Tech Trends for 2015 (Globally)

Tech Trends for 2015 (Globally)
Innovation and technology go hand-in-hand when it comes to delivering solutions and prospective technologies for business leaders to strategize and provide rational inputs to align their business with future trends. The catch comes, where the onus is to decide which trend will be a trail-blazer and those which won’t nearly classify as a bankable technology for the near future. The opportunities become huge when one examines the rate of adoption these new technologies possess. In the minds of the consumer, any and all technological evolutions are welcome, if they are either a disruptive technology which posses the promise of changing business models or if they are enablers. Enablers are technology in which CIOs have invested effort and money. They represent new developments and potential use cases, which already come from an established business model.
Convergence continues to stand out as the tech-trend, which shines with the promise of changing and reshaping the future, the physical and digital worlds are always converging and together form the basis of a future where digital immigrants will find it easier to collaborate with digital natives.
Product advertising becomes the mainstay of digital giants using service oriented architecture (SOA) and API’s are here to stay with more and more developers gearing for a major overhaul in the way ad-optimization companies service their stakeholders. We are in for a change in the way advertising revenues drive businesses both big and small.
Data limitations will progressively be encountered and faster, cheaper and more user friendly methods will turn even the run-of-the-mill populace into an advanced user, having more and more information in hand to make sense of the environment and respond in real-time.
Sensors and wearable chips are making big waves in user-wearable technology and it’s only natural to expect devices which are more attuned to human senses whilst keeping a view of augmenting user experience and interaction.
Cloud computing is another major interface, which augments businesses, to offset their data hurdle and arrive at short ‘turn-around-times’ with minimum expense. Mobile strategies and IT strategies are aligned in concordantly because of the same architecture they employ to access, enhance and deliver cloud facilitates to end users.
Although all the above tech trends, show a promising future and don’t really disrupt the ecosystem, that is until we arrive at the topic of “User-Centricity”. User centricity is still a nascent topic which will prove its importance in coming years. It basically talks of the growing capabilities of user, which in an evolving ecosystem are also being equipped to counter, services of the hapless middle-man and are directly able to access functionalities which before were out of their reach. Previously, usage of such services were directly defined by capability of the user, which has now been eroded by the growing easiness of adopting new technologies due to the user-friendliness of any platform, which the developers itself are working on to enhance user experience.
It remains to be seen what more trends come into light in near future, albeit by the look of things so far, trends in the future have a very promising and interesting outlook.      

Technology Year in Review 2014

Technology Year in Review 2014

We have almost arrived to the end of this year, and in the techno-sphere, offerings were few and far in between. We see a definite change in the way of usage of technology. It is because of a shift that is happening in the minds of customers. Technology is now being viewed as not a tool but as an obligation, which the tech-giants, need to constantly evolve to keep the competition in check. It has further escalated into a needless exercise of over-pioneering services and products. All this happens at the cost of the end user, who has yet to find a steady ground to build upon a digital environment of familiarity and acquaintance. It is a practice that might soon reach its saturation and the developers will have to fathom out a way out of this dilemma. Let us take a moment to ponder about where we have reached. In previous years, convergence was the keyword everyone was chanting beneath their breaths. consequently, everyone became familiar with a device having a recognizable outlook; come six months it has now morphed into a device which has a familiar face but a different soul altogether. Progress shouldn’t come at the cost of “User Experience” (UXD). The industry has now driven itself into a corner, with the only way forward being, coming closer to the user and not the competitor.

Coming to 2014, having seen a sharp rise in the gadgets and devices which operate in the realm of healthcare and medicine, it’s natural to expect more of this trend. Take for example, the new fitness tracker wristbands which are a godsend for doctors who need constant and precise data from their patients. In an incident, an isolated group of Amazon tribes where discovered by a satellite using revolutionary technology, although extremely approvable, it becomes a very good cover for us to lookout to our next important concern- privacy.

Google glasses block peripheral vision with their wide rims but they show a lot more than they block; imagine knowing somebody’s digital persona with just a single glance of their mug through your glasses! The concerns for privacy are huge and legal ramifications are just around the corner, for anybody who daresay wears a Google glass and mistakenly walks into a restricted area.

Now, Mobile applications are a big part of one’s daily routine of digital life, the trends have now been established and mobile applications are becoming more and more scalable and useful, all thanks to cloud computing, which again is now a big thing in itself -to manage big data and to connect with consumer. Whilst on the topic of cloud computing, it has become imperative to stress on the fact that almost everywhere the onus of cloud computing is proving itself a boon to small and medium business alike.

Mobile strategy now presents a tangible path towards user engagement and businesses are using numerous vehicles to eagerly become a contact point to its dedicated audience. Mostly, they give the impression to show an increase in their footfalls or traffic, but regulating content online, is a difficult task, which makes us wonder who is caring about brand-dilution?

With so many tech innovations all ears, on providing the shortest path possible between two given points, the responsibility seems to be somehow, delivering customers to the business in a slapdash fashion, without taking in consideration- that technology somehow has made regulation a difficult task to control.

Moving ahead, to much happier news, we now have in our grasp, the new technology of screen-less displays (contact lens displays) and flexible displays, the increase of phone display sizes has only generated a new wave of aspiring customers looking for a change in the humble screen display. Things  get remarkable when body-adapted wearable electronics will open up a new market for the scramble of the tech-giants to begin again and further converge into a product with myriad capabilities proposed; and as usual, under-utilized.

