Savour the world’s most expensive burger June 30, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Advertising, Conversations, Healthy Living, Pot Pourri.Tags: Burger, Burger King, McDonalds
add a comment
burger king IMG_2850, originally uploaded by Damien_Toman.
Indulge in the world’s most expensive burger at $190 every Thursday at Burger King’s Gloucester Road branch (near to Harrods where the high and mighty shop).
You have to pre-order the burger by telephone, before you are ushered through a red velvet rope and up some steps to a more upscale dining experience than the regular diners. You are treated to crisp table linen and free-flowing 2003 Tapanappa Cabernet Shiraz from the Whalebone Vineyard in South Australia. And then,you are presented a free limited-edition bottle of Coca-Cola, supposedly worth $300.
And here’s a gastronomic description of the sinful burger:
“Made from Wagyu beef, topped with white truffles and Pata Negra ham (which owes its nutty flavor to the fact that the pigs are fed on acorns), the burger nestles in a bun spread with organic-white-wine-and-shallot-infused mayonnaise, plus pink Himalayan rock salt, and dusted on top with Iranian saffron. It is served with Cristal champagne onion straws (inspired by the “angry lobster” dish at David Burke & Donatella Manhattan restaurant) and a garnish of lamb’s lettuce.”
Apparently Leo Burnett sent its 2 henchmen there to check out competition on behalf of McDonalds. Ahhh, the joys of being in advertising!!! And the cherry on the burger: All proceeds go to a local children’s charity.
Here’s to 25! June 23, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Healthy Living.Tags: 2008, 2009, Birthday
7 comments
Lullaby, originally uploaded by musicmuse_ca.
Are you “That Guy or That Gal”? June 4, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Digital, Social Media.6 comments
This is inspired by Greg Verdino’s post: The “you test” for social media agencies.
Greg delves on “that guy and that gal” – those who are social media mavens in every right. Those who walk the talk and talk the walk.
In his words, the real experts are those who have “a true passion for social media and have made it a personal mission to ‘live’ in the space and experience new social channels as a consumer first, marketer second”.
He also gives a 5 point “You Test” to separate the wheat from the chaff.
I’d define the mavens as those people who are not only using social media tools such as blogs, Twitter and podcasts in their own work and building brands through conversational marketing, but are also building knowledge communities, espousing social causes and in general advancing the “age of conversation”.
So who are “those guys & those gals?”
Here’s a little fun project to identify them. I’m creating a Mavens Directory which will identify leading social media gurus and their organizations, along with a link to their blogs.
You can join in the fun by nominating your recommended “those guys & those gals” and I’ll put them up in this page. To do so, by either writing a comment on this post or naming them on this editable wiki http://socialmediamavens.wikispaces.com/
The idea is what I’d call the aggregator effect. If I know 5 mavens and you 10 more, let’s put our heads together and see how far and wide we can go.
Eventually, I see this page as a one-stop resource for any social media enthusiast or marketing blogger who wants to connect, network and identify with “those guys & gals” who are rolling with the social media juggernaut.
Have fun now! Feel free to nominate your mavens on this post or on this wiki. Watch out for updates as the list grows. For starters, I’m listing few mavens who commented on Greg’s post.
Update 1: Wow! The list is slowly but steadily growing. Thank you folks for tuning into the conversation. While there will be quite a few people out there using social media tools at work and helping communities grow, it’s Peer to Peer recognition / nomination that will help us identify the true mavens. Interestingly, people have used social media tools such as LinkedIn and Facebook to let me know about mavens and to connect with me after I put up this post. Hey, the list is not done yet, I know a lot of mavens who need to be there – just waiting to here from you first. Greg Verdino (who sparked off the whole “who is the maven?” thingy has written a post on my wiki endeavor. Thanks Greg!
