So when I started, I was more relieved than happy (not downsizing the happiness factor). I felt somebody discovered me literally and that’s always a great feeling. To keep an exploring eye on a workforce (“employee” maybe too flat) every time is even more remarkable. I can relish in that because I believe in being fruitful in whatever way I can be.

I have traveled in all corners of the workplace, teamed up with different guys on different assignments and done different things I essentially enjoyed doing. If I haven’t enjoyed any, it has definitely been noted. I blogged remarkably after coming to iridium Interactive. I explored JQuery too at Iridium. I got to visit Google in my living flesh after I joined iridium Interactive. Definitely, the dot they put the dot on was in my psyche.

I have seen those distinct “circles” forming in the social sphere (some of which I have tried to fit in) within the workforce. On the lighter side aside from work, there still maybe more listeners than performers, a gap which maybe bridging fast. Besides, I am finding good old bachelors waning into their new-found family lives. It had to happen and I know that well.

Currently, I am recovering from all attempts to produce satisfaction if not happiness, and spreading my stuff on the table for the world to choose from. I should be feeling like a beginner somewhere after aging and probably maturing to whatever limit I have. That’s because only a fresh plate is served generously into.

I love iridium Interactive to be honest. I sincerely wish I could contribute ever more from my pool of skills and potential to this company.

But, i am very thankful to Siddharth, the formed Head of Design, for making me sit beside him and teaching me how to do “html coding”. he helped e understand a lot about technology. I am thankful to Ram for trusting me and gave me an opportunity to learn and implementing the sites on wordpress. Now I really started “enjoying my work”.

Till today i worked almost with everyone, Bharathi Maam, Sriram Sir, Sreekanth Sir, Nayak Sir, Siddharth, Pavan Anna…. and also Sallu, Sailesh, Ravi and Chandana. I have learned a lot and they all supported me in completing the projects. Thanks to All and my Special Thanks to Pavan Anna and Siddharth.

I just want to say that iridium is a good platform to start a career and i am “PROUD TO BE AN IRIDIUMITE”!

In this happy moment I want to share my experience here at iridium with you all. I joined iridium 2 years ago as a graphic designer, and after 6 months I shifted into the web design team. The first 6 months went by in fun and laughter and then I started to face a struggle. At that time my teamleader was Siddharth Jagannath. When ever i asked a doubt to Sid, he’d say “nak evaru nerpincharu, nen cheyatamle, nuv kuda ante nerchuko” [Nobody taught me, I learnt by myself and you should also do the same]….hahahha At that time those words were disturbed me a lot…and now i am here because of those inspiring words from Sid. Those words played a very crucial innings for me in my career, and helped me explore and add a lot of colour to my experience.

Since that time, I have been fortunate to work with almost everyone on the floor in the Hyderabad office. I learned a lot lot from everyone especially Nayak, Sreekanth, Bharathi, Ram and Sriram. They were very helpful and supportive…motivated me many times. Now working hands on on the SME and banking projects which we have, I am gaining a lot of international exposure for which I am very grateful.

The scope of learning is huge and I would recommend that anyone who wants to join should apply with closed eyes as they will definitely learn a lot. Cheers to iridium!

In all this iridiumiites were truly doing their bit. The tricolor adorned the cheeks. Every 4 and 6 was like a giant leap taken and the room was filled with slogans like c’mon India go for it and bleed blue…..!! a pictoral tribute will well speak how much we adore this game and the Indian Team.. Finally the dream is over for the Pakis’ the team blue made them bleed through the reality. Hope they have got their reality check now….!!!! The Cup belongs to India and with this semi-final win it seems like a bonus that we will be proud to show off!

On March 14 this year the birth anniversary of iridium was celebrated with much fanfare at the office. A list of over 600 employees past and  present was displayed in the main hall and cake cutting was followed by experience sharing by Ms Bharathi Bharatam, who along with Sriram Bharatam has been with the company as the founding team right from the beginning. This is an especially proud day for us and we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been associated with iridium through these years. Here’s hoping that we will remain associated and continue to scale the heights of success for the years to come!

Mr Vinod cutting the 11th anniversary cake

The list of employees who helped make iridium the name it is today

MPs checking their constituency data with Juliet Gateri, Business Manager of iridium Kenya

Taking governance online

iridium has conceptualized, designed and developed the Innovative ESP Monitoring & Reporting platform and portal in a record 6 weeks time.The website is a critical component of Kenya’s Economic Stimulus Program functioning as a framework to monitor, evaluate and report on the progress of the ESP projects. The objective of Kenya’s Economic Stimulus Program is to jumpstart Kenya’s economy through investments in long term solutions to better Kenya’s economic situation. The ESP focuses on empowering Kenyans with education, provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities and promote regional development. The website covers all aspects of the program dealing with Government interventions in Education, Public health, Food, Water, Irrigation, Fresh Produce Markets, Fisheries and Industrialization. The website thus allows visitors to track the usage of resources and understand what the Government is doing to overcome the recession’s effects and the impact of these efforts on Kenya.

