3rd Anniversary :)

IPL – Innovative Performers League

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,

One of the factors to achieve greatness , is to stand the test of time , and that’s why Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright ever.

Even today the above mentioned quote from “As You Like It” is put to good use to generate billions of revenue , providing employment to thousands of people and most of all entertaining billions of people just using a bat & a ball.

Ruchi, asked me a few days before “what do you think of IPL?”.I had no answer then.I haven't had thought about it much .But the more I thought about it, I saw more drama than the sport itself. After watching Harsha Bhogle’s TED talk on IPL , my bro and I couldn’t decide whether he was favoring IPL or mocking it. But it did strengthened my opinion that IPL is more about business than cricket

IPL1 was good , IPL 2 was better, and I am sure IPL 3 would be even better ,not because of cricket but because of the controversies .

Happy Journeys from KPN- a true story

Well even though i have my personal blog for my stories, this story (well since its true u can term it as a incidence) deserves a place here since the moral of the story stems from marketing :P

It all started 3 months ago, when I came to know to the train to Madurai has been fully booked for Diwali and has a waiting list longer than Apple fans queue waiting for the iphone.

So these were the last 2 options which can result in a peaceful journey, if not a happy journey.

1. I can wait till the last two days and try to book the tickets in Tatkal scheme within the 12-15 mins i will get when the booking opens. – [booking starts at 8 am (online ) and usually its fully booked within 15 mins-bcoz Madurai has only one train to Bangalore :( ]
2. Or I can wait 2 more months and book the tickets in KPN travels before 30 days when the booking opens @ 12am online.

Since I have not gone home for 6 months and because it was DIWALI..I went for the 2nd option.

So I kept a reminder and dutifully booked the ticket-Volvo Ac onward to Madurai.Mission –1 accomplished.

I have to wait to more days to book my return journey.And my reminder was working fine and i proceeded to book the tickets then I found the price was higher – Rs .650… Rs.200 etc (diff becoz it night trip,but no Volvo no AC)

My super intelligent brain thought about “value for money” and i didn't book it.thought I will check with my brother before booking.

After me and my brother agreed to go ahead with KPN itself, i was shocked to find that no more tickets left and it was just 6 am

All I could think was……….u too KPN?

Anyways we couldn’t get anything else and I told my dad to book whatever he can get. And he booked it in Balaji travels Rs 550 for airbus ..Rs 100 more..but its k at least we have got a reservation.

we didn’t know that's the only thing we were gonna get…

The onward journey was great..we were picked up by minivan to the main boarding point. and since it was VOLVO A/C, no heat,no bumps.it was a breeze and reached Madurai @ promised timing.

On the day of departure we call those guys and they give us a shock by saying bus has broke down and we are refunding..after we blasted him for not informing before ..he offered a deal..u come in 30 mins i will get you 2 tickets to Bangalore in some other travels

and so we ran to bus station and he acted as if he was generous to arrange two tickets.then he took us to another travels office and gave us 2 tickets for special bus to Bangalore and said good bye to us.

we waited n waited and finally the bus came…to shock us even more.This special Bus was as ordinary as a bus can be.it was not even a semi sleeper and posed as a tourist bus. To spike our misery they started playing loud music with Dolby DTS effects.As silent as I am.. even i couldn't take it and screamed to reduce it.Then they showed some mercy by keeping it at ‘normal’ volume. We thought of switching, but we were too tired to fight with those guys and since we didn't now if we would get a better bus.After another 3o mins bus finally started and came out of the bus station.Since we were both tired we slept off and hope to see Bangalore on the morning.

90 mins later i wake up and get the worst shock of the whole trip..the damn driver has just took a U turn and come around the other side of bus station. that was the time i realized what is a brand name & just a name.

KPN stands for great service..correct timing,stops only @ quality restaurants, comfortable seats, less sound..(read WHY KPN ?)

Balaji travels stood for one thing ..Govinda.. Govinda….

PS: well by Balaji’s grace or whatever they did drop us in Bangalore safely

PS2: If u wonder what is this post really about ..read this

M.J. UNPLUGGED

Hi all, yes  yes I am aware my blogging rate is declining steeply.but hey its recession time ,everything is declining :)

Jokes apart ,I assure I am working on it and.....as a  result,            MJ 2.0 .0 is all set to roll.

