Today I woke up to a news article in The Times of India on my favourite social networking site
(nowadays) take a guess which one!.....yeah you are right, Facebook. It says that India Inc. is facing a productivity loss of 12.5% per day thanks to the social networking sites. If translated into number of hours it means on an average, an employee works only for 7 hours out of the 8 hours at work. Rest of the time is spent on social networking sites. Chk the link for the article -http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Social-networking-plagues-India-Inc/articleshow/5429382.cmsms
Ofcourse there are those unlucky few (but thankfully not part of statistics) like me where the employers have banned/blocked usage of such sites in office. Did these statistics shock me...or anyone else for that matter. I doubt it very much. Isnt it that what everyone is addicted to for the last so many months. In fact if you are not yet part of the Face Book bandwagon you could be considered a social outcast and a not 'with it' person. Either you are sent a friend invite to join FB or you just join it to check what everyone's talking so passionately about. It would be difficult to meet one of your friends who is not yet been bitten by this worm. They say nowadays the social profile of a person is recognised as ' Either you are a Face Booker' or not. Its like either you have or you dont.
Well, one person will disagree and thats ur truly's husband, because he has not only NOT created a profile yet on FB but I doubt he will be doing so in near future, especially seeing me affected by this new addiction surely he thinks he can do without it. Also that when I am on FB, its as if he is not there...well, thats what he says. Since FB has become one of my top 10 activities in the day, it is almost one of the top 10 reasons why we fight. And I am sure he is waiting for the day when he can say,'I told you so....' and win the battle for him. I would not only like to prove him wrong but also get him 'FaceBooked'
So you FB is creating tremors not only at office but also at home. And taking a cue of this social phenomenon, rightly so in its usual 'Amul' brand of humour we saw this FB hoarding towering over us from various city buildings. When 'Amul's' ad propogates any brand, its a clear measure of its cult status and establishes its popularity.
And as my blog post title reads, I can safely say that we have indeed been possessed by this all 'consuming' brand so much so that we 'Eat FB, Live FB and sleep FB'.
And I am sure the increasing numbers of FB users which at last count was 350 million users worldwide will all agree with the above statement.
Whats more?
That I could meet my school friends after 20 years....was one of the biggest event of my life of 2009. 125 batch mates who would have never have dreamt of meeting up on one common ground after two decades and reliving the grand ol' memories of quarter century back. It was truly pure, magical, ethereal and almost unbelievable feeling when we had the Reunion bees saal baad . A special evening, moments of which I have been reliving almost every minute since that day. And all this thanks to FB.
Yes, truly its helped me and millions others across the world reconnect with long lost friends from school, colleges, office and how! Its just not a social networking site but a brand which everyone wakes up to and goes to sleep with. Can their be any other brand as popular and addictive as this...i guess may be Colgate toothpaste comes closest (just joking) but there again...one is by habit and the other is pleasure. You dont get excited looking at your toothbrush in themorning/night as much as you do by checking ur FB profile with the latest updates from your pals.
Also, there was another article which I happened to read today which does not directly relate to FB but it has the potential to be. It says the power of how a tighly knit group of enlightened people can bring about a positive change not just at a micro level but at a national level by having a common agenda. And I think FB has the power for that to happen. If all on FB from India believe that we need a stronger governance, no corruption, no land grabbing by builders, timely and appropriate justice delivered by the judiciary, no illegal encroachments,proper planning of projects, open grounds, no cutting trees and importance of education/infrastructure in eradicating poverty then our time has come to use FB in the right direction and make it a lethal tool to wipe out the thugs who are ruling the country in the name of politicians.
Why dont we use FB to pursue common goals such as these. As the cliche goes, its an idea whose time has come!
Read below article for the context -
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEwLzAxLzEwI0FyMDI0MDI=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
So you see its not just a social networking site to meet your old pals and get together for reunions but it could be used as a tool for Unions of a different kind, Unions of Intellectuals who crave for doing something constructive for their nation and community. As I am sure that there are hundreds and thousands of Indians who have always wanted to do something for the city and country but did not know what to do and where to go.
Thinking aloud....May be a National newspaper can tie up with Facebook and create a community online for such Indians which could be BIG force to reckon with. And why not, there are already many groups formed based on social issues but we need a consolidated group which will cover all the problems which we as Indians face day in and day out and members can then nominate themselves for sub groups within this group for issues which are close to their heart. And icing on the cake would be to have a social (genuine)celebrity to campaign for this National cause.
To conclude, all I can say is that Facebook has the power to become a 'socially' relevant brand!