Although, the promise of carbon nanotubes decreasing the weight of vehicles and bringing upon an increase in fuel efficiency and decrease in emissions is good news for those of us dependent on fossil fuels for general commute, which is again a large part of the global population. The news of clean energy source, in particular wind and solar, can be highly intermittent; instead of producing electricity when consumers and grid managers want, they generate uncontrollable quantities only when favorable weather conditions allow, still we have high hopes for it in the future.

Today’s Digital life needs use of many digital devices, which are run by batteries, promising news again comes from the people toying around with carbon fibers. The creation of very high density carbon-nanotube batteries, promise a quicker charge and 30% more electrical energy than today’s Li-ion batteries.

Then again, these high density batteries will come in handy to upcoming CryptoPhones and blackphones, these devices are encrypted and offer a window of private communication unseen by sleuths and investigating companies.

The recent news of NSA snooping, which has resulted in Brazil cutting of any and all usage of US internet networks, is only slightly smaller news than the discovery of fire, in tech-circles. The net connectivity uses primary lines of fiber optics strewn through a labyrinth of wires inside the ocean bed, connecting continents. So the news of Brazil, going to huge lengths to avoid US internet network makes sense, when we examine the fact that -privacy issue takes precedence over several billion dollar investment in laying of fiber optical lines. However time will tell, how much of importance this has been on a ground level as new tricks of tracking customers are emerging. One of those being -tracking potential customers over the cell phone id’s that are being broadcasted over Wi-Fi signals, in malls and shops. It is being exploited by retailers to find out patterns and behavior of consumers.

HD content was releasable way back in the 70’s, but due to lack of consumer excitement it got delayed by three decades, such is also the story of Oculus Rift, in a fantastic story of virtual world meeting real world, finally the technology seems ready and available for wide spread use. A more mundane but potentially useful application that Sony is exploring would let travelers visit virtual hotel rooms before booking the real thing. Assuming they ever want to take the headsets off. 

Already, there is a new technological leap in the bio-tech segment of genome mapping and engineering, Scientists say creating humans with CRISPR-edited genomes is “very possible”, but they concur that “considering the safety issue, there would still be a long way to go.” In the meantime, the team hopes to use genetically modified monkeys to “establish very efficient animal models for human diseases, to improve human health in the future.”

An increasing focus will be seen in understanding requirements and exploiting technologies to fulfill the gap of human need and techno-innovation. The promise of good things, remain to be seen in near future. Although as of now the future looks bright.

Rise of the Women Techie: Experiences, Learning’s, Challenges, Lessons

Rise of the Women Techie: Experiences, Learning’s, Challenges, Lessons

American leader, Brigham Young said - “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” This quote is getting more apt as generation pass since it was coined in late 1850’s.

From putting rebellious matrimonial CVs (which go viral) to representing India in WWE, women have come a long way in representing their own self rising above and over, amidst shoulders of men. A long time ago, in the early days when man used to hunt, the lady of the household managed safety of her progeny and dependant elders along with cooking food and maintaining networks with the neighbors. A woman is born a manager, she is born a multi-tasker, she is born a capable leader and she is an inborn fighter.

Fast-forwarding to today’s day and age and we come upon the modern avatar of a women working in an IT-MNC company and juggling responsibilities of her home and workplace in tandem, and by the looks of it woman are rising up to a higher level than their male peers, take for example the case of Swapna Yadavalli, Associate – Director, Synechron. She is one of the 900+ professionals globally who has managed to get certification in PgMP, PMP, CSM. She is also recognized as an EXPERT in program management community by PMI and featured in PMI Newsletter, “Emotional Intelligence Impacts Wallets”. To be a globally acclaimed professional and have only about 900 peers in the world is a rare achievement and there are probably more number of astronauts out there.

IT companies like Synechron provide enhanced recognition and support to its female employees via a number of parallel programs and continuous projects like Women’s Club, Self Defense classes, Power Yoga & Zoomba fitness programs. All this is an effort to recognize the challenges faced and is a feedback to promote and to give privilege to unique challenges faced by women in today’s modern work-culture.

Challenges faced in such a vibrant culture and atmosphere are great but the reward far outweighs the risk of pursuing a career for the modern women, as men too after being given a nudge in the right direction have agreed that the place of the lady is far better in an office on an earning stronghold rather than making rotis inside a kitchen. The potential is now realized and women are now in a better position to bargain over their future with their lives.

There are as of now 5 Indian women on Forbes billionaire list but still 40% of women are underweight when they begin pregnancy. The rise of women as a techie is but a small step in the big event of things. Rise of Women Techie is simply an example of the high goals women can touch when given the right opportunity and favorable management. 

Experiential Communication

Experiential Communication

Setting the Context:

·         Passive --à Active Consumption

·         More, richer stimuli -à Objective

·         “Experience the Product” – How it Works

o   Understanding Benefits

o   Consumption + Communication – Consumption is only one way of experiencing a product which is short term. There are others like hospitality industry, perfumes, alcohol which involve other elements like memory and anticipation which are long term.

o   Co-Creation

·         Involvement

·         Interest

·         Credibility

Experience through test drive/samples/reviews/testimonials, these are all credibility hooks, but all these are nothing in comparison to trying the product oneself.

Culturally, Indians like to touch/feel products before buying them.

Advantages of Experiential Communication:

·         Highlight Benefit

·         Selling

·         Enhance the Value (Experience)

·         Chances of buying are higher

·         Post purchase dissonance is lower.

