Posts Tagged ‘deepika bajaj’

What’s your ante?

by Himanshu Jhamb, Mar 1, 2010

Poker is about making wagers. You need to pay up to get in the game and which table you play depends upon how much you want to ante up. Life and business are no different. Evaluate what table you are sitting at. If the potential payout is not going to help you reach your goal, you need to quit that table you are at and move to a table where the payout is large enough. Quitting is easy to do, but make sure you have the required skills to play at a high stakes table. more…

Change Management #6 – Processes: Two tips for refereeing business rule changes

by Gary Monti, Mar 2, 2010

To say that bringing change to an organization will be challenging is a gross understatement. You may feel like Sisyphus rolling the huge rock uphill only to see it roll back down again. Your success at this is predicated on two components: What to do and How to do it. more…

Are you moving forward or drifting in your life?

by Vijay Peduru, Mar 3, 2010

If you examine your life, you may find areas which are not the way you want them to be. For instance, you may be stuck at the same position in your career. If you analyze why, you will find out that you are simply reacting to situations and not producing the situations you want to be in. You can rectify this if you learn how to be the “cause in the matter”. more…

Social Media and making a $1 Billion movie: Avatar

by Deepika Bajaj, Mar 4. 2010

Avatar is a phenomenal movie and it is setting a new standard for movie makers. Nevertheless, Social Media had a role to play in its box office success. Avatar, through its own Facebook and Twitter pages spread the word all over the web. The red carpet premier was broadcast live to web audience. These were capped by the interview the movie director, producer and the lead actors gave on MTV.com in which they took questions from internet fans. That is Social Media for you! more…

Do you have the tools you need to write a book?

by Roger Parker, Mar 5, 2010

Writing is a craft and yes, writers need the right tools too. Apart from a variety of low-tech tools you can get at office supply stores, writers need some high-tech tools like Mind mapping tools, Keystroke substitution software and speech recognition software. You also need to gain mastery of the word processing program you use. Read the article and take a free online evaluation to test your knowledge. more…

Magesh is an accomplished software professional focused on building enterprise value through creative use of technology. Magesh enjoys working with people and is passionate about bringing out the best in everybody to achieve results that are larger than the sum of individual accomplishments.

Tagged as: active garage, business, Business Management, Business Strategy, Change Management, deepika bajaj, gary monti, himanshu jhamb, http://activegarage.com, Magesh Tarala, roger parker, Social Media, vijay peduru, Writing for Business

Avatar, the movie, was SIMPLY mind blowing! I remember going into the theater thinking that this is going to be another 3D sci-fi movie. Little did I know, what was in store for me. I felt I was walking in that jungle and James Cameron totally impressed me with the use of Sci-Fi technologies. I had never experienced something even close to this… and of course! all my friends were surprised since I was the last one to catch this movie.

Coming out of the theater, I was convinced that the movie is setting a new standard for movie makers, marketers and brands seeking exposure.

This box office superhit broke every record. The results in its case were a $232 million opening weekend, a total of one billion dollars in revenue by year’s end, and the rank of #2 highest grossing film of all time. Cameron’s $500 million act of hubris has paid off.

Needless to say, social media had a role to play in this.

The Beginning:

Avatar has its own Facebook and Twitter pages. That’s getting to be standard these days. The 27,000+ follower Twitter account has info on the coming prequel – yes… not a sequel.

Before the launch of the movie,  followers would retweet updates to their followers, who (if interested) would do the same, spreading the word all over the web. The Facebook Page is impressive, with over 1.5 million fans.

The Tactic:

The red carpet premiere of Avatar was broadcast live to web audiences on video streaming web site Ustream. Fans could watch the video on the film’s MySpace page in addition to the Ustream website. This Red carpet was a week before the actual release just in time to create a buzz…

The Conquest:

On December 3, MTV.com put together a Facebook-hosted, LG-sponsored webcast called “Avatar Live.” Director James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana were interviewed by MTV News’ Josh Horowitz, the questions were submitted by fans in the days leading up to the day of the event. The 30-minute interview was the the first time many huge Hollywood names sat down to take questions from Internet fans… If all this is not Social Media, then I wonder what is?

