Can they spin an innovative web?
Prashanth Prahalad
Managing Director,
Scalers & Victors Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
Scalers & Victors Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
3. The next wave was, of course, social networking. Even the very idea of Facebook evolved in a American campus. So it was probably natural for the student community to latch on to the concept before the rest of us. They began by amusing themselves on social networking sites. But once they got tired of asking each other, 'Wassuppppp?,' they began exploring the medium. In the process, they defined their individual tastes, brushed up on their hobbies broadcasted their thoughts and emotions. Blogging became more popular amongst them because they could “publish” whatever they wrote. Blogging also encouraged them to enhance their knowledge. Simultaneously, internet-era marketing analysts tapped into the same social networking sites to determine what made the students tick. Today, students juggle their many online avatars with consummate ease. They manage the intrinsic contradictions in their many identities without letting it affect their core personalities. Isn’t this what Branding is all about? Don’t corporate Brand Managers strive to appeal to all the target segments? Don’t corporates spend millions each year to ensure that the various elements of their brand are reconciled and that the internal processes don’t become inefficient in the process? Well, it seems that the students have developed a methodology we in the industry can consider emulating.
4. One of the most recent web phenomenon has been the advent of sites that promote social change. These sites assimilate and galvanize people who wish to transform society for the better. Joining this bandwagon are students with a strong sense of social orientation. They volunteer for a cause, conduct surveys and study the problems faced by the grassroots. In the near future, their passion and expertise could be used by companies aiming their services and products at the bottom of the pyramid.
Clearly, the student community has utilized web technologies in startling new ways. Their ability to innovate thus tells us that they lack neither the imagination nor the spunk to succeed. But while they’ve spiced up their social lives, they could be faulted for not exhibiting the same intensity in furthering their academic and professional ambitions. After all, what they can do on Facebook and Twitter, they can do equally well on LinkedIn. Ethical hackers, for instance, manage to peddle their skills to those searching for them. They’re able to convince corporates that they’re clued into the Next Big Thing. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about all students.
Just as students must bridge this gap, corporates too must bridge a gap of their own. They must learn to communicate their needs to the student community using the same platforms that the students occupy. Corporates have already learned use these platforms to seek visibility and fresh markets. It’s time they use them, with complete conviction, to scout talent as well. Web technologies allow them to drag their net wide and spot the "Just Right" talent.
Having said that, I wonder if corporates are making the best use of the innovative spirit of the freshers entering the industry. Are they acknowledged as the veterans and artistic practitioners of web technologies? Are their opinions being sought while designing online software and campaigns? Or are they treated as pawns that will march ahead with the brief given to them?
Personally, I feel that corporates should stop expecting freshers to be finished products. Instead, they could look at them as adrenalin – people capable of shaking up the routine and forcing the existing workforce to think anew. If their latent capabilities as change agents are tapped to the fullest – especially in the web technologies arena – then the corporate innovation engine might run faster.
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Reader's comments(2)
1:
wonderful..article...this will definately change the way people think about ahortcomingsd of our education system...instead of looking the glass half empty if we look at the glass full...modern indian campuses have so much oppurtunity to offer...what corporates need is to fine tune the student skills in their early years f college with a strong campus...corporate interaction....
Posted by:Ankit Manocha - 26 Dec, 2011
2:
It is a great observation about today's generation students. And it can really help the corporate and the students to have a bright future.
Posted by:Neha kataria - 16 Dec, 2011
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