techevent

MC Round Table Conclave 2019

by with No Comment 2020_1Business

Last year’s conference, as you all know, was a raging success. We were given a rating of 4.5/5. The success of this conference only made us want to do more for the next one and push the limits further.

We promptly fixed the conference well in advance for 11th September 2019. This time, we planned to do things differently. We planned to limit the number of speakers to just 3, excluding one keynote speaker, which is in concurrence with the general feedback given to us for our previous conference. Also, we wanted to have a different flow of events which was as follows: First, the keynote speaker takes the stage, followed by one speaker talking about a topic he/she specializes in, followed by round table discussions related to the topic just covered. This cycle repeats with each of our 3 speakers. Lastly, there shall be an open floor session where we give out a few topics, and each table discusses these topics based on their perspectives and returns to us with their summaries. 

We were partly piggybacking on the ALPSP conference since that was happening in the same venue that we had booked. Now, we surely expected a very good attendance considering our last year’s success and the proximity of our conference hall to that of the ALPSP conference. We went about writing to various potential attendees as early as June, but no one replied since it was a bit too early for them to commit (we were a bit over proactive may be :-). Nonetheless, we kept the registration window open for a generously long time. We had an ambitious target of 50 registrations, with a minimum target of 30.

But none of this actually worked in our favor. By the end of July, we were shocked to have had just 3 registrations! We figured that there were quite a few reasons for us to be in this spot. For one, a particular publisher had a customer review which happens only once in 3 years, and this contributed to a loss of at least 5 registrations. Apart from this, a major conference was coinciding with ours, and several publishers had committed their attendance there. To add to this, our loyal attendees& connections since a good 7 years too did not respond for various other reasons. So at this point, we had basically put ourselves in a big soup full of speakers but only garnished with a few attendees. We feared that our venue would look empty and create a poor impression on our attendees and speakers. Well, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph !! No looking back, I’ve got to do this, is all I had in mind.

Went straight into damage control mode, reached out to Andrea, who is the designated round table moderator, and requested for her active participation in promoting our event. But she too had her hands tied with her new occupation after being elected the Chancellor for her locality. She however helped us out by arranging for the keynote speaker for our conference. We then decided to make this a public event. With almost a month’s brainstorming with Mr. Jignesh, I finally put together a compelling agenda for the event & we personally followed up and chased several people, pulled in a few favours too. The BD teamthen wrote more than 300 emails, several follow ups, created a micro site which stated the agenda of the conference (https://krishna270.wixsite.com/roundtable2019 | my first attempt at it, along with Sunil )&most importantly we struck a cross-promotion deal with ALPSP, where ALPSP promotes our conference as a pre-event to theirs, and in exchange, we incorporate their branding in our event and promote this in our list serve of 8000+ publishers. We finally saw some traction by mid-august with about 20 registrations. We still needed at least 10 or 15 more registrations at any cost. Luckily, as the event date neared we reached our target with 35 registrations. Had this been a paid registration event and/or a private event as planned before, it would have been much harder to get these many registrations. On a lighter note, people turn up, when breakfast is free: -P 😉

Packed our bags, boarded our flights, and I reached the venue on 10th Sept at 7 pm after some daylong customer meetings in the city. I was welcomed with a good number of hurdles right away. The venue of our conference had been allocated to some other event & this was not informed to us until we arrived at the De Vere Beaumont Estate Hotel.

