Facebook's new ad - Chairs are like facebook?

You must have already heard or read that Facebook today has One Billion active users. Few hours ago Facebook also released an advertisement trying to suggest how it is now an everyday thing in our lives. 

If you do not auto sign in to Facebook, you can check this advertisement on the LogIn window of Facebook., 

Like chairs, aeroplanes, bridges, floors etc which we humans use on a day to day basis to connect with each other, take a break, share emotions, etc. Facebook is also no different now. 

The caption to the video suggests that they honor everyday things that brings us (we humans I presume) together. 

However, is Facebook really like a chair? or a bridge? or a social tool? or just another avenue to past/waste time? What do you think? What does it mean for you?

See the video here:  

Twitter Blooper in Hyderabad - #ignitehyd mistaken for T agitation

The not so active twitter community of Hyderabad demonstrated a peculiar characteristic this evening.

The fourth volume of Ignite Hyderabad was scheduled to be held as part of the 2012 UX-India conference at the Indian School Of Business.

Like always, Ignite Hyderabad asked its audience to participate in the LIVE tweeting and like always the hashtag to be used was #ignitehyd 

The event started as scheduled in the Khemka Auditorium of the ISB Hyderabad. A fast paced event with just 5 minutes per speaker the event got over in about 90 minutes and there were loads of tweets being sent by the audience and shown at regular intervals on the big screen.

Where did the Hyderabadi tweeple got messed up in all this?

An award for the best tweet was announced and thus the audience geared up a little more than usual and the tweets with the hashtag #ignitehyd started trending in Hyderabad in no time. While the tweeple in the auditorium were all high on design and were sharing instant feedback through tweets, those unaware of the Ignite Hyderabad derived a whole new meaning out of the hashtag. 

The hashtag #ignitehyd was associated with the not so popular Telangana Agitation movement and the twitter community started blasting all over using the hashtag. Most of those did not even bother to check out what the hashtag was meant for and what others were tweeting. So much in the name of tweeting. An epic virtual drama followed. Check out all the screenshots attached towards the end of this post to see the user behavior for yourself. 

It's been 3 hours since the event concluded and the hashtag continues to trend as I type this. What a perfect example of the power of 140 characters. Hail Social Media!

The one who got it all wrong

Another one who got it all wrong

Just another of many who got it all wrong

The Attendee

The Attendee

The Attendee

The Hashtag #ignitehyd is still trending. The Curators must be feeling so awkwardly happy. 

Call for submission

 My friends at Nivasini Publishers are calling artistic submissions for their upcoming book themed CELEBRATING INDIA. You can submit your short stories (800-1500 words), poetry (within 27 lines), illustrations, photographs, interesting facts. You will get a chance to be featured in the Collector's edition of Nivasini.com upon getting selected. Share anything and everything depicting or narrating your way of being Indian. The childhood memories of your narrow streets, a monument you associate yourself with, the Indian food you can't spend a day without, the colors of the festivals you await to spread, the legendary war hero you want to be like, the bhangra that makes your legs shake, everything that makes you Indian. Share and let the world know what sets your India apart and why it is special to you.

Click, sketch, write, narrate. Be it in punjabi, telugu, bengali or assamese. Send your Indian spirit and be a part of the book.
Refer to www.nivasini.com if you wish to know more about Nivasini Publications. You may also get in touch with them here.

Send your submissions at  submit@nivasini.com
Latest date for submission of entries: 10th June.

Note: The work shared should be genuine, please do not plagiarize. Standard copyright rules apply.

Writers Carnival in Hyderabad

A fellow engineer, a poet and a dear friend who blogs at Restless Fingers is releasing the book Ah! Poetry at the writers carnival happening tonight at Saptaparni, in Hyderabad.

If you're reading this and if its not 5:00pm of 3rd March 2012, consider yourself invited. Come on over for a joyous time and listen to some poets, writers, authors and have a wonderful evening and rejuvenate your muse. Find out more details and RSVP to the event here.

PopCorn is 6700 years old!

We all have tasted popcorn atleast once in our life. It's probably the first choice of movie goers and marathon TV viewers. There are plenty of flavors and varieties popcorn come in. If we like a movie we want a bag full of popcorn, if the do not like the movie we rely on popcorn and go through the rest of time in the theater munching on it. As Dan Glickman says "I'm someone who believes the only way to see a movie is in a big theater, on a big screen, with a big bag of popcorn." Although the Big Screens and Imax and 3D are all 21st century inventions Popcorn is being consumed from the past 6000 odd years. Believe it or not!

A latest news report  talks about a discovery made in Peru. According to the research done it is believed that the Peru inhabitants have been consuming Popcorn since 6700 years even before the ceramic pottery was invented. You can read more about the research and the conclusion here.

So next time you munch on to that bag/bowl of popcorn remember that its was once a past time food for our ancestors somewhere in the western part of the world.

Kuch Na Kisi Se Bolengey

This is my first post of 2012 and what better way of starting it, than with a Faraz' poem.  

This poem is listed in my all time favorites and more so because I sort of relate to every 

syllable of it. Read on and Enjoy!!!  

Kuch na kisi se bolenge, tanhaai mein ro lenge. 

Ham berahabaron kaa kyaa, saath kisi ke ho lenge.
Khud to huvey rusvaa lekin, tere bhed na kholenge.
Jeevan zahar bharaa saagar hai, kab tak amrit gholenge.
Neennd to kyaa aayegii 'Faraz', maut aaii to so lenge.

Twitter is down and its not even 2012 yet

On this new year's when most of the world is busy partying and clubbing and barbequing and boozing and etc etc...... I've been sitting on my laptop carrying on with my usual research. I had this sudden urge to tweet some poetry and it was disappointing to see the Twitter is Down For Maintenance message on its home page. 

What grabbed my attention was the absence of the Blue Twitter Whale. It's gone, and is no where to be seen. It has been replaced with a cartoon of an Ice Cream cone trying to console a caterpillar, with a thought bubble as shown in the picture below.

This picture is self explanatory and I must say that I really feel like that Ice-Cream hoping to see twitter back again and trying to chillax. With the allegedly doomed 2012 just an hour away, let me see how long i can be patient (been almost 3 hours already by now).

ps: I just had to write something and hence this post. By the way, if you believe in celebrating a mere change of dates a Very Happy New Year. May whoever reading this prosper and succeed in his/her life. -Amen