World's top 5 Technology Brands in 2010

Posted by Gradzzz , , Sunday, May 23, 2010 12:53 PM

According to latest BrandZ report announced by Millward Brown Optimor, the value of the 100 top brands rose 4 percent to more than $2 trillion. As per the report, in the top ten positions, there are only three non-tech brands: McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Marlboro. Rest of the ranks are taken by tech biggies like Google, IBM, and Apple etc. This shows the increased value of technology in our today’s lives.

Here, the feature discusses about the top technology brands and the reasons for their success. 

Google Inc.

 Google, the search giant leads the 100 top brands with a brand value of $114bn. Its brand value surged by 14 per cent to become the world's strongest brand. The search engine has reported more than 1 billion searches daily combined with the popularity of products like YouTube, Gmail, and the Android mobile phone platform. The company has earned $6.5 billion from $23.7 billion in revenue in 2009, primarily from online ad sales. 

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM):

As compare to last year, IBM aka Big Blue grew another 30 percent in value and reached second position replacing Microsoft. In 2009, the company was at number four. It is more than 100-years old, with over 4 lakh employees worldwide.

The Armonk, New York based IBM brand experienced 24 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during the past five years and now has a brand value of $86.3 billion. The company had launched its “A Smarter Planet” global campaign in 2009, which also boosted its brand image.

Apple.

 Apple has reported 32 percent increase in its brand value, due to launch of its iconic products like iPad and iPhone 3G. 
The company is reportedly changing lives of the people with its devices. In 2009, the iPhones’ sales surged 100 percent year-on-year basis to 8.7 million with over one lac apps available for download. The company reported brand value of $83.15 billion, slightly lower than IBM.

Microsoft Corp.  
 
 This year the Redmond, Washington based software giant, Microsoft has reported brand value of $76,344, which is somewhat similar to last years’. In 2009, the company had launched its new operating system – Windows 7, which was accompanied by an extensive ad campaign. The launch helped the company to maintain its leadership position.
 Microsoft has operations in more than hundred countries and employs nearly 80,000 people.
Hewlett-Packard.

As compare to last year, HP, one of the world's largest IT companies that operates in nearly every country, posted an increase of almost 50% in its brand value. The reasons cited for the improvement are the rebranding of EDS (Electronic Data Systems) and brand re-launch in 2009. The company reported brand value of $39,717 billion.  Further, the company also attempted to bring new innovations with its HP brand under the tagline “Let’s Do Amazing.”

Blackberry (RIM)
Research In Motion, the BlackBerry smartphone maker has ranked at number fourteen with a brand value of $30.7 billion. The company reported a 12 percent surge in its brand value compare to last year.


CHEERS!!!!
J@V!D

0 Comments

Why Controversy Dogs Mf Hussain

Posted by Gradzzz , , Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:03 AM

Born: September 17, 1915
Achievement: World famous painter; Recipient of Padma Shree 

One can love MF Hussain or one can hate MF Hussain but one cannot ignore him. MF Husain is always in the news because of one controversy or the other. Maqbool Fida Hussain (MF Hussain ) is a world famous painter and an icon among Indian artists.


MF Hussain was born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. He lost his mother when he was one and a half years old. Husain's father remarried and moved to Indoor. MF Hussain did his schooling from Indore. In 1935, MF Hussain moved to Bombay and joined Sir J. J. School of Art. 
He started off by painting cinema hoardings. He first came into limelight as painter in the late 1940s. In 1952, MF Hussain's first solo exhibition was held at Zurich and soon he became popular in Europe and USA. He went on to become one of the highest paid painters in India. His paintings have fetched millions of dollars at the auction.

In 1966, MF Hussain was honored with Padma Shree by the Government of India. In 1967, MF Hussain made his first film "Through the Eyes of a Painter". The film was shown at the Berlin Film Festival and won a Golden Bear. He has also made two Hindi movies, "Gaja Gamini" and "Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities."

MF Hussain also had his share of controversies. Many a times he has been charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses. But he continues to enthrall people with his peerless artistry.

CONTROVERSIES:
 In the 1990s some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner. The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed in Vichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher". In response, eight criminal complaints were filed against Husain. In 2004, Delhi High Court dismissed these complaints of "promoting enmity between different groups ... by painting Hindu goddesses — Durga and Sarswati — in an uncharitable manner hurting the sentiments of Hindus".
The controversy escalated to the extent that in 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal and art works were vandalised. The leadership of Shiv Sena endorsed the attack. Twenty six Bajrang Dal activists were arrested by the police. Protests against Husain also led to the closure of an exhibition in London, England.
In February 2006, Husain was charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.
 A series of cases were brought against him and a court case related to the alleged obscene depiction of Hindu goddesses in his paintings resulted in issuing a non-bailable warrant against Husain after he failed to respond to summons. There were also reportedly death threats. The artist left the country stating that "matters are so legally complicated that I have been advised not to return home".
Now living in Dubai and London, he continues to stay away from India, but has expressed a strong desire to return, despite fears that he may be arrested in connection with these cases. A recent Supreme Court order has suspended an arrest warrant for Husain. The law ministry has examined half-a-dozen works by Husain and told the government that prosecutors would have a strong case against him if they sued him for deliberately hurting religious feelings.