Uhuru Kenyatta declaring the Kenya ESP website 'Live'

iridium has worked closely with the Kenyan ESP team to deliver a website that not only covers all these aspects but provides viewers an easy to use interface by which they can understand the Government’s efforts and leverage the opportunities presented. The ESP website and GIS system have been designed as a system that promotes openness, objectivity, transparency and efficiency. By combining these with other aspects of the internet, the ESP portal provides the Kenyan Government a potent tool to communicate with citizens and deliver better governance. The innovative system drills down to constituency and project levels and allows citizens to know all the projects that are underway and on the anvil. It allows visitors to assess the impact of the measures, gives them the contact co-ordinates of the legislators from their constituencies and arms them with the information to know how effective their leaders are. The ESP website thus creates an ecosystem of accountability and transparency by keeping every stakeholder, from citizens to public servants, in the loop of communication. By combining the tool with social networking and other real time communication tools, the ESP website also helps foster communication and informs people about opportunities for growth, entrepreneurship and learning.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, reviewing the portal with Sriram Bharatam

I personally believe that the usage of technologies such as GIS mapping and collaborative tools to increase the reach of this information will go a long way in helping deliver better governance. It takes considerable effort to collect data about developmental projects being performed across a country and presenting them in an easy to use interface that can help citizens understand what their Government is doing for them. The pathbreaking work done by the Kenyan Government in shaking off the shackles of the recession are laudable and even more so is their spirit in engaging iridium Interactive and Google Kenya to develop a tool that lets any of Kenya’s 39 million citizens to monitor the progress of the stimulus program and thus improves accountability and transparency.
The Economic Stimulus Programme website was declared Live by Uhuru Kenyatta a few hours ago and we are proud to be associated with the Government of Kenya in this pioneering venture.

The launch was covered extensively by the Kenyan press who believe the tool could definitely have a positive impact on monitoring the status of Kenya’s Economic Stimulus Programme.

You can read the coverage in:

1. Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation
2. Standard Media
3. Business Daily Africa
4. Daily Nation
5. Capital FM

1. Increase awareness
2. Raise funding
3. Increase volunteering

In this post, we will focus on trying to using techniques we feel have worked for iridium’s clients and give you working principles of what you should concentrate on to raise awareness for your cause.

Increasing awareness

As social media continues to dominate internet timespend, it is but obvious that this is a channel you need to capitalize on and increase your reach at minimal cost. However, as NGOs occupy a major chunk of social media space it becomes necessary for you to not just differentiate but also have a much more interesting and involved approach towards social media engagement. Opening a facebook and a twitter account, pestering your network to like the page or to follow your twitter handle, although essential isn’t the be all end all of things. Here are three simple principles for you to follow:

The messaging:

Your product is as good as your message. Short or long, it must communicate something to your users, fans and viewers. Updates thus are the point where you either get shared or hidden or get your page unliked. Someone who likes your page would obviously be looking to learn more about your cause and you should try to keep your updates in line with this. Communicate what you want to but ensure that your tone is conversational and maintains the standard you have started with. Use a lot of videos and pictures which communicate your message directly with the minimum lag in understanding. Not only will your message get watched, read or viewed, it also has a higher likelihood of being shared which is what actually contributes to enhanced reach.

The engagement:

Speak to your fans. Let no comment/post go unreplied to. This helps build a rapport with your fans and can be a pleasant surprise to them when you speak to them in a friendly way. Without becoming intrusive, stay connected with your fans and engage them. Keep a cheerful tone and stay at it!

Social plugins:

Get a facebook like box, get a twibbon, get a youtube channel and spread the word. The more places that you garner social sharing, the more chances of you increasing your reach and spreading awareness to a greater demographic.

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.

punni ki kahaniyan

Aide et Action-South Asia along with its Social Media Partner, iridium Interactive and Print partner, The Hindu launched Punni ki Kahaniyan, a Short Film series about Multi Culturalism at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad on 26th October 2010. The initiative of Punni ki Kahaniyaan is aimed at fostering the values of multiculturalism and promoting cultural harmony in children by helping them understand other cultures through short films talking on these subjects. ‘Punni’ is the animated narrator of the ‘Punni Ki Kahaniyan’, that acts both as a narrator and observer in the Films.

iridium Interactive, as the Social Media Partner has been associated with Aide et Action right from conceptualizing the online branding of Punni to the launch of the film series. Tireless efforts have been put to bring in identity to Punni in the social media. Punni has been promoted in the Social Media circles by a wide range of activities on Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Twibbons, News Portals and a whole range of other Social Media initiatives.