—

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, avatar, deepika bajaj, invincibelle, james cameron, jon landau, josh horowitz, mtv, mtv.com, premier, prequel, sam worthington, sequel, Social Media, zoe saldana

The Art of getting what you want

by Vijay Peduru, Feb 22, 2010

Human brain has the tendency to avoid anything that it considers will cause pain. It reaches this conclusion based on instinct and/or past experience. This part of the brain is called the Lizard brain. The Possibilities brain seeks opportunity and freedom. When you want to work out and get in shape or in general, put in effort to convert a possibility into opportunity, your lizard brain may prevent you because it sees pain in the endeavor. You can remove this roadblock placed by the lizard brain by putting the endeavor in the right context.

Seth Godin in his brilliant book “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?” talks about the Lizard Brain. For a brief Introduction to the lizard brain check this post , this video and this short e-book. more…

Change Management #5 – Project: Three tips to avoid creating Frankenstein

by Gary Monti, Feb 23, 2010

You can avoid creating a Frankenstein if you follow these simple steps:

1. Consider the needs of all the stakeholders when creating a scope of work including competitors and clients. Success includes your needs being met as part of the outflow of providing opportunity for others.

2. Your work must be sustainable, i.e., of good quality.

3. Provide stability, i.e., manage risk effectively.

Dr. Frankenstein driven by ego, pride and vainglory, got isolated from society and this caused him to lose direction and ultimately resulted in his downfall. more…

Growing Pains for Startups

by Guy Ralfe, Feb 24, 2010

Businesses are built around network interactions; each person in the network is a potential communication channel. As the number of people in your organization grows, the number of communication channels grows rapidly according to the formula (N * (N-1))/2 where N is the number of people in the group. This is a potential source of inaction or introducing bureaucracy. Educating the organization on this principle and providing guidance will help employees act confidently in the best interest of the company. more…

Social Media BRANDing – 5 tips to make it work

by Deepika Bajaj, Feb 25, 2010

Many companies have created digital channels like Facebook Fan pages, Twitter, SEO, etc to establish a digital presence. Now, how can they measure the effectiveness and improve? Here are some recommendations:

1. Tie social media activity to revenue growth

2. Know your customers. Don’t limit yourself based on what you know. Instead, try to find who your customers is.

3. Provide relevant content to draw the attention of your customers.

4. Put in place a mobile strategy.

5. Create strong relationships with your customers.

more…

Author’s Journey #10 – How to make the time to write a book

by Roger Parker, Feb 26, 2010

Time is not something you find like a needle in a hay stack. You need to make time for your endeavor by managing your commitments. Here are some techniques to make time to write your book:

1. Start with a plan

2. Commit to daily progress

3. Harvest time

4. Track your progress

more…

Magesh is an accomplished software professional focused on building enterprise value through creative use of technology. Magesh enjoys working with people and is passionate about bringing out the best in everybody to achieve results that are larger than the sum of individual accomplishments.

Tagged as: active garage, business, Business Management, business planning, Business Strategy, Change Management, deepika bajaj, Entrepreneurship, execution, gary monti, Guy Ralfe, roger parker, Social Media, startup, vijay peduru, Writing for Business, www.activegarage.com

Digital branding in the new internet marketing age is creating the need for marketers to understand how they can measure social media interactions with their brand, how to measure social brand loyalty and create social brand equity. Companies are more and more interested in learning how to make social media work. There are many assets on the internet that a company can create using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and many other such channels. And then this creates a need for them to manage their digital presence and brand.

Here are some channels that companies have frequently started to build:

1. Facebook Fan pages
2. FB Connect
3. Twitter Channel
4. SEO and Ad Targeting
5. Social media enabled company web sites

But the HOT question still remains – What next? How to set goals and identify gaps?

Here are some of my recommendations:

1. Revenue Growth: The social media activity needs to have a strategy to increase revenue. It is important to choose social media tools and tactics that align with increase in engagement to ultimately drive revenue growth. This is a distribution channel to leverage information you develop daily. Don’t be afraid of social networking or Twitter. Virtual Goods and Gaming are huge opportunities as are fun quizzes and polls and other lead generation activities.

2. Know your customer: Social Gaming and social media are NOT for teenagers only. It is important to know your customer. Millions of people visit FB and Twitter daily. It is important to know where to find your customer or draw their attention if there is something you feel might of interest to them. Don’t limit yourself based on what you know, try to find out who your customer is and how easy it is for them to find you where they are.

