Online censorship – the new wave of repression!

Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer-prize winning foreign affairs columnist, examines the newest stage of globalization’s evolution in his latest book, The World is Flat. Friedman defines ten "flatteners" that he sees as levelling the global playing field for enterprising individuals who look beyond limitations of race, geographic location, or language. For Friedman, the ‘Internet’ is the agent that renders inevitable a transparent, democratic, decentralized, and market-based society.

This dream of a flat world through cyberspace is now convoluted with the restrictions imposed by various governments across the world. A case in point being the Chinese laws and regulations with regard to online search results. By filtering and controlling access to information, the world ceases to be flat for over a billion people in China. Online censorship is the ‘virtual’ Great Wall of China.

To comply with China’s censorship rules, the search-engine giant launched Google.cn, a version of its search engine run by the company that self censors content that is considered illegal from its search results in China. However Google’s decision to self-censor Google.cn attracted significant ethical criticism on how it clashed with the company’s most basic values.

I believe that we are distracting ourselves from the genesis of the problem. The point of worry here is not how global companies are changing their system to ensure continuity in one of the most populated nations. It just makes business sense to be present in countries like India and China where achieving “critical mass” is easy.

The point of concern is how consumer experience and privacy is compromised on humanitarian grounds, no matter how bureaucratic they maybe. The biggest oxymoron is the attempt to achieve a fine between local rules and regulations and upholding the ideals of freedom of information and exchange.

There are three sides to this story – the governments, global companies and the consumer. Bureaucratic governments will continue with its totalitarian mentality with respect to political speech and Internet communications and companies will have to learn to work around these.

For the Internet consumers across the world, the online medium is much more than a source of information; it is the new digital playground. It is emerging as an ‘entertainment hub’ and a popular destination for serious content research and creation. This apart the new age citizen is looking at the internet to increase political transparency (Anna Hazare), to start revolutions (Obama’s Change campaign) and dethrone autocratic regimes (Egypt and Libya).

To engage with this new age citizen more and more brands are moving online. The differentiator between a “brand” and a “loved brand” will be focus on the consumer and all else will follow.

However Internet censorship is as much a social and political problem as it is technological. So will citizens and policymakers come together dethroning governments with autocratic mindsets? Will every country rise to be the next Libya or Egypt?

And in this flat world, this is a dream that can be lived – the onus is on us.

Life was never so surreal, virtual becomes the new reality!

If you think that we are looking at ‘green’ as the new ‘black’ and taking up farming as a career alternative. Then you are being misled by this banter about laying seeds, cultivating crops and rearing cattle. And neither are we giving up our line of business and becoming Genesis Farms, it still is Genesis BM. Then how come Strawberry, Squash, and cows are being spoken about in unison. And your last guess about the return of the Green Revolution falls flat too. These ecstatic and animated conversations are about the latest hanging out zone in town called ‘FarmVille’. This Facebook game allows members to plant, grow, and harvest virtual crops, and become neighbors. Neighbors like Shilpa Kaicker and Suvir Paul who live almost 1,163 kilometers apart in real life.

Welcome to the world of social networking which is becoming a way of life for many of us. Applications on these sites have become our crystal ball that will identify your friend or foe or that faithful day when you will get married, even if you already are. Notifications about who tagged us and comments on photos is something that keeps us on our toes. And most of all the status updates that have amused, irritated and used very strategically to get a message across to a ‘particular’ person.

These sites have also become centre stage for voicing one’s opinion on politics, movies, media and business. Right from discussing Shashi Tharoor’s solidarity with the cattle class to Rakhi Sawant’s mother’s tryst with fame on Bigg Boss, everyone is brimming with opinions. Ashwani who is an active member of Twitter and Facebook, often gets us thinking about current issues like the Jet Airways strike, the changing face of CSR and the importance of social networking itself.
Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut, and Twitter have exploded in the past five years and fast replacing other leisure activities like watching television, reading a magazine and even catching up with your partner after work. Natasha Gupta who has been married for the past three years hits home and heads straight to her Facebook page after a quick hi to her hubby. She defends herself sheepishly and says, “But I was just checking for comments on my Goa snaps”. Her last visit to the page was when she left work an hour back!

