May the occasion of ‪#‎VasantPanchami‬

May the occasion of ‪#‎VasantPanchami‬, Bring the wealth of knowledge to U, May U be blessed by Goddess ‪#‎Saraswati‬ & All Ur Wishes Come True. More

Trading ideas virtually

You’ve started a company and want to use social media to market it. But apart from having a limited budget, you’re completely clueless about advertising online. In times like these, wouldn’t it be awesome to have someone help you reach your target audience on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc? Local youngsters have turned entrepreneurs and are using their skills to help people market their organisations using social media.

One of them is Arvind Venkatesh, a 25-year-old who started Reticular with his buddies Vikram, Varun and Andy. “When my friend started a company, he didn’t have the budget to use traditional means of advertising. So, we decided to check Facebook out. It turned out to be profitable and we could target the right demographics too. Before we knew it, brand value was created through social media — we’d created a brand out of nothing!” The pals now focus on advertising for existing brands which include a popular denim brand and a well-known supermarket.

With everyone venturing into the social media market, advertising online needs to be done in the right way, believes management graduate Justin Jude. Justin, who started Beehive, a company in affiliation with Bee Built. “Everyone is using different techniques. Social media needs to be kept simple. It’s about communicating online with customers and finding out what they want, directly.”

Apart from popular networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, they use Digg, StumbleUpon, WordPress and Foursquare. “Every site needs to be used to its full potential. Even a statement with 140 characters on Twitter is enough to tell people what you need to tell them,” says Justin.

Reticular makes use of sites like YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. “Today, every person wants to be a part of it even if they don’t know what they want. A lot of people are offering social media services and it’s a kind of a new wave that people want to ride on. It’s going to slowly eat into traditional media,” says Arvind. Justin too feels that social media will wipe out TV commercials and banners in another year.

Despite studying hotel management, Akshaye Madhok was so fascinated by advertising that he co-founded Geek Creative Agency along with his friend. “We’ve created Facebook pages for brands and also created apps for FB. The openness of the medium is good.” With tools like Facebook, Skype and Twitter, people can get connected in a better way, feels Manoj Verghese, co-founder, Bee Built. “There are also badges on sites like Foursquare. All this adds another layer to connectivity. People connect a lot on their smart phones too,” he says, adding, “Social media is very transparent, which helps build the reputation of a company.”

In online age, dreams of fame are within easy reach!..

In a day and age when the world is scoring in the 90s and everybody is born with a minimum of three god-gifted talents, teenagers are now unearthing newer ways of making themselves seen and heard. Also, when they have idols like Justin Beiber and Rebecca Black having made an impact internationally, all by the simple medium of posting videos of their performances online, teens too are trying to go the extra mile to become stars in their own world.

Says Natalie Di Luccio, a 21-year-old Canadian singer who was selected to tour with A.R. Rahman after the maestro saw online videos of her rendering Bollywood hits, “You may be the most wonderful singer in the world, but if you sit around and don’t chase your dream then most likely, nothing will happen. You have to give your 100 per cent and proactively go out and meet people and find ways to showcase yourself to the world. And the Internet is an incredible tool to reach out to people.” Seconding her is singer Bindu Subramaniam, who maintains an active presence in social networking sites. “The great thing about these sites is that people can sample different kinds of music and spread the word when they like it. When I click on my fan page and see 2,500 people have liked my music, it means a lot to me.”

And it’s not just celebrities; teens in general are trying out newer methods like video resumes and event organising to cut through the clutter. But it may not be motivated by purely positive factors. Says career counsellor Swati Vats, “Teenagers these days are not high on self-worth, so they depend on external factors to feel good about themselves. They are doing all this, not always because they enjoy it, but they have taken it upon themselves to prove that they are better than the rest.” And it’s not just career-oriented moves, most college students take utmost care about personal grooming and make it a point to throw the best parties in order to shine above others. “As long as they have control over their life, it’s good. But too much emotional dependence on social standing may later lead to depression.”

They chased their stars
Self-promotion may not always be such a bad thing. Far from hiding their talent modestly, these individuals shared what they had with the world, and in the process, gained that much-elusive stardom. The Internet provides a platform for not just singers, dancers or actors but for any type of talent you may have. So, while some YouTube stars have opted to showcase their make-up skills, others have chosen to give online tutorials — in Math.

1. Justin Bieber
Before he became a global hitmaker, collaborating with the likes of R&B star Usher, Justin Bieber was just a boy with a dream. He posted a video of himself singing, online, only to have it go viral. Bieber’s mother was instrumental in keeping his posts updated.

2. Greyson Chance
The 14-year-old counts talk show host and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres among his many fans. Ellen was so impressed with the singing star that she signed him on to her record label.

3. Michelle Phan
Known as the go-to-girl for anything involving make-up, Michelle made her online debut in 2006. Her quick, detailed tutorials on tasks like applying mascara, eyeliner and head massages are a raging hit online.

4. Salman Khan
Not the Bollywood actor, this Khan is known for his “Khanacademy” handle on networking sites. Khan began by tutoring his cousin in Math. With other relatives soon asking for the same favour, Khan decided to go online.

5. Alexis Jordan
Eliminated from the show America’s Got Talent, Alexis decided to play by her own roles. Uploading videos online got her a recording deal with Jay Z.

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Leaving life behind?? No Way!

Life is too short and there are so many things I want to do before I go...

* Join Yoga classes - at least wanna take these classes for a month and then try and practice on my own everyday. I do it on my own sometimes... feel rejuvenated when I finish a half ahour session. Feel good. Wanna feel good more often! :)

* Join guitar classes - After the piano classes in school, haven't really been in touch with the musical side. Time to strike the chords again... Let's see how I go about this one.

* Try to cook at least one new dish every week. Don't know how long I will have the josh to do this, but really wanna try. I like to cook... I swear! Just that the hurried morning rush doesn't give me any time to experiment. So, at least on the week-end, wanna try something new. After all, "sab kuch pet ke liye hi karte hain naa?? " :-)

* Travel... To all the states in India. Ours is such a beautiful country, and I haven't really gotten down to do much traveling yet. So, putting it on the agenda. Now again, the wheels got to start rolling.

* Read a book a week... Fallen out of the habit. I can't imagine how I let this happen, but it has, and it's surprising! Got to get a membership in one of the libraries close to home and really get down to turning the pages.

* Write... seems like my life is limited to waking up in the mornings, cooking breakfast and lunch, rushing to work, returning, cook dinner, and then sleep. I have been giving myself lame excuses like lack of inspiration to write anything... but I think I have just stopped imagining!! And have started growing old!!! Got to stop this aging and release my mind from the boundaries that I've built.

* Catch up with old friends... Go back to those carefree days of laughter, and no responsibility... share a joke... spread some smiles...

Loads of things to do... a lot of it i didn't think I would need to put in extra effort for. But, seeing the way life is racing past, without a conscious effort, looks like I am just going to let things slip by... I am not letting that happen!!!

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