THE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVENS (name & organization)
- Greg Verdino – Crayon
- Jon Burg – Digitas
- John Carson – GCI Canada
- Jane Quigley – Zeta Interactive
- Geoff Livingston – Livingston Communications
- Lewis Green – L&G Business Solutions
- Mack Collier – The Viral Garden
- Jennifer Laycock – Search Engine Guide
- Doug Meacham – IBM
- Jeremiah Owyang – Forrester Research
- Robert Scoble – FastCompany TV
- Jason Alba – JibberJobber
- Guy Kawasaki – Garage Technology Ventures
- Darren Rowse – ProBlogger
- Chris Brogan – CrossTech Media
- Jason Falls – Doe-Anderson
- Cam Beck – ClickHere
- Tom Clifford – Moving Pictures
- Terry Starbucker – SOBcon
- Steve Woodruff – Impactiviti LLC
- Shama Hyder – After The Launch
- Michael Seaton – Thornley Fallis
Welcome to AOC 2.0 May 25, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Digital, Social Media.Tags: Bloggers, Book, Social Media, The Age of Conversation
7 comments
Happy Sunflower!!, originally uploaded by Melissa_A.
The 2nd edition of “The Age of Conversation“ is in the works. Editors Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton are once again spearheading this path-breaking project.
The benefits are aplenty. More conversations. New perspectives. An innate understanding of conversational marketing and social media. Publishing opportunities. More value for readers. Community building. Networking. Supporting charity.
This year, AOC is bigger and better, in terms of authors and content. 275 bloggers from around the world, mostly with media and marketing backgrounds, are writing a 1-page chapter on the theme “Why Don’t People Get It?“.
To lend greater depth to book, the theme has been divided into the following sub-topics:
- Manifestos
- Keeping Secrets in the Age of Conversation
- Moving from Conversation to Action
- The Accidental Marketer
- A New Brand of Creative
- My Marketing Tragedy
- Business Model Evolution
- Life in the Conversation Lane
My chapter “The Smart Beast in the Creative Jungle” focuses on the new brand of creative required in the age of conversation.
“The Age of Conversation: Why People Don’t Get It?” will be on sale on Lulu.com from 21 August. All proceeds sales go to Variety, the children’s charity.
Meanwhile, fellow authors are promoting the book in various ways. Blogger-pal Ryan Barrett is offering a sneak preview of 1-line snippets from various chapters here.
Meet my fellow authors:
Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
Join us in the Age of Conversation 2.0.
The world’s never short of amazing people May 24, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Pot Pourri.Tags: Amazing People, Jamie Livingston, Mental Floss
add a comment
IMG_5957, originally uploaded by OsbieFeel2001.
Come to think of it, the world is never short of amazing people. Hat tip to Mack Collier (via twitter) who led me to Jamie Livingston and his inspiring work.
In a ‘viral’ post (8000+ diggs), Chris Higgins at Mental Floss tell us the amazing story of a man who took a Polaroid one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997 – the day he died. That’s 18 years!!!
What inspires me most is not only his passion for his art, but also the great pains he took to preserve his hobby for the world. Read more about Jamie Livingston on this blog. Too bad that Polaroid does not have a blog or a social media channel to share this story.
And then I met this young man in the cab to work this morning. In the simmering Muscat heat, the guy had an air of effervescence about him.
He started off by asking: Do you have any English music on that iPod? And I was like: No. And he replied: I wouldn’t mind listening to it if it had English. I couldn’t help but smile. Next, we were talking about our jobs. And he told me: I run an IT company. He said the name – really didn’t catch it. And he said: Cheekos (that’s how I heard it). The best after Apple. I somehow liked that, being told that to a copywriter. Made me think about the way he saw his own company, the way he positioned it. The best after Apple. He must be deriving a great deal of positivity and confidence to consider his work in that league. How many times do we look down upon our own little accomplishments, our work?
Which brings me back to what I started off with; the world is never short of amazing people who can inspire us. We just need to look out and listen.
Think Different, Today May 20, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Advertising, Conversations, Digital.Tags: Apple, Commercial, TBWA/Chiat Day, Think Different
3 comments
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.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them 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.
Great Blogosphere Finds-1 May 13, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Advertising, Conversations, Digital, Social Media, Travel.Tags: Apple, Brandtags, Dove, JetBlue, Mac, Middle East
1 comment so far
Candles, originally uploaded by [ changó ].
Noah Brier’s Brandtags is a very interesting project (hat tip to Tangerine Toad) that not only lets you tell the world what you think of a brand but also learn what others tag the brand as (quite useful if you are in advertising).
It’s one of those addictive fun apps to power your day, like FreeRice. I said “OK” to UPS, “Understanding” to Toyota (understanding in two planes – understanding the community – Toyota has strong CSR initiatives in Oman & understanding the consumer – Toyota globally innovates and brings out different vehicles targeted at different audiences) and “Uhm awesome” to JetBlue (the uhm coming in after reading a Yahoo! Story on a JetBlue passenger forced to ride in an airline loo).
