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Why I would recommend Flipkart

September 24th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Posted in Internet & Mobile

My personal online shopping is more or less restricted to travel, web products, movie booking , Bill pay etc which are very standardized products/services. I have made most of my online product purchases on non indian ecommerce sites (google, amazon , bestbuy etc) though I have few transactions in my name in erstwhile baazee.com (now ebay.in) way back in early 2000.

Why ? I think the primary issues being TRUST. Trust on the service provider and the product itself. In name of discounts and deals most of the online sites are selling cheap imitation of real products. Moreover the vendors also don’t have any great reputation. You have have no where to go incase the buy goes wrong.

The notion of buying online is looked only as buying cheap and not as an alternate market place which offers you choice of products at competitive prices. A place which will bring price and product advantage beyond the geographical boundries of your local market.

Offlate there is spurt in number of ecommerce sites and the way they are positioning themselves in the market. They seems to be taking onus of the business and are strongly backed by brick and mortar support.

I just bought a HP mini 8 Gb pendrive from Flipkart. It was such a nice and smooth shopping experience. So what is flipkart doing right or different in still nascent indian eCommerce space , so many other players are jostling for the market share.

flipkartWhat flipkart is doing right according to me :

  • 24×7 toll free helpline (Build faith that you have human support in case something goes wrong online ; my transaction failed once)
  • Delivery by Flipkart own network (Enhanced reliability)
  • Shipped by Flipkart (Vendor is identified)
  • 30 days return guarantee (Eliminate the fear of being cheated or duped with damaged product)
  • Almost real time tracking of shipment (Timely delivery)
  • Cash on delivery (Most Important as fear of using credit/debit card online is the biggest deterrent in the growth of online shopping)
  • Promise less and deliver more (2 day delivery against promised 3-5 business days)

PS:

  • The packaging was sturdy enough to withstand any transit
  • The customer support staff  is very polite and helpful. They refer to customers on first name basis and come across as very friendly ; infact I have spoken to them thrice in these 2 days.
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Signs of India

July 11th, 2011 | No Comments | Posted in Marketing & advertising

Signs of indiaYou will be back . we guarantee it just above the return policy :)  

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Integrating FB social Plugin Like and Comment

June 26th, 2011 | No Comments | Posted in Internet & Mobile

Facebook has made integrating of ‘Like’ , ‘Send’ and comments really a simple process with social plugin. I have implemented all three of them without using any plugin in my wordpress blog or creating an application ID on Facebook. You can find the complete documentation of the three social plugin on Facebook developer’s Page for social plugin.

Facebook like : You can customize the like and send button for your blog. The customization include format , width , color , font and option to hide / display facepile (Thumbnail of friend’s photo). You can generate the code from here.

facebook like - social connectSimilarly you can generate the code for FB comments plugin from here. This is really social plugin as this enable comments by logging in from Facebook, Yahoo ,AOL & Hotmail.

I have implemented both of them on the individual post. The default setting for both Like and Comments is the top level domain or URL.  The problem with implementation is that the like and comments on any post are reflected on all pages.

This works for Like to a extend where visitors can like your website or blog but comments is a big fail in default installation. All comments across site might get jumbled up.

Here the fix I found working for me for both the codes.  fb code - social plugin

1. Replace href=”domain name” with expr:href=”data:post.url” for Facebook Like

2. Replace href=”domain name” with href=”<?php the_permalink(); ?>” for Facebook Comments

The result is the following implementation :

comment on individual post using FB social plugin.social plugin - FB comments

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Passport for minor in India

As promised I am back to lock horn again with the Passport office. Three years back I had a tough time to reissue passport after expiry of 10 years.

But this time its for my sweetheart little baby. She now has a Date of Birth Certificate , a Pan Card and a Postage Stamp of her own :) Next target to get her the passport. Though the best source for information on procedure, documents required, FAQs on the topic would be the Delhi passport office website but still here’s my personal experience which might be helpful for you guys.

Step 1 : Application form (29th May 2011)

I suggest you fill-up the online application form to ensure you have an appointment and can dodge the long queue outside the passport office in Delhi (BTW regional passport office in Delhi is situated at Bikaji Cama Place , Behind Hotel Hyatt). This is the easiest of all. Fill up the basic details of the minor.

online passport application form for minor

You can also select the date and time of the appointment for submitting the application form. The time on the application is only indicative , applications are accepted on first come first serve basis. So no worries if you are late or early. Its better to be early just in case you missed out on any document and need a copy etc.

