This marketplace listing ad on facebook cracked me up!! You gotta love the panache of college kids.
So I have some very exciting news to share! (www.advanta.com) Advanta Bank Corp – where I work in their Innovation Group, just launched www.ideablob.com at the prestigious DEMO (www.demo.com) conference in San Diego last week.
Advanta is one of the largest issuers of Mastercard credit cards for small business owners. We have been in financial services for over 50 years. For the last four months, our team was frantically pushing through to bring ideablob to life. And in case you didn’t know — it’s a huge feat for a bank to have managed this in such a short time. (I’ve become a quasi-expert on legalese involving the launch of a social network!) It was a not only a fantastic learning experience, but also incredibly gratifying to see how brillaintly our legal, Project management, customer service and innovation teams worked together. Truly a roller-coaster ride!
We had every intention of launching this year, but getting into DEMO motivated us and pushed us further to launch sooner. DEMO only invites about 70 companies from hundreds of applications it receives. And our fantastic team (all members are not pictured above) went and conquered !
I will soon share with you our flickr photo stream, but to give you an idea of how carefully and beautifully the whole launch was orchestrated — 10 of us from Advanta were at DEMO, each of us had different T-shirts that represented a particular small business industry and we had matching business cards with it. On the first day — I was the DRAMA QUEEN, representing actors (yepp — they are a small business) and my business card stated facts about actors. The T-shirts were a delight and we were asked several times if they were for sale! haha…
Anyhow, I’d urge you to check out www.ideablob.com
It’s a humble effort from a bank to try to be different and to try to make a difference. We want to build this online community for the give and take of business ideas. We are also awarding $10,000 to the business idea that gains the most votes at the end of each month. Yep – we are talking the talk and walking the walk. As we should be. I’m very proud of my team and the guys at Red Tettermer (www.redtettemer.com) and Seso Media (www.seso.net) who helped us make this possible.
(BTW — we also won the People’s Choice award at Demo. woohooo. Any Demo peeps that chance upon this, do say hello!)
I have started enjoying Wired magazine again — I go through phases with this magazine for some reason. Anyways, this months issue comes with a delicious booklet titled, Geekipedia — 149 people, places, ideas and trends you need to know NOW.
Sorry for the picture- -taken using the MAC camera. (much easier than using a digital camera!) but, make sure you pick up the booklet!
Also, check out the Humping Dog USB from Courtney’s blog — I love what imagination can do!
i buy books – i read magazines 
i wanted to share my bookshelf with you – i’ve read *some* books, most are half-read and yes, a few are untouched. my plan is to aim on finishing atleast 2 unread books every month – anyone want to start a virtual bookclub with me? or at the least share their book shelves with me? 
I’m always fascinated when everyday brands that you wouldn’t usually think twice about (cereal, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste…) especially the Fast-moving-consumer-goods (FMCG) brands make the effort to ensure that they are providing their customers a uniform and unique experience acrosss all channels.
Most FMCG brands don’t get it that they have passionate customers too. If they did, would’nt they be doing the same thing that Kashi just did with it’s website ?
I associate Kashi with Whole Foods because that’s where I buy the cereal. I wouldn’t care a lot about my cereal brand having a website, but I would sure google it to just check it out. I would perhaps spend a couple minutes on teh site and then never return. But Kashi’s new website works for me on several accounts: 1) I spent more than a couple minutes on it. 2) I returned back to the site and will probably continue to do for as long as Kashi remains one of my favorite cereals.
In addition to becoming an extension of the brand themselves, useful websites like this one, also promise a very unique experience to each individual user. Customers get passionate about their brands – and this passion needs a platform too. Even if it’s just for a box of cereals.
I chatted with Rick Webb of the Barbarian Group and he mentioned how he has pitched useful sites like this one to 30 or so clients and had just one taker: Kashi. Kudos to Kashi for being bold enough to break the mold. Webb also mentioned that the site has seen an 80% repeat visitor rate and about 300 people signing up on the site every day. Not bad for a cereal brand, huh?
I’m taking a short holiday in Puerto Rico in 3 weeks from now and was browsing through the web to learn more about the island. There was no question about not looking for opinions, feedback and suggestions from past travelers and the cardinal rule to any search is – you start at Google.
And lo behold, I stumbled upon this fantastic mini-guide (a downloadable pdf) on TripAdvisor site aptly titled "Puerto Rico highlights to go."
It’s a gem of a collection of quotes, suggestions and 
ideas from past travelers – and a great primer for a place I’m only beginning to explore. As I explored the site in further detail, I was pleasantly surprised to find more interesting little tools –all compiled by travelers.
