Happy Republic Day

A very Happy Republic day to all you proud Indians out there...

God bless India and carry it forward...

How weird is the world?

I heard a news recently about how a man cut off his hand and microwaved it!!!! Well how weird do you think the world is? The man who is in his mid-20's believed that he bore the "mark of the beast" and so used a circular saw to cut off one hand and he then cooked it in the microwave and called the police. He was very calm when the police arrived and since he had put a tourniquet on his arm before, he did not bleed to death.

Well there were quotes from the bible that he used in order for this. anyway his hand was somewhat cooked by the time the police arrived. They moved him to the mental health unit.

Looks like the world is in total turmoil nowadays and that people are getting weirder and weirder day by day.

Blogging as a PR Tool

This is my article about the above topic for the PR conference. (Do send in opinions)

What is a Blog anyway? If you don’t know what a blog is, you’re not alone; according to surveys, nearly two-thirds of Internet users don’t have a good idea of the meaning of “blog.” Well there might be a multitude of definitions available by now on the web. Some of those are – Ø It’s a frequently updated online journal or diary usually, often hosted by a third party; Ø Like an online dairy, This can be about and be used for anything at all, it can be used for news, reviews, products etc for a business, organisation etc. This is great as it helps the user stay in touch with the website with new and up to date information and so on goes the explanations.
While no one’s exactly sure how many blogs there are, estimates often range from 30 to 100 million of them, all over the world, and a new one is created every 7.4 seconds. Check out websites like Global Voices and you can get a taste for the global reach of blogging, or the blogosphere, as it’s often known as. There are many blogging tools available online, including free ones. For example, take a look at Blogger.com, one of the most popular blogging platforms. Blogger is a website that lets you set up a free account and create your own blogs - as many as you want. The site has basic step-by-step instructions, taking you through the process of setting up your account, naming your blog and choosing a design template. Then it’s just a matter of filling out a form and pressing a button. The online software does all the hard work, while you get to focus on the fun part - being creative and saying whatever it is you have to say.

Public Relations and Blogs

Due to the Internet, the current flow of information and opinion is unprecedented in human history. The creation of blogs has rapidly quickened the pace of the public relations and corporate communications industry. Blogs create a new platform for the consumer where one can be truly honest about their opinion. In a non-threatening and comfortable environment, bloggers can give their anonymous and honest opinion about a product with a sense of security. Blogs have the power to shape public opinion and it can give public relations professionals' valuable insight into their own work.
Blogs have emerged as a major catalyst for change in traditional PR agency practices. Not only are blogs now established as an important information generator, intelligence gatherer, reputation builder, crisis tool, networker, and free digital press, blogs are the delivery method of choice for global PR agency watchdogs who are demanding a new, transparent, and highly credible method of delivering PR services. Blogs can be much more efficient at syndicating content than traditional PR releases.
Perhaps the single most powerful aspect of blogs, in the area of public relations, is the personalization aspect. The writer is a real person, putting a human face on what might otherwise be perceived as an unknown and distant company. By developing trust among the various readership groups, the blog writer provides a personal link to the company.
If the goal of a public relations effort is to work in coordination with sales and marketing, a blog will establish the trust required with current and prospective customers and clients, while in the past, public relations depended upon controlling the message that was put forward from the organization. The unspoken goal was to manipulate public opinion; hence the prearranged message was centralized and carefully vetted for wording and nuances.

Blogging as a public opinion medium gives up that tight control, and presents a message in a conversation with the reader. In that sense, the blog cultivates public opinion. With increasing transparency, inside and outside of organizations, the best approach is one of open discussion and blog is the ideal delivery vehicle for the same.

Many people have begun to mistrust the traditional canned public relations approach as lacking honesty. The openness of a blog changes that perception entirely. A blog can enhance that perception of honesty by delivering the straight goods on an issue. With that open approach, lacking the traditional tightly controlled message, trust in the company is enhanced and that trust translates into more life long customers and clients.

Why Your Business Should Have a Blog as a PR Tool
As blogging has gained prominence, it has become a vital public relations tool for companies. No longer is it enough to just have a Web site, now a company needs a blog to help it gain publicity and to help its employees or leaders to become thought of as experts in their field. The transparency is a popular reason for blogging, particularly for companies that want to be identified as mission-oriented or socially responsible.

