When Facebook made a quiet debut in social networking market in early February 2004, it was just another entrant in a pack. Originated in the dorms of Harvard University by founder Mark Zuckerberg and his friends, within 24 hours, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up on Facebook and soon after that the network was quickly extended to other colleges and universities.

The site was super simple but its allure lay in its exclusiveness. Its restricted access to University students only, tempted non users to know what it was like. Soon, the buzz caught on with everyone around the world getting curious to be a part of it and see how Facebook worked.

Over the years, Facebook grew, both in accessibility and in flashiness. And now 5 years down the line, it has emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a major contender in the social networking space, fighting hard for a second place in the market against social networking giant Twitter and overtaking My Space’s 130 million user record.

Today the site is translated across 35 languages with another 60 in development. More than half of its 150 million unique users are not at college and the fastest growing demographic is 30 years old and above. Everyday more than 15 million users update their status to tell their friends what they are doing. An average Facebook user spends more than two hours each day on-site. The figures speak for themselves.

So what’s behind this exponential growth and popularity of Facebook as a social networking platform? Is it because of its strategy to open up to new applications or the greater connectivity it offers to other social networks? Facebook’s willingness to change and evolve has clearly been the key to its success. As also its awareness that change should be steady and pragmatic.

Perhaps Professor B J Fogg, who ran a course called the ‘Psychology of Facebook’ at Stanford University, sums it up best in his own words to BBC news, “The genius of Facebook isn’t the technology or the interface. Facebook is winning because it puts friends first. Our relationships shape our online experience. No technology is better than our friendships”.

Facebook has changed the game for all consumer-facing companies. Just the reason why if you are a corporate and want to reach and influence everyday people, you’ve got to understand Facebook. And we help you do just that!

If you are still are stuck in the traditional way of marketing and positioning your brand, then you really need to wake up and smell the coffee !!! Call the experts who can help you navigate your brand in the changing online media landscape. Make your move now! Call us right away!

Ask any seafood lover what they love the most about it and invariably the answer would be freshness and taste! Two qualities that one seafood brand has been associated with for centuries. Shree Dutt Aqua.

The Client Story

Shree Dutt Aqua is the largest producers of quality seafood and experts in aquaculture farming, operating along the western coastline of India.Belonging to one of the most respected traditional fishing community, this new generation of Shree Dutt Aqua is focused on delivering farm fresh quality seafood to customers worldwide through the use of innovative technology.

Taking on the Challenge

The company has a rich heritage and has evolved over the years. They now wanted to make the transition from a traditional, family run business to a international brand name. The company wanted to develop a brand image that would be seen as fresh and dynamic with a modern outlook and innovative approach. And with it began our complete brand building exercise of the brand.

The Breakthrough

The first step was to select a name that would give the brand a distinct identity. After an extensive research, we narrowed down on a short, simple and globally appealing name ’ Tandels’, which incidentally is also their family name.

Freshness is the biggest USP of Tandel’s. This became the basis for its new brand identity as well.

The simple and direct tagline we developed for the brand, “Farm Fresh Delicious”, sums up the company’s brand positioning effectively. We followed the same approach while designing their logo as well. Soothing, cool and fresh looking, every element in the Tandel’s logo can be associated with sea. The blue color represents Aqua people, the sea green shows freshness & environment friendly approach, while the waves show its passion for the sea. The symbolic design element of flying fish in the logo combines their concept of ‘farm fresh delicious’ with seafood business.

For the house styling, a neat, clean signature design has been adapted that translates into a common corporate identity for Tandel’s.

Think Tandel’s and its inherent quality of freshness is what immediately comes to mind. A special photo shoot was planned and executed for this perfect visual which was to become Tandel’s signature branding. The striking image of a live shrimp being freshly caught by a hand under water!

A visual that says everything about Tandel’s promise to deliver ‘Farm Fresh Delicious’ quality.Right from its website to brochure & exhibition stall designs to presentations, this singular visual message has been reinforced to create a strong and distinct branding for Tandel’s. Just what was needed to enable instant brand recall for Tandel’s, whenever and where ever people would see it.

Both the brochure and website have a refreshingly different look and feel, with the details about the company unfolding across the pages like a story that tempts one to explore further.Relish the Farm Fresh Deliciousness for yourself @ www.tandels.com

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something”, said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill”.

