Diwali is always special. The festival of lights brings more than happiness to each household. Sweets flow abundantly and crackers fly high. And almost always Diwali is associated with buying a new item - be it the tv, bike or just a simple mp3 player. More than the shagun the festival brings, it is the deep discounts offered during this auspicious festival season that bring us out of the inactive slumber and shell out the bucks. I am sure most of us would have gotten into the Rs. 2000 off on the bike, 5000 off on TV+Fridge, SD card free on MP3 offers at some point. And around a couple of weeks before the festival begin the Diwali special offer ads and flood the newspaper, TV and all kinds of media.
This year was no different, except, it was different, and in a novel way.
4 out of 5 ads on TV this Diwali were from e-commerce sites. From clothes to electronics to furniture to accessories, e-commerce ads dominated the Diwali scene this year and I would say some of them were very interesting and fresh.
Probably a hint towards where the future of shopping is moving. This got me thinking about the elder generation who managed to complete their service without using these magical machines called computers and are relatively new to the idea of smart phones and internet dominating every sphere of life now - like the dad who is surprised at his son paying a bill through this phone. Although the idea of "sending photo on internet" and "Skype" are pretty common terms in households these days, the fact that something as personal as shopping which earlier involved checking, trying, bargaining and paying has all moved into this one window called internet is probably a major leap for a few of them yet.
It is like the Probability related chapters of Class XI which I had missed back then and never really understood the heads or tails of it how much ever I tried. And imagine me facing a test with all the questions on these topics and without a choice!! I would guess some of the elders would be facing a similar situation. Having missed the evolution of the computers, once complex and costly to even try to learn, into these omnipotent pocket sized interfaces to the world outside, they sure would be perplexed at the way these devices have changed the way we live and feel they should have been part of this evolution. Just like I wish I had attended those chapters.
It sure is one great ride for some of them, who hadn't seen electricity until they were adults. More power to them!
And by the way, on the 51st coin toss, what is the probability of a heads? Is it 1/2 or 1/2*50/51 or something even complex? Let's Google!
This year was no different, except, it was different, and in a novel way.
4 out of 5 ads on TV this Diwali were from e-commerce sites. From clothes to electronics to furniture to accessories, e-commerce ads dominated the Diwali scene this year and I would say some of them were very interesting and fresh.
Probably a hint towards where the future of shopping is moving. This got me thinking about the elder generation who managed to complete their service without using these magical machines called computers and are relatively new to the idea of smart phones and internet dominating every sphere of life now - like the dad who is surprised at his son paying a bill through this phone. Although the idea of "sending photo on internet" and "Skype" are pretty common terms in households these days, the fact that something as personal as shopping which earlier involved checking, trying, bargaining and paying has all moved into this one window called internet is probably a major leap for a few of them yet.
It is like the Probability related chapters of Class XI which I had missed back then and never really understood the heads or tails of it how much ever I tried. And imagine me facing a test with all the questions on these topics and without a choice!! I would guess some of the elders would be facing a similar situation. Having missed the evolution of the computers, once complex and costly to even try to learn, into these omnipotent pocket sized interfaces to the world outside, they sure would be perplexed at the way these devices have changed the way we live and feel they should have been part of this evolution. Just like I wish I had attended those chapters.
It sure is one great ride for some of them, who hadn't seen electricity until they were adults. More power to them!
And by the way, on the 51st coin toss, what is the probability of a heads? Is it 1/2 or 1/2*50/51 or something even complex? Let's Google!
