Bithikamehra's Blog

The Watchmen

bithikamehra — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:33:43 +0000

Just watched The Watchmen. I am not into super hero movies as such but they have definitely gone darker. Gone are the days of “Bam!” “Pow!” “Zap!” Batman series or the simple “Up. Up and Away!” superman. Today’s super hero is not necessarily the good guy. He has a darker, more human side to him which I personally feel is rather interesting. It worked well in Dark Knight but The Watchmen is really something else.

The darker side apart, the movie is 2.5 hours long and has some really gory scenes! There is a lot of blood and broken bones which kind of sends shivers down your spine. If you haven’t read the comic version, you are all the time wondering where the movie is headed which is what I was doing. Not a bad thing but the sequence of events seems rather loosely connected. There are a few different characters (aka super heroes) and quite a few flashbacks. Dont get me wrong, I didn’t really dislike the movie. I guess, I was just expecting more regular super hero stuff.

On the positive side, I really liked the music in the movie. Songs like Sounds of Silence, 99 Red Balloons etc! I also liked the way the casting & credits part was shown. It takes you through the history of these super heroes but not against a fictional background.

Watch the movie and let me know how you liked it!

More Power in your Hands

bithikamehra — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:28:40 +0000

Here are two mobile phone technologies I found particularly interesting. These are certainly not the latest but with the mobile phone being the most portable digital media platform, the opportunity for marketers to reach their target audience is immense.

1. There is a new feature on Fring which allows you to not only chat with your friends using Twitter, Skype, Yahoo etc but also listen to your favourite music (in partnership with Last.fm) on your mobile phone. You can search for and listen to music channels, share your views about songs (Love it or Hate it) and know what your friends are listening to. For more, read Fring Integrates Last.fm Into Its Mobile VoIP Client

2. The talk about scanning barcodes using mobile phones has been around for some time now… right from the Motorola initiative way back in 2003 to this article in 2007. Scanbuy, a worldwide leading provider of mobile marketing solutions, announced recently that its ScanLife 2D barcode application would be available as pre-loaded on LG’s camera phones. The application reads all major 2D barcode formats and then connects the users to mobile content and information. It also enables better targeted marketing programs by inserting the code in publications or websites the target audience is likely to visit. In fact, discounts and other offers can also be better targeted and the success better quantified.
I ‘ll keep an eye out for more developments in mobile marketing and keep you guys posted.

To be or not to be: Is it even a debate any more?

bithikamehra — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:01:52 +0000

Social Media has constantly been marred with a lot of debate about its effectiveness in terms of ROI. The discussions are usually peppered with stats of sites like Facebook and Digg that are unable to monetize their extremely loyal customer base. However, to enter the social media space is no longer a choice that brands have. With or without you, your brand is going to be discussed. The choice is between building beneficial relationships with your target audience right now or just offering them to your competition on a platter . The choice is between joining the conversation now or fighting to be heard later. The choice is between becoming a friend now or constantly douse fires later.

Came across an interesting article by Doug Schumacher on this.