Our event starts at 7 am the next day and we are in this position! To add to our misery, the hotel was understaffed, mismanaged and overbooked with over 15 large scale events going on in parallel in various halls, and had no staff in-charge for our supposed hall. Turns out that the facilities management is outsourced to third party contractors. So the person responsible for booking the hall and the person on ground are two unrelated people altogether. The person on the ground just follows the checklist on the contract in a mechanical fashion without applying any common sense whatsoever. Now, with 15 large scale events going on simultaneously, the hotel had just 3 on-ground persons hired on contract. They were literally all over the place trying to do as much as they could to support all the events. I had to have our hall ready by that night at any cost. After a while, I was shown a new conference hall. This was a big 200 seater hall, which was unused for a very long time, but at this point of time, it was the only hall available. Now I had to make this hall look a lot fuller since we had just a 50 seater requirement. I did try a lot of on-the-spot improvisation to fill up the hall – arranged the tables wide apart in a zig-zag manner and whatnot. I asked for a partition to divide the hall into 2 parts, where one is the main conference area and the other becomes breakfast/networking area. We now required a PA system with microphones, a podium, and many such additional properties that would not have been needed for the hall we originally booked. I am now forced to pay up for these as additional expenses for no fault of ours but were promised that the properties will be delivered only the next morning since these have to be sourced from outside the hotel. With the help of the technician, I started to set up whatever little we could, to avoid hurrying things the next morning.

It was now 10 pm, and we turn on the in-house projector. And Voila! It does not work!
The hall has not been used for so long that they’ve forgotten to even maintain this space. The wiring was all gone. With no assistance from the hotel staff, we spent the rest of the night pulling down the false ceiling and replacing the wiring. We tried all sorts of combinations with our limited knowledge of the wiring in this hall and finally managed to get the projector to work at 11.20 pm. We swept, dusted and vacuum cleaned the entire place all by ourselves. I think we deserved at least a day’s wage to be paid to us by the hotel for putting us through this…but never mind!! We then placed all the conference material which was packed for us with great precision by Sunil and Poornima. Had it not been for them, I would have had absolutely no time to deal with this mess of a hall. I went about doing some more last-minute work like making table holders with MC branding, making signboards, etc. which were all originally supposed to be provided by the hotel.

We finished all this at half-past 1 in the morning. Take no chances, I made a checklist of all that is pending from the hotel including the podium, microphones, PA system, seat covers, etc. and handed it over to the hall in charge/technician, who in turn hands it over to the person replacing him after his shift ends at 3 am.

With very little sleep marred with restlessness, I returned to the conference hall next morning at 5.45 am, as I was informed that work would be resumed by the hotel staff at the same. I wasn’t too surprised to find the hall locked, no work done, no sight of the podium or PA system or anything we had asked for. The hall in-charge had not handed over the checklist to the person in the next shift. I somehow managed to pull in 3 random hotel staff and took matters into my own hands. The equipment reached the hotel at 7 am. I rushed and fixed up the PA system myself and got it working. The sound technician who arrived later took over that part. It was 7.30 am when the operations manager walks in to tell us that they couldn’t arrange the rest of the properties since it was too ‘last-minute’. I had to sternly remind them that it was because of their mismanagement and wrongly allocated hall that we had to request for these properties in the ‘last-minute’. Soon, Vidya and Lokanath arrived at the hall looking sharp and fully suited up – but then I had to ask them to get off the coats, roll up their sleeves and cover all the chairs with seat covers! Gentleman, thank you and I would have had a stress attack if I continued to stay alone in that room until 8 am. Your support at that time meant a lot.

“You sure can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending”.We were finally ready exactly at 8 am when our attendees started arriving. The event went off very well with a few negligible hiccups here and there and……

We did it! We received a rating of 4.7 on 5… that’s better than last time! IN THE END, THIS IS ALL THAT MATTERED (Testimonial: ( http://www.molecularconnections.com/RTC_2019/)

Highlights of the Round Table

We always dream of traveling far and wide on work, driven by the misconception that it is luxurious and fancy. The truth is, business travel is extremely expensive and so we try to optimize the trip to the absolute maximum. We pack our schedule with at least 10 or 20 meetings per day, starting early in the morning and closing real late at night, every single day of our travel (our record on marathon meetings was set at the Frankfurt book fair last year. Between Mr. Jignesh our CEO and myself, we covered a total of 53 meetings in two days (without food/coffee, not even a loo break 😂😂). Every city we travel to throws at us different logistical problems, so most of the time we end up walking for kilometers together tugging our luggage, jumping in and out of trams, subways, buses, and trains, just to ensure we make it on time for our next meeting. We have to think twice before we pick our meal because the food is very expensive. We end up dealing with harsh weather. Several times we end up almost freezing in the snow while we wait for our next meeting or trains or bus, but we still have to look tip-top and present ourselves in our best manner and make MC proud.