Documents for the passport for minor

a.  Print out of the online application (6 pages including 2 PP forms). There are multiple fields which need to be filled manually (No overwriting allowed) e.g. Passport details of parents, Date of birth in words etc

b. Paste 3 photographs (3.5cm X 3.5 cm) on the form. DO NOT SIGN (THUMB-PRINT) ON PHOTOS

c. Use blue or black ink for taking minor’s thumb impression on the form

Self Attested (Signed by parents) copies of the following :

a. Date of Birth certificate (Issued by local municipal corporation)

b. Marriage Certificate of Parents or Affidavit

c. Annexure H

d. Address proof

e. Copies of passport of parents (First and last four pages)

Passport Fee for Minor :

Fresh Passport for Minors (below 18 years of Age) of 5 years validity or till the minor attains the age of 18 which ever is earlier. Rs  600/-

Tatkal Passport Fee for Minor :

I opted to apply under tatkal scheme for issue of passport.  You would need couple of more documents and additional fees of Rs 1500.

You need to submit a application of plain paper to convert your application to the tatkal. There is no standard format for the application. I have used the following :

The PRO,

Passport Office , Delhi

This is to request you to process passport application of my daughter <Name> under tatkal scheme.

Regards

<Name> <Relation>

Additionally , “Annexure I” was required on a notarized affidavit non-judicial stamp paper of Rs. 10. That’s why you need to reach passport office early. No worries you can get the affidavit done from Notary sitting at bikaji Cama place building. I got it for Rs. 100. Also there is a photocopier guy right within the passport office building .

It is advised to carry a couple of pens, extra photocopies and plain A4 sheets with you just in case they ask for some application. Be careful with your originals , carry them all for verification.

 Passport for minor in India - indian passport

At Passport Office (07th  June 2011)

a. We reached well in advance of a warm sunny and hot day. To top it all the queue is now shifted to open space behind the passport office building. There are two counter for passport application and one for miscellaneous service  counter. These are only for ONLINE applications.

b. Even though online application enable us to dodge some 200 non online applicants in serpant queue but the online queue was long enough. Be patient as every applicant takes some 10 mins at the counter.

c. On counter itself you can convert your application into the TATKAL. the officer at counter was very polite and helpful. He attached a white paper on top of documents and suggested to write an application and get “Annexure I”.

d. Thankfully we didn’t have to get again into the line and our application was stamped for verification by PRO (sitting at Misc service counter)

e. The queue at that counter was not very long and took 30 odd min. The PRO validated our passports and signed the application.

f. The signed application was again to be submitted to the original counter. Thankfully again we need not stand in line. We paid the total fee of (600 + 1500 = 2100).

g. We are issued a receipt with the  promise of delivery within a week.

Update 1. (09th  June 2011)

The passport status page is showing as “Application is pending for want of Police Report.”

You can also find the complete list of documents http://passport.gov.in

Update 2. (13th  June 2011)

Passport is delivered to our address through speed post. The status on site though still shows “Police verification pending”

The passport is issued for Five years and for once I need to admit this was a super smooth process. My Fairy now has a passport to FLY :)

Update 3. (26th  June 2011)

Police verification done for for my daughter :)

Update 4. (30th  June 2011)

Passport Status updated as passport dispatched on 10th of June 2011. Funny but it’s Okie.

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Google +1 for your blog

June 3rd, 2011 | No Comments | Posted in Blogging, Google

Google launched +1 recommendation button for publishers yesterday. This could possibly be the turning point in the Google vs Facebook war to control the web. Facebook has taken a lead by share and like button but google +1 is a bigger counter to all this.

With Google controlling the major portion of publishers organic traffic they would be more than willing to install the recommendation button on their blogs and sites.google+1 google recommends

The implementation is really easy and even easier for wordpress blogs.

Step : 1 Select the desired size of the button. There are four option to pick from.

get google + 1 button

Step : 2 Copy and paste the code in your blog post or website.

insert google +1 code

The first part of the code goes just before the end of <head> tag in your blog /site. and the second part need to be inserted where you want the button to appear.


Fast Tube by Casper

Voila! you are done.

google + 1 on your blog

Google will display the +1 next to search results.

google search result +1 button

How would Google +1 help your blog :

a. Provide authenticity to your blog content

b. Crowd recommendation will boost your search engine read Google rating

c. For users ; they will get more refined and recommended results (Less of spam / ad page blogs)

If you’re a webmaster, you can get the +1 button code and learn more about implementation on Google’s +1 webmaster site.

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What is QR code

April 27th, 2011 | 3 Comments | Posted in Advertisement, Marketing & advertising, Mobile

There is so much buzz around the QR code recently. Frankly I initially thought its some feature available with Blackberry phone , when I purchased one last year.

So what is QR code ?

