New Media Creating its space in development sector

People are increasingly turning to the networking sites for suggestions, recommendations and information about things that matter most to them in their routine. There is 15% growth in daily internet usage. Penetration of internet and mobile in the developing world has provided better reach and availability to corporate. More and more companies are investing in development of society to increase their goodwill and trust in the market. Some companies undertake this developmental activity genuinely for the welfare of the society while others undergo the same to save themselves from the major crisis that have taken place or that are expected to take place, while some undergo the same having hidden agenda to increase the visibility of product in the market and to increase the sales of the product along with the welfare and growth of the society.

Using social media for this developmental activity is the new trend which has emerged with the growing use of social networking sites. Online activities have been more ubiquitous. 89% of business & IT professionals state that online content has a major impact on their vendor preference and selection. “Pink Chaddi” campaign was highly successful online campaign with great impact on people to stand against the injustice. It provided a platform to likeminded people to express their disgust and support the initiative. “Jaago Re by Tata Tea” has not only taught people the importance of voting but has also shown an easy way for online voting to youngsters residing in the country. Jaago Re has social media presence with more than 15000 members on Facebook, 13000 members on Orkut and has also managed to register 531,395 voters as per TOI.

Rufina Fernandes, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation (NF) expresses that “In India, the social and development sector has been impacted significantly in the last decade through the socio economic contribution of the IT/ITES industry. As the industry grows in stature and size, it will be expected to play an even larger role, especially in contributing to the marginalized and vulnerable sections of the community”.

Social Media has given a wide reach to the developmental activities and has helped in eliminating the limitations like geographical outreach of social initiatives, problem of monitoring and evaluation and fear of initiative being stand-alone and isolated. It has enabled an easy way to reach masses. According to one of the article in TechCrunch, every minute more than 20 hours of video is being uploaded to Youtube. For any business the challenges are same i.e to attract new prospects, to covert the prospects into customers and retaining the customers. New media has eased this process revolving around 3 E’s of social marketing i.e.

• Enticing people about the message.

• Educating them about the causes and spreading the message.

• Engaging them through an efficient workflow solution

Human nature is driven more by opinions as compared to facts and figures. Posting one opinion about the sexual harassment case will definitely dig up hundreds of similar case and encourage people to share similar happenings in their day to day life there by making an opinion an issue concerning not to an individual but to millions residing in the country. The next immediate step in this case would be educating and creating awareness amongst young women and girls about the measures to be taken legally against the happening. Further in order to engage the audience, women academy can be set up where they discuss the issue and help the victims to regain their self respect.

Lot of NGO’s in the development sector has use the new media effectively to spread the message. ‘Breakthrough’ is one of nonprofit organizations that work for transforming people’s attitude towards a cause. It has very innovatively made the use of new media in their “Ring the Bell” Campaign, where many women came up to share their story of violence and hatred faced domestically. Use of polls, online contest, tweets and blogs had blown in vigor in the discussion thereby spreading the message effectively. ‘WWF India’, an organization largely engaged in wildlife conservation had made its presence felt by sensitizing through its “Earth Hour Campaign” focused on energy conservation and global warming. It encouraged people to register themselves on the site by creating links on social media channels thereby engaging and educating them about the initiative. Within 18 days their, Orkut Community got 4,547 members, Facebook got 19,059 members, Flickr photostream received 1,700 views, Twitter got followed by 321. On the whole it generated 1,23,704 visitors and 28,484 people registered on the website which was a huge success for the campaign.

Thus there lies a plethora of opportunities with this new media followed up with ample of challenges to deal in. Firstly, timeline is one of the major constrain. Online audience has to be responded actively. Every comment, reply or message posted on new media has to be interactive, responsive and effective enough to channelise the discussions. Failing to do so may pose a threat on the goodwill of the organization initiating the cause and generate negative opinions which are difficult to moderate in this indefinite new medium. Secondly, there is no major cost involved in undertaking online campaign, however losing the track of discussion and negative opinions may cost badly for organizations to recover. One has to stay abreast all the times with new ideas, sites and new agendas to engross the audience holding their attention on the issue. One has to be very adaptive in nature to safeguard the business as social media by nature is very volatile to deal with. Thus it’s the time to grip new media rather than resisting it and getting wiped out from business. Thirdly, new media is highly cluttered. There are plenty of sites, contests and polls coming up to engage the audience. Hence one has to be very innovative in tackling the audience. Quality content addressing the social need with a tint of innovativeness is the mantra of communication in the development sector.

Alas its time to say good bye!!!

With the year end, happy, sad, good and bad memories went,

Two years passed like the blink of a star

and now it’s time to see off all those moments 

which filled in life in this barren land.

