Noisy newspaper

The Times of India (TOI) today morning literally created a racket.Volkswagen had attached a noisy contraption in the newspaper to play out some message repetitively.This attempt at gaining attention definitely worked as one had to expend effort to shut the device off. An entirely irresponsible campaign by TOI and Volkswagen.

1. A Volkswagen car is not an impulse purchase that people hearing the radio quality,irritating pitch will rush out of their homes to the nearest dealer.

2. A colossal waste from an eco perspective.Metal and plastic that will land in a dust bin even before the morning is over.

3. The fact that a newspaper is irresponsible enough to allow contraptions to be attached to it can open up ideas for groups wanting to spread terror (a point of view spontaneously put forth by several people who received TOI today).From a newspaper that conducts eco campaigns this was least expected. Just because an advertiser is willing to pay does not mean that TOI should willingly go along.

redesign Design institutes

We are looking to recruit for design and merchandising positions in SoulQuest. Am amused and amazed by the quality of communication from some of the candidates from premier design institutes.Poor communication from a candidate ends their chances at the application stage itself.

Design institutes possibly assume that their sole task is to teach the students about design to the exclusion of everything else. It's not about writing Shakespeare style prose. Students need inputs on :

1. Creating an appealing resume that's honest , confident - I've seen 5 page resumes of students who have just graduated . Few years into a career the resume will possibly become a book.

2. Learning to communicate - over email /phone and sms - in a way that even if they are not selected - at least they leave a favorable impression on the individual / company.

These days there is ample opportunity for students to learn such skills via the internet. However , emphasis by and some guidance from the institute will definitely make a huge difference.

Yet another bandh

There's a bandh across many parts of India today. It is unclear what it will tangibly accomplish other than loss of a day's wages for many and inconvenience to even more. The union leaders on TV this morning were not able to properly articulate what they hope to accomplish. There's definitely a lot of anger about price rise and other issues. They need to be addressed. But a strike of this type is not going to do that.

Look at the way the govt is allowing millions of tonnes of food grains to rot.They are busy trying to save their rear on a host of issues or blaming some group/individual/political party.This type of mind set will be hardly affected by a day's strike.

We really need platforms and the discipline+willingness to engage in meaningful discussions to resolve problems.