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2 years down the road at iridium Interactive Hyderabad

iridiumInteractive — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:30:58 +0000

Last week’s experience sharing session with the rest of iridium brought out a lot of memories of my initial days spent here. Learning about the rest of the team and then hearing from them about the positives and negatives they thought about me brought a lot of happiness

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!

Online reputation management – a iridium Interactive case study

iridiumInteractive — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:04:16 +0000

Intellectual property aside, a company’s reputation is pretty much in the public domain. While everyone hopes that their company is well liked, it is a bad idea to take this assumption for granted. The internet’s increasing reach make it a medium hard to ignore. When your online reputation is taking a beating staying silent is not a good idea, as a client of ours discovered.

The Case
The client’s problem stemmed from a reputation issue that they had noticed but did not resolve hoping it would die down with time. An ex-employee had been spreading false rumors about the organization on various portals related to the industry and this was slowly eroding the goodwill the company enjoyed. Potential employees walked away and, they later guessed, a few potential clients too. Our client had no idea until someone pointed it out to them. The posts were read in horror, duly noted and the company decided to wait it out. This was November 2009. A few token efforts were made to douse the flames but discontinued when they realized they were egging on the bloggers. An email began circulating saying blatant lies about the company.

In March 2010, an old customer pointed this out to them and they knew something had to be done. Legal notes were sent but the forum owner was neither legally liable nor could he violate the integrity of his website by deleting posts. The only option left to them was to take the bull by the horns and they were little equipped to do so.

This is when iridium Interactive was called in. Here is a snapshot of the things we did to build a stronger reputation

Listening:
iridium set up its monitoring tools starting with simple free ones like Google Alerts and free online monitoring tools along with our own social media monitoring system. We listed out in detail all the forums and websites where the company was being spoken about favorably as well as negatively and set about identifying influencers who really affected the online reputation of the company.

Responding:
As soon as we got a picture of the kind of things that were being spoken about, iridium swung into action and listed out appropriate responses for the same. We engaged clients and employees to promote a positive view of the company. where there were negative reviews, we stepped in and resolved people’s queries. Our SEO machinery swung into action working to position relevant information on the first few pages of major search engines instead of the false rumors. We went a step further and created positive conversations on more credible communities.

Engaging:
iridium set up social media accounts to represent the company online. We dug into twitter and started slowly to interact with the influencers in their field. A facebook page served as a touchpoint for the employees of the company, slowly evolving as an extended platform to promote activities, updates and discussions. The blog which we set up and maintained was a mix of industry news and company updates positioning the company as a thought leader and industry peer.

Within six months we noticed a remarkable change. The damaging reviews and emails subsided. The company’s sentiment index swung from red to green. A greater chunk of information about the company was positive and positioned in the initial pages of web results. At an industry conference they were recognized for what really mattered, their performance, and pulled in greater business. iridium’s efforts on the online reputation management program had worked. This is now an an integral part of the company’s work ethic. Never again will they ignore the multitude of voices that speak about them.

iridium Interactive is a pioneering company with over 10 years of experience in the field of internet marketing. we have been in the ‘social media’ field from before the term existed.

Follow us on twitter and facebook to stay current with what is happening in the industry and how simple interventions can benefit you.

SMEs and the Internet

iridiumInteractive — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:30:19 +0000

Have you as an SME or SMB wondered how you can optimize your processes? Wondered which aspect of your work can use the internet for? Free and cost-effective solutions are the need of the hour for SMEs to leverage the power of the internet based services. The following are the general areas of business operations of SMEs which, on using the internet enabled technologies can give them the surge and increase efficiency in the marketplace:

1) Marketing

2) Purchase and Sales

3) Logistics and Information Systems

4) Documentation and Data Management

5) Business Communication

6) Accounting

7) Human Resource Management

This image shows the importance of these processes being driven by internet with the level of ease in implementing these technologies into SMEs. It also indicates range of improvement which can be achieved.

The Internet with wide range of free and cost effective services, has immense potential for significantly improving the efficiency and productivity of SMEs and this entirely depends on the availability and quality of service of internet and its costs. Also on the affordability of computing devices. As these barriers get cleared, the internet penetration increases in a large way and there by increasing productivity of SMEs which helps them compete with the global market.

image source: ‘FREE FOR SMEs’ Free and Low Cost ICT Solutions for SMEs by IAMAI

REACH OUT TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK..THEY ARE WAITING

iridiumInteractive — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:34:37 +0000

In my last wisdom series, I demystified the power of Twitter and how it is transforming the global conversations for business. This has sparked some good interests in the online communities and I am glad people are absorbing the key practical insights for their businesses. It is now time, I demystify the world’s biggest professional network. I am not here to tell you what is LinkedIn. The global online talkers and linkers have underestimated the power of this tool to influence their businesses. Having 60 millions members, LinkedIn has a new member joining its trusted network every second…isn’t that alarming…yet how many of us truly use this to capture our business interest, understand our market space and leverage our opportunities by engaging in meaningful, actionable discussions. At iridium, our digital marketing team has been doing its share of R&D to analyze the human laser beam effect of a trusted professional network and how many influencers are actually driving business results using this medium.

