TCS IT WIZ Quiz for Students

The TCS IT Wiz , Tata Consultancy Services’ IT quiz for students will be held on 29th September at IMA House, Kaloor.

This nation wide contest has already completed regional rounds conducted in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. After Kochi, further rounds will be held at Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai.

The quiz is open to school students from Classes 8 to 12 . There is no entry fee and each institution can send multiple teams of two members each. The winning teams from the 12 regional rounds will compete for the national championship at the finals in December.

The quiz will focus on application of information technology across various sectors, including the Internet, IT buzzwords, acronyms, personalities, companies, brands, software products and areas where IT has made an impact such as education, entertainment, multimedia, gaming, banking and music.

Entries through the respective institutions should reach TCS on or before September 27th at TCS IT Wiz Quiz Coordinator, Tata Consultancy Services, Tejomaya, L&T Tech Park Ltd, Infopark Campus, Kusmagiri PO, Kakkanad, Kochi.

Phone: 0484 6618081 or 91 9495779260).

First Indo-Latin American animation venture ‘Gaturro’ tops box office in Argentina

Technopark-based Toonz Animation's 3D animated feature film ‘Gaturro’ has topped the box office figures in Argentina a week in to its premiere on 9^th September. Released both in normal 3D format and in stereoscopic format the Spanish version of the movie received wide spread appreciation from all quarters of the industry. The 90-minute film, a product of Indian creativity and technology combined with Argentinean humor and imagination has been co produced with Illusions Studios Argentina, at a cost of USD 7 million.(Rs.32 Crore)

Based on the famous Argentinean cartoon strip, the 3D animated film brings to screen, the life of ‘Gaturro’ the cat, whose love for his neighboring cat Agatha constantly gets him into trouble. Hollywood, glitz, and glamour throw the adorable cat, with a little help from his furry pals, into a wild journey that ultimately leads to the realization that true love is all about being your real self. Created by cartoonist Cristian Dzwonik (“Nik”), the comic has been published in more than 30 books, magazines and comic volumes and has become a phenomenal success across Latin America. “Gaturro” includes not only the love story between the two cats, but also an entire universe of fellow pets and humans that expands the franchise of characters.

“We are thrilled at this phenomenal response. After getting good reviews at this years’ Cannes, we had a gut feeling that the movie would do well. We had tried really hard to make it technologically at par with the best and also with an equally good story line. Plans are on to release the English and Hindi version in India by January next year” says P. Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation India.

The world-wide distribution of the movie is done by the Oscar winning Voltage Pictures. A universe of amazing characters, a high visual impact 3D production and a captivating and amusing story make up an adventure providing fun for the whole family.

ThoughtFactoryPR: Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media ba...

ThoughtFactoryPR: Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media ba...: "Let me start with New Marketing Labs President Mr. Chris Brogan’s quote “The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about posi..."

Indian PR firms yet to jump on the social media bandwagon

Let me start with New Marketing Labs President Mr. Chris Brogan’s quote “The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being and improving.” Yes that is what we are going to witness soon in India. Social media is not a media. It is a platform to listen, engage, and build relationships. And I doubt how many of us really make use of this new generation networking platform.
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, one of the founders of public relations had very good reasons to establish that PR can influence the world. It took time for many of the kosher lobbyists and PR brains in India to realize the possibility of PR in all aspects of life. Indian PR firms have been following the conventional mode to get the maximum visibility for their clients though the methods are obsolete. Now it is the time for adopting different tactics; and undoubtedly Social Media is the new platform for effectual Public Relations, which is yet to be explored. The India PR enterprises should try the Soicial Media tool which is absolutely cost efficient than any other PR practices. Let’s have a discussion about this next generation PR dynamism.

