I recently attended Adtech in San Francisco, a digital marketing conference in US. And some of the insights I got from speaking to industry experts and thought leaders validated my initial perception that mobile marketing and M-commerce is at the onset of taking off here in the US and in Asia with Japan being the only leader in this space. It reminded me of my days when I was getting out of Engineering school back in 1996.

As an Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate, I landed in the emerging wireless industry at the time. I was probably the only one who even had a wireless phone based on GSM technology (thanks to the wireless service provider company I was working for at that time). It was clear to me that I was at the intersection of the biggest mobile revolution that would change the world. And it did.

From feature phones to iPhones to Andriod Phones, the world of mobile communication has come a long way. And just like we were at the helm of wireless communication over fifteen years ago, I believe that we are now at the intersection of the biggest revolution at the intersection of M-commerce and Mobile marketing.

Here are some of my observations:

The New Media renaissance: When SMS marketing was experimented with, it took a lot of heat from the mobile users.But with guidelines that were put in place by the mobile operators; mobile marketing via SMS has expanded rapidly in Europe and Asia as a new channel to reach the consumer. Now the industry is looking at mobile as not only a way of “Targeting” users but to become “Business solutions”. I love that I can use location based services by some cell phone networks as a way to send custom advertising and other information to cell-phone subscribers based on their current location.

Continue Reading my post on my column on ActiveGarage: Social Media and Tribes: Mobile Marketing + M Commerce = Mobile Social Network

Indian cricket is very glamorous but behind it there are some aspects we don’t pay attention to. It includes players who couldn’t make it to the top eleven, some great cricketers who had to make a choice between playing or getting a job because of life situations and even those who could not convince their families that their is a career in cricket. With IPL, it is hard to imagine that players did not get a chance to showcase their talent. Almost unbelievable. But it is true that many who had talent and the ambition could not pursue their dream to play cricket for Indian team.

Aakash Chopra is a cricketer who has seen it all – been there, done that. He shares some interesting stories from his experiences from aspiring to the play for the Indian team to be part of the team to reinvent his career as media. Moreover, he is the author of the book Beyond the Blues, which has received great reviews and is a honest perspective of life of a cricketer. And says Chopra “Being an India cricketer is hell in many ways because of the intense scrutiny you are subjected to by a billion people, But not being an India player is worse.”

Cricket On Air had a chance to interview Aakash. And bring to you an exciting conversation. Click the link below to listen.

Telecom has been a passion of mine. And as a Electronics and Communication engineer, I have been part of many ground breaking events in the industry. I was part of the advent of wireless in India and worked on the roll out of the GSM technology. And then worked with the giants in Telecom, like Alcatel, AT&T North America and Bell Labs on early adoption of features like Call waiting, call forwarding (Value Added Services) etc in United States which are now very common.

And later, I was at the helm of social gaming and now mobile gaming and apps…and we know how it disrupted the traditional gaming business.

iPhone was the major disruption for a feature phone. For all those who love cellular phones, I know you remember dial phones when phone was only to make and take calls. iPhone made it a mini personal computer and tapped into the biggest need for humans “touch devices”. Psychologists have long understood that the sensation of “touch” helps people to relate better. Taking this to a device – “Brilliant”. “Outstanding”.

But the juice on which a smart phone runs is the network since large amounts of data need to be transferred and speed is vital. So, 3G networks are high-speed data networks. Pair them with 3G devices, bandwidth and location information available to 3G devices gives rise to applications not previously available to mobile phone users, mobile TV, video on demand, location based services and video conferencing.

In US, some carriers have already deployed 4G. And needless to say, some people call it MAGIC. But India has delayed the launch of 3G but the wait is over. It is here now….

Why this is a paradigm shift?

1. Penetration of smartphones in Asia. EE times reports, In 2009 Asia was responsible for 60.2 million smartphone shipments, 33 percent of the global figure of 182.4 million. In 2015 IMS expects Asia to see 277.2 million smartphone shipments or 39 percent of a global market size of 710.8 million shipments. I believe this is potentially conservative….