Businesses are accepting blogging as an integral part of PR because it allows firms to engage with current and prospective clients on a one-on-one level. It is a low-cost, high-return tool that can handle marketing and public relations, raise the company profile and build the brand. There are only about 5000 company blogs, so there is lot of room for you to take your niche and gain valuable exposure.

If a disaster should strike (crisis situation), your business blog can provide an immediate and personalized way to address the issue and avoid sounding like the “spin” usually associated with traditional PR. Rather than shutting down communications in times of crisis, a company can post regular and open information on its blog. It can address the crisis fairly and honestly while keeping the public completely aware of where the business stands and its plans to move forward.

A company’s blog also plays an important role in gaining the attention of the media. The news media is constantly on the lookout for potential news stories. A growing number of editors and journalists are reading blogs on a daily basis. By writing about your industry, reviewing products, providing company news and providing commentary on your industry, your business’ blog is a ready source of news stories. Journalists will also come to view you as an industry expert if you write in a style that reflects your personality and knowledge.
Any business seeking a public relations vehicle, should add a blog to their Web site. The authentic and personalized blog voice is natural fit for any public relations and will benefit your company during a crisis. As more journalists and editors read blogs, it is imperative for your company to keep up with the trend.
Conclusion
Businesses seeking a public relations vehicle, that provides numerous additional benefits, should consider adding a blog component to their website. The authentic and personalized blog voice is a natural fit for any public relations effort.

A rapidly growing number of journalists and editors are reading blogs on a daily basis. It’s becoming imperative that companies start a blog to keep up with that trend. Thanks to the addition of an RSS feed, a blog’s updated post can be on a journalist’s computer in seconds.

Old style tightly controlled public relations are becoming a thing of the past. So get into the new public relations paradigm, by adding the personalized voice of a blog.

Wow its Thursday!!!

Wow I'm just so glad that its Thursday. I can have my weekend off tomorrow. Want a relaxing day off from work and just enjoy the peace and calm of not sitting at the computer for a long time. (Well ya i do have to come for a half day on Saturday, but atleast I can enjoy the holiday tomorrow!)I wanted to post some serious stuff, but realized that i cant do it in a hurry coz i do have to state a few facts too. So just decided to put in what come to my mind.

On top of that i have to get four articles ready for the PR conference magazine that we are coming up with. That seems to be driving me nuts and I have asked friends to read it and tell me their opinions. Well I certainly didn't know or rather didn't keep up with the revolutions of technology today and was not aware that all this has a huge impact on Public Relations and so on.

One thing I have got to say is this job certainly is teaching me a lot of new things. I am glad for that. But I do need my breaks in between to come up with a fresh mind and all that. Nowadays I do feel that I just live for it to be Friday or a holiday, see how much the goals in life have reduced to..Pathetic right?? Where have all my career goals and hardworking ideas gone to?? Looks like they jumped out the window...

Now i certainly do know what it means to take a good break in between and not get a total burn out. Anyway i plan to enjoy the weekend off and come back with a few serious thoughts later. I guess i will post one of my serious articles for the magazine here and hope to get some response about how it is.

Isn't it meaningful??

The wording on this particular picture is really meaningful and I believe that this can carry us forward on a very depressing day. It says:

"If you want something you never had,

do something you have never done.

Don't go the way life takes you.

Take the life the way you go.

And remember you are born to live and

not living because you are born."

Well it certainly is a lot meaningful to me as there are numerous days when i feel that there are many things that I have never had and feel that I'm living only because I was born.

To get over this kind of depressed feelings, you really need a lot of boosting and confidence. Maybe while reading it the first time you wont feel any difference, but atleast it will help you to get thinking about the positiveness in it.

Hope that these words will touch your heart.

Left side right to 'leave bed'

Today i came across an article which said that - getting out of bed on the left side is the right side. Sleep scientists, feng shui experts and psychologists put their heads together to analyse the best way to get up in the morning.

Left is best, they decreed in a study undertaken. Feng shui expert said getting out of bed on the left side is associated with all that people hold dear - family and health, money and power.

Psychology and motivation experts said that the left side helps us all to think rationally about the day ahead. The right side of the brain is responsible for emotions like fear and stress which only dilute your potential for for having a positive experience.

