Barring a few old fogies like me, nobody listens to albums anymore.
I put on a CD in my music system (not my computer) and listen to the album all the way through, from the first song to the last. I don’t skip or jump or programme my music system to play a list of songs in any odd manner I may choose to listen to at a particular moment. I listen to the album all the way through, from beginning till end.
Today, this habit of mine puts me in the non-tech dinosaur category as far as the masses of youngsters go. While I listen to albums, beginning to end, in the comfort of my home, these youngsters go crazy over thousands of MP3 downloads (mostly pirated), packed and compressed as playlists, on their iPods or mobilephones or other MP3 players.
It doesn’t matter if they are out in the streets or in the middle of raucous college compounds or in the seclusion of their bedrooms at home. These youngsters are happy plugging in their earphones and blasting away their music wherever they are. For, as they plug in to their MP3s, they create a world of their own, isolating themselves from everything and everyone else.
It has its pitfalls, but the good thing is, the neighbours don’t complain the way they do when I play my music albums.
31 March 2007
29 March 2007
No longer in advertising
This was my response to the question ‘Does it make sense to stay on in advertising?’ raised by an industry professional in another blog:
“The fact that I’m no longer in advertising means I’ve found career opportunities which are more attractive than advertising. For me, money has not been the reason for leaving advertising. It has been the lack of professionalism and skills in handling people that drove me away.
There are too many incompetent people in responsible positions in advertising agencies. In a people business, they know very little about managing – or being responsive to – people who make up their teams. In a communication business, most advertising people cannot even communicate well... and that includes senior executives in the ‘creative’ department.
Most managers lack leadership skills. They move up the ladder not because of their ability to lead their teams to higher levels of achievement, but by default, typically, when their superiors leave to pursue better-paid jobs. Many are bullies (I once had a psychotic as a boss) running down their juniors and taking credit for others’ work.
Developing people doesn’t seem to be a priority in advertising agencies. There’s hardly any training provided by the agencies to make their executives better managers. What’s worse, the senior management totally ignores this vacuum in their HR systems... maybe because they themselves have grown up in the same ignorant manner.”
“The fact that I’m no longer in advertising means I’ve found career opportunities which are more attractive than advertising. For me, money has not been the reason for leaving advertising. It has been the lack of professionalism and skills in handling people that drove me away.
There are too many incompetent people in responsible positions in advertising agencies. In a people business, they know very little about managing – or being responsive to – people who make up their teams. In a communication business, most advertising people cannot even communicate well... and that includes senior executives in the ‘creative’ department.
Most managers lack leadership skills. They move up the ladder not because of their ability to lead their teams to higher levels of achievement, but by default, typically, when their superiors leave to pursue better-paid jobs. Many are bullies (I once had a psychotic as a boss) running down their juniors and taking credit for others’ work.
Developing people doesn’t seem to be a priority in advertising agencies. There’s hardly any training provided by the agencies to make their executives better managers. What’s worse, the senior management totally ignores this vacuum in their HR systems... maybe because they themselves have grown up in the same ignorant manner.”
28 March 2007
More gender equality
As more and more women are becoming assertive, expecting their men to be more caring, to be more sensitive to their emotional needs, and to take up more responsibilities in handling household chores, more and more men are giving in to their feminine side and turning gay.
What more can we expect from gender equality?
What more can we expect from gender equality?
26 March 2007
Plain old racism?
Not long ago, much like it happened in India with Indian TV viewers, Arab viewers had to content themselves with dull State-run TV channels. Now, there’s a media revolution sweeping the Arab world in the form of satellite-TV-based Arab-language news channels.
It started with Qatar-based Al Jazeera, and now includes channels like Al Arabiya (Saudi-sponsored) and Al Manar (run by the Hezbollah), among others. Not to be outdone by the locals, in 2004, the U.S. government started its own Arab-language channel in the Middle East – Al Hurra.
Last year, Al Jazeera began its English-language broadcast. However, it’s not available to U.S. viewers at the moment as no cable provider has agreed to carry it over U.S. soil. I wonder if the reason for this is an economic or a political one. Or, is it plain old racism?
