We live in electrifying digital times. Events can be converged 360 degrees to involve the whole humanity simultaneously.  Add to that the fact that the internet is a great place to be an armchair activist. One can debate and interact about many issues with like minded people from around the world. With the world going digital and converging on the internet, it’s an exciting thing to take a stance and get involved.

Take the case of Pangea Day, a unique global event concept which aimed to bring the world together through film. It started at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008 in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro were linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program was broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones. Other than that there were happenings at movie theatres, parks, and other shared venues before the run up to the broadcasts.

The 24 short films were featured were selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person’s eyes. They taked about issues from human rights to climate change.  Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.

The program also included a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers: Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenomena Hypernova. The event was widely publicized through social media sites like facebook, Youtube, MySpace.   

Today a wide array of such events can be conducted online. The best part about them is that they are interactive and global in nature. Pod casts, Webcasts and Online chats can be achieved quite simply and publicized through web. Issue based events gather a lot of buzz as internet can be an effective media for research and debate. Considering internet is the future, it definitely seems an ‘eventful’ one.

Check out www.connectedindians.com!

The Connected Indians movement aims to be the catalyst for delivering the power of the Internet into the hands of a billion Indians. Intel states that its success will hinge on spirited public and private participation.

Over the next few months, Intel will mobilize people, resources & infrastructure to facilitate Internet adoption across India.

Over time, this collaboration will help build partnerships between people, Industries and stakeholders via a complete and connected ecosystem to accelerate the growth of Internet and its benefits to the society.

The Connected Indian web site is an innovation in itself wherein users can click on an interactive map to locate their co-ordinates, and then post their voice for an Internet-enabled India. Not only that, they can utilize the in-built feature to invite more of their friends and peers from their web contact lists to add in more numbers.

There is also an India Speaks section that highlights different areas where Internet is making a huge difference in the way people, processes, industries & services in India are progressing with the power of the Internet.

Intel is following up this movement on-ground with specially-designed “Net Yatras” wherein it will showcase Internet’s benefits to Indians using interactive tools & techniques.

This is one movement that has been designed with a specific cause in mind and Intel promises that for every 10,000 Connected Indians who register, the movement will donate a PC to selected government schools in rural areas.

Now that’s what we call a spirited initiative!

Know more about the movement here.

Join the movement here.

Join the Connected Indians Orkut Community here.

Intel’s partners in this venture include google, HCL, Zenith, Edurite, MAIT, BSNL, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Acer, Intex, Novatium, Wipro, Asus, CII, e-zone, lenovo, NIIT, Tata Communications, Croma, NASSCOM etc.

It will be interesting to see the kind of products & services Intel will introduce to take this step further & forward. Here’s wishing Intel all the best for the initiative & hoping that more & more brands take such steps towards better propagation and acceptance of technology!

What’s the deal here? How can you possibly “create” a viral? Aren’t virals supposed to be “ideas”, rather than brand communication? I thought a good communication “became” a viral basis its spread-quotient – and if its an eDM or a video, its just easier to spread around…

Anyway, so there is Webchutney, the supposed “viral pioneers” as they love to call themselves…with this new Center Fresh viral

While the overall concept is nice..crass, but funny nevertheless, the funniest part that definitely is viral-able is this:

Notice the URL?! I mean just obvious do they want it to be? Or are dumb customers expected to appreciate the fact that there “exists a viral”…a sure sign of “creative brilliance” & “amazing campaign roll-out”!

Ahem..don’t miss the “Kitne Aadmi the..” question in the Q&A session..going by their liberal use of the concept, it seems Webchutney must be paying a retainer to Mr. Sippy!

Webchutney and Center Fresh aren’t the only ones…there are a million campaign landing pages that have URL stating the obvious…”www.xyz.com/campaign/microsite”-like URL’s are pretty common..

I do hope that better sense will prevail sooner than later as far as such freaky phenomenons are concerned!

Targeted at the tech-focused youth, the community focuses not only on technology, but also features information on exciting career options and some interesting on-site games to engage the audience. The youth Network is a one-stop shop for the youth to find interesting & relevant information, understand computing-related technologies, refer friends to win rewards, participate in exciting games & contests and  a lot more.

The network also offers an innovative web-based referral scheme, wherein members can pass on PC-sales leads that they may come across within their peer group/friends/family to GID’s (Genuine Intel Dealers) and earn exciting rewards upon closure! This in our opinion is one learn & earn program that is relevant, exciting and can be utilized with minimum fuss!

