Category: Management & PR

The iPad – An Innovation that Transforms

iPad Image

I recently bought Apple’s latest product – the iPad. The move was more of an intuitive impulse, rather than a labored and thought through process; the latter being a more regular style when I am adding new technology to my life. In this case the decision was swift and instant, almost as soon as I could lay my hands on a piece (note: currently the iPad is only available in the US and some other European markets). It was like my intuitive self said “go for this one”.

What I have seen in the last few days is simply spectacular and basically transforms the manner in which I interact with my information, work, audio and video. While there are many reviews on the internet looking at the technical aspects of the iPad, I do not intend to get into a lot of those. My requirements are more basic. I need to be able to work with my photo albums, work related files (word, excel, power point), my music, the internet, email, client documents, watch videos and read the occasional book online. The iPad fits these needs perfectly.

The key differentiating factor of the iPad is its form factor and ergonomic design. On a very fundamental and visceral level the iPad feels “normal” to hold, work with, carry and relate to. Finally I can say goodbye to those “bulky laptops”. Here is something that feels like a very thin book in my hands (it’s only 0.5 inches thick) and is potently powerful. It has a wondrous screen with great space and multiple touch capabilities, a top class and large (on-screen) keyboard (please do not think of the iPhone – the iPad’s screen and keyboard are a class of its own and something with which you can comfortably word process even with large fingers and at a fast pace).

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Information Grasshoppers: Does the Internet distract us?

The internet has been truly liberating. By any standard it has put the world at our fingertips. I find the internet useful for a large number of tasks, information, entertainment and even conducting work. But here is a flip side – has the internet changed the way our brains are responding to the incoming overload of information. From being minds that look deeply into the nature of things, issues, universal principles (scientific, spiritual, geographic etc.) and conducting in-depth analysis; have we become “information grasshoppers” skimming a little bit of everything? With such a multitude of information, with the ease of hyperlinked data and threads, does the brain lose its ability to focus? The ability to narrow in on a topic – like say in a good 300 page book – is that quality of the mind disappearing? Because the brain keeps adapting to how information comes in – in the early days it was oral, then the written word with paper and books and now TV and the internet.

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IPL After Parties: A Concocted Show

Many people, especially Indians are very quick to criticize say someone like the Singapore government, for putting on directed and concocted shows. But what about these new IPL “after parties”? They seem like a miserable drill the cricketers follow, night after night after night. Not only does the show seem completely put on (at least to this author), women are invited, celebrities perhaps flown in and the cricketers seem like they have to “keep up” with this new party culture; and all-in-all  it looks like a sad and forced regimen for everyone. To top it all you have VJ’s and some others, pouncing around in over-excited tones, acting like it’s the greatest party on earth. Unfortunately, most of the visuals indicate to the contrary. The cricketers look jaded and tired, the VJ’s over-the-top, the invited mini skirt women flashing false smiles and celebrities who look like they would rather quickly get to their hotel room to get a good nights sleep. But its a free country and so people are free to celebrate and do as they please, but I would caution readers to be mindful before consuming boring visuals of a “put-on” party, weather on TV, in print or on radio. True celebration comes from the inside, through a solid understanding of your own inner being…no wonder you never find Sachin Tendulkar at any of these concoctions. Great example.

The Suckers of Advertising and Marketing

Marketers actually believe the jargon they speak and then go around making others believe their claimed bible of buzzwords, research, actions and sales. Then trade magazines are published for the advertising and marketing community, where they analyze the latest brand campaigns, TV commercials, print ads; and these magazines are also filled with incestuous adulation of who has become a creative director where, who has become a CEO, what are they currently doing. So not only do advertisers and marketers spend their whole lives making suckers out of the general public about their products and services, they then make suckers out of themselves and their colleagues in the fraternity, by supplying the latest information and gossip to the trade magazines about their so-called “creativity”, brand campaigns, analysis and thoughts on “new” trends. Sometimes it seems like an utter waste of energy, giving your life to selling soaps, financial products, washing powders etc. But I guess even advertisers and marketers have to make a living. But would it not make sense, to simplify lives, their own and the lives of the millions they may affect.  Simple truths can be told in effective ways. “Creativity” is not the birthright of only creative people in advertising agencies. It is the soul of every person.