Dooms Day Guide for Dummies

12212012 -->Crack this code and you’ll know what I am talking about. Ok let me give you some more hints… Nibiru, 11:11, Time-zero, Polar Shift, Edgar Cayce, the I-Ching…No??? Still no clue??? All right, I was just showing off a bit there… Some easier clues now à The Mayan prophecy, December 21, 2012, End time prophecies. Yeah you are right, it is about the end of the world or as we all know “The Armageddon”. The world is coming to an end and I can prove it. Oh what the heck, who am I kidding??? Continue reading with no expectations (people who have read my earlier posts would know by now)

I’ve always wanted to know what this conspiracy was all about. Now that I have started publishing every single thing I discover, thanks to Web 2.0, I shall tell you guys what I found. To be honest with you, this stuff is scary when you know just know one side of the story. Well less of rambling and more of the findings.
In a nutshell, Mr.Nibiru (fondly known as rogue planet) is on its way to enter the solar system and have a friendly collision with the earth. The impact would be so huge that it would disrupt the entire planet and would mark the end of the world. Yeah I know, your thinking I am ripping of some parts of Armageddon (the movie) and narrating a movie of my own. But NO, this is the prophecy. Call it coincidence or sheer Hollywood miracle; US will be the country that will face the impact directly. Hahaha…

There are a few facts (fictions rather) that lead to this discovery though.
Fact 1: Ancient Mesopotamians and Mayans had discovered that a massive planet, Nibiru, was about to enter the inner solar system and doom the Earth. The Mayans have indicated this on their long calendar and apparently the day was adjudged to be 12/21/2012 which marks the end of the Mayan calendar.
Fact 2: This is something that actually got me thinking, primarily due to the credibility of this man. Albert Einstein has stated that the earth’s magnetic poles are shifting. The North Pole is moving toward Siberia. As these poles shift, the weather systems of the earth also change. There has been unusual weather around the world in the last 20 or so years. The closer Nibiru gets to our solar system, the more their magnetic flux affects the orbits, axis and trajectories of the planets in our system. Fortunately, there is no evidence that this would collide with postulated doom’s day. Whew!!!
Fact 3: Prophecies of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and other fore-tellers have also predicted a catastrophic apocalypse. I have never believed in them and never will so I am not gonna ponder over it.
Fact 4: Polar ice caps melting, volcanic eruption, frequent earthquakes, Tsunami, unusual climatic changes suggests these are piling up to create a massive destruction of some sort. But then again there is no proof of date. I believe this is all an effect of global warming and can be controlled only if we get more “socially conscious”
Fact 5: Religious scriptures also talk about the arrival of Anti-Christ, shift of power to the east, economic turmoil and stuff like that. But yeah, if there was an Anti-Christ, it would have been Hitler himself, as he was one person who closely matched the specifications of that guy. But yeah, he’s dead and we still exist which is good enough at the moment!

All of these are more of a fiction than anything else, except maybe the global warming issue. My guess is that only a tiny fraction of people truly believes that Armageddon is coming in December 2012. But their uncritical acceptance of this story worries me as a warning of the dangers of our current scientific illiteracy. If at all a threat exists to our planet, it’s only due to global warming and we will have to deal with it by being more conscious.

One of funniest things about this Nibiru story is that it is a rerun – there was a big Internet concern that Nibiru would destroy the Earth in May of 2003. Something tells me this didn't happen, yet now the same myth is resurrected. Are we condemned to suffer a Nibiru scare or will people come to their senses??? Lets hope we live that long to witness it ;)

Social Networks & India

Back from my slumber and all ready to post!
IPL has not lived up to its expectations and I am running out of topics to blog about it. “Fake IPL Player” is doing a good job at it anyway. I have become a devout follower of his blog plus he has more insider information. He has got IPL live and kicking to some extent!!! So, back to today’s topic of interest – Social Networking
Off late @ work, I have been doing a lot of research on social media and how companies can leverage it. Businesses have started to take it seriously and they believe it’s not a fad. Social media is here to stay!!! Now this got me thinking (something I don’t fancy doing most often) “hmmm… really???”

I am not gonna talk about how businesses over here are leveraging it but rather why businesses in India are not making use of it! Social networks, in particular, Facebook, and Twitter have caught up well in India and are slowly replacing Orkut which to me is becoming more of “Porn”kut these days. You don’t believe me do you? I knew it. Being the professional that I am, I have data to prove it. Take a look at the chart above
The first graph dates back to 2007 and the other two are the present day stats. I don’t think I need to explain what the graph indicates. It’s pretty apparent that we have been caught up by the FB (facebook) and Twitter bug. Now looking at the larger scale of things, who is using FB and what kind of businesses could start leveraging it?
Yay!!! Some more stats for you. This is FB’s demographic stats for India. India has a total of 1.7 million active FB users and you have the rest of the demographic data on the chart below. Interestingly, 48% of FB users are Gen Y (18-24). I am sure most of you guys are going -- “Dude, so what’s your point?” So the big question is really “Dude, so what’s my point?” I took this information and tried to identify businesses that could be a best fit for using FB as a marketing channel. For a start, in India, I presume that youth brands should keenly look into this.
One company that popped up in my head instantly was Coffee Day. They have the ideal target group and an established customer base. So I logged into FB to check out their social network presence. I was happy to find that it had 44,158 fans. But, interestingly enough there is no participation directly from the company; I could only find user posts, reviews and user uploaded pics. I don’t understand why coffee day isn’t seeing this as an opportunity to connect with their customers and enhance their brand image.
Consumers have moved online and traditional marketing channels no longer hold good. For a start, businesses should at least get involved. If you don’t believe me this is how CCD’s fan page looks like. Just to let you guys know how active certain businesses are, I have also pasted the fan page of H&M, a clothing and accessory store. With over a million fan following, they are so current and up to date in the information they provide. Each tab is live and has some activity going on. They also have an online catalogue of their summer collection, videos, pictures and recent announcements.
Again the question is “Dude, so what?” Well, Ill tell you what --- The best part is its FREE. You can not only enhance your brand image but also use this as your PR channel - No costs involved. People are out there you don’t have to go looking fro them. Companies like CCD have an established brand image, so getting people to befriend you is gonna be a cakewalk. You get to listen to what customers have to say about you. Take the positives from that and showcase them, take the negatives and correct them.

I really believe this is a cool way to connect with your customers and customers would also feel delighted about the fact that companies are listening to what they have to say. I have been really impressed with FB after realizing the potential it holds. Twitter similarly has its own way of helping businesses enhance their image but I am not gonna talk about it cos I realize by now most of you are cursing me. I shall liberate you from my gyaan now.
BTW, just to make a better comparison I tried to look at Shoppers Stop and Globus on FB and found nothing. If you guys happen to find them do let me know. That’s it folks!!! HAVE a FUN!