Kunal

Somebody Gonna Get A Hurt Real Bad

Russell Peters is on a tour of India and will be performing in Delhi on Wednesday. Shock horror (seriously) – Delhi-ites have dished out the money (Delhi-ites are famous for holding out for a “pass” till the last moment) and the show was sold out in record time (or so I am told).

Another great example of the power of YouTube/ P2P/ Internet as a marketing tool, albeit the marketing is “incidental” in most cases and not planned. Peters has acquired quite a fan following all across the globe (even Oman!) thanks to clips of his performance being available on YouTube etc. What this means is that when this guy is on tour, tickets often get sold out in a couple of hours without the need of any kind of major advertising whatsoever. Such things might be common for major acts like Rolling Stones, but for a Russell Peters (with due respect) to have that kind of a effect, you can thank YouTube and P2P. Now only if the entertainment industry could learn to channelize this power properly, instead of trying to cease and desist, they would reap the benefits of more sold out shows all across the globe.

A less for independent artists as well – five simple steps towards making a living off your passion:

1) Record your performances.
2) Put them on YouTube.
3) Create a buzz.
4) Tour.
5) Profit!

It’s as simple as that 😉

Seriously, the field is wide open these days for no-name artists to become big-name artists with practically no expense whatsoever. You might see some practical examples of that coming pretty soon on a blog near you. Hint hint 😉

Coming back to the performance on Wednesday, in the rare case that someone reading this has a spare ticket, give me a buzz.

I’ll be in town… I think

For anyone looking to catchup, I’ll be in Delhi for the next couple of weeks. I’ll be available on my usual Delhi number – if I can manage to board a flight today that is.

Yes, I don’t have a confirmed seat as yet and yes, that is how I function – advanced booking is for sissies! People like to plan their travel, and I like to plan to, but I just don’t like acting on the plans until I absolutely must.

Why should I do all my shopping well in advance, when I can wait till the last minute and pay through the roof for something that is available for half the price in another shop, the shop I no longer have the time to go to? You little cheap-stake-buying-all-your-stuff-in-peace you.

Why book my tickets when I know the date of travel a month in advance, when I can wait till less than a week before and be put on the waiting list or whatever the kids are calling “not-having-a-booking” these days? Real men get up early in the morning on the travel date and go to the airlines office to see if they have enough frequent fliers miles to get an upgrade to business class (didn’t you read economy is full?!), only to be told you have to actually mention your membership number when you travel – clutching a bunch of boarding passes won’t qualify for any on-the-spot upgrades.

Allow me to paraphrase last year’s Academy Award winning song to sum things up:

It’s messed up how I live, but that’s just how it is
It might be new to you, but it’s been like this for years

It’s business as usual around here – see you in Delhi!

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

During a recent conversation with a friend, the topic of jeans and trying clothes somehow managed to come up. I mentioned reading about this guy and the peculiar habit in that regards (trying clothes) that his girlfriend had. I couldn’t recall where I had read it, but I remembered it was good for a few laughs and felt like revisiting it. After some experiment with weirdly worded queries, I finally found the page.

Here’s the part in question:

When Margret used to go shopping and she’d see, for example, a pair of jeans in a department store, do you know what she used to do? Try them on. I think you’re all with me here, but just for anyone who’s joined us late, I don’t mean she’d go to the changing rooms and try them on. That would be a preposterous idea wouldn’t it? No, she’d just get undressed there in the middle of the sales floor to try them on. It took me some considerable time to persuade her that this wasn’t normal behaviour in Britain, despite what she might have seen on Benny Hill. Even then, she only stopped – amid much eye-rolling and, ‘You and your silly social conventions,’ head shaking – to humour me.

Check it out, but with some time to spare – it’s long (and good) enough to eat a big chunk of your time.