• Brand Personalities

    The discussions on anonymity are back in full force on the web, mostly courtesy Google’s stance against pseudonymity on Google+. Google has its reasons and is supposedly working on it.Considering that I represent myself as ‘manuscrypts’ and an icon/logo on most social networks, identity on the web is an issue that I can definitely relate to.

    But when I consider this from a brands’ perspective, I sense an equally grey area. The brand is usually represented on social networks as a logo and a ‘voice’ that cannot be tied down to a person. Most studies indicate that consumers/users would rather talk to a person than a brand. But that also sets the stage for a BBC-Twitter like incident to happen, a scenario I had written about a couple of years back. I have seen only a few interesting alternatives. (eg. Chicago Tribune’s Twitter directory or adopting a persona like Hippo)  There is a different side to it too – how many brand managers would like to associate themselves with the product they manage? (for various reasons) When agencies manage social platforms on behalf of clients, what is the best way to present that? A person has many identities, some he/she wants to share, and some others he/she does not, a brand is rarely given this leeway.

    I feel that in all the time that has elapsed since my earlier post, the networks have not yet built systems that allow brands to fully explore the ‘people-conversations’ aspect that makes social work. Twitter and Facebook, the premium players, both lack a way to surface the identities of the people tied to the brand, in context. There is only so much a Twitter bio can hold, and no one looks at the Info tab on Facebook. (LinkedIn is best placed, but very few brand centric discussions happen there.) The focus, whether it’s Facebook’s Ads API or Twitter’s promoted tweets, seems to be on broadcast, albeit more targeted. Foursquare is still early in the game, but the self-serve brand pages are a decent step. I hope Google considers all this when they do allow brands to play on Google+.

    If a platform does manage to work it out, it would be helpful for all concerned. Brands could apportion responsibilities. Monitoring systems and reaction mechanisms could build in roles, ‘filters’ and ‘rights’ accordingly, and users would know exactly who to speak to for what issue? The other way, of course, is for brands to build that network themselves, feeding in data, personas and conversations from existing networks. That way, they can even assign responsibility to early adopters within the organisation to test out new platforms on their behalf, and communicate that. With the rise of SoLoMo (social, location, mobile), the need for a distributed social architecture is now of much importance.

    until next time, a brand’s personal identity

  • Weekly Top 5

    This week’s updates include Zynga’s tie up with Gate2Play, its entry into China with Tencent, lawsuit against Vostu and Orkut, Angry Birds in China and a patent case against it from Lodsys; the end of Old Twitter and the beginning of Promoted Tweet He Came Back From A Trip No Contact s in the timeline, increase in languages supported, funding; Apple leading the smartphone manufacturer category, beta launch of iCloud, iPad apps by Skype and AOL, and an html5 app by Twitter; Facebook’s bug bounty program and suing similar sounding domains, Ads API, acquisition of Push Pop Press, Randi Zuckerberg’s exit; Google+ stats, Google’s Page Speed Service, Hotel Finder and launch of Two Factor authentication in more countries.

    [scribd id=61669441 key=key-ipumnvv40uoltxdk701 mode=list]

    He Came Back From A Trip No Contact

  • Green Gifts

    We give and receive gifts all the time, but ever thought of presenting  something that also protects the environment? Green Gi

    fts retails plants that can be given as gifts. In conversation with co-founder Sanjanthi Sajan

    [scribd id=61588105 key=key-1a59qbqxrrelcxiz0nb4 mode=list]

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  • More on the Uncertainty Principles

    Ok, so it’s not long back that I wrote about uncertainty, but in this real time world, I can’t blame myself for thinking of it on a regular basis. I wonder if it also has to do with the macro environment I grew up in – the typical 80s kid in India, whose ‘options’ across the board – from movie heroes to restaurants to soaps and television channels usually boiled down to one. (remember?)

    From my own experiences, I know it is possible even now, but it’s a choice and a very difficult one at that, and one that might be difficult to reverse later. An extended trip to Kerala sometime back- home, made me realise that there are those who have made that choice, or rather, have for some reason remained in a lifestyle with minimum choices. Belonging to an earlier generation, but who have refused to let the ever changing world rock their boat. It isn’t that the boat isn’t rocked regularly in their ‘small’ world, but the rocking seems to happen within a framework – as though there is some tacit understanding with the cosmos, a reward for not adding to the cosmos’ complications.