The inference we can draw from our experience described so far is, Things can and will always go wrong because of several external factors which are not in our control. But we just can’t let such problems get in our way. We have to make adjustments, compromise, make smart strategic decisions and put up a great show in such a way that all the problems we face are invisible to all, but us.

But then, lucky for us, we are blessed to have a truly reliable workforce in MC!

2020ceo

2020:First step to another decade of Mind-blowing growth

by with No Comment 2020_1Business

Hi Family,

As the decade goes by – I reflect on how far we have come to this day. In 2009 we were ~200 people, 1-2 business offerings in one small office. Fast forward 10 years and we are >10x in team size, we have 10+ business offerings across 8 buildings in 4 cities. Now, we are amongst the top companies in the world in what we do. To say the least, we have “arrived”. THANKS TO YOU!!!

Our projects have become bigger, our sales have grown, our reach and impact have grown but in our hearts, we still remain small, agile and entrepreneurial and embody what really defines MC. 

2020 is a defining year in many ways, 

Externally:- We need to chisel our go-to-market strategy for the 5 divisions in the company – Publishing, Pharma, PSS, RWE & Tech and improve our visibility in the international markets. We are expanding globally, especially in sales and BD and overhauling our marketing presentations, collaterals, and conference presentations strategy. Growth is non-negotiable.

Internally:- the change that we are bringing is even more exciting. I’m really looking forward to the focus groups to define designations and map them to roles/tasks or improve our workflows and increase the efficiency of operations. I see more such organization-wide focus groups happening. I expect MC academy to become gold-standard – used by all of our operations and even support groups. Automation has to change how we run HR, Accounts and Admin functions.

All this cannot be done without a great and motivated team. You guys are the architects of this dream. Some of the key members of the team are already part of a very lucrative deferred bonus scheme. Plus HR has promised that they are launching a special scheme for the top talent in the company with fast track growth and additional m benefits. I am excited to see what you all can achieve… the potential is immense, the industry is opening up and we are at the right time and at the right place having the right platform to launch ourselves in the big data realm.

I have no doubt in my mind, that you all will take our company to newer heights in this decade the same way, you all did in the last one. From bottom of my heart – again – THANK YOU and with renewed vigor and tremendous faith in my team – I say, 2020, here we come. Wishing you all a happy new year.

Cheers!!

Jignesh

1949658239-iot-1000x535

Technology 2020:Say hello to “Smart-bai”

by with No Comment 2020_1Technology

Who wouldn’t appreciate being liberated from domestic chores? With a bustling lifestyle, juggling between household chores and work, we always prefer things that make our lives easy-peasy.

With advancements in technology, we have automatons that are human-like and run based on artificial intelligence and IoT – all of which can be controlled at your fingertips via a mobile app.

Internet of Things (IoT): Is it going to flood our homes?

Centennials envisioned a smart future. Well, now machines are not merely dumb devices, rather they are astute creations that can work in tandem with human beings and future is not merely an imagination but a characteristic outcome of two most dynamic innovations of today – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).

And before getting standard with the subject, it is very imperative to comprehend a couple of terminologies.

What is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of computing gadgets (mechanical and advanced digital machines) involved in daily objects and empowering them to send and receive information by means of the Internet with a kind of unique identifiers (UIDs) without expecting man-to-man or man-to-computer interaction.

IoT can be better understood with M2M, i.e., machine to machine, machine to man, man to machine, and machine to mobile connections that are used for connecting the human beings, electrical and electronic devices, and various systems intelligently.

Artificial intelligence or simply AI:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the recreation of human intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer frameworks. The process includes the acquisition of data and rules for utilizing them for learning, adapting rules to reach inexact or definite conclusions for reasoning and self-amendment, where specific applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition, and machine vision.