Why LinkedIn? A Case in Point..

If you have your personal profile on LinkedIn, by now, you know the dynamics of a trusted professional network and the 6 degrees of connection between you and the world.

Ask yourself, how is your company engaging your stakeholders through LinkedIn. Start building your company profile
Just having random topic for discussion board will not do the work, you need a network engagement strategy to talk about what the market is bending towards. Once you have your share of like-minded people who start listening, you then begin talking about what matters to you.
There is never a better way to get new potential employees that you really seek
Having more conversations, will directly improve your Google search results

You might find this short video helpful, with due credits to Common Craft. They do come up with the coolest presentations that are very easy to comprehend. Watch this video to get a better idea of Linkedin.

Construction versus Software Industry- iridium reveals the Analogy

iridiumInteractive — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:17:45 +0000

We hope to keep up our inspiration alive to build a Smart Office here at iridium Interactive. Even with all the experience we had of building offices renovating them many times in the past 10 years, little did we realise that there is so much similarity between the Construction industry and the Software industry.

Everything looks perfect when we showcase the BRD because by then 98% of clients are not too sure of what their requirements are it is easy to get a sign off on the BRD, in this case, Specs of our office.

The slight trouble begins at the Wire-frames, rather on completion of Wire Frames which in this case is the marking. All was well till then, now suddenly everyone at Iridium feels we need to have more Free Zones, or an additional Meeting Room (no one thought of it at the BRD/ Specs stage). “This can still be accommodated no problem, we are with you dears “, we say and move on.

We design the homepage and the inside page. Here we get a sample of the Tiles we are going to use, the Decolam color, Fittings to be used etc etc. Strangely they get approved or rather people say “you know it better, take a decision, go ahead, we are with you”.

The big trouble begins then. Having got a sign off on the Wireframes and the designs, we get all the actors/ developers and get the work started. Carpenters have started installing partitions, Tiles are being laid out etc etc, now starts the big trouble . “The tiles seemed good when looked at a single piece” I hear, followed by “The colors looked pleasing then, but may be we need to have some more brightness, so why dont you show us more options? The partition here makes the office a little too formal, lets just break it open and make more free space”.

This is a time to break a few walls, to accommodate new changes to the design, thanks to our imagination – have more free space. I tell them, “Change Request, lets accommodate it after Go Live, in the next phase”, they look at me shockingly and say “Aren’t you supposed to be the experts, you should have thought of all this before, didn’t you know Yellow looks better than Orange and Gym takes priority over Conference or Conference takes priority over TT Board, whatever…”

I look at my team with a shiver knowing what they would say , “Sure, no problem. Another 2 weeks”.

Having taken into account the creative & spontaneous views of Iridium‘s hardworking team, we move ahead.

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

iridium Interactive gets the coveted Online Partner of NASSCOM status for third consecutive year…

iridiumInteractive — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:32:37 +0000

As the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum (NILF) convenes from Feb 9^th to Feb 11^th this year, it gives me great pleasure to be present in Mumbai for the 18^th edition of this annual conference as NASSCOM’s official online partner. iridium Interactive got this status for the third consecutive year. We have partnered with NASSCOM to create a SOCIAL Networking product, called NASSCOM Connect, to add value to every NASSCOM NILF delegate’s experience. NASSCOM Connect is a social networking platform which is a combination of Linked-in and Facebook, that will help attendees and delegates to maintain ties and continue their dialogue in the virtual space. A unique platform, the NASSCOM Connect enables the delegates to touch base with each other before the event kicks off on February 9th at Mumbai this year.

I completely look forward to this epic forum since it is undoubtedly Asia’s largest leadership conference with a diverse mix of inspirational experts from the industry. Flooded by the outpour of registrations, NILF boasts of a record registration of 1650 delegates this year from countries all over the world and India. This is going to be one opulent event with the stalwarts of the IT industry who will be present there.

Exactly this time around last year when the economy was caught in the clutches of recession the theme of the event was mainly focussed on how to tackle the downturn. This year holds particular importance as the industry recovers from the financial slowdown, we look forward to new times, new dimensions, new outlooks and the opportunity to explore new directions which is also the theme of this event this year ‘New Times, New Ideas, New Directions’

Do check this out….

The NASSCOM EVENT online destination: http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in
NASSCOM EVENT BLOG : http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in/blog
NASSCOM EVENT NETWORKING PORTAL : http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=92

You can also avail the live updates from NILF from : http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=207&Itemi d=262

Work in Progress at iridium

iridiumInteractive — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:03:51 +0000

As you all know that iridium Interactive is integrating the 1st and 4th floor by relocating all those working on the 1st floor, here is an update on what is happening. A lot of work is going on in order to complete the mammoth task in such a short span, which is going on in a steady pace The team is eagerly waiting to sit in their new workstations.