So what exactly is it ?  Well simply put,I have started another bl0g. This seems paradoxical, but in a attempt to make DENOVOS much more professional I have started my personal blog MJ UNPLUGGED, so that I can concentrate only on BTM (not B.T.M layout) but Business Technology & Marketing.

 MJ UNPLUGGED will feature all my personal stuff,things I Like,dislike ,which I want to share etc etc. So I wont post songs movie reviews, emotional posts in DENOVOS any more.Sounds cool?

Yes as always there is negative side,the blog post count will come down,but quality will definitely go up. I guess it will somewhere around 12-15.lets see..hope I can handle it...this itself a denovo after all  ;)

Thanks for your support, pls do visit often and give ur feedback.

MJ 2.0

Hey Everyone….Long Time No See :)

I haven’t blogged for quite some time,because I am in the middle of a major transition in my life.All along  my life ,My identity have always been a student of a educational institution,well not anymore. [yes, I have been placed :) ]

But first things first, I like to say a big THANK YOU for all the respondents of my survey. With their help I finally finished my dissertation report.(web 2.0)

And as of 30th April my academic life will officially get over after the Viva Voce. That will mark of the end of MJ 1.0 :p

From May I will embark on my professional career as an Operations Executive in Real Estate Bank of India. (its not a bank :p ) .Thanks  everyone for their wishes and support  :)

Based on the work timings,I suppose I can still blog frequently :)

ANY SUGGESTIONS IN IMPROVING MY BLOG WOULD BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND IF POSSIBLE WILL BE INCLUDED

MJ 2.0 Coming Soon…………….

Lessons From A Slumdog Sales boy

An MBA or any similar management degree teaches you basics of economics,accounting,finance,marketing,human resource management,research methodology,business strategy.

Often B-school graduates,get a shocker when they enter into the corporate world and find there is a huge disconnect between the theory they studied and the tasks they perform on the field.Does that mean theory is irrelevant? definitely not.Its your ability to link the concepts and their relevant applications ,to see beyond the documents to get the big picture and the idea behind it.

Here,look how the uneducated “slumdog sales boy” (does is it sound offensive ??) sells small handiworks to the foreign tourists.

As a marketing graduate I am able to  identify the some of the concepts which are relevant to this boy’s strategy.

• He understands the customer segments namely domestic and foreign tourists
• He has targeted a niche segment i.e. foreign tourists who would be more profitable even though the sales volume might be low
• He understands that many others will be selling the same item and his only way is to pitch it differently i.e. in international marketing terms “communication adaptation”
• His multilingual ability gives him a competitive advantage over others selling the same item because business strategy tells us that distinctive capabilities are difficult to imitate than distinctive resources which are the main sources of competitive advantage.      So what’s the big deal ?….

If you are doing field sales and feel that all those concepts you learned are going to waste …think again…may be you can use those concepts and models to design your own selling procedure according to your industry. who knows ? if it clicks it may become a SOP in the  company itself….

Remember Knowledge is Power only when Applied correctly…..

Lose and Regain

Kamal Haasan says in one of his movies (Virumaandi) “you don't realize the happiness you have until you lose it”. Its not just happiness, but we don't realize the value of many things we have until we lose them .

I was in Chennai for the weekend and i was not online for the entire weekend. Which made me realize, how much i am hooked onto the net,but that is obvious :p isn't it? But i was quite comfortable(except it was very hot and so boring) and didn't have any withdrawal symptoms ;)

But the strangest thing happened when I entered Bangalore on my way back. I felt i was back home which is weird because I always consider Madurai as my home and Bangalore was always like staying in a guests place.Looks like I have to admit “Namma Bengalooru” has become like a home away from home for me.I realized I missed Bangalore more than the virtual world :p

So if you do something daily out of your own desire (like having tea in your favorite shop,etc etc),just try not to do it for a couple of days (unless its a essential task). Then after the couple of days if you do that again, you will feel it to be more fulfilling than before. It is also good to test how much you like a person- don’t talk to them for a couple of days,you will realize how much you actually like to be with the person. Whatever it is, just make sure the feelings are mutual.

BTW, I am conducting a online survey about web 2.0 advertising as part of my post graduation. so plzzzz do participate and give your valuable feedback. Please find the questionnaire here.It will take just 5 mins to fill it up and it will be immensely helpful for my study.