Pure products no longer exist. They are now a combination of product and service, called ‘Prodice’.

Ø  All you ever buy is an Experience

Ø  Experience being a subset of Communication

Example: - Cars are communication in themselves – Experiencing the test drive

-          Perfumes can be an experience-  You try it before you buy it.

types of girlfriends

Types O' Gals as galfrends

-------------------------

[NOTE: PURELY A WORK OF ART AND FICTION.THEREZ NO MOTIVE TO HURT ANYBODY'S FEELING.]

=Ms.Nice Gal=

Also Known As: What a Girl, Precious, One of the Boys, Doormat

Advantages: Cheerful, Agreeable, Kindly

Disadvantages: May wise up someday.

Live example: umm ... u*** n n***.. {psst.had to write u***'s name re} !

=Old Yeller=

Also Known As: She-Devil, Sourpuss, The Nag, My Old Lady

Advantages: Pays attention to you.

Disadvantages: Screeches, Throws frying pans

Live example: h*******; a close frend o u***, name withheld, else will have to

make do wid half a leg n face

=Sickly=

Also Known As: Whiner, Mewler, Grumpy

Advantages: Predictable

Disadvantages: Contagious

Live example: all of dem (am i being rather bluntly honest?)

=The Boss=

Also Known As: Whipcracker, Sergeant, Ms. Know-it-All, Ball and Chain

Advantages: Often right

Disadvantages: Often right, but so what?

Live example: surely M*** .. gads Poor Tanuj !:P!

=Ms. Vaguely Dissatisfied=

Also Known As: The Fretter,Worrywart, Typical, Aw C'mon Honey

Advantages: Easily soothed

Disadvantages: Even more easily perturbed

Live example: s***** easily fits da bill here . :)

=Wild Woman=

Also Known As: Fast Girl,Freewheeler, Unconscious

Advantages: More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Disadvantages: Unreliable; drives off cliffs

Live example: J** :D ... heee heeeh heee hee eee eeee *faint*

=Huffy=

Also Known As: No Fun, Humorless, Cold Fish, Iceberg,Snarly

Advantages: Your friends will feel sorry for you.

Disadvantages: You will have no friends.

Live example: >error< no match found as of yet !! phew !! BUT maybe p*** !! :)

=Woman from Mars=

Also Known As: The Babbler, Spooky Girl, Screwball, Loony, Bad News, Artistic

Advantages: Entertaining,unfathomable

Disadvantages: Will read her poetry aloud.

Live example: wud luv to name sum1 but its better kept for guessing a*******

=Ms. Dreamgirl=

Also Known As: Ms. Right, Goddess, Knockout, Perfection, The One

Advantages: Funny, Intelligent, Uninhibited

Disadvantages: Will have nothing to do with you.

Live example: >error< cant continue search with "dreamgirl" and "Ms. Right" attributes

[ P.S> EXTREME CARE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN IN POSTING THIS CONTENT

BCOZ I AM A LAZY WEASY OGRE WHO LIKES TO SAY HURTFUL THINGS

BUT STILL IF U AGREE WITH THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE

AFORESAID N FEEL SAD ABOUT IT THEN 'DONT' BOTHER COMPLAINING;

I CANT HELP.

READ AND ENJOY.LAUGH AT YOUR OWN MISERY :p

THANKIN U

UNSINCERELY

Ash

JURISDICTION SUBJECT TO COURT OF de_dust2 ONLY ]

i became one... more than u ought to carry,

i was a bit wondery dat til nowshe hadnt cald me..

wat cud be da reason, most of da timeshez da one pretty ga-ga over callin me ..
so i cald ..

"it happens so many a times" evrything happens for a reason

ur da one who falls into a trap
a simple mockful trap

dat fate builds, u see it, but u want to fall in it,

so u brag bout it to ur frends.well, i too fell in

n m really sorry, coz i dragged u into it...

twas a bad idea any1 in ur place cudnt hav lasted dat long

as much as u i

i only hope u dont hav to deal wid it in future

any1 as me m a burden to any1 i knw even to u,

i became one... more than u ought to carry,

ever but believe me wen i say

'i loved u wid all i had '

derez was nothin more to take from me after that :)

n dnt u wrry re, after every bad moment comes a brighter dawn

i will always pray to god... dat u get a bf
so romantic, dat he brings roses everytime u both meet

so happy, he buys u vodka wid icecream

also he wud be rich,so instead of a maruti he brings something big

and he waits fr u fr 4hrs in vashi stn

and always memorizes da length of ur hair,so da next time u cut them

,, he instantly know

salso he wudnt ask for change from u in mc donalds

u see he is rich na

n also wo sujit ko bhi pasand aye

and too add to it..uske paas aacha cel ho, tuta futa nokia nahih

thode sar pe baal bhi jyada ho

thoda mujhse lamba bi ho

and gosh he must be fair to match u .. aint !!

i hav neva prayed to godbut will surely pray..u get da best boyfriend evr !!!
- sincerely..ashish !!

