seems to be a nightmare to me. I have no idea, if every single guy before getting married feels the same way, I am feeling today. Please do let me know, if you are single and thinking of getting married because it will give me a feel good factor that I am not the only one who is facing this tsunami of emotions.

Life is hard is it??

“When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"”

the above line was said by an american journalist and author Sydney J. Harris. Though it may sound hilarious but it is so very true. Almost everyday in our life starts with cursing something or somebody, if we get nothing to badmouth about, we will catch hold of Monday and start venting out our emotion against this day. Oh! we really hate Monday like anything even after knowing that it is just a day or another chance for us to start living our life.

At times, I wonder if the toughest job has gone to Almighty. He created a beautiful world, filled it with everything one needs to enjoy life, tried every bit of Him to ensure that the ride for anyone here should not be too hard, but we, so called, the best creation of Almighty, always find going tough and keep complaining about it.

It is not too long, when I too was breathing out with the statement that Life is so hard, without even realizing who I am comparing it with. After coming across with the above statement, I pondered over it and tried to trace the source of comparison and I failed miserably. I realized that it was a momentarily setback of life, which pushed me to a corner and instead of fighting back and giving it a befitting reply, I surrendered and put entire blame on life for everything. May be, because it was the easiest thing to do. Fighting your way back needs hell lot of determination and efforts, who the hell on this earth would want to make so much of efforts, when one can easily sit back and morn for some time by saying Life is hard and the best part of doing it, is that one will easily get the company as well.

The road between two places can't be smooth throughout till the end, there must be some bumpy ride, pot holes and roadblocks, which one needs to overcome in order to reach the destinations but that doesn't mean journey is bad or not worthwhile. It all depends on the very fact that how much fun you are having during the journey. If you look for a smooth ride, journey will seem to be hard but if you look for fun, adventures, brimming with the enthusiasm of exploring something new, roadblocks will come as a hindrance, instead you will start enjoying that too. Life is an awesome journey so instead of tagging it with being "Hard", enjoy every bit of it. Just "Enjoy your Journey".... :)

Either perish or rule, don't be static

I was lost in fast moving life for past some time and was not at all ready to slow down, hence the long delay in scribbling another post in my new virtual incarnation i.e. in my blog.

I was pushed back and fixed in a tight corner many times in past some day at both personal and professional front and was not able to figure out how to live pass all this. My well crafted hectic schedule was not helping me out to figure out a solution either. Consequence was reflecting in the form of an unnecessary stress. It is when I decided to slow down in life a bit and took a small break to revive myself.

Like a great person has rightly said that if you are not spending some time with you in a day, you are missing a great company. So, at times, break means to block all the roads reaching to you for everyone and let yourself enjoy your own company and that's exactly I opted for.

A philosopher has said that If you are not able to find out a solution for future in today, try to search for it in history. The old pages have never been best of my friends, it bores me to death so I thought of going down the memory lane and remember good old days, which are engrossed so deeply in my subconscious mind that I can clearly see it whenever I feel like or whenever I give myself a chance to laugh and feel ecstatic about life.

An array of incidents flashed in front of my closed eyes in a jiffy and while laughing my heart out, I realized a pattern in these incidents. Almost all of these moments which is crystal clear in my head and still alive as if, I am still living them, are the moments when bunch of we friends, who can aptly be termed as "moron" now, not only challenged the status quo but went beyond it. When we scribbled our own rule book of right and wrong, when we were caught of doing something, which was not the ideal solution but the only solution left for us and in most of the instances we were in deep shit... :)

I tried very hard but was unable to bring a day alive in my memory which was an average day. When while in school, I went to school well prepared and didn't do any mischievous activity or while in college a day when we just shared jokes, did nothing and returned to home. It is not because, I was a spoiled brat in my school days and never let a single day went by without doing something naughty or all days were very happening during my college days, it is because I don't remember those average days today, when everything was so hunky dory.

Life is nothing but a collection of these memories. A day, when you break all the laws to achieve your dreams. When faux pas is just a word for you which was coined by a society that has never lived and is ready to accept you only on a condition that you do the same. When you are so confident in present that you are ready to take chances even if it means that you need to put your future on stake. Days, when you put your entire efforts in living in today and don't bother about the future because you realized that tomorrow never comes and if it comes, you are capable of handling it. The golden times of life were always those days when we really took chances and tried to follow our heart instead of well defined rule books.

This small break gave me a solution, I was trying to find out for so long. I can be pushed back for a while, can be fixed in a tight corner but can't be stopped in making efforts in realizing my dreams. I have chosen to make efforts to rule even if it means I get perished in the process.

It is an old belief that during our last moments the entire life will flash in front of us, I hope, I won't see myself sitting in a cubical and dragging my feet on files and counting how much money I have in my bank. Instead, I would love to see myself cackling and enjoying the ride till the D-day so that I can peacefully close my eyes saying I don't have regret, for, I have been in every highways, I have seen every single thing crafted by Almighty and created by human being. I have "Enjoyed my journey", hence I am no longer bother about the destination..... Amen!!... :)

Time for yet another healing

Happy belated B'day Kasab, you have completed enough time in India to become eligible for the hospitality, India is known for. The soul of our warm hospitality underlies in the dictum, that says "Athiti Devo Bhava" i.e. Guest is God. You were never a welcomed guest in our country neither you are going to be ever, but the way our government has treated you so far, you are the most expensive guest (welcomed or unwelcome), we have ever had. So let me play my part by wishing you B'day.

You may not be aware of the fireworks that was done in Mumbai on your b'day. Though, there was no celebration, joy or harmony while those callous bomb were bursting, instead there was stampede, tears, fear, and ire.

So, you have again put this country in healing process, healing from the nightmares of seeing bloodshed, healing from a loss of losing someone they love. Congrats Kasab, people of your kind of believe have done it again.

Let me give you, your b'day gift in the form of an information. India is just like a sea, cool and calm, it peacefully accepts everything and forgives people for throwing all the garbage in it, but that doesn't mean that it is powerless. It owns tsunami in its belly and when it comes, it sweeps away everything. Incidents like yesterday have shaken the India's belly and brought the people together again. It has created the ripples, just wait for this ripples to become tsunami, until then, Enjoy your journey.

Bienvenida

Bienvenida is a Spanish word, which means "welcome". The question would be raised that why have I made this so complicated when I always had an option of saying it in a plain English? Well, I am an average guy and an average guy gets up early in the morning and start making life complicated. We send our kids to tuition to overload them with the information as if school is not good enough to do this honor, we ask them to learn computer and stay away from playing in mud, enjoying rain and then we expect them to stay close to nature, without even knowing ourselves how would they do it. We fall for someone and hide the feelings from them only. We go to rashion shop to buy something and knowing the fact that the guy is charging us nominal price, we bargain with him but for the same goods, we are ready to pay higher prices in sophisticated malls and that too with a sense of satisfaction. We criticize but never try to figure out the solution and then we have one complain that life is so complicated and hard. So I thought of sticking to my strength and make things a little complicated here, hence "Bienvenida"... :-)...

"Enjoy your journey" is nothing but a way to reach people and get connected with them. After all, we are on a journey called life with a predetermined destination, we may not enjoy the end of the journey so let us ensure that we cherish the journey..... Bienvenida.... :-)