For instance: (https://ai.google/)

AI makes life simpler for individuals to do everyday things, regardless of whether it is searching for photos of friends and family, breaking down language barriers with Google Translate, composing emails or getting things done on the go with Google Assistant. AI likewise provides better approaches for taking a gander at existing issues, from rethinking healthcare to advancing scientific discovery.

Machine learning or ML:

ML can automate and improvise the learning process of computers based on past experiences without any human interference. The process starts with feeding good quality data and training machines (computers) by building machine learning models using data and different algorithms.

Machine learning is a subset of AI, where all machine learning counts as AI, but not all AI counts as machine learning. For instance, symbolic logic – rules engines, expert systems, and knowledge graphs – all of which could be described as AI, and none of them are machine learning.

AI and IoT:

Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things is like a match made in Tech Heaven or should we call them Bonnie and Clyde of Tech-world?!

AI being a ubiquitous innovation has an imperative role to play in the revolution of developing advancements. Particularly, when IoT is in its progressive phase, its amalgamation with AI can transform the future technological landscape.

While both AI and IoT disciplines have singular worth, their true potential can only be acknowledged together. There are wide ranges of applications over multiple industries that require Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things.

Home Smart Home:

Home automation or domotics or Smart homes include internet-connected devices that empower remote monitoring and executive appliances and systems, i.e., lighting and heating.

The recent advancements by companies like Amazon, Apple and Google include their own smart home products and domotics platforms, including Amazon Echo, Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Home.

You can now say bye-bye to your “kaam-wali bai” and say hello to “smart-bai”. And a bonus for installing these “smart-bai’s” is that they don’t complain and only involve initial investments.

Here’s how IoT can help you with all the household chores:

• Automated vacuum cleaner – iRobot Roomba when everything else is becoming smart, why not a smart vacuum cleaner? The iRobot Roomba can clean a room as efficiently as possible with the use of a set of sensors that detect impurities, dirty spots on the floor or even clean steep drops including the stairs. They resemble flying saucers and can be connected to a smartphone app and adjust the performance requirements with different modes.

• Smart TVs interface with the web to access content through applications, such as on-demand video and music. Some smart TVs likewise incorporate voice or signal recognition.

• Notwithstanding having the option to be controlled remotely and customized, the smart lighting system can distinguish when occupants are in the room and modify lighting as required. For example, Hue from Philips Lighting Holding B.V. Smart lights can likewise manage themselves dependent on sunlight availability.

• Smart thermostats and air-conditioning, such as Nest from Nest Labs Inc., come with integrated Wi-Fi, allowing users to schedule, monitor and remotely control house temperatures. These devices also learn homeowners’ behaviors and automatically modify settings to provide residents with maximum comfort and efficiency. Smart thermostats can also report energy use and remind users to change filters, among other things.

• Utilizing smart locks and garage entryway openers, users can concede or deny access to visitors. Smart locks can likewise recognize when residents approach and unlock the entryways for them.

• Security is not a problem anymore with smart surveillance cameras, residents can monitor their homes when they are away or on an extended get-away. Smart motion sensors can recognize the difference between residents, visitors, pets and burglars and can notify authorities if suspicious conduct is detected.

• Pet care can be automated with connected automated feeders and your furry friends can be fed timely with the preset quantity of food.

• The garden irrigation system can easily activate or deactivate based on IoT technology that utilizes sensors to find out whether the soil is too dry or if it is in need of some irrigation and can automatically activate irrigation system.

• The IoT-enabled alarm clock would reset itself based on required factors and calculate when it needs to wake you up so you’re not late and IoT-enabled alarm clock can even sync with the smart coffee maker that can brew you a fresh cup as soon as your alarm goes off.

• Smart refrigerators keep track of expiration dates, make shopping lists or even create recipes based on ingredients currently on hand. And in-built cameras also allow you to have a look at the stuff you have stored from anywhere, and this feature especially helps you during your grocery shopping and you can only buy stuff that you are in need of.

• Household system monitors may, for example, sense an electric surge and turn off appliances or sense water failures or freezing pipes and turn off the water so it isn’t flooded.

