• Brand Privacy

    The implications of Facebook’s recent moves are still gobbling up most of the virtual column space available. From discussions happening in my own set of connections, it does seem to have gotten a larger crowd (than the usual suspects) interested.

    Jeff Jarvis’ post raises quite a few good points – the different levels of ‘public’, sharing vs publishing, to name a couple. The issue here is that Facebook is controlling where information we share on the network goes, we seem to have no choice in the matter. Mark Zuckerberg is unfortunately seen as pushing us to be public to ‘Everyone’ (a superb visual representation). But that’s where (and this is just an opinion) we might have reached anyway, given a little time. In any case, there are enough tools which allow me to create a network of my own and share it, without involving Facebook. My blogs worked that way, until I connected them with FB. Yes, it could cost me some reach, but there are ways to compensate that too, though yes, Facebook is really big.

    Like I tweeted sometime back, I think we just want the networks to be more ‘open’, so that we can decide who we can be ‘closed’ to. Right now, we don’t get to decide that much, and while I’m not defending FB here, this is something Google has been guilty of for a longer time. But that’s a different topic.

    I was, as usual, intrigued by how this affects brands online. Like I’ve said before, I wonder if there is a kind of hypocrisy involved when we desire privacy for ourselves, but expect brands to be more open on the social web, because it is of use to us as consumers. Many facets of this, so perhaps another post. But all this hullabaloo about privacy means that consumers will be more careful about their interaction with brands, and which ones they want to be associated with, at least online. So now, brands will require to do more to gain their trust and/or provide enough value to convince consumers, who might be otherwise reluctant to associate with a brand . Or will the casual ‘like’ become a commodity? From their own perspective, brands will now have to get used to more attention as the dynamics of Pages/Groups etc change.

    Meanwhile, on another front, another trend that has been creeping up on us is the segregation of crowds on the web. Like this article notes, the web allows us tools to create a ‘people like me’ bubble around us. This is linked to the kind of ‘privacy’ we are talking about – select groups with whom we can share specific things in specific contexts? It remains to be seen how many bubbles overlap and in what way. This trend, I believe will not die out soon, and the ‘groups’ will become even more careful about who is let in. How does a brand balance itself among different groups of people who now agglomerate themselves and are choosy about who they associate with online? Is this an opportunity to finally manifest the idea of being different things to different people, according to their finely split needs?

    until next time, its ‘like’ complicated 🙂

    Bonus Read: How Facebook’s Community Pages and Privacy changes impact Brands by Jeremiah Owyang

  • Gulp fiction

    I’m quite a huge fan of Heroes and was quite sad to see Season 4 end, more so than normal season finales, because after quite a while, there was a villain that I could really empathise with.  Robert Knepper as Samuel Sullivan just rocked. Though the villainy is manifested in his selfish desire to become more powerful, there was something in his arguments that made me forget it at regular intervals. To give you some context, the entire series revolves around people with special abilities (think X-Men). This season, mostly through Knepper’s character- Samuel, emphasised a lot on how society treats such people. Samuel’s desperation to belong (and later make normal people respect his kind) is expressed very well in his conversation with another character with abilities, Claire.

    “Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you”, says Claire, quoting Sartre.

    “I always thought freedom was just another word for nothing left to lose”, counters Samuel, without acknowledging “Me and Bobby McGee” 🙂

    The urge to belong and the pain of being different. Mo wrote a post recently on being chided for missing a reference in a conversation. A reference to Pulp Fiction.  At a broader level its also a small commentary about our consumption of popular culture, and second had experiences. Its a sentiment I share – that somehow the consumption of popular and even off beat culture and getting the respective references is the benchmark for judging a person. So, to get bombarded with “haven’t you seen/read/eaten.. don’t you know..” is now a common thing. Like I told her, thanks to everyone becoming media, C+ is actually a great grade, considering the noise.