My suggestions to Noah: Can we have region-specific Brandtags? For example, I’d like to know what consumers think of regional airlines in the Middle East… The IPL cricket teams in India and so on. And may be, a lot of merchandise on the concept of brand tags? Also, I think a cool-tool on the home page which tells you what brands are featured… that one needs to be nimble & smart as the no. of brands will keep exponentially growing in time.
David Armano talks about ‘microinteractions and direct engagement in 2.0 world‘ while Harker Research tells us that microinteractions are best captured by radio.
Every second spent in viewing Apple’s PC & Mac ads is a thoroughly interesting experience. These ads are so creative, funny & entertaining that it’s hard to pick a favourite – but I’ll go for “Pep Rally“. Click here to view all 30 plus of them.
Mack Collier discusses the evolution of social media tools & technologies from 2005 to the future. He says that soc media apps that facilitate connections leading to relationships will be successful.
Bloggers on the Power 150 blog-ranking index tell us what technology marketers should be paying most attention to in 2008. Video, micro-blogging and search marketing get the biggest shout-outs.
Launching Your Startup – PR and Social Media Strategies. A very informative podcast series featuring Neil Vineberg, Matt Dickman, CK, Jyri Engeström and Adam Metz.
JetBlue’s been creating a little buzz on the Web with Happy Jetting. Tangerine Toad suggested a few ways they could improve their web experience. I flew them in April and found their service, in-flight entertainment and even their ads appealing. Today, Yahoo had a story in its home-page that kind of undoes all the great work.
In the wake of the recent Dove Real Beauty ad retouching controversy, Ad Age’s Jonah Bloom talks about how Dove & Ogilvy have a long way to go to be recognized as true WOM proponents.
Dubai cabbie shows the world that honesty is still the best policy.
Astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski says how risks and success go hand in hand.
Is it time for me to consider Sauvignon Blanc over Chardonnay?
Again, an interesting NYT read on the fascinating mind of a wine drinker.
Yummy clip of Mr. Beanbastic
Is it time to phase out the creative function? Joseph Jaffe believes that the “traditional specialist” is out and “the creative generalist” is in. A great brief for those looking for a kick in the pants in ad biz.
Interesting findings from ArabianBusiness.com Travel Survey 2008
- Gulf residents are among world’s most traveled – 4 out of 5 travel to at least 2 countries in a year
- Saudi Arabian residents are the Gulf’s most frequent global travelers, 4.65% of visit 21 or more countries in a year; Omanis most likely to travel to between two and five countries
- Saudis spend the most on travel
- Kuwaitis spend most on their vacations
- Emirates is the most preferred airline
- Culture, sightseeing and comfort for the family are the most important facets of a vacation for Gulf travelers
- People in Qatar take the longest holidays UAE-ites vacation for the shortest period
- Almost three quarters of frequent flyers are unwilling to pay extra for airlines using greener fuels
- Business travellers are key to airline profitability
I’m celebrating you today! May 11, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations.Tags: Mother, Mother's Day
add a comment
We are choosing hope over fear., originally uploaded by sharaff.
The other day, I was looking at your photo and for the first time I realized that our noses were kind of similar. But since then, I have felt so great thinking about how I have imbibed and learnt a lot many things from you – about how I’m you and that you are in me. In fact, I’m so deeply honored, humbled and blessed since I know that almost everything I’m is either a mirror replica of you or has been influenced by you. So, you are living through me.
I still cannot believe that you have gone – I think you are around, watching over me, as I write this post and in all certainty, you will be reading this post when I publish it. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to thank you for all you have been to me, but now I do know that everything was for the better me.
I know that we didn’t always have the best of great times – but now both of us have greater hope, peace and happiness – and that is such a comforting thought. These days, especially when I travel a lot, I remember how you used to encourage me to travel even when I was a kid. I began seeing the world at a very young age because you saw to it that every year I went as far as I could because that would widen my horizons. I think I fell in love with trains when you took me to a railway station for the first time. I still remember the sparkle in your eyes when we talked in 1994 about how the Internet would change lives by bringing people closer and enabling conversations (today, we are living that life through social media). You were excited because I had my fingers on it then. We had so much fun working on my school projects – you were particular that I was creative and well-read. (I know that despite all your ‘nudges’, math and I were a strict “no-no”.)