It started with Qatar-based Al Jazeera, and now includes channels like Al Arabiya (Saudi-sponsored) and Al Manar (run by the Hezbollah), among others. Not to be outdone by the locals, in 2004, the U.S. government started its own Arab-language channel in the Middle East – Al Hurra.
Last year, Al Jazeera began its English-language broadcast. However, it’s not available to U.S. viewers at the moment as no cable provider has agreed to carry it over U.S. soil. I wonder if the reason for this is an economic or a political one. Or, is it plain old racism?
Cultural factors
Muslim women in Arabian countries (also in India, Pakistan) wear ‘burkha’ in public places so they wouldn’t fall prey to male gaze and be considered objects of desire and sex. In another part of the world, women flaunt their sexuality by going topless (such as on the beaches of Brazil) or wearing minimum clothing, like bikinis, in public places.
In India, where one-third of the population still lives in poverty, consumers buy tons of gold jewellery each year. India consumes close to 28% of the world’s gold.
I guess these are due to cultural factors.
In India, where one-third of the population still lives in poverty, consumers buy tons of gold jewellery each year. India consumes close to 28% of the world’s gold.
I guess these are due to cultural factors.
25 March 2007
Villain
I had to ask a junior colleague of mine to leave my team and the organisation.
It was inevitable. Things weren’t working out between us. Every time I counselled him, condoned him, encouraged him and covered up for his follies, he invariably did the wrong things and brought the performance of the team down. His team members became hostile towards him, which made him defensive and withdrawn. They called him a villain and he reduced his interaction with them. A low soon followed in his performance and, in turn, brought the performance of the team further down. His team members complained, again.
This had been happening for a while. He had been allowed different job roles – all leading to dismal performances. Added to this was his habit of dropping off from work unannounced. Managers had had closed-door discussions about him. He had been reprimanded on several occasions, each time leading to him submitting his letter of resignation. Finally it was accepted. This morning, I had to let him know the organisation’s decision to relieve him from his job responsibilities.
Sometimes we are doomed to play the role of the villain. This time I wasn’t sure who the real villain was.
It was inevitable. Things weren’t working out between us. Every time I counselled him, condoned him, encouraged him and covered up for his follies, he invariably did the wrong things and brought the performance of the team down. His team members became hostile towards him, which made him defensive and withdrawn. They called him a villain and he reduced his interaction with them. A low soon followed in his performance and, in turn, brought the performance of the team further down. His team members complained, again.
This had been happening for a while. He had been allowed different job roles – all leading to dismal performances. Added to this was his habit of dropping off from work unannounced. Managers had had closed-door discussions about him. He had been reprimanded on several occasions, each time leading to him submitting his letter of resignation. Finally it was accepted. This morning, I had to let him know the organisation’s decision to relieve him from his job responsibilities.
Sometimes we are doomed to play the role of the villain. This time I wasn’t sure who the real villain was.
23 March 2007
To be an Indian author
To be an Indian author, do you have to be born in India? If yes, then V S Naipaul doesn’t qualify. Neither does Jhumpa Lahiri. But Salman Rushdie does. So does Jim Corbett.
To be an Indian author, do you have to be an Indian national? If yes, then V S Naipaul doesn’t qualify. Neither does Salman Rushdie. Nor Jhumpa Lahiri.
To be an Indian author, do you have to live in India, at least, for a couple of years? If yes, then V S Naipaul doesn’t qualify. Neither does Jhumpa Lahiri. But Salman Rushdie does. So does William Dalrymple and Gregory David Roberts.
Maybe, to be an Indian author, you just have to be born of Indian parents – or, have an Indian name. In which case, it’s goodbye to William Dalrymple and Gregory David Roberts. Though, Jim Corbett is considered an exception.
To be an Indian author, do you have to be an Indian national? If yes, then V S Naipaul doesn’t qualify. Neither does Salman Rushdie. Nor Jhumpa Lahiri.
To be an Indian author, do you have to live in India, at least, for a couple of years? If yes, then V S Naipaul doesn’t qualify. Neither does Jhumpa Lahiri. But Salman Rushdie does. So does William Dalrymple and Gregory David Roberts.
Maybe, to be an Indian author, you just have to be born of Indian parents – or, have an Indian name. In which case, it’s goodbye to William Dalrymple and Gregory David Roberts. Though, Jim Corbett is considered an exception.
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