I was able to browse through quick lists prepared by travelers, look through their un-prettified, unvarnished and very real photographs of the island and get a great feel for the hotels and restaurants that have received good reviews.
By providing users with bite-sized information, downloadable guides and real time visuals, TripAdvisor totally warmed me
up to the place. Next, was checking out for any available videos on Turnhere. No luck there, just a little short film sponsored by Intercontinental Hotels. So we moved on to Travelistic and woah! I got more than my fill of Puerto Rico videos here!
I also spent a good 30 minutes browsing through photographs tagged Puerto Rico on Flickr.
And then finally, spending some time downloading the right music thanks to tablettunes.com – to get into the mood on the flight to the islands. woah
Finally, I logged on to the AmEx members website, used my travel miles and booked my flight and the rental car. I suppose the hotel can wait for a bit.
I wonder, I wonder — how the role of a travel agent will evolve in 5 years? Will they be putting together such multi-media guides from over the web? Not a bad idea, eh?
Ironically enough, I left India on 15th August — it’s independence day. This year, I almost forgot to celebrate my sixth anniverary and my love affair with America. I’ve been thinking a lot about my place here, my place back in India and whether it is fair to belong to any one place after six years of nomadic experiences. I was having this conversation with Kim, my dear friend and colleague, a few days ago on our way back from work.
I’ve been thinking this for a while you know. Why I have this strong desire to defend America? Why so many of us claim to miss home (whatever that country is..) but never enough to want to return home? Why friends and family not in America are the first to lambast on how the country has no culture, no values?
I’ve been thinking about this and I think I know the answer to this.
We come here to be ourself. Stripped off all the layers ladled upon us by our cultures (in this case, my Indian upbringing) we come here to get to know ourselves. I can be a journalist here, I can be an ad-planner here, I can dream of writing songs for Walt Disney- heck, I could be a custodian if that’s what I wanted. I am allowed to be a misfit, allowed to stay in touch with only the relatives I truly cared about, could fall in love with anyone I wanted and build an uncomplicated, interference-less life with them. And if I don’t like someone or something, I could say – Fuck you. THAT. IS. FREEDOM. Being able to say fuck you.
What outsiders don’t understand is that America’s cultural tapestry has been created by not one, but many histories. Our stories are told by not one, but many voices. And our independence day is celebrated by not one, but many nationalities. And that’s saying something. (Where else have you seen Punjabis, Koreans, Chinese come together to celerbate any nation’s indepdence day?)
As much pride as I take in the fact that I am an Indian — I take in being an American. And yes, I will have my passpost soon enough to validate it 110%.
I have been unable to devote any real time to publishing my thoughts here since the last few months. Work, among other things, has certainly kept me busy and mind-numbed. I’ve been thinking a lot about my home in India as well. So I wanted to take some time today to spill these various bits and pieces floating around in my head.
I grew up in a lovely row-house where my grandparents first found shelter after escaping the India-Pakistan separation in the 1947. It’s a tiny house, very middle-class by most Bombay standards. If you’ve been to an Indian middle-class household, you will know that the concept of personal space, doesn’t really exisit. My sister and I shared a bunk bed until I was 12-13 — we moved on beyond bunk beds but they were still, the fold-able kinds. The kinds that turned into a sofa during the day. Space was precious. I didn’t have my own room until after I graduated college. And it was no bother. Thats what I was used to.
Anyways, going back to the house I grew up in….
In the six years since I’ve made another home in America, the real-estate around my humble town has suddenly shot up through the sky. A five-star hotel, a major express highway, a growing industry — appeared (what feels like) overnight. My home and those familiar surrondings of 17 years felt a little strange with each visit. And since the last 2 years or so the little row-houses have become a point of interest for builders. They want to build shiny new ‘towers’ for the row-house residents – more space, a hike in the real estate value and ofcourse, the added privilege that comes with belonging to a high-rise.
Now well understanding the polticking and bureaucracy — I do not know if the row-houses will ever be torn down in lieu of the promised paradise. But what I do know and what I have been wistfully observing since these discussions ensued is the hunger, the thirst, the determination these row-house families (including my parents) have to get ‘towers’ built. Every meeting with a new builder sparkles with hope and possibilities and everytime they are dashed, someone walks in with a new lead, a new direction….a new contact.
These are people who once resisted change and held on to their guts. Now, they fight, they scramble and they try to win, for that one leg up the social ladder.
It is a natural state of being, I know. And there are rationalizations behind this once instance as well. But the way I look at it — it is clear in my eyes. The Indian middle-class, are not satisfied with staying exactly there. As an outsider who was once an intimate insider, I watch this energy and this drive with fascination, with eyes wide open. Its like my countrymen, are entering their youth. Vital, pulsating and not willing to take no for an answer anymore.
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