Book Review: Blink

Recently, I had finished reading Blink and the book is all about those moments when we know something without knowing why. Here author explores the phenomenon of ‘blink’, showing how a snap judgement can be far more effective than a cautious decision. By trusting your instincts, he reveals, you’ll never think about thinking in the same way again.

There are two types of thinking. We may call them intuitive and articulate. The first is the domain of hunches, emotional reactions, and first impressions and instant responses to sensations. There is a cognitive process involved in such mental processes, one is responding to information. But there is no conscious thought because there is no time for it.

The second type of thinking is the domain of logic, deliberation, and scientific method. Here thinking is conscious, it occurs in words or sentences or symbols or concepts or formulas and so it takes time. Articulate thinking is the model of rationality, while intuitive thinking is often seen as primitive, emotional, the only type of thinking of which animals are capable. So it is articulate thinking that distinguishes human beings from the ‘lower’ animals.

Malcolm Gladwell wishes to bring a popular audience the results of recent research in psychology and related disciplines, such as neurosciences which not only confirm the importance of intuitive cognition in human beings but also offer a qualified vindication of it. He argues that intuition is often superior to articulate thinking. It often misleads, to be sure but with an awareness of the pitfalls we may be able to avoid them.

Blink tells more stories about judging from first impressions. A president elected because of his comely appearance that turned out to be a complete turkey. The book is all about how we understand the world around us. Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?

Social Media and origin of Slangs

There was a time long ago when the SMS language swayed an entire generation and works like frnds and thnx became popular. People preferred writing constricted forms of words to spelling those out in full. Soon after, there came another age when people using truncated words would be ridiculed and writing correct spellings and grammatically perfect sentences would again become the norm.

However, life seems to have come full circle, with Social Media taking over the Internet. As Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media platforms shot into prominence, acronyms and slangs became the most easily identified parts of the script. Languages grow and evolve with the society that speaks them. The power, tenacity and life of a language are reflected in its capability to incorporate with ease the changing facets of its patron society.

Slangs such as BTW (by the way), LOL (Laugh out loud) and HBD (Happy Birthday) are growing daily. Communication over Internet is more about speed than language accuracy. The reason why people resort to short words is need for prompt communication and multitasking. On Internet everyone is Vocal and requires an array of such words. Many of these words have found their own rightful place in the dictionary. Notably, gherao, bandh and selfie are some such.

The flow of words between Internet usage and popular culture goes both ways. What made the word selfie common in general use was the action of taking self-pictures rather than the word itself. Clicking one’s own image conformed to both cultural and technological spheres. The Oxford dictionary has provided some of these slangs the much needed relegation. Imagining a world without these internet lingos today seems as difficult as imagining one without Facebook.

So, next time you comment ROFL on something on social media, just scroll up and see other comments on this viral post. Chances are one will find many more slangs to serve as synonyms for ROFL or even more quirky words that might be waiting to enter dictionary.

Entrepreneurial Lessons from Manjhi Movie

I recently watched the movie Manjhi based on the real life of Dashrath Manjhi and his feat of carving a path through a mountain using only a hammer and chisel. I realized, the movie has lessons and there are great teachings for budding entrepreneurs. The carving of mountain by Manjhi is a picture of determination and grit. It was the person he loved that moved him to building a road through a mountain. For anyone aspiring to be an entrepreneur, it is very important to have a strong trigger. A cause that can inspire and excite is important for an entrepreneur to keep going.

History has shown that successful entrepreneurs have a strong self confidence that their idea would work and they can make things happen. They trust their abilities and skills to tackle business problems. Self-Belief is another lesson from Manjhi Movie. In the movie, Manjhi starts chipping the mountain by tackling the smaller stones. To be successful one has to tackle the small things at first.

Starting up and being an entrepreneur can be daunting. There are no off days and expect days to be tired and long. Every Entrepreneur or an aspiring to be one, must appreciate the unwavering focus of Dashrath Manjhi in getting his job done despite years rolling by. One may have domain knowledge and some skills needed to get startup going. An Entrepreneur has to step out of his comfort zone and even do things that may seem scary and confusing. This has a great effect on personal growth and prepares one to handle tricky situations, failures and rejections.

Manjhi has only greater good for the people of the village so that they can have proper access to the medical care. Although, it took him 22 years but he got the job done. Today, he is well known for his selfless act and the value he has created for the people around him. An entrepreneur should look to create value first. Create value and compelling reason for your customers and people will love your product or service. Solve a real problem and create value, the money will follow itself. Manjhi has shown us that a mountain can be conquered through sheer determination and therein lie the essence of creating a successful business.

Mela Marketing: The new Buzz

Fairs (Melas) have always been an integral part of the Indian lifestyle. It is difficult to find a person in the country who has never visited a fair or came across a Bollywood flick with a typical 1970s storyline of family tribute and re-union, all happening in Mela. It is these marketing honchos who have bought fairs to the center-stage by using them as a platform to market products.

The roots of such Mela Marketing are not just desi by their means. In USA, for example, in 2001 the sports drink giant ‘Gatorade’ tried to cash in on the theme of Thanksgiving and invested Millions in marketing its drink during the Thanksgivings fairs across the country. Later, in 2008, they even came up with a TV commercial Replay which was also built around a match that has always been played on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Not that Indian company was alien to this, but till now, Mela marketing simply was seen as a social service for rural folk. But this year Melas have seen huge investments in product marketing campaigns. In the Kumbh Mela, the element of novelty was 26 brands marketing their products using the Mela as the focal point of their campaign. For instance, Dettol marketed itself with a tagline, “Kumbh me snaan ek baar, Dettol mein Snaan baar-baar”. Boroline came up with “Kumbh se Punya Kamao, Boroline se Achchi Twacha Banao”.

Fairs are a good platform for direct promotion of brand. These fairs attract huge chunks of people from different strata of the society at one place for the longest period of time. Another example was the Dabur Campaign for its mosquito repellent ‘Odomos’. The interesting thing is, while Urban Melas like the Trade Fair, which attract highs of between 2.5-4 Lakh people on their weekend days, get hundreds of advertisers; events like Kumbh Mela still churn up at best only 26 Advertisers.

Melas advertising remains great point of sale immediacy conversion and would work only in relatively low priced FMCG products or services. For non-FMCG sectors, it’s clearly not such a promising deal currently as most of the masses at these Melas do not have intent to purchase durables during their visits. Nobody will buy a car or home in a Mela. But still they can think about it if there is an advertisement.