Mother India:

 In February 6, 2006 issue, India Today, a national English weekly published an advertisement titled "Art For Mission Kashmir". This advertisement contains a painting of Bharatmata(Mother India) as a nude woman posed across a map of India with the names of Indian States on various parts of her body. The exhibition was organised by Nafisa Ali of Action India (NGO) and Apparao Art Gallery.
Organizations like Hindu Jagruti Samiti and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have protested persistently against Husain displaying the painting on the websites and even in exhibitions in north Europe. As a result, on February 7, 2006 Husain apologised and promised to withdraw the painting from an auction

                 It is hypocritical to place curbs on Husain's artistic freedom. What's more shameful is that a government that claims to be the secular alternative to Hindu nationalists is threatening to prosecute Husain. This does not do India proud; it adds to India's disgrace.
Other artists have expressed criticism. Fellow artist Satish Gujral has gone on record to ask him whether he will be bold enough to treat icons of Islam in the same manner. According to a senior artist and former President, Bombay Art Society, Gopal Adivrekar says: “Nothing is bad in being creative but the artists should not go for such artwork, which may hurt the sentiments of a segment of the society.


Thank You.

0 Comments

Nobel Prize Controversy

Posted by Gradzzz , , Wednesday, May 12, 2010 9:13 PM

The prestigious noble peace prize winner of 2009 is Barack Obama.
Is it right to give to him?
Does he deserve it?

The Noble Peace prize is one of the 6 awards in memory of Alfred Nobel. He is the inventor of Dynamite.The Peace Prize is given out in Norway, but the other prizes are given out in Sweden. This is because Norway and Sweden were one country when the prizes were started.
                                               
Barack Obama, the President of USA was one of the 205 nominations for this award. He was one of the USA's youngest presidents, in office for less than 12 days in office before the nobel nomination deadline last febuary. Was that the right time for him to get nominated? He is a great leader but he has not yet proved that he is the right person for the award this year. It seems to be this award is given in advance to him, as he has not created a big revolution yet.

The Nobel Committee said Obama was awarded for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”. Though he banned the extreme interrogation techniques for terrorists, promised to close the US military prison in Cuba, to end the war against Iraq, claims a Nuclear free world, pushing efforts to make peace with Israelis and Palestinians, there is nothing much to show from that.
                                          
I want to raise another question now, Why din't Mahatma Gandhi get the Nobel Prize? He was nominated five times in 1937,1938,1939,1947 he was not awarded, but in 1948, he was nominated few days before he was martyred in Jan 30th 1948 and the committee decided not to give any award that year basing on the ground that there was no "suitable living candidate".

Barack Obama said "Mahatma Gandhi is my real hero ". A person who is the hero of the 2009 Nobel prize winner and also other winners like Kofi Annan, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama were inspired of Gandhi. This is ironical that Gandhi was not awarded the Nobel Prize. The Nobel committee has shown regret for the omission. When the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".

However, congrats Barack Obama. Please give your comments.

Cheers!!!
PranaY VeeR

Reference: wiki, TOI, nobel prize.org

0 Comments

What's there in a name???

Posted by Gradzzz , Labels: , Saturday, May 8, 2010 2:59 PM

"Why the hell is my name, Lingam??? Did my parents find only this odd six letter combination apt for me out of infinite combination s the alphabets gives rise to??" cribs Mr.Lingam who's just in his third grade, whenever the blue eyed boy looks at the book labels lying in his bag.

The name's our identity decided upon by our progenitors who though not directly at times, also give the green signal for the every action we perform. We just tend to live out the pages inked by someone else in our lives, yet we think we live our own lives... Funny ain't it? For every second male in north we find Rahul or down in the south we find Laxmi in every second individual...!Every time when we meet a girl we just find that she tends to look for a SRK or SRT in a guy and a guy tends to search for Aishwarya or Angelina in a girl!!! Funny but name does matter a lot. It's the identity we carry our lifetime. But it's just that we don't think of the paradox we see many of our names has got... Santhakumaran Sreesanth might be the most un-peaceful bowler off late while his name's embodies a different persona...

I remember once my grandpa telling, how confused state he was, till the time he got back home post party where he met his close friend whom, he did meet after a long time.He was very much elated when he saw him at their mutual friend's reception. With a glass of champagne along poolside, both recollected the memories, shared together during their Graduation.When my grandpa queried him about his betterhalf with a sip of champagne and anxiousness in those bleary eyes resulted a state of unrest in his mind on the answer. It seems the girl whom he married was Laxmi which is similar to my grandma's name belonging to the same area where my grandma lived and studied in the same college in the same class. My grandpa was in a dilemma thinking whether if she was the same girl whom he married few weeks ago. He was out of his senses till he reached home and confirmed that it was not my grandma but its her friend whose name was Laxmi too, a friend of her's. This incident was just an another reason for us to think why we cracked our nuts just to decide on a name for our group.

The blabber jabber of ours, made Ravi to crack up with intended pun, the name SriRaMa in the name of the Lord and later decoding it to be as fragments of our names Sri from Srikanth, Ra from Ravikanth and Ma from Madan thereby pooling it as SriRaMa...
Out of the inspiration from the Hyderabad blues title Madan pulled out the name Margarita Blues just with an intention to seek the attention of the wine affectionadoes..
Not leaving behind the inspirational scene, Srikanth did come up with the name Coins & Webs with a possible logic of monetizing from multiple directions...!
Ironically we still crashed into each others' mind just for a name that would be defining our entity in this globe. The only common trait we have is just cracking up graduation, adding to which we had this itch to start our own careers.....

This paved the birth of the "Gradzzz!!!" named so coz all of us are just "Gradzzz!!!"

2 Comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)