Hello Facebook!

And just like that, I am back on Facebook. Few months ago, when I realized that I was spending way too much time on Facebook and getting overawed by amazing lives of people around me, I decided to give it a break. But now, as I prepare myself for the next attempt at entrepreneurship (yes I have something in the pipeline - nothing that I can talk about right now), I need to be connected with strangers, acquaintances, friends and family.

In my experience, Facebook is an amazing tool to do so. However this time, the approach would be a little different. More than any planning per se, I have rough ideas where I want to take it and I would play as things move along.

More on this as and when I learn things. In the meanwhile, you may want to add me on Facebook. Here. 

The Shopping Spree

You never knew that a trip to a mall could fuck your head. I was at this mall in Bangalore, miles away from Delhi or Mumbai and I saw this amazing store that stocked all things Indian and ethnic. Since I am very interested in such stuff, I had to walk in.

The first thing I saw in that store was a leather purse shaped like a her favorite shape. And it brought back memories of the time when I had bought her that very purse, on my last visit to Bangalore, from a different store. It brought back memories of her smile and excitement in her voice when I gave her that purse.

I have always loved the concept of gifts. Don’t really like getting em but nothing like a well planned and executed surprise. I totally believe that life's too short and you can’t really wait for the right time to make someone happy. If something reminds you of someone, you better pick it up and dispatch it. And since she was is obviously more special to me than anyone else is, get always got a truckload full of surprises. Every time I met her, I got her something. A small stupid hand written note, a large box that has nothing but small post-it notes where I'd written things that I loved about her, a teeshirt, a fake flower and million such inconsequential things.

Coming back, I saw this purse and after the adrenaline rush, my heart cringed. Before I could think, I saw this set of small ceramic dolls. I had got them from yet another place for her. Then there were these pencils, that coaster, a mirror, a wall clock, a bunch of fake flowers (I dont, as a policy give flowers), a tee shirt (that she refuses to wear, her taste is better than that) and some more things that I had bought for her. It was like she had decided to open a store and stock it with stuff that I got for her.

All those things were bought for a reason. Everything had a back story that’s miles long!

And then there were these things that I have always wanted to buy with her, once we started living together. The bookshelf to start with. It could stock books, CDs and all the little kick knacks that both of us are fond of. There was this rug that I had thought I’d put next to the TV in our living room. And that small chandelier that I would have put in the dining area. The damned store had it all. If not with me, I am sure she would have bought some of those things. May be not actually. Despite knowing her for all these years, I still have a hard time guessing what she likes.

Its been a week since I went there and even now I regret the decision of entering that store. After a point, I just couldn’t bear to stand in that store and look at all those amazing things. Dejected, while I was walking out, right at the exit, I saw this yellow nameplate that I always wanted to buy for our home. It read, "The Happy Home".

P.S.: Sucks the way this has come out :(

An Opportunity for Snack/Food/Beverage brands!

At some point in time, a few years back, I was an account planner with a then emerging advertising agency. I was there for almost two years and dint really do lot of work that I could speak about out loud but I did learn a lot in the process and it helped shape my thinking quite a bit. It has programmed my mind to question every premise My mind was already wired to question everything and a stint with the agency made me learn to try and find reasons for all the actions. Today something interesting happened. During one of those long taxi rides, I started questioning a basic premise and it led me to come up with some amazing insights that a food/beverage/snack company may want to look at.

So, while I was on my way from Bangalore airport to Indiranagar (about 90 minutes cab ride through open highways and crowded city), I had this desperate urge to take a break, rest for a bit, seep in the scenery, tame my mind/thoughts, relax my head/body, eat/munch onto something and generally stop. And there were tons of places where I could have done that. It was an open highway with shops that sold stuff ranging from cheap country made liquor to tea to coconut water to aerated drinks to snacks to chips, cigarettes etc. And this is when I realized that for a non-smoker like me, there is no alternative to smoking a cigarette when I want to take an unscheduled break.

Let me take a break from the back story a bit and talk about a cigarette. A typical planner, would define the cigarette and the use as...