Press Releases and Social Media
Wiki says one anecdote on an origin of modern press releases is about an incident in 1906 involving Ivy Lee. Lee's public relation agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just fallen victim to a tragic accident in which 53 people died. Ivy Lee convinced the company to issue the first press release to journalists, before other versions of the story, or suppositions, could be spread among them and reported. He used a press release, in addition to inviting journalists and photographers to the scene and providing their transportation there, as a means of fostering open communication with the media.
Presently press releases are running the shows. PR professionals have been pushing their level best to get an utmost visibility for their press releases, however all these practices are utterly conventional methods of pitching. Social media can give a better acceleration for your stories (provided the release should be newsworthy). However data is pertinent for each press release and while using social media the PR practitioners should be aware of what to give and what omit.
Social media can really rejuvenate the press releases. It is an effective distribution channel and the reach will be umpteenth times better. Twitter, Facebook, Linked in and blog all can fortify your efforts. Before trying these practices you should have brevity. Suppose some journalists can not join the press conference the Youtube link of the client’s spoke person byte can actually facilitate the journalists. Lets have a look how Social Media Pres Release Works.
It is really hard to get social media community interested in traditional releases. Always consider the end user to ensure singular focus in a social media release. You need to have a blog platform which publishes only valid as well as relevant news. It is necessary to creat a story angle first and then publish your post. . Remember not to waste reader’s time, therefore each sentence should be informative and short. Headlines needs to be catchy. If you follow these steps, you will gain traffic to your blogs. Pitching Journalist using Social Media Pitching stories to a journalist through social media is an effective method with better response. Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, blogs let you know large number of journalists whom you can really be in touch. Pitching a journalist will not be happen instantly, you have to comprehend the journalist before you contact. The most pertinent factor is creating a fostering relationship with the journalists. Social media can undoubtedly fortify the rapport. New generation PR experts say that “Journalists like being helped rather than they like being pitched.” After all effective communication is necessary and social media can enhance the communication between Journalist and PR through blogs, online forums and discussions.
The journalist fraternity is very much active in blogging; your comments and retweet to the journo’s content is always good, adding their stories to your FB, Linkedin, and Twitter pages will be a good idea.
Edify your clients about social media
I believe the Indian PR practitioners should enlighten the clients about the gamut of social media. Perhaps we are lacking an effective communication between the PR professionals and corporate folks. Creating discussion group and survey in Linked In or in facebook, RSS feeds can actually facilitate your clients to get a maximum visibility. Regular client updates through social media will certainly give a good impetus among the multitude abruptly. Incredibly it will not charge you to an extent. Check how much time you can spend daily for social media. Above all if you can make your clients a little proactive in social media as a tool of dominant marketing strategy obviously that makes you the real generation-next Public Relation professional.
Connecting the PR world
People say that when you network you are your client. If you are in the PR world at least you should communicate efficiently. Social media is the only contrivance that enhances live interaction anytime across the globe. It is all about how you can market yourself or your firm. Networking is an inevitable part in public Relations; also keep the rapport with other PR professionals. Linkedin and Facebook is a real time avenue for social networking. Learning from others will always benefit, for that you need to actively participate in the online discussions and forums. Before I conclude let me say, the new generation PR pros have been realised that social media is a platform for non-stop networking and innumerable opportunities. Now get your works done swiftly using this breakthrough innovation. Let’s start clicking the opportunities.

Kerala IT brings Tata Consultancy Services’ biggest Training Centre to Technocity

Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri V S Achuthanandan today handed over the Government order sanctioning allotment of 82 acres of land in Kerala IT’s most ambitious project – Technocity to Tata Consultancy Services CEO N Chandrashekharan to set up a state–of-the-art training and development campus. The order was handed over at function held in Mascot Hotel, Trivandrum. TCS plans to set up a training centre, slated to be the country biggest training campus capable to house over 10,000 professionals when completed and offer TCS’ leading edge learning curriculum to those who join the company from colleges.

Handing over the government order, Kerala CM said, “Our continuous efforts have paid off very well as seen from the growth figures of IT exports from Kerala which has increased from Rs.141 crores in 2000-01 to Rs. 2412 crores in 2009-10. With TCS setting up the largest training centre in the country here will provide large number of direct and indirect employment to large number of IT professionals, skilled and unskilled personnel from the area and outside thus facilitating development of other social, educational, health care and other related infrastructure.”

“The 10,000-seat campus will set the global benchmark for corporate learning institutions in terms of the physical infrastructure available as well as the holistic professional and personal development programs that will be available,” said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services. “We are delighted to expand our presence significantly in this city, where current primary training center has been located since 1997.”