Issue 10 - Weekly Newsletter
Samasource and boring digital marketing stories
Samasource (sama meaning equal in Sanskrit) was founded with the aim of employing poor people, for a living wage, in digital jobs like photo tagging and image annotation. The workers generate data that is used for projects as diverse as self-driving cars, video game technology, and software that helps park rangers in sub-Saharan Africa prevent elephant poaching.
Samasource was the brainchild of Leila Janah, a social entrepreneur who believed that jobs, not handouts, offered the best escape from poverty. On January 24th, she passed away while battling a rare form of soft-tissue cancer. She was 37.
The New York Times posted an obituary on her life and work. Her work also came under the scrutiny that these kinds of organisations are exploiting people for jobs that offer few benefits and no way to advance. Her response to Wired in 2015:
Yes! There aren’t any unions for online workers. That’s because this industry hasn’t been around long enough for people to really get organized. But that could happen. It’s much easier for people to compare wages or identify bad employers or discuss bad labor practices in the Internet economy than it was in, say, a factory environment, where that stuff wasn’t usually published or available.
Leila was unknown to me but I respect her for doing something for the society. There are many more stories like this who are trying to make a difference in whatever way they can.
Another inspiring story is of Anand Kumaran - Indian Mathematics educator is best known for his Super 30 program, which he started in Patna, Bihar in 2002, and which coaches underprivileged students for IIT-JEE, the entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The work and struggles of Anand are well known but the Bollywood movie Super 30 showcasing his journey is heart-wrenching and inspiring.
Passion will suck every drop of your blood before it will allow you to smell slight success.
Hrithik gave a remarkable performance but after all, it is Bollywood. So Anand is producing an international version of his life story based on the 2016 biography Super 30: Changing the World 30 Students at a Time Anand Kumar authored by Canada-based psychiatrist Biju Mathew. Bollywood’s film’s fictional takeoffs such as the songs and the romantic track left Anand uncomfortable.
Enough of inspiring stories, time for boring stories :)
This week I enjoyed writing about brands like Bisleri and Bajaj Allianz Life. Both of them are making serious attempts to change their age-old style of advertising. They are no more talking about their products or services but speaking the language of the consumer.
Bisleri with its “Bottle for Change” is pushing the agenda of plastic recycling and Bajaj Allianz Life has been asking Indians to adopt a fit and healthy life. For the last two years, the brand is pushing the idea of plank.
P.S. To get more views(new readers) for my articles I have started making lazy videos. I am loving the process of writing a script, making my Hindi better, shooting and editing on mobile. I am posting them on LinkedIn(2nd highest traffic source), YouTube and Instagram IGTV. I haven’t figured out how I can use TikTok.
Another thing I enjoy is writing data stories (I was a Business Analyst before I became crazy and started Lighthouse Insights) and my objective is to make it simple, stay away from the PR mumbo jumbo and share business insights. I have tried the same with the Infosys Digital Radar report 2020.
Read: Cultural barriers block the progress of digital transformation
Finally, I share my favorite Republic Day campaigns of 2020 and a discussion thread. Take a look when you have time.
Thank you for reading and investing your valuable time. Enjoy your weekend and stay good.
Peace and Happiness.