• A social object. When I am smoking, there is an instant connect with anyone else who is smoking close by. Both the smoker and the other unknown smoker, suddenly belong to the same tribe. They could start by sharing a light, a stick, a tea, a conversation and eventually a relationship. I can safely say that people bond over a cigarette and its as social an object as they come. 
• Cheap at 5. It costs anywhere between a rupee and 10. This is the right price point that customers in India are oblivious to. They can spend this kinda money without thinking too much about it. Ofcourse this is a gross generalization (more on this in the next planning posts).
• Kill time. A typical tick takes about 5 minutes to consume. This is the right amount of time that someone may want to kill when they are taking a break. Anything short is too short. Anything longer is too long. This is the right amount when you could disappear from that long/boring meeting and yet go unnoticed. This is the right amount of time that you need to recharge your batteries.
• Un-awkward. If I am standing on a corner idle, I become an eye sore for everyone else. I dont have a business there. But, if I am holding on to a lit cigarette, I suddenly become a part of the scenery. No one questions my presence. My role is defined. I can pass off as yet another cigarette smoker that is just having his regular fix of nicotine. No one would give me a second look. And no, a cig is not alone here. You could have tea, hold a newspaper or may be merely fiddle with your phone.
  
• Savor the after taste. After I have had it, there is that after taste that I can savor for long. Of course there are people who have issues with the after smoke but thats a different story. Then the kick that nicotine gives, also helps and for the ease of convinience, I would add to the after taste category.
• Available. Its as ubiquitous as condoms, potatoes, water and air are. There are small kiosks after every two feets (at least in India, even at remote locations). I can buy a pack, I can buy one stick, I can buy alternatives, I can experiment. Nothing is as easy as buying a cig in India.
• Does not affect appetite. Unlike a juice, or a tea or fruits, I can have as many cigs and as often and it would not affect my apetite. I would not skip a cig because having too much of it will make my stomach full and make my skip my dinner/lunch. So it serves the purpose of giving me a break, recharging my batteries and yet not affect my subconscious mind (assuming the ones smoking are aware and yet ignore the results of excessive smoking).

So after this rather large description of a cigerrete as a commodity that we humans consume, here is the million dollar question. Can brands/businesses in the foods, beverages or snacks industries, take these lessons from cigerrettes and create a product? Or may be create an experience? Or may be create a social object? Or something that

To make it simpler, can someone come up with a fmcg product that is cheap (<INR 10), available everywhere, allows me to kill those 5 minutes, makes me bond with other patrons of the product and does not give me anything but a break from the rigmarole?

More I think about it, more lucrative this seems. Ofcourse everyone would have tried taking this space. From things like coconut water to road side tea to street snacks to big established brands like Snickers (break at 4 PM), Kit Kat (have a break, have a kit kat), all the snacks (Hippo, Lays etc), lot of biscuits and million other assorted things have tried but they lack one thing or other. No one has been able to crack this bit as yet and when someone does, it would be a huge huge market waiting for them.

Wonder what do people in the business have to say about this? I can think of a response that one of clients for my ex-agency would have some up with. What else could be a valid response? And this is more of gut feel research right now and I would love to spend more time and effort on this. Primarily to validate the assertations and to unearth more such ideas. Anyone wants to commission a research? 

Published first on sgSandbox

Goals for Feb 2012

When I started this year, I told myself that I would make this the most special year of my life. The way I have spent January, I dont think its going to happen. And since I am desperate about it, I have to do something about it. Of all the ways that I thought could help me, I thought if I'd break things down into smaller units, it would be easy to work on and easier to track. So these smaller units would be...

1. One 1000 word essay/post/article every alternate day. 3 in a week. So far I have been able to write regularly this year. Just need to continue the momentum.
2. Traction of the projects that are occupying your head. ODID, MWL, OffbeatMag, SG.com etc. By end of feb, either get a direction/clarity on these or you shut these down. At least you'd know what you need to chase. 
3. Sort other shit thats cluttering your head. This includes work, stuff at home, fitness, #sgMS etc. Unless the heads clutter free, dont think I'd be able to do much.
4. Since the days ahead look packed in terms of travel, need to understand a few ways that could help you catch up on information (as there would be lot less reading). One of the ways could be follow relevant twitter users and rely on the maxim that information that you must know, will find its way to you. Another way could be to stop chasing gossip on twitter and stop indulging in idle chit chatter. Need to fix this.

Ya, this is it. Aint not much in terms of tangibles but if I could get these sorted, they would help me go a long way. 

The itch to travel

If I ever make my CV, I would include travel as one of my hobbies. To be honest, travel to me is more than a mere hobby. Its a very serious passion and I take it seriously. Thankfully I work at a place that makes me travel about 15 days a month. The way I travel is not really ideal but I dont really complain because if I was the complaining kinds, I wouldn't have seen all those countries and all those cities that I have been to in last two or so years.

WROTE THIS BIT ABOUT A WEEK BACK
So today in the morning, I was getting bored and was generally checking my Dopplr. It tells me that the last trip I made out of Delhi (not counting the daily trips between Delhi and Gurgaon) was in December of 2011. And its been more than one and a half month since I went out. No wonder my heads spinning and I am moving around in circle.