3. Content is KING: Content is still relevant to draw the attention. If you have something that people value, they will be drawn to learn more. If they find it meaningful and relevant what you have, then they will come back for more. Eventually, you will build credibility and they will purchase – take us back to point #1.

4. Mobile: Be on TOP of your mobile strategy. My iPhone is my mini computer and I don’t go anywhere without it. So, If I am your consumer, you want me to have access to you while on the move. The cool iPhone Apps that allow you to check in to airlines, pay bills and order pizza are examples of how companies are finding ways to be close to the customer.

5. Build Relationships: Cannot emphasize on this enough. If you have strong relationships, competition will find it hard to break in. Response to customer queries is critical and don’t forget if one customer praises you – you will be making GOLD. So, do whatever it takes to keep your customer happy. I say give them such a incredible experience that they never switch to your competition and become your unpaid, voluntary brand ambassadors online and offline

—

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, brand equity, Branding, Content, deepika bajaj, digital branding, invincibelle, mobile, relationships, revenue, Social Media

Is using Social Media an impediment to your Organization?

by Himanshu Jhamb, Feb 8, 2010

Social media is still not widely utilized in the business world. Organizations are resistant to deploying them because they either don’t see a value for it or they feel their employees will be distracted by them. The reality, their opinions don’t matter. Social media is here to stay. The earlier they realize that it is simply a channel for having online conversation, the better it is for them. more…

Change Management #3 – Technology: Too Good To Be True… Two Deadly Misconceptions and Their Remedies

by Gary Monti, Feb 9, 2010

One of the biggest misconceptions of all time is that technology solves problems. Nothing can be further away from the truth. On the contrary, people solve problems and technology aids in building the solution – it is just a means to an end. The second and less visible but equally important misconception is that technology will somehow change people’s fundamental behavior like sense of responsibility, cooperation, etc. When implementing change we need to be cognizant of the networks and political structures in the organization. With change, the concern for self increases and even small changes can cause disproportional increase in stress and will cause unpredictable behavior. Technology is an amplifier. Applied properly, it can make a good situation better. Misapplied, it can make a bad situation worse. more…

Breakdowns in Social Media Conversations

by Guy Ralfe, Feb 10, 2010

The world is shrinking fast and the pace of communication is increasing proportionally. Even in the online world, it is easy to misunderstand or misconstrue what the other person means. You may be thinking about the same thing and expressing them differently or vice versa. Guy has brilliantly illustrated this through a few examples. This pitfall gets amplified in the online world. So, be extra cautious and make sure you don’t miss opportunities because of it. more…

Intimacy scores with Social Media

by Deepika Bajaj, Feb 11, 2010

Intimacy and Social Media? Hmm… What’s the connection? We don’t typically these words used in one sentence. But, think about it. This is what social media is. It brings us closer together with our friends and acquaintances. We are able to check on them every day, learn what’s happening in their world and provide support, guidance or empathy. Your online presence is an online YOU. It is just like seeing yourself in the mirror. This let’s you be more intimate with yourself! Online media is an amplifier of the social nature of human beings. more…

Author’s Journey #8 – How much of your book have you already written?

by Roger Parker, Feb 12, 2010

If you have been in your profession for a while, you will be surprised to know how much content you already have. Just dig into your hard drive and check your emails, memos, reports, blog posts, etc. After you have located existing content, consolidate them so that you can identify their usability and where they belong in your book. This will help you realize that book writing does not have to be an all consuming endeavor. more…

Magesh is an accomplished software professional focused on building enterprise value through creative use of technology. Magesh enjoys working with people and is passionate about bringing out the best in everybody to achieve results that are larger than the sum of individual accomplishments.

Tagged as: active garage, Business Management, Business Strategy, deepika bajaj, gary monti, Guy Ralfe, himanshu jhamb, invincibelle, roger parker, Social Media, Strategy, technology, www.activegarage.com

Intimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of entering deeply or closely into relationship through knowledge and experience of the other. Genuine intimacy in human relationships requires dialogue, transparency, vulnerability and reciprocity.

So, you may ask what does it have to do with Social Media?