2. Gaming and Apps: “In India, usage of Apps seem focused on games, music and social networking,” says Hemant Joshi, partner at Deloitte Haskins and Sells. Add to it, Education apps for kids, finance apps and some other utility apps and this community is ready to adapt. I can only imagine a “cricketing app” that will make the experience of this game very profound to the user…my mind is full of ideas. Potentially, a $2B marketplace, I believe true or not – it has the potential. The apps and content will be the NEXT GOLD RUSH.

The excitement is brewing….

Last two months, I was involved with a project which was radically different. It had nothing to do with technology, marketing and diversity – my 3 BIG passions. I got the idea and I decided to run with it. So, I drafted a business plan, raised some angel money and even found other relevant partners. This was a strenuous and time consuming project. I worked very hard on it since this was a project out of my domain of expertise.

And during this period, I found a lot of things that I had no clue of…some restrictive state laws, some hiring challenges and even the margins in the business plan started to look difficult to justify. It is then my inner voice started to talk to me. It became my own adversary. It started to tell me, “Don’t do it”, “This is not for you” and “It does not make sense”.

Like every normal person, I was compelled to dismiss these fears thinking these were starting hiccups. We all have read those books which motivate us to “Fight our fears”, “Take a leap of faith” and “Never give up”. Well! it is true you need passion to make a thing happen.

But it is important to remember that certain things get obsolete and if you are following a business that is outdated or even a practice that is not relevant in the current situation – you need to pay attention to that. During my work, I have developed a habit of meeting a lot of people, mentors and advisors and this habit has always come to my rescue. They challenge me and make me justify my assumptions…Finally, I encountered a nay sayer. This person was an industry expert and he looked at the business plan and within two minutes asked me to walk away without any further delay.

So, I did. I knew instantly that he had been super kind to share his insights and was looking out for me.

While sharing this with some entrepreneurs at 500startups recently, some of them came up with really interesting observations:

1. Writing a business plan is like dating period. If everything goes well, you get into a relationship, if not you decide to move on.

2. The Due diligence period is the time for internal reflection. If you find out that this idea is NOT YOU, you need to give it up. To succeed you will need a lot of passion and even if this is a great idea and NOT YOU, you will eventually set yourself up for failure.

3. Success is not only in accomplishing things; success is also in listening to yourself and not to your ego that drives you to do things without any consciousness. Success is also in getting to a point, trying a new thing and learning a lot in that process.

Finally this morning, reading Robin Sharma’s blog, he had an article PICK FIGHTS FAST – very catchy title he emphasizes not to fall in love with your idea blindly. He says maybe it is better to surround yourself with “NO PEOPLE” than “YES SIR” people. They will challenge your assumptions and probably act as an adversary and save you a lot of trouble. Develop a habit to listen to yourself and to nay sayers before making a decision.

So, Don’t fall in love with your idea and that will liberate you to look for fresher approach or create a new one… – you kiss your idea GOOD BYE.

Have a super weekend!

For the readers of this blog, I have to inform you that along with my team, I recently launched a Cricket Show called Cricket On Air. The vision of the show is to become the premier radio show on Cricket in US and to entertain and reach every Cricket enthusiast here in America with quality content.

We worked very hard prior to launch. All of us are new to producing content for radio and it was a fantastic experience. And like every new idea when it takes life, the team is ecstatic and so were we.

Here is a video of the team celebrating as the first Radio show aired…

Yes, we were thrilled and it is apparent…Thanks for all your support as we are now in our second month and growing exponentially.

I want to share with you a show which was the genesis of this journey – story of one and only CAPTAIN cool – Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Here is a link to the show: Enjoy the cricketainment…

His story speaks to pursuing your dreams – coming from a modest beginning, Dhoni was unstoppable. He worked hard and has now become an icon of the masses – a small town boy makes is REALLY big. An example to the world of true sportsmanship. A sportsman is like an entrepreneur, he takes his chances and risks taking shots that can go go either way. In his case, it WORKED….listen to it for more details on his story.