Sriram Bharatam, CEO and Founder, iridiumInteractive and Sania Mirza at the launch event

The launch event comprised of an audience of over 1,200 enthusiastic children from over 30 schools in Hyderabad and they sure added a lot of enthusiasm to the proceedings! The enthusiasm of the children was palpable as they clapped and sang right from the prayer song till the end of the launch, adding immense zest and energy to the proceedings. The screening was preceded by messages of multiculturalism to the children by Ravi Pratap Singh, Regional Director, AEAI South Asia, P. Ranga Reddy, Regional General Manager, The Hindu, Rajiva Wijesinha, MP from Sri Lanka and Ganesh Devi, Educationist. All the Speakers drove across the point of multi culturalism in their own ways. While Ravi Pratap Singh narrated his childhood experiences, Rajiva Wijesinha amazingly compared multi culturalism with a bouquet of flowers. He said “The bouquet looks good because of many flowers, but what makes the bouquet beautiful is that the flowers are of many colors”, thereby driving home the need to recognize ethnic diversity.

What followed later was the screening of the first film in the series of Punni Ki Kahaniyan which was cheered by the children amidst loud whistles and claps. Post the screening Sania Mirza, the Indian Tennis Star talked on how Sports does not recognize differences in language, religion or color. She added that she is humbled by the fact that she gets to play for the Nation and that she wishes that every child gets to serve the Nation in their own way.

Sriram Bharatam of iridium Interactive narrated a very interesting story that stressed on the need for children to look beyond their boundaries and actively explore new things. His story drove home the morals of Cultural acceptance, shunning the herd mentality and realize their true potential. His account of his childhood experiences helped children connect with him. RP Patnaik, music director, also echoed the same sentiments and sang ‘Saare jahan se achcha’ which the children happily participated in.

Saniz Mirza, Sriram Bharatam and RP Patnaik presented accolades to the children who were the cast of Punni Ki Kahaniyan.

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.

Aide et Action [South Asia], an organization working to empower people by providing quality education to all, has launched an initiative called Punni Ki Kahaniyan, a series of short films that uses the voice of a young girl to tell children stories built around the values of multiculturalism, communal harmony and education. The first of the series, an 18 minute film, shows children the bright side of cultural harmony and the pitfalls of ragging, bullying and racism. By showcasing the varied cultures that represent India through the eyes of schoolchildren, the film is a teaching aid that also opens the eyes of adults to the fact that we are one people and that a herd mentality that propagates racism and divide is to be shunned.

Support Punni through social media!

Aide et Action South Asia has partnered with iridium Interactive as a Social Media partner to create Awareness and Buzz for Punni Ki Kahaniyan and reach out to students, teachers, parents and the society at large. The objective is to start a strong movement that promotes cultural harmony through social understanding and integration. iridium Interactive is promoting and connecting with all the stakeholders using the social platforms like facebook,  twitter, youtube, vimeo etc., to promote the film and supporting Aide et Action South Asia to take the message to millions of school children across India.

You can aid this mission by:

1. sharing the movie and/or showcasing it in your neighboring school

2. demonstrate your support  on facebook and take this initiative to parents and educators, the key influencers of young children

3. actively sharing your ideas on how to increase the impact of this initiative

On 26^th October 2010, Punni ki Kahaniyan is formally launched at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad with 1000 children representing 35 odd schools who will watch this movie and, we hope, learn the importance of unity. Sania Mirza, ace tennis player, is an enthusiastic supporter who is attending the launch of this event. Ravi Pratap Singh, Regional Director-Aide et Action South Asia, Sriram Bharatam, CEO and Founder at iridium Interactive and Ranga Reddy, RM-The Hindu would also be part of this event. Our endeavour is to reach out and promote this movie to as many children as possible and along the way, sensitise the general public so that they too imbibe these values and create an ecosystem that shuns regressive beliefs and promotes unity.

So come, join Punni as she takes the lead and tells children value driven stories that will make them better people.

Punni has been covered by The HIndu in today’s newspaper. Click here to read the full article. The Hindu is an official media partner in A.P for Punni Ki Kahaniyan. You can reach Punni on her facebook page and on her twitter account

For further details contact:
Mohammed Salahuddin
salaudin.m at iridiuminteractive dot com
+919989234334

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.