    In some ways, I felt it also throws up our need for validation. The consumption and the opinions we have on that decide the kind of role we land in our immediate crowd, and now, the larger world. From “Govinda movies??!!” and “MLTR is why I go away from you” to “Eww, you’re still on Orkut?! .. Omigod, how can you play Farmville??”,  this judgment happens all the time  🙂

    At times, the validation is for others and their expectations, and at times for the self. In many ways, I think its like some gladiator fight where a person is just fighting himself, and the expectations he has set. The audience could be the self, or others. If its the latter, its all okay so long as the person conforms to a broadly accepted set of norms within the crowd.Even if one wants to get out of it, its difficult. Its difficult to sever the connection between a validation that is given to one without asking and the ties that one would want with other humans. 🙂

    In Heroes, Claire’s character’s ability is instant regeneration. Break a bone, receive a bullet wound, and she heals instantly. In the last scene of season 4, she throws herself from the top of a Ferris wheel, lands on the ground all broken up, and immediately heals, all in front of a waiting media crew. An open challenge to society to accept her the way she is. And another character says “Its a brave new world”. To me, it was a statement of hope, one that will get out of a TV show that’s part of popular culture, and enter the real world.

    But meanwhile, for now, until the pill happens, the moment one goes beyond what can be immediately understood, and what provides a point of reference, one has to be ready for “And I will strike upon thee… “:D

    until next time, reverence to reference 🙂

  • Sultans of Spice

    Somewhere out there is a hotelier influenced into Dire Straits. 🙂 SoS (no, don’t go by that acronym, I’m just using it because its easier 🙂 ) is a restaurant in Koramangala, part of the BluPetal business hotel. The hotel also has Zheng (Chinese) and Latte-Tude (Euro Indian cafe). Its located on the Jyoti Nivas College Road, here’s the map. SoS is on the fourth floor.

    The restaurant has a mix of 3 cuisines – Dilli, Punjabi and Afghani. The ambiance is very pleasant, the lighting accentuates the paintings and the flagons, the seating is comfortable, and Jagjit Singh in the background adds to a relaxed feel.

    On to the menu. Each section has a selection from each of the 3 cuisines. Karthik had recommended that I skip Punjabi and concentrate on the other two. After a look at the menu, i’d agree, only a couple of items are tempting enough to hold their own against the Afghan/Dilli onslaught. The menu starts with the Thandai, and you can choose from ‘Annanas ka panna’, ‘Pudina Shikanji’, ‘Boondi Jaljeera’, ‘Dilliwali Masala Chaas’, ‘Kale Gajar ki Kanji’, and so on (Rs.60-80). We chose a safe Amritsari malai lassi, only because I’d already troubled my stomach quite a bit in the afternoon with all sorts of stuff i hadn’t had in a while – liver, brain kind. (Chandu’s Military Hotel with a couple of tweeps, but that’s another story. 🙂 ) The lassi was described as ‘A thick sweet yoghurt drink, with a flavor of rose water, generously dunked with fresh cream and dry fruits’. It proved to be quite good, and they were generous with the cream, but you could try out some of the other stuff, mostly because you don’t come across them regularly.

    You could also choose from the Shorba-e-Bahaar (soups) – Tamatar Dhaniya, Khumb Malai, Kalimirch Paya, Gosht Nehari, lasooni Murgh and so on.  The starters section also allows you to choose from the three different cuisines. For vegetarians – Bulani Kuchaloo, Tikka Rasmonak etc from Kabul, Keshav Bharwan Aloo..from Punjab, Dwarka Nath Papdi Chaat, Alu Mukki etc from Dilli. There are about 10 options in the Rs.110-180 range. My kind get to choose from Kebab-e-Mauhi, Jheenga Pashtooni etc from Kabul, Tandoori Kukkad, Boti Shoti, Kaleji Keema Lasooni, Rum waali Masaledar Chaampen (Old Monk flavored :D)  from Punjab, and Sultani Seekh Kabab, Dil Dilli Machli Tikka, Tunde ke Galawat (a hat tip right there, nice), Matiya Road Bharwan Tange etc from Dilli. In all, over 20 options ranging from Rs.240-450.