But she is not alone. “I find myself checking social networking sites several times a day and I can easily spend hours chatting on Facebook, checking comments, and looking through pictures.” was a view echoed by many across locations. But updating status messages topped the list of ‘must things to do on Facebook’. This is one space where one can speak one’s heart and still manage to be conspicuous and candid. Upset with your boss, angry that your domestic help who just burnt the milk or your geographical placement hour by hour, even if it means it is in the shower (honest!) The status message lets you do this and lots more. But where does one draw a line on what to put and what not to put. “Well sometimes I feel updates have become a mode to just attract attention. The ‘in’ thing to do. Why put up absurd stuff up just for the heck of it”, says Saurav Bhanot. Contesting this view, Deepanshi Chaudhary says, “I think status updates are meant for you to write what you feel like. Till the time they don’t offend someone, I guess it’s okay to write what you feel.”

But how does one deal when one finds oneself logging on to social networking sites without any goal and checking one’s profile becomes a compulsive habit. The sticky situation that many of us find ourselves in is the various paths one can take after that. “Hopping from your profile I get on to a friend’s profile and then their friend’s. Photos of the latest birthday bash, the first baby steps of my uncle’s son to who is getting married or divorced (Facebook Auto Update: XYZ is no longer in a relationship). The trail never ends and time truly flies”, says Karan Dutt.
Apart from an addiction it is a great tool to help breeze through a day where a client sent a stinker for the media that never came or when your boss gave you off for ‘typos’. Vasundhra Mudgil says, “I think it’s a great thing to do on most days; but when you are having a tough day at work, social networking websites help de-stress.”

So it is truly a case of ‘different strokes for different folks’, whether the motive is to stay in touch or express without any inhibitions or just keep one entertained. The beauty is that we are waking up to trivial things in life. The sunny day or the walk on the beach or an ice cream with your one year old nephew, all is being written down and PUBLISHED. Just a word of caution you are under the scanner always!

Post done. Off to check my Facebook account… Mansi Pal

Pangot - A rainy, bumpy ride to and fro!

I have never seen an Independence Day so rainy, the clouds giving way to the deadliest bumps on the Gurgaon roads. One rain and its all over, welcome to this corporate concrete jungle that doubles up as a river bed during the monsoons.

So where do I figure in what has become a haven for all "river road rally" enthusiasts. I am all ready to leave for a camp in Pangot which is some 15 km ahead of Nanital or somewhere near Corbett. We will go figure exactly where it is once we get there (the idea is to just get lost in nothingness, u see. So where is me in "we”. Mansi who got the other 4 of the "we" ready for a trip without even confirming the place... "Ready" as in getting them to pay and book and meeting up(for the first time) to discuss the other part, that is getting there & availing the facilities we just paid for. Yeah randomness is my second name.

After the longest detour ever as the roads were jam packed with office traffic trying to carefully maneuver the many potholes that the heavy rain had left behind. We are finally together, with tales to tell about the long harrowing ride. And feeding our hungry tummies and grumpy souls with food (both expired and unexpired) from a well stacked kitchen which is extremely uncanny for a bachelor pad. This is followed by numerous attempts to get all 5 in the camera frame to capture every moment leading to the big one :)

While the others catch up with whatever sleep they can my weekend getaway has just begun. The longing to leave the city behind so strong that I am documenting every minute, for in another 45 min we will be on our way to Mountain Quail camp and my mind will be my only depository for the next 3 days. My thoughts about this village of 15 families in the Kumaon hills is suddenly disrupted with alarm bells, but rants of another "half an hour" ringing equally loud.

5:10am and here begins our road journey to Pangot. There's no looking back to this for another 2 days. Not even a strategically left wallet will make us return . Leaving behind the plains, but the clouds and the potholes don't seem to desert us. North India has become the next Cherrapunji, not the perfect season to head to the hills as we shall discover in another 6 hours(6 become 11 thanks to a half finished highway, which was initially built to ease inter-state traffic but now it is turning out to be a task to find our way around it).

In Mayawati land anything is possible! And this driver who we cant help but blame for being an adamant foolish navigator; and as fate would reveal it… tomorrow he will be our saving grace for a packet of Gold Flake, life is full of ironies ain’t it? Nothing like a ciggi on a rainy day.

Before continuing our rickety, jerky ride on NH-87, we stopped at the Giani da dhabha for paranthas and tea. It was a hollow, but filling experience. I know an oxymoron! But filling because our stomachs felt stuffed, but hollow because we had tasted better dhabha food . And while we were at it, it was a good college reunion for our lawyer friends Ajoy and Shindey. As fate would have it they bumped into their classmates from NLA, Bangalore who were headed to Camp Corbett after they were shown a "House Full" sign at Pangot. Added cookie points for my travel organization skills, I couldn’t help but self-congratulate myself.