(nowadays) take a guess which one!.....yeah you are right, Facebook. It says that India Inc. is facing a productivity loss of 12.5% per day thanks to the social networking sites. If translated into number of hours it means on an average, an employee works only for 7 hours out of the 8 hours at work. Rest of the time is spent on social networking sites. Chk the link for the article -http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Social-networking-plagues-India-Inc/articleshow/5429382.cmsms
Ofcourse there are those unlucky few (but thankfully not part of statistics) like me where the employers have banned/blocked usage of such sites in office. Did these statistics shock me...or anyone else for that matter. I doubt it very much. Isnt it that what everyone is addicted to for the last so many months. In fact if you are not yet part of the Face Book bandwagon you could be considered a social outcast and a not 'with it' person. Either you are sent a friend invite to join FB or you just join it to check what everyone's talking so passionately about. It would be difficult to meet one of your friends who is not yet been bitten by this worm. They say nowadays the social profile of a person is recognised as ' Either you are a Face Booker' or not. Its like either you have or you dont.
Well, one person will disagree and thats ur truly's husband, because he has not only NOT created a profile yet on FB but I doubt he will be doing so in near future, especially seeing me affected by this new addiction surely he thinks he can do without it. Also that when I am on FB, its as if he is not there...well, thats what he says. Since FB has become one of my top 10 activities in the day, it is almost one of the top 10 reasons why we fight. And I am sure he is waiting for the day when he can say,'I told you so....' and win the battle for him. I would not only like to prove him wrong but also get him 'FaceBooked'
So you FB is creating tremors not only at office but also at home. And taking a cue of this social phenomenon, rightly so in its usual 'Amul' brand of humour we saw this FB hoarding towering over us from various city buildings. When 'Amul's' ad propogates any brand, its a clear measure of its cult status and establishes its popularity.
And as my blog post title reads, I can safely say that we have indeed been possessed by this all 'consuming' brand so much so that we 'Eat FB, Live FB and sleep FB'.
And I am sure the increasing numbers of FB users which at last count was 350 million users worldwide will all agree with the above statement.
Whats more?
That I could meet my school friends after 20 years....was one of the biggest event of my life of 2009. 125 batch mates who would have never have dreamt of meeting up on one common ground after two decades and reliving the grand ol' memories of quarter century back. It was truly pure, magical, ethereal and almost unbelievable feeling when we had the Reunion bees saal baad . A special evening, moments of which I have been reliving almost every minute since that day. And all this thanks to FB.
Yes, truly its helped me and millions others across the world reconnect with long lost friends from school, colleges, office and how! Its just not a social networking site but a brand which everyone wakes up to and goes to sleep with. Can their be any other brand as popular and addictive as this...i guess may be Colgate toothpaste comes closest (just joking) but there again...one is by habit and the other is pleasure. You dont get excited looking at your toothbrush in themorning/night as much as you do by checking ur FB profile with the latest updates from your pals.
Also, there was another article which I happened to read today which does not directly relate to FB but it has the potential to be. It says the power of how a tighly knit group of enlightened people can bring about a positive change not just at a micro level but at a national level by having a common agenda. And I think FB has the power for that to happen. If all on FB from India believe that we need a stronger governance, no corruption, no land grabbing by builders, timely and appropriate justice delivered by the judiciary, no illegal encroachments,proper planning of projects, open grounds, no cutting trees and importance of education/infrastructure in eradicating poverty then our time has come to use FB in the right direction and make it a lethal tool to wipe out the thugs who are ruling the country in the name of politicians.
Why dont we use FB to pursue common goals such as these. As the cliche goes, its an idea whose time has come!
Read below article for the context -
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEwLzAxLzEwI0FyMDI0MDI=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
So you see its not just a social networking site to meet your old pals and get together for reunions but it could be used as a tool for Unions of a different kind, Unions of Intellectuals who crave for doing something constructive for their nation and community. As I am sure that there are hundreds and thousands of Indians who have always wanted to do something for the city and country but did not know what to do and where to go.
Thinking aloud....May be a National newspaper can tie up with Facebook and create a community online for such Indians which could be BIG force to reckon with. And why not, there are already many groups formed based on social issues but we need a consolidated group which will cover all the problems which we as Indians face day in and day out and members can then nominate themselves for sub groups within this group for issues which are close to their heart. And icing on the cake would be to have a social (genuine)celebrity to campaign for this National cause.
To conclude, all I can say is that Facebook has the power to become a 'socially' relevant brand!