dissertation - USER CENTRICITY AND ITS EFFECT ON THE DIGITAL BIOME AND MEDIA AGENCIES

PREFACE Over the years, it is assumed that evolution is the right way forward and it is the way, nature choses a path to move forward after many permutations of trial and error. One such evolution going strongly, is the one that we are witnessing upfront and its progress is so fast that it has become a revolution. The thing in question is the digital revolution. Effect of digital revolution on media and as a whole on the advertising. 8 PROLOGUE USER CENTRICITY is a term given to the growing power of populace in general. Today in advertising world, ad agencies are facing an uphill task of convincing clients. Clients which are well versed and well equipped in use of tools of trade like Photoshop and CorelDraw etc. One should be wary of the invisible giant in the room and that’s exactly what is happening in the advertising world today. Focusing on the agency part first, advertising agency are finding it increasingly hard to convince clients on the aptness of the campaign, media plans or the general print ads they create as because the client now feels that the digital creation of the aforementioned is not as hard or as costly as it was assumed by them beforehand as everyone now has access to internet and the bar has been set higher by other agencies, so on and so forth. Power to the user takes a whole new term here as unlike other professions, power to the user on the contrary means that the power is being taken away from somebody, which in this case is the hapless agency, who is sandwiched between client and consumer. 9 INTRODUCTION User Centricity is a term given to the growing power of Users. In the digital front, it defines the growing-  Acceptance  Customizations  Familiarity It also stakes to the endorsement of digital society and its  Tools  Mechanisms  Working  Modus-operandi by the Common Man Any user of today’s Digital services, is far more evolved than the average user a decade back. Concordantly, this research attempts to discover -  Points of Conflict  Approval  Degree of Acceptance  Causality  Conclusion of the fight between the ever-evolving powers of both, “The Digital Marketer” and “The Digital User”. 10 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION One of the foremost areas of research is identifying the focal point of study to be undertaken and the reason for which it has proved itself necessary. A digital user is now that evolved entity which has shown and proven its worth in changing the market perception and product acceptance. He / she is now more evolved and more connected with more say in the things at hand be it social, cultural or economical. A digital user is now more aware has better perception and ingenuity, and is heavily dependent on the social sphere and digital biome. Digital is now much bigger than IT or Telecom, digital has now encompassed all the other subsets of connectivity. Thus us a digital user is not merely limited to social presence or online persona, it’s a manifestation of all evolving spheres of life which have been altered by the advent of digital uni-sense in the singularity. The digital marketer has come into existence for the sole reason that business exists in the realm of the digital and the potential hiding the digital user. On a digital platform, the attributes are evened out, the big is not bigger and the small is not smaller. On an even playing field, there only can be so much scope of exposure or creativity to take effect. 11 Failingly, the effect that has happened is saturation. The digital user has now seen and accepted most of the tricks of the trade and is now highly suspicious although still naïve, but the collective conscience is growing alarmingly. With more and more power available to the digital user, the digital marketer finds itself at a point where it can no longer hold an elevated position to those the marketing is intended. Hence the process of convincing or otherwise is severely hampered even transparent. Thus cutting profit margins and naturally scope to visualize creatively. The age of specialization is passed, the age of convergence is here. The underlying current of “to be better at everything”, has forced the digital user to experiment, evolve and accept almost all of the digital biome into its own personal laboratory. An average user is not a worry to the biome. Hardly, not all digital users are equal. The contention comes in when a singular user rises above the collective powers of digital user and digital marketer subset. When this happens, the issue of security, livelihood, economy and trust between the user and marketer is shaken. Which results in even more saturation of interest on the part of digital user. User centricity is now being understood as good thing, almost a promotion of sorts for applications, tools, software’s etc. The mere concept of having an enlightened user is appealing to the business as a connected digital user is easier to connect. However the growing disparity begins with the increase in the canonical sense of apathy on the part of digital user that hails every good thing as extraordinary and every mediocre product or service as failure. 12 This high strung arena where the performance index is measured in the polarity of utter success or utter failure, user centricity is only raising the bar higher and higher into the unknown.