But these accolades fell flat as we moved on. We missed the Moradabad By Pass, missed the Corbett route. With quite a few misses, and the rain and the jams on the almost non-existent highway, crankiness began to set in. The only escape being the 2 pirated Bollywood music CD's we picked up at the dhabha which were good to fill the cold silence that had started to spread.

By late afternoon after making our way through Moradabad - Rampur - Haldwani - Kathgodam the hills drew closer. For many DL/HR cars the journey would soon end at Nanital but we had other plans. Through the hustle and bustle of this Lake city we were headed to Pangot, another hour of a treacherous uphill ride with some breathtaking beauty for company. As we made our way up the cranky, grumpy feeling gave way to the holiday mood. The drizzle and the clouds made for some picturesque and eerie view of the Kumaon hills with its dense oak and rhododendron forests.

By 4 we were at our camp Mountain Quail. After parking our luggage in the nice, cosy tents we rushed for some wood smoked lunch. Spirits soon picked up and after a quick hot bath it was time to just sit and faff over tea and a couple of drinks. As night fell, the place looked almost spooky with only a few lamps on. The sound of whatever there was behind the tall grass and trees added to the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. With a back log of 48 hours of sleep, I hit the damp bed with only Piyal and a grasshopper for company. I drowsed off to the tale of a promiscuous encounter of a certain someone in the adjoining tent, who was totally unaware of how the acoustics in a "tent" like structure work. The transformation from a brick dwelling to a cloth one sure takes time!

After that night of uninterrupted sleep, I woke up to the splitter splatter of the rain. But rain or no rain I was all geared for a hiking expedition up the mountains. To my relief the dense trees kept the rain at bay. But there was no escaping the leeches that stuck to my feet by the dozen. From time to time my uphill climb was punctuated by sprinkling salt over these slimy creatures. The feeling of being in the midst of pure wilderness made up for the slippery and rough terrain. A slight movement in the bushes would make my pulse race, my movement of glory of spotting a tiger. I watched with bated breath for the wild cat to appear and then there came running a mountain goat. Back at the camp I enthralled people with exaggerated tales about my escapades an hour back.

By now we had got used to the rain, smoking our way through the wet and the chill. Just when we were past discussing Nishant's finickiness, Shindey's drunk encounter with a female back, Holder's embarrassing secrets, Piyal's polka dots and my obsessing over the leeches, the sun came out! Like a mad bunch of paparazzi we went clicking ourselves in the sun. This kodak moment lasted us only 5 seconds and then it was hello to the clouds again.

With a quick dash to Nanital in the evening and a bonfire in the night, we were nearing the end of this rendezvous with the rainy hills. The next day we picked up speed early to get ahead of the many who were headed back to Delhi after the extended weekend. This time we had our compasses tuned to the Corbett route. But our plans for a quick descent to the plains were only shortlived. A landslide en-route to Kaladungi cost us an entire hour and a half. We picked up speed only on the Corbett stretch where the road improved dramatically. With another jam near Moradabad and a detour through the farms we hit Delhi around 7, all tired and sleepy just like we began.

Maybe this just wasn't the best time to travel. Maybe we did not take the best route. Maybe the rains failed us. Maybe someone should have carried the I-pod cord. Maybe we should have chosen the cottage over the tent. Maybe we should have carried an extra umbrella or an extra pair of pajamas.

Nevertheless I am glad I went, "when" I went, "where" I went and with "whom" I went. With things that worked and even those that did not!

It is no longer about just speaking, Brands rise to the art of listening!!

A man once walked into a McDonald’s store with the brightest smile ever in quest of the good old burger and fries. He got what he wanted, but his smile did not quite evict the same response from the McDonald staff on the other end. This when the fast food joint was running a marketing campaign that personified happiness.

It was Paul Holmes who walked into Mc Donalds that day to just not satiate his hunger but also to assess how much are Brand Promises kept. Do they cease to exist after they hit the TV screens, the outdoor hoarding or the press note issued announcing the new campaign? What does the consumer do when he feels a disconnect between what he is being promised and what he gets at the shop floor.

