On a site meant for corporate employees, a day before Diwali, a long thread of comments and wishes is ‘loaded' with flowerpots and rockets that hit the contours of the screen and disperse into countless sparks.
The Sparks then turn into a flame that turns into rows of lamps. But do remember to keep your speakers on, for otherwise all this animation will be nothing more than fancy screen savers.
“Virtual wallpapers, lanterns and personalised e-cards have long been around; 3D is the in-thing now, as are chic smart applications and social media celebrations,” says S. Karthik, a marketing professional with a multimedia company.
This year's Diwali took online celebration to a new level. “Brands are aware that festivals also mean a lot of business. So, they have to capitalise on social networking,” says Shrey Shukla, a social media expert.
While FaceBookStatus123 as a repository of Diwali messages, texts and greetings provided a wide range of content to choose from, Cadbury Celebrations invited people to create lists with things they would like others to do for them. Family Nestlé helped visitors with recipes and Strontium Technology engaged its clients in the ‘Design-a-Diwali' Page on its Facebook fan page. Also in tow were Puma's give-and-get and cards by Greetguru and Ecards and special offers by Flipkart and Indiaplaza.
“Till last year, the craze was for the sites that offered code which, when posted as status messages on social media sites, produced an image. But the long glittery messages started getting irritating,” says Mr. Shukla. This time however, applications were the rage, including those dealing with devotional instructions. “Many loved the apps that reminded them of the little prayer booklets they would have had at home,” says Sharan Chauhan, a member of www.bgr.in.
E-cards in regional languages with virtual ‘aartis' are still on, but the rage has definitely come down, Mr. Chauhan says. “Intelligent interactive applications with good graphic elements that can be streamed fast are getting popular now. A recent rage is a gift-email that has recorded greetings from family embedded in popular songs.”
Apps centred on festivals for smartphones had an impact too. For instance, ‘Dhoom' developed by Astute Systems Technology allowed users to experience firecrackers on their phones, whereas another application provided instructions on Diwali rituals. Also launched recently was Diwali Deeya/Diya, a free Android application, that allows you to interact with an earthen lamp. “You can tap on the screen to light the diya. You can change the background image, the song or the type of diya, creating a virtual Diwali on your Android device. It is all about setting up the mood,” says Neervani Jayaraj, a Chennai-based advertising professional.
Another application that scored a remarkable success , especially among non-resident Indians, was the web-based Festival of Lights. It allowed people to light online diyas through Google Maps and send greetings through e-mail or Facebook. “All you need to do is type the address of a recipient's location on the search bar to reach the destination where you want to place the diya. You zoom into the exact location to place the virtual diya and celebrate with your loved ones,” says Rachana Sarkar, who tried her hand at it.
