Blogworks was featured in some more media stories recently. Here they are:

1. Many newspapers featured stories around '10 years of the blog'.

Mail Today, 16 August 2009

I suggested Neha, from Mail Today, that she tries something different from the routine 'history and genesis of blogs' kind of story, to maybe write how last blogs have, over the last few years, changed lives for many. Am glad she took the suggestion.

Here is a PDF of the story.

Blogosphere has changed their lives.

Mint, 14 August 2009

Mint did a comprehensive 4 part series around the subject. Blogworks is featured in the last piece, which will also take you to the previous three.

10 year of blog, part 4 - Tweet now, blog later

1. Are brands listening to customers? Well, they are. Here is a brief piece titled "Unhappy with your purchase, gripe online." This one featured the Kiruba-Cleartrip and Gul Panag-Jet Airways incidents. The only thought I shared with CNN IBN after I saw the piece - do a longer one, as short pieces like this are not able to give enough background/ context. I am sure more will happen.

CNN IBN, 13 July 2009

Unhappy with your purchase, gripe online.

Most of the media coverage gets listed here regularly. Just in case you were interested in following our updates :)

From the moment I first saw this TVC from Samsung Marine (disclaimer- we are associated with the brand), urging us on with it's "One Life. Challenge it" prompt, I've been thinking about the imminent changes in the handset market.

The Samsung Marine has been positioned as a "stylish & durable phone for outdoor lovers and enthusiasts" which is "Water Proof - Shock Proof - Dust Proof'. However, this post is not about the hand-set or its features, but a pointer that the handset game is changing; how we are likely going to consume/ market mobile handsets, going forward.

The accessorization of the mobile handset appears to be going mainstream.

The 'phone-as-a-fashion-accessory' concept is not new, with Vertu, now in it's tenth year, on one extreme having pioneered the concept of luxury mobile phone as the preferred accessory of the super rich; on the other Nokia 'change-as-you like' skins in psychedelic colours were a hit with the masses in the 1st half of this decade.

As mobile technology evolved, handsets have, nearly always, taken the route of segmentation by user profile -Smart/ Business; Multi-media; Gaming; Music; Mass Market; Rural phones... for a specific target. The focus has predominantly been on getting the customer to choose your brand, on a promise of better features, interface etc.

However, given on one hand, that most handsets today could anyway bundle most features into one, and on the other hand, the average prices falling, the differentiation/ growth has to come from elsewhere.

So far, you, and I, likely carry the same handset to work, to a party, for a holiday - except when we go rafting or rock climbing, when in absence of a choice, we tend to leave it behind, for fear of damaging it; same before a game of cricket or a biking session with buddies. Same perhaps for many other situations/ needs/ uses.

As the market evolves (and even reaches saturation) marketers would be clearly looking to take consumers to multi-handset ownership, and not just focus on the replacement market.

Borrowing a line from Fastrack - another brand we have been associated with :) - the 'How many you have' times have arrived for the mobile phone.

BTW - an interesting read: Watch that phone - watches that are also a phone ;)

How do you see the category evolve. Do share your experiences and thoughts.

Here is the Samsung Marine TVC:

I discovered, yesterday, that my case-study had been stolen. The theft perhaps happened a few days ago, but we never came to know. Someone broke the lock-bar on our garage and stole my bicycle. I was going to take it out today to start riding again...

I am feeling an unusual sense of loss, as this is was not just another of my possessions.

Since the time I bought it, nearly 2 years ago, besides, of course, riding it when I could, the bicycle was the subject matter of one of my most important case-studies around "impact of social media on purchase decisions" - I had spoken about it on my blog, presented the case at dozens of speaking sessions and workshops across the country; submitted it on focus groups. Participants would always be able to relate with the example.

What do I say.

Now it's gone, the learnings stay.

Twitter, the fastest growing social network in the world (it grew 1448 percent y-o-y between May 2008 and May 2009), invariably comes up in every conversation about communication or new-media. Vice-versa, every event of any consequence (or otherwise) makes its way onto the Twitter-sphere. Something that was developed to send out short status messages (status was, in fact, the working title of the product) has found itself such differentiated value.

Much of it is due to its simplicity, but equally the result of the variegated effect that many of the services built around its core offer. Here are some of the applications and services enhancing the Twitter experience that you may want to try out as well:

Twitter Clients - Using Twitter's API, these clients let you access the service the way you want. Multiple iterations allow you to choose the interface and the functions you prefer:

1. TwitterFox runs as an extension on the Firefox window itself, with Twitter updates from friends popping up at set regular intervals
2. TweetDeck is still in beta, but hugely popular, for, it lets you see all you need to on one page, for faster and easier twittering
3. Destroy Twitter allows you to operate multiple accounts, and runs on Adobe AIR, with great functionality making it a one-stop web application for Twitter
4. Dabr often called Twitter on steroids, is the most-loved Twitter application for the mobile. Being an application that incorporates user-feedback at the bat of an eyelid, this isn't surprising at all!