Bigger plans are afoot to make the website even more relevant & focused in the coming days.

Solutions|Digitas designed the new look and feel and worked with Intel in bringing in content partners. They also are managing the website and will be responsible for future updates, promotions et al. Solutions|Digitas’s involvement is not just limited to the online aspect of the program. They are also actively managing all on-ground promotions including those at colleges, malls & multiplexes.

You can join the network here!

Amul, which established its presence in Second Life in March by setting up its virtual parlour, is now working to expand its presence in the virtual world.
Trimensions, a Gurgaon based company, is helping Amul to develop its existence on Second Life. Rahul Dutta, chairman and managing director, Trimensions, says, “Amul is planning to buy eight-10 islands, equal to 160 acres of virtual land, in Second Life to set up a simulation of its production and distribution facility. The objective behind launching a virtual setup is to demonstrate its functioning to the consumers, and experiment with any change in the production or distribution system virtually before executing it in the real world.”

Screenshot of Amul Ice-cream parlour

Dutta adds, “Setting up ice cream parlours on Second Life was actually a pilot project. It will take around six months to launch the virtual Amul setup on Second Life.” The Amul ice cream parlours showcase topical ads of Amul starting from the late 1990s, Amul TV commercials and product displays.
Before Second Life, Amul’s presence in the online world was restricted to Amul.com (a corporate website), Amul.tv (showcasing short films and TVCs related to Amul) and AmulIcecream.in (to sell ice cream).
Second Life is an Internet enabled virtual world in which users can create their virtual identities. These identities can move around, interact and socialise with other users. Members of Second Life can participate in individual or group activities and create and trade items like virtual property and services with each other. A member has to pay for the space he purchases on Second Life. Second Life is developed by Linden Lab, a company based in the US.

Around 13 million users worldwide, including 50,000 Indians, are registered with Second Life.

© 2008 afaqs!

Simple and addictive, it showcase three kinds of Butwhy’s:

Butwhy board: Ask your "but why" questions. e.g. Washing liquid contains real lemon, while a lemonade contains artificial flavor..But Why?

Butwhy photos: same concept in photos..e.g.

Butwhy stories: tell a story and ask the reader-butwhy? visitors can them offer interesting answers to a given situation.

There even is a contest on – post your butwhy to win exciting prizes. I do not think this is an individual’s attempt..and in any case, given their massive showcase of a popular model, it seems something is cooking.

Overall, pretty interesting..Looking forward to find out more..

It would be quite interesting to know how will Bill Gates still earn pots of money by offering cash- back rebates to its search engine customers. [download id="null"] Microsoft in a tardy aggressive move has launched Live Search in competition to Google.
This launch, said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, is a way of “simplifying the tasks and rewarding the consumers and advertisers for their engagement in a major way.”

In essence, Microsoft wants to incentivise users of Live Search. As you key in a search, the Live Search tool gives you a list of list of prices with “compare prices” button and cash- back rebates associated with the search. This is applicable on commerce- centric seraches.Marketers determine how much they’re willing to pay to acquire a buyer for a particular product and pay Microsoft that fee only when someone makes a purchase. But instead of pocketing that money, Microsoft offers it back to users in the form of a rebate.
Clever, considering Return of investment as the ultimate marketer’s manna.

Go experience it Live here

Inbev’s global beer brand Beck’s is about to start a blog on their international homepage. They don’t have a blogger yet, so they are now looking for “the ultimate, offbeat columnist with an uncompromising point of view who can connect and interact with consumers in the digital world” . Interesting point is that they are not looking for a corporate blogger, but a person that will give a personal view on news, people and ideas that match the brands philosophy ‘Different by Choice’. The full job offer can be found on becks.com.

“Beck’s is a brand that has always refused to compromise and what we’re doing online is no different,” says Jorge Inda Meza, Global Marketing Manager for Beck’s in a press release on Monday. “Our consumers actively seek out links to new trends and genuine material from around the globe. They have a desire to learn about people who share the same values as they do. The Beck’s new columnist will help uncover and highlight relevant and exciting topics for our consumers, enabling us to better connect with them.”

Seems all brands need a blogger…we at Solutions|Digitas has an upcoming proposition that is quite similar but much more subtle…keep watching this space for more details!

While there is an intense cyber-debate regarding it’s authenticity and the unrealistic task (too many loopholes – did he fly over Iraq or drove thru it? etc), and DHL continues to deny participation, the most I can ask of you is to appreciate the idea!