The new age piggybacking- ride some popularity on an idea (Just Kolavering on to nothing)

It so happens that times change but the urge in people to gravitate towards a common thought doesn't. The nuances change, ideas come dressed in a new garb,a large gathering usually follows an idea generally deemed acceptable, regardless who preaches it or to where the conclusions point. I'm saying this to make my point of the insanely popular song that became a fad as a result of re-sharing it. Yes I am talking of "Kolaveri di" by Dhanush

I distinctly recall the time when I was in my schooling days and idols of Lord Ganesha mysteriously started sucking water through their tiny trunks.Evident from accounts in the press and television,this began in Delhi and spread rapidly throughout the country-people thronged to temples with canisters of milk and songs praising the almighty;the simple concepts of surface tension and capillary action were given a back seat and obscurantism adored. Scientists, after rigorous research have attributed that it was all but a Logical Fallacy: Appeal to Belief and Popularity.
The other noteworthy feature of this manifestation was its distinctly urban character. The incidents spread to all major metropolitan centres and significant numbers of the educated middle class were definitely among those who allowed themselves to be carried away.

This is not so different from the posts that get insanely popular or those that get re-tweeted and re-shared.A person subjects his opinion to certain amount of redressal, and poises it in such a way that it has an implicit premise behind it. In a social medium that craves for 'Like's, '+1's,'number of view's,and reshare numbers, plagiarism of ideas has become morally accepted (and better, a fad :-D)
The Kolaveri di song that went viral within minutes of it being leaked is no exception to this phenomenon. The music giant Sony too thought it prudent to make the leak an official release and claim that the song had been promoted well by Sony Music.Market went in to a marketing fury and started selling tee shirts with funny puns of the song; Kolaveri became the most wanted karaoke song and people started making it the theme song to contexts ranging from a politician bash-up to spoofs on laughter sitcoms. In short, "Why this Kolaveri di" became a colloquial for "Who is John Galt" :-D

Actor Dhanush himself, who scripted down the song to pacify a disgruntled Shruti Hassan is clueless as to what in the song made it so catchy. Which in turn describes the trend's strength, that an idea if gets exhibited in the right medium with a little strategy would be escalated to new heights and would gain momentum to become a fad, rather than a piece of news. Innovative showcasing of messages is making it possible for users to gain popularity by taking credit for others' work. The credit they reap by piggybacking onto others work is justifiable too: the showcasing is what added value and flavor to the work and made it art.
Think of it this way - a person's ability to popularize something as mundane as a bilingual nursery rhyme through viral marketing is no mean feat

Tools for drawing statistics are being developed to capture the trends of such nature, post their happening. Is there a way to predict hot spots where the "next big thing" could happen and build a tool around it? Food for thought :-)

Tons of soil for Sons of toil :-D

Its been quite a while since I felt I could go and shake a tower! It was mostly go and take a shower
I just received my first award at my company, which necessitated this blog to be written.
Yes.
All that s*#@ we heard in the b@#$%y HR class is true.
It DOES feel good to be appreciated for your efforts :-D

Even if you are given a heap of soil (sincerely and gratefully)for your toil, it just feels great :-)

Well, here I go, back to my work, with renewed enthusiasm and endeavor

- Sarath Chandra
Research analyst,
Empower Research,
Bangalore