Abhi SMS keejiye

'Abhi apna cell phone uthayiye aur is number par SMS keejiye option A,B ya C.'
I don't understand why anyone would spend their money on sending sms's to support people they don't know. I remember about 15 years ago we were asked to send our answers by Postcards for quizes on TV. Now almost every program on TV asks its viewers to sms or call. The only people who benefit are the Channel owners and the Mobile network like Airtel. KBC was one of the first programs to start the smss. It's said that the prize money they gave out the winners was nothing compared to what the channel and their partner Airtel earned through SMSs alone.
Isn't this another form of gambling? Winning by chance. What is it that makes people do this? It's similar to why people buy lottery tickets. The hope that we might win although the odds of winning are 1 to several lakhs.

I Don't Like Ads

I saw a good film on TV last week called 'Corporate'. It's well made exposing the harsh reality of what goes on in the business world. The film highlights the 'Cola' wars between two fictional comapnies and how they fight it. It reminds me of the Coca Cola/Pepsi wars and how one of them was found to have pesticides in it.
As the film says at the end, people soon forget about the pesticide content and keep drinking it as if nothing ever happened. There's even an ad now for the Coca Cola "fridge" pack featuring a 'happy family' with 2 kids as they celebrate with Coke.

I read a long time ago on the Internet about the psychology of Advertising. It's a vast and an interesting topic. It's amazing how the ads and ad makers play with the minds of people. They make the public feel inadequate if they don't have the product that they are trying to sell. It makes the product look cool to use/ drink/ own it although it may not be so. I am surprised at how many ads there are on shampoos, soaps, detergents, fairness creams, softdrinks, cooking oil, hair oil which promise to make our lives better. I especially hate the ad with the family and kids. I read that kids are now major consumers and a majority of the ads are targetted on them.

I long for the simpler days when there was no cable TV and no mind- numbing ads that bombard us everyday.

Consumerism

The western habit of Consumerism, buying on credit and running up huge credit card bills hasn't caught up here, Thank God.

I remember reading about it somewhere. It's been defined as, 'Buying things you don't need with the money you don't have to impress the people you don't like.'

What Am I Doing?

It's been 3 months now since I left my full time job as a software engineer with a big American telecom company at Bangalore. I am now playing the role of a homemaker in Mumbai. I like the free time that I now get. I spend most of it in front of the PC. I don't watch so much TV. There's hardly anything good on TV. I spend more time channel surfing than actually watch.

Sometimes I miss my job.. I definitely miss my family at Bangalore and yes, I miss Bangalore. The familiar place, people, language and my friends.