We Are One - Happy Republic Day!

It's January 26, 2012 - our 63rd Republic Day and like always I feel great pride in seeing our Republic Day parade on TV. When I turn on our National channel - Doordarshan, the first question I asked was "Who is our Chief Guest this year?"  This year, I felt happy to see Thailand's first woman Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as our Republic Day Chief Guest. I read about her last year how she came to power at the age of 44 and it was indeed impressive. There's always something to learn and take from young politicians who are committed towards their nation's growth and development. We all have become busy in our lives but I still believe that the Armed Forces parade, brave children waving their hands and cultural representation of various states is something that emotionally connects you with India, a priceless feeling.

Bandra flyover - red from the top

I planned a visit to my parent's home at Gandhinagar and was travelling by road last evening where I came across some wonderful glimpses of Mumbai. I always wanted to capture an iconic night light picture and last evening was the perfect setting when my bus crossed over the Bandra Flyover. It was all red from top, it was simply spectacular! For me, this picture captures the essence and heartbeat of Mumbai. Everyone runs in Mumbai for a better life but when it comes for a common cause, cultural fest, movies, cricket match, natural calamity, threat to our city - we team up, we stand together, we care for each other. When it really matters, we are one. That's Mumbai.

It's been more than 5 years since I came to Mumbai to study and then work and I can tell you on this Republic Day that I feel very good being a part of this cosmopolitan city of dreams. If you do things right, you can feel the city holding your hands and taking you towards your dream. Whether it was my friend, office colleague, society neighbors, University officials, house broker, bank representatives, office security, canteen boy, etc there was some level of intrinsic bonding for building a good relationship. It's necessary when you're living in a big city like Mumbai as it's only these people who come forward to help you when you need them the most. Despite the language, religious, cultural difference - we are one. And, to depict the same - I did some creative photography which was actually a serendipity as three cloth-clips were lying on my window pane. While I was travelling in the bus last night, I used my Marketing skills and put a complementing message to make some sense out of it. I came out with the tricolor clips depicting bonding, brotherhood, telling us that We Are One.

Tag your friends on Facebook to share this Republic Day message

This is my way of remembering and celebrating India's 63rd Republic Day. I have uploaded the photo on maktion's Facebook page, in case you like it then:

1. Like www.facebook.com/maktion

2. Tag your friends on Facebook to share this Republic Day message.

Lastly, I felt quiet happy seeing our Prime Minister's official twitter account (Follow him @PMOIndia) posting the following Republic Day message:

Dr. Manmohan Singh's Republic Day greeting on twitter

Dr. Manmohan Singh is a quiet person but I admire him for his intellectual skills and statesmanship. I would like to see the PMO tweeting consistently in future to share first hand information and interact with us, the citizens of India.

Once again, Happy Republic Day.

Jai Hind!
A.

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Three ads that makes us smile - Hero, Coca Cola and Volkswagen

I was at home on New Year and an came on TV to which my Father immediately asked me in excitement "Have you seen this ad? It's very good!" I turned around to see and it was the Volkswagen Think Blue ad which even I liked since the first time I saw it. So what exactly happened here? Why did my Father especially mention about this ad out of nowhere? What made the ad click? These are some questions for us but actually an 'achievement' for the Marketers and Ad-maker of that TV campaign. As a Marketer, I find it exciting to observe, analyze, learn and pick up those 'little things' that help differentiate a successful campaign from others and allows them to become successful solely on the basis of word-of-mouth. Trust me, wanting people to talk about your brand is a Marketer's dream.

I have picked up three such ads from the last month period which I like and many are talking about. There's some intrinsic feel-good factor that drives these ads and makes us want to see again and again and even talk about it whenever there's a slight mention. I have put up the youtube videos of all the three ads below, do have a look and read what makes it work.

1. Hero Motor Corp - Hum Mein Hai Hero ad (2011)

What makes it work?

Hero MotorCorp website

• A passionate ad to relaunch Hero Motor Corp
• Song sung by the Music Mozart A.R.Rahman
• Lyrics resonate very well with common man
• Target not only youth but a broader audience
• Shows almost every part of India & its culture
• Website connects well with ad campaign
• The music makes us smile, see again! :)

2. Coca Cola India - Umeed wali dhoop, sunshine wali aasha ad (2011)

What makes it work?

Coca Cola India website

• Heart winning ad released on Holiday period
• Indian version of 'Reason to Believe' ad
• Starts with Umeed which means optimism
• Lyrics very catchy, makes you want to sing
• Shows children along with world facts
• Surprisingly website doesn't connect with ad
• The music makes us smile, see again! :)

3. Volkswagen India - Think Blue ad (2011)

What makes it work?

Volkswagen India website

• Ad wins your attention with an animated story
• Adopted from Think Blue global campaign
• Uses the environment as a backdrop
• Targets families, young professionals alike
• Blue color used to keep brand recall simple
• Website has Planet Volkswagen teaser
• The music makes us smile, see again! :)

To validate whether my observation and thinking was right or not, I tweeted the question "Which are your favorite new TV ads in the last one month or so?" to which my friend Rakesh (Follow @RakeshTheKumar) responded Coca Cola and Hero Motors - the two ads which I already thought of while writing this post, so it confirms my 'everyone is talking about' point above. His perspective that these ads make him feel happy and positive resonates what most of us feel. So, who gets the credit for this? - Undoubtedly, the Marketer!