Well it does seem to be a good piece of information and when I think about it, I really have no clue if its true or not as I think I mostly get up from the right side now. And ya there was a time when I used to get up from the left side too. But really don't remember if it made me feel positive and all that..hummm...

well those who want to try this can try it out and let me know how the great experience is!!!

'Separated twins' marry, forced to break up in UK

Twins who were separated at birth and raised by different families met later and married but were forced to breakup when their discovered their true identities. It certainly is a tragedy for them and all who were involved. I can imagine the heartbreak and emotional distress they might be going through and its certain that they will need therapy and all that stuff to get over this.

Now with in vitro fertilisation(IVF) on the rise, and with large number of people being born by IVF, the risk of such cases are high too as most end up not knowing their true identities. This shows that the children do need to know who their birth parents are in order to reduce such risks.

This is certainly not the first time that such incidents have been reported all over the world. While the foster parents do have their explanations, the risk of biological siblings marrying are on the rise and this leads to lot of other genetic diseases too.

Well good luck to UK as they try to bring up new laws regarding the Human Fertilisation Embryology Bill. And lets see how things go in India.

Tata Motors $2,500 car to put India on global auto map

Only 10 years ago, India's Tata Motors Ltd unveiled its first car, a hatchback, that established the truck maker's credentials as a car maker. Tomorrow, the $7.8 billion company unveils its boldest initiative yet, a car that will sell for just $2,500, less than half the cheapest car on the market. Dubbed the 'People's Car', it will determine Tata's place in the global automotive area. They might also export the car as it would sell well in Africa and South and Central America.

There are worries about whether at such low costs it can meet safety standards, whether its a ticking time bomb, whether it will add to the growing pollution rate in India and so on.. Well everything will have to be seen after the car's performance on the road.

In a way i do feel that's its good because now low income, middle income families can also strive to get a car for a family instead of being crammed onto a scooter with luggage and kids and all.(Ya sure the oil, gas, fuel prices are going rocket high, but that is not slowing down or stopping the Indians in buying cars and all that.)

Thailand plans $9m funeral for princess!

Thailand's prime minister approved a nearly nine million dollar budget for a lavish funeral for the sister of the nation's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last week. The government plans to construct a vast crematorium in a park near the Bangkok's Grand Palace for the funeral of Princess Galyani, who died of cancer on January 2 at age 84.

what kind of comment can i tell for this? Sure i was stunned to see that this amount was being spend only on a funeral. Ya true she is the princess and the only sister of the King. But still a 9 million dollar budget?To do what? Ya sure i am stunned and at a loss for words when i think how many people out there r dirt poor and don't know what to do for one meal. Well if it was some private citizen doing it, i wouldn't think twice, but when its the government that's spending so much....

Ya i know that its a royal matter and so on, but i still do feel that they could have reduced on the amount and used it on something better rather than a funeral (specially when it will be held in 5 or 6 months). Meanwhile her body is lying in a teak coffin, surrounded by golden urns and jeweled decorations at the Grand Palace.

Some beautiful quotes!

These quotes are so meaningful and beautiful and will touch all of us equally as they refer to all.

Enjoy your life today
because yesterday had
gone and tomorrow may
never come.
(Alan Coren)

I love you
not for what you are,
but for what i am
when i am with you.
(Roy Croft)

A life with love will have thorns,
but a life without love will have no roses.

Morocco 'blogoma' Maghreb's liveliest

Well it may be a far cry from the millions of blogs active in the west, but Morocco's blogosphere has taken off as the liveliest free speech zone in largely conservative Muslim North Africa. The Moroccan "blogoma" as it is called, is home to atleast 30,000 sites. Inspired by blogers elsewhere in the Arab world, Moroccans saw these personal websites as a way to circumvent censorship while debating various issues.

well since we Indians have all the freedom we want, we wont understand it when blogs and press freedom are not allowed. We will feel it is ridiculous when so many blogers end up in jail for many of their comments. Like for example, a Saudi bloger is in jail now for some blog article of his, similar cases have happened in Africa, Tunisia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Algeria etc..

I guess we should be thankful that we have atleast this much freedom to express what we want.Well i cant say i am in the safe zone, because I am in Kuwait and here not much of press freedom is allowed (even though they say there is)!

Did we think this day would ever come?

