Since last few days, everyone has been tweeting and talking about it. So I thought, I would also share with you all, something about my one year that just passed by. Since last January I was only doing one thing day and night – working, and working more to get a music album in shape. Hoping a good come back after all the hard work and sleepless nights

I’ve been with music for almost 17 years now and at-least 10 years since I got serious about it. But things got out of hands ‘musically’ in 2005 when I shifted to Dubai and was working. Though I came back to India in 2009, I had lost that spark I had for music…that motivation or whatever you call it. This year has made me come back to music and think more seriously and I will always remember this year when I took music as solid career and left everything aside. Psst, I still design websites though

I believe that we learn something new everyday. Learning could be something knowledgeable. Something about science or maybe just a new word…or at times, some realizations about you or your friends. This year has been a great year for me to refresh and thrash memories and people in my life. A clear mind to know what’s wrong and what’s right. I remember talking to one of my lyricist and a part-time astrologer in Cochin. He had told me, ‘ This phase is the time for setting up your mind…knowing people and circumstances ‘. Well, it definitely was one

Before I end this, I would like to give out a million thanks to everyone who has made this year beautiful, helped me stay positive, encouraged me with your comments, tweets, emails and all other means. Hope 2011 brings the best life can offer you.

Happy New Year

Love
Ifthi

Design office in Bangalore was started in february, registration process all happening and I’m meeting and communicating with some of the initial ‘potential’ clients for their web/interactive solutions. Things are happening.

Music part is good as well. New album project is slow as we are waiting for some lyrics to come and few singer’s dates and replies. I need to submit some cues for the Documentary project I’m working on. Will be meeting the director on 9th hopefully and so I will get to work today full on. ‘Patchwork’ works will continue simultaneously.

Had a good time tonight with some of the friends here at cousin’s place. Sheesha in the garden and some jokes. Now it’s very late that I won’t be able ‘wake up’ if I sleep now. Killing some time watching tv and setting my blog feed in Twitterfeed.

I will try my best to make a post a week atleast about stuff I like to share and more updates about my projects and life.

Now watching tv and planning to have a black coffee. Also doing some research on Kathakali Music

Cheers
Ifthi

1. A skill set built mostly around interruption instead of engagement.
2. A digital department in place of a digital competency.
3. Core competencies focused on “one to many” instead of “one to one.”
4. Creating brand-to-consumer communications at the expense of consumer-to-consumer communications.
5. Lack of analytics and tools to measure effectiveness.
6. Production systems that are linear instead of organic.
7. Developing media plans instead of channel plans.
8. Placing media instead of creating media.
9. Creating brand transactions instead of brand relationships.
10. Focusing on “the big idea” instead of “big multichannel ideas.”
11. Traditional production staff instead of “producers.”
12. Expecting account executives to be both strategic leaders and project managers.
13. Continuing to allocate client budgets to media instead of creative.
14. A business strategy that attempts to support high-value offerings (strategy and ideation) as well as increasingly low-value offerings (basic production and execution).
15. Selling hours worked instead of value created.
    

I would add a 16th risks that agencies can’t afford to take:

Beginning 2010 without a written new business strategy, that includes social media as a primary component, to generate inbound leads.

PS: I got this as an email forward.

Yea I have been busy and now I guess I got punished for not updating u guys. I’m writing the same content second time . I wrote a post in WordPress for iPhone once and it got saved to local drafts and disappeared. Now I’m writing this on a newer version of WP App. Ok tech facts apart.

It’s 4:53 am on a wednesday and I’m awake. It happens to me often so I don’t care.

I’m in Bangalore! The garden city…Please ignore my last itenary post where I had written about the November schedule (Cochin, Chennai, Mumbai). Life is unpredictable. And so is my life!.

I was called to Bangalore on an urgent job to redesign a website I had done in 2002. Work is on and I have almost completed the initial template options. Around 4 of them.

Meanwhile tune4 – a chennai based music company – that manages my music projects – is setting up my track Elements to release it in 300+ online music stores worldwide. I guess you already know about it through my fan page on Facebook.

My Facebook fan page is nearing 1500 fans. I would like to call them my well wishers. Some random people who have helped me stick to my dream. Who have fueled my confidence and supporting me with all their love.