The love of pals has brought me so close to this place 

that i don’t wish to go back to my home town again,

Thinking of leaving this place calls for tears in my eyes

But cant help it out its time to say good bye...

Hanging out and living a chilled out life is what i learnt from puja,

Sincerity and dedication hammered in me staying in company with nisha

Hyper and kiddish a rare combination i found in swapnil

Hard work and cautious is some thing that I discovered in preeti,

Patience is some thing that I really admired of Priya Menon

Archi was one of the character with hidden agenda amongst us

Sarcasm is the  language that I learnt from Paggi      

Living masti bhari life is what Ahinsa taught me

Mantri is mantri & her self tuned radio will keep on buzzing around me

And thus  I found a permutation and combination of all talent and fun at SIMC Jungle.

Hip Hop, bhangra Salsa Garba,

Popcorn, Maggie, bhel and bhajiyas,

Statistic, Economics Self study and design tech

Lab no. 206 will be giving testimony of all your acts.

Pressure of assignment, delegation the work

Forgive  me friends for all harsh words,

Saying all that is not enough bt I cant find words to describe the herd

Thinking of leaving this place calls for tears in my eyes, bt cant help it out,

As finally its time to say good bye…..

LOADS OF LOVE AND CARE TO MY DEAR FRIENDS

ALL THE VERY BEST 

HAVE A GREAT LIFE AHEAD

Pouring my love on Valentine's day 2010

Like a creeper leaning on the wall,

You supported me at my every fall

I felt like a pearl in the shell

Getting embraced and nurtured a every stance

Tears in my eyes never dried

But you were there to ensure that I smile

“Angel of Happiness” as you called me

It made me so special in the world that I dwell in

Like every star shine for me in the sky

And the flower blooming at every step that I walked by

Like a pigeon plucking the leaves to wove around its nest

You carefully choose little happy moments to stud around the silken thread

And like a baby in the mother’s womb

I felt as safe and cared in your arms

The pleasure of moments that I spend with you can never elapse

Though the journey of life may part us as we walk by

I will remember you at every blink of my eye

I would no more wonder if true loves exist in world

For you have been with me to ensure my suspicion wrong

And with twinkling eyes I would end my thoughts here by

For still there is yet more to bind us closer and keep relation strong

In the world of dreams that we belong…

Valentine Special

A hug to a friend, a smile to loved one
A priceless gift, it can be just an honor to someone,
In the days of worries, tensions and pains,
A little peace and treasure to someone
Isn’t it that all about life?
We live and die, what we are going to leave behind,
Let’s share the joy together
In arms that will ease you forever.
Let the love glitter in your eyes,
Let the lips whisper what is there in your heart,
Let the glory of touch you feel,
When someone is near though being very far………

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15710657

Interview with Ms. Sandeepa Kanitkar-Kan Biosys

Whether say it a random choice or a matter of sensible decision, it was hard time for Ms. Sandeepa when she decided not to go abroad for her studies but to stay back and contribute to the society. The laurels of Ms. Sandeepa, a renowned name in the field of agriculture development,   Chairman and Managing Director of Kan Biosys, and winner of WIPO Gold (2007) award as well as Acknowledge as outstanding invention award for her contribution to agriculture sector is sufficient to describe her.

Ms. Sandeepa had completed her MSC in industrial biology and was all set to go abroad for her further studies. It is a moment of joy which is experience by many of the lucky ones when their desire to go abroad and study in good university is fulfilled. Same joy was experienced by Ms. Sandeepa too. However that jo y was a bit short lived. Accompanying with one of the friend she confronted a job opportunity which demanded her love and dedication towards her own country. At one end was the flowery future which could have given her name and fame while at other end was a tough decision to stay back in India and contribute to society. Needless to say, she dropped her decision of going abroad and joined “Kumar Krishimitra Bio products Pvt. Ltd”.

Before 10-12 years the concept of agricultural productivity wa s not much developed in India. More over the environmental awareness and equipped knowledge amongst farmers was lacking. The uniqueness of “Kumar Krishimitra Bioproducts Pvt Ltd” was that it enabled land to give output in ratio of 1:10 which was otherwise used for giving 1:4 output, thereby giving multiplier effect to land to produce maximum. Lack of awareness amongst farmers about the concept itself was the challenge for Ms. Sandeepa to fight with as no farmers were initially ready to buy the products. However the demand of products was observant in the international market. Thus the organization started exporting the products to start up with business and raise initial funds. This is how the journey of Ms. Sandeepa started with the growth of organization pulling the organization to the heights of success with her dedication and hard work making a mark in the society.