This 2 hour workshop by the leading US PR analyst emphasized again on the most important, but often ignored “P” of the 5 Ps of the Marketing Mix, which is its people. People drive change has never been more apt as it is in today’s time and age when all geographical and physical divides are fading and this “virtual” bridge called Web 2.0 is enabling people from diverse backgrounds to interact. This digital revolution marks the transition from one way communication to two way communication between Brands and its consumers. Paul Holmes could not stress enough on how brands, more than speaking need to excel the art of listening. He says, “Companies to a lot of extent have lost control over their reputation. It is not what you say about yourself but what other people say about you.”

True to this belief, Paul even kept the session interactive by encouraging the participants to ponder and question the evolution of Public Relations. Paul addressed the concerns of many present there about integrating digital into campaigns by asking them to halt and first assesses the brands preparedness for Conversational Marketing. Coming back to the power of the “P”, Paul said that, “The employees are the biggest advocates of a company or brand. It is they who should be first prepared to participate effectively in conversations brimming about its brands on blogs, videos and social networking sites. By asking three simple questions to the employees Paul says that a company can decide whether they are “ready” yet:

Do you understand your company values?
Do you believe the management lives by the values?
Do you think you can take decisions based on these values?

With these practical tips and anecdotes assimilated over 20 years of experience in the Public Relations domain, Paul drove the point home that in time to come transparency credibility and authenticity will become the most valuable currency. Hence the need to attract talent that is intelligent, knowledgeable and believes in dialogue rather than monologue becomes even more potent. It is this new breed of PR professionals hailing from diverse fields that will drive this change in the Marketing landscape.

And if and only if a smile is returned next time Paul Holmes walks to his “friendly” neighborhood fast food joint, will we say that all these activities have had a Real Measurement Impact.

Neemrana Fort Palace

Neemrana Fort Palace
July 2009


I have never been much of a planner, last minute huff and puff brings out the best in me. For some this might be a sour tooth but for me a way of life. My attempts to plan the shortest getaway from the city to Neemrana Fort Palace turned out to be a miserable failure. Even nature conspired against my organization skills.

It all began with “plans” to meet at 9:00am so that we could make it to the beautiful Rajasthani haveli well in time for it to shuts for visitors at 6. For those who plan to see it beyond the visiting hours must be on the other side of the haveli, inside with a room from over 888 different kinds. Nicely dressed with two rounds of breakfast we were all together by 11:00 am. Add to that another 45 minutes of discussion on whose car were we to drive on this 80 km stretch. Mine or Ashish’s, the votes were tilting towards my brand Alto which was a perfect fit for the regal place we were visiting. Bullshit!! For this crowd of 5 was getting rowdy and with my planning skills at stake we began our 3 hours drive to Alwar at 12:00 pm.

Running against time and the rains, I drove and felt completely in control of everything in life. Even at 80 km/hour it felt like breezing through thin air and then road became uneven. Some 30 kms away from our final destination and the traffic became slower and the movement almost tail to tail. And then the tail following process turned fatal. The truck in front of me passed over a boulder and my low floor clearance car could not pass. I almost died when my feet felt the boulder screeching the floor. After assessing the damage we decided to continue moving as we were almost there but took a quick U turn after the car began groaning in pain. With a quick fix and garam chai on the highway we returned to Gurgaon in the evening to head back to Neemrana the next morning in Ashish’s car. What sadistic pleasure for finally having my way irrespective of the day lost and the damage to my car.

We set off early next morning at a cruising with the Aravallis by the side much and hit Neemrana Fort Palace by noon. Through a village, the first sight of the fort with its huge doors typical of the Mughal empire was jaw dropping. Built back in 1464 AD, it is among India's oldest heritage resorts and was once the capital of the descendants of Prithviraj Chauhan III.

The rooms and the passage way is furnished with traditional Indian and colonial furniture, antiques and artifacts that gave it a rustic yet regal feel. The property is spread out to cover 25 acres/10 hectares with 10 levels that rent each room including the bathrooms with a splendid view. Leaving the humidity behind, we strolled in the palace with a pleasant breeze thanks to the numerous jharokas built into the walls of the fort. Every part, every artifact so meaningfully and aesthetically positioned. The swimming pool, the theatre (my favorite) and the open roof restaurant provided a rich and vibrant experience. We covered the entire length and breadth with staircases criss crossing the entire fort. Thanks to the meandering staircase each section of the fort provided a different view of the same part. There was the glorious sun shining on the open air theatre and a cool dingy feel in the attic. Perfect for the restless soul who hates monotony.