Keep Smiling :) Cheers !!!

Arise MS, Awake Apple,Android has Arrived

Google has always been a pain in (u know where) for Microsoft .Google and Microsoft have been rivals in various fronts.Search , browser,social networking, cloud computing, office suite (although G Docs is online only). But the pain took  shape as Android and was competing directly with MS Windows Mobile. But now the face off has become even more bloodier.

Asus has announced that it is working on android based net books.Android has just stepped into Microsoft's own turf - Computer OS, that means sooner or later its going to be a huge OS WAR .

If Google decides to commercialise and brings in android based laptops, imagine the implications!!!.Android based laptops loaded with all Google software (Google desktop, Chrome, Picasa..etc ) & full array of web applications (btw Gmail is coming offline) , will shook up the entire market place.

Even Apple is facing heat from Google same as Microsoft but Apple has always maintained a small, but strong loyalty base .So MS will be the one to receive a lot of damage particularly in consumer markets. Corporate clients will be the saviours of MS. Although Linux is an existing open source OS, they haven't had any devastating effect on MS windows. But Google has the power to do that.

May be one fine day the World will wake up and see GOOGLE is the new MS.

A Request to Our Desi Movie Critics

This is in reference to movie review of Seven Pounds by Mr. Masand (CNN-IBN), Parvathi Nayar (Hindu) & MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER (Hindu - Bangalore). Warning Contains Spoilers!!!Please first watch the movie or read its entire description here

As a movie buff, my sincere request to our beloved desi movie critics, If you don't know how to review a movie then Just Shut Up....

First, all of them got it wrong that Will Smith is an IRS official...Guess what? He is not. He is impersonating his brother who is an IRS official.

Masand says "he barges into the home of an Asian woman" Asian??? plzzz. The character's name is Connie Tepos and speaks Spanish in the movie .Isn't it obvious she is a South American? One of the main reasons he cites "you keep expecting that his big secret will indeed be a big one. Sadly, it's not" Buddy, there is no big secret because its closer to reality. Seriously what were you expecting?? A FBI plot, A Magical Cult, Weird Mind Disorder???

The film essentially says how trivial things can change your entire life. That’s why Will says "God created the world in seven days, I destroyed mine in seven seconds" in the first few minutes.

Parvathy mentions "Why Ben has downsized from successful aeronautics executive to downbeat tax enforcer is one of the movie’s “mysteries”". It’s because he was not downsized.

Mini says "Will Smith is such a charismatic star and can easily carry a movie on his shoulders. But here he is gloomy and doomy and no fun at all as Ben" No fun?? It’s a emotional drama about a man who has lost his fairy tale life, how can you expect him to be a fun character??

I can go on and on, but please understand the point I am trying to make. If you are giving a movie review, you should have set of parameters and rate accordingly, you cannot just give opinions unless you yourself are critically acclaimed. If not, just stick to the mediocre movies releasing every week with the same story line and sexy item numbers or better keep quiet. For heaven's sake, they don't even get the story correctly, how can they review it??

My opinion?? It’s an emotionally charged movie.It’s good but not great. If you are looking for a thriller, adrenaline rush or a few laughs, stay away from it.

A Song for Me

Come on hold my hand,
I wanna contact the living.
Not sure I understand,
This role Ive been given.
I sit and talk to god
And he just laughs at my plans,
My head speaks a language, I dont understand.

I just wanna feel real love,
Feel the home that I live in.
cause I got too much life,
Running through my veins, going to waste.
I dont wanna die,
But I aint keen on living either.
Before I fall in love,
Im preparing to leave her.
I scare myself to death,
Thats why I keep on running.
Before Ive arrived, I can see myself coming.

I just wanna feel real love,
Feel the home that I live in.
cause I got too much life,
Running through my veins, going to waste.
And I need to feel, real love
And a life ever after.
I cannot get enough.

I just wanna feel real love,
Feel the home that I live in,
I got too much love,
Running through my veins, going to waste.
I just wanna feel real love,
In a life ever after
Theres a hole in my soul,
You can see it in my face, its a real big place.

Come and hold my hand,
I wanna contact the living,
Not sure I understand,
This role Ive been given
Not sure I understand.
Not sure I understand.
Not sure I understand.
Not sure I understand.

