By Jaisurya Das
It’s wonderful to have you back with us on Dear MxM, India’s best known online counselling column for the media, marketing and advertising fraternity.
I am most enamoured by this selfie generation. There isn’t a dull moment ever in their lives. Every wall, chair, curtain, restaurant, road, river, chasm and ditch transforms into a backdrop for a beaming smile and pout. Quite something this is. Almost like this Pokemon business. People walking into walls and stuff. Either it’s the game on the phone or their own face staring at them from their mobile screens. Both lethal and most entertaining… or so I think.
Now that I am on this, I must tell you about how last Saturday turned out to be great fun. We decided to go out for dinner and this time to a lounge that opened recently. This was quite a move from the staid dinner joints we normally visit. Daughters in tow, we walked in looking as ‘at home’ as possible. I think we did a jolly good job of that, as no one even gave us a second look till we were shown our table..
The lovely outdoor seating with a view of the rivulet was perfect to spend an evening. To add to this, young company and even younger guests at the restaurant. Some giggly, some coy and some intense faces. A largish group of urban-clad youth occupied the table next to us. They were all set to celebrate a birthday and cut cakes and stuff but not before they gulped their drinks posing for the camera. Soon it was five skirt-clad, heady lipstick-faced
girls who stood one behind each other… I stared quite aghast at this formidable line-up with legs stuck out at 33 degree angles.
While I tried to imagine a synchronised swimming demo it turned out to be a damp squib. It was all for a selfie which am sure found its way to the social media jungle the very next second! Quite disappointed, I was left to think of the positive side of all this.
What an amazing branding opportunity! Brands must embrace this generation and figure how best they can blend with this camera-facing generation. Maybe it’s time advertisers have pop-ups projected on walls each time a selfie is clicked or a message flashing across your screen when you click the button to capture that never before tilt of the head or the pout of the century…
Possible am sure. It’s just a matter of time before Google and other powerful engines start delivering contextual advertising basis your back drop…
Stand with a pothole and you’re served with a feeling you are seated on the next manned lunar expedition! Wonderful, isn’t it?
Now that I have made my point, it’s time to transport you to this week’s Q&A from our readers in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad.
Happy Reading…
Sir, I want to get into business journalism. Is it good to do a CA in order to get a good job?
Hello and thanks for writing in to us at Dear MxM.
Whoever told you that you need to do a CA to get into business journalism?
Honestly, I don’t think it necessary to have a finance degree to write well about business. Yes, a decent foundation in economics and basic understanding of finance is a significant advantage but it’s not about degrees and all that.
What is important is your domain knowledge and that’s greatly dependent on the amount of effort you put into reading and learning. This of course must be combined with sound writing skills to make you a winner. Research is a constant for a good business journalist and the more you seek information, the more you sharpen your skills.
Being eminently qualified in finance and economics may be an advantage at the point of entry provided you have other fundamental skillsets in place. All the rest gets added on while you are on the job!
Go ahead and work towards this. Start reading every bit of business and corporate news, study the way companies are performing and how the economy is working around the lows and highs of the world environment.
It’s a long mile but am sure you’ll max it soon enough. All the best!
I am planning to undertake a PhD in Media, and have found that people in the news media do not respond to meeting requests. Can you help?
Am indeed happy to hear this! Not many people would chose media for their thesis nowadays what with the amazing cacophony and ego clashes all over the place..
I fail to understand why people appear so busy all the time… I guess it’s integral to the place of eminence they occupy. The hallowed chairs that quite a few news media professionals sit on coupled with their perceived power is much like a heady cocktail.
I suggest you email them first with details on your research study and then seek an appointment to meet or send them a questionnaire that they can respond to.
The few who don’t respond can be safely ignored since there is no dearth of great professionals in media who would am sure be glad to help your thesis take shape.
And yes, do feel free to inbox us if you need any information that we could help you with. Dear MxM would be happy to help academic pursuits such. Moreover, we prefer drinking tea. Doesn’t go to the head after all 🙂
I work with a leading newspaper group and find that the government has stopped advertising with us because we are against them. Is there any thing we can do legally against the government?
Ah the eternal divide between editorial and advertising yet again! I can understand your concern but unfortunately there is no legal recourse for this…
Media selection is the client’s prerogative and this case the government in power and sweet nothing can be done about their decision. However, from my personal experience, good connect and a regular follow-up can remedy this to a great extent.
In fact, you need to impress upon them that advertising in the very medium that writes against your policies is a very positive message for the citizens. It only shows how balanced the government is when it comes to taking criticism from media.
Try it! Believe me, it works more often than one.
I am planning to specialise in intellectual property as a law student. Is there enough scope in the media for an IP lawyer?
Indeed there is! It’s not easy to get a good IP lawyer for the legal department in a large media house. Most often the legal department has to make do with regular civil and constitutional lawyers to handle the litigation.
This is one of the significant reasons that media houses end up spending huge sums of money hiring external firms to handle litigation be it alleged defamation cases or IP issues. India is unfortunately very laid back on IPR and Copyright matters and most often these matters get very little attention.
Go for it, my friend! Am sure you will do very well. Media or otherwise, publishers and other copyright holders are always on the look-out for good lawyers who are eminently qualified and capable of handling these issues of Intellectual Property.
Ladies and Gentleman, it’s celebration time again! Long weekend and one more year post Independence. Have a wonderful holiday, chill-time, feet-in-tub-time, partytime etc but remember to be good and drink only when stationary. Keep those car keys stashed away please!  Till the next week then, it’s good Ol’ me saying Sayonara!
And yes, if you do feel like sitting at your computer or stare into your mobile, feel free to write to editor@mxmindia.com with ‘Dear MxM’ and your ‘City’ mentioned in the subject line.
Jaisurya Das, maverick and media evangelist, eats, sleeps and makes love to brands. His consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. He is also the Contributing Editor of MxM India. The views expressed in this column are his own.