Intimacy with others:

Every morning, we wake up and some of us reach out to our laptops. This is true for those who go to work. But what I have started to see is that most of us log into Facebook. What we are checking out is our news feed. We start to see what some of our friends are doing? What some of our business associates are saying? What some of those people we don’t know are talking about?
Suddenly, this simple act of checking our news feed cultivates into interacting with them. We start to comment OR like some of those news feed. And then there is a sudden feeling of being close to people we care about and those we would like to know better. There is a dialogue that makes us feel part of their lives and transparency that they display wins out instant trust with them….And this dialogue and transparency was the genesis of building relationships even before social media arrived.

Intimacy with self:

When we check out our Facebook profile, we see someone we love MOST – that is YOU/ME. And just seeing how closely we are knit with our friends, family and colleagues gives us an instant self-confidence. Man is a social animal. Social Media enables man to be SOCIAL at a level that was not possible before. On your Birthday, you thank Facebook, since you get messages from people all over the world. The large list of people wishing you “Happy Birthday” makes a public statement of how blessed you are – Don’t deny it! We all love attention on our Birthdays.

Intimacy in building relationships:

Twitter has made it possible to Follow people and really build an instant communication with them. The @replies make it possible for people to have a public conversation with some people you either have relationships with or want to build relationships with. And when you have communicated with them, it is possible you will send them a DM to further engage with them at a deeper level. Followed by personal email and then potential meeting. This intimacy even before you have met the person gives us a sense of a relationship based on the context of that communication. You know what are the interests, passions of the person you are engaging with – instantly giving intimacy to this budding relationship.

Intimacy is a human tradition and social media is emerging medium – Intimacy scores well with Social Media…

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, deepika bajaj, intimacy, invincibelle, others, people, relationship, self, Social Media

Social Media ROCKSTARS!

by Deepika Bajaj, Feb 1, 2010

Social media ROCKSTARS are no different from traditional ROCKSTARS. They possess the same characteristics – Talent par excellence, Performance and Energy. They continuously produce new material, perform brilliantly that crowds love them and energize their audience. People like Kevin Rose, Matt Inman and bloggers like Chris Brogan or Marshall Kirkpatrick are the genuine social media rockstars! more…

BLOGTASTIC!: Make more friends in the blogosphere fast!

by Rajesh Setty, Feb 1, 2010

Face to face conversations are valuable for networking, but this strategy has some constraints. Online conversations on the blogosphere gives you the ability to start and engage in multiple conversations with people far and wide, asynchronously. Rajesh leveraged this for his “Quought for the Day” project. Leverage your blog to communicate, collaborate and utilize your blog as a catalyst to enhance your relationships. more…

Change Management #2 – Morphing Organizations: The Executive Samurai and Complexity Theory

by Gary Monti, Feb 2, 2010

To take your organization through change, you need to be a “samurai” who is an expert at even-tempered decision-making. You need to be a martial artist in the sense that you need to adapt your methods to circumstances while maintaining core principles. Then, like Zen practitioners, be imperturbable. Now, you can take a tip from complexity theory on how to best organize: let the people do it themselves. more…

BLOGTASTIC!: What you don’t know might hurt you

by Rajesh Setty, Feb 2, 2010

If you are in the blogosphere, you need to keep abreast of the happenings in this arena. This is not any different from other domain like hardware, software, etc. Considerations for your blog should include SEO, RSS feed, mobile accessibility, etc. There are numerous resources like Squidoo: Blogging Starter Checklist that provide you the information – you just need to look for it. more…

Lessons From Our Past

by Guy Ralfe, Feb 3, 2010

A wise man learns from others’ experience, while a fool does not learn even from his own. In the latter case, history repeats itself. Guy narrates his travails with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Over the past five years, rates have increased and service has degraded in some areas. All indicators point to a repeat of what happened in 1897. It would be interesting to see when MBTA wakes up to reality. more…

BLOGTASTIC!: The right tools

by Rajesh Setty, Feb 3, 2010

We all need need the right tools to excel in our professions and blogging is no exception. Some areas where you need to consider using good tools are infrastructure, tracking, subscriptions and optimization. If you don’t consider yourself a geek who is fascinated by tools, get professional help. more…

Information: The Most Precious Thing Your Company Has

by Robert Driscoll, Feb 4, 2010

Cloud computing is one of the most hyped technology currently. Computing is usually compared with electricity as a utility, but that is not a valid comparison. Electricity is a dumb commodity and who cares if it is stolen. But data on the on the other hand is immensely valuable. When moving your organization towards cloud computing, move slowly and start with applications and data that are not the lifeline of your business. Move at the pace of your comfort and not at the pace the providers recommend. more…

