I won’t bother with the What is Evernote? Go read it online.

My Evernote has 4 top-level Notebook Stacks:

Clients – When I start working with a new client or a project, I start a notebook and put in multiple notes as I go along.

New Business – All potential clients and business opportunities go in here. This is a good place to collect all random notes, web articles about that client which can be used at the time of pitching or the essential pre-read for future meetings.

Work - Everything which is not related to a specific client gets filed here. Interesting statistics, case-studies, articles which I may want to refer at some later time.

Personal – Blog post drafts, scanned copies of important documents go in here.

How do I use it?

Evernote is always a minimized window on the laptop. If I see something interesting online or an email which can is good material for a presentation or client brief, goes directly to the appropriate Notebook.

Evernote is used to file meeting notes so that I don’t have to bother with multiple Word files or Emails sent by the client servicing team. And if I don’t happen to take notes, the minutes which come in are filed in the respective client notebook.

When brainstorming I prefer pen and paper. After I am done sketching, I run to the scanner and email a copy to my Evernote account. So no worries about not finding that paper when you really need it. Also a copy on the laptop means I can review it at home or at the client’s office.

At regular intervals, I collect all the new business cards I exchange at various meetings. Put them on the scanner’s flatbed and email a JPEG to Evernote. Because Evernote can read all text on the images, searching for that contact becomes much easier.

Blog post ideas are also put into Evernote. I just put in random lines, web articles which probably I want to explore later for a post. This way, I can work on them offline and not depend on the drafts at WordPress.

Personal documents like house rent receipts, car insurance papers and others are always scanned and put into a notebook. So I have access to them online even if I am away from the laptop.

All wine bottle labels are photographed and emailed to Evernote. So if you want to know a wine I may have enjoyed recently – Ask me and I’ll show you what it looked like.

Evernote Tools

Typically I use the Evernote on my Macbook, the Chrome Web Clipper, Direct Email to Evernote. I have the Blackberry Evernote App installed, but never managed to really make much use of it.

Like most other services online, Evernote too has a free version which you can start using right away. If you cross the monthly usage, you can get yourself a Premium Account. I’ve been an active user for the last 6 months and haven’t felt the need for it yet.

If you’re already an Evernote user, do share some of the tips of how you are using this tool. Leave a note in the comments area.

I am sorry I can’t find the link but what caught my attention was this:

Steve Jobs had created a team of fabulously talented people to empower Apple’s product development. He was always getting new product ideas. And it’s said that more than his own set of ideas which have given us great Apple products, Steve was also known for his ability to pick a winning idea. He discarded the idea to develop a tablet and instead choose to work on a phone from the Apple team which went on to become the iPhone.

This ability to identify a potential killer idea and ensure that it’s got a leader’s full support is a skill and needs confidence & perseverance. How do you recognise which one’s got it?

As the lead digital strategist I am encountering a lot of thoughts from the young energetic team. Streamlining their ideas and ensuring a feasibility with some amount of experimentation is a new learning curve for me.

How do you manage your thought process? Or the big set of ideas which your teams keep throwing at you? Would love to hear your best practice for idea filtration. Let’s put them in the comments area.

Rarely do I get tempted to read fiction but lately I noticed that one fiction read then helps me do a quick read of some business or digital topics. But when Sunil announced the launch of his first novel – Diana’s Ring, I had to read it.

The book is a thriller and will keep you turning the page. I loved some of the twists and the unexpected turn of events which makes you finish reading the book in just about a week or less. That’s the fun of reading fiction – they are really quick over and out. The book is inspired from the life of Princess Diana and and the happenings on the dreadful night of her car accident, so that was some interesting read. Although, I must make a point here – the end seemed a little too soft. Not sure if I am able to get the right words – poetic or mellow (not sure if that’s the correct word). I would have liked to end it with a bigger bang. Would love to know what Sunil thinks about it and did he get any similar feedback from his other readers.

Diana’s Ring is currently available only as a digital download. No print copy yet but I guess will come soon. Good weekend read or pick it up before you go off on that beach holiday.