How do you see yourself??

I wonder what this means?? So If all cats must act like lion then why there are cats in this world??

Be what you are..don't try to be somebody else.....

My Happy Weekend

Family and friends are the two big sources of happiness to a person.I am one of those gifted ones who is surrounded with loved ones.

We , the marketing batch of  (PGPM 2007-09) celebrated  our last  Saturday together in a simple yet fun filled manner. We clicked photos like crazy as this is our last day of our lives. If only I had a bionic eye I would have captured every moment of it.

But some people were not interested to be part of it  and some  others were worried about how they looked in the pics. I want to tell them they are missing the whole point.Its not about eating cakes or posing for pics,its about cherishing the moments of having good people around you.And photos ensure that those golden moments are preserved in print and not there looks.

After many years if they look back their lives these are the moments which come rushing to the mind and believe me, you will not feel sad about your looks or the fact you did not get cake.

My 2nd brother just left  to Chennai.He is leaving for UK later this and it will be a long time before I see him again. We three, along with his friends had a good time shopping ,eating out.Though we did not take any pics, this weekend will be etched in my mind forever.

Just then I realised that if you are surrounded by your loved ones then you are gifted.Too bad many realize it once they lose someone.One should learn to cherish every moment of their life,I know its is hard to practice when faced with "realities of life " but atleast one should cherish every moment they spend with their family & friends

I wish if every weekend was  like this.........

PS: I know my regular readers will be wondering why all of a sudden my "intellectual" blog has become sentimental.Well its Feb 1 so I thought I will try something new after all its a De Novo :)

Call Rates R.I.P.

As Rakesh wanted to buy a new mobile of the smartphone breed ,Dhiru and I were discussing about different mobiles and the new age mobile applications with him.Just then occurred to me that in the near future there will be no more call rates as such.

Let me explain .Almost every smartphone is equipped with 3g, Wi-Fi & other such wireless connectivity solutions. Wi Max and 3g networks have already been launched in some areas of India.Suppose I have a Smartphone ,so does my friend and we both have a WiMax connection, then I don't have to call or text through the GSM or CDMA connection but I will be using the Gtalk to IM or Skype to call.I will be charged for the data usage only which will be much lesser than call rates.

That means with Internet access everywhere, mobile users can stay connected through the internet itself and not necessarily through traditional networks like GSM .So there will be no more Mobile operators but only Internet service providers.

Yes it will be long time for the entire change but it will surely disrupt the telecom business model and entirely change the rules of the industry.This type of scenario is referred as a strategic inflection point,only the companies which will accept this and adapt future technologies will sustain in the future.

With telecom operators rolling out more networks and smartphones becoming more cheaper, its just a matter of time and it will happen...eventually .

IPHONE @ RS 1000 /day

Dhiru ,one of the mobile fanatics in my class,changed his cell phone again.As a new year change he shifted from HTC models to the still hot Iphone..so what's the big deal??

The Iphone was 7 days old and so he got it for Rs7000 less. So why did the user sell this in the first place?? He was not finding the touch interface simple and it was too complicated for him to perform basic tasks like making calls, sms, etc. So he decided to sell and every day the phone stays in his hand reduced the selling price as the original price may come down at any time. Just imagine,that guy has spent like Rs1000/day for using the Iphone.

So was it a impulse purchase ? I guess so.I think that guy was clueless about Apple & Iphone.He just bought it to show off.But then he could not use it for even normal usage so he had to sell it. And so Dhiru got a good deal.But even Dhiru will sell it probably in a couple of months [he gets bored soon I guess :)..],when some other "not so smart "guy struggling with his new smartphone offers a good deal or if HTC G1 comes to India.

I am just wondering what will be the price of a Iphone one year from one....any guesses???

>>>>>MJ>>> IS >>>BACK>>> ONLINE>>>>

Hi everyone.....if you haven't noticed,this new year is not that great..specially for my blog...Tiger the prime driver and first critic of my blog got lil too annoyed at me for not blogging despite his constant nagging..that he put a comment on my previous post. so what really happened to me ??

Here is the reason some of  you might know I am 'reverse dieting' (pls dont lol) and so I started  to eat 4 times a day.Not just that I used to put a lot of effort on group assignments,but the first two weeks my groupmates took charge and I just relaxed.