Digital users who identify themselves to the digitally affiliated class, are prone to blatant manipulation by the digital economy itself. There seems to be emerging a pattern which suggests that the large part of the user base is extremely trustworthy to a part of the digital society but extremely averse to the other parts of the same society.  The user doesn’t seem to demarcate applications or services based on their developers or providers.  It is interesting to note that only 15 of the respondents have agreed that they are paranoid by their action being logged for whatever reason, almost 30 of them agreed to the fact that they are aware although they see no need to exercise restraint or clean their digital footprint. 30  A huge part of the recruited respondents show belief in technology and its effect but are oblivious in its actual progress and diversity.  Most do not agree with the notion on unintended vs. intended usage of technology.  Like a premeditated offering with a stereotype set cast, most only seem to believe a digital product will only have the use for what it is being marketed as of now.  Future premeditation is absent. 31  There is a severe bias, almost a polarity of thoughts when it comes to UGC vs MGC debate. The user agrees to being saturated but maintains hope of encountering creative ideas from the UGC class owing to better technology developments.  Although the same user shows a loss of interest in MGC, who are using the same technology and better specialization to bring out more creative output.  Hilariously, the notion, “Content is Junk, Container is King”, is being proved here to some extent.  Point to note and ponder is the user expects the digital marketer to bring forth more creative methods to satiate its digital hunger and consumption but is not ready to accept technological advancements, thereby severly limiting any future progressive value of the biome.  A vast majority of respondents who believe that the photographers of today are better due to access to better technology, arises a set of respondents from the former respondents who believe that the 32 disconnect is growing between media owner, media houses and ad agencies.  It’s a clear indication to the fact that digital revolution is aiding user centricity to such an extent that corporate houses are finding it hard to prove their mettle amongst the barrage of onslaught from all sides, namely – its corporate rivals and from its own intended user base that is now becoming a case of friendly fire. 33 CONCLUSION  The Digital User is very skeptic at first, although once broken-in with a new technology quickly maintains a balance with the same.  The Digital User believes in Technological advancement, but doesn’t believe in the Notion, "it will happen so quickly".  The Digital User is at a severe paradox with itself. It’s an exploring but non-discovering entity. The user seems to explore all available options only in the boundaries of its known and often preset digital hangouts.  The power to the digital user comes from the spoon-feeding of the user from a subset of much more advance users, with the ratio heavily skewed but propagation is fast and relentless. Although the information and power through it, is spreading fast. It doesn’t hold true for ethic, culture and control of that information to follow the same dissemination speed and reach.  User centricity has the power to influence social, cultural and business paradigm.  There seems a tie on the effect of User Centricity on the relationship between a Media house, Media Owner and an Adv. Agency, which is entirely assumed, as a close assemblage would have pointed that the Digital User understands User Centricity which is simply not the case.  Causality of ‘more promotion’ is ‘more saturation’ and ‘more saturation’ prompts even more ‘promotion’.  Digital Users agree that they prefer UGC to MGC. 34 APPENDIX ADSENSE “Google AdSense is a program run by Google that allows publishers in the Google Network of content sites to serve automatic text, image, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted to site content and audience. These advertisements are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google, and they can generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis.” ADWORDS “Google AdWords is Google's main advertising product and main source of revenue. AdWords offers pay-per-click, that is, cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, cost-per-thousand-impressions or cost-per-mille (CPM) advertising, and site-targeted advertising for text, banner, and rich-media ads.” DIGITAL BIOME “An online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects” DIGITAL FOOTPRINT “A digital footprint is the data trail left by the interactions in a digital environment; including the use of TV, mobile phone, the World Wide Web, the internet and other connected devices and sensors. Digital Footprints provide data on what has been performed in the digital environment and the data can be used in behavioral targeting, behavioral economics, personalization, targeted marketing, and digital 35 reputation, social Influence and other social media or social graphing services.” DIGITAL MARKETER “Someone who makes use of electronic devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones, cellphones, digital billboards, and game consoles to engage with consumers and other business partners. Internet Marketing is a major component of digital marketing.” DIGITAL SERVICES “An online service provider that sells access to digital library of content such as films, software, games, images, literature, etc. While no transfer of property is made, a nearly perfect duplicate of the data is made on a customer's computer.” DIGITAL SOCIETY “A smaller subset of the Digital Biome” DIGITAL USER “A person who understands the value of digital technology and uses this to seek out opportunities for implementing it with a view to make an impact.” FACEBOOK “Facebook is an online social networking service.” 36 FUSION TABLE API “Or simply Fusion Tables is a Web service provided by Google for data management. Data is stored in multiple tables that Internet users can view and download.” KISSMETRICS “A customer analytics platform designed for small and mid-sized companies” KLOUT “Klout is a website and mobile app that uses social media analytics to rank its users according to online social influence via the Klout Score”.