You pushed me to be industrious and enterprising, and to be modest and humble. You wanted me to be there for others, as you have been there for so many people in your lifetime. Most importantly, with your own life, you have taught me never to take many important things in life for granted. If I’m a better person, for all we have gone through in life, I entirely owe it to you. I know I have made you proud in many small, little ways, and that gives me a teeny-weeny bit of happiness, even when I know I could have done so much more for you.
Today, I don’t miss having my family around me – you make up for them by always being at my side. Plus, I have many dear friends who are family to me – that I think is a blessing from you and God. In fact, I never got to thank the so many special people who stood by me at that very painful time. But, now I thank them for being there for me and helping me handle my grief. I’m not alone, I guess.
A request for my friends and blog readers: I ask you today to reach out to your mother and let her know that she is loved and means the world to you. Not just because it’s Mother Day, but every day is good to celebrate your loved ones. If she is not there, a thought or prayer would do. But believe you me; you would be much, much better off with it.
I love you Amma & I wish all mommas around the world “A beautiful and truly special day”. 🙂
My Media Diet: Arun Rajagopal May 8, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Advertising, Conversations, Digital, Movies, Social Media, Travel.Tags: Meme
7 comments
Chinese “Mid Town Buffet”, NYC, originally uploaded by MidtownLunch.
Print: I’m fond of two dailies – Times of Oman & Times of India, though I’m not a regular reader. Reading Times of Oman is something that I want to do first thing when I get to work. I especially dig catching copy mistakes in TOI.
Magazines: I’m a voracious reader of magazines. I especially dig Time, Ahlan Masala, Esquire and National Geographic. I last read British Airways’ in-flight magazine “High Life“. I’m very fond of in-flight magazines and used to collect them as a kid. Next on my reading list comes “Forbes 2008 Guide to the Biggest Companies in the World” & “America’s Largest Corporations Fortune 500”.
Books: I used to be a compulsive bookworm when I was a kid, but I’ve been reading less lately. It’s an appalling habit I’m working on and the first step towards that is building a mini-library at home. I last read Deepak Chopra’s Buddha and John Grisham’s The Summons. I’m currently reading Rohit Bhargava’s Personality Not Included and John Grisham’s The King of Torts.
Online: I read the following news portals on a daily basis: Indiatimes.com & Rediff.com. Both websites keep me connected to current affairs in India. Cricinfo.com feeds me fodder on cricket. Wikipedia.org gives me much needed dope on topics I pluck out from thin air. I browse daily through Arabianbusiness.com with a particular focus on the aviation & travel industry. If you didn’t know, I’m a total transportation buff with interests in trains, planes and buses. I’m also a regular visitor to the picture galleries of IRFCA.org (slakes my passion for Indian Railways).
Blogging: My personal blog www.arunrajagopal.com is where I talk about my travels, rail-fanning adventures, my 2-cents on advertising and social media and the many things I find interesting in life. I don’t consider my blog as an expert authority on marketing. The most important purpose of my blog is to help me stay connected to some of my very dear friends who are leading marketing bloggers around the world. Through my blog, I reach out to them and become a part of their lives. My blogging frequency is usually 4-5 blog posts per month. A few weeks ago, I started another blog on Tumblr that serves as my bookmarking diary. I usually read blogs related to advertising, digital and social media such as Adgoodness, Adsoftheworld, Adblogarabia, Adverblog, and the ones on my blogroll. I check out all my incoming links via my Technorati page and WordPress dashboard.
Some blogs & websites I want to spend more time on are Micro Persuasion, The Buzz Bin, The 360 Digital Influence Blog, Logic+Emotion, Copyblogger, Marketing Profs Daily Fix, Bannerblog, Digital Media Wire & MediaPost Publications.
Email: Email is probably the important part of my media mix. I love to check my email every 5 minutes (ideally) when I’m in front of a comp. If I’m on the go, I check my mail on my Nokia N73 music edition using my Oman Mobile Hayyak prepaid connection. My email is my lifeline! I’m a compulsive yahooligan and somehow don’t feel so attached to Gmail or Hotmail.
Television: I’m not too fond of TV and prefer spending as much time away from the box as possible. I dig MTV, Channel V, VH-1, cricket channels, popular channels in Tamil & Malayalam.