BLOGTASTIC!: Blogging stats can be addictive

by Rajesh Setty, Feb 4, 2010

Though it can be addictive to keep watching the traffic stats to your blog grow, that metric is not where the value is. You need to dig deeper and understand where your visitors come from, what posts they are reading, where they click through, etc. These analytics will help you understand your readers better and enable you to position your blog for greater success. more…

Author’s Journey #7 – Who can help you write your book?

by Roger Parker, Feb 5, 2010

When writing non-fiction books, understand that you don’t have to write every single word in your book! You can get help from a variety of sources. Consider co-authors, ghost writers, assistants and crowdsourcing. They provide key benefits of providing a different perspective and efficiency. Before you make the choice, identify your goals, choose the right option and structure the relationship appropriately. more…

BLOGTASTIC!: More help than you will ever need

by Rajesh Setty, Feb 5, 2010

We all need help with everything we do. Same holds true for blogging. Your blogging success depends upon what you are willing to invest in getting help. Your investment could be time to learn it all by yourself, or you could spend money to get good help. Irrespective, don’t forget the opportunity cost of your time or money. The old adage “when the student is ready, the teacher arrives” fits brilliantly with the blogosphere. Are you ready to leverage your blog and open new doors? more…

Magesh is an accomplished software professional focused on building enterprise value through creative use of technology. Magesh enjoys working with people and is passionate about bringing out the best in everybody to achieve results that are larger than the sum of individual accomplishments.

Tagged as: active garage, blogging, BLOGTASTIC!, Business Strategy, Communication, deepika bajaj, Guy Ralfe, Leadership, Magesh Tarala, management, Rajesh Setty, Robert Driscoll, www.activegarage.com

Every day I come across people who either love or hate social media. Some say they get it and some DON’T. Some say it here to stay and some say it isn’t. Whatever the case, there are people who are leveraging it to build their identity, relationships and followers.

So, what are the characteristics of these ROCKSTARS…???

Like traditional ROCKSTARS, these social media ROCKSTARS have similar characteristics.

1. Talent par excellence - For any ROCKSTAR to get a celebrity status, what is needed most is talent. Similarly, the social media ROCKSTARS have a inherent talent to make their presence felt with their blogs, articles and videos. They seem to produce this with their focus on what is meaningful to their readers. They don’t talk about their hobbies or pets or travel plans – they know what their readers are looking for and offer that information in a powerful manner.

2. Performance – Traditional ROCKSTARS like Van Halen, Pink Floyd were brilliant performers. They took over the stage the minute they got on it. The crowds loved them and they kept them engaged with variations in their music and styles. Similarly, Social Media ROCKSTARS steer away from monotony. They innovate their writing, thinking and presentation. They keep the audience keep coming back for more.

3. Energy – Ever seen ACDC or Metallica on stage. These ROCKSTARS are powerhouses of energy. They keep going on. It is there energy that gets the entire stadium energized at a rock concert. Similarly, social media ROCKSTARS have tons of energy to come with new thoughts, new material and consistently deliver it to their target audience. It is their energy and stamina that gravitates the readers to them…they always have new material and their followers, readers can’t get enough of them…

By now you must be wondering what these Social Media Rockstars look like in real life – well! To me, people like Kevin Rose (co-founder of the top social news site ), Matt Inman (who consistently produce viral hit, after hit, or bloggers like Chris Brogan or Marshall Kirkpatrick (who spend a great amount of their time online creating guides and resources designed to help people) are the genuine social media rockstars!

ROCK ON GUYS….
—

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: active garage, chris brogan, deepika bajaj, energy, excellence, invincibelle, kevin rose, marshall kirkpatrick, matt inman, performance, rockstars, Social Media, talent

The new year is coming on us and as we say good bye to 2009, which for most industries was a challenging year, we need to keep our eyes on the future. By far, 2010, will be the year when social media marketing is going to get really SERIOUS. You may ask, what does that mean?

For most part, like every maturing industry, here is what we can expect:

1. Consolidation: All the companies that support features and functions for Twitter and Facebook will see some consolidation.