    Uncertainty has a permanent live-in arrangement with most of us, and now dictates the relationship so much that we take it as a given. I am not a comfortable partner, but for various reasons, can’t do much about it. I wondered what the future would hold. As is becoming a practice with me, I found interesting perspectives in the book I was reading – ‘The Mammoth Book of Short Science Fiction Novels’.

    Asimov’s “Profession” had a world where a person’s station in life, and life itself is dictated by certain tests he undergoes at 2-3 points in life – Reading Day, Education Day and every individual is slotted basis the result of these tests. (not exams, mental examinations which figure out the natural aptitude of the individual’s brain) John Jakes’ “The Sellers of the Dream” has a world where companies sell a ‘fashion’ for a season, which includes physical and mental changes done to an individual and changes his/her personality. But in Larry Niven’s “Flash Crowd”, one of my favourites, I sensed the best summation of our current status “For each human being, there is an optimum ratio between change and stasis. Too little change, he grows bored. Too little stability, he panics and loses his ability to adapt.”

    I wonder if this is timeless, and am not too certain that the last sentence on losing the ability to adapt is very encouraging.

    until next time, certain tees I can’t live without

  • Turquoise – The Indian

    It does sound a little like a movie dubbed into Bollywood, but hey, it’s a restaurant and the name matters only so much. The review first appeared in Bangalore Mirror, and I’ve had enough of ‘blue’ wordplay. 😀

    This is located above Mom&Me on the road leading from Intermediate Ring Road to JNC (map) and is one of the twin Turquoise restaurants. The European is on the floor below, and you can find my micro review on 4sq. 🙂 Valet parking is available.

    The turquoise theme is prominent in the decor and the chandeliers creating the shape of a musical note makes for an elegant picture. For seating, you could lounge on the comfortable sofas or choose the more functional, yet tastefully done regular furniture. The gigantic dragonfly near the bar is an attention grabber. Bollywood remixes playing in the background and a TV screen offer ‘entertainment’.

    The menu begins with a few standard shorba options, and then offers a decent range of kababs. Thereafter, in addition to some standard and some not-so-standard main course Indian fare, there is also a page devoted to Parsi favourites. For once, there seems to be a balance between vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. The rotis section manages to offer a few unique options, but the desserts section is limited and sticks to the regular favourites. The Indian is a resto-lounge, and seems to have a well stocked bar and a collection of mocktails. The Turquoise Smoothie we tried turned out just fine.

    The Galawati Kabab, a patty of tava fried lamb mince marinated in spices and served on a mini paratha, didn’t quite get to the ‘melt in your mouth’ level but managed to live up to its billing of a signature dish. But the Baida Roti with kheema and eggs stuffed in a pancake and tava fried proved to be the unanimous favourite.You really must try this. The Aatish e Aloo – stuffed potatoes – managed to start a spicy Bollywood conversation, but the dish itself was quite bland. The Mahi Afghani Tikka, Calcutta Betki chunks with coriander, yoghurt and cream, too went into the same category.

    In the main course, the Zardari Kofta in a nut-based gravy was the pick, followed by the Murgh Makhani. The Hyderabadi Lagan ka Murgh with the cashew nut gravy had sounded right, but fell short of expectations. The efforts of the Dum Pukht Aloo’s gravy, to salvage the dish’s reputation proved futile.The Naan Baluchistan with a minced meat stuffing, and the Khameeri Roti were both excellent, the Gosht ki Dum Biriyani was reasonably good, and the flavourful Jeera Rice was appreciated too. The Qubani ka Meetha didn’t do much to sweeten the dessert deal though. The biggest disappointment was when we were told that most Parsi dishes required advance notice. Even in the other sections, we missed out the ones we really wanted to try – the Naan Changeezi, the Turkish Baklava, to name a few.

    The service was courteous to begin with, but began to display an overboard version of ‘maa ka pyar’ while the food was being served. They insisted on disproportionately filling up our plates. The billing took us almost half an hour. On the cost front, a non-veg starter, a main course with a veg and non-veg dish along with a few rotis, and a dessert would set you back by `1,200. Considering the options available in the vicinity, this is on the higher side.

    Turquoise’s Indian version has its share of tasty fare, but given its location –  where a stone thrown would most likely land on a restaurant – they need to better their act. The non availability of dishes and a torturous wait for the bill left us blue, like that Akshay Kumar movie.

    Turquoise, 2nd & 3rd Floor, (Above Mom & Me), Shop #9, 5th Block Koramangala, Bangalore 560095, Ph: 65776588