The idea behind Kan biosys was "feed the soil and soils feeds back to you". Running on the lines of Israil which is known for its productivity of soil and with dreams of making India equally productive, the organization started with 20 lakhs initial investment and under the leadership of Ms. Sandeep today, the organization has grown multiple times. To date there are only 5 manufacturers of microbes in liquid form in the world and Kanbiosys is the only producers of liquid Azodobacter inoculants in the world the rest are producer of Rhizobium. Thus the technology was adjudged as the winner of “Outstanding Technology award” in 1999. The only regret that is left for Ms. Sandeep is that she was not able to gain international experience which might would have broaden her horizon to work. 

Ride for Pride

Riding bike was his passion and like most of the youths, even he loved hanging around with an attractive bike and exploring new places. He completed his PG from Delhi University and is an alumnus of the prestigious St. Stephen’s College. He had eventually transited from a serious student cum cricketer to a marketing man in these years!!! Precisely describing him, he is “Marketing Man of the year-2007” Achal Rangaswamy.

Who knew his passion of riding back would be the starting point of his carrier. He never really wanted to be in sales or marketing when he was a student. A company called Avery India Ltd, the world leaders in weighing equipment gave him an opportunity – to ride a bike ( that too, an Enfield Bullet !!!) and to sell weighing machines in different parts of Rajasthan…that is how    Achal Rangaswamy began his career!!!

Like most of the struggle and success stories, there were challenges at galore waiting for him too. Starting one’s carrier at Rs.210/- p.m. is not dream job of any young blood. He faced mockery of class mates due to low profile job which involved exhaustive travel. However he took up challenging job and at every one’s surprise performed his role very well. All the challenges give him an opportunity to recognize work that needed to be done with patience and alacrity at the same time. His dedication drove him to the success where he was acknowledged as “Marketing man of the year award-2007.”This award of AMA –ZYDUS CADILA Marketing Man of the Year is a tribute to everybody who sells. I dedicate this award to the Salesman” says Achal Rangaswamy.

Life is a struggle; it all depends on how you look at the events and what you make of them.  Sharing one more struggle of his life Achal Rangaswamy said “My mother had cancer, I was the only son, and I was posted away from my parent’s home. I asked for a transfer and fought tooth and nail to get back to where my parents lived. Ironically, I was posted a thousand kilometers further away!!! I continued to work hard, and kept my mother informed about my progress in life and work. I thought that was the best way to keep her in good spirits and in good health”.

Thus Rangaswamy’s first ride drove him to the journey of success which he might have never thought off. The only thing which he had was faith in himself and struggles to fight for. His journey from G. M. Marketing to vice president, Sr. Vice President and President of Bell Ceramics is appreciating. It is the golden fruit of the seeds that he sowed and harness with all care and love in last 15 years of his life. My whole hearted thanks to Achal Rangaswamy for sharing his inspiring life and giving insight to face life and deal with it in all situations with fun. 

Interview with Sailesh Vaidhya: “Chroma Systems”

1993 was the year, when two youth’s icons join their hands together to start an enterprise named “Chroma Systems”. It is a story of two young minds Mr. Shailesh Vaidya and Mr. Kiran Shah, where former is a graduate from Pune Institute of Computer Technology and B.E in Computers while later is BE Mechanical, a graduate from Bharti Vidhyalaye. “We never wanted to do a job”- a statement given by them with a firm determination was an inspiring force to do something beyond the obvious. However they were always independent and had learnt to deal life on their own. Mr. Shailesh while his college study was doing a part time job with a consultancy while Mr. Kiran was involve in making telescope.

The brains showed their innovations in the final year project of college where the subject, research and study taken by Mr. Shailesh was “Image Analysis Software” a topic which was never given a thought in India while the research study of Mr. Kiran was Micro hardness testers, which was again the first innovation of their time. The root of the organization where establish when both friends realize that the end consumers of their final products were the same. Thus with a mere sum of 50,000Rs, the foundation of Chroma Industries were laid down on partnership basis between two friends.

It was 1995 when a partnership firm was converted in to “Chroma Industries Private Ltd”. As of the evolution phase of 14 years, the firm has extended its branches to Bangalore and Delhi while the head office remains in Pune. With the continuous efforts of team of 20 people working in the organization, it has successfully evolved itself from 50000 start to a company having clients in Asia , Europe and USA with 4 crore turnover.

Chroma Industries Private Ltd deals with clients who are the leaders of two wheelers and four wheelers. The clients include from Hero Honda to Eicher Tractor to Mahindra and Mahindra and also Arcelor Mittal Steel. The firm is award winner of best product design in 2005 and best innovative product in 2007. The future is expansion and extension plans of business in Mumbai and Gujarat.

Thus with evolving over success Mr. Shailesh is also actively involved in taking session at Pune Institute of Computer Technology and Spicer. Some of the business projects of different college are also sponsored to encourage young minds to grow up and explore.

