Tiny Prints = Big Impact

This post is long overdue, per usual.

This summer during my 'down time' (whatever that means), I came across and amazing place that has what I think will revolutionize the greeting cards market. For those who think Hallmark is still the place, please catchup. For those who think you are hip because you now do "online greetings" please can you be any less personal??

For those who are able to see where this is going... that is right, I am about to introduce you to a whole new type of greeting card: Tiny Prints Greeting Cards.

They are awesome, and their impact is not Tiny. In three easy steps (perhaps more steps the more creative you are) you can 1. choose a card 2. add photos and some personal text 3. ship the card directly to the recipient via US postal service (for only $0.34 or whatever the going rate is).

Voila - you just made your mom cry, your boyfriend smile, or your friend hug you (please note these cards are not limited to stated market segments).

I encourage you to check-out these cards, as I think they are the way to go. In addition, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season -- they also have holiday cards which are also pretty stellar.

Check them out: http://www.tinyprints.com/!

My Sample:

Safety Seriously.

If you fly on planes regularly (choose your own definition), by now you have probably stopped paying attention to the safety demonstrations that come on while you are taxing to the runway... well I do anyways (if you are judging me, stop) until my trip to Bodrum, Turkey.

On my way from Istanbul to Bodrum, I flew Pegasus Airlines. I was about to close my eyes and hopefully fall asleep, when I heard a cute British accent over the intercom. To my surprise I looked up to find the most BRILLIANT (and cute) safety demonstration video. If there is a way to keep my attention (and probably many others) Pegasus found a way to do. Kudos Pegasus!

Check it out:



Btw, the Turkish version is super cute too:

As a side note, Pegasus offers super cheap tickets intra-Turkey, and their flights are great, so I would totally recommend them.

Brella...um.

This post is inspired by a purchase I made while visiting Rajasthan, India:

Yes, I bought an Umbrella. Not just any umbrella, an anthropologie-ish umbrella (it was love at first sight). A sunbrella if you will... In anycase, as soon as I bought the umbrella Rihanna's umbrella..ella..ella..a started playing in my head. And I thought, I wonder how many songs in the world revolve around umbrellas... so this post is dedicated to some songs that pay tribute to, well, the umbrella!

Enjoy (contains videos)!

1. It is only natural to have the first video be for a song that ruled the LA nightclub scene in the summer of 2007:
2. The second song, recorded by Lee Morse -a famous American Jazz and Blue Singer-was recorded in the late 1920's (the fact that a song about Umbrella's was written in the 1920's got me wondering about the origins of the word 'Umbrella' so here it is - The word umbrella comes from the Latin word umbra, meaning shade or shadow; the term was popularized in the 16th century, but I'm not sure when people switched from using Parasol to the word Umbrella- back to the song, check-it:
3. Okay this one is not exactly about Umbrellas, but it does highlight another one of my favorites: cartoons! This was directed by Bernard Derriman and he currently directs the PBS series "Big Green Rabbit":
4. Going Bollywood: This post wouldn't be complete without some international flair, so here is a song about a blue umbrella (Chatri in Hindi) that is from the move "The Blue Umbrella"; in case you want to know more about the film - The Blue Umbrella :

Mashup - FunFacts.

(Contains Videos)

Last week, I helped facilitate a lecture on Global Etiquette at the Ahmedabad Management Association (across from IIM). Instead of giving a lecture that revolved around a list of "DOs and DON'Ts" in other countries, we decided to help 40 MBA students from Mumbai understand that Global Etiquette simply (or not so simply, if you are socially awkward) requires being people savvy, perceptive, and adaptable. Although we attempted to use slideshows/fun-facts/panel discussions to help get the point across, we failed (miserably). These students have apparently been handed a list their entire life of "DO's and DON'Ts" and putting them in an environment which required them to draw their own conclusions and voice their own opinions was well... just dumb on our part. In any case, I learned a couple of cool things (from Prof Ram Kumar) during this attempt at sparking insight:

1. Bhutan would be an awesome place to visit, but the country limits the number of tourists to 5,000 per year and requires that you spend a minimum of $200 a day while you are there.
2. The logo for Chupa Chups (in case you are confused as to what a Chupa Chup is: It Ain't the Butterfly, It's the Chupa Chup) was created by Salvador Dali. It hasn't changed since its inception in 1969.
3. There are tribes in Africa known as "Cargo Cults" whose ancestors potentially came in contact with planes during WWII, and have mimicked the idea of an airport using straw and other raw materials, in an effort to get planes to return. Their inability to understand modern technology has led them to believe that creating this environment and worshipping/praying to straw planes will help them return.

On an unrelated note... how do you teach creativity and innovation to a group of people who have been spoon fed exactly what to do your their entire lives? Sigh.