• Smartwatch – if you are a fan of mobility and ease of use, there is nothing better than a smartwatch to keep you “connected”. Be it an Iwatch by Apple or Fitbit. The usage benefits are enormous. It allows you to access your messages, emails, music, social media, maps and trackers on the go. They are especially helpful when the circumstances aren’t feasible to carry a phone in your hand.

Some other applications include:

1. Collaborative Robots
Ever needed the assistance of a robot? Indeed, that is actually what you will get with Collaborative Robots or Cobots. These Cobots are exceptionally perplexing machines that are intended to help people in a mutual workspace with situations extending from office to modern. They can be a robot arm intended to perform tasks or even complex robots intended to satisfy intense errands.

2. Drones
Drones are the aircraft that fly without a human pilot (The piloting is done by the software!). They are amazingly useful as they can navigate obscure surroundings (even those past the range of the web) and reach areas hazardous for humans such as seaward operations, mines, combat zones (Like in Jack Ryan – if you follow the series) or burning buildings.

3. Smart Cities
When everything is getting smart, why not urban areas? Smart cities can be created with a network of sensors that are connected to physical city infrastructure. These sensors can be utilized to screen the city for various civic factors such as energy efficiency, air contamination, water use, noise pollution, traffic conditions and so on.

4. Smart Eye
These are like devices straight from the Iron Man movies! Smart eye technology is Google’s most ambitious project – the Glass. This technology is equipped with sensors and connectivity options from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth to provide numerous options and accessibility features right in front of your eye but without causing a distraction. You can open maps, read emails or messages, surf the web, capture moments and do more with these futuristic glasses.

5. Google Contact Lens
The lens includes a wireless chip and a miniaturized glucose sensor. A tiny pinhole in the lens allows for tear fluid to seep into the sensor to measure blood sugar levels. I mean how cool is that?!

Real-World Examples

Although Artificial Intelligence in the Internet of Things is a relatively new concept, it has already been successfully applied in many real-world applications. Yeah, this world is more tech-savvy than you thought!

Tesla Motors – Self Driving Cars: The real-life Sci-fi hero Elon Musk has made an effort to make futuristic science-fiction a very much part of today’s reality with self-driven cars. Tesla Motors’ self-driving cars adopt the latest advancements in AI and IoT. While these cars are still in the testing phase, they are still one of the astounding innovations of IoT.
A unique feature of the Tesla self-driving cars is that all of them act like a connected network. Whenever one car learns some new information, it is passed on to all the other cars. And that is used to predict the behavior of cars and pedestrians on the road in various circumstances.

WildTrack – Endangered Species Preservation: There are many animals that are endangered or going extinct in various countries (No thanks to humans of course!). Also, the traditional methods of tracking these animals with collars are stressful and dangerous (Both to the animals and researchers). So WildTrack’s footprint identification technique (FIT) uses IoT and AI algorithms to identify the species, individual, age and gender of an animal from its unique footprint. Then this data can be used to recognize patterns relating to animal movements, species population, etc. that help in preserving various endangered species.

Hope, you enjoyed reading these enthralling information about the tech-advancements coming from a Biotechnologist who is equally tech-savy!;)

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MedChem Carnival

by with No Comment 2020_1Fun Events

As we set out planning a light hearted day for our fellow folks, we started out planning a day lined up with our wish list of snacks, a pot luck may be, Food to us is not just fuel, food is family bringing us together, an identity of different cultures. It then evolved to a culmination of food and culture. As ideas started pouring in it moved from mere food event to a full-fledged carnival. Let me unfold the events for you.