By definition its Quick Response Code and look like a square bar code. The information stored on the QR code can be decoded or read by Bar code reader and mobile phones. Qr code can be used to add contacts to list, display  text, image or open a webpage by connecting to mobile web. amitguptaz qr code

All mobile platform supports QR code by native applications or  multiple free application available. Blackberry has build in a complete campaign around QR code. Ease  of adding contact to BB messenger. I love the concept and ad.


Fast Tube by Casper

But the QR code can be used for more interesting use. Few examples :

1.  Talking Resume (Combination of print resume and QR code redirecting to youtube ) . Watch the  creative way to use QR codes on a intern resume. www.victorpetit.fr (Sup de Pub Student, Lyon, France).

2 . Profile Photo on Social Profiles (Business promotion by @mayank)

qr code as business card

3. Link to download applications (Android Market ) – One click Download

Android market offers one click download to almost all applications. The same code can also be extended to print and online campaigns. Check out the QR code for Facebook app

And many more ….

Interestingly term QR code itself is a registered trade mark of Denso Wave Incorporated and Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR codes, but has chosen not to exercise them. Kudos

One last thing and most important thing. How to get a bar code for you ?

QR Code for http://amitguptaz.com

There are ample of online QR Code generator which offer this service for FREE.

a) http://www.qrstuff.com/   Customize the foreground color of the QR code and get a printable code. The site also give option to get QR code on various products like mugs, t-shirts etc.

b) http://www.quikqr.com : Simple interface with option to create a QR code for a webpage

Go ahead get a QR code for yourself.

Update : A mailer today suggest one more utility :)

QR code business card

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IPL match @ Ferozshah Kotla

April 20th, 2011 | 4 Comments | Posted in Cricket, Me , my family & life

IPL season 4 …manoranjan ka baap

(Bhagwaan jab deta hai chappar faad kar deta hai)

Date : April 20, 2011

2:00 PM : Thinking of Cycle Agarbatti ??  Kya Bhagwaan hai

2:30 PM : @amitguptaz digging deep into excel sheets @indiatimes office

4:30 PM : @amitguptaz cheering for Delhi Daedevils from Super Hospitality Hill A South east stand of Ferozshah Kotla Stadium with 3  team members.

These complimentary passes for the match were sponsored by my office Times Internet Limited. I was among the lucky one along with Hemant , Naveen and Gagan to got these passes from our Business Head  Archana Vohra . Thanks a ton.  Have a look at the lovely envelop and the ticket to match below.

Complimentary Tickets to the IPL match at Kotla

Yes you read it right, each ticket was worth Rs 20,000 . This gives access to east hill section of the stadium ; which is most premium location and also have a hospitality section (will come to it later).

3:15 PM : Full speed ahead to Feroz Shah Kotla ground. I must have broken my own record of highway driving of 80KMPH ;p

4:00 PM : Got parking some 2 Km from stadium and we all rushed towards the stadium. Even took an Auto for a Kilometer of ride :)

4:30 PM : See below where were sitting, standing, roaming , dancing and cheering for the Devils

ferozshah stadium

It was my first experience to watch match at the stadium and it can’t be bigger and better than this. It took us all some time for this feeling to sink (Some drinks obviously helped all of us).

at the groundat the kotla ground

at the kotla groundat the kotla groundat the kotla ground

The hospitality area was another experience. Watching the live match from air conditioned zone with refreshment and drinks on the house, took the experience to another level all together.

Back to cheering after the break. We were all loaded with merchandise of Delhi daredevils. And in true delhiwalla style we carried it all back with us. Anyone who want a piece raise your hand.

at the kotla groundat the kotla groundat the kotla ground

at the kotla hospitality sectionmatch in progressmatch in progress

BTW the fans were spraying water to keep all enthusiastic fans like us. And few like me also took shelter in the hospitality zone to enjoy the match from cool zone.

And then like all good things the match also come to an end. We were all happy (may not be reflected in pic below ; ya I am fan of the loosing side) and super charged even after the match.

match khatam paisa hazam

So match ho gaya after match abhi baaki hai. What next …

The moment we stepped out everyone from Star News to P7 wanted a byte from us about the match. Well literally Naveen and Gagan were in their best avataar as the sports analyst. Talking from team composition to batting technique of Virender Sehwag.

What a day !!!

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My Stamp for my daughter

April 9th, 2011 | No Comments | Posted in tisya

This is super cool. Better late than never. I was super excited by the anouncement of India Postal Department to launch My Stamp this year at INDIPEX 2011 (Held at Pragati Maidan, Delhi). The scene there was chaotic there with hundred of philatelic enthusiasts  wanting to grab chance of lifetime. So how could I miss it :)

So I went there on the first day of the exhibition. And here are the stamp sheets for Tisya.

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