Connecting a smile with a smile

Every relationship begins with what we call: ‘register’ for attention!

Relationships. This is what life is all about. The relationship of a man with his emotions, emotions with truth, truth with fun, fun with food, food with games, games with prizes, prizes with rapture, rapture with applause, applause with resolve, resolve with… and the list is as endless as the life of a soul! As I wrote this beginning, Specky, who was reading what I was writing, said, ‘Leave the soul alone. This post is going to be read by mortals and bloggers.’

‘Mortals and bloggers are the same,’ I protested.

She said, ‘Yes, and that is why you need to float back from infinity and talk of 365.’

She obviously meant time that was full of boundaries, but what I understood was the literally borderless realms of Microsoft Office 365 and I said, ‘That is what I am talking about… the relationship between an indiblogger meet and a concept that is bound to win hearts.’ She seemed confused for a moment… but just a moment, as mathematicians don’t remain confused for long. She smiled and said, ‘That’s a great idea. Remember to weave in a few tweets too.’

Well, frankly I sometimes wonder if she reads all my thoughts because this is exactly what I had been planning to do. So I’m going to use tweets that were really and truly sent out that and tell you all about the Microsoft 365 – Indiblogger meet at the charming Blue Frog in Mehrauli. But that’s not all. I’m also going to talk about the simple and effective features of Microsoft 365 as I meander through tweets that, as I said earlier, were really and truly sent that day!

As the bloggers trooped in one common refrain expressed on twitter was their excitement about Office 365. However they soon got busy with their introductions. As Office 365 India ?@Office365India tweeted: ‘The #IndiBloggers are introducing themselves and having their 30 seconds of fame. Things are getting exciting at the #MeetOffice365 Meet!’

Just a few more tweets to convey the flavour of the Meet:

Gaurav B. ?@PartRhymer: ‘Free booze, delightful cuisines and socializing. It’s like sprinkles on a cupcake. Amazing stuff happening at #meetoffice365 event!’

Madhu Bhardwaj ?@madconnection: ‘#MeetOffice365 #indiblogger #airtel business. Awesome weather in the open courtyard of BlueFrog.’ 

Pulkit Juneja ?@Pulkit_Juneja: ‘Giving away prizes for no reason. Won a glass of bear \m/ P.S: I don’t drink !! Haha. #MeetOffice365’ 

Aashish Rai Jain ?@araijain: ‘@indiblogger #meetoffice365 😉 great presentation by Ritu Chaturvedi & microsoft team!  Asked them a lot of questions ;-)’

Obviously then, what matters most is how the presentation by the Microsoft team went… was it something that the 200 bloggers present there appreciated… was the new concept applauded?… are such inclusions welcome in future meets? This post tries to answer these questions by listing the way the tweets went that day and after it.

So the conclusions aren’t mine but of the bloggers who have a mind of their own.

Office 365 in tweets!

This meet saw bloggers from all sorts of blogging environments… it wasn’t just the tech bloggers interested to come and listen to what Office 365 was all about. Not just this, they were concluding about how they’d want to use this revolutionary concept even as the presentation went on. They were all charmed by the way it would make life more exciting and easy at the same time.

Aparna lal ?@aparna1420: ‘Part time radio jockey, coders, home-makers……all under one roof to #MeetOffice365 @Office365India bloggers meet @bluefrog’ 

Rakesh Narang ?@rakeshnarang5: ‘@indiblogger #MeetOffice365 I’d use office for my future startup’ 

ankita mahajan ?@ankita_mahajan: ‘With office 365 app, I can work at home eating my favorite chocolates without sharing to any 1. #meetoffice365’

Bloggers were quite impressed by the way this concept was effectively including the different types of devices that are in vogue today. This is surely an important feature as it gives that elusive freedom to do what you want to do wherever you want to do it at whatever time of the day or night!

Madhu Bhardwaj ?@madconnection: ‘#meetoffice365 @indiblogger learnt the concept of share point and cloud. Five devices can use the product with just one licence.’ 

Shilpa Dureja Puri ? ?@shilpapuri: ‘Microsoft Lync 2013 ushers in a new connected experience transforming communications into interactions! #MeetOffice365 @Office365India’ 

Office 365 India ?@Office365India: ‘Better access, more flexibility and seamless collaboration…that’s what #Office365 is all about! Stay tuned for more! #MeetOffice365’ 

Shilpa Dureja Puri ? ?@shilpapuri: ‘4 things new about NEW Office – Office365 – devices, social, cloud, control @Office365India #meetoffice365’

Other tangible advantages that emerged during the presentation included what these tweets are all about:

Jyotsna Verma ?@jyotsna2283: ‘Nice app. Dictionary is a good thing intoduced #meetoffice365’ 

Aditya Pranav ?@adityapranav: ‘#MeetOffice365 Skydrive with 25 GB space is phenomenal…now my office is wherever I am @indiblogger’

Removal of middlemen in the world of technology is such a fine thought… and Office 365 does it with style. Look at the way these perceptive bloggers talk about these intuitive features:

thereaderscosmos ?@thereaderscosmo: ‘@indiblogger.in  #MeetOffice365 the best part is you cn post directly on d blog and the phone n laptop syncs….dats blogging nytime nywhr’ 

Anukriti Sharma ?@sweetuanukriti: ‘#MeetOffice365 @indiblogger Parallel editing can definitely help a growing publishing house.’ 