It was evening soon enough and our perseverance to see this majestic monument was worth the struggle of getting here. Before the gates were shut we headed back to Gurgaon with memories. With the sweet scent of rain and Paneer pakodas with chai at the highway dhabha reminded us of where we truly belong!

Am I going to cry too often..

The last time I came close to tears was when I saw the two movies (Jacob the liar and Life is Beautiful) about the gruesome era of the Nazi’s (http://mansipal.blogspot.com/2008/10/life-is-beautiful-and-jacob-liar.html). And this time around again we have the Nazi’s of a different kind. Different but more or less the same. They too take away something they have no right to take. It’s simple you only take something that you have given. So my life is for the person to take, who gave it to me.

The recent terror attack on Mumbai makes me just sad, not angry. The anger is growing numb due to the frequency of such events. Have no one to blame. Not the politicians, the security agencies, Pakistan….and the list can go on. Can hurl abuses on all and say this could have been avoided :

IF the Politicians were doing what they are meant to do
IF the security agencies were proactive rather than reactive
IF Pakistan works more aggressively in uprooting the terrorist’s camps bustling in its vicinity

IF only our anti-terrorism legal framework was more robust

There are always a zillion “If’s” after a tragedy takes place. If only and this would not have happened. But what’s the point I wonder. The root of the entire hostage ordeal that lasted 41 hours would not even be these young men in their bare 20’s. Raised in madrasas from a very young age, violence, terror, hatred is injected in their DNA. Roaring to go ahead and execute such operations requires a mastermind. But this is the Mastermind of the “HOW and WHAT”. Do they really possess the rationality to question the “WHY”. A young child raised to be a terrorist??

Am just tired of all the debates that such incidents give way to. The more I watch, the more I read, the more I hear, I dig myself deeper into a whirlpool of questions that will never really have a black or white answer. Even if there is an answer somewhere, who frees me of the gloom and terror flooding my heart. The terror of what’s next and sad about what will it finally culminate into. Like termites rot my world bit by bit leading to a hollow. Exactly my feeling right now, hollow….

Just wish, oh so badly wish I don’t cry too often!

“Jacob the Liar” and “Life is Beautiful” - The undying spirit of the Holocaust era!

60 years ago the Nazis invaded the world. The injustice and cruelty they inflicted upon the Jews is for all to know. The genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, was just a chapter in History for me back in school. A lesson for me to cram and pass the most obnoxious subject ever. Getting rid of people by burning them in gas chambers was gruesome even then, but it never hit me that hard. Unperturbed by the extremity, I looked at it as one of those many acts of the past and present where man is his own biggest enemy. Thus I moved on just fine with the word “Holocaust”, a word that needed to be underlined to catch the examiner’s attention.

This until I stumbled upon two masterpieces “Life is Beautiful” and “Jacob the Liar”. The common thread among these two movies is obviously much more than the horrifying concentration camps. It is the human spirit that steals the show and moves even a supposedly “strong hearted” person like me close to tears.

The protagonist played by Robin Williams in Jacob the Liar finds himself midst a controversy after he tells a frustrated friend to hold on as the Red Army is on its way to rescue them all. He overhears this piece of news on the radio after he is caught outside after the curfew is imposed and taken to the German army’s barracks. So moved by the news, this friend goes and spreads the word that Jacob (Robin Williams) has a radio, thus making him the single point source of information of what lies in store for them. He now constantly lives a life on the edge because he will be slaughtered to death by the Germans if they suspect a radio with anyone apart from them. Jacob plays along with the lie after he discovers that the number of suicide’s in the ghetto are going down as hope engulfs many.

The lies galore in “Life is Beautiful” too where Guido Orefice (played by Roberto Benigni) tells his son that the concentration camp is a game. Where the person who gains 1000 points wins a tank and one loses points when one complains or sulks. Guido keeps his son to play along by reminding him that they are leading and the tank will be there’s any moment now.

Thus in both these movies a plain simple lie is what makes someone else push a little harder for existence in the unbearable conditions. To hold on as a better, brighter future awaits them. For some more time and then everything would be just like it was before the Nazis swept their lives with dread. Soon their lies catch up with Jacob and Guido and are killed by the Nazi’s. From the debris of these free spirited souls is born a tomorrow for someone else. Lies that took their own life but provided buoyancy to others to swim through tough waters and sail to the shore!