Which are your favorite new TV ads? Tell Arif on twitter by clicking here

It's interesting to note that the common factor for brand likeliness and recall among all these three ads was - Music! The story in all three ads is packaged with simple lyrics and good music in a powerfully creative way. It just touched you. These ads rely on emotional branding which makes them more expressive through a meaningful form of communication and connected well across genre. They are different from the traditional ads which are predominantly product-centric, i.e. they aim to sell one product at a time by either showing a product feature, price discount, comparing with competitors, giving 10% more scheme, etc. They're not been shown to push the sales chart from the very next day itself. Instead, their aim is to build the brand by creating an environment of trust so that whenever next you think of a bike - think of the popular Hero bikes, whenever next you think of a soft drink - crave for the Coca Cola happiness and whenever you decide to buy a car - consider Volkswagen among your final three choices. It's basically in line with the broader aim of building the corporate brand. Big B2C companies with dedicated Marketing budgets can afford to run such ads as ultimately it's building noise, increasing brand recall and expanding a prospective customer base to maximize the value of the relationship as is in the case of B2B marketing.

I give a thumbs up to all these ads despite having owned a TVS bike, loved Pepsi as a teen and always drove our Indian Maruti car. For now, these ad makes me smile, see again and talk about it and I will definitely consider in future whenever I have to. As a Marketer, the take-away for me is to build 'stickiness' through innovative B2B marketing. If you have seen all three ads, then do post a comment below on what do you think about these ads and did you like them?

So long,
Hum mein hai hero!
A.

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OMG! The @HuffingtonPost has been hacked!!

It's midnight and you're signing out of your Gmail and social media accounts and as you are about to sign out of twitter, you see some strange tweets from a very well known account.

First reaction: "Am I dreaming?"

Second reaction: "Holy shit! This can't be! The @HuffingtonPost has been hacked!!!"

Yes, the reputed internet newspaper blog 'The Huffington Post' which is read by millions and has more than 14.5 lakh twitter followers was gloriously hacked last night Indian time. I read the HuffPo (short form) for its diverse coverage and I really like their photo posts but when I saw the tweet "Sup bitches???" last night - it was a complete shocker as I've never seen the HuffPo use such a language. And it didn't stop there, another 6 tweets (a @mention included) followed after which HuffPo regained control and in no time deleted the derogatory tweets. I've always heard about websites, emails, accounts, etc being hacked but this was the first time I was witnessing a hacked event in front of my eyes. I looked up through twitter search to see other people's reaction and everyone was shocked and amazed. I luckily captured the hackers tweets through @HuffingtonPost's timeline as shown below:

@HuffingontPost's twitter timeline after being hacked, January 16, 2012

@HuffingtonPost hacker's tweets, January 16, 2012

Now, relate these with @HuffingtonPost's real time tweets right now and you will clearly see that they never converse. HuffPo just tweet posts with links. If you're not a regular HuffPo follower, you may not be shocked at all but just imagine if it were some account you knew well or let's say if it was your own account and someone called you up to say "What are you tweeting man? Are you out of your mind?", will you not find this unusual? You will. HuffPo was a verified account, hence it seems that twitter helped it recover the account in no time but if your account gets hacked, what will you do? Cry? Crib? Shout? None of that will help.

The only way you can prevent the likelihood of someone hacking your social account is by staying a step ahead - by changing your password on a regular basis. Trust me, this is the only way for common (no-celeb) people like us. My Facebook account has witnessed two hacked attempts and I was a victim of twitter DM-spam hack. I immediately changed my password and continue to do so at regular intervals thereby negating the risk of any future hack. It does help, so don't be lazy in protecting your social accounts. Practice it as username, password and secret questions are now a part of our life.

Till then,
Do login safe,
A.

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Failed? Pick yourself up and start afresh

2011: India won the ICC Cricket World Cup against Sri Lanka and there was huge celebration across every corner of our country.
2012: Today, India lost their third test match against Australia in the ongoing Agneepath Test Match Series and eventually lost the series at 0-3. Now, only one test match remains but that will help little to restore the lost pride. The entire nation, every news channel, critics, etc are busy analyzing about the causes that led to this humiliating defeat. Whether it was the team's sight seeing or go-karting incident - they are being touted as the primary reason for the failure. In this post, the intention is not to analyze what went wrong, in fact I want to share what one should do when you are failing consistently. When nothing is going your way at all. When you have completely run out of luck. At that moment, what should one do?

We all are aware and have been waiting for Sachin Tendulkar's 100th 100 for quiet some time now. It will be special as no one else has ever reached, or is likely to reach this milestone in the near future. But, the irony is that Sachin gets out every time he's on his way to a ton and the current string of losses just adds to the woes and portrays the 100th 100 as a curse for the team. The situation has come where most people now want Sachin to anyhow score a 100, even if that means playing a special match against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe and bring relief to the team.