Look forward to your feedback to make it better….

My work has given me the opportunity to be at the helm of rapid innovation in the world of gaming. And one of the fastest growing segment is interactive gaming where the user gets to play the game and also create content like videos, virtual goods and even produce story lines. This is largely influenced by video gaming.

Here are three scenarios to help you make sense of what I am saying:

1. Communities get involved in creating content: Guitar hero is a game which allow users to create their own songs and share it with their friends. Also, game content creation enables users to create their own virtual goods to share with their friends. This leads to a new digital economy when the users can share the profits from the sale of their virtual goods with the developers. Allowing both communities of users and developers to benefit from each other – a win-win situation.

Continue Reading the post on ActiveGarage: Online Gamers become Contributors

From Morse codes to cellular phones, from x86 processors to Intel’s i7 processors and from email to social media, mankind has come a long way. All these methods have one thing in common – need to connect. And the most important thing we forget is that though these devices and technologies are designed to improve productivity, they are serving the basic human need to communicate. And the litmus test for all these advancements is when you can use them during crisis situations.

The recent crisis in Japan is a reminder to us to that Technology can be a boom and a curse.

When a nuclear reactor has radiation leak, it makes it impossible to justify benefits of nuclear power even if it is designed for making the world Green or Safe. After all, what is the point if families inhabiting that place will virtually never be able to go there for decades due to the radiations. And then technology renders the only way to either give your location in a crisis or communicate with your loved ones.

Continue Reading my article on Active Garage: Social Media and Tribes: Social Media comes through during Japan crisis

Most Recently, I was interviewed by Teresa Morrow about my eBook PINK and grow Rich. Just sharing it here on my blog….

Please share with us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Deepika Bajaj – Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Blogger. Most of all, I am a dreamer who likes to follow her dreams and enjoy every moment of the journey. My journey began the day I came to this earth. Growing up in India, I had the unique opportunity to grow up in a small town, close to New Delhi, where I met my first teacher, who gave me the confidence to believe in myself. I moved on to get my Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Bangalore, India. And worked with some premier Technology companies like AT&T, Alcatel, Bell Labs etc. In my journey, I even got an MBA in Marketing from New York. Working in corporate America, I got many skills.

And then my life took a sharp turn, I started on my entrepreneurial journey.

With my first company Invincibelle, I aim to bring content and share information with women to be able to empower and inspire them. In this journey, I have met some amazing people who share the similar passion. In Oct, 2009, I published my first book: DiversityTweet, Embracing the growing Diversity in our world. This started my author’s journey. I knew I had an author in me but to be able to get a book published was a dream come true. My second adventure is called, ActiveGarage. It is a resource for people to learn from experts who write on different business concerns. I myself write a column on Social Media on it. ActiveGarage is also the company behind 99tribes which is Twitter discovery engine for people to find and discover others who share similar interests.

I recently launched my first eBook “PINK and Grow RICH” . This e-book can make one promise that if you had one reason for NOT living your DREAM – you will find that with the UNREASONABLE Rule Book – 11 UNREASONABLE RULES of success that will help you OWN your dreams.

One of the most humbling moments was when I won the 2010 IWE Entrepreneurial Achievement Award. I was honored to receive this award. It motivated me to keep moving on my entrepreneurial path.
The little known fact about me is that I love dancing, DJing and mixing music, and traveling. Sometimes, I travel to really ancient spots since I am fascinated by history and by discoveries I make. I love to spend time with my friends and family. My favorite rock bands are Metallica, ACDC, Def Leppard. My favorite pop singers include Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Beyonce. I enjoy hiking, cardio kickboxing and swimming.

How long did it take you to write your book(s)?

