News – Simren Deogun | Marketing Blog

One Year Anniversary

February 11, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

Today marks my blog’s one year anniversary, so the following retrospective is going to be completely selfish!

Fourteen months ago, I lost my job.

Thirteen months ago, I decided to teach myself HTML and CSS.

Twelve and a half months ago, I decided to design, code and build (from scratch) my own website.

One year ago, I was jobless and from that this blog was born.

This blog has always been as much about you the reader as it has been about me. Everyone who is anyone will tell you that if you want to run a successful blog, if you want to be a professional blogger, if you want to make money from blogging, you should never make the blog about you.

I obviously decided not to listen. This blog is a success to me no matter how many readers, clicks, or subscribers. I’m not selling anything. I’m only offering what I know. And I continue to learn along the way.

2000 visits. A handful of subscribers. More links everyday. Now it’s time to take this blog to the next level. Won’t you join me?

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Anniversary

Best Picture Oscar Noms With A Side Of Marketing

February 3, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

2010 Oscar nominations were recently announced, and this year’s Best Picture category includes an unprecedented 10 movies:

“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

So, what’s the deal? When was the last time you can remember a diverse selection of films (like the above) being nominated in this prestigious category? Alternate planet civilizations. Aliens. War. Thriller War. Animation. And Drama. It’s quite the impressive melting pot.

My point is that a large number of the nominees — unlike most years — come with a high probability of having been viewed by a larger proportion of the general public. And with that comes the wonderment of marketing.

This is not to undermine the Academy or any of the movies being honoured but there is more than enough skepticism in me to wonder, just wonder, if the godly Academy may be employing a little bit of strategic marketing. Perhaps reaching out to the otherwise oft-abandoned viewing audience.

Suddenly, there is much more than just one movie on the list that you and I have seen. Suddenly, I’m much more interested in the Oscars. Why? Because now there is this attempt to relate to me and relate to the films that touch the general public as opposed to those from which we are secluded.

10 movies! How many have you seen? And how much more do you care about the Oscars because those movies are nominated?

Filed Under: News, Thoughts Tagged With: 2010 Oscars, Best Picture Nominees

Apple iPad Uninspiring But Good For Portable All-In-One Technology

January 27, 2010 By Simren Deogun 1 Comment

Why Apple just did technology a favour
The iPad is shiny, new and everything Apple fanatics like myself love! But it’s received more than its fair share of flack since its release only hours ago.

The reason for this flack is because it did NOT surpass expectations; it flew in right under the radar, right into the “Land of That’s What We Were Expecting”.

But despite the fact that the iPad (horrible name and all) will likely be met with lacklustre sales (see why below), this “revolutionary” piece of technology does service the industry plenty. By pushing design, touch capabilities and tech portability to new heights. It re-emphasizes what the iPhone established with its innovative design and supreme usability. We’ve seen tablets before but the iPad opens the door for better portable alternatives.

The iPad now offers netbook manufacturers the greatest advantage in my opinion. For those who cannot afford the iPad, for those who find it too much of an inconvenience to use or carry, for those who cannot understand the perceived added value inherent in any Apple product, netbooks are the logical and smart alternative.

Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post on eReaders, it will be the tablets and the netbooks that spell doom for the single-purpose eReaders, Mashable agrees! If eReaders stand any chance, it will be by responding accordingly to the very threatening iPad. Take notice Kindle, it’s time to step up.

So, even though I’m about to tell you not to buy one, the iPad, well Apple, has done technology another favour. To all the naysayers and Apple un-enthusiasts, Apple will once again be forcing the market to push its own offerings, as it did with the iPod, MacBook and iPhone.

And why you shouldn’t buy one
What? But she loves Apple?!

It’s true, I do love Apple from the pod to the phone to the mac computers. But, I have to pass on this one, especially on the first generation device.

As most have concurred by now, it’s just a really big iPhone. Same apps, same OS, same SDK and extremely similar specs with flash drive capacity at 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. With the touch screen, accelerometer, WiFi, coming soon 3G and a host of other similarities, I would opt for a netbook or go-for-gusto and get a MacBook/Pro.

Not to mention the iPad doesn’t offer multitasking or (at this time) a camera or video-capturing capabilities.

An iffy bright side to all this is that the price actually seems a little low for Apple’s typical new product launch scheme. Is this an indicator of an uninspired tablet not worth more? Does it forecast a flat outcome for sales? To purchase or not to purchase? What do you say?

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With: Apple iPad, eReaders, iPhone, iPod, Kindle, Netbooks