Owning Effervescence
The Time Magazine labelled it "an indispensable rejuvenator to hard-working British colonials... a bitter, effervescent quinine water supposed to ward off malaria & malaise." I am of course referring to Schweppes, now commanding an extended portfolio of effervescent drinks from its classic Tonic to the new Cola. I have had a soft spot for its mark, rejuvenated in 2006-7 to take the 200+ year old brand to younger audiences. Its yellow brand flag exudes positivity and can't seem to contain the burst of energy, bubbles and positivity. Either way the brand seems to have made a healthy relationship with effervescence...

Web 3.0

Designed by OnLab, the 24-page interaction section of the Domus Magazine (March 09 issue) is a fold-out feat featuring two characters: Mr and Miss Web 2.0. The article, on the possiblities of Web 3.0, is marked by diagonal fold-outs (and ins) as well as uncomfortably force justified columns. The pages look elegantly foldable, but can be a holy mess or an engaging puzzle - indicative of the shape of things to come?

Now connected to Barrack

Thanks to team Obama's enthusuastic embrace of the net and its new networking paradigms, just realised that I, and many others too, are just a couple of virtual handshakes or introductions away from the man at the helm of the US of A. I wonder how many of you would have actually searched for Obama on LinkedIn, I for one certainly didn't - pure serendipity.

Post the online tryst with Barrack's profile I searched for our very own home grown politicians. My search for Rahul Gandhi, heir apparent to the Congress top job and likely future PM of India, brought up 225 results but none that seemed to match the person I was looking for. There were 116 Sonia Gandhis on LinkedIn, none of them the Congress President. Names like Manmohan Singh, LK Advani, Somanth Chatterjee, Priyanka Gandhi Vadera, Prakash and Brinda Karat threw up anything between 0 and 200+ matches. Maybe they are another election year (technically five years) away from getting closer to the people through social networks.

Interestingly, Captain Gopinath and Krishna Byregowda, both 2009 contestants from Bangalore South Constituency for India's Lok Shabha or the House of Commons are on LinkedIn. Though further away from me in connection terms than Barrack.

Share of Heart and Mind

In April 2008, US Insurance giant Liberty Mutual unveiled its Responsibility Project. The multi-faceted project is based on a Television Commercial created in 2006. The tagline: 'Responsibility. Whats your policy?'



The popularity of the commerical inspired a series and then the community driven site that has short films, personal stories posted by its visitors, blogs, discussions, vote-in and the widgets to share it with the big wide world of social networks.


According to Kathy McManus, editor of ResponsibilityProject.com: "I’ve seen the issue of responsibility debated and contested all over the world, by the powerful and powerless. Some ignore the topic with ease and others spend a lifetime pondering; however, everyone defines responsibility in their own way. The Responsibility Project gives everyone the opportunity to share their own experiences and expectations. By joining the conversation, we hope the online community’s members can test themselves, debate with others, get inspired and give inspiration.”

The animation films as well as personal stories are debated, shared and discussed by the growing community of responsive registered visitors. In the recessionary times the brand positioning has struck a chord with the consumers at large. Whats more, in early 2009, Libery Mutual introduced a new campaign - a series of spots and films that traces the times of a fictional family, the Marlowes, as they go from "coping with recession to disciplining errant children" (NYT online, March 3, 09)

Responsibilityproject.com will host all the campaign films apart from its regular content. A splendid initiative, though one cannot but wonder about role and the nature of 'strategic' altruism in helping people make choices. That anyway is another story for later...

CS vs. MS

Though Adobe CS (and Photoshop in particular) has inspired many a designer and designs on itself, one cannot but help smile at this clever little infographic (bottom) tracing the evolution of the designer. I for one have to grudgingly add Lotus Notes to my toolkit...