Sunil, great job on the first one and we eagerly await the next title.

What was the Kindle intended for? Thanks to the eInk and superb battery life it was supposed to be your perfect e-reader. However with the new Kindle Fire, you can read in colour, watch movies, listen to music and check mail and more. DISTRACTION. Yes, pure distraction if you ask me. I think what I need from the Kindle is what it does best currently – good battery life, some music and capacity for a lot of reading material. Anything else on it and you are tempted to check mail, catch up on the latest episode of sitcom or even end up playing games. Yes, my Kindle does have an experimental browser – but because its so crappy I don’t get tempted to browse.

Of course there will always be the camp which wants to have a gadget which does it all. But the way I see it – Kindle for reading and any other tablet like iPad or the kinds for entertainment.

And it was interesting as I was composing this blog post I happened to see some interesting tweets from @praval.

My final take – if you are serious about JUST READING – buy the basic Kindle and I prefer it with 3G. But if you want to do more, then go compare if Kindle Fire is what you want instead of the iPad.

But then I got an email from a cousin who pointed me out to the interesting initiative by a group of BBM Students from R.D National College in Mumbai. I really don’t need to write much, take a look and see for yourself how a college project which was done for a few marks has spread and hopefully will let more know about the effects of drink & drive. I think it’s a good effort by the students to show their responsibility and I did my bit – Liked the Facebook page and I hope to spread the word around by this blog post. Go ahead, do your bit too.

Drive Another Day

If you are fed up of the menace of drinking and driving which often costs death of innocent lives then you ought to be a part of this campaign. Five students from R.D National College, Bandra- Shraddha Chauhan, Shweta Bharat, Uma Rane, Nirali Marfatia and Rahul Lalchandani- have launched the Drive Another Day campaign that hopes to reduce the number of deaths caused by drinking and driving by making people more responsible for their deeds. It started off with multiple ground level activities and now has a Facebook page which has already received more than 1000 likes.

The campaign started off as a Media Planning project for the college but the students decided to make it effective by taking it outside. People usually think that they can drive normally after drinking without realizing the fact that beyond 0.08 mg their vision also starts blurring. Through the help of this campaign the students are positive about encouraging people not to drink and drive which was launched on 2nd September.

As a part of the campaign the students have carried out activities like sticking posters behind some 50 odd rickshaws carrying out messages like “ Had a Drink today? Baetho Ismei. Drive Another Day”. They also utilized the premises of a popular hangout in Bandra known as Bonobo by displaying a dummy dead body of a victim of drink and drive with a message “This Could be You”, which cautioned passerby’s as well as the visitors at Bonobo to give up the practice of drinking and driving. There were valet cards displaying campaign messages given out to Bonobo visitors along with their valet parking card tag. Apart from this, the students also got a pledge petition signed by the crowd who were supporting the campaign which urged them to take a pledge that they will never drive under the influence of alcohol.

Next up, they plan to create a viral video documenting the ill effects of drinking and driving and put it up on YouTube. They will also soon be creating an online game which discourages the practice of drinking and driving.

Join the Drive Another Day effort on their Facebook Page.

And so staring July I was back here on a new mission in a new role. It’s been about 3 weeks now and besides reading the dozens of presentation files, brief documents I also spent some time making little notes of things around me.

So here is a quick perspective on life, people and some more around me here in Nairobi.

People

The first impression you get after spending some time with most people here is that they are warm and there is a lot of courtesy. Like you never start a conversation with – Ok listen I need this report. Most often the conversation will start with a few feel good greetings, weather talk and then to business. Like this morning I was at the bank and when I walked up to the teller – she said Hi, how are you? I missed the second part of the greeting and she repeated her question. Warm service for starters I say. Sadly, a common trait is the lack of punctuality and most often you’ve got to give it 10 mins of grace time. But it doesn’t really bother an Indian, does it?