The team was segregated into groups. Each assigned a theme of culinary delights and an attire to flaunt. The themes are chosen – Bread and butter, Chit Chat on the Platter, De-stress on deserts or Healthy Snacking. We were to pair the food theme with also a costume theme to go with. Initially, the costume theme was the sidekick in the event while it ended up taking the main stage. The team was game for – Flaunting a face paint, weird hair-dos, being politically correct or choose from the woods (pick a star from a movie flick). Topping this all each of the team had to set up stalls, lure customers to buy the stuff they made, sell it if at all someone was willing to pay 🙂

The days followed by everyone having hush meetings. Each of the teams had a galore of ideas on sketching out the blueprint of the stall, menus to be finalized, and placards for display. Until the final day, we could see guys buzzing off on their bikes running errands. The nicest thing was to see guys and gals lending their hand to dish out the preparations. One team was gaming on the edge, they were so determined to get the icing consistency just right to match one of Michelin rated chef. They kept taking turns to swirl the icing mix until their hands fell off 🙂 🙂

The star of the event was for sure the fun ramp walk. Sharing a glimpse of faces that made a lasting impression.

It was interesting to see the names that were chosen for the stall. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo – for the team that was presenting a breakfast menu with assorted mini pizzas and miniature cakes. This was also the team that had members dressed as politicians from all over the world. What I could recognize – surely had Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj, Aung San Suu Kyi and more… Delight chat house – An assortment of lip-smacking chats. And dressed up as characters from Indian movie flicks. We could spot Deepika from Om Shanthi om, Nageswar Rao from Devdas, Umraojaan, Chiranjeevi and many more. Another team decided that they had lost too much time they had no time to choose a name – ended up calling themselves “Last Minute Café”. This team also had a theme of face painting symbolic that earth and human being have to have a synergy of giving and take to co-exist. The team that has the desi mix up hairdos called themselves “Jackass cooks” for whatever reason is still a debate. They had a line of interesting salads that were healthy and one could snack on. The best of it was barbequed corns that tasted really yummy.

It was open doors for all at MC to taste a whole lot of dishes prepared. The fun started rolling when each of the teams devised their own happy feet dance for every sales milestone they reached. Thanks to each and everyone who open-heartedly dared to taste the dishes and ended up paying for it as well 🙂 🙂 . As a team, we did not make ROI of even 50%. In the name of fun, Amen!

We decided to part with the money gathered for a special cause and then called it a day.

Some snippets of the day in pictures

A special thanks to the guest of honor, MC department heads who graced the occasion at short notice.

How-can-agencies-adjust-their-culture-for-social-media

The Internet & Social Culture

by with No Comment 2020_1Specials

The Internet is a monumental discovery that has forever changed the way people lead their daily lives. From buying products, gathering information, keeping in touch with friends as well as entertainment, it has an ever-expanding reach which is changing the very way these actions are pursued. The way they are slowly evolving can be observed just by looking at the past decade: Generation Z consists of those born from the mid-1990s to mid-2010s. This generation marks the first, which has been constantly exposed to products on the Internet from the time they have been born. The multitude of cultural and psychological changes that have been brought upon society by the widespread use of the internet has several fundamental implications on the human psyche as observed by generation Z, the internet generation; through various aspects such as privacy, how time is spent and product preferences.

One of the most well-observed implications is the changing value of privacy. With the advent of social media, very little information is actually kept private. Especially among generation Z, it can be considered the norm to be constantly posting information on their day to day activities for the world to see. From their very thoughts, their location, their feelings to photographs and videos and even the people they know, such information is constantly being uploaded into the internet through social media creating an ever-present trace of their actions, of who they are, their opinions, which will be forever stored within servers. From a marketing perspective, this is a boon as it can be used as vital information to specifically engineer advertisements perfectly suited to each individual user. Various marketing companies purchase/gather large amounts of data about the users to keep a history of their actions and preferences to use as a knowledge base in order to predict the type of products the user would be interested in. It begs the question of whether the loss of privacy from having their life readily apparent is worth the convenience. This may, however, be the hesitation of the older generations. Though younger users do insist on the importance of their privacy, their own actions do not live up their stated preferences. It can be hypothesized that what is changing with the advent of social media, is what’s considered private. We may be heading towards a society where broadcasting our lives to be constantly shared with the world is the norm as it becomes a fundamental part of a person’s social image and reputation.