Finding followers & friends - You can build your Twitter-stream based on various criteria, like people who match your interest levels, those who live near you, thought-leaders from your sphere, etc.:

1. WhoShouldIFollow helps you find people with interests similar to yours as showcased in your respective tweets
2. Twellow and WeFollow are two self-serve twitter directories where people list themselves based on their interests and can so be found accordingly. Each interest tag lists out all the people in that category, charted popularity-wise
3. Twubble adds to your social-graph by listing out people who many of your existing friends may be following. It also has a locality filter to better the sorting process
4. TwitDir is a Twitter directory that simply gives you the top 100 people at any given point

Search & Track - Track and listen in on conversations happening around current events & happenings, your brand or simply your favorite music-genre:

1. Hash-Tags make your keywords search-friendly and allow you to track keywords of your choice, while TweetScan charts all conversations happening on Twitter live, which can then be further segmented by hash-tags/keywords
2. Other than the classic Twitter-Search, TweetActive and Twibuzz graph the activity on your keywords in real-time, which can then be compared with other keywords over time as well
3. Twistori tells you (quite literally) what people are loving and hating, thinking or feeling in real time!
4. Happn is a localized search which shows you what people of your city are tweeting about. It only covers Mumbai as of now from India, but it's a cool application anyhow!

Share - Share photos, audio/video, files and links with friends:

1. AutoPostr shares your Flickr photos every time they are uploaded if 'autopostr' is added as a photo-tag photo, whereas Twitpic lets you post pictures directly on Twitter, along with a message, while also keeping track of how many views and responses it receives
2. Bit.ly and Tweetburner shorten and share links and tracks views. They also let you customize links.
3. Twitsay shares audio clips, and Twitddeo is for video-sharing. Twitcam and Qik let you live-stream videos
4. TweetCube and FileSocial allow you to upload and share several kinds of files on Twitter, like mp3, avi, ppt, doc, zip files, plug-ins, pictures, etc.

Analyze - Interpret your activity and see where you're going, to understand the service and its potential better, or just to have some fun!

1. TwitGraph gives a visual progression of your statistics, while TweetStats shows bar-graphs of your ongoing weekly activity
2. Tweet Beep tracks your specific tags, etc. on a regular basis whereas Twemes tracks all active tags in one place
3. To judge volume of conversation on Twitter, Tweet-Volume tracks and compares volume for different keywords
4. Twitter-Grader and Twinfluence grade your influence based on your power, reach and authority. They employ several logarithms including factors like number of followers, follower/following ratio, power of followers, frequency of updates, engagement, etc. to reach their conclusions
5. Twitter-Friends analyses all the above, and more, and presents your engagement in a visual, interpretative manner for you to compare and analyze

Twitter Plus - There are several of these innovative services that let you do more in the same old 140 characters:

1. GroupTweet and TweetKnot are services that allow you to create Twitter groups where friends can be invited for sharing messages in a more focused manner
2. With Twitchat and Tinychat, you can create your own chat-rooms of your twitter friends for exclusive discussions that you may not want spilling over to your entire stream :P
3. AutoDMer and TwitResponse send an auto-response to every new follower, or even set updates at a regular frequency
4. Twitter backgrounds has a whole array of backgrounds to pick for your Twitter account, and also offers specific paid customization
5. Write-up lets you share longer text through a link in a Tweet, while LinkBunch clubs multiple links for you to share at one go

This list is not exhaustive, merely a selection that as a combination, works best for most of my needs, and hopefully will help you too. There are several places that link to exhaustive listings of tools and applications, like Mashable, Twitdom, et al. Which Twitter-tools have you found useful? Do add them to the list!


Happy Tweeting!

It's one of those Sundays - electrician fixing things; pest-control guys over for preventive termite treatment.

Surrounded by mess, as we still are, I am writing this impromptu post, sharing an interesting learning drawn from a seemingly casual interaction between the electrician, the pest control guy and me.

Our electrician, who is really our Man Friday, just got back from the village after an extended trip and has been busy fixing up a dozen things at home, since yesterday. However, since he had left an important task unfinished elsewhere, he sought my permission to return again tomorrow morning and finish the remaining work at our place. I agreed and was briefing him about pending items on my list...

He and I were trying to identify a suitable spot for my late uncle's picture on our 'family wall', when the pest control guy jumped in... suggesting a spot.

In my scheme of the things the place was totally inappropriate. He had no idea whose picture it was, he had no idea about family hierarchy or protocol. If at all, he was merely concerned with aesthetics. Needless to add, his suggestion was rejected and additionally he earned a dirty look from me.

Soon after he had left, I found myself thinking about how often 'consultants' make the same mistake.

It's oh-so-tempting to comment upon tasks/ issues, not part of the mandate, just because they are happening around. Comment, without any consideration about the background, context or ,maybe, even relevant expertise. Often the client gives a dirty look, for the advice wasn't really sought.