Hyderabad-the city taught me to live alone!

It's been four years since I have been staying with Hyderabad. The first two years was in business school, and now the next two years working. The words that characterized the  first two years were :campus, friends, hostel life, exams, late night classes, placements etc- it was a very different life altogether.
For the next two years I have been working in the same city-Hyderabad. But the definition of this place has changed completely to me. My first job (which had been a dream for years)started in this city.
The first ordeal I chose for myself was to search a house...without brokers. I had no clue of any locality which could have been chosen.
 Did a market research in office.Research objective was: Where do majority of my colleagues stay and why....and then this time for a change the market research gave a correct answer. I even got friends from college who were also placed in the same city and two of them in the same organisation , and then the house was searched (partly with a broker's help) and I started staying. So I got a house to stay...
The next great hurdle..what would i eat ? I did not like the packed dabba food out here.And how many times would you ask your friends to cook for you .I had never entered the kitchen in my life before. It might be hard to believe, but Bengali girls, if they stay in Bengal along with grandparents and on top of it if they are the only daughter of their parents, they all fall in the same category....
Tried cooking, downloaded recipes, but the first time I cooked, the whole stuff was jet black. After a tryst with cooking,I now manage to make things which are at least edible, if not delicious.
And then lot of things changed, I changed my house three times in two years and every year got the house without brokers! I don't have fast friends here, but somehow I have friends who are there with me for particular occasions. Cannot agree better with the Airtel's Har ek friend zaroori hota hai...
I have got a freaking out friend, a chicken friend(we cook chicken together), tea break friend, parlour friend, house searching friend.....:)
Shopping is something which I learnt to do completely alone...I sometimes cannot believe myself...I had never bought anything previously without my dear ones ascertaining my great choice!My shopping behavior has undergone a change...earlier it used to be Recreational shopping, for almost everything,barring one or two examples. But now it is entirely Problem solving shopping! Now the feeling of relief predominates the feeling of happiness at the end of shopping!
But the aspect which taught me the hard way to live alone is visiting the doctors... Rarely do you find people going to the doctor alone.
When I was in school, visiting the ophthalmologist was the best part, as he would give you an eye drop to dilate the pupils, which would make your vision blurred for 12 hours. So one day you have a genuine excuse of not studying! But when here in Hyderabad, I was given the same medicine, and then came out in the sun, I could not open my eyes! Covered my eyes with the dupatta, (thankfully I was wearing one), somehow managed to walk down and get an auto to take me back home.I am sure if anyone was watching my steps, might have thought I was drunk...
I now dont hesitate to go to a CCD or Mc D's alone...earlier I used to pack food and bring home, but now I sit and eat, and watch people...
Sometimes during weekends, I realise, that if not over the phone, I have not spoken a single word to someone   face to face! It's difficult to believe especially for someone who received the comments of "very talkative"  in junior classes!!

When does one start blogging?

Well, in our generation, children in school were not so much into social networking or blogging, for them the 'fun element' in computers was mainly for games, films,music...etc
Although there were some creative geeks who used to prepare models and the like...but these exceptions are always there..

When in graduation, there is much MORE to do than just blogging...
The first element in graduation is definitely ragging..which makes you grow up!
So many things unheard and unsaid before, is heard, seen and experienced...
New things come up-
-A free playground of life, no school uniform, no fixed schedule, endless eat outs, bunking classes, new love stories everyday...
God! Life is too busy for an undergraduate to start writing a blog!

Then comes post graduation...
Different personalities evolve:
Some become more studious, I need to get the best job, and settle down in life..
They will never write a blog, it would be a waste of time for them..although you wonder what is the outcome of their studying 24*7!
Some are carefree as usual..they have no time to write a blog, for them doing something is a waste of time!

So about 5% of people at this stage of life start blogging...
The main reason for blogging at this stage is.."I can't speak my heart out to someone, others dont tend to understand what I want to say...I will start my  blogging"

Then comes the most awaited period of one's life...
The job life..

The entire life from Nursery (In our times there was no play school) the main objective infused into our generation...is to get a good job!(preferably government ones)
Job life, initially hectic: induction, training, reviews...you feel only two people work in your organisation: you and your Managing Director!
It is at this point of time when one understands many things, one tends to think deeper, you feel you have lots to say..but you dont have a soul to speak to...
Sometimes there is a rebellion inside you...you want to voice your opinion, you want to let the world know your stand , your idea of looking at things, a place where you would be you, where you dont have to provide an explanation for what you are saying or doing...

And then comes the bright idea to start a blog..
A mirror of MY views..a DEPICTION of me in balck and white!
MY BLOG










 

The product called FACEBOOK STATUS UPDATE

Let's call the STATUS UPDATES as PRODUCTS, and let's see how these products behave in the market(Facebook)!

Time of Launch:
The highest number of products are launched on weekends, time after 11pm on Fridays to midnights on Sunday!
Positioning :
Products on weekdays mostly talk about when would weekend come!
Products on Fridays are mainly positioned on...  Relief after a hectic week.(Though you doubt whether these marketers(updaters) actually work in office!)
The core value proposition of Products on weekends mainly talk about how nice was the weekend with so and so friends...
Some innovative or over enthusiastic marketers also update photographs and it gives the customers an oppourtunity to probe in the life of the marketers closely!
Product Lifecycle of a Facebook post:
When one launches the products, the highest number of comments and likes comes in the next 12 hrs(provided s/he has updated the status before 12 am in an weekday)..
The pattern changes in weekends where a product launch between 11pm to 1pm  is the prime spot...
Introduction phase lasts for 2 hours in weekdays and 15 min in weekends.
Growth phase is next 15 hours in weekdays to 10 hours in weekends ..
Maturity phase is till 24hours ...and then it is the sad demise...
Sometimes it may revive again if some not so updated customer probes into the marketers products!
Customers buying behaviour
The hot cakes which leads to Customer delight are the annoucements relating to somebody getting engaged...
But once it is marriage photographs, customer interest is although very high, customer satisfaction is relatively poor...The customers who generally comments are family members,very close childhood friends or customers of the same sex...a boy would like a boy's posted marriage pics but the other way is significantly low!