Web 2.0 Logos, originally uploaded by wp4lib.
Social Media Tools: I’m active on Facebook and LinkedIn. I don’t believe in needlessly adding people to hike up numbers, and I ensure that I only have people in there who I need to be in touch with. I dig most of the Facebook applications such as the quizzes (I try most of them and then weed them out occasionally) and feel that the new Chat feature offers an exciting way to connect with people. My Facebook account is a more personal window for me to reach out to my friends; while my blog is the world’s informal window to my life.
I’ve given up on Orkut, even though I have quite a bit of friends there who are not on Facebook. I haven’t yet started podcasting. I do vlogging, especially of my travels. I’m very active on Flickr with a large collection of travel photos, trains and destinations. Nope, I don’t do Second Life or Skype (it’s blocked in Oman). I’m on YouTube, Daily Motion, Vodpod and Vimeo, and I‘m just setting up my second del.icio.us account.
Chat: MSN Chat is an inseparable part of my life, especially with its online text messaging tool. I used to be a total Yahoo Messenger junkie back in the days.
Cinema: I’m a prolific cinemagoer, sometimes watching the same movie twice or thrice in the theatre. I spend most of my weekends hopping from one theatre to the other. (We have 5 cineplexes in Muscat). I watch movies in English, Hindi, Tamil & Malayalam. I last saw The Forbidden Kingdom (click on link to watch trailer) and The Bucket List (click on link to watch trailer). I’m currently watching There Will Be Blood (click on link to watch trailer). I occasionally rent movies on DVD and watch them on a laptop when I’m traveling. I especially like movies that make me cry. 😉
Twitter: Twitter is the latest addition / addiction in my media mix. Not only does it serve as a link feed for interesting blog posts and news resources posted by people with like-minded interests, it also helps me keep track of what my friends across the globe are up to. My mission is to maintain building my Twitter list as an authority base of thought leaders passionate about advertising, social media and global perspectives; and to continue updating my KQ.
Music: A very important part of my existence. I’m usually listening to music while I’m at work, at home or on the commute. I need music to play in the background for me to get going. At work, I plug into my headphones hooked up to my PC, while at home I choose to go with the home theatre system, laptop or the box speakers plugged into the iPod. I have an iPod Touch, an iPod Shuffle & a Nokia N73 music edition loaded with my fav tunes. I listen to English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu music. For some reason, I love songs more than the artists. I have never used iTunes store till date, and visit a lot of blogs and music streaming websites to get my music.
Miscellaneous media consumption: I don’t use a feed reader. I subscribe to blogs such as The Viral Garden, ChrisG.com through email. I get updates on Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, Bowen Craggs Web Tips and a Google Alert on “Arun Rajagopal” in my email. I subscribe via mail to Ad Age Daily, Ad Age Digital, Creativity Online, BestAdsOnTV and MarketingProfs Today. I do not keep a diary, though I rely heavily on handwritten lists to get through my daily grind. I particularly keep an eye out for outdoor media, POS, in store experiences and billboards. I love Times Square for the same reason & I totally adore the M&Ms (click on link to watch video) board out there. I like the HSBC perspective posters they have in the air-bridges at London Heathrow. I love interesting messages that are placed in the most obvious places.
What’s your media diet? I’d love to hear from Tim Brunelle, Linda Sherman, Cam Beck & Ryan Karpeles. Do spread the meme far & wide.
Bloggerspiel on Media Diets & Media Snacking:
Connie Reece – Got the Munchies? Have a Media Snack
http://everydotconnects.com/2007/10/25/got-the-munchies-have-a-media-snack/
Drew McLellan – Serve a steady stream of snack-sized messages
http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2007/10/serve-a-steady-.html
Neil Perkin – Memes Like Buses
http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2008/01/memes-like-buse.html
Asi Sharabi – My Week in Media
http://no-mans-blog.com/2008/01/my-week-in-media/
C.B. Whittemore – My Media Diet
http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-media-diet.html
David Reich – My Media Diet
http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/my-media-diet.html
Quibblo Personality Quiz – What is your media consumption level?
http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/1GRrM/What-is-your-media-consumption-level
Interesting Conversations from Blogger Social’08-7 April 25, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Digital, Social Media.Tags: Blogger Social'08, New York
7 comments
CK GREETS ARUN, originally uploaded by ck.epiphany.