Lifestyle

Life starts real early around here. Most of the staff in my office is well settled in by 8:30AM and on good days we are done by about 5:30 – 6pm. Coffee shops and malls are shut by 9pm so you usually find them crowded during the evenings or then Sat-Sundays. Friday night is a big night – and I am told most youngsters party hard till the wee hours of the morning. Sat / Sun is for the family and lunches are popular.

Till a few months back movies came in late – but they are now released locally on time with international release dates after some big cinema buy over deal. Good for me I say. I watched my first movie here – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – And trust me we were not more than 20 people in a 75 seater cinema hall at a 1PM show on a Saturday. Strangely, there is no intermission.

The food courts at the mall are interesting. You just sit in the common area and waiters from all the outlets attack you with their menu and you can mix and pick from all of them. I kind of like that option – No self-service.

Technology

Early adopters. Talks for 4G launch are already being discussed in tech circles and should not be long before it comes in. Government and communication companies are investing good money in laying high-speed under-sea fibre. Oh, interestingly Macs are very popular and I have seen at least a dozen people both in my office and coffee shops use the iPad. Having said that, the IT team has promised me that my now much delayed Macbook should come in soon. Seems the supplier here has issues with stock.

Cost of living

I am not sure if I can comment too well but I noticed vegetables are expensive but most of them are fresh and there is a good variety available. Compared to what you would pay in a city like Mumbai, I think housing is affordable and you get a much more spacious accommodation in decent localities. But I am not very happy with the quality of construction and the interiors of most of the furnished apartments. So you’ve got to be picky and look around a bit. TV / Newspaper and Internet is high expense. Mobile call rates are competitive but not dirt-cheap like in India. Entertainment can get a little expensive since most often you end up eating at food courts in the malls or then good restaurants. I haven’t seen much option for nice, quick cheap meal option – like the many udipis we have back in India or even street-side food is missing. Similarly movie watching is also expensive since more often I think you see it in the mall’s multi-screen cinema hall.

That’s it for now, more experience will hopefully be blogged as we go along this journey.

See more photos at my flickr collection.

Please click on the image to see full size.

It’s really interesting how this superb brand has once again used the social media channel and informed the brand lovers and news channels about their launch plans for India. Because none of the newspapers this morning carried the story, probably means there was no official press conference to announce the launch. And they’ve already started a consumer engagement initiative even before they open the doors to their 1st cafe in India.

But with a launch plan of September only, will they be able to keep up the buzz online, I think there will be some more learning from this brand.

For those wanting to know when – my twitter timeline tells me that it’s expected only around September this year. Which city? Well, your guess is as good as mine. But fans on twitter are putting their bets on Mumbai. And I think it could be Mumbai / Delhi or surprise winner could be Bangalore. If you’re interested start following their twitter timeline and keep up with the buzz.

With Starbucks, which is the most awaited chain of coffee shops coming to India, I am sure there will be such a mad rush that they might just be the first coffee shop to take reservations.

I think all this while one of the primary reasons for their delayed entry into this Asian country has been the prohibitive property costs. And whether the Indian consumer was willing to splurge on such high-end expensive coffee experiences. But I suppose with the success of Costa Coffee and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf we’ve have seen a positive attitude to enjoy high priced coffees. And now soon, we shall have one more to enjoy.

So, how much are you willing to pay for a Starbucks cup of coffee in India?

I’ve been a satisfied user of Nokia phones for more than 6-7 years now. I also used the iMate Jam for about 3 years before I made the switch back to Nokia E75. But with the popularity of all those applications on iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones I thought I was really missing something. Finally the pressure came on to pick the Blackberry when I moved to Kenya for a work assignment. The Blackberry Messenger was the cheapest way to be in touch with family & friends back home.

So what’s good with the Blackberry

• I like the always on, unlimited internet access. News, twitter and email get done a lot more.
• Although the constant email alerts are a pain, I think it helps you sort out a lot of mail while on the move saving some time when you get back to the desk.
• The Microsoft Exchange sync keeps my work mail and calendar up to date on the laptop and phone.
• The BBM – one hell of a super thing to be in touch with friends and family.

And what’s disappointing