Err Humans

Contagious Err Humans

Somewhere down the trodden path

Unsettling queries fill up somewhere down the soul

One can only wonder what is more contagious?

Is it the Virus suffocating our lungs

Or may be the culprit is not too far

Humans or err humans if we should beckon ourselves

We have ravaged with ferocity our nature which encompasses us

Burned it to ashes

We have butchered those innocent wild life for the lure of money or just to satisfy our bulging appetite

We have humiliated, abused our fellow humans on the basis of power, gender, class, racial atrocities

They said if you are not malicious enough then soon enough you would be crushed

Because unfortunately your good virtues are mocked upon

And as they say circumstances will bind you to turn into a despicable monster

So now when the tables are turned err humans are running scared of the vicious virus monster claiming that it’s stifling their breath

But what about the centuries of barbarism Which we have inflicted on this planet earth

I am now skeptical if we have any soul residing in us

For we Err humans , we have bought this contagion on us

We sincerely have earned this fate

The virus might be out to kill us

But what if we have killed our souls much long ago

Are we Err humans even alive

That we are fearing this virus is gonna take the life out of us.

How I aced my daughter’s expectation in a Pandemic world

Life surely stood stand still when the news flashed about a pandemic looming all over our country. The threat is real, invincible, terrifying and it scared me, made me anxious. While the flaring rise of covid cases even swelled in our city me and my wife also became worried. But what pained me more is when I could see my four-year-old daughter being very quiet, she seldom played with her toys as she missed her friends, her school. She even missed going out to eat her favourite burger and I found myself being devoid of excuses as why we couldn’t go out. Imagine the horror of explaining about a pandemic to a four year old. Her isolation made me think how as a father I could create a positive atmosphere in the house.

Soon enough I browsed the internet searching options for making the best burger. I didn’t want to trouble my wife as she too was busy with her office work. Quietly I planned a restaurant experience for my daughter and wife both.  Honestly this was my first hand so on experience in the kitchen for restaurant style cooking, well not because of my gender but because I actually never got the time to indulge in gearing up my cooking skills. My cooking endeavour started with making baking bread buns, slicing the veggies, a bit caramelizing the onions and a omelette patty to go in between along the cheese slices. Perfectly laying down the table with cartoon characters based linen I also dabbled into making my daughter’s favourite strawberry shake.  That evening as I served the hand tossed burgers to my daughter.

I could see her thrill, her joyous laughter amidst her crooked teeth while she sipped her favourite strawberry shake. My wife too was incredibly surprised at my efforts.

Then the next day itself I made a makeshift playground at our balcony for my daughter.  I dressed myself as one of her favourite super heroes Spiderman, surprising her outright. We both enjoyed the moment cheering loudly. I could almost feel relieving my own childhood with her. Taking advantage of this lockdown I educated my daughter some self defence techniques who was more than willing. Surprisingly it cured me of the incessant back ache problems which I used to suffer earlier.

Since my wife is an environment enthusiast, the idea of creating a kitchen garden has been long dwelling in her mind.  Both my daughter and me are helping her in procuring seeds, some homemade bio fertilizers, planting saplings.  As a family this gardening gives us ample scope of spending quality and constructive time together. Also the joy of constructing something beneficial for our environment certainly is a welcoming, positive feeling. Amidst this pandemic also I have evolved more in a humane way, trying ways to spread sunshine to my family and our society.

How HELPING is useful & also HARMFUL

Helping others is good for your health. It is good to forget yourself on a regular basis and concentrate on helping others. Volunteer to care for someone, but limit it to the extent that you can handle without taxing yourself.

Helping provides a healthy distraction. Focusing on others takes us away, at least temporarily, from the hassles of work, finances, or family troubles. Let's not ignore the fact that we get a special kind of attention from those we help. It makes us feel that we matter to someone. Helping can also block pain because our attention is shifted from personal pain to helping others. Helping others improves our outlook and enhances our sense of gratitude for what we have.

If you concentrate on whether your efforts will truly change someone, just focus on the act of helping and don't worry too much about the outcome. Leave the outcome of your efforts to the forces higher than yourself Look for little opportunities to give without expecting something in return, and you may get the full return on your efforts.

I have helped many people in my surrounding, people I know and also people whom I don't Know.

Helping others is good for your health. It is good to forget yourself on a regular basis and concentrate on helping others. Volunteer to care for someone, but limit it to the extent that you can handle without taxing yourself.

Helping provides a healthy distraction. Focusing on others takes us away, at least temporarily, from the hassles of work, finances, or family troubles. Let's not ignore the fact that we get a special kind of attention from those we help. It makes us feel that we matter to someone. Helping can also block pain because our attention is shifted from personal pain to helping others. Helping others improves our outlook and enhances our sense of gratitude for what we have.