This can be further seen in the second observed change, what the generation primarily do with their time on the Internet. The millennials and the older generations, while they still use social media to keep in touch; use the internet mainly for information gathering, work, and entertainment and still prefer live interactions over virtual ones. The internet generation, however, sees social media as a direct extension of their social lives and as such, the majority of their time online is spent on social pursuits. Distance and time are no longer barriers that keep people apart, thus creating a form of never-ending social scenario which is brought together via social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Thus, the youngest generation has been brought up in a time where they are always in the social spotlight resulting in this higher focus on social applications. This change is also contributed by the second smaller factor, namely, the value of information and media. The older generations grew up in a time where information was not as readily available and required effort, for example, going to the library and reading through multiple books, to gather data. Even entertainment required visiting cinemas or shows, buying tapes, etc. Generation Z, however, has grown up from a time where all the possible information and media they could ever require are available to them at a heartbeat with a few clicks.

This ease of access has relatively lowered the “value” of such media, as scarcity and effort raises value. These two factors together have brought about the change of what people primarily spend their time on and the psychological necessity of constant social interactions.

A third difference can be observed in their preferences in products. When purchasing or using any form of product, be it a physical object or a free utility, the internet generation places a larger emphasis on brand/product recognition compared to the older generation which places more importance on the quality and usage of said products. To simplify, Generation Z prefers having a “cool product” over a “good experience”. This is reflected in “Lifestyle of Gen Z” which shows that when it comes to advertisements, Generation Y prefers that which form an emotional connection with them as opposed to Generation Z who prefer those with celebrity appearances. Factors such as the uniqueness of products and value for money playa markedly secondary importance compared to recognition.

This preference demonstrates a fundamental change in how they psychologically evaluate products and what they value; which has vast impacts on how various companies and organizations design products and advertisements to gain their attention creating further impacts on the nature of media in society as a whole. With constant usage of the internet, even though it may be present on the corner of the screen, advertisements indirectly implement ideas and information into one’s mind.

While there is a multitude of other changes cultural and psychological changes seen in the internet generation, these three observed differences provide a glimpse into the preoccupation this generation has with their social image. Given the much higher levels of inter-connectivity brought about by the internet, one’s social life no longer “ends” when a person reaches home. Since their social life is constantly broadcast to the world for the public to see, their actions and preferences largely revolve in how they present themselves in such media. They constantly inform the world about their pursuits, their choices, their opinions to constantly maintain this social image which has to be in place in this world of endless inter-connectivity. This emphasis on their online social image, to always be seen, to always let everyone know what they have done is one of the defining landmarks of the change in social culture.

bookreview

Book Review:The Long March

by with No Comment 2020_1Book Reviews

Many of us in Molecular Connections know Namita and have interacted with her. I was pleasantly surprised when Namita mentioned her book based on an agrarian crisis.  Namita has a Masters in biochemistry and then she had moved on to learn about software and partner with Cas for managing their project. Namita is also involved with a publication firm People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), where she volunteers for Marathi, Hindi and English translations.

The Long March is a fiction based on Namita’s experience with farmers and interaction with them. The recent marches by farmers all over the country towards the state capitals or New Delhi to make their voices heard come out strongly in this book. Her language is simple.  There are many anecdotes on farmers’ suicides, drought, adverse effects due to changing crop patterns imposed by vested interests and big corporate houses. She also brings in social issues like caste equations, muscle and money power, inter-religious relationship, etc. The two lead characters in the book Mallika who recently joined an NGO in the city and Vikram, the young son of a farmer who had committed suicide spearhead a movement to bring together farmers across the country.

Namita also describes vaari, a pilgrimage to Pandharpur, city of Vittala during which Mallika gains spiritual awakening.  The tradition of vaari is described well.  The book brings in many other characters, like committed and idealistic journalists, social workers, and economically backward city dwellers and their life. Storytelling is an art and for a first time novel, this is a great attempt by Namita. The book is another source for us non-farmers to relate to the issues of agrarian crisis.

movies

A must watch Movie & Series

by with No Comment 2020_1Movie Reviews

The world of cinema and TV series is experiencing a whirlwind of change and deviation from the clichés of just romantic comedies, drama and action. Some stories keep you at the edge of your seat, while some require you to put your thinking caps on! Streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime have begun to come up with their own shows and some of these truly stand out from the rest owing to their unique story structure and crisp screen adaptation. Such entertainers are like a cool breeze: refreshing to the mind in addition to being successfully able to sweep you off your feet. Here is a small list of such shows/movies that have stood apart for me personally and I would not really mind re-watching some of these!