“The Digital Marketer” vs “The Digital User” - User Centricity

1.2. INTRODUCTION User Centricity is a term given to the growing power of Users. In the digital front, it defines the growing-  Acceptance  Customizations  Familiarity It also stakes to the endorsement of digital society and its  Tools  Mechanisms  Working  Modus-operandi by the Common Man Any user of today’s Digital services, is far more evolved than the average user a decade back. Concordantly, this whitepaper attempts to discover -  Points of Conflict  Approval  Degree of Acceptance  Causality  Conclusion Of the fight between the ever-evolving powers of both, “The Digital Marketer” and “The Digital User”. 5 1.3. CURRENT SCENARIO Who is the digital user? One of the foremost areas of research is identifying the focal point of study to be undertaken and the reason for which it has proved itself necessary. A digital user is now that evolved entity which has shown and proven its worth in changing the market perception and product acceptance He / she is now more evolved and more connected with more say in the things at hand be it social, cultural or economical. A digital user is now more aware has better perception and ingenuity, and is heavily dependent on the social sphere and digital biome. 1.3.1. DIG SHOWS THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DIGITAL USER AND THE DIGITAL BIOME It can be defined as an involvement on the part of a user or its community, to withdraw and supplement information to and fro from the digital biome, thereby maintaining a constant connect with it, in all parts of daily activity. DIGITAL USER FEEDS THE DIGITAL BIOME DIGITAL BOME FEEDS THE DIGITAL USER 6 Digital is now much bigger than IT or Telecom, digital has now encompassed all the other subsets of connectivity. Thus us a digital user is not merely limited to social presence or online persona, it’s a manifestation of all evolving spheres of life which have been altered by the advent of digital unisense in the singularity. Who is the digital marketer? A common outlook for a digital marketer is the usage of following for marketing of any product or service-  Blogs  Microblogs  Facebook  Twitter  Virtual applications  Digital sundry  Digital techniques The envisage of greater reach and lower cost has opened up the flood gates of many a businesses to come forth on the digital filed to brandish their trade. A common split of 70-30 is followed which depends upon market, sec, product, quarter etc. The digital marketer has come into existence for the sole reason that business exists in the realm of the digital and the potential hiding the digital user. Where this perfect seeming plan is bound to go wrong, rather has started to do so, is what the analysis is about, further on. 7 1.4. PROBLEMS BUILDUP What is at stakes? On a digital platform, the attributes are evened out, the big is not bigger and the small is not smaller. On an even playing field, there only can be so much scope of exposure or creativity to take effect. Failingly, the effect that has happened is saturation. The digital user has now seen and accepted most of the tricks of the trade and is now highly suspicious although still naïve, but the collective conscience is growing alarmingly. With more and more power available to the digital user, the digital marketer finds itself at a point where it can no longer hold an elevated position to those the marketing is intended. Hence the process of convincing or otherwise is severely hampered even transparent. Thus cutting profit margins and naturally scope to visualize creatively. How has oversaturation made people more exposed to digital tools? It’s but human nature, to evolve, curiously at first exploring the limits of reach and boldness on the other hand pushing the limits further and apart. The age of specialization is passed, the age of convergence is here. The underlying current of “to be better at everything”, has forced the digital user to experiment, evolve and accept almost all of the digital biome into its own personal laboratory. 8 1.5. USER ENGAGEMENT I am just a user? Do I need to worry? No, and yes. An average user is not a worry to the biome. Hardly, not all digital users are equal. The contention comes in when a singular user rises above the collective powers of digital user and digital marketer subset. When this happens, the issue of security, livelihood, economy and trust between the user and marketer is shaken. Which results in even more saturation of interest on the part of digital user. I am just a media house, do I need to worry? Following points are to be considered when making a statement on the aforementioned - Is your client base switching to digital? - Are you effectively recycling content on both digital and outdoor? - Do you have a high digital penetration? - Is your outdoor pipeline module a separate entity from the digital entity? - How do you differentiate between digital promotion returns and outdoor returns? - What ways are you dealing with user centricity? It’s almost logical to answer yes to above questions, seemingly that’s what most of the houses are doing. The showdown as a result is the user now has very low memory perception and shadow promotions continue to linger. As an example, if a digital uses begins to identify that each and every popup he encounters is worthless, after a few encounters the popups stop registering. 9 1.6. RESEARCH FOCUS What does preliminary research show? It shows that the digital user - Is still evolving - Is easily saturated - Is difficult to convert but easier to connect What it doesn’t show? - The growing power of digital user - The diminishing sophistication of the virtual markets - The unknown third party who is to benefit out of this clash of the digital market and digital user. 1.7. CONCLUSION If this is such a big issue, why is it not highlighted often? User centricity is now being understood as good thing, almost a promotion of sorts for applications, tools, software’s etc. The mere concept of having an enlightened user is appealing to the business as a connected digital user is easier to connect. However the growing disparity begins with the increase in the canonical sense of apathy on the part of digital user that hails every good thing as extraordinary and every mediocre product or service as failure. This high strung arena where the performance index is measured in the polarity of utter success or utter failure, user centricity is only raising the bar higher and higher into the unknown.