It is easy to walk on the path already build by someone, however equally difficult to create path of one’s own. They dared to create path of their own…………..

SHINE CRAZY DIAMOND……..SHINE

From a modeling star during his college times to super star of his professional times Abhyangh Kuvalekar has evolved himself with success. A heartthrob of girls, lover of dancer, theatre artist and actor, yes he is the one with multi-talent in him. The passion of creating his own identity drove him towards his dreams and he decided never to look back.

In 2001, he joined Shiamak Davar group who gave him the first break of his carrier. With the support of Shaimak Daver, he choreographed in two big hits, “Dil To Pagal Hai” and “Taal”. What next! Break after Break after Break………….Got selected as co-star with Ajay Devgan as one of his five friends in the Legend of Bhagat Singh. His work was appreciated and notice by many of the big names. Smita talwar, award winning actress and Marathi Film maker, gave him break in leading Marathi Serials and later got break in Marathi Flims. In the span of his carrier of around 8 years he did more than 250 ads which are sufficient to describe his worth. Today he is not only an actor and a model but also a writer. Abhyangh also produced a 45-minute Hinglish film, Shaadi Soufflé. The film revolves around three couples and portrays the relationships and view points on marriage being a necessity in order to continue with the commitment. Besides acting in the film Kuvalekar has also written the story and screenplay and feels that the subject explored has a global approach. The film has been selected for the Los Angeles International Film Festival, London International Film Festival and Florence.

Raising oneself in a short span of 8 years is a challenge in the competitive and struggling bollywood industry where there is a cut throat competition and every day many aspiring models join the industry to make a mark for oneself. Abhyangh successfully took this challenge and went ahead with his dream. The crazy diamond underwent several tough tests. What is unknown to most of us is the pain that he underwent realizing his dreams. He was not backed by any support for his carrier in acting from his parents as they wanted him to join some business studies rather than pursuing carrier in acting. As the trend even Abhyangh parents wanted him to join the family business. While pursuing undergraduate when most of youngsters are having the best time of their life living freely and with all fun, Abhyangh was rather looking after opportunities to grab. He used to line up the appointments on a day for giving trials on Ad shoots. Though being from a business family background, he never wanted to be dependent on his parents and thus whatever he used to earn from his Ad shoot was his living. Many days and nights he spent on pav wadas avoiding food for the sake that with that saving he might manage expense of travel of one more appointment. This is how the journey of the shining star began and today he is at the top of the world enjoying his identity.

Interview with Rajiv Sangoi- Go RIO!...

Silver Ice Beverages (SIB) was formed in 2007 by three young and budding entrepreneurs: Rahul Sangoi, Rajiv Sangoi and Rohan Sangoi. Their primary goal was to develop SIB into a dynamic beverage company by introducing fresh and innovative beverages for the cola and lemonade saturated Indian market. The aim was to create great tasting Indian products having an international feel. Hence along with the taste the focus was also on packaging of the product. The result was “RIO-flavored sparkling drink.”

The business was started with a sum of 15 lakhs where the savings and investment of 3 brothers were utilized. The drink today is only one year old however it has spread across Pune and also beyond Pune. As it is a new business there are lots of opportunities to grow and there is still a lot to gain ahead. The interesting part revealed is that the names given to the flavors are also directly positioned to the mindset of what youth would like to have and prefer to have. There is a passion, wildness and coolness reflecting in drinks with its 3 flavors’, Mango Passion, Wild Berry and Peach- Blue Berry. “We have spent lot of amount in packaging and have made sure that it remains appealing and attracts youths” says Mr. Rajiv. And the packaging done is surely very effective and appealing. No doubt the competition in the market with the other drinks is very high however the positive sign is there is no direct competition in the market. Since all the 3 founders are young, they are able to relate what taste a young boy or a girl of 15 to 30 years would like to prefer. At the same time there is a unique way adopted for marketing the drink. Most of the publicity has been by word of mouth. The company believes in interactive marketing and thus participates in various college fest where the drink gets heavily notice, liked and appreciated. Various events like rock shows, fresher's parties etc. are also sponsored by “RIO” which brings it more closely to the hearts of youth. Such marketing tactics help the brand connect better with the target audience. There is a lot of opportunity left for the young drink to grow and grab the taste buds and pockets of consumers. With the short period of 1 year the growth observed is around 400%, which is tremendous. There will be future efforts to nationalize the drink and capture a share of market.

Thus the efforts made by the three brothers have resulted in RIO successfully creating niche market for itself to stand for it. Wishing all the best to RIO for its growth and congratulating Mr. Rajiv and his brothers for success, we wish more young people come up with innovative ideas and get themselves rolling in the market.