Chaos - and spontaneous order - coverage among Indian bloggers - and updates as events unfurl - Yazad and Sameer, among others. Sameer's blog seems to be the hub and there's an interesting discussion on at the comments at his post.

My comment at his report : "when will it end ?"

Sameer's response - "Dina... the end is not in sight... but the beginning of the end will be when the government decides to relieve itself of the kid-gloves that it has donned for so long now. I personally admire the Israeli hadling of terrorism. But that requires an administration with a spine."

My response : "Israel has Big Brother with them. And Big Brother has shown us how absolute power can destroy innocent lives.  Is the question really of having a spineless government or is it one of having too partisan and right-wing a govt ? One can debate many issues here - personal law, different strokes for different folk, priviledges etc. yet we cannot escape the fact that this government is writing new rules - not necessarily to resolve issues - rather to flame them further.

And this is something i fear - a small eg - what this generation of school kids reads in their history books is very different from what i read. Wiping out chapters, slanting them to suit the purposes of their props like the VHP and RSS. And scarier still - the supreme court allows it. 

Give them spine - what next ? Wipe out a whole community in India ? I'm afraid of this - if they used spine to merely wipe out terrorism - thats ok - but we know the issues are much deeper.

In any case - who pays ?"

Yazad jumps in with : "Shocking and depressing news. But hey Sameer, both of us blogged in a kinda similar fashion on this issue! Bomb Blasts in Bombay .... giving more power to the govt is not the solution -- and it might just make the problem worse!"

And Dinesh adds : "First of all, this whole bloody mess is about power and the government. It doesnt matter who comes to power--the killing doesn't stop until the people who generate votes using these are out of action. And hoping for that...is really a long shot."

And Gaurav - ".... what saddens me is that instead of reacting in a mature and determined manner, this is again being used to score brownie points. the BJP is asking for President's rule in maharashtra!!!!!!!!  they should take a leaf out of the book of the American Democrats, and how they behaved after the 9-11 attacks. show unity, solidarity. stick together!! but no, they will blame the government and then call a bandh to cripple our economy"

What interests me apart from the content, is the fact that these are real voices, unbiased by political considerations (unlike many of our 'formal' reporters).  And the immediacy of responding and debating makes it quite special - more real, with fewer filters.  Blogs can talk !!  Can they kick governments too ?

There's going to be much more discussion i know - and i'm following it !

7:27:39 PM    comment []  trackback []

Mumbai burns again ..... four bomb blasts this afternoon.  Official count 45 dead, over 150 injured.  Innocent lives.

Will it ever end ?

Cell phone networks down, cable TV down in my neighbourhood.  I'm getting news updates from radio and the internet.

UPDATE : now they're saying its 2 bomb blasts - but the casualty figures remain.

UPDATE : Click here for an image of the mangled remains of a car from the parking lot, near the Gateway, in which this blast occurred. [thanks Sameer for the link]

UPDATE : cell phones are working now

4:39:35 PM    comment []  trackback []

Just got a call from an old friend in advertising, who's recently quit India's largest ad agency after many many years and is taking a year's sabbatical to figure out where he's bound next. Well he says he's smelling the flowers after a long long while - lucky guy ! Someone he knows is working on re-engineering a power brand and wants to explore the role of semiotics in reinventing the logo and pack graphics.He called me to ask if i could give him some leads.

Compelled me to look for good reads as a starting point. At a more academic level, there's loads of good stuff written about semiotics and many many books available. I wanted to look for developments in the use and application of semiotics in design specifically for brands - and i found a few links which i share here :

And this took me back many years when we worked with semioticians in helping create and testing among consumers, pack graphics and logo designs. Basing the analysis on Saussure's theories on Semiology, we examine signs and symbols as 'encompassing the entire range of elements that make up communication' about the brand - so this includes advertising symbols, logos, pack design, and any other brand element that is part of brand communication.  

The meaning of the sign or symbol is decoded at three levels :

• the sign itself and the way it conveys meaning
• the code or referential system in which the sign is organised and within which the process of signification takes place
• the cultural system or systems of knowledge within which the codes operate

Here's a sample of a semiotic analysis for a brand of sunflower cooking oil called Sundrop.  The packaging is yellow and blue - and the advertising has a little boy dressed all in yellow bouncing and jumping in a heap of deliciously light puris.

As a researcher, i found semiotic analysis of great value in :

• decoding advertising and what it means and represents to consumers
• identifying differences and nuances of brand personality
• symbolic behaviour or communication
• developing logo, pack and graphics
• identifying brand values and equity - for extensions, variants, when re-engineering the brand, and for strengthening brand values and equity

Thanks Mel, for taking me down this path again!

3:43:25 PM    comment []  trackback []