Sachin Tendulkar caught out in the third test match at Perth I Pic Source: Dawn

During the third Test Match at Perth, I had this intuition that this time Sachin will score a 100 and yet again he got out in both the innings without scoring a ton. As a fan, I did get disappointed and no, it was not just for his 100th ton but for our team's loss. It felt humiliating. We all were let down and this is reality for now. Now for a minute, put yourself in one of the players' shoes or just relate this entire incident to something that happened in your life where everything was going wrong and you were failing consistently. Nothing went your way and you ran out of complete luck. Did it happen with you? In your educational duration or professional career? Almost all of us have had such an incident at some point in our life. It can be depressing and take you in the dark. I have also gone through such rough times during my academic years and my profession in Marketing where everything was going beyond control and I had no answers. Despite the criticism around, which in a way was better than the ones who chose to remain quiet so that our relationship doesn't get affected, I didn't give up on myself. I knew for sure that if there's anyone who can help, it's me. This was one of the biggest lessons I learnt early in my life.

If you are not doing well for quiet some time, your friends, colleagues and parents will come, hear you out and give good advice but ultimately you will have to put that extra effort to come out of it. The sooner you realize this fact, the more likely you are not to repeat the same mistakes. I had some friends who couldn't cope and ultimately had to compromise on a good career. You, should certainly not allow that to happen to you. So what should you do when your stars are not with you? I have some simple tips:

1. Don't fumble - one of the first thing that happens to us when things go terribly wrong is that we panic and fumble. You should not fumble as otherwise you go more into darkness and lose precious time which otherwise you could have used to avert the crisis while still going through it.
2. Stop. Look inside - when one after the a string of bad incidents take place we take decisions in a hurry and end up screwing up the matter even worse. You should stop then and there and look inside, introspect what is happening around, what has gone wrong and how can you make up in the least time. If you are honest to yourself and do these two steps, there are high chances you will come out of the crisis mid-way and can cope up with likely obstacles.
3. Pick yourself up - You still went on to take a hasty decision and ended up screwing everything? Once again you failed miserably? That's bad but you should quickly get over it without wasting any more time. One does feel lost and finds everything falling apart around himself. Suddenly, it appears that everyone is conspiring against you and are very negative. Relax, such incidents activate such responses and that's completely natural to happen. You just need to be strong from within and pick yourself up. You need to be mentally strong and accept the failure yet at the same time promise to yourself that you will give your best and come out of it, come what may. 
4. Start afresh - Once you have made your mind to come back strong, don't go back and spend too much time thinking why it went wrong, who is to blame, etc. It's good to know but not at the expense of time as otherwise your future activities will get affected. It's always good to start afresh with some hope and positive spirit. If you show the will to succeed then other surrounding factors too will align to make it possible.

If you ever feel down, try these four steps as I've always used them whenever I went through a crisis in my life. It has immensely helped me and I've personally shared these tips with some close friends who have benefited. If these don't work, feel free to write to me by clicking here and we'll try to find some solution.

And yes, keep the faith in our cricket team. Let's collectively wish that they come back strong and make us proud. Go India, go!

Till then,
Stay strong and positive.
A.

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Welcome 2012 - new, bright, more @maktion

Dear Friend,

Wish you a very Happy New Year 2012! :)

Despite all the predictions of the world coming to an end, let's just welcome 2012 as it brings along with it hope, positivity and newness in our lives. It's an occasion to refresh, resolute and recharge at an individual level. Like we had in schools, 'the waiting period' for the last exam to get over so that we could start something new, the arrival of the new year too is such an occasion wherein we ought to leave our tough moments and move ahead, give more for better.

Last year, I had the opportunity to converse with many of you and the most common questions asked to me were - 'Who is creative?', 'Can anyone be creative?', 'How do you become creative?'. My own experience and intuition says that 'Everyone is creative. Yes, everyone! I have no second opinion on that and my aim this year on maktion will be to spread creativity as much as possible. I will make an attempt to come up with simple suggestions/activities, etc so that most of you can realize and connect with creativity. Remember, creativity is not something which only painters and fashion designers have. Anyone can be creative as it's only a matter of his/her realization.

With the first firecracker of 2012 comes a refreshed maktion which is - new, bright, more! It took me some time to think and finalize this theme as I asked myself a question - what's the aim of maktion? I went back to the year 2008 when I first thought of the idea of having a website, blog, etc - basically a meium of creative exchange. Somewhere in all this, the idea of maktion took birth from my hostel room. My entire MBA class was preparing for their last and final semester exams and here I was giving 8-10 hours every night to build maktion so that I can have it up on the web before I leave B-school. And, being a Biologist (by academics), it wasn't easy to have all the HTML codes, tech, domain, DNS server, etc in place for the final experience. That was one of my life's best individual learning experiences where I just had three things with me - my creativity, my passion and my laptop. With these three, I went ahead and rolled out maktion to make everyone experience creativity. So, did I achieve something out of  all this? i think I did. Today, I can say a proud 'Yes!' Many visitors come back with their feedback, suggestions and questions and that's where I try to help them in every possible way. Now, some even recognize me for maktion and that feeling is simply great! It's been an exciting journey and now it's time to take maktion to the next level.

Your maktion is now - new, bright, more!