The first book, DiversityTweet, Embracing the growing Diversity in our world, was written in two months between projects. The reason this book to be complete so quickly was that is has a very unique format. The book has 140 tweets of 140 words. the objective of this book was to write thought provoking tweets on Diversity, a subject that is very close to my heart. The tweets are based on my work in this field and my travels that constantly reinforce that though we all are diverse we are one and part of nature. This book intends to create a bridge between this medium of expression (Tweets) used by hyperactive Gen Y and the Baby boomers who prefer a quick read book on the topic of diversity. I believe there are certain advantages to adapt the communication channel that is growing exponentially within the Gen Y and to learn from experiences of the Baby boomers. This book helps companies managing the generational divide, employee retention and engagement.

The second eBook, PINK and Grow Rich, was a work in progress for three years. I was meeting some really exceptional women in my journey to build Invincibelle. And in talking to them I felt that something was shifting within me. I felt more empowered, inspired and built great relationships that I did not have before. I wanted to take this experience and insights to people who did not have access to these leaders. So, that they can feel the same energy and enthusiasm to live your dreams as I experienced being in their vicinity. This book is compilation of conversations with these women and was in making for a while.

Please share with us more about your latest book.

There are two main themes for my eBook
#1. UNREASONABLE Rule Book

This e-book can make one promise that if you had one reason for NOT living your DREAM – you will find that with the UNREASONABLE Rule Book – 11 UNREASONABLE RULES of success that will help you OWN your dreams. You will know how to live your life, use your own mind, go toward your dreams that you want to make REAL and SOLID.

#2. The 6C Framework

I went deeper with what I call “The 6C framework” – 6 common characteristics of leaders. I share these characteristics that give them the energy and vitality to get the work that needs to be done (to achieve their dreams). You will find excerpts of my conversations with these women and what they stood for.

Example:

Ann Winblad: Partner, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Why did you choose to write this book?

Continue Reading my interview on: Spotlight interview with Deepika Bajaj, Author of PINK and Grow RICH.

Before we get into what it means “being unreasonable in business“. I want to throw some light into what it means to be REASONABLE. From the time, we are kids we are requested to be reasonable in our requests, demands and actions. In our world, there is big PUSH for usto compromise and tolerate. Even though, we understand that it is important for us to co-exist with others, the dilemma that we have is why we need to be Reason-ABLE.

So, what does it mean to be REASONABLE?

“Reason-ABLE is not taking responsibility of who you could become – with a perfectly good justification”. For all the possibilities of who
we could be in this world, when we have a perfectly ONE valid reason of why we can’t be that person – it makes us Reason-ABLE.

As you can see, if we are REASONABLE then chances are that we are not taking responsibility to live to our maximum potential.

Now, lets talk about being UNREASONABLE in business….

As we all know that business professionals are always faced with challenging situations and sometimes it is easy to give up. So, in
business being UNREASONABLE with yourself is important…it is important to demand more out of yourself, not to give up, believe in
yourself and to be fearless.

In the ebook PINK and Grow RICH, I shared 11 UNREASONABLE rules of success and my favorite rule is Unreasonable Rule # 2: Be Fearless.

Continue Reading my article at WE magazine: Being unreasonable in Business...

Yes, the fact that Valentine’s Day was a week ago is not lost on me! In retrospect, its actually a good thing I waited to write this post till now as I had the time to notice very interesting shifts in behavior, thanks to the Social Media & Valentine Tribes! Alright, lets get going…

Some of us probably remember the days when you had to write a letter while you were dating or wooing someone special. This was not a long ago, although it might seem so. At that time, if you were in a long-distance relationship, you had no choice other than to write a letter or spend a ton of money making a long distance phone. In both cases, you were not sure if the person concerned will receive your message. Your best intentions to connect might be futile.

It is almost hard to believe but I have personally gone through that era. When I got my Valentine Card in the mail from my then boyfriend, now my husband; I did not receive it till the next day in my college hostel room. And when I did, I was already upset with him for being late (for apparently no fault of his since it was the nature of the postal system that caused the delay in the delivery).

Well! if you are late in today’s time only Heavens can save you. Since with emails, instant messengers, cell phones, text message, twitter, FB and smart phones you better have a good excuse. There is no way you can be late even if you were in a different time zone in a different country!

Continue Reading my post on Active Garage under my column: Social Media and Tribes: Virtual Valentine