1. DARK (Series):- This is a thriller-drama science fiction based on time travel. It is originally a German series but makes for easy viewing, courtesy to the subtitle and audio available in English. The characters are very well thought out and the story is brilliantly told despite the numerous characters and timelines. (where to find: Netflix)

2. HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (series): As the name suggests, it is a horror series, but not just run-of-the-mill ghosts and the usual jump scares. This is an excellent story that has been adapted brilliantly to the screen. All the actors have done a fantastic job! A perfect blend of family drama, horror and witty lines as well! All the horror fanatics, please have a go at this series! (where to find: Netflix)

3. MONEY HEIST (series): A Spanish thriller that is bound to keep you at the edge of your seat! It is about a group of robbers taking over a money-minting facility and how the well planned heist pans out. It is an excellent drama that showcases a cat-and-mouse chase between the cops and the robbers. (where to find: Netflix)

4. COHERENCE (movie): This is a science fiction based on parallel universes. An astronomical phenomenon causes the various parallel universes to exist simultaneously and leads to chaos when the different realities collide. Simple storyline with brilliant execution. (Where to watch: Google play).

5. THE WARD (movie): Without giving too much away, this is an excellent thriller that involves a group of women being imprisoned at an institution. The story revolves around how these women are led by a bold and rebellious woman who has been recently admitted to the institution. The ending is marvelous and will make your jaw drop in disbelief. (Where to watch: Google play).

6. FRINGE (series): A science fiction series that is so dramatic and well explained, that it just might be possible in the near future. The series follows an eccentric scientist by the name of Walter Bishop and his bizarre experiments that somehow find their way into the investigations of an FBI agent named Olivia Dunham. This series is sure to keep you glued to the screen! (Where to watch: Amazon prime).

7. 3rd ROCK FROM THE SUN (series): An interesting and hilarious series in which the earth as we know, is seen through the eyes of a group of 4 aliens. These aliens arrive on earth and try to pose as a normal human family that leads to some rib-tickling situations. A light entertainer that is bound to make you laugh till your tummy hurts! (Sadly, it isn’t available on any streaming platforms currently).

8. THE HEAT (movie): This is a hilarious movie that revolves around a brazen and outspoken cop and an FBI agent! Brilliant performances by the lead female actors! An assured treat for Melissa McCarthy fans! (Where to watch: Google play).

9. MALEFICENT (movie): A Disney production but not quite! This is not a typical Disney fairytale with songs every 5 minutes and that is a huge relief! It spins a twist to a classic tale that we all have come to know differently. Brilliant performances and a must-watch! (Where to watch: Netflix).

10.MOANA (movie): This is an animated movie that offers a powerful underlying message. A must watch if you are a fan of animated movies and rest assured, this is not an animation movie just for the kids, but is equally appealing to the adults. (where to watch: Netflix)

11. STREET FOOD (series): This is a series focusing on the street food in various countries (the first season featuring Asian countries) and some of the most inspiring stories behind the innovators of street food. Truly inspirational and you will love it if you are a foodie! (where to watch: Netflix)

diwalirangoli

Colors and lights: The True Essence of Diwali!

by with No Comment 2020_1Photography

Diwali is a joyous occasion and stands true to its name “the festival of lights”. It brings with itself an atmosphere of joy, colors, and lights. There is something to look forward to for everyone when it comes to celebrating this festival: crackers for kids, shopping and decorations for the ladies and of course, the sweets and delicacies that are relished by everyone! The entrances of all houses are adorned with beautiful and colorful rangolis that bring out the creativity and the child in you, for you can once again paint your canvas with beautiful colors!

Geometrical rangoli

Colors and lights: the true essence of Diwali!

A traditional South Indian “kolam”