This is the final post in my series of posts celebrating Blogger Social’08. In this post, I want to talk about 3 special people who mean the world to me and who I got to meet for the first time ever at the event.
A lot of people who attended Blogger Social’08 have told us that the above photo of CK hugging me on meeting me for the first time is a visual treasure that best encapsulates the essence of the Blogger Social and something even bigger!
How true! My friendship with CK is going to be a year old in a few weeks from now. It was her mother (God bless her soul!) that brought us together (a comment I made about departed souls watching over us as stars in the sky caught CK’s heart and marked the beginning of our friendship). A year later, when my mother passed away, CK was there as a rock of strength, reminding me of my own allusion that departed souls are with us, proudly watching over us as stars in the night sky, and hence not to lose hope.
CK has been an angel for me, always offering kindly support, appreciation and encouragement. I can go on and on about how blessed her heart is and how she has been this role model I look up to. I’m sure there are countless people out there in the blogosphere who have been inspired by her and who consider her an angel like I do.
For me, the greatest thing about her is her ability to inspire you to move mountains. For example, my trip to New York. It’s a trip that I thought I would never make. Initially, the trip wasn’t even on my radar because I thought: Hey, me going to New York??? Are you kidding me? How am I going to make it? What about the money, and then the visa?
It took a simple nudge from her for me to realize you can’t get things unless you even wish for them. Once I made a decision to travel to the US in April, there came other unavoidable emergencies. The first few months of 2008 threw every possible challenge in the book at me – a new job, frequent travel to India, the passing away of my mother, lots of family pressures, financial constraints… so much, that several nights I lost sleep stressing if I could it make it in April.
To make matters worse, there was some delay in processing my employment visa in Oman, and it took things to the wire. I couldn’t travel unless that was sorted out. Finally everything worked out in the last possible minute – I got my employment visa sorted out a day before my cut-off date to apply for a US visa to arrive in time for the event. I think I literally ran from the US Embassy to the airport to catch the flight to New York. CK was in the midst of all the madness I went through reassuring me that her prayers were with me and I would make it as we were meant to meet.
The entire weekend, I remember telling her – CK, I still can’t believe I’m here, this feels like a dream. And she would be like: I understand. You will only feel that you were here once you get back home.
The entire trip, the whole event and my meeting with CK – I consider it nothing short of a blessing & miracle. I think most of the time I was in shock – the joy of meeting all those people I really wanted to meet and then my disbelief in all that was happening around me. I sometimes wonder how I made it – and that’s when I know that the gentle nudges, prayers, faith and support a friend like CK gives you can move mountains for you and just get you going!
Drew & CK, originally uploaded by ck.epiphany.
Another person who I had the pleasure of meeting at Blogger Social was Drew McLellan. Drew, CK & their army of mighty elves moved a lot of mighty mountains to bring us an event that was so magnificent and magical.
Drew’s and Gavin’s collaboration on the first edition of ‘The Age of Conversation’ introduced me to a community of bloggers who care and share. The book not only opened a lot of avenues for me in Oman, but also helped me make a lot of friends from around the world, most of whom I had the good fortune of meeting in New York.
Sometimes the sign of greatness is that it creates a spillover effect of so much goodness that benefits people in many mysterious, yet positive ways. Drew’s leadership, both in directing the success of the book and the event, has benefited me, personally and professionally. It’s made me so much richer in soul and spirit, and I couldn’t be happier! Thank you, Drew, for everything you do to keep us stronger and closer as a community!
Luc and Arun, originally uploaded by ck.epiphany.
The last gem of this post is my good friend Luc Debaisiuex. Again, our friendship is going to be a year old. Meeting Luc at New York was one of the finest, most exciting experiences of my life. It’s hard to explain why and so – but Luc is someone I so look up to and consider him a friend, family, guide, mentor and so much more. We enjoyed some beautiful conversations that weekend. He’s somebody who is very encouraging and motivating and can bring a smile on your face with his very endearing nature. He’s somebody who transmits tremendous positive energy and goodwill through his conversations. Thank you Luc, for being there and I wish you the best in all your endeavours. It’s great to have you with us!
Indeed, if life is a journey that leads to meeting fine people and unforgettable experiences, New York in the weekend of April 4-6, 2008 brought together some of the finest people and greatest experiences of my life, ever.
Arun & CK, originally uploaded by Moda di Magno.
Arun Rajagopal 