4 months old in a 1 year old organization!

Disclaimer : This is not a testimonial about the organization for which I work but about my experience and exposure by being a part of the team!

7 months after graduating from DCSMAT School of Media & Business (out of which 3 months I was working as a Event Designer at the State Capital of Kerala) I took a call on a profile I was offered from Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd. Starting from November 2010, I was appointed as the Social Media Optimizer (SMO) for SnapDeal.com (a product from the house of Jasper) and I had an interesting array of job responsibilities in front of me. I was happy, maybe that is an understatement; I was excited for getting a job which demands me to do things which I love doing otherwise!!

A word about SnapDeal.com. SnapDeal is the leader in the hottest category of e-commerce models : Group Buying! (Source: http://dqindia.ciol.com:50080/content/search/showarticle.asp?arid=125741&pageNo=9 ). Putting the same in simple words, SnapDeal gets you the best deals in your city on different LifeStyle services. 

Initially, though briefed about the working process and other related topics, I was skeptical on what can a SMO contribute to the organization other than spreading the word about the deals. But then the very next day I was fully made to understand by seeing the work on how much potential the role has in-store for the person donning the title. The big and small players in the same industry is a threat to the business, not in terms of revenue, but in the way the name and the image is spoiled. Being a completely online based working model, the threat was numerous folds more because all it takes is someone posting a minimum of 4 word phrase just for fun. 

Understanding the challenge and the opportunities for networking, my journey had started. Gradually I had an even more better understanding about the industry and about different ways I could contribute to my work. And that is where I had the realization that I just don't play around with Social Media Tools & Techniques but there is lot more for me to plunge into. A customer connect event was a beginning of all this. Other major happenings of the organization which drew me closer to the inner circle was the association with the famous Indian reality show Roadies Season 8, Channel V show Date My Folks, celebration of a huge subscriber base, another customer connect programme, a photo shoot (which I had carried out) and the recent celebration of the brand completing 1 year! 

I had always wondered (and almost all times cursed) why should examinations be conducted. After all the years at school and college, I realized that it is important to see how much one has learned and that too from a outsider's perspective. For me it wasn't exactly an examination but an invitation (better read as opportunity) to talk at Outlook 2011, Media Matters : Trends and Opportunities in Media. Mr Joseph Fernandez (Corporate Communications, UST Global), who knew me from my post graduation days and also one of those rare people who encouraged me to take up the profile of SMO, had been invited to speak at the seminar organized by MOP Vaishnav College (Chennai) conducted at All Saint's College (Trivandrum). He had called me up one fine day and asked me whether it would be possible for me to make it to the seminar. For me, who has been a listener for different seminars, this was a dream - addressing a big and unknown audience! 

It was after the Media Seminar that I became more drawn into learning about the possibilities I can at my work place. Not because I wanted to be called for another seminar but in the last audience I saw a huge crowd of competitors getting ready. It is not the experience that counts in this job, its about the thought process you have. The more different you think, the more successful you are. With today's technology, everything is possible; all that matters is whether you have thought about it before others.

This realization has become my driving force today!       

Today I have programmed myself for a race against time, to make sure that I don't miss what is happening around me, to learn things from all, and to name my dreams. I owe a couple of people (from the Jasper team) and technology (job portals) which has helped me reach where I am today. 

This journey is still on.. and so there is no ending statement to this but just - MORE TO COME!! :D