2. Metrics Matter: For those managing marketing budgets, will start to put practices and metrics in place that will help them analyze social media spend and ROI.

3. More Adaptation: The MarketingSherpa report also notes U.S. marketers plan to increase budgets, cites eMarketer. Retail and e-commerce marketers are more likely to increase social media marketing budgets next year, 79%, followed by publishing and media at 63% and computer hardware and software companies at 55%.

Here is a small twist: It is true that 2010 will make ’social media’ more serious and that brings us back to SOCIAL in social media.

Whatever we might do in terms of setting policies, metrics and practices around quantifying and qualifying social media, we can be rest assured that PEOPLE and RELATIONSHIPS will rule the space of social media.

Here is what we can do to become more competent contributors and users of social media:

1. Are you listening? : If you really think that there is someone  (other than moms) interested in what you ate for dinner, you can forget about it. As a contributor ( company or an individual), you will have to bring “quality” to what you have to say… and even more important than what you have to say, is what you listen. If you have the competency to listen on social media, there is good news. A new career is shaping up, people who can listen on social media will be valued and compensated. This is where new ideas, fresh perspectives and solutions will be created.

2. Are you giving good help? : For a decade, the business world had a nice ride telling what consumers should buy. With social media came a new revolution, where a consumer was able to make informed decisions based on help from people he/she trusted. The real question is “Is your customer service responsive?”, “Are you keeping the promises you make to your consumers?”, ” Are you willing to break some traditional and outdated rules that hurt your consumers?”

3. Are you building long -term relationships? : We have to give up our instant gratification mentality. Patience and perseverance – TWO KILLER APPS to WIN OVER MANY. Building long-term relationships means, you will have to first invest and nurture in those relationships – without getting anything out of them. And this means, to give a lot of help, a lot of value and a lot of time. Your content, your customer service and your response time – need to be impeccable to RULE the SOCIAL MEDIA Kingdom.

Welcome to 2010. I can’t wait to begin the ride….

—

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: 2010, active garage, adaptation, deepika bajaj, invincibelle, listening, metrics, people, relationships, Social Media

I was recently in China and got to see the majestic ‘Great Wall of China‘ and the magnificent ‘Forbidden city‘. I took a lot of pictures and when I returned to my hotel, I went online to share my pictures with my family and friends – and suddenly I was surprised that I was not able to access Facebook. For some time, I thought that it was my internet connection and kept kicking my laptop for poor wireless connectivity. While I was fretting over this, I realized that I was able to access some sites like Google and Yahoo! but was not able to Facebook and Twitter.

Well! that meant that I was not able to share my pictures on Facebook and tweet about them to my friends and family. So, I went around inquiring about this ban.

A recent article on ReadWriteWeb states that while China’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the government employs a “subversion of state power” clause to punish those who are critical of it. This is why some social networking sites like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and Bing are blocked. Nevertheless, censorship in China is not new. I was confused because I was not convinced that all the Chinese internet users had stopped using these site. When I spoke to some people they said that inspite of the ban they knew how to go around it.

So, how are Chinese leveraging social media:

1. In China the adoption of social media has more to do with the career development, with the development of opinions of professional ideas, of sharing with others more than just a social engagement that we find in the U.S, said Josh Crandall, president of Netpop.

2. The social media landscape in China is vital. 253 million use the internet, over 107 million have a personal blog. Since blogging is so powerful. Often information from blogs gets picked up by mainstream media. Many companies share information on their blogs.

3. Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging computer program in Mainland China, and the world’s third most popular IM service. Even the hotel staff were surprised to see the icon on my computer. Since its entrance into Chinese households QQ quickly emerged as a modern cultural phenomenon, now being portrayed in popular culture. Aside from the chat program, QQ has also developed many subfeatures including games, pets, ringtone downloads, etc. Needless to say, it is a billion dollar industry in China.

And you thought, that social media only meant social engagement. I learnt it can also be used to share information.

—

Contributed by Deepika Bajaj, President and Founder, Invincibelle, LLC. Invincibelle helps women who live and work in a multicultural world to accelerate their professional growth. Deepika is also the author of the book DiversityTweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. You can follow Deepika on Twitter at invincibelle

Tagged as: bing, china, computer program, deepika bajaj, forbidden city, free instant messaging, great wall of china, invincibelle, popular culture, Social Media, tencent QQ