If you concentrate on whether your efforts will truly change someone, just focus on the act of helping and don't worry too much about the outcome. Leave the outcome of your efforts to the forces higher than yourself Look for little opportunities to give without expecting something in return, and you may get the full return on your efforts.

I have helped many people in my surrounding, people I know and also people whom I don't Know.

Word of Mouth - Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing is a really cool thing. Just think about it... instead of spending a huge amount of money on newspapers ads, TV commercials or banner ads, you spent nothing - and let your fans do all the work for you. With Word of Mouth marketing, your campaigns will suddenly get a life of its own - and start to spread like a virus. Everyone want to see it, and when they do, they all want to share it.It is immensely powerful, usually having 500-1000 times greater impact than what you get from regular advertisements.But how?
Make people feel something - The most important is to create a very strong emotion. You need to have an opinion, to express an idea with commitment and dedication. You want people to be filled with love or hate, be very happy or angry, be an idiot or a genius, there will br surely a reaction. But the aim we want is that people's blood to be pumping of excitement & enthusiam.Forget philosophy and being neutral, trying to please everyone, showing added features , targeting or segmenting people or any of the many ways. Word of Mouth marketing is 100% about emotions.
Do something unexpected - If you want people to notice your campaign, you have to do something different - something unexpected. Forget about trying to promote your products as just being great - everybody does that. Forget about trying to make it look cool - everyone else has been there & done that.Remember the Lion and Lioness dancing in front of the Photographer? That was unexpected or Remember the chloromint messege of telling Kyon khatein hai or Dubara mat puchna, or the Heinz Sauce - Take a while to come out ad , or the Fevicol ads it is one the most effective Word of Mouth advertisements ever....and above all - never be a copycat.
Do not try to make advertisements - One of the biggest mistake companies make is when they think Word of mouth is just advertisements that people share - it is not. Traditional marketing is about promoting your product, showing how good it is, giving it center stage - and generally being highly selfish and possibly using supermodels or movie stars. But guess what, nobody cares about you!Word of mouth marketing is all about a good story. When HAPPYDENT put out HAPPYDENT WHITE COMMERCIAL , the main ingredient was not the girl, but the story of the people hanging everywhere and waiting for dark. Replace the girl with a begger, and it would still be great same story of people waiting for dark. When Sony made their Bravia TV ads, the product was not even seen - yet everyone remembers it. Forget about you, your product or your company. Focus exclusively in creating a good and interesting story. Sure, you can add your product into the mix.
Sequence the advertisement- People have just seen your campaign. They think it was interesting, unexpected and their emotions has reached a high level - you have their complete attention. Now what do you do?If you do like most companies you will simply do nothing... and that is a big mistake. When you got people's attention you need to act, and one of the best ways of doing that is to give them more - make sequence.It can be extra movies similar in concept to the first one - like Vodafone did.It can be a behind the scenes look,(Like how the ad was picturised) , etc.Never leave people give them something or the other.By the Way (BTW): It can be Negative also because people don't remember for long . Give them everything now!
Allow People to participate - Participating is what Word of Mouth marketing is all about. That means that you need allow people to Download the content, in a usable format (videos in MPG, pictures in JPG etc.) Allowing them to easily take the content on their own sites,Sending it to friends, either using a link or by sending the content directly, Publishing it on varies social networks - YouTube etc,Allow people to add it the bookmarking sites.
Ask for comments - Another important element is to connect with your audience. Remember you got their attention, they are excited and now they want talk.Comments is one of the most effective ways to do this.Keep in mind that the best Word of Mouth marketing campaign is one that creates a strong emotion. This means some people will really like it - while others will not. You have to accept both in your comments, and you have to welcome both opinions. And, most importantly. Connecting with people through comments means talking back. Do not add comments if you do not want to participate yourself.
Free Access anything, anywhere and anytime - Word of Mouth marketing is also about your campaign getting a life on its own - spreading like virus. In order to do that, in order to become "virus", it needs to be free.And remember that don't even ever add restrictions to the mix.Do not require people to register, to become members, to download special software, to enter "unlock" codes ..or to do something in order to get the right link.Word of Mouth marketing is never about exclusivity. It is about getting it out there for everyone to see.

THERE IS A COMMOM MESSAGE IN ALL OF THESE METHODS OR TRICKS.IT IS THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE IT RIGHT - OR NOT DO IT AT ALL.ONLY THE BEST WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING CAMPAIGNS MAKE IT - THE REST CAMPAIGNS LITERALLY SUCKS.GIVE QUALITY & DO RIGHT MARKETING - YOU WILL GET EVERYTHING.

******* I am a Banker and I know the power of Word of mouth Marketing ********
Sandeep Panda
IDBI BANK LTD