n <p>We hear a lot about buzz, but what is "buzz" exactly – and how does it start? First, a buzz is something that you create. It starts small, like ripples in a pond. It builds slowly. But when cultivated and capitalized on, the buzz eventually gets too loud to ignore. This is our goal when we work with you to turn a book into credibility into celebrity: create a buzz that makes your name, your face, your book, and your message instantly synonymous – and ultimately recognizable.</p><p>When a movie like Transformers or Star Trek is an instant box office smash, that’s not a buzz; that’s a million-dollar marketing blitz that literally created an overnight hit. Most of our clients aren’t millionaires with unlimited marketing budgets, so we rely on building a buzz instead.</p><p>Now, when a small, independent movie like My Big Fat Greek wedding wedding rings debuts to a rather slim box office ripple but word of mouth, great reviews and repeat business make it a "must-see" event over time – and a bona fide cult movie sensation – that’s buzz working at its finest.</p><p>That’s people telling people about "this great new movie." That’s a few people reading a great review, passing word amongst themselves, and going as a group to see a matinee together. That’s one friend liking the movie so much she immediately thinks of two more friends who "have to see it," and bwedding rings them along with her to see it again.</p><p>That’s a slow and consistently building of "buzz" that lasts far, far longer than the typical "blockbuster" movie that debuts to a huge $60 million opening and then quickly fizzles the next weekend – and every weekend after.</p><p>So how do you build buzz? A buzz takes time; it doesn’t happen overnight. It starts small, builds up steam, gradually establishes itself and eventually establishes you as someone buzz-worthy; as someone people are curious to know more about, learn from, listen to, etc.</p><p>If you’re interested in building buzz for yourself, here are several tips for doing just that:</p><p>* Take your time to intelligently make your mark: You have to think this through; plan ahead and be consistent. Sharing the same message over and over isn’t repetitive because you’re usually speaking to a new audience; it’s simply a smart way to hone your message to perfection. The good thing about building a buzz is that it gives you time to really lock in your message and do it intelligently the more and more you give it.</p><p>* Schedule events: Events are the bread and butter of establishing a big buzz. Create a list of bookstores and blanket them with readings; the more, the better. But don’t stop there; plenty of other places are open to author events as well. If you’ve written a book on gardening, talk to nurseries and local department stores with plant sections to do walk-through tours where you point out the latest spring plants or which flowers survive best in winter. If you’ve written a cookbook, do presentations and workshops at local cooking schools, restaurants or even food courts. Keep your eyes and ears open and be alert when walking around town; you never know which venue you walk past or just hear about might make the perfect place for your next event!</p><p>* Lock your smile in: Appear at signings and readings – whether at the biggest chain bookstore in town or the smallest mom-and-pop used bookstore – with enthusiasm, vitality, humor, and your great message. A buzz can either be positive or negative, and you want to make sure you build the right, not the wrong, kind of buzz.</p><p>* Be prompt, be professional, be persistent: Even the biggest towns are small when it comes to local newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV employees. These gatekeepers remember names, faces, an attitude, a gesture, a remark, or an affront. They have short attention spans and long memories. When you consistently provide trouble-free, audience-pleasing appearances time and again, the gates eventually open and something truly exciting starts: a buzz.</p><p>* Build on your contacts: Tell people about what you’re doing. If you’re having a book signing next weekend, send out a blitz email to all your friends. Tell your coworkers, tell them to tell their coworkers, collect business cards and email addresses and create a "master list&a
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Rates still unviable, but begins experiment with harvesting, recycling
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation says its per capita supply of water is the highest in the country, at 249 litres per capita per day (lpcd), against the national standard of 158 lpcd.
However, supply is still below the demand, an important issue given the proposed Phase-V and VI expansions of the city. Chandigarh’s decadal population growth is 44 per cent, against the national average of 25 per cent.
Revenue from water supply is also well below spending, with rates not having been revised since 2002.
The daily requirement is estimated at 100 million gallons a day (mgd). The city gets 80 mgd at Kajouli, 27 km from here, on the Bhakra mainline canal. Of this, 10 mgd is pumped to the satellite city of Mohali and 3 mgd to Chandimandir (in Haryana). The other 67 MGD goes to Chandigarh. Another 20 MGD is sourced through 200-odd tubewells in the city.
For augmentation, the Union urban development ministry has recently approved a project to take another 40 MGD at Kajouli; of this, 29 MGD is for Chandigarh and the rest to neighbouring areas, including Mohali. This, officials say, should suffice for the next 25 years.
In addition, 10 MGD is to be sourced through a new plant, again okayed this year, which would treat sewerage water to make it fit for uses like gardening and car washes. To encourage such use, the CMC plans to supply this re-treated water at a subsidised rate of Rs 50 per acre per month.
Rainwater harvesting has also been made compulsory for all new buildings, both residential and commercial, including government ones. Existing government buildings are also supposed to convert, though no schedule has been mandated.
Chandigarh has 144,000 connections, of which 121,000 are metered. For unmetered connections, the supply is at a flat Rs 100 a month. The engineering department has proposed to raise these rates by 50 per cent, the first such hike since 2002; the proposal is still being studied.
Courtesy:- BS dt:- 26/12/2009