So, what is new, bright, more? Well, maktion is a cube of creativity and if the three identified elements - new, bright, more fall in place then I believe your time spent at this blog will be fruitful and you will get to experience creativity!

• new - covering new trends and topics connecting with creativity
• bright - visuals, designs, logos, etc which excite the human mind will be featured
• more - more posts, activities, cross-learning, education, experience sharing

You have been reading some or the other post on maktion and I hope this association strengthens further from here onwards as I'm really charged up to contribute and give more for the cause of spreading creativity. This year, I look forward to your feedback and tips on new topics to cover. Through all this even I learn, feel good and experience creativity.

Wish you grand success in your chosen line.

Be creative,
A.

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'One thing I like about Shah Rukh Khan' contest@maktion

SHAH RUKH KHAN.

Yes, you read it right. It is 'the' opening line of this post, nothing before, nothing after, no hyperlinks, no link backs, just Shah Rukh Khan. This post comes at a time when the entire nation (and world) is preparing to meet their new superhero - G.One take on baddie RA.One! But before putting on the G.One suit, our SRK has donned many roles, some mind blowing, some that forced tears out of your eyes, some that inspired many to stretch to win and some that just made you laugh. Only SRK could do that in one lifetime.

Hang on, I know some of you reading this post may absolutely dislike SRK, which is fine. I will not contest your views as you have a reason to stick on to it. Be assured, this post is neither sponsored nor being put up to convert your opinion about SRK! Actually, this post was not even there in the pipeline, it just came up as a random thought last week after which I jumped in to 'make it happen'. I converse with many diverse individuals on Twitter and some of you asked me to write on SRK. Well, this post is a prequel to my next post on Shah Rukh Khan. It is my way to celebrate Shah Rukh Khan, the phenomenon. It's like taking the SRK fan-ship to the next level where fans can connect with other fans and at the same time offer something to bring smiles and share happiness. It's just one fan's random crazy idea!

Those of you who have been reading maktion regularly may have noticed the change in narration style. It was done deliberately and I have adopted a #StoryTelling based  approach after reading it's relevance from Snigdha Manchanda's tweets (Follow on Twitter: @actionink). It actually works and going ahead I believe you will see more stories whether it's in ads, campaigns or even a static billboard that you see while on your way to school/college/work. People want stories, not facts for facts are boring and were left long back in school. Without adding any further, I'll jump to the contest details, hope you will participate and win one of the three cool prizes.

'One thing I like about Shah Rukh Khan'

contest@maktion

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Welcome Guest.One!

How has your day been? I hope it has been good and now get set as you are now about to enter the SRKraft! Fasten your G-belts and make sure you think well and attempt all levels of this unique contest@maktion. Make it special for you, for others, for SRK! All set? Let's go!....

G.One is coming on Oct 26. Fasten your G-Belts!

Before you start: Attempt all levels and make your entry as a single entry in the comment box below. If you have a Google account, you will need to sign in to comment. If you don't have a Google account, then use the Name/URL option. Enter your name and email address in the blank fields and comment. In any case, don't use Anonymous as then the judges will not be able to contact you if you win.

Level 1: What is your name? (complete name)

Level 2: That's a nice name! How old are you? (age)

Level 3: At that age, many are creative! So, where are you from? (city & country)

Level 4: So, you're definitely not from Mars! Hmm. By the way, what do you do? Do you study or work? (study or work, provide details if you wish)

Level 5: Do you tweet? If yes, what is your handle? (twitter handle)

Level 6: Well, you sound great. What is your email to connect? (write your email in this format: akash at gmail dot com. If you don't wish to publicly disclose your email, then write all the above details and click here to directly send via contact form)

Congratulations! We are done with the easy part and now we have one more easy part! Yep, there's nothing difficult at your maktion. :)

Level 7: Do you have a nickname for Shah Rukh Khan? If yes, what is it?

Level 8: How old were you when you first saw SRK?

Level 9: Where did you first see SRK? Please share in brief. (max. 20 words)

Level 10: Is SRK your favorite actor? (Yes/No, if no then who's your favorite actor?)

Level 11: Which is your all time favorite SRK movie? And why? (only one name, max. 20 words)

Level 12: What about your all time favorite SRK song. Which one is that? (first two lines, only one song)

Level 13: Have you listened to #RAOne's songs? Which one is your favorite? (first two lines, only one song)

Level 14: What is that one thing of SRK that you possess and keep in your drawer/ cupboard/ bix? That one article which you proudly take out to show to your friends? (one article only - poster, toy, photo, watch, CD, etc)

Level 15: Would you like to add one more SRK-momento to your collection? How about any of the one's shown below?

1. An awesome G.One Action Toy (worth Rs.1050)! :D
2. Or perhaps G.One's H.A.R.T. Badge (worth Rs.560) ;)
3. Or, maybe you and I can go out together to watch G.One once again? :)

What do you think? Sound exciting? (Yes/No, if yes then express your excitement in max. 20 words)

Level 16: Have you bought your tickets for #RAOne? (Yes/No) Who all are you taking along with you to see G.One take on the baddie RA.One? (Family/Friends/Colleagues, describe in max. 20 words)

Oops, we discussed a lot, you even got to know the prizes - but what about the contest@maktion question on which you will be judged? Let's finish that quickly!