Subir Dey ?@subirendra: ‘@indiblogger: i could #meetoffice365 to keep up and collaborate with my team of heritage hunters, can u integrate bing maps to it:)’ 

Writer at Heart ?@GarimaObrah: ‘@indiblogger #MeetOffice365 What’s better than having my team on the cloud all day!? ;)’

Quite obviously, freedom from worries about incompatible versions of the application software one is using or about delays caused because of these obstacles are all made redundant by this innovative introduction:

Aditya Pranav ?@adityapranav: ‘#MeetOffice365 live streaming of Office 365 is revolutionary…one doesnt need to worry abt office installed on local machine  @indiblogger’ 

Suraaz Ghmre ?@surajonchrist: ‘@indiblogger #meetoffice365  i would like to use office 365 for worry free writing and saving of stories i write and novel i wish to write..’

The ones with a keen business sense and an eye for monetising everything or getting into the heart of fiscal matters were equally appreciative of this innovative software:

shwetabh mathur ?@shwetabh2: ‘@indiblogger #MeetOffice365 the feature I”ll take is skydrive to have all d data at one go at my fingertips 4om anywhere’ 

Ashish Chawla ?@gamestation90: ‘@indiblogger  #MeetOffice365 your business on cloud and take your business round the globe # indiblogger .. Rocked.’

Why leave the technicalities alone? The more tech-minded bloggers too were taking in appreciative whispers… and, of course, tweeting about it all:

Rohan Makkar ?@Rohanmakkar: ‘No more blogger’s ugly UI, I would use Ms Word to publish @indiblogger #meetoffice365 Mouse Pls!!’ 

Pulkit Juneja ?@Pulkit_Juneja: ‘Web conferencing feature is awesome, like we can host online meetings with audio as well as HD video conferencing. #MeetOffice365’

Aashish Rai Jain ?@araijain: ‘@indiblogger #meetoffice365 sharepoint will help me maintain version control & will save my data also :-)’

What is life without the facility of mobility? This is built in at the heart of this system that everyone, and not just bloggers, are going to love:

M.V.Priyank ?@mvpriyank: ‘Work on PC, sync my files, use them on my phone! #O365 #IndiBlogger #MeetOffice365’ 

thereaderscosmos ?@thereaderscosmo: ‘@indiblogger.in #meetoffice365 i cn blog frm my phone…sync it wid office on phone n blog on the go’ 

Rohit Khurana ?@rohit_khurana: ‘#MeetOffice365 office in cloud is a great way to work from anywhere and everywhere.’

No wonder then, that even the team from Microsoft was quite confidently tweeting:

Office 365 India ?@Office365India: ‘The #MeetOffice365 has taken an interesting twist! The #IndiBloggers will be tweeting about how #Office365 can help a growing business….’

Conclusion

This indiblogger meet was a hit… the presentation and all the vital information about the software was a hit… and the tweets were, in themselves, so full of valid explanation that I had no alternative but to collect them all and present them as a post:

@shilpapuri: ‘Hindi blogger! Kudos to you!! Find your expression in language you love! @indiblogger @Office365India’ 

shwetabh mathur ?@shwetabh2: ‘@indiblogger i need help…met so many bloggers @#MeetOffice365 that all names and faces got jumbled…can u let me know who all attended?’ 

Kashish Jain ?@chapcoolboy: ‘The host with mic… U rock man… N I love that hud hud thing #meetoffice365’ 

Arush Kakkar ?@ArushKakkar: ‘#MeetOffice365 heard someone was to propose to a girl!?  Did that happen!?  @indiblogger @RoyalEnfielder’ 

How to Hack ?@howtohackin: ‘#MeetOffice365 Really amazing meet, met new bloggers, made new friends and above all enjoyed free beverages and food.’

Hope someone is listening to these charming suggestiuons that some of the bloggers had the presence of mind to tweet about:

Murtaza Ali ?@apotofvestiges: ‘@indiblogger #meetoffice365  I wish get office 365 subscription for free… Help me get started, at least’ 

Cyril Sebastian ?@CyrilSebastian: ‘Waitn to win #MeetOffice365  subscription for next 5 years frm @indiblogger’

Allow me to conclude with what this blogger had to say about the meet and about her aspirations for meets in the future:

Sangita Passey ?@sangitapassey: ‘@indiblogger #meetoffice365 The effect, aroma, and the taste of yesterday’s meet is still lingering… Waiting for the next one now!’

My final conclusion about the indiblogger meet as well as Microsoft Office 365 is that both of them are fully capable of connecting a smile with a smile in a rather effusive manner!

Post based on a presentation made by the Microsoft team in an Indiblogger Meet in Delhi.
Click here to know more about Microsoft Office 365.

Here is a selection of pictures from this wonderful meet in Blue Frog, Mehrauli, New Delhi:

This is me… waiting to dive deeper in the pool of 365!

We’re all talking about ourselves… but waiting for the microsoft team to come on the stage!

Bloggers from different genres were present… here is pawan Soni from ‘The Food Freaks’

Ritu is finally up there giving us an intimate view of 365!

JOSH is so much a part of indibloggers!

Cyril sebastian is obviously enjoying the party in Blue Frog!

Interactions and networking are always happening at such meets!

Ah! How can I forget my 10 push-ups and the thousand rupees that I won! Games that Microsoft plays!

Creative interpretation is a blogger-trait!

The bloggers… the indibloggers in Delhi!

365 makes us smile… because we know that we can now connect a smile with a smile!

Arvind Passey
22 April 2013