    For the main course, vegetarian – Guncho Keema, Dal Sultani etc from Kabul, the Sarson da Saag gang from Punjab, or the Paneer Gulle ka Qorma etc from Dilli, about 15 options in the Rs.180-225 range. The non vegetarians will be quite overwhelmed by the choices.. and their descriptions. Afghani Gosht ka Stew, Burrah Kaliyan etc from Kabul, Butter Chicken Makhan Singh da, Palak naal Macchi curry etc from Punjab, Karim’s Keema Matar fry  (another hat tip), Macchli Musallam etc from Dilli. Just over a dozen choices in the Rs.280-450 range. To go along with that, you could either choose from about 4 rice items (including a Karim’s Zaffrani Mutton Biriyani, a couple of veg options too) or the regular rotis (the Kabuli Naan is a relative exception perhaps) at Rs.160-230 and Rs.45-80 respectively.

    So, from all of that, we chose a Murgh Taftaan to start with. Its described as ‘the best seller in all of Damiyan market, boneless chunks of spring chicken in a green chilli, lemon and corriander masala’. It was quite the ‘melting in the mouth’ kind, though the lemon and corriander masala were subdued. The chutney provided could’ve been better too. For the main course, we had a Murgh Qorma Kabuli, “whole chicken cooked in tandoor simmered with a robust brown onion and curd qorma”, and to go along with it, a couple of kulchas. The chicken dish I’d recommend highly, thick gravy and well cooked chicken (not boneless, by the way), goes well with the kulchas. For dessert, you could choose from a few unusual options – Sitaphal ki Kulfi, Sultanat e Jamun, Amritsari Chikoo Phirni, Khar Yeku etc. (Rs.110)

    The meal cost us just below Rs.800, including a 5% service charge. The service is prompt and helpful, and they have a good feedback form that gets into specifics. I’d recommend you drop in at least once – for a range of items you don’t usually get to see on a menu, good service and a pleasant ambiance that really helps you relax. I’d also recommend that you go in a herd – that will help you take full advantage of the options available.

    Sultans of Spice, #60, Jyoti Nivas College Road, 5th Block Koramangala. Ph: 43431800/18

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Converse

    A few days back, I read on RWW that Google Wave has released Wave Elements, which allow waves to be embedded on any website. Despite what might seem a ‘never took off’ status, I still thought Wave had potential. Buzz did confuse me in this context, and I wondered about Google’s strategy – whether they’re simultaneously developing the two products for consumer/enterprise users, or using one as a stepping stone for the other etc. My usage of Google Wave was limited to the first few weeks and Buzz faded out in a few days.

    My primary issue with Buzz was that rather than new conversations, my contacts mostly had feed imports from Reader, Twitter etc, with little value addition. Buzz never gave me the option of removing specific feeds of users. Also, I couldn’t export the conversation which happened inside Buzz to the blog. The latitude-buzz based ideas remain complicated. All this, in addition to all the criticism that came their way right after the launch. It just made a mess of all my contexts.

    But when I implemented the Facebook ‘Like’ button last week, I wondered whether I should implement the ‘Buzz’ button too. Like I’ve said before, I think most offices can’t afford to block GMail, so Buzz might help in the sharing better. 😉 Still thinking about it. Meanwhile, what I did try, is to add Facebook Insights to this domain. I stopped at six ‘Bad Request’ responses. Now, if I have shared my blogs with FB, I can’t see why they can’t make it easier for me to add Insights. They seem to be prompting me for a dozen other things these days!! With all the other plugins, this could really help.

    I had hopes on a similar line for Buzz too. Simplistically put, if i shared my blogs with Buzz as a publisher, could they automatically assign a shortened goo.gl url to it, and notify me when it was shared? While at it, also tie it to my Analytics, for even more details.

    The thought is pretty simple. Someone ‘likes’ this post, shares it on FB/Buzz, a discussion happens around it, and a reader here might not even know about it. Hell, I might not even know about it, if I haven’t implemented a few tools.  Can that be rectified? Also, can FB/Buzz help export the conversations from there and (also) show it on my blog,  because it provides the reader an easy way to know different perspectives on the matter, even though discussions have been happening on other platforms, and perhaps even discover people with similar interests. (There is at least one FB comments plugin that pulls comments from Notes, but I was looking at something that would identify the url irrespective of who shared it)  I’d say the same for Twitter too, except I don’t think they even have threaded conversations completely right.

    until next time, scaling walls

    PS. I don’t think Disqus is there.. yet