Coach, ChakDe India

Level 17 (Judging-Q): You like a lot of things about SRK, you love him, you are crazy about him, you also dislike him. But, what is that 'one thing' that you like about Shah Rukh Khan? That one thing about SRK which has inspired you. That one thing which has made you a better human being? What is that 'one thing' that you can share with maktion? (Describe in max. 200 words. You can go on but for judging, only the first 200 characters as highlighted by Microsoft Word - Word count will be considered)

Makes you think, right? ;) Take your time. Write in a word document first, and then submit in the comment box below.

Level 18: Did you enjoy contest@maktion? Was it different? (Yes/No, any comments, max. 20 words)


Level 19: This contest@maktion has not asked you to ask your friend to 'like' maktion on Facebook. But, will you recommend www.facebook.com/maktion to your friends so that they too can experience.creativity? (Yes/No)


Level 20: You did extremely well till this far. Now one last question before we wrap - Will you come back on Nov 2, 2011 to read Arif's (Follow on Twitter: @arifkhan7) new post on Shah Rukh Khan? (Yes/No, any comments, max. 20 words)

Well, this was it! Hope you enjoyed flying the SRKraft and thank you for participating in contest@maktion!

By the way, don't you want to know who will judge your entries and how? Yes, right? There is a simple format and every participant will be judged based on his/her response to Level 17 - that 'one thing' you like about Shah Rukh Khan.

Evaluation Criteria: The top three responses will be judged on:

• Uniqueness (how different is your story)

• Storytelling (how you narrate it in 200 words. Be creative here)

• Written from the heart (the best will come out on their own, just write from your heart like you would converse to a friend in a canteen. Don't mention facts, movie numbers, etc as Google already has that all. Just be original, be yourself, be the SRK fan you are)

About the judges: There will be one judge from Mumbai, who is ...'me, Arif' and another judge from Canada who has been kind enough to give her valuable time for judging the contest@maktion entries. She has distinct knowledge on Indian Cinema and is the unofficial online secretary of Karan Johar (approved by him!). An expert on anything KJo and SRK, she is the one and only Emaan Khan. (Follow on Twitter: @MaaNey) Thank you Emaan! :)

Rules (well, not really!):

*Entries will be accepted from October 23 to 31, 2011, midnight IST.
*Winner Announcement on November 2, 2011, 21:00hrs IST.
*Judging will be absolutely fair and final. Winning is important but the bigger aim of contest@maktion is to celebrate Shah Rukh Khan.
*Winners will be informed by email and they will have to provide their complete address and contact details for courier requirements. If from Mumbai, you are welcome to meet me in person over a cup of coffee and collect in person.

*All prizes are original RA.One merchandise as mentioned on G.One Store. Courier charges (India/worldwide) will be borne by maktion so that you get your prize, at your home and can collect with a smile! :) 

*Movie tickets will be be selected depending on a common location, availability in Mumbai. This includes pop-corn and beverage! If the third prize winner is not from Mumbai, but from India then 2 movie tickets will be awarded as per the cinema hall coverage and availability on the online portal BookMyShow.

Wish you all good luck, make the most of contest@maktion. Do share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter with the hasgtags: #maktion, #SRK and #RAOne.

 I'll be looking forward to read your entries. Come, let's celebrate Shah Rukh Khan. :)

Be creative, have fun!

Wishes as always,

A.

PS.1 - Click here to have a look at an awesome video where SRK extends his hand out of the youtube window to absorb the H.A.R.T. power from the ad-box on right!

PS.2 - Karan Johar (Follow on Twitter @kjohar25) just tweeted a while back after watching RA.One. Can't wait for October 26, 2011 now!!!

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UPDATED 08:00am, Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Happy Birthday Shah Rukh!

Contestants - Like you I too am excited to announce the results of the first contest@maktion 'One thing I like about Shah Rukh Khan'! There was a good response and maktion got 5 entries. Four entries were very well written and it was tough to judge but then I had got the best person I could - Emaan Khan for the job (Follow on Twitter @MaaNey) and she did it wonderfully well. Thanks Emaan! :)

Here's a little note from Emaan on how she felt about the contest@maktion and what did she consider while judging the entries:

Here are my results, it was great to read the love people have for shahrukh. I enjoyed being a part of this contest.

Part 1: I looked for things which aren't commonly said about shahrukh. They had to be unique


Part 2: I was looking at the flow of writing. Story telling and how engaging it can be.


Part 3: I was looking for the writer to convince their emotions,not just word but make me feel what they are saying.

Everything is judged fairly and I don't know any of these people personally.

Like the contest itself, the results too will be announced in style! ;) And what's that? Well it's November 2 today - King Khan's birthday. The results will be announced LIVE from Mannat, Bandra, Mumbai at 8:00pm. I just hope I make it on time after office!  Plus, the best thing on maktion is - no one loses. No one.

More details about the prizes, etc will be put up here late night today. Keep a watch. Good luck to the participants.

UPDATED 08:20pm, Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I am standing outside Mannat, waiting for Shah Rukh to turn up and my phone battery is very low. I have to push the results for tomorrow. I know you all waited. My apologies.

