But Saif Ali Khan proved me wrong on all counts. He turned out to be a thorough professional.

Khan was very ‘corporate’ in his demeanour, taking us in for the interview as soon as we got there, giving us candid answers about his experiences as a first-time producer with “Love Aaj Kal”, being open about his relationship with Kareena Kapoor and making no bones about us appearing unannounced with a camera.

Perhaps Khan’s most interesting response was when we asked him about working with other production houses after he has worked on his own.

Khan compared it to a ‘dinner party’.

Working in your own production is like hosting a dinner, he said, while working in other films is like being a guest at somebody else’s party where you pick up tips (or not) for your next do...

All of these dinner party ‘hosts’ and their ‘guests’ have their idiosyncrasies when dealing with the press. But the deciding factor has to be their standing on the popularity charts.

Case in point- the otherwise reticent and media-unfriendly Saif Ali Khan. He had a lot to say during the interview and was surprisingly comfortable talking to us -- I call this the success effect.

Do you think success makes celebrities more media-savvy?

"What an idea, Sirji," says a beaming Abhishek Bachchan, appearing as the politician's tech-savvy secretary in the popular TV campaign for mobile operator Idea Cellular.

'What an idea' indeed if people across India can vote for candidates via SMS in the April/May general election.

India is the fastest growing telecom market in the world -- why can't one vote via SMS? 

If I can transfer money or check my bank balance using my mobile phone, is voting-via-SMS impossible?

"Any mechanism used for electoral voting should ensure equal access for all," says analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta.

"Voting is the one moment when we are all equal in democracy," he adds.

Well yes, but in a country where over 700 million people are eligible to vote and more than half that number have access to mobile phones (375 million according to TRAI data), wouldn't a voting-on-the-go option also help counter voter apathy.

Rajat Mukarji, head of Corporate Affairs at Idea Cellular, agrees.

Voting via SMS "on a principal level is within the realm of possibility as long as unique voter identities can be established," says Mukarji.

If a proper screening process is put in place, the SMS vote can be a valid tool for democracy in India. After all, millions of Indians do use SMSes to decide the fate of reality show contestants on various TV channels.

As for voter apathy, appeals by Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and that incessant 'Jaago Re' ad exhorting people to exercise their franchise have worked. At least for me.

I have got myself registered to vote, taking time to analyse which candidate will be the recipient of my precious ballot. 

Technology is certainly aiding me. Blogs and YouTube videos from candidates keep me informed about their campaign strategies and Google's India election center keeps me in the loop about my constituency. 

Now all I have to do is cast my vote. Why can't I vote via SMS? Am I asking for too much?

Obama aka ‘the digital candidate’ left no stone unturned in the race to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. For a man who managed to draw crowds in tens of thousands wherever he spoke, Obama realized early in his campaign that his message of 'change' had to spread well beyond Democrats and the undecided voters. He wanted America's youth to be on board and he ensured they did.

He reached out to them by making himself accessible online. Obama used Web 2.0 with a passion, engaging and interacting with them on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and also used new platforms like podcasts, online video and text messages to get his message across.

So, is there a lesson there for Indian politicians, especially the younger lot led by Rahul Gandhi?

Rahul and his team of young Congress leaders like Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia are known to data-mine and number crunch to understand their support bases. Even the BJP's Arun Jaitley is said to maintain an extensive data base of electorates and voting patterns in states and constituencies.

Some of them have Facebook groups dedicated to them, but none with more than 500 supporters- a pittance in comparison to Obama’s three million.

Are Indian politicians missing out on an opportunity at a time when voter apathy is only growing? There are actually messages on Rahul Gandhi's Facebook group page (which has less than 100 members) where a member has requested him to log on so they can interact with him.

So why not organize their appeal for votes in a more effective manner?

Not only will they be reaching out to an enormous and often untapped vote bank, (India has about 50 million internet users according to a Research and Markets report) but they will also be able to build a database which can prove invaluable in the future.