Last few days, some restlessness had set in. I had no clue why. One of the ways to cure that itch would be to travel. I need to plan a trip out of the city somehow. And sooner the better.

WROTE THIS TODAY
Now that I am back from the Chennai/Mumbai trip, I can safely say that it was indeed the lack of travel that was fucking around with my head. Of course there are other things but now that I am back after a good three day trip, I am far better.

And ya, like I keep saying, I am destiny's child. After I wrote what I wrote a week back, I got an unexpected call for a meeting in Chennai. And then once I was in Chennai, I got another unexpected call for a meeting in Mumbai. And the boring trip turned out to be an amazing time that I spent with Neo in Mumbai. I mean not that I partied like crazy or something but we lazed around, ate awesome stuff and made that mandatory trip to Sunny ka dhaba on the Pune Expressway.

Next thing I am hoping that destiny would shower on me, is her. Lets see when.

Untitled - 30 Jan 2012

Yet another untitled post (the last one was on 28th). To be honest, the entire concept of untitled is inspired from Hugh's blog. Anyways here are things that I learnt/saw/observed/etc today (and yesterday).

1. Anyways is NOT a word. Apparently. That's what someone (@mooodles) on twitter told me. If this is true, about 90% of my posts now are grammatically incorrect. Anyways, I use anyways more often that I use I.
2. I am now hooked onto Foursquare. Its been just a couple of days that I have started using and I absolutely love the experience. More than that, their BB application is awesome. It just adds on to the experience. This is my handle at foursquare.
3. Meeting real people is more fun that chit chatting with them on twitter or on blog. Real people have real comments. They are more candid and open. They are lot more fun. The conversations are more meaningful. Since time is the most precious commodity, I'd rather spend it with real people than crating virtual linkages to people. I like talking about marketing, technology, starting up, ideas, poker, people, India and a host of other things. If you think you would want to meet over coffee, I am @saurabh on twitter.
4. I will have to restart using Facebook. Because it has the audience that I want to reach. Both as an individual and as a marketer. Especially when I am serious about seeding a couple of ideas. I am hoping that my last login on FB is still active. I will decide in a few days about it.
5. Finally, I am a big fan of Jason Statham. He is the epitome of how I want to look, if I ever get fit. I've already achieved the bald part, just need to work on the fitness bits.

And I guess that's it for the time being!

Eight years of blogging

This month, in 2004, I started writing this blog. Its been 8 years. If Malcolm Gladwell and the research he unearthed in his book is to be believed, I would become an awesome writer in another two years (10 years or 10000 hours to perfect a skill/craft rule).

Like I say every year, there is no other thing that I have done regularly for these many years, apart from living. People I know blame it on my attention spam lasting a mere 3 nanoseconds. I, on my ADD.

Hope I continue writing. And someday, actually get good enough to move people with my words. Till that overnight success happens to me, here is an awesome nugget from Calvin.

Link: GoComics

Untitled - 28 Jan 2012

As I write this, I am sitting at the Chennai airport. I have had a whirlwind day. Woke up at 4 to catch a flight, fought with an aunty who liked throwing her feminine side to people at 5, caught a flight at 6:30, landed in Chennai and navigated my way through the alien language, wrote a presentation about a project I had no clue about, delivered that presentation and rushed back to the airport to catch a plane to Mumbai. In the entire day, I hardly had time to breathe. I mean I did tweet about mundance things, installed foursquare on my phone, go out for that leisurely lunch at Sarvana Bhawan and bought a Grappo Fizz and an ice cream from Spencer's and created time to write this blogpost. But I had no time to think of things that otherwise bother me. sgMS to start with. Despite all the time that has elapsed since she and I spoke I still cant get her out of my head. Then there are things related to work. I am losing hair at the speed of light and am still poor. On the other hand, every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be minting money as if they are the modern day incarnation of Scrooge McDuck! Then there is some shit brewing up at home. I dont even want to talk about it.

Anyways, the point of this post is that I have reazlied that I am the thinking kinds (MBTI - thinking) and more time I have on my hands, more I think. And more unhappy I become. May be the immediate solution to all my vows is actually finding something that can keep my head occupied for good. Something that makes me trapped in the rut so deep that I spend all my time wading through the shit. Something like what a bank teller does. Sits on a seat and attends to queries all day long. Now, if I had a degree that made me fit to be a teller!

P.S.: I wrote this in Chennai. Now as I hit the publish button, I am in Mumbai, waiting for Neo to come pick me up.

The Mastery of AR Rahman

AR Rahman needs no introduction. Last thing that I remember him doing (I dont watch a lot of movies btw) is the new Hero Motocorp jingle. At first I hated it. I thought it was too flowery and too flowing and was a bit of a drag. Neo, on the other hand, loved it from the word go. He even downloaded the jingle and put in his car. I distinctly remember laughing on his face when he first played it.

