Sudakshina Bhattacharjee's Blog

A big Hello to you all!

Global vs Local Content As the Internet has enabled businesses to trade from all corners of the world, the focus for digital marketers is to have a content strategy that not only recognises where the users are accessing the website from [thanks to geo-ip] but to also provide the content about products and services in […]

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Following on from a blog post that I had written back in 2016 on the type of Social Media Conundrums that we as users face, I thought I would end this year with a blog post that looks on from what has improved and what hasn’t, but this time with a B2B and B2C user […]

The post 2017 – The Year That Was in Social Media appeared first on Sudakshina (Kina) Bhattacharjee.

Chances are, you write for a living and find yourselves navigating through the differences between writing news stories and writing marketable content. Whether you’re a journalist transitioning to the world of digital content marketing (again, like myself) or a budding copywriter, or a marketing communications professional, or even a voracious consumer of digital content who […]

The post What Lies Beneath Genuine Content appeared first on Sudakshina (Kina) Bhattacharjee.

Greetings Dear Blogworms,

I hope you’ve had a great summer as have we down here in Britain…it may have come late, but it did arrive and as they say, better late than never and all that jazz!

As Autumn knocks on our doors and the general global sense of getting back to work meanders its way in slowly and surely, I am planning on doing two Important Things:

Give my digital home, i.e. my website, i.e. sudakshinakina.com a little makeover. I am currently putting plans together and if you do see the site unavailable now and again, please do not be alarmed and know that work is being done to come back better and smarter.
Vent my recent rant over a few issues that I have experienced – or seen others experience – with our forever uppity and experimental social media channels through this blog post.

Funny, most of us thought that the Brexit issue would be resolved by us voting in the EU referendum on Thursday 23rd June 2016.

Indeed, a whopping 72% of the eligible electorate turned out to vote in this momentous political event.

And indeed again, the result that followed in the early hours of Friday morning has shown us that 52% out of this 72% had voted in favour of Brexit.

So, according to this result, we should be leaving the European Union.

But are we, really?

Well, as frustrating as it may sound, we are going to have to wait and see what our elected leaders and suitably qualified diplomats are going to do with regards to whether Brexit is going to happen  – or not.

What I can sense though is the following:

This sense of flabbergast has overwhelmed much of the country, leading to panic, chaos and even racial abuse.
The Sterling is bobbing up and down, the financial markets are in a frenzy and the UK has been stripped off its coveted AAA rating by one of the credit agencies.
The Labour party is in tatters – well its shadow cabinet is what with their leader not backing down despite everyone telling him to do so for the nation’s sake. Do we need such shamelessness right now?
Cameron has resigned from his role as the nation’s Prime Minister and his fellow colleagues are not sure when to express their much-harboured interest in replacing him.
While some of the UK’s mainstream media is providing coverage that is heavily skewed to the angle of “Look what you’ve got us into” aimed at those who have voted to leave the EU.  I tweeted the following observation and am glad to see that it has struck a chord with many [at the time of writing this]:

Brexit: What’s all the fuss about?

We need some perspective here, so let’s focus on what this malarkey called Brexit is seeming to bring about:

By exiting the EU, we aren’t likely to have to free entry into the other member-states and neither can they come to the UK as freely either. Yes, this is restrictive and yes it would be mad to even think that we can leave the EU and still be able to retain free movement within the EU – then what difference does it really make? What was the point of hosting and voting in this referendum then? A ‘duh’ moment by a certain Lead Leave Campaigner and PM-hopeful candidate for sure.

Will this have a positive impact on our immigration numbers? We don’t know as yet, but could it put less pressure on our public services? Possibly.
House prices are bound to fall – yay, for those of us who are trying to get on to the property ladder! It should help rent to go down too, hopefully.
Has Brexit created fractures within the UK? Well, over the EU it has, but does that mean all those who voted for the UK to leave the bloc are racist bigots? No! Does it mean that those who voted for the UK to remain in the bloc aren’t merely out to protect their own interests? Hmm…
Given the that difference between the two sides to the vote is pretty narrow, shouldn’t everyone’s voting preference be respected here?

What I think:

Frankly, the whole “Brexit = bad and Remain = good”angle is a myth that much of the mainstream media, some politicians and businesses want us to believe not for our own good, but for theirs.

There is no right or wrong answer to this, nor are there finite outcomes that we can presently foretell.

We’ll have to wait it out calmly and rationally and stop trying to brainwash and propagandise.

 

The post To Brexit – or Not? appeared first on Sudakshina (Kina) Bhattacharjee.

Greetings to you, Dear Blogworms!

Spring is just around the corner and is about to knock our doors, down here in the United Kingdom, where the weather has such an affect on us all, you’d think we’ve all got severe mood swings or something!

Greetings, Dear Blogworms!

When you find yourself busy but alone, your mind wonders and ponders. Well, by ‘you’ I mean mine actually.

My mind wonders and ponders over a lot of things, some trivial and some introspective; some silly and some more grave.

My husband and I have moved to Oxford a month before Christmas, bringing in yet another new phase in my life, another change of location, another chance to renew my perspective on everything.

While this move is not as colossal or romantic as moving to Kolkata has been, it doesn’t mean that no impact has happened.

I’m getting used to the quietness, the politeness, the gentleness and the slow-and-steadiness that Oxonian life can be – and I could get used to it.