This is very new to my mental and physical routine so there were side effects .I  ate  right times all  and slept early.So I just ate all day and slept all night..no reading , blogging ,orkuting etc

Funny thing is all these days I did not have proper food or sleep, used to burn the midnight oil for studies , blogging etc but still stay bright in class..but once I started having a proper routine like others I felt very tired & drowsy and didn't do any work.

My friends say me I am weird because what's normal to them (good food & proper sleep) is weird to me..anyways I am slowly adjusting to this  so called normal life..hopefully I will adjust soon..I will be blogging steadily but may be in a slower pace...    Pls put in ur feedback about the new stretched  look..I felt I can use more space for the pics..

MUMBAI MAYHEM

Mumbai or Bombay which is the gateway for Brand India has been hit again and hit hard.Its not just a random blast this time,its an direct attack ,a siege .Its not just another terror attack which will be forgotten next week and It should not be.

Reports say that there were 5 bomb blasts ,and also armed gunmen have taken atleast 50 hostages in TAJ& OBEROI ,Trident hotels.Half of the hostages are said to be foreigners.Cops,including several chief officers have been killed.As of now 60 people have been feared killed and 200 injured.Click here for latest reports

The mumbaikars were considered the most resilient people,but the fact was that they had to get used to the terrorist attacks which happens atleast every month in form or another as if it is a natural phenomenon, because they have no place else to survive in this great democratic country.

Its time to stop mourning and start acting,

India are you listening???

QOS-007- Stirred Not Shaken

Quantum Of Solace - even though I don't like to watch Daniel Craig saying "Bond , James Bond" I still went to watch on its opening day as a true James Bond fan and also because my dad will be happy to hear it(007 movies were the best quality times for me and my dad)

Surprisingly the movie was great more than I expected.Awesome action sequences...locations...Dame Judi Dench...MI6..CIA...You even get some jokes...Danny has done a wonderful job as a action hero and wat's more,he doesn't even say "bond James bond"

But that's the problem it is not a traditional Bond movie...not  many gadgets(except a Sony ericsson mobile with GPS tracker)..no cool cars( a standard Aston Martin which is battered within the first 5 minutes)....Not even the bond girls,steal the show,he keeps on killing people and still hard lacking the sophistication of a "oo"

They have changed the recipe to the new generation of audiences ..I will definitely see the next one but not  with a expectation of 007 movie...It will be just another good action packed adventure.... But I do recommend to watch this movie even to James bond fans as they will get many answers which arose from Casino Royale...regarding Mathis,Vesper, M etc.

James gets closure for Vesper ,so did I for Casino Royale and so will you...Watch it for the weekend.

R.I.P ,MICHAEL

From Andromeda Strain through Jurassic Park to ER (T.V.series) Michael Crichton earned his name as the "father of techno thrillers"

He was a doctor,scientist,film director but best known as a science fiction writer by the fact that more than 150 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.

Every novel of his was strongly based on real technological facts.He is one of my personal favourites & one of the major reasons which kindled my desire to not just read stories but to learn & understand  this system called life.

"Science is a kind of glorified tailoring enterprise," Crichton wrote in Travels, "a method for taking measurements that describe something - reality - that may not be understood at all."

November-New & Improved

Hi everyone ...I am back after the break and ready to blog the interesting things around the world.

The horrifying October (not for me personally it was good) which featured the global meltdown started from mayhem @ wall street   which led to bloodbath @ Dalal street...jobs being cut,office getting closed down,hiring being stopped ,rise in prices and of course the usual terrorist attacks etc etc has ended with the popular Halloween

Except oil & real estate companies other Indian companies are   holding up better than expected.Markets are pulling up again and hopefully they stabilize soon.   Looks like November will bring in the Festive cheers and also Mr.Obama will bring in the Change he promised.

The New November 2008 is certainly a De Novo in many contexts and lets hope it turns out to be better than the old october.

Welcome Freshers 08-10

I just came from the fresher's party and it was a much needed break after a long time.It was a delayed due to various reasons but finally became a reality thanks to the tireless efforts of  the Student Governing Council @ ABS.Apart from the dinner & dance,the freshers also showcased their various skills through a series of creative programs.I could see a lot of promising talent and hats off to them for their fabulous performances.

                Welcome- Batch of 2008-2010