Well did we ever think that the day would ever come when USA would have a African-American president or a lady president? Both seems to be impossible because, even though America boasts of equality and all that damn things, when it comes to choosing their president they will never keep upto that mark.

But strange things do seem to be happening and i am eagerly waiting for the results as i want to see if Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama will come anywhere near to becoming the next President of the United States of America.

Well if it was India, I sure could have expected anything as even the most illiterate ends up ruling the most educated. So can we say that about USA? NEVER! As they will never choose a President with a - criminal background, illiterate background and one who does not know to speak even a word in public. And all these do happen in India the wonderland of democracy!

Well inspite of all its fault, i am still a proud Indian. Thats crazy too...

An old song!

As I walked by myself

And talked to myself,

Myself said unto me,

Look to thyself,

Take care of thyself,

For nobody cares for thee.

That's exactly how i feel mostly and that's what i feel the heart says to me as it keeps warning me about the worldly ways of this world.

well that feeling has reduced a lot but it keeps coming back to haunt me on most days and warns me about bracing myself for lonely days in life and i guess its a way through which i seem to be protecting myself from being hurt.

Walking and talking to myself is what i do mostly and that's how i seem to talk my problems out, that's how i try to understand things, but it sure is a scary and depressing feeling at times.

But on the whole i do enjoy the feeling of loneliness mostly and get irritated when i do have people around.

Sounds crazy Na?

Iran hangs 13 on single day!

Wow Iran is back in full swing with the hangings. So with the start of 2008 they managed to hang 13 people on a single day including the mother of two children who murdered her husband after discovering her husband was having an affair.

The hangings, the first reported in 2008, were the latest in a growing number of executions in the Islamic republic as the authorities impose a drive they say is aimed at improving security in society.

Well if that's how they implement rules to keep society safe, then what would India have done? Executed all or 99% of its citizens??

'My time to lead will come'

Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal said in a message on the website Facebook that his "time to lead will come" despite his inexperience - and the fact he knows his life will be in "critical" danger.

19 year old Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a history student at oxford university took over as chairman of Pakistan People's party after his mother was slain. He said in a message to people who left condolences on Facebook that he was still just a student who enjoyed eating junk food and watching television and told that he would try to learn as he is not a born leader or politician or great thinker.

Well i do sincerely hope that this boy does get to lead a peaceful life and hope that he gets to enjoy his student days before stepping into his mother's shoes and taking hold of the Bhutto dynasty. Until then hope that his father will hold the reigns tight and safely too.

Scotland Yard is asked to aid in Bhutto inquiry

President Pervez Musharraf and his government first denied any help in the investigations that the international world had to offer and now he has requested the Scotland Yard to assist in the investigation. Looks like these people have some serious problems on their hands and have no stability of thinking too.

Pakistani government officials have rejected calls for an international investigation into her killing but have left the door open for assistance conducted from outside the country. They then proposed to president Musharraf to provide French or European experts. Well i guess that must be after France and the 27-nation European Union bloc offered help in the Bhutto probe and all Musharraf had to say to the the French official was that the idea is interesting.

Well looks like we can all watch and wait and see so much more of this stupidity from the Pakistan government.

Benazir issue again...

2008 just started and Pakistan government seems to be going bonkers. They first apologized to the the country and the whole world about their statements about Benazir dying due to hitting her head on sunroof and by evening they went back to denying that. Well what can we say about this, other than the fact that there sure seems to be a conspiracy and also that Pakistan government is making a fool of itself in front of the whole world.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Benazir's son Bilawal has been appointed the new chairman of the party, that way power stays in the Bhutto family. Well the 19 year old Oxford student seems to have been loaded with a huge responsibility and lets hope that he does it well as he has more than six years to learn before he can legally start out political works. Until then hope his father will carry the party and its work forward without anymore scandals.

Happy New Year...

Well...2008 has arrived... Hoping that this year will be great.

One great year that we can never get back has passed by, we are all an year older (yewh!) and more experianced with the world and its ways. Hope that these many years of experiance will teach us to be better and responsible human beings who are of some worth to others.

I'm back at work today and already wondering about my one and only resolution which i havent got around to yet because i'm purely lazy to even think about it. But i do hope that i can overcome that laziness and get around to keeping up the resolution soon.

Happy new year once agin to all u guys...