Have uploaded some pictures of the current happenings.

The huge vacated space where the new office will be made, an extension to the current office.

Future spot for India’s brightest creative talent

Stay tuned for latest updates on the new office.

Dhoom "match"aalayy

iridiumInteractive — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:25:42 +0000

It’s once again the time of the year where we have to pull up our socks in all its literal sense to face the mother of all battles – the IIPL. With the first season being a run away hit, the organizers this time have come forward with even more enthusiasm indicating that the best way to move forward in these tough times is to have fun. The result is the second season of IIPL. The expectations were soaring high so did the war between the participating teams overtaking the rising temperature outside. The scene at the venue was absolutely electrifying with the team captains taking an oath to decimate the opposition till the last run is made or till the last wicket is taken. Suddenly the scene resembled a professional cricket match. All this action was witnessed at the P.G. College of Physical Education, Gagan Mahal on Saturday, the 7th of February, 2009. Supporters of the two teams sporting funky looks pepped up the environment. Players were seen warming up while the clock ticked 10. Calling the two captains for the toss was Mr.Vikram who took charge of the proceedings and asked one of the captains to toss the coin. Afzal won the toss and elected to bat first. Each team comprised of 12 players, tad different from the default contingent of 11 players that we usually have.

Meanwhile, the players took their respective places as marshaled by Sriram- the fielding team captain. In came the openers from Afzal team, Ram at striker’s end and Ravi at the non-striker’s end. Vikram started the proceedings officially by uttering “the game begins” in his usual shrill tone. Afzal team started off things well maintaining a healthy run rate throughout the middle overs, despite losing quick wickets in the middle overs managed to make full use of the chances that were offered by Sriram’s team. At last Afzal’s team managed to put 114 from 12 overs on the board-an achievable if not an impossible total by all means.

Then came the turn of Sriram’s team to give a fitting reply to the huge target posted by Afzal team. This time the openers were Sadappa taking guard at one end and Linga reddy as his partner. Things started well until Sadappa found the fielder in long on off the bowling of Noor. Then came our captain of the batting team and CEO of our company Mr.Sriram to the crease. He managed to pile up some quick runs until the bye runner for Sriram ran him out in trying to take a quick single. Despite being offered too many extras in the form of wides, Sriram’s team had only managed 90 runs from their allotted overs. Afzal team won and stood as the deserving team.

One thing is for sure that in events such as these, employees earn themselves a deserving break from the hectic work and get to know about their colleagues from close quarters. So thanks to all iridiumites for making this event a grand success proving that they are game for anything.

SCORE BOARD

NASSCOM CONNECT – Innovative Social Networking Tool For A Global Event

iridiumInteractive — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:09:42 +0000

The NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2009, a milestone event that will mark NASSCOM’s 20th year, will bring under one roof industry leaders, thought gurus, analysts, Government decision makers, academia and IT users from across the world. The conference will be attended by Global CEOs, International CIOs, Analysts, Consultants, Influencers, Thought Leaders, Academicians and Senior Government Officials and will feature multiple forums and conclaves in parallel tracks across three days. NASSCOM 2009 will offer participants a vast spectrum of must-attend keynote addresses, panel discussions, and special sessions that will touch on the important issues concerning the IT-BPO industry.

The ‘NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2009’ will be held from February 11-13, 2009 at the Hotel Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. The theme for this years’ event is “Reshaping the global economy”.

It is a matter of joy and pride that Iridium interactive, has partnered with NASSCOM to create a SOCIAL Networking product, called NASSCOM Connect, to add value to the NASSCOM NILF delegate experience. NASSCOM Connect is a social networking platform which is a combination of Linked-in and Facebook, that will help attendees and delegates to maintain ties and continue their dialogue in the virtual space. A unique platform, the NASSCOM Connect enables the delegates to touchbase with each other before the event kicks off on February 11th at Mumbai. Within the last week we have seen 40,359 page impressions with about 1,000+ connections amongst the delegates, for this platform.

With ‘NASSCOM Connect’, delegates can benefit from the following:

Connect with delegates before and after the event.
Meet delegates who are attending the same sessions to discuss similar experiences and challenges around the topic.
Meet other delegates to compare notes on exhibitors and products.
Meet exhibitors to learn more about their products and services.
Powerful Search Features will enable finding new delegates of specific skills, interests and geographic location.

In Mumbai, NASSCOM CONNECT will have all that is needed to give an opportunity to delegates, exhibitors, speakers, editors and analysts to introduce, network, ideate and Engage with each other prior to arriving at the event.

Do check this out….

The NASSCOM EVENT online destination: http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in
NASSCOM EVENT BLOG : http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in/blog
NASSCOM EVENT NETWORKING PORTAL : http://www.nasscom.in/connect