This week, Hero released their new TVC. Its a montage of "real" people from across the country, singing the jingle. And they are asking people to record their own version of the jingle and get a shot at getting featured in the next TVC. Good idea. But then this is not about the idea. This is about AR Rahman and his mastery. The same jingle that I hated when I heard for the first time, I loved it. Its so brilliant that I want to hum when its playing. I would not mind having it as my ring tone or caller tune. I would love to play this, along with all the other fab tracks I play every morning.

Like all AR Rahman songs, this jingle has grown on me. I dint like it initially but with repeated exposure, rather than getting bored of it, I now like it. With all other composers, you get bored when you hear something repeatedly, most AR Rahman songs, you get more attached to them. Salute to him for cooking this up. And salute to brand managers at Hero for letting this out. And salaam to Neo for identifying the genius when I missed.

Games People Play

Since I have some time on my hands, lemme think (with my fingers) on the reasons why I like playing poker. Of course like any other blog entry, this would have a long preface, followed by an even longer back story about he game. I would then beat around the bush aimlessly for a while, before I start uncovering the layers from the real reason why I am writing this. Finally after all the million words, I would write one line about it and then end it abruptly. And I know that once I read the draft after I have finished writing it, it would be about something else altogether.


So, here's the preface.
I have always played card games as a kid, but most of those were those Indian British games like teen patti and seep. And then since these were played with family, betting was a strict no. Not even on Diwali when even the Marsians gamble. Cards was more of an excuse to stay indoors during those fiery summers. And since playing cards helped with maths and brains, parents encouraged and we played for long hours.

The long back story.
But despite playing cards for all those years, my first tryst with gambling happened at MDI in 2005. I was the founding member of the teen patti club. We played a lot of Flush during those two years. So much so that at point in time, we were playing almost everyday.

It was at MDI, I think this was the time when I first heard about Poker. It is apparently Warren Buffet's and Bill Gates' favorite card game. And since I am on a perpetual ape-the-intelligent mode, I had to learn the game. I read about it, tried playing it with a couple of friends but I dint really like it. I even played it with some guys from IIMA who I bumped into on a trek trip. But again, I dint like it. Like everything, one thing lead to another and I passed out of MDI. I forgot about it all till I went to a casino sometime in 2007 and I played some poker on a real table. I ended up winning some 10000 bucks and it felt awesome to have the extra cash. Not that I would make castles from the poker money but it was something I hadnt anticipated. And like all humans, I like surprises and I like extra moolah.

Beating around the bush.
I think that was the time when I told myself that I need to start playing poker again. And I think once I came back from Mumbai, I started playing poker seriously. Started playing it online and every offline opportunity that I got - read home games, casinos etc. I even entered into a couple of tournaments at Macau and Amsterdam (no I dint specifically go there to participate, I was there and hence I participated). Both places, I was out before I knew I was in. I was that bad am still that bad. Last time I was playing on a real table (I think Casino Prime in Goa), I started with 10k, went down to 3k, went up to 90k and finally ended the game with 12. I must have played for well over five hours. I made 2k in 6 hours. Mr. Ahluwalia and the planning commission he deputy-chairs would be disappointed. I am after all in the elite category of skilled labour.

Anyways, so I started playing poker seriously in 2009 and played it on and off. I never got around to allocating a particular time of the day to it but I do try and play when I can. I tried creating a couple of groups in Delhi that could help me find some home games but I realized that for most people, poker is a mere hobby. For me, poker is something that I want to pursue as a professional. I am not sure but from Daniel Negreanu's tweets, it sounds like awesome fun.

One line about the reason why I am writing this.
I could have summarized the entire post in a few bullet points. They would have been (in no particular order if read it top down and in decreasing order of importance if you read it bottom up)

• I want to get rich!
• I want to develop myself as an individual.
• I like the unpredictability of the entire game. 
• I like the thrill and excitement of being on the poker table.
• I want to play some sport at the professional level, even if its a mundane card game.

Abrupt end.
Anyways, I have been writing this for well over an hour. Enough. Blogger should actually create a feature that tracks the time that is spent on crafting a particular post. I would use it because it will tell me if I get my writing in the first attempt or I need revisions.And may be, some day bill some client for the time ;P

What I wanted to write about and what I wrote about.
I wanted to write about the reason why I play poker and this ended up being a bried biography. I think I suffer from, as Shatru puts it, verbal diarrhea. Oh, by the way, if you live in Delhi/NCR and are keen on poker home games, do write in. And if you arent, request you to please spread the word.