Obama went as far as hiring Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook as his online campaign strategist.

I'm not sure if Mr. Hughes will be available for the Indian general elections, but isn’t a future Prime Minister ready to take his campaign online?

]]> http://blogs.reuters.com/india/?p=371/feed/ http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2008/10/01/formula-one-singapore-sets-a-high-standard-for-india/ http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2008/10/01/formula-one-singapore-sets-a-high-standard-for-india/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:26:48 +0000 Sakshi Didwania http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2008/10/01/formula-one-singapore-sets-a-high-standard-for-india/ I have to admit I am not a Formula One fan but I did jump to the offer of going to Singapore for the floodlit race and am I glad I went! The experience of watching a race live is incomparable to what you get on television especially since this one was a night street-race and an Indian team was competing (Never mind the fact that one of the team's drivers crashed out mid way and the other ended the race in the last spot.)

As a non-F1 enthusiast it was only when I was at the race that I learned how much the team matters in a sport that seems like a one-man show. It is the mechanics, the analysts and the managers that make or break the race for the team driver. A case in point is top qualifier Felipe Massa who lost his lead in the race because he was given an incorrect green signal while he was in the pit refueling and drove off with the fuel pipe in his car only to drive back and lose those precious seconds.

Hysteria apart, the Grand Prix showed the tiny city-country of Singapore's unbelievable capability to host 300,000 people over three days with impeccable organization, top security and an entertainment appeal... It had some like me pledging to come back for more!

The attention to detail was immaculate. An otherwise dull and plastic city infested with bankers and professionals, managed to come of its own displaying a festive spirit for one of their biggest weekends to date.

What impressed me about the event was undoubtedly the organizational skill of the Singaporeans. There were plenty of English speaking staff directing you with a wide smile on their faces, young locals cheering you on as you left the venue, well demarcated gates and public transport to take you to your gate, a Singapore Sling bar to give you a local experience and most importantly - punctuality.

Monaco which also has a street circuit is considered the glitz and glamor capital of the world and a tall order for our Asian brothers to match up to. But I have to say, Singapore managed to reach the bar and set it higher for the rest of the countries organizing F1 races in the near future!

Singapore has undeniably set an example that needs to be matched and improved upon... Now the million dollar question is- will India be able to pull it off in 2011?

Downloadable GPS, games, AIM, Facebook on the go and of course 24-hour access to the iTunes store are just some of its pluses, but at 30,000 rupees (give or take a few hundred) for the 8GB model, the iPhone certainly doesn't come cheap.

Slight problem though. Added applications are great on a phone that provides basic features like message and business card forwarding and video recording.

Unfortunately, these very basic features are not available on Steve Jobs' latest offering as default.

Chayan Hazra, 30, is one iPhone owner who says he is willing to switch brands if something better comes up.

"If Nokia comes up with a phone that allows you to download applications and has a touch screen I will switch to it in a heartbeat because I know it will have all the basic features that I have become accustomed to in addition to these cool new apps," he said.

Hazra fits right into mobile service provider Airtel's category of "Achievers - young working, corporate professionals," a target segment for the iPhone.

An Airtel spokesperson said they are also focussing on the "Funster segment" -- tech-savvy individuals between the ages 18-35.

But for 20-something Soheil Engineer, his newly-acquired iPhone 3G doesn't really live up to its name since 3G technology is yet to make an entry in India.

"I want to be able to live stream my favourite television shows on my phone while I am on the move," he said.

That left me wondering. Just how many people are interested in the iPhone?

Both Vodafone Essar and Bharti Airtel, the two iPhone 3G retailers in India, are not revealing how many of the much-hyped smartphones have been sold in India since its launch last month.

A grey market dealer in Mumbai said he has sold 25-30 iPhones in two weeks and uses one himself.

I am sure that's not good news for Apple... Unless they reduce the price by at least 10,000 rupees and India heralds in 3G technology, I certainly won't buy one. Would you?