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

“Well”, asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world”, said the wise man. “You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house”.

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you”, said the wisest of wise men. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.

Author: Paul Coelho in “The Alchemist”

Outlook is one of the best known PIM’s around because it comes with and integrates nicely into MS Office. However, since Google has taken MS Office online with their Google Docs, maybe it’s time to move from Outlook to Thunderbird.

But isn’t Thunderbird an email client? Yes, but so is Outlook. As well as email, Outlook also includes a contact list, a to-do list, and a calendar for your appointments.

Thunderbird doesn’t have these innate abilities that Outlook does. But you forget, Thunderbird has the same extension architecture as Firefox. If you search, you’ll find some handy extensions that push Thunderbird past Outlook’s functionality.

Here are some additional reasons why I’m moving from Outlook to Thunderbird:

1. Outlook is not portable – Besides Pocket PC devices, Outlook is not as portable as Thunderbird. I’ve never seen Outlook on a USB Flash Drive yet.

2. Outlook is a little top-heavy – Outlook contains hard-wired connections to the Windows APIs. I don’t think (to my knowledge) that you can take the assemblys (or DLLs for the old-schoolers) with you without breaking a EULA.

3. Outlook is strictly Windows-based – If you moved to another PC that was Linux-based, you are out of luck

4. Thunderbird is FREE – I know Outlook Express exists, but the difference between Outlook and Outlook Express is like night and day and to get the professional version of Outlook, I need to purchase MS Office.

Let’s get started on moving over to Thunderbird from Outlook!
Assess your existing Outlook PST file

Since we are so close to Spring, it may be a good idea to look over your PST file and do a little “Spring Cleaning.”

First, check to see if your Outlook PST is in need of repair. If so, the How-To Geek shows you how to fix your broken Outlook PST file.

If your Outlook PST file is huge (I’ve seen them at 2-3gb), see where you can trim it down a little.

* Clean out your Trash – Next to your Inbox, this is the biggest storage hog you have. Clean it up!
* Move your important “Sent” messages somewhere – In your business, you may need them. Delete ones that are completely irrelevant (”Hi, Mom, How are you?”).
* Archive your messages – Since it is the start of the year (or close to it), archive your 2007 software subscriptions and newsletters to another folder so it’s not taking up any space in your Inbox.

There. Now that you’ve trimmed the fat, let’s move on to the next step.
Installing Thunderbird (with some add-ons)

If you don’t have Thunderbird, download and install it.

There are two additional downloads you need to make your transition to Thunderbird successful: Sunbird and Lightning.

Sunbird is a standalone calendar application similar to Thunderbird and Firefox, but is geared specifically towards managing your schedule. There is a nice Provider for Google Calendar extension that synchronizes your schedule with Google Calendar, so you can look at your schedule on the road.

Lightning is a Thunderbird extension that welds Sunbird’s calendar into Thunderbird allowing your calendar and email to exist in one application.

After installing Sunbird and Lightning, the only thing left is to import your PST into Thunderbird.
Import your PST file into Thunderbird

As I mentioned above, Thunderbird’s extension architecture is based on Firefox’s architecture. This is awesome for extension authors because you can actually turn Firefox and/or Thunderbird into a completely different application.

Kevin Purdy over at LifeHacker.com found a great Thunderbird extension that imports an Outlook PST into Thunderbird. According to the site, this extension works in Windows and Linux. More reason to make yourself platform-independant. The extension is 1mb in size.

As soon as you install this extension, you are able to import your PST into Thunderbird using the Tools/Import… pulldown menu.

For my audience, are there any other extensions that make Thunderbird “Outlook-like?”.

At first glance they appear like molded art forms. Look again and you realize these pieces of art are actually made with cream and icing! These amazing objects are actually unbelievably stunning cake art! Delectable and tempting, this is a real treat for the eyes and the taste buds too!

Right from a crate of pepsi cans to amazingly life like rubber tyres, to a carved wooden chest to even a miniature kitchen, see cakes in all forms, shapes and sizes!! Still don’t think these are cakes?! Bite it to believe it!

Treasure Cake Art

Cards Cake Art