UPDATED 08:00am, Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Day for contest@maktion results has arrived! I was so excited to announce the result which Emaan had emailed me in advance. She added in the note that everything is judged fairly and she doesn't know any of these people in personally. Now, there was only one glitch - I could not get the G.One and H.A.R.T. prizes. I checked out at six big toy stores across Mumbai but none had the merchandise. I decided to go to Mumbai's best toy store - Hamley's to buy something equivalent to declared prizes.

Along the way, I quickly noted the results, score on a piece of paper so that I can live tweet at the pre-decided time of 8:00pm. All the four contestants had come (on Twitter) and the results were announced based on the criteria mentioned above, out of a total of 30 points.

• Uniqueness (10 points)
• Storytelling (10 points)
• Written from the heart (10 points)

The results were live tweeted and it was very exciting to try out that way! I'm sure everyone following this contest enjoyed that.

Results for the 'One thing I like about Shah Rukh Khan' contest@maktion:

First Winner - Aditi from Kolkata

Score: 29/30 (9 + 10 + 10)

Twitter: @TrulyAditi

Second Winner - Shweta from Mumbai 

Score: 25/30 (7 + 9 + 9)

Twitter: @VSShweta

Third Winner - Samantha from New Delhi

Score: 24/30 (7 + 10 + 10)

Twitter: @Springurl86

Runner-up - Karima from Mumbai

Score: 22/30 (9 + 6 + 7)

Twitter: @wotcherdutchess

The following picture summary sums up everything! A runner-up prize was also given as this was the first contest@maktion.

Hamleys Tory Store at Phoenix Mills, Mumbai:

 

Aditi (First) won a LED 3D Puzzle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

 

Shweta (Second) won a 3D Puzzle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

 

Samantha (Third) won a Pink big-eyed bear and movie tickets:

Karima (Runner-up) won a Purple big-eyed bear:

All the contest@maktion prizes together:

All the prizes were dispatched to the respective winners on the same night. And with this, the first contest@maktion closed. I truly enjoyed every bit of it and hope to come back with more such contests in future. Once again congratulations to all winners! As far as my prize is concerned - I think it's the contestants time and entries which is priceless. If I ever get to have coffee with Shah Rukh Khan, I'll definitely show this post to him! ;)

Staying creative,

A.

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I am nobody without my hair, I just love them!

'Aur kitna waqt lagega?' Barber: 'Sa'ab, paanch minute lagenge, aap baithiye idhar, inke baad aap hi ka number hai.' Me: 'Hmm, theek hai. India khel rahee hai (looking at the TV), kya lagta hai kaun jitega?' Barber: 'Sa'ab, Sehwag chala gaya ab sab kuch Gambhir ke upar hai, balla chalega toh jeet sakte hain hum'. Me: 'Chalega, chalega! Gambhir itni furti ke saath khel raha hai, mujhe lagta hai ki hum nikaal lenge.' Barber: 'Haan sa'ab, aa jaiye, ab aapka number hai.' Me: 'Tight rakhna, peeche se square, side se sharp and upar se medium - bilkul pichli baar ki tarah, aur dheere daudana apni kainchi, koi jaldi nahi hai' Barber: 'Jee sa'ab, bilkul yaad hai. Apna sar aaghe kijiye, thoda side mein.' (with a smile). The barber takes the spray pump and sprays from all sides which makes me feel my head is surfing in a cool wave! It is one those rare feelings which comes when you go for a hair cut at your local barber shop. He combs my wet hair from front to back in one go and picks up the scissors with a keech keech sound ready for the first cut.

Barber's seat

He advances by cutting from the back and starts the conversation about the match, Indian politics, Mumbai metro and what not?! Whatever you want to talk on, he has them all ready! Sometimes I wonder if he weren't a barber, he could have been a good journalist, at least an AajTak one for sure. In between, he suddenly says 'Sa'ab aapke baal bahut achche hain, bade mulayam se hain aur kanghi bhi achchi gir rahee hai. Aap chhote katwate ho par mujhe toh yeh bade baal hi achche lagte hain.' Me: 'Kya karoon, nahi katwaunga toh mere office wale mujhe garage wala samajh lenge!' Hahaa (both laughed). 'Tum achcha kaatte ho, is liye laut ke yahan aata hun.' Barber: 'Bahut log aate hain baal katwane, zara zara si baat pe garam ho jate hain. Aap shant rehte ho aur is wajah se main achche se kaat pata hun. Achcha lagta hai jab aap kursi pe hote ho. Sa'ab idhar se chote karun?' Me: 'Haan, zara sa bas.' The barber cut my hair perfectly, I paid him and thanked him with a smile. He too reciprocated with a smile as a symbol of the unsaid bond we share. That was my previous experience at the barber's shop.

Note: I usually write in English but this conversation between my barber and me was deliberately written in Hindi to capture the magic and charm that comes along with it. However, for non-Hindi readers, here's the jist of the opening paragraph - I tell the barber how I expect him to cut my hair and he begins to cut. In between, he tells me that my hair are very good and soft which allows him to comfortably comb through. He adds that I want to get it short but he personally likes my big hair. The bottom-line is that he enjoys cutting my hair as a part of his job. This statement coming from a person who touches, feels different strands of hair is definitely one of the best complement I've got for my hair. Without them, I would have been nothing, not the guy I am. But then, it wasn't like this always. I had tough times handling my hair during my life as a student. They always used to get messed up, looked unkempt and made me look shabby.

