We have been picking up some conversation threads about how the GDC event is starting to strain people’s patience. These are coming from innocent bystanders who came to know about this event from their ‘friends’, and have not been able to shake them loose, since

They hear from these friends on e-mail, on chat, on feeds, scraps, twitter and text – “please, please, please vote for me. I have a whopping 789 already but I really need some more to come back on page one. So, if you have not voted for me, do it now” The requests just keep coming and coming and coming! 

Then someone started to murmur about the event on the grapevine and how it is helping spam. We had to politely intervene. Team GDC does not do spam! When we explained our policies and how the onus was really on the user of the GDC platform, the response was heartening – quote verbatim:
I have not mentioned anything about TGDC spamming me; simply because you have never spammed me. My gripe is with people who don’t know when, where and how to ask for votes. The person I voted for asked me on gtalk very nicely, and I did it.

You are right; the platforms are being misused, through no fault of yours. Or at least, the fault is really negligible. I am happy that someone is doing interesting stuff in this space. In fact, I was impressed enough with the site design and added Experience Commerce on delicious, quite a few days back. So, don’t worry, I’d be the last one to start out a negative campaign (I confess to thinking about a post titled ‘When viral becomes spam’ but that won’t have anything against you guys)

Keep up the good work, and all the best

So what is happening here is that many of your friends/colleagues are indeed tiring of your ‘vote for me’ requests, but don’t have the courage to tell you on your face. We logged over 20,000 votes yesterday and the requests are still swelling, with just a day to go for the closure. So if you are planning to work the phones and chat and text and twitter tonight, for that last mile push, just pause and think about it. Are YOU spamming your friend?

Since Tuesday, It has been raining incessantly here in Mumbai. The monsoon (though late) will now hopefully deliver upon its promise, providing the much needed lifeline to tens of millions of farmers across India.

Here at GDC basecamp, the countdown has started. It has been a wonderful experience for us (as facilitators) to create a platform for you all to share so many amazing stories. When we started the journey, we had our doubts. We wanted to reach people who have the passion to travel and for whom a trip on the road was all about discovery. We also wanted to touch people for whom automobiles are a passion and not a mere symbol of status or just a means to get to point B from A. How on earth are we going to find them in such a short period of time, we pondered.

India never ceases to surprise!

I am sure all of you will cherish this experience and savour the after-taste of the adrenalin rush. Thank you for putting your trust in the system. Yes, we have had glitches along the way, but all of you patiently stood by, and gave us a helping hand. Now it is our turn to ensure that the Jury listens to all your suggestions, as they get down to short-listing the most likely candidates.

Ultimately 3 couples will be chosen to create three unique travelogues, as they embark on a new journey of ‘discovery’ on behalf of all of us. We hope you will follow their journey and cheer them all along the way, to the end.