Author: manuscrypts

  • Information & Interfaces

    I’m still stuck on the narrative of consumption – both on the intent and interest front, as I wrote in Intent, Interest & Internet Dominance, as well as on the interfaces through which it will happen, something I started writing on in Consumer- facing AI : Phase One.

    In this era of abundant choice, a device I use when fighting battles with myself on personal consumption is the can-want-need framework. ‘Can’ is made increasingly easier now because of convenience, ‘want’ by the choices around, and sticking to ‘need’ is a very difficult task! I read a really good post which has mirrored this in the (consumer) technology space – “How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds…“. (more…)

  • Kamadeva : The God of Desire

    Anuja Chandramouli

    “You try my patience severely, sage”, said Shambara to Narada, and managed to express my feelings entirely. These (feelings) were not just restricted to Narada, but to pretty much every character in Kamadeva: The God of Desire! But let’s step back a bit first.

    As a subject, this one holds a lot of promise, because Kama has (arguably) a very muted presence in Hindu mythology, except probably the ‘burning man’ episode when he used his arrows on Shiva. So a book which could bring out details of his exciting life – since he was after all the God of Love and Desire – does have the potential to be quite good. While the story in itself stays true to mythology, what put me off the book is the narration. (more…)

  • Making sense of nostalgia

    #nostalgia-quotes-1

    (via)

    The other day, when discussing brand communication, we noted how nostalgia was such a broad platform that it would appeal to almost everyone.One moment you’re in the present, and sometimes, even without the slightest provocation, you’re off with a reconstruction of events that transpired. For instance, just a week before that, when I learnt that Kammatti Paadam was releasing, a lot of my excitement was because it was set in Kochi from the 1970’s onwards. Until 2003, that’s pretty much my life. Before and after I watched the movie, quite a few hours were spent recollecting my life in my hometown across a couple of decades.  (more…)

  • Mighty Small

    First published in Bangalore Mirror

    One of the ‘perks’ of getting into 1MG Mall from the Indiranagar side is that you get to play/watch NASCAR in the last stretch. After the Trinity signal, you’ll swing wildly to the left, because you have to turn into Kensington Road, cutting through the blaring horns (with vehicles attached) that want to continue on Swamy Vivekananda’s path. Then you’ll swing sharply right to catch the mall entry, again zooming past irritated folks who just want to go straight. If you’re wondering what this has to do with a restaurant review, well, it sets the mood for Smaaash, whose eatery – Mighty Small – we will now focus on. Smaaash is a gaming and entertainment center, and locating Mighty Small within it reminded me of Crystal Maze! In line with everything around it, Mighty Small has a carnival theme, and one must admit that it holds an appeal and charm for kids of all ages, including those in their late thirties. The popcorn machine, the red and white colour palette, the desserts display, the circus-tents and balloons, all create a bright and cheerful ambiance. Add to that a DJ who set a peppy tempo to the proceedings with everything from Karz to Avicii, and we had all in readiness for the circus!

    collage1 (more…)

  • Intent, Interest & Internet dominance

    Facebook’s new move to dominate advertising by expanding its audience network to non users got me thinking about its interest based approach, and in contrast Google’s intent based approach. While both approaches have their place in the scheme of consumption, it reminded me something I posted a while back on a completely different context – choices.

    We live in an era of (relative) abundance and are spoilt for choices. Consequently (to generalise) it has become more difficult than ever to stick to conscious choices. Increasingly we consume more because we can (largely influenced by our social network) than because we need. I see this as a parallel to interest & intent. I also think that the more data Facebook collects across its properties about users (and non users) the closer it will get to making intent an even lesser part of our consumption than it is now.  (more…)