My Ammi noticed about this discomfort first and advised me to use the shampoo and conditioner for my hair at least twice a week. I understood shampoo but what on Earth was a conditioner? I bet many boys wouldn't know this (Haha, go ask them!) Later, I came to know a conditioner is also a hair-care product which ease combing and styling. Basically, it's like an add-on supplement without getting into the science of it. Watch any shampoo ad, observe the flying molecules and you'll figure out. I agreed to follow my Ammi's advice and initially didn't find any difference apart from the sweet fragrance that used to come along as soon as I came out of the bathroom. I must add, it felt good! My Ammi was not the only one to advice me, my grandmom, my aunt, even one uncle - all of them gave their own piece of advice. One aunt from a small town asked me to apply some special mitti (soil) on my hair for a day. I was like - what?! It may have been a good practice but I simply laughed it off.

As I advanced to the next phase of my life, i.e. job, I had lesser time to take care of my hair. There were days when I couldn't shampoo for a week and then my hair would become like some jute mat! A horrible feeling by the end of the week. One thing which I never used to do earlier was to read about the different type of shampoos. I started reading about the different variants of the same brand available on the store shelves and then made a selection depending on my need. It could be plain anti-dandruff, or for silk and shine, or for dry hair, etc. Try reading the pack details next time before you buy one, you'll be surprised that there are different shampoos for different needs. The anti-dandruff shampoo that you usually pick up without much of a thought may may not always be the best solution for your hair. Being a guy, it may feel a little embarrassing but then it's your hair dude, if you don't care, the floor-guy certainly ain't going to come and tell you 'Sir, take this one, this is good for your dry hair!' A little reading can help make you choose wisely. If you still feel shy, then just note the name, come back and google on the net. Today, thanks to some aggressive marketing, all major shampoo brands ensure that the it's easy for a customer find something he's looking for. These companies make such information snippets available on their websites and some of them even have an interactive microsite to help you choose the right shampoo. You will come across many opportunities to 'like' someone's Facebook photo, tweeting or whatever you keep doing but take out a minute to look at the new Dove Nourishing Oil Care Range. Their tips, home remedies and myths are worth a quick read.

I have tried various shampoo brands and my top selections in no particular order (perhaps top-of-the-mind recall) are:

Good shampoo brands in India

• Head and Shoulders - very good for anti-dandruff.
• Garnier Fructis - for making your hair silky, shiny with good fragrance.
• Dove Hair Care - Ammi started using since a couple of months, feels soft and extremely light on the head. It just refreshes you, just try it!
• Pantene Pro-V - recommended by Aunt, it makes hair smooth.

Once you have selected a shampoo of your choice, you got to make sure that you apply it at least twice in a week of five working days (three would be better). And how? Well, wet your hair and take some shampoo in your palm. Add a few drops of water and massage your head for 2 minutes. Make sure you don't leave any corner. Now rinse with straight flowing water till the the foam flows away. Thereafter start rubbing your head under flowing water, I sometimes shake my head like a footballer, it's fun! Wipe your hair with a good soft towel and neatly comb. Simple, right?

Girls would already know so much that my post here would appear irrelevant to them but guys, if you are not serious about hair care yet, then you should right away! We live a busy life and have so my commitments to fulfill and often end up spending less time on taking care of ourselves. As Dove puts; love your Hair and it loves you back! To add, if you don't love your hair now then soon you may end up sitting at the reception of Dr. Batra's Clinic. Decide and make a bald, oops I meant a bold choice!

I feel that listening to my Ammi's advice some 7-8 years ago has made me what I am, how I appear, what people think of me today. Although I have had super short hair-cuts almost bald-like thrice which surprised my friends and colleagues (two of them couldn't recognize me), I can't imagine a day without my hair follicles. Once your hair grows healthy, you can fiddle with it, experiment, try different styles, make that perfect impression you always wanted to. Biochemically hair is keratin, i.e. dead protein but I love my hair and it loves me back, that's how we both are! Some rockstars (my hair) have turned white but I don't feel like killing them, they have a place of their own on my crazy head!

I'm not that good looking but I'll leave you with a collage that I made for the IndiBlogger Dove Contest to showcase some of the different hairdos I have flaunted. Every photo in the collage has a 'wow' story of its own. Perhaps, I can share over a cup of coffee some other day. Super-short crop, short, spike, medium, long, etc - there's nothing I haven't tried and trust me for each individual style you need to take good care of your hair so that you can carry it wherever you go.

IndiBlogger Dove Contest - My Hairdo Collage

If there's some style missing, just tweet to me at @arifkhan7 - I'll get it done next time for you as I experiment a lot on my hair. And yes, here's the pep twitter conversation I had with Vineet Rajan @vineetrajan from my favorite blogging community IndiBlogger which actually pushed me to take part in this contest!

Vineet - Dude, I, a guy wrote this post, now where's my iPad2? Haha. ;)

Bubble-up - the Arif way!