User Centricity Explained

EPILOGUE User Centricity is a term given to the growing power of Users. In the digital front, it defines the growing-  Acceptance  Customizations  Familiarity It also stakes to the endorsement of digital society and its  Tools  Mechanisms  Working  Modus-operandi by the Common Man Any user of today’s Digital services, is far more evolved than the average user a decade back. Concordantly, this research attempts to discover -  Points of Conflict  Approval  Degree of Acceptance  Causality  Conclusion Of the fight between the ever-evolving powers of both, “The Digital Marketer” and “The Digital User”. Survey Link - http://bit.ly/16fuDlC 4 Survey Overview  A total of 51+ respondents had been recruited for the purpose of this survey at the time of compilation of this report.  Respondents were demographically divided from 4 countries.  One developed country and two developing nations. Namely, U.S.A, India and China.  Respondents attributes range from SEC A1 to SEC B2. Aged between years 17 – 29.  Survey is designed to test respondents psyche and thoughts on User Centricity and continual changes undergoing in the Digital Biome.  Survey mixes qualitative and quantitative strains wherever necessary to extract intended information. 5 Questionnaire Outline and Response Which one of the following adequately represents your persona? Peek A Boo, I See You Da grey Fox jumps ova da lazy dog |m @N 013501337 Uz3r  This question segregates the digital user in three main watertight classes.  First one being, the digitally inclined class, people who have had exposure to the digital biome.  Second being, the digitally affiliated class, that have had the experience of typing in shorthand on hand held devices. Thus being inquisitively oriented in the digital biome.  Third being the digital advanced user, who will understand the above text as a metaphor of ‘elite talk’ or ‘L33TTALK’, as it is known to coders and developers who are the people who design and develop applications and software’s that give the masses tools of trade of creative expression in the digital biome. 6 Try and complete the following sentence. I needed a smartphone because, All my friends are using some fantastic messaging software and other applications which are (Suspiciously, Almost) free. It helps me make my life easy. I need to synchronize all my data between my workstations at home / office / loo etc. with my smartphone. If I can buy a costly phone, I Will. The heck.  This particular question focuses the respondents mind into gearing and believing that response to the aforementioned question is provided in the answer.  This is a moot question, which gives the respondent and idea of the possibility of suspicion, awareness and paranoia of choice on their part.  Whilst being favorably hidden in a distinct pattern of desire and accumulation, sometimes ego. 7 A big digital agency, whose name sounds like "GooB'le" collects and selectively marketers all the data about you. Are You Worried? Yes I know about this, but I am not that worried. Maybe I don’t know about this, but I am worried now No  The respondents were very skeptic but generally trust the nature of the digital biome.  The undercurrent of, “Honeypot theory” works here.  Although one-fourth have agreed this worries it, a massive 55% say they are not worried whilst knowing that their digital persona is being recorded every second. 8 Imagine, this is the year 2050. Education is non-existent. Everything in the world is learnt via computers. Everywhere, everyone is connected via a 1gbps wireless connection. A Big company now sells Doctor Email Id's. Which means if you want to be a doctor, you just need to buy an email id, and all information about your field will be available to you when you need, where you need. Do you think this is possible? Yes No  The possibility of future advancement being just around the corner is severely tested here, the respondents are biased about the nature of progress and hence don’t pick out any of the given option on a favorite basis. 9  Instead, most think that this might not happen soon enough. Which brings to light the deep lack of progress quotient in today’s digital user who seems to be abreast of every other aspect of its environment but not of the digital modus operandi itself. 10 Imagine, this is the year 2050. Education is non-existent. Everything in the world is learnt via computers. Everywhere, everyone is connected via a 1gbps wireless connection. A Big company now sells Doctor Email Id's. Which means if you want to be a doctor, you just need to buy an email id, and all information about your field will be available to you when you need, where you need. Do you think this is possible? I have mentioned 2050. If you had to guess can this happen sooner or later. Coming 30 Years 30 - 60 Years More than 60 Years  Similarly, most think that the rate of progression of digital biome is almost 4 times the rate of actual instantaneous progression. 11  Which effectively means, that with increase in user centricity, there has not been an increase in user awareness and intellect. As most respondents themselves seem spoon-fed on what is possible and what is not. 12 1. Which of the following are you most familiar with? Adwords / AdSense / Facebook / Kissmetrics Klout / Carma / SDL PubSubHubbub / Fusion Tables API  Many digital users are heavily dependent on secondary or tertiary software’s and technologies.  Only 6% of the respondents identify the actual lingo of digital manipulation and marketing.  Which means that there is massively skewed ratio of digital population, amongst the digitally affiliated and digitally advanced classes. 13 HDTV could have been available in early 1980s. The technology was discovered and infrastructure available that time as well. However, It was released the early 2000s. Pick an answer you feel explains the aforementioned. No one knew about it, so no one asked for it. Introducing a newer technology is giving yet more power to the user. Thus firms were reluctant on this matter.  At this juncture, many respondents have understood the metrics of centricity and now begun to identify the clash between digital users, marketers and businesses.  Over 65% have agreed that they have misinterpreted the potential of the digital biome and were misguided or ill informed. 14 Compared to their peers a few years back, do u think the regular neighborhood [Photographer / digital artists / Photoshop users / etc. ] are getting better ? Yes, definitely Yes, a little bit Yes, maybe Can’ t say No, everything feels copied nowadays No, they are not getting better, they just have better technology No  Almost half of the respondent agree that digital centricity has aided creative expression when compared with their counterparts from a decade ago.  In doing so, they acknowledge the role of user centricity and power it carries now to influence social, cultural and business paradigm. 15 Do you agree with the following? Connecting with a consumer is easy... converting it to a customer is hard Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree  The effect of user saturation is straightaway measured as a total of about 90% feel the effect of digital saturation and the causal nature of more promotion is more saturation and more saturation prompts even more promotion. 16 Do you believe disconnect between an Adv. Agency, a Media Agency and The Media Owner is growing? Agree Strongly agree Neutral Strongly disagree Disagree  There seems a tie on the effect of user centricity on the relationship between the three aforementioned entities, which is entirely understood, as a close grouping would have made clear that the digital user understands user centricity which is simply not the case as is shown earlier on Page 8 and 9. 17 UGC (user generated content) is a big reason social networking sites are gaining popularity. Do you think UGC has a bigger connect to an intended audience than MGC (Marketer Generated Content)? Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree  This a simple straight approach on the effect user centricity has had on the way a MGC is perceived in the digital biome.  Over half of the digital users agree that they prefer UGC to MGC, arising questions over the tactics used by the ad agencies and media houses to quench user saturation and in part user centricity.  Clearly, they are not doing enough.

USER CENTRICITY

USER CENTRICITY is a term given to the growing power of populace in general. Today in advertising world, ad agencies are facing an uphill task of convincing clients. Clients which are well versed and well equipped in use of tools of trade like Photoshop and CorelDraw etc. One should be wary of the invisible giant in the room and that’s exactly what is happening in the advertising world today. Focusing on the agency part first, advertising agency are finding it increasingly hard to convince clients on the aptness of the campaign, media plans or the general print ads they create as because the client now feels that the digital creation of the aforementioned is not as hard or as costly as it was assumed by them beforehand as everyone now has access to internet and the bar has been set higher by other agencies, so on and so forth. Power to the user takes a whole new term here as unlike other professions, power to the user on the contrary means that the power is being taken away from somebody, which in this case is the hapless agency, who is sandwiched between client and consumer.

Creative Appreciations of Adv films - myntra

1.      Myntra.com – Hottest December ever

Insight

Good ‘Sales’ in the retail stores can are often hindered because of queues and lack of space, despite having a good collection of garments.

Proposition

No other sale can be as hot as this one, and you don’t even have to sweat for it because its online.

1)      Ability to break clutter

This ad has been eye-catching. It definitely breaks through the clutter of ads where only the sale is highlighted. For e.g. Snapdeal

It succeeds in doing so by having good visuals and catchy music. It also relates the terms ‘hot and sizzling’ to the sale which is good wordplay.

