Original v/s Phony Blogger Meet….

The original bloggers family

The third Indiblogger meet since I shifted to Bangalore last June… WOW! We are lucky people. It was nice to once again to meet all the Indibloggers, inditeam and friends, in addition to spending wonderful 4 hours of a lazy Sunday winning freebies. What I loved the most about the Original IndiBloggerMeet with HP was the agenda itself… originals v/s the phony.

As a blogger, writer and above all a consumer, I know the value of originals. For a writer it is very hurting when someone imitates your work without giving proper credits to you, moreover when they change the style and main purpose behind the article so that they will escape the accusation of plagiarism, its burns you in anger.

The original copy presentation from HP representative was informative, not imposing and came with a clear message that was accepted unanimously (or that is what it seemed like to me) by the people present at the event. I always like people who make a statement, instead of forcing the consumers to accept a fact that they find hard to believe. Acceptance of the agenda was easy because bloggers do not like their work to be copied either. There would have been a lot of issues if the event was held for Bollywood stars with Anu Malik leading the gang ;).

New things I learned were using the QR code to determine the authenticity of the product. So now we have a choice whether we want to go for a counterfeit product or not. Gone are the times when consumers were taken for ride with those perfect imitations which were hard to tell.

The Original Order

For the HP consumers, the products like cartridges are available for doorstep delivery now. HP order-a-cartridge allows consumers to conveniently order and replenish ink, toner, paper and printer supplies from the comfort of their home. Depending on our location, we can easily order our print supplies via the internet, email, telephone or HP reseller.

The HP representative also explained how the original authenticated products are cheaper in the long run. This is something I had already learned some years ago.

 I have to confess that it was through my son that I learned the lesson of opting for originals rather than going for cheaper ones as a consumer. Unbelievably, it all started with jeans. Rayyan loves jeans, therefore, I often buy 3 -4 jeans for him at a time. I used to look for offers, sales and opt for different types of jeans for him that would last at most for a year or less. Most of them stained and spoiled a lot of other dresses when washed. One day, Rayyan told me that I should buy him just one good branded jean instead of all those imitated Lee, Levis and CK. I argued that if we get 4 jeans for the cost of one, why we should go for an expensive one just for a brand name. The wise one then went on to show me the difference in the cloth, stitches, buttons, 

The original Beta

zipper and even the style by comparing his 4 year old jeans with a new imitation of CK jeans I had bought for him. The original jean which was 4 years old looked much better than the new once washed jeans which already had a loose button. Sheepishly, I had to admit that he was right and I was wrong. Later on, I went on to learn the lessons with the China mobile my husband sent, a HP printer that failed to work after someone convinced us to opt for a cheaper cartridge, and many more. So finally, now I go for originals and save money in the final run. So, there was no clash of ideals with the agenda because I whole heartedly agree that originals are better than phonies in every way, especially after getting two feet full of blisters as an after effect of wearing cheap sandals just few months ago.

The original show stealer

Now back to bloggers and bloggers meet from the agenda.When we entered the Fortune Park Hotel, wondering whether we were late, we found Gyanban and gang, loitering on the sofa in the lobby. Trying to catch seat in the front row, I hurried to register myself, where we were welcomed by Vineet and other Inditeam members, which is always a wonderful experience in itself.  Then it was time to identify the familiar faces among the people sitting, getting introduced to new bloggers and catching up with friends. I got to meet Mohan after reading his blogs for nearly three years or may be more. I was introduced to RAJ, but forgot to connect him to the blog which I often visit because of the glasses he wears which is absent in his profile picture. 

There was the young Siddhart, who is star of the meets, along with friends Pooja, Vidya, Rachna, Indrani, Bemoneyaware, Naba, Shweta, V.Shenoy, Raghav, the jaded maruti men, and many other bloggers which meant this was going to be great event.

The Original Indiblogger Showman

The excitement mounted as Anoop held mic in his hands, which was a green signal for the fun to begin. The Indimeet welcomed the bloggers with an original copy of Deep Purple song ‘Smoke on the water’ which had a youngster on guitar and singer N….. humming the tune. With red palms (Anoop made us clap hard over our heads) we the bloggers by choice enjoyed the beats, and later settled down to enjoy the fun that would follow. Then it was time for the 30 seconds of fame where Anoop corrupted the bloggers to stray away from being originals to imitating someone. I have no clue what it was all about, maybe he was trying to make everyone realize how bad imitations can be. There were some gems from our bloggers team, especially Balasubramaniam’s witty “I am great fan of Man Mohan Singh, which means I don’t have to say anything”. There were dialogues, mimics, songs, king Leonidas, and lot of original on spot creations from the bloggers, though sadly not everyone got to be famous due to shortage of time. I got my chance, had nothing new to say, but threatened Anoop to give me a pen drive and got away with it. Though I know most of the bloggers, I enjoy the introductions a lot, I wish the Inditeam would spare more time for introductions next time.

I was hoping for something more of GetPublished feature in the Bangalore  HP’s Original IndiBlogger Meet, but other than getting books as gifts, there was nothing much on part of Harper Collins.

We learned to use the QR code to access internet and create quotes. I and Bemoneyaware had two parts of the quotes, but the other person went into hiding never to be found. We looked under the tables, in the toilet, behind the screen but it was just mission impossible. So we had just 2/3 of the quote which did not qualify for a freebie.

The high tea was good. Wish we had some more time to talk with food in mouths with fellow bloggers. I agree it is gross, but we bloggers love it. Meanwhile, HP allowed us to give an original pose and win prizes once again. I wanted to give the traditional Indian lice picking pose with two kids and Rayyan wanted to go topsy turvy, but Farheena reprimanded us and said ‘BEHAVE’. So we ended with a decent picture which will become a great memorable family photograph for us.

The Original Family

Next was a game handed over to us by Siddesh Raavan Kabe. We were supposed to form groups of 15 bloggers and mimic a title of the movie without words. We got the theme ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, the one Johnny Depp movie I have missed. To start with there was confusion among the team, then it spread to inditeam and finally to audience. The result -  no one could guess the name of movie. The rest went smooth with smart bloggers guessing names of the movies, with only an odd case of a team being disqualified for making sound.

The originality of the event came from the fact that prizes were given away for the youngest blogger, the blogger who coughed like a old hag, a blogger with no hair, a blogger with broken wrist, the team that performed the worst mimic, for a original pose and for answering the question ‘why this Kolavari di?’  Could anyone imagine winning prizes for such achievements? I guess not.. because this is one of a kind original event full of entertainment, which was mostly spontaneous creation, which made it virgin original meet.  Can’t wait to be in another meet….
There was a touching moment for me when a cute fellow blogger who shared the table with me, was happy
with my survival of cancer and gave me hug for it. That came directly from heart and I could feel it. Thank you young lady. Apart from love and kindness, I got two 8GB USB's, one T-shirt and a book to read.

Thank you Indiblogger, HP and Harper Collins. I refuse to thank Fortune Park hotel because the flush in the toilet was not working. J

  More pictures from the Original Copy Indiblogger Meet of Bangalore. 

The original blogger art

The Original Fool

The original couple

The original back benchers gang of Bangalore

Original quick wit...

Original innocence of a child which can never ever be imitated

Photos courtesy Indiblogger Facebook Page