I hope you enjoyed the narrative of my little rockstars and will take good care of your hair.

Love is a two way street: Love your hair and it loves you back! However, after all this if nothing works out for you then don't worry at all. I have a creative solution for you. Just chill, feed your hair with Coca Cola and see your little rockstars bubble up! It may sound crazy but you'll feel you are on top of the world with your rockstars singing the 'happiness' note above your head. And ssshhh... this is our little secret, keep it between us! ;)


If you found some value and a take-away from this post, then do share your thoughts and leave a comment below. I would definitely like to read as who knows I may get to learn something new from you. Plus, if we still don't know each other, then come let's shake hands on Twitter! Simply follow me @arifkhan7 and we'll converse on hair care and more! If you are a regular, then do use the hashtag #DoveSpa and #maktion while sharing this post with your friends and followers.

Remember, it's our hair, we gotta care! :)

So long friend,
Be creative, have fun!
A.

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iOwe you Steve, iWrite to thank you - Non-Apple'er

Dear Steve,
i was studying Sales Management in our Business School library back in 2007 and found it utterly routine and monotonous. A company makes a product, the Marketer weaves a marketing plan around it and finally the Salesman pushed it on the ground in a completely different way. No matter what people did here in India, this cycle remained the same. One or two successful deviations might have happened but they were never reported in textbooks or perhaps our Teacher never told us fearing we would not be able to survive if we adopt a path less chosen.

iCon inspired me

i was just one ordinary guy who had no special talent and to make matters worse for myself, I completely lacked the power to recite which is a pre-requisite to succeed in our country, then even if it's in one of the finest B-schools. One day I was sitting in our library and suddenly my friend popped out a book iCon: Steve Jobs from her bag and and kept in on the table to return. She told me she loved the book and asked me to read it if I get time after the exams. I picked up the book and as a habit read the Preface first. That night, I went on to read that book despite having our Sales Management exam the very next day. Later that week, I did a lot of reading on you from Google, magazines, forums, etc. Although, I didn't score high in that paper but that week I learnt some of the biggest lessons from you Steve which I follow till this day.

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011, (www.apple.com)

i have always loved seven of your quotes that stay close to my heart and I try to reflect them in my actions irrespective of the role, place or occasion:

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"Think different." 

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"That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex."

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"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."

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"Stay hungry, stay foolish."  

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"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."

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"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

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"Make it great!"

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i think that to think differently is one of the most challenging and satisfying things one can ever do at the same time. I have watched many of your keynotes and the 'simple and focused' way in which you deliver your message is something I have shamelessly tried to copy and trust me it is very hard. But once I could, I could only hear applause. Stay hungry, stay foolish ..I can't anything more to that. Your eye for design and the passion to make it happen has really infused some creative energy in me. Before I heard about that, I never knew what was my main strength? Our Professor used to ask us to list down what are your top 5 strengths and I always found it tough to list those 5. But, your 'design' ideology inspired me in many ways to looks at the whole boardgame of communication in a completely different way - sharp designs, minimal content and an element of surprise to give that perfect 'WOW!' effect. Plus, Apple is described as a corporation that 'designs and markets' consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers highlighting how much 'design' was integral and critical to Apple's success. It was during this period that creativity really started evolving in me and today my colleagues, friends and family constantly appreciate and keep reminding me of this fact. Once you become creative, the next natural progression is innovation. Irrespective of how small or big the task is, I have always questioned myself 'Can I do this better?' Once I get my answers, it's only hard work from there onward to make it great! Thank you Steve, thank you for giving me direction, for giving me vision to lead my life passionately and follow my dreams.

Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Apple Inc.

Apart from these Steve, I also love the following quotes by you as there's a greater meaning behind each one of them and I am sure these will inspire many generations:

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"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinion drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

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"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

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"It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy."

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 "If you haven't found it, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

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"We don't get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is really our life."

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"Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice."

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"I want to put a ding in the universe." 

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"You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built , they'll want something new."

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"Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new."

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"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me." 

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i also love your company's 'Think Different' advertisement (1997) as it inspires us to be crazy and think that we can change the world!

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"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently...

...And while some may see them as as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Apple Inc.

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i just want to say that today you have left us but you designed, you innovated, you inspired. iOwe you Steve, iWrite to thank you. (with tear in my eyes). I promise to think differently, keeping it simple with focus. I will continue to innovate in whatever way I can and will always work hard to make it great!

i know you will be a little upset with me but I also want to tell you that this admirer of yours is a Non-Apple'er. I don't have an iPod, iPhone or an iPad. All I have are some thoughts and inspiration which I picked up that evening after returning from the library reading about you, my iCon. Trust me Steve, despite criticizing, taking digs at iPhone, etc your Non-Apple'er fans love you equally as your Apple fanboys and today we stand together in remembering you as leave us for your next journey.

iDuas for you.

-Arif,
www.maktion.com
i, a Non-Apple'er.

Designed by 19 yo J. Mak, Hong Kong

Heroes live forever. Legends never die. 
You will always be the 'Apple' of our eyes. 
Rest in Peace
Mr. Steven Paul Jobs.

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