I like the fact that the heart of the city is home to some fantastic bookshops where bookworms from around the world throng and rejoice in the eclectic, literary environs, steeped in history and brimming with intellectual vigour.

I am humbled and proud that this is one city in the UK where my textbook: Improve Your Global Business English is selling quite well, according to the bookshop managers. So, thank you Oxford, very much indeed.

However, all said and done, I miss London though.  And Hounslow – for all its roughness – will always be home for me.

Smirk all you want, I know this warrants it, but this is how I feel.

I know I have ranted about some of the woes that living and commuting in London can bring – and I stand by what I’ve said.

I guess it’s just one of those things, you know, things you don’t realise you have until they’re gone.

Yes, I know I can jump on a train or coach and go into London any time I want, it isn’t that far from my now adopted home or anything.

But I don’t live in London any more…and so it’s just not the same.

I’m hoping those of you who hold a city really dear will know what I am trying to convey here.

I’m a city girl through and through…whatever that means!

 

The post The City Girl appeared first on Sudakshina (Kina) Bhattacharjee.

When it comes to Facebook, I have reached a point where my perspective on it has divided into two halves.

On the one hand, I’m thinking:

Oh no, Facebook, what have you done?

Most of the people who I called ‘friends’ have turned into lazy, nosey busybodies because of you!
They can’t be bothered to talk on the phone, never mind meeting up. 
All they are after is Likes, Shares and Comments on their endless, sometimes mind-numbing and too-personal photos.
They have even stopped saying ‘Hi…How are you doing?’ on the messenger service. The only time I get to hear from them is when social media reminds them about my birthday. And when I thank them and ask how they are, I usually get no reply. I think that’s RUDE!
If I invite people to an event, some click ‘Accept’but then don’t turn up and don’t even bother to explain why they didn’t turn up! I think this is VERY RUDE! There is a “Can’t Go” button, people,  use it! If you’re afraid to upset the inviter then you need to rethink the premise of your relationship with them, but otherwise, they shouldn’t really mind if you can’t go, provided you have a valid reason. I know I wouldn’t!
If I had to count who my real friends were, I’d have about 10 people on my Friends list. There’s hardly much contact with the rest, so what’s the point of being on it then?”

But is it Facebook’s fault, or is it the ‘friends’ in question?

Because, on the other hand, I’m also thinking:

Is it actually about how we are using Facebook?

“Is it the medium or the message? Is it the mirror or the beholder?

Mind you, this opens a whole new can of worms, such as:

Is it just my set of ‘friends’ who behave like this?
Should I really keep them on my list?
Does any of this actually matter?
Should we take Facebook seriously – or not?

For me, personally, if it weren’t for Facebook:

I wouldn’t have met my husband
I wouldn’t have been able to write chapters on social media in a globally published textbook,
I wouldn’t have gotten into content marketing
I wouldn’t have been able to connect and keep in touch with some people who I really care for – and who do the same for me, but who live in different parts of the planet.

But, but, but… if it also weren’t for Facebook:

I wouldn’t have found out who really cares for me and who’s just my ‘friend’ so that they can be nosy and keep a catty eye on what I’m up to by following my posts.
I wouldn’t have met some utter jerks
I wouldn’t get so peeved by the way we all behave on Facebook.
I wouldn’t get so peeved by the blur that is our News Feed/Homepage/Timeline or whatever they’re gonna call it next, with the mishmash of business promotions and endless pictures of mums with their babies, sorry, I mean, social status updates.

In other words, IF Facebook were to close down, would we be at a loss? What about those who aren’t on Facebook, are they still in touch with people across the globe and if so, how much of an effort are they putting into such relationships – probably a lot more, I should think.

In a pre-Facebook world, we would either a) take the time and make the effort to stay in touch with far-flung relatives, friends and associates, or b) lose touch for good.

However, what we are now doing is using Facebook as a ruse to watch what people we know are doing and saying, but putting less and less effort into caring for them. A mere click on the ‘Like’ button seems to be now deemed enough – comments are not even typed in unless it’s something that needs to be vehemently expressed.

How lazy and nosy have we all become, eh?!

 

The post Life With and Without Facebook appeared first on Sudakshina (Kina) Bhattacharjee.

I wrote this poem a year back and chanced upon it while going through my files…as you do. It’s called ‘Ensconced’ and I think this will resonate with most of us. I’d be interested to know your take on this. Do you agree, or disagree? Or more importantly, how ensconced are you in your life? Let’s be a little philosophical this month, dear Blogworms.

Poem: “Ensconced”

Sure, we all inhabit the one and same planet

But, we live in our own little worlds,

Ensconced.

We try so hard to present ourselves

In ways that are unique, are our own

And that would make us stand out.

But we needn’t bother,

As we make up our own stories

On whosoever we encounter.

It doesn’t matter what we say,

Or what we do,

Nor, does it matter

 How cogent the evidence we present is;

For we’ll believe what we want to believe in,

As we don’t trust ourselves,

Or, trust others –

Let alone believe in them.

We go by what we see,

What we feel,

And what we think –

The rest is all spiel.

We embrace those we hate

And scowl at those we love

For reasons known to

The heavens above!

We flock in crowds

To feel belonged,

To lessen the emptiness,

That clings on…

And on…

And on.

Sure, we all inhabit the one and same planet

But, we choose to live in our own little worlds,

Ensconced.

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