2)      Message Impact

The message is confusing at the start when the girl is shown taking off her clothes. This is the part that grabs attention. However, the impact is reduced when the sale is announced as the viewer might be watching the ad to know what’s next. Upon knowing of the sale, the viewer might lose interest.

3)      Memorability

The catchy music of the ad and the visuals make the ad memorable momentarily. However, viewers might confuse the brand to be of any other e-commerce website and in the long run may forget about it soon enough.

4)      Quality of Execution

The execution portrays that you can get a lot of clothes for cheap at Myntra. The visuals and the music are decent. However, the quality and idea of the video does not say much about the brand. It is portrayed as a ‘me too’ brand. The proposition is lost in the bargain and the sale is highlighted. The clothes used in the ad are rather bad. They could have used much better merchandise along with the hot model to create that pull for customers who purchase stuff from stores to try online shopping. The ad creates an initial excitement and that just dies down as the ad progresses because of ill execution.

5)      Brand Linkage

It does not leave an emotional connect, and although the ad breaks through the clutter in terms of noticeability, it does not add any value to the brand. It makes Myntra look like any other e-commerce website which has a sale. It does not leverage the brand to position it above its competitors.

2.      Mother Dairy -- Sorry Mom

Insight

The insight for the Mother Dairy Ad where the mistake in made by the kid and the blame is taken by the mother is a very simple one. It is that when you are in trouble you always run to your mom and there is no one in the world that will protect you like your mother.

The ad is based on two universal truths: Milk is healthy and that children dislike drinking milk. So the challenge in the ad is not the mothers but the kids who need to be convinced to drink milk. Instead of talking about how tall and strong they will grow up to be tomorrow, the ad reminds them about some of the small things in life which they fail to notice.

Proposition

The Proposition is to connect the audience emotionally to daily life situations that every child has gone through where their mother has made a sacrifice for them. It is to make them realize that we can never thank our mother enough for what she has done for us.

1)      Ability to break clutter

This ad has surely the ability to break the clutter out of the many milk ads that are seen on TV today as it connects to family emotions and shows the ad from a very different angle rather than the usual health and taste factor.

2)      Message Impact

It is an ad that pays tribute to all mothers and draws attention to the pivotal role mothers play in the lives of their children. One of the most important relationships based on unconditional love is a mother-child relationship. There is nobody else you can take for granted and you know that they are there for you all the time. The message is clear and has an impact.

3)      Memorability

The impact of the message is related to the memorability of the ad. The ad becomes memorable because these are small situations that are faced by all of us at some point or other in our lives. 

4)      Quality of Execution

The overall ad is shot inside a house and the execution is very simple. The execution becomes very important in an ad where the insight is so simple. The father portrays a very wrong image in front of his child as he is scolding the mother for a small material thing. This may impact the child in behaving in an inappropriate way with the opposite gender. The execution should have been handled in a proper manner.

Another interesting thing to note is the way they show the shot from the kid’s point of view where he is looking at the mother only in the conversation to see what happens. It creates that mystery factor while you watch the ad and then you discover the twist of the mother’s sacrifice for her child.

5)      Brand Linkage

The brand of Mother Dairy has always been linked with the connection of a mother and her child. Like all other campaigns, this ad also lies in the same boundary. It instantly connects to the brand name and brand idea.

3.      Tata Capital Home Loans – Memories

Insight

The Insight for TATA Capital’s Home Finance is simple and straightforward. That you have memories attached to the place where you stay. And while shifting from one place, you call home, to the other those memories are left behind. This Insight has been crafted into “Memories can not be shifted” and in Hindi “Kyunki yaadein ghar nahin badla karti”.

Proposition

The proposition is to trigger an emotion that is related to the house. These emotions are you being at that place and not having the routine that you used to have, the friends you will miss, etc.

1) Ability to break clutter

The message of “Kyunki yaadein ghar nahin badla karti” surely helps in breaking the clutter. The emotion helps to break the clutter at two levels – the storyline through children and their innocent reasons for not wanting to leave the place.

2) Message Impact

The message is simple and a simple message is always good and will always have an impact. The stickiness ability of the message is more when it is simple. The radio message has more impact as compared to the TVC.    

3) Memorability

Yes, the Ad has the classic feel to it. The degree of execution is on a large, limited. But it has the potential to become memorable in a very classic kind of a way similar to the Asian Paints “Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai”. The extent of details in the Radio Spot is truly spectacular. But this appeal falls short in the TVC. The Ad has a lot of heart to it that makes it memorable. 

4) Quality of Execution

The TVC execution was not cutting and appealing. The insight is very obvious. But the execution is what will make a world of difference. The TVC has kids trying to belt out emotions that are predominantly adult in nature. When kids use words like “Kiraayee ka ghar” is not connecting at any level. The girl in the TVC talks in a typical child-like overtone that is done to death by Oreo in their commercials.

The ad is made in a candid conversation kind of format which increases its “real” value. The actors chosen for the ad look very real and thus as they talk you tend to think if you too have some such special memory like they are referring too.

5) Brand Linkage

The TATA Capital Home Loan brand is not Top of Mind. And in many places the brand does not resonate at all. This is TATA Capital Housing Finance second campaign. But the previous campaign and this one should have had more connection in terms of telling the brand story. A more linkage in terms of the first & its current campaign should be established. In a long-term point of view it should not become just a list of reasons why you should buy your own house. The first reason was you need your own space & the second being memories cannot be shifted. For the brand to give strength and occupy mind space, the ads must have some consistency.