In April 2009, when I started my fanpage, I had less than 50 fans. My family members joined after seeing 500+ fans on the page . So you know how happy I’m . This is a recognition I haven’t got in last 16 years of my music life. Love you all!

Plasma is next big thing happening. Featurig Neha Nair, a Trivandrum based singer who have given my house music track a real good carnatic feel with her aalaaps. You can hear the first cut on Facebook

Bangalore is treating me well. Staying with cousin bro. Hanging out with his group of friends. Clubs, other gatherings, meetig new people etc. Moreover the climate here is damn sexy!

I will be in Bangalore for a while with lot more surprises

I’m thinking of blogging regularly. If not big updates, something short and sweet or any crazy posts.

PS: my bollywood project is delayed till march and a malayalam movie project round the corner. But as I always tell you. If it happens, it happens…so forget this till I remind you next time. When a social marketig expert like me does music for a movie, it will never miss ur eyes or ears…

Excuse me if there is any spelling error, I’m typing this on an iPhone.

Time is 5:16 am…

As 2008 says bye tonight, I thought of posting some crap here to kill some time early morning

It has been a neutral year for me all 2008 with many good things happening and some struggle to get things rolling.

Early 2008 I was shuttling between cochin and chennai working with finest musicians in south India. Working for my latest malayalam album was very exciting. Though it haven’t seen light, 2 years of expectation is still exciting me

I came back to Dubai on 15th January 2008 and since then I’m with the business here.

February was when I received mail from Molilim Yacoub, the canadian musician I worked with for the single Show Me Love. 2-3 discussions and 5 nights of sleepless efforts. Joining with Lyricist Karthik Chandan from Bangalore, we made an amazing song.

July 5th a well wisher mailed me saying that someone is releasing an album in Kerala titled Violet , the proposed name for my latest album. And so, I’m still in a process of renaming it before release.

August was my birthday month. No big celebrations. I normally don’t celebrate though. Ended up ordering KFC and eating them with cousins…lol

Today I got options for my new site logo. I’m starting to brand myself online . Getting a arabic calligraphy done to be my logo. I got 2 options today. Will decide and work on something for website. I’m still confused if I should go for a black n dark theme or white elegant one as I have now. but one thing for sure, I will have full flashed website, hopefully.

Adobe released the CS4 with loads of new features…best thing technically helping me this year hehe

This year Dubai ruler has ordered to cancel all new year celebrations because of the crisis in Palestine. So be at home and hope for the best in 2009

Happy New Year
Ifthikar Ali

Eid Mubarak…though it is late

I was fully occupied after eid…not with so much of work but was totally lazy to do anything after the eid holidays…got some designs for the company and the company website to complete and a song to finish off…all pending…feeling so damn lazy and so many confusions and questions ruling over my mind…(i hate to be ruled…typical leo…hehe)

Updates listed…:)

Was busy finishing of a website for an advertising agency in dubai basically…finished it on the eid day early morning around 6am…i cant list the site here as it will be indexed by google and that company wont be happy about that…:) So did a good work alhamdulillah

I had a great eid…sleepless night before eid and lunch at cousin sister’s place…the next day, we went for camping in dibba ( somewhere near dibbaa ), slept over beside a mountain and cooked food and things like that…cousin bro and friends were there…5 of us…pics are there on my facebook

Malayalam Album the one titled Violet before is breathing a bit now…now thinking of a new name and also planning up the videos…meetings to be held in cochin on november 2nd and hopefully something will happen…else I DUN CARE…i’m so damn tired running after that album for last 3 years…Guys i will make something new for who were expecting the album…i’m totally helpless in this matter. So pathetic and cheap is the people who start of with malayalam albums nowadays…GET A LIFE for god sake.

So what left…? Yeah, October…this time October is gonna be special hopefully…a turning point for sure…( who says? well, I Say )

With so many confusions and questions before a leap…I hope for the best…

Everything happens for a reason…let’s hope so

Cheers and have a great october… 

Ali

It was pretty much same as my routine was all same before ramadan hehe…I work everynight and sleep off the days…food from the restaurant ( i miss my mom ) and yea thats it…

Things are fast here in Dubai during ramadan as compared to India…I had felt like days are too long when I used to fast in India lol…

7th Day of Ramadan 2008 going on…wishing you a blessed ramadan